Buckle up for this second half of the conversation. In this episode, !Kona and Parker bring us into the “big house”, and share their experiences working at the city of Vancouver. This conversation was not an easy one to have, nor was deciding to upload a choice that was made lightly. It is still the season of the reckoning, but we have to be really honest about the precarity these calls to accountability can have on the Black bodies within these institutions. So please, grab a snack, maybe a fri...
May 31, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 13
In part one of this chat with !Kona and Parker Johnson, they discuss anti-Asian racism, Black and White America, and coalition building across margins. It’s always a joy to be in conversation with Parker, and even more so to listen to him and !Kona bounce ideas and observations off one another. Intergenerational learning and teaching has always been at the top of our values list here at BlackChat and so it’s a real blessing to share this dialogue with all of you! Stay tuned for part two of this ...
May 31, 2021•50 min•Ep. 12
Firstly, did y’all catch that Oprah interview? I 10/10 recommend if you got the time. In this week’s episode, Morgan is joined by her LITERAL sibling, Ryanna ! And playwright (amongst other great things,) Lili Robinson ! And we talk about being mixed and pick it apart and confront it. All of us light-brites need to actually have conversations with each other and take feedback from darker-skinned folks without being defensive. Pick apart your defensiveness. That’s white supremacy. Just listen to ...
Mar 27, 2021•2 hr 42 min•Ep. 11
Grab your popcorn and drink of choice, because this week, we are bringing the world of cinema to the living room. I, (Morgan) am really stoked for this interview. Barbara is like an auntie to me. She was I thiiink the first Black person I met in Vancouver who wasn’t !Kona. We celebrate holidays and cry at elections in her house, before the Covid. It’s been a long, long time coming, to have the lovely Barbara Chirinos on BlackChat the Podcast. Barbara is an Independent Curator and Producer. She i...
Mar 13, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 10
Oh, how good it feels to be back! 2021! After a 6 month+ hiatus, BlackChat the Podcast is back with so many amazing special guests, and pull apart topics to keep us all going and “gathered” during these (still) trying times. This week, Morgan is joined by special guest; Nya Lewis . Artist, Curator, Tkoronto transplant, Queer bae of your dreams, Style icon… What ISN’T Nya Lewis?! Join the virtual living room, grab a snack and a bevy, and listen in as we chat about past and present creative projec...
Feb 27, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 9
Recorded March 30, 2020 at 9:21 PM. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Samwel Uko. Tony McDade. George Floyd. Regis Korchinski-Paquet. #saytheirnames This is only 6 of 80+ Black bodies murdered at the hands of police across North America, between Jan-May 2020. Today marks day 5 of protests in cities across North America taking the streets demanding murder charges against all 4 officers involved in the death of George Floyd, and justice for all Black lives that are killed by the hands of white suprem...
May 31, 2020•2 hr 47 min•Ep. 8
The conversation in this episode was recorded on February 23. *This episode features ASMR of us all eating a delicious meal together. Sorry and You’re welcome* The militarization of transit. Black and Indigenous relations and connections. Genetic testing. These are some of the conversations Morgan and !Kona had with Desmond Cole , Simone , and Parker Johnson . Join us in our chat over dinner. Hear Desmond shares parts of his new book “The Skin We’re In”, which was at the time of this recording n...
Apr 02, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 7
This episode was recorded at 11:15am on Saturday, January 11th, 2020 on the unceded territories of the Kwikwetlem First Nation, of Sto:lo Coast Salish Peoples. We were invited to West Coast Bound, a Canadian conference that examines sexuality, power, and aros. Metro Vancouver Kink, the organizing board for this conference, asked BlackChat to host a gathering with the other Black presenters, to discuss the intersections of Blackness and kink. "What is it to be Kinky While Black? Join BlackC...
Mar 19, 2020•2 hr 33 min•Ep. 6
This week on BlackChat, we sat down with Dr. OmiSoore Dryden. Long time friend of !Kona, "adopted" auntie of Morgan, Dr. Dryden is the James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies in the Faculty of Medicine and an associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at Dalhousie University. She is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research topics include, but are not limited to; Black Health Equity, Black Feminist/Black Queer Diasporic Analytics, Anti-black racism and...
Mar 05, 2020•2 hr•Ep. 5
How do we go about creating the conditions that would allow people to invest in each other's survival? On this episode of BlackChat, !Kona and Morgan discuss the recent actions and demonstrations held by land and water defenders on Coast Salish territory (Greater Vancouver Area). As a response to the RCMP raid on the Unist’ot’en camp and Wet’suwet’en lands, Indigenous youth and supporters have stood up against colonial violence and we want to talk about what that looks like. We look at the timel...
Feb 20, 2020•2 hr•Ep. 4
Welcome back to part two of our interview with the lovely Jillian Christmas. In this second half, we cover topics including self-care, the sacredness of locs, and the development and inspiration for Jillian's forthcoming book, The Gospel of Breaking. “Writer. Seeker. Traveling Circus.", Jillian is a queer, Black writer living on the unceded territories Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, where she served for six years ...
Feb 06, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 3
Join us as we sit with our chosen family and local artist, Jillian Christmas. In part one, we talk about music and muscle memory, the intersections of Blackness and poetry, and her forthcoming book, The Gospel of Breaking. Stay tuned for part two, which drops February 6th. “Writer. Seeker. Traveling Circus.", Jillian is a queer, Black writer living on the unceded territories Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, wh...
Jan 23, 2020•49 min•Ep. 2
Welcome folx! Thank you for joining us in the living room. This is our first episode! Wow! How did this even happen? Grab a beverage and get comfortable. In this first episode, we introduce ourselves, the land we're on, and the work we're doing. We also ask the question; what does intergenerational work look like to you? How does/doesn't it show up in your life? Come bask in the laughter. Sit in the ponder. Awe at our intergenerational magic... Stay tuned until the end to find out where we're ta...
Jan 08, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 1
