The Seeds You Sow

In this episode we analyzed the song "Brackets" by Hip-Hop artist, J. Cole which references a number of issues in society including mass incarceration, voting rights, and urban education. We decided to have a productive conversation about the song not only to encourage people to listen to music, but to engage with it as well and allow it to move them  to take action within their communities.  Also, joining us in the studio was Entrepreneur Michael McNair, Founder of UnicornAR. Check out the episode now!

In a culture that constantly consumes, when is there ever time to properly reflect & digest? It's been two years since the release of Beyonce's Lemonade and with the one year anniversary of Jay-Z's 4:44 slowly approaching, we decided to put these albums in conversation with one another and have a honest discussion about relationships in reference to maturity, accountability, and love. Check out the episode now!

We took a break last week to exercise some self-care! We're back though to wrap up  the Internal Wokeness Series by having an in-depth vulnerable conversation on how to deal and unpack emotional baggage, so we can be the best version of ourselves for our current and future partners.  One way to ensure that we are the best version of ourselves is to pause, and take the time to acknowledge and assess any past pain or disappointments we've endured in previous relationships, before embarking on our next journey with a new love. By unpacking our emotional experiences and placing them in their proper places, we allow ourselves to move forward on our emotional journey with others in freedom, joy, and a grande sense of love, which provides security and strength to ourselves and all those we encounter. 

We referenced two articles for you this week: Three Ways To Break Free of Your Past Relationship Baggage posted by Psychology Today and 5 Steps to Deal With Emotional Baggage So It Does Not Define You by tinybuddah.com. We offered tips on how to unpack emotional baggage and identified obstacles  that may prevent one from doing so, and even provided our own personal testimonies of overcoming barriers that at one point prevented us from unpacking our own emotional emotional baggage. We acknowledged that unpacking is a process that requires courage to deal with the painful truth of our past, willingness to forgive yourself and others, a mature mindset, and a desire to grow and seek better for yourself and others. We hope this episode inspires you to identify the things you've been  carrying that no longer serve you, so that you can travel free of emotional baggage and experience a healthy love for yourself, and with others.

The ​2nd installment of the Internal Wokeness series ​is indeed an episode you need to listen to. ​As we know, today's world is filled with a number of distractions, traumas, and stresses. It's so easy to be constantly on the go that we may forget how to slow down, stop, and reflect. This week's episode we ​highlighted the importance of establishing a healthy self​-​care routine that will align your mind, body​,​ and spirit with one another. We also noted that the term self-​care is more than a trending topic or buzz word​ -- it is a way of life; a mentality that will ultimately assist us all in the fight against social injustice. As Activist, Author, and Poet Audre Lorde stated, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." We stand behind this statement because we recognize that during these stressful times in our culture, caring for others and fighting for our community can take a toll on one's mental& emotional health. Therefore it is important that we begin to fight for a space in which we can establish a way to care for ourselves, without feeling shameful when we decide to do so. 

The first article, 45 Self-Care Practices for a Healthy Mind, Body, *& Soul published by tinybuddha.com serves as a guiding tool in establishing your own ways of self care, and provides several ideas you can incorporate in your daily life.  The second article we highlighted is titled, Healers of Color, on Why Self-Care is not Self-Indulgence. An article published by colorlines.com. This piece offers different explanations for why our community needs to learn how to care for and love one's self. We also noted that though embracing a healthy self care routine is not the final solution to achieving wholeness, it is one step in the process.  Finding one's rhythm and method requires willingness, commitment, and consistency. It is not something that establishes itself over night but instead takes time. Through this episode we hope to encourage all of you l to recognize it is okay to take time for yourself and get back to making sure you are good. The more we are able to establish a healthy love and relationship with ourselves the better we will be for our loved ones and our community. Peace!

We are kicking off our first three-part series centered on the theme of "Internal Wokeness." Last season, we discussed the concept of being internally woke and highlighted the importance of not only being intellectually aware(a.k.a. woke) to what is going on socially & politically but also being woke internally to what is going on within one's self mentally & emotionally.The concept for this first episode in this series is "starve the ego and feed the spirit"  was inspired by the Native American parable Two Wolves.Through this discussion we encouraged our listeners to think critically about what they are actually giving their time and energy to, and to question if the facade they present to the outer world matches what is happening in their inner world.  We also affirmed that establishing a healthy ego -- not one fueled with masked pain or uncontrollable anger is the first step to letting our guards down and exploring what is going on with ourselves internally.  

​We thought the following articles would be beneficial to reference & discuss:: Therapists are saying African Americans Are Seeking Help for Mental Illness posted online by The Washington Post and Black Men & Our Health   published online by The Huffington Post. These articles highlight that there is a need for our community to start checking in with our selves individually and collectively. Through this dialogue we hope to encourage others to create more spaces where people feel comfortable talking about trauma, pain, and the every day struggles & stress of life. We need healing just as much as we need justice and we're hoping this series will inspire all of you to mentally and emotionally check in with yourselves so that true transformation can begin to take place.

This week we decided to have a conversation about the impact that racial stereotypes still pose on today's culture. We recognize that racial stereotypes are not a new topic; we do posit however that stereotypes, along with the prejudices and unchecked biases that people hold, are in direct correlation with the high amount of racial violence and systematic oppression that continues to plague this country today. Our goal is to create spaces that have more in-depth conversation about these racial stereotypes and their impact on the culture. We believe that it is important to ask deeper questions and really explore what triggers these stereotypes? Where do they originate? And more importantly, how do we begin to dismantle false narratives imposed onto marginalized communities?

