Unpacking African American Literacies with Dr. E

Unpack This with Dr. E!

(This is not-for-profit, unfunded project and unfortunately our transcripts are auto-generated for now. Please reach out to vjohsu@austin.utexas.edu with any access needs)

[00:00:00] Jo: Welcome back to unpack this where academic misfits go to unload their shit. I’m Jo Hsu, one of your hosts and.

[00:00:07] Constance: And I’m Constance Bailey your other host.

[00:00:09] Jo: And today we are very excited. We have Dr. Elaine Richardson, AKA Dr. E. She is an award-winning scholar, teacher, musician, author, and mentor she’s professor of literacy studies at the Ohio state university Columbus. Her research interests include the liberation and critical literacy education of people of the black African diaspora.

She has authored books on African-American literacies, hip hop literacies, and an urban educational memoir. That Chronicles her journey from drugs and the street life to the university. She’s also edited volumes on African-American rhetorical theory and hip hop feminism. She is founder of the Ohio state university’s hip hop literacies conference, as well as the creator of Columbus, women and girls Fest an initiative for black mothers, daughters, and gender expansive people of color in the Columbus, Ohio community, which grew out of her after-school literacy club for [00:01:00] middle school.

Girls doctor. He is also the founder of education foundation for freedom, eff, a registered charitable 5 0 1 C3, nonprofit dedicated to the empowerment of women and girls to interrupt vulnerability. We will provide links to all of these texts organizations in the show notes. Welcome Dr. E thank you for making the time to join us.

[00:01:20] Dr. E: Thank you so much.

[00:01:21] Constance: happy to have you.

[00:01:24] Jo: So, you do so many things, , when I sent your bio or when I shared it with Constance, Constance was like, I got tired. Just reading that, that your, your, all your, as a, your researcher, your mentor, your teacher, , community work, you’re a musician. And so I’m wondering, maybe we can. What are the guiding values or a vision that connects these things?

How do you know what to take on? What, what drives you?

[00:01:49] Dr. E: The main thing I think is gratitude. because I just feel like I should be dead out. You know, I really feel that. , the [00:02:00] only reason why God let me live is so I can do what I do. , I think I had to go where I had to go my path to be able to appreciate, , life, , because I remember, you know, not wanting to live many, many times and also, uh, Almost getting killed many, many times.

And, , God just kept putting people in my path and, , especially my mother, my mother stayed in my path, , , . I just have a real gratitude for so many people that reached out to me and to help save my life. But most of all, my mother. And, um, there was so many things that I wanted to do and be when I was a kid and I couldn’t really see myself, you know, I couldn’t really, I didn’t really value myself.

I didn’t really, , , you know, I was, I was believing a lot of the pathological narratives about [00:03:00] who I was as a black girl and a black person growing. And, , you know, I grew up in the hood and, , there were beautiful people, you know, in my hood, but there was also a lot of, , you know, instances of misogynoir, of just, you know, not feeling beautiful.

, just, you know, being tricked by the narratives , on television, you know, and, , things people said to me, they broke my spirit, you know, just things that happened to me, they broke my spirits. So, , I just feel, you know, like I want to interrupt those things for other people, as much as I possibly can cause people interrupted them for me.

[00:03:47] Jo: Hmm.

[00:03:47] Dr. E: think that, , the more of us that are trying to change systems. And create what we want to see, that we’re contributing, you know, so that somebody else doesn’t have to have those [00:04:00] pains and that those trials that we went through, did I answer your.

[00:04:06] Jo: Yeah, that absolutely does. And as somebody who’s, shared a field or discipline with you, you’re definitely one of those people who created narratives and models and trajectories that, bring light into a place that otherwise doesn’t have it. I am, I am filled with gratitude for that, for

sure.

[00:04:24] Dr. E: gosh. And you always make me, you always affirm me and you always make me feel valued. And I really love you. And I don’t, I feel like I don’t talk to you enough, , but know that you were in here, you are in.

[00:04:38] Jo: I appreciate that. It goes both ways.

[00:04:40] Dr. E: This is in here too. I got the girl Constance, cause I just constant.

