Tellemtiptoldyou

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 109 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Let’s Build a New World--Together” In it, I share with you some of the struggles I’ve been facing and offer you some info on what I’m doing to get my life back in order! Needless to say, caring for aging parents, maintaining one’s life purpose, and building community are important and were the things that I mistakenly left behi...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 108 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"The Griot, The Artist, and the Educator." In this week's episode, I finally give my initial thoughts around Ryan Coogler's film "Sinners." For me, the film was a lesson in all things African cosmology including African futurism, Nommo (or the power of the spoken word), and Diaspora consciousness. Needless to say it was EVERYTHI...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 108 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Culture Wars and Politics: What We Must Do to be Free” Since Black folks arrived in the U.S., we have been under a cultural attack that requires our constant awareness and strategy. What we need to do, particularly in this election cycle, is be aware of how history informs the present. Our lessons from the past can help us gene...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 107 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Sankofa: The Art of Reclamation” What do The Book of Clarence, Cowboy Carter, and the Black Arts Movement have in common? In this episode, I talk about the role of art (and Black literacy) in multi-layered communication. (the TikTok creator I referenced about the sonar pings is @ragandboneshopoftheheart) I’d love to hear what y...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 106 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"HBCUs, Public School Vouchers, and Opportunity Districts: Oh My!” Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think something nefarious is afoot and I just want us to be watchful and prepared. The bottom line is that I think we need to specifically be thinking about institution building, maintenance, and protection when it comes to ed...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 105 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Woman’s Work and Other Reasons to Give Praise.” This week is special, I just wanted to share some poetry with you in honor of Women’s History Month. This week’s poems come from Gwendolyn A. Mitchell and really share important ideas—especially for Women’s History. The reason that this episode is an abbreviated one is because I a...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 104 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Whose Life Story Are You Writing?” What do the films American Fiction, One Drop: The Bob Marley Story and Mea Culpa have in common? In this episode I want to share with you my ideas about how these three films in Black culture are a model for what more of us need to be thinking about. Let me give you a hint about this week’s ep...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 103 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"A Fan of Fani.” What do Usher Raymond’s half-time show have in common with Beyonce’s recent music release and DA Fani Willis’ time on the stand? In this episode I want to share with you my ideas about how these three events in Black culture are a model for what more of us need to be doing. Did you catch all of the symbolism in...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 102 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Stop Making Stupid People Famous.” This week, I want to open with a James Baldwin quote that essentially asks us to reflect on what America is doing to us. That reflection is just what this episode of the podcast is about. If you mindlessly scroll social media as I sometimes (okay, okay OFTEN) do, you’ve probably seen some of t...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 101 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Tyrese, Really?” This week, I fought hard not to hit a full on rant. If you haven’t heard, Tyrese helped set the tone for Black History Month 2024 by publishing wishing he was born Latinx. (Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being Latinx, the problem is in not celebrating who you are.) In this episode I share w...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 100 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"How This Podcast Came to Be.” This week, I want to share with you my long and winding road to my 100th episode of the podcast. Long story short, it’s taken me years to do what really should have only taken me a portion of that. I hope that in me sharing my story, you find some motivation to re-start your own journey to align wi...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 99 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Rhetoric, Reality, and the Need for Community.” This week, I start with a special message about my struggles with procrastination and how that almost shaped this episode. Between Dr. Claudine Gay’s resignation, Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey’s untimely death, and Florida’s permanent ban of DEI on college campuses, this ye...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 98 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Colonialism, Scarcity, and Tools for Liberation.” The world is a dumpster fire right now. If you are a person that believes in humanity, social justice, and equity life has been pretty rough lately. In this episode, I want to share with you how this season has plagued my joy and left me in a valley. However, I also want to share...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 97 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Alien Self, Anti-Self, and MisEducation.” We’re in a whole mess with these Florida Education moves aren’t we? In this episode, we discuss the recent release of new middle and high school standards in the State of Florida. Without an understanding of how history for Black folks has always been tied to liberation or oppression in...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 96 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Cornel is Running for What?!” Honey, I can’t believe that we have to talk about Brotha Cornel and a presidential bid all in the same breath. I’m disgusted; if you want to know why, tune into this episode and hear me out. I’ll be honest. This is probably not my best podcast. Quite frankly, I’m too bothered for it to be. In this e...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 95 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Living is an Artform.” Last week, I found out that my ex of seven years transitioned. Needless to say, it had a huge impact on my productivity and on my emotions. In this episode, I continue my conversation about mental health and how I’m managing to navigate my feelings. Now, don’t get me wrong, my feelings around his passing t...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 94 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Setting May Goals.” On this episode, I introduce mental health as the theme for the podcast during the month of May. Weekly, I’ll share with you one challenge or idea for you to consider during the week. My goal for this is to encourage you to think more deeply about practices you can employ to improve your overall health with p...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 93 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Let’s Stay on Code.” This week, I had a lot to get off of my chest regarding that coach’s behavior around our beloved HBCUs (sounds a lot like the last episode, huh?). Welp, as long as we put up with the cult of celebrity and don’t hold one another to code, I’ll keep making these. Listen, I’m going to commit to a once a month up...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 92 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"He Ain’t SWAC.” This week, I had a lot to get off of my chest regarding that coach’s behavior around our beloved HBCUs. Before you listen, let me go on and say in advance that some feelings my get hurt with this episode. Listen, everything that glitters isn’t gold and everything flashy isn’t faithful. You can go ahead an tellemt...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 91 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"I Ain’t Your Comfort.” This week, I want to tell you why I’ve been missing and touch on recent news and events. I’ve missed unpacking Black cultural and political ideas with you! If you’re on my email list, watch out for an email that asks for the best time and day for us to begin our Instagram Lives again. The title of this epi...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 89 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"The Problem with Some Black Christians.” Admittedly, this episode will probably bother you a little, but I’m okay with that. As a community, we’re really going to have to address our tendencies to be divided on issues where there should be no division..This is a thinking episode. I really want us to dig into our visceral actions...

On the macro- and micro-levels, we fall victim to someone else's agenda when we seek their validation and valuation. In this episode, I share why as long as we seek to be validated by someone else, we'll fail to witness the genius of our people. I'll share how the terror attacks in Buffalo and Texas reveal anti-Black and anti-Latine violence as well as how the words of politicians reveal their own...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 88 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"The Hypocrisy Problem (or The Slap We Won’t Discuss.” Admittedly, this episode is all over the place—mostly because I have strong emotions about this. As a community, we’re really going to have to go after this “respectability politics” thing. In the aftermath of the thing we will not mention, I saw many examples of respectabili...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 87 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"Stop Expecting Black Deficiency” This episode is personal for me. I can’t help but wonder if Ryan Coogler would have had the cops called on him if a Black teller didn’t have a preconceived notion of what Black men were or how they were supposed to “behave.” I also talk briefly about the Crown Act which just passed the US House o...

Hey ya’ll hey! Thanks for tuning into Episode 86 of Tellemtiptoldyou—"War at Home and War Abroad” This is a pretty heavy episode. I hope that you find it informative, but also encouraging. The bottom line is that we have to be attentive to not only things going on abroad, but also the things that are happening right here, too. To be aware, and to read the House Bills discussed in this episode, you...