Empowerment Starts Here

This episode is the fifth conversation in the Black Lives Matter series.  In it, you will hear Dr. Ervin talk about the collapse of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for black people.  He also talks about the choice between gradual change in contrast to “cataclysmic change” (his words) as relating to the liberation of black people around the globe. The close out of this episode is dedicated to Georgia as an instructional opportunity to understand the intersections of race, geography and politics as well as the implications of this intersection for black lives.  For more information, visit webpage:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2021/09/05/episode-72-the-case-of-blm-with-dr-c-eric-ervin/

This episode is the fourth conversation in the Black Lives Matter series where empowerment starts here with Reverend Dr. Valerie Bridgeman.  In this call, Rev. Valerie links BLM to the spiritual. She talks about God as not sharing, about Jesus being a black woman, and about uprooting historical systems such as the police department so we can properly replant and rebuild.  For more about Rev. Valerie or the show (including corrections to mistakes made in this episode), please our webpage.   

In this episode, Empowerment Starts Here with Senator Lena Taylor from Wisconsin.  The Senator joins this BLM series as a public servant trying to disrupt social margins for her constituents while personally being in those margins.  She talks about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by going right to the U.S. Constitution and then directly connecting it to George Floyd. She also talks about the “goodness” of political progressives until it comes to black folks.  Finally, she talks about black lives matter being a movement not just about black lives but about social unrest, social injustice, social inequities. For more, visit our website.

In this episode, the Informant, a local artist, talks black lives matter through the lens of a black man growing up in Milwaukee, WI.  He talks about his lived experiences with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and his encounters with police.  In the close out, the host will explore humanization, self actualization and liberation as specific points captured in the call.

In this episode, Henry Leonard talks about public education and black lives matter through the lens of a union worker.  He also shares his perspective on life as a contested experience for blacks yet a privileged experience for whites. Finally, in the close out, the host will consider white supremacy and its relatedness to the education of black minds.    

This episode is the first of a season of seven where the host explores what black lives matter means to her on a personal level and then engages with others to find out what it means to them as well.  To learn more about this episode and to access the show notes, please visit our webpage.

In this episode, the host returns (from an extended break) with a conversation about her continued commitment to Empowerment Starts Here (ESH).  She talks about the six episode gap (between Ep55-Ep60); about being on autopilot from one major project to the next (without time to reflect and recalibrate her destination); and about what is new  since she has been away.  In the reflection, you will be invited to think with Angela about the school house as a basin in our society and truly consider the ways in which education coincides (or not) with social change work.  Visit our website for more information:    

In this episode, the informant talks about the capital required for parents to enroll their children in charter public schools and the ways in which this requirement violates the tenets of free education.  In the close out, the host adds to the conversation by talking about democratic education from the angle of property, privilege and power.  Visit empowermentstartshere.net (2019 Reflections) to access the show notes. 

In the recorded conversation, the Informant talks about public school employment for educators of color and how it differs from what their white counterparts experience. He also talks about educators of color only being allowed to teach in under-resourced schools and finally, he talks about different access points to privilege and power.   In the close out of the episode, the Hosts talks about her views on traditional and charter public schools. Through this closing, she sets context for the next two cases.    For more information about this episode and the Informant, please visit the show notes. 

Contrary to public treatment, racism is not just about the n-word. It is also not just about blatant discrimination on the grounds of color.  In this episode, the host talks about the subtleties of racism at the interpersonal level relating to legitimacy, authority and the control of resources.   For a full description and the show notes, please click here.

In the Case of Black Love, the informants talk about happiness, love, sex, sexuality, sexual assault, black men, black women, black consciousness, R. Kelly, Judge Kavanough, polyamory and monogamy, white patriarchy, black matriarchy, and much, much more!  In the close out, the host talks about the causal relationship (made throughout the conversation) between black men and black love.

In this episode, the informant shares insight on words and the human experience those words represent. She talks about writing, publishing and the development of the mind. In the close out, the host talks about a mental function called chunking and how it is essential for experts and the highly creative mind.

In this episode, the informant and host talk about sex from a sociological perspective.  Together, they interrogate ideas on sex as an act of pleasure, the right to have pleasurable sex, and the dignity of sex as related to being human.  They also talk about parenting in the development of healthy sexual identities and the role that church plays in the creation of those identities as well.     In the close out, the host explores sexual self schemas and the cognitive dissonance that occurs when new sexual schemas are understood through pre-existing paradigms.  

