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Black Creative Healing
By Black Creative Healing
Learn more and access additional resources at www.BlackCreativeHealing.com!
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Black Creative HealingSep 22, 2020
![Season 4 Finale! Adenike & Natasha Reflect](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
Season 4 Finale! Adenike & Natasha Reflect
Natasha and Adenike take a crucial moment to pause together and reflect on the past Season of Black Creative Healing, which - thanks to our new, shorter episodes model - has now spanned 15 episodes!
We review the trajectory from the first few episodes of BCH Live through our early "HJ Bytes" discussions with Nsamu Moonga, which led to the phenomenal Healing Justice in Music Therapy Event that has taken up the last few episodes, and all the arts based reflections and events that have happened between and beyond the podcast space. We affirm each other and the importance of the time we're spending building community both through and beyond the podcast, particularly with our community spaces in Patreon & Discord, and re-commit to the work of tending to those spaces as we take a break from the podcast.
What comes next is anyone's guess, but we know it's gonna be amazing! Definitely stay tuned to our website (blackcreativehealing.com), Eventbrite and social media spaces for all the latest from us! Because as the podcast pauses, the events will be picking up all summer long! So definitely stay connected if you can! We continue to be grateful for the ongoing support of our community.
Access the interactive transcript for this episode by clicking here: https://share.descript.com/view/SrK86xN2Uzg
![HJ in MT (Part 4): Dissonance, Identity & Ritual](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1684420116753-26cbdd3ae5183.jpg)
HJ in MT (Part 4): Dissonance, Identity & Ritual
We are excited to share the conclusion of our healing justice in music therapy conversation that was held March 30th, 2023 between your hosts (Natasha & Adenike), Marisol Norris and Nsamu Moonga, Black music therapists. We deepen the exploration from previous excerpts of this conversation on healing happening in community to look specifically into the profession of music therapy. Marisol kicks us off by diving directly into this discussion of dissonance, and the profession of music therapy's difficulty with that construct. Listeners are invited to consider how you hold dissonance, how you hold conflict in your body, how you view it in your mind, and how it comes out in your actions and choices, whether or not you're part of the music therapy community!
If these questions move you towards exploring this topic deeper in community, consider joining us for the dissonance ritual that'll be happening in August! You can learn more via our Eventbrite, which will be getting loaded up with several more events (including some informal informational sessions!) over the summer in preparation for that ritual.
One more thing to be aware of: after this episode we're probably gonna have one or two more reflections from Natasha & Adenike, and then the podcast is going to take a little break for the summer. We're going to shift our focus to the events that we've been holding in our community spaces, as well as a few drop-in events that will be open to the public. So stay tuned for all of that, to our bio-links on social media, as well as our website: www.blackcreativehealing.com!
You can find the interactive transcript for this week's podcast episode here: https://share.descript.com/view/yfrxF5dcr3o
![HJ in MT (Part 3): Healing Forward, Healing Together](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1683764304919-cce70c831cb49.jpg)
HJ in MT (Part 3): Healing Forward, Healing Together
In this third excerpt of our March 30th conversation on Healing Justice in Music Therapy, we expand on the idea of Healing in the now, as mentioned in the last episode, and dive deeper into the idea of healing forward, and healing as something that is done in community. Nsamu and Marisol share critical questions for us to consider, including what we allow into our bodies, how we hold it, and for what purposes, in order to help us distinguish between numbing and intentional healing. This excerpt from our discussion on Music Therapy closes with an emphasis on the role of community in healing, and how everyday rituals can help ground us in our bodies and our sense of place and wellbeing.
People and concepts mentioned in this episode:
Victor Turner, on Liminality: https://voidnetwork.gr/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Liminality-and-Communitas-by-Victor-Turner.pdf
Malidoma Patrice Some, on Ritual: https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/861/ritual
You can engage with the interactive transcript for this episode here: https://share.descript.com/view/pYS2uJKqQfv
And as always, for more things Black Creative Healing, visit our website! BlackCreativeHealing.com
![HJ in MT (Part 2): Pathologizing the Black Body + Healing in the Now](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1682472094272-3931f25c80bdb.jpg)
HJ in MT (Part 2): Pathologizing the Black Body + Healing in the Now
Hello and welcome to the continuation of our Healing Justice in music therapy conversation featuring Nsamu Moonga and Marisol Norris! In this continuation of the conversation, we're gonna dive deeper into uncovering what some of the impact of White Supremacy is on our bodies, and why it matters to sit with those memories and sensations. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains surface level discussion of white supremacist violence. You will hear a brief moment of us naming a particular type of violence, then inviting folks to sit with the realities of that naming for a moment of silence in our bodies. This section of the episode lasts no longer than 30 seconds.
Later in the episode, we hear Nsamu and Adenike in particular talk about the value of doing that kind of work and really just sitting with the complexities, then in future excerpts from this conversation we'll dive further into some of the dreaming and the sort of wonderful things that can come after you sit with those complexities.
A very special shoutout this episode to @prof_jas on Instagram, whose infographics on Self-Definition are mentioned in this conversation.
