Living out Loud: Storytelling for Social Chang‪e‬ Merrimack College Podcasts

In honor of February being Black History Month, Director of Merrimack College's new Master of Social Work program Dr. Shannon Butler-Mokoro and librarian Gabby Womack discuss the history of Black History Month and explain how diversifying education can extend Black History beyond a single month and into history curriculum. Hosted by producer Michael Senoff, students Cobbina Appiah, Derrick Harris, and Jackson Fortune-O'Brien join the conversation and share their experiences as student leaders, agents of history, and advocates of diversity.

Almost from the start, the US Census has been a site of controversy. In this episode, librarian Gabby Womack shares her research with host/producer Dr. Debra Michals and graduate student Tiana Lawrence about 1930s changes in Census categories that had an impact on how people of color were counted, as well as the complicated history of "passing" and the experience of being black in the US.

It's been 10 months since the coronavirus pandemic derailed the graduation ceremony of the class of 2020 and the economic crisis that followed forced many of them to rethink their post-graduation plans. In this episode, we check in with some recent graduates to hear what they're doing now and how they've confronted the challenges of graduating into a pandemic.

In recognition of "Movember," senior producer Michael Senoff talks about men's mental health concerns with Peter Rojas, Coordinator of Multicultural Initiatives and Co-Advisor of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Merrimack College. The episode raises concerns about the silence around men's men health, especially given that men are almost four times more likely to commit suide than women -- a number that increases among men who idenitify as gay, bisexual, or transgender.

In this episode, producer Tiffany Begin-Stearns, Media Coordinator and instructor in the Communication and Media Department, hosts a roundtable with graduate students in Merrimack College's Higher Ed. program about their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic during the Spring 2020 semester. (Tiffany is also a student in this program).

On this first episode, the four members of our team reflect on where we are, what we're thinking/feeling right now and how proud we are of our College administration as well as the entire Merrimack community.