Melissa Parke

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My educational background is in history and secondary education. Much of my work experience has been in nontraditional education settings, including a Montessori preschool and an outdoor camp for underserved youth in New York and New Jersey. I’m also a creative person, who has always been drawn to music and writing. I sometimes write for a reggae-rock journal called TopSelf Reggae. In recent years, I have begun to think more deeply about how I can make an impact on the world by combining all of these things that I am interested in. And that is how Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC (BTAL)* was born!

*Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC (BTAL) was previously called Black Teaching Exchange. This post has since been updated to reflect this change.

2. What Type of Artist Are You?

I think I would consider myself to be “a creative.” I love finding new ways to engage with people, and I am always trying to look at situations with a fresh perspective. I think this is also what artists do, but they do so through a tangible art medium. I don’t really have one specific medium, so I think “creative” would be a better term to describe myself.

3. What is Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC (BTAL)?

Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC (BTAL) is a professional development and travel-abroad program, specifically created to help Black teaching artists explore their Black identities, teach their Black learners, and connect with their Pan-African brothers and sisters across the Diaspora.

4. Can you tell us a little bit more about how your programming works?

Our programming is composed of three phases, or pillars: SELF→ CULTURE→ COMMUNITY. Through the first pillar of BTAL, SELF, teaching artists are introduced to our Afrocentric Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) framework. I created this pedagogical framework, in order to help Black teaching artists better understand themselves and their Black identities through arts education. My hope is that once our teaching artists know how to use this framework, they will be better equipped to connect with not only themselves, but also Black learners and other Black artists across the Diaspora. 

Through our second pillar, CULTURE, teaching artists travel internationally, in order to learn more about their cultural connections to West Africa. Lastly, teaching artists return to their home communities, COMMUNITY, to act as global leaders, as they continue the transmission of knowledge they have gained through BTAL.

5. Can you tell us more about your framework?

Our Afrocentric SEL framework focuses on building the whole identity of the Black learner and Black educator through arts education. It pairs five social-emotional learning competencies with four stages of racial identity development. I believe that by combining these theoretical frameworks and exploring them through the arts, we can begin to unpack the challenges that Black individuals face in the world and in the classroom. The ultimate goal, nonetheless, is to have our teaching artists recognize that they are the social, emotional, and cultural responders for young Black learners, everywhere.

6. Can teaching artists who are not Black participate in BTAL?

Although our programming is specifically designed to create a safe-space for Black educators, teachers, and artists to discuss how to better equip themselves to reach and teach Black learners, our Afrocentric SEL workshops are open to all arts-based educators, as we believe this framework is a beneficial tool for all teachers and learners.  

7. Travel is a part of the program—why is travel important to you?

I believe traveling, whether internationally or within a single country, has the power to expose us to different perspectives, and in the process, it can teach us so much about understanding not only others, but also ourselves. Living and growing up in Brooklyn, I have had the privilege of being immersed in a global metropolis for pretty much my entire life. My closest childhood friends came from different countries, and as kids, we ate food from all over the world. We also learned how to live in a place where the common denominator was the fact that we were all so different. The rest of the country isn’t like this, and sometimes it’s very easy to forget how other people live, until you step outside of your bubble.  

8. How does the Pan-African Movement tie into your identity as a Black person, as well as into BTAL? 

The Pan-African Movement is such an important part of my own identity, as well as the identity of the BTAL. At the heart of the Pan-African Movement is the belief that we, as Black individuals, are all connected because of our displacement due to slavery. I believe that the people of the African Diaspora can use art as a common language to communicate with one another. And I believe art is what will allow us to better understand how we are all interconnected.

9. Is there anything else you want our audience to know about you? 

I view myself as a lifelong learner, always seeking to change, innovate, and explore new ways of thinking. I do this by learning from my fellow thinkers, educators, and peers. When developing an organization like Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC (BTAL), one has to be open to exploring ideas that may not align with your original modes of thinking. Learning to do this will allow you to become less biased and better equipped to lead. 

Melissa Parke is continuing to work on developing workshops for both U.S.-based Black teaching artists and other artist-educators who are a part of the Pan-African Diaspora. If you are interested in learning more about Black Teaching Artist Lab, LLC’s workshops, please click here.