The Sunken Place is a term/metaphor borrowed from Jordan Peele's movie, Get Out.  In this episode, the host proposes four conditions that creates this condition. Instead discussing racism, as was the premise of Peel's interpretation of the Sunken Place, she explores how other conditions in the physical, social and political world also creates causes disunity with one's sense of self.   To access show notes, visit web page:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2019/03/05/ep48-the-case-of-the-sunken-place/

To be critical is to understand all events, experiences and phenomenon by examining their relationship with the social world.  One who is critical accepts the social world as a series of interconnecting systems ...usually enacted to maintain current distributions of power.  In this episode, the hosts considers how two seemingly similar people can have different comfort levels with critical theory.  In short, she attempts to answer the question, what actually makes one critical?  In talking about marginalized bodies, childhood trauma, dominant wiring for intuition, and academic training for higher order processing and abstract thinking, she explores four possibilities for a critical orientation.   To access show notes and more information about this episode, visit:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/ 

In this episode, the informant talks about three levels of power shifting:  the power shift that happens at the classroom level when whiteness is de-centered in the literature read by black and brown students; at the local level when gentrification takes over black and brown communities; and at the global level when white Americans must confront their relevance (or lack thereof) in a global economy. 

In this episode, four ESH returns come back to talk about a common theme they share: being white, male and privileged.   In this conversation is Chris Thinnes from Ep03 (The Case of Allyship in Context); Peter Anderson from Ep09 (The Case of Gradelessness); Dr. Paul Thomas from Ep10 (The Case of Critical Literacy) and Justin Schleider from Ep24 (The Case of Learning and Moving).    

In this episode, the informant models what it means to be unapologetic around issues relating to women.  She talks boldly about birth control, about abortions as a reproductive right, about being child-free, and about her relationship with women of color and queer women.  Also in this conversation, you will learn that it is quite difficult to talk about gender without talking about race.   For more details and resources mentioned in this conversation, visit our webpage.  

In this episode, the host talks about property, power and prestige as conditions of social class; about class inconsistency and class stratification; and about the consequences of a social class system.  To access detailed notes for this episode along with a list of the resources mentioned, click here.  

In this episode, the informant talks about being black at school as a psychosocial phenomenon impacting black students and families, black educators, and black community stakeholders.  She also talks about the nonprofit and for-profit organization that fuels her work and the dynamic challenges of monetizing social justice and providing services to schools for a fee. To access more notes and resources discussed in this episode, please visit:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/10/23/the-case-of-being-black-at-school-ep42/

In this episode, Dr. Marachi offers a critique on standardized testing as part of a larger phenomenon of big data and predictive analytics.  She talks about testing as relating to resource distribution and data mining; about power holders as test makers and the design and coding of tests to keep them secure as power holders; and about social justice and 21st century learning promises as marketing tools and distractions to the real agenda for social maintenance—not social change. To access more notes and resources mentioned in this episode, visit: https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/10/16/the-case-of-standardized-tests-ep41/  

In this episode, the informant talks about individualism versus collectivism (in terms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness); about traditionalism versus innovation (in terms of critical pedagogy and rejecting the middle as the naming of the case); and about the English language as a power tool of culture and privilege (in terms of intrapersonal power as culpable in creating a dominant mindset and universal standard in education). To access more notes and resources mentioned in this episode, please visit:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/10/09/the-case-of-rejecting-the-middle-ep40/ 

This case explores three themes extracted from Senate hearings around the Supreme Court vacancy and the allegations levied against Judge Kavanaugh: body and space; power-over; and the contested nature of the invisible.  In this episode, the conversation is more academic (ish) than newsworthy.  Whereas other programs have discussed Judge Kavanaugh in terms of upper-case P Politics (rule of law, advice and consent, and FBI investigations), this episode explores  lower-case p (interpersonal politics relating to gender, race, emotions, structural power, latent power and psychological trauma).  

In this episode, we spend a good chunk of time talking politically about giftedness, about the federal definition provided for gifted and talented programming, and about the ways in which capitalism and commercialism make space for some gifts while ignoring/invalidating others. To access show notes and resources discussed in the episode, please visit the show's webpage. 

In this episode, the informant talks about medicine and the health profession in terms of how prepared it is (or not) in dealing with communities of color.   To access show notes and resources mentioned in the episode, visit the webpage.

In this episode, the informant talks about socioeconomic conditions of fathering and challenges faced by black, low-income dads (unemployment, housing and mental health).  In the closeout, the host talks about the physiological impact of children (even adult children) when neglected by a parent during childhood. To access show notes and resources mentioned in the episode, please click here. 

