[00:00:00] Ellington Brown: Welcome to SpeakUP! International with Rita Burke and Elton Brown. Today we have Magella Mark and she is going to be reading an excerpt from her book, Cats Are Trash Human Beings. What I Learned About Feminism Through My Cats Magella, the virtual floors is yours! 

[00:00:26] Majella Mark: Thank you. I appreciate it. I promise it'll, it'll be a good one.

Um, okay, so just a quick, you know, passage from the book. Okay. In January, 1988, a group of Israeli Jewish women called Women in Black held Silent vigils. Protect protests against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel and Palestine were in their violent battle over territory with instances of desperate violence by women like Afro Palestinian Gorilla Fighter, Fatima Bei, who attempted to bomb a cinema.

In 1967, the women in Blacks bow of silence symbolized those lost in the crossfire Over the years, eventually women from all over the world joined in encouraging Israeli and Palestinian women to protest together in Jerusalem. Today, the full fledge organization demonstrates with visuals all over Israel in a sea of violence.

Women took a stand. Their silence was not out of intimidation or lack of words. But as a stance of peace, a visual, a time when a sleepless group engages in some type of mindfulness in a designated location. Silence for many is a sign of weakness, a restriction, or an oppressive result from those who have been muzzled by society, a community or individual.

The bondage of one's voice can be terrifying and defeating. Silence can also be a profound statement, a quiet tool to express the frustrations of a social justice issue that has pushed people to complete desperation for change. The notion that being a lady fragile and polite doesn't benefit anyone.

Nothing would get done if this was the case yet throughout history. It was customary that women spoke little and behaved pleasantly, pretty much a level above a blowup doll. Even with the advancements of technology and globalization, many women are still not heard bound by cultural practices, political satire, or simply bullying.

But then, but when silence is your circumstance, action can speak louder. 

[00:03:16] Rita Burke: As you know on SpeakUP! International, we seek community builders from all over the world to tell their stories. Today's no exception, and our guest is currently in a place that I love so dearly. It's Brooklyn, New York. Her name is Magella Mark, and she's a cultural strategist, filmmaker, and creative entrepreneur.

A work is grounded in the belief that culture is not decorative. Instead, it is infrastructure. And the heart of the jealous practice is a commitment to making overlooked history visible and actionable. And it's certainly the delight and pleasure that I introduce our guests Miss Majella Mark to continue to tell for very long and fascinating story. Welcome to SpeakUP! International! 

[00:04:21] Majella Mark: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it dearly! 

[00:04:25] Ellington Brown: You are welcome! You come in with a smile on your face. It's like sunlight. So this is going to really aid our. Conversation to be one that's going to be light and airy and a lot of bantering and question and answer.

So I wanna know, since you started off by, you know, telling the stories or a story of others, in what ways have you seen storytelling help communities heal after a disruption or a disaster?

[00:05:07] Majella Mark: I think a lot of times when we see these disastrous moments in history, we see that women a lot of times are picking up the pieces. Um. If it is the aftermath of war, uh, where there's, you're are pretty much gathering what is left, um, despite them sending their children off to do, you know, violent or horrific things in the name of their country.

I think a lot of times when we think about disasters like, you know, drought or hurricanes, a lot of time it's women who have to do what they need to do in order to protect the children. Um, and I, and the story I just shared, and again, I wrote this before, um, I wrote this before Um hmm. Before we have our current situation and as I was reading, I was thinking, I wonder if women on both sides are still gathering, are still gathering in silence to pray together. Because that was a very bold and brave move that started decades ago, um, to show unification of two sides. And it was women who was trying to share that. Um, as we now see in Gaza, we don't know what is left of that harmonious connection among women who has expressed their, um, disapproval of the violence.

And I think a lot of times we have to take down to consideration is a lot of these historical events. Are led by very few people and makes the rest of us very helpless. Our lives are being put on, uh, display like targets. And when we do try our best to find ways to express our frustrations, uh, a lot of times is seen as a symbol of hope, but I guess only history can tell if that actually subside.

Um, these, a lot of these historical experiences have been going on for decades and generations. And so it's hoping that, uh, when we teach the past in the present, that the future could then be saved. 

[00:08:05] Rita Burke: Sounds like you're passionate about what people do and their contribution to history and ultimate future.

Now, in your bio, you call yourself a cultural strategist,

so you called yourself a cultural strategist. Talk to us about that.

[00:08:36] Majella Mark: A cultural strategist is an individual who could possibly support the creative economy of a community. So what I do is a lot of times that I kind of get brought in for situations, um, to be able to help move a culture for specifically the culture that pertains to the African diaspora or the black community.

Um. I think examples of this is, for example, um, what I'm doing in Grenada after Hurricane Barrel, I began, uh, the process of helping the rebuild of the museum again, trying to preserve a culture, trying to preserve the history of a people. And with that I end up getting on the board. I end up being a project lead in this rebuild and fundraising.

