Podcasts about Franklin High School

This session of the radio show shares my conversation with Brenna Johnson, Franklin High School art/ceramics teacher and Empty Bowls (EB) coordinator. We met to record in the ceramics room at FHS on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The FHS EBers introduce themselves as we go around the table: Grace GeogheganEvie Weir Kat RosenbergerCleo St. Vrain LarryThe conversation runs about 25 minutes. Let's listen to my conversation with the FHS Empty Bowls Club core group --------------Tickets for Empty Bowls -> https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E188424&id=95 Prior Year Recordings2024 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2024/04/this-episode-talks-about-working-with.html 2023 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2023/05/the-empty-bowls-club-talks-about.html 2021 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2021/06/fm-561-inside-empty-bowls-2021-060821.html 2020 -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2020/05/fm-263-fhs-empty-bowl-club-stars-50420.html --------------We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.How can you help?If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighborsIf you don't like something here, please let me knowAnd if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We'll share and show you what and how we do what we doThrough this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.For additional information, please visit www.franklin.news/ or www.Franklinmatters.org/ If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot comThe music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.I hope you enjoy!------------------You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

This session shares my conversation with Franklin High School junior Tuhina Pal. Tuhina recently published a book of her poems on her journey to recovery. We recorded this conversation in the Franklin TV & Radio Studio on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. We cover the following in our conversationHow normal anxiety worsened during the pandemicHow she recognized that, got help and has been on the recovery journeyHow recovery is not a linear journeyPoetry was a vehicle for her to work through her issuesThe recording runs about 36 minutes--------------FHS Active Minds Club announcement of book -> https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH_IsYluNwM/ Follow Tuhina's Instagram account for updates -> https://www.instagram.com/tuhinapal.poetry/ The book is available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Bookshop.org -> https://bookshop.org/p/books/they-didn-t-know/b519f506fefb8083?ean=9798218477141&next=t -------------We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.How can you help?If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighborsIf you don't like something here, please let me know And if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We'll share and show you what and how we do what we doThrough this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot comThe music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.I hope you enjoy!------------------You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Presented by City Club of Portland, with support from AARP Oregon and Fight Against Sex Trafficking.City Club is a member-led and member-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Join or donate to City Club and support the spaces where community and leadership meet.Mayor Keith Wilson delivered his first State of the City address on May 2 to an audience of several hundred Portlanders at Franklin High School. He struck an optimistic tone while outlining his administration's approach to major challenges, including a $93 million budget shortfall, the city's housing and homelessness crises, and federal policies at odds with local values. Wilson previewed decisions on public safety, climate investment, and city staffing, and emphasized collaboration across government and community. After his remarks, he joined JT Flowers of Albina Vision Trust for a one-on-one conversation. Program speakers included:Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong, Portland Public Schools Superintendent Ted Kaye, City Club of Portland Treasurer Mayor Keith Wilson JT Flowers, Albina Vision Trust JJ Kunsevi, PPS Student Board Representative

In the second hour of the Chase and Big Joe Show, former Titans Punter Brett Kern joined the show and shared his thoughts on the Titans and the upcoming NFL Draft. Brett also mentioned what the Titans should do with their number one overall pick and if Cam Ward is the guy for them. Later in the hour, Franklin High School band Director Dr. Holland shared the wonderful news of his band being invited to perform in the Tournament of Roses for the Rose Bowl Parade. Listen to hear more! To end the show, as always, with Celebrity Birthdays. Who do you think will win?

Dr. Brent Jones, Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, has announced he will step down from his role on September 3, 2025. A Seattle native and Franklin High School graduate, Dr. Jones has led the district through significant challenges, including financial instability and the COVID-19 pandemic. His tenure saw accelerated academic growth, strengthened mental health services, secured major voter support for education levies, and the launch of innovative programs. Dr. Jones will be remembered for his dedication to equity reforms and his impactful leadership in shaping the district's future. Interview by Chris B. Bennett.

This session of the radio show shares the audio recording of my conversation with Leah Wahrhaftig-Jeri and Katherine Kellett, both teachers at Franklin High School. We had our conversation at the Franklin TV Studio on Monday, March 3, 2025. Katherine Kellett, Teacher - EnglishLeah Wahrhaftig-Jeri, Teacher - World LanguageWe cover their road to Franklin and FHSWe talk about the joy in teachingAnd the issues faced with continued budget cutsOnly one language to be offered at the middle schoolReduces the total of language classes High School graduates can carry forward to collegeText book & curriculum cuts challenge the appropriate delivery of curriculumLoss of shared intellectual capital with colleagues cut due to budgetLanguage lab is a resource heavily utilized and will no longer available (per budget)Struggle to attract and retain substitute teachersRipple effects for curriculum coverage that is lost and how that affects students and the next year's teachers for that subjectThe recording runs about 40 minutes, so let's listen to my conversation with Leah and Katherine on teaching in challenging budget times--------------Franklin High School page -> https://www.franklinps.net/o/fhs Franklin School District budget page -> FY 2026 https://www.franklinps.net/documents/about-us/school-district-budget/fy2026-budget/728831 Joint budget listening sessions archive -> https://www.franklinmatters.org/2025/02/joint-budget-listening-sessions-fy-2026.html --------------We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial. This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.How can you help?If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighborsIf you don't like something here, please let me knowAnd if you have interest in reporting on meetings or events, please reach out. We'll share and show you what and how we do what we doThrough this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot comThe music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.I hope you enjoy!------------------You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio on iTunes or your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"

Amy Tan might be best known for her fiction, including "The Joy Luck Club" and "The Kitchen God’s Wife," but her latest book takes its drama from her backyard bird feeder. In 2019, Tan began drawing birds she saw in nature, particularly the ones who visited her tree-filled backyard in Northern California. The result is a book of reflections, observations, detailed drawings and cartoon sketches called "The Backyard Bird Chronicles." Tan talks to us in front of an audience of students at Franklin High School.