[00:04:46] Constance: Well, you know what? We have so much overlap in terms of friends and disciplinary stuff. My friend Cedric always, raves about you in the brief time that, uh, yes. Yes. And, and, And when you visited Arkansas, [00:05:00] I think we talked a little bit about Cedric

so, um, that is.

Yes. Yes. so Jo and I are very much appreciative of the model you set for. I think that that is something that they are trying to do and that I’m trying to do is create the spaces that we want to see. And so, it’s folks like you who’ve been around for a little bit longer than we have in terms of academic careers, um, have said, set a great sort of bar that we need to try to, to reach.

, One thing that I, that I wanted to know, for our, this is a vast audience that I’m speaking into existence. Dr. E I don’t know if you know this about kind of fledgling podcast, but anyway, there might be folks who are, who are not in academia or aren’t in English departments, or just don’t have a lot of knowledge about comparate in general.

So. I’m wondering how would you describe African-American literacies and hip hop literacies, put another way? What are the distinguishing features of FM literacies and hip hop [00:06:00] literacies, as opposed to any other.

[00:06:04] Dr. E: Oh, wow. , well I think, , one of the things I like to say is that, , literacies are definitely tied to identity. And we don’t think of literacies that way. And I’m, pluralizing it because there, you know, , many, many literacies, there are many, many ways of making meaning of Tran communicating meeting of knowing of being, , and different ways of being in the world were different groups of people, , I think, , for, , black literacies, , they are so many ways of making meaning , communicating patterns, , embodied ways of knowing, and feeling and communicating, that have. Uh, erased or invisibilized by the systemic literacy, because when people think of literacy, they think of one thing, [00:07:00] you know, print and, print literacy as being that is what literacy is.

And it is this systematized way of, of, of communicating. That, , actually is tied to identity, but it’s been standardized. So people don’t see it as being. You know, tied to identity, but it is, and it’s very political and it’s very ideological and I’m just like other literacies are political and ideological, but the, but the systemic literacy is seen as being nonpolitical is neutral, you know, and everybody has access to it and it’s everybody’s and it’s, it represents intellect and, you know, This is how, you know, what you know, and this is how we can all communicate together, but it, , it is a way it’s not the only way.

It’s just the way that it’s empowered. And so we don’t think about the many other ways that [00:08:00] people, , transmit knowledge and communicate and carry down, , ways of being in the world culture, you know, identity history. So for African-Americans that that’s so, you know, like, I mean, you know, everybody, every culture has these, but they’re just, , made a special. Because of the culture, you know, so everybody’s culture has literacies, they’re just different based on who those groups are. So I really like, , thinking about the ways that, for example, African-Americans and, , Jamaicans, and other black diaspora people have had.

Communicate meaning in spaces where they didn’t have power, but how they still humanized themselves by, you know, even things like the way that they could cut their eyes, you know, or, um, make a, a facial [00:09:00] gesture or, all kinds of different movements that people did, , to.

Protect their humanity and the talk back, even if the people didn’t know they were talking back people do these things in spaces where they do have, , more room to, , or more licensed, I should say, to communicate a black identity or, uh, or. to communicate resistance in a black identity. So for example, I remember when, um, uh, oh, Kamala Harris was talking to, uh, was it Mitch McConnell? I can’t remember, but back when the election was going on and he kept cutting her off and she said, I am speaking. And the way she did it, it was like, you know, I’m serving black woman, middle-class shut your mouth and letting me talk. [00:10:00] And we knew, you know, we knew, you know, that,, she was signifying, but at the same time, you know, break bringing Rick as, , Gwendolyn Pugh. , a way to, to create space for yourself. What are some white men is, is, is whitesplaining mansplaining.

[00:10:21] Constance: Yes. I love it. That’s a great example. And I think we’ll put in the show notes, links to your books if people want to know more, but for sure, as. Scholar. I always say, we’re very much, a folksy people, so I’m always quoting, my grandma, just random things.

I’m like, oh, you got to shit or get off the pot. And they’re like, well, what are you talking about? So I’m always

[00:10:42] Dr. E: Yeah.

[00:10:42] Constance: to use those, black vernacular expressions that young folks don’t like, my kids are looking at me giving me the side eye. Right. Trying to figure out what the heck I’m talking about.

