Getting Common

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HBCUs vs. PWIs: Is There a Wrong Choice for Black Students? Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) serve an important role in the Black community, providing many generations with an opportunity for higher education. However, some Black students have always attended Predominantly White Institutions (PWis). Following the racial reckoning in the summer of 2020, many students and their families are giving consideration to the unspoken benefits of attending an HBCU. Others are concerned that while the environment may be more supportive, it may not provide the networking and other opportunities of PWIs. On this week's episode, Fallon Hamilton, a graduate of two HBCUs, will join Shannon Stokes, a graduate of a PWI and an HBCU, will join Carliss Chatman, a graduate of two PWIs to discuss their choices and experiences, and the current campus climate.

Black Women Voters as Property Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

In American politics the Black woman voter is both mule and canary. Black women vote at higher rates than most demographics, and overwhelmingly and consistently vote for Democratic candidates—not because there is anything to gain but because doing so is necessary for the survival of the republic. Yet, three years after commentators declared 2018 to be the year Black women saved the Democratic Party, Black women still enjoy very little negotiating power at the polls. Thus, while Black women voters carry the burden of saving the world, their diminished negotiating power signals the end of democracy and the slow creep towards fascism, and continues to remain an afterthought to the powers that be. On this episode Madiba K. Dennie an attorney, a columnist, and a professor committed to racial and gender justice, and Marissa Jackson Sow, Associate Professor at St. John's University School of Law, will join us in a discussion of the role of Black women voters and their relationship to the Democratic Party.

Incarcerated Mothers: Intersection of the New Jim and Jane Crow Feb 02, 2022

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When mothers are incarcerated and their children are in the family regulation system, the New Jim Crow and New Jane Crow intersect to separate and destroy families. Professor Michelle Alexander uses the term “the New Jim Crow” to explain mass incarcerations racist history and existence. Reverend Pauli Murray coined the term “Jane Crow” to identify the intersectional sexism and gender discrimination she endured in the United States in the 1940s. Like mass incarceration, the family regulation system separates families and destroys parent-child relationships. In addition, New Jane Crow describes the way the government punishes women of color, particularly Black women, for their poverty and parenting by trapping them in the family regulation system and terminating their parental rights. Facing these dual racist and discriminatory systems creates additional and unnecessary anxiety, causes confusion, and destroys families. On this week's episode, Carla Laroche, Assistant Clinical Professor and Director of the Civil Rights and Racial Justice Clinic at Washington and Lee University School of Law, and Chantal D. Smith Assistant Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University will engage in a discussion of the rights of an overlooked population--incarcerated mothers.

No More Old Boys' Club: Advancing Board Gender Diversity Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

As the benefits of gender equality for governance become more apparent, boardroom diversity initiatives abound. But, these efforts have not translated to the gains in gender diversity one would expect. Corporations persistently object to state mandates. In the absence of state regulation, how can we make these initiatives translate into measurable outcomes? Can institutional investors play a role in implementing change? In this episode, my guests Professors Darren Rosenblum and Anat Alon-Beck will join us to discuss their work on board diversity, which asks whether fiduciary duties can be used to motivate institutional investors to play a role in ensuring equality.

Is it Time to Decriminalize Sex Work? Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

While sex worker advocacy groups have championed the need to decriminalize sex work, their advocacy has been separated from mainstream feminist organizations’ sexual freedom agenda. The decriminalization of sex work has been treated as niche or counterproductive to the goal of sexual freedom. Historically, feminists have embraced a narrow conception of sexual freedom, which prioritizes women’s ability to control reproduction while ignoring women’s freedom to profit from non-reproductive sex. This choice has contributed to the political embrace of access to abortion as the priority issue for feminist organizing, while women’s groups have openly contested women’s right to be free from criminalization while engaging in commercialized sex. In many respects, this choice reflects a hetereonormative ideal that prioritizes birth and non-birth and centers the family as the site of women’s choice — even as it protects women’s choices to not create a family. This approach to sexual freedom, which is tied to reproduction, is limited and has allowed feminists to see the criminalization of sex work as natural rather than as another way to restrict women’s sexual autonomy. In this episode, my guests Professor of Law at the University of Indiana and Senior Scientist at the Kinsey Institute India Thusi, author of the groundbreaking book Policing Bodies: Law, Sex Work, and Desire in Johannesburg, and Professor Erika K. Wilson, Wade Edwards Distinguished Scholar, Thomas Willis Lambeth Distinguished Chair in Public Policy, and Director of Clinical Programs at the University of North Carolina will explain the limits of this approach to women's rights. We will also discuss how the criminalization of sex work serves to re-victimize some of the most vulnerable members of society, and perpetuates the discipline to sex work pipeline for many victims of abuse.

