Welcome to SpeakUP! with Elton Brown and Rita Burke!
I am absolutely delighted. To present one of the people that I describe as a silent giant in her community, Silent giant, because she has made so much contribution over the years since I've known her. And here is how she describes herself. She says that she's an African woman who was born in South America and she grew up in an African centered community.
Where the elders told stories about our African ancestors and our culture before the Holocaust, before the African Holocaust, Her elders, she says, were Pan-Africanist and that has greatly influenced every area of her life. It has informed her activism, her story, storytelling, and she also says that she hosts two radio programs. She writes regular columns for the Shared newspaper, which is published online.
She's an active blogger and she was very active in various groups, including the Black Action Defense Committee, the Organization of Parents of Black Children and Girl Guides of Canada. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to a woman that I have a lot of respect and honor for Murphy Brown!
Thank you, Rita.
I am so glad that you are able to give us time to have a conversation with you, get to know you a little better. You have a blog called Words from Murphy Brown. I went to your blog looking to see what you talk about. What inspired you to provide the world with your perspective about the monarchy on your blog? I suspect that there is a fascination for information about the monarchy. What drew your interest to this topic? The British monarchy 20 20 22. The end?
I was born in what was then British Guyana because I was born before, May 23rd, 1966 when the country became Guyana, and during my childhood, I would go to visit my grandparents and they had these trunks full of magazines where I was fascinated by these magazines even before I could read. And there were pictures in some of them of the British coronation. I remember re looking at these pictures and I was fascinated, especially with Queen Salote of Tonga.
She was this very tall African woman who was the queen of Tonga, and then there were pictures of the British royal family. Growing up I occasionally heard. From my elders about how the British had enslaved our ancestors, the dreadful things that were done to us to make the British rich, and the fact that those riches are displayed by this family. Who in my opinion, are on welfare because. They do not work. What they have on display. It's inherited riches!
Murphy, very fascinating. You could write the book about that, can't you? Very fascinating. I've heard that perspective as well from other people. Let me move on to something you said in your bio. You said a quotation that guides my life. Is that you are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Could you expand on that for us please?
As an African woman living in North America, It seems that our lives are restricted and we are expected to behave in a way where we have to hide ourselves to make other people comfortable, and this quotation guides my life because. I am a child of the universe. It doesn't matter whether I travel to Italy or to the United States or any place where white people are in the majority. I am a child of the universe and I have a right to be here.
I like that Murphy because in one of my descriptions of my new book called I Like Being Me, I talked about the importance of children being cherished and honored, and celebrated just because they exist. So that ties into that and I love it. Thank you.
You have a fascinating background and I noticed that you are a member of the Black Acts Action Defense Committee (BATS), and this organization has been around for a while. This organization helps individuals who feel that they've been treated badly by the police. What situations have you been involved with as a member of this organization?
Let me first say I am no longer an active member of that scene. But when I was a member, I took part in demonstrations in meetings at Bat's headquarters, if I could call it that, on St. Claire Avenue East and Dudley Laws, who was one of the founders, was very influential in my activism here in Toronto because if something happened at a school or a parent would call and ask a member of the organization of parents of black children to accompany them to a meeting.
I would invariably call Dudley to discuss that event with him and get his advice. I have been to So many places with Dudley in Toronto and outside of Toronto. I remember when a young African Guyanese man was killed. He was beaten to death on Victoria Day many years ago, and that affected me because this young man was born. On the quarantine in the area where my father was from, and we went all the way out there to where this happened and held a demonstration.
Every week we would be out there and eventually the police had to investigate and arrest those white men who killed that young man.
Murphy. Kudos. Kudos to you. Elton. I told you she was a silent giant, didn't I?
Yes, you did.
Demonstrating that to us today, Murphy, Let me turn her, gaze her attention a little bit to something else. I want to know that if you wrote a book about your life, what would you call?
You find out. I you said that question to me and I thought long and a hard and I came up with two answers. The first one, big sister, glorious one, because. I'm the eldest grandchild for my I'm the eldest child for my parents and the eldest grandchild for my mom's parents. not my dad because my dad was the last child for his parents. So of course he had many nieces and nephews before I was born.
And as big sister glorious one, my parents gave me the authority to discipline my younger siblings, and even as adults, they told me how upset they used to be with me when we were children and my parents had to go out somewhere and I was in charge. Boy, I wheeled that authority in that!
So you've been a leader for quite some time, eh,
Yes! And of course the other the other title that I came up with for a book was Desta, which is where I got that quote from Your Child of the Universe. No less than the trees and the Stars. You have a right to be here. So those were the two titles I came up with for if I wrote a book of my life, what the title would be.
