Daniel (00:03.19) There's Joy in the House, a conversation about the house of afros, capes, and curls with special guest, Jade Rogers, on this episode of Play Saves the World, the ongoing conversation about the meaning of play for human flourishing. Daniel (00:39.296) Hello and welcome everybody. Welcome to this episode of Play Saves the World. My name is Daniel Hilty. Kevin (00:46.412) My name is Kevin Taylor. Jade (00:48.657) My name is Jade Rogers. Daniel (00:51.104) Jade, welcome. Kevin (00:52.815) Hello? Jade (00:54.195) Thank you for having me. Thank you. Daniel (00:54.24) We are so glad to have you here. We are, we didn't talk about this before starting to record, but we are coming from different corners of the US this morning. Though Jade, think you and I are a lot closer than Kevin is. You're up in Omaha, Nebraska, is that right? Okay, okay. And I'm just down the road from you in Columbia, Missouri, central Missouri. And Kevin though, Kevin's way out there on the East Coast. Jade (01:15.654) Yes. Jade (01:24.802) Okay Kevin (01:28.29) Yeah, I'm close to Charlotte, North Carolina, our fair city, Queen City. Daniel (01:30.614) Yeah. There is much heat here in Columbia at the moment. Are you all also encountering the heat of August, where both of you are? Kevin (01:45.132) Hmm. Jade (01:47.699) It's very hot. Daniel (01:48.787) Yeah. Jade (01:50.355) It's very hot. Kevin (01:51.375) Very hot. We had this heat dome something a few weeks ago, so it's hot here, but it's not as bad as it was. We were just sitting over 100 regularly a few weeks ago, which never happens here. So was crazy, it was crazy. And I've never been in Nebraska, ever. I need to fix that. Daniel (01:52.351) Okay. Daniel (02:05.686) you wears on you. Jade (02:13.671) Well, there is a lot more than you think there is. Daniel (02:20.19) Are you a native of Omaha? Okay. Jade (02:22.354) I Daniel (02:26.006) born and raised in Omaha. I have to say I've been to other parts of Nebraska, but I haven't been to Omaha as well. And from where I am, there's really no excuse. We could get up there in an easy day drive. Jade (02:38.963) I mean, are things to do, and there are definitely some major events put on by an organization that I know pretty well throughout the year. The House of Afros, Capes and Curls. Daniel (02:51.402) Yeah, what organization is this? Tell us more. Kevin (02:51.662) Mmm. You Daniel (02:59.19) This sounds like an amazing organization. What is the house of afros capes and curls, please. Jade (03:07.347) That was not planned. Thank you. So our mission, we bring people together based on a love of sci-fi, fantasy, comics, gaming, tabletop gaming, and Afrofuturism. Kevin (03:08.302) Which is the best name ever, by the way. I just love that name. Daniel (03:10.067) It is a great name. Jade (03:24.347) We do that through community engagement events, our special events, and our educational programming. Our community engagement starts off with game nights. That's where we started. But we also work with other organizations. Last year, we didn't do any game nights. We did nap nights, where we encouraged people to come. And on a Sunday afternoon, come and take a nap. Daniel (03:45.632) Happy nights. Kevin (03:52.277) Interesting. Daniel (03:53.728) genius. Jade (03:53.861) It was a whole sleep series with, each one was a little different with sound baths or meditation or gentle movement, but it was really an opportunity to push, rest, and add things to people's sleep hygiene regimen. Kevin (04:11.234) Wow. Kevin (04:15.448) Did they bring yoga mats or how did they, what did that look like? Jade (04:18.149) So we provided yoga mats and blankets, two different types because people need different things. Some were lighter, some were heavier. And we had a huge room. Our offices are at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in their community engagement center. So it's a space where organizations, people across the city can rent or reserve conference rooms, meeting rooms. And so we took the largest meeting room on a Sunday at three o'clock. Kevin (04:23.5) Mm-hmm. Jade (04:48.133) in the building and they cleared it out for us. huge room. And people would come with their blankets, additional blankets in the colder months in their onesies. People brought their journals, stuffed animals, just all sorts of things. And they would set up their little areas. Sometimes people brought a book. Kevin (05:14.03) are funny. Jade (05:16.709) and just sat, had a couple people that just sat in a chair and then eventually got on the floor. And they just had a book or nothing just got on the floor and just laid down. But it was a concentrated time that we said, okay, we're gonna start really gentle. And then for about an hour, we just let people sleep and people slept. And I had to keep myself up. Kevin (05:24.152) Mm-hmm. Kevin (05:29.624) Mm-hmm. Jade (05:44.461) more than more than not. It's like, wait, I gotta run stuff. And then afterwards, if people wanted to, they could join us for tea and some snacks and just gentle conversation is what I like to say, gentle conversation. Sometimes people stayed and there were sometimes where people were like, no, I gotta get back to life. But it was just a way to connect without having to engage. Kevin (05:45.546) It's Darlin. Wow! Daniel (05:49.333) love that. Daniel (05:58.838) Mmm. Kevin (06:12.205) Mm-hmm. Jade (06:13.063) Because sometimes you want to be with people, but you really don't have the capacity to be with people. So for people that wanted to