And that's kind of the work I'm doing is how do we create a space or strategy to preserve not only a history, but a culture. Now what I mean by culture is a, for example, for the African diaspora, a very diverse community where you have individuals who, again, even though we, the, the boat all came from the same place, it just landed in different places.

And with that, the different communities due to geographical locations grasp onto as much of their African ancestry practices as they could based off the surroundings they had. Right? So you see there's similar cuisines that are made, but with different ingredients. There are similar practices of how we conduct weddings or how we, um.

How we go ahead and celebrate birthdays or how do we conduct funerals? And we see the common denominator within that community, but we know that it is getting a erase as we go from one generation to the next. So it's like, how do we make sure that we, without the pressure of thinking that we cannot evolve as human beings, but how do we make sure that we protect, um, those practices?

How do we protect the literature? How do we maintain, um, a lot of the stories? So I, one of the big, uh, ways I do that is through oral histories is making sure that everyday person. The everyday person actually have an opportunity to share their lives and share it in a way where hopefully in the future people could look back or hear, uh, those who spoke about their lives and be able to understand, oh, this is how they used to speak, or these are words that I haven't got heard for a long time.

Or, you know, the way that we, that, you know, we, we, we say certain things and we move our faces or we use our hand gestures is how do we preserve our history as much as we possibly can as we move on throughout the years. Because like everything, sometimes history itself gets revised or edited. And so it's about protecting, um, the truths and the authenticities of a society that a lot of times have been taken advantage of or has, is narrative told for them.

So that's what I mean by being a cultural strategist, is trying to figure out the best ways possible to preserve history, to preserve cultures, to be able to help give confidence to the people, to be able to do what they need to do for themselves, to preserve their own legacies and their histories. And it could be through many ways, if it's film, if it's podcasts, if it's books, if it's exhibitions, if it is just overall practices that is then be able to be able to main maintained and, um, individuals are able to go ahead and have ownership of their identities.

So it is really just a sense of having, um, kind of a, a person that can help facilitate these practices of preservation for our people. 

[00:12:40] Ellington Brown: Okay. So we're talking about preserving. Our history finding ways to do that. And you mentioned several platforms and I think that was excellent, at least in my, in my book.

So, but what does it mean in practice to treat memory as a living resource and rather than a static archive? 

[00:13:10] Majella Mark: So I think what that means is a lot of times we have this intergenerational separation. Um, and I always tell young people like, listen to your elders stories, because you'd be surprised how similar their teenage years were.

You'd be surprised what they went through. Um, and it's also a means of, um. Making sure that that history is not lost, even if it's for an individual family. It's very interesting where we all have family lores and you know, these type of stories or quote unquote secrets of the families and is, and you don't understand where they come from.

But if you were to have instances where generations actually spoke to each other, actually opened up, actually had an understanding of who they were as a person and in reflection, understand how that then brought about the next generation of your family and the way they actually act and behave and having a better grand scheme of a system put in place where you know that.

Your legacy is not just the house you have or you know the money that you can have your children inherit. It is knowing that they know where they come from, the best way you possibly can. 'cause again, we don't know our tribes, we don't really know where we came from. So we have to be able to grasp onto as much as our story as possible in order to then hopefully the next generation with the technology we have today, maybe they could then return to the original tribes or, 'cause you know, as the day we're all mixed up to the multiple tribes that they may be, uh, blood, you know, bloodline connected to and then be able to tell like, this is how, this was my family story back in Africa to those tribes and like, this is what your own people.

Had endured abroad and then be able to go ahead and create this kind of sense of information, uh, uh, system, uh, information system of understanding within us as black people, especially, um, as we see that we are all kind of here having the same experiences, learning the same things, or having some, at least some kind of common, you know, denominate some kind of common thread.

Um, and making sure that with that we, we document it properly. 'cause again, especially where we don't know, with the political climate, more and more things are being erased. I've noticed things that was on and I'll just, hopefully we could keep it, um, the things that was in the Library of Congress, um, videos, photographs that you should be able to find the library of Congress and is no longer there or I cannot find them.

Um, so I'm very grateful. And I know I'll say this, I'm grateful that I was got a chance to look at it or to be able to actually download it before it just disappeared. Um, I don't know who's gonna come for me after this episode, but you know, who's gonna like, things that seem to have just disappeared, um, and have access to it.

And then it's, the question is, how do we then protect it from here? Right? Our photographs, our letters from our, our relatives, our, our videos, films. I have like two films from the 1960s where I cannot find them online. Like I cannot any, I can no longer find them. And I'm, I'm assuming maybe I'm just tired, but, but I can't, I tried for two days trying to figure out where did these two videos gone.

Um, and it's just in my hard drive. So we'll see, um, how that works. But I think a lot of times where we. As individuals who are black archivists or historians, it's, it's less about just, oh, how do we share a story? Or how do we, you know, retell a story. It's about how do we save a story? How do we save it? Um, because you don't know when it'll be taken away from you Again, we lost our language, we lost our names, we lost where we came from.

