LeShay would like to dedicate this episode to the memory of Monica Roberts, a tireless champion for equality. In this episode of "on air with...", Janelle talks with LeShay Weeks about personal evolution and trans advocacy. Weeks talks about her decision to embrace her power and voice as an advocate, her entrepreneurial spirit and health, the ugly and beauty about community, and Black trans invisibility in the LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter movements. Find us at: iTunes - Click

Editor's note: This piece was written in response to George Floyd's murder. I am a fugitive. I am on the run. I hope my crime never catches up with me. Let me take you to the scene of the crime. It was November 21, 1982. It was a beautiful Sunday evening. Things were going well, then it happened. I can't describe to you what I was thinking when I did it. Even after all this time, I still have no plausible explanation for my crime. It just happened. I was born. I committed the

In this episode of "on air with...", Janelle talks with Devon Miller and Allison Bret of Dallas Summer Musicals about their program Black Art Matters. Both Miller and Bret expose some of the racist roots of Dallas, Texas, and how they, along with their organization, are working to correct the effects of this racist past through art and theater. Check out DSM's YouTube Channel and their Black Art Matters series. Find us at: iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click Here Spotify

The be_voiced Squad takes over Echoes on air! Squad members Lauren Harrison and Emily Truelove talk with Caleb de la Torre and Fatima Flores about effective and ineffective methods of protest and ways Gen Z is getting involved in protest movements. Find us at: iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click Here Spotify - Click Here As mentioned on the podcast: Follow @TheFundForCollegeAuditions on Instagram Check out these additional articles: Some influencers spark backlash after

In this early release of "on air with...", Janelle responds to the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, and the Black Lives Matter protests. She talks with DR Mann Hanson and Darnell Lamont Walker about protesting, what to expect and safety when on the front lines, and other ways to participate in the revolution. Find us at: iTunes - Click Here Google Play - Click Here Spotify - Click Here Seeking Asylum by Darnell Lamont Walker: https://vimeo.com/14509

The Pandemic of Hate in America continues in 2020 with no signs of mitigation. The words “pandemic” and “relief” are used with regularity to describe the Coronavirus Crisis. We can use these same words to describe the contagion of hate and fear that has consumed America and cost Ahmaud Arbery his life. Brunswick, Georgia — a town created in the year 1738 — serves as a reminder that affairs between the white enslavers and present-day assassins are similar. In the antebellum so

Editor's note: I wrote the beginning of this article for the blog a year ago. Due to scheduling, I never posted it. Since then, it's been sitting in a scrap pile of words that I call "My Vent Box." Sadly, with the death of Botham Jean, this is relevant again. We all know the problems. Discrimination. Inequality. Racism. Prejudice. Bias. Really, pick a word. It’s hard to turn on the news and not see these through the news stories. Whether it’s a politician saying he should be

© 2018 by Djoré Nance The river that runs twixt Texas and Oklahoma Native blood the same as the native color The river that runs from the gulf to Canada Contains parts unknown in the negro panacea It’s an unrest that passes all confusion How do we awaken from this demonic illusion Hallucination of collusion with power that’s soft But it’s flacidity doesn’t merit a scoff Pay attention to the way they speak And the stupidity we seek will show a river of red A river bed that’s c

<Ascends royally to her soapbox, grabs the megaphone, daintily clears her throat, waits for silence and yells…> FEMINISM IS NOT THE SAME AS BLACK FEMINISM! Let me tell you why. Being black in America is no joke. You can argue this with me if you want to. But I’ll just side eye and point to the pages in history books that people keep trying to tear out, the talks of police brutality sparked by the dead brown faces littering my newsfeed, and really…just my life in general (and

I was first introduced to the play Br’er Cotton by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm at Kitchen Dog Theater’s New Works Festival as a reading in May of 2016. I thought the play was fantastic, visually stunning, very special and yet extremely challenging. When Kitchen Dog Theater’s Co-Artistic Directors, Tina Parker and Chris Carlos, decided to produce Br’er Cotton as a Mainstage New Works Festival Play to be performed in June of 2017, I was thrilled and looked forward to seeing it i