Mtali Banda grew up between Madison, WI and Atlanta Georgia. He received his B.A. in Afro-American Studies from UMass Amherst in 2017 and remained at UMass to complete his PHD on the literature and culture tracks. He is interested in how black music has been used to share marginalized narratives and to help develop needed conversations.
His father, Kalekeni Banda, is a celebrated UMass Women's soccer team coach, having held that position from 1980 - 87 and leading the Minutewomen to six consecutive NCAA appearances, including five straight trips to the final four. He graduated from UMass Amherst with a degree in Physical Education in 1975.
Banda has toured with the Jeremy Turgeon Quintet, and shared the stage alongside such notable acts as Sonia Sanchez, Talib Kweli, The Soul Rebels, Anik Khan, and many more.
In an interview for Her Campus, Banda said of his academic track that “African-American Studies has always been my passion. Since an early age, the history of black Americans’ struggle for equality has always moved and inspired me to want to somehow make my life about social justice. An education is about making an investigation of the conditioning of your life. My whole undergraduate career has revolved around understanding systems of oppression, not just racism, but sexism, classism, and all the different intersections, and how to help fix those problems.”