And in 2026, you see there new tactics of erasure. Um, so I think it's very important to, as we move forward, there needs to be more people who are just taking the time. When you have those family reunions or those cookouts or those barbecues take time for people to write their story down. One, it could be one or two designated relatives where their whole job is during a family gathering.

It's like, I don't care. Stop what you're doing. Put the bear down, put the wings down. We gotta, no, seriously, we, we need to sit down and tell me everything, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the monstrous. It is our truth. It is our truth. And we should have it documented and we should have an understanding of who we are, where do we come from, and the best we can.

And it's really, it's, I won't, I won't say it's a war, but I would say it is definitely have become a battle of, um, preserving our identity from the past and the present. And then hopefully the future could, you know, could keep on going. 

[00:18:34] Rita Burke: You said a lot of things Majella that resonate with me. But the one that I find most inspiring so far is put the beer down, put the wings down.

I, I think that's interesting, but you, you've also said the country is not decorating. What exactly does that mean? 

[00:18:59] Majella Mark: I'm sorry, can you repeat that one more time? The country's not what 

[00:19:02] Rita Burke: you said the culture is not decorated.

[00:19:06] Majella Mark: Um, the culture is not decorated. Decorated. What did I mean by that? 

[00:19:14] Rita Burke: Well, decorations. 

[00:19:17] Majella Mark: Decorations! Oh yes! What I mean by that is that it can't just be is, it just can't be, um, on the surface. Like this is not just because like celebrating here, me being Caribbean, as I say, in the sense of when we're allowing individuals to come into a space to celebrate Carnival, a lot of times they don't understand why they're putting on costumes and they're, you know, they're marching down the street and they're having a good time.

I know with the same thing with Juneteenth, it's okay having an understanding of Juneteenth and celebrating it. It needs to be an understanding of why we're doing it. Why are we having barbecues? Why is, you know, you know, uncle, uncle Joe over there, he's putting up these flags and what have you is why are we celebrating for Carnival specifically?

In my case, for my roots and the Caribbean roots, it's while people are celebrating and are having a good time, it is not meant to just be, um. This mundane kind of, uh, excuse for a party. We have to teach that. The whole point of, of carnival was a, uh, rebellion. It was a sense of showcasing, um, a mockery of the slave holders, right?

It is meant to be, uh, celebration of emancipation for our, uh, freedom from slavery. I think as we gone with one generation after another, we forget that. We forget, we are thinking we're just going to fly to Trinidad, or we're just going to go ahead and, and pack in our, you know, our bottles and, and, and put on our our sneakers.

And put on our costumes and we're gonna have a good time. And we have to make sure that we understand that the reason why we're doing these things is in celebration of the ancestors who did sacrifice their lives. Right? To make sure that when we're thinking about culture yes. Something as simple as braids.

Yes, we're celebrating braids, but do we understand why we're so protective of it? So then when we're able to go ahead and confront someone who wants to argue about, oh, well, everyone should be able to. Yeah. But you have to have the information and the confidence to be able to express exactly why it's a concern.

It can't just be like, because I, I don't feel comfortable with you. A lot of times we, we, we. We do things with emotions, which is fine. We're human beings, but a lot of times we need to be educated on our own identity and our history in order to then be able to approach somebody who's trying to, uh, make, not, I won't say just a mockery of it, but trying to downplay our feelings of why we're offended.

If you do not know, and you cannot clearly argue why you're offended when a, a, a, a white person is trying to say the N word or why they're trying to do certain behaviors or change up their accent to when they're talking to you, or if you're not able to intelligently express your concerns and actually have information, and me, you know, having 10 years working in data is, and be able to have even data points to be able to express exactly why it's offensive, they're gonna just take us like, oh, they're just emotional and they need to get over it.

It's like, no, you can't just talk about Tulsa. You have to understand every single place that this has happened to in the United States that are just downplayed. Compared to Tulsa, because it was Tulsa that people keep on talking about. We have to go ahead and mention not just IDB Wells, we have to mention all the other individuals who also helped.

We, we have people who walked with Martin Luther King, who we probably don't even know of, people who probably served food to him and we don't know of one of the things, I'll give an example of why culture should not be, you know, decorative. So, for example, I'm working on a film in Connecticut now, right now.

Connecticut was one of the biggest crop, uh, shareholder, uh, crop. Crop, uh, I can't explain it right now, but, you know, they were one of the, they had the market, they were dominant for tobacco. Now we, we celebrate these things where we have black people who are celebrating, you know, independence, who are celebrating, uh, you know, black History Month.

They celebrate Martin Luther King all the time, but. There's a, there's a lot more to Martin Luther King than just, I had a dream speech or him walking Selma. Right. The history I'm teaching is him when he was in college at Morehouse and how he went up to Connecticut during his summers to make funds to actually pick tobacco.

