In Black America

Latest Episodes:

Spencer Haywood (Ep. 11, 2020) Feb 16, 2020

Show notes

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a 2015 interview with ground-breaking and record-setting NBA legend Spencer Haywood. Haywood was inducted into The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September 2015.

Lena Horne (Ep. 10, 2020) Feb 09, 2020

Show notes

On this week’s In Black America program, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a 1983 interview with the legendary singer, dancer, actress and Civil Rights activist, who died in 2010 after a film, television and theater career that spanned 70 years.

Dr. Timothy M. George, MD. (Ep. 9, 2020) Feb 02, 2020

Show notes

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents an interview recorded in 2013 with the late Dr. Timothy M. George, who passed away in November 2019. Dr. George had been Medical Director of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Center of Central Texas at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas. Intro Music [00:00:01] This is an archive edition of an interview with Dr. Timothy M. George. Dr. George died on November 10th, 2019. He was 59. Announcer [00:00:15] From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:00:22] I don’t look at myself as being this big person. I don’t think I am. You know, one great thing about going to New York, you learn you’re never the dumbest, you never the smartest, you never the ugliest but you never the prettiest either. You never the shortest, but you never the tallest. So one thing I like to say, I look at myself as being a normal person. And also I knew growing up that normal people weren’t doing the things that I’m doing today, that wasn’t in the cards. So I really wanted to be able to show that, you know, a normal person like me and nothing different anybody else can do these things. So if I can do it, you and you can do these things also. So that was really my drive to be a part of it. I don’t look at myself as being this enigma or a superstar. I think too often in the media, you know, I think Blacks are often, you know, the ones who do so well are either they seem to be special, almost like super gods, something above and beyond normal people. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:01:20] Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D., medical director of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Center of Central Texas Dell Children’s Medical Center, located in Austin, Texas. In 2006, Dr. George moved to Austin from Durham, North Carolina, where he was the associate professor of neurosurgery, pediatric and neurobiology at Duke University. Joining Children’s Hospital of Austin as chief of surgery and pediatric neurosurgery center of central Texas. He brings his breadth of knowledge and expertise in pediatric neurosurgeon as he’s develop and oversee pediatric neurosurgeon programs at the hospital. Dr. George has always been fascinated with the human body and science, but he admits that it was a long time before he connected the fascination of becoming a physician with the help of his basketball coach. He was fortunate to be recruited by several universities to play basketball, but decided to attend Columbia University because others said he couldn’t get in. I’m John L. Hanson Jr. And welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week’s program, Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D., chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Dell Children’s Medical Center, In Black America. Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:02:33] I grew up really in the sixties, so I have a sixties heart and mentality. So when I was applying for colleges, I always had interest in medicine. I did. I had pretty good scores on my SATs. But yeah, when I was in high school, my guidance counselor, I’m not going to mention her name, So my guidance counselor would encourage me. Well, I know you’re interested in either do one of two things, use the basketball connections to get recruited someplace, or maybe you may think about physical therapy or some allied health profession. I think I got sort of pissed off and said, No, I my goal, I think I could be a doctor. I think I can help people. I really didn’t know what it all meant to do that, but I felt I could do it. And I said, No, I’m going to go for it. So my basketball coach actually helped me out by doing two things. One, he only allowed colleges to recruit me that were really strong academically that could get me there. He you know, I would love to play for UCLA. I may not have been good enough. I don’t know, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t gonna get recruited by them anyway because he was going to block them. But if it was Johns Hopkins or if it was Holy Cross or if it was even Wake Forest, he would allow those schools to talk to me. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:03:44] Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D., has more than 22 years experience in neurological surgery. He completed his medical training at New York University. His residency in neurosurgery at Yale University School of Medicine and his pediatric fellowship at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, his childhood was no different from those in the neighborhood. He believes the difference between himself today and the guys you grew up with lies not in his talent, skill, intellectual ability or sense of community, but in a direction he embraced. That direction was derived from his father. Though his father, Plummer had only an eighth grade education, he took care of his neighbors needs. He looked after the well-being of the guys who worked for him. Many times his father would work until the evening or on weekends to help provide extra money for his workers so they could provide for their own children. Dr. George developed an interest in pediatrics while still in high school work with disabled children, made him realize that there were children that had problems worse than he is. Attending Columbia University was a rite of passage. His self-worth was challenged as he went to class with students from the upper crust of society. Through it all, he learned something about himself. He had the right stuff. Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:05:00] I have an old soul. I really even I was born in 1965 or a soul, probably a little older. So I was sort of really I grew up really in the sixties, so I have a sixties heart and mentality. So when I was applying for colleges, I always had interest in medicine. I did. I had pretty good scores on my PSATs and SATs and. But yeah, when I was in high school, my guidance counselor, I’m not going to mention her name, so my guidance counselor would encourage me. Well, I know you’re interested in either do one of two things, use the basketball connections, and give recruiting someplace. Or maybe you may think about physical therapy or some allied health profession. I think I got sort of pissed off and said, no, in my goal. I think I could be a doctor. I think I can help people. I really didn’t know what it all meant to do that, but I felt I could do it. And I said, no, I’m going to go for it. So my basketball coach actually helped me out by doing two things. One, he only allowed colleges to recruit me that were really strong academically that could get me there. He you know, I would love to play for UCLA. I may not have been good enough. I don’t know, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t gonna get recruited by them anyway because he was going to block them. But if it was Johns Hopkins or if it was Holy Cross or if it was even Wake Forest, he would allow those schools to talk to me. And then after that ended up, I end up going to Columbia University ultimately. And the reason was that my guidance counselor told me, You never get into Columbia. So I had try to I’m getting pissed off and I applied anyway. My coach actually signed my letter on my recommendation letter because she wouldn’t sign it. And somehow I got in and the rest is history. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:43] Your guidance counselor wouldn’t sign the… Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:06:45] She just thought I would be in for a big disappointment. In over my head I just didn’t feel that way. And neither did he. And he just said, well, look, if it doesn’t work, it’s not going to work. So my attitude was not going to work, I’m okay with that. Even when I went to school, I said, well, if it doesn’t work, I’m okay with that, but I’m just going to put my best foot forward and see what happens. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:07:07] As you say that, you know, one would want to become a physician, but once you get to school, tell us about that process. And was there any point that you said, well, maybe I’m maybe in over my head and maybe this was not really a good decision to make? Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:07:25] Yeah, but when I first went out there for the interview, my father took me up there and this was in New York City, and I grew up around the city my entire life, but it’s a totally different world. I never really experienced that world before. So as I walked on campus, I could feel it was palpable. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:07:40] Under the arch, That big arch? Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:07:42] Oh, yes. And then I walked out of college, walk between the big low library up the steps, I felt, and I was entering a whole new world. My interview was amazing. I remember my interview like it was yesterday because the building, the gist of the interview was our goals are to help you teach you how to think and be a leader. And I was saying everything like, Oh, I want to do is learn how to think and be a leader. That’s what our exchange was. And it clicked. When I got there, I came in and was introduced a whole new culture of people. I mean, I never really, on a daily basis, even knew people who went to some of these elite boarding schools in the Northeast and or or whose families were worth millions and billions. And so, again, sort of reflecting back to my early days and growing up, I wasn’t afraid of that because I always zero base. I decided, oh, we’re all here. I guess we all figure out how to work together. But there were times where I felt like I knew I had to learn a lot more about them than they had to learn about me. And I had to adapt and learn how to deal with them, but still maintain who I was as a person. So I adapted to that a bit and a couple of ways. I have to admit I ended up playing basketball there, but also I also no one knew I was pre-med. I sort of kept that behind because it was such a culture of aggressiveness for the pre-med at Columbia that I didn’t want to get caught up into that little bit of a rat race where 60% of the kids were pre-med at Columbia when I was there. That was very competitive, very smart kids, and I didn’t want to get caught into that. And so I guess I dealt with it by not being caught up into the rat race part of it. But I still was there. They still saw me in organic chemistry and and people really I think it really sunk in probably in my junior year when I finally took my MCATS. They were like, You’re really pre-med. Really I am. But I always did everything about staying. I just didn’t want to get caught up into that part. I guess that’s how I coped with my own internal potential, even fear of failure. I didn’t want to put myself out there too much and maintain elements of me because it was it was a cultural awakening for me to be there. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:10:00] How did your partners treat you? Were they encouraging towards you in completing his goal? Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:10:06] My friends, yeah. And oh, again, I’ve lived a blessed life. My friends have. They would not just encouraging, they would come up and hang out with me and I’d. Go out and see them sometime. And but people would really totally support me. I mean, to the point that we had a good time. I also found, you know, we did some partying at Columbia. It wasn’t just all stuff. We had a good time. I was I became a little bit of a deejay there, so I hooked up. I also was fortunate. I said, I think I’ve been looked after. So a friend of mine I used to play basketball against. We were in junior high. We competed again in the city championship in junior high, and I missed them for four years. And he shows up on Columbia’s campus, walk across college, walk. And I look at him. We nicknamed him JC because he could jump. He was five, nine could jump as we ever said, Jesus Christ. So. So we nicknamed him JC and I walked across and I look JC, what are you doing here? And I didn’t think I see anybody I ever knew. Right. And I think that was a big help for me because we just clicked and we were best you know, we were just best friends. Who’s going to Columbia undergrad? And I think that was another coping thing. So then we both clicked and the world of our friends, an extension into Brooklyn and more in the New York area just exploded. And I never felt isolated because of that, too. And we were we were just brothers ever since and this is amazing. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:11:35] Of all the specialties to select, why neurosurgery? Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:11:39] Well, I’ve always really you know, I guess probably initially it was picked on. I did say what I told you. My mother told me I didn’t think about brain transplants. I did see kids who had really more neurological problems. Most of the mental and physically handicapped kids were really cause some something affecting the nervous system. And then also I just had an interest about the brain. I always wanted to understand, I guess, what made people tick, the soul. I felt the soul had to be housed somewhere up there. And so I figured one day I’d have a chance to figure out how the soul was integrated into this physical thing called a brain, but then also realized I learned scientifically over the years, you know, a little bit in high school and definitely in college about the nervous system I just really just became enamored with is its its its potential as a as a as an organ, but also a relative lack of understanding of what it did. And I thought, well, hey, this is a great growth opportunity to learn more because we don’t know everything about the brain. It’s the most complicated organ. And I felt that there was so many things to learn and everything. When I was there, when I was initially a student, everything was so new about our understanding of the brain function that I felt I was just on the edge of something new. And and it was exciting. It wasn’t just old. Information was always new. Every year, every couple of years. It was always something new about it. My great professors that instilled that way of thinking about the brain and that that’s one thing that piqued my interest on the nervous system. And neurosurgery, I think, is another thought. I really always thought that neurosurgery, because again, I was having to do a brain transplant, surgeons to do that. So I had to do it. But also, I think that as I got exposed to it, the surgical part, it was so direct. You had a chance to really make a direct effect on how the nervous system function. And I had great mentors who, you know, when I got to know some neurosurgeons later on more, and that’s medical school. They really were. We had one great one when I was in New York University. He really has such a great personality. He loved the patients. He loved the kids. He was a pediatric neurosurgeon. That was when I was there, pediatric neurosurgeon. He was a new discipline, really been around really for him for a couple of years. And and he really loved kids. He embraced them, but he was a pioneer. And and he also embraced me as a person who really allowed me to get close to it. Not just your student corner. I know you’re here. You’re one of my partners now. He would introduce me like I was one of the doctors with, and I get a chance to be with the families and kids just like him. So he really showed me what it was like. And I think that had a large impact. Clearly, what drove me to neurosurgery. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:14:21] What intrigues you the most? The process of trying to figure out what’s wrong with children, because children at that age really can’t express what they’re feeling or what’s wrong with them. Dr. Timothy M. George, M.D. [00:14:34] What what intrigued me most about kids was that they just a lot of disease of nervous system are devastating to them in their lives and to their families. The thing that intrigued me most was how amazing they did in spite of the odds being against them. I felt like, wow, instead of adults who are just complaining and whining all the time, these kids embraced that. Their families rallied behind them, and I j…

