UNtenurED
Season 2
UNmaksED
UNderestimatED
UNleashED
UNshakeable
UNentitlED
UNresolvED
UNmutED
UNabridgED
UNcagED
UNdeniably Black & Brilliant
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by Yaa Yaa Whaley-Williams
Episode 20 ~ Dr. Michelle Chanda Singh aka The Disengagement Doctor ! We're closing out with a BOLD BLACK BANG! Our Season 2 finale is called UNmaskED—and we came with blueprint energy, brilliance, and a little beautiful disruption. 🎙️✨ Inspired by the spirit of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s iconic “We Wear the Mask,” this episode pulled the mask off systems, stories, and silence. The Disengagement Doctor didn’t just join the conversation—she diagnosed it, named it, and helped us see what it takes to re-engage hearts systems tried to quiet. From AI in classrooms to Black joy in leadership spaces, Insecure or Girlfriends SEL for teachers and more, spades or UNO this wasn’t content—it was cultural correction. And tune in for some “firsts” in this Season 2 closing guest discussion—moments we’ve never had on the mic before, and shifts we didn’t just talk about, but lived in real time. Because when community, critique, and care sit together… disengagement doesn’t stand a chance. 🖤
Episode 19 ~ Camille Joy aka THE Audacious Autism Advocate ! In this neuro-affirming conversation, we sit with Camille Joy, author of Moments of Joy: 90 Days of Encouragement for Parents of Children with Special Needs to explore Black AUTISTIC joy to center inclusivity. Sometimes the world underestimates people… until they speak. In this episode we honor National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and Women’s History Month—two reminders that the voices history tried to overlook are often the ones carrying the most wisdom. This conversation is about power, advocacy, motherhood, identity, and the beauty of seeing brilliance where systems once saw limits. Because being underestimated? Sometimes that’s just the prelude to changing the narrative. This episode is an invitation to level up your autism acceptance AND advocacy. Come for the insight. Stay for the affirmation. Leave remembering that Black joy is strategy, language is liberation, and our stories are sacred!
Episode 18 ~ Kleaver Cruz aka THE Dominican Diaspora Dreamer ! In this powerful and soul-centered conversation, we sit with Kleaver Cruz, author of The Black Joy Project, to explore Black joy not as a trend—but as a tool of resistance, a strategy for survival, and a declaration of power. Kleaver, a community organizer and founder of The Black Joy Project, has dedicated his work to uplifting stories that remind us that Black life is not solely defined by struggle—but by brilliance, creativity, tenderness, and triumph. Through their storytelling and organizing, they reframe joy as political, intentional, and deeply rooted in collective memory. Together, we unpack the power of language—how the words we use shape narratives, movements, and even our self-concept. We reflect on the hidden figures of the Black movement—the everyday organizers, cultural architects, artists, and elders whose names may not make headlines but whose impact reshapes generations. We talk Benito Bowl, tostones or maduro, their favorite word, whether they'd go a lifetime without travel or a lifetime without books....and MORE! This episode is an invitation to reimagine resistance. To understand that joy is not a distraction from the work—it is the work. That naming ourselves is power. That remembering our hidden figures is legacy. And that choosing joy, especially in the face of erasure, is one of the most radical acts available to us. Come for the insight. Stay for the affirmation. Leave remembering that Black joy is strategy, language is liberation, and our stories are sacred.
Episode 17 ~ Evalaurene Jean-Charles aka Mrs. Resistance Rooted Revolutionary! Y'all ready?!? This one is a masterclass in rigor, joy, and righteous resistance. From breaking down Kai Cenat’s reading journey to centering real student voice, Eva reminds us that education done right is liberation in motion. She names what’s straight trash in the system, drops wisdom on staying fulfilled (not fried), and delivers iconic clapbacks in our “They Say / You Say” segment. Find out if spades or uno is her "go to", her Mount Rushmore of revolutionaries, her blueprint for building classrooms rooted in love and power, and proof that teaching is activism when done with intention. This episode kicks off Black History Month with movement-making energy, fearless truth, and receipts. Tap in. Take notes. Stay UNshakeable!