When you have multiple access points to powerlessness, the work of social change can seem impossible—even secondary to the work of survival.  But nonetheless, there are those of us fighting for our wholeness, fighting for our humanness, all while trying to pursue a vision for a better tomorrow for us all.  This episode talks intimately about the work social change from the margins.  Please visit our webpage to access more information about this case as well as the resources mentioned in the episode.

In this eisode, the host focuses on the social world as relating to the power and privilege afforded to specific cognitive functions (within Meyers Briggs personality  theory).  She also brings attention to the challenges that exist when certain functions are embodied by women of color.  This is the second part where Part I (Episode 33) focused on details of personality theory and argues why such a theory is an important tool in disrupting social margins. To access the resources mentioned in this episode, please visit our web page.  

The final case is being presented over two episodes allowing for an adequate representation of two related yet distinct discussions.  In the first episode (Ep33), the host provides an argument for why knowing the landscape of one's internal world is essential to disrupting margins.  The case was inspired by six informants (in Ep20, Ep22, Ep25, Ep27, Ep30, and Ep32) from Season 2 in their willingness to share their struggles with intrapersonal power.  While people in the social justice community might be aware of the structural and cultural powers that serve as a barrier to social change, very few are willing to talk openly about oppressive powers that are psychologically wedged on the inside (latent power). To learn more about this episode and access the resources mentioned, please visit our website.

In this episode, the informant talks about self-love and self-care as liberatory practices.  She provides a five-part construct on critical race feminism.  She also talks about the bleeding nature of the subthemes within critical race theory:  critical feminism, feminism, jurisprudence, and critical legal studies. For a complete list of the key points discussed along with resources mentioned in the episode, please visit our webpage.

In this episode, the informant explores racism and sexism in higher education.   To get more of a description and access resources mentioned in the conversation, please visit our webpage:   https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/05/16/the-case-of-the-academy-and-women-of-color/

In this episode, the informant talked about dignity as a sense of mutual self-worth within the human race and race and gender as social constructs that serve to disrupt our overall sense of oneness with each other. She also talked about blackness within global white supremacy, about multiple community membership versus single community membership, and about identity as a contested concept. To access more information and resources shared in the episode, please visit our show notes here:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/05/08/the-case-of-race-and-dignity-ep30/

In this episode, the host talks about student power as a practice of teaching and learning.  She makes a case that it is an essential element of student empowerment... specifically relating to learners who are disenfranchised from the learning process.   Visit the webpage to access the show notes where resources mentioned in the episode are listed:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/05/02/the-case-of-student-power-ep29/

In this episode, the informant talks about what happens when your life becomes the place of protest impacting your body, your home and your reputation. In it, you will learn how she handled attacks on her character, her reputation, and her inside access to local change efforts happening in her city– all as the price paid for walking in her integrity.   For more information on this episode, along with the resources mentioned, please go to the webpage dedicated to this conversation.

In this episode, the informant talks about the unique teaching style of black female educators that comes from suffering and surviving in an inequitable society.  While this case covers issues in teaching and learning, it also covers issues in the social world. The informant does a wonderful job exploring how these two areas (schooling and society) come together to create a powerful pedagogy-- the Warm Demander.  To access show notes and resources mentioned in the episode, please visit our webpage.

In the recorded call, you are going to hear the informant offer four (possibly five) ways that math teachers can do social justice work in a math classroom (and beyond). To access show notes and resources mentioned in the episode, please visit our webpage.  

A significant portion of this case explores race and gifted and talented programming. The case also explores issues around testing and cultural biases, digital natives and digital immigrants, Generations Y and Z, and STEM programming in k12 schools.   To access show notes and resources mentioned in the episode, please visit our webpage.    

In this conversation, you will learn about movement as vital to building brain cells, moving information from short-term into long-term memory, and positioning students as co-constructors of knowledge—not just mindless receivers of someone else’s knowledge. In the close out of the episode, the host talks critically about no-excuse schools that regulate students bodies as artificial forms of achievement.  Such regulations have a structural impact on marginalized communities. For more information about the Case of Learning ad Moving, please visit the show notes at Empowerment Starts Here.    

