Let's Talk About It

Safe space conversations can be the foundations to build bridges between our differences of race, culture, social issues, and all things that affect everyday people. This workbook is intended to help professors and other educators, public leaders, non-profits, community organizers, and the public interested in having the dialogues that can bring about community growth and positive change. Each chapter contains a Tupac song that we will break down and discuss through conversation and questions. The chapters begin and end with relatable quotes by prolific writers from, Tzu Sun, St. Augustine, and Harriet Tubman to Jay Z, Beyonce, KRS One, Meek Mill and Barack Obama. These quotes are intended to spark our brains into thinking of things greater than ourselves. The challenge would be to ask ourselves, "Why did this person say this?" and "Did it need to be said at all?" What were the conditions that would drive someone to say something so profound? The goal is to encourage heartfelt dialogue between people from different communities and perspectives that is challenging yet inviting. Professors and group leaders can use this tool to guide these deep and at times very uncomfortable conversations and differences of opinion in safe space atmospheres without the fear of backlash due to the perception of a position. Incorporating hip-hop lyrics from an artist such as Tupac can aid in the growth of what we have in common and better understand what we don't have in common in a more meaningful way.

About the Author :
Desiree was born in 1971 in New Jersey, a product of the birth of the hip hop era. Born only 5 months after Tupac, she has always loved the hip hop genre and culture, and like Tupac she is also a grateful fruit that has grown from the trees the Civil Rights movement have planted. Desiree grew up a huge fan of MC Lyte and KRS-One and other groundbreaking artists of the time. She grew up in Essex County where she attended and graduated from the Montclair school system. From there Desiree went to graduate from HBCU;, Delaware State College. She later got her CPA, married, divorced, and became the proud mom of a daughter and a son. Desiree began reading Richard Wright style books and moved onto books of the Civil Rights era as a teen. There she became captivated with all things and the people that were of the struggle for black and brown equality here in America. Woman like Afeni Shakur, Assata Shakur, Elaine Davis, to the men such as Fred Hampton, Bobby Seale, Hewey P. Newton, Mumia Abu Jamal, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and John Lewis are underappreciated today, and she wants to keep their stories alive for the later generations that don't know them. Desiree says, regarding this work and her connection to Tupac Shakur: When Tupac was murdered, I grieved heavily as all the other Tupac fans. I not only grieved for the rapper, but for the son of Afeni Shakur. I grieved for a direct and hands-on product of my own Freedom Fighters. I grieved for America's loss of his intellect. I grieved for a long time and became more immersed in his music because I needed the connection. When he was alive, I feared for his life, so when he died it was quite hard to bear. I am also a confessed alive theorist - but I have since let that idea go. As time passed, I became very disappointed and angry with the heads of the hip hop community. From successful rappers to the businessmen, I watched them honor Tupac and their love for him while at the very same time I watched Tupac's kids, The Outlaws, struggling. I couldn't reconcile the two things, and my heart always went out to my one-time homie and now deceased Bruce Washington - AKA Fatal from the Outlaws - Kadafi, and the rest of his bandmates who were all local dope artists. These young guys were talented, and I felt like the rap industry failed them. I don't know all backstories, so pardon me for anyone that I have offended, but it's how I've felt. I write this as a scholarly tool and workbook, using his voice and my own so that these types of dialogue can continue to grow Tupac's legacy in a manner that makes his love for each of us worthwhile. I write this book to contribute to the legacy of Tupac Shakur through licensing and royalty share agreements. Tupac said he may not change the world, but he may spark the brain of the person that changes the world. Let's continue to spark some brains and further Tupac Shakur's legacy in a manner in which his elders and our future generations can live as healthy, respected people that live and walk in peace and love of our differences instead of the fear of the same.With all my Respect and Love, Desiree