“This is your time, this is where you get to choose your path. And loving myself is the only way. Anything that isn't supporting me loving myself is in the way.” - Mahogany L. Browne


Welcome to Stay a While with Tommi Vincent! Even though we’re all on a journey, too often we live with only the destination in mind. Yet, it’s the trials and experiences of the journey that shape us into who we are and will become. We cannot take them for granted. So how do you open yourself up to learning the lessons of your experiences, without guilt, to discover, accept and own who you were destined to be? Today’s guest, Mahogany L. Browne joins us at the table to share what it took for her to find her voice, and make sure it's heard.


Mahogany L. Browne was born in Oakland, California but has been based in Brooklyn,
NY for over 15 years. A strong, black woman, Browne is unapologetic in her work as a
poet, author, and activist. She uses her personal experience with addiction, racism,
sexism, and oppression to inspire her own brand of shameless, authentic work.
In the beginning, encouragement was elusive for Browne. During a high school honors English class, she was told not to write poetry, and dropped out the next semester.

Finding the strength to persevere, the young poet went on to graduate from the MFA
Writing and Activism program at Pratt Institute. Browne’s talent and personal struggles
have proved to make her success today proof of her undeniable persistence.

Browne has been featured in the PBS NewsHour segment, Brief But Spectacular,
reading her poem “Black Girl Magic” about the struggles facing African-American
women and girls in modern society. She has been featured in HBO’s Brave New Voices
as the artistic director at Urban Word NYC. She is the publisher of Penmanship Books,
curator of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Friday Night Slam, founder of the Women Writers of Color Reading Room, and the director of Black Lives Matter at Pratt Institute.

A Cave Canem fellow and Agnes Gund Fund Recipient, Browne has published several
poetry collections and books, including Black Girl Magic, Kissing Caskets, Redbone,
and Dear Twitter: Love Letters Hashed Out Online. She has also released five LPs,
including a live album, Sheroshima. Her poetry has appeared in Pluck, The Manhattanville Review, Muzzle, among others.



In this episode we cover

[00:01 - 05:30] A Three Course Meal Serving Up!
[05:31 - 13:56] All About Mahogany L. Browne
[13:57 - 29:52] Choose Your Path and Stop Rejecting Yourself
[29:53 - 50:28] Getting into the Headspace to Reflect our Soul
[50:29 - 51:25] Food for the Soul on Self-Worth and Comfort
[51:26 - 55:08] Closing Segment

Key Quotes

“By myself, I was like, this is the life here. We are young, black, alive and free right now in this time, and we get to dictate what the sound of tomorrow is, of course, I'm alive.” - Mahogany L. Browne

“You need just to remind yourself to stay on your path and not forget your own self in that journey.” - Mahogany L. Browne

“You get lost in life. Life starts doing you versus you doing life. And so the ability to come into this space where I'm alive, once you get there, once you recognize where you've been, and where you are now, you will never go back.” - Tommi Vincent

“Internalize their inability to see my trueness. And in their inability to see me, I have to come back around...And I remember who the hell I am. But nah, I've survived so much. If you can't see it, you're in the way. You're not supposed to be here. You are taking up space.” - Mahogany L. Browne




Connect with Mahogany L. Browne
Instagram: instagram.com/mobrowne
Website: https://mobrowne.com/index.html
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Chlorine-Sky-Mahogany-L-Browne/dp/0593176391




Connect with Me!
You can reach Tommi on Instagram @cheftommiv
Visit https://vincentcountry.com and get connected with us on Vincent Country’s Instagram @vincentcountry

This episode was Produced By: Tommi Vincent, Tanner Vincent, and Skai Blue Media

Music By: Stichiz - Big T. Music /Roj&TwinkiE

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