He’s no longer rolling up to Franklin High School in a blue Oldsmobile Super 88 with homemade white wall tires, or knocking out accounting tests on the University of Washington campus, but Kenny G is still in touch with his Seattle roots -- even after selling more than 75 million records worldwide. The iconic sax-man played a run of sold-out shows at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley over the turn of the new year. In case you couldn’t make it to a show, the story of how Kenneth Gorelick of Seward Park became one of the best-selling instrumentalists of all time is chronicled in Kenny G’s new memoir, “Life in the Key of G.” The book explores the craft of saxophone playing and the mind of a meticulous artist, always striving to improve. Readers also get some unexpected stories -- like how Kenny G once tried his best to get fired from Whitney Houston’s tour, or the time Elton John gave him a “pinch” of approval. Soundside's Libby Denkmann caught up with Kenny from his LA studio ahead of his return to Jazz Alley. Guests: Kenny G Related Links: Kenny G See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists.   In this episode of APEX Express, host Cheryl shares Part 1 of a powerful intergenerational conversation featuring the OG organizers of Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) and young leaders from Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP). The discussion highlights the challenges and inspirations that drove CAA's founders to join the Asian American Movement of the '60s and '70s, offering valuable lessons for sustaining activism across generations. Important Links: Chinese for Affirmative Action: Website  |  Instagram Hmong Innovating Politics: Website  |  Instagram Transcript   Cheryl Truong: good evening and welcome to tonight's episode of apex express. I'm your host, Cheryl Truong and tonight is an AACRE night. Now you might be wondering what is AACRE. AACRE stands for the Asian Americans for civil rights and Equality network, which is made up of 11 grassroots, social justice groups. Together leverage the power of our network to focus on longterm movement, building and support for Asian-Americans committed to social justice. And speaking of AACRE groups. APEX express is proud to be a part of the AACRE network.  For tonight's show, I'm thrilled to share a really special and intimate recording from a panel discussion we hosted here at the AACRE network that bridges generations of organizing. This panel brought together the OGs– originals– who helped build chinese for Affirmative Action or CAA into the esteemed 50 year old civil rights organization it is today. Alongside young organizers from Hmong Innovating Politics, also known as HIP, who are paving the way for Hmong Americans in Sacramento and Fresno. Both hip and CAA are vital groups within the AACRE network. The purpose of this exchange. To spark an intergenerational dialogue between seasoned CAA leaders and current hip staff and exploring how their roles in the movement have evolved over time.  Together, they delve into the strategies they've employed to sustain their impact over decades of organizing. However, this is only part one of what is and was a much longer conversation. So for tonight's episode, we'll focus on getting to know some of the CAA OGs. You'll hear them introduce themselves. Share some of the hardships they faced as pivotal organizers during the Asian-American movement of the tumultuous sixties and seventies. And reflect on what catalyze them to get involved in the movement. Through the stories we hope to uncover lessons from the past that can guide us in sustaining and evolving the fight for justice today. So stay tuned. It's going to be an inspiring and reflective journey into the heart of activism.  So I'm pleased to introduce. The panel facilitator, Miko Lee who is AACRE's director of programs. And CAA OGs Germaine Wong Henry Der Laureen Chew Stephen Owyang and Yvonne Yim-Hung Lee  Miko: Yvonne,  what was a kind of chrysalis moment for you in terms of social justice? Yvonne Yim-Hung Lee: First of all, when I got the email, I didn't know what O. G. was, so I said “Oh Geezer!” That's how I interpret it. I said “Oh, I'm there!” This is going to be a really honest and frank family gathering so thank you inviting me and I'm really excited to be here with my, peers and colleagues and more importantly to really hear from you, your experience. I am a first generation immigrant. My parents were very well to do business people in Hong Kong. They decided to immigrate to this country with three young kids. My father when he was young, he was the richest boy in his village. Overnight, people came and forced his father to give up 98 acres of their 99 acre farm. So from being the richest boy in town, in his village, to have to go to Hong Kong to live with this uncle. My mom was from a rich family in China also. Her father was one of the few merchants who came to the U.S. after the Chinese Exclusion Act, he went to New York, opened up a pastry shop, but he found his goal. He won second prize of a New York lotto. So he decided to go back to China because even though he was a merchant, he experienced a lot of discrimination. He never talked about his experience in America. But my mom was a little princess. You know, we used to call her , and her friends, the little Paris Hilton of the group, because that's what they did. They went to school as ABC's, never had to work a day in their life. But one thing, She and my father, because they were both from richest families in different villages, they were supposed to be matched up. But by the time they were at marriage age, he was already a poor kid. But my mom told the father, said, a promise is a promise.. So she married this poor guy, moved to Hong Kong, and he did quite well for himself. So we were brought up, ” money is not what should drive you in your life. You can lose it in one day. The most important thing is to have a good heart, to make sure that everything in this world, you have to make a difference. Whether it's to your family, or to others. You cannot be angry, because someone else is going to make you angry. When we came, it was a really tough time for him. You know, we lived really well in Hong Kong. Coming here to live in Chinatown back in the 60s really wasn't that pleasant. But, we made do based on the three principles. We came here for freedom. We came here for knowledge. And knowledge doesn't mean just college. So we were lucky. We never were forced to study certain fields so that we can make money because for him, it was always experience to really, really take in the nourishment for yourself, but give out whatever you have to others. So based on the guidance and that's how, that's my North Star. That's what's driven me. So I went to Davis. Yay Davis and the Cows! They're still there. What really got me to community activism was when I was 16, I was in the hospital. And They put this, at the time I thought she was elderly, but thinking back she was probably in her 30s. But when she was 16, anyway over 20 is elderly. And she could not speak English. And they could not communicate with her. And half of the hospital staff was making fun of her. And that was in, 70? 1970? It wasn't that long ago. It was still in my our lifetime. So, I was young but I acted as her translator. It was very difficult because she has women issues. And I didn't know her. And her husband was standing there. And she had to tell me her most intimate thing. And all the room of doctors, nurses and everything– they were very dismissive of her because of the fact that she did not speak their language. So because of that I felt that that's wrong. Because prior to that, even when we were living in Chinatown, I still felt I was privileged. You know, we weren't poor. We were still doing well. But after seeing that experience, it really taught me that even though we came to America for freedom, freedom is only for those who could really stand for themselves. And there are some who, if they cannot, send someone else in to fight with them. Not for them, but with them. So that's how I started my career, and I jumped from place to place. I'm not the CAA member, but I'm the honorary member of CAA because I had the privilege of working with Henry. All the meetings that we had back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s and everything with Ted and Steve on redistricting, immigration reform, census, welfare reform, everything that we today take granted. We don't even think about it. Came from here. This room. Before this room, it was another room. It was a little less, little place. We, we moved up by, by moving here in the 90s. So, thank you so much for this privilege and I look forward to our conversation. Miko: Thank you, Yvonne. And I just, OG, just so you know, does not mean OG. Does anybody want to explain what OG means? Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) Staff: Old Gangster   Miko: It's actually a hip hop terminology for gangster, but it actually means the original. Who's the original, the source of the knowledge, the source of the power. So it's, we use it with love and honor.  Yvonne Yim-Hung Lee: Intergenerational communication.  Miko: I'm sorry I did  Henry Derr: I have to say, I never liked the term O. G. when I first heard it. Because I thought it meant an old guy, Even though I'm old, I didn't want to admit that I was old. , one thing I have to say straight away is, you all are happy about this weather, I'm very unhappy about this weather, because I, even though I'm a native of San Francisco, Chinatown, at the age of seven, my family moved into Stockton. I went through all my schooling till I graduated from Franklin High School on the east side of Highway 99. Some of you may have, your high schools may have competed against Franklin High School. When we moved into Stockton for the longest time, We could never figure out why in the hell our father moved us into Stockton, because we were the only one or two Chinese family on the east side of Stockton right there on Main Street. And then over time, and actually very recently when I think about it, there was, he probably had a good reason for moving us into Stockton. Because my father was actually quite clever in terms of circumventing the discriminatory impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act. As some of you may know, a lot of Chinese men who came here to the United States after the Exclusion Act had to lie about who they were. They would claim that they were sons of U. S. citizens in order to enter the United States. Well, it turned out that my father and my mother on paper had 17 children. And in our family, there were really only just eight of us who were born from our parents and my oldest brother who was adopted. The rest were actually paper sons. So my father moved the family into Stockton because I remember very clearly when I was less than five years old, my mom said to us, children, don't say anything about the family when you go out the streets and I could never understand why don't say anything about that. Well, it turned out that. There were a lot of immigration agents prowling around Chinatown during the fifties, during the confession program. So, I think my father made the right choice to move the family into Stockton. And we always longed about coming back to San Francisco. But also looking back at it, it was actually a blessing in disguise. Because I actually grew up, as some of you may know, from Fresno, Sacramento, Visalia, Ceres, Modesto, then, not now. It was actually, I lived in a very diverse neighborhood. There were blacks, there were Mexicans and there were whites and the whites were not rich. They were like the rest of us. They were poor from Oklahoma. So probably the first social, I would consider this first social justice consciousness that I developed during the 19 50s and 60s when I was growing up. In addition to following what was going on and unfolding with the Black Civil Rights Movement in the South, was that Stockton Unified was impacted by school desegregation and there was busing. So there was a lot of talk that kids from our high school in Franklin were going to be bused to Stagg High School. And at that time, in the 50s and 60s, Stagg was all white, they were all wealthy, and we basically protested, said, we are not going to go, that we're not, we don't need those rich white folks. We're okay by ourselves. So that kind of built a consciousness in me. And I would say the other big social justice consciousness was really actually during college, when many of us protested against the war in Vietnam. We marched to the Oakland Army Induction Center in Oakland. We had a sleep in, in the old student union on the college campus. We didn't get arrested like the kids are being arrested today who are protesting the atrocities in Gaza. During my last year in college, There wasn't anything known as Asian American Studies, but there were enough black students who wanted black studies on the campus. So, we just joined in and helped protest that there was an absence of black studies on the college campus. After I graduated from college, I knew that I was going to go into Peace Corps because I was inspired by President Kennedy. And it didn't make, truth be told, it made no difference what college I was going to go to. I knew I was going to go into Peace Corps, and that's what I did, because the last year I was in college, they offered Swahili, and I said, oh, that's perfect, I'm going to enroll in Swahili, and I end up going to Kenya for two years. And after two years of service in Kenya, you know, it kind of made sense for me to say, you know, if I can go halfway around the world to do public service work, I can certainly come back to Chinatown and do community work. And that's how I end up coming back to San Francisco in 1970. And then, The rest is whatever I did.  Female speaker: The rest is history.  Female Speaker 2: The rest is documented history.  Miko: We'll get into that a little bit more. Steve, what about you? What was your first kind of experience of recognizing social justice?  Stephen Owyang: Okay, so, Both sides of my family came to the U. S. a long time ago in the 1870s from Southern China. And they were in San Francisco until the big earthquake in 1906, after which point most of the family went into the Sacramento Valley. So I was born in Sacramento. I was raised in, down the river in the Delta. I'm really excited to meet you because my father had a small business back then and we went up and down Highway 99 all the time. So, Stockton, Lodi, Modesto, Merced, Kingsburg, Fresno, Hanford, Ripon, Visalia. And my father's business was basically delivering stuff to little mom and pop grocery stores run by Chinese families, mainly from one little county in Guangdong province. There was no I 5 back then, just 99, and you know, in the summer, as you know, it gets really hot. So it was a treat for me to go along with my father because I always got free sodas at every store, so I would go out with him and you know after six or seven sodas It was like, it was a great day. My first glimmers about social justice were just growing up in the Delta and I'll give you three stories.  It's the town of Walnut Grove, and the town of Walnut Grove on Highway 160 is one of the few delta towns that are on both sides of the river. There's a bridge that connects it. And on one side of the river, it's middle class and upper middle class and wealthy white families. Our side of the river, you had the folks from the Dust Bowl days, as Henry mentioned, people from Oklahoma and Texas who came out during the Depression. You also had a small Chinatown, a small J Town, a small Filipino area, a small Mexican area. And that just reflected the social conditions of California agriculture, because each one of those communities at one time was the main source of farm workers. And in fact, my own family, because of the alien land laws, they were farmers, but they couldn't own farmland, right? And so they were sharecroppers. Just, you hear about sharecropping happening in the South, but it also happened in California. So when I was growing up, three things. On the rich side of town, the white side of town, there's a swimming pool that was only open to white families. It was a private pool. You could only go there if you were a member. You could only be a member if you were white. The only way I could go there is if a friend who's a white, from a white family, who's a member, takes you there as a guest. So that's number one. Number two. My best friend was from one of these landed white families, and we were, we were very close. We were good students in elementary school. And then one day in the seventh grade, he, he takes me aside and he says, You know, I can't hang out with you anymore because my mom says I need to have more white friends. So he just cut it off like that. And I, that's the, that's, that's the truth. That's just how it happened. I guess the other thing that affected me back then was I used to go to a little American Baptist church and we had, I guess visits to black churches. And I remember going up to Sacramento on one of these visits and one of the kids there did Martin Luther King's, I have a dream speech from memory. And, it's like amazing oration. And I thought, wow, there's something. going on here that you sort of opened up my eyes to the situation in this country.  So basically until high school, I was a country kid, you know, but then we moved out to San Francisco and it was a big culture shock, big shock. So I was in, I basically came out for high school and this was in the late 60s and I remember it was 1968 when Laureen was on strike for, uh, Ethnic Studies and the Third World Strike in SF State. My high school was literally a few blocks away. I was at Lowell High. And students from SF State were coming over and leafleting us. I started reading that stuff and that's when I really got interested in what was going on at State and later on when I was at Berkeley, you know, in Ethnic Studies. So I think my grounding came from Ethnic Studies, the anti war movement, and, you know, I would love to talk to you about the whole thing about the Vietnam War because, You know, I'm guessing maybe your parents or grandparents were involved in the secret war in Laos, a war that the U. S. wouldn't even acknowledge happened even though we were bombing Laos. So it was ethnic studies, the civil rights movement, and the anti war movement that got me involved. In Berkeley, I was involved in some of the ethnic studies stuff. Even though I'm a fourth generation Chinese American, it's always been very important to me to try to learn the language so I was in the Cantonese working group. So I helped put together the curriculum stuff that was going on in Asian American Studies. I think before Germaine was there, or maybe around the same time. Yeah, I've known these folks for literally 50 years. It's kind of scary. So, um, I was inspired by what was going on at CAA, what Laureen was doing at SF State. So I joined CAA. Biggest mistake of my life. Because I saw this little ad in East West newspaper, used to be this community newspaper, and there was literally a coupon that you would clip out. And I sent in the coupon with a 5 check. It's like the most expensive 5 I've spent in my whole life. And then I went to law school, and I was involved in the law caucus and a number of other things, but my first job out of law school was Right here at CAA. Well, not here, but up on Stockton Street. Henry was my boss. You know, I feel like I would have been less burned out had we done some of this stuff. But we didn't do any of this. I remember my first desk had literally a door on top of like cardboard boxes. That was our office back then. And in one form or another, I've been involved in CAA ever since. I've been in a couple of organizations. Other organizations, but CAA is the one that's closest to my heart, and I'll tell you why. One, I met my wife here. And number two, I feel like the great thing about CAA is it's never lost its real community roots. I feel like other organizations do great work, don't get me wrong, but I feel like CAA has always maintained a real close connection to the community, and that's why everybody. I wrote that 5 check and, and several others. So yeah, that's, that's my story.  Miko: Thanks, Steve. Laureen, what about you?  