GBH News Rooted

Basic Black: Black Men Speak This week on Basic Black, a discussion with Black men on the impact of police involved shootings and street killings after the murders of Tyre Nichols in Tennessee and Tyler Lawrence in Mattapan. Plus, how do they counsel and speak to young Black men about encounters with the police, crime and day-to-day living. Panelists: Dr. Charles Daniels, Jr., a licensed therapist and Co-Founder and CEO, Father’s UpLift, a mental health clinic and treatment facility. Steph Lewis, President and CEO, The BASE Shawn Brown, Executive Director, Youth Guidance Boston, with flagship programs, BAM – Becoming a Man and WOW – Working on Womanhood Callie Crossley hosts.

Basic Black: Black and Brown Philanthropy This week, we are discussing Black and Brown philanthropy in communities of color. Black, Indigenous, donors of color are making bold steps to change the face of philanthropy, funding causes to not only assist non-profit organizations but also empower communities of color and build racial equity. It’s a shift that has been happening over the years due to the health disparities highlighted during the pandemic, racial reckoning, and the murder of George Floyd. Even large foundations and community funders recognize the need to reframe how they can support groups on the grass roots level. We’ll discuss the history of donations in communities of color via churches, giving circles, i.e., su-su, geh, tong-time, and local groups. Plus, how to attract more BIPOC and younger donors of color. Panelists: Bithiah Carter, President and CEO, New England Blacks in Philanthropy Aixa Beauchamp, Co-Founder, The Latino Equity Fund, The Boston Foundation Danielle Kim, Director, Asian Community Fund, The Boston Foundation Natanja Craig Oquendo, Executive Director, The Boston Women’s Fund Donna Latson Gittens hosts.

This week a conversation with some of the new political leaders recently elected to office –that are not Gov. Healey or AG Campbell. We are speaking with three new representatives of color. They are young, smart and possess the desire to help their communities. What will this shift in leadership bring and what they hope to accomplish for their constituents? Panelists: Representative Judith Garcia, state representative for Suffolk County’s 11th District comprising Chelsea and parts of Everett. Representative Christopher Worrell, state Representative for Suffolk County’s 5th District which comprises parts of Boston’s Roxbury and Dorchester neighborhoods. Rep. Christopher Worrell succeeds Liz Miranda, who is now State Senator 2nd Suffolk District. He is also the brother of City Councilor Brian Worrell. Representative Sam Montaño, state representative for Suffolk County’s 15th District, which makes up a majority of Jamaica Plain, parts of Roxbury, and the back of the hill section of Mission Hill. Callie Crossley hosts.

1/20 Basic Black: Black Twitter’s Next Move This week our conversation is about Black Twitter, one of the most popular and influential groups on social media platform. Black Twitter started movements, raised issues, and provided a platform for Black and Brown people to connect and create a community where their voices are heard. However, Twitter’s rise in hate speech and ownership has shifted how people choose to participate, raising questions about the survival of Black Twitter and its discourse. Panelists: Jeneé Osterheldt, Culture Columnist, The Boston Globe. Caroline Kautsire, educator, and author of, “Some Kind of Girl.” Meredith Clark, Ph.D., associate professor and Founding Director of the Center for Communication, Media Innovation and Social Change, Northeastern University. Her research includes studying Black Twitter since 2010. Danielle Johnson, CEO and Founder, SPARK FM Online. Kristen L. Pope hosts.

The Embrace is coming. The 20x40 foot monument of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., embracing his wife, Coretta Scott King in 1964 soon after winning the Nobel Peace prize capturing their marital bond. The couple met as students in Boston. The Embrace Boston statue links Boston Common’s vibrant 400-year history as a gathering space for Boston residents. The panelists discuss Embrace Boston, the unveiling and the hope for the future —for Boston and the world. Panelists Imari Paris Jeffries, Executive Director, Embrace Boston Tito Jackson, CEO and founder, Apex Noire L’Merchie Frazier, Executive Director of Creative Strategies, SPOKE Callie Crossley hosts.

