Podcasts about Black History Month

This episode was originally released in February of 2022.We are still enjoying our summer break but we decided to re-release some of our favorite episodes. This week we cover our first topic for Black History Month. Robert Smalls was an enslaved man working in Charleston Harbor when the American Civil War broke out. On one fateful night he gathered his family, friends and his wits when he attempted and succeeded at stealing a Confederate supply ship which he then sailed north to safety. Robert then returned to the area, but this time fighting for the Union. When the war was over, he kept on fighting as a Representative in the United States Congress.  

Welcome back to Race, Culture & Beyond. Get ready for a whole new season of awkward, fun and courageous conversations. Today we're sharing what we've been noticing and thinking about in our break from the show, and setting the scene for some of the incredible guests we'll have on the show this season.   Listen to hear us talk about Hair and race Being aware of spaces and places where racism operates Radical rest: rest as resistance, activism Performative allyship  Black representation in spaces of consumption (Black Santa)    ----  Connect with us and learn more about our work:   Sage: Speaking, leadership development & coaching, team building, and group facilitation www.sagebhobbs.com On LinkedIn Erica: Executive coaching and organizational strategy at Flying Colors LLC   Help support antiracism work and community dialogue by SHARING to the show with your friends and family! Click the “share” button on whichever platform you listen and send it to folks who would find it helpful Good old “spread the word,” and talk about it with your people  Love the show? Please rate it and review it on Apple Podcasts. Just a few short words really helps folks to find the show.  Thank you :)

Oneika Raymond dials into Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, where historian Sherman ‘Dilla' Thomas takes us on a bus tour through the birthplace of gospel music and Black History Month located just four miles south of the city's downtown. Bronzeville has quickly become the most popular neighborhood tour that Dilla offers through his bus tour company, Chicago Mahogany Tours, thanks in part to the viral TikToks that Dilla makes to illuminate the history and contributions of Bronzeville, formerly known as the Black Metropolis. On his tour, Dilla brings the energy of his TikToks, and the stories of Bronzeville, to life. We start out on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, a road steeped in history. The 14-mile long street was renamed for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, making Chicago the first city in the country to name a street after the slain civil rights icon. As we drive the thoroughfare, we learn how Chicago's Black community created its own thriving business and artistic community within its boundaries — which brings us to our next stop on the tour.   We roll through the Blues district on 47th street, home to the spirit and sounds of the electric Chicago Blues that filled this nightlife corridor in the 1930s. Along the way, Dilla points out the home of jazz great Louis Armstrong, one of a handful of jazz legends who lived in Bronzeville. We end our musical leg of the tour at the birthplace of gospel music, the National Museum of Gospel Music.For the first time on the tour, we step off the bus at our next stop. We find ourselves standing in front of an impressive monument dedicated to Ida B. Wells Barnett called the “Light of Truth”. The 35-foot tall structure, built to honor the journalist and civil rights activist, is Chicago's first monument officially designated to a Black woman.We end the tour at Bronzeville Winery, a neighborhood staple helping to shape a 21st-century version of the metropolis we just toured. Co-owner Cecilia Cuff shares how the winery supports community, from its wine list, which is made up of ​​75 percent minority or women-owned bottles, to the local artists, musicians and staffers it works with daily. Then, Dilla heads to the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center for a full-circle conversation with Oneika. They discuss the impact that Bronzeville has had, not only on Chicago, but globally, and talk about the history that's continuing to be made here today. To read full episode transcripts from About the Journey and see photos of each featured destination, head to About the Journey on Marriott Bonvoy Traveler. Starting this season, you can also watch videos from select episodes on our Marriott Bonvoy YouTube channel.

GDP Script/ Top Stories for friday Aug. 18 Publish Date: Thursday Aug. 17 From the Henssler Financial Studio Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast Today is friday August 18th , and happy 66th birthday to actor Dennis Leary ****Leary**** I'm Bruce Jenkins and here are your top stories presented by Peggy Slappey Properties Gwinnett Animal Welfare hosting Clear the Shelters free pet adoption event on Saturday Gwinnett County wins record number of national achievement awards And Georgia Is Building the 10th Most Homes in the U.S. Plus, Brian Giffin will have Will Hammock of the Daily Post for a Gwinnett Sports Report All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe!    Break 1 :  Slappey - GCPS          Story 1. pet Gwinnett County Animal Welfare is hosting a Clear the Shelters event on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Bill Atkinson Animal Welfare Center in Lawrenceville. The event offers free pet adoptions as part of its annual effort to find permanent homes for shelter pets. The program includes music, local vendors, face painting, crafts, and other activities. The initiative is part of the nationwide Clear the Shelters campaign sponsored by NBC Universal, which has led to over 862,000 pet adoptions in the U.S. since 2015. Interested adopters can check the GwinnettAnimalWelfare.com website for available animals………….. read more at gwinnettdailypost.com   STORY 2: awards Gwinnett County has secured a remarkable 22 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Awards for diverse programs implemented in 2022. This achievement surpasses its previous record of 11 awards from the prior year. Recognized programs include the Mobile Food Distribution initiative, Black History Month exhibit, online donation app, and watershed cleanup aimed at combating water pollution. The county's mobile food program, initially established to address pandemic-related food security challenges, earned the Best in Category Achievement Award. Notably, the Volunteer Gwinnett project distributed over 1.5 million pounds of food to almost 50,000 households in under three years. These accomplishments highlight Gwinnett County's commitment to comprehensive community support. Story 3: homes Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rising real estate values and rents have strained budgets for homebuyers and renters. The U.S. saw a substantial increase in median home sales price, boosted by low interest rates and a strong pandemic economy. While rent prices remained restrained due to renter protections and assistance programs, they accelerated in 2021 and 2022. Despite a 13.2% decline in median home sale price in Q2 2023 from the peak of Q4 2022, housing supply remains critically low, contributing to high competition and prices. The scarcity stems from underinvestment in housing since the Great Recession, which was worsened by high inflation and construction costs. Builder confidence declined for 12 consecutive months in 2022, influenced by these factors. Nationally, Georgia is 10th for building the most new homes. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We'll be right back   Break 2:   Slappey.- Tom Wages -  Obits   Story 4: taylor Bill Griese, known as Sweet Baby James, is a performer who travels the country giving solo concerts of James Taylor's iconic songs. Griese, a Nashville resident, has been doing this for about seven years. Despite being a dedicated Taylor fan, Griese's presentation is not a typical tribute band show, and he doesn't attempt to imitate Taylor's appearance or mannerisms. He performs Taylor's songs in his own style, without a visual component, focusing on sharing the music rather than the history of Taylor. Griese's concerts are interactive and include hits like "You've Got a Friend," "Sweet Baby James," and "Fire and Rain." He performs around 45 shows a year and values audience engagement. Sweet Baby James will perform at the Aurora Theatre located at the Lawrenceville Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Tonight.   Story 5: king   "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" is a production that tells the story of Carole King's early career and her success as a songwriter before becoming a solo artist. The musical covers her collaboration with songwriting partners like Gerry Goffin, Cynthia Weil, and Barry Mann, and features many of the hit songs she wrote, including "You've Got a Friend," "One Fine Day," and "The Loco-Motion." The musical, which opened on Broadway in 2014 and received Tony and Grammy Awards, is now being presented by the Aurora Theatre in Georgia. The lead role of Carole King is played by Bethany Irby, who also plays the piano during the performance. The show is described as a "jukebox musical" and is expected to resonate with audiences through its nostalgic songs and Carole King's inspiring journey.   Story 6: gbi Retired Deputy Director of Georgia Bureau of Investigation's (GBI) Investigative Division, Scott Dutton, has been appointed as GBI assistant director by Director Chris Hosey. In this role, Dutton will assist in overseeing GBI's investigative, scientific, information, and administrative services for the state. Dutton had a 32-year career with GBI, starting as a special agent in the Thomaston Regional Office and later serving in various roles within the agency, including handling drug enforcement units, being part of the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC), and serving as director of public affairs. Dutton's extensive law enforcement background and experience make him a valuable addition to the GBI leadership team.   We'll be back in a moment   Break 3:  ESOG – Ingles 9 - Lawrenceville   Story 7: Sports And now, Leah McGrath, corporate dietician at Ingles markets talks with us about foods that help with swollen feet   ***LEAH***   We'll have final thoughts after this. ****LEAH**** Break 4:  GCPS - Henssler 60 Thanks again for hanging out with us on today's Marietta Daily Journal podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties, or the Paulding County News Podcast. Read more about all our stories, and get other great content at Gwinnettdailypost.com. Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.   www.wagesfuneralhome.com  www.psponline.com  www.mallofgeorgiachryslerdodgejeep.com  www.esogrepair.com  www.henssler.com  www.ingles-markets.com  www.downtownlawrencevillega.com  www.gcpsk12.orgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Hot Topics! Our guest Difrent Caldwell returns to the podcast to help Gabrielle Crichlow answer the following question - "Are Black people entitled to things?"Gabrielle Crichlow and Difrent Caldwell discuss the topic of entitlement and reparations for Black people. They acknowledge that while Black people are entitled to reparations, it's unlikely that they'll receive them from the government and that the community should focus on building their own resources and businesses. Difernt and Gabrielle suggest that this can be achieved through mental health and education reform, supporting Black-owned businesses, and prison reform. They also touch on the idea of Black people being given land or resources that were stolen from their ancestors. The ladies agree that this is a complex issue and that it's important to acknowledge the historical injustices that have been committed against Black people. This episode emphasizes the importance of discussing and addressing the ongoing impact of systemic racism on Black communities. Difrent and Gabrielle also discuss the need for fairness and equality in all aspects of society and the importance of community support and empowerment. They encourage individuals to take control of their own lives and not rely solely on the government for reparations or compensation for slavery.Who is Difrent Caldwell?Difernt was born on December 15, 1990, in Houston, Texas, Fifth Ward, overcoming homelessness and foster care. She had a normal childhood up until the time she was around the age of 11; then her and her family ended up homeless. For the next 3 years, Difernt and her family would live in various places including: strangers' houses; cars; parks; bus stops; shelters; and even a crack house. At age 14, she was secretly placed in foster care and after the first 6 months of being in the system and trying to get out. She discovered that, in the State of Texas “foster kids” who aged out of care-- college tuition fees were waived. A light bulb went off in Difernt's head; she then used her street smarts to elevate her book smarts. In which, led to Difernt beating the odds. She is now an alumni of Sam Houston State University and a member of the Beta Theta Chapter of Phi Chi Theta. She graduated receiving her BA in International Business, with two minors in Economics and Business Communication, and her Master's in Entrepreneurship. She is also a Texas Real Estate Agent. She has a love for traveling and has visited over fifty countries and participated in amateur kickboxing. Her hobbies include reading, watching "Shark Tank", journaling, meditating, biking, ATV riding, ziplining, and hanging out with her best friend—her nephew. Difernt always knew she was meant for greatness, however, she understood to become the person she was meant to be—it would take fixing her inner issues that plagued her past. It was not until she found the courage to do something about her depression and dismissed the notion that “black people don't do therapy." While in therapy Difernt was encouraged to channel her negative experiences into a positive outcome. She quickly learned that with strategic planning, proper preparation, and constant prayer. Difernt could manifest the life she was meant have—and wants others to do the same with their lives. Now at the age of thirty, realizing she is not person she once was and by God's Grace; Difernt is ready for the next adventure in her life-- publishing her first book. It is with WHAT IF? A Controversial Paradigm Shift, Difernt hopes to inspire individuals to have healthy conversations with others about systemic racism. She hypothesizes that when we have these conversations about systemic racism and other taboo subjects. Then overtime social awareness will spread and society can start to change for the better. Because when you know better, you do better.You can find Difernt Caldwell:On the web: https://diferntsworld.net/On Twitter: https://twitter.com/difernts3r...On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/th3r...On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channe...Difrent has a book called "What If A Controversial Paradigm" - purchase it today from her website: https://diferntsworld.net/Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aXiJIdo2nF4**********************************************Follow A Step Ahead Tutoring Services:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/astep...Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ASATS2...Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aste...Eventbrite: https://astepaheadtutoringserv...Visit our website: https://www.astepaheadtutoring...Sign up for our tutoring email list: https://squareup.com/outreach/...Check out our entire "Hot Topics!" podcast: https://www.astepaheadtutoring...Support us:Cash App: https://cash.app/$ASATS2013PayPal: https://paypal.me/ASATS2013Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/ASATS2013Zelle: success@astepaheadtutoringservices.comDownload the full episode transcript here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WS4100KtG8FXfgmrLKZYgT7H4fq3xwT2/view?usp=drive_linkOriginal date of episode: February 17, 2023