This episode explores American Apartheid as a system of structures that routinely disadvantages people of color for the advantage of white Americans:  wealth, housing, education, mass media, and criminal justice.  To access more notes and the resources mentioned in this episode, please visit:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/2018/03/13/the-case-of-city-x-ep23/

This episode is based on a song entitled Two Times written and performed by the informant (Jerry B Seus). In the case segment of the episode, the listener will hear Jerry B talk about his writing process; about his emotional life and the gender bias he believes society holds about emotions; and about the role of failure as necessary for succeeding. Of course there is more to the conversation than just the case.  Jerry B tells us about what’s going on in his current life (graduation, a football scholarship and his upcoming military career).  He talks about intrapersonal power as being the most challenging in terms of taking advantage of second-chance learning.  And, he talks about being a man of faith and how getting baptized a second time around was a personal decision. In the close out of the show, the host connects Jerry B’s discussion on emotions to memory and talks about the role of emotions and metacognition in the learning process. To access resources mentioned in this episode and more highlights of the conversation, please visit the show notes.  

This case can be divided into two halves.  The first half is where the informant talks about family secrets, why it is a topic for her, and how she was frustrated upon discovering some of her family’s own secrets.  It is here that the listener learns a lot about how family secrets negatively impact future generations. In the the second half, the informant goes inward and checks herself about her capacity, or not, to disclose some of her own secrets for her children and their future children and grandchildren.  Key Points Discussed: Historical slavery and modern slavery in the United States Mudbound (Netflix) and Coco (Pixar) Internal and external worlds Masks and protecting self in social relationships Family as a social instituion Mothering and mother-daughter communications Individual secrets versus family secrets Personal mistakes Courage, transparency, and being vulnerable   To access more resources shared in the episode, please visit our website.

This is a conversation about divorce, God and sexuality. To access the show notes, please visit:  http://wp.me/p4MtzN-93

This is a conversation about race, love and belonging.  To get a full description, please visit:  https://empowermentstartshere.net/the-eshpodcast/

In this episode, the host brings closure to the season by sharing the different lessons offered on power.  There were 12 informants in Season 1 and as they are highlighted in this episode, listeners are able to learn more about them and the four levels of power that impacted their work with social change:  Structural, Cultural, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal.  Where power as an abstract state is hard to understand, this episode talks about tools of power which, as a concept, is easier.  This is a great episode if you are interested in the ESHpodcast as a resource for learning.  It is short; it gets to the heart of social change; and it offers a way to see the project as one continuous conversation about power and disrupting the margins! 

In today’s conversation, Imani Evans talks about how she took her experience with trauma and made it her life’s work. Specifically, she argues that the very thing that made her want to die is the thing that gave her a reason to live. She talks about her experience with sexual violence, with identity and intersectionality, and with her business development with serving women who are healing from sexual and domestic violence.

In this episode, Imani Evans, a therapist and activist for women and girls healing from sexual and domestic violence, presents Part 1 of The Case of Healing, Surviving and Thriving.  She talks about critical foundations to thriving, such as in joy, happiness, and peace.   And, she argues for a pursuit of wholeness, where thriving resides, which requires individuals to move beyond a fragmented life.  Finally, Imani shares her personal story of surviving, healing and thriving by learning to live a life fully whole, integrating what she identifies as her four selves:  her black self; her educated self; her queer self, and her ghetto self.

In this episode, C. Eric Ervin, a former emergency medical doctor, provides listeners with a compelling proposition about class, human behaviors and social well-being.

This week Empowerment Starts Here with informant Kaitlin Popielarz in the Case of Therapy and Well Being. In it she discusses working with a therapist as a form of self care, the stigma that can sometimes surround this form of healing and how her family dynamics helped make going to therapy possible. Kaitlin also delves into the racial privilege that allowed her to seek out and get counseling.

In this episode (Ep12), Empowerment Starts Here with Angela Dye (the host). With the Case of the Social Change Organization, Angela offers a 4-part construct for organizations promoting social change. She reasons that organizations committed to social change should have a clear and active aim, should be treated as a learning organization, should consist of design essentials and should have alignment. This episode is helpful for anyone leading a formal organization (non-profit, school, church) or an informal organization (classroom, family, and team). Angela ends this episode with an assignment for the listener to move forward as an organizational leader.

In this episode, the informant takes a look at what it means to know. Mary Diez looks at the actual nature of knowing and the conscious role of the learner as the knower. She explores schooling as a warehouse for children, where we focus more on managing students based on grade levels and she talks about the readiness (or not) of teachers to truly differentiate instruction; truly be able to individualize and personalize learning; and truly be able to make learning meaningful to the learner and the societies in which they live.