Why Elon Musk Should Stop Tweeting Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

Elon Musk, Time Person of the Year, has tweeted himself into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on more than one occasion. Most notably, when he declared he would take Tesla private for $420 a share, and recently when he polled the Twitterverse on whether he should sell some of his Tesla stock and pay taxes. Why is this a problem? Why does the SEC and the stock market care? Because whenever Musk tweets, the market moves. On this episode my guests Cathy Hwang, Barron F. Black Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, and Benjamin Edwards, Director of the Public Policy Clinic at the UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law will help break down the stock market, the role of the SEC, and why Musk's tweets matter to Tesla and its investors.

Amy Coney Barrett and the Legacy of Transracial Adoption Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is a lawyer, scholar, and mother of 7--including 2 adopted Black children. Transracial adoption falls within a painful legacy for African-Americans--a legacy of paternalism that dates back to slavery. Within that framework is also the belittling of Black women and the dismissal of Black motherhood, and the legacy of intervention in Black maternal-fetal decision making. This week my guests, Professor Eleanor Brown of Penn State Law and Kimberly Mutcherson, Co-Dean and Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School in Camden, will explain this painful legacy, and why Justice Barrett's comments have caused so many Black people harm.

New Year New You: Beyond Resolutions Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

It's that time of year when many of us reflect and set new goals for the new year--that are mostly abandoned by February 1. What does it look like to make lasting life changes and to transform into a better you? Maybe it means doing less and spending more time on self-love and self-care. In this week's episode Dr. Nicole Price Swiner, author of How to Avoid the Superwoman Complex and The Superwoman Complex: A Follow-Up Visit and the organizer of annual domestic and international New Year, New You events will engage in a discussion on meaningful goal setting for the new year, and for a lifetime, that enables one to be successful and fulfilled in all aspects of life.

What's in a Name? Dec 22, 2021

Show notes

In the summer of 2021, the Trustees of Washington and Lee University voted to retain name of the institution. Throughout the previous year, many Confederate monuments were removed, and the names of other institutions throughout Virginia and the rest of the south were changed. In addition, an overwhelming majority of the faculty voted in support of a name change, and various groups of students circulated petitions and engaged in protest of the name. On this episode, my guests Rev. Robert W. Lee, IV (https://www.roblee4.com/), Ty Seidule (www.tyseidule.com), Professors Nneka Dennie and Brandon Hasbrouck, and Washington and Lee Law alum Adenike Miles-Sorinmade will discuss the efforts to change the name, the aftermath of the Trustee decision, and the meaning of naming and monuments. In a press release the University stated: Despite these vital contributions, the board acknowledged that the association with its namesakes can be painful to those who continue to experience racism. It repudiated racial injustice in any form and expressed regret for the University’s past veneration of the Confederacy and the fact that the university itself owned human beings and benefited from their forced labor and sale. It also reiterated its ongoing commitment to conducting rigorous and nuanced explorations of W&L’s history with humility and honesty. The board concluded that the university’s name recognizes the connections of its namesakes to the institution, but is also associated with an exceptional liberal arts and legal education and common experiences and values that are independent of the personal histories of the two men. It cited the university’s name and reputation as a source of strength and resources that it may build and draw upon to advance its mission and support the students, staff, programs and facilities to meet its strategic goals.

Profiting From our Pain Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

During last year's racial reckoning, many corporations came out with solidarity statements, and made very public donations to civil rights organizations. But, often if we look just beyond the surface we will see leadership lacking in diversity and even business practices that violate the core values of the organizations they support with donations. Being publicly progressive is on trend, but that doesn't always translate to actions outside of the public eye. On this episode, Cary Martin Shelby, a law professor who has written about the value of making a profit by publicly showing empathy to the pain and suffering of marginalized groups, and Ron Goines, the Chief Fundraiser and Managing Director at The Movement for Black Lives, will discuss whether it is possible to be anti-racist, capitalist, and corporate sponsored.

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