Daily Border Crossings Samantha Fletcher

Final day of Black History Month, phenomenal episode w/ phenomenal guests!!
Research told Black students long ago that they lacked reading proficiency and were below reading level. Decades later, research is telling the same story that they're still woefully behind. What is going on with research? With teaching practices? What should parents or teachers be watching for or doing differently? What should you do if the way your child/student reads, writes, or learns doesn’t match what’s widely considered “the norm”? And what about a learning difference or a dyslexia diagnosis? Then what?

Guess what? There's good news on the other side, and value in realizing that not all learning looks the same...so how do you navigate that? Join the conversation and learn from THRIVING adults who learn differently or are parenting children who are. Bring your questions!

Daily Border Crossings' 3 esteemed guests:

Marcia Brissett-Bailey – UK-based author of Black, Brilliant and Dyslexic, one of the Top 50 Influential Neurodivergent Women of 2022, Forbes featured dyslexia advocate and champion

LeDerick Horne – poet, spoken word artist, advocate, co-author of Empowering Students with Hidden Disabilities, and a "voice for people who learn differently"

Resha Conroy – founder of Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children (DABC), a national non-profit created by parents, educators, and advocates driven by the urgent need to alleviate the double disparity of unaddressed Dyslexia and racism


For more info, contact Samantha Fletcher, moderator and host of Daily Border Crossings, at dailybordercrossings@gmail.com.


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Black geeks, Blerds, Cosplayers they affectionately & proudly call themselves. Just in time for Black History Month, #28daysofcosplay

Think dressing up in costumes, Marvel, superheroes, TV & movie characters, loving sci-fi, fantasy & space shows, talking science and technology -- think all that is only for white people? THINK AGAIN.

Meet this panel of only a handful of the thousands of Black folks who live this Black geek, blerd, cosplay life.

Who are they? What goes on in this world? Are they regular folks like everyone else...who just happen to become their favorite characters from time to time?

Meet
Montel Thompson aka navymontel
https://www.instagram.com/navymontel/

Biggest misconception about Black geeks/blerds/cosplayers:

"Honestly, one of the biggest misconceptions that I have encountered is because we're fans of certain things that we don’t know how to function in society. There’s a certain level of observed immaturity that goes along with that accusation. On the contrary, we are just as productive and contributed to society as anybody else. The thing that sets us apart from the rest of the crowd is that when the day is done, we don’t have to go to clubs, get drunk and cause any kind of trouble or drama. we hang out with our own tribe and we create things that make ourselves and others happy."

Teresa Kennedy, a Sales Administrator, Geek, blerd & aspiring cosplayer ready to dip her toe and ankle into big time cosplay

Biggest misconception about Black geeks/blerds/cosplayers:
"I think outside people would probably be surprised at who considers themselves to be Blerds/Black geeks and who the cosplayers are. There may be coworkers or acquaintances who are cosplayers and they have no idea."

Allison Joyner, Freelance Journalist and Content Strategist for Allison Joyner Enterprises
Biggest misconception about Black geeks/blerds/cosplayers:
"the love of their fanverse is obsession"


Channing Scott Sherman, Co-Founder Black Geeks of DragonCon
Biggest misconception about Black geeks/blerds/cosplayers:

"We are all the same. There are MANY ways to be a blerd."


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Guests: Kendra Shae-Marie Mullings and Victoria Ennis

@blacksaturdayschool on Instagram

We're talking about Black Saturday School. Yep, you heard me right. Saturday School.

Based in Canada, it’s something that Kendra started a few years ago that is still going strong. And you might be thinking “My kids don't want to go to school during the week, no way would they go to school on Saturday!” but as it turns out, the kids who attend can’t wait for Saturdays because they are so in love with what is happening there. They get things they don’t get during typical weekday school at Black Saturday School.

It is open to students of all races and backgrounds ages 9 - 13. Do your children need something like this? Is this a model or perhaps is her specific program something more areas and school districts should be considering?