[00:10:52] Dr. E: Do you remember when? Um, oh yeah.

I know. Y’all know this one. Cause y’all wasn’t , senator flowers. , [00:11:00] it’s her night flowers or flower? I can’t remember.

[00:11:02] Jo: I think it’s flowers.

[00:11:03] Dr. E: Is it flowers when they were trying to pass the stand your ground and Arkansas, as she, you know, they weren’t like almost ready to vote and she had to bring Rick.

She said, , she said, I have a black son, you know, she came out of the traditional systemic discourse that they are used to hearing in the court because they kept trying to make her, you know, move on with the program. And then she had to break. She had to bring them back and said, have a black son.

And, um, I’m sorry, Senator flowers, blah, blah, blah. And she said, no. And then she went into a black mother discourse. She went into. And then she even asked him once she went off and went there, she said, what you going to do? Shoot me. Like, y’all been shooting her, but she brought it, you know what I mean?

So that. was like, she went into a black mothering

[00:11:57] Constance: Yeah.

[00:11:58] Dr. E: and [00:12:00] trumped her, her. The order of discourse, the authoritative order of discourse they are used to having in that room. And they were able, they shut down the, stand your ground based on her, , you know. bringing rec in that space.

sometimes we need to do with

[00:12:17] Constance: that.

[00:12:18] Dr. E: do sometimes

[00:12:21] Constance: know.

[00:12:22] Dr. E: don’t get it.

[00:12:24] Constance: Yeah, I think, Maxine waters set a good precedent for that, with reclaiming my time and just, elevating the political discourse in the sense of it our own. Right. You’re not going to dictate and when and why is that black women can speak.

So, that’s a great, I forgot about that example. So thank you for bringing that up.

[00:12:41] Dr. E: Yeah.

[00:12:42] Jo: I also love that example. And I think it, it highlights something that is both what’s powerful and dangerous about what we do as a field, as literacy, , as rhetoric, as people who teach English in that the fields that we’re employed by are historically the ones made to exclude these like designed [00:13:00] engineered To deny marginalized communities, their power, right. To strip them of the language practices that affirm their experiences, , that disrupts the systems made to exclude them all of that. , and so when we . Devalue or don’t teach, for example, how black mother discourse can intervene in a setting like that, are also actively, denying folks.

The fact that that rhetorical power exists, right.

[00:13:29] Dr. E: That’s right. You know, somebody was telling me the other week that, John Meg water, uh, Keith Gillyard was telling me about John McWhorter wrote something in response to an NCTE panel that he, uh, was it CCCC?. It might’ve been CCCC because he talked about Asao. you, Inoue?, I hope.

[00:13:54] Jo: Inoue.

[00:13:55] Dr. E: Inoue, and a statement that Asao made about, um, , something similar [00:14:00] to what you just said, but it was something about how

when we teach black students not to use their language. Um, I can’t remember the exact words, but you got to look at Keith Gill. Yard’s blog.

[00:14:12] Jo: Yeah.

[00:14:13] Dr. E: Keith responded to McWhorter Sal on his blog, but, , that there is a point where we have to nuance what we’re talking about because, , sometimes people do, , need to, , or want to code switch

whatever they feel they have to do in a certain situation. And I might not be quoting Keith. Exactly. Right. But check out that blog because it, something about what you said reminded me of his critique of Asao

[00:14:47] Jo: . Yeah. I’ll, I’ll take it out and put it in the show notes. I didn’t know that Keith had a blog, so

[00:14:51] Dr. E: Woo. Yeah.

[00:14:54] Jo: So, looking at this, this whole trajectory of your work from African-American literacies, hip hop, literacies to your own [00:15:00] literacy narrative, to working in the community with the Columbus women and girls Fest.

, something that’s very consistent to me looking at your work is that you’re working with communities in communities and I’m interested in how your understanding of literacy has, or your approach to literacy has changed over time with, with the people that you’ve worked with. , how have these people or , , these experiences shape the work that you do now?

