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
Episode #135: Teens of Color Abroad, Learning Languages from Refugees, and the Power of Hip Hop with Lamar Shambley
Episode Summary
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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.
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”
#1 PERSON WITH WHOM LAMAR WANTS TO HAVE DINNER
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
- Brooklyn
- Communa 13, Medellin, Colombia
- Dominican Republic
- New York
- San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
- Bocas del Toro, Panama
- Spain
- San José Costa Rica
- Norfolk, Virginia
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