Thank you for listening to Brown Mama Bear hosted by Shanera Williamson.  Today on the show, Shanera welcomes Travis Lester, senior manager of diversity and inclusion of Mars Petcare.     Mars Corporation website   Black History Month article on Mars website   Connect with Travis Lester: LinkedIn   Connect with Shanera and Brown Mama Bear: Facebook, Instagram, Website   Make sure you share Brown Mama Bear with at least 3 friends so you have someone to talk with about these things.  

If you missed the Landing Ceremony, here are only SOME of the highlights. Stay tuned until the end when our host, Blair Durham, provides the perfect poem to send our businesses into the Stratosphere. Enjoy motivation from Portsmouth, Virginia Mayor Shannon Glover, Senator Bobby Scott, a live pitch competition, and touching messages from newly improved Black Business Owners. Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Want to contact Blair? Info@BlackBRAND.biz . The Black Wall Street Today (BWST) radio show is focused on all things Black entrepreneurship and hosted by Virginia Tech alumnae Blair Durham, co-founder and co-President of Black BRAND. The BWST podcast is produced by using selected audio from the radio show and other Black BRAND events. BWST is the media outlet for Black BRAND. Black BRAND is a 501(c)(3) organization that stands for Business Research Analytics Networking and Development. We are Hampton Roads Regional Black Chamber of Commerce. We promote group economics through professional development and community empowerment, and we unify the black dollar by providing financial literacy, entrepreneurship training, and networking resources! http://blackbrand.biz m.me/blackwallstreettoday + info@blackbrand.biz + (757) 541-2680 Instagram: www.instagram.com/blackbrandbiz/ + Facebook: www.facebook.com/blackbrandbiz/ Produced by Seko Varner for Positive Vibes Inc. http://www.PositiveVibes.net $20k - $90K of business funding - https://mbcapitalsolutions.com/positive-vibes-consulting/ Money for your business: https://davidallencapital.com/equipment-financing?u=&u=PositiveVibes Money for Real Estate Investments: https://PositiveVibesFinancial.com Purify yourself, house, and environment to remain safe: https://www.vollara.com/PositiveVibes Invest in stocks via STASH: https://get.stashinvest.com/sekosq72j Fix your credit: https://positivevibes.myecon.net/my-credit-system/ Raise money with Republic: https://republic.com/raise/i/jpdajr Melanin, Black History, B1, Black First, ADOS, Foundational Black American, African, Indigenous, Virginia, Underground Railroad, Slavery, America, Black Enterprise, Norfolk, Richmond, Africa, Cupid Shuffle, Gospel Music, Moorish, Negro Spirituals, Stay Woke, Black History Month, Christian, Noble Drew Ali, Malcolm X, Ebony, African American, Entrepreneur, #GetOnCode, Tone Talks, Black American, Afrisynergy News, Black People, Nubian, Empowerment Agenda, BlackWallStreet, Black Wall Street, theWE --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/black-wall-street-today/message

Tony sits down with graphic artist Mikenzi Mitchell to delve into her personal journey and creative process. Mikenzi reveals her fascination with Enneagrams and how they have helped her connect with her true self, navigate personal growth, and find validation within herself. They discuss her specific art categories, including women's portraits, diversity, spirituality, mental health, and the power of art to inspire others. Mikenzi's favorite project, designing Black History Month labels for Press Juicery, symbolizes both her struggle and pride in her work. The conversation further explores the Enneagram as a tool for self-awareness and understanding motivations for personal growth. Tony and Mikenzi discuss different Enneagram types and their characteristics, shedding light on how they have recognized growth and stress points in their lives. They appreciate the importance of self-reflection, emotional maturity, and understanding one's Enneagram type can enhance relationships and help break free from codependency. Overall, this episode offers valuable insights into Mikenzi's authentic and uplifting artistic journey, intertwined with her exploration of the Enneagram, making it an essential listen for anyone interested in creativity and personal growth. You can find Mikenzi's Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kenzistudioco/ with links to her other projects. And you can sign up for Mackie Overbay and Tony's new podcast, “The Mind, The Mirror & Me,” at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mind-the-mirror-me/id1701226687 To learn more about their project or make an investment, visit http://wefunder.com/toosoon and be a part of the change in independent filmmaking. You can find Jeff and Aurora on Instagram at the production company's account @stnormajean as well as on their individual accounts @auroraflorence and @jeffdickamore and go check out the Dating After Death podcast Jeff and Aurora mentioned at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dating-after-death/id1614164834 To learn more about Tony's upcoming re-release of the Magnetic Marriage course, his Pathback Recovery course, and more, sign up for his newsletter through the link at https://linktr.ee/virtualcouch Inside ACT for Anxiety Disorder Course is Open! Visit https://praxiscet.com/virtualcouch Inside ACT for Anxiety Disorders, Dr. Michael Twohig will teach you the industry-standard treatment used by anxiety-treatment experts around the world. Through 6 modules of clear instruction and clinical demonstrations, you will learn how to create opportunities for clients to practice psychological flexibility in the presence of anxiety. After completing the course material, you'll have a new, highly effective anxiety treatment tool that can be used with every anxiety-related disorder, from OCD to panic disorder to generalized anxiety disorder. And follow Tony on the Virtual Couch YouTube channel for a sneak preview of his upcoming podcast "Murder on the Couch," where True Crime meets therapy, co-hosted with his daughter Sydney. You can watch a pre-release clip here https://youtu.be/-RkRq8SrQy0 Subscribe to Tony's latest podcast, "Waking Up to Narcissism Q&A - Premium Podcast," on the Apple Podcast App. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/waking-up-to-narcissism-q-a/id1667287384 Go to http://tonyoverbay.com/workshop to sign up for Tony's "Magnetize Your Marriage" virtual workshop. The cost is only $19, and you'll learn the top 3 things you can do NOW to create a Magnetic Marriage. You can learn more about Tony's pornography recovery program, The Path Back, by visiting http://pathbackrecovery.com And visit http://tonyoverbay.com and sign up to receive updates on upcoming programs and podcasts. Tony mentioned a product that he used to take out all of the "uh's" and "um's" that, in his words, "must be created by wizards and magic!" because it's that good! To learn more about Descript, click here https://descript.com?lmref=bSWcEQ

Caroline Herring is a singer, songwriter and scholar of the South. She discusses the evolution of her music and of the song she wrote for Buried Truths.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's episode features a fun conversation with John William Templeton from the Expo floor at the 2023 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Convention. John shares his gift of using research to tell fuller stories of historical events. He also shares ways in which his work is helping the next generation learn how to use the Secretary of the Interior's Standards to do better research and find the truth. Tangible Highlight: Queen Califia mural in the California State CapitolLinks:California African American Freedom TrailBlack Money WebsiteCalifornia Black History WebsiteJohn William Templeton booksAfrican Burial Ground in New YorkTangible Remnants on InstagramTangible Remnants WebsiteLinkedTr.ee for resourcesGabl Media NetworkSarah Gilberg's MusicBio: John William Templeton Founder, Journal of Black Innovation National Black Business MonthFor 50 years, John William Templeton has been a trusted authority on African-American history as the first journalist to write about Black History Month in 1976 and author of 60 reference books. That includes his trilogy on the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. The first African-American editor of a business newspaper, he is founder of the Journal of Black Innovation National Black Business Month and creator of Our10Plan: the African-American economic strategy. Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corp., which he chairs, broke ground in late July on a 300 unit affordable housing mixed use development in Brownsville, the densest Black neighborhood in the nation.**Some of the links above maybe Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.**

