Embedded Files
The Blk Robot Project
(BRP) is a multiyear, multimodal educational technology project that began in 2016 and continues. The centerpiece of the project is a 30ft high robot to be situated in an abandoned lot in the Park Heights neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. The Blk Robot Project posits the idea that investment in cultural infrastructure as opposed to commercial infrastructure can and will yield positive cultural AND economic benefits in areas beset by structural, systemic neglect.
The initial portion of the project was the SoulBot Saturday Design Squad. This is a S.T.E.A.M. based activity for ages 7-16. Students are exposed to Robotics, Photovoltaics, Wind Power, Architectural engineering, Sustainable Material Repurposing and more. Field trips and consultation with University robotics labs that took place during the course of a learning term, which lasted 10 classes. This was done three times over the past four years.
It doesn’t look like what we normally associate with robotics because we’ve been listening to other people tell us what robotics is supposed to be. The term robot because it comes from a Czech word that means ‘slave’. Students to are learning about robots and technology through the BRP in a manner that associates these objects with enhancing the quality of life for their communities and humanity in general. https://youtu.be/lHOn_-YcIBw
Coding w/ Baba J
This is a distillation of the learning modalities we introduced with the Soulbot Saturday Squad, retooled for the pandemic. This curriculum is part of the BlkRobot Project’s aim to create an environment where technology is not considered a special privilege for Black students or centered solely on video games and cellphones. At the onset of the pandemic, when classes moved online, our weekend STEM classes were forced to stop and we wanted to develop a long term solution that allowed me to continue to educate students. We decided to focus on coding, and the “Coding with Baba J” show was born.
This show allows us to leverage established platforms to teach children Javascript and Python programming languages in a manner that is attuned to the needs of Black children. Children not only get the repetition necessary for learning the foundations of coding, but they learn about Black people who are actually working as programmers, engineers, mathematicians and scientists, providing a cultural connection to the work. Additionally, we decided that we wanted this show to create the same type of fun energy that educational shows on traditional television networks have, thus we commissioned artists to create cartoon characters who will be my sidekicks and virtual ‘students’ that participate in the show. Animation, even rudimentary animation like what we are using for this production, requires professional help; artists, colorists, animators, voice talent are all necessary and none of whom are working for free. Each episode of the show has a curriculum booklet that students will receive.
The Mothership Connection /Mothership: Motherverse
"MotherShip:MotherVerse" was conceived as part of a public Afrofuturism exhibit entitled "The MotherShip Connection." Poet, Community Builder and Afrofuturist Olu Butterfly conceived this idea and asked me to be one of her collaborators. This was an opportunity for us to mount an exhibit at Artscape, which is the largest outdoor public art festival in the U.S. The Mothership Connection allowed us to connect the work of some of the amazing artists here in Baltimore with the community. The title of the show is obviously a reference to the famous Parliament tune as well as their now enshrined stage prop. Olu however had a different concept of what a Mothership could be - she was interested in portraying the Mothership as a more organic structure, something earthy yet capable of travel. This involved us building an actual ship. Inside the ship, we decided to have a screen that depicted travel, gave a brief primer of Afrofuturism and then told a story. So I took on those tasks. I worked with a stage designer to build the ship and then really got hooked on creating a short that extends Olu's original vision. Toni Morrison has a quote that says "Black Woman is both ship and safe harbor."
That quote has always resonated with me, and in the context of thinking about the idea of a "Mothership," I found it odd that Motherships as they are portrayed in popular culture are always under the control of men. Be it George Clinton or the males in The Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or even NOI Theory. Motherships always function in service of men. That contradicts the energy of Morrison's quote. Thus, I saw this as an opportunity to create an image of a Mothership that is first and foremost women-centered and in doing so I visually approached the idea from a literal and figurative context.
Redlines: Baltimore 2028
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IebXQoQvzcA
Twelve years ago I was asked, “what do you think your city will be like 50 years into the future?” I wrote a 500 word story for the city of Baltimore, and I was intrigued by the possibilities that this exercise opened in my mind. I decided I wanted to build upon this premise, but I felt it would be myopic if I did it by myself. Over the ensuing three years, I begged, danced and cajoled Black writers in Baltimore to join me, creating a writing group (“The Parkside Writer’s Salon”) to finally end up with a diverse crew. I told my collaborators – I want you to tell me about the future of our city; that doesn’t require aliens or laser beams (nor does it rule them out), but I want to know what our folks will be doing in the near future. William Gibson’s quote, “The future is already here but its not evenly distributed” came to mind, and Redlines: Baltimore 2028 was published in 2012. This book surprised me in that many of the details became reality, most notably the Baltimore uprising of 2015 mentioned in Fernando lll “Dream Catcher” (in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray) and the online beheadings by Al-Queda, detailed by Raven Ekundayo in “The Revival”. It validated the path that I chose and continues to inform my current work as both a writer and educator.
The BlkRobot Project Rocket Launch Party is a three day STEM workshop that features a curriculum that teaches students about space travel, introduces children to men and women of color who are involved in space technology and travel, and gives students a chance to assemble and launch a model rocket. This annual event was first held in Baltimore, Maryland in November 2020 and will be held this year at Booker T Washington Middle School in Baltimore and the Senegalese American Bilingual School in Dakar, Senegal. The Senegalese arm of the project will involve students assembling a satellite for a low orbit launch in the spring of 2022.
Bmoreart.com https://bmoreart.com/2016/12/the-new-day-again.html
In the midst of Baltimore’s post Freddie Gray recovery, filmmaker Bradford Young teams up with hip hop legend Common to film a video for the rapper’s “Black America Again” tune in Baltimore City. I penned a piece that reviews the video from a cultural and technical standpoint and provides context for how the project itself changes the landscape for Black filmmakers in the city of Baltimore.
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/blackbookslive
Black Books Live! seeks to address the dearth of audio material available from Black Authors. Every week, hosts Jason Harris, Cher Jey and guests will read excerpts from a Black author's classic works. Links to the print and audio copies of the featured author will be included with each episode. The episodes have brought in over 10,000 listeners.
Organizing 4 Humans: An Activist's card game
Organizing for Humans is both a teaching tool and a process that provides structure and equity for the planning aspect in organizing. Those of you who have participated in movements or groups can attest to the fact that no matter how anti-establishment or revolutionary a group may aim to be, it is still subject to the acculturation of those who participate in it. This means race, gender, religion, orientation, language, educational background and class can all act as strictures that undermine the organizing process with hierarchical behavior by participants. O4H attempts to alleviate this through the randomization of roles in its planning process. While this is set up as a “game” and can be fun, we stress that this is a tool so that we can cogently format plans to make this world a better place.
Community Archives:
Mind, Moves, Magic: Yoga and Dance with Magira Ross
Magira Ross has been teaching dance at Western High, an all girls school in Baltimore, Maryland, for the past several years. A couple of years ago, she incorporated Yoga and Mindfulness into her curriculum and this short film documents how the work has transformed her practice as a teacher and the students learning experiences. This type of community archive is essential to my practice as an Afrofuturist and to my contribution to the community as an archivist and social engineer. The film was uploaded in 2017.
In the eastern foothills of Mount Kenya, a small farming/natural foods company is building a business that is transforming a community. This is the story of Mercy Mwende and Sweet & Dried. I traveled to Chuka, Kenya in 2017 as a part of Catholic Relief Service’s “Farmer 2 Farmer” program to provide technical support for Sweet and Dried, which consisted of rebuilding their website, creating conceptual art for rebranding their marketing efforts, and documenting the work of founder Mercy Mwende and her team in this short film.
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