get out and do something and be around, but also take care of themselves, that's what Nap Night was. Kevin (06:31.022) sort of parallel play for adults. Kind of, yeah, that's our parallel rest, yeah. Jade (06:33.618) Mm-hmm. Daniel (06:35.443) Beautiful idea. And we should say, you know, that House of Africans, kids and girls really well, you are the founder and chief innovation officer of the house. there's, there's, you know, it's story better than anyone. I, where did the idea come from for the, well, I want to ask about the house too. want to ask about the house, but, but I find this nap idea, this nap night. So where did the idea come from for that? Please. just, that's. Jade (06:45.799) Damn. Jade (06:51.763) you Kevin (07:00.802) Daniel's already yawning. Jade (07:01.282) So that was our community engagement for 2024. And it really came from, I was tired. We do a lot of events. Our educational program is growing. And 2024, I just recognized that I'm running on fumes. But I'm not the only one. I have a lot of friends and people that I work with in the community that we're giving and pouring a lot into the community and running on fumes too. And I said, why do we just, why do we keep doing this to ourselves? We need to rest. So it was just our way of promoting, just sit down child and rest. So, yeah. Daniel (07:51.606) So great. And obviously it really resonated with folks in the community as well. It reminds me, we had a previous guest on the podcast, Julian Davis Reed, who's a jazz musician. But he also has a project called Notes of Rest, which is about using... Jade (07:56.755) Mm-hmm Daniel (08:17.703) music and reflective questions and meditation and scripture about to just help people rest more and sleep more and and and just the the gift of that and how we overlook it as a or quick to dismiss rest and sleep and as a luxury or weakness or whatever when it's an essential part of what it means to be human. So that's so cool. Jade (08:41.373) Mm-hmm. Kevin (08:47.822) Going back to your mission, define Afrofuturism for me. Jade (08:55.705) So Afrofuturism is a term, it's a new terminology. Well, new as of... 1990s. But it's not a new concept. the long, the short answer is, anytime there is a story for Black people where they can see themselves in the future, that is a form of Afrofuturism. So Uhura on Star Trek. and Jordy on Star Trek, this is both Star Trek, Lando Calrussian in Star Wars. Those are some of the first figures that you see in sci-fi futuristic programming. And it was... groundbreaking in that for so many black people, they didn't see themselves in those spaces. So they enjoy those spaces, but did not see themselves there. So anytime you can put for black people, black people in the center of the story, and the story is set in the future, that is a form of Afrofuturism, but it is also simultaneously looking backwards. So being able to look forward and look backwards, but putting black people in the center of the story and not on the margins of it is a form of Afrofuturism. There's lots of definitions of what it is and what it can be. It lives in a world of sci-fi, easily. It lives in a world of fantasy as well. But it's earth, wind, and fire. Parliament and the Funkadelics. Daniel (10:46.837) Hmm. Jade (10:47.065) Sun Ra, they were talking about and dressing in a way that was like, why are you wearing spacesuits? Daniel (10:56.272) You Kevin (10:56.895) of wow. Jade (10:57.265) you know, you're talking about motherships and Egyptology and the third, and just all of these novel concepts at the time, but looking beyond what was seen and seeing a future for black people that was not present anywhere else. And at the same time, it is ancient when you look back at the Dogon people, people in... Kevin (11:03.927) Mm-hmm. Jade (11:27.013) on the continent of Africa that thousands of years ago were existing and hundreds of years ago talking about the stars and constellations and identifying things that had not yet even been discovered by science and being discredited, but... then science catches up and says, Sirius B is a thing. You were talking about this thing beyond what we could see. And how did they know that? And some people say aliens and, know. But whatever it is, it is a science that existed for a people and a cosmology that existed for a people on the continent of Africa well before science caught up with technology. So. Daniel (12:14.197) And I'm embarrassed to say I was not familiar with that term, the doggone people. What was the term that you used in the... Jade (12:20.211) The Dogon people. D-O-G-O-N. Yes. Yes. Daniel (12:21.971) The Dogon people. D-O-G-O-N. Okay, okay. Jade (12:30.083) It just kind of came out like, that right? Yeah, I know. I'm pretty sure that's right. Daniel (12:33.853) Yeah, yeah. No, no, understand. understand. Yeah, I didn't hit you on the spot there. Kevin (12:34.627) Mm-hmm. Jade (12:37.127) Yeah, it's just all of these things that what Afrofuturism is, when you look it up, it can be a large, long definition. can go back hundreds of years. It can go back to yesterday. when it's easy to see it when you're looking at artists because it's a visual representation. It's also music. Missy Elliott is often thrown in when there's discussions of Afrofuturism because all of her music videos are so futuristic in nature and so just not doing what anybody else was doing. Janelle Monae is also one of those people. But then the other people that I referenced, Parliament and Sun Ra as well. But in literature, Octavia Butler, one of the first Black women recognized in science fiction. She is Afrofuturistic. Everything she wrote, everything she wrote is Afrofuturism. Kevin (13:27.299) Mm-hmm. Kevin (13:39.918) I still haven't read her, but it's on my list. I did read N.K. Jemisin. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Daniel (13:43.999) I was going to bring up NKJM with him. My wife's a big fan of hers. Yeah, yeah. Jade (13:44.485) Okay. Okay. Yeah, Kindred by Octavia Butler is my favorite book in the world. Yes. Yes. Kevin (13:52.279) Okay, I'm going to read it. There's one that's...is it the parable of the mustard seed? There's something, a mustard seed? Parable of the sower. I knew it was biblical. That's the one I thought I would read, but I will read that one instead. Kindred, that you're just saying. Daniel (13:52.373) Really? Okay. Kindred. Jade (13:59.603) parable of the sower. Yes. Jade (14:06.949) Yeah, Kindred, it's history and it's it's also sci-fi. Kevin (14:12.045) Okay. Kevin (14:17.954) What's better? What could be better? Jade (14:19.719) Yeah, and it's the least sci-fi of all of her novels. The book... Daniel (14:19.733) Yeah, yeah. Kevin (14:24.014) Okay. Jade (14:28.563) So there's a black woman and her husband that are living in California in the 1970s and somehow she is transported to Maryland in 1815 on the plantation where her family resides. Daniel (14:49.301) Wow, kindred. Kevin (14:51.128) time travel but dark. Jade (14:53.969) Yes, but also like questions of what is home, who is family, identity, the things that you think you know with a modern education. Yeah. Daniel (15:10.719) Right, right. Kevin (15:11.918) Wow. Daniel (15:13.749) I love that sense of looking forward and looking to the past at the same time. Kind of not being able to do one without the other in how they're all intertwined, both intertwined. Jade (15:21.137) Yes. Mm-hmm. Kevin (15:25.43) And yeah, and I'm thinking of Wakanda is what just brings to mind for me, which was a visual instead of a music or a book. But yeah, Wakanda was... Jade (15:27.41) Yes. absolutely, yeah. Daniel (15:31.893) Mm. Jade (15:37.907) And that was actually all of those things because it sparked so much. So the music in the movie and then all of the conversations around it. We just had a special event last year. No, I'm sorry, that was this year. just. Daniel (15:41.365) Hmm. Kevin (15:41.496) Hmm. Daniel (15:59.296) You Kevin (16:00.11) It's almost next year. Hate to tell you. Jade (16:01.319) Alright, in my mind I'm already at the next year, but this year our Juneteenth Steampunk Tea Party, the theme was Victorian Wakanda. So it's a... You're right. Yes. Kevin (16:05.504) I know, I know. Kevin (16:13.55) No. What did people do? Oh my gosh. Daniel (16:15.775) You Jade (16:18.995) well, our Juneteenth Steampunk Tea Party is a Juneteenth celebration. We are honoring those that went before us in the Victorian era. So post-reconstruction, early 20th century that often get overlooked and unrecognized. But the achievements and the academic activism journalism, invention and science and technology, the things that black people were doing at that time were amazing, but we always just glance over them. So that's how we honor and celebrate Juneteenth. The steampunk is because we're nerds. And steampunk is a wonderful way to talk about technology of the past and also the present. So it is a tea party held in a castle, Jocelyn Castle. And it is a full tea party with food, tea, sweets. Kevin (17:04.451) Mm-hmm. Jade (17:24.943) but also a string quartet and an Afro punk band and a game room because we always have a board game room but also role play games and murder mysteries and all sorts of other things and people are encouraged to come dressed in steampunk victorian or western wear because all is applicable or nothing at all they don't have to come dressed up at all but people generally do Kevin (17:40.494) So cool. Jade (17:55.219) And this year with Victorian Wakanda, was, I think it just tapped in and allowed people to do something even more grand. And there was a lot of Victorian, there's still a lot of Victorian, but then also adding African elements to their outfits. It was a beautiful day. Yeah. Kevin (18:06.904) Hmm. Kevin (18:21.656) Hmm, that's awesome. Daniel (18:22.613) That sounds amazing. That sounds like one of the, I want to visit Omaha just for that. That's, how great, how wonderful. Kevin (18:34.593) Mm-hmm. Jade (18:36.039) Top of June. Yeah. Kevin (18:38.862) This is probably too generalizing, so you may want to pass on it. But what do you think the state of nerd culture is among African Americans? Do you think it's growing? You think it remains a subset? how is that? What changes are you seeing? Jade (18:50.575) Jade (18:55.879) You know, it's interesting. I think it's growing in that there are young people coming into the world that are falling in love with all of these nerdy things that we as older people have been doing most of our lives or trying not to let people know what we were doing. I think that for black people, we've always done these things and it's always been present, but do you talk about it? I think that's where the, if you see growth in numbers, that's where it is. It's the fear of letting other people know what exactly you're doing outside of your circle or your sphere because you are not always welcomed in spaces. Daniel (19:54.93) That brings up something we wanted to ask about as well. In a previous interview that we read, you talked about one of the ideas behind the