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Teach Me

by Jamila Woods

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about

“Teach Me” was born from a prompt I received from the Portal Project to create a song about climate justice. I collaborated with my friend and longtime collaborator oddCouple on the track. The lyrics “teach me how to love you better” are an invitation to shift away from the paternalistic mindset of "saving the planet" and move fully towards respect and co-existence with the earth in a more just and sustainable way. The writing was heavily inspired by the wisdom of Colette Pichon Battle, adrienne maree brown, and Dr. Vandana Shiva.

All proceeds of the song will be donated to the Sudanese American Physician’s Association’s “Sudan Food Donation Program,” which is dedicated to addressing the critical issue of food insecurity, particularly in the conflict-affected regions of Sudan. Their work extends beyond addressing immediate hunger by promoting agricultural practices, educating communities, supporting local farmers, and empowering individuals to ensure food security and break the cycle of hunger, uplifting communities for the long term.

To learn more about their work and donate, please visit sapa-usa.org/hunger-relief-program/

lyrics

am i in love? or am i just feeding
i stick out my hands to the earth
mouth full, still wanting

am i in love? or have i been greedy?
i make my demands to the dirt
but what am i giving?

teach me how to love you better

my great greats hid seeds in their cornrows
plotted with land they’d never own
where we come from
soil is sacred, not a paycheck
the less we want for more
the freer we get

i pledge allegiance to the sun’s warm hands
release my grief to the water and the sand
you heal us, you always provide
we take for granted how you keep us alive

how can we slow slow down?
can we spread the harvest around?
can we turn the lights way down?
no machines, dig our hands in the ground


slow down
there’s always enough to go around
the great greats sure knew how
no machines, dig our hands in the ground

teach me how to love you better

credits

released August 9, 2024
written by Jamila Woods
produced by oddCouple
features vocals by Alexis Lombre, Ashlee Linton, and Tramaine Parker
cover art by Maya Iman
mixed and mastered by Matt Hennessy at VSOP

UIC’s Social Justice Initiative sits at the intersection of activism and the arts. as a part of their Portal Project, artists were invited to create works based on social and racial justice issues.

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Jamila Woods Chicago, Illinois

Jamila Woods is an award-winning musician, poet, and arts educator from Chicago. She has released three critically acclaimed studio albums, HEAVN (2017), LEGACY! LEGACY! (2019), and Water Made Us (2023).

An award-winning poet, Jamila’s work often blurs boundaries between poem and song. As Doreen St. Felix writes in her review of HEAVN, “It makes you wish all singers were poets."
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