Black Like Me Alex Gee

Dr. Alex Gee has an insightful and honest conversation with two of his friends, fellow men of faith, and fathers of daughters, Dr. Efrem Smith and Rev. Adam Edgerly. Their conversation covers the spectrum of recent concerns for Black people, from patriotism, cross-cultural relationships, racial justice movements, to the future of the US racial landscape. The group also uses the recent film, Judas and The Black Messiah, to spark relevant connections with historical context. This is a powerful snapshot of Black perspective on current events. 
Pastor Efrem Smith is an internationally recognized leader who uses motivational speaking and preaching to equip people for a life of transformation. He consults on issues of multi-ethnicity, leadership, and community development. Pastor Smith is the former- president and CEO of World Impact, an urban mission, church planting and leadership-development organization. He is the current co-lead Pastor of Bayside Church, Midtown. He’s the author of several books, including his latest, “Killing Us Softly.” Pastor Smith is a graduate of Saint John's University and Luther Theological Seminary. He received an honorary doctor of ministry degree from Ashland Theological Seminary.
Adam Edgerly, founding and lead pastor of Newsong Los Angeles Covenant Church, is the director of Covenant World Relief and Development (CWRD). Edgerly has served as the denomination’s associate director of global evangelism and Pacific Southwest Conference director of church planting. Edgerly also is the founder and CEO of Culture Consultants and has led workshops across five continents. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Biola University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in intercultural studies, which included field research in leadership and language in Mali, West Africa. He earned a master of business administration at Emory University.
alexgee.com
patreon.com/blacklikeme
 

As a companion conversation to this week's episode with Joy Bailey-Bryant about the importance of Black space, we are re-sharing a conversation about navigating white space.
Dr. Alex Gee has a conversation with Patrick Sims, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, and Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer for the Univerisity of Wisconsin-Madison. Sims oversees the Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement at the University. 
The discussion is an honest exploration of how large educational institutions handle diversity and the challenges of race in the campus environment. You are going to want to hear about Patrick’s unique background and how he came into this role to affect positive change at the university.
alexgee.com
patreon.com/blacklikeme
 

Dr. Alex Gee talks with Joy Bailey-Bryant, Lord Cultural Resources President, about the importance of cultural spaces and innovative museums. Baily-Bryant is involved in supporting the development of The Center for Black Excellence and Culture in Madison, WI. They connect over shared Black culture and tell stories of the power of preserving culture, demonstrating the resilient power of culture that has space to speak into itself. You won't want to miss a fun new edition of Black Ice Breakers.
As leader of cultural planning at the largest cultural consultancy in the world, Joy works with city officials, institutional leaders, and developers, in global municipalities like Chicago; New York; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Dharan, Saudi Arabia to creatively plan cities and bring people (life!) to public institutions. Joy led the teams for institutional and cultural planning on remarkable projects like the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., reaching more than 1,000 stakeholders across the country to learn their expectations for the new museum; the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, directing citywide engagement in locations as large as Chicago and small as Decatur, Georgia – speaking with thousands of individuals in meetings and on social media – to assess, project, and plan for their cultural needs; and planning and opening the expansion of the Albany Civil Rights Institute in Albany, Georgia—unearthing thousands of untold stories of the Southwest Georgia Civil Rights Movement.

A cultural planning specialist, certified interpretive planner, and outreach facilitator, Joy honed her specialized skill working in collaborative roles at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and notable cultural planning projects.
alexgee.com
patreon.com/blacklikeme

Because of recent events that are bringing greater attention to issues that impact African Americans, Black Like Me is highlighting past episodes that are relevant to the current national conversation. Be sure to also listen to Robin DiAngelo's return to the podcast in Episode 126.
Dr. Alex Gee brings you an important figure in the White Allyship conversation, Dr. Robin DiAngelo. Their conversation is insightful, truthful, and challenging to the system of racism. Dr. Gee and Dr. DiAngelo share the ability to speak from life experience, both personally and professionally, in an episode that is not to be missed.
Dr. Robin DiAngelo is the Affiliate Associate Professor of Education at the University of Washington. Her area of research is in Whiteness Studies and Critical Discourse Analysis, explicating how whiteness is reproduced in everyday narratives. Dr. DiAngelo has numerous publications and books, including Is Everybody Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Critical Social Justice Education, co-written with Özlem Sensoy, and which received both the American Educational Studies Association Critics Choice Book Award (2012) and the Society of Professors of Education Book Award (2018). In 2011 she coined the term White Fragility in an academic article which influenced the national dialogue on race. Dr. DiAngelo’s book, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism was released in June of 2018 and debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Dr. Gee welcomes back Robin DiAngelo for a conversation about the racial atmosphere of the last year. Dr. Gee asks what DiAngelo would tell his white listeners that may feel like things will be better now in our country? What is the role of white progressives in the racial environment? DiAngelo gives some clarity to how systemic racism adapts and how a sense of complacency is dangerous.
alexgee.com
patreon.com/blacklikeme

Dr. Gee brings back his friend Justice Jill Karofsky to give perspective on recent events. They cover voter suppression, the Washington Capitol insurrection, and mass incarceration. Justice Karofsky gives honest views of how important mental health is to judicial decision-making, the vitality of all elections, and diversity on the bench.
alexgee.com
patreon.com/blacklikeme