"Every Tongue Got To Confess" is hosted by Professors of History Julian Chambliss (Rollins College) and Robert Cassanello (University of Central Florida). In the same spirit as Zora Neale Hurston - famous African American novelist, short story writer, folklorist, and anthropologist - this podcast explores the experiences and stories of communities of color. In episode 3 we discuss the significance of Eatonville and the role it plays in the Rollins community.

Every Tongue Got to Confess

The importance of stories and Zora Festival 2017

A discussion with Dr. Julian Chambliss, professor of History and Coordinator of the Africa and African-American Studies program at Rollins College about the community engagement experience as a part of  Rollins College curriculum.

The Role of Community Engagement and the link to the Rollins College Experience

A conversation with Dr. Leslie Poole, professor of Environmental Studies at Rollins College about human environmental interactions and the promotion of health and well-being in our community.

The link between the Environment & Social Justice

Holly Baker explains her ongoing effort to produce a curated online exhibit featuring folk songs and folklorists from communities of color throughout state of Florida, collected by the Federal Writers Project during The Depression Era.

Holly Baker Discuss Creating a Florida Folklore Project

Dr. Julian C. Chambliss discusses his departure from Rollins College in Central Florida, joining the Department of English at Michigan State University, and his continued connection to the Zora Neale Hurston Festival in historic Eatonville.

Dr. Chambliss Goes to Michigan

Dr. Grant Cornwell, president of Rollins College outlines how the aims of the Communities Conference co-sponsored by Rollins College and Zora Neale Hurston Festival factors into a holistic vision of liberal arts at Rollins College.

Dr. Grant Cornwell on the meaning of Liberal Education

Dr. Walter Greason, Dean of the honors school and chair of the Department of Education at Monmouth University talks about journalist and civil rights leader T. Thomas Fortune, community building, and tapping into the energy of the festival in order to mobilize locally and nationally.

Dr. Walter Greason on Community, Erasure, And Black Activism

Walter Hawkins, President of the Jones High School Museum and Oswmar Louis, a college student at the University of Central Florida talk about the Jones High School Museum and the recent documentary film about the Jones High School marching band historic participation in the 1964 World's Fair called Marching Forward.

Walter Hawkins and Oswmar Louis On Jones High School History

Rev. Dr. Danita Blow talks about the benefits of homeschooling, particularly for the African American community.

Dr. Danita Blow on Homeschooling

Candace Finley, former Orange County public school teacher and founder/CEO of ESTEAMed Learning talks about STEAM project-based learning, education training, professional development, and the ways in which Zora Neale Hurston inspires her.

Candace Finley on STEAM Learning

Artist and Eatonville native Mariah Roman talks about growing up in Eatonville and carrying on the community’s legacy through community-based projects.

Mariah Roman on Art and Eatonville's Legacy

Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas talks about her diplomatic career and discusses how African American students can impact the global community through foreign relations.

Ambassador Elam Thomas on Zora Festival and Global Community

During the 2019 Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, we spoke with award-winning author, poet, and activist Alice Walker about Zora Neale Hurston and the Festival.

401 Alice Walker and Reflections on the Zora Neale Hurston Festival

Holly Baker spoke with Dr. Anna Lillios about Zora Neale Hurston and the Zora Fest. Dr. Lillios is an author and a professor of English at the University of Central Florida.  Dr. Lillios long history with the festival sheds light on Hurston's centrality to modern academia.

402 Anna Lillios and The Transformation Of Zora

We spoke with Dr. Cheryl Wall at the 2019 Zora Neale Hurston Festival.  Dr. Wall is a literary critic and professor of English at Rutgers University.

403 Cheryl Wall And Eatonville, Zora Neale Hurston, and Transformation

During the 2019 Zora Neale Hurston Festival, we spoke with Joshua Walker, one of the cofounders of Black Orlando Tech (BOT) about technology, innovation, and the way the Zora Festival is inspiring a new generation of black innovators.

406 Joshua Walker and Innovation In the Spirit of Zora Neale Hurston

407 Julian Chambliss and the Black Imaginary Inspired By Zora Neale Hurston

During the 2019 Zora Neale Hurston Festival, we spoke with Dr. Pamela McCauley. Dr. McCauley is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and a tenured Professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems at the University of Central Florida where she leads the Human Factors in Disaster Management Research Team.