[00:15:26] Dr. E: , definitely. I feel like, =I’ve learned so much from being in those space. About how we are always negotiating white supremacy and, , how we’re all trying to figure out how to be empowered. And, , you know, there are times when. ‘ cause it’s hard. It’s really hard not to, reproduce the whiteness and the white supremacy. And I try to learn more about myself. I learned a lot about myself all the [00:16:00] time from doing this work.

, and I’m just trying to figure out what everybody else, you know, how, how do we overcome. The internalized white supremacy and move forward collectively because so much is always trying to separate us, isolate us. , like you already said, you know, like this, trying to stop us from disrupting the power structure because we need different systems and it’s hard.

It’s really hard not to replicate. Because everywhere we go is based on, you know, says to me white supremacy just about it’s in us, it’s in us because we’ve been, you know, fighting it since, , whenever, historically where ancestrally, you know, and everything. So I think that’s one of the main things that, , I’m thinking about in w you know, like working in community is . , trying to get it rooted from myself, [00:17:00] uprooted from myself. And I’m just trying to focus on, , just learning and loving, trying to love. I know it sounds real. Well, I don’t think it sounds that weird cause because bell hooks used to talk about that all the time. Don’t, you know, the power of love.

, and I’m, I’m trying to learn how to, um, to be more of a servant, you know, because I know some things, but people, else knows some things too,

 

Know? So I just try to stay home. . , I feel a lot of stuff that makes this tries to interrupt what I’m doing.

And it comes from my head from me seeing other stuff That’s going on. You know what I mean? I see a lot of stuff that’s going on and I just, I try to not focus on that. I try not to focus on that and try to just do what I feel. God, let me live to do,

[00:17:54] Jo: Hm.

[00:17:55] Dr. E: know that a messy answer to your sophisticated [00:18:00] questions about what am I learning about literacy. No in the community, but Mo you know, I guess it’s another way of saying I’m holding space for myself and people in the community, because I learned in those spaces how to be a better servant and also at the same time to use the resources that I, whatever resources I have, you know, and bring that to the community and, , To doing what I think God let me live to do.

[00:18:34] Constance: Yeah.

[00:18:34] Jo: that’s a beautiful answer for a very messy topic, necessarily literacy. , and I wanna, I want to pause with what you said. I don’t think, I don’t think talking about love is weird. I think the way that the academy is usually structured is it’s it it’s evacuated of emotion. Right? It’s disciplined out of us.

We’re not supposed to talk about things like care. Because it would prevent you from thinking differently about this space and the fact that there are some people who experienced [00:19:00] traditional classrooms as, as spaces of suffering, as spaces of trauma, and to move through that differently, we have to think about care.

We have to think about, I prioritize the people in this room more than I do the sort of paradigms it was created to discipline, you know? , and, and how would I move differently if the first thing I prioritized was care for these people.

[00:19:21] Constance: Right. Yeah. And that, wasn’t a say, it’s not a messy answer. It’s a true answer. It’s a real answer. So we appreciate that. You bring your authentic self to this conversation and everything you do. Um, So my question, this is all right. Let me give some context that when Jo sent your list of accomplishments, like for a woman who does.

Too many things. I, again, I was completely overwhelmed and exhausted, but I was quickly enamored with the blues performances and I had forgotten about your performances. And, one of the reasons I’m especially interested other than the fact that they were really [00:20:00] great performances is that, Some of my research is about blues women.

And then the second manuscript, whenever I finished this manuscript is going to be about black women’s humor. And they will probably be, a chapter about blues women’s humor. And, one of the pieces that she performed was so hilarious and I thought, or the lyrics where the performance was, was it was, oh shoot.

Now I’m going blank on the name.

[00:20:20] Dr. E: Was it.

[00:20:22] Constance: Yes, it was that’s exactly what it was that it was, let me clear my throat. So I wondered one, you know, do you write your own lyrics? That was one question. And then I saw I came across the tiny desk, so, okay, awesome. And then I was wondering about the, how the universe, how the tiny desk series, I guess, for the university came about.

Did they pitch it to you? Did you come to them? how did that, know, how, how did that come about? What’s that.

[00:20:46] Dr. E: that you did? Did you name TEDx or

did you mean this.