house was, and correct me if I get this quote wrong, but you kind of talked about creating a safe place to be black and nerdy, right? Just a safe place for that. And you're referring now to kind of this sense of, is this a safe place to talk about my nerdiness, you know, to share? Would you mind just talking a little bit more about that? mean, what, where does the sense of, yeah, what do you say more, please? Jade (20:33.107) Well, you know, I've been black and nerdy my whole life, so I am and I was comfortable living in that skin. It took. And it didn't take much for me to overcome. I'm going to be the only black person in this space. Because I live in Omaha, Nebraska, so I'm. Kevin (20:54.392) Hmm. Jade (20:59.673) often used to being the only black person in a space. That's how I grew up. Was one of the only in a space. But when I moved back, because I was in Maryland for many years, moved back home and wanted to connect with community and see what was happening. Because I've always, you know, even as a teenager, I was volunteering for the Great Plains Black History Museum, which is in Omaha. and wanting to do things in the community around history didn't realize how deep that really was for me even as a teenager. But when I moved back home, having worked on a PhD in history, I wanted to see what's happening in the community and how have we grown, what's changed, what's new. Because I was gone for 10 years and came home and Things don't look necessarily that different, but the ways that people connect were a little different. As I was getting older and not... I'm too old for the club. I don't like the concerts, like just the things that you do when you're young to connect and go out. I don't want to do that. Kevin (22:22.19) Mm-hmm. Daniel (22:22.196) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Jade (22:26.591) And it's like, then how do you gather a group of people that may not know each other? And so the game night became what I wanted to do in the community because there was nothing like that in the community that I could see. And it was common to go to a game store or a board game cafe outside of my community and see people on a Tuesday with their friends playing board games, but I didn't see any black people at those tables. I started the game nights as a way to gather the people that I knew and also figure out what's happening in the community and also begin to make some connections for people because it's like, I know so-and-so over here is also a nerd and that person over there is a huge nerd and they don't know each other and they have similar backgrounds living in the same city and like the same thing. Wonder what would happen if they got together. Kevin (23:24.984) Right, right. Daniel (23:32.308) Hmm. Jade (23:34.184) So that sort of thing. So that's where the house was, that was at the center of what the goal was. It was really just bringing people together at a table and see what happens. And I named it the House of Afroscapes and Curls because I named things. And so even before our first game night, we had a name. Daniel (23:42.29) It just grew from there. Kevin (23:57.644) Mm. Jade (23:58.354) And it really came from, I'm watching Game of Thrones and I don't see a house that represents me. So I wanted a house that represented me, but would also include all of my other friends that were not of color. So that's the house of afros, capes, and curls. Daniel (24:05.524) Hmm Daniel (24:19.86) It's a great name. It's a great name. I love that. Yeah. Thanks for, thanks for, for telling the origin, sharing a little bit of the origin story. So, so, so it starts from game night. Yeah. Well, no, I think so. Yeah, no, I was just asking about also about kind of, yeah, this, sense of, this idea of, of creating a safe place, as you were saying, to kind of be black and nerdy. And so, yeah, that, that, that's great. That's great. Jade (24:22.483) Thank you. Jade (24:32.445) And did I answer the question? Kevin (24:49.166) Mm-hmm. Jade (24:50.059) the I realized that I was comfortable going out into those spaces and then after we have the house and I'm bringing these people I'm outing these people basically didn't realize that that's what I was doing at the time but I'm outing them and and then also didn't realize how how how important that was gonna be because Daniel (24:50.258) Whoa, go ahead. Daniel (25:04.148) Hey, there's a nerd! This person, they're a nerd. Jade (25:18.393) I knew that I was a nerd and they all knew that I was a nerd and I knew that they were nerds but nobody else knew necessarily that they were nerds like at work or at church or other you know the people didn't know and so I'm outing them and then also making it okay it's like okay we're all here we're all we all like the same thing let's talk about it Kevin (25:22.124) Mm-hmm. Bye. Jade (25:45.172) And then people would come up and ask, you know, I've never been to a Renaissance fair. Can I go with you? And I always wonder if the person that I talk about has ever heard me say this, because it is a person. And then I say, yes, but why are we whispering? Kevin (25:51.295) all. Bye. Kevin (26:07.298) Yeah. Daniel (26:07.71) Ha ha ha ha ha! Jade (26:10.739) So yeah. Daniel (26:12.852) Where do you think that sense of, I don't know if fear is the right word, but I guess it's what's coming to at the moment, where that sense of fear comes from. Yeah, where does that come? Kevin (26:13.119) That's great, that's great, I love it. Jade (26:21.187) it is absolutely fear because especially