As discussed in previous episodes, the full entirety of this recorded conversation lives in our community spaces, in the Patreon, in the Discord, and those will continue to be the places to go if you wanna really go into some deep, deep work on these topics!
Visit our website (blackcreativehealing.com) to access links to all of our community spaces, as well as the link to subscribe to our Eventbrite page for the upcoming Dissonance Ritual (which we highly recommend!) so you can get up to the minute details on events and other opportunities for deep work from Black Creative Healing.
The interactive transcript for this episode can be accessed here: https://share.descript.com/view/cjVD9EAT8zM
![Healing Justice in Music Therapy (Part 1: Marisol Norris on Fugitivity)](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1683764179473-512a94734cd6b.jpg)
Healing Justice in Music Therapy (Part 1: Marisol Norris on Fugitivity)
We are excited to share the first excerpt from our Healing Justice in Music Therapy event, featuring music therapists Marisol Norris and Nsamu Moonga. In this excerpt, you'll hear Marisol, Adenike & Natasha spend some time discussing the role of fugitivity in the healing process. Stay tuned for future excerpts where we'll hear Nsamu and Marisol share insights on the pathologization of the Black Body, expand on the Wisdom of slowing down to feel things in our bodies, and more!
This event was hosted online March 30th of 2023. Members of our online community spaces we able to attend the event and retain access to the FULL recording, as well as opportunities for deeper dives into the many topics of discussion that were shared, only some of which will be made available for this podcast space! This episode also includes the announcement of our next major event, the Dissonance Ritual, which will build on the conversational spark ignited by the 3/30 Healing Justice event.
To access a transcript of this conversation, click here: https://share.descript.com/view/uVlEenjpm39
To learn more about the Dissonance Ritual, click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/619303492417
Interested in diving deeper into the topic of Healing Justice with us, or getting discount codes to paid events? Join a community space by visiting blackcreativehealing.com/community-spaces
![Natasha Reflects - Daughters of the Dust](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
Natasha Reflects - Daughters of the Dust
In this episode, Natasha reflects on the film Daughters of the Dust, by Julie Dash, relating it to recent conversations on Healing Justice in Music Therapy, and the importance of sitting with Dissonance and gathering as community/family for Ritual. The close of the episode features an original song that will be shared in our Community Spaces as an exclusive download!
Engage with the interactive transcript for this episode here: https://share.descript.com/view/MwYLuQrNgKD
Join one of our Community Spaces, and/or stay up to date on upcoming events and opportunities to gather and heal in community! You can learn more and access links/spaces via www.blackcreativehealing.com
![Healing Justice Byte #4 - Nsamu Moonga](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1680100377362-572719bc24dc6.jpg)
Healing Justice Byte #4 - Nsamu Moonga
We're excited to share with you the finale of our 4 part "HJ Bytes" series with Nsamu Moonga! Here, we conclude our conversation on the glorification of overwork and reliance on "mechanistic" ways of thinking about our fellow human beings, and the "tools" we use to serve them. We build on our previous discussions about imagination to center on the crucial nature of relationship building as an integral part of our work as therapists, and as community builders in general.
Access the Interactive Transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/yoP3n6n4um2
Visit the website to learn more about upcoming events and community spaces! www.blackcreativehealing.com
![Adenike Reflects: Up you Mighty People! by Freetown Collective](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo/6159894/6159894-1666731050021-a47564c2c23f4.jpg)
Adenike Reflects: Up you Mighty People! by Freetown Collective
In this episode, Adenike takes a moment to reflect on a favorite Soca piece, Up you Mighty People! by Freetown Collective. She shares a little bit of information about Soca, the uniqueness of this piece within the genre, and provides a prompt for listeners to consider in the context of our recent conversations on white supremacy, healing justice and collective power.
Enjoy the full lyric video of this song on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTXM2Yut3gg
You can engage with the interactive transcript for this episode by clicking here: https://share.descript.com/view/GlkIrlLpPVd
Access more information on our Healing Justice framing, or join a BCH Community Space to practice HJ principles in community! blackcreativehealing.com
![Healing Justice Byte #3 - Nsamu Moonga](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1678840121125-61656e3af59ba.jpg)
Healing Justice Byte #3 - Nsamu Moonga
Welcome to Healing Justice Byte #3, where we continue our conversation with Nsamu Moonga about the construct of Healing Justice as it relates to the profession of Music Therapy. We continue building on our concerns about "grind culture" and the way it is impacting how we teach and learn, particularly as it shows up in music therapy students in training. We critique our often obsessive relationship with our tools, and the deep necessity of just "holding space" for therapeutic relationships to develop.
To access our continuing education course, Healing Justice in Music Therapy (open to Black and non-Black MT-BC's alike!) visit our community partner's website: www.blackmtnetwork.org
To follow (for FREE) or Subscribe to our Patreon (which will also get you access to upcoming exclusive events!) visit patreon.com/blackcreativehealing
For any and all other things BCH related, check out our Website! blackcreativehealing.com
![Healing Justice Byte #2 - Nsamu Moonga](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo/6159894/6159894-1666731050021-a47564c2c23f4.jpg)
Healing Justice Byte #2 - Nsamu Moonga
We're excited to be bringing you the continuation of our conversation with Nsamu Moonga, Zambian Music Therapist, exploring the concept of healing justice. This week we talk about the constructs of work and imagination, and how the two can intersect and impact each other.
