MBHT - Everyday People, Extraordinary Impact

Hosted by Liz and Porter
  • 5.0 (7)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Biweekly

An award-winning Black culture and history podcast featuring the leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, creatives and changemakers shaping Dallas and beyond. Hosted by Liz and Porter, each conversation goes beyond the résumé to explore the stories, challenges, lessons and defining moments behind people making an impact in business, education, entrepreneurship, arts, culture, leadership and community. Hear conversations with Ambassador Ron Kirk, Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney, Comedian Ryan Davis, Leah Frazier, Maryum Ali and more. New episodes every other Thursday. Follow the show so you never miss one.

  1. Sep 24 ·  Video

    Leah Frazier: From Lawyer to Emmy-Winning Entrepreneur—The Power of the Pivot

    Leah Frazier went from practicing law to becoming an entrepreneur, media personality, founder of Think Three Media, and Emmy Award winner, but the road between those chapters was anything but straight. In this candid conversation, Leah opens up about the side of entrepreneurship people rarely see: losing her car, investing her life savings, starting over, and learning when persistence isn't enough and it's time to pivot. She shares what it took to leave the traditional path of law, build a business, navigate setbacks, reinvent herself, and eventually ask the question that changed the way she approached her future: “What else can I build?” Liz and Porter talk with Leah about entrepreneurship, career reinvention, resilience, risk, business, and what success looks like when the original plan changes. In this episode: • Why Leah left the traditional path of practicing law • The reality behind building Think Three Media • Losing her car and investing her life savings • How to recognize when it's time to pivot • Starting over after setbacks • Becoming an Emmy Award winner • Why relationships and reputation matter in business • The question that changed her perspective: “What else can I build?” Making Black History Today documents the people shaping Black Dallas and the stories becoming tomorrow's history. Follow Making Black History Today on Apple Podcasts so you never miss a new conversation. New episodes every other Thursday. 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

  2. Sep 10 ·  Video

    $1.2 Trillion in Government Contracts: What Small Businesses Need to Know

    $1.2 trillion in government contracting opportunities are on the table—but getting certified doesn't mean you're getting the contract. Angela L. Alexander, Executive Director of the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA), joins Making Black History Today to explain what small businesses need to know about government contracts, DBE certification, minority business certification, procurement and contracting opportunities in a changing environment. Changes affecting the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) programs are changing how some businesses demonstrate eligibility. For Black-owned, minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses, understanding those changes is increasingly important when competing for public-sector opportunities. But certification is only the beginning. Getting certified doesn't guarantee a contract. Businesses still need the capacity to perform, relationships with buyers and prime contractors, visibility, access to information and a strategy for identifying and pursuing the right opportunities. Angela discusses why partnerships and joint ventures can help small businesses compete for larger contracts, what entrepreneurs should be doing after becoming certified and why building relationships matters in government procurement. She also introduces The Bridge by NCTRCA, an AI-powered directory designed to increase the visibility of certified businesses and connect them with buyers and prime contractors. In this episode, you'll learn: • What NCTRCA does and why business certification matters • What DBE, ACDBE, MBE, WBE and SBE certifications mean • What's changing for DBE and ACDBE businesses • Why certification doesn't guarantee government contracts • How small businesses can position themselves for contracting opportunities • Why capacity and relationships with prime contractors matter • How partnerships and joint ventures can create opportunities for small businesses • How The Bridge by NCTRCA helps certified businesses increase their visibility • What Angela Alexander believes entrepreneurs should be doing now • What Making Black History Today means to Angela Alexander Whether you're pursuing your first government contract, already have DBE, MBE, WBE or SBE certification, or you're trying to grow a Black-owned, minority-owned or woman-owned business, this conversation offers insight into what it takes to move from certified to competitive. Because with $1.2 trillion in contracting opportunities, knowing the opportunity exists isn't enough. You have to be positioned to compete for it. 🎙️ Making Black History Today documents the leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, creatives and change-makers writing Black history right now. Hosted by Liz & Porter. 🌐 www.makingblackhistorytoday.com 📩 impact@makingblackhistorytoday.com New Episodes Drop Every Other Thursday 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

  3. Aug 27 ·  Video

    She Integrated a School in 4th Grade, Then Fought for Better Education | Shirley Ison-Newsome

    "Poverty has nothing to do with one's ability to learn." Shirley Ison-Newsome integrated a public school as a fourth grader and spent the next 40 years holding high standards inside Dallas ISD leadership. In this episode of Making Black History Today, she speaks candidly about the pushback that comes with pushing for excellence inside a massive school bureaucracy. From her front-row seat to school desegregation to building the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy, this is the story of what it takes to earn a legacy—and why a Dallas ISD academy now carries her name: the Shirley Ison-Newsome Montessori Academy. Key Topics in This Episode: • Integrating public schools in the 4th grade • 40 years inside Dallas ISD leadership • Resisting bureaucratic pressure and refusing to lower standards • Founding the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy • The vision behind the Shirley Ison-Newsome Montessori Academy New episodes of Making Black History Today drop every other Thursday. Tap (+ Follow) or Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts to never miss an episode! 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

