“The opposite of war is not peace. It’s creation.”
We FLY Podcast Ep. 1: Family First parts 1&2
We FLY Podcast: Black aerodynamic messages designed to keep your spirits soaring high.
“They say the people could fly. Say that long ago in Africa, some of the people knew magic.”- Virginia Hamilton
We FLY seeks to explore creative possibilities, promote holistic healing, and to celebrate, affirm and support the lives and souls of Black folks. Our desire is to love and liberate ourselves. And Re-Member our MAGIC.
Episode 1: Family First
Happy New Year, Family! My boyfriend and I have combined forces to bring you We FLY.
We chose to begin this new podcast with a series: Black Mental Health Matters: A Holistic Approach. We wanted to do our part in combatting the present foolery. Prioritizing our mental health felt like a good place to start. In this episode we speak with both of our families about their ideas on mental health, self-care, and hopes for the future. The conversations were so unique and enlightening we had to break the episode into 2 parts! Part 1 features my family in Georgetown, SC and Part 2 features Jaha’s family in Daytona Beach, FL. It was a joy to listen and learn. It is our hope that you’ll feel like you’re in these living rooms with us–that our families feel like your families. Check out the links below which our mentioned in this episode. And look out for next month’s!
100PcentDarkMatter clothing line
I am Charleston, SC born and RAISED!
God continues to call me to be a transparent voice for Him. I remember once saying that I was done with God putting me through trials. However, I now know that it wasn’t about me. He was giving me a testimony to help others.
African people with natural hair and I use all herbal products–handmade by myself or other Black herbalist. As an artist, I depict Black cultural experiences only. From women doing each other’s hair, reading or cooking, to men doing their daughters’ hair and meditating. Black culture is all I draw.
like anything is being taken from you. When around those who are “bigger” than you, admire who they are but don’t feel insignificant. Secondly: Know how to be just as substantial in a room full of people who are “bigger” than you. Make sure you’re still listening. Absorb knowledge but don’t be a leach. One day you’ll be standing in that SAME room with those SAME people and you’ll be one of them. This means you’ve absorbed. Most importantly, you’ve GROWN. Don’t ever be afraid to feel out of place–to be the ant. Actually, that may be the best advice in anything. I keep that close to me.
and later St. Helena Island. Honestly, I started to identify as Gullah Geechee at the age of 8, when my mother moved our family across the bridge from Burton to St. Helena Island, SC. My siblings and I went to 
I am a licensed cosmetologist and owner of Naturelle Beaute’ by Shaniqua in Charlotte, NC. I believe that I’ve been called to counsel and educate, and I do this whenever I stand behind my chair. I am also a wife and an expectant mother!
Geechee. I think maybe it was growing up on St. Helena, spending so much time at Penn Center, having your parents (Ron and Natalie Daise) come do presentations at St. Helena Elementary. I was always clear that I was Gullah Geechee, and that it meant something (even if I didn’t always think that “something” was positive).
I think all of this makes me terribly unsuited for capitalism! lol. Anything I do to earn money is always in the service of Black people. And I tend to lean more toward bartering, sliding scale services, that sort of model. I operate in a way that’s a bit Marxist, in that “to each according to his need, from each according to his ability” sort of way, such that I rarely turn anyone away for doula services or consulting services; I always try to find a way to offer them something, or find someone who can provide them what they need. It’s not the best way to run a business in a capitalistic society, but I always find that my needs are met, because my work is also a way I build community.
in Atlanta, but they will never not know they are Gullah Geechee. So we connect with each other, we build with each other, we commune with each other, we learn the traditions, we pass them on, and we talk about who we are today. There’s a DOPE thread of Gullah Geechee hip hop artists and musicians on Facebook. How do we inherently make hip hop something different because of who we are? As we leave the Corridor, what is it that we take with us? Who have we become? I have an interview project in my head to talk to Gullah Geechee folks under 45. Because really, no-one talks to us, except to put us on display, to have us perform. No-one talks to us as though we are actual, living, breathing, loving people. So I’d like to do that.
A Village raised me! Huger Street, Eastside, West Ashley, Silver hill and George Legare aka George lagree. My childhood was full of Geechee wonder, surrounded by my elders, spirituality and culture! And I didn’t even know it! With all of this combined, I am and still evolving to be the best me and a stronger Gullah Warrior Ooman.
