Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #83-Rissi Palmer: Detours, Revival & Color Me CountryIn 2007, country singer Rissi Palmer became the first Black female with a song on the charts in 20 yrs with her hit Country Girl. The fame and notoriety that followed was the culmination of years of hard work and faith. But the country music business didn't know what to…

ARMAUD ARBERY. BREONNA TAYLOR. GEORGE FLOYD... With America's cities in flames by the hands of the inflamed, charged over yet another and another and another Black death, here's my response to the week that was... to the weak, this is. A friend posted on her Facebook page about her moment of clarity after watching events unfold. She wondered why it…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #81-Jerry Jameel Wilson: Black Educator @ The End of His Rope

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #80--Dr. Blair Kelley: Sailing Black Dissent in The Constancy of America Dr. Blair L.M. Kelley is the Assistant Dean for Interdisciplinary Studies and International Programs for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at NC State University. She is also Associate Professor of History and is on the faculty of the Pub…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep#79--Germaine Parra: Searching for the CaravanBorn in Iowa, raised a good catholic girl in a family of 11 children, young Germaine felt she never belonged there. Determined to discover her place in the world, Germaine left, got educated, lived and worked from Paris to Pakistan to the Philippines, where a heart attack, nee …

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep#78--Omar Avilez: Brown In The Color WheelOmar Avilez was born and raised in Chicago, IL. After a violent incident involving his brother, Omar's mom put the family on a bus to rural North Carolina. In NC, after struggling to adjust, Omar found his way through school, was part of a historic high school soccer team and earne…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #77--SVGFF 2018: Joel Bristol & Oronde Ash Review The Year in Island FootballFrom the sacking of the former Federation president, to the Nation's League campaign, the Concacaf U20 championship, new young stars and collegians, women's secondary school and football, continuing grassroots efforts and how the new FF admins ar…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #76--Jay Attys: Music Makes Me Come ALIVE!Jay Attys, the son of immigrant parents from Haiti, grew up in East Orange, NJ. His father wanted him to be a doctor. After earning scholarships to the prestigious Westminster boarding school in CT and Duke University, Jay was working to fulfill his father's dream. In his junior y…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #75--Dr. Joseph Mancini: How To Stop The Opioid Crisis We find ourselves in the worst epidemic in United States history. Sudden, accidental death from heroin has quadrupled since 1999. Prescriptions for pain medication (often known as narcotics) have quadrupled since 1999. This is not a coincidence.…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #74--G. Yamazawa: Bull City B-Boy, Buddhist, Buri Buri

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #73-Dr. Mark Anthony Neal: The Epistemology of M.A.N.s Interiority Complex Dr. Mark Anthony Neal is Chair of the Department of African & African American Studies and the founding director of the Center for Arts, Digital Culture and Entrepreneurship (CADCE) at Duke University where he offers courses on Black Masculinity, P…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #72--Victor Lytvinenko: Raleigh Denim Workshop: Making Better Things For People Raleigh Denim is the art project/romantic adventure/American enterprise started by husband and wife, Sarah Yarborough and Victor Lytvinenko, who believe life’s more pleasurable when you choose things that are made with human passion and intent…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #71 --Allen Johnson: I Dabbled In The Hurdles A Little Bit Allen Johnson won the 100m hurdles gold medal at the Olympic games in Atlanta. He was a 4-time World Champion and dominated the event for years. Today, as a track coach at North Carolina State University, he's prepping a new generation of stars. Among other things…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #70--Martin Terrell: Without a Compass--Steering Blackness Down Every Road (Part 2 of 2) In part 2, Martin and I talk, among other things about Blackness in the Midwest corridor; Education as the avenue forward; Writing a memoir and the critical response from siblings; Visiting Africa and not feeling at home; Funding the …

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #69--Martin Terrell: Without a Compass--Steering Blackness Down Every Road (Part 1 of 2) Early in 2018 Mr. Martin Terrell published *Without A Compass*, his memoir on growing up and growing into the Black man his is, at age 71, educated, accomplished, willing to artfully express truths in a world of racial, social, politi…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #68--Thori Staples Bryan: Hope SoloEd--Black Women in US Soccer & The Impact of The WNT Thori Staples Bryan earned 64 caps with the US Women's Senior National Team, 1993-2003. She played in the 1995 World Cup, was an All-American, a two time college Player of the Year nominee. She has always been one of the few Black play…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #67--Coach Kevin Larry: I've Never Met a Stranger--Lessons From Soccer, The Blues, Grandma and Mississippi Coach Kevin Larry got introduced to soccer in Vicksburg, Mississippi in the late 1980s. One of the few Black kids in the area who played, he got teased for playing the white sport but learned the game nonetheless, an…

The Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #66--Alan Sanchez: The Personality and The Soccer Coach Alan Sanchez played 4 years of soccer at North Carolina State University. I coached him his freshman and sophomore years there. He was named to the ACC All-Freshmen team and was an All-ACC first-team and All-ACC Tournament selection as a senior in 2009. Alan play…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #65--Uncle Kanye vs Childish Gambino: Music, Meaning and Madness on the Come Up Childish Gambino dropped the apocryphal *This Is America* 4 days ago and stole the internet from Kanye West who broke the internet 5 days earlier at TMZ studios. 2 brothas, 2 artists, 2 statements, 2 much different rxns in and outside the Blac…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #64--Dr. Bertram Ashe: Black Dread Locked In The Post Soul Aesthetic (Part 2 of 2) We continue the discussion on the dichotomy between traditional Blackness vs post civil rights Blackness, and, among other things, the cultural impact of The Cosby Show vs Atlanta vs Insecure; Tyler Perry movies, the philosophical debate in…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #63--Dr. Bertram Ashe: Black Dread Locked In The Post Soul Aesthetic (Part 1 of 2) Dr Bertram Ashe teaches and writes about contemporary American culture, primarily post-Civil Rights Movement African American literature and culture (often referred to as “post-blackness” or the “post-soul aesthetic”), as well as the black …

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #62--Dasan Ahanu: The Fellowship of The Artist (Part 2 of 2) In part 2 of our conversation, I use Dasan's poem "Brown Bottle Daddy" to explore his relationship with his father, his relationship with his craft and the spaces where art converges with his life today. Dasan Ahanu is a public speaker, organizer, workshop facil…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #61--Dasan Ahanu: The Fellowship of The Artist (Part 1 of 2) Dasan Ahanu is a public speaker, organizer, workshop facilitator, poet, spoken word performer, educator, songwriter, writer, emcee, and loyal Hip Hop head born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dasan is a member of Black Jedi Zulu, a non-profit community or…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #60--Coach Frankie Taal: Football, Roots, Reggae & The Grace of God Mr. Frankie Taal is the Head M-Soccer coach at North Carolina Wesleyan College. Last fall, his team won the regular season, the conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament. But wins is not how Coach Taal measures success. Listen to him tal…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #59--Chucky Brown on... The League, The Rockets, The NCAA & Black Panther NBA Champion Chucky Brown talks about the league at the mid-season point, the MVP, who will win the chip in June. As March gets lucrative with Madness, he assesses the NCAA amidst allegations surrounding big time bball programs. We also talk about our reactio…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #58--Brian Kurian: The Indian Hustler's Anthem Brian Kurian has been a hustler, doing whatever it took to make the good life happen. Labeled a distracting, unmotivated student in school, dismissed by his South Indian, immigrant father who expected more from his first born, Brian has taken the long, hard road to self disco…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #57--Chucky Brown--Gun Control, Stoneman Douglas HS Shooting, Protecting My Own Spoke to Mr. Chucky Brown a week or so after the shooting at Stoneman Douglas HS in Florida. A retired NBA champion with two teenage daughters, Chucky owns a gun, as a teenager, he learned to shoot from his uncles in South Carolina. He has som…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #56 --Joel Bristol (Part 4 of 4)--You Don't Have To Go Buy a Dog The final installment, Part 4 of my talk with Joel Bristol (listen to Eps #53-56), starts off defining a persistent lacking, a hole in the minds of many. We discuss benign racism, the inability of folks to step outside their dulled senses to honestly judge t…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep # 55-- Joel Bristol: The Good Negro, The White In Laws, The Ugly Truths We Must Discuss Part 3 of my conversation with Joel Bristol about his life as a biracial man in America, white mother, white GF, white in-laws, white-looking son, still having a strong, Black conscious. If you haven't already listen to episodes 53 and…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #54 --Joel Bristol (Part 2 of 4): Being Biracial, White GF, Living in Small Town in SC and Tryna Stay Woke What's it like being biracial in America, and dating a white girl in a small South Carolina town of Trump supporters, who's parents were bothered, and your white mother tries her best to understand all your political…

Ubuntu Peoples Podcast, Ep #53 --Joel Bristol: Last Year With My Dad Joel Bristol grew up in central Florida around the corner from his West Indian dad. He knew the dad but didn't know the man. All that changed in March 2015 when his dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Knowing he was the only child available to provide the type of care his dy…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #41--The Brown Liquor Chronicles #2--Jody Dunn: Time Is On My Side (Part 2 of 2) Jody talks about having to move from North Carolina to Indiana in the middle of the night, living in a town with the grand wizard of the KKK, finding a job and a sense of self in places that became Trump's base, living in survival mode, divorce, child …

