When we look back on 2022, we’ll remember a year that challenged our resourcefulness, emotions, unity, and finances. In the face of these obstacles, we learned the infinite value of togetherness. In THIS INTERVIEW we revisit the last 12 months from the perspective of award-winning singer, songwriter, author, and educator Dr. Khadijah Ali-Coleman Ed.D. aka Khadijah Moon.
A marquee performing artist and scholar, Dr. Khadijah Ali-Coleman Ed. D. continues to be nationally acclaimed for her theatrical performances, concerts, and cultural influence.
She builds awareness for the many beautiful facets of African-American culture while also coaching the next generation of creatives through her celebrated brand The Creative Midwife. Her lessons and ideals come to harmonious life in her music. As the founding member of Liberated Muse Arts Group, her soulful, jazzy quartet performed their debut album AWAKENING on the Millenium Stage at John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.
A powerful and engaging writer, she is brightening family lives with books Mariah’s Maracas and Homeschooling Black Children in the U.S.: Theory, Practice, and Popular Culture.
Khadijah took time out of her busy schedule to share some of her thoughts with us, answering THIS questionnaire about her life in 2022 and what to expect from her in 2023. THIS is for YOU!
How would you summarize 2022?
2022 had absolutely no f&%! to give! Whew! This year has been exhilarating, upsetting and crazy for me.
What was the best song, album, television show, movie, and podcast of the year?
I am still a super big fan of Questlove’s podcast, Questlove Supreme as I reported to you in my last Q&A. I also am proud to report that I host a podcast that is presented by The Hurston/Wright Foundation that is titled, The Black Writer’s Studio. So, that’s a fave, too.
This year in television, I really enjoyed Quinta Brunson’s award-winning Abbott Elementary and I have loved this latest season of Donald Glover’s Atlanta. I highly recommend the documentary, Descendant, that is now available on Netflix. For anyone who has read Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Barracoon and learned about the genesis of the town called Africatown in Alabama, this well-done documentary expands on that history. Really well done.
Did you read anything inspiring or influential that you would recommend to others?
I am currently reading Gil Scott-Heron’s memoir titled, The Last Holiday. I don’t know what took me so long to get to it. He was one of the greatest. I am also reading a book by psychiatrist Gabor Mate and his son, Daniel, that I highly recommend. It is called, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Healing, and Illness in a Toxic Culture. It is such a necessary read! I want to also recommend the book, Black Boy Joy by D. Watkins which I think was one of my favorite books of the year. All of these are nonfiction.
What’s something you did to help someone in need, whether you knew them or not?
That’s a tough one because I don’t actively keep count of how I help others. I engage with others with the Kwanzaa principles, the Nguzo Saba, at the forefront, so every day is an opportunity to practice Unity (Umoja), Self-Determination (Kujichagulia), Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima), Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa), Purpose (Nia) and Creativity (Kuumba) fastened together by Faith (Imani).
I support Black businesses weekly, if not daily, and that includes hiring them as vendors, buying products and scheduling services. I also maintain a thriving online community for Black parents – Black Family Homeschool Educators & Scholars Parent Group – who are homeschooling that is on Facebook. I regularly coach and mentor parents who homeschool as I homeschooled my own daughter off and on for 13 years.
Recall for us the most surprising thing you heard all year.
Most surprising thing I’ve heard has been Biden’s touting of the continued student loan deferment period and the proposed forgiveness for some borrowers. I think everyone’s loans should be forgiven as the debt of banks and many corporations and wealthy citizens has been.
I think another surprising thing is this concept that was coined this year called, “Quiet Quitting”. It more commonly alludes to people checking out mentally from their jobs which is a passive signaling to their employers that they are not engaged and may be leaving soon. Some have also called it “acting your wage” and simply meaning that you don’t go above and beyond your job, you just work within the scheduled hours, no more, no less. I think COVID-19 has been a time where people have come up with a lot of cute little buzz terms for things that have always been going on.
How did you celebrate your birthday?
I started a new job as the executive director for the Hurston/Wright Foundation five days before my birthday last year. So, December wasn’t a wind down, it was the start of a new journey. My birthday is in December, so it is coming up. In 2021, my partner took me to a Korean day spa for the first time and that is a tradition I want each year!
Why is it important to live every moment of your life to the fullest?
I am someone who has so many things I want to do and I try to squeeze every inch and second out of the day, the week, the year. This year, I had to stop and think if all that I am trying to achieve and do is because I want to or because I think it is the right thing to do. I think it is important to learn who you are so you can make sure you are living your own dreams and not ideals that have come from somewhere outside of yourself. I think living your life to the fullest can only happen when you learn who you are. I am only beginning to truly do that, I think.
Were you able to achieve the goals you set?
My first thought was to say, “Unfortunately, not this year”. It’s been so busy that I haven’t really been able to attend to my own creative interests and needs. But, I’m not only a creative, I’m a scholar, too. At the start of the year, in January, Information Age Publishing published the book Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture that I co-edited. I had been offered a publishing deal in 2020 when I was finishing my doctorate and I chose to do a research anthology of different voices sharing their homeschooling journey.
When I was writing my dissertation, there was not a lot of research on Black families who homeschool and I wanted to add different voices to the mix. The book dropping this year was significant and something that I’m proud of. I am seeking an agent and a publishing deal with another publishing company to write subsequent books on homeschooling Black children.
I will admit that I am also trying to figure things out about my identity. I’ve worn the parent identity for almost 20 years and now, my family responsibilities don’t require to center that anymore. Homeschooling can be intense, too. But, I am not complaining. I loved it. My intelligent, beautiful and immensely talented daughter has been across the country in California for college living her best life. That has allowed me space to contemplate things about who I am that I didn’t really give space to before.
So, while I didn’t achieve personal goals specifically, I did have some personal epiphanies. I am also proud of my work producing this year’s Legacy Awards, an annual event that the Hurston/Wright Foundation presents. I wrote the script, directed, and edited the show and I am really proud of that. As a playwright and screenwriter, it is always surreal sometimes to see others reading and performing your words. Karyn Parsons who played Hilary Banks on NBC’s Fresh Prince of Bel Air was host of this year’s event and there were many literary luminaries who were part of the show, so that felt really good.
Which of your blessings would you say was the biggest?
My daughter is my biggest blessing. Always and forever.
Tell us how you evolved over the last 12 months.
I had some mobility issues this year and recognized the mind/body connection. I think I will continue to evolve in that area. Stretching and strength training are crucial. I’ve gained a lot of weight since COVID-19 due to depression, stress, working behind a desk for 8 hours or more and really not investing in myself. I will also be 50 in less than two years, so that is the time when your body is most resistant to change. Being sedentary is not helpful. That has got to change. Returning to stretching has helped my mobility in leaps and bounds. I want to swim more and hopefully visit more beaches in 2023.
Did you experience a defining moment?
Not yet, but the year’s not over!
What can we expect from you in 2023?
My performance group Liberated Muse will be hitting the stage in 2023 at the Kennedy Center. We will be doing a tribute to Zora Neale Hurston. Looking forward to that! More writing, performing and creativity will be happening in 2023. | THIS ENT
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
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