AirGo is excited to present The Mentorship Suite, a series of episodes exploring the joys, contradictions, and radical possibilities of this often fraught term. On this episode, we travel into the AirGo origin story to talk with the professor who brought us together–the brilliant Shanna Benjamin. An incredibly significant mentor for both Dame and Kiss, Shanna is the author of the recently published Half in Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Nellie Y. McKay. She talks about being mentored by Nellie McKay, how she approaches her work in and out of the classroom, and her memories of young Damon and young Daniel.

SHOW NOTES

Norton Anthology of African American Literature - https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393911558

Half In Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Nellie Y McKay - https://uncpress.org/book/9781469662534/half-in-shadow/

Henry Louis Gates - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Louis_Gates_Jr.

Barbara Ransby - https://hist.uic.edu/profiles/ransby-barbara/

Wanda Coleman - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/wanda-coleman

Ken Warren - https://english.uchicago.edu/people/kenneth-warren

The Black Interior by Elizabeth Alexander - https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/black-interior

The Sovereignty of Quiet by Kevin Everod Quashie - https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/the-sovereignty-of-quiet/9780813553108

Combahee River Collective - https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/combahee-river-collective-statement-1977/

Become an AirGo Amplifier - airgoradio.com/donate

Rate and review AirGo - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/airgo/id1016530091

📸 by James Brown