Generational Archives With Dr. Raina J. Leon And Dr. Norma Thomas

Shows

Haymarket Books LiveRemedies For Disappearing (Book Launch)Join Alexa Patrick and special guests for a celebration of her debut poetry collection Remedies for Disappearing. This event took place on June 6, 2023. In this beautiful debut from an exciting new poet, Alexa Patrick’s Remedies for Disappearing memorializes Blackness in its quiet and unexpected forms, bringing the peripheral into focus. These poems muddy Black life and death, observe lineage and love stories, and question what “disappearing” teaches about Blackness and bodies. Remedies for Disappearing is gritty, sharp, and formally inventive, demonstrating Patrick’s imaginative curiosity, lyrical restraint, and confidence in her handling of language. Moments of aphoristic confession are balanced...2023-12-221h 18

Generational ArchivesGenerational Know-How: How do you get the birth certificates of your peopleIn this episode, we talk about some of the core documents to help you on your genealogical journey: birth certificates, death certificates, and social security applications. What can you find on those documents? What are some of the regional differences? And how can these documents give context to learning about your family? We even talk about use of these documents in researching aunts and uncles, which may help you to get past barriers in your research. This podcast was recorded in Zoom so there are some lags. Cover photo from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rohan DaCosta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Cover art from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Raina J. León⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Theme song, Funky Percussions, from...2023-08-1731 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Pourquoi: Papi shares origin storiesIn this special episode, one of two, we interview Eddie León on his beginnings. The narrative extends from his beginnings in New York to Philadelphia, the struggle of coming up with his father traveling as a Merchant Marine most of the year (and common struggles of Puerto Ricans finding their way in New York City in the 1950s), and more. There's even a story of evil spirits, the landlord who sought to use spells to ill effect and got caught up in his own ill will, and more ... all shared over the perfect cup of coffee. 2023-06-0731 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Early Birds: What the archives won't holdThe documents can tell you a lot, but what won't they tell you? Left-handed or not? Are your people mostly early birds or night owls? Do they like the taste of cilantro or think it tastes like soap? In this episode, we give updates of our trip to South Carolina, discoveries with the census and how my (Raina's) grandmother lived in a place we never knew (which may ultimately lead to a discovery about the location of my aunt's birth), and discoveries about our ancestor named Picky. Cover photo from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rohan DaCosta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Cover art from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Raina J. León⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Theme...2023-05-1728 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Reconciliation: Nana SarahWhat must it feel like to lose your children? And how do your children reconcile the loss? In this podcast, we talk about Nana Sarah, the mother of Queen Ester, what we have learned about her from the records and how she appears and disappears within them (as well as in the memories of even her own family. Tell us how this inspires you to learn more about your family, even the secrets, how you get free of shame and move towards reconciliation and honoring of memories. We also talk about the promises we have made our ancestors and...2023-05-1033 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Faith: Mami Juanita. Who taught you to pray?Who taught you to pray and what was your first prayer? That's our check-in question today before we consider what we have learned about Mami Juanita, Raina's paternal grandmother. In this episode, we share information from the birth certificates, interviews done in 2003 and 2014, her obituary, and personal recollections, hoping that our journey will inspire you on yours. Cover photo from ⁠⁠⁠⁠Rohan DaCosta⁠⁠⁠⁠ Cover art from ⁠⁠⁠⁠Dr. Raina J. León⁠⁠⁠⁠ Theme song, Funky Percussions, from ⁠⁠⁠⁠AudioCoffee⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠ Transcript from supported by ⁠⁠⁠Descript and available here.⁠⁠⁠ You can support our work through ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon. --- Support this podcast: 2023-05-0344 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Detectives: Methods we used to find our peopleWe have shared a great deal about our people and the methods we used to find out more information about them. In this episode, we focus on the methods we used: from birth certificates to deeds, stories to showing up at the family reunion, we share many of the ways that we have found out about our people in the hopes that it will help you find yours. Cover photo from ⁠⁠⁠Rohan DaCosta⁠⁠⁠ Cover art from ⁠⁠⁠Dr. Raina J. León⁠⁠⁠ Theme song, Funky Percussions, from ⁠⁠⁠AudioCoffee⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠ Transcript from supported by ⁠⁠Descript and ava...2023-04-2640 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Care: Grandpop was a DJWhat do you really know about your own grandparents? In this episode, we learn that Eddie Thomas was a saint, a mechanic, a stubborn man, a loving husband, hoarder, a DJ, a puzzler, and a beloved father and grandfather and other things. Join us, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas as we share how we learned about him, through lived experience, stories, documents, photographs, and more ... and perhaps that might inspire you to learn about your kin, too. Cover photo from ⁠⁠Rohan DaCosta⁠⁠ Cover art from ⁠⁠Dr. Raina J. León⁠⁠...2023-04-1933 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Honor: Homegrounds and CemeteriesDo you know where your people are buried? When was the last time you attended to the graves there? How you attend to the departed is a reflection of your attention to yourself, your own body, your people and your future. In this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, talk about the Black cemeteries of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, emphasizing the Thomas Family Cemetery and the Clearview Cemetery. Cover photo from ⁠Rohan DaCosta⁠ Cover art from ⁠Dr. Raina J. León⁠ Theme song, Funky Percussions, from ⁠Audi...2023-04-1230 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Beginnings Birth StoriesIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, share our own birth and birthing stories. Do you know yours? If you have children, have you shared their beginnings? Who was there to welcome them into the world? How have you maintained relationships in community? In our cases, we were both impacted by medicalized racism and had severe health impacts as many black mothers do. Black mothers die 4 times as much as their white peers, and the fear of that can be seen within these birth stories. Perhaps in telling the story we can m...2023-04-0531 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Connections: Sibling StoriesIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, begin our check in talking about music, before going into a discussion of the siblings and beginnings of Dr. Norma D. Thomas. Do you know your siblings? Do you really? It took decades for Dr. Thomas to learn fuller stories about hers in some cases and she shares some of what she has done to document their lives and celebrate all of who they are (even when they really can't drive). Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cover art fr...2023-03-2937 min