My closet is full of hats! First Tier; I am Recording Artist, Kyndra Joi, where my music is affectionately known as “Gullah Soul”. I have taken a brief hiatus from the recording scene to do more cultural music and music collaborations. I am the Founder and Director of my nonprofit, I Am My Sister. This nonprofit assists women of color in cultivating wholeness and obtaining balance within self-first through wellness workshops and mentorship. This organization is dear to my heart because the ultimate goal is to assist women in freeing themselves from that mental and societal bondage that has been placed on them. When we are free, we are able to stand upright in our places and the be the strength and protectors of our communities and families that we have been created to be.
My advice that I give to the Queens is just do it! There are always going to be the what if’s, the naysayers, the financial concerns, but just do it. Develop your plan, get a team of at least 2 people and make it do what it do. Ask questions, find a mentor, have a steady self-care plan and then go at it again! Just imagine, if our ancestors didn’t do it, where would be? We are responsible for the generation behind us. They are because We Are!
I was born in New Haven, CT. At 5-years-old I moved to Summerville, SC, where my grandparents lived. I lived there until I was 12 and then I was sent back to Connecticut. I graduated from high school in ’96 and by 1999 I was ready for change. Jacksonville, FL was my next destination. In 2012 I finally decided to move back to SC. I’ve grown up exposed to the city-life as well as the country-living. Moving so often didn’t provide much stability. Because of this, it was easy learning to live without becoming psychologically attached to locations or people.
my body. Spend time with my home. How to help the evolving culture? For the adults: staying involved, assisting in the area that appears to struggle. Getting our youth involved so that they understand and are aware of their identity within their culture. It’s through the youthful energy that the positive evolution of the culture will expand in areas like education, social media advertisement, cultural and community projects. We must advertise and exemplify the phrase “Do Your Part!”
I believe my purpose now is to assist our elders with the work that needs to be completed so that our culture doesn’t become dormant. I do so by showing them how to use technology, typing paperwork, making calls, being an educated face and voice for their affairs and making sure that their needs are met.
knowing came from my mother making sure I knew where I came from. She would tell me about where she was born (Cherokee Plantation in Yemassee, SC) and how everyone took care of each other. My grandfather would also tell us stories. To hear him speak guaranteed you would be aware of the culture. I was and still am proud of such a rich heritage. It means being resilient and proud. Embracing that which is unique and embedded in you that no one else can imitate. We are an original and wise people who prosper from our natural abilities as long as we respect those abilities.
Traditions are meant to form a foundation for us to build the future, not to keep us stuck. We can respect our roots while we continue to grow the rest of the fruit. It’s our job to continue to educate our children about who we are and to celebrate this heritage in our daily lives. Never be ashamed of our story. This is why I created 
because of my grandmother; we picked okra and tomatoes, corn and snap beans. Every Sunday we’d have a big family dinner and you could always expect some “hoppin john” aka peas & rice, cornbread, mac & cheese, turkey wings, potato salad and more. Sundays were literally Gullah Grub day. I was also influenced by the show Gullah Gullah Island. I remember watching this show in kindergarten. It taught me social skills and family lessons through song and also highlighted the Gullah culture. It wasn’t until I attended 
enjoy every minute of it. It’s such a great feeling being able to enhance one’s natural beauty with a simple haircut. My culture certainly influences my barber career. Every style is a revolving cycle of what was worn before my time. Many of the styles have some type of symbolic meaning behind them.
seminars as well as summer 
I’m from Johns Island, SC.
I woke up with the realization that my parents won’t live forever. For years my mother has said when she looks in the mirror she expects to see me and she is regularly surprised to see a middle-aged woman. My father calls himself “old.” I have always shrugged off these remarks. She is as beautiful and peanutbuttery as I remember. He is as smooth and mahogany and bright as always. Now, though, I see the smile lines in her eyes that resemble her father’s. Now I see the softness in the strong cheekbones she got from her mother and her mother before that. I hear the slow rhythm of his mother’s voice slip out of my father’s mouth. I see Grandma’s fire and approval in his expressions.
singing one last song to his mother at her homegoing service. It is the sigh I can feel as my mother prepares to care for her own mother, who is now suffering from dementia. It is the uncomfortable realization that my parents won’t live forever either. (Even though I’ve been telling them for 20 years that they have to).
The stay-vigilant-I-got-an-idea-and-now-it’s-complete attitude of my daddy. The problem-solving-find-joy-in-everything character of my mother.
similar to those used in Africa. Once referred to as work baskets and used to winnow rice, carry dried goods and maintain slave villages as functional art, sweetgrass baskets now sell for hundreds of dollars and can be found decorating the homes of art collectors and tourists. The craft continues to be passed down in Gullah Geechee families. The use of sweetgrass as opposed to black rush, began in the 20th century.
saramakeba 