To access the interactive transcript for this episode, click here: https://share.descript.com/view/hqeS0pCKnzM
To dive deeper into these concepts, check out our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/blackcreativehealing
If you're a music therapist interested in our continuing education course on this topic, visit our community partner's website: https://blackmtnetwork.org
And for up to the minute updates on events like our upcoming LIVE conversation with Nsamu Moonga and Marisol Norris, visit our website: https://blackcreativehealing.com!
![Natasha Reflects: Healing Justice Lineages, by Cara Page & Erica Woodland](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo/6159894/6159894-1666731050021-a47564c2c23f4.jpg)
Natasha Reflects: Healing Justice Lineages, by Cara Page & Erica Woodland
In this episode, Natasha reflects on the book Healing Justice Lineages, by Cara Page and Erica Woodland. She gives a brief overview of the content of the book, how it relates to the Healing Justice Bytes conversations we're having with Nsamu Moonga and other colleagues, and then shares some of what the book is motivating her to do, including the creation of a new playlist and related prompts for your own creative exploration of this topic!
You can purchase the Healing Justice Lineages book here: https://carapage.co/healing-justice-anthology/
Access the interactive Transcript for this episode here: https://share.descript.com/view/iDuXAJ1pRoK
Access the playlist Natasha referenced as part of her process here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Fmqe5HNOVLiHJRPlx3jNL?si=9e18fd2a90864239
View our updated website, with options to join our Patreon or one of our FREE community spaces here: www.blackcreativehealing.com
![Healing Justice Byte #1 - Nsamu Moonga](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1677016139109-2ccb01597b2a.jpg)
Healing Justice Byte #1 - Nsamu Moonga
Welcome to another episode of Black Creative Healing! A space for radical conversation, mindful collaboration, & holistic visioning centering Black Communities.
This week, Adenike & Natasha start a new short series titled "Healing Justice Bytes," featuring conversations with colleagues relating to the construct of Healing Justice in the context of the Music Therapy profession, as well as our world at large. We welcome back Episode 104 guest Nsamu Moonga, who provides a brief assessment of "what's up in the world" in relation to the construct of healing, the concept of "slowing down time," and what the process of embracing that which is "within the reach of every human soul" could bring to our world.
Access the interactive transcript for this episode HERE: https://share.descript.com/view/MC5qAHeC3li
Visit our website for more in depth content relating to this and other episodes, including links to register for our FREE Black Community Spaces, the Continuing Education course mentioned in this episode, or our Subscription-tiered Patreon space! https://www.blackcreativehealing.com
![BCH Live! Part 3](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1676412492905-6eadfad01745d.jpg)
BCH Live! Part 3
Welcome welcome welcome to the conclusion of our conversation at the joint conference between the American and Canadian Academies of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry! We're excited to share with you our third episode of February 2023 (and our third in this new experiment of dropping weekly content)!
We began in Part 1 with an arts-based grounding meditation, and last episode (Part 2) you got to hear us process a little bit more of what it means to be creative, even if you don't necessarily consider yourself a creative!
This week we talk through two more arts based experiences, first listening to the amazing retreat soundscape that was created for us by Christian Patterson (@theGentlemanBoss on Instagram). Following that we talk through a movement experience that was conducted for session attendees, with a special sneak peek at a video that will be a subscriber exclusive on our new Patreon, starting at just $5 a month! That video joins a blog post from Adenike and an earlier downloadable version of the arts based grounding from part one of the BCH Live conversation. We're very excited to be sharing even MORE specialized content for folks in the coming days/weeks/months/however long we can sustain it :-) at patreon.com/blackcreativehealing.
Two quick shout-outs this episode to Episode 304 guest Breanna Davis, who is mentioned in this episode, and to Jennifer Hicks, our first Patreon subscriber! We continue to be SO grateful for the support of the creative arts therapy community as we continue to grow and deepen our work.
The Interactive Transcript for this Episode can be accessed here: https://share.descript.com/view/d0TOxNLD9Ex
Stay tuned for the next arts based sharing from Black Creative Healing as we prepare to close out Black History month!
![BCH Live! Part 2](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1675816134139-a96b8ea5dee42.jpg)
BCH Live! Part 2
Welcome listeners to part two of our conversation at the joint conference between the American and Canadian Academies of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry! You're getting a new episode every week now from Black Creative Healing, and we're excited to share with you this week, the continuation of our conversation that was started last week with an arts-based grounding meditation.
That arts-based grounding is accessible now via our Patreon, where you can get a downloadable version of that meditation starting at just $5 a month! Along with a blog post from Adenike that's now up, there will be more specialized content coming soon for folks at patreon.com/blackcreativehealing.