Buried Truths Live, Part I: a special evening onstage with the daughters of James Brazier, who share the pain of his loss some 60 years after their father died.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Buried Truths Live, Part 2: Our special event continues with a conversation between Hank and Kelley Stinson, granddaughter of the policeman who killed James Brazier.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As communications professionals and as people living and working together in a society we need to talk about the realities of race and inclusivity. And in today's episode we do just that.   Transcript Michelle Kane: Thank you for joining us for another episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi Karen, how are you today? Karen Swim, APR: Hello, Michelle. I'm doing great. So glad to be back from our little one week break. How are you doing? Michelle Kane: Yes, I'm well, thanks. Yes, it was, you know, even the things you love the most, it's always nice to have a little break, but yeah, I'm glad to be back at it, and talk with you today. And today we're going to talk a little bit about race because a lot of the work we do, we have to counsel our clients on how to handle situations, diversity programs, all that kind of stuff. And let's face it at the end of June, the Supremes dropped some nasty bits. So it gave us a lot to talk about. That was quite the day, June 30th. I'm working and listening to them, I'm like, oh, great. What now? Oh, wonderful. So… Karen Swim, APR: Well, the Supreme Court decision has certainly ignited a lot of discussion and reaction. In addition to that, without surprise, social media served up another little bit of scandal. But it has, I believe that it has also launched some very beneficial conversations. Kristen Bell, who I love as an actress had a dinner party and shared a picture of who was at the dinner party. And that has just invited a lot of criticism about the lack of diversity that was at that dinner. And so we want to unpack this and talk about, we just, you know, sometimes you have to confront this thing that we don't like to talk about. Talking about race is uncomfortable. It's not the fun topic, it's not the light topic, but as communicators and just as entrepreneurs and people in business, it's an issue that we should not be shying away from. And I believe that we have to have these discussions and we have to have an understanding, and we have to do our part if we are going to counsel clients to do the same. Michelle Kane: Agree, agree. And, also I think in recent weeks, and I sadly do not recall the entities, but I think there were three or four corporations who just let go their heads of diversity. I mean, really, what gives? And so, it's really disturbing. It's concerning and we definitely have to be conscious of it so that we can both help counsel clients and really just make our own mark. Karen Swim, APR: I heard the word that we live in post-racial America. That is the biggest lie that I've ever heard in my life. So let's clear that up. And let's talk about, again, when we talk about race and we talk about diversity, I want to remind you all of another forgotten class of people. And those are people that have visible and hidden disabilities. Yes. So we, if we're really talking about being inclusive as a society, we have to look at all of these factors and we have to make it okay for people to inhabit these spaces. What do I mean by that? Last week there's a Latino family that lives on my block. My neighborhood, my particular block is super diverse. It's really weird in Michigan to have a block that is so diverse, thank you auto companies for bringing people from other countries to live on my street because yeah, we are a little United Nations here and I love it. So there's a little girl - a lot of the kids come down and they ride their bikes. I have kids on either side of me and the little girl has a dog that I've met and I've met her family and I know that she speaks Spanish. So we were talking about something and I said something to her in Spanish, and she answered me in English and I said something else to her in Spanish, and she answered me in English. Now, these roles are usually reversed. Because I was usually the one that can understand the Spanish fast enough, but can't always get my words out fast enough, so I'll answer in English. And she said to me that it felt weird to speak Spanish outside of the house, because when our family came here from Mexico, her parents instructed them as they were learning English, to not speak Spanish outside of the home. That was heartbreaking to me because I know so many Spanish speaking Americans that feel that way and feel like they will be judged and treated differently. And they're not wrong because I've experienced this myself. When I'm in the park walking and speaking Spanish to my dog, and people pass me by and they are mean to me because I'm speaking in another language. So I know that this is true, this is not okay. So when you say post-racial America, when people are afraid to own their own culture, speak in a language that is other than English, by the way, you want to know how many people in the world speak Spanish? We always want to think that English is the dominant language, Spanish is spoken all over the world. There is no shame in having this as a second language. And people should not be embarrassed to speak in their first language in public. Right. That is painful. Michelle Kane: Yeah. Yeah. And it's a tradition that's been handed down through the centuries. You know, we did it to Germans, we did it to Japanese, we did it to all kinds of people. And it's, I don't know where this insecurity comes from. No, actually I do. It's a lot of these problems in our society come back to fear. Karen Swim, APR: Yes. Michelle Kane: Fear of, of the quote unquote other fear of, well, how's that going to affect my security? And you can't lie the societal forces around us sometimes they play into that to their favor. I was so internally angry over the weekend when I got wind that my former church is doing a culture and civility series. And I'm like, oh, here we go. Don't go there. And the current pastor said, “Okay, in Hollyweird now they have certain quotas to be considered for an Oscar.” And I know where he was going. He was going against the LGBTQ community. So I thought, you know what, let me look this up because I'm, I'm 99% sure he is dead wrong. I'm like, no, it's because of #Oscarssowhite - that's why if you weren't, if you were any bit mature and intelligent and loving as Jesus wanted you to be, you would realize that. Karen Swim, APR: There is this attitude that somehow being inclusive is tied into extreme woke. And we've made that an evil thing. But let me be really clear with our communicators and with our business people, diversity does not just happen. You have to be so intentional about inviting people into your spaces. So the affirmative action piece is really distressing. Not because I believe that you should be less intelligent and get accepted into these spaces, but because there again, there has to be some accountability for being intentional about bringing diversity into a space. And now, rightfully so, the legacy system is being challenged. Michelle Kane: Good, Karen Swim, APR: I find it pretty disgusting to be honest with you, that in this day and age that we're saying that just because your parents went to a place that you have a right to be in that same place. And that's what you considered when that definitely favors one class of people. And that's wealthy white people. And so you're ruling out so many people that don't fit into that, which is the majority of people. Can we be honest about that? Because wealthy white Americans are a small percentage of our overall society. So you're leaving out others and that's not okay. You're benefiting a class of people just because their parents went there. That shouldn't be a thing for education, whether it's private education or not, it just should not be a thing. People have the ability to enter a school without any of this. However, we haven't done a good job of making education equitable. So challenge yourself, institutions, to think about what you're going to do to make these spaces more diversified. And that includes with your teaching staff, because those are overwhelmingly slanted as well. And so we need to be intentional. I know the Kristen Bell thing seems different and people are saying, well, you know, there's this group of people that are like, well, these are her friends, that's fine. However, let's remember that in this group of people, they belong to an industry. You want to know what happens when people within an industry get together? It's networking. Deals are done. This is where power is exchanged and shared. And when that power remains with a class of people, we never change. We never become diversified. This is true of Hollywood. It's true of so many industries where deals are being made. You only have the same type of people in a room, whether it's on a golf course, at a country club, at a chamber meeting. If you don't have diversity in the room, guess what happens? You never diversify. We have to be the ones as communicators to guide our clients into not giving up on to on DEI and B, but to be very, very intentional and to hold themselves accountable for opening the door for people that are not all of the same race, gender, and ability. We have to, we have to do that. We owe it. This is something that, again, this has nothing to do with woke and this has to do with humanity. It has to do with making us better. And guess what, I could cite you statistics all day long on how all of these things actually benefit your bottom line as a corporation. Why wouldn't you want to do something that leads to employees being more engaged, more loyal to your company and making more money for your corporation? It would, if you look at it from that perspective, like, this is good business. You're stupid not to put some effort and some muscle behind diversity. Michelle Kane: You are so correct. And you know, we battle that in our hyperlocal chamber. It is Whitey McWhiteville around here. They are welcoming communities. It just isn't that diverse. Now, at the same time, we have a significant batch of businesses that are Hispanic owned. And it is a struggle to get these communities, you know, like how do we engage the Hispanic business leaders? You don't want to create like a, a little offshoot of it. You don't want to say, well, here's the Hispanic chapter. No. I mean, we want you to come on in. How do you do that without being too pandering or where there's no animosity. But I think too, it's just pulling back big picture, the white community, so to speak, has been, let's face it, in charge for a very, very long time, specifically white males. And it is interesting to see how it then distills into fear of, oh, I, I might lose my footing. And I'm not saying that this is always conscious. Sometimes it is for sure. I think it's been so ingrained. And it's like, you know, really? What's the worst that can happen to you? I mean, if I'm applying to a school, I want to be, I want it to be on my merits. If I don't get it, fine. If someone else gets it great. I, who, who cares? Who? That's could just be me. For me, I want to learn, I want to know why things happen. I want to know real history that doesn't, as you know, those doing the the bastardization of the word woke would say, “That's going to make me feel better about myself.” No, it's going to make me want to do better and realize what someone's sitting across from me, what their story is. I don't know. I mean, I am, but two or three generations away from a people that were, they were attempted to be murdered and exterminated in Ireland. So I I get it a little bit. And I really believe that that generational knowledge comes with you. So it's really concerning. It's always riled me when I see things happen that are just unfair and unjust just because of who you are, what faith you practice, what language you speak. I mean, thank God Gaelic is having a comeback just because of the cultural value of it. It's just kind of fun. But my goodness, for a while, if you were in Ireland in the 1700's and you wanted to speak your native tongue, you'd be killed. Karen Swim, APR: I agree. Michelle Kane: Sorry, we'll bring it back to modern times. Karen Swim, APR: History will bear out that Yeah, this racial reckoning in America is nothing new. No, it really sadly is not. And there have been so many different ethnicities of people who have been oppressed and who have been made to feel shame and who have been forced to fit into this homogenous view of what it means to be an American. And I mean, that is really sad because again, going back to humanity, you, you, humankind is beautiful. I love that we're not all the same. I love that we all come from different backgrounds. I love that. I love that we have all these beautiful different traditions that we can share with one another. And we should be able to live in a world where we view people as people. We are not there yet. And so no, as communicators, I think, you know, some of the things that we can own and we can do is that we can make sure that we have messaging that is inclusive, that we make sure that even for our media relations efforts that we put together talking points that are inclusive so that the media says the right things about what our clients are doing. Perfect example. Don't say “special needs kids,” you would say “children with disabilities” - it's people first language. You want to respect that they're not their disability. That's not what identifies them. They're a human being that has a disability. And I even hate the word disability these days because I believe that we all have different abilities. I believe that none of us is perfect. And I believe that because it's the truth. Not a single person is perfect. We all have something I need reading glasses. Some people need glasses all the time. That means that you don't have perfect eyesight. What does that mean? That means that you have to be accommodated. That means if you're a kid in school and your vision is not good, that you may need to sit closer in class. So we need to start thinking about, again, all of these ways that we're different and learning how to open up our spaces to make room for everyone. I think it's also important in our messaging that we don't take for granted. And humor can get really tricky, by the way. Don't take for granted that everyone will share the humor or get the inside joke. Again, people who are not native English speakers often struggle with that because they miss the context. They hear the laughter, but don't quite understand how. That's funny. So if you're using humor in your messaging, you want to be mindful about who your publics are and make sure that your message will not be lost because it's targeted to a very narrow group of people. So I, you know, these are things that we definitely can know and we can also, you know, if you do internal comms, you have an opportunity to work side by side with HR on making sure that things are inclusive internally. Now I get that we're not involved in the trainings and things that can happen, but companies definitely can be intentional. And as a communicator, you need to stand for that and insist that things are not put together. Strategies are not put together. Messaging is not developed, branding is not developed from a very narrow lens, but that you're looking at it from various perspectives to ensure that what you're trying to say is really what you're going to say. Michelle Kane: Yeah. And honestly, at the crux of it, at the center of it, this is how we should always look at communications. If we truly know who our audiences are, you want to be respectful of them, their backgrounds. We're certainly not saying that you should be afraid to say anything. It's just like, okay, well who's in my audience? Whether it's internal or external. Okay. How might this message land with them? Keeping in mind too, just the current temperature and tone of our society something that might have hit a little differently 10 years ago is not going to hit the same right now. So we know you're all smart, we know you get this, but it's good to talk about this. And I think too, over time, and because as a nation we've not done a great job at this, is because we really haven't had the conversations. We haven't had the hard conversations of, oh, well gosh, what was that really like for you? Because I need to learn. And that doesn't matter if you have gender, race, physical issues - until you've truly walked in someone's shoes, you can't. Karen Swim, APR: It's absolutely true. And yeah, I mean, we say this, we're addressing this topic because again, as communicators, it's important for us to tackle and to turn over these things and to have these discussions and make having these discussions be very normal. I think. You know, someone says to me, “Hey, you know that I struggle with this when people do this and I feel a little left out of that space,” that drives awareness for me and helps me to do my part to make things more inclusive. Because just because I am a black woman in America does not mean that I get to take a pass on intentionally driving toward diversity. I do not get that pass. I have a responsibility to be inclusive as well. And I have a responsibility, just like all of you, to our clients. But here's the thing, clearly we have work to do because we're not there yet. And so, no matter how smart you think you are and how open you think you are and how diverse you think you are, we're not there. We're just not there. That is our reality. And this again, has nothing to do with political agendas. It has nothing to do with wokeness. This is about humanity and it's about being effective at our jobs and helping our clients to be effective at what they're doing as well. Michelle Kane: And you know what, it's so much better to try to have the conversations and maybe step in it and move forward from there than to not have the conversations at all or not have the awareness at all. Karen Swim, APR: Agree. I mean, as communicators, we cannot be shy about bringing up the hard stuff. We have to address hard stuff all the time. We have to ask clients uncomfortable questions because we don't want things to come out later that harm our efforts. I've said to clients, like, this panel does not work, there's zero diversity. You have a bunch of men that are all the same race. Like, this is not okay. And so I think we have to get comfortable saying those kinds of things. We have to get comfortable saying could just stop inviting black people to only speak during Black History Month. Michelle Kane: Oh my gosh, right. Karen Swim, APR: I mean, could we not do that? Yeah. I don't know. I'm saying Michelle Kane: Just, just saying . No, it's so true. And they're difficult conversations. It can feel awkward, but I think once you start having them, it feels less so. And I think you will find that it feels good. I know that sounds weird. Karen Swim, APR: Yes. But, and I would say please be mindful. You know, Kristen Bell, I have empathy and so let me be clear, we didn't share this story because we want to have her bashed or to have her cancelled because I'm not a fan of cancel culture. I am a fan of reconciliation and healing. But she is someone who wrote a book about diversity. Michelle Kane: Karen Swim, APR: She wrote a book about diversity. She advocates for diversity and then she shares a picture that's like, really? Girl, do you not have any, were they just not invited to dinner? Are there people not at the table that are missing? Maybe all the diverse people are, you know, still swimming in the pool. I, don't know what's happening. You really missed the mark. So, yeah. Michelle Kane: Yeah. Did she post it to her Instagram? Karen Swim, APR: Oh God. She posted it to her Instagram and poor baby. She, she like a lamb to the slaughter. Michelle Kane: Girl, just keep her, Karen Swim, APR: Where's purple? Where are the purple people in your picture? ‘Cause I'm not seeing purple. I'm not seeing any color here. Michelle Kane: It's also like, ooh look at all of us fabulous people, especially during a writer's strike. Like really and I, not to say, I know they're being supportive. Karen Swim, APR: . I agree. But you know, how often have we as communicators, God bless her PR people. How often have we been in that situation where we have clients that don't make the connection between who they are as a corporation or who they represent. And things that they might share publicly. I've said to clients that even when you're doing things and you have interviews that are about your personal life and it has nothing to do with the job that you hold, please remember that that job that you hold as the CEO of a company or a founder, they're intertwined. And so you want to make sure that there's alignment and you do have to be mindful of that. It doesn't mean that you should be fake and inauthentic, but it does mean, think. You have to think about these things. You can't just do things without thought. That's just not a good move. And it'll ruin the good work that you really are trying to do. Michelle Kane: Agree, agree. Well, that was a lot that we brought before you today. But we hope it gets you thinking and we hope that you will continue this conversation with colleagues and others and let's just keep that door of conversation open. And we appreciate you for giving us your time. We would love it if you would share this around if you found it of value. Check us out at soloprpro.com and until next time, thanks for listening to That Solo Life.  

