Yankee Wahala Hero:
Dr. Naima Brown
Naima Brown is more than a Yankee Wahala Hero: She is a JEKA Hero. Naima Brown has been an avid supporter of all JEKA’s endeavors—she buys, reads, and discusses novels; she has watched the ALIENS!, the video drama series; she has acted on Yankee Wahala, and overall is a voice of encouragement and support throughout the JEKA journey.
Naima Brown lives in Gainesville, FL. She is the Vice President for Students Affairs in Santa Fe College, an institution that serves about 25,000 students. Dr. Brown is a native of Philadelphia, PA, and came to Gainesville because of school. She is a graduate of Florida A&M University (bachelor’s), and the University of Florida, where she earned master’s and doctorate degrees in sociology.
Naima Brown’s hobbies include playing Scrabble and reading novels. In addition, she posts “Word of the Day” on Facebook.
“I start each morning with a prayer and always ask God to give me a word that I can understand… give me a word for me. Every morning I read the bible, and every morning I get a word that is applicable to me. So, I just felt like I should share this with someone… maybe someone else would benefit from this. And so, I started posting them on Facebook.”
One other favorite activity of Dr. Brown is traveling, which has had a profound effect on her life. Dr. Brown and her husband Michael enjoy traveling and exploring other countries. As part of her duties at Santa Fe College over the years, Dr. Brown has taken international trips and has led or planned Study Abroad programs. Dr. Brown’s education and training places her in a unique position to appreciate the role culture plays in the identity of an individual. Dr. Brown has visited countries in South America, Central America, Asia, Europe, West Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle-East, each time, taking opportunities to learn about the people and cultures.
It is this love of learning that has made her enjoy listening to episodes of Yankee Wahala. It reinforces that while humor is universal, some things do not translate across cultures because of different norms and expectations.
Apart from being an avid listener of Yankee Wahala, Dr. Brown was the first guest actor to feature on the show. Brown played the role of a roommate to a Ghanaian in the episode “Social Plague, Part I.” It is an episode about an unemployed Ghanaian in America who is being inundated with requests to donate money on various WhatsApp groups, and does not know how to admit that she is not in a position to contribute to the different causes.
Dr. Brown has this message for the Yankee Wahala producers:
“I want to see more! Keep it coming! I know that Yankee Wahala radio…you started by actually doing videos that I love so much. Remember the driver’s license episode, oh my gosh, that was so hilarious! I love those! And the one about the one who married the guy from Brazil? [Laughs]. I enjoy the videos, because you are such great actresses. And then you moved to radio, which is great because it is more feasible. I do hope you go back to the videos and you get sponsored, and I will continue to enjoy those too. I am a fan of your work."
We love you Dr. Naima Brown!
