WEE Nation Podcast

Interview with Children’s Author Yuyi Morales

It’s time for WEE Nation Reads with UMBC. Today's interview is with Author Yuyi Morales. http://yuyimorales.com/

This segment is sponsored by UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities, which serves as a resource to participating teachers and families in their Diverse Books Projects (DBP). https://shermancenter.umbc.edu/diverse-books-project/

This project aims to ensure that early childhood educators at their partner schools have access to high-quality, diverse children’s books and opportunities to share ideas and insights about their use. Books identified by UMBC will be featured in our WEE Nation Reads with UMBC segment, which includes a reading of each of the selected books, children’s music related to each book, and an interview with the author or publisher.

The book for today is "Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet" by Yuyi Morales. It includes a reading of their book at the 28:22 mark of the video.

For more information about WEE Nation Radio, go to www.WEENationRadio.com or download our mobile app on Android and iPhones by searching "WEE Nation Radio" in your App Store.

Seven Principles to Prioritize & Value the Professional Teaching Artist

Listen to this powerful discussion of the “Seven Principles to Prioritize and Value the Professional Teaching Artist” by presenters Denise Jones, Jennifer Ridgway, Khaleshia Thorpe-Price, and Devin Walker, all board members of the Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic (TAMA).

This discussion took place at the Maryland Art Summit 2023, hosted on the campus of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, on Thursday, June 8, 2023. 

The Maryland Arts Summit is a statewide conference presented by and for the Maryland arts sector, which includes, but is not limited to: Arts Advocates, Arts Educators & Teaching Artists, Independent Artists, Arts Organizations, Youth, Community Stakeholders, Arts, and Entertainment Districts, County Arts Agencies of Maryland, Public Artists, Boards of Directors, and Folklife Artists.

It is an opportunity to network, share the fantastic work that is being done across the state, learn about communities different from your own, celebrate the accomplishments of what we as a sector have achieved, and, through dialogue and action, bring to light where systems have fallen short of the support required to help artists and organizations thrive. The Maryland Arts Summit is a place for productive conversations to move the Maryland arts sector forward and ensure its long-term success. To learn more, go to https://mdarts.org/summit/.

TAMA is a network that advocates for, empowers, and supports Teaching Artists throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. TAMA calls on the arts and culture sector, the philanthropic community, schools, libraries, retirement homes, detention centers, and all community members and entities to value Teaching Artists (TA) as paid professionals. Pay equity is a social justice issue. For more information about TAMA, go to https://teachingartists.org/.

Download the WEE Nation Radio app today on your Android or iPhone today.

 

Interview with Organizers of Teach Truth Day 2023

Uncle Devin interviews Keesha Ceran, Associate Director, Teaching for Change, and Vanessa Williams, Program Manager, DC Educators for Social Justice. They are speaking about Teach Truth Day, a national day of action on June 10, 2023.

According to the Ziin Education Project's website, "Although bills and budget resolutions are being proposed (and in some cases passed) in specific states, the threat to teaching — and the need for solidarity — is everywhere."j

They are inviting people to participate from all over the United States. You can plan a virtual event or gathering at a historic site. From the freedom to vote to children’s freedom to learn to everyone’s freedom from gun violence, certain politicians want to overturn the will of the people and block the policies needed for students, families, and communities to thrive. 

Join us for a discussion about Teach Truth Day 2023.

For more information about WEE Nation Radio, go to www.WEENationRadio.com or download our mobile app on Android and iPhones by searching "WEE Nation Radio" in your App Store.

Interview with Author Gabi Garcia

It’s time for WEE Nation Reads with UMBC. Today's interview is with Author Gabi Garcia. https://gabigarciabooks.com/

This segment is sponsored by UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities, which serves as a resource to participating teachers and families in their Diverse Books Projects (DBP). https://shermancenter.umbc.edu/divers...
 
This project aims to ensure that early childhood educators at their partner schools have access to high-quality, diverse children’s books and opportunities to share ideas and insights about their use. Books identified by UMBC will be featured in our WEE Nation Reads with UMBC segment, which includes a reading of each of the selected books, children’s music related to each book, and an interview with the author or publisher. 

The book for today is "Listening to My Body" by Gabi Garcia. It includes a reading of their book at the 28:22 mark of the video.
 
For more information about WEE Nation Radio, go to www.WEENationRadio.com or download our mobile app on Android and iPhones by searching "WEE Nation Radio" in your App Store.

Interview with Author, Dr. Immanuel Williams

It’s time for WEE Nation Reads with UMBC. Today's interview is with Author Dr. Immanuel Williams. https://www.gato365.com/books 

This segment is sponsored by UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities, which serves as a resource to participating teachers and families in their Diverse Books Projects (DBP). https://shermancenter.umbc.edu/diverse-books-project/

This project aims to ensure that early childhood educators at their partner schools have access to high-quality, diverse children’s books and opportunities to share ideas and insights about their use. Books identified by UMBC will be featured in our WEE Nation Reads segment, which includes a reading of each of the selected books, children’s music related to each book, and an interview with the author or publisher.