Ovidio's Big Leap Ink: https://bigleapink.com Darrick's catering business: https://apeelinggourmet.godaddysites.com Epidemic Sound - Relate Cushy Epidemic Sound - SubzeroEpidemic Sound - PumpEpidemic Sound - Relate STEMS INSTRUMENTS Epidemic Sound - RedialEpidemic Sound - PumpEpidemic Sound - Inside Out (Instrumental)Epidemic Sound - Killa  Epidemic Sound - Hard Hitters  Epidemic Sound - Everlasting Energy Epidemic Sound - GeocentricEpidemic Sound - Come Around Epidemic Sound - Scoring (Instrumental Version)Epidemic Sound - Mass  Instagram - @CrossSports_   Twitter - @crosssportsllc    TikTok - @crosssports77

Get ready for a delightful blend of pop culture discussions, hilarious takes, and random musings. Join us as we dive into the friendly rivalry between Pride Month and Black History Month, discuss the absence of summer anthems, and share our thoughts on the highly anticipated "The Blackening" and "The Flash" movies. From Migos' reunion at the BET Awards to Juvenile's unforgettable Tiny Desk performance, we've got you covered. Stay tuned as we uncover Taylor Swift's day in Cincinnati, contemplate midweek 4th of July celebrations, and navigate the Gunna vs. Young Thug showdown. Plus, join the fun as we discuss favorite disaster movies and tackle the art of determining if someone "gets no bitches." Lastly, we delve into the intriguing topic of mixed individuals and identity issues. Get ready for a laughter-packed potluck of pop culture. Let's dive in and enjoy the ride! Song: Indo - TrapNerds

“For too long DEI work has been focused on changing individual hearts and minds, versus the organization taking on responsibility and frankly, modifying behavior without the need for personal buy-in,” explains Alexis Robertson, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Foley & Lardner, as well as host of Foley's Path & Practice Podcast. There has been great improvement in DEI at law firms regarding recruitment, but there is still a long way to go when it comes to employee retention and promotion. Today, Alexis discusses where current law firm DEI efforts are working and where improvements can still be made.  When people think about DEI, their first thought is often to diversify their recruiting pools. The issue with thinking about it this way is that it oversimplifies the problem. Diversity, equity and inclusion really need to be completely plugged into every people facing function within an organization. It cannot be just a one and done type of DEI training or a party for Black History Month. Those can help, but only when used as part of a larger systematic DEI implementation throughout the whole organization. If law firms want to enact real lasting change that creates a better, more inclusive work environment for all employees, they need to look beyond recruitment and into their overall systems and values.  Although there has been a lot of positive change in the DEI space within law firms, there is still a long way to go when it comes to creating inclusive workplaces. Organizations who are truly committed to DEI have to look closer at retention and employee development. Recruiting diverse employees is not enough because if the actual workplace culture is not aligned with DEI values, those diverse employees will not stay with the company.  Quotes “A lot of times with diversity, the first thing anyone thinks about is recruiting.” (24:49-24:52 | Alexis) “What I'm doing is figuring out how our organization can be great for all people. And I think it's important to start framing things that way because it can feel more inclusive.” (26:15-26:29 | Alexis) “What we really need to focus on as it relates to those historically underrepresented or even systematically excluded groups are the things that relate to retention.” (27:00-27:09 | Alexis) “We've seen change. The problem is, if you extrapolate it out over another 50 years, we're not going fast enough for it to get to where we'd like it all to get to within our lifetimes.” (28:56-29:06 | Alexis) “For too long DEI work has been focused on changing individual hearts and minds, versus the organization taking on responsibility and frankly, modifying behavior without the need for personal buy-in.” (31:04-31:15 | Alexis)   Links Connect with Alexis Robertson: LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexisrobertson/ Her Foley page: https://www.foley.com/en/people/r/robertson-alexis The Path & Practice Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-path-the-practice/id1523076918 Connect with Chris Batz: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisbatz/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theliongroupkc  Instagram: @theliongroupllc Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm  

Today an encore presentation of an episode that originally aired on February 6th. It's Black History Month in Canada but what do we really know about black history in our country?  And more importantly, what should we know? This is an important and fascinating conversation with McGill University professor Debra Thompson, recognized around North America as an expert analyst on race politics.

Crain's Avery Donmoyer talks with host Amy Guth about NASCAR weekend, rain delays, crowd control and where the city might have felt the biggest impacts from the event. Plus: Downtown's office vacancy surge hits new record high, Chicago Fed chair says it's on path to curb inflation without triggering recession, Metra and the state plan to reboot Chicago-Rockford rail service and the birthplace of Black History Month gets National Park Service grant for rehab.

“Black history,” writes award-winning artist and graphic designer George McCalman, “tends to mean the ten people who are lauded every Black History Month of every Black History Year.” McCalman upends that constricted notion in his most recent book, “Illustrated Black History,” a tribute to 140 pioneering – but sometimes unseen – Black artists, advocates and thinkers who have “sacrificed their lives and livelihoods or forfeited their homes and sanctuaries” in the course of defining American history. We talk to McCalman about those he chose to profile, paint and celebrate. This segment originally aired February 16, 2023. Guests: George McCalman, artist, graphic designer and creative director; His most recent book is "Illustrated Black History: Honoring the Iconic and the Unseen"

Two hours of the blues with Sian Weggery, produced by Manawatū People's Radio with support from New Zealand On Air.

It's Not Black History Month: When it comes to headwraps in America. What do you know about them? In this episode we discuss Tignon Laws and the American History behind Black women and head wraps. Why these laws were implemented and how we pushed back unapologetically.  We also circle back and cover updates around The Crown Act and a recent campaign Sponsored by Dove and LinkedIn to eliminate hair discrimination in the workplace. You won't want to miss it! https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns/crown-linkedin.html https://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/frenchama.htm https://www.essence.com/hair/tignon-laws-cultural-appropriation-black-natural-hair/ https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5abvx/black-womens-hair-illegal-tignon-laws-new-orleans-louisiana https://wams.nyhistory.org/settler-colonialism-and-revolution/settler-colonialism/fashionable-rebellion/

Hello PWW faithful! We recorded this during Black History Month in February, and as some conversations focus on that topic, we were lucky to speak with up-and-coming Wrestling sensation Cassandra Golden. She is from Memphis Wrestling and is someone who should be on your radar for years to come

“How could it be that we are seeing a tsunami of Jew-hatred,” asked Amb. Carr in his closing keynote, repeating the question he's heard from members of the US Congress.  “Who could have believed that 80 years after humanity's greatest crime against the Jews that antisemitism would rise again,” and reiterated the official statement made by former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo:  Anti-Zionism is antisemitism. So how, Carr asked, do we fight the “ancient, yet recurring indefatigable sickness known as Jew-hatred?” Carr offered six key solutions: “Double down on Jewish peoplehood, explain our right to our homeland. Combat antisemitism in all its forms - from neo-Nazis on the right to radical Marxists on the left and antisemitic activists who justify their actions in the name of the palestinian national movement as well. Bring balance back to college campuses and schools, and differentiate between protected speech and propaganda. Suffocate state sponsors of antisemitism, particularly Iran, and the jaw-dropping, shocking textbooks being used by the Palestinian Authority in schools. ‘Any country that is funding Iran or the PA is, in effect, collaborating with them in teaching children to hate Jews.”  Finally, he said, “play offense by proactively promoting a Philo-Semitic narrative that tells the Biblical story of the Jewish people.  “There is a Jewish story in just about every country. For example, just as America is covered with content and marketing campaigns educating Americans about Black History Month, there is no reason America shouldn't be covered with content for Jewish Heritage Month, designated by the US government to be the month of May,” Carr said.

After his child's Western New York school omitted Black History Month and DEI initiatives from their teaching plans, Ryan Howze set off to create a curriculum and supplemental history podcast to address this need. Ryan joins Lorenzo Rodriguez to discuss his curriculum program as well as some of the conversations that are currently consuming the public education landscape on a national scale.