Laureen Chew: Wow, this is amazing. Listening to everybody else's story, really. I guess I'll start pretty much how, my family was. My grandfather came in 1870s. I think I found out when I went to the roots program, which is only like five years ago, that was an adventure. so my parent, my father and his whole family was born here and born during Chinese exclusion. And so obviously they lived in Chinatown and nowhere else to go, even though they, my father and especially his, younger siblings. They all spoke English. Interestingly, his first two sisters were born here too. They didn't speak a lick of English because they never went to school. So what was really interesting for me, so I was born and raised in Chinatown. Okay. I wasn't born in Chinese Hospital. I was born in Children's Hospital, which everybody thinks is odd. But that's another story. My mother is actually an immigrant. She's a first generation, but she didn't come until 1947. So what's interesting is that I'm always kind of stuck between generations, like one and a half. But having a very strong mother who spoke only Chinese and my father's side, who's mostly English speaking. But a lot of them, my cousins or whatever, they were a lot older. They did speak Chinese also. But what's really stark to me is because growing up in Chinatown, you go to school with basically majority Chinese kids, right? And so you live in this community that on the one hand is very nurturing, very safe. Very intimate in a lot of ways. All my cousins and whatever are here. I mean, to show you how large my father's side was, when my aunt, the oldest aunt had her 50th anniversary wedding anniversary, she married when she was 14 because otherwise women, people forget. I I'm probably the first generation of women that either had a choice to not get married and I was still able to eat because I made my own money. Okay, my mother's generation, no, all her friends, no, you know, so don't take that one for granted either as women. So what was interesting was the fact that because she is very strong in being Chinese and then my father's side are total assimilationists, mainly, which was really interesting because many of them who grew up during Chinese exclusion. It was horrific, but you would never, I never heard one story. His family must have had over 300 people because his sister had 13 kids. Okay, then they had all had kids, one at 10, one of her daughter in law. So it was like huge. Growing up in this area, I just never felt I was different than anyone else because you don't come in contact with anyone that's really different until I went to high school. My mother is the immigrant. She wanted to send me to a school that was not a public school that a lot of the Chinatown kids went to, which was Galileo, because she somehow felt that I would be the kind of kid that would go not the straight and narrow, but more towards the the More naughty kids, to put it mildly, she knew that. So what she did was that she sent me to a Catholic school, okay, because she, God knows, oh yeah, she went to school for two years in Hong Kong. She's another story, she didn't have any money, and so she was given to an aunt to be raised. So she married to get out of Hong Kong because At twenty, she told me the only thing she told me was at twenty seven, I was considered an old maid. And then my father, who was, didn't have, there weren't very many women here because of Chinese exclusion, and he had to marry Chinese, actually saw my mom, and my mom's a picture bride, so they didn't even know each other when they got married. But she took over. My mom is like the queen of the family and the decision maker. And my father made the money and she spent it however little she had. Okay. And going to Catholic school was one thing that she felt that would help me become a good girl, except that I had never been to a where there were white kids. And so this school Was not only Catholic, but it was also a school that was considered kind of the, the best girls, Catholic high school. It was at the end of Chinatown. And that's the only reason why she wanted me to go there because I didn't have to take the bus. I can walk home. It's, it's a French school called Notre Dame de Victoire. So I went there and I thought I would have a really good time, just like all, all the high school. My problem was, was that. I was different, but never to know that you're different until you're in high school. Because you know, you know how mean girls can be in high school. And then they're all, it's an all girls school and it's a small school. And so my mom told me very clearly, you know, it's $150 a year. We really don't have that money, but. You know, we'll scrape and do whatever we can to send you through that. I said, Oh, okay, cool. Right. Except I had no friends. I mean, I was one of three Chinese girls in the school and I never knew how different I was until I got there because I used to get home perms, you know, permanence. And all the other girls had money. They were at least middle class, if not richer, and they all went to beauty parlors. My mom cut my hair and gave me the home perms, and she was into saving money, like I said, so she always kept the perm on longer than you should have it. I swore one year it came out like I had an afro, and I was so embarrassed. I made her cut it just to make it look straighter, but it was horrible. I don't have a picture. No, first of all, pictures aren't that common back then, you know, it costs money to have film and a camera. You didn't even have a camera. Yeah. So anyway, plus another thing is that because I wasn't the smartest Chinese girl either. Okay, the other two Chinese girls did pretty well. They were smart, and they were good in sports. I was neither. And I looked like a dork. Then what would made it even worse was that my mother spoke no English. My father did, but he might as well be absent because he slept during the day and worked at night. So we have things called mother daughter fashion shows. Mother, daughter breakfast. And I saw the way those mothers were dressed and I saw the way everybody acted and my way of dealing with it was I had no mom. I never brought her to the school. Any mother, daughter thing, I didn't go to. You didn't have to. I mean, that made me even less part of the school. And it was very painful because I didn't understand why I would be treated that way. Just because I looked, but I spoke English, it didn't matter. I did look a little weird, you know, so to this, I think it influenced me a couple of ways. One, whenever I had money, clothes was going to be my big deal. It still is, you know, it's kind of psychological. And then secondly, then that was a time that I figured out like, how come I don't, I hate myself and my family versus versus hating those girls. Right. I mean, that's how I dealt with it. It was, I call it a form of self hatred and it's, it's done by schooling. It's done by not only schooling in terms of omission about who we were as a people here, but omission about racism. Omission about discrimination and just about our histories here. But I didn't have a label for it in high school. I just, I really thought there was something wrong with me and my family. And that's the greatest danger about racism, is this form of internalizing it and not having a vehicle to deal with it. And there was nothing in our schools that dealt with it, you know, and I think what I came out of there realizing was that. Oh, another thing, I had mixed messages about what was happening because Martin Luther King was already on TV, and I was trying to watch it, and then I was still in high school, and my mom would, and my cousins, American boys, don't watch the black people. They're troublemakers. You know, all they do is make trouble, you know, they don't, they should be like us. We don't complain, right? We don't make trouble. And that's how you succeed. You succeed, I think, in my, what I was raised with, with the older generation of American born who had to go through this horrific history, you know, one, you don't get a job in Chinatown. You should get a job outside of Chinatown because it means that you're working for white folks and working for white folks is better than working for your own. So self hatred doesn't just run in yourself. It kind of permeates how we feel. feel as, as a group of people, right? And so, my whole thing was that I was looking for answers as to why, why I felt the way I did. And not only that, I wasn't the only one. That's what was interesting. And I didn't realize that until I went to San Francisco state, you know, because I was told, my mom said, you want to go to college, you're going to have to You know, find your way up to court because she, you know, she spent that on my fabulous high school education, which I came up miserable and, and I would tell her I want to go to Galileo. I want to go there. She said, no, you're not going to go. I said, she goes, what is wrong with you? Because I started crying certain times and she would just say, well, you're going to school to learn, not to make friends, so forget about it. I'm giving you the best with best intentions. But then when I went to college, this one girl who grew up in South City, similar experience because South City was all white back then. So she said to me one day, she was, she's Chinese too. And she says, you know, there's a meeting there that's huge. The people are talking about all this stuff. We talk about how we were mistreated in high school and how people are blah, blah. There's a name for it. It's called racism. I was called what racism. Okay. She goes, you want to go? I said, well, who's there? She said, black people. But I said, Oh, my mom would kill me. I mean, I was really worried because my mom doesn't even know what I do at state. So I went. I think that time we had some pretty interesting people. One time there was Eldridge Cleaver, who was the head of the Black Panther Party. Um, there were people like Carlton Goodlett, who was from the Bayview Hunters Point, who had certain people from the mission. They were all kind of leaders of different communities. There was Yuri Wada, who was a Japanese American. He was very prominent in dealing with civil rights. Chinatown, I, George Woo, George Woo is an infamous person also. He was the spokesperson for gang kids in Chinatown. He was very, very, very alive and took over in terms of the whole thing about the youth problems in Chinatown. So he was not part of this group, but just hearing the stories of these other ethnic groups that were very similar, not the same, but this whole thing of like just being dissed for the way you look, the way you speak, and supposedly your values. And my whole thing is that, that thing opened my eyes to the extent that helped me to release a lot of my anger towards something I didn't know who to be angry at, right? So you have to, I felt that the San Francisco State Strike, I mean, I was all in and with a small group of Chinese that were there, including Mason, all these people. And we had to really open our eyes to working with other people that were not like us. And what was more interesting for me to see was that every single group said that if we're ever going to have classes on ethnic studies, a key part of those classes should be why we are getting an education. And why we're getting an education primarily is to serve our communities. So there is a real strong component to ethnic studies that was community based. And because of that, during my college years, I actually came back, I mean came back, I was still living in Chinatown, but I actually placed myself in the Chinatown that I knew nothing about, which is our issues, our problems. And during my time, it was mainly about youth problems. We had a gang problem. We had girls that were on drugs. We had immigrant kids that didn't speak any English and just thrown into schools nilly willy without anybody helping them. So I was lucky enough for three years or four years during college that I worked as a house parent for runaway girls. I worked trying to tutor immigrant kids, you know, and I was trying to become a teacher. So those formative years, in terms of just having my feet in different things really showed me that, you know what, I don't want next generations of people who kind of look like me to have to go through the struggle of hating myself. Because of things that are my home, that are based home base, you know, this country, this is what I feel that very strongly about the United States, that I think people are losing sight of, especially now that we're all in very ethnic silos. This country is very different in the sense of just the whole fact of different groups mixing, you know, you go to China or whatever it's still basically you. you're Chinese, even in my north, south, pink, whatever direction you are. It's still basically Chinese, but in this country you can come from different areas and different places of the world and still have a vision that ties you together. That should be a singular vision, which is a democracy at this point. And then also this very simple statement of justice. And equality for all. We sometimes forget about the all, if we're just kind of in our little silos. But I think that's the reason why, from state on, and reacquainting to my community, it was life changing. Whatever job I took after that, whether I was a teacher, a faculty, associate dean, chair of the department. My main focus was that I'm here for the students and the people, quote unquote, who are here with me that have this similar vision, that we all have a place here. And in order to, for us to really respect others, we have to respect ourselves. And that includes what we're raised with in terms of our values and also our history here. Miko: Thanks, Laureen. Germaine?  Germaine Wong: Oh. well, my experience is similar to many of yours and a little bit different. I grew up in Oakland, Chinatown, and Went to a school that was only three blocks from where I live. And the school was Mexicans, blacks, as well as Chinese. Although I would say maybe half the school, at least half the school was Chinese. And I didn't, I didn't speak any English until I went to school, so I had that experience too. And then, my father was always very upwardly mobile, wanted to live the white middle class life. And I didn't know it at the time, but, he managed to buy property in Castro Valley, Southeast of Oakland. At the time, they wouldn't sell to Chinese. So he got somebody at work to buy the property for him. And then sold it to my father. That's how we got to move there. So I started high school in Castro Valley. I was the only non white in the whole school. The janitors, the cafeteria workers, everybody was white. I was the only one in that school who was not white. But I'm a little bit more dense than all of you, so I was not aware of whatever racism there was. At that time Castro Valley was really white. And also very affluent. So most of my classmates. It's unlike in Oakland, Chinatown, these classmates, they were children of doctors and lawyers and engineers and dentists and most of the people in my high school, they, the kids either had horses or cars. At that time, Castro Valley was not the suburb it is today. Our neighbors, for example, our next door neighbors had chickens and goats So it was really different. So it was all so different from Oakland Chinatown. And then I finally experienced some racism the following year when a black family moved in and somebody really literally did burn a cross in their front lawn. Wow. Yeah. And she was in the same grade I was in, one of the daughters. And then another Chinese girl moved in. And I recognized her, but we were never friends in Oakland Chinatown. And that's where I first experienced reverse discrimination. Because I met the stereotype of an Asian student, right? So I did well in math and all the classes. Well, she was definitely a C student and the teachers treated her as if she was an F student. Teachers just expect us to excel in our classes. So that was my first, really, where it hit home for me. And then in the 50s, in Oakland, Chinatown, I experienced what Henry did during the confession program. So my mother was going through all these things. These are your aunts and uncles and these are not your aunts and uncles. And so if any white person comes and starts asking you about your family, just remember these people are not related to you because all of us had paper names. Like I'm not really a Wong. My family's really a Kwan. But in my situation, I had a great grandfather who was here legitimately. And then the next generation, when they went back, they decided we're never coming back to the United States. So they sold their papers. So then when the next generation decided to come back, they had to buy papers. So my family went through that situation. I had jobs where I lived in, during college, I, I had live in jobs, I lived with a family first when I was going to UC Berkeley, and then later on when I transferred over to San Francisco State, I worked for an older white woman, and so I, I got to see what upper white middle class families lived like, and then with this older woman that I lived in with here in San Francisco, what the rich people lived like, so that was kind a different world. And then somebody asked me to work at the Chinatown YWCA here. And I got to experience San Francisco Chinatown then. I was assigned to work in a pilot program where I worked with third grade Chinatown girls. One group were immigrant girls who lived in the SROs here. They literally are eight by eight rooms with a whole family lives in them. And the kitchen and the bathrooms are down the hall. So that was the first time I had ever seen people living like that, in such crowded digits. And the other group of girls I worked with, again, were middle class, upper middle class Chinese girls whose parents were doctors and dentists and like that. And the woman who was the executive director was a Korean American woman named Hannah Sir. And this was all when I went to college when President Kennedy was assassinated and then Lyndon Johnson became president. And so it was during this time that this Korean American woman said to me, you have to apply for this program because right now, President Lyndon Johnson only thought about blacks and Hispanics who needed help. And we really need to get Asian Americans in. So she convinced me to apply for program and some miracle happened and I got into the program. After I went to that summer training program, I came back here to San Francisco and I was assigned to work in the Bayview, Hunters Point, and Fillmore areas of San Francisco working with black gang kids. That was a new experience for me too. Then from there, then I went to grad school, then when I came back, I got assigned to working here in Chinatown, where I worked mainly with immigrant adults looking for jobs as well as the gang kids, both English speaking as well as Chinese speaking. And, from there, I met people like Ling Chi Wong and Eileen Dong. who were already working in Chinatown before I was. And that's when we got together and Ling Chi was actually the organizer, the lead person. And, we started CAA. So all of us had other jobs. We had full time jobs and so we were doing this kind of on the side. I think Ling Chi was the only one who didn't have a job. He was a graduate student. And I want to tell you, he was a graduate student in Middle Eastern ancient languages. That's what he was studying at UC Berkeley at the time. And, uh, but all the rest of us had full time jobs. We started CAA as a volunteer organization. We had no office, no staff, no money. And that's how we started. And eventually I first met Laureen, who really helped us out with one of our first major projects. Teaching English on television, remember? You and Helen, yes. You and Helen Chin really helped us out. Laureen Chew: Okay, nice to know.  Germaine Wong: And then I remember meeting, and then when Henry came to Chinatown and his Swahili was better than his Cantonese. Wow. Yes. Wow. Anyway, and I met all of these good people and CAA continued to grow. And there still is. Yep. Amazing, amazing story.  And that wraps up part one of this incredible intergenerational conversation. Between the OGs of Chinese for affirmative action. And the young organizers of mung innovating politics. Tonight. We got a glimpse into the powerful stories of CAS.  Of CA's founders.  Their hardships resilience and what drove them to commit their lives to the movement. Their reflections, remind us that the fight for justice is not just about the moments of triumph and the victories, but also about the struggles, the sacrifices. And perhaps most importantly, the. Vital importance of being grounded in our communities and our values. Be sure to join us next time for part two, where we'll dive into the dialogue between. Seasoned OJI leaders and today's. Today's youth Changemakers from Monday innovating politics. Together, they'll explore strategies, how strategies have shifted over the decades and how we can sustain our work for social justice in the longterm. As always thank you for tuning into apex express. For more about Chinese for affirmative action and mung innovating politics.  Please do check them out on their websites, which will be linked in the show notes. At apex express. At kpfa.org/apex express. Until next time. Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong  Cheryl Truong: Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – December 19, 2024 – Bridging Generations appeared first on KPFA.

