This episode rewinds twenty years to RMB’s Yale days, when she tried to find her voice as a campus leader under constant threat. We revisit the documentary Still Black at Yale (2004, Dir: Monique Walton, Andia Winslow), featuring RMB, Nikki Giovanni, and others reflecting on how little had changed since the ’70s. Just as the film released, RMB’s world was shaken by the loss of her brother, Marques. In a retro phone call with longtime friend and artist william cordova, we discover art can save lives as healing, though our seat at the table in elite universities can come with a mental health cost. Dedicated to Marques Hammond (1983–2004) and Ikponmwosa Ekunwe (1984–2011).

Credits/ Video Editing: Maya Zaton / Audio Editing: Ashley Tribble / Camera: RMB, Achille Masson, Maya Zaton / Still Black at Yale Footage courtesy of Andia Winslow and Monique Walton

RMB speaks with Black femme artists who carved their own lanes and define community with values, not just identity. In a kiki with Tsedaye Makonnen and Ayana Evans about the Venice Biennale, we take notes on how they made curators pay attention to their work while navigating art world elitism. We travel down memory lane when RMB was the (first) DEI director at a major art school and interviewed Juliana Huxtable about the potential trap of visibility. "Oprah Tyra Wendy" interviews RMB's mother Ann-Marie who *might* be a Republican in an excerpt of her 2022 film Reality Is Not Good Enough. We wrap with a brief segment on how RMB creates time freedom. Credits/ Video Editing: Jason Boulware /Story Editing: Rashayla Marie Brown (RMB) /Camera: Jason Boulware, RMB /Juliana Huxtable Footage: Video Data Bank (Copyright School of the Art Institute of Chicago)

What are you supposed to you if you are not supposed to exist? RMB seeks answers from Berlin to Budapest to Marrakech to find out. In Chicago, she speaks with world-renowned artist Michael Rakowitz for a 2020 class they co-taught that's almost a little too relevant to academia today. They speak about call-out culture, the failure of open letters, and his integrity to remove himself from problematic museums. An excerpt from June Jordan's 1982 poem shows a history of Black solidarity with Palestine, and RMB's poem, Majnoona, crosses the thin line between love and hate in Dubai.

Welcome to a podcast that is also a work of art. Join Rashayla Marie Brown (RMB), a resilient artist and PTSD survivor, on a journey to get through times like these. No slogans or hot takes. Just humanity.

Credits:

Video Editing: Rashayla Marie Brown (RMB)

Audio and Story Editing: Tribble Ashley

Camera: Jason Boulware, RMB, Devin Cain, Vitaliia Fedorova, Cecil McDonald

Media Consultant: Millennial Soul Food

Welcome to a podcast that is also a work of art. Join Rashayla Marie Brown (RMB), a resilient artist and PTSD survivor, on a journey to get through times like these. No slogans or hot takes. Just humanity.

Credits:

Video Editing: Rashayla Marie Brown

Audio and Story Editing: Tribble Ashley

Camera: Jason Boulware, Rashayla Marie Brown, Devin Cain, Vitaliia Fedorova, Cecil McDonald

Media Consultant: Millennial Soul Food