Hood Digest

Hood Digest has been away for a bit and we missed you so much!! We know times are intense and we hope the Hood Digest podcast will keep you a little company as you quarantine in your living room and keep your loved ones healthy! We are happy to come back with a new episode to continue our discussion on immigration. Our guest is Xiomara Corpeño (http://stproject.org/xmy_directory/xiomara-corpeno/) - a veteran organizer and badass immigrant rights pioneer. Xiomara worked at CHIRLA and helped organize some of the largest immigrants rights marches this country has ever seen - 1 Million people!  Xiomara talks about the evolution of the immigrant rights movement: its history & current state; the need to acknowledge anti-Black, anti-indigenous, anti-Central American, and anti-trans issues in the movement; AND most importantly, the importance of unity, struggle, and organizing!!! Xiomara was born to Salvadoran and Honduran parents and was raised in Los Angeles. Xiomara began her activism while a student at UC Riverside, first through the AFL-CIO Union and later at SCOPE, organizing black and brown communities on the west side.  Please listen, comment, send us a message, and tell your friends to your friends about how much you love us! We love you! LaMikia and Elmer

We dive deeper into the issue of immigration by diving into the history of Central American migration to the United States and how it ties to the hood. We learn about the political, economic, and personal reasons why Brown people leave their native countries in search of better life options.  ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Alejandro Villalpando, Ph.D. is a professor at California State University, Los Angeles. His focus is on Central American studies, Central American diaspora, racism and state violence, neoliberalism, immigration, U.S. militarism, and imperialism. ALL THE FUN stuff that comes along with being an educated Brown man. BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS Gary Webb - Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion (https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Alliance-Contras-Cocaine-Explosion/dp/1888363932/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0/146-7500022-2745210?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1888363932&pd_rd_r=8810d953-5117-421c-a6c6-4fbfbf79578c&pd_rd_w=yS7ye&pd_rd_wg=l9Jw0&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=QS3K2TM1ETFN4956NCMC&psc=1&refRID=QS3K2TM1ETFN4956NCMC) Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz- Indigenous People's History of The United States: https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/indigenous-peoples-history-of-the-us/ Mae Ngai - Impossible Subjects - https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691160825/impossible-subjects

We launch our series on immigration. LaMikia and Elmer share their personal stories of their families immigrating to the US and how this has shaped their lives, values, and views.  We hope you enjoy!

Public education is at the top of everyone's minds today! The teachers strike had everyone in Los Angeles in their feelings - including us.  Listen to the episode to hear about a social media flare-up between UTLA and Hood Digest. We set the record straight on some things! Our guest is LAUSD Board President Mónica García who blessed us all with her wisdom about LA Unified's advances towards education justice and properly serving our students - the ones that are often neglected, underserved and taken for granted! Monica breaks down the relationship between California's defunding of public education and how it impacts politics at LAUSD! ABOUT OUR GUEST Mónica García proudly represents Board District 2 in the Los Angeles Unified School District where she has galvanized the L.A. Unified school community to take aggressive action to reach 100% graduation and break the cycle of poverty by ensuring that every child can read, write, think, and believe. Since her election to the Board in June 2006, Ms. García and the educational justice movement have successfully championed school reform models that offer students smaller and more personalized settings. These options give school sites the autonomy they need to prepare all students for college or career. To date, more than 250,000 students are now served in this growing portfolio of reform models, which include single-gender academies, partnership schools, in-district teacher-led academies called “pilot” schools that operate under a reform labor contract and charter schools. District-wide, Ms. García led the campaign to pass a $7 billion school bond for the largest new school construction program in U.S. history. In addition, these funds created opportunities to leverage much-needed health and human services through the successful $50 million Wellness Center Initiative. She has increased accountability by spearheading the development of School Report Cards.  She has led an aggressive effort to increase equity through a groundbreaking “per-pupil” funding strategy that ensures dollars follow the student to school sites. Her focus on the needs of English Learner students, who make up 25% of L.A. Unified’s student community, has yielded a deep shift in the District’s instructional approach. Additionally, Ms. García has authored School Discipline policies and facilitated cross-jurisdictional partnerships that embrace our students’ desire to learn and our educators’ willingness to teach by implementing Restorative Justice techniques, resulting in reduced suspension rates and increased learning time. This work has resulted in suspension rates falling to less than a tenth of a percent in 2016. Board President García was elected to the Board of Education in June 2006, becoming the third Latina to serve on the Board in its 155-year history. She served an unprecedented six years as Board President, a position to which she was elected by her fellow Board Members. Previously, Ms. García served as an Academic Advisor in South Los Angeles at Foshay Learning Center and Edison Middle School during her six-year tenure with Volunteers of America’s Educational Talent Search Program. Through her work as a guidance counselor, she solidified her belief that when adults offer opportunities and support, every child can learn. Immediately prior to joining the Board of Education, Ms. García served as Chief of Staff to a L.A. Unified Board Member. Her efforts in that role helped lay the groundwork for the construction of 131 new schools and in 2017, all 131 new schools have opened their doors adding over 125,000 new seats for students. Her work also led to the adoption of the A-G requirements that guarantees every student in the district access to a college-preparatory curriculum. Ms. García was born and raised in East Los Angeles. She attended local schools and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. degree in Chicano Studies and Political Science. She earned her Master’s D...