In this week's portion of BCH Live, we break down our tagline and what the words "Black Creative Healing" even mean, as well as what BCH as an organization is trying to do, now that we're growing beyond "just a podcast" into more tangible spaces and active spaces. So you're going to hear a little bit more from the folks in the room with us at the conference that was held, and then in part three, you're going to hear us process a little bit more of what it means to be creative, even if you don't necessarily consider yourself a creative!
Special shout-outs this episode to BCH Season 1 guests Vilissa Thompson & Nsamu Moonga, whose episodes get mentioned in this conversation, as well as the Community Care graphic that was popularized in a Twitter thread that you can access via the link in all our social media bios!
Access the interactive transcript of our conversation here: https://share.descript.com/view/f77ZCzG59bS
And stay tuned for Part 3 to come next week!
![BCH Live! Part 1](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1675213063359-eece703bf3d62.jpg)
BCH Live! Part 1
We are beyond excited to share 2023's first episode of the BCH Podcast, which we've titled Black Creative Healing Live!
This episode was recorded at the joint conferences of the American and Canadian Academies of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and will be getting released weekly throughout the month of February.
You can access the interactive transcript for this episode by clicking here: https://share.descript.com/view/kedJqnFP7iJ
Part 1 includes an arts-based grounding meditation, which subscribers to our NEW BCH PATREON (starting at just $5/month!) will able to download as this month's Patron Perk! We look forward to sharing more exclusive content for our Patrons in the very near future. Here's the kind of thing folks there can expect:
- Blog posts from Adenike & Natasha
- Occasional Downloadables or Sneak Peeks into our Work in Progress (like this week's meditation), and
- Those of you subscribed at the Events tier will have occasional options for Creative Co-Works and other opportunities with us as well!
So, until our next post, we hope you enjoy the grounding, and we look forward to sharing more with you very soon!!
![BCH Table Talk (Retreat Recap Part 2)](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo/6159894/6159894-1666731050021-a47564c2c23f4.jpg)
BCH Table Talk (Retreat Recap Part 2)
In this episode we continue the recap of the June 2022 BCH Retreat. Shout out to kei slaughter (@keislaughter on Insta,@kei_slaughter on Twitter), Zelda Lockhart (@zelda.lockhart on Insta, @zeldalockhart on Twitter), and Hakeem Leonard (@musicallman across platforms), our retreat team for joining us for this conversation, and to Ben Great (@bengreat513 across platforms) for the remastering of our theme song!
This time, we go deeper into each retreat session, and share about our experiences with the amazing facilitators we had working with us! We close with what we will carry with us from this time together and what we hope to build in the future. If you've ever been curious about the nitty gritties of planning a retreat, or are looking for Black Creatives to work with and learn from, this little series is for you!
To follow and learn more about/from our amazing retreat facilitators, check out their Instagram handles below!
@itsjianjones
@zelda.lockhart
@wendimooreoneal
@keislaughter
@musicallman
@thegentlemanboss
@therealjoebaileyjr
Access the Transcript for this episode here! https://share.descript.com/view/943mDzfgIeH
![BCH Table Talk (The Retreat Recap, Part 1)](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1665580897092-2de8cb501c02f.jpg)
BCH Table Talk (The Retreat Recap, Part 1)
In this episode we do a recap of the June 2022 BCH Retreat as part of documenting our process, both just for our own reflection and processing, as well as to help paint a general picture of what the retreat was, and the space that is still being held for our Black Community going forward! Shout out to kei slaughter, Zelda Lockhart, and Hakeem Leonard, our retreat team for joining us for this conversation, and to Ben Great for the remastering of our themesong!
Stay tuned for part 2, where we go deeper into each retreat session, and share a little more about the amazing facilitators we had working with us! If you've ever been curious about the nitty gritties of planning a retreat, or are looking for Black Creatives to work with and learn from, this little series is for you!
Access a transcript of this episode HERE: https://share.descript.com/view/K06A8I0UXKT
![BCH 304 - Breanna Davis](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1614451964945-e9377a7428095.jpg)
BCH 304 - Breanna Davis
Breanna Davis, MS, R-DMT, LMHCA is a Registered Dance/movement Therapist from Indianapolis, Indiana and has a Master’s in Dance/Movement Therapy and is in the process of achieving her Mental Health Counselor License. Through The Andrea Rizzo Foundation, Breanna brought Dance/movement Therapy back to Riley Children’s Hospital where she provides therapy services to kids, teens, and caregivers during their hospital stay. Breanna works to help connect others to movement as a way of emotional expression, pain management, coping, and encouraging positive self-esteem and body image. Breanna continues to work as a dance teacher and choreographer. She also is the Director of Mental Health at Dance Education Equity Association, an organization on the quest to make dance spaces for all.
You can learn more about Breanna and her work by following her on Instagram @foreverrbrej.