We referenced the following articles, which we encourage for you to review: "How To Fix Unconscious Racism?" published by the TheGurdian.com and "Responding to Racist Stereotypes" posted highered.com. We offered our personal testimonies of being stereotyped by oppressive systems as well as by those within our own communities. Furthermore, we acknowledged the mental and emotional health risks that emerge when individuals begin to believe the stereotypes that have been imposed onto them. Through this episode we hope we can effectively encourage people of privilege and power to start thinking more critically about any unchecked biased they may hold. Lastly, we hope it will empower those who have been marginalized to speak out, reject the false narratives, and stand firmly in their truth.

This week on The Seeds You Sow Podcast, we had an in depth conversation about the concept of black privilege. Part of this conversation was inspired by Radio Personality Charlamagne Tha God's autobiography "Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes To Those Who Create It."  Although Charlamagne catches our attention with this title, the book itself is an autobiographical account of his personal life experiences and does not detail the full concept of Black Privilege.  We were were curious about this controversial term however, and the type of emotions, thoughts, and conversations it could spark so we decided to engage in a balanced dialogue on the topic. We noted how the term of "Black Privilege" could possibly be problematic and unintentionally negate the systemic structures of white privilege which are in place to keep people of color at a disadvantage. Oppositely, we explored the notion that the idea of "Black Privilege" could be interpreted as a state of mind. With this context, this term becomes one of empowerment, used to inspire individuals and communities alike to take pride in their blackness and develop stronger mindsets with which they can dismantle systems of oppression. 

Our goal was to have a balance conversation and to present both sides of the argument, so we referenced the following articles. Equity Matters,  Why Black Privilege Doesn't Make Much Sense  posted eurweb.com and Why CharlamagneTha God Loves Telling White America about Black Privilege from New York Time's online publication. We also delved a little deeper and broaden our scope of privilege, thinking more critically not only about black privilege vs. white privilege, but the many types of  privileges we all hold in society, and the various ways it shows up in our daily lives. By taking time to acknowledge our individual privileges we are better able to recognize our power, and the inherent responsibility to call out certain injustices in our society. We are hoping this episode inspires you to stop, reflect, and check in with your own given privileges so that you can better position yourself to serve others in your community.

This week we decided to discuss what it really means to love yourself and your significant other in today's culture. In this context, we defined the concept to " to be in love with yourself" as an unhealthy selfish "full of yourself" type love that depends on external confirmations. Contrarily, we defined the concept of loving yourself could be defined as being able to love, accept, and show compassion to one's self independent of material things or the approval of others. We noted the cultural complexities that make it difficult for people to truly love & accept themselves wholeheartedly. We highlighted the fact that how a person treats themselves, and how they feel about themselves reflects in their relationships with others. We also delved into the importance of spending time getting to know yourself, and learning to love yourself, before building a foundation with your significant other.

We referenced the articles, "The Brain on Love" by Diane Ackerman, "Why You Need To Get To Know YOURSELF Before a Relationship" posted by the online publication, meetmindful and "How To Tell if Your Partner Has Genuine Self Love?, by the Goodmen Project. This conversation opened the doors for us to offer our personal testimonies on various aspects of dating, love, and relationships, the process and patience it required to truly know one's self as well as the person your dating and the vulnerability & courage it requires to authentically become your best self while single or in a relationship. Our goal with this episode is to encourage you to think critically about type of relationship you are building with yourself and with others. We all want acceptance and love, so we're hoping that this episode will help us all along the path to truly loving ourselves and others in healthy, mature, and honest type of way.

We're wrapping up Black History Month with the "We Are, Because they Were" series through which we honor the historical African American people, films, shows, or movements of our past and place them in conversation with people doing similar work today. This week we honored the classic 90's TV show A Different World with the recent television premiere of the coming of age show, Grownish. Although the two shows were released 30 years apart from one another they both depict the college experience through the perspective(s) of the Young & Black. We highlighted the importance of representation in the media and how shows like a A Different World & Grownish plant seeds of positivity and achievement in our youth and subtly encouragement them to pursue higher education. We salute both shows and appreciate their contribution to the culture!

Also in the studio was Jasper Smith, who returned to offer humor, insight, and financial advice. Jasper is the leader of the #BuildWealth Movement and joined us to talk about the webinar series called #BuildWealth Half Hour. Check out the clip below to find out more information and make sure to tune in and listen to the full episode.

Movie history has been made, and we were among the masses who went out to the theaters to support this proud moment in movie history. The first ever major super hero movie featuring an all black leading cast, "Black Panther"  was released this past weekend and we are proud and hyped for its success.  We understand that we are living in a time of critical thought, which compels people to talk more about the impact of the film rather than just simply enjoying it. In this episode we offered a balanced perspective  in reacting to the film by discussing the CRITICAL themes that were presented in the movie and also CELEBRATING the film for its art and accomplishment. This film has ignited great conversations and is pushing the culture forward! This episode does contain spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film yet, we encourage you to first watch it and then tune in to listen. 

Overall, we were in awe and filled with an extreme amount of pride for the monumental amount of Black excellence that was presented in this film! Wakanda Forever!