Previously recorded during the 2023 Black History Month program, MKE Film CIO, Geraud Blanks and author, Miles Marshall Lewis discuss the legend, Kendrick Lamar and his musical legacy.

Inside today's Locked on Canadiens The NHL announced they are discontinuing the tradition of wearing special jerseys in pre-game warmups for various causes. This includes Pride Nights, Hockey Fights Cancer, Military Appreciation and Black History Month and both hosts have plenty of thoughts to give. Why is the league so keen to not do the basic things that other sports do without issue? On the other side of things, the Calgary Flames appear to be in total freefall in the near future with multiple players stating they will not re-sign with the team. This includes former Canadien Tyler Toffoli who it was announced on Thursday night is also available for a trade ahead of the NHL Draft. So the hosts debate, can Toffoli be brought back to Montreal? Does he still fit on the roster at all anymore? Finally, it's the final Friday Mailbag before the NHL Draft and the hosts are answering all sorts of pre-draft questions to end the show! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Birddogs Go to birddogs.com/lockedonnhl and they'll throw in a free custom birddogs Yeti-style tumbler with every order. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. ebay Motors For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let's ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don't miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosts John Morris and Brooke Bednarz sit down with Tommy Bowman who was the first black basketball recruit at Baylor as part of Black History Month. Tommy discusses his journey to Baylor plus much more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things just keep getting worse for Starbucks.  First, they have their woke leftist customers up in arms because they're being accused of canceling pride displays, Now, they have to pay a former employee tens of millions of dollars because she was fired for being white!   Highlights:  ●      “A former Starbucks regional manager, Shannon Phillips, has just been awarded over $25 million dollars after a federal jury found that she was fired due to her race.” ●      “What this court decision highlighted is what's widely known today as ‘reverse discrimination' which is generally defined as the unfair treatment and social exclusion of the dominant ethnicity! Unfortunately, reverse discrimination appears to be an intrinsic characteristic of modern liberal society and its dedication to what's called multiculturalism." ●      “Could you imagine celebrating white history month or singing the white national anthem before the super bowl?”    Timestamps:     [02:21]  Starbucks began unfairly punishing white employees to demonstrate their supposed repentance [06:57] Multiculturalism, often if not always, involves reverse discrimination [07:44] Could you imagine celebrating white history month? Resources:  ●      Go to https://expressvpn.com/turley to find out how you can get 3 months free! ●      Join Dr. Steve's Community of Courageous Patriots Building a PARALLEL Conservative World at https://join.turleytalks.com/insiders-club-evergreen/?utm_medium=podcast  ●      Join my growing FREE Courageous Patriot Network TODAY: https://group.turleytalks.com/telegram-chat-optin ●      Give your skin a healing feeling. Soothing benefits of pure Bentonite Clay. Made the Amish Way on a farm in South Dakota. Use Promo Code: TURLEY for an exclusive discount. Olde Country Soap. Experience the Tradition. Go to https://www.oldecountrysoap.com/ ●      Learn how to protect your life savings from inflation and an irresponsible government, with Gold and Silver. Go to http://www.turleytalkslikesgold.com/   Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode.  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and/or leave a review. Make sure to FOLLOW me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrTurleyTalks BOLDLY stand up for TRUTH in Turley Merch! Browse our new designs right now at: https://store.turleytalks.com/ Do you want to be a part of the podcast and be our sponsor? Click here to partner with us and defy liberal culture! If you want to get lots of articles on conservative trends, sign up for the 'New Conservative Age Rising' Email Alerts.

On today's episode of TFB's Behind the Gun Podcast our host Luke C speaks with Myloreal Anderson, Shanea Daniels, Akiethia Bost, and Jaron Smith of the National African American Gun Association about what they do for the African American Gun-toting community, as well as pretty much anyone else who wants to get good training that could help save the lives of themselves, or their fellow Americans. NAAGA has over 100 chapters across the nation and over 46,000 active members that are spread about all 50 states. Along with that NAAGA certifies its own firearms instructors and puts out a consistent set of curriculum that is rapidly expanding beyond basic pistol courses, and will soon include more advanced classes for those seeking it. NAAGA was officially started and launched on February 28, 2015, in honor of Black History Month. The founder and President of the National African American Gun Association is Philip Smith, a graduate of the University of California at Davis. He is an African-American Gun enthusiast and community organizer. He founded and started NAAGA with the primary goal to expose, educate, and motivate as many African American men and women to go out and purchase a firearm for self-defense and to take training on proper gun use. Our guests today form the two primary wings of operation of NAAGA with Shanea managing and organizing NAAGA's nationwide chapters, and Myloreal, Akethia, and Jaron organizing NAAG's network of qualified instructors which directly support and train its members. https://naaga.co/ https://www.facebook.com/naaganational https://www.instagram.com/naaganational/