Basic Black - Boston’s New Pitch This week on the show, we will discuss the tourism campaigns to attract diverse workers, visitors and businesses to Boston as well as highlight establishments owned by people of color in Boston and the surrounding cities. The swearing in of Black, Brown and LGBTQIA+ political leadership and the unveiling of the Embrace statue raises the profile of the city and inclusivity. However, criticism about Boston and racism remains a topic of conversation. Boston is not the only city with a history of racism, but it is a city with a persistent claim of being racist. Are the campaigns enough to shed the city’s history and issues of discrimination and offer additional opportunities for communities and businesses of color? Guest Panelists: Segun Idowu, Chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, City of Boston Hilina D. Ajakaiye, Executive Vice President, Meet Boston (formerly the GBCVB) Adrian Walker, Associate Editor/Metro Columnist, The Boston Globe. He was also a member of the Spotlight team that reported on Race in Boston Callie Crossley hosts.

Public Art: The Muralists The Greater Boston area is becoming something of a mecca for murals. From Roxbury and Worcester to Salem and Boston, streets and buildings have been adorned with massive, colorful creations by local and national Black Indigenous artists. But as artists and members of the community welcome the murals, it has also raised concerns around the preservation of the paintings and whether the artwork may invite gentrification in predominantly communities of color. Guest Panelists: Silvia López Chavez, muralist, and Artist-in-Residence at MASS MoCA Marquis Victor, Founder and Executive Director, Elevated Thought, an art and social justice organization based in Lawrence, MA. Rob “ProBlak” Gibbs, Muralist, Co-Founder and Director of Artist Fellowships for Artists for Humanity. Callie Crossley hosts.

This week on Basic Black, we discuss how the results from this mid-term election cycle will impact communities of color. During this mid-term election cycle, we have seen a number of new faces—Black and Brown candidates running for state and national office around the country. Andrea Campbell became Attorney General-elect for the Commonwealth, the first Black woman to hold that office. In Maryland, Wes Moore became the first Black governor; Robert Garcia will be the first out LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress in California, and Maxwell Frost, 25 will be the first member of Generation Z elected to Congress in Florida. Panelists: Tanisha Sullivan Esq., President of the NAACP Boston Branch, she is also a member of the GBH Board of Advisors, and she ran in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts Secretary of State Rahsaan Hall, Principal for Rahsaan Hall Consulting, and former Director, Racial Justice Program, ACLU of Massachusetts, he also ran for Plymouth County DA during this election cycle Dr. Paul Watanabe, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian American Studies, UMass Boston Dr. Tatishe Nteta, Provost Professor of Political Science, UMass Amherst and Director of UMass Poll Callie Crossley hosts.

This week on Basic Black, we discuss how quiet quitting impacts communities of color. Several surveys confirm millions of American workers are quiet quitters. A hot topic of interest as many people are returning to the office, for some employees that feel undervalued and underpaid are adopting this quiet quitting mindset of disengagement and dissatisfaction while remaining on payroll. However, not everybody can afford pulling back from the job, for workers of color that already feel they face mistreatment and inequities in the workplace, including bias performance reviews, lack of feedback from managers, and being tasked with undesirable projects. Panelists: Melissa James, Chief Growth Officer at IBIS Consulting Group Lauren Hunter-Dyson, Chief People and Diversity Officer for the New England Aquarium Malia Lazu, founder and CEO of The Lazu Group and lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Callie Crossley hosts.

This week on Basic Black we will discuss rap lyrics used in court cases as evidence, the bias toward hip hop and rap --the biggest music genre, and how do you separate the art/artistic expression from the artist. But rap artists have ended up charged and jailed — singled out by prosecutors who have claimed their lyrics reveal criminal intent. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently passed a bill saying that lyrics cannot be used in court cases. There is also a federal bill, the RAP Act, looking to do the same nationally. Why is their freedom of speech not protected? And will this criminalizing of rap influence other kinds of creative expression? Guest Panelists: Renée Graham, Associate Editor and Opinion Columnist, The Boston Globe’s op-ed page Michael P. Jeffries, Ph.D., Professor and Dean of Academic Affairs, Wellesley College. He is also the author of, “Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-Hop.” Danielle Scott aka “Queen D.” MC, vocalist, songwriter, producer, PhD candidate at Brown University AND Professor, Hip-Hop Jazz Ensemble, Berklee College of Music Traci Griffith, Director, Racial Justice Program, A-C-L-U of Massachusetts (via remote) Callie Crossley hosts.