being in a predominantly white city, you go into spaces differently. I walk into spaces not knowing what I might confront. and already having conversations in my head about what I'm going to do if I encounter said situation before I ever get out of my car. So to go into a comic book store or another nerdy event, like a convention. and to go in, you know, by myself or with another person and being Black in this city, I don't know what the reaction or what, not the reaction, but I don't know how I'm going to be received in said space. because when I go into spaces, I am not always welcomed or well received and sometimes questioned. why are you here? Or, you don't know anything about this because there's also this idea that black people are not nerdy. Like, we don't like these things or we're new in that space or that sphere. And that's why I said in the beginning, we've been here. I grew up watching the same nerdy, Kevin (27:48.877) Mm-hmm. Jade (27:52.526) movies and television shows as every one of my peers. But when I go into the space, I am sometimes questioned about my knowledge of those things. When I saw Star Wars at six, I'm not new to this. So. Kevin (28:02.691) Wow. Daniel (28:10.802) Yeah, yeah. Jade (28:13.073) Yeah, it is a definite fear. And I have been ignored at the comic book store. And I don't know if it's because I'm a woman or because they're on the spectrum or I'm black. You I don't know. But I know how I have felt when I'm in there and other people are talked to or asked questions of. And I'm not. Kevin (28:27.724) Right. Jade (28:40.379) So I'm okay doing that, but not everybody else is. So I met a man once, we were at an event and there was an older gentleman that came up to the table and he's probably in his maybe early 70s. And he came and he asked some questions about what we were and what we did and we had a game night coming up and He asked a couple more questions and then he kind of walked away. took the stuff and he kind of walked away. And then five minutes later he came back and he asked another question. He was like, oh, okay, okay, okay. And then he walked away and I was like, he is a nerd. Because I would ask him, so do you like, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not a nerd, I'm not a nerd. And then five minutes later he came back, he asked another question and I was like, sir. Kevin (29:29.87) You Jade (29:41.723) What is the nerdy thing that you love? And he was like, mean, I mean, I just, I, Kevin (29:51.382) Yeah Jade (29:53.556) have a collection of comic books that goes back 30 years. And I was like, why didn't you start with that? And he's like, well, I mean, I don't talk to people. No, this is an older black man. He's in his 70s. And he was not. Daniel (29:55.686) Hahaha Kevin (29:57.07) Great. Jade (30:08.975) I'm sitting here with the House of Afros, capes and colonels shirt on. I've got nerdy stuff on the table. I'm talking about having a game night and going to conventions and these kinds of things. And he is not comfortable telling me that he is a comic book head and has been. And we look alike. It took him 30 minutes to get comfortable to tell me, know, okay, this is actually what I like. Yes, yes. Daniel (30:27.07) you Kevin (30:32.578) because he spent 60 years keeping it on the down low, right? So yeah, yeah. Wow, that's powerful. Daniel (30:35.988) Hmm Jade (30:39.249) Yeah, so that's why the house exists. Daniel (30:45.576) great reason to exist. Thanks for sharing your experience and telling us. think it's another, yeah, it's a... Daniel (31:02.194) Yeah, makes me mindful of just a couple of things, one more serious, one quite silly, but the more serious thing, mean, just, yeah, just yet another example of a. Jade (31:08.083) Mm-hmm. Daniel (31:17.65) I think Kevin and I have talked about this in past episodes that, you know, as old middle-aged white guys, we have this privilege of being allowed to be nerdy, you know, and that's, that's, and, know, and you can go anywhere and people say, yeah, it's just, that's. Kevin (31:27.224) Hey. Jade (31:36.701) Mm-hmm. Daniel (31:37.22) And that's an unspoken privilege that I think we often, that I know I don't, I'm always aware of or recognize. So yeah, appreciate your, you're sharing your experience. And the other thing, the story of the older man makes me think about like, I was wondering like, is there a question, would it be the perfect question that you could ask anybody to suss out whether they're a nerd or not, right? Like whether they're secretly a nerd. Kevin (31:46.114) Mm-hmm. Jade (31:54.205) Yeah. Jade (32:04.061) Right. Kevin (32:05.952) got one. I got one. Well, what you would do is make a mistake, like a clear mistake to see if they call you on it. So you say, didn't you just love Mr. Spock in Star Wars? And if they go, he wasn't. So just a couple of stuff like that, because nerds would immediately jump on. Daniel (32:06.769) You got what? OK, what is it, Kevin? What is it? Jade (32:07.877) Hehehehe Daniel (32:11.091) Hahaha Jade (32:16.275) Hehehehehe Daniel (32:21.875) Hahaha Jade (32:24.079) Right, right, right. That's a good one, that's a good one. Daniel (32:26.035) Our kids grew up with a spongebob. reminds me also of the sub scene in one of the spongebob movies or episodes. SpongeBob or Patrick is trying to act very non nerdy and very cool. But the other one is singing the I'm a goofy goober song. And you could just see the other person holding back because they want to sing along that I'm a goofy goober. And then finally, they can't