Do you have any unusual habits that you chuckle about? For me, I do not drink mlik. out of anything but a glass, it has to be a glass cup jar, it has to be glass or I won't drink milk. So that's just one of my strange habits. Can you give us one of yours?
I not sure that I have any. Strange habits. I know that I cannot go to sleep with dishes in the sink. I don't know if that's a strange habit. I cannot do it. Even if I'm tired and I forget and I go inside, I cannot go to sleep. I will remember, oh my goodness, I left a plate or a cup or something in the sink and I have to pop up on a run in the kitchen and wash that item.
Murphy obsessive Compulsive Behavior. Did you know that? Did you know that you had that issue? Did you need to deal with?
Wow. I didn't know that.
Every tract That's very funny.
Oh, okay.
I've known you for over two decades, as you said in your bio and as you've described to us, you have been absolutely passionately, aggressively. Involved in our community. Murphy, if you give so much regardless of where you need to be able to take care of self. As a person who's been steeped in healthcare, I believe very strongly in self care. So tell us, speak. Tell us Murphy. And this may be a trick question. How do you show kindness to Murphy?
I think I show kindness to myself by indulgence Sometimes I love flowers, so I would buy myself flowers. I would buy myself a favorite book. But if it's too. I would go and borrow it from the library. Right now I have the Long Road Home on Blackness and Belonging by Deborah Tho. A fascinating read reader. Fascinating read, and. I would buy my favorite fruit, which changes from year to year.
It would be papa one year strawberries right now it's what we and Guyana call Tom Run, but it's Tamarin here in North America, but I still call it Tom Bruns. Murphy must have her way,
Yeah. And sometimes I dress up and go for a walk. Not recently, not in the past three years, but sometimes I just dress up and go for a walk or a bus ride. As I said, not recently.
So what do you like to do in your spare time, I know that still contribute to, the online newspaper, which I'm sure you enjoy. Can you tell me one article that you contribute that was controversial?
Oh, wow! There have been a few. There have been a few. I remember once I wrote about an African American man who was running for president, how would I know that this man reads the Share? Listen this man contacted me and he blasted me. I wish I could remember his name, Herman something. Anyway, I was in shock. My article about him was not flattering because I think he Murphy, I think it was a forerunner of Kanye West. Okay. And Whoa. The man, Oh he was not happy. I know that.
I have written about slavery in Canada and people who apparently did not know that there was slavery in Canada were practically foaming out the mouth. That never happened here. Yes.
I wanna go back to the black gentleman that was running for president and he more or less blasted you for your un-complimentary article!
Wish I could remember his name. And this man was well educated. I think he went to one of the HBCUs, did he? I cannot remember. I wish I could remember his name.
Once that man blasted you and it sounds like all guns were a blazing. Did that in any way stop you from writing your truth? Oh, no. Oh, no. As long. The publisher of Share will publish what I have written. I will continue and I also publish my articles on my blog because some of the articles that I've written and that were published in Share. I cannot find them in the archives, so I'm glad that I did publish them on my blog because I can go back there and find them.
So Murphy, I don't have words to thank you for being part of this podcast. As I've admired your activism. I've admired your writings. I've admired your truth. I've admired your storytelling because you are an amazing, masterful storyteller. But I wanna thank you especially for helping us to focus on our overarching mission, which is to inspire. Educate and inform our community, but more than anything else, to wake up those sleeping silent giants like Murphy Brown.
And so I thank you sincerity for honoring us with your presence today. Thank you so much!
Rita, it was a pleasure to speak with you and Elton Brown. And I remember the man's name. His name was Harmon Kane.
Now that you remembered his name. This podcast will be all over the internet. Maybe you'll get another call from the gentleman.
I hope not!
Maybe we should invite him to be a whole a guest.
Yeah. There you go. Thank you so much. Murphy. We really. Having this conversation with you and your company, and hopefully in the future that we'll have an opportunity to have another conversation on SpeakUP!
Oh, I hope so. I look forward to that
All right. Bye
bye. Okay. Bye bye. And thank you.
If you would like to contact our guest, Murphy Browne. Please send your contact information to the attention of Murphy Browne, to speakup@speakuppodcast.ca. Rita, and her husband, Sam Burke have written an eloquent children's book titled. I Like Being Me. The book will continue to build your child or someone, you know, confidence. If you have questions about the book or would like to request a copy. Please send your request to info@speakuppodcast.ca Thank you!