And he was picking tobacco by Jamaicans, by Puerto Ricans, by other people of color. And so when we think about these places, like these liberal places like Connecticut and think, oh, well they're a blue state. We're not as blue as young people think. Right? And we teach the history of like, the people was really, even after slavery, during the civil rights movement before, what actually helped inspire Martin Luther King Jr.

See the treatment of black people, not just those who are ados, who are, you know, American de, you know, descendants of slaves here in the United States, but who are also of the Caribbean, of the other parts of the world who also have faced injustices. And it can't just be, oh, well we're gonna go ahead and just celebrate with some, you know, like a a, a dance, or we're gonna go ahead and just wave some flags and thinking Yeah, we're, we're doing our part.

Mm-hmm. No, even as black people, we have to be very, not only protected, but we have to be very conscious of how we are able to articulate and explain our culture so that no one can go ahead and make a mockery of it. 

[00:25:00] Ellington Brown: Mm-hmm. You know, you, you mentioned about, uh, the film that, that you're making. So a, a documentary.

So this documentary, uh, challenges, I'm assuming dominant narratives about the Caribbean and about the African dysphoria. Can you expand on, on that in terms of what does that mean, uh, to you and is this the message? And what type of message are you trying to deliver based on the Caribbean and the Caribbean and the uh, African Spora?

[00:25:49] Majella Mark: Um, well, I'm hoping that this documentary showcase, 'cause the purpose of this documentary was to highlight the systematic and, you know, injustices that was faced by people of color, and especially those who were immigrants during the pandemic. Right? You know, when other school districts had laptops and they had access to everything they need very quickly.

Right? So, so I think what's really important is when we're teaching the history of, um, Connecticut, we have to keep in mind that this is not the first time that Connecticut has shown, um, systematic, you know. Systematic unfairness and systematic injustices among black people. Specifically, I expressed in the documentary not only, uh, what happened during a pandemic where a lot of students had a disadvantage and people kind of offended for themselves for quite a long time.

But also during throughout history what happened. Like I mentioned before, you know, Martin Luther King, he actually did a speech in 1959 expressing that same concern about quote unquote liberal states and how yes, and you might have the laws and books, but you need to have people who's going to go ahead and make sure that they stay accountable by following those laws.

Right? So especially, and the best way I could express this is what I think throughout his speech he was saying, is that just because you have like a sign on your front law that says Black Lives Matter, doesn't mean that it equals out when you're clutching onto your purse and an elevator when a black man walks in.

[00:27:29] Ellington Brown: Hmm. 

[00:27:30] Rita Burke: Okay. What story, what an image, what an image! Black lives matter, but you're still clutching on your personal black person walks. That created quite a concreteness in my mind. Now talk to us about your connection to hurricane barrel please. 

[00:27:54] Majella Mark: So, 2024 I, uh, was in Grenada with my sister and we happened to stumble into a hurricane.

Um, hurricane Barrel was a category four or five hurricane that really did a number on, um, the smaller islands, Carou and Pima. And of course, one of the first things that I was thinking about after the, the storm passed was, what happened to the people itself? Hope everyone's okay. Uh, I know people are pretty much devastated for the damage that they face, but not, and again, I didn't know how severe it was at the time, but then I was thinking about the overall museums and of course, me being that person, the history buff, I was thinking, oh, the, the artifacts, the documents, you know, what happened to them.

Um, so of course, uh, once I got, uh, a view of the damage that occurred to the Roku Museum specifically, at that point I realized a lot of our artifacts has been destroyed. 'cause there wasn't infrastructure or resources to protect them. A lot of things were just put in boxes. Um, a lot of things were just set in people's homes.

Uh, right now we're very grateful that we have a container to be able to store the items as we continue the work to continue to work to rebuild the museum, but that was where my mind went. Um, I started out with just thinking I was gonna send some emails and maybe do some fundraising, and then it turned into, well, you didn't seem to know what you're doing.

It just went, it, it just, it snowballed into me attending gr like conferences regarding sustainable issues with small islands and focusing primarily on the preservation of our history. I end up, uh, speaking in Washington dc I end up being very grateful to, um, to be able to actually, uh, work under pro fellowship under, uh, Zora Neal Hurston's niece, Lucy Ann Neil, um, Lucy Ann Hurston.

Um, for a fellowship, uh, speaking on how to best do research in a way that is going to be able to make sure that people are, feel engaged and feel supported, I think is really important as I move forward with, especially this museum, is, um, thinking about how do we not only protect our stuff, right? Um, as you know, from natural disasters, but how do we also protect it from, um, vandalism?

How do we protect it from, um, exploit exploitation? I think a lot of times we don't take that into consideration is what can be put in play, uh, when your institutions. Are being, um, threatened. And it's unfortunate because I see now with the Smithsonian, um, in DC where, you know, a beautiful feat of having African American history in one building to be able to teach the world.

And even that is being threatened. And what do we go, where do we go from there? And it is, it is very important that we continue to do what is necessary to make sure that, uh, we have the space and the resources and the, the harmony as a people to move forward. Um. Yeah, I'm looking forward to rebuilding it.

'cause I'm not rebuilding a museum for the sake of, uh, myself. Because I mean, I mean, I, I'm already thinking in the sense of being an ancestor, and I know that might sound morbid, but I have to think about it that way is when I'm doing my work, I have to think, you know, the 10-year-old, how are they gonna see the space?

Do they feel welcome? Do they see themselves in the space when they're looking at books, when they're looking at, you know, exhibitions? Do they see themselves? Do they feel a sense of pride and confidence to take the baton and to keep moving forward. 

[00:32:06] Ellington Brown: I think this is the ultimate question, how are the youth and, local residents around the museum, participating? The museum's future. 

[00:32:20] Majella Mark: So I think now specifically with the Calcu Museum, we are making it very youth, uh, friendly. Uh, we are in the process of trying to connect with the school system, uh, to make it, I don't wanna say mandatory, but encourage that each student, um, at least visit the museum at least once as a school trip, um, reminding them of their history.

Again, we're talking about country that is predominantly black. So it's, it's a bit easier to be able to, um, justify the need to be able to preserve and to have the youth identify their, their history, um, and their identity, um, as a people now. I would love to see that practice. And I'm talking with different individuals who are, are, you know, archivists and museum directors who's like, how do we make sure that the youth, um, see themselves and, and again, bless them, but they have a short attention span, they have a short chest span.

So you have to find creative ways, especially with the youth to get them interested in history. It's like, how do you, you teach it through an anime or, or through games or through physical exercises that they can do and, and gather information and kind of see themselves. Um, and so it really is just creating space for them to see themselves in the institution itself.

And with that, um. Making sure that you're building it for the future. So for example, for the museum itself, we're looking into, you know, creating this, the overall floor plan where young people feel comfortable just hanging out there. Like they want, like just to hang out there. So as they're trying to, you know, eat their, I don't know, their chips and their little juice or what have you, um, they're surrounded by the information of their ancestors.

They might actually take the time to wanna read one of the books or, uh, look at a video. Um, I think, you know, then you said adding all the technology stuff, it's like, how do, how, how do you do all that? Um, thinking ahead, I think. One of the concerns we also have is the same way how vinyl end up turning into CDs or vinyl turn into cassette tapes that then turn into CDs that then turn into MP threes.

It's just that we don't know what the next thing is gonna be. So then when we're thinking about preserving history with scanning documents, with music, with, you know, actual artifacts, we're thinking, well, what is gonna be the technology in the next 50 years and are the people then? 'cause you know, at that point I'll just, I'll be a elder, God willing, I'll just be sitting down and trying to just tell people what to do.

But, um, at that point we, we don't know how we are gonna trans transfer information to that new technology that we don't know exists yet. Um, so then we, we need the youth, right? We need the youth to have that mind and that commitment. Because again, they might just say like, oh, it doesn't matter. We have to make them care about it.

We have to make them care about it because they're gonna be the guardians of it. And so as technology change, um, you hope that there's a few individuals who will then take up, you know, that, you know, mantle and, and actually be like, okay, I know. I'll figure out how to make sure that I can push this for another 50 years. You know? 

[00:35:58] Rita Burke: You talked about what technology will be in the next 50 years. I say, what will technology be in the next five years? 'cause that's how fast it's changing. We're talking with Magella Mark. And as you know, on SpeakUP! International, we speak, we seek to inform, inspire and educate. And there's exactly what's happening on SpeakUP! International today.

I wanna throw a word out at you and I want to respond to that word tattooing.

[00:36:32] Majella Mark: Tattoo! Yes. Um, I guess we're speaking about the tattoo I have by Jackie. Grayson. The plane. 

[00:36:41] Ellington Brown: Plane. The plane. 

[00:36:44] Majella Mark: And, uh, how I, uh, how I kind of took, uh, uh, uh, a significant amount of effort to get this tattoo. Um, I think we, the reason why I have this tattoo is because I think a lot of times we, we end up celebrating people after they pass on.

Um, and for me personally, I, I don't geek out off of celebrities and music artists. I geek out of everyday people who are, I'm like, wow, like, you're actually alive. You know, we'll be reading about you in history books and you're here now, so maybe we should embrace that, that you're here now and, and, and give them their flowers now.

Right. Um. With Jackie, I was made aware of her. Um, I forgot how I think I, again, during the pandemic, I was reading everything. So I happened to stumbled upon this woman and understand that she has a degree in architecture and without 'cause her lack of, of work she could find. Back then in 19, you know, sixties, seventies, she decided to open a tattoo shop and she is recognized at the first, uh, the African American tattoo artist in the United States.

Right? And not only that, she ran the oldest, the, the oldest. She ran the longest running tattoo shop in New Orleans. And I'm very grateful she actually shut down the place maybe a year after I got my tattoo because again, she, even when I was getting the tattoo, and I was very, I'm very proud of this tattoo.

Um, it's actually of, uh, is me, the, the chemical compound of melanin were branches of nutmeg being grenadian. Um, and I even have the, the sketchy she created, signed, you know, and I have it framed and she gave me a, uh, Jesus t-shirt, tie eye, Jesus t-shirt. And so I go to sleep with that and I'm very excited to have that.

And the whole time she's saying, you know, I'm 75, why do you want me to tattoo you? Like, because you're Jackie Gray. You're history, you're living. History. You're here now. Um, and she, I think she thought it was adorable that was fangirling over her because she just was like, girl, I, she's like, I'm, she's like, I'm usually in my house.

And she started, I think she was talk, talk, talking about a can collection. And shes like, this is what I'm doing with my time now. Like, there's no need for it. But I wanted people to know who she was. So I wrote about her. I went on social media was expressing like, hello, like everybody, we need to like embrace this person.

Um, and from my understanding now she's touring in different tattoo conventions and conferences and people are interviewing her and she has, there's a children's book inspired by her now. And yes. And it is just amazing to see how people are celebrating her as she's here now and I want her to live like many years, many, many, many more years.

Um, and. I want her to be able to make sure that, you know, she's celebrated and she's enjoying people embracing and celebrating her now. You know? 'cause I think it's, it's something that we need to really do more of. Um, and I hope we do. I really hope we do. Um, sorry. Because I really think it's necessary. I think it's really necessary to make sure that we, uh, share history that is not only going to, Hmm.

Share history is not only going to teach us something, but give us the confidence we need. That we can, we too can also do amazing things. And we can be the first in anything she use the first in tattoos and somebody else could be the first in whatever else comes next, you know?

[00:40:42] Ellington Brown: I wanna go back to those chicken wings. I'm so, I'm so hungry. And when you mentioned the chicken wings, my mouth is watered. It was like, oh yeah. Yes. That's exactly what I need. I need, I need chicken wings. Oh. So while we're, oh, so I might as well get my, that my question, I, I've already started it, so I might as well finish it.

 Are you a good cook? If not, what do you like to eat? 

[00:41:12] Majella Mark: I, I feel like I cook well enough. Um, I think being the oldest, the, the oldest daughter and all that stuff, I, I had no other option but to cook. I think one of my favorite things to eat is, is salmon. And I love seafood, so I definitely do enjoy, I'm learning.

I'm getting much better. One thing I'm really need to get better at is making a steak. I don't think I'm the best at a steak. And I've been cho you know, I'm trying to look at like books and YouTube videos and I'm trying to like, I wanna make a good steak. 'cause you know, I think that that's the heart of the right, it is usually the stomach, right?

That's how it is. Like the heart of it is the stomach. So I was like, I need to learn how to make a good steak. And so I've been practicing like, okay, my little pieces, I'm just like, all right, what is this? How do I make sure that the, the outside is crispy and that the inside is well, well enough where you can slice into, I'm trying to get better, Rick, because I do enjoy this, this day.

[00:42:11] Ellington Brown: Have you thought, have you thought about writing a book about it? 

[00:42:14] Majella Mark: I need, you know what, it'd be interesting. Somebody must have like some book, I mean history, the history. I have a, uh, most of my, hi, most of my cookbooks too is like history cookbooks of like individual. It's, it is, it's a, it is absolutely fascinating when you hear about how Gumbo came about or how did Oh, the Gullah Geechee and their cuisine came about and realizing, you know, how similar we, we all are.

There's one person called Yams. We call something else and dashing it. It is just, it's just amazing to see how we all eat the same thing in just different ways and we still compete and who's tastes the best. And it just, and we just, we, when it comes to cuisine, especially with black folks, it doesn't matter where you are in the world.

We all got the best potato salad. We all got the best Turkey wings. We all got the best, we all got the best jo of rice. We all, all got the best jambalaya. We, 

[00:43:12] Ellington Brown: Wait a minute! Are you talking about my mama? Are you trying to say My mama can't cook? 

[00:43:17] Majella Mark: Right, right!

[00:43:19] Rita Burke: We all got the best right and peas, 

[00:43:22] Majella Mark: right?

[00:43:22] Rita Burke: The best oxtails! I want to go back to ask a question that I wanted to ask. Such statement you made even before we started, because it still is resonating with, I find it very powerful. You said silence could be a quiet tune. Expand on that statement.

[00:43:51] Majella Mark: I am, uh, personally, I am a woman who does not like to argue. Um, I am personally, I use it as a tool, a silent treatment personally, where, um, it just, it works best for me. Um, but I think a lot of times where. We say silence is a tool. I think the best example right now is the state the United States is in right now.

And I say that because if we remember the election, um, after the election and we saw the results, we, I think it was, it was like the 92%, 92% of women voted against, uh, our current administration. And there was this kind of universal agreement that didn't even have to be said. But we just only, like, we're all resting, we're not going out on the streets of protests.

We're not, you know, we're not gonna go ahead and get, uh. You know, angry when people try to rage bait us with racial slurs or something, it's like we are literally, it's like we're staying outta the streets because that's what they want. They want to, to see us act uncivilized, quote unquote, where really it's just us being rebellious and fighting for our justice, but what they consider being uncivilized.

Um, and so right now this sense of silence is frustrating A lot of other groups, so I say that 'cause in the last year or two where we've had these protests even against ICE, or you know, people are expressing their frustrations. They're all like, where's the black women? You guys are not saying anything.

You guys are not in the streets marching with us. And I think they forget that it was said and expressed at the beginning. If you vote this way again. We're done. We're done. 

[00:45:48] Ellington Brown: Well, you know, you see a lot of that on, uh, if you happen to scan Facebook, there are a lot of, uh, black, uh, channels and they emphasize that, that black women are staying home.

They're doing their hair, you know, their nails. They are not going out protesting with all these other people who voted for the very person that we told them not to vote. And for that person and the reason why, but they did it anyway. Because, well, probably some of them, not all of them, but a lot of them did it out of hate, why they voted for this man as opposed to voting for this black woman who.

Force who've gave, who gave us a forecast if this man gets in and now, well, there we have it. Or as, uh, Canadians say, and Bob's your uncle. When you, are telling your, stories to your, uh, audience, how interactive are you with your audience? Do you, you know, say, wake up, pay attention, wake up, pay attention.

You know, I didn't come all the way down here for, you know, just for you to fall asleep while I'm telling you something. That's life changing. So how do you keep it lively? And them wanting to ask for more? 

[00:47:28] Majella Mark: So. I try to find creative ways to be able to teach history if it's through the, the, the medium of art and painting or it's just through literature.

Um, I think, again, it depends on the group. So for example, I knew with the teaching of the history of feminism, I have a coloring book for the children versus the adults get like, you know, this more, uh, adult type of book with illustrations of cats, which is strange versus adolescents will have a different medium.

Um, I think a lot of times we take, um, for granted. What information we have and don't understand that we should be embracing it and understanding it and registering it. So you have to entertain people, basically. You have to find ways to entertain them. Um, if it's through interactive, like, uh, you know, exhibitions, like for example, I'm trying to put together a connection, uh, a history about indigo and how it's connected through Africa, the Gullah Geechee in the United States and the Caribbean and Grenada specifically, and Carou specifically.

And so I might have to teach that through like planting a whole bunch of indigo all over the place or, or having to. I don't know, build a garden and then have people walk through the garden or have to create a clothing line with denim and that somehow will teach history. I mean, there's so many different ways you can teach history, um, especially with youth.

You have to meet them where they are. I think that's really important. It, and so it might be like, oh, we're gonna teach (the sirens), so we're gonna teach, you know, the history of a specific people through t-shirts and make the t-shirts cool. And they're like, oh, I didn't know that so and so did X, Y, and Z. Who is this person?

Like, oh, I didn't know about, you know, Malcolm X and this history of what, how he was as a teenager. I think we need to have different ways of connecting with people. Um, that it's just not just the traditional, uh, in the classroom or in a museum or like in a book. I think a lot of times we forget that, especially with this day and age with social media, it's so quick that you have to find creative ways to catch people's attention, especially when they have access to misinformation.

And so with them, a lot of times, that's one thing that really makes me nervous is, um, the misinformation where you end up belie. I, so there's a, there's a influencer, a streamer, I think his name is I Speed or something, and he, I think I spoke to you about that, Mr. Mr. Baldez before. Um, and, and he went to Africa.

He did a whole tour in Africa, and the response. From this kid, I think he's from like Detroit or something. This response of this kid live streaming the cultures, the different cultures in Africa, the different things he did, like, you know, he went to, did like, you know, you know, martial arts and cars and all these different things.

The response people had on social media, some of 'em were in tears. They said, I didn't know Africa was like this. They made us afraid of Africa. The, and this is a kid I know, he's at least 10 years younger than me. Okay. And he took his platform of him, you know, jumping over cars and doing what he does, right?

And he was able to showcase a continent that many have been gatekeeping and providing information, misinformation about for so long, especially to the diaspora, that now people's eyes open and they feel shattered. They feel emotionally shattered. They're thinking like, I did not know Africa looked like this.

I did not know when people said they were returning. I was thinking, you're stupid. Not realizing that they do have an option. And I, and I tell especially my Aose friends, that you do have an option. You can come to the Caribbean too. We're all cousins. You can come to the to Caribbean. But to say that you don't have an option, mind you, yes, you should fight you.

