Marc Bamuthi Joseph

I'm your host, Nadine Smith, President of Color of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice organization.

My guest today, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, is a spoken word artist and a cultural strategist.

He was the Kennedy Center's Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact from 2019 until March 2025, when he and his team were fired weeks after the president took control.

[upbeat music] You put out a, uh, a post on social media-

It just betrays how small you actually are.

You're listening to Wide Awake America.

I'm Nadine Smith, your host, and I'm talking today with Marc Bamuthi Joseph, a poet, libertist, who was the Kennedy Center Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact until he and his team were let go in March twenty twenty-five.

And in fact, I believe you made the post, uh, that I referenced earlier as you were packing to leave.

He basically does it all.

Mark Bamuthi Joseph.

So great to have you on the show, Mark.

It's great to be here.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate you.

You can see my entire interview with Isabel Gonzalez, producer of Poetry and Social Impact at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Dodge Poetry, and acclaimed poet, dancer, writer, and librettist and actor Mark Bamuthi Joseph on the WBGO YouTube channel.

To find out more about the Dodge Poetry Festival that runs October 15th through the 17th at various venues in Newark, you can go to njpac.org.

Um, but I, you know, I, I went to UW-Madison a few times.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph w- ended up doing a residency there.

He brought me out a bunch.

Met a girl.

I think turned me into a performer.

Yeah.

There was working with Marc Bamuthi Joseph, who was, like, all about being in your body.

Mm-hmm.