Tate Mathews is back for another edition of High School Sports Saturday! This week Tate is joined by Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association's Bruce Hatfield, Josh Adkins head coach of Franklin High School football, and Tom Kreager of The Tennessean.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joining Tate this segment is Franklin High School head football coach Josh Adkins.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joining Tate this segment is Franklin High School head football coach Josh Adkins.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tate Mathews is back for another edition of High School Sports Saturday! This week Tate is joined by Tennessee Athletic Coaches Association's Bruce Hatfield, Josh Adkins head coach of Franklin High School football, and Tom Kreager of The Tennessean.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amy Tan might be best known for her fiction, including "The Joy Luck Club" and "The Kitchen God’s Wife," but her latest book takes its drama from her backyard bird feeder. In 2019, Tan began drawing birds she saw in nature, particularly the ones who visited her tree-filled backyard in Northern California. The result is a book of reflections, observations, detailed drawings and cartoon sketches called "The Backyard Bird Chronicles." Tan talks to us in front of an audience of students at Franklin High School.

Send us a textIn this episode of Girls Gone Gritty, the hosts chat with Val Barnaby, a former NFL player and fitness coach. Val shares his approach to training and personal growth, focusing on living in the moment while working for the future. He talks about the importance of tailoring workouts to each athlete, building both their strengths and weaknesses, and the value of balancing sports and managing time. Val also dives into mental toughness and how it plays a key role in both fitness and life. His insights are perfect for anyone looking to grow, whether on the field or off.Connect with Val:Valentine Barnaby is not your typical youth-athlete turned successful adult, coach and mentor. Val began playing youth sports at a young age and continued into his adult life recognizing that the challenges faced in everyday life can be as daunting as those faced on the court and athletic field. Through his work ethic, dedication, and drive, he created a successful athletic high school career, which carried him through college and beyond as a youth-athlete trainer, mentor and fitness professional.As a three-sport athlete at Franklin High School, including soccer, football and track, he was determined to make the best of every bad situation and turn every good situation great. Following high school, Val earned a full scholarship to Rutgers University, where he helped propel the team to their first national ranking in decades. Yet his mantra was always, “Academics first, athletics second.” As he explains, “I made a promise to my mother that I will not leave college without my degree.” He fulfilled that promise and more, founding and launching ESSA (Explosive, Strength, Speed, Agility) Sports Performance & Fitness a decade later.Website: https://www.essasportsperformance.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/essasportsfitness/ X: https://twitter.com/essasportsperf1 Episode Highlights:(0:00) Intro(2:23) Val's mantra: Live in the moment, work for the future(5:35) The importance of understanding and adjusting training for each athlete(8:59) Tackling injury prevention and balancing weak sides(17:42) Time management for multi-sport athletes(25:59) Overcoming anxiety and mental barriers in sports(34:41) Val's fitness studio: ESSA Sports Performance and Fitness(40:40) OutroFollow us: Web: https://girlsgonegritty.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlsgonegritty/ More ways to find us: https://linktr.ee/girlsgonegritty

Bob follows up on the Gary Craig article and speaks with Todd Halliday. Later, Bob discusses the Franklin High School fighting problem and Raygun being ranked #1 in the world for women's breakdancing

### Franklin High School Controversy: Teacher Fired Over Instruction to Students on Addressing PedophilesIn a developing controversy that has triggered nationwide debate, a Franklin High School teacher was terminated from their position after instructing students to refer to pedophiles as "Minor Attracted Persons" (MAPs). This instruction, aimed at altering the terminology used to describe individuals attracted to minors, has sparked outrage amongst parents, educators, and the broader public, culminating in the teacher's dismissal from the educational institution.The story was brought into the spotlight by Tucker Carlson, a prominent media figure, whose coverage of the incident has garnered attention to the tune of 2.4 million views. Through a brief yet impactful video segment lasting 2 minutes and 39 seconds, Carlson delved into the intricate details of the situation, questioning the implications of such a directive on students and society at large. His presentation of the topic has not only heightened awareness but has also ignited a conversation surrounding the terminology used for sensitive and controversial subjects.At Franklin High School, the teacher's approach to discussing the contentious issue of pedophilia by suggesting the term "MAPs" was met with immediate backlash. Critics argue that this terminology seeks to destigmatize an illegal and morally condemned behavior, potentially endangering children by normalizing the attraction to minors. The term "MAPs" has been a subject of controversy for some time, with opponents stating that it attempts to provide a less negative connotation to the criminal act of pedophilia.The backlash was swift and unified, leading to the teacher's firing amid concerns over child safety and the appropriateness of such discussions in an educational setting. The incident has raised significant questions about academic freedom, the responsibility of educators towards their students, and the limits of discussing complex societal issues within the classroom.Parents and community members have expressed a mix of shock and concern over the revelation, with many taking to social media and other platforms to voice their opinions on the matter. There's a consensus among critics that while it is crucial to educate students about safety and awareness concerning sexual predators, it is equally important to ensure that the language used does not undermine the severity of such offenses.The Franklin High School administration has not released an extensive comment on the matter but has confirmed the termination of the teacher in question. In a brief statement, the school reiterated its commitment to providing a safe and respectful learning environment for all students, distancing itself from the controversial instruction given by the now-former faculty member.As the dialogue around this incident continues to unfold, it serves as a potent reminder of the challenges facing educators in navigating sensitive topics. It also underscores the importance of maintaining a vigilant and protective stance towards childhood safety in all realms of society, including education.

Bob talks about the school's early dismissal due to high heat, the Franklin High School break in, the Garrett Cole Red Wings Game, Bob takes calls, gives a family report, and Listeners On The Loose

Town Clerk Nancy Danello release the unofficial override results Tuesday evening at Franklin High School.Yes = 5542No = 5778Blanks = 5Total = 11,325Percent voters 45.5%Total voters = 24,891Total residents = 33,389Unofficial Totals sheet -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/13uTbAyfiS4eKWCwDvGHM8gVnsQNFxmuN/view?usp=drive_link

I speak with Evan Kruzcynski. Evan went to Franklin High School, played baseball at Eastern Carolina University and now is a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Evan and I dive in deep on his baseball journey. Evan really opens up and shares some of keys to his success (some of these will surprise you!). We talk about playing multiple sports growing up, the college recruiting process, how he selected Eastern Carolina University, what it was like going through the draft and how his career as a professional pitcher has progressed. He also talks about what he has learned about pitching, and some of the problems that he sees with the current youth system and pitcher development. Evan doesn't hold anything back in this interview and is very open and honest about the highs and lows of his baseball journey and shares a lot of advice that any youth athlete with goals of playing in college or beyond would benefit from.

Rhythm & News Podcast interview with Tavar Proctor, the new Franklin High School varsity boys basketball head coach, discussing his new role and vision to carry on the legacy of Quaker pride. Interview by Chris B. Bennett. 

School districts all over Oregon are struggling to find the money to fund vital services with declining budgets. Many of those districts are making cuts to library staff, which librarians say has a direct result on educational outcomes for students. They also say these cuts are also in direct opposition to the educational goals districts say they’re committed to —  providing tutoring, research help and safe spaces for students experiencing bullying or isolation. Joining us to talk more about these issues are Ayn Reye Frazee, president of the Oregon Association of School Libraries and Franklin High School teacher librarian, and Jean Gritter, OASL advocacy chair and teacher librarian at West Albany High School.

For the first time, Mass Poetry is hosting a Teen Spoken Word Festival and poetry slam competition at GrubStreet Center in Boston this weekend. Radio Boston is joined by Daniel Johnson, executive director of Mass Poetry, and a Franklin High School student who is competing. 

Today, Thursday, May 2 on Urban Forum Northwest on 1150 AM KKNW scheduled guests for the hour are:*Robert Woodard (Woody), former president, Fir State Golf Club, Kathy Colombo, Beacon Hill Community Council represents the organizations that took the lead and worked for years to honor Bill Wright a graduate of Franklin High School and the first Black Golfer to win a USGA title by having the Seattle Parks Department to name the Jefferson Park Golf Course to the Bill Wright Golf Complex at Jefferson Park. Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Christopher Williams will comment on the honor approved by the Seattle Parks Commission.*Delbert Richardson national award-winning museum comes to life on stage in the "Lion Tells His Tale "Featuring Delbert's American History Traveling Museum: The Unspoken Truths May 1-5 at the Broadway Performance Hall. The play was written by Vida Oliphant Sneed and Directed by Steve Sneed.*The New Beginnings Christian Fellowship (NBCF) Empowerment for "Getting Better Together" is sponsoring a six-week training series about how to get Healthier, Happier, Wealthier, and Wiser starting on Monday May 6 at 6:00 pm (PDT). Live @NBCF. Reverend Dr. Leslie D. Braxton, Pastor, NBCF, Dr. Traci Harrell, Reverend Dr. Linda M. Smith, Pastor, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church will discuss the value of the six-week series.*Clarence Gunn, president, Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion (DDI) invites you to their Monday evening meeting where political issues and the upcoming elections are on the agenda. The Washington State Democratic Convention will be held June 21-23. Urban Forum Northwest streams live at www.1150kknw.com. Visit us at www.urbanforumnw.com for archived programs and relevant information. Like us on Facebook. Twitter X@Eddie_Rye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today, Thursday, May 2 on Urban Forum Northwest on 1150 AM KKNW scheduled guests for the hour are: *Robert Woodard (Woody), former president, Fir State Golf Club, Kathy Colombo, Beacon Hill Community Council represents the organizations that took the lead and worked for years to honor Bill Wright a graduate of Franklin High School and the first Black Golfer to win a USGA title by having the Seattle Parks Department to name the Jefferson Park Golf Course to the Bill Wright Golf Complex at Jefferson Park. Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Christopher Williams will comment on the honor approved by the Seattle Parks Commission. *Delbert Richardson national award-winning museum comes to life on stage in the "Lion Tells His Tale "Featuring Delbert's American History Traveling Museum: The Unspoken Truths May 1-5 at the Broadway Performance Hall. The play was written by Vida Oliphant Sneed and Directed by Steve Sneed. *The New Beginnings Christian Fellowship (NBCF) Empowerment for "Getting Better Together" is sponsoring a six-week training series about how to get Healthier, Happier, Wealthier, and Wiser starting on Monday May 6 at 6:00 pm (PDT). Live @NBCF. Reverend Dr. Leslie D. Braxton, Pastor, NBCF, Dr. Traci Harrell, Reverend Dr. Linda M. Smith, Pastor, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church will discuss the value of the six-week series. *Clarence Gunn, president, Democrats for Diversity and Inclusion (DDI) invites you to their Monday evening meeting where political issues and the upcoming elections are on the agenda. The Washington State Democratic Convention will be held June 21-23. Urban Forum Northwest streams live at www.1150kknw.com. Visit us at www.urbanforumnw.com for archived programs and relevant information. Like us on Facebook. Twitter X@Eddie_Rye.

The Sports Scouting Report interviews Tamajh Johnson from Franklin High School. He is a player with strong potential to play Div 1 Football! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for watching!

Tom Patri is back with me this week along with 3 Next on the Tee rookies, 1984 National Champion John Inman, 1986 Florida State Amateur Champion Barry Cheesman, and Robert Morris University Head Men's Golf Coach Steve Shingledecker. TP and I got into this past weekend's Wasted Management Open and if it has gone from being The People's Open to needing The People's Court? We also talk about the rash of 60 and sub-60 rounds we've seen recently, plus the resurrection of the Maxfli golf ball. John Inman won the 1984 National Championship while at the University of North Carolina. We hear about that victory, what it was like teaming with Davis Love III and Jack Nicklaus II to win the 1983/84 ACC Championship, getting the better of Rocco Mediate twice at the '84 Western Amateur and the Provident Classic, plus whether his brother Joe, a 4-time winner between the PGA & Champions Tours, would make a great next Commissioner of the PGA Tour. Barry Cheesman started out as a Minor League baseball player in the Cardinals farm system back in the 70s. He later turned his attention to golf and won the 1986 Florida State Amateur Championship. We hear that story plus about his 2 wins on the Ben Hogan Tour including at Quail Hollow outside of Cleveland. We also hear what it took to be a long driver out on Tour in the days of persimmon woods and balata golf balls. Steve Shingledecker is a great multi-sport athlete. He was an All-American baseball player at North Carolina State. He coached Franklin High School in the Pittsburgh area to the 2006 AAA PIAA basketball state championship, and he's now the Head Men's Golf Coach at Robert Morris. We started out talking about his high school friendship/rivalry with Top 100 Instructor and fellow Pittsburgh area native Eric Johnson during their Oil Creek Region days. Someone used the phrase "garbage athlete" to describe the other. While the other one used air quotes around "athlete" when describing his friend. We moved on to learn about his college baseball days at NC State where he was the ACC Tournament MVP in 1990. We got into his golf career and learned what it was like being in the mix at the 2002 Pennsylvania State Mid Amateur Championship. We went on the court to hear what it was like coaching Franklin High to that state championship. We rounded out our conversation getting into how he went about getting the Head Golf Coach position at Robert Morris and working with his players to build that golf program.

