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In this episode of Tradition Café, Ana sits down with Wendy Aris, host of Dis A Fi Mi History Podcast, for a powerful conversation about Caribbean genealogy, Jamaican family history, ancestral records, oral history, and the emotional side of researching your roots.

Wendy shares how researching her Jamaican family history began with a medical question and grew into an 18-year journey through archives, church records, migration records, wills, newspapers, land documents, and stories that challenged everything she thought she knew.

Together, Ana and Wendy talk about the beauty and difficulty of Caribbean genealogy — from missing records and oral history to slavery-era discoveries, family secrets, migration, identity, and the complicated truths that can live inside one family tree.

They also discuss Wendy’s upcoming book, The Emotions of Researching Your Family Tree, her work preserving Caribbean history through podcasting, and why ancestral research can be both painful and deeply healing.

This conversation is for anyone curious about family history, Caribbean roots, oral history, ancestral memory, and the stories that shape who we are.

Wendy Aris is the host of Dis A Fi Mi History Podcast, a podcast dedicated to Caribbean history, family history, genealogy, cultural memory, and the stories that are often left out of traditional archives. Through interviews with scholars, researchers, cultural preservationists, and community storytellers, Wendy explores the histories, records, and lived experiences that shape Caribbean identity.

Wendy is also the author of the newly released book, The Emotions of Researching Your Family Tree.

Listen to Dis A Fi Mi History Podcast wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Dis A Fi Mi on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/@DisAFiMihistoryPodcast

Thank you for listening to Tradition Café. Visit www.traditioncafe.com for blog posts, news, and links, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for videos and updates.

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BlueSky ‪@traditioncafe.bsky.social‬

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What does Black art mean to Oakland—and why does community matter so deeply in the creative process?

In this episode of Tradition Café, I sit down with Art of the African Diaspora curators Eric Murphy and Yolanda Cotton Turner to talk about Oakland culture, Black art, memory, healing, and the power of bringing artists and communities together.

We discuss the Art of the African Diaspora exhibition, the satellite show in Alameda, Oakland nostalgia, preserving community stories through art, and why representation still matters in today’s art world.

This conversation is thoughtful, funny, and full of love for the East Bay.

Topics include:

• Oakland Black art and culture
• Art of the African Diaspora exhibition
• Community healing through art
• Bay Area artists
• Representation in the art world
• Oakland history and memory
• Eric Murphy artwork
• Yolanda Cotton Turner prints

🎙️ Tradition Café explores culture, heritage, creativity, and the stories that shape us.

Thank you for listening to Tradition Café. Visit www.traditioncafe.com for blog posts, news, and links, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for videos and updates.

Video Episodes on YouTube @Tradition_Cafe
Facebook: facebook.com/TraditionCafe
Instagram: @tradition_cafe
BlueSky ‪@traditioncafe.bsky.social‬

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A painting of someone pulling the moon out of orbit might sound like fantasy—until you hear the artist explain the symbols, the technique, and the lived history behind it.

In this episode of Tradition Café, I’m joined by George Bernard III, a Bay Area portrait artist whose work draws from African diaspora identity, spiritual traditions, and the people he observes and paints.

This conversation is part of the Art of the African Diaspora interview series, where we sit with artists to explore the deeper stories behind their work—what shapes it, what moves through it, and what it carries forward.

George shares how his artistic journey began at just five years old, learning by watching his grandfather’s hand move line by line. We talk about growing up between El Paso and California, and the complexities of tracing lineage in the diaspora—including family stories that point to Senegal, alongside the uncertainty many families inherit.

We also get into the craft itself—the materials, the discipline, and the practice behind the work—but the heart of this conversation lives in meaning.

Through his piece Urban Magi, George breaks down the Yoruba concept of asé, the symbolism of dreadlocks as patience and power, and how movement is created through brushstroke, texture, and layered color. He also describes how music—especially jazz—shapes his process, including moments where sound becomes color and painting becomes something closer to meditation.

This is a conversation about art as more than technique—about energy, cultural memory, and what it means to create from something deeper than yourself.

If this resonates, follow, share, and leave a review to help more people find Tradition Café.

Connect with George Bernard III

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bernard_illustrations_2021
  
  
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/bernardillustrations
• Classes: West Contra Costa Adult Education https://www.wccadulteducation.com/

Thank you for listening to Tradition Café. Visit www.traditioncafe.com for blog posts, news, and links, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for videos and updates.

Video Episodes on YouTube @Tradition_Cafe
Facebook: facebook.com/TraditionCafe
Instagram: @tradition_cafe
BlueSky ‪@traditioncafe.bsky.social‬