  4. Aug 13 ·  Video

    The Man Who Refused to Let Dallas Forget | Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney

    History doesn't disappear all at once. It disappears one story at a time, one name nobody writes down, one photograph nobody identifies, one neighborhood that changes before anyone documents what stood there before, one elder who passes away before anyone asks the question. For more than 50 years, Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney has made it his life's work to make sure that doesn't happen. In this episode of Making Black History Today, Liz and Porter sit down with the historian, scholar, educator, author and preservationist for a powerful conversation about Black Dallas history, African American history, Dr. Carter G. Woodson's legacy and the responsibility we all share to preserve our stories. Dr. Dulaney takes us through a journey that began with a history conference in 1970 and grew into more than five decades of teaching, researching, writing and preserving African American history. His work has explored the Black experience in Texas, the Civil Rights Movement and the history of Black police officers in America. He has led the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, served the African American Museum, Dallas in curatorial and executive leadership roles, taught generations of students and served as president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) the organization founded by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. And in 2026, that connection carries even greater significance. One hundred years ago, in 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, laying the foundation for what would eventually become Black History Month. But Woodson's vision was bigger than a week or a month. The ultimate goal was a nation that understood a fundamental truth: Black history is American history. A century later, the work continues. In this conversation, we explore: • The Black Dallas history many of us grew up surrounded by without realizing we were living inside history • The people, neighborhoods and institutions that helped build Black Dallas • The stories that have already been lost—and the history still waiting to be uncovered • Why museums, archives and institutions like the African American Museum, Dallas matter • Dr. Carter G. Woodson, ASALH and 100 years of preserving African American history • Why interviewing our elders and documenting living memory is urgent • Freedom Schools, the African American Heritage Bowl and teaching Black history to the next generation • What today's historians, storytellers and communities must preserve for tomorrow But this conversation isn't only about looking backward. It's about what we choose to carry forward. Dr. Dulaney has spent more than 50 years helping preserve the history that came before us. Making Black History Today is working to document the history unfolding around us now. Different generations. Different methods. The same responsibility. Because somebody has to keep the archive. Somebody has to identify the people in the photograph. Somebody has to interview the elder. Somebody has to make sure one more name makes it into the record before it disappears. And somebody has to document the history we're making today. So after you listen, we want you to consider one question: What history are you living right now that you worry future generations might forget? In your city. Your neighborhood. Your family. Your profession. Your community. Because the history we fail to preserve today may become the history someone spends decades trying to recover tomorrow. Making Black History Today is the digital archive of today's history-makers, documenting today's history for tomorrow. Follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and share this episode with someone who believes our stories are worth preserving. New episodes every other Thursday. Making Black History Today 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

  5. Jul 30 ·  Video

    Ambassador Ron Kirk Opens Up: Leadership, Mistakes & The Road Ahead

    "Travel teaches you something powerful...you realize how much we are all the same." — Ambassador Ron Kirk What shapes a leader? Is it success, failure, the people who believe in you, or the relationships you build along the way? In this exclusive conversation, Ambassador Ron Kirk—former Mayor of Dallas and former U.S. Trade Representative under President Barack Obama—shares the life experiences that shaped one of America's most respected public servants. From growing up in East Austin to serving on the world stage, Ambassador Kirk reflects on leadership, mentorship, service, humility, and the lessons learned through both triumphs and setbacks. He also discusses his relationship with former Governor Ann Richards, the wisdom passed down by previous generations, and why he believes, "We Are American History. Period." Whether you're a high school student discovering your path, a college student preparing for your future, an emerging professional, or an experienced leader, this conversation offers timeless lessons on purpose, perseverance, and building relationships that matter. In this episode, we discuss: • Growing up in East Austin and the experiences that shaped his worldview • Why travel changed the way he sees humanity • Leadership lessons learned from mistakes and setbacks • His relationship with former Governor Ann Richards • The wisdom of our ancestors and carrying their legacy forward • The Arc of the Moral Universe and what it means today • Why Black history is American history • What Making Black History Today means to Ambassador Ron Kirk Making Black History Today is Dallas's premier Black-owned multimedia company and the home of Dallas's #1 Black podcast, documenting the leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, and changemakers writing Black history today. Hosted by Liz Gates and LaToya Porter. New episodes premiere every other Thursday. 🌐 www.makingblackhistorytoday.com 📩 Sponsorships & Partnerships: impact@makingblackhistorytoday.com 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

