Liberation Now Ep 4: Indigenous African Spirituality and Liberation
Release Date: 03/26/2021
Liberation Now Podcast
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This episode is the second in a two-part series on cumulative racial-ethnic trauma and healing for MENA Americans. In this episode, Amir Maghsoodi sits down again with pioneering Arab/MENA psychologists Drs. Mona Amer, Maryam Kia-Keating, and Germine “Gigi” Awad, to discuss their paper in the American Psychologist titled “A model of cumulative racial-ethnic trauma among Americans of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent.” They discuss how the authors’ model relates to healing and liberation for MENA Americans and other BIPOC groups. As three of the founding members of...
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In this episode, Amir Maghsoodi speaks with pioneering Arab/MENA psychologists Drs. Mona Amer, Maryam Kia-Keating, and Germine “Gigi” Awad, about their paper in the American Psychologist titled “A model of cumulative racial-ethnic trauma among Americans of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent.” They discuss the creation of the model and provide details about its various components, contextualizing them with present-day examples. The authors also share their motivations and process for writing this paper as well as their hopes for what readers take away from reading it....
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In this episode, Helen Neville speaks with award winning psychologists, Drs. Bryana French and Jioni Lewis about Black women and radical healing. Drs. French and Lewis share their own radical healing journeys. They also discuss what radical healing for Black women looks like, identify practices that can promote radical healing among Black women as individuals and collectively, provide an analysis of the R. Kelly racketeering and sex trafficking conviction, and share dreams for a more liberated future.
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In this episode, Helen Neville speaks with licensed psychologist Dr. Grace Chen about radical self-care. Dr. Chen shares her liberation journey, explains the connection between radical self-care and liberation among People of Color, and discusses the ways she promotes radical self-care in her clinical work.
info_outlineIn this episode, Nimot Ogunfemi speaks with Dr. Njoki Wane. Dr. Wane discusses her book titled From My Mother’s Back: A Journey From Kenya to Canada. She additionally explores how her Embu worldview has played a role in her spiritual well-being, shares indigenous insights around the current COVID-19 pandemic, and explains how we can use indigenous spirituality as a tool for liberation.
Nimot and Dr. Wane speak Kiswahili at times in the interview (translations are included in the transcript). Dr. Wane’s indigenous language is Kiembu.
Included in this episode is an original poem by Tanzanian based artist, singer, dancer and environmentalist Angel Mary Kato.
About Dr. Njoki Wane
Njoki Wane, PhD, is a professor at the University of Toronto. Professor Wane is a recognized scholar in the areas of Black feminisms in Canada & Africa, African indigenous knowledges, Anti-colonial and decolonizing education and African women and spirituality. She is currently serving as Chair in the Department of Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). An accomplished educator and educational leader, Professor Wane headed the Office of Teaching Support at OISE from 2009 to 2012 establishing its priorities and activities while recognizing equity as a central dimension of good teaching. From 2011 to 2014, Professor Wane served as Special Advisor on Status of Women Issues, contributing to research and policy development concerning the intersectionality of gender with race, disability, sexual orientation and aboriginal status, and the impact of these issues on the lived experiences of women faculty, staff and students at the University of Toronto.
Selected Publications
- Wane, N.N. (2019) From my mother’s back: A journey from Kenya to Canada. Hamilton, ON: Wolsak and Wynn Publishers.
- Wane, N. N., & Todd, K. L. (Eds.). (2018). Decolonial pedagogy: Examining sites of resistance, resurgence, and renewal. Springer.
- Wane, N. N. (2011). Reclaiming our spirituality: A pedagogical tool for feminism and activism. Canadian Woman Studies, 29(1/2), 159.
- Wane, N. N. (2013). [Re] claiming Indigenous Knowledge: Challenges, Resistance, and Opportunities. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 2(1).
- Wane, N. N., Todorova, M. S., & Todd, K. L. (Eds.). (2019). Decolonizing the Spirit in Education and Beyond: Resistance and Solidarity. Springer Nature.
- Wane, N. N. (2002). African women and spirituality. In Expanding the boundaries of transformative learning (pp. 135-150). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
- Wane, N., Jagire, J., & Murad, Z. (Eds.). (2014). Ruptures: Anti-colonial & anti-racist feminist theorizing. Springer Science & Business Media.
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Episode Credits:
Music: Amir Maghsoodi
Podcast Artwork: B. Andi Lee & Amir Maghsoodi
Episode Editing: Nimot Ogunfemi
Episode Transcript:
http://bit.ly/LibNowE4