The Waters and Harvey Show

The Waters & Harvey Show reflects on its most recent episode

This episode of The Waters & Harvey Show was recorded live on June 16th, 2022 as part of the first Asheville Ideas Festival

The Waters & Harvey Show asks 'Is there an American philosophy? And if so, what is it?'

"Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead."

The Waters & Harvey Show

In this episode which falls during Black History Month, our hosts examine the history of the celebration, including why it's the month of February.

Our hosts have talked before about what it means to be 'in relationship with each other', and they continue their discussion on that topic with members of the current William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations. Their guests include Kevin Rumley, coordinator for the Buncombe County Veterans Treatment Court.

The Waters & Harvey Show is back! Our hosts catch up on all the life changes they've seen in recent months, and then question whether the questions they were asking in 2021 still resonate in 2022 - who are we and who did we wish to be?

Earlier this year, our hosts spoke with their UNC Asheville colleague Dr. Dan Pierce about efforts to honor those who built the railroad into Western North Carolina in the 1800's. Many were African American laborers whose history has been lost, hidden, and forgotten. We get an update on what's transpired since, and Dr. Pierce is joined by Marion, North Carolina mayor Steve Little for this show.

Our hosts love talking about the cultural uniqueness of Southern Appalachia, and in this episode they examine the town that may have been the center of the region's African American community - Huntington, West Virginia. Their guest is Dr. Cicero Fain III

In this episode of The Waters & Harvey Show, we debut a new theme song 'Lee-Roy.' It's from the jazz band The Core, and our hosts talk with members of the group about the song, and their shared love of jazz. Plus, Darin and Marcus also reflect on the roots of their show, and how music has always been an important part of it.

In this episode of The Waters & Harvey Show, our hosts examine the global impact of America's racial justice protests, the Black Lives Matter movement, and 'woke' culture. Their guest is their UNC Asheville colleague Dr. Oliver Gloag, a professor of French and Francophone studies.

In this episode of The Waters & Harvey Show, our hosts reflect on their most recent conversation about justice and reparations. They get some help doing that with members of the current William C. Friday Fellowship on Human Relations - Angie Flynn-McIver of Asheville, and Dr. Ryan Emanuel, a citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

The show does its second live event, this time with a focus on reparations in Asheville. Among the guests for this program are Asheville City Manager Debra Campbell, civil rights attorney James Ferguson II, 'State of Black Asheville' creator Dr. Dwight Mullen, and former UNC Asheville board of trustees member and retired Blue Cross Blue Shield Senior Vice President King Prather.

In this episode of The Waters & Harvey Show, we talk about forgotten history, and why it gets forgotten. Our co-host Dr. Darin Waters helped reclaim a piece of Asheville's forgotten history when he and Citizen Times reporter Joel Burgess went looking for the grave of the city's first Black elected official. Hear the story of Newton Shepard and the quest to find where he's buried in Riverside Cemetery in this episode.

In this episode, Darin and Marcus again speak with Dr. Meredith Doster of the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations. They talk about the four R's important to building and living in community - rest, reflection, relationship, and reckoning. This sets up our next run of shows which will look deeply at another R - reparations.

A primary aim of The Waters & Harvey Show is to hold conversations that allow people to pause, listen, and reflect on the stories and experiences of others. After their recent run of shows that looked at the pandemic, civic engagement, and how the Confederacy is remembered in the U.S., Darin and Marcus use this episode to reflect on all they heard and learned.

This week, Asheville City Council voted to remove the Vance Monument from Pack Square, following the recommendation made by a task force of community members. Our hosts talk with the youngest member of that task force Savannah Gibson.

History and Memory - and their intersections - are recurring topics on The Waters & Harvey Show. We live in a culture that prizes memory, but what is remembered and what is forgotten are the sources of great tension in American society.

We've been talking a great deal about "community" and what it means to live in community. We will continue that conversation today. We will be joined by two members of the 2020-2022 class of the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations - Dalton Dockery and Willard Watson III

This episode of The Waters & Harvey Show is an edited version of our live event we did February 11th on BPR's YouTube channel, which you can view here. Our hosts discussed civic engagement and its many forms with a panel of guests that will be familiar to our listeners, plus two students from Asheville High School - Seth Bellamy and Miranda Williams.