A full transcript of the episode is available here:
share.descript.com/view/5LpPgMnlR1E
And be sure to check out us video of us dancing together on YouTube here: youtu.be/rdcA-JSZsMk
Resources mentioned:
The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor. You can get a copy of the book and workbook, as well as learn more about the movement for radical self-love by visiting thebodyisnotanapology.com/
![BCH 303: The Retreat! (Sharing our Plans)](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1614451964945-e9377a7428095.jpg)
BCH 303: The Retreat! (Sharing our Plans)
Natasha & Adenike sit down with BCH Students Kalysta Bryant and Breanah Williams to reflect on a previously recorded conversation with our Retreat Planning Team members: kei slaughter, Zelda Lockhart and Hakeem Leonard. We share the Date for the retreat (June 3-5, 2022!) as well as other details around our process and progress.
Past Collaborators have already been invited to see inside the Sutra Space that we discuss here, but coming soon our general Black Community will also have an opportunity to see inside the space we’ll be using for our retreat, thanks to grant funds from the Pollination Project!
Ultimately our purpose with this episode is to provide insight into our progress and process, particularly the setting of intentions and the sacredness with which we are holding the space. These are elements we believe are valuable for anyone interested in cultivating care centered spaces!
Link to the interactive transcript for this episode: https://share.descript.com/view/3KrWpIPfkWR
Link to the NEW BCH Website: https://www.blackcreativehealing.com
Link to the BCH Retreat Registration: COMING SOON! Stay tuned to our Socials & the Website for more information!
Follow us on Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/BlackCreativeHG
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackcreativehealing/
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackcreativehealing/
![BCH 302: Clinical Bopulations with Van Gammon](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1614451964945-e9377a7428095.jpg)
BCH 302: Clinical Bopulations with Van Gammon
It’s PART TWO of our collaboration with Clinical Bopulations featuring Van Gammon, American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Fayetteville, North Carolina. This was our first time collaborating with another podcast. You can listen to part one of our discussion over on the Clinical Bopulatations website (HERE: https://clinicalbopulations.fireside.fm/51), or just dive into the recap with us at the top of this episode!
Wanna keep the story going afterwards? You can access the editable Google Doc of our New World Story HERE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UtnYuUq9FYWSJzbrBYzmFTYOCV7FI0gpRewiAMhLg90/edit?usp=sharing
And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to Van Gammon on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vangammon/?hl=en)and go listen to New World!
A full transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1ptaukquyp4aodr/BCH%20302%20with%20Clinical%20Bopulations%20%2B%20Van%20Gammon.docx?dl=0
![BCH 301: Natasha Thomas & Adenike Webb](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1614451964945-e9377a7428095.jpg)
BCH 301: Natasha Thomas & Adenike Webb
This episode features your co-hosts as the guests! Adenike and Natasha take time to reflect on what drew them to creating and producing this podcast, and they share ideas for the vision of Black Creative Healing in general. They talk about their values, their work, lives and loves, and take a moment to discuss the importance of addressing grief and community from the center of their most precious relationships. The arts-based collaboration is one that you’ll become quite familiar with, as it is a rewrite of the theme song!
This episode invites listeners to join Natasha and Adenike in honoring and reflecting on the past two seasons as well as welcoming the possibilities that can manifest for season three. We hope you enjoy this collab as much as we did!
Link to a transcript for this episode: https://share.descript.com/view/uwivJly8qgm
Resources referenced:
My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem
You can also visit our new Season 3 Study Room for links to all the resources we may mention this season! Right now the Menakem is listed there, as well as a link back to the Season 2 Study Room!
All these links can be found by visiting https://linktr.ee/BCHpod
![BCH 204 Jaia Cooper and Breanah Williams](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
BCH 204 Jaia Cooper and Breanah Williams
Welcome to Episode 204! This episode marks almost exactly 1 year since Black Creative Healing began as a podcast, and we’re marking that occasion by closing our 2ndseason with another multi-guest collaboration.
Yes, you heard right, this is our Season finale! More on that later J
Our guests for this collaboration are Jaia Cooper and Breanah Williams, who have been working alongside us this past semester as work study students from Shenandoah University. Both Jaia and Breanah are students in Shenandoah’s Music Therapy program, and we share our deepest thanks to their professor (and BCH collaborator Hakeem Leonard) for recommending them to us for this term!
Jaia and Breanah have been managing our social media throughout the semester, and introduced themselves early on with their own Instagram posts – they’ve also been behind many of the quotes and quizzes you’ve seen in our Instagram stories. Our conversation leaps right from their introductions into a topic that – unbeknownst to each of us - has been burning in our bellies for a long time to discuss: Abolition. So buckle up and prepare yourselves for a deep and much needed conversation, followed by some teasers of what you can expect in BCH Season 3!
Link to the “plain” interactive transcript of this episode on Descript: ">https://share.descript.com/view/rLNXX9rUA72
Link to the “resource-filled” version of our transcript on Google Drive (with direct links to some of the places and topics discussed this episode:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yNYKaMAycAAH4i5THhMz6hFRYf2m2kHd/view?usp=sharing
Don’t forget our BCH Study Room, where you can find all things discussed in BCH Season 2! https://docs.google.com/document/d/19J1vv918dsws-3Keh_OqFMIC_TYkOtazNIzoVcv1q3w/edit?usp=sharing
And, follow us on Social Media for the most up to date info from us, as well as access to our link tree with even MORE resources and ways to support this work:
Instagram & Facebook: @BlackCreativeHealing
Twitter & Clubhouse: @BlackCreativeHG
Wanna send us an email or a tip via Paypal? Use this address: blackcreativehealing@gmail.com
Thanks for joining us and see you in Season 3!!