Who will unseat disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León? That's the question a lot of people are asking as we head into the March primary. There is a big and impressive field of candidates   – and on this episode I talk with Lalo Vargas.Vargas is science teacher at Franklin High School in Highland Park. He is the son of immigrants, a community organizer, and a gay man. A former firefighter/EMT, he is running to the left of a pretty progressive field of candidates. He is an avowed socialist, and is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation You can learn more about him here: https://www.laloforcd14.com/

Coach Cox's career began as a Freshman Head Football Coach and assistant track coach for three years at his Alma-Mater, Badin High School in Hamilton, Ohio.  Upon graduating from Miami University (OH), he was hired at Hamilton City Schools as a physical education teacher and assistant football coach and Head Track Coach where he remained for eight years. He was then named Head Football Coach at Bellbrook High School for 2 years until Lakota West High School named him their first Head Football Coach and physical education teach where he remained for 21 years. He also served as the Head Track Coach for five years at Lakota West. After leaving Lakota West High School, Coach Cox became the Head Football Coach at Talawanda High School for two years. In 2021, he spent one year as Head Football Coach at Franklin High School.  He resides in Liberty Township with his wife Jackie and their two daughters Madison Cox and Madelyn Ernst and her husband, Nick.  Source: https://www.skyhawksathletics.com/Staff/Bio/17270

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Dr. Jeremy Qualls, Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (EIC) with Williamson County Schools, who highlights how the program offers a unique opportunity for high school students across Williamson County to gain hands-on experience in entrepreneurship and innovation by starting a business, launching a product, or offering a service.The EIC lis located in the Annex building next to Franklin High School at 104 Claude Yates Drive, and the 10,000 square foot facility includes meeting rooms, presentation spaces, collaborative work areas, classroom space, and a fabrication lab for the manufacturing of products.During the interview, Dr. Qualls shares some of the history and context for launching the EIC, how students are selected, what the program entails, and how it benefits the students and community. He shares some success stories and how organizations, like the Tennessee Titans, have engaged the students to work on projects with real-world application and benefit. He also talks about some of the many ways the community can get plugged in and support their efforts.Visit https://www.wcs.edu/domain/1183 to learn more.

Thursday, October 26 on Urban Forum Northwest :*Bob Armstead, President, Washington State Chapter-National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) expresses his concern with federal funds coming to the state with no requirements to include minorities, women, or veterans in contract opportunities.Honoring the Life and Legacy of Pastor Patrinell Wright Seattle First Lady of Gospel Concert and Celebration 50th Anniversary of the Total Experience Gospel Choir.*James Connor, Recording Artist and was the drummer for the Total Experience Gospel Choir at fifteen years of age. He will perform on the 50th Anniversary of the Total Experience on Saturday at Mount Zion Baptist Church 11:00am-1:00pm (PDT). He will be joined by the following former choir members:Sherri Charleston Choir Founder Pat Wrights niece and choir memberCheri Brooks Willoughby started signing with the choir when she was four or five years oldShaunyce Omar was the student choir director for the Total ExperienceBenjamin Davis joined the Total Experience while a student at Franklin High School in 1973Josephine Howell was best known for her performance in the choir's Black Nativity production*Yolanda Barton, Founder, Revere XR comments on the preservation partnership and a call for elders to share their stories.Urban Forum Northwest streams live at www.1150kknw.com. Visit us at www.urbanforumnw.com for archived programs and relevant information. Like us on facebook. Twitter (X) @Eddie_Rye. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Thursday, October 26 on Urban Forum Northwest : *Bob Armstead, President, Washington State Chapter-National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) expresses his concern with federal funds coming to the state with no requirements to include minorities, women, or veterans in contract opportunities. Honoring the Life and Legacy of Pastor Patrinell Wright Seattle First Lady of Gospel Concert and Celebration 50th Anniversary of the Total Experience Gospel Choir. *James Connor, Recording Artist and was the drummer for the Total Experience Gospel Choir at fifteen years of age. He will perform on the 50th Anniversary of the Total Experience on Saturday at Mount Zion Baptist Church 11:00am-1:00pm (PDT). He will be joined by the following former choir members: Sherri Charleston Choir Founder Pat Wrights niece and choir member Cheri Brooks Willoughby started signing with the choir when she was four or five years old Shaunyce Omar was the student choir director for the Total Experience Benjamin Davis joined the Total Experience while a student at Franklin High School in 1973 Josephine Howell was best known for her performance in the choir's Black Nativity production *Yolanda Barton, Founder, Revere XR comments on the preservation partnership and a call for elders to share their stories. Urban Forum Northwest streams live at www.1150kknw.com. Visit us at www.urbanforumnw.com for archived programs and relevant information. Like us on facebook. Twitter (X) @Eddie_Rye.

Audrey Pinger is a 2023 American Star Finalist in the category of Agriscience Research.  This all began in the 9th Grade with her adamantly refusing to the join the FFA as her friends tried to get her to sign up.  Finally, after a lot of peer pressure (the good kind), she relented and became a member to join what would later become a nationally competing parliamentary procedure team. During this time Audrey was encouraged to do an agriscience research project by her FFA Advisor.  She ended going to and winning her state with the project, and this lit a fire.  Soon, she was running four separate agriscience research projects, and obviously those projects stood out as she has become one of only four finalists in the category out of over 800,000 FFA students in the nation! Audrey is currently studying to become an agriculture teacher at The Ohio State University, and she will also be receiving her American Degree this year.

If kids haven't developed certain academic skills by a certain age, their ability to advance in their education diminishes. This means the opportunities they have in adulthood decreases. As I've been talking with different curriculum experts and school leaders, many of them have shared that closing academic skill gaps is an important part of addressing equity issues. Kids need to learn the skills that will enable them to advance in their education because it can substantially expand their career options in the future. I wanted to dive into this topic a bit further, so that's why I invited Dr. Joseph Williams, III to episode 128 of the De Facto Leaders podcast. Dr. Joseph Williams III is a dedicated and accomplished school leader, currently serving as the principal of Franklin High School in Seattle, Washington. With over 25 years of experience in PreK-12 education, he has made a significant impact in various roles throughout his career. Dr. Williams began his journey in education as a special education and social studies teacher, gaining valuable insights and honing his teaching skills for a decade. His passion for helping students with diverse needs led him to pursue leadership positions. Over the course of 13 years, he served as an assistant principal and principal, bringing his expertise and dedication to elementary and secondary schools.As an African American school leader, Dr. Williams is deeply passionate about equity and access in K-12 education. Dr. Williams understands firsthand the importance of turnaround school leadership and the transformative power of K-12 education to ensure that no student's race, identity, gender, economic status, or zip code limits their potential.  Growing up as the second oldest among six siblings, Dr. Williams experienced the challenges of relying on public assistance in Kansas City, Missouri. This background has fueled his unwavering belief that all children, regardless of their socioeconomic background, deserve a quality education and the opportunity to build fulfilling lives.His personal journey is a testament to the belief that every child can achieve academic success and lead extraordinary lives.In this interview, he shares how having positive role models in the early years has shaped the trajectory of his life, and how he's used it in his work in inner city schools.We also discuss the importance of closing academic gaps in the early elementary years, and why this has such a huge impact on equity and access to education in the later years.Dr. Williams has an amazing story and I'm so excited to share this conversation with you.In this episode, I mentioned the Time Tracking Journal, a strategy for improving time-management, future planning, and executive functioning during daily tasks like academic assignments or daily routines. You can learn more about the Time Tracking Journal here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/timejournal). You can connect with Dr. Joseph Williams, III on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjwilliamsiii/ ), and you can get more information about his book “Mama put us first” here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/everyone-has-book-within-them-joseph-williams-iii-ed-d-/ Listen to his podcast, the My K-12 Career Show here on the Elevating K-12 Education newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/elevating-k12-education-6940938756417863680/

Luke Jennings is a 2023 American Star Farmer Finalist.  He is also the state president for Ohio FFA, serving his second term as a state officer in the Buckeye State. I first interviewed Luke in 2021 at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.  The media center for the convention is in the media offices at Lucas Oil Field where the Indianapolis Colts play, so we sat down in a room over looking the entire domed stadium, the huge FFA stage and the football field below. Luke went up on the big stage three times that convention, including one time as a National Proficiency Finalist.  I thought I was surely catching this young man at the heights of his FFA career.  I didn't think this because I didn't think him capable, but he had accomplished so much already it was just a natural thought.  However, in the following school year he became an Ohio State Officer, in May of 2023 he was elected for a second term - this time as state president and then in July he was selected as a finalist for American Star Farmer! I couldn't be more proud of what this young man has done and is now doing, and it is my thrill to have him back on the show.

In this podcast, hosts Travis Shook and Casey Wilson interview Robert Jessup, a Franklin High School teacher, a performer with the Overlook Theatre Company, and a father of five adopted children. Jessup shares his journey from being a student intern to becoming a teacher for the past 18 years, highlighting the importance of building relationships with students and staying in touch with them even after graduation. This discussion also touches on Jessup's involvement in the local community and his experiences with adoption, emphasizing the importance of faith and perseverance while fostering and adopting children. Overall, the podcast offers insights into the life of a dedicated teacher and the impact of the arts on local communities, highlighting the value of building relationships, doing life together, and finding purpose in what you do. Tune in!

October 26, 1982: 15 year old Sharon Thor was getting ready for her dance lessons when the phone rang. She answered it, and was pleasantly surprised to hear from the person on the other end. after hanging up, she told her mother Sonia she would be right back, and ran out the door. that would be the last time Sonia would see her daughter alive.40 years later, Sharon's murder is still unsolved.Anyone with information is asked to contact the Crime Stoppers tips line at (888) 577-TIPS (8477). you can also go online to www.888577tips.org and click "Give Tips" or www.scpo.net and click "Crime Stoppers. there is a $5000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. You can also contact Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or via the STOPit app, using access code SOMERSETNJ,  to provide anonymous reports including videos and photos.Sign the Petition. (n.d.). Change.org. https://www.change.org/p/justice-for-the-thor-family-reopen-the-40-year-old-cold-case-of-sharon-m-thor-of-nj?redirect=falseCourier News. (2022, October 26). 40 years, no answers in killing of Franklin High School student. MyCentralJersey.com. https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/cold-cases/2022/10/26/cold-case-nj-sharon-thor-franklin-high-school/69588017007/Atomtabloid. (2022, October 2). A 15-year-old ballet dancer was killed 40 years ago. Her death is a mystery.NJTODAY.NET. https://njtoday.news/2022/10/26/a-15-year-old-ballet-dancer-was-killed-40-years-ago-her-death-is-a-mystery/Baxter, J. (2022, January 6). The Tragic Murder of Sharon Thor - Jenn Baxter - Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/@jennbaxter_69070/the-tragic-murder-of-sharon-thor-d88bc9a7854aCold Cases. (n.d.). Somerset County. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.co.somerset.nj.us/government/affiliated-agencies/prosecutor-s-office/cold-casesSharon Marie Thor (1966-1982) - Find a Grave. . . (1966, October 28). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92796645/sharon-thorSharon Thor murder - Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/25496522/sharon-thor-murder/Star-Ledger, J. G. (2009a, October 29). Somerset authorities pursue new leads in slaying of 15-year-old girl nearly three decades ago. Nj. https://www.nj.com/news/2009/10/somerset_authorities_pursue_ne.htmlStar-Ledger, J. G. (2009b, November 6). Authorities say new evidence suggests multiple suspects involved in 1982 Franklin slaying. Nj. https://www.nj.com/news/2009/11/authorities_say_new_evidence_s.htmlStar-Ledger, N. C. (2009, October 1). Evidence sought in 1982 slaying. Nj. https://www.nj.com/ledgerarchives/2009/10/evidence_sought_in_1982_slayin.htmlSuzanne Russell, Courier News. (2019, October 18). NJ cold case: Franklin High School student found beaten to death in the woods 37 years ago. Courier News and Home News Tribune. https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/cold-cases/2019/10/18/nj-cold-case-franklin-high-school-student-sharon-thor-killed-1982/3946258002/Support the showIf you enjoyed learning about this case, check out our Instagram @bookofthedeadpodShoot us an email with a case suggestions or just say "hi" at bookofthedeadpod@gmail.comAnd don't forget to rate and review and share with your friendsMuch Love-Courtney and Lisa

#26 - Penny Moffitt on Leadership | Kavod Family Podcast Penny Moffitt is an FHS graduate, Hall of Fame inductee, coach, and teacher. She is also known as a loving wife and mother. In recent years she has pioneered a leadership program at Franklin High School that is shaping the school's culture and the future leaders of our community. Join Travis, Casey & Penny as they discuss life, family, teaching, leadership, and more.