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #49 --Pierce Freelon: Mayoral Candidate, Durham, M.C. (Part of The Black Millennial Series) Pierce Freelon was a recent candidate in 2017 Durham mayoral race. At age 33, he was the youngest and only one with dreads. Pierce is, among other things, a father, husband, UNC professor, scholar, entrepreneur, community activist and emcee.…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #47-- Dewan Bader's US Soccer Life: From Rec League to National Team Coach, The Disaster in Trinidad and Everything In Between (Part 1 of 2) Dewan Bader is the asst coach for North Carolina FC to the NASL. Born in Maryland, soccer has taken him thru college at NC State, playing in France, winning indoor titles in the MISL, becoming…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep# 46-- Chucky Brown: NBA Baller Life In & Out The Bubble (Part 2 of 2) Mr. Chucky Brown spent 13+ years in the NBA as a player and coach. In Part 2, he talks about the transition to pro ball, the business of the game, paying attention to the details, lessons from NC State coach Jim Valcano, never giving up, getting cheated in the NC…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #45-- Chucky Brown: NBA Baller Life In & Out The Bubble --Part 1 of 2 Mr. Chucky Brown spent 13+ years in the NBA as a player and coach. From Harlem USA to small town North Carolina and onto the world, in Part 1, he shares his perspective on NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, why it must continue, why the top Black at…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #44 --Brotha James Muhammad: Acting on The Nation James Muhammad is a husband, father, teacher, actor. He's been a member of the Nation of Islam over 25 years now. He talks about his reasons for accepting Allah in his early 20s, the failures of most organized religion in reaching him when he needed guidance, his youthful days in Ch…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #43 --Mr. Frank Branch-- Bagga Elder-- Part of the Oral History Series Mr. Frank Branch, 85 year old resident of Barrouallie, St. Vincent, was kind enough to sit and talk town history with me. I learned about Barrouallie's formation, its boundaries, life working on the estates (plantations), the old families, his childhood, his obs…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #42 --Max Barnes: An HBCU Freshman --Part of The Black Millennial Series Max Barnes, age 17, is headed to Hampton University in Virginia to begin his freshman year. Here he talks about the experiences that have driven him to this point, growing up in a family with two college educated parents, the expectations, his strategies to me…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #40 --The Brown Liquor Chronicles #2-- Jody Dunn: Time Is On My Side (Part 1 of 2) Jody Dunn is now a successful home builder and property manager. Along the way, he's amassed and lost small fortunes, been married, divorced, was forced to move in the middle of the night with just the clothes on his back, dealt with the breathe and …

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #38 --Meaghan Foley--Criminal Minded (Part 1 of 2) From small town Connecticutt to training top performers on the world stage, D-I soccer player, LA Galaxy intern, raising younger siblings at 14, brain hacks, life skills, the process[ing] life, using PERCEPTUAL AGILITY to get what you define as success. Meaghan has a master’s degre…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #37--Ohene Ash--8th Grade Graduation (Part 2 of 2) --Part of The Black Millennial Series Ohene graduates 8th grade this week. In part 2 of our talk he underscores the following... 1990 rap vs rap today, MC Hammer vs Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick vs J. Cole, fav movies, the existential genius in the cartoon Rick and Morty, speaking Black…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #36--Ohene Ash--8th Grade Graduation (Part 1 of 2) --Part of The Black Millennial Series Ohene graduates 8th grade this week. He sits down and reflects on the experience of... switching schools from a more diverse to a majority [white] bread population, being called oreo, not fitting in with the Black kids, the ghettoization of you…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #34--The Brown Liquor Chronicles #1-- Dee: Just A Brotha From North Philly Powering Thru (Part 2 of 3) The Brown Liquor Chronicles has brothas of a certain age wax on everything while drinking good liquor. In this episode Dee talks about Notre Dame Law school and the fallacy of "zero sum"; Passing the bar; Univ of Texas business sc…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #32-- The Brown Liquor Chronicles #1. Dee: Just A Brotha From Philly Powering Thru (Part 1 of 3) The Brown Liquor Chronicles has brothas of a certan age wax on any and everything while drinking good liquor. Our 1st episode introduces my golf buddy Dee. Dee grew up in North Philly, an adopted son. He pushed thru high school, thru co…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #32 --Chatfied Kent-- The Hidden Treasure (Part 2 of 2) Finish up the discussion about the film Wilmington on Fire and his role on it; Racism in America, specifically in Eastern NC; why he's estranged from his racist family; what he's teaching his children and the students who watch the film.…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #31 --Chatfield Kent --The Hidden Treasure (Part 1 of 2) At the age of 7, Chatfield Kent unearthed the bones of a confederate soldier in an unmarked grave near Wilmington, NC. About 50 years later, in 2003, he unearthed historical records that a state commission formed to investigate the 1898 Wilmington Massacre could not. They fai…

Ubuntu Radio, Ep#2 --Ms. Antcey (2) --Educated Black Woman Dating Dating in college (at a PWI), dating white men when the brothas aren't checkin, dating in Europe, beginning to feel comfortable with who you are.

I interview my son in December 2014, 6 months into 6th grade at Ligon middle school, 11 yrs old, to get a sense of where he is in his development and understanding of the life he leads, what he sees, what he fears, what he is starting to want. The plan is to do the same at other milestone moments.

Ubuntu Radio, Ep #9 --Denden (Part 2 of 3): The Girl Who Left This episode talks about leaving for Georgia, developing as a woman, the jealousies associated with that, finishing high school, leaving for NYC, leaving for Miami, getting into acting and improv. Born in Eritrea, Africa, emigrated to the US and raised initially in Connecticut. The strug…