[00:20:49] Constance: the TEDx that there was a tiny desk performance. Um, I think the song was pandemic and it was sort of similar to

[00:20:55] Dr. E: Oh, I see why you said the university. I

[00:20:58] Constance: okay.

[00:20:58] Dr. E: because [00:21:00] the Wexner, so the Ohio state university Wexner center they had a series called. Dang, I forgot what it was called, but it was, it was for original music they said, do you have any material that you’ve never performed anywhere before that’s new?

And I was working on those songs then. So, um, they were like, oh great. You’d be great for the series. That’s how I wound up doing pandemic for the center. Cause it was right in the middle of the pandemic too. I mean we still in the pandemic, even though people try to act like It’s over

[00:21:33] Constance: as true. This is true.

[00:21:36] Dr. E: but the reason why I got confused is because you said tiny desk, because I also performed that, that song as a tiny desk song entry.

So to me, the tiny desk entry is separate from the Wexner center. That’s why I was getting confused on.

[00:21:53] Constance: Oh, I see. I think I was on your YouTube page, it looked very similar to the NPR tiny desk series. And so it had tiny desk written [00:22:00] on that. So I might’ve seen your entry piece, maybe that was it. Um,

[00:22:03] Dr. E: Yep. Yep. Yep. And I also did it, uh, different, um, YouTube. For the Wexner center. That was what, those same songs.

[00:22:11] Constance: Yeah. You have a, you have an impressive, uh, social media. Uh, you know, I can’t keep up, but.

[00:22:16] Dr. E: Just glad that you feel that way, because I feel that I’m not as active as I would like to be on social media because people are putting content out there every day. And I just like, Ooh, I can’t do the every day thing. You know, that’s a lot.

[00:22:32] Jo: I don’t, I don’t know that I have the energy for that I’ve been told, right? Like that as academics, you should have more of a public

[00:22:40] Dr. E: Yeah,

[00:22:40] Jo: personality, something, I don’t know. Um, I, finally got a Twitter, constant snows, but I don’t actually know what to do in that space.

[00:22:47] Dr. E: I know I’m not that great on Twitter either, but.

[00:22:51] Constance: You’ve got to get those. Um, there are these apps or things where people sing the people that are very prolific. I suspect they are sinking their stuff and pushing [00:23:00] it out to all the things simultaneously. And

[00:23:04] Dr. E: Yeah.

[00:23:04] Constance: don’t have time for that, but, yeah. I wasn’t really just being a fan girl and then whatever, get around to the second project maybe you’ll grant me an interview

[00:23:11] Dr. E: maybe of course, since

[00:23:15] Jo: I would love to see that, doctor, I did. I want to ask you what you’re working on right now.

[00:23:21] Dr. E: I am working on a book called reading the world with black girls, and I have been trying to work on this. For a long time. I’ve been trying to work on this book since about 2015. So it’s an incorporation it’s changing, you know, because I’ve had so much time to, think about it. So I had the after-school club from 2010 to 2015. And, um, it was performance art arts-based, , club, um, social literacies approach to, you know, learning about what it means to be a black woman and [00:24:00] girl like Inc you know, querying.

Cause we’re trying to figure it out. We’re all trying to figure it out. You know, what does it mean to be a black woman or a girl? And how are we, how are we represented to ourselves? How do we think about, I said. and all of these things. So, , I used, short pieces of literature, hip hop videos, viral videos of, you know, different things that, we’re about black women or girls, And popular, you know, in the public sphere.

what else? Uh, we wrote, we, we drew we’ve created art. , we analyzed videos. We did a lot of things. You’re not together with those middle school girls. I was really at first, you know, thinking that this book would be. I mean, in a way it is in a way this book is like theorizing about, you know, black girls, black women, gender expansive, youth of color and people of color, and [00:25:00] literacy. It is still that, but it’s, um, I’ve learned so much since 2010 and you know, like the stuff that I felt that I was going right when the club ended in 2015 and I’ve written some of that stuff, like I’ve published like articles, some, you know, or chapters from some of that work. Uh, but it’s changing now because I’m changing.

