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Grant Blvd

The session in which we speak with Kimberly McGlonn, Ph.D. about her brand, Grant Blvd and the ways she works to challenge  economic injustice and marginalization. Dr. McGlonn launched Grant Blvd – named for the Milwaukee street where she grew up – as a sustainable design brand creating pathways to employment for people with a history of incarceration. All of their original and stylish garments are made from reclaimed fabrics, and through her brand, Kimberly works to advance the collective good of both people and the planet.

You can learn more on her website; you can also shop there!            Fyi – they’re also making and selling masks right now.

 www.grantblvd.com 

 

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In Her Defense

The session in which we spoke with Selena Alonzo, J.D. a public defender in Maryland. Selena is a Mexican-American and was strongly influenced by her family experience of having several of the most important men in her life (grandfather, uncles, cousin) incarcerated for various reasons. Selena holds deep knowledge of the effects of incarceration on people and their families. Knowing that the truest solution will be systemic change in our criminal justice system, Selena uses her law degree to work within the system to help change a potentially negatively spiraling life course for people as best she can. 

We spoke with Selena just as the pandemic began to shut down the nation and asked for an update – this update also needs an update as we received it on March 25, 2020 but is interesting nonetheless:

It’s incredible how much everything has changed. I never realized how much I took for granted before… 
 
I’ve been working remotely since 3/13. All of the cases I had set have been postponed until May. As of right now, the only thing we are able to do is file bond review motions to get our clients who are detained pre-trial out of jail. The majority of Assistant State Attorneys are opposing our bond review motions and are trying to keep people in jail. They are willing to release clients if they plead guilty to something but that is incredibly coercive given that we have no way of conveying any plea offers to our clients. We still have to go into the jails to interview clients which is a risk to both us and a bigger risk for our incarcerated clients because we could be silent carriers. I’m really hoping they figure out a way for us to interview clients over the phone soon… A small bright spot has been that police are arresting far less people. On an average bonds docket, I would have 15-20 people. Yesterday, I only had 4. Maybe after this cops will realize they don’t need to arrest every single person for “crimes” like disorderly or obstructing and hindering.  SA
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Poor People’s Economic Human Rights

The session in which we talk with Cheri Honkala, co-founder of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC).  Cheri was removed from her Mother’s home as a girl and raised in foster care. She later attended college and had a child of her own. After experiencing homelessness as a single mom due to unfortunate circumstances, Honkala realized her Mother was not ‘bad’ after all; She was struggling in a society that offered no resources.  Cheri has been organizing poor and homeless people for over 30 years and is now a General in the Poor People’s Army.

economichumanrights.org

poorpeoplesarmy.com

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North Philly Peace Park

The session in which we chat with 3 passionate team members from the North Philadelphia Peace Park. The NPPP is a charitable eco-campus providing free education, health & wellness, and produce programs to the Philadelphia Community.  We chatted with Nyasha Felder, Li Sumpter, and Bird – each bringing different knowledge, skill, and perspective to their volunteer work at the NPPP. 

phillypeacepark.org

The Peace Park has recently launched a project campaign to get their planned Peace Pavilion completed. To learn about it and donate please visit:  https://ioby.org/project/north-philly-peace-park-peace-pavillion-project

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Commitment to Racial Justice

In this session, we devote our podcast to things we can do to promote racial justice. We also made the following commitment based upon a campaign crafted by Tangia Al-Awaji Estrada of the WOC Podcasters Community which is led by Danielle Desir:

“We are podcasters united to condemn the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many many others at the hands of police. This is a continuation of the systemic racism pervasive in our country since its inception and we are committed to standing against racism in all its forms. 

We believe that to be silent is to be complicit. 

We believe that Black lives matter. 

We believe that Black lives are more important than property. 

We believe that we have a responsibility to use our platforms to speak out against this injustice whenever and wherever we are witness to it. 

In creating digital media we have built audiences that return week after week to hear our voices and we will use our voices to speak against anti-blackness and police brutality, and we encourage our audiences to be educated, engaged, and to take action.”

Thank you Tangia and WOC Podcasters. We stand with you. 

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The Male Gaze

Shrinks After Hours talking about the way men have pushed to define the standards of beauty that women try to live up to. Why?!

Ugh, that male gaze – looking to make women sexual objects for hetero-male pleasure.  

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Black Mothering for White Spaces

The session in which we chat with LaChan V Hannon about mothering her two children and helping them learn to navigate white spaces, such as school and the classroom.

LaChan is the School of Education Certification Officer at The College of New Jersey and Executive Director of Greater Expectations Teaching and Advocacy Center.  She is a PhD candidate in teacher education and teacher development at Montclair State University. Her scholarly work focuses on the intersectionality of race, disability and parent involvement.  Her TEDx Talk entitled Young, Gifted & Black with Autism was released in 2016.

PostScript: We held our podcast interview with LaChan before the coronavirus took hold here this Spring. Recently, we asked her for an update regarding some of her thoughts at this time. She told us this: 

“Just as there is nothing predictable about what is happening right now in society, there is nothing predictable about Black mothering during a quarantine. My daughter loves online instruction and my son, with Autism, misses his friends and being at school. We are all creating a NEW normal both for schooling as well as daily life co-habitating. Daily check-ins are absolutely necessary to get a pulse on what we are all all experiencing. Now more than ever, it is important for us to hold fast to our family beliefs which are (1) we are in community with one another and have an obligation to each other, (2) we honor our word and do what we said we would do, and (3) we all make mistakes and can ask for forgiveness” 
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Double Meaning

For many of the people we interview, the good works they do are meaningful in two ways. They get to help other people and often see the positive outcomes of their efforts. This alone is extremely rewarding. In addition, we’ve noticed that many people end up doing the important, transformational work that they do because they have been through a difficult, possibly even traumatic experience themselves. It makes sense that they’d want to help others who have had similar experiences. One of the best ways to move past trauma is to become active, to use it (the understanding of the situation, the learning that occurred, the experience of recovery, etc. ) to do good. It’s easy to get stuck as the passive recipient of a negative experience. For those who can turn their own struggle into a way to help others, it can be extremely meaningful and rewarding.