Full show notes at the publisher

Dr. Monique W. Morris (Ep. 8, 2020) Jan 26, 2020

Show notes

This week, In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Dr. Monique W. Morris, social justice scholar, author o f Sing a Rhythm, Dance a Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls, and founder and President of The National Black Women’s Justice Institute. Intro Music [00:00:08] The In Black America theme music, an instrumental by Kyle Turner. Announcer [00:00:15] From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:00:23] Unfortunately, what we’ve been finding is that Black girls continue to be the only group of girls who are overrepresented across the spectrum of discipline in schools and at every educational level in their educational journey. And so that has continued to, you know, sort of lead our inquiry around how we interrupt these cycles, how we elevated in the consciousness, how we elevated in the consciousness of those who are working in schools, who have children in schools, who are concerned about what goes on in schools. But also, you know, in the course of having these conversations about the problem, I have discovered a number of programs and strategies that have done tremendous work with our girls that have, you know, really discovered pathways in the schools, outside of the schools and in partnership with schools to transform the conditions that are really at the root cause of much of the behavior that girls end up in trouble for in schools. John L. Hason Jr. [00:01:15] Dr. Monique W. Morris, social justice scholar and author of Single Rhythm Dance The Blues Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls, published by the New Press. Maurice is also the founder and president of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute. Maurice is a fighter. For more than three decades, she has fought for the liberation of Black and brown girls attending our public schools around the world. Black girls are being pushed out of school because of the policies that target them for punishment. The result countless girls are forced into unsafe futures were restricted opportunities. In her latest book, Sing A Rhythm Dance, the Blues marches in a clarion call for educators, parents and anyone who has a stake in a better tomorrow to transform schools to places where learning and collective healing can flourish. I’m John L. Hanson Jr. And welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week’s program, Singing Rhythm, Dance the Blues Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls, with author Dr. Monique W. Morris In Black America. Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:02:23] Our research is showing and the research of others and other folks who have been engaged in this work, you know, both at the advocacy level and at the academic levels, they’re finding that Black girls are experiencing, you know, a form of adult ification when they’re in and out of schools. Identification is a term that has been deeply explored by the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, that that shows how adults are reading the behaviors of Black girls to be more adult like than their white peers, which means that they’re seeing our girls as needing less protection, less nurturing, less comforting, that they are believed to be more independent and to know more about adult subjects such as sex than their white counterparts. And all of this really begins when Black girls are five years old and it peaks when they’re between the ages of ten and 14, which is also when we see peaks in their contact with disciplinary actions in schools. John L. Hason Jr. [00:03:20] And the follow up to a critically acclaimed book, Push Out Social Justice, scholar and author Dr. Monique W Morse has pushed the envelope further in writing her latest book, Sing A Rhythm Dance, a bluesy travel from Oakland to Ohio and from New York to Iowa City and beyond, she describes with candor and love what it looks like to meet the complex needs of girls on the margin. In doing so, she offered a collection of ideas from educators who are attuned to the patterns of pain and struggle and who show how adults working in schools can harness their wisdom to partner with students and help the girls they teach, find value and joy in learning. Far too often, these young ladies on giving the benefit of the doubt. Many are misunderstood, thereby putting them on the path to incarceration. Singer Rhythm Dance of Blues A Guide to Move Away from Punishment, Trauma and Discrimination towards safety, Justice and Genuine Community in Our schools. Recently In Black America spoke with Dr. Morse. Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:04:23] This is actually my fifth book. I did a street novel called Three Beautiful Four Words, and then I also worked with Kemba Smith on her. John L. Hason Jr. [00:04:30] Biography, right? That’s right, I did. I did read that high as can be doing. Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:04:35] She’s doing well from all I can see. She is. She’s thriving. It’s it’s wonderful to see. John L. Hason Jr. [00:04:40] What particularly drew you to education. Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:04:42] I started my life in education. I was teaching very young. And, you know, I had sort of veered away from teaching and moved into research and policy for a while, though never fully releasing education as an important focal point in my work. And I started to talk more intensely about the just the discipline disparities after seeing data that was showing that African-American girls were experiencing exclusionary discipline is. Engines, expulsions, etc., at higher rates than their white counterparts. And so I understand and have always understood education to be a critical protective factor against contact with the juvenile court or criminal legal system is one of the reasons I call it freedom work. And when I see these interruptions taking place and this criminalization occurring of our girls, you know, it was really important for me to be a part of a community, to elevate the issue, but also to examine some of the solutions to this crisis thus far. John L. Hason Jr. [00:05:45] What are some of the analysis that you’ve come up with on this journey? Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:05:49] Well, unfortunately, what we’ve been finding is that Black girls continue to be the only group of girls who are overrepresented across the spectrum of discipline in schools and at every educational level in their educational journey. And so, you know, that has continued to, you know, sort of lead our inquiry around how we interrupt these cycles, how we elevated in the consciousness, how we elevated in the consciousness of those who are working in schools, who have children in schools, who are concerned about what goes on in schools. But also, you know, in the course of having these conversations about the problem, I have discovered a number of programs and strategies that have done tremendous work with our girls that have, you know, really discovered pathways in the schools, outside of the schools and in partnership with schools to transform the conditions that are really at the root cause of much of the behavior that girls end up in trouble for in schools. And so it’s a tail of concern in terms of wanting to address a critical issue that, you know, really should be at the forefront of folks minds. But also, I would say, you know, an inspiring tale of how when we understand there’s a problem and set our intentions to shift the outcomes, we actually do it. John L. Hason Jr. [00:07:00] And how did you come up with the title? Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:07:03] So sing a rhythm, Dance a blues Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls. I think the framework of it being, you know, sort of rooted in the musical traditions and artistic traditions of the Black community, you know, sort of came organically to me. I write in the introduction about a grainy black and white video that I was watching of Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit. And as I was discovering what was happening on the road and sort of interacting with many Black women and girls, specifically in communities and, you know, dozens of communities, it occurred to me that obviously what we’re experiencing is a form of the blues, but that we shouldn’t only see the blues as a limit. We shouldn’t only limit the blues to entertainment or see it as a vessel for the expression of pain. I felt that it was important in in observing some of the traditions rooted in the blues and some of the practices in our own communities throughout the country. To recognize that the blues is a platform for truth telling that would then enable us to really seek and obtain the healing that is necessary for us to move forward in this work. John L. Hason Jr. [00:08:13] You write about in the book that African-Americans and Latinos, girls and indigenous girls are struggling to realize their true identity as scholars making that point, what do you see some of the detriments that’s going on in between those four walls? Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:08:29] Well, our research is showing and the research of other folks who have been engaged in this work, you know, both at the advocacy level and at the academic levels, they’re finding that Black girls are experiencing, you know, a form of adult ification when they’re in and out of schools. Identification is a term that has been deeply explored by the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality that has that shows how adults are reading the behaviors of Black girls to be more adult like than their white peers, which means that they’re seeing our girls as needing less protection, less nurturing, less comforting, that they are believed to be more independent and to know more about adult subjects such as sex than their white counterparts. And all of this really begins when Black girls are five years old and it peaks when they’re between the ages of ten and 14, which is also when we see peaks in their contact with disciplinary actions in schools. And so it’s really important to understand that when we render our girls as more adult like than they actually are, then we believe that they’re in greater control of their behaviors than they actually are developmentally. And it just feeds into a cycle where our girls are perceived as defiant and sassy and loud, problematic or bad real words that we assign to our young people in schools or girls especially, that disproportionately renders them vulnerable to being taken out of school, which then, of course, places them at risk of participating in underground economies and being in contact with the juvenile court or criminal legal system. So these are the cycles we’re trying to disrupt are the readings of Black girl behaviors, the increasing ways in which Latino girls and indigenous girls are also being criminalized in schools. And also the elements that we can put in place to structure true accountability and to, you know, really respond to much of what underlies the negative behavior, which in most cases with our girls is a traumatic event or, you know, a sort of set of conditions that present harm in their lives. John L. Hason Jr. [00:10:35] Have you put your hand on where this particular mindset came from? Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:10:38] So that’s something I explored and push out, which, you know, obviously is about the the vestiges of slavery and the ways in which the formation and misinterpretation of Black girlhood has rendered our girls today vulnerable to being treated according to some of the historical stereotypes and tropes that follow Black girls into womanhood. The idea that, you know, Black girls are loud or, you know, comes from our sapphire narrative that bell hooks gave us the, you know, sort of building off of the narratives of seeing Black girls as hypersexual, seeing Black girls as more adult, like feeds directly into the narratives around the domesticated perception associated with mammy tropes. So, you know, our consciousness is formed by a host of things. And even as we look at our girls today and we see how, you know, sort of renderings of Black girls survival are policed in a way that render them vulnerable to being seen as problematic, you know, you know, a ratchet or, you know, any of the other terms that we use sort of indiscriminately to describe the, you know, survival mechanisms and joy sometimes of Black girls is problematic, is it is rooted in a sort of deep seated presentation of what constitutes a good girl and, you know, the respectability politics that follow how we believe young people grow and should act. Some of that has been a part of, you know, survival mechanisms in communities, especially Black communities. But it is important for us to think about how we are also participating in harm whenever we, you know, start to label children and assign negative consequences that can impact their futures in a way that I don’t think we always, you know, thought about. I think for many folks, we think we can sleep, you know, say that and sing rhythm, Dance blues is that we’ve conflated the idea of discipline with accountability when there are two very different or the discipline with punishment and, you know, accountability and punishment. And those are all different things. And so how we think about that, how we move beyond some of the more violent representations of how we respond to young people is what I’m inviting people to do in this book. John L. Hason Jr. [00:13:00] I found it interesting in the book when you talk about what happens in the home and what type of attitudes students, particularly the girls brain in school, that’s reflective of what’s going on in their real lives? Dr. Monique W. Morris [00:13:15] Yeah, I talk about that in the context of the traumas that do render, you know, Back and brown girls vulnerable to acting out in schools. In my work at the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, you know, and in my other capacities out in the community, I do have an opportunity to talk to women who are formerly incarcerated. And almost all those women, when I talk to them, you know, we’ll say that they had a push out story, right? Or they’ll say that they experienced some sexual violence early in their life that set them off course. And our inability to fully recognize those as traumas, to situate the conversation about sexual violence in this context or conversation about safety and justice in our communities, it does a disservice to Black girls in their ability to fully realize their potential. It is highly disruptive. You know, it’s not something that we can say, Oh, we just live with it. And you know, boys will be boys get over it the way that many of our, you know, previous generations might have treated it. We now understand that to be a survivor of those spaces doesn’t mean that our girls are fine. It means that they are fighting past a condition to try to realize their full potential. And so what I’m talking about is singer, rhythm, dance. The blues is the opportunity for us to say that we know that our girls are disproportionately vulnerable to this kind of violence in their lives. And these disruptions should not be seen as something to sweep under the rug, but to actually invite our girls into a healing process, some of which can begin in schools. But it certainly should continue into communities as well. And that’s something that, you know, is a different kind of conversation about where we locate safety in our communities, in homes. But often when girls are experiencing sexual violence in their communities, they bring it with them to school. And some of the actions and activities that render them vulnerable to that type of violence take place in school. And the institution does have a responsibility. To locate this conversation in the one about safety in schools and to really engage the students themselves really across the gender spectrum, to examine how they can facilitate a safety and an ally ship so that our girls can find opportunities for healing…