hold back anymore. They just join in singing I'm a goofy goober. Yeah. But I think the Mr. Spock in Star Wars is better. Kevin (32:58.904) Don't want to admit it. Jade (33:02.739) Mmm. Jade (33:09.843) And it's interesting, I shared that story, that was a long time ago. And I just had another encounter with someone this year. And this person is not that much older than me. And I was in a business program. And... They were my advisor in the business program. So she's business, you know. She's run businesses, she's really good at this, and this is what she's done, and the money, and all these things. And she is... Kevin (34:07.33) call it dramatic. Daniel (34:09.223) dramatic pause. Jade (34:14.865) The serviceman is on his way. Daniel (34:16.732) Yay! Kevin (34:17.74) Yay! Daniel (34:20.135) Just do what you need to do. Jade (34:21.915) Okay, he'll probably ring the doorbell and then I'll pause. But I just need to show him where the thing is and then I can come back. I was talking about my advisor. When it came to my, the House of Afros, Capes and Curls, and I don't often see it as a, look at it as a business, it's a non-profit. It's a passion, it's what I do. But I'm in this program and she wasn't really understanding what we did and what, you know, what... Kevin (34:50.894) Mm-hmm. Jade (34:53.087) What is this? And I would explain it and talk about the programming, talk about our youth programming, talk about community engagement and all those things and partnerships. And she was kind of getting it, but not really. And I don't know exactly what it was that triggered it for her. And this is a person that also said, I don't understand this because I'm not a nerd. And I'm looking at her like, okay, she's very business focused and yeah, no, she's not a nerd. And then it came to cosplay. And when she saw the pictures from some of the events, it clicked for her and she was like, I love dressing up. was like. Daniel (35:24.807) Hmm Kevin (35:38.508) Right, you play dress up. Jade (35:41.59) that's called cosplay. I didn't know that there was a name for that. And then she shows the picture of her from last year. She went to some con in Atlanta and she was a blue avatar person. She was completely blue. Daniel (35:43.92) Interesting, interesting. Daniel (35:58.942) Ha ha! Kevin (35:59.151) No, you are kidding. Big nerd. Daniel (36:04.263) I'm not a nerd, but I like to go as a blue avatar for us. That's great. There's an inner nerd in all of us. That's so great. Jade (36:05.907) Right. I said, ma'am, you are the nerd I'm looking for. Like, it's you. And she was like, oh, I didn't know. I didn't know that's what you're, I don't really tell people. I just have my couple of friends that I went with. It's like, see, this is. Kevin (36:07.17) But I do like to dress as a blue alien. If that were in a movie, I would be like, that's not realistic. That would never happen. Daniel (36:24.145) Yeah, yeah. Kevin (36:24.374) That's so sweet, I love it, I love it. Jade (36:31.367) this is the thing. And then it just kind of opened up her whole world when I showed her all the things and told her all the things. And then I started talking about D &D. And she started asking more and more questions. And I was like, why is she asking me so many questions about D &D? And then finally she said, Jade, I'm interested. What is this, Dungeons and Dragons? Tell me more. I'm really interested. I was like, We were in a business session. I was like, well, she's stuck on this one thing. Daniel (36:32.466) Yeah. Daniel (36:51.848) Ha Daniel (37:00.787) Hahaha Kevin (37:01.054) she wants invite that's why that's awesome Jade (37:02.341) She wants an invite, yes. She wants an invite. She went from, I don't understand this, I'm not nerdy, to I wanna play Dungeons and Dragons and I'm gonna dress up as this character. was like, man, okay. Yeah. Kevin (37:14.542) That is something. Wow. Well, I want to hear a little bit about your PhD and then I want to hear some games you are enjoying. Jade (37:25.171) The PhD is on pause, permanently probably. I finished all my coursework at Morgan State University and was about to go into dissertation phase and my mom became ill and I left Maryland and came home to take care of my mother and then ended up taking care of her and then my father. Kevin (37:32.13) Hmm. Jade (37:50.932) I'm a late in life addition to the family and as the youngest and they were older I I said I'm just gonna I just changed my life came home and took care of them because I always felt like that's what I was going to do because that's what they told me I was going to do. that they had me to take care of them. And I looked up one, and I'll never forget, she told me, I had you, so you could take care of me. And I looked up at eight years old, and I was like, why me, Lord? Daniel (38:28.977) Wow. Wow. Jade (38:29.779) but that ended up being what I wanted to do was to take care of them. So I came home and took care of my father until he went home to be with the Lord and took care of my mother until she left in 2022. And no regrets, it was what I was supposed to do. It was because of that that I came home and started the House of Afros, Capes and Girls. Kevin (38:37.528) Hmm. Kevin (38:53.678) Hmm. Kevin (38:59.246) to get that. Jade (38:59.503) So that's the that's the PhD. I still teach. I still teach. I still write. I'm still researching. So primarily U.S. history, 19th, early 20th century America, African-American history, Black women's history. Kevin (39:05.804) Mm-hmm. Kevin (39:10.104) What's