Public education is on the top of everyone's minds today! Especially in Los Angeles where the teachers' strike has everyone talking about school finances and the need to make it rain on schools. We continue our conversation on the importance of public education for our communities - a topic that is critical to our survival and incredibly political. Our guest is Dr. Manuel Pastor who knows everything there is to know about California's politics, race, demographics and social justice movements! Dr. Pastor breaks down California's defunding of public education and the subsequent fall of LAUSD from one of the best school districts in the nation to one that is on the brink of financial insolvency. A reality that is knocking on the doors of many districts across the state! ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He currently directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) at USC and USC's Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII). Dr. Pastor holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC. Dr. Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental and social conditions facing low-income urban communities – and the social movements seeking to change those realities. He is the author of a number of books on social and economic justice topics. We recommend you check out this title: 1. State of Resistance: What California’s Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for America’s Future ABOUT THE SERIES Public education is incredibly important for our communities - it's also incredibly controversial. We kick off our next series to dissect the history of public education and the fight for education justice. The series, entitled "Nature of The Threat", will explore various issues impacting the quality of education that children are receiving - quality that is inconsistent, inequitable, and outright unjust in some neighborhoods. We will discuss school reform efforts, school funding, teacher quality, teacher strike, charters, and that delicious coffee cake they used to serve in the school cafeteria. Send us questions you want us to explore by emailing us at thehooddigest@gmail.com or slide in our DMs on IG: @hooddigest, Twitter: @hooddigest Love, The Grand Supreme Chapin & Profesora Panamena

We continue our conversation on the importance of public education for our communities - a topic that is critical to our survival and incredibly political. Our guest is Dr. Pedro Noguera who drops heavy jewels about the importance of investing in public education, holding elected officials and other leaders accountable for investing in education, the meaning of equity, and why the LA teachers strike has the right aim but the wrong target. ABOUT OUR GUEST Dr. Perdro Noguera is the Director, Center for the Transformation of Schools Pedro Noguera is a Distinguished Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. His research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic conditions, as well as by demographic trends in local, regional and global contexts. He is the author of twelve books and he has published over 200 articles and monographs. We recommend you check out these titles: 1.Creating the Opportunity to Learn: Moving from Research to Practice to Close the Achievement Gap 2. Excellence Through Equity: Five Principles of Courageous Leadership to Guide Achievement for Every Student ABOUT THE SERIES Public education is incredibly important for our communities - it's also incredibly controversial. We kick off our next series to dissect the history of public education and the fight for education justice. The series, entitled "Nature of The Threat", will explore various issues impacting the quality of education that children are receiving - quality that is inconsistent, inequitable, and outright unjust in some neighborhoods. We will discuss school reform efforts, school funding, teacher quality, teacher strike, charters, and that delicious coffee cake they used to serve in the school cafeteria. Send us questions you want us to explore by emailing us at thehooddigest@gmail.com or slide in our DMs on IG: @hooddigest, Twitter: @hooddigest, or FB: @thehooddigest Love, The Grand Supreme Chapin & Profesora Panamena

