I built the room I wish someone had built for me.

In late-stage capitalism, there really is no such thing as security. Look around, whether we're talking about media, academia, or traditional corporate spaces, people get laid off. People get let go. You're sometimes at the mercy of a spreadsheet, of what makes financial sense for a school or an institution.

It used to be that higher ed wasn't that way. We felt like higher ed was "protected." But now, due to federal funding cuts, you're seeing a lot of tenure-track positions taken away, seeing research institutes scale back. I don't know the last time I've seen a decent postdoc position posted.

There's a lot going on, and if academics are going to make it through this specific sociopolitical moment, we need to look at what others in the media space have already done. Look at how print media has changed, how everything's gone digital, how local journalism is dying. I think academics really need to start asking: so what's next for us? If higher ed institutions no longer have the same investment to hire, to create more tenure lines, and so on, what do we do?

All of this inspired me to make sure that while I'm still navigating other career options during this season of transition, I build something that is my own. Something I own. My own intellectual property. A space where I can grow and develop, not only as a scholar, but as a creative, an artist, a thinker.

Which is why I've begun laying the foundation for a public education space. So now we have The People's Seminar, inspired by the Black Panther Party and their People's Free Food Program.