In this episode of The Waters & Harvey Show, our hosts examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black America. When the coronavirus first came to the United States, it was predicted to affect communities of color worse than the overall population, and that has occurred. Their guest is Dr. Rochelle Brandon, and OB-GYN with a practice in Charlotte.

What do we mean when we employ this word? What do we mean when we say we have, or that we are in relationship with one another? What role does relationship play in our sense of community? Marcus and I will explore these and other questions on today's show. We'll be in conversation with two members of the 2020-2022 William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations class, DeSandra Washington and Clinton Wilson.

When it comes to local history and the story surrounding the construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad a group of local historians, political leaders, and interested citizens are working to ensure that the African American laborers who contributed to the construction of that railroad is not lost, hidden, or forgotten. Dr. Daniel Pierce, a historian and professor at UNC Asheville is leading this effort and joins Darin & Marcus for another exploration into the subject of American memory.

Who are we? Who do we wish or desire to be? Is there a we? If not, can there ever be a "we?". In light of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, our hosts ask should we conclude that what we witnessed on 1/6 is in reality who we are - a divided, angry, and violent people?

We hear a lot about the challenges communities of color continue to face in American society. Perhaps one challenge that fails to attract significant attention is the decline in marriage and marital opportunities for African American women. The recent publication of the book Black Women, Black Love by Dr. Dianne Stewart is certain to change this. She joins Darin and Marcus to discuss her book.

Questions After The 2020 Election - Who are we? And who do we wish to be? Our hosts Darin and Marcus have been asking this question a lot recently. In this episode, they wonder if the results of this year's election in any way answer those questions. Their guest is political scientist Dr. Chris Cooper of Western Carolina University.

The American Dream & The Importance Of Elders - The American Dream, a popular phrase that we're all familiar with. What does it mean? How is it defined? And who has access to the pursuit of that dream? Today's guest is Matt Bacoate, a 90-year-old lifetime resident of Asheville, who shares his life's stories and the retells the city's Black history.

Building relationships that matter Part 2 - This is a conversation that Marcus and I had a few weeks ago with our friend and colleague Dr. Meredith Doster. We're going to return to that conversation again today. We'll be joined by Dr. JoJo Ledgister, the Visiting Lecturer on Women's Studies and African Religions at Harvard Divinity School.

Building relationships that matter Part 2 - This is a conversation that Marcus and I had a few weeks ago with our friend and colleague Dr. Meredith Doster.We're going to return to that conversation again today. We'll be joined by Dr. JoJo Ledgister, the Visiting Lecturer on Women's Studies and African Religions at Harvard Divinity School.

What does it mean to live in community? What role do relationships play in our sense of community? Darin and Marcus have asked these questions in earlier shows, and revisit it in this one with their guest Dr. Meredith Doster, co-director of the William Friday Human Relations Fellowship.

Freedom Isn't Free - Darin Waters and Marcus Harvey remember John Lewis who believed that an ongoing struggle is needed to assure the success of the civil rights movement. They also return to issues raised in a recent conversation with Dr. William Turner whose career was dedicated to an understanding and appreciation of Southern Appalachia's deep African American history. One of those is the shared experience of generational poverty in both Black and white communities in the region.

Civil Rights Roots - Today's guest is Dr. William Turner who has made a huge contribution to our understanding of the rich African American history of Southern Appalachia. He discusses the region's largely unheralded contribution to the civil rights movement and connects these roots to the rising tide for racial justice in America.

A Return To The New Normal? - After pausing production due to the COVID-19 pandemic, co-hosts Darin Waters and Marcus Harvey return catch up and compare notes on everything from the impact of the coronavirus on communities of color to the aftermath of the George Floyd killing.

Do Your Little Bit Of Good Where You Are - The title for this program is a quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking about philanthropy. In this edition of the show, we dig deeper into the role that philanthropic giving plays for historically marginalized groups. We're joined by Marilyn Ball, author of The Rise of Asheville: An Exceptional History of Community Building.