One of our roles as PR practitioners is working with in-house marketing teams. Today's episode was inspired by a recent article by Agility PR, 33 Comms Issues Keeping CMOs and Brand Managers Up at Night. Join us as we talk about their current pain points and how we can be a valued resource.   Read the article: https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/33-comms-issues-keeping-cmos-and-brand-managers-up-at-night/   Transcript Michelle Kane (00:02): Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters, and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hi, Karen. How are you today? Karen Swim (00:20): I'm doing so well, Michelle. How are you doing? Michelle Kane (00:23): I'm doing pretty well. We're dealing with the haze from the fires in Quebec. Thanks, Canada. We know you love us. So it's, a Roseanne Roseannadanna world. It's always something. So we just gotta get through it. . Karen Swim (00:43): Yeah. We are also under air quality alert here, Michigan. So if you're listening to us, by the time this podcast drops, we hope that your air is nice and clean and clear wherever you are. You're not under temperatures that are either they're scorching or too cold, and you're having a fabulous start of your summer. Even though it's not summer yet, everybody has sort of resigned themselves to the fact that we're here. So, yeah. Michelle Kane (01:10): Yeah. Please go outside and take a big breath for us, . Karen Swim (01:14): Yeah, please do. Michelle Kane (01:16): Well, speaking of nightmarish conditions, , Karen Swim (01:20): Uhhuh, nice segue. Michelle Kane (01:21): Thank you. We decided to take on this topic today of things that make us lose sleep, things that might cause us to worry just things in the industry that may be real or manufactured in our minds. Talking about what's going on out there in the PR world and the communications world in general. I mean, we do touch on these things all the time, quite frankly, because we're here to keep you as sharp as possible. But we thought let's focus on some of our fears. . Karen Swim (01:59): Yeah. I love this. And this episode was inspired by a piece that Agility PR wrote, shout out to Agility. Hey, y'all. And, the title of the article, which we will link in the show notes, is 33 Issues Keeping, who's It Keeping Up Tonight? I forget Michelle Kane (02:22): All of Us Karen Swim (02:25): Keeping CMOs and Brand Managers up at night. So it was a really interesting look at, you know, several things, and I always like to know from the marketing side of the house, the pure marketing side of the house, and also from the brand side, what's troubling people, because often in our role as outsourced PR agency, the CMO is actually one of our primary contacts, and we work closely with the marketing team. So I found it really interesting and very on point to what others are seeing as well. So let's dive in. Michelle Kane (03:08): Yeah, absolutely. One, thing that jumped out of me was a, collection of four or five of the issues all, at least in my mind, speaking to what is sort of an attention deficit disorder that's happening out there. Yeah. many of the things keeping these CMOs up at night is, you know, optimizing the client experience, keeping customers engaged, aligning your brand with the consumer experience. And, really this just reinforced what I and many of my colleagues are experiencing, even when you're trying to either reintroduce programming that had been put on pause or that had been put online during the pandemic in-person events. And I think we're well past issues of participation in in-person events being because of fear of getting covid. But we're still all trying to put our finger on, well, how do we get everyone back? And we're coming to the realization of it's not just like turning the switch on and droves of people will return. I have seen this literally across the board. Chambers, I have a friend who is displaying her photography, so she's having like a gallery event and its, you know, response has been underwhelming, even though before it would've been amazing. Now, I think one of the main drivers of that is really we have realigned ourselves of not running from thing to thing to thing. We, just aren't doing that to ourselves anymore, even though they might all be fantastic choices, but as a marketer, how do we reset those expectations? How do we handle that? How do we move forward while still serving our clients fun. Karen Swim (05:03): You know, it's also interesting that you bring that out because this article talked about, you know, being post Covid and, and you're right across industries while we are no longer in the heat of the pandemic and some of the protocols and things that prohibited us from doing things, we're still trying to figure out what normal is. And, and yeah. And everyone's trying to figure out how to do their jobs because consumer behaviors have shifted. But now the question is, well, we know that there were some shifts because of the pandemic, but we went from thing to thing to thing. You know, we went from, you know, pandemic thing to political thing to social justice thing to economic thing. And it's really hard to determine like, okay, what's the underlying issue? Because if you understand the issue, you can often then you can address it. But I'm not, I'm honestly not sure at this point. I believe that it's a combination of things. I think habits definitely change. I think our muscles are we're still learning to rebuild our muscles for socializing and gathering, and we're choosing, we're choosing fewer things, as you said, but then there's also the budgetary issues. Yeah. You know, look, everything is really expensive, and so people are being more discerning with their dollars and because they just are not going as far. Michelle Kane (06:40): That's true. That's true too. I, and I think it's, it's like you said, it's all of those things. And the frustrating part as a PR professional and a marketer is you feel so helpless because we are so used to nailing what the problem is and swooping in with three ideas to make it work, and Yeah. You know, I, I find that sometimes, even with, you know, a friend of mine that I help out, I'm just like, I wish I could have a hard and fast answer for you, and I don't, and that makes me feel terrible. So we're here today to tell you, don't feel terrible, because it is still, it is definitely something that is coming together now because I've never wanted to stay in downerville I'm going to flip that into, it creates opportunities for us, you know, to do things differently or, or just really re reevaluate things. Karen Swim (07:33): I think reevaluate unleash your creativity. But, but here's the most important thing that has not changed. You really have to serve your audience and go to the, Solo PR Pro blog and read our blog posts from yesterday because this, this leans directly into that. You have to really give people a story and make them feel and see themselves as part of this event. You have to make it more than just, Hey, here's a writing conference. Oh, here is a media relations workshop. There has to be more to that. So it's, yeah. It's, it's in how you tell the story around those events, around those things that you're, you're trying to get people engaged around. And, and I think that this is a great opportunity to hone our storytelling skills and understand that we have to tell powerful stories in order to get people to care. (08:34): Then we have to clearly articulate the actions that we want them to take. Quite frankly, I'll just speak for myself. There have been so many in-person events, and sometimes the subject matter captivates me, but then I'm not really moved by the way that they're telling the story about the content. I don't, this really benefiting me, and I don't see it benefiting me in a way that makes me want to put down dollars. Right. The conferences are not cheap. And with everything having gone up, I too am watching my dollars and being, you know, very conscious about how I'm spending and the stories are not grabbing me. So, as an industry, if we're not telling stories that resonate with other PR professionals, how is that translating into the work that we do for our client audiences or for our company audiences? Michelle Kane (09:30): Yeah, I think you, you nailed it right there. I mean, people have to see themselves in the narrative that you're putting, in front of them that way. It's, all part of the content experience, right? It's what we preach every day. You know, establishing your know, like, and trust. You need to make sure that the person that you are trying to do business with is going to get on board at that level of, oh, yeah, you know what? That's me. I really, I really need to do this, and, and I know I'm going to get something out of it as opposed to come to my thing. You know what to do. It's, it's, it's like the, it's like the old school answering machine messages, right? Hi, here's my phone. You know what to do. Well, no, no. We really need to hone in on the whole customer experience when they engage with whatever we put out there, content initiatives, events. Karen Swim (10:26): Absolutely. I mean, I see a lot of dry, boring facts or, you know, it's, you know, come because this fantastic speaker. Yeah. Okay, well, that person might be famous to somebody else, but not to me. I don't even know who that is. So Michelle Kane (10:43): Or, you know, I can find 'em on YouTube, right. . Karen Swim (10:45): Yeah. Like, that's not exactly enough for me. I need, you know, and so yeah. It, it is an opportunity for us to tell stronger, more powerful stories. One of the other things that jumped out at me from this list, there are a couple things. One is that ROI was at the top of the list. Yeah. we don't even need to go into this in detail because we've talked about it ad nauseum on this podcast. There is a critical need. So I want that to really sink in today. If CMOs are up at night, because they need to show ROI simultaneously, they're worried about budgets, and of course they're worried about layoffs because all of this trickles downhill. If you cannot demonstrate roi, your budgets get cut, your budgets get cut, and then you're still forced to show ROI. You're going to have to start making harder decisions. (11:44): And this is happening in every industry. Right now. We're seeing marketing budgets being cut. We know that marketing budgets are always the first to get cut. They're always the first to get cut, because CEOs do not see the ROI. Now, if they saw marketing as a sales driver, and they could make that connection that this spend is actually driving in business, and rather than cutting it right now, as we're trying to drive to the bottom line, we need to increase it. Mm-Hmm. , clearly we're not doing a good enough job at demonstrating that line. And as outsourced PR people, again, if you're not comfortable with ROI please learn. There's so many resources to help you to get better at reporting metrics and showing your value. And we can no longer say, well, you know, these things take time. Well, you know, there's not always a direct line. You have to align with what your clients care about most. And today, that's money. And, and guess what? It was, it was money 10 years ago. It was money 30 years ago. Because no one wants to spend, if they're not seeing a financial benefit, they have to see the financial benefit in their decisions. And so it's up to us to make sure that we make those connections. Michelle Kane (13:07): Yeah. Even more importantly, because we know that their first instinct to cut is the last thing you should do, because how else are people gonna know about you? But okay, CEOs, Karen Swim (13:22): And, and we know that, but here's, you know, yeah. Just go back to story again, right? Yes. We know that every single marketing, PR, communications professional knows that it, it's the wrong decision to make. But are we telling the right story to the people who hold the pen? Are we, are we making it powerful enough for them? Are we articulating it clearly enough that it's not just something that we all know, it's not inside baseball knowledge, but that it's something that they now know, understand, have internalized, and are working around not making those cuts. Right. And if the answer is no, they don't get it, then we have to point those fingers back at ourself and go, okay, let's roll up our sleeves and figure out how to do a better job of demonstrating this. Because clearly we're not doing that. And, and, I mean, it's happened to me too. It's happened to all of us. And I think we have to hold ourselves accountable. Like, okay, where did I miss it? What information did I not provide and did I not tell the story in the right way? Michelle Kane (14:33): Yeah. And, and I mean, that's a huge point that you're making because it comes back to the, another thing that we, we keep saying is, you know, everything communicates. So you're not just storytelling for the brand or for the client. You need to be storytelling to the client as well. Karen Swim (14:51): Absolutely. And storytelling that plays into another thing. So here's something that really jumped out at me on this list. It said that 15% of the nightmares that they've listed in this post had increased this year. Yes. And number two on the list was aligning brand and consumer expectations. And so I found that incredibly interesting because I was just reading a piece that talked about how brands are really struggling. So consumers, you know, we went through this, you know, the pandemic and all of the things that happened, and consumers had a heightened demand for brands being corporate citizens. They wanted brands to be active in, issues in national issues. They wanted them to speak out about policies, they wanted them to speak out about social justice. The tide has turned a little bit in that we're here in the United States, and you know, I'm sure this is true in other countries because every country has had their political turmoil of late. (16:07): There is this turning of the tide where the divisions are so deep and where issues have become so weaponized that no matter what a brand does, they're going to make someone unhappy. Yeah. And so we've seen this with Bud Light. We've seen it with Target, we've seen it, we've just seen it across the board where, you know, even libraries, which used to be in my mind, a center of neutrality have become a lightning rod. And so it's really difficult. So, you know, you're c of a company and you want to stay true to your company mission, vision, and values. You want to stay true to your audience and be supportive of your audience. You want to be a good corporate citizen. But if you speak up about things, then you risk, like, Bud light, they said, you know, there was a quote that said they're taking a permanent 15% haircut. (17:04): They're, those people are gone. They're not coming back. You may as well lower your expectations to meet the new reality. So this is true of companies. And so if you're a brand, you know, they would rather stay out of this. Trust me. They would rather just stay out of this and, and let the people have their say and just keep doing their thing and serving all of their customers with, with the things that they have to offer. But the audience is not allowing that, except the audience is so polarized. Right. That were almost a no win situation. And we PR people this, this hits us squarely in our wheelhouse because Sure does. Finding that crisis management, we are exercising those muscles like never before. I mean, yep. We are ripped in the crisis muscles, muscle department. I wish my abs were as ripped as my crisis muscle Michelle Kane (18:02): . Oh, if only that would work. Oh my goodness. That would be wonderful. Cause Karen Swim (18:09): We're really having to be so sharp, and we're having to question everything, and we're having to prepare brands that even when we have done all of the right things, even when we, we are 100% on the side of Right. Someone will be mad. Someone will be mad. Michelle Kane (18:27): Yeah. You know, and it can be very exhausting because it, it even comes down to even social media posts of do we say anything about this? Do we say, you know, do we just wish anyone anything? And Oh my gosh. And you know, I believe that at the crux of it all, truth still matters. Truth should still be our paramount core value. And from there, you need to work with your clients or help your clients navigate. Okay. What are these hills worth dying on, so to speak? You know, it's, with, with beer, it's a different question with libraries, a completely different question. I know I've shared with Karen, I'm working with our local library now, and it's just, the onslaught is maddening. And, you know, I guess to our advantage, it's not really based in truth, but it's still a brush fire that we have to deal with's. Karen Swim (19:27): You know, honestly, every brand should have a matrix of the issues. Yes. And when they're going to respond. One of the things that drives me crazy are things like, happy Memorial Day. Well, you don't say Happy Memorial Day. Cause Memorial Day is honoring fallen soldiers. It's actually a very solemn Right. Very serious holiday. I get it. You know, in America, if, if there's a holiday, we're going to have a cookout. We're going to w party. Except it really isn't a party type of holiday. No. I don't care how you spend it, you know, that's fine. Like, Americans are gonna do what we're gonna do. Hey, we got a day off, we are going to celebrate it. But in the way that you communicate to your audience should be appropriate. And brands are super guilty of this. How many companies have Memorial Day sales? Why are you having a Memorial Day sale Right. On a somber Holiday. Right. And, and by the way, how hypocritical are we? Other countries look at us and they're like, we don't understand America. You guys flyflags all the time, and your military people wear hats that, that have this stuff on it. And we're not even allowed to wear uniforms in public. And we never do this except for, except for on designated holidays. Right. (20:49): America, the patriotic country that flies flags all the time. And our military people walk around and we're thanking everybody for their service everywhere we go, me include it. Mm-Hmm. on the holidays that actually matter. , we don't spend them doing the things that they were meant to. How many of you are going to Veterans celebrations and really honoring our military? Right. Or shopping the Veteran's Day sales on Memorial Day. We're out here saying, happy Memorial Day. Well, what's happy about a bunch of people who died for our country? So Michelle Kane (21:20): , I know. It's, we're, we're, we're a little special as a culture, Karen Swim (21:28): You know, I mean, we're out there, you know, I see companies now that have turned their logosnto the pride colors. But Michelle Kane (21:36): Where are you the other months of the year? Karen Swim (21:38): Where are you the other months of the year? Yeah. What does your company really look like? You're celebrating every month, you know, native American Month, you're celebrating AAPI month, you're celebrating Black History Month, but you're a company that has zero diversity, like none. Right. Right. And so we have to, we have to exercise sanity in terms of our communication, and we have to be authentic. Right. And if you are not doing these things, then Michelle Kane (22:10): Don't participate Karen Swim (22:11): These prompts in these months to take action rather than just join the club and turn your logo a different color it. Right. It, it's just disingenuous. It's not Okay, don't do that. We know that PR pros know these things. And so our message to PR pros is stick to giving wise counsel. Do not be afraid to stand up to clients and always provide the right advice, because we know that, you know, that these things are absolutely insane. But you have to, again, this is communication. You have to communicate this to your clients, and you have to be willing to stand behind that and tell the stories that they understand why you can't just do these things. Why you can't be copycatting what everybody else is doing. I mean, I, I'm looking at all of the stuff and I'm like, wow, this is really fascinating. Mm-Hmm. and so not aligned with who you are as a company, but okay. Michelle Kane (23:19): Yeah. I mean, that's the main thing, right? You want to make sure that your clients know who they are, they know their identity, they know their, their ethos, they know their why. And, just work with that. Just, you know, and, and it's okay. I mean, if you don't jump on all the bandwagons, it doesn't mean you're not supportive of those issues. Yeah. And in fact, in many ways, it makes me feel like you're less exp exploitative of it. Right. if the, the, you know, walk your talk, if you do that every day, 365 days a year, you'll be much better off. You'll be more trusted. I'm not saying that all the companies that jump on the bandwagons are disingenuous, but you, you guys know what we mean, . It's, Karen Swim (24:08): Yeah. Michelle Kane (24:09): It's just so much better if you're just authentic every day of if someone can look at your, your client's brand and say, I know, you know, most of the time they're good people. I know they try. At least I know they're trying, they're trying to do the right thing by me and by their employees. So, you know, working from that angle, I hate to call it an angle, but working from that position yes. I think will serve you best. And of course, serve your clients best. Karen Swim (24:38): I completely agree with you. That is such a good point. And so, yeah. You know, it's, when I read through this list of issues, and as we've talked through this today and, and we barely, you know, obviously there were 33, we could go deep on any one of these 33. Yeah. It's, you know, it reminds me why public relations always ends up on the list of most stressful jobs, Michelle Kane (25:04): Right. Karen Swim (25:04): . And we want you to know that we see you, we care for you 365 days a year. We do, we do. Whether or not we're recording that, we have your back. And we understand that it's really tough. And so we want you not to be awake at night worrying about these issues. We want you to look at these lists and we want you to just sit down, you know, take some notes, reflect on your practices, because our goal is to always learn how to manage things better. And we should all do great work. Be proud of the work that we do. Be proud of where you are today, even as you strive to grow. Tomorrow, you know, every day is a chance to do better than you did the day before, but we want you to also, at the end of a good day, we want you to just lay your head down at night and sleep and not have night terrrors or not be stressed out and, and not be, you know, popping in acids because your clients have you in such angst. This work is tough. Yeah. And it's complex, but it's also rewarding. And it can be very fun. And you should feel good about the job that you're doing and not lay awake at night. Leave that to the CMOs. If, if they want to not sleep at night and have night terrors more power to you, Michelle Kane (26:23): Let 'em, Karen Swim (26:24): My job is to try and help you not to have that experience. I'm gonna do my part. I can't control everything, but when I'm working with you, my job is let's all get a good night's sleep. . Michelle Kane (26:36): Yeah, no, so true. Because, you know, I know as you and I have joked off, off air, it's like, yeah, when I actually get good sleep, it's amazing how much better I feel. Oh, it's all about the sleep. Oh. And, I know how hard it is sometimes to put those thoughts down and put them away, but what I tell myself is, there is nothing I can do about X, Y, or Z in the next six to eight hours. So I'm just going to put it in a little box and I'm going to sleep. Karen Swim (27:05): And by the way, you are so much better equipped to handle all of these issues when you sleep at night. So Michelle Kane (27:11): Oh, amen. Karen Swim (27:13): Issues. Keep you up at night, get a good night's sleep, and you know what, you'll wake up in the morning and you will live another day to tackle them all. Michelle Kane (27:22): That's right. You'll be less likely to freak out on someone, which is always a good thing, . Karen Swim (27:26): Yeah. On those days when you haven't slept well or you're just not feeling it, just make sure to protect others around you. It's like, yeah, I'm not peopling today, . Michelle Kane (27:41): Exactly. Exactly. Well, we hope we've provided some inspiration or some moments where you can just nod along and go, yeah, that's, that is what we're here for. Andif you're getting value out of us, please share us around tell people to come listen to That Solo Life. And until next time, thanks for listening.  