  6. Jul 16

    Black Women's Wall Street: Building Generational Wealth

    Wall Street has historically shut its doors to Black women, so right here in Dallas, two founders built their own. This week on Making Black History Today, hosts Liz & Porter sit down with LaToya Gooden and JaCoi Pugh, the creators of Black Women's Wall Street. Together, they break down what it actually takes to invest while Black, push past the barriers still built into corporate finance, and turn community into generational wealth. This isn't a corporate success story. It's an unfiltered look at what it takes to build something that brings Black women entrepreneurs, business owners, and community leaders together to create ownership and lasting impact. In this episode, you'll hear: - How Black Women's Wall Street grew from a local idea into a movement - The barriers Black women entrepreneurs still face—and how they're overcoming them - Why building wealth together creates more impact than doing it alone - The role of strategic relationships and mentorship in growing a business - Why ownership is essential to closing the racial wealth gap - What legacy means when you're building something designed to outlive you Whether you're an entrepreneur, a professional, a community leader, or someone building toward a stronger financial future—this one's for you. If this episode inspired you, hit the [+] FOLLOW button and save this episode to your library so you never miss a moment of history being made. Share this with someone building a business, a legacy, or their own future today. Making Black History Today is Dallas's premier podcast documenting the leaders, entrepreneurs, creatives, and change-makers shaping Black history in real time. New episodes every other Thursday. Hosted by Liz & Porter | Recorded in Dallas, Texas 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

    Black Women's Wall Street: Building Generational Wealth

  7. Jul 2

    Can Music Heal a City? | Pastor Richie Butler & Maestro Leon Lacey on Unity, Faith, Project Unity & Dallas

    Can music heal a city? Can faith create common ground? And what happens when people choose unity over division? In this episode of Making Black History Today, Pastor Richie Butler, founder and CEO of Project Unity, joins internationally acclaimed conductor Maestro Leon Lacey for a conversation about leadership, community, and the power of music to bring people together. Pastor Richie Butler shares the story behind Project Unity, the Dallas-based organization dedicated to building trust, strengthening relationships, and creating meaningful dialogue across communities. Maestro Leon Lacey reflects on a career that has taken him around the world, including conducting for Beyoncé in Dubai, while explaining why some of his most meaningful work continues to happen right here in Dallas through Together We Sing. Together, they discuss how faith, collaboration, and servant leadership can help heal divided communities, why honest conversations matter, and how music often communicates what words cannot. In this episode, you'll discover: • Why Pastor Richie Butler founded Project Unity • How Together We Sing became one of Dallas' most powerful movements for unity • Maestro Leon Lacey's journey from the international stage to leading music that transforms communities • How faith and servant leadership build trust across differences • Why collaboration is essential for creating lasting change • What it means to make Black history today in Dallas Whether you're passionate about leadership, community development, faith, music, or the future of Dallas, this conversation offers practical wisdom and hope for anyone who believes stronger communities begin with understanding. Making Black History Today is Dallas' premier podcast and the digital archive of Dallas's current Black history makers. Hosted by Liz and Porter, each episode features conversations with the leaders, educators, entrepreneurs, artists, faith leaders, and change-makers shaping the future of Dallas while preserving its history for generations to come. Follow Making Black History Today on Spotify for new episodes every other Thursday featuring the people making Black history today across Dallas. 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

    Can Music Heal a City? | Pastor Richie Butler & Maestro Leon Lacey on Unity, Faith, Project Unity & Dallas

  8. Jun 18

    Not Restoring a Building. Returning a Soul. | Saving the Forest Theater

    For years, the Forest Theater stood empty. A historic landmark. A cultural icon. A reminder of what once was. Many people accepted that story. Elizabeth Wattley did not. In this Season II premiere of Making Black History Today, the President and CEO of Forest Forward joins us to discuss the effort to bring one of South Dallas' most important landmarks back to life and why the work is about much more than a building. It's about history. It's about community. It's about who gets remembered and who gets left behind. From the future of the Forest Theater to the future of South Dallas, Elizabeth shares the vision, challenges, and leadership lessons behind one of the city's most significant revitalization efforts. If you've ever wondered what it takes to preserve history while creating opportunity for the next generation, this conversation is for you. Topics include community development, historic preservation, leadership, economic opportunity, South Dallas, the Forest Theater, and the power of investing in people. Follow Making Black History Today for conversations with everyday people making an extraordinary impact. 🎙️ ABOUT MAKING BLACK HISTORY TODAY Making Black History Today is a digital archive documenting the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, artists, historians and changemakers shaping Dallas today. Hosted by Liz and Porter, new episodes premiere every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m. Follow Making Black History Today so you never miss a new conversation. 🌐 makingblackhistorytoday.com 📸 Instagram: @MakingBlackHistoryToday 🎵 TikTok: @MakingBlackHistoryToday ▶️ YouTube: @MakingBlackHistoryToday

    Not Restoring a Building. Returning a Soul. | Saving the Forest Theater
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An award-winning Black culture and history podcast featuring the leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, creatives and changemakers shaping Dallas and beyond. Hosted by Liz and Porter, each conversation goes beyond the résumé to explore the stories, challenges, lessons and defining moments behind people making an impact in business, education, entrepreneurship, arts, culture, leadership and community. Hear conversations with Ambassador Ron Kirk, Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney, Comedian Ryan Davis, Leah Frazier, Maryum Ali and more. New episodes every other Thursday. Follow the show so you never miss one.

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