BlackFor30

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We often believe that our experiences are only unique to us. That only our lives are indescribably complex, distinct, and complicated. Yet if we looked a little closer, we would realise that we all have that in common. The lives of those around us are not so different. We generally all seek the same things in life, but just in different ways.

So, this is a conversation between two Zimbabweans who grew up differently, immigrated to different countries, and had to learn how to adapt to foreign cultures, to then end up doing podcasts addressing similar issues.

Host:
Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:       @ blackfor30

Guests:
Gari Gono
Instagram:       @nobrownpodcast

 BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

Perspective strongly determines how we see ourselves and what we aspire to in life. I have learnt that we tend to frame our experiences in life as though they are only happening to us. Or that our failures and struggles define who we are – our narrative.

So, as I was reading The Gift of Obstacles by Phillimon Zongo, I was humbled when I realised that we share the same language, the same nationality, and the same race, yet our experiences in life could not be more different. His story shows just how he is a bastion of grit because of his growth mindset and sheer will and determination.

I had the opportunity to talk with Phil about his book to understand the experiences that have brought him to this point in life, where he is a prominent cybersecurity leader and 2x author. As the CEO of Cyber Leadership Institute his enterprise has provided strategy and governance skills to business and tech leaders around the world. He also shares the challenges of being a migrant and trying to find your place in a new society.

Host:
Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:       @ blackfor30

Guests:
Phillimon Zongo
Instagram:       @pzongo
Website:          Cyber Leadership Institute
LinkedIn:         Phillimon Zongo

BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

When we judge the lives of others, at times we are blind to how their environment more than their character predetermines their circumstances. When a multitude of people are incarcerated because of their race, to say we see no colour only minimises such objectionable practices. Whether it is indifference, displacement, or wilful ignorance we shy away from confronting this epidemic in our society. We choose to see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

A silence towards the prejudicial legal and prison system in America unconsciously makes us compliant as we sit and watch the perpetrators abuse state power to violate the rights of black people.

As a continuation of our discussion from the previous episode, Trey, Ish and I breakdown the system that disproportionately imprisons black people with no one to hold it accountable. We touch on some unconscionable practices such as the stop and frisk law, racial profiling by police, and the lack of impartiality by prosecutors.

Host:
Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:       @ blackfor30

Guests:
Trey Alexander
Instagram:       @trey.alexander
Website:          Trey Alexander

 
Ishmael Khepri
Instagram:       @mrfilmlogik

                               @americathemixtape

 BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

The art of hip-hop is well entwined in black culture. It serves to voice our experiences and way of life, however over the years our message has been diluted and exploited for a profit.

There is a story of hunters in the Arctic where the indigenous people would stick the handle of a double-edged blade into the ice, and leave the blade protruding. They would put blood on the blade so the wolf smells the blood and wants to eat. So, every time the wolf licks the blade while trying to eat it cuts its tongue. Fooled to believe it is having a good time.

Instead of considering the fact that the hunter put the blade in the ice, the wolf gets blamed because it wants to eat.

Trey (aka Master Barber) is back on the show again to share his opinions from growing up around the golden era of hip-hop. We also have Ishmael Wise who lends his voice as a pan-Africanist and screenwriter to help bring three perspectives to a discussion on how we can preserve our culture as we scrutinise the state of hip-hop.

Host:
Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:       @ blackfor30
 

Guests:
Trey Alexander
Instagram:       @trey.alexander
Website:          Trey Alexander

 
Ishmael Khepri
Instagram:       @mrfilmlogik
                               @americathemixtape

 BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

We continue the discussion on how the experiences of women are influenced by society’s image of them. How these experiences also affect the way they see themselves.

I convince Tracy to play a little activity that draws on self-image to help me see things from her view.

If you have not already, you can listen to the first part of this discussion after. Although there is no pause at the beginning of this episode, I hope you open your mind and listen.

Host:
Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:       @ blackfor30
 

Guest:
Tracy Samkele
Instagram:       Tray Samkele
                                blckmentality

 BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

For a time now, women have faced challenges with whether they are respected or desired, or how they are seen or heard if at all. And this has been mainly tied to their physical attributes. Consequently, this has had an influence on how women see and value their bodies, their career opportunities, and regrettably in other cases sexual assault or violence.

Acknowledging how my perspective on this matter is quite limited, I asked for the voice of Tracy Samkele to weigh in on some of these issues. Tracy brings with her, among other things, the voice of a black woman whose Spotify aura is happy and peaceful. She also hosts the podcast Black Mentality which interweaves mental wellbeing into everyday Black Australian experiences.

Host:
Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:       @ blackfor30

Guest:        Tracy Samkele
Instagram: @tray_samkele
                         @blckmentality

BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

Preparing for this episode was different, because it felt like this discussion was time sensitive. Currently, the world is observing the Russia/Ukraine conflict and just like any other critical event in humanity people have different experiences and opinions of it.

It appears that there was bias in the coverage of the initial days of the war breaking out. This is obviously not the first time the media has been partial, but more importantly it begs the question "why do we seem to only show empathy on a global scale when such a tragedy happens in the Western society?".

 As such, Sean and I felt it was pertinent to talk about the discrimination happening in the periphery of the  war, and other instances in a history not so long ago. 

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

Launching into Season 2, we explore the issues of group identity and pick apart what it means to be profiled based on the colour of our skin.

Sean and I walk the fine line of being objective while weighing the subject against our lived experiences. In the same vein, we share our frustration of being conditionally accepted and measured by a societal yardstick that we have no influence over. 

Are we to live on someone else’s perception of what it takes for us to be considered equal?


Host:               Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:    @ blackfor30

Guests:            Sean Solole

BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

On this episode, we take a look at the journey thus far and reflect on the first year of the show. What inspired the creation of the show? Why the message of BlackFor30 is important not only for black people, but everyone else interested in discussing race matters?  What drove the decision to choosing the show intro?

We discuss the conception of BlackFor30, the process of selecting topics of discussion, and what lies ahead. This episode marks the end of chapter one and offers an insight into what comes next.

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.

Send a text

Community Capitalism is an approach to economic growth that places a priority on the well-being and sustainability of an entire community. What does it take to build a self-reliant black community? What are some of the frustrations and challenges we face that impede us from coming together? How can we develop trust and accountability in our community to be able to depend on each other? How can you as an individual play your role in building this community?

On this episode of BlackFor30, I am joined in conversation by Simba Marekera an impact investment executive who uses his vast experience to practice socially responsible and sustainable investment into communities with inadequate resources. He is the Co-Founder of Ignition Impact, EdFin and New Africa Foundation which are organisations designed to finance African SMEs and provide educational resources


Host:
Fungai Mutsiwa
Instagram:       @ blackfor30

Guests:
Simba Marekera
Website:          Ignition Impact
                              EdFin
LinkedIn:        Simba Marekera

 BlackFor30 is a place for your voice to be heard. DM us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].

Support the show

BlackFor30 is a place for exploring Pan-African theory and praxis through discourse. Send us your thoughts and questions @blackfor30 or via email at [email protected].



Support BlackFor30
At BlackFor30, we believe that liberation begins in the mind and manifests through action. Your donation helps us amplify Afrocentric perspectives, foster critical conversations, and create initiatives that challenge narratives and inspire change. Together, we can keep the mission alive and impactful. Thank you for being part of this journey.