The NHL likes to call Willie O'Ree the Jackie Robinson of hockey. And no one can deny how significant it was when he became the first Black player on the ice in an NHL game in 1958. But what the league doesn't like to talk about is what happened next. Because after O'Ree, the NHL didn't admit another black player for sixteen years. So did the NHL resegregate? And why don't we talk about the experiences of the players who broke hockey's second colour line?Featured in this episode: Bob Dawson, Bill RileyTo learn more:“Mike Marson on challenges he faced as NHL's second black player” by Wayne Scanlan in SportsNet“Life of Riley; Career of N.S. hockey trailblazer Bill Riley remembered during Black History Month” by Paul Hollingsworth and Allan April in CTV NewsWillie: The Game-Changing Story of the NHL's First Black Player by Willie O'Ree with Michael McKinley“How Conn Smythe's racism kept Herb Carnegie from achieving his NHL dream” by Ian Kennedy in Yahoo Sports“The dark history of the NFL's original sins” by Chelsea Stark-Jones and Lex Pryor in The RingerCredits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), Annette Ejiofor (Managing Editor)Additional music from Audio NetworkSponsors: Oxio, Better Help, EcojusticeIf you value this podcast, Support us! You'll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You'll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you'll be a part of the solution to Canada's journalism crisis, you'll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interactive wall displays are one of my favorite new things. Adding a QR code to a poster gives students the opportunity to take things further. If you've been hanging out with me this year, you know I've created interactive displays for you to celebrate Black History Month, Women's History Month, and AAPI Heritage month. Now it's Pride Month, and I've got another one for you. Maybe you're already out of school, or maybe you've still got a few weeks left (here's looking at you, New York teachers). Whether you use it now, or put it up to celebrate LGBTQ+ creators throughout the year, this new interactive pride display features ten creative LGBTQ+ authors to share with your students. Today on the pod, I'm going to introduce you to a few of these creators, so you know more about what's behind the display. If you already get my emails each week, you'll be getting this display on Friday. If not, you can sign up for the free display in the blog post here.  Here's who we're talking about... Erika Sanchez Becky Albertelli Alice Oseman Rainbow Rowell Adam Silvera   REGISTER FOR CAMP CREATIVE NEXT WEEK   Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram.  Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

