EMPOWER Podcast hosted by Bell Global Justice Institute Bell Global Justice Institute

What happens when circumstances take your life in a completely different direction?? You make it the best way you can - and as Elwood Blues from the Blues Brothers says - “It’s a hundred and six miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.”

Join me for my own ride - London

Greetings listeners!

Welcome back to our EMPOWER Podcast!

We are embarking on Season 2 of our podcast, and we are proud to spotlight Ms. Angelica Bidlack, a passionate advocate for social and environmental justice and Founder of Themis Magazine, an online publication designed to amplify the voices of young people.

Read more about Angelica below:

Angelica Bidlack is a dedicated student based in Boston. She is the founder of Themis Magazine, a vibrant online publication tailored by and for the youth. Angelica's vision extends to the Global Fashion Exchange Youth Program, a groundbreaking platform facilitating collaborative efforts among young individuals to instigate transformative shifts within the fashion industry. Passionate about empowering young minds, her mission is to create accessible opportunities for young people to drive meaningful change in their chosen fields and advocate for social justice.

Check out Themis Magazine on Instagram

Also, check out the Global Fashion Exchange and visit them on Instagram as well!

We are back for episode two of our series in commemoration of the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent! Listen in as Ikram, Brenda, and I talk with Dr. Barbara G. Reynolds, Chairperson of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent on the importance of the International Day for People of African Descent, the International Decade for People of African Descent, the role of Member States in promoting the Decade, and addressing racial inequality through an intersectional lens.


Ms. Reynolds is the Vice-President for Administration, Advancement and Planning at the University of the Southern Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago. She served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Guyana from August 2014 to September 2019. Prior to this, Ms Reynolds was Head of Education for Save the Children UK, after having spent the previous two decades with UNICEF in programme, management and representational roles at Headquarters and country offices. Ms. Reynolds began her professional career as a teacher and continues to be involved in education. She Co-Chairs the CARICOM Digital Skills Task Force and is a Member of the Independent Technical Advisor Panel for the Global Partnership for Education. She is an active human rights professional, and an experienced human rights and gender mainstreaming facilitator. She holds a BA Education (Caribbean Union College), MA in Curriculum and Teaching (Howard University), the Post-Graduate Diploma in Distance Education (University of London) EdD in International Education Development/Curriculum and Instruction (Columbia University) and the MSt in International Human Rights Law (University of Oxford). Ms Reynolds’ second working language is Portuguese.

Mandate of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent

In honor of the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent (August 31), Bell Global Justice Institute is proud to partner with the Global Black Collective Institute to host a series entitled "Celebrating Black Women in Leadership and Decision-Making Spaces". This year's theme for the International Day for People of African Descent focuses on "Honoring the Contributions of the African Diaspora" - and our podcast series highlights the global contributions of Black Women.

We are so excited to collaborate with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to host this podcast series, and we hope the stories of the Black Women leaders we spotlight inspire you as much as they have inspired us!

Our first episode features Marie Diur who serves as the Chief of Interpretation Service (IS) at the United Nations Office in Geneva. Marie share about her journey to becoming Chief Interpreter, and her work to ensure that all global citizens who visit the United Nations feel welcome, heard, and included. Marie's bio is below, as well as additional links to the United Nations on its work to amplify the rights of People of African Descent.

Ms. Marie Diur joined the United Nations Office at Geneva as Chief of the Interpretation Service in December 2017, after nearly ten years at the United Nations Office at Vienna, initially as Chief of the French Booth and then as Chief Interpreter. Marie’s thirty-year career in interpretation spans over twelve years’ freelance work for UN agencies, the European Union, and the private market up until 2001 when she joined UN Headquarters as a Staff Interpreter.  Her
language portfolio comprises French (A), English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Swedish (C) and is complemented by a Maîtrise en langues étrangères appliquées (Université Toulouse-le-Mirail), a DEA en littérature française, francophone et comparée (Université Bordeaux 3), a Post-graduate Diploma in Conference Interpretation (PCL-London) and a Ph.D. in Humanities (Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Sevilla).  Marie Diur is a UNOG anti-racism advocate and chair of the working group on racism.

The Global Black Collective Institute was founded in 2021 by a group of the 2020 African Descent Fellows of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Our mission is to educate and empower those working to advance the human rights of Africans and People of African Descent. We envision a world free from racial inequality.

