Learning, Lifting, Leading

This episode is a brief introduction to the podcast facilitator and a glimpse into the gestation of the project itself. It features Rev. Donna Vanhook, MDiv, MA.NPM, Womanist Community Organizer and Jenn Grimmett, Podcast Host & Social Justice Educator.

This episode challenges the idea that intergenerational and historical traumas are separate experiences for Black and Brown Girls & Women, within the context of education, health, and psychology. It features Buffie Longmire-Avital, Associate Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of African and African American Studies at Elon University.

This episode highlights gendered and racial disparities as it relates to women and girls of color, within the context of law enforcement and the Black church. It features Dr. Sharon Ellis Davis, a Pastor of the United Church of Christ and a Retired Police Officer of the City of Chicago.

This episode takes a closer look at how systems of oppression have a direct impact on not only incarcerated people, but also families and communities. It features Dr. Leigh-Anne Royster, the Director of Inclusive Community Development at Elon University in NC.

This episode offers information about services being offered in Alamance County, NC to educate school administrators, teachers, and local law enforcement on effective and trauma-informed strategies for suicide prevention. It features Meredith Peffley, Community Relations Specialist at Cardinal Innovations Healthcare and past Director of Development and Community Relations for Women’s Resource Center in Alamance County.

This episode covers two-generational strategies for improving child wellbeing and addresses the relationship between discrimination and the risk for attempted or completed suicide. It features Whitney Tucker, Research Director at NC Child, where she leads the organization’s data and research initiatives and provides actionable analysis of public policies impacting North Carolina’s children and families.

This episode looks at the social, educational, and economic effects of early teen pregnancy on girls of color. It features Lisa R. McBroom, MBA, a Program Manager and Lead IFPS specialist at the Exchange Club’s Family Center in Alamance.

This episode examines the interplay between the Child Welfare System, public policies, and the racial and gendered stereotyping of women and girls of color. It features Dr. Vanessa Drew-Branch, an Assistant Professor at Elon University and the Owner of VLDrew Consulting Inc.

This episode offers clarification on how the identities of migrant, immigrant, and refugee hold specific experiences and agency within our national and local landscapes. It features Dr. Sharon D. Morrison, an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health Education at University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). She is also a Research Fellow with the Center for New North Carolinians at UNCG.

This episode brings the Womanist identity and movement to the forefront to highlight some of the benefits that embracing womanist philosophies can have for girls and women of color. It features Rev. Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Ph.D., Professor of Religion at Shaw University Divinity School [SUDS], Raleigh, NC, and an Ordained Elder in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

This episode examines the ways in which identities such as race, gender, and faith tradition intersect in multiple ways to produce individualized experiences for women and girls of color. It features Rabbi Sandra Lawson who received ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in June 2018.

This episode looks at queerness and social equity through the lens of living at the margins within church and social communities. It features Minister Nicole Williams, a rising third-year Master of Divinity student at Duke Divinity School.

This episode offers a personal point of view about the challenges and successes of raising Black and Brown daughters while navigating educational and social systems, as well as media platforms. It features Phyllis Portie-Ascott, a wife, mother of two children—one in Middle School and one in High School-- in public schools in a rural county of North Carolina, a Residential Property Manager serving the Triangle and Triad areas, and a community advocate.

This episode covers the impact that early contact with justice systems can have on women and girls of color as they move through educational pathways. It features P. Angelicia Simmons, the Founder and Executive Director of The Fannie Lou Hamer Institute of Advocacy & Social Action.

This episode offers juxtaposed perspectives on how systems perpetuate negative experiences for Black and Brown communities, as well as individualized strategies for changing the narrative. It features Prudence Layne, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English at Elon University and Shante Harris-Stewart, Burlington Police Officer.

This episode offers a first-person narrative of what it felt like to live with White privilege in a community riddled with racism, and a historical chronicling of the political landscape leading to change processes. It features Kristen Green, the author of Something Must be Done About Prince Edward County, published by Harper in 2015 to critical acclaim.

This episode takes a closer look at the wide-ranging effects that biased systems can have on Black and Brown mothers, including access to education, employment, and healthcare. It features Rev. Dr. Portia W. Rochelle, Immediate Past President, Raleigh-Apex NAACP.

This episode takes a deeper look at the relationship between racial stereotyping and cyberbullying, particularly in how it differs from physical bullying and the challenges of recognizing the signs of it happening to girls of color. It features NaShonda  Bender-Cooke, Public Education Advocate. She is a 19 year veteran of North Carolina’s Public Schools.

This episode brings us a perspective for hope and resilience for Black and Brown Girls & Women, as well as how policies and organizational structures shape the focus on resilience for Black and Brown girls & women. It features Lisheema Barr, the Project Coordinator of the ACEs Resilience Initiative with Advocates for Health in Action, in Raleigh, NC.

A closing statement about the project and summary of emerging themes within the narratives. It features Carmen Monico, PhD, MSW, MS, an Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies at Elon University.