This week, guest host Julie Fishman Rayman, AJC's Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs, had the honor of connecting with Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, after he led a congressional delegation to Israel and Ghana. As we approach the AJC Global Forum 2023 in Tel Aviv, we have the opportunity to listen to the Democratic leader's insights on the trip, the crucial nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship, and the historical and contemporary significance of Black-Jewish relations. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC.  ____ Episode Lineup:  (0:40) Hakeem Jeffries ____ Show Notes: Learn more about AJC Global Forum 2023 in Tel Aviv: AJC.org/GlobalForum Listen: 8 of the Best Jewish Podcasts Right Now From Roots to Harmony: Nefesh Mountain's Fusion of Jewish American Culture and Bluegrass Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, tag us on social media with #PeopleofthePod, and hop onto Apple Podcasts to rate us and write a review, to help more listeners find us. __ Transcript of interview with Hakeem Jeffries:  Manya Brachear Pashman: This week, Julie Fishman Rayman, AJC's Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs, had the honor of connecting with leader of the House Democratic Caucus, Hakeem Jeffries, after he led a group of lawmakers on a recent trip to Israel. Julie, the mic is yours. Julie Fishman Rayman: Thanks, Manya. It's my pleasure to introduce Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who represents the very diverse 8th congressional district of New York, in Brooklyn, and also serves as the Democratic Leader. He was unanimously elected to that position in November 2022, and in that capacity he is the highest ranking democrat in the US house. He is also the former chair of the democratic caucus, the whip of the congressional black caucus, and previously co-chaired the  Democratic Policy and Communications committee. Also, a great friend of AJC and the Jewish community. Leader Jeffries, welcome to People of the Pod. Hakeem Jeffries:     Wonderful to be on. Thanks so much for having me. Julie Fishman Rayman: I want to get started by asking you about Jewish American Heritage Month, which as you know, we celebrate in May. Many listeners may not realize that members in congressional leadership cosponsor very few bills – meaning cosign or add their name to endorse them . In this Congress–correct me if I'm wrong–you've cosponsored fewer than a dozen bills and only one resolution–the resolution commemorating Jewish American Heritage Month. Can you speak about this effort and why it was important to you to help lead it? Hakeem Jeffries:   Well, thank you so much. And that is absolutely correct. The tradition has been that members and leadership sponsor very few bills and even fewer resolutions, just because the enormity of the request is large. And you want to make sure that you're being very discerning in terms of what you want to elevate as a priority. And for me, it was incredibly important to make sure that I co sponsored the resolution that commemorated Jewish American Heritage Month for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I'm privileged to represent a district that has one of the largest Jewish communities in the country. In fact, I represent the ninth most African American district in the country, and the 16th most Jewish. And so I represent. As a good friend of mine, Leon Goldenberg, once and I quote, you've got the best of both worlds. It's an honor, though, to represent the reformed Jewish community, the conservative Jewish community, the Orthodox Jewish community, the modern Orthodox Jewish community, the ultra orthodox Jewish community, and more Russian speaking Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union than any other member of Congress in the country. I mean, Hakeem Jeffries, who knew only in America, but that's Brooklyn, that's New York City and the Jewish community has meant so much to the country, which is why we honor and celebrate and elevate Jewish American Heritage month but particularly has meant so much to the district that I'm privileged to represent to Brooklyn and to the great city of New York. Julie Fishman Rayman: The United States has many heritage months that celebrate the various communities that form the mosaic of our country, including Black History Month, Women's History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and more. By celebrating heritage months, we learn about one another, we honor the richness of our diverse nation, and we strengthen the fabric of American society. Some have described JAHM as going on the offensive against rising antisemitism, do you think that's an appropriate description? Amidst rising antisemitism and hate of all forms, does this change how we think about commemorative months?  Hakeem Jeffries:    Yes, it's a great question. I do think AJC's leadership and certainly the leadership of my former colleague, and good friend, Ted Deutsch has been phenomenally important in this area. And your leadership, Julie, of course, and this podcast and communicating information to the American people will continue to be critical. And the fact that the Jewish community is facing a shocking rise in anti semitism and hate crimes is a cause for alarm for all of us. And it does, I think, lead to the important conclusion that we need to rethink how we lean into the celebrations and acknowledgments, such as Jewish American Heritage Month. That is not just simply an opportunity to be able to communicate to the American people about the many accomplishments, the many ways in every field of human endeavor that Jewish Americans have contributed to the growth and development of America as we know it. And that is important, and that is appropriate. And that is a central part of what celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month should be all about.  But it also provides a vehicle to make sure that the appropriate narrative is in the public domain in a compelling way, as a vehicle to push back against the rise in antisemitism and hate crimes. Because it's an all hands on deck approach. And it is going to require using every tool available to us. The rise in sort of hatred and extremism, and divisive, generally should trouble us all throughout America over the last several years, and particularly, the sharp and dramatic rise, particularly given the history of the Jewish community, over 1000s of years of persecutions, and pogroms and pain and suffering, should alarm us all. And it is exactly the reason why thinking about this month as one of the tools that we can use to push back aggressively against the rise and hatred is an important and appropriate approach. Julie Fishman Rayman: In April, during your first congressional delegation trip as Leader, you traveled to Israel. You have been a great supporter, supporting Israel's right to defense and speaking out against anti-Israel sentiment time and time again. What were your biggest takeaways from this mission? What are the major challenges and opportunities for the U.S.-Israel relationship? Hakeem Jeffries:   Well, that was my sixth time traveling to Israel, fifth time as a member of Congress. And the first time that I traveled to Israel, I actually was a freshman member of the New York State Legislature as part of a trip sponsored by the JCRC of New York, a wonderful opportunity. Someone said to me recently, Julie, wait, wait. You've been to Israel six times. I said, Yes. That's more than any other country you've been to in the world. I said, That would be correct. Is it isn't that a lot? I said, No, not at all. First of all, I'm from New York City, where we consider Jerusalem to be the sixth borough. And I'm just trying to catch up to my constituents. Every time I go to Israel, it's a wonderful eye opening experience. This particular trip was meaningful to me in that I was able to actually lead a delegation for the first time in this position and choose where I would go to in the world as part of my first congressional trip on foreign soil, as the House Democratic Leader. And I chose to go to Israel and to Ghana, to incredibly meaningful countries to meet personally, to the people that I represent, and, of course, to the relationship that exists between the United States and Israel. And I wanted to do it so that it was timed to the anniversary of the 75th founding of the State of Israel, because I thought that will be meaningful for the members that agreed to travel with me and certainly meaningful to me to say to the world, that we're going to continue, as we've transitioned leadership in the House of Representatives, to stand behind the special relationship between the United States and Israel. And to make it clear that that's a special relationship that we as House Democrats believe, is anchored in our shared values and our shared strategic interests. And it was incredible because of the timing of we were there, both on the day of remembrance was incredibly moving. And I was able to participate in one of the ceremonies that we're held to acknowledge those who have been lost, both to acts of terror, and in the conflicts that Israel has been made to endure throughout the 75 year history. And then, of course, on the eve of the celebration connected to the 75th anniversary, and we had a very diverse group of members, several prominent Jewish American members of Congress, of course, like Josh Gottheimer and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Dean Phillips, Sarah Jacobs, who was a new and emerging leader, but also the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Steve Horsford, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Nanette Barragan, the first vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Yvette Clarke, as well as the top Democrat on the foreign affairs committee, Greg Meeks. And so it was a wonderful experience. We had important public policy discussions with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Herzog, with the Speaker of the Knesset, as well as the opposition leader, Lapid, they were open, they were honest, there were candid discussions about the challenges that our two countries face. But it was all anchored in our clear affirmation of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, and our commitment as House Democrats to continue to lift up and elevate the special relationship between our two countries. Julie Fishman Rayman: So important. How's Israel doing at 75? Hakeem Jeffries:    I think Israel, it's a miracle, as has been described, that we've gotten to 75 years. And it's a testament to the strength, and the resilience and the ability, the heart, the soul, the love the intellect, of the Jewish people, and the people of the State of Israel. And I'm confident that through the challenges that we all face in Israel, the best is yet to come. You had an interesting discussion, because of the judicial reform, issues that are underway. And we've got challenges that we're working through here in the United States of America, certainly, as it relates to the Supreme Court, and what is the right, you know, balance in terms of our three branches of government. And we've got to work through that here. Many of us have been troubled by recent developments coming out of the Supreme Court, and Israel's working through trying to figure out what that right balance is, in terms of the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary, and how that works together. I think what has been clear to me, in terms of Israel as a robust democracy, that will continue to be a robust democracy is not the challenge is that it's working through to find common ground. And those talks are being led, of course, by President Herzog. But most significantly, the fact that hundreds of 1000s of Israelis have been in the streets, exercising their right, their freedom of expression, their freedom of speech, their freedom of assembly, the right to peaceably gather and petition your government that is at the hallmark of a democratic society. And that's what we've seen, and not a single shot fired, probably nowhere else in the Middle East, would that have occurred other than in Israel, and it's an affirmation of Israel's democratic character. Julie Fishman Rayman: In just a few weeks, AJC will hold our annual Global Forum in Tel Aviv. What is one piece of advice you'd give the 1000 or so people coming from around the world to Israel at this time? Hakeem Jeffries:   Well, I do think that every time I've gone to Israel, what has been a wonderful aspect of the trip was talking to the full range of people in Israeli society, to get the perspectives on the ground in terms of their views related to the challenges that Israel confront, and the opportunities that exists to continue to thrive into the future. And those are particularly relevant conversations to have now that Israel has hit this incredible milestone of 75 years in what still remains one of the toughest, if not the toughest neighborhoods in the world. And one of the reasons why sustained dialogue, sustained opportunity to engage in wonderful that AJC is hosting this forum in the next month, is that the challenges are always unique whenever one arrives in Israel. You know, it could be Hamas, it could be Hezbollah, it could be uncertainty in terms of the Iranian malign activity in Syria. It's always, you know, Iran's efforts to try to secure a nuclear weapon and we're gonna make sure that Iran never becomes nuclear capable in Gaza. There are different moments in time, where particular concern meets a level of urgency, but it's always consistently within the frame of Israel living in a very tough neighborhood, which is what I, you know, we reiterated as House Democrats directly to Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to ensuring Israel maintains its qualitative military edge. My view on this thing has always been, and I grew up in central Brooklyn, came of age in the mid to late 80s, early 90s. I kind of know from tough neighborhoods. That was a tough neighborhood. I grew up in Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, Gaza, chaos in Syria, in Iraq, Iran with nuclear aspirations, dangerous situation in the Sinai. That's a tough neighborhood. And in a tough neighborhood. The one constant, as I've consistently said, is strength. You can achieve peace, you can achieve stability, but you can only achieve it through the lens of strength. And I think, part of the dialogue that we all should continue to have and will be important for AJC to continue to have is, you know, what are the severe threats that Israel currently confronts? And how can we continue to ensure that Israel has the strength to defend itself and to provide a foundation for lasting peace moving forward building upon things like the Abraham accords? Julie Fishman Rayman:  Prior to Israel, you and the members of congress who traveled with you to Israel went to Ghana, one of America's closest allies in West Africa and a nation that still bears the painful scars of the transatlantic slave trade. At AJC's 2019 Global Forum, you became the first member of the congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations, I think less than an hour after it was officially launched. Did your back to back trips to Ghana and then Israel spark any insights as we continue–collectively–to try to bring Blacks and Jews closer together? Especially because Blacks and Jews were really strongly represented in your delegation? Hakeem Jeffries:   Yes, you know, AJC's effort in terms of forming the black Jewish caucus was a wonderful thing, a great foundation. And in many ways, the trip to Ghana and to Israel is in that same tradition. And as you pointed out, Julie, there were a lot of African American members of Congress who on the trip and a lot of Jewish men from the members of Congress who were on the trip who visited both countries. And, you know, we were able to involve Ghana, and in Israel and Ghana, visit the Cape Coast slave castles, which were central to the horrific transatlantic slave trade. And we also were able to visit Yad Vashem and I was able to lay a wreath and make it clear that we would never forget and never again, allow the Horus of what was seen during the Holocaust to occur. And it was important that in addition to, in Ghana, for instance, meeting with President Akufo Addo, to visit the site, for a lot of the activity of the transatlantic slave trade, and, of course, the ties that then connect to the African American community in the United States of America, and to visit the door of no return. But also to make sure that, in the time that we were in Israel, almost every time that I've been there, we've always made it a point to make sure that we visited Yad Vashem, it's always a very powerful, moving experience. And it was the same and to be able to do it together with black members of Congress and Jewish members of Congress, and leaders, who were not black and Jewish, but were on the trip with us, was really a powerful experience, I think, for everyone involved. And I think it's important for us to continue to try to lean in to strengthening the relationships between the black and Jewish community. It's something that because of the district that I represent, has always been central to my time and public service. And I do you know, I am moved by the fact that at least part of the district that I represent, and that told this story during the Democratic caucus celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, but I tried to tell it whenever I get the opportunity that I do represent a district that was once represented in part by a manual seller. And a manual seller was the longest certain Congress person in the history of the country. He served for 50 years, first elected in 1922. And served through 1972.  He was a staunch ally and advocate for the special relationship between the United States and Israel from the very beginning. He was there, I believe, with Truman, when the United States first recognized Israel, and was there to support the special relationship every step of the way throughout the time that he was in Congress. But what also is little known about Manny seller, as he was affectionately known in Brooklyn, is that during the 1960s, he was also the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which meant that he played an important role, legislatively, and making sure that the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, became the law of the land, to crush Jim Crow, and crushed the effort to oppress the ability of African Americans, particularly in the south to participate fully in our democracy. And then you go to civil rights museums across the country, and whenever there have been exhibits, even here in the Library of Congress, usually always an acknowledgement of the role that Manny Celler played. And I'm proud of the fact that I can represent a district that someone who was such an important link between the black and Jewish community and actually played a meaningful role in helping to advance legislation to change the course of America, in supporting the efforts and leadership of Dr. King and others, is an important thing.  That's a tradition that I look forward to continuing to build upon and at the same time, to be able to represent a district as I mentioned earlier, where I serve more Russian speaking Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union than anyone else. And to know that Dr. King took time out from his days of leading the civil rights movement, to speak to Jewish leaders and rabbinical leaders across the country famously anchored in his guiding principle, that injustice anywhere is a justice everywhere, and it was great injustice, being directed at the Jewish community that was behind the Iron Curtain during the days of the Soviet Union, and to use his voice to speak up on behalf of what he appropriately viewed as his Jewish brothers and sisters who are facing oppression. That example that was set by Dr. King, that example that was set by Congressman Judiciary Committee Chair Manny Celler, who wasn't just focused on strengthening the relationship between the United States and Israel, but also dealt with the injustices directed at African Americans throughout the United States. That's a powerful heritage for us in Congress, or us as leaders, as AJC has promoted, to continue to build upon. Julie Fishman Rayman: Thank you so much, you've provided us with such a sweeping understanding not just of the history-everything from Manny Celler to Dr. King to Yad Vashem. But also a vision for where we can all go collectively. Whether it's in May, during Jewish American Heritage Month, or Black History Month, or every day, trying to honor the legacy of Americans from all facets who lift up our great nation and make it what it is today. Leader Jeffries, thank you for your leadership and thank you for being with us. Hakeem Jeffries:   Thank you so much, what an honor Julie to be on and all the best to you and look forward to continuing to work closely with Ted, with AJC, on behalf of the issues that we all care about, particularly as it relates to the well being of the Jewish community here in the United States of America and throughout the world. Manya Brachear Pashman: If you missed last week's episode, be sure to tune in for my conversation with the Jewish bluegrass duo Nefesh Mountain, featuring not one but two live musical performances, a wonderful way to wrap up our month-long series of shows honoring Jewish American Heritage.  

What's the right way to celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion related holidays and heritage months at work? With Juneteenth on the horizon, Emilie sat down with DEI practitioner Veronique Porter to learn how organizations can avoid missteps and plan intentionally inclusive programming around heritage months and holidays.Related links: McKinsey: These Women Experience the Highest Levels of MicroaggressionsThe Art of Gathering by Priya ParkerLearn more about the DEI work Bossed Up did with that sports data company via our Sports Reference case studyLearn more about our in-house leadership programs for teamsMorgan Freeman on why he doesn't want a 'Black History Month'Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility, on the Bossed Up podcastConnect with Veronique Porter on LinkedInLearn more about Ampersand Workspace

This week on The Download: Advertisers and audiences refute the idea that podcasts are on the wane. NewsGuard: Programmatically-placed ads for major nonprofits and government orgs on dozens of misinformation websitesWhy Black creators say brands are ‘quiet as a mouse' on Black History Month and Juneteenth this year. Quick Hits: Podscribe Launches YouTube Conversation Modeling. The new dashboard unifies RSS and YouTube metrics into one location.ARN and Magellan AI announce Top 15 Podcast Advertisers in Australia for Q1. The list includes familiar faces like Apple, Amazon, and McDonald's.‘The Turning' Podcast Studio Rococo Punch to Merge With Audily by J. Clara Chan. From the article: “When two independents come together, we can do much bigger things.” ARN uses geo-location to deliver headlines on Your News Now podcast. The new podcast uses geotargeting to create a sub-three-minute episode covering local news, sports, and weather forecast. Missing the Sounds Profitable Podcast this week? Check out the latest episode of the ANA's podcast Champions of Growth. The episode, titled Is Podcasting the Future of Branded Advertising, features both Bryan Barletta and Tom Webster talking with Matthew Schwartz

In the 36th edition of this podcast and the 7th “week” of the Ultra Cast Challenge after Black History Month, Bertrand takes online quizzes to see how white he really is. This image was generated by ai. Prompt: Family picture with a Black father (This episode is only a gag one and is not made for the intended purpose to offend and harm people)