Important links from the United Nations:

International Day for People of African Descent

International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024)

United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent

 We are a proud collaborator for Tameka's global film viewing and discussion of My Girl Story happening on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, in commemoration of the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent. Please see below Tameka's bio and how you can join our international event on August 31st!

Register to watch the film here
Registration link for the event, including the panel discussion is here
Links to watch on Facebook and Youtube:
HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MYGIRLSTORYDOCUMENTARY
HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=UGGTTTKUKGK

Tameka Citchen-Spruce has a strong passion for disability advocacy and media. It started at 21 years old, as Ms. Wheelchair MI 2006. As Ms. Wheelchair MI, she spoke out about supporting women with disabilities who are being abused. Two years later she formed Women Empower Inc, its mission was to empower women with disabilities to live their best lives. Later she studied Broadcast Television and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Oakland University.
 
Tameka has been advocating for over 15 years for access to affordable and accessible housing, fighting against voting oppression towards people with disabilities, racial and gender injustices, and health equity.
 
Because of the combination of her journalism knowledge, and activism she learned the importance of telling a person's story. Her short film, Justifiable Homicide, has been nominated and won an award and her My Girl Story documentary has been selected for film festivals. 
 
Besides film, she's a community organizer for Warriors on Wheels of Metro Detroit and a facilitator for the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition. She is also a Program Assistant and Chairperson of the Inclusive Health Committee for Beaumont Health, Healthy Dearborn.
 
She has been selected for numerous fellowships including AmeriCorps, Public Allies of Metro Detroit, Michigan Disability Rights Coalition’s LEAD program and Detroit Equity Action Lab at Judge Damon Keith’s Wayne State University Law Center. She is a proud member of the National Black Disability Coalition.
 
Another important role of Tameka’s life is being a wife and mother of two young children. 

Tune in for Episode 9 of our podcast to hear from a fabulous young leader, Miss Denia Smith (She/Her/Hers) on how she is advancing civil and human rights as an intersectional changemaker and advocate. Be sure and check out her amazing podcast, "The She Shall Speak Series," to learn more about extraordinary, innovative, and trailblazing Black women and girls.

Read more about Denia below:
Denia Smith (She/Her/Hers) is an intersectional changemaker from New Jersey. She is immensely passionate about racial and gender justice, educational equity, and civic engagement. As a student researcher and grassroots organizer, Denia seeks to empower and mobilize young people in the pursuit of a more just and equitable future.

She is known for organizing a #BlackLivesMatter march garnering 1,000 attendees; reaching over 5,000 students through local and national initiatives pertaining to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI); and co-founding the WW-P POC Advocacy: a youth organization implementing racially equitable education reform. As a Youth Advisor on Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Making Caring Common Youth Advisory Board, Denia continues to collaborate with young people to make US schools more just, caring, and inclusive spaces for all students.

Her advocacy expands beyond her community as a Teen Advisor to the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up Campaign, where she advocates for global gender equality. During her tenure, Denia spoke at the 2021 Girl Up Leadership Summit, co-emceed Girl Up’s Inaugural Sports Innovation Lab, and represented Girl Up at the Big Brainstorm, UNF’s annual open-space event designed to provide a platform for intergenerational action on pressing global issues. Denia also explores the intersections of racial and gender justice as a Young Scholar Research Intern at the African American Policy Forum. Her research on Black girls ’self-perception as leaders inspired her to create The She Shall Speak Series, a podcast and empowerment community inspiring Black women and girls to be leaders. Since its creation in February 2022, The She Shall Speak Series has garnered a global audience spanning across 12 U.S. states and 5 countries. Additionally, Denia mobilizes young people for Democratic policies as the Political Director of the New Jersey High School Democrats and Executive Director of the High School Democrats of America’s Black Caucus.

Denia is a three-year alumnus of Black Girls Lead! hosted by BLACK GIRLS ROCK!® at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is a Conversationalist Disruptor, Disney Dreamer, New Jersey Rising Scholar (bestowed by the NJ Department of Education), recipient of the Princeton Prize in Race Relation’s Certificate of Accomplishment, and member of the Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) Global Cohort powered by Women Empowering Nations and Cantu Beauty.