In this episode, Denisha Porter and Joan Ferrante come to the table to examine the current climate of race relations amid the 6th Annual National Day of Racial Healing. Launched in 2017, the National Day of Racial Healing is an initiative to bring ALL people together and inspire collective action to build common ground for a more just and equitable world.

Denisha Porter is the first Executive Director All-In Cincinnati, a community-led equity coalition focused on systemic change. All-In Cincinnati aims to deepen, amplify, and multiply local and regional efforts to build equitable, thriving neighborhoods.

Joan Ferrante is an educator, author, consultant, speaker, and filmmaker known for collaborative, accessible work on race and identity. She is the founding director of the Mourning the Creation of Racial Categories Project, which has involved over a 100 artist to tell the story of how the United States created racial categories and the lasting effects this deliberate dividing has had on lives, relationships, and identities.

Resource: About NDORH - National Day Of Racial Healing

Resource: All-In Cincinnati Coalition - All-In Cincinnati Coalition

Resource: America's Truth: Cincinnati - Documentary | Center for Community Resilience | Milken Institute School of Public Health | The George Washington University

Resource: The Mourning the Creation of Racial Categories Project

In this episode, Alishia Lee and Vanny Wmamba pull up to the table for a candid conversation regarding fashion and its place within our culture, examining how it has been a rich tapestry that reflects identity, mental health, culture, and social change.

Alishia is the visionary CEO and designer behind Me By Lee Custom Designs, a fashion brand where storytelling, sustainability, and inclusiveness take center stage. Her work has graced TV and film productions featured on Amazon Prime, Tubi, and more, while her Luxe and Long Full Figured Fashion line redefines couture for everyBODY. She is also the Program Director for the MAC Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting fashion, entrepreneurship, and economic development in the Midwest. From producing sold-out runway shows to hosting Sip & Sew community events, Alishia continues to inspire makers, disrupt the fashion status quo, and create space for bold, authentic expression in every thread.

Vanny is a remarkable storyteller and filmmaker who continues bridge the gap between African and African American cultural through various projects. He has been the lead organizer for the Sapologie Walk in Cincinnati, a cultural movement where Congolese elegance comes to America. A sophisticated experience with great similarity to Dandyism, it is celebration of style, community, cultural pride, and authentic storytelling.

The authentic reality of our history reflects that White insecurity has contested Black political life since the first public endorsement for Black suffrage.

Two days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, President Abraham Lincoln addressed a jubilant crowd that had gathered outside the White House. While the crowd expected an address celebrating the Union victory and the preservation of the nation, Lincoln instead used the occasion to outline his view of reconstruction. He also for the first time publicly expressed his support for Black suffrage which led John Wilkes Booth, who was in the audience to vow, “That is the last speech he will ever make.” Three days later, Booth assassinated the President at Ford’s Theater.

In this LIVE episode, Tamaya Dennard joins C.J. for a candid conversation regarding her journey into politics, the legacy and reclamation of Black political life, and more. Tamaya is the Programs and Partnerships Manager at RepresentWomen. Inspired by Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan and an abiding belief that everyone deserves a non-tokenized voice in what’s happening in their community, in 2017, Tamaya became the first openly gay woman elected to public office in the City of Cincinnati. Her focus in office was dismantling legislation rooted in systemic racism, classism and sexism and creating equitable policies that gave everyone an equal opportunity to succeed.