your area? History? Jade (39:27.813) a little pre-colonial Africa and the Caribbean are my areas. Daniel (39:36.743) talked about before we start recording, you talked about young history detectives program at the house that where you get to write the curriculum about and lead right the principal teacher for it. Are those some of the areas of history that that participants explore through this program that program to Jade (39:43.175) Yes. Jade (39:55.188) Yes, so young history detectives are between 9 and 18 years old. It didn't start off at 18. It aged up with the children. It is our youth program that has a focus and emphasis on African American history specifically in Omaha, Nebraska. So on a national scope and a local and what the children are doing is not just learning history. They're learning about the history of their community specifically through research. So each kid gets an address on 24th, 30th or 16th streets, which are significant. in North Omaha, historically black area in Omaha, Nebraska. And they are researching a business or a residence on those streets. Kevin (40:48.77) Hmm. Jade (40:48.975) from the life for the life cycle of that address, from the 19 teens to the present day, to see what sorts of things were in the community over a period of time. So they're looking and building a picture of the community from its resources and the people that were running those resources and also people living in homes so they can see what neighborhoods look like by the people that were Kevin (40:56.074) wow. Jade (41:18.909) living in them and the opportunities and businesses that were there in the 1930s and the 1940s and the 1950s and are no longer there. it's and then we go out to we go out to the locations and take pictures of what is there standing and with and also with the child who is documenting that history and what oftentimes is the case is that there's nothing there. It's an empty Kevin (41:20.6) Mm-hmm. Jade (41:48.849) lot it's just grass or it's just a parking lot and so this vibrant community that was once Daniel (41:49.619) you Jade (42:01.683) I want to say a beacon on the hill. That seems really poetic and odd. But it was this beautiful, shiny thing in the city and a space where every major jazz musician and blues musician from the 1920s to the 1960s came through Omaha, Nebraska and performed. and not just jazz and blues, but it was a vibrant, living community. And after things happened and there were some riots after some police incidents in the community and destruction that was never addressed or repaired ever again. So. it brings a lot of questions to the kids because they know the area, they have family that might be in the area, but they know the area because a lot of our, there's a cultural renaissance happening in the area as far as the arts and history. And so they go to these places, they know the area, but then there's nothing there that reflects what they're researching. Like the poodle parlor. Kevin (43:09.09) Mm-hmm. Jade (43:20.403) Which was... Kevin (43:20.664) Right. Jade (43:22.099) In the 1950s, a pet store, like there was a pet store on 24th Street? There was a pet store, there were two skating rinks. There was multiple movie theaters and theatrical spaces for plays. Multiple restaurants and pharmacies and meat markets and bakeries and florists. So it's a vibrant living community that now has maybe a restaurant. Daniel (43:37.203) Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Jade (43:52.006) a new theater that was just built for plays. and you know there are other spaces but nothing like what it used to be. So that's the research that these kids are doing and they learn how to use the databases at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. They use the archives at the University of Nebraska and also the Durham History Museum and they do the field research. They do interviews. Kevin (44:27.79) Jeez, that's amazing. Exciting. Jade (44:28.595) And they're, you know, they're kids doing this college level. I tell them that, you know, you're in this space now, you're my college student, and they all sit up. They all sit up. Kevin (44:39.214) And they're doing a service to the community because those things they will be lost and they happen to have the time erases. Daniel (44:42.138) exactly right. Jade (44:44.539) Yes, and so that's the bigger plan is to take everything that they have created, I put it all into a file, and the goal is to create a VR tour or experience and an exhibition with the things that they have discovered. So we're in the... now the phase of making this public. Like what does it look like exhibition phase for the next few years. So yeah. Kevin (45:18.328) Well, as we draw things to a close, give me some of your highlights in gaming right now. What are you enjoying? Jade (45:25.393) Well, because I do all of this, I don't get to play many games. Although I do play Barista Cat. Barista Cat, yes. the Letter Tycoon is one of my favorite games that I do not get to play as often as I want to. Daniel (45:37.852) Rista cat. Cool. Kevin (45:43.15) Cappuccino. Daniel (45:52.914) Mm. Jade (45:55.678) But I'm a simmer, I play the Sims, and I love Dungeons & Dragons, and I'm very new to it. I'm very new to it. But yeah, those are my loves right now. Kevin (46:04.078) Hmm. Kevin (46:12.098) Hmm. So would you... Are you mostly a board gamer who's now exploring D &D and tabletop role-playing or how would you... Yeah. Jade (46:20.313) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, because growing