February 1st the beginning of Black History Month, a nationwide boycott has been called against the Target Corporation for their abandoning their commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Despite the current negative dialogue about the inferiority of this initiative – a diverse and equitable workplace that includes all of us is what Black people have been demanding for over a hundred years.
Nekima Levy Armstrong is an award winning civil rights lawyer, scholar activist, and past activist of the Minneapolis NAACP. She is a frequent speaker on National and International news outlets about racial justice advocacy and public policy, most notably an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Nekima is also a best selling author (the children’s book – J is for Justice) entrepreneur and podcast host.
Local protest, local politics, local artists; hosted by DJ Hooker
Interview with Miss Kim Handy Jones, founder of the Cordale Q. Handy In Remembrance of Me Foundation and mother of Cordale Handy who was killed by St. Paul police in 2017
Poet of the month: Zach Russel
Artist of the month: Bayo
Views From The Ground
Views From The Ground: Miss Kim Handy Jones - Cordale Q. Handy In Remembrance of Me Foundation
In the first half of the hour, Annie connects with Kao Kalia Yang to discuss Yang’s new children’s storybook Yang Warriors, along with the real-life refugee camp experience that inspired it, what it means to be a real-life hero, using questions to build meaningful person-to-person connections, cross-diaspora creativity, and talking about justice with your kids.
After the break, Josh rolls out a Legacy Episode and the group revisits a conversation with James Rollins, author of the Sigma Force adventure novels.
Write On! Radio
Write On! Radio - Kao Kalia Yang + Legacy (James Rollins)
In the first half of the hour, Dave brings Minnesota poet, educator, and entrepreneur Jessica Winnie on-air to discuss her work Everything I Am, complete with poetry, song, social justice, and collaborative thoughts for life’s challenges.
After the break, Liz welcomes novelist Patrick Hicks, author of Commodant of Lubizec and In the Shadow of Dora, on-air. Patrick has also been featured on PBS News Hour and NPR.
What do 90.3 KFAI and the Jason Bourne thrillers have in common? Minnesota, now that NYT-Bestselling suspense author (and Minnesotan) Brian Freeman is the official successor to Robert Ludlum in penning the Bourne saga. Longtime KFAI host Ian Graham Leask catches up with Freeman live on air, and the pair discuss keeping the Bourne saga going with a spectrum of *thrilling* projects, the trajectory of Freeman’s career, connecting widely with readers over COVID-era virtual events, and more.
In the second half of the hour, Annie and Liz take a guest’s no-show as a serendipitous opportunity to catch up about their creative endeavors, including Liz’s soon-to-launch Broadway history podcast and the beginning of musicals about social issues, Annie’s renewed proliferation of book review drafts (and refusal to write a slam review), how a WO!R show gets made, reading unpublished memoirs, and the value of creating a consistent personal writing schedule.