![BCH 203 Cynthia Francillon](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
BCH 203 Cynthia Francillon
We ditch the script for this episode and start with some frank discussions about the last month’s challenges and heartbreaks. We also take some time to thank all our supporters for helping us raise funds for Volcano Relief in St. Vincent! We remain tremendously grateful for all our BCH family, whether you support monetarily or in other ways. Every like & share matters!
This episode’s guest is Cynthia Francillon. Cynthia is a 30-year-old storyteller born and raised in the city of Brooklyn, NY, and currently residing in New Orleans, LA. A descendant of Haitian parents and a self prescribed maladaptive daydreamer, Cynthia believes storytelling + love are the threads that keep us going.
Across the mediums of fiction short stories, nonfictional essays, poetry, short/TV/feature film screenplays, stage + on-camera performance, and audio podcasting... Across genres of romance, magical realism, drama, and comedy… Cynthia asks and tries to answer the questions, “Who are we when no one is watching? Do we like those parts in the shadows? Why do we run from the tenderness we cannot and shouldn’t do without?”
Her stories feature Black girls/women/femmes exploring their growth as individuals through acts of intimacy with either themselves and/or their relationships with other women, whether it be familial, platonic, or romantic. You can find Cyn on Twitter as @cynfinite.
In our collaboration for Episode 203, Cynthia, Natasha & Adenike discuss the "big things" that happen when one moves away from home for the first time, the magic of places like New Orleans (which we discovered we'd all lived in before!) and how ancestral stories may serve - unbeknownst to us at the time - as the sparks that spur us onward in our lives.
This episode includes some exciting announcements as we look ahead towards the end of Season 2 in just a few months. So stay tuned for this episode (and those announcements) to drop soon!
For more info on Cyn, check the BCH Study Room link here, which includes additional links to topics and resources discussed this episode!: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19J1vv918dsws-3Keh_OqFMIC_TYkOtazNIzoVcv1q3w/edit?usp=sharing
You can find an interactive transcript of the episode here: https://share.descript.com/view/kzsgBvoDTY2
![BCH 202 Brenda Dixon Gottschild](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
BCH 202 Brenda Dixon Gottschild
Brenda Dixon Gottschild is the author of Digging the Africanist Presence in American Performance: Dance and Other Contexts; Waltzing in the Dark: African American Vaudeville and Race Politics in the Swing Era (winner of the 2001 Congress on Research in Dance Award for Outstanding Scholarly Dance Publication); The Black Dancing Body–A Geography from Coon to Cool (winner, 2004 de la Torre Bueno prize for scholarly excellence in dance publication); and Joan Myers Brown and The Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina-A Biohistory of American Performance.
Additional honors include the Congress on Research in Dance Award for Outstanding Leadership in Dance Research (2008); a Leeway Foundation Transformation Grant (2009); the International Association for Blacks in Dance Outstanding Scholar Award (2013); the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus Civil Rights Award (2016); and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts (2017).
A self-described anti-racist cultural worker utilizing dance as her medium, she is a freelance writer, consultant, performer, and lecturer; a former consultant and writer for Dance Magazine; and Professor Emerita of dance studies, Temple University. As an artist-scholar she coined the phrase, “choreography for the page,” to describe her embodied, subjunctive approach to research writing.
Nationwide and abroad she curates post-performance reflexive dialogues, writes critical performance essays, performs self-created solos, and collaborates with her husband, choreographer/dancer Hellmut Gottschild, in a genre they developed and titled “movement theater discourse.
Our guest's decades of experience are shared with Adenike and Natasha in an intimate conversation about the creative process, and the way racism pulls at the time and energy of Black people, particularly women/femmes. We also discuss embodiment, self-concept and more! Our collaboration culminates in a visceral vocal improvisation that we can't wait for y'all to hear! Check the BCH Study Room link in our bio for more on Brenda, with easy access to additional links from previous episodes!
Link to transcript: https://share.descript.com/view/nAYy4p0MJOk
Links to content discussed in this episode:
Brenda’s website (where you can find information to purchase her books, and more!): https://bdixongottschild.com
Yvonne Daniels: Embodied Knowledge (Book): https://books.google.com/books/about/Dancing_Wisdom.html?id=nhCRJ4u_CYIC
Frank Wilderson - Afropessimism (Book and Theoretical framework): https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631496141
Afro-futurism (Theoretical framework): https://newsroom.ucla.edu/magazine/afrofuturism
Somatic Self-Portrait Exercise: TikTok created by Natasha to demonstrate: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackcreativehealing/video/6937759473989717253
![BCH 201: Marisol Norris](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1614451882755-3098149d407cf.jpg)
BCH 201: Marisol Norris
Just in time for the end of Black History Month, our Newest Episode of #BlackCreativeHealing is NOW LIVE! #BCH201 Marisol Norris, Ph.D., is a board-certified music therapist, educator, consultant, and founder of the Black Music Therapy Network, Inc. In our collaboration for Black Creative Healing, Marisol, Adenike & Natasha explore concepts of Refusal and Solidarity. Our conversation and collective art making weaves through personal experiences with mindfulness of Consent & the potential for Harm.