The MLB has new rule changes and Curt Schilling sees one of them as a huge impact for the game, a teacher at Franklin High School has been arrested for having sex with a 16-year old student, Vivek Ramaswamy has announced his candidacy for the 2024 Presidential race, Virginia Tech gives out free bacon to every person in attendance at their basketball game if the opposing team misses both free throws // Seattle made history in an announcement to ban caste based discrimination, Seattle is the first city to ban this kind of discrimination, MSNBC is calling out a child labor scandal in a meat packing plant in Nebraska // It has never been cheaper to buy a Tesla, the Model 3 Sedan is down over $4,000 from its normal priceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports betting is only legal in Washington if you are at a tribal casinos or if you are in the zip code of one of those casinos, a violent home invasion in Sammamish last week has resulted in a man being charged, there are 4 suspects in this case, a Bremerton man who was in a addiction recovery house and murdered 2 people may not be competent for trial, Know it All: China has launched a political awareness campaign, Virginia Tech gives away free bacon to the stadium for 2 consecutive missed free throws by the opposing team, Capitol Hill is having a mail theft issue with 2 suspects stealing a master key to building mail boxes // Starbucks in Italy has started an olive oil infused coffee, President Biden spoke in Warsaw, Poland and could not remember Putin's name, Biden seems to have a decent sized bruise on his forehead, El Chapo was so expensive to keep in Mexico's jails that he was extradited to the US, a top security official in Mexico has been extradited to the US after charges were filed that claim Genaro Garcia Luna took bribes from El Chapo and the Sinaloa cartel //  A Franklin High School Science teacher has been arrested after having sex with a 16-year old student on multiple occasions. The teacher is 32-years old, the teacher and student exchanged over 3,000 text messages, the teacher had been teaching at Franklin High School for 3 years See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Capítulo 054: On this episode of Ocu-Pasión we are joined by visual artist and aztec dancer, Heriberto Luna.  Listen in as we discuss how he developed his skills as an earth sculptor and painter and drawing inspiration from the universality of ancient knowledge & the mysteries of the universe. Born in Mexico City in 1976, he immigrated to the United States a year after. Of 6 children, he is the second to the youngest. Heriberto Luna comes from a colorful background. His grandfather was one of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata's soldiers, and his father was in the Mexican army. His grandmother was a Mayan shaman, fluent in two indigenous languages.      Graduating from Franklin High School, in Los Angeles, Luna was surrounded by gangs but found his salvation at age 16 in the arts.  At La Tierra de la Culebra, an urban art park in Northeast LA, he developed his skills as an earth sculptor and painter.  Combined with his passion for performing Aztec dancing as both a dancer and a drummer, the artistic exposure gave him focus and strengthened his resolve to rise above the bad circumstances around him.   During 2002 and 2005 Luna apprentice in major mural projects with L. A's most influential muralist team the East Los Streetscapers, and artist Paul Botello. Luna met Los Angeles artist Margaret Garcia and in 2002 he apprenticed with her and with New Mexico Master artist Pola Lopez The result of all that hard work is clear, as Luna has exhibited over to 50 Museums thus far, among them such prestigious locations as: The Santa Monica Museum of Art, The National Mexican Fine Art Museum in Illinois and The Museum of History and Art in Ontario, California. Beyond that, Luna's works have become part of major art collections at Arizona State University and in 2006 Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa presented him with an award of recognition for his accomplishments in the arts; Luna has also been awarded two artist-in-residence grants from the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs department.  As his art career continues to bloom, Luna remains dedicated to under privilege youths, he is currently teaching arts classes in the Juvenile Halls for Theatre of Hearts and serves as a mentor.  Heriberto Luna's success is measurable on many different levels yet what makes him most proud is seeing the young people that he has worked with turn to the community and become mentors themselves.  Some have gone on to achieve gallery and museum showings as well.  Withal, Luna's bold colors juxtaposed with ancient inspiration and strong commitment to the future of his community bring a powerful and profound statement to the art world and beyond.   Follow Heriberto:https://www.instagram.com/heriberto_lunahttps://www.facebook.com/heriberto.luna.14Ocu-Pasión Podcast is a heartfelt interview series showcasing the experiences of artists and visionaries within the Latin American/ Latinx community hosted by Delsy Sandoval. Join us as we celebrate culture & creativity through thoughtful dialogue where guests from all walks of life are able to authentically express who they are and connect in ways listeners have not heard before.Delsy Sandoval is the Host and Executive Producer of Ocu-Pasión. If you want to support the podcast, please rate and review the show here. You can also get in touch with Delsy at www.ocupasionpodcast.comFollow Ocu-Pasión on Instagram: @ocupasionpodcast www.instagram.com/ocupasionpodcastJoin the Ocu-Pasión Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/5160180850660613/Visit www.ocupasionpodcast.com for more episodes.https://linktr.ee/Ocupasionpodcast

Some Oregon districts still use discredited reading curriculum. A shooting outside a basketball game at Portland's Franklin High School. Oregonians celebrate the Japanese New Year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts Dan Guttenplan and Matt Feld are joined in studio by Franklin High School Head Coach Zack Brown. Coach Brown led Franklin to a Super 8 Championship in 2018, and seems to have the Panthers in the mix for a state championship every year.

