#BlackTwitter strikes again! When a trio posted on social media a photo of themselves dressed up as “Robbin’ da Hood,” “George Zimmerman” with fingers pointed as if a gun toward, a bloody-hoodied, black-faced “Trayvon Martin,” folks inundated the workplaces of at least two of the posers with e-mails, phone calls and social media messages.
Joining me to talk about the power, and the responsibility of online activists is Mikki Kendall. She’s a blogger, a writer, and the brains behind “Hood Feminism”. We also bring up Julianne Hough and her unfortunate blackface Halloween costume as well.
The reality in America is that abortion is neither rare nor concentrated among any singular segment of society.
One in three women in the US will have an abortion in her lifetime. This week kicks off a week of activists giving people the opportunity to speak up about their own abortions. College campuses around the country are hosting events, and the “1 in 3 Campaign” is hosting many of the stories shared by individuals who often spoke about their abortion for the first time. Carly Manes, a junior at the University of Michigan, and Julia Reticker-Flynn, the Youth Activist Network Manager at Advocates for Youth, are my guests.
Making sense of the entire world around us requires that people hold some understanding of science.
Unfortunately, from the water we drink to the medicines and foods we ingest, Americans’ understanding of science concepts and practices show the need for further education. For minority populations, the picture is even more bleak. A new organization, founded by scientists and journalists has been created to help to fix this. The National Science and Technology News Service, or on twitter @TheDarkSci, was founded with the mission to tell better science stories, and to do so with an eye toward ethnic media and audiences. Jamila is a founding member of the NSTNS, as are the panelists for tonight’s show. Dr. Danielle Lee, The Urban Scientist, is a biologist and expert in animal behavior, mammalogy, and ecology Dr. Caleph Wilson, is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and co-chair of the Biomedical Postdoctoral Council, and Dr. Marshall Shepard, professor of geography in the University and president of the American Meteorological Society. The discussion surrounds how to support science in the US, and how to encourage more students to consider science as their career.
American Atheists Military Director, Paul Loebe also writes the Rock Beyond Belief blog on the Patheos.com network. He waxed historic this week and looked at the history of religious rule in the US government and how this has everything to do with the opposition to the Affordable Care Act and the government shutdown. Follow him at @paulLoebe.
The hair of African-Americans who choose to wear their hair in its natural, coiled texture can often be a thing of great beauty and great interest.
In an effort to spark some discussion and dialogue, Antonia Opiah, entrepreneur and founder of the Web site www.un-ruly.com, decided to explore the reasons that some people are so interested in black hair with an exhibit at New York City’s Union Square.
She held an interactive public art exhibit in New York City last Thursday and Saturday. The “You Can Touch My Hair” exhibit drew a crowd of supporters and hair-feelers.
But there were also detractors who called the display a “Human Petting Zoo,” while others took to social media to claim that this exhibit fetishizes and celebrates the legacy of a time when black people were displayed as oddities and curiosities for their natural-born characteristics.
Host Jamila Bey hosted a round table discussion to recap the exhibit and touch on the issue at hand.
Australian singer, songwriter Shelley Segal joins the SPAR with Jamila to talk and sing about many of the topics that have compelled her art, including religiously-imposed sex segregation, the horror of a life lived longing for an afterlife, and the unbelievable adorableness of wallabies.
Host Jamila Bey spoke with Segal to discuss all of this and more.
African American civil rights activist Dr. Rosa Parks would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Monday. Known as “the First Lady of Civil Rights” and “the Mother of the Freedom Movement,” Dr. Parks took on cultural and societal norms and committed herself to improving conditions for many.
Host Jamila Bey spoke with Carmen Russell-Sluchansky to discuss the legacy of Dr. Rosa Parks.
When examining those working in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field, those with an observant eye may notice an obvious absence: the presence of minority youth.
But one assistant research scientist at the University of Arizona and expert in astronomers of the African disaspora is hoping to show a pair of minority scientists who are taking on a celestial project for the greater good.
Host Jamila Bey spoke with Dr. Jarita Holbrook, who launched a Kickstarter.com campaign to fund the project, to talk about the two scientists behind the upcoming documentary “Black Sun.”
Another factor that may in part explain a link between behavior and obesity in African-American women is the subject of this conversation.
Pediatrician with the Boston Medical Center, Dr. Renee Boynton-Jarrett shares the data the paper she authored, “Child and Adolescent Abuse in Relation to Obesity in Adulthood: The Black Women’s Health Study.”
More than 33,000 women were studied, and there is growing evidence that mild, moderate or severe sexual or physical abuse can cause a girl to become an obese adult.
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