The Institute of Black Imagination Podcast

Today’s guest needs no introduction, but we will go ahead and introduce him anyway. Y’all it’s Kirk Franklin. Yes, THAT Kirk Franklin. 19 Grammy Award-winning Kirk Franklin. Contemporary Gospel innovator Kirk Franklin. .. The gifted singing, songwriting, piano-playing, producing, and yes, a rapping, Mr. Kirk Franklin! In case there was any confusion. 

Today we're taking a little detour, podcast inception if you will! We're sharing with you another podcast that featured yours truly as a guest.

Get ready to embark on a journey with The Future of Storytelling and my good friend host Charlie Melcher, where we explore my personal journey and delve into the heart of the Institute of Black Imagination.

Today’s Summer School episode from the IBI Archive is episode 25 with fencer and three-time Olympian, Daryl Homer. Hailing from the U.S. Virgin Islands, Daryl, along with his mother and sister relocated to the Gun Hill section of the Bronx when he was five. His interest in fencing began at an early age, after encountering the word “Fencing” in a pictorial dictionary that his mother gave him. Inspired, he begged his mother to begin lessons, but it wasn’t until a chance encounter with an advertisement featuring two black fencers did Daryl’s Mother finally caved into her son’s growing obsession.

Today's episode is an exploration of the stars, so get your notebooks out. Dossé-Via walks us through the African origins of modern astrology, how star-gazing is actually compatible if not embedded within Christianity, Islam, and other religious practices, and what compatibility REALLY means.

In today's episode, Jason shares how unquenchable desire and focus set the foundation for pursuing his various ambitions. He reminds us about the power of transmuting our own painful experiences, using them as fuel to manifest our dreams and desires. We also discuss why holding your inner child close is important to the overall well-being of your big adult self.

This special edition of the podcast is our final episode of 2022.

Today we are revisiting our conversations with thirteen of our guests from this year as they illustrate what happens when you lead with love. Our guests not only talk about romantic love but also highlight what it means to be madly in love with your work, what it can teach us about ourselves, and how important it is to fall head over heels for the process. We will close today’s episode with the kind of love they imagine for the future.

In today’s episode, we explore the pleasure of the text. We also journey through how using your imagination can help to get what you want, the role writing can play in the midst of chaos, and how Rita’s lived experience as a Black woman has shaped her understanding of the world.

Today’s conversation is with food enthusiast, storyteller, and creative strategist Jon Gray. Jon is the co-founder and self-proclaimed dishwasher of Ghetto Gastro— a collective that uses food as a medium to ignite conversations about race, inequity, and inclusivity. Jon’s love affair with the Bronx, usage of mixed media, and desire to build new narratives that empower black and brown people teach us the importance of having pride in your roots and staying true to yourself.

In today’s episode, we’re reminded of what it means to design a life on your own terms. We explore themes of manifestation, building your own brand, staying true to yourself, and the value in accessibility.

In this conversation, we discuss a wide range of topics from Eboni’s experience growing up in Brooklyn during the ’80s, to her studies of Black Theology along with her definition of Womanist Theology. Through conversation, vulnerability and curiosity eventually we land on what that pivotal moment in Eboni’s life was that ultimately propelled her to pursue her calling.

Today’s episode is a special one. This time, Dario is in the hot seat, in an extremely candid conversation with our inaugural IBI Fellow, Adam Saleh, an anti-disciplinary designer and current senior at UC Berkeley studying computer science and linguistics.