Ep 22: Beyond the Game: Voices from the Black Student Athlete Summit

Ep 22: Beyond the Game: Voices from the Black Student Athlete Summit

Author: Dr. Reiland Rabaka November 6, 2025 Duration: 59:13

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Reiland Rabaka is joined by DaWon Baker, CU Boulder's Associate Athletic Director for Impact & Strategic Engagement, along with three CU Boulder students and student-athletes who recently attended the 2025 Black Student Athlete Summit in Chicago. Together, they share what it means to be part of a national gathering that celebrates Black excellence, amplifies voices, and addresses the challenges and opportunities facing Black students at predominantly white institutions.

The guests reflect on their experiences at the summit. Discussing community, leadership, identity, and what it means to bring their authentic selves into academic and athletic spaces. They talk about the importance of mentorship and representation, and how initiatives like the summit create networks of support that extend beyond sports or campus life.

DaWon Baker frames the discussion around purpose and belonging, emphasizing how athletics can serve as a bridge to broader conversations about equity, access, and social change. As he notes, "We're not just talking about performance. We're talking about purpose. These students are building community, shaping culture, and defining what leadership looks like for a new generation."

See show notes, photos and a playlist on our website.


Dr. Reiland Rabaka hosts The Cause: Conversations on Music, History, and Democracy, a series produced in collaboration with the Center for African and African American Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Each episode feels like a necessary gathering, a space where the rhythms of song, the lessons of the past, and the ongoing work of building a just society converge. You’ll hear dialogues that are both courageous and nuanced, moving beyond simple answers to examine how cultural expression and historical understanding fuel democratic engagement. This podcast is built on the conviction that art and critical thought are not separate from the fight for equity; they are its very heartbeat. Rabaka guides these explorations with a scholar’s depth and a listener’s curiosity, drawing connections between a protest anthem, a pivotal moment in history, and the contemporary struggle for racial justice. It’s an audio experience designed to provoke thought, deepen perspective, and remind us that learning itself is a form of action. Tune in for insightful reflections and powerful conversations that challenge, inspire, and underscore the interconnectedness of our cultural and political lives.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 33

The Cause:  Conversations on Music, History, and Democracy
Podcast Episodes
Ep 31: The Feminist Art Movement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:27
In this episode of The Cause: Conversations on Music, History, and Democracy, Dr. Reiland Rabaka explores the feminist art movement as a vital site of resistance, cultural production, and social transformation. Moving ac…
Ep 30: The Women's Liberation Movement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:20
What is Women's Liberation? It is more than a slogan, more than a season, more than a symbolic seat at a table built by patriarchy. Women's liberation is the radical reimagining of the world itself. It is the audacious a…
Ep 29: Afrofuturism: Black Freedom, Black Philosophy, Black Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:13
What is Afrofuturism, and why does it matter now? In this episode, Dr. Reiland Rabaka explores Afrofuturism as more than a cultural trend. It is a philosophy of freedom, a political imagination, and a practice of worldma…
Ep 25: Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Culture, Family, and Community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:55
"Kwanzaa tells us we are the harvest our ancestors dreamed of and the seeds of new worlds not yet born." - Dr. Reiland Rabaka In this powerful and timely episode of The Cause: Conversations on Music, History, and Democra…
Ep 24: The Women's Suffrage Movement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:37
In The Women's Suffrage Movement, Dr. Rabaka lifts up the intertwined histories of women's rights, abolitionism, racial justice, and democratic reform. This episode serves as a companion to Episode 23, The Abolitionist M…