Street Genius Radio is a space for entrepreneurs of color to discuss the challenges that are unique to people of color; as well as a space for low-income people of color to get on the job training in radio and video production. Street Genius had the opportunity to sit down with Jazmine Budah; who is here to talk about her process and experiences that eventually led to her writing the book “Mothering through Pain, and Suffering through Silence”.
Ini knows Jazmine Boudah from her work, and completion, at the Josie R. Johnson Leadership Academy. Both are graduates of the program, which focuses on training designed to meet the cultural, personal, civic and professional development needs of young African-American entrepreneurs. If you want to learn more about the program, be sure to visit http://aalftc.org. Other than being a proud author and mother, she also heads a group entitled Black Lotus Mothers, which Jazmine describes on their website as, “A mindset and a movement. We are breaking the silence and breaking the cycle with us and our children.” Through her difficult journey enduring the ups and downs of her own pregnancy, Jazmine found her passion. She was sick and tired of seeing woman of color (primarily black woman) disrespected and largely ignored by the medical field, especially when it came to the birthing process. She’s been an all-natural birth advocate since she carried her first child, and works as a Doula, which is like a midwife who focuses on preparing the mother for the birthing process and ensuring that’s she is as calm and prepared as possible to bring healthy life into this world, if at all possible, without the use of drugs or an Epidural. Three weeks after being diagnosed with Post-partum depression, Jazmine was let go from her position with Teach for America, as their Director of Summer Residency Program. Since then, Ms. Boudah has successfully helped deliver 12 happy babies as a Doula, most of them being all natural, at home births. Ini and Jazmine go on to talk about how society is often quick to assume that black women are capable of tolerating, or accepting, more pain and anguish then the average women. Often times, these pretenses bleed into the medical field and how so called “medical professionals” talk to and treat people. Ms. Budah stresses the importance of listening to your body and what it needs, as well as setting aside plenty of time for exercise and healthy eating. Which are both equally important while carrying or when trying to conceive. The importance of creating a space where your culture, the birthing process, and your newborn child will be respected is Jasmines’ main focus and passion. She supports all of her clients whole heartedly, and presses no judgment, should one of them opt or request an Epidural at any point during the pregnancy. Jasmine is currently fundraising to obtain her certification as a doula. This certification will allow low income women to have a doula which is paid for by insurance, rather than out of pocket. You can follow Jasmine on: Instagram: @BlackLotusMothers http://blacklotusmothers.org/ubuntu-minneapolis/ Street Genius Radio is run by volunteers in a community run station. If you would like to support Street Genius Radio Show, and help us hire more interns to produce our program, you can support us on Patreon.
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Street Genius Radio is a space for entrepreneurs of color to discuss the challenges that are unique to people of color; as well as a space for low-income people of color to get on the job training in radio and video production. Street Genius had the opportunity to sit down with Andrew McGlory; a career architect who owns his own company entitled Architect McGlory. Ini starts off the interview with asking Mr. McGlory about his educational background and what it was like attending a predominantly white university as a black man in the late 60s. As a freshman at the University of Illinois in 1969, Andrew was one of seven African American men at University of Illinois’ architecture program. Of those 7, only 3 graduated, and Mr. McGlory attributes much of his success in school with having ample experience growing up and working in primarily white communities where. He goes on to talk about some of the professors that he had that either had it out for him or seriously doubted his success. But that was fine with him, having he had had plenty of experience by that time with being doubted and underestimated. Mr. McGlory drew parallels between his experiences during and after college with the popular Ralph Ellison Novel, “Invisible Man”. Which catalogs the journey of a successful black graduate while he unsuccessfully looks for a position in his field. To his dismay, the protagonist later learns, thanks to a potential employer, that what he thought was a positive letter of recommendation was in reality a derogatory and racist statement persuading the intended reader not to hire him on account of his race alone. We then touched on the close relationship between art, math, and science and how Western societies have the tendency to separate art from the other two for purpose of categorizing as an applied art, where you are designing for people, rather than creating something for the sole purpose of functionality. Mr. McElroy goes on to mention that he had terrific grades in both math and science but would have appreciated the option to incorporate more art classes into his schooling, which he felt would have helped him, and others, develop into a better architect. McGlory also spoke in depth about a sociology class that he took as a freshman, which he thoroughly enjoyed until finding out that the majority of his professors were keeping private journals cataloging his successes and failures as a student and a developing human being. In this report, He noticed that none of his Science or math professors, the classes he excelled in, had written very much about him; but when it came to his psychology or sociology professors, they couldn’t seem to write enough. Comments in regards to how his “urban background” affected him negatively and one professor even went as far to call him “ culturally deprived” based on the fact that he was, in the professors’ words, from a “ghetto background”. One of the most interesting and stories that we heard during our interview was an instance where Mr. McGlory found out through one of his classmates that worked in the office that his sociology professor had been monitoring him specifically throughout the year. His trusted fellow classmate managed to snag his file before it was disposed of. McGlory spoke at length about the difficulties in founding, and funding, The Association of Black Architectural Student Association (BASA), & it’s scholarship fund. He was closely involved with Project 500, which is a program that facilitated 500 black youth for a hands on experience at a college or university. During his time with the organization, Mr. McGlory was denied funding for the University itself and was forced to look elsewhere. Through networking over the years he found a friend in the famous African-American premier architect John Batousie who generously donated enough to cover the cost. Further proving that if you want something done, you have to go out and get it for yourself through hard work and sometimes pulling on the resources around you and your community at large. Street Genius Radio is run by volunteers in a community run station. If you would like to support Street Genius Radio Show, and help us hire more interns to produce our program, you can support us on Patreon. Street Genius Radio is a space for entrepreneurs of color to discuss the challenges that are unique to people of color; as well as a space for low-income people of color to get on the job training in Web
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I've always been very aware of microphones , & how they are used. The responsibility one has when they grab the mic . Which voices in our communities are amplified, and which ones are on mute. This show creates opportunities for untraditional entrepreneurs to share knowledge, & support the startup journey. Our program is a work training social venture, and will provide training & job opportunities for blacks in tech. "When I reach $1,500 per month, I’ll add an additional intern to our show. This will allow me to give them a liveable wage while they continue their education in college."
AuthorIni Augustine Archives
April 2018
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