This month, I'm in conversation with Los Angeles-based photographer, Maya June Mansour! As a Co-Founder of Black Image Center (https://www.blackimagecenter.org/), a non-profit committed to uplifting LA's Black storytellers, Maya discusses her love for portraiture and affirms the importance of photography as a visual language that preserves culture and transcends time. For more Black art, Black archives, and Black autonomy, follow us on Instagram @theblackordinary and visit https://www.theblackordinary.com/ ! Chapters: 00:00 Intro 02:11 Extraordinarily Ordinary: Community Takeaways 06:31 Childhood Curiosity to Career 08:04 Photography is a Visual Language 09:18 Founding Black Image Center 10:44 Navigating Nonprofit Status: Pros and Cons 14:46 Transitioning the Leadership of Black Image Center 15:47 The Power of Portraiture: Shaping Identity Through Photography 19:02 Environmental Impact of Digital Photography 19:42 Curating How Our Descendants See Us 21:02 Film Screenings at Black Image Center 22:42 Growing Beyond A Physical Location 26:56 California Coast in Color Artist Residency 31:43 Neighborhood Photo Walks 34:11 Rapid Fire Buzzwords 35:17 TBO Bookshelf Additions 38:56 Where You Can Find Black Image Center ----- Edited by: Kaitlyn B. Jones Produced by: Conduit Arts, LLC

For this episode, I'm in conversation with community historian and Co-Founder of 1838 Black Metropolis, Morgan Lloyd. Listen as she shares the histories of extraordinarily ordinary Black Philadelphians in the early 1800s whose lives were enriched by community, joy, and intersectional experiences. For more Black art, Black archives, and Black autonomy, follow us on Instagram @theblackordinary and visit https://www.theblackordinary.com/ ! Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:59 Extraordinarily Ordinary: Carolyn LeCount and Henrietta Duterte 06:43 Rooted in South Jersey, Grounded in Philly 08:25 The 1838 Abolition Society Census 13:43 Local, State, and Federal Collaborations 17:16 Social Museums: Historic Preservation Without Walls 18:52 Pushing Forward in Uncertain Times 22:47 We are Living History 23:55 Genealogy and Ancestral Strength 26:57 Afro-Indigenous Identity in Philly 30:58 Buzz Words 33:13 Philadelphia: The Black Transatlantic Center 37:25 Our Ancestors Knew Joy (and knew it well!) 39:06 TBO Bookshelf Additions 44:46 Where to find 1838 Black Metropolis

On this episode, I'm in conversation with Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artist and activist, Autumn Breon. Listen in as we discuss Autumn's use of archival material in her artistic collaborations and the importance of Black creativity, Black communal spaces, afrofuturist imagination, and believing Black women (the first time!). For more Black art, Black archives, and Black autonomy, follow us on Instagram @theblackordinary and visit https://www.theblackordinary.com/ ! Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:21 Extraordinarily Ordinary: Bernice Robinson 06:14 Engineering Artistry 09:03 Making Art from Archival Material 24:15 The Black Church as Keepers of The Black Archive 29:07 Why Art is Dangerous 31:44 Buzz Words 33:09 Esoterica: A Gift from the Ancestors 38:15 Comfort in Community 40:26 Believe Black Women. The First Time. 44:13 TBO Digital Bookshelf Recommendations 46:11 Where to Find Autumn and Her Artwork ----- Edited by: Kaitlyn B. Jones Produced by: Conduit Arts, LLC

This month, I’m in conversation with Nasir Anthony Montalvo, an award-winning journalist and memory worker based in Kansas City, MO. Listen in as we discuss Black Queer Kansas City histories, the evolution of the {B/qKC} archive, abolitionist frameworks, and a new model for collection ownership. For more Black art, Black archives, and Black autonomy, follow us on Instagram @theblackordinary and visit https://www.theblackordinary.com/ ! Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:29 Extraordinarily Ordinary - Tisha Taylor (aka Craig Lovingood) 08:03 Starting the {B/qKC} Archive 18:02 Collection Shareholders: A New Model for Archive Ownership 26:13 Bringing Archives to the Community 33:12 Lessons Learned in Community Work 38:11 Archival Work is not Passive 41:30 Collective Memory and Loss 44:36 Abolitionist Frameworks 48:03 Buzz Words 49:52 TBO Digital Bookshelf Additions 56:08 Where to find Nasir and {B/qKC} ----- Edited by: Kaitlyn B. Jones Produced by: Conduit Arts, LLC

Hosted by curator and archival researcher Kaitlyn B. Jones, The Black Ordinary Podcast platforms artists, community-based archives, and archival projects working to preserve the histories and culture of Black-American people. Each episode introduces listeners and viewers to Black artists, Black community archivists, and Black historians that are redefining how they interact with institutional archives and substituting traditional museum-based archival practices for a more community-centered approach. From unique community-owned licensing models to art-based traditions and intergenerational oral histories, each conversation is rooted at the intersection of art, archives, and the autonomy of Black-American people. With conviction, The Black Ordinary platforms the collective memories of Black America, knowing that as Black people live and breathe, so does the Black Archive.