A Dialogue with Ruby Mendenhall and Lamont Holden
On this episode of Dialogue, we hear from Ruby Mendenhall on The Black Joy Project, a local exhibit located at the Spurlock Museum.
Then, listen as Mendenhall walks through select poetry pieces with Reginald Hardwick.
Finally, host Kennedy Vincent sits down with UI Alum, Lamont Holden, to discuss his work in the community and how he is empowering local youth through hip-hop.
©Ruby Mendenhall March 2024(Dedicated to Mothers Who Have Lost Children to Gun Violence)
The hardest part was to lower you into eternity, as I remain mortal
To watch you slip away from me into the Forever portal.
My heart torn into strips of black and blue blood, as part of it went with you.
I cannot breathe, I cannot eat because I am your mother, without you.
I carried you in my womb for nine months, protecting you through the seasons.
Now, I must select the vessel to carry you beyond my reach, beyond rhyme, beyond reason.
Your journey is beneath my feet, beneath this ground, and into the realm of the ancestors.
So now, where do I belong in this world? My soul aches and needs to sequester.
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GUESTS:
Ruby Mendenhall
Associate Professor in Sociology, African American Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, and Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Associate Dean, The Carle Illinois College of Medicine
2024 Urbana Poet Laureate
Lamont Holden
Music Producer, LetterLBeats
Clinical Assistant Professor of Audio & Recording Technologies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Co-founder, Boom Boom Room Productions Writing Camp
Voting Member, Recording Academy