Episode #135: Teens of Color Abroad, Learning Languages from Refugees, and the Power of Hip Hop with Lamar Shambley

Episode Summary

Lamar Shambley takes us on his journey growing up in the housing projects of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn and reflects on the impact hip hop music had on him growing up. He shares the origins of his interest in languages and cultures, and how he was able to overcome financial barriers to take his first international trip to the Dominican Republic. Lamar reflects on the many layers of impact that trip had, and then talks about his experience studying abroad in Spain and being fully immersed in foreign culture for 6 months. He then takes us on some of his world travels through Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, and how all of that inspired him to teach young people and empower them to learn languages through travel and immersion. Lamar explains how underrepresented Black students are in study abroad programs today and how his former students inspired him to found “Teens of Color Abroad” (TOCA). He then shares how his pivot during the pandemic to virtual language learning with native speakers enabled his students to learn languages directly from refugees and to develop cultural empathy for their lived experiences at the same time. Matt and Lamar reflect on the global impact of hip hop music and how Lamar arranges international DJ sets and cooking classes as part of the (virtual) global cultural immersion in the TOCA program. Lamar reflects on the impact TOCA has had on his students thus far, and shares how listeners can support TOCA. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT www.TheMaverickShow.com

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What You'll Learn

The global power of hip hop music and culture
The transformative value of studying abroad for teens of color
The value of learning languages from refugees and gaining cultural empathy

Links From the Episode

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MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO SUPPORT “TEENS OF COLOR ABROAD”

LEARN LANGUAGES FROM REFUGEES AT NATAKALLUM

#1 BOOK LAMAR RECOMMENDS

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

#1 PERSON WITH WHOM LAMAR WANTS TO HAVE DINNER

Ryan Coogler

Lamar’s Top 7 Hip Hop Emcees

TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

TOP 3 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS

LOCATION WHERE THE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE

OTHER PLACES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

OTHER PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

CONTACT LAMAR

Time Stamped Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.

[2:25] Growing up in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn in the 1990s

How hip hop inspired him as a young Black kid
How Biggie’s music helped give him the confidence to come out as Queer
How hip hop motivates him as an educator

[6:50] The Start of Lamar’s World Travel Journey

Developing an affinity for other languages
Breaking through barriers to land his trip to the Dominican Republic
Getting the opportunity to study abroad in Spain

[11:24]The impact of his first trip to the Dominican Republic

Exploring race, gender and American privilege in an International context
Developing self-awareness

[13:14] Living in Spain

Navigating full- immersion in a completely different culture
How his experience inspired him to teach High School in Brooklyn

[17:54] Living in Nicaragua

[19:51] Traveling from Costa Rica to Colombia

Connecting with Black Costa Ricans
Meeting former gang members in Panama City
Island hopping off the coast of Panama
Celebrating life in Colombian after being pickpocketed

[26:08]Founding “Teens of Color Abroad” (TOCA)

The under-representation of people of color in Study Abroad programs
The desire of his students to study language learning abroad

[30:00] TOCA’s virtual culturally immersive language learning

Learning languages virtually from refugees from around the world
Learning about the refugee experiences and reducing xenophobia
International cultural discovery through music and cooking

[34:58] Global Hip Hop Around the World

Hip Hop in Colombia
Communa 13 in Medellin
Hip Hop in Korea
Hip Hop in Russia

[46:14] The Impact TOCA has had on Students

Becoming culturally empathetic people
Building cross-cultural connections

[50:45] How to Support TOCA

[53:40] The Lightning Round

#1 Book Lamar Recommends
#1 Person with whom Lamar most wants to have dinner
#1 Piece of advice Lamar would give to his 18 year old self
Top 3 Favorite Travel Destinations
Top 3 Bucket List Destinations
Top 5 Hip Hop MCs of all Time

[1:03:34] Contact and Follow Lamar

About the Guest

Lamar Shambley

Lamar Shambley is a Brooklyn-based educator with eight years of experience in teaching middle school math and high school Spanish. After studying abroad in Spain and traveling the world he was inspired by his former students to launch Teens of Color Abroad (TOCA), a small, Black-led social impact organization that provides high school students of color with global language learning opportunities. In under two years, TOCA has sponsored new U.S. passports for 20 high school students, served over 500 students through in-person and virtual programming, and awarded more than $30,000 in scholarships to teens of color across the U.S.. Lamar has a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages and Literature and a Master’s degree in Teaching. And originally from Bed Stuy, Brooklyn, he represents BK to the fullest.