“Change is going to happen whether we like it or not. You can either be dragging, kicking and screaming, or you can be part of the change.“ –Taiyon J. Coleman
LISTEN
In this episode Lissa and Bukata talk with author Taiyon J. Coleman author of Traveling Without Moving: Essays from a Black Woman Trying to Survive in America ( University of Minnesota Press).
In Traveling without Moving, Coleman shares intimate essays from her life: her childhood in Chicago—growing up in poverty with four siblings and a single mother. She writes about being the only Black student in a prestigious and predominantly White creative writing program, about institutional racism and implicit bias in writing instruction, about the violent legacies of racism in the U.S. housing market, about the maternal health disparities seen across the country and their implication in her own miscarriage. She explores what it means to write her story and that of her family—an act at once a responsibility and a privilege—bringing forth the inherent contradictions between American ideals and Black reality.
GO DEEPER
Author Coleman refers to a poem by Harlem Renaissance poet, Countee Cullen:
Yet do I marvel at this curious thing:
To make a poet black, and bid him sing!
Author Coleman talks about a series of poems she is writing, shining a light on death of Black people including the case of Dr. Susan Moore. Learn more…
Bukata refers to the work of Dr. Rachel Hardeman founder of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity (CARHE) at the University of Minnesota. She is a TIME Magazine 100 Most Influential People of 2024, and a previous guest on Black Market Reads.
Author Coleman was a Cave Canem fellow. What does that mean? Learn more about Cave Canem
Author Coleman refers to the impact of her time as a fellow with the Givens Collection at the University of Minnesota. Explore …
The Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature consists of over 10,000 books, magazines, and pamphlets by or about African Americans.
Listen to Lissa’s interview with Davu Underwood Seru, curator of the Givens Collection.
What is Author Coleman reading?
Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality
by Ronald Mallett
ENJOY!
Our production team for this episode includes co producers/ Lissa Jones and Edie French, co-host/Bukata Hayes, technical director/Paul Auguston, The Voice/Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration/Ta-coumba T. Aiken. We thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota for supporting On Health focusing on the intersection of health, race, and culture.
Black Market Reads: On Health is a collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, as part of Blue Cross’ long-term commitment to improving the health of Minnesota communities and ensuring that all people have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible.