We’re thrilled to announce that Season 5, Episode 2 of the What We Need Now podcast is now available for streaming! In this episode, hosts Tanya Brooks, Geniro Dingle, Jeffrey Harris, and Rico Sisney discuss the intersection of art and activism with special attention to how they connect to environmental justice.
The second entry for this season features dynamic spoken word that our hosts analyze and comment on. Frequent podcast listeners will recognize familiar voices reciting some of these stellar entries. This exciting art focuses on our connection to nature, how we shape it, and how it shapes us in return. It also explores what we are called to do to ensure our continued place on this planet. Eager to learn more? Then give this episode a listen.
Artist Bios
Ann-Margaret Lim
“The two poems that I’m going to share are, “The Festival of Wild Orchid” and “Countryman.” They have, you know, my perspective being a Jamaican, Black Heritage, and nature, how interlinked nature is in our life. And Countryman is like those cult hit movies that are very like underground hits. It’s a Jamaican movie. It’s this man who was very in tune with nature. He lived by the land. And in that poem, when I said “the big boat you run,” in Jamaica, when you “run a boat,” you cook a really…a meal…you know, a meal that can fill your stomach.”
Ann-Margaret Lim’s second poetry collection, Kinston Buttercup (Peepal Tree, 2016) was nominated in the poetry category of the 2017 Bocas Prize (Trinidad & Tobago). Her first collection of poems, The Festival of Wild Orchid (Peepal Tree, 2012), was nominated for the UK’s Guardian First Book Prize and received Honorary Mention in the 2013 Bocas Prize. Lim has published in various anthologies and journals in the Caribbean, UK, USA and South America and was featured in Ebony Magazine, “6 Caribbean Writers to discover this summer. Ann-Margaret has represented Jamaica in international festivals, such as the 2014 Calabash Literary Festival, those in Venezuela and Colombia, at the St. Maarten Book Fair in 2017, and the 65th anniversary of the West Indian Social Club in Hartford, Connecticut. She lives in Red Hills, Jamaica.
Tamera Adams-Holder
Tamera Adams-Holder is an aspiring author and poet. With a passion for thought-provoking prose and deeply intellectual analogies, coupled with years of experience writing both professionally and personally, she plans to release her debut poetry book, “Somewhere Above the Clouds,” in the Fall of 2024. As her poems often underscore the age of new beginnings and the beauty of life’s complexities, she is also excited to welcome a new bundle of joy in the fall. When she is not writing poetry, Tamera writes and manages grants for non-profit organizations and enjoys the sunny beaches of the East Coast with her dog, cat, and husband. She is excited to share her work with the world but, most importantly, honored to fulfill this lifelong dream alongside her Greenpeace family.
Host Bios
Tanya Brooks
“One of the key things that we need– not to be cliche is that we need Unity, you know in very simple terms. We really need to figure out how as a people we can come together across the globe, across the country, across communities to support each other. I really believe in the power of intersectionality.” – Tanya Brooks
Tanya Brooks is the Senior Strategic Communications Specialist for Greenpeace USA’s Oceans Campaigns. Her primary role is to develop compelling stories that increase awareness about ocean conservation. Tanya has an MA in strategic communication management from Concordia University and an MA in international trade and policy from George Mason University. She lives with her husband and three children on Manahoac Land, presently known as Fairfax, Virginia. Tanya spends her free time dancing Salsa and Bachata, gardening, and binge-watching Korean dramas.
Geniro Dingle
“What we need now is deeper connection to organization and community…liberation is not going to be an individual effort. One of the things I’m challenging myself [to do] is to get deeper connected to Black organizations that align with my personal politics and beliefs, including what we need to do to secure a vibrant life here on this planet. And I think that’s what we all need as Black folks is connection to organizations that are going to do what’s necessary– organize resources, organize people. That’s how we get to liberation..” – Geniro Dingle
Geniro Dingle is Director for Justice & Equity at Greenpeace USA. In this role, he leads the effort to embed justice and equity in Greenpeace and ensure alignment across all organizational strategy and impact aspects. Geniro is a Graduate of Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy earning a Master of Policy Management degree. He lives with his wife and son on Piscataway land now known as Southern Maryland. In his free time, Geniro enjoys exploring the world with his family.
Rico Sisney
“We’ve survived so much as a collective, as a people and…when we’re facing challenges of today, it’s so important to know that–these leaders that we look to did not work in isolation…they worked with large groups of people. They were in collaboration. They were in community with others.” – Rico Sisney
Rico Sisney(he/him) is a father and husband living in Oakland, California on Ohlone land. He serves as the National Warehouse Program Manager for Greenpeace and works on the Action Team. Through the range of responsibilities of his role, Rico is often reminded of the wide array of talents and skill sets that exist in his family that have been unrecognized, unpaid or undervalued, like those of so many other Black people in this country. Like his mother, he coordinates events. Like his father, he uses his voice to make an impact. He works with machines and vehicles like his Grandfather and he recruits volunteers like his Grandmother, the greatest organizer he knows. Like so many others in his family, Rico teaches, trains and uses stories to communicate. Outside of Greenpeace, he is a recording artist and performer.
Jeffrey Harris
“Increase access to information, education, local funds. All that in some of manner is not equal or fair in many areas of this country. So we’re not all considered equal until the playing field is and there’s many ways to go about that.” – Jeffrey Harris
Jeffrey is the Digital Platform Manager on Greenpeace USA’s Digital team. In this role he is dedicated to fostering user engagement and driving fundraising initiatives that craft compelling online experiences for visitors. Jeffrey has a BA in Media Arts & Interactive Design from James Madison University and lives in Powhatan Land, presently known as Richmond, Virginia. When not behind the screen Jeffrey spends his free time attending concerts, playing volleyball and watching the best of anime & reality tv.
Episode Resources/Further Reading
- Art for Change
- Chicago Train Takeover
- Stilt walker protest pacific northwest
- Hollywood Projection
- Beyond Sea Food Documentary
- Piano at the Arctic
- Perpetual Plastic Machine
- Maroon Welcome of Pacific Indigenous Delegation to Jamaica for ISA meeting
- Jackson Browne refuses to perform at Kelcy Warren Music Festival
