WHAT’S HAPPENING, BLUES PEOPLE?If you don’t know me from nothing, you know me from that statement. Every month we celebrate our African American Folklorist of the Month—lifting up culture-keepers whose work sits at the crossroads of tradition, scholarship, and community.This episode honors Brandi Waller-Pace (they/she)—Fort Worth–based musician, educator, scholar-activist, Founder/Executive Director of Decolonizing the Music Room (DTMR), organizer of the Fort Worth African American Roots Music Festival (FWAAMFest), and Program Manager for the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music’s Black Banjo & Fiddle Fellowship. Born in Atlanta and trained in Jazz Studies at Howard University (Afro Blue alum), Brandi bridges jazz, old-time, and Black American roots music on banjo, piano, guitar, and ‘ukulele—reclaiming ancestral soundscapes while building new spaces for equity and cultural memory.Across the conversation, we dig into:Decolonizing & antiracist approaches in music education (and why it’s forever work)Language, code-switching, and who gets to “name” the canonBanjo, Blackness, and rooting jazz within Black traditionsGatekeeping, tokenism, and creating space (not just “diversity optics”)Paying culture bearers fairly & building coalitionsBlack feminist thought, patriarchy, and accountability within our own communitiesBrandi’s origin story, neurodivergence, and finding grounded confidencePractical ways DTMR supports educators, artists, and organizers“Music is not only performance—it is memory, resistance, healing, and a roadmap to the future.”Guest: Brandi Waller-PaceDTMR: decolonizingthemusicroom.comFWAAMFest: https://www.fwaamfest.com/IG: / brandipacemusic Contact for bookings/collabs: brandipacemusic@gmail.comHost / PlatformJack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation FoundationThe African American Folklorist — preserving the Blues People, one voice at a time.Website:JackDappabluesradio.tv • Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jackdappabluesradi... • Patreon/YouTube Membership: / jackdappablues