The book for today is "The Adventures of Jamear: Shapes All Around" by Dr. Immanuel Williams and Kelly Williams. It includes a reading of their book at the 12:49 mark of the video.https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Adventures_of_Jamear.html?id=lRXhAQAACAAJ

 

For more information about WEE Nation Radio, go to www.WEENationRadio.com or download our mobile app on Android and iPhones by searching "WEE Nation Radio" in your App Store.

UMBC’s Diverse Books Project - Katherena Vermette Interview

It’s time for WEE Nation Reads with UMBC. Today's interview is with Author Katherena Vermette http://www.KatherenaVermette.com/

This segment is sponsored by UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities, which serves as a resource to participating teachers and families in their Diverse Books Projects (DBP). https://shermancenter.umbc.edu/diverse-books-project/

This project aims to ensure that early childhood educators at their partner schools have access to high-quality, diverse children’s books and opportunities to share ideas and insights about their use. Books identified by UMBC will be featured in our WEE Nation Reads segment, which includes a reading of each of the selected books, children’s music related to each book, and an interview with the author or publisher.

The book for today is "The Girl and the Wolf" by Katherena Vermette. It includes a reading of her book by Storyteller Robbie Kumalo at the 1:35 mark of the video.

For more information about WEE Nation Radio, go to www.WEENationRadio.com or download our mobile app on Android and iPhones by searching "WEE Nation Radio" in your App Store.

UMBC’s Diverse Books Project - Lesa Cline-Ransome Interview

Uncle Devin interviews author Lesa Cline-Ransome about her book, "Before She Was Harriett." https://www.lesaclineransome.com/

This book was selected to be a part of the University of Maryland Baltimore County's Diverse Books Project. In April 2023, WEE Nation Radio started a partnership with UMBC's Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities by offering our WEE Nation Reads program as a resource to participating teachers and families in their Diverse Books Projects (DBP).  https://shermancenter.umbc.edu/diverse-books-project/

This project aims to ensure that early childhood educators at their partner schools have access to high-quality, diverse children’s books and opportunities to share ideas and insights about their use.

Books identified by UMBC will be featured in our WEE Nation Reads segment, which includes a reading of each of the selected books, children’s music related to each book, and an interview with the author or publisher.

WEE Nation Reads takes place every Monday through Friday, from April 11, 2023, through May 18, airing twice a day at 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM EST on WEE Nation Radio.

Parents and teachers can listen by downloading our mobile app available in Google Play and the Apple Store. Download your app today. This is our way of celebrating and raising awareness of the critical need for children’s books about “different cultures, races, languages, and traditions.” www.WEENationRadio.com

UMBC’s Diverse Books Project - Author Zetta Elliott Interview

Uncle Devin interviews author Zetta Elliott about her book, "Benny Doesn't Like to be Hugged." This book was selected to be a part of the University of Maryland Baltimore County's Diverse Books Project. http://www.zettaelliott.com/

In April 2023, WEE Nation Radio started a partnership with UMBC's Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities by offering our WEE Nation Reads program as a resource to participating teachers and families in their Diverse Books Projects (DBP). https://shermancenter.umbc.edu/diverse-books-project/

This project aims to ensure that early childhood educators at their partner schools have access to high-quality, diverse children’s books and opportunities to share ideas and insights about their use.

Books identified by UMBC will be featured in our WEE Nation Reads segment, which includes a reading of each of the selected books, children’s music related to each book, and an interview with the author or publisher.

This will occur every Monday through Friday, from April 11, 2023, through May 18, airing twice a day at 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM EST on WEE Nation Radio.

Parents and teachers can listen by downloading our mobile app available in Google Play and the Apple Store. Download your app today. This is our way of celebrating and raising awareness of the critical need for children’s books about “different cultures, races, languages, and traditions.” Stay tuned for more information.

Uncle Devin’s Social Action Tribute in Honor of the Dr Martin L. King, Jr and DC’s Junkyard Band!

We’ve all heard the, ‘I Have a Dream’ speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, but have you ever listened to his speech titled, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence? He delivered this speech at Riverside Church in NY on April 4, 1967, one year to the day he was murdered. 🧐

Here’s a quote from that speech: “As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems… But they asked, and rightly so, ‘what about Vietnam?’ They asked if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.”

Fast forward 20 years and four U.S. Presidents later…same issues, but this time the issues were highlighted by a group of young boys from the hood. The Word by The Junkyard Band calls out President Reagan for funding weapons for war, but not to underprivileged Americans.

Join me as I share my new social action campaign in honor of Dr. King and The Junkyard Band. I e dedicated my life to researching these issues and fighting for change in this country. I’m inviting you to be a part of that change.

Interview with Singer Mariama Whyte

Uncle Devin interviews singer Mariama Whyte, a 2020 recipient of the Room in the House Artist Residency with Karamu House and 2019 recipient of a Verge Fellowship by Cleveland Arts Prize. She has performed in the Broadway National tours of Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Color Purple and Disney's The Lion King. 

This podcast is the companion to WEE Nation Radio, a 24/7 online music radio station for children that provides the best in family-friendly global beats for little feet.

For more information, go to www.WEENationRadio.com. The WEE Nation Podcast is available on most podcast platforms, including iTunes, Pandora, and Google Play.