Our episodes now include INTERACTIVE Transcripts, meaning you can click the transcript link in our show notes and just read it, or you can listen to the episode alongside the transcript with text automatically highlighted as the episode plays to follow along! We can’t wait for you all to enjoy all the new things to come this season
Interactive Transcript Link: https://share.descript.com/view/gCOWfjV8iDJ
Click that link in our bio to check out this NEW Episode today!
An additional note: Black Creative Healing collaborations involve informal discussion of issues that are frequently multi-layered and complex. We are committed to doing our best to provide content warnings regarding any language used during our episodes that may be difficult for some listeners to hear. This podcast is not intended to replace any individual’s personal educational or therapeutic work.
Here are links to some of the authors, books, essays and concepts referred to in this session:
Sandra Grande https://polisci.uconn.edu/person/sandy-grande/#
Audre Lorde https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/audre-lorde
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson is available here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/653196/caste-oprahs-book-club-by-isabel-wilkerson/
Additional References made during this episode:
Gloria Richardson (the woman mentioned by Natasha notorious for the photo of her pushing aside a military man's rifle): https://bglh-marketplace.com/2017/01/the-story-behind-this-iconic-image-of-a-black-woman-pushing-aside-a-national-guardsmans-bayonet/
Decolonized Buffalo Podcast "Sanctuary" episode mentioned by Natasha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqiH_2_pL1M&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=DecolonizedBuffaloPodcast
The GEMM Theory mentioned by Marisol: Hardy, K. V. (2008). On becoming a GEMM therapist: Work harder, be smarter, andnever discuss race. In M. McGoldrick & K. V. Hardy (Eds.) Re-Visioning Family Therapy, Second Edition: Race, Culture, and Gender in Clinical Practice. 2nd Edition. Guilford Press.
Definition of Healing Justice, from BEAM.org: https://www.beam.community/healing-justice
![Black Creative Healing: the Trailer!](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_episode400/6159894/6159894-1611849578731-a1a61aa051106.jpg)
Black Creative Healing: the Trailer!
Welcome to Black Creative Healing - a Space for Radical Conversation, Mindful Collaboration, and Holistic Visioning, Centering Black Communities.
Enjoy this little peek into our process, with all it's profundity and mischief :-)
A visual version of this trailer is available via our Youtube page: https://youtu.be/Ce7hvz3y1mI
Season 2 coming February of 2021!
![BCH 105 - Our LIVE Season Finale!](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
BCH 105 - Our LIVE Season Finale!
Other community members, including our non-Black allies, sat in the audience of the webinar, and we thank them for honoring the important role of bearing witness and holding space as we centered Black creativity and joy, played creative games and shared in conversation around topics of community and care, particularly in light of the US Presidential Election and the construct of survival. Now, as we air this episode in wake of personal losses and the American Music Therapy Association’s 2020 National Conference, where our own lived experiences at the intersections of Blackness, queerness, disability and more came once again to the forefront of conflict and harm, we recommit ourselves to honoring ALL Black lives, and the uniqueness of every intersection within our communities. We dedicate this episode to our families and loved ones, who have walked (and continue to walk!) beside us. A transcript of this episode can be found here: www.dropbox.com/s/142qi1umnqntmyg/BCH%20105%20%28Natasha%27s%20EDIT%29.docx?dl=0
After this closing episode we’ll be taking some time to rest and recalibrate, and we look forward to more conversations, more collaborations, and more learning and sharing in community as we head into Season two!
Some links and handles shared during this episode:
The stickers Vilissa mentioned: ohsopaper.com/collections/kamala-harris
Isle of Tune (our first game): www.Isleoftune.com
Plink (our second musical game): plink.in
Funky Town Fridge (the community resource shared by Kamica during the episode): sites.google.com/affiantauto.com/funkytownfridge/home
Keva Melvin’s TikTok handle: @disguy_datgirl_theirkids
Survival (the BCH Multimedia Collaboration that premiered this episode): www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMXR64hkFLI
Finally, we are tremendously excited to be sharing a workbook of Black Creative Healing prompts inspired by this season’s collaborations. Everyone who attended this live should already have one in their inbox, but if you'd like a copy of this workbook for yourself, you can become a subscriber on Anchor in the dollar amount of $5 or more! If you do that, make sure you're also on our mailing list, so we can send you your gift. Or you can drop us a one-time donation of $10 or more on our new PayPal account via the following link: paypal.me/BCHpod. (all donations of $10 or more are automatically forwarded to the Black Music Therapy network).
Thanks and stay tuned for Black Creative Healing Season 2, coming in 2021!
