On August 25th 2023, we launched a new episode of our series. Stay tuned for our third season which will feature 6 new conversations between our hosts Dr. Andy Knight and to our last greatest team member Abigail Isaac. Between May and October, on the 25th of each month, a new episode will be released.
Blacktalk is a podcast about the personal experiences of global Black experts and Black Canadians contextualized within the historical experience of being Black. Ethnic, modern, inclusive and informative, Blacktalk leaves listeners with new perspectives about anti-Black racism and Black achievement. The show is conversational, not judgemental. It provides a unique take on the Black experience to help people of all backgrounds open their eyes, reflect and challenge their thinking.
Dr. Andy Knight, Host and creator of BlackTalk & Co-Director of the CDSN’s Global Health Security Research theme.
BlackTalk PodCast with Brandon Wint and Dr. Andy Knight
BlackTalk producer Nicolás Arnáez chats with Dr. Andy Knight, creator and usual host of the BlackTalk podcast, and with multidisciplinary storyteller Brandon Wint, about the new Black Studies microcourse they have developed, "Black Canadians: History, Presence, and Anti-Racist Futures", soon to be available for the public to attend through Coursera.
Dr. Abi Williams is a scholar and international affairs practitioner who has held leadership positions in academia, think tanks, and the United Nations. He is Professor of the Practice of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. He has also served as Director of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University and President of The Hague Institute for Global Justice. Prior to these appointments, Dr. Williams served at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) first as Vice President of the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, and later as Senior Vice President of the Center for Conflict Management. He led USIP's work on prevention and in major conflict zones, including Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Libya.
From 2001 to 2007, Dr. Williams served as Director of Strategic Planning for UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-Moon. As an academic, he has served as Associate Dean of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., and held faculty appointments at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and the University of Rochester. He was Chair of the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS), and a member of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Justice, the U.S.-Netherlands Fulbright Commission, the Lester Pearson College UWC Board of Trustees, and the International Board of Directors of the United World Colleges. He is currently a professor of international politics at Tisch College, Tufts University.
In this episode, Dr. Williams speaks to the role of race in international justice institutions, unpacks personal lessons learned from his extensive career as diplomat and academic practitioner, and explains his role as a mentor and community builder, among other topics.
Episode 16 - Dr. Selwyn Cudjoe
Selwyn R. Cudjoe is currently a Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. He teaches courses on the African American literary tradition, African literature, black women writers, and Caribbean literature. A graduate of Fordham University where he received both a B.A. in English and an M.A. in American Literature, Professor Cudjoe also earned a Ph.D. in American Literature from Cornell University. Prior to joining the Wellesley faculty in 1986, he taught at Ithaca College and Cornell, Harvard, Brandeis, Fordham, and Ohio universities. He has been a lecturer at Auburn (N.Y.) State Prison and taught at Bedford-Stuyvesant (N.Y.) Youth-In-Action. Professor Cudjoe is the author and editor of several books, and has produced several documentaries. He has written for the New York Times; The Washington Post; Boston Globe; Harvard Educational Review; International Herald Tribune; New Left Review; Baltimore Sun; the Amsterdam News; Trinidad Guardian; and Trinidad Express. As president of NAEAP, Prof Cudjoe significantly raised the level of consciousness and activism of peoples of African descent living in the Caribbean island of Trinidad & Tobago.
In this episode, Dr. Cudjoe addresses the importance of knowing our literary history, building solidarity between Black American theorists and Pan African theorists, the activist legacies of Pan-African leaders, and the role of struggle and resistance in Black literature, among other topics.
BlackTalk Podcast Special Episode - Pan-African Symposium with Adekeye Adebajo and Lula Adam
BlackTalk host Dr. Andy Knight talks with Dr. Adekeye Adebajo of the University of Pretoria, and Lula Adam of the University of Alberta, discussing their experiences at the Pan-African Symposium held at the University of Alberta in February 2024. All three speakers reflect on the ideas presented in the symposium, especially ideas of intellectual reparations, African scholarship, the publishing gap between Euro-North American and African journals, and practical, constructive paths forward for working to decolonize the University curriculum.
Episode 17 - Ambassador Curtis Ward
In this episode, Amb. Ward discusses his upbringing in Jamaica and his influences, his thoughts on colonial reparations and justice in the African continent and the Caribbean, and building democracies in post-colonial societies, among other topics.
Ambassador Curtis Ward is an Attorney-at-Law and International Consultant, and former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations with Special Responsibility for Security Council Affairs, serving on the UN Security Council from 2000 to 2001. He has extensive knowledge and experience in national and international legal and policy frameworks for effective implementation of UN and other international anti-terrorism mandates, including countering and preventing violent extremism.
Ambassador Ward traveled to over 30 countries representing the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee for meetings and discussions with government leaders and high-level officials, on counter-terrorism capacity building and related issues; and has provided advisory services to the UN, regional organizations, governments, and NGOs. He has participated as a keynote speaker at various forums, and has lectured globally on a number of security and related issues.
Ambassador Ward holds a Master of Laws from Georgetown University, a Juris Doctor from Howard University, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (Economics and Political Science) from Howard as well. As an academic, he is also an Adjunct Professor in the Homeland Security Graduate Program at the University of the District of Columbia (since 2012); and is a former Adjunct Professorial Lecturer at George Washington University – Elliott School of International Affairs (2010-14). He has given a series of lectures at the National Defense University; at the NATO School (SHAPE), Oberammergau, Germany; the Kofi Anan International Peacekeeping Centre, Accra, Ghana; and lectures on WMDs at the Caribbean Maritime University, Kingston, Jamaica.
Episode 15 - Dr. Rhoda Reddock
Dr. Rhoda Reddock is a sociologist and development studies scholar with expertise in a range of areas including feminist and gender studies, and critical race and ethnic studies. With an academic career spanning many years she is a former deputy campus principal of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus, and head of the Centre (now Institute) for Gender and Development Studies and lecturer in sociology. Among her many published works, she has written 8 books and over seventy peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. As an activist in the Caribbean Women’s movement, Dr. Reddock was a founding member and first chair of the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA). Her advocacy positioned her as a pioneer of Gender and Development Studies programmes, and she continues to champion the inclusion of women and gender studies in the field. She was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the International Sociological Association, and is the first Caribbean person elected to that role. Dr. Reddock has also served on the Council and advisory committee of the Caribbean Studies Association.
In this episode, Dr. Reddock speaks to what it means to practice decolonial feminism and decolonize our academic institutions, defines pan-African feminism, points listeners to the wisdom of African and Caribbean women thought-leaders, and examines the future of the Gender and Development Studies field.