up, my parents, my dad was the head deacon, my mother was the head deaconess. The Dungeons and Dragons was of the devil. So, I... Kevin (46:23.874) Yeah, I'm similar. Kevin (46:34.412) Right, satanic panic. What is a deaconess do? I'm familiar with deacons, but I think. Jade (46:41.783) The stewards of the church, where did that come from? They just kind of came right out. Stewards. But yeah, stewards of the church. In my particular experience growing up, they led the mission work. So within the community, they were the mission driven. Kevin (46:46.872) Wow. Jade (47:08.067) force of women. there was, I think there was a separate mission group, but they sort of spearheaded a lot of those activities going into the community. And they also were the ones that set up the communion and did all of those sorts of things in service to the pastor and the deacons. And yeah. Daniel (47:32.646) know we're wrapping up, but just as you're talking about your parents' role in the church, I can't resist from asking, do you have any reflections on the role that the church played in? Daniel (47:50.419) in who you are today in terms of this mission, this vision of creating safe places to be black and nerdy in terms of Afrofuturism, terms, know, all these things we've been talking about. Did you find growing up in your church experience, that, were there ways that it helped nurture that or ways that it helped hinder that or what, how do you describe that relation as you nurture it? Yeah, yeah. Jade (48:00.66) Ahem. Jade (48:14.099) No, nurture it. I credit my church experience with, there's the spiritual part of my life and that's the goal, right? But there's also the, I know how to run a meeting. I know how to run a committee. I know how to go out and serve. I know how to Kevin (48:36.632) Mm-hmm. Jade (48:43.633) I know how to write a script. I know how to do public speaking. Like all of those things. I know how to teach a class. I know how to manage a group of kids. I got all of those skills at my church. Yeah, how to cater a meal, how to decorate a space. That's all from church. Daniel (48:45.778) Mm. Kevin (48:46.232) Mm-hmm. Kevin (48:58.04) Wow. Daniel (48:59.506) Fantastic. Jade (49:08.751) So everything that I do, I can point back to. So when I was seven years old, I would have to help the Deaconess lay these things out for communion on Saturday afternoon, because Sunday we have to come in and do this. So, and my mother was the floral committee. She was the floral committee. So. Daniel (49:08.754) I love that. Daniel (49:30.322) He was the federal committee. Jade (49:32.264) you know, on Saturday we're at the church, we're putting all the things out, we're watering all the plants, or we're going to the store and getting more silk flowers so we can add into this bouquet because the pastor has this person coming and yada yada yada. So it's all of those other skills that you have, that you develop over time that I have, you know, now when I'm running an event and I'm like, we need a set of flowers over there, or we need some decor there, we need a backdrop over there. That all comes from my life at Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church. Daniel (50:08.658) That's awesome. I love that. Thank you. Thank you. Jade (50:10.833) Yeah. You're welcome. Kevin (50:13.016) picture in the karate kid where you know he's waxing the car and painting the fence and then he realizes he's learned karate the whole time. Daniel (50:15.57) Wipe on, wipe off. Jade (50:16.499) Yes. Daniel (50:20.818) I've actually learned to run a nonprofit. That's right. Jade (50:22.611) Yes. Yes. Yes, absolutely. It does. It does. Kevin (50:23.554) So exactly, yeah, which churches are? Yeah, and it takes a lot of work. And yeah, that's right. Daniel (50:30.098) Jade, how can people find the house of Afrocapes and Curls, any of our listeners if they want to support it, if they want to find out more, what are some sorts of, how can they do that? Jade (50:46.222) Afroscapescurls.com is our website and House Afrocon I think is Instagram and Facebook and maybe LinkedIn but afroscapescurls.com is the best way and you can also donate because we are a non-profit. Kevin (51:08.908) Are you your own nonprofit just out of curiosity or is it associated with the university? Excellent. Jade (51:14.193) We are our own non-profit. Yes. Kevin (51:18.606) That's awesome. Jade (51:19.731) Thank you. Daniel (51:22.45) Well, it has been, this has been such a delight. Thanks so much, Jade, for joining us and sharing some of your story and the story of the house with our listeners. I know it's been, I... Kevin (51:29.166) Mm-hmm. Daniel (51:38.18) I feel a lot better about the world having had this conversation. So thank you, Jade. It has given me hope for the world. thank you. Kevin, anything else from you or? Okay, all right. And if anybody wants to find us, we're at playsavestheworld.com. Kevin (51:45.622) What a nice way to start a Monday. Who knew? Who knew? That's awesome. Jade (51:48.723) That's a heavy lift. Kevin (51:55.744) No sir. Nope. Daniel (52:04.114) You can find all of our episodes there. You're welcome to email us anytime. info at playsavestheworld.com. And yeah, we love to hear from folks and love getting to talk to evangelists of play like you, Gullit Jade. So thanks again so much. We really, really appreciate your spending time with us. Jade (52:27.773) Thank you. Kevin (52:27.884) here TorpEL. Daniel (52:29.458) All right, bye bye. Kevin (52:31.534) All right, bye bye. Jade (52:33.148) Alright.