408 Pamela McCauley and Education Activism Inspired By Zora Neale Hurston

During the 2019 festival, we spoke with Deborah Plant. Dr. Plant is an Africana Studies scholar and literary critic and an associate professor at the University of South Florida. She is also the editor of the recently published book, Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo, written by Zora Neale Hurston in 1931.

409 Deborah Plant and Learning from Zora Neale Hurston

During the 2019 Zora Neale Hurston Festival of Arts and Humanities, we spoke to Honorable Edward Jones. He is the seventh and current mayor of Grambling, Louisiana, one of the historic black communities that founded the Historic Black Towns and Settlement Alliance (HBTSA).

410 Mayor Edward Jones on The Zora Neale Hurston Festival and The Legacy of Black Agency

In this episode, Holly Baker talks with Dr. Julian Chambliss about Afrofuturism and the Zora Neale Hurston Festival.

Afrofuturism and the Zora Neale Hurston Festival

During the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, Dr. Isiah Lavender reflected on questions of race, meaning, and culture inspired by Afrofuturism.

Isiah Lavender and the Search for an Afrofuturist Legacy

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Kinitra Brooks. Brooks is the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in Literary Studies in the Department of English at Michigan State University. She specializes in the study of black women, genre fiction, and popular culture. In this conversation, she explores the roots and meaning of Afrofuturism.

Season 5 Every Tongue Got to Confess

Kinitra Brooks and the Roots of Afrofuturism

Dr. Reynaldo Anderson gave the keynote presentation at the 2020 Zora Neale Hurston Festival Academic Conference. His lecture, “Afrofuturism: The Rise of the Black Speculative Tradition” offered a holistic view of the long tradition of black speculative practice.  Dr. Anderson is co-editor of the book, Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness and executive director and co-founder of the Black Speculative Arts Movement (BSAM).

Every Tongue Season 5

Reynaldo Anderson and the Black Speculative Tradition

During the 2020 Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, Dr. Michele Berger spoke about her work and the wider implications of Afrofuturism. Dr. Berger is an award-winning scholar and writer who sheds light on the ways Afrofuturism centers the transformative vision offered by black women.

Michele Berger and the Afrofuturist Aesthetic

During the ZNH Festival of the Arts and Humanities, Kimberly Williams talked with Maurice Broaddus in Eatonville, Florida about his work.  Broaddus is a writer, a community organizer, and a teacher who uses Afrofuturism in his writing and life. His books The Knights of Breton Court Trilogy, the steampunk novel, Pimp My Airship, and the YA detective novel, The Usual Suspects.

Maurice Broaddus and the Space to Dream

During the 2020 Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, interviewer Tiffany Pennamon talked with Chesya Burke about her work in Afrofuturism.  Burke is an editor, educator, and author of comic books and speculative fiction, including The Strange Crimes of Little Africa, and Let's Play White. Burke shares her vision of how black writers reach back to the past to reframe the future.

Every Tongue Got to Confess Season 5

Chesya Burke and Reimagining the Future

During the 2020 Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, interviewer Grace Chun talked with Phenderson Djeli Clark about Afrofuturism. Clark is a writer of speculative fiction, including The Black God's Drums and The Haunting of Tram Car 015. In this conversation, he recounts the complex journey that defines his black speculative practice.

Phenderson Djeli Clark and a Retro-Afrofuturism

During the 2020 Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, interviewer Grace Chun talked with Tenea Johnson about Afrofuturism. Johnson is a speculative fiction author, poet, and musician. She is the author of several books, including Smoketown: A Novel as well as Starting Friction, a collection of poetry and prose.

Every Tongue Got to Confession Season 5

Tenea Johnson and Building Black Future Worlds

During the 2020 Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, interviewer Kimberly Williams talked with Iheoma Nwachukwu about Afrofuturism. Nwachukwu is a fiction writer and poet from Nigeria. In this conversation, Nwachukwu reflects on the realities of African culture captured by contemporary Afrofuturist practice.

Every Tongue Got to Confess Podcast Season 5

Iheoma Nwachukwu and the Reality of Afrofuturism

Every Tongue Got to Confess Podcast (ETGTCP) is hosted and co-produced by Dr. Julian Chambliss, Professor of English and Core Faculty in the Consortium for Critical Diversity in a Digital Age Research (CEDAR) at Michigan State University. This podcast seeks to document the ideology and activism central to the mission of the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities.

Julian Chambliss

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