Rewriting the Rules®

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Emerging fiction, picture book, and comic book writer,  Crown Shepherd (aka Crown the Writer) joins the podcast to explore the journey of discovering and harnessing her own superpower and genius. Crown's writing is deeply rooted in her upbringing and surroundings and she draws on her experiences to create Black characters who are a representation of real children in her life. In this episode, Crown explores how staying true to her story as a Black writer fuels her creativity. She talks to Tracine about what makes a superhero and how discovering your own power can be a source for fortifying not only yourself, but also your community and the world. 

Find Crown:

• Website: https://crownthewriter.com
• Books By Crown Shepherd
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiarra.shepherd.9
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crownthewriter/ 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/crownthewriter 

You can find links to the materials referenced in this episode on our website: https://www.spys.org/podcast

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

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Chaun Webster, Graphic Designer, Publisher and Poet, is back on the podcast to talk about and read from his newly published poetry collection, Wail Song. Chaun describes Wail Song as an “attempt at care,”  which also “lays bare how the construction of the human and the animal both rely on Black abjection.” In this episode, Chaun discusses this long poem with host, Tracine. Together, they weave conversation, meditations, alternatives, metaphors and new possibilities to wade with listeners through and against antiblackness.

You can hear more from Chaun Webster on Episode 1 of Rewriting the Rules℠. In ‘All About Love,’ Chaun explores how love informs his artistic practice, what Black boys and men are taught about love, and his own understanding of love.

Catch Chaun IN-PERSON at the dates and locations below:

Find Chaun:

• Twitter: @chaunwebster 
• Facebook: Chaun Webster
• Instagram: @dainstapoet
• Books: Wail Song | GeNtry!fication

You can find links to the materials referenced in this episode on our website: https://www.spys.org/podcast

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

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‘Black People Don’t Use Measuring Spoons’ is the third installment of our Women’s History Month series. In this episode, Tracine talks to Leah Penniman, a Black Kreyol farmer, mother, soil nerd, author and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York. Together, they explore the connections that Black communities, Indigenous Communities, and Communities of color have to land and the land has to us. Leah is the author of Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land (released in 2018) and Black Earth Wisdom: Soulful Conversations with Black Environmentalists (released in 2023), which she describes as love songs for the land and her people.

Find Leah & Soul Fire Farm:

• Books: Farming While Black | Black Earth Wisdom
• Twitter: @blkfarmer | @soulfirefarm
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soulfirefarm/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulfirefarm/
• Website: www.soulfirefarm.org

You can find all our reading links and recommendations from the mothers featured here on our podcast page: www.spys.org/podcast

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

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Respecting Mothers as Loving Experts - Part 3 of 3 is part of our Women’s History Month series. In this special three-part episode, we are honored to share the wisdom, discernment, and intuition of eight mothers who are experts at living. In Part 3, we speak with Ajibike “BiKé” Ojomo, Michelle Dennard and Portia Jackson. In their own words, we hear from these Black mothers as they explore their hopes for their children (and grandchildren) and how structures of racism, classism, and sexism both challenge and disrupt their work as Loving Experts in their children’s lives.

You can find parts 1 & 2 of these inspiring and nourishing conversations in our podcast feed, featuring:

• Part 1: Interview with Julia Freeman, Nyia Harris, and Chakita “Kita” Lewis
• Part 2: Interview with Jill Greendeer and Eboun Wilbourn

You can find all our reading links and recommendations from the mothers featured here on our podcast page: www.spys.org/podcast

*We use the term “Indigenous” as adapted from the NDN Collective: “peoples as ethnic communities whose direct ancestral lineage descends from the earliest, original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied, and/or colonized the region more recently. The land on which we live and the natural resources on which we depend are inextricably linked to our identities, cultures, livelihoods, as well as our physical and spiritual well-being. The total estimated population of Indigenous peoples is approximately 370 million people worldwide (5% of the global population). We use Indigenous peoples with an “s” to recognize the diversity of individuals and groups that identify with the term, which has been distilled to a singular noun throughout history in an attempt to group our people together rather than recognize our differences and diversity. This is consistent with the UN Declaration on The Rights of Indigenous peoples. (Source: North East Farmers Network)

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

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Respecting Mothers as Loving Experts - Part 1 of 3 is part of our Women’s History Month series. In this special three-part episode, we are honored to share the wisdom, discernment, and intuition of eight mothers who are experts at living. In Part 1, we speak with with Julia Freeman, Nyia Harris, and Chakita “Kita” Lewis. In their own words, we hear from these Black mothers as they explore their work, hopes for their children and how structures of racism, classism, and sexism both challenge and disrupt the roles of mothers as Loving Experts in their children’s lives. 

