"Carry Black history in your heart all day, everyday" (Danielle G.)
To commemorate having reached 30 episodes of Young, Gifted and Abroad (30 episodes, 30 people, wow... it almost doesn't compute), here I am checking in again before Episode 31 comes out next Tuesday.
1) Happy Black History Month! - A little tidbit about my current Black History Month ritual, plus my favorite Black History Month quotes at the moment. These aren't necessarily quotes about Black liberation and the like, which admittedly would probably be more useful at this time. Rather, these are quotes from three incredibly important figures in Black history which I personally find to be inspiring.
From a minister, author, philosopher, and civil rights leader:
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” (Howard Thurman)
From my favorite singer, my auntie in my head, the Queen of Jazz, whose vocal improvisations competed with the most boisterous of trumpets, and who paved the way for many musicians after her:
"I know I'm no glamour girl, and it's not easy for me to get up in front of a crowd of people. It used to bother me a lot, but now I've got it figured out that God gave me this talent to use, so I just stand there and sing." (Ella Fitzgerald)
And a bonus that I thought of while I was recording. From a writer, novelist, activist, and LGBT icon who's considered required reading among many educated young Black folks these days:
"what's in you is in you, and it's got to come out" (James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain, p. 182)
2) Sometimes change is good - Reflecting on how changing from a weekly to a biweekly schedule turned out to be a great decision so far. Sure the episode count doesn't increase as quickly as before, but then again spreading the releases out allows me to not have to constantly be doing interviews, and gives me time to experiment with how I promote the show online. Plus it's just nice to have time to breathe, to take breaks.
3) Thank you, thank you, and thank you, too! - Thanks to everyone who was kind enough to be my guest in episodes 21 through 30, thanks to my name twin (The Thought Card Podcast) for the podcasting advice, and thanks to you for listening! I think we've got a good thing going, so let's keep it up!
Be sure to listen to this episode, "Ten Cents (Eps. 21-30)" for more! And look forward to Episode 31 coming out next Tuesday!
Danielle G. is the creator, host, and producer of Young, Gifted and Abroad. You can find her other writings at DeelaSees.com. The music in this episode is by ProleteR.
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