Illuminating Injustice

“Injustice is my greatest illuminator,” says Tai Amri Spann-Ryan (BA Writing & Literature, ’05). “The war on the poor, the war in Palestine and Israel. The war against those who are gender nonconforming. Spiritual answers, mostly from the wisdom of Africa, are what give me grounding and light.”

 

As an educator, biodynamic farmer, and artist, his methods of illumination are manifold. “I am consistently looking for opportunities to integrate all parts of myself, my African spirituality, my poetry, my child-rearing, my farming, and my speaking selves, so that I can live a life of true authenticity.”

 

After attending seminary in California while working with the Occupy Movement, he served as a Montessori teaching assistant and youth pastor. He has worked in Waldorf and public schools with students aged three to 18 and is currently getting his Waldorf Teaching Certificate for grades one to eight. With both his parents having taught at Quaker schools, “Education runs deep in my bones.”

 

“I’ve always tried to respect my students in the same way that I’ve felt respected by my teachers,” he says. “My classrooms have always included a great deal of education on the biggest matters occurring today, be that the Black Lives Matter movement or climate change. One year, while teaching during Black History Month, a Black girl in my class asked me, ‘Why do we always start Black History with slavery?’ That question forever changed the way I taught. Since that moment, I taught Black History beginning with pre-colonial African culture. The strength of the student voice in my classroom always has to be primary.”

 

With his wife, he lives on a half-acre of land. “In my African tradition of Ifa, all things have a purpose,” he explains. “I have been studying biodynamic growing practices that incorporate spiritual as well as organic methods, working with the rhythms of the earth, the stars, and the phases of the moon.”

 

He is also the co-founder of B.L.A.C.K. (Black Literature & Arts Collective of Kansas) Lawrence. Celebrating its eighth year, the group of writers, artists, and musicians perform and host events once or twice a month and have produced books and CDs collectively and individually. The collective is currently exploring collaborations with local BIPOC-led movements. “There is a strong indigenous population due to the presence of Haskell University, the only inter-tribal university in the country, and the inception of multiple indigenous-led organizations in Lawrence. We work in collaboration with groups like the Indigenous Community Center as well as Sanctuary Lawrence, a Latinx-led organization that works to meet the needs of the Latinx community.”

 

His work with B.L.A.C.K. Lawrence in many ways dates back to his time at Naropa, during which he founded Allies in Action and was chief editor of Tendril, a journal on diversity. He describes his time at Naropa as “bittersweet. I was very innocent when I began, I thought I was born without mirth. I discovered, confronted with spiritual bypassing, cultural appropriation, and racism denial, that I was indeed a force to be reckoned with, and that my pen was a weapon of revolution.”

 

One product of that revolution is his book beautiful ashe: memoirs of a sweet black boy & other poems, “a poetic memoir that speaks to the difficulties growing up as a Black male on the East Coast of the United States.” The recipient of a 2023 grant through Stories For All: A Digital Storytelling Project for the Twenty-First Century, he is currently working on publishing an audiobook of the collection through his mother’s creativity and production company Nuyoni. “I’ve always found myself between the world of page poet and spoken word poet. I love them both equally and have been as influenced by Walt Whitman as I have by Saul Williams. My mother, being a singer and performer, has always opened a space on the stage for my work, so I have attempted to use my voice and pen alike.”

Learn more about his work at www. taiamri.com, and check out B.L.A.C.K. Lawrence at www.blacklawrence.org. Follow them on Instagram @blacklawrenceks and Facebook @blacklawrenceartscollective.

Related Articles

BY Lisa Birman

“As a therapist, my work encompasses all of the worlds that comprise a person: outside and inside the individual, and the multitude of dynamics in between,” says Marie Janiszewski (MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2023).

BY Lisa Birman

Grasmick works in private practice as a transpersonal somatic psychedelic therapist, yoga and meditation teacher, and breathwork guide

BY Cassandra Smith

In the early 1970s, psychedelic use encompassed a spectrum of motivations beyond mere recreation, including cultural, philosophical, exploratory, and sacramental purposes.

BY Lisa Birman

If Lisa Kennemur (MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling, 2021) ever writes a book about her life, it just might be titled From the Navy to Naropa.

Search Naropa University

Search

YOU ARE READY.

This is where experiential learning meets academic rigor. Where you challenge your intellect and uncover your potential. Where you discover the work you’re moved to do—then use it to transform our world.

“*” indicates required fields

Naropa Logo

Naropa Campuses Closed on Friday, March 15, 2024

Due to adverse weather conditions, all Naropa campuses will be closed Friday, March 15, 2024.  All classes that require a physical presence on campus will be canceled. All online and low-residency programs are to meet as scheduled.

Based on the current weather forecast, the Healing with the Ancestors Talk & Breeze of Simplicity program scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday will be held as planned.

Staff that do not work remotely or are scheduled to work on campus, can work remotely. Staff that routinely work remotely are expected to continue to do so.

As a reminder, notifications will be sent by e-mail and the LiveSafe app.  

Regardless of Naropa University’s decision, if you ever believe the weather conditions are unsafe, please contact your supervisor and professors.  Naropa University trusts you to make thoughtful and wise decisions based on the conditions and situation in which you find yourself in.