You can find parts 2 & 3 of these inspiring and nourishing conversations in our podcast feed, featuring:

• Part 2: Interview with Jill Greendeer and Eboun Wilbourn
• Part 3: Interview with Ajibike “BiKé” Ojomo, Michelle Dennard and Portia Jackson

You can find links to the materials referenced in this episode on our website: https://www.spys.org/podcast

*We use the term “Indigenous” as adapted from the NDN  Collective: “peoples as ethnic communities whose direct ancestral lineage descends from the earliest, original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied, and/or colonized the region more recently. The land on which we live and the natural resources on which we depend are inextricably linked to our identities, cultures, livelihoods, as well as our physical and spiritual well-being. The total estimated population of Indigenous peoples is approximately 370 million people worldwide (5% of the global population). We use Indigenous peoples with an “s” to recognize the diversity of individuals and groups that identify with the term, which has been distilled to a singular noun throughout history in an attempt to group our people together rather than recognize our differences and diversity. This is consistent with the UN Declaration on The Rights of Indigenous peoples. (Source: North East Farmers Network)

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

Send us Fan Mail

Respecting Mothers as Loving Experts - Part 2 of 3 is part of our Women’s History Month series. In this special three-part episode, we are honored to share the wisdom, discernment, and intuition of eight mothers who are experts at living. In Part 2, we speak with Jill Greendeer, an Indigenous mother and Eboun Wilbourn, a Laotian mother. In their own words, we hear from them as they explore their hopes for their children and how structures of racism, classism, and sexism both challenge and disrupt their work as Loving Experts in their children’s lives. 

You can find parts 1 & 3 of these inspiring and nourishing conversations in our podcast feed, featuring:

• Part 1: Interview with Julia Freeman, Nyia Harris, and Chakita “Kita” Lewis 
• Part 3: Interview with  Ajibike “BiKé” Ojomo, Michelle Dennard and Portia Jackson

You can find all our reading links and recommendations from the mothers featured here on our podcast page: www.spys.org/podcast

*We use the term “Indigenous” as adapted from the NDN  Collective: “peoples as ethnic communities whose direct ancestral lineage descends from the earliest, original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied, and/or colonized the region more recently. The land on which we live and the natural resources on which we depend are inextricably linked to our identities, cultures, livelihoods, as well as our physical and spiritual well-being. The total estimated population of Indigenous peoples is approximately 370 million people worldwide (5% of the global population). We use Indigenous peoples with an “s” to recognize the diversity of individuals and groups that identify with the term, which has been distilled to a singular noun throughout history in an attempt to group our people together rather than recognize our differences and diversity. This is consistent with the UN Declaration on The Rights of Indigenous peoples. (Source: North East Farmers Network)

You can find links to the materials referenced in this episode on our website: https://www.spys.org/podcast

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

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‘Forward Figures: Untold Stories of Black Girls and Women’ is part of our Women’s History Month series. In this episode, Tracine talks to Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, a Ghanaian feminist, writer and author of The Sex Lives of African Women, which Publishers Weekly described as “an astonishing report on the quest for sexual liberation.” We talk with Nana Darkoa about writing her book, which tells the stories of Black women’s experiences around sex, sexualities, and pleasure. We also talk to Nana Darkoa about creating safer spaces to talk about sex with our young people and supporting them through their sexual journeys.

Find Nana Darkoa:

• Twitter: @nas009
• Website: About – Darkoa The Writer
• Order ‘The Sex Lives of African Women’ - Astra Publishing House
• Book Club Kit for The Sex Lives of African Women -  Astra Publishing House

You can find links to the materials referenced in this episode on our website: https://www.spys.org/podcast

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

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Our first episode takes inspiration from feminist writer and thinker, bell hooks. All About Love is an intimate discussion with Chaun Webster, a Minneapolis Graphic Designer, Publisher and Poet, that explores love as a practice for rewriting the rules of society. In conversation with host Tracine, Chaun explores how love informs his artistic practice, what Black boys and men are taught about love, and his own understanding of it. Listen and subscribe now.  

Find Chaun:

• Twitter: @chaunwebster 
• Facebook: Chaun Webster
• Instagram: @dainstapoet
• Books: Wail Song | GeNtry!fication

You can find links to the materials referenced in this episode on our website: https://www.spys.org/podcast

*The music you hear on the podcast is provided by Blue Dot Sessions and is used here under a Creative Commons License.

Send us Fan Mail

We are Rewriting the Rules℠

A new bi-weekly podcast series brought to you by St. Paul Youth Services, a Minnesota US based non-profit that is a leader in reimagining how our community engages with and holds itself accountable for Black youth.

Episodes begin on Thursday, February 16th. Learn more at www.SPYS.org/podcast