Your ancestors fought in the United States. They fought to be here. Many of them was able to go ahead and escape to Canada. Many of them was able to escape to Mexico. And you have every right to fight for your right to be here. Absolutely! But there has to also be an understanding that you also have an option if you want it, you do have an option to go, quote unquote go home if you like return for.

And, and it, it's, I think we're getting, and especially younger generations are, they're, they're a bit more like global citizens in a sense of 

[00:52:46] Ellington Brown: mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. 

[00:52:47] Majella Mark: They're open to having these conversations. They're open to having these connections and having an understanding of this cultural exchange.

Especially like you have, like everybody within the diaspora, they're listening to Afrobeats, they're listening to Soka music, they're listening to hip hop, listening to trap music. I always, I, I laugh and I express to my friend's how you could take my cousins in Grenada, you could put them right in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, with their, their, their locks.

You could put some go. You could not tell the difference. You would not be able to, you would not be able to know that they're not from Atlanta. I have the same nicknames like Kai, Kai and Case. I mean, we all the same. And so I, you know, sorry. 

[00:53:37] Ellington Brown: I think it is wonderful that we continue to have these conversations where we get to talk about the similarities.

We were doing that earlier when we were talking about food. And you know, even though we may call it one thing and another group of us may call it something else, if you, know, put us all at the same table, we wouldn't know the difference. We, we, you may call it something else. We call it greens. We call it grits.

Don't know what you call it, but whatever it is, I know it's good and I'm, and you know, and I'm, I'm going to eat it. That's just like, um, uh, food from Africa. Uh. It is, it's, and you know, and they have tons of restaurants here in Canada, uh, Toronto area, GTA, where you can find wonderful, uh, collections of food from different countries.

And so that really does help tie, uh, individuals together, you know, because all of a sudden you see people that you maybe were passing by in the street, but now you see them eating in that at a table next to you. So you're gonna remember that person because, you know, indirectly you actually had a meal with this person.

Yeah. So it really does make things, really good. So I wanna thank you for joining us to today, Majella and your book, I think is going to definitely, uh, sit in the homes of many, many people. Uh, yay. kit cats and all! 

[00:55:30] Majella Mark: Yay Cats and All! Thank you! 

[00:55:34] Ellington Brown: So where can your book be found? 

[00:55:37] Majella Mark: So you can find my book on like Barnes and nobles bookshop.org. You know, Strat, if you find it online, I'm sure if you Google it, it's probably the only one that pop up. Probably pop up. Um, yeah, and I'm in the process of, 'cause it just launched, so I'm in the process of getting into bookstores as well.

But I think online is probably the best bet and I think it'd be, uh, exciting to be able to see, you know, different people reading the book from different, you know, backgrounds and demographics and just, I up 

[00:56:08] Ellington Brown: Before we say, goodbye, there is one thing that you and Rita have in common.

Both of you has written books that have coloring, books that go with that, go with the book. So you guys definitely have something, uh, in common and book, uh, titles I Like Being Me. 

[00:56:31] Majella Mark: I love that. I like being me. Yes, yes. I love that! We need more of that. We need more of that. 

[00:56:42] Ellington Brown: Okay. Well, I, I think we, we should probably, end this.

[00:56:46] Majella Mark: Okay. 

[00:56:46] Ellington Brown: And I, I, I wanna say before we, before we go, you know, it's so important that we gather these stories. If we don't, we're just, we're gonna wind up with nothing. And then when we are trying to figure out where we come from or where we are going, we're not gonna have a map. So if everyone can make sure that when they're sitting at the kitchen table, as Rita said, that we talk about these stories, tell the stories, even if the story has been altered. 'cause a lot of our stories, you know, they get blown up like, you know, I don't know about you, but my dad used to tell me this story about going to school. So at first it started off with, oh yeah, well, you know, every morning, you know, I had five, I had to walk to school five miles to get there, and then five miles to get back.

Well then, you know, about a month later he tell the story. Now it's 10 miles going back and forth. And I remember I got popped in the mouth because I said, but you said that was five miles. Now all of a sudden it's 10 miles. I got popped in the mouth of that. But it's really, really important that our, our, our stories are, are, are told.

And before we go, Rita, would you like to add anything to this? 

[00:58:11] Rita Burke: Yes, I would like to say to Majella Mark. Thanks for reminding me that our history is very important. Thanks for reminding me that we're all families, just that they both landed in different places. Thanks for reminding me that we have to be mindful about preserving our stories from generation to generation.

Thank you. It's been a treat. 

[00:58:41] Majella Mark: Thank you so much for having me! It's an absolute honour! I enjoyed this! You guys are fun, and I truly am grateful to be able to, I don't know, share what I'm doing. I know people might think it's some kind of weird fixation, but 

[00:58:56] Ellington Brown: No, no, we're not. We're, we're not, we're not thinking that at all.

If that was the case, then, you know, we wouldn't be talking. Right. I would say, oh, this woman is, is weird. She's weird. Really weird. No.