Episode 37: In Solidarity and Community

Teaching Artistry with Courtney J. Boddie

Hey, listeners! It’s our last episode of 2020 and, unlike the majority of this turbulent year, this episode is fire! The overarching question of this episode, which features both Khalia Davis and Quanice Floyd, is: “What does a liberated and racially just world look like?” And how do our guests answer this question? Well, you'll have to listen to Episode 37: “In Solidarity and Community”! First, Courtney sits down for a chat with Khalia Davis, a multidisciplinary artist and the newly-appointed Artistic Director of Bay Area Children’s Theater, to discuss the importance of representation and creating a dialogue for kids and their families about recognizing and confronting racism. The focus of much of their conversation is Khalia’s piece, “A Kids Play About Racism,” a play for young audiences based on Jelani Memory’s, “A Kids Book About Racism.” Khalia, who sees the arts as a means of amplifying and empowering marginalized communities, hopes that, ultimately, people who look like her will cease to question their sense of belonging within the arts. Up next, we have Quanice Floyd. “Anti-racism isn’t just a lens” is one of the sharpest, most pointed quotes from Courtney’s conversation with Quanice, and discussing what highlights the fear and hope that comes with having these very visceral conversations about race, racism and anti-racist practices. Floyd is a self-proclaimed “rebellious one” who pushes social constructs out of the way in order to fight both inside and outside the classroom and create meaningful arts learning for every kid. Her philosophy is that learning should be relatable and responsive and that our current model, steeped in white supremacy, doesn’t serve every student. And how does she do this? Listen to find out!