Full show notes at the publisher

Mitch Landrieu (Ep. 7, 2020) Jan 19, 2020

Show notes

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Mitch Landrieu, best selling author, speaker and attorney who was Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. He discusses a report on race and class he authored, titled Divided by Design: Findings from the American South.

Remembering The Late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ep. 6, 2020) Jan 12, 2020

Show notes

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a tribute to the late Martin Luther King, Jr, on the 90th anniversary of his birth, featuring Dr. King, and the Honorable Andrew Young and former U.S. President Barack Obama.

The Black News Channel (Ep. 5, 2020) Jan 05, 2020

Show notes

This week, In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. discusses the introduction of the new Black News Channel with Gary Wordlaw, Vice President of News and Programming. Also featured is former Congressman J.C. Watts, co-founder and Chairman of the Black News Channel. Announcer [00:00:15] From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. J.C. Watts [00:00:23] It’s an African-American news channel that is culturally specific to the African-American community. And it is for African-Americans by African-Americans and about African-Americans. And I think people in my life experiences of living for 61 years, I think over the last, you know, for for much of my time in public service, you’ve gotten one view or one perspective or one picture of the African-American community. And it’s so much more in the Black community than crime. There’s obviously politics as economics as well in this space. There’s culture. There’s a whole host of things that that that exist in the Black community. And we want to be the venue, the network that tells those stories. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:01:12] J.C. Watts, co-founder and chairman of the Black News Channel, scheduled to launch in January of 2020. The Black news channel will be the nation’s only provider of 24/7 cable news programing dedicated to covering the perspective of African-American communities. According to Watts, the BNC will provide access to information and educational programing to meet the needs of this growing and dynamic community that is the major consumer of subscription television services. BNC will provide an authentic new voice that represents African-Americans and mainstream media and fosters political, economic and social discourse. The network will be one voice representing the many voices of African-Americans. Also, the channel will illuminate truth about the unique challenges facing urban communities and help close the image gap. I’m John L. Hanson Jr., and welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week’s program, the Black News Channel with J.C. Watts, co-founder and chairman, and Gary Wardlaw, vice president of News and Programing, the Black News Channel. In Black America. Gary Wardlaw [00:02:24] Well, when you start your broadcast, they are watching our broadcast day. We’re going to start off with a three hour block of news from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m.. We’re then going to have a program live out of Washington, D.C. that focuses on the politics of the day as seen through the eyes of the Congressional Black Caucus. When that show is over, we go into another live broadcast. and from Tallahassee, our studio with two young female anchors. And that show is going to be called Being a Woman. And it’s going to highlight issues of the day as it relates to young girls up to the age of women, 30. They’re going to talk about issues that are important to them in the afternoon. And then we go into a series of programs that we call the BNC Presents. Those programs will feature documentaries on Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Beyonce, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, if it’s a pop culture person. We have a show that’s going to spotlight that as well as Morgan Freeman’s look at the Chitlin Circuit blues. But we kind of have a little bit of everything for everybody in that program. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:03:25] Gary Wardlaw, vice president of News and Programing, the Black News Channel. On January 25th, 1980, Black Entertainment Television made his debut. At the time, it will become the most prominent television network targeting the African-American community. We now have the African Channel, Bounce TV, Aspire TV, Cleo TV, Own and TV-1, just to name a few. On January 6th, 2020, the Black news channel will begin providing all things African-American put together by a group of entrepreneurs led by former Congressman J.C. Watts. The Black news channel will be the nation’s only 24/7 provider of cable news programing dedicated to covering a unique perspective of African-American communities. BNC will provide an authentic new voice that represents African-Americans in mainstream media and foster political, economic and social discourse. The new channel promises to inform, educate and empower nearly 50 million African-Americans now living in this country. Recently In Black America spoke with Gary Wardlaw regarding the network. Gary Wardlaw [00:04:36] I was born in Tennessee, a little town called South Pittsburg, which is near. Well, not a whole lot, but I grew up in Chattanooga, went to school there. I started my career in broadcast there at age 16. Some 50 years later, I find myself at the Black News Channel. My journey has taken me from Tennessee to the West Coast back to the East Coast, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle. I’ve kind of been all over the place, but I’m very happy to be in Tallahassee ready to help launch this Black News Channel. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:05:09] What sparked that initial interest in journalism and communications? Gary Wardlaw [00:05:13] When I was a kid working at a restaurant, I used to argue with some of the customers about everything from religion to politics. A man that would come in often was the chief petty officer in the Navy. And he said to me one day, listen kid you got a lot of mouth. You ought to be on television. And of course, I laughed because there were no Blacks on television in my hometown. But he said, I want you to go up there and talk to the station manager. I know him. Tell him I sent you, I think he’ll give you a job. Well, he was true to his word. I went to the station. They gave me a job. I started working in the studio, and a year and a half later, I was on the air and I’d been on the air for some 40 years. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:05:51] Remember that first job? Gary Wardlaw [00:05:53] I do. I was there. It was the TV, television Chattanooga, and my title was Floor Manager. What that meant was I had to manage to clean that floor every night. But it was an auspicious start. But nonetheless, it spawned a career. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:09] Having been in the industry for such a long time, what differences and innovations have you seen thus far that has made what you do more efficient and better? Gary Wardlaw [00:06:22] When I first started working in television, we shot black, black and white, reverse negative film. They don’t even make such a thing, I don’t think anymore. So we’ve gone from the old film camera days to film processors. Now everybody who has a camera is a journalist. And so the innovations have been just absolutely phenomenal. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:43] Now, I understand you are now the vice president of news and programing for the Black News Channel. Give us a thumbnail because we’re going to go through some of the things that you are anticipating on doing with what to channel, what the channel will look like. Gary Wardlaw [00:07:00] Well, when you start your broadcast da or, watching our broadcast day. We’re going to