National Parks For All - The National Park system has been called "America's Best Idea," but that idea hasn't addressed the inclusiveness of our parks. In this program, a conversation with two local leaders who are working to deepen the engagement that communities of color have with the great outdoors: Earl Hunter, Founder and President of Black Folks Camp Too Initiative; and Arthur Salido, Executive Director, Community & Economic Engagement & Innovation at Western Carolina University

A Clouded Collective Memory - How a society remembers its past is a good indication of how the people of that society see themselves. The historic truth about a well-known Confederate politician complicates and unsettles the collective memory. This program's guest is Kimberly Floyd, the Site Manager at the Vance Birthplace State Historic Site.

North Carolina, The CIA, And Torture - Following 9/11, the US government authorized the CIA to operate a program known as "Extreme Rendition." Now we know that it involved torturing terror suspects. We speak with Frank Goldsmith, a member of the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture, which was set up to investigate the little-known, but critical role our state played in this program.

Barriers For Women In Business - In this program we look at women's business opportunities and what's being done to create them in our region. Our guest is Sharon Oxendine, the Director of the Western Women's Business Center.

Tackling Critical Gaps In Our Schools - Asheville has recorded the worst academic achievement gap for African American students in North Carolina. Our guest is Copland Rudolph, the Executive Director of the Asheville City Schools Foundation. She forcefully argues for us to recognize that there is a "Community-Schools" gap which contributes to this ongoing crisis in education.

Membership With A Cause At the YMCA - In Asheville, the YMCA is focused on social justice as much as health and wellness. We speak with Paul Vest, President and CEO of the YMCA of Western North Carolina about his emphasis on civic engagement.

African American Entrepreneurs - Businesses owned by African Americans are a challenge to start and difficult to grow. We'll find out why from Kimberly Hunter, a writer, consultant and business owner dedicated to developing the next generations of entrepreneurs.

A Jewish Perspective On Social Justice - Many American Jews understand the concept of "tikun olam" as taking actions that will repair the world. It's a principle which underpins much of the work of Carolina Jews for Justice. On this program we speak with Judy Leavitt, CJJ's president and Frank Goldsmith, a board member and civil rights attorney.

A Challenge To Advancement - Access to capital is critical in order to participate in the American ideal of upward mobility. For historically marginalized groups, this is a problem. More about this challenge from today's guest, Jane Hatley, the Regional Director of the Self-Help Credit Union.

Reflections On American Education - Last week's program looked at the restoration of a historic "Rosenwald School" in Mars Hill, which was built to provide a better education for African American students during the height of Jim Crow. On this edition, Darin Waters and Marcus Harvey forego a guest to speak with each other about inequality in our education system.

Rosenwald Schools - In the early 20th century school for African-American children were built across the south by a Chicago philanthropist, who wanted to advance black education. One of those schools was just restored in Mars Hill. In this program we find out the role these schools played during the Jim Crow era and what they came to symbolize.

Historic African-American landmarks have disappeared in Asheville at an alarming rate. A project is underway to restore and relaunch Rabbit's Caf

Understanding resistance to oppression is critical to a deeper appreciation of freedom. Verdi's "Requiem" was performed as an act of defiance by Jews held captive at an infamous concentration camp in Czechoslovakia during WW2. The performance comes to Asheville to help launch several educational and community initiatives.

Town-Gown Community Building - As Asheville faces a range of critical challenges and decisions, we take a look at how the city and its university interact. Our guests are Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer and Dr. Nancy Cable, Chancellor of the University of North Carolina - Asheville. They discuss the need for a very open and honest collaboration between the two large institutions and the progress that's been made to address major issues facing the community.

A Culture of Leadership - Western North Carolina faces a raft of important decisions for its future and looks within its community for leaders to manage these complicated processes. Leadership Asheville plays a critical role in this process and its Executive Director, Ed Manning, joins the conversation to discuss the progress that's being made toward developing a more robust culture of leadership for the area.

Data Access and Equity - The challenges, dangers and benefits of data collection and analysis. Who controls access to data and where are the inequities in that access ? How can Civic Technology address these concerns and maximize the benefits of the data ? A conversation with Patrick Conant and Jesse Michael.