And so the book is Like looking at the stories of some of the girls who were in the club and things that I was learning, like, you know, on the ground at that time about, you know, the sexual abuse to prison pipeline or the, you know, the school to prison pipeline and. How the, bisexual and queer in the club were being erased.

And even w even me racing them, right. Even me racing them because there was nothing there to center their identities, [00:26:00] you know? So I’m, I’m learning, you know, about, all this white supremacy and me and all of the, , homophobia in me, even though I didn’t see myself as homophobic. cause I thought I knew I got queer friends, trans women, but I didn’t realize, you know, you still homophobic if you not centering people, you know what I mean? And I didn’t know what to do about it. , because of the space that I was in, in that afterschool club. That’s another reason why it’s hard for me to be. Involved with schools because you know, that was an afterschool club. And the principal who we started that club with loved me, trusted me, gave me the range to do whatever I wanted to do, but it was still, a space where, you know, parents telling me what they [00:27:00] wanted. And then my principal left and a new principal came he was telling me what he wanted. You know, it was like, getting so much different, , you know, from different forces, from different ways that I didn’t know how to handle

[00:27:15] Jo: Um,

[00:27:16] Dr. E: you know?

And so, uh, I, I can look back on some of that stuff and say, wow, you know, I did a disservice to some of those girls. I can look back on that. And I’m, so I’m talking about, you know, these things, some of these things that I learned about being in that space, and even though all those kids love me and I love them, I still wish I could have done better by now all of them in different ways.

But yeah, the book is turning into a lot of different stuff that wasn’t there before.

[00:27:48] Jo: Thank you for sharing all of that. And I wanted to highlight something really beautiful about that moment when you were talking about your racer and the fact that a reshare happens, often, not because we actively chose to do something, but because we didn’t [00:28:00] do something and that that’s the default, right?

It’s not that we thought anything. Particularly malignant in our hearts or anything but that because white supremacy functions, the way that it functions it, all it takes is for us not to notice in order

[00:28:14] Dr. E: Yes.

[00:28:15] Jo: going. And the way that you are reflexive about that and actively responding to what you’re hearing from these girls is, is actually quite remarkable.

[00:28:26] Dr. E: Well, a lot of it comes from looking back at those videos too.

You know what I mean? You can look back looking back at them. wasn’t even like when I have a bad performance to myself, you know, I always want to give, you know, everything. And so when I look back at some of my performances, I don’t like them.

hard for me to watch myself. was hard for me to watch some of those videos

[00:28:49] Jo: Yeah.

[00:28:51] Dr. E: I didn’t know how to handle something. You know what I mean? And I didn’t, use the space the way that I could have used it even to even, [00:29:00] undermine the constraints that I was under. I could have undermined more than that.

[00:29:07] Constance: Yeah, that’s a hard space to be in too, though. So my next question actually is about the research and it’s the segue,

it’s kind of a, follow-up I’m really interested since the project, has been and the work since 2015, I don’t know. If you’re still on some of the content, the reason I’m asking is

[00:29:24] Dr. E: I am.

[00:29:25] Constance: Okay. Cause I wonder have you either looked at, or considered looking at, black mother daughter Tik TOK performances?

Cause I find those to be really interesting in terms of, internal family therapies in terms of community building in terms of, and it may not be, within the scope of your research, but I find those fascinating, right? I often contemplate if I had more rhythm, I would do them with my daughters, but thinking about.

Ways to strengthen our relationship, but also how this generation is really using social media as an extension of their identity.

[00:29:59] Dr. E: I [00:30:00] liked that. I liked that. It’s definitely something I want to look at. Maybe even just to use it in my.

Cause that’s, that’s the way I’ve learned this through teaching and talking with my students and just putting it out there and saying what’s out there,

you know?

[00:30:13] Constance: absolutely it’s sometimes it goes over, well, I have a very student centered classroom where sometimes it seems like there is no method to the madness, but in fact there is, but it’s kind of like, did y’all see, blah, blah, blah.

What is y’all think? Or tell me about this new trends. So yeah.

[00:30:29] Dr. E: You learn so much that way to just be, to just be willing to be a learner in that space,

[00:30:35] Constance: Well, definitely if you have any, space to reflect on it, it might be interesting. But if not, I often think I’ll get to it, but of course I won’t. It’s like number 20 on my list. know, that you, are so tight on time, Jo. That was the brains of this operation.