Episode 16 ~ Kwame Sarfo-Mensah aka Mr. In Action! We're still on the east coast ya'll with another dope soul who centers identity work. Most recently, he was named one of the top 50 Trailblazing Educators by The Educator’s Room for their 2026 Cohort. He's schooling our listeners on going from inaction to in action and his journey of the slow consistent grind where EVERYTHING was earned, hence why he's UNentitlED! Another real one who is a published author/consultant is hitting our Untenured Pod mic. Find out the artist who's swag matches his educational vibe, what has him sayin' "Oh Hell No", whether he's a spades or uno cat, his take on cognitive development, why he challenges and examines the culture of whiteness and if he'd rather teacher the teachers or coach the coaches. You'll also learn one of the books that built him and which historical figure gives him forever inspo on his professional/personal journey. So get ready for another conscious convo for the culture - he'll have you saying I'm ready to learn to RElearn!
Episode 15 ~ Yaritza Villalba aka Mrs. AI Adventurer! We back in NY ya'll with your first Afro-Latina powerhouse. She's speaking her truth and telling our listeners how so much remains UNresolvED! ¿Qué xopá? We talk about the power of being a black woman, the creation of her innovative business McKenzies Adventures, a source of forever inspo and why she goes so hard for tech access for black and brown communities. She's keeping it ALL the way real telling us why we should use AI but not trust it and how educators should lean into this new era of education. Find out her artist alter ego, whether she prefers spicy food or spicy conversation, the book(s) that built her and surprisingly help her with her business strategy approach and what has got her saying Oh Hell No these days. So get ready for another conscious convo for the culture - she'll have you saying cuéntame más!
Episode 14 ~ Dr. Asia Lyons aka Dr. Drink Yo Water & Be Well! We in Denver, CO ya'll! First time on the West Coast AND first time with a black female podder at our UNtenurED mic telling her truth, and officially, UNmutED! We talk about the revolutionary need for black educator REST, spades or uno?, the power of bell hooks, why fiber matters, her response to "Angry black woman" and teaching social justice to 6th graders and all the ways Dr. Lyons' in her multihyphenate dopeness is buidling community and centering healing. So grab yo water, clean yo glasses and tap in to another conscious convo for the culture - we aint LYIN' when we say Dr. Lyons is bringing it with this episode.
Episode 13 ~ Shauna McGee aka Mrs. Seasoned Potato Salad! We're headed back to The Boogie Down for a #cityfolk vibe to chop it up with McGee the AP. Tune is as we talk about why AAVE & why duality matters, her book "Culturally Responsive Decision-Making", book banning...and MORE! You may also want to lean in to hear if she goes with : Spades or Uno? KRS-One or Rakim? Sugar or salt in her grits? and you'll never guess which artist she says matches her educational swag as an artist. Shauna is a V.I.B.E and if you want to hear how that word is an acronym for the work she's inspiring in her leadership role, tune in ~ this is NO BLAND convo, we have seasonin' in our potato salad #iykyk Another one for the books...and as we say and LIVE, speaking your truth can NEVER "go left" because its your RIGHT! Enjoy!
Episode 12 ~ Dr. Courtney Rose aka Dr. Identity Speaks! We're headed to heat things up with a conscious convo for the culture with Dr. Courtney E. Rose down in Miami, Florida. This episode will not disappoint as we talk about unpacking teacher identity, Abbott elementary, Lauryn Hill's iconic first album, the attempt to dismantle the Department of Education and whether she's a fan of Insecure or Girlfriends. We learn about her pet peeves in consultant and educational work, why she's hooked on bell hooks, her take on the perils and purpose of silence and her reaction to K. Dot's halftime moment for the culture and what her response would be to someone saying her book, "Woven Together", should be banned! Another one for the books...and as we say and LIVE, speaking your truth can NEVER "go left" because its your RIGHT! Enjoy!
Episode 11 ~ Dr. Edmund Adjapong aka Mr. Teach Like an MC! We're kicking off Season 2 back in NYC, the Boogie down to be exact! This dope guest gives us the perfect way post the EPIC 2025 Halftime show to lean into another conscious convo for the culture. Dr. Adjapong will leave you HYPE to learn about teaching like an MC and embracing Hip Hop as a way to heal, inspire and TEACH! We're giving " Show Me What U Got" vibes as we talk about it all from K. Dot's iconic protest performance for the culture at the 59th Super Bowl to hip hop as an educational tool to what inspired Ed to become a science teacher to his "Hip Hop Mount Rushmore", his latest book " Teach Like an MC"...and MORE! Edmund Adjapong is more than a Professor he is a hip hop head spittin' pedagogical bars for the people and the culture. We are MORE than a bookstore and Hip Hop is MORE than a music genre! Don't sweat the technique, get ready to put some swag into the educational system!