Black Writers ReadBlack Writers Read: Raina J. LeónSend us a textThis episode features our conversation with Philadelphia’s Dr. Raina J. León, which was livestreamed on Saturday, March 25, 2023 to talk about her expansive body of work.Dr. Raina J. León is Black, Afro-Boricua, and from Philadelphia (Lenni Lenape ancestral lands). She is a mother, daughter, sister, madrina, comadre, partner, poet, writer, artist, digital archivist, podcaster, and teacher educator. She believes in collective action and community work. She is the author of black god mother this body, Canticle of Idols, Boogeyman Dawn, sombra : (dis)locate, and the chapbooks, profe...2023-03-281h 13

Generational ArchivesGenerational Legacies: Dr. Norma D. Thomas and starting with yourselfIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, start with the check in question "Were you spoiled as a child?" and what that even means before sharing Dr. Thomas's process in starting her ancestral research with herself. She talks about the baby pictures that she has, her origins in Fayette County, PA (Uniontown) and all the documents that inform her self-discovery. She also shares with us about how a part of her legacy creation work is documenting the lives of her children and grandchildren through albums. This is not about ego; it is abou...2023-03-2243 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Vision: Harry Logan and Lockhart Baptist ChurchIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, share with you, as a continuation of our South Carolina story, information about Harry Logan, blacksmith, church trustee, and community institution builder. We share what we have learned about his history (perhaps with Boston connection), his determination and resolve to be free in all ways (including in love), his resistance and persistence, and his legacy at Lockhart. We also share how sometimes what we remember differs from family members. How does what you remember conflict or show another part of the story than your people reme...2023-03-1534 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Freedom: Journey to and through South CarolinaIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, welcome you on our journey to South Carolina, the discoveries (SO MANY) that we make along the way with records, interviews, documents that appear from a trunk, ancestral answers through wind and dust, a car whipping around on the road, and so much more. Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cover art from Dr. Raina J. León Theme song, Funky Percussions, from AudioCoffee on Pixabay Transcript from supported by Descript and available here. You can support our work through Patreon. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spo...2023-03-0842 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Pride: Black Fayette County and the Traveling MuseumIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, share with you information on Fayette County in Western Pennsylvania and Black History. Black History should be taught every day, not just during the month of February. In this episode, we talk about the importance of learning your history to support the development of community and cultural pride, how teachers and young people can be partners in discovering and sharing the stories important to a community, and also some techniques and practices in creating cultural institutions. Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cove...2023-03-0142 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Insight: Queen EsterIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce you to Queen Ester, whose voice, after decades lost, appeared in a previously lost cassette tape. Dr. Thomas shares a poem written for her mother, "Images". We talk about preserving letters and the reliability of records (birth certificates and death certificates). Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cover art from Dr. Raina J. León Theme song, Funky Percussions, from AudioCoffee on Pixabay Transcript from supported by Descript and available here. You can support our work...2023-02-2232 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Gumption: GrannieIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce you to Grannie, who lived a COLORFUL life. She went to danced on the Apollo stage as Princess Olga, was a cigarette girl with Billie Holiday, a leader of the Evening Star, traveling widely. She also also suffered the loss of her first son during a TB epidemic in 1947, while pregnant, an epidemic which ultimately saw her daughter also placed in a sanatarium with her two grandchildren, one who would not survive. Even amidst the loss, Grannie laughed and welcomed and celebrated. This episode celeb...2023-02-1526 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Talent: Aunt DorisIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce ourselves as collaborative creatives, scholars, and archivists through our continued consideration of talent. We share an introduction to Aunt Doris through a discussion of the documents and methods we've used to learn more about her. She was an adventurous vocalist who performed across genres, known for for singing in spiritual contexts, music comedies, on stage and on the silver screen, blues, jazz, and more. She lived a long life, highly regarded for her talent, and when her brother became ill, she moved to Philadelphia to c...2023-02-0834 min

Generational ArchivesGenerational Talent: Uncle FrancisIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce ourselves as collaborative creatives, scholars, and archivists. We share an introduction to Uncle Francis through a discussion of the documents and methods we've used to learn more about him. He was a poet, musician, and vocalist, like his mother, aunt, sister and many others in the family, but he died young during the 1947 TB epidemic that struck much of the United States and especially Uniontown and Western PA. In that epidemic, there was another member of our family, a barely one year old cousin of F...2023-02-0133 min

Generational ArchivesIntroduction to Generational ArchivesIn this episode, we, Dr. Raina J. León and Dr. Norma D. Thomas, introduce ourselves as collaborative creatives, scholars, and archivists... and you get a sense of who we are as a duo. Cover photo from Rohan DaCosta Cover art from Dr. Raina J. León Theme song, Funky Percussions, from AudioCoffee on Pixabay Transcript supported by Descript --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/generationalarchives/support 2023-01-2504 min

At Home, On AirAfro- and Age-Futurism: Imagining a Better Future for All EldersJoin us as we discuss Afro- and Age-Futurism with Raina J. León, PhD, Poet, Writer, Artist, Educator and her mother Dr. Norma Thomas, LCSW, Educator. Norma and her daughter Raina are frequent collaborators. They recently put forth and co-wrote a piece about afro- and age-futurism in a recent issue of Generations. What can be learned from afro-futurism, which visualizes a future where people of African descent are liberated fully and integrally as part of society with full equity, for the concept of age-futurism? How can the effort of one movement support another? What would a future look like in t...2022-05-1845 min