Public education is incredibly important for our communities - it's also incredibly controversial. We kick off our next series to dissect the history of public education and the fight for education justice. The series, entitled "Nature of The Threat", will explore various issues impacting the quality of education that children are receiving - quality that is inconsistent, inequitable, and outright unjust in some neighborhoods. We will discuss school reform efforts, school funding, teacher quality, teacher strike, charters, and that delicious coffee cake they used to serve in the school cafeteria. Send us questions you want us to explore by emailing us at thehooddigest@gmail.com or slide in our DMs on IG: @hood_digest, Twitter: @hood_digest, or FB: @thehooddigest Love, The Grand Supreme Chapin & Profesora Panamena

Voting season is upon us again! And voting is important, but do you know who & what to vote for? More importantly, do you know why voting is a life and death matter? Think we are being too dramatic? Listen to the episode and find out. Our guest is Saul Sarabia, JD. He's very smart! He drops jewels about the bloody journey that Black & Brown people have been on. A journey that has led us into voting booths, elected offices, and building political power. This is our last episode in the Black Love, Brown Pride Series and one of the most powerful topics! Connect with Saul Sarabia here: https://about.me/saulsarabia Book Recommended: Manifest Destinies, Second Edition: The Making of the Mexican American Race by Laura E. Gomez - https://www.amazon.com/Manifest-Destinies-Second-Mexican-American/dp/1479894281/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0/141-0176202-8906203?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FMGAR4N4R16SHVG7A727

We continue our Black Love, Brown Pride Series by discussing the mass incarceration the ways it harms African American & Latino families and communities. Our guest is Ivette Alé, Statewide Co-Coordinator of Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), a statewide coalition working to shift money away from prisons towards human services.  Ivette talks about the history of prisons in America and how California wastes $11 Billion on keeping people caged when it could be investing in uplifting our communities.  We also discuss a partnership between Hood Digest and CURB. Together, we created a hood glossary to change the way we speak about people who are caught up in the system of mass incarceration.  When she is not working to close prisons, Ivette goes by the monicker Dj Izla and organizes Movement Dance Spaces and leads a collective called Azucar, a platform for Black & Brown queer artists that throw radical dance spaces all over the world.    Please send us your own stories by email to thehooddigest@gmail.com and we may read your story as part of our series! Connect with CURB here: here:http://www.curbprisonspending.org/team/ Check out the Hood Digest + CURB Mass Incarceration Glossary here: http://www.thehooddigest.com/hood-glossary/ Listen to Dj Izla here: https://soundcloud.com/djizla

We continue our Black Love, Brown Pride Series by discussing organizing in the era of high profile police killings of unarmed African Americans and other people of color. Our guest is Dr. Melina Abdullah, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Department of Pan-African Studies at Cal State Los Angeles and co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Los Angeles.  Dr. Abdullah talks about the history of Black Lives Matter and how it has evolved into an international movement with 40 chapters worldwide. She shares her insights about killer police, the District Attorney who refuses to prosecute officers that murder innocent people, and the resistance. We also bring you stories from our listeners who sent us their personal experiences of Black/Brown relations including tensions and love. Please send us your own stories by email to thehooddigest@gmail.com and we may read your story as part of our series! Read the stories here: http://www.thehooddigest.com/category/stay-woke/ Connect with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles here: https://blacklivesmatter.com/chapter/blm-los-angeles/

**Episode 3: Black Love, Brown Pride Chapter 1** We kick off this series discussing Black/Brown relations including tensions and love. We open up with our experiences with racial tensions and life-changing experiences. Please send us your own by email thehooddigest@gmail.com and we may read your story as part of our series!    Meet Rob & Emilee McGowan who provide personal and professional services in the areas of relationship coaching, life coaching, personal development, executive coaching, and team building. You can find them here:  http://divingwithin2016.wixsite.com/alchemy @DivingWithinLLC Call (310) 870-3743

Episode 2: We talk about Teach For America in Los Angeles, we discuss giving back to the community with Let's Give, and the need to address tensions between Mexicans, Central Americans & our haters!

Hood Digest Podcast Debut. On this episode, you'll get to meet co-hosts Elmer G. Roldan (@grand.supreme.chapin) and Lamikia Castillo (@lamikia.castillo). Elmer and LaMikia talk to LA City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson about recreational marijuana and ways in which LA City aims to reverse the racist War on Drugs. The Councilmember will discuss where you can sell and buy cannabis and how the city aims to generate revenues from the legal sales of marijuana. LaMikia and her husband Daniel win a brand new car. Learn how they got the new whip.