33 episodes
In the Blackseat Liz M.
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- Society & Culture
In the Blackseat is an unfiltered view of the Black experience, as told by Black people. Join us as we discuss everything from raising Black children to Black hair to being Black in the diaspora - this is a no holds barred exploration of the beauty, pain and diversity of being Blackity Black in the world today. In a world that stays trying to tell us who we are, we are controlling the narrative.
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S3 E7 | In the Blackseat | Interracial Relationships
This episode is a first in the Blackseat - non-Black people have been invited to participate in the discussion. This episode is launching on the day we celebrate the birthday of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Laws prohibiting interracial relationships were deemed unconstitutional in June 1967, just nine months before Dr. King’s assassination. Nearly six decades later, while these relationships are more accepted, racism in this country means that there can still be trou...
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S3 E6 | In the Blackseat | A Conversation with Michael Harriot
One of the best contemporary storytellers is in the Blackseat for this episode. I got a chance to sit down with THE Michael Harriot!He is everything you think he would be - funny, sharp, self-deprecating, intelligent, all of the good adjectives. We talked about his path to where he is now, whether Black folks should share certain parts of our culture, his views on integration and his stint as an organized crime boss. Oh, and he bought a plantation. Whaaaaaaaaaaa???? Buckle up - let'...
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S3E5 | In the Blackseat | The Curious Case of Identity, A Conversation with Dr. Jeanne Aston-Baynes
Dr. Jeanne Aston-Baynes is a professor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University, near Spokane, Washington. During our initial conversation, when she mentioned where she worked, it sparked something: isn't that where Rachel Dolezal taught?"Yes, I shared an office with her." Yep, she shared an office with the infamous professor who made news as a white woman who had been pretending to be Black (referring to herself as transracial).That's when I knew I HAD to have her in the Blacksea...
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S3E4 | In the Blackseat | Black in Law Enforcement, Chief Cecil Rhambo
Modern day policing traces all the way back to slave patrols, and presents communities - especially Black ones - with issues to this day. I have wrestled with unlearning and learning about law enforcement, and have been intent on sitting down with a Black LEO. I couldn't have imagined the first person who fit that bill would also be running for Sheriff of Los Angeles County! Meet Cecil Rhambo, who has thrown his hat in the ring for this very prominent and controversial position (as of th...
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S3E3 | In the Blackseat | Black in Academia - A Conversation with Dr. Ricky L. Jones
I can’t wait for you to meet Dr. Ricky L. Jones, chair of the Pan African Studies department at the University of Louisville, Kentucky - one of the oldest in the country, nearing fifty years in existence. In a time where anything related to Black history is being attacked as CRT, you gotta know this is an especially tough time for him and his department. Like my discussion with Elizabeth Leiba, our conversation took twists and turns as we discussed everything from why his current state o...
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S3E2 | In the Blackseat | School Integration
Most everyone is familiar with the story of Ruby Bridges, a little Black girl who integrated her school in Louisiana at just six years old (her first day was immortalized in a Norman Rockwell painting, underscoring just how tiny she was.) But we also know that there were hundreds of segregated schools in America, which means there are dozens more Ruby Bridges who were little warriors, just like her. I am excited for you to meet Ms. Shondolyn Small, one of the first Black students to atte...