I usually ask the fun questions. I want to know, especially with you having so many. Professional responsibilities. What are you enjoy doing for fun? What are you bingeing or reading? Like Netflix, audio book, [00:31:00] anything?

Uh,

[00:31:00] Dr. E: wow. For fun. You know what for fun? I just like to listen to music a lot. I love listening to music. I was just listening to some old Stevie wonder stuff yesterday. Cause I do have a show coming up. It’s not until September, but I want to sing at least one Stevie wonder song. Stevie wonder is my dude.

I love Stevie wonder doubt in my spirit. Uh,

also I’ve been listening to because our, Um,

so there’s, you know, there’s a lot of fun mixed in with my work too. So we’re starting a new mentoring initiative as a part of the Columbus women and girls path, and it’s performance are spaced. And so, it’s with middle school girls , to high school, but I think most of the people in it are going to be middle school kids, and we’re doing it with the, local community center.

And, uh, I’ve been trying to find videos of [00:32:00] young performers, organic performances, more so than people who’ve been, know, trained and, you know, not that kind of organic talent role. And so, cause I want to show it to the kids in the club. And so I’ve been running across these young people who have. Raw talent, know, just raw talent. And so I’ve been watching those and that’s been really fun. , next week, , I gave my birthday present to myself. My birthday was May 9th

A thing that I’ve gotten from my friend, Judy, Dr. Judy Austin, here in Columbus. Judy her birthday.

[00:32:47] Constance: Yeah,

[00:32:47] Dr. E: I will start making the whole, the whole month of may is my birthday. So next week I’m going to Atlanta by myself and I’m going to hear one of my favorite independent. [00:33:00] So artists I’m saying her name is Sally Smith. a wonderful vocalist. A very brilliant black woman. I follow her on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram.

And she always has these really profound, authentic things to say about things that are going on in the public right now, you know, as well as she travels around the world with this trumpet player Chris Brody. And she’s just, you know, like she’s one of these artists who a lot of people may not know who she is.

But she is bad as heck. is so phenomenal. so I’m so excited to go to her show next week. I’m just going to lay up in my hotel room. I did not go to her show one day. Yeah. And I might read I, my daughter just bought me. of my daughters bought me, Davis memoir. So I’m going to read that property while I’m in my room and I’m going to just eat anything I want.

And. do whatever I want for my [00:34:00] birthday by myself.

[00:34:01] Constance: Woo. That sounds wonderful. I’m relocating to Atlanta this summer. I accepted a position at Georgia state. So the next time you are down that way you will have to, and I actually will be there the week after next, I think.

But, we’ll get the artist’s info from you so we can link her stuff in the show notes. And I definitely want to check her her out because yeah,

[00:34:22] Dr. E: my God,

[00:34:23] Constance: missed the,

thank you. I

[00:34:25] Dr. E: going to be new best friends.

[00:34:28] Constance: oh yeah, girl. I just missed the Patti LaBelle concert and I’m very upset about better our catcher next go around.

It’s okay.

[00:34:37] Dr. E: my goodness. Wow. Was so fun to talk to y’all we got do it again.

[00:34:42] Jo: I know I promised I’d get you out of here on time, so thank you so much for making time for us.

[00:34:47] Dr. E: I love y’all so much.

Thank you, Jo. Always feel good thank you, Constance. This is my new best friend.

[00:34:54] Constance: I know it, right. Is there any information in terms of social media, Twitter, where people can find [00:35:00] you,

[00:35:00] Dr. E: Yes, I’m on. I am the inspirational soul. Well inspirational soul queen on Instagram. doctor. E Richardson on Facebook. and I’m doctor E on Facebook as well. So

[00:35:17] Jo: Just to mix it up a little

bit.

[00:35:18] Dr. E: to mix it up a little bit.

[00:35:21] Constance: Well,

[00:35:21] Jo: Thank you so much.

[00:35:22] Constance: you so much for your time today.

[00:35:25] Dr. E: it was my pleasure.