On this midweek show, Crystal chats with Emijah Smith about her campaign for State Representative in the 37th Legislative District - why she decided to run and her thoughts on addressing issues such as community representation, housing affordability and zoning, homelessness, public safety, mismatch between passed policy and subsequent implementation, education funding, and climate change. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today's guest, Emijah Smith, at @ElectEmijah.   Resources Campaign Website - Emijah Smith: https://www.electemijah.com/   South Seattle Emerald's 37th LD Representative Position 2 Debate (October 4, 2022) - Moderated by Crystal Fincher: https://www.officialhacksandwonks.com/sse-37th-ld-debate-2022   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington State through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Today, I'm very excited to have a guest joining us from the 37th Legislative District who's a candidate for State Representative. Thank you so much for joining us today, Emijah Smith. [00:00:49] Emijah Smith: Thank you - I'm happy to be here. [00:00:51] Crystal Fincher: Happy to have you here. I guess just starting out - I would love if you could just share what experience you're bringing to this race and why you decided to run for office? [00:01:03] Emijah Smith: As you know, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother. I'm raised and rooted, been living in the 37th my whole entire life basically. I have historical context of the community, as well as current context. I chose to step into this role because I've been in Olympia for over 10 years - locked arms with families, bringing our youth forward - to really advocate for meaningful change that we want to see in our community. Advocating for universal preschool, advocating for stable and affordable housing, food security, the broken tax system, racial justice - you name it - the things that are important to really ensure that our families are healthy and our communities are healthy. So I've been doing the work and I want to - I'm here to be a bridge builder, really - to say, I'm in Olympia, this is your space. I'm told when I'm out here canvassing all the time that we really - the 37th wants to transform status quo. So people are like - I'm a great champion for the voiceless, they know I have the credibility and the consistency of doing the work. So having that current real lived experience of the lives of the 37th, having demonstrated experience in Olympia, and really having some really powerful relationships with families and our children in the 37th is the reason why I step into this opportunity. [00:02:29] Crystal Fincher: And it is a unique opportunity and you bring up something important - which you talk about - the context of how the community used to be versus how it is today, which is different. The district has grown, it has changed, the composition of people who are there are different. As you look at how the 37th Legislative District has changed, what do you think is the most important thing you as a representative can do to connect with the community today, while not displacing any further the community that has been left out and preserving the culture and heritage and history of the district? [00:03:10] Emijah Smith: Thank you for asking that question. I am from the historic Black community of the Central District - raised there, grandparents there, parents there - and really seen firsthand, really, the love and the investment in our community. Although it started out with redlining, that's how the community came to be. It's been a very joyful childhood experience that I had there - it felt safe - until that failed War on Drugs came into the community. And I believe those policies - steeped in racism, the over-policing, the criminalization of addiction, and the lack of resources - just as a young person, I was committed and committed myself to say, I'm going to go to college, I'm going to do any and everything I can to bring resources to the community, bring healing to the community, as well as restoration. So in that process of those policies, I believe that's really key to what started the displacement and the gentrification - because of those poor policies that were just really targeting a community that I believe was vulnerable at the time. And so being - having the privilege to stay in my community, I have not been pushed outside of Seattle - doing all that I can to ensure that me and my children can stay in place with regard to the taxes and things. I have really seen and built relationships with the new faces in community - so through my, as a PTSA president at my children's elementary school as well as my kids' school currently, really seeing the families that are coming in, having the opportunity to learn some of the issues that they care about. But in addition to that, along the way - again, since as a youth - been advocating for community building and development and making sure that folks can stay in place. So fighting for or advocating that taxes can be reduced for low-income communities - a Black community's average income in Seattle is around $50,000, probably a little bit less. How can one - how can anyone - survive and live in Seattle with the rents and the cost of living? It's impossible. And so our elders and our seniors are just holding on. But I will say - going to Olympia, really, with King County Equity Now and other organizations in our ecosystem - really holding the Washington Finance and Housing Commission accountable to ensure that our dollars were coming back to community so that we can get the developments like the Africatown Plaza, Ethiopian Village, Elizabeth Thomas Homes, Petah Village - these are all community investments that are in the 37th. And so to be on the frontline doing that work is what we have to do, is what I do. This is a people's campaign, this is about people-powered policy. And I have found along the way, although I have a Master's in Public Administration - seen on the professional side of the academic side of how to move policy - I have found the most meaningful policy has always come from community voice and community's power. [00:06:09] Crystal Fincher: I would agree with that. And you talk a lot about the need to make sure people can afford to stay in there. You just talked about the average income of Black families being around $50,000, which is half - less than half now - of what the median income is in the entire City of Seattle. So there is a huge gap, with historical reasons behind that, and that absolutely needs to be addressed. When it does come to housing and just the ability for people to continue to live where they've been living, to stay in the housing that they currently have, to age in place - what are the most impactful things you can do to help to keep housing affordable? [00:06:52] Emijah Smith: Again, it's - there's a few things. I currently sit on state-level housing justice coalitions and Housing Trust Fund coalition - really speaking to those policy teams in Olympia designated by the governor to look at housing, really speaking - so this is a statewide collective, but we speak directly to the barriers that are at hand. We speak to the historical racial injustice and marginalization as well as policy that has created such barriers and marginalization. We bring the real lived experience of folks of - this is the barrier to even applying for housing, these are the reasons people are denied housing. But your system, through the Department of Commerce, also has these barriers because it's set up for organizations that oftentimes don't look like the most marginalized to get the funding because they've had the decades of opportunities to build the capital or had the experience. And right now, in order to develop housing from communities that are marginalized, they have to - in order to apply, you have needed to have already built some housing. Well, how does one do that if the resources are barred, or I won't say that they're scarce, but they're limited. So we're trying to talk to the Department of Commerce and really advocating there - those are the things that I'm doing. Also looking at taxes, right? Too many seniors have reached out - just trying to stay in place, they're on limited incomes - either retirement, social security - and they just cannot afford the taxes that keep going up in prime areas, particularly like the Central District. But I would love to say that all of the Seattle proper, the taxes keep rising because property values keep rising. I'm even speaking with families who are new, who are the new faces who've come in and bought a home and they're like - they're concerned if they can even keep the current home that they've had maybe for the past five years because the taxes just keep rising. And when taxes rise and you're a property owner, of course you're going to pass that on - most do - to the renters. So property taxes are definitely to be in place, we need to look at incomes - provide a level of income of how much your property taxes need to be, some things need to be exempt - particularly for our seniors. The cost of living is already so high - people are having to choose between prescriptions, food, or rent, or mortgage, or paying those huge taxes. So those are the things that I'm looking into. My value is that everyone should have a home. No one should be unhoused. And I know people are making choices due to other reasons to choose if they should be housed or not. But nevertheless, housing should be available. I'm heartbroken to even share, but just two weeks ago I came across a family - a mother, two children, 4 and 10, living in tents just - not too far, maybe a couple miles from my home - and not for me seeing the child being rejected to going to the bathroom maybe to wash up. I was like, Can I speak to your mom? The mom was willing to share the story and I immediately reached out to some people I know who professionally work sheltering families and luckily they answered the phone, then they called someone else and that person answered the phone, and we were able to get the family into at least some emergency shelter. But I'm telling you, a 4-year old and a 10-year old out in the woods in tents - that is unexcusable and that was in the 37th. And I'm willing to do any and everything that I can to ensure that that's not happening to anyone else. But the reality is I know that it is. [00:10:41] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, and there are a lot - there are a lot of things that need to be done to address this issue. Legislatively, in your capacity as a legislator, certainly legislation that is in process that could potentially help a lot of other things that are needed. I guess one of the things that will be coming up in this upcoming session, should you be elected, is the missing middle housing bill, sponsored by Representative Jessica Bateman, to address the shortage of housing supply which experts say is a necessary component of addressing this, not necessarily the only component, but one of the necessary components. Do you support that missing middle housing bill? [00:11:20] Emijah Smith: I do support missing middle housing. I also support some level of rent control. We have to create a pause - again, I'm meeting single people who are afraid of - what can I do? So yeah, I do support that. I think that those things are happening. I've also talked to families just in general throughout my years of engaging in community - where there's low-income housing - there's not enough low-income housing, first and foremost, so people can even apply for that. But there's a lot of low-income working class families in the 37th who need to stay in place. Then there's also affordable housing and if you need to make $80,000 or more just to try to get into that one-bedroom, things are impossible. So middle housing is definitely needed. Whenever I look at legislation, I have to look at the racial equity impact of that legislation. I don't like to jump on anything without understanding the unintentional harm, 'cause we don't want to create more inequities. We don't want to increase the disproportionality on anyone. So that - one thing about me as a leader, as a legislator, in that role representing community will definitely be looking at the fuller impacts, not just quick looks, let's just move and make a quick decision. 'Cause what we don't want to do is invest a lot of time and a lot of money and still causing more harm in community. [00:12:41] Crystal Fincher: And then in terms of addressing housing, we need to get people sheltered - first and foremost - no matter what people are dealing with. I think you have expressed several times that people do deserve housing, period - even if they're dealing with an addiction, dealing with behavioral health issues. Not only do they deserve that, but that's helpful in stabilizing or getting to the point where they can stabilize the issues that they're dealing with. We do have challenges with availability of services to help people - whether it's behavioral health services, substance use disorder treatment - we do wait for people to fall through all the cracks and maybe even become involved in the criminal legal system before they have access to any kind of intervention and then it's much harder to address that problem by that time. How do you plan to address the availability of those services? [00:13:39] Emijah Smith: Wraparound services are definitely necessary. I have family members with behavioral health issues and recovering from addiction. And what I have found to be successful is that people can have stable housing, have stability at least for a year, have something stable to be able to address some of the other issues. I've spoken with firefighters who are concerned that they're going to the housing that is being developed for folks with the multiple issues that have disability, mental illness, whatever - there's different issues - but they're being called for something that's not oftentimes a fire or a heart attack or a health issue, and so there's these reservations. Clearly it's showing that we need more investments - we need more investments in our mental health across the board. And we definitely need more wraparound services for those who need it. And I also would include those who are re-entering from the carceral system - they're given $40 of gate money. If they are not - have a strong support family or community network that could provide housing, oftentimes those folks are really right out in the streets and they're unhoused - and that doesn't support success, that supports recidivism. So the things that I'm looking at is how do we increase vouchers for those who are coming out - it was increased from 3 months to 6 months - but I am a believer in a year's time for stability because I've seen firsthand what it did for family members and community members to stay stable and in place. I also think about our children. When COVID first happened, there was a lot of children who were even in these tiny homes - they might be sheltered, but how can one learn in such a small space in our weather? So as you know, that just really touches my heart. So we have to utilize the revenue, we have to address our backwards and broken tax system to create the dollars and bring them there. I love Washington State - I'm not someone who wants to leave and go to another state and live. It is vibrant here and I want to do everything I can do to invest - not only in Washington, but in the 37th - we have the revenue, we have the marijuana dollars. So I was advocate last session that provided that $400 million to come to our communities, to go to organizations that can also continue to keep investing in community. So we have the revenue, we have a broken tax system that if corrected, or repaired or fixed - whatever you want to use - we can make some serious change. And if we center that revenue on our basic needs - housing, healthcare, education - our families can be healthy, our communities can be healthy. So that's my mindset. These are some complex issues because of who holds the purse strings, but also who's in place to make those decisions. But my value is where I share with you before - everybody deserves housing, healthcare, education, and I do any and everything I can do to champion and support to ensure that happens. We also have to look at the policy language, though - that becomes the issue. These big values and these big systems - who's going to disagree? No one would disagree. But oftentimes our institutions are working in silos instead of working together. So a quick decision can come from housing, but you didn't look into Department of Corrections to see - can that really work. And so again, there's unintentional harms that are created and then we have to go back and it takes a long time to keep going back. So we have to be better at talking with each other and looking at the language that's going to make sense for our state and for those people who are most marginalized. And the way that you do that - to save us some time and save us some money - is you talk to the people with that lived experience, 'cause those who are closest to the problems are the best ones with the solutions. [00:17:30] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely agree - and that feels relevant to some of the challenges that our legislature is having in terms of passing legislation, but sometimes not quite landing the implementation of that legislation in a way that can delay funds getting to the people who it was designed to help, the building of infrastructure to deliver that - where certainly good intentions were there and the policy itself may be sound, but the actual implementation - the how do we deliver this help to the people - has some missing elements that make some complications. How do you think your experience can help address that issue? [00:18:12] Emijah Smith: I'm a - not to be a pause - to me, the first step is always making space and allowing space for people to be at the table, co-designing with community. I do agree with implementation 'cause once the law is happened and it's going to be sent down to the next group to try to figure that out. We should be having conversation to whoever's going to be sent down to. I think about some of the housing projects that are in the 37th and when they started to change - think it was HOPE VI or HOPE IV - and that started to change. The things that weren't considered at the time is like credit history - when you push people out of where they're staying right now, where are they actually supposed to go? There was housing vouchers that were provided, but the new system of how the people will get the housing wasn't taken into account - first and last month deposit. If you have those type of conversations from start to finish, where can we - that's implementation - so what are some of the the barriers or some of the the snags that we can work out along the process? We would've saved ourselves some hardship, and I think that although with the best of intentions of creating and designing these spaces and building community, we also created a lot of unhoused people. We also pushed people into the carceral system because we weren't talking with each other. So the way that happens and another example, I believe, is the LFOs - these are called legal financial obligations. There was a lot of advocacy on the state level to ensure that those who were coming out - the big fines - to reduce some of the interest there. Because if someone still has interest and their legal financial obligations were not complete, they could still almost be put right back into jail - and not almost - some people can go back and be jailed for not making payment. Well, how can you make payment if you're just trying to enter? You already can't - might be limited on the job that you can receive, the housing you can receive, you can't even get stable because of that. The implementation once the law changed was that you have to understand how to ask for that when you were being sentenced. And a lot of people did not know - that's part of the implementation. It has to be addressed at sentencing, not after the fact. 'Cause if you try to appeal it, then you can be denied of those legal obligations being removed. Legal obligation interest has somewhat, has been changed - it's being improved as we're moving along, but what does that look like for the people on the ground - that's a whole 'nother story. So that's - those are the examples that I want to share around implementation. I also think about implementation for our education dollars. There might be some dollars that were sent out to some districts, but if that money is not specified to that department and really restricted to say - family engagement - then the district can use it any way it likes. So the language in the bill has to be very clear and legislators who are representing their communities have to really fight for that language versus families like me - in Seattle Public Schools, we were fighting for family engagement dollars, but the district had put it into other places where there was a priority and a need, but there was a miscommunication, clearly, or implementation issue because we're saying, You have this money you can invest here - where they're like, Well, actually it wasn't restricted - we were able to do what we wanted to do with it. [00:21:29] Crystal Fincher: That makes a lot of sense. And you also bring up a good point about the district and public schools, which certainly have their own issues, but the State - the Legislature - plays a big role in how education is ultimately delivered because they're funding it. And even though there are some issues with how that funding is allocated, part of the problem is that there is too little funding - and so choices are being forced in some situations that shouldn't be choices at all. And usually it's the kids with the least, the kids in areas where they don't have parents with a lot of generational wealth and excess income that are donating to their kids' schools, and education can look a lot different in different areas of the district and even things like turnover of teachers and administrators is unequal in different parts of the district. And especially in the 37th, those schools are paying for it. In your capacity as a legislator, if you're elected, what can you do to increase funding for schools? And where is that in terms of a priority for you? [00:22:43] Emijah Smith: Oh, it's a top priority. It's a top priority. It's top three, top four priority. Education has always been a huge issue - because when I was that teenager in school watching my community, the devastation from that failed War on Drugs - when I committed myself to advocacy, I committed myself to making sure that people had an opportunity in education because I believe that education is an opportunity to change your circumstances. But I also understood that education - the system that I saw - can also track you into the prison pipeline. So I did everything that I could to educate myself about the education system - so as an undergrad, as well as getting my master's in Public Administration. I studied Seattle Public Schools - how money funnels down, what those disparities look like for the new teachers versus senior teachers, what the budget looks like, how budgets are created. And really engaged myself in Seattle Public Schools, to be honest, as a parent, because it became really apparent once I had my own children what it looks like to navigate that and what money followed your child. If your child is special education, then there's certain dollars that come from the federal government that's supposed to provide you more resources, but actually it goes into a fuller budget of a school's budget, as well as a district's budget. So when I think about those things, I think about central offices that tend to carry a larger portion of the budget. How can we try to balance that out? How do we support our teachers to make sure that they're properly trained and well-equipped and want to be in "Title I" schools, which tend to be in the 37th, because those are schools that tend to have higher free reduced lunch. With the population changing, less schools are Title I, but nevertheless you still see this pattern of teachers coming in and leaving and then going back maybe to a North Seattle school, a school that seems to have less diversity, maybe learning styles, what have you. And that's an issue - and to me, I look back at the systems - that is a design system, and we have to work to see how we can make things more equitable. And the PTA right now are looking at how they can share funds, right? My PTA Mercer - I'm the president of the Mercer PTSA - and we're sitting there, we're talking about what schools - do we want to apply to join with these schools to put on certain events and then they split the money. So that those schools who have less revenue with regard to PTSA can have more of an opportunity to support the families that are there. So I first wanted to say that - from a parent perspective, I've been advocating on the special education taskforce at Seattle Public Schools, which helped bring the recommendations forward - what they're negotiating with the SEA in Seattle Public Schools. I've been on the OSPI, which is a state-level education department around bringing in ethnic studies for our students. I'm a strong proponent with regard to apprenticeship opportunities for those families who may not want to jump right into college, can't afford college but want to invest in having livable wage employment for their student. Education is a serious issue. In every way that I can be involved, I am. I also was a catalyst for the current strategic plan at Seattle Public Schools to really look at equity, ensuring that our students furthest from opportunity are being supported. Also with the McCleary Act - to make sure we're fully funding our education - we have a long ways to go and particularly the gap is with special education students and services. So I'm a strong proponent there. I think if we can properly fund our schools, we won't have the same disproportionality that's going on with retaining teachers and retaining good administrators and staff and making sure our children are doing well. A big issue that comes up on the state level, like you said, is the general fund. If you take money here, where you're going to get it from? 'Cause it might come away from our mental health services, it may come away from our health services, it may be something you want to look at for food - and hungry kids can't learn. If kids aren't getting the services, they can't learn. So we as leaders in the state capital - and I say we, because families are leaders and our voice is strong and because of our voice, we have made some meaningful changes. I particularly think about the pre-K and getting working more access to childcare - that has come from really fierce families that say, We need this, we have a ways to go, but we're making progress. Community has to continue to keep advocating for the needs and say, Don't take away our healthcare, don't take away our nurses in school, don't take away our counselors. COVID has allowed this to be a much bigger issue across racial backgrounds, I would say. Before someone might think of it, Oh, it's just more marginalized communities. No, it's all of us, it's all the families. And I love that my leadership and my advocacy has such a strong background of diverse bodies - from, I would say, from white families to Asian American families, Black families, you name it. What I love about my leadership though, is I'm going to make sure we're going to bring forward that Black and Indigenous nuance that oftentimes is ignored and neglected. But from immigrant, refugee, English language learners - I'm an advocate for all of us, not just for my job, but for all of our children, because it's our children who are our future now. 'Cause me - that high schooler whose passion and commitment has me here today. So there's a lot more stories, there's a lot more I can say - it is a complex issue, but at the end of the day, we must fund and invest strongly in our public education to ensure that our children have an opportunity and have a chance to thrive. [00:28:47] Crystal Fincher: I'm also looking at - we have the conversation about climate change. It really is a conversation about equity injustice, because no matter what element we're talking about, it is BIPOC communities, low-income communities, those who are most marginalized, who are experiencing most of the impacts right now and will continue to be without intervention. And this is - we're seeing this happen right now - it's not something to come. These are consequences that are happening right now, whether it's exposure to extreme heat or cold, whether it's exposure to pollution and particulates that contribute to asthma and heart disease and lung disease. We have life expectancies that are years shorter in some areas of the city - some of those in the 37th Legislative District - than there are in other areas of the city. So reducing pollution, greenhouse gas emissions are critical to everyone, but in particular BIPOC communities being able to thrive and live a healthy and productive life. How do you plan to address greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and pollution? [00:30:05] Emijah Smith: Definitely a supporter and value climate change and environmental justice. I truly understand that it's really steeped and centered around - it's a racial justice issue. It's been an issue and we've had guidance - I feel like, from forever - from our Indigenous brothers and sisters and community members around this issue telling us and warning us about the importance of what's going to happen in our lives if we do not take care of the land. So I just want to first give honor and recognition there. I, myself, and my children - I was diagnosed with asthma at the age of two months. I live - what I designate as South Seattle - if you're not, if you haven't been here a long time, it's really - it's not quite Rainier Beach, it's a little bit past Franklin High School. Just really aware of the air quality here. The soil quality is poor. Today the smoke is ridiculous - I just think something's burning wherever we are. I'm needing to have to stay inside and keep the door closed, and still the air quality is an issue. I'm a neighbor and a community member that's fighting to keep our trees - Beacon Hill - the more that we build, because density, keeping housing and keeping people in place is important. But if it's at a cost of tearing down the trees which are helping a habitat, which is helping clean our air - that's an issue. Senator Saldaña, who's a sole endorser for me, is leading on the HEAL Act. I would support that. There's legislators out there doing that, there's organizations - I've been endorsed by SAGE Leaders also, I take leadership from Got Green, South Seattle Climate Advocates - they have a network - really listening to those who've been really leading this charge. But I will say that I'm not one to get in the way. I do see that a lot of things that are coming up oftentimes are saying, Fine, fine, fine the big companies that are causing a lot of the pollution and the problems. But we have to be thoughtful about some of the other ways because the more that they make the money and pay the fine and keep doing the thing, it doesn't stop the harm that's being caused. Most of the issues are complex because we talk about 'em as issues and oftentimes we don't talk about 'em as a racial justice issue. We don't talk about it from a place of normalized anti-Blackness or the steeped racism of how this country was even started. We don't talk about that sometimes, we kind of leave it to the side - so we have to be willing to talk about the issue, be willing to fund the issue, be willing to bring in more green jobs because we're doing a lot of repair. So we need to do the repair of these issues, but at the same time, we need to be creating policies and implementation in a way that is equitable, that is going to change the dynamic that's happening in this country. So for me, this stuff is strongly intersected, but yeah, I'm not one that's going to be in the way. I'm here to support the crew for the cruise ships, the airplanes - there's a lot of issues that have been targeted in the 37th, and why? Because it's been historically a traditional place where people have been pushed to go there because they - we've been othered. 'Cause before it was Black folks, there was Jewish folks here. But people who were being pushed here were othered. And othered meant you had less value, so then you can come here too. Oh, you're an immigrant, you're a refugee - we're going to push you over here into these housing projects. Instead of looking at - this is a great place to be. I love the diversity, the power, the vibrancy of it all, but it comes with a lot of detriment that we have to constantly keep fighting. And for some reason they want to just keep neglecting and ignoring what the community is calling for. And really, we're calling for health. We're calling for - we want our communities healthy, we want our families healthy, we want to be safe. So I'm just sharing with you my values around it. I'm sharing with you that there's work. I'm in the community petitioning with my neighbors now to sign something to say, Let's not - if you're going to build this 5-story, market rate building over here in our community, why would you do it in the 37th anyways? Doesn't seem equitable. But if you're going to do it, don't cut down our trees. If you're going to do it, let's make sure we're implementing something here to make sure our streets are safe. Engage with us, understand that we're powerful, understand that we are deserving - and we don't have to beg you to be deserving, but we need to - but the way this is set up, you make us force and demand for you to pay attention. So I'm locking arms with Puget Sound Sage, I'm locking arms with the other environmental justice organizations that also center racial justice in these issues, and utilizing the power of my vote and the leadership representing the 37th District to move us forward. [00:34:52] Crystal Fincher: Now as we wrap up today, there are a lot of people who are struggling to make a decision in this race, who are looking at you and your opponent and saying, Okay, what are the differences? Why should I make the choice for one over the other? What is your message to those voters as they're trying to decide who they should vote for in who's going to represent them in the 37th? [00:35:21] Emijah Smith: I would say to the voters that there is a clear distinction. There's a distinction of a people's campaign versus a status quo campaign. I've been engaged, vetted, incredible in the 37th. I've been here my whole life and I'm currently demonstrating the work that it takes to do legislative advocacy - not only do I lock arms and go to Olympia with families and community members, I also provide the training to help families and community members understand the process there - how a bill becomes a law, how do you effectively talk with your legislators? Like I'm arming, we're gearing each other up. I'm also a parent and a grandparent who's lived the lives of our community, who understands sacrifices that are being made to make sure our community's thriving. To me, that's what's really clear - I'm here at a campaign to really transform status quo. The 37th, across all the backgrounds - our community has said we don't want status quo. So I'm here to represent not status quo. My campaign is based on people-powered policy. It's to have a bridge to make sure that those who feel voiceless have a voice, for those who want true representation of our lived experience understand that that is myself. So I can provide you with the education, the demonstrated experience - but I also have the relationship that's important across our bases. So that's what I would share. I would also want to share with y'all that I have sole endorsements from current 37th leaders - our Senator Rebecca Saldaña, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, our City Councilmember Tammy Morales. Kim-Khánh Van, who's a Renton City Councilmember, 'cause the 37th does have a sliver of Renton. I have sole endorsements - One America Votes, the Washington State Labor Council, Pro-Choice Washington. These are coming because of the work that has been demonstrated by me, because of the consistency, because of the commitment around us as community. And you can check out my website at ElectEmijah.com to see more of the leaders and endorsers that I have. I do want to also add the Honorable Larry Gossett - he's a sole endorser. And I have others - Dr. Ben Danielson. There are others, but I just wanted to share that people are putting their name behind me because they see the work that's done and they understand that status quo has to change in order for us to really advance to a place where we're really tapping in and seeing the humanity for each other and really caring about each other and caring about our community. It'll be an honor to have your vote - thank you. [00:38:17] Crystal Fincher: Thank you - we will include the link to your website for people who want to learn more information in the episode notes. And thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. [00:38:28] Emijah Smith: Thank you - it was an honor, again, for the invitation. Thank you and have a wonderful day. [00:38:32] Crystal Fincher: Thank you all for listening to Hacks & Wonks. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler. Our assistant producer is Shannon Cheng, and our Post-Production Assistant is Bryce Cannatelli. You can find Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks, and you can follow me @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered right to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave us a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Alma McLemore, Acting Director and President of the African American Heritage Society of Williamson County, who highlights the nonprofit organization's mission and efforts to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts pertaining to Williamson County African American culture, and to increase understanding and appreciation of the heritage for future generations. During the interview, Alma shares some of her personal story as a native of Franklin, Tennessee with deep roots in the community. She talks about how the organization was started, some of the preservation projects, including the McLemore House Museum and Merrill-Williams Home, and how the community can get involved and support their efforts.The African-American Heritage Society is a non-profit organization whose mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts pertaining to Williamson County African American culture and increase understanding and appreciation of our heritage for future generations.Alma McLemore, a native of Franklin, is the President of the board of directors of the African American Heritage Society and serves as Executive Director. Ms. McLemore, or Alma Lee, as she is known to her close friends and classmates is a graduate of Franklin High School's first integrated class. She has deep roots in the community and a servant's heart. Alma serves on the City of Franklin's Planning Commission and Battlefield Preservation Commission. During her tenure at the AAHS, Ms. McLemore has overseen the restoration of The McLemore House while it has been closed for COVID. In 2021, the AAHS was also able to purchase a second property, the Merrill-Williams home located on Natchez Street. The home will eventually be used for educational and interpretive purposes for the Natchez neighborhood and for Black history. McLemore never says “no” when asked to serve!Alma has served on many boards including Habitat for Humanity, WAVES, Franklin Tomorrow, New Hope Academy, Williamson County Chamber of Commerce Affordable Housing Taskforce, Mercy's Children Clinic, United Community Resource Foundation, Franklin Tomorrow's Housing Task Force, and United Way of Williamson County Task Force. Alma is a graduate of the City of Franklin Citizens Police Academy and a graduate of the Leadership Franklin Class of 2000. Alma is a member of the City of Franklin Housing Commission, the City of Franklin Civil War Commission, Battle of Franklin Trust, Williamson Co. Convention and Visitors Bureau, recent past members of Columbia State Community College Foundation Board and the 21st Recovery Court Board of Directors, where she still volunteers with the board's annual fundraisers.Origin of AAHS & our Mission & programs- sharing how AAHS got started, our mission and what we are currently doing- our programs and activities and annual events.How the community can get involvedWebsite:                https://aahswc.org/Facebook:             https://www.facebook.com/AAHSofWilliamsonCounty/Twitter:                  https://twitter.com/McLemoreHouse