Daily Border Crossings is hosted and produced by Samantha Fletcher. https://www.samanthafletcher.com/


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The new The Color Purple movie is OUT -- and broke box office records on day 1 when it was released on Christmas day 2023!

One of my favorite moves of ALL TIME – we’re talking about THE COLOR PURPLE! Why do you, your grandma, your auntie, cousin, niece and nephew ALL know lines from this movie? Why is it so timeless? What's the magic that makes it connect people across regions, generations, genders, etc.? We laugh, agree, disagree, and connect -- and you will too!

My guests -- aka TCP experts by the sheer experience of being a part of Black culture and loving the book, movie, play or new movie:

Anthony Page, film director & producer, Atlanta

April Dobbins, writer & filmmaker, Iceland (from Alabama then Miami)

Kamille Bostick, PhD student, educator, activist, Charlotte (from SC)

Rosa Clemons, Black history museum board president, historian, activist, Georgia/SC

Terri A. Johnson, acclaimed author, D.C.

Dr. Shahara Jackson, educator, activist, Brooklyn/Boston

Tina Seales, business analyst, Maryland/Boston/NYC

And I get to do so with this whole panel of esteemed intellectual guests who also go by just regular everyday folks who pay attention.

Oprah and the cast of the new TCP have been all over the country and beyond promoting this new version. 

And I got to thinking - why am I excited all over again? Why are so many ppl excited? Wow it’s doing numbers so big it’s breaking box office records! Clearly it is connecting w/ many people – across generations and time. WHY IS THAT? 

And here we are with this wonderful crew and we will talk about past, present, and what TCP meant to us individually, personally, what it means to society, why people can relate and keep coming back. 

We’ll also talk about its cultural significance and Black cinema, Black media, Black folks, current events and much much more.






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We’re talking Palestinians, Israel and Gaza on this episode of Daily Border Crossings (DBC) and an expert on the region, author and law professor Khaled Beydoun is here to help us break things down and understand what’s really going on.

Israel, Gaza, Hamas, IDF, genocide, cease fire, occupation...the places, the people, the events, the terminology–

If you’re like many Americans, myself included, you’ve seen the horrific videos and images and heard heart- and gut-wrenching stories of the very real, very current war in the Middle East.

And if you’re like me and many Americans, you’ve wondered just what is going on? 

Khaled, an activist with a very active social media presence (his Instagram) for bringing awareness who’s also very busy traveling, speaking and writing on CNN or in the Washington Post, a frontline humanitarian made time for us to talk on day 69 of the war. Years before writing his 2 books,
American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear
and the follow up
The New Crusades: Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims,
he spent over a decade researching the area.

He’ll discuss the history, the present and how he thinks this will end. Also, hear his take on famous Palestinian DJ Khaled’s silence, his thoughts on Beyoncé, Taylor Swift & celebs in general in relation to the crisis, and what all of us should know, what we should do. Get ready to sit back, listen and learn. It’s DBC.

DBC is hosted and produced by Samantha Fletcher.

www.samanthafletcher.com


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Thrilled and honored to have author, attorney, law professor, public speaker, activist, Harvard scholar, critical race theorist, I’m sure I could go on and on with titles. Khaled Beydoun! His new book, The New Crusades Islamophobia and the Global War on Muslims, is a global follow up to his U.S.-centric first book, American Islamophobia: Understanding the Roots and Rise of Fear and has garnered awesome and impressive reviews. In this interview, Khaled's likability easily shines through, as he talks about serious subjects while weaving in wit and humor. We discuss:


Islamophobia, from book 1 to 2
life as a Muslim, US & globally
truths about Islam
unimaginable global atrocities + burden to honarably tell stories
why he fights (& without fear)
trump administration & beyond
Ramadan
critical race theory
9/11, law school & decisions
Politics of banning Black history
mentor kimberle crenshaw
much more

Learn more about me -- producer, host, visionary and DEI technologist -- at www.samanthafletcher.com/.


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