Sonia Sanchez On “People’s Party With Talib Kweli”

In this episode of “People’s Party With Talib Kweli”, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with poet, writer, professor, and leading figure in the Black Arts Movement:

SONIA SANCHEZ

Here’s what they got into:

• How Sonia’s sons Mungu and Morani convinced her to give hip hop a chance
• The power of Eric B. & Rakim’s song “Casualties Of War”
• Her deep involvement in the creation of the Black Arts Movement in the 60s
• How the death of Malcolm X played a role in how the movement got started
• Witnessing Abbey Lincoln recite “Who Will Revere the Black Woman?”
• Her experience growing up in Birmingham, Alabama
• How the untimely death of her mother led Sonia to develop a stutter
• Sonia’s 1971 album ‘A Sun Lady For All Seasons Reads Her Poetry’
• The significance of spoken word and it being the precursor to hip hop
• How the Schomburg Center in Harlem changed her life in a profound way
• The story of the F.B.I. showing up at her door and labeling her a militant
• Going to Mexico City and climbing the pyramids after the death of Malcolm X
• Why the role of the Black poet in 2022 hasn’t changed since the 60s
• Teaching a young man about the importance of respecting Black women
• Reciting her “10 Haikus for Max Roach” and a piece she write while in China

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