Join C4 and Bryan as they discuss the latest with the firing of a Baltimore police officer who had a gun charge on his record including his recent interview with the Baltimore Sun. Sgt. Clyde Boatwright calls into the show to talk about the violence in Baltimore area schools yesterday including a stabbing at Mervo and 4 students who were arrested after a fight at Franklin High School in Baltimore County. Also, Baltimore City and Washington D.C. have joined forces to bid to bring the World Cup to our area in 2026. C4 and Bryan Nehman are live weekdays from 5:30-10:00am ET on WBAL Newsradio 1090, FM101.5, and the WBAL Radio App.

Thank you for listening to today's episode! We're so honored and humbled you have chosen to spend some time with us. Jasa and Cliff enjoyed a fabulous Bridal Shower in Franklin and Shep toured Franklin High School! Shawn and I, once again, spent a fun weekend in Branson. Here are some lists and links to a few things we mentioned on today's podcast. Enjoy! Branson Hills Golf Club https://www.bransonhillsgolfclub.com/ Dogwood Canyon https://dogwoodcanyon.org/ Matching couples robes Home massages  Oneida Diameter Flatware  https://mcys.co/3xzeWg5 Portmeirion Sophie Conran https://bit.ly/3MiqyYH Ninja Double Air fryer https://amzn.to/3rCk0fE Sous Vide https://amzn.to/3MemVmF Beaded Happily Ever After Clutch https://amzn.to/3uVK07K David's Bridal Denim Jacket  https://bit.ly/36ujb1i Beach Hat Honeymoonin' https://bit.ly/3KVAdo5  

There is no question that if you make delicious cookies and cupcakes that you have the ingredients for a business.  Who can deny treats like that?  However, how does anyone ever find out that you have the ability to make these items and sell them?  Social media is one really capable platform to make this happen. This is exactly what took place in the formation of Madi Springer's business, Madi's Cookies & Cupcakes.  Madi has been baking for years, and right around the beginning of her freshman year of high school she made some decorative cookies for her mom, and her mom promptly bragged about them on her Facebook page.  this led to another mom in their small community of Franklin, Illinois to contact Madi and see if she could bake four dozen pumpkin themed cookies for the high school cross country team. Madi agreed and made the cookies.  Her first ever customer was very pleased and bragged about her on social media, and the orders started rolling in.  Today, just 1.5 years later, Madi is fulfilling 3-4 orders per week and turning away customers.  She is planning on becoming more efficient, improving her equipment and expanding her business to cakes as well as cookies and cupcakes.

Today's interview is special.  I rarely get to interview a student, or any guest for that matter, face to face.  However, I had accidentally scheduled an interview with Luke Jennings for when he would be at the National FFA Convention and I would be traveling to the convention.  So, we decided to do the interview in person in Indianapolis.  My studio for this interview happened to be the press box way above the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, so it was quite a different experience for me. Luke came up for the interview after walking across the big stage at the convention for the third time!  He and his team had just been recognized for the performance in the parliamentary procedure competition.  However, how I had first learned of Luke was due to his nomination for a national proficiency award. Learn more in today's episode.