![BCH 104 - Nsamu Moonga](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
BCH 104 - Nsamu Moonga
Episode Description:
Our guest for this episode is Nsamu Moonga. You can read more about Nsamu via the bio below. In our collaboration for Black Creative Healing, Nsamu, Adenike & Natasha discuss colonialism's impact on African Diasporic Peoples, Indigenous perspectives on creativity, and share in an intimate exploration of affirming each other through music. Nsamu's definition of music is not to be missed!
You can find a transcript of this month’s episode here: https://tinyurl.com/y3y9fhp2
You can find the companion Youtube video (featuring our song collaboration) here: https://youtu.be/xn1rSu_IIo8
Nsamu is a music therapist and psychotherapist born and raised in Zambia. Nsamu earned a BA in Psychological Counseling from the University of South Africa and MMus in Music Therapy from the University of Pretoria. A therapist grounded in holistic anti-oppressive practice, Nsamu works with people exploring health and lifestyle choices, medical complications, human sexualities and gender, spiritualities and religious experiences, psychosocial support, and learning enhancement. His music therapy experience span health, medical, and school settings, and centre human development programing, design and facilitation, community infrastructure and social development, cross-cultural living and working.
Nsamu is a classically trained singer and enjoys dancing. His interests include lifelong development, learning, and critical theory-informed research. He enjoys long-distance running and writing mystical poetry. He is a foodie, enjoys mentoring youth, and loves being an uncle.
Nsamu's affiliated with the Health Profession Council of South Africa, South African Music Therapy Association, South African National Art Therapy Association, and Institute for Creative Conversations.
Nsamu has provided a Google doc with a thick description of the ritual clip shared in the center of this episode. You can view that narrative here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11MkM3uQJVXKx0AdITuZjRXsVcR2TLTGG/view?usp=sharing
Don’t forget you can also hit that “support” button to help us keep this podcast going! Every “like,” and share goes a long way too. We continue to be grateful for all those who’ve supported us this month and beyond! Stay tuned to @BlackCreativeHealing on Instagram (and now Facebook! Plus our new Twitter page @BlackCreativeHG) for ongoing details!
![BCH 103 Jenni Graham](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
BCH 103 Jenni Graham
Our guest this episode is Jenni Graham, LCAT, ATR-BC, MPS. Jenni is a Nationally Registered & Board Certified Art Therapist & has been working in the mental health field since 2005. She is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University & Pratt Institute; where she earned her BA in Psychology & her MPS in Art Therapy & Creativity Development respectively.
Jenni co-creates compassionate & empowering spaces of healing, liberation & connection by creating space for the full scope of human emotion through a lens of restorative mental & emotional wellness.
In our collaboration, Adenike, Natasha & Jenni discuss the generational and collective aspects of trauma, as well as the power of art to help bring to the surface and integrate aspects of the self that we may not realize have always been there.
You can find the collaborative art we made together with Jenni (along with prompts for your own visioning process!) by visiting https://ijustwanna.carrd.co/ and clicking the folder titled "Find Freedom."
A transcript of this episode can be found at https://tinyurl.com/y429ag52
We also HIGHLY recommend checking out Jenni’s Instagram and other pages for resources!
Website: www.traumafreeuniversity.com
Facebook Page to Follow: www.facebook.com/traumafreeu
Facebook Private Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TFUbreakfreecommunity/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/traumafreeu
![BCH 102 - Diovanna LaBeija](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
BCH 102 - Diovanna LaBeija
![Black Creative Healing 101 - with Vilissa Thompson](https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo400/6159894/6159894-1666731051432-1c7d3db174ff8.jpg)
Black Creative Healing 101 - with Vilissa Thompson
Black Creative Healing is a platform dedicated to radical conversation, mindful collaboration, & holistic visioning centering Black Communities. Conversations and arts-based collaborations are facilitated by Music Therapists Natasha Thomas and Adenike Webb, and feature professionals from across the professional spectrum of the arts, humanities, and everyday life. We discuss and explore our own creative approaches to healing as a restorative and ongoing transformative act, informed by current events and guided by imagination and care for our communities. Episodes are hosted online by the Black Music Therapy Network, Inc. You can find links to past collaborations, as well as current episodes and details on each collaboration (including some downloadable resources!) by visiting www.blackmtnetwork.org/black-creative-healing.
Our guest for this Episode is Vilissa Thompson LMSW - Vilissa is a macro-minded social worker from South Carolina. Ramp Your Voice! is her organization where she discusses the issues that matter to her as a Black disabled woman, including intersectionality, racism, politics, and why she unapologetically makes good trouble.
In our Collaboration for Black Creative Healing, Vilissa, Natasha & Adenike discuss the necessity of self-care within the Black Community (particularly amongst Black Helpers, Disabled Women & Femmes), and play with the idea of creating safe and healing spaces. You can view and download a full transcript of this conversation here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/z0m065u3lbt9meo/BCH%20101%20Transcript.pdf?dl=0
You can learn more about Vilissa online at these locations:
Website: http://rampyourvoice.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RampYourVoice
Twitter: @VilissaThompson, @RampYourVoice, & @WheelDealPod
You can visit the “I Just Wanna” resource created by Adenike, Natasha & Vilissa in this collaboration by clicking here: ijustwanna.carrd.co