Kingston, The Black Experience

About Kingston, The Black Experience

A podcast dedicated to the journey of Black folks who live or have lived in Kingston, Ontario. This is a part of a Master’s project in the Cultural Studies faculty at Queen’s University. This summer you will find stories told by Black folks in the community. Hosted by Kingston local and blogger, Tianna Edwards (also creator of Keep up with Kingston). A link to the blog post that opened this journey: https://keepupwithkingston.com/2020/05/30/being-black-in-kingston/.

Publisher

Kingston, The Black Experience

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 May 2023

Latest episode

3 Oct 2023

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Oct 2023

   Special Episode Feat. Authors Britta B. & Otoniya J. Okot Bitek

   I moderated a discussion between two incredible Black women and poets, Britta Badour and Otoniya J. Okot Bitek at Kingston Writersfest. This episode is the live recording of our discussion on Saturday, September 30. Britta was promoting her latest book of poetry, Wires That Sputter and Otoniya was promoting her latest book, Song & Dread. Bios for the authors: Britta B: Born and raised in Kingston, Britta Badour, better known as Britta B., is an award-winning artist, spoken word poet, performer, emcee, voice talent and mentor living in Toronto. Britta has been a Toronto Arts Foundation's Emerging Artist and COCA Lecturer of the Year. Her work has been featured in print, in sound and onstage across North America in notable spheres such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, CBC Arts: Poetic License, The Walrus Talks, TED and The Stephen Lewis Foundation. As an educator, Britta facilitates artist-training seminars, poetry workshops and social justice programs in partnership with organizations like JAYU, Poetry in Voice, Prologue Performing Arts, and League of Canadian Poets. Britta holds a Creative Writing MFA from the University of Guelph and is a professor of spoken word performance at Seneca College Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek is an Acholi poet. Her collection 100 Days, a book of poetry that reflects on the meaning of memory two decades after the Rwanda genocide, was nominated for several prizes including the BC Book Prize, the Pat Lowther Award, the Alberta Book Awards and the Canadian Authors Award for Poetry. It won the IndieFab Book of the Year Award for poetry and the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. "What makes this collection such a pleasure to read," says a Huffington Post review, "is that it's laced with moments of such grace that you have to pause and re-read the lines again in order to reflect upon each phrase...a masterpiece of uncommon splendour and Juliane Okot Bitek is a virtuoso performing at the height of her powers." Otoniya's poem "Migration: Salt Stories" was shortlisted for the National Magazine Awards for Poetry, and "Gauntlet" was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize. Her work has been published widely in publications such as Event, The Capilano Review, Room, and Arc, and anthologized in Love Me True: Writers Reflect on the Ups, Downs, Ins & Outs of Marriage, and Transition: Writing Black Canadas, amongst others. Otoniya holds an MA in English, a BFA in Creative Writing, and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from UBC. She has been a Poetry Ambassador for the City of Vancouver, the Ellen and Warren Tallman Writer-in-Residence in the English Department at Simon Fraser University, and a Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellow. She is currently an assistant professor of Black Creativity, English, and Creative Writing at Queen's University.

2. 

   29 Aug 2023

   Season Reflection

   I asked and you answered! Many encouraged a reflection episode so here we are. This episode is a breakdown of my thoughts on this season of the podcast. I share what it's felt like for me, my takeaways from each episode and how grateful I am for this experience and those who have chosen to join me. Thank you for listening and please share your feedback either through social @kingstonblackexperience on Instagram or via a voice note through the platform of your choice. Want a season 2? Share why!

3. 

   1 Aug 2023

   Judith

   This episode is special! I sat down with local retired educator, Judith Brown. She came to Kingston 50 years ago and did a lot of community organizing and advocacy for Black folks in Kingston as well as in our education system. Judith carries a ton of historical context with her. I even learned something significant about my own family history in our conversation. This is the last interview!

4. 

   25 Jul 2023

   Ayanda

   In this interview, local DJ Ayanda Mngoma shares his experience as a Black man who was raised in Kingston after moving here when he was a toddler. He shares what it felt like growing up and what he thinks is crucial to continue creating space for Black folks in Kingston.

5. 

   18 Jul 2023

   Martha

   Martha Williams is a local artist and budding entrepreneur. This is Part one of a two part series. She discusses what it felt like to grow up as a bi-racial kid in Kingston, Ontario, how Black studies changed her life and how workplace discrimination led to her creating her own business.

6. 

   18 Jul 2023

   Martha II

   This episode is part two of a two-part interview. Please listen to part one first before proceeding. In this episode, Martha talks about her new business, Pedal Works Studio and Cafe, in more detail and its impact on the Black community. We also discuss how anti-blackness can show up in Black communities and its effect on mental health, the importance of self-advocacy and finding your joy.

7. 

   11 Jul 2023

   Mugaya (II)

   In part two of my interview with Mugaya, he compares his current home of Vancouver to living in Kingston, how aging has impacted his ability to find community there and what it felt like to date in Kingston. Trigger warning: we discuss his experience with anti-black racism in Kingston.

8. 

   11 Jul 2023

   Mugaya

   This episode features, Mugaya Bagambiire, a former colleague and friend of mine. This is the first episode of two episodes featuring Mugaya. He talks about what brought him to Kingston, what it felt like when he got here, his search for community and developing his self-identity.

9. 

   4 Jul 2023

   Trinda

   This episode features Queen's PhD student, Trinda Penniston. Trinda has been in Kingston for about four years. Trinda explores what it was like to navigate Kingston as a mature student and how the lack of representation in her field impacted her research. She also touches on dating while Black in a predominantly white space and sexual racism. I promise the audio gets better from here on!

10. 

    16 May 2023

    A Little About Me

    My name is Tianna Edwards (she/her), I am a part-time Master's student in the Cultural Studies department at Queen's. This episode is an introduction to a series of interviews with Black folks who live or have lived in Kingston, Ontario. The purpose of this episode is to give you a bit of context on myself so you know where I am coming from as we move through the series. I mention the blog post that started this journey in this episode. Here is the link to that blog post, Being Black in Kingston: https://keepupwithkingston.com/2020/05/30/being-black-in-kingston/. I also share a spoken word from a project two years ago. Here is a link to the project: https://www.abolitiondreaming.com/black-abolition-and-dreaming. A big thank you to my cousin for providing the theme music for this podcast. You can find more of Brahma Beatz here: https://www.brahmabeatz.com/music/tracks?search_keyword=&category=ALL%20CATEGORY&metadata.bpm=ALL%20BPM&metadata.moods=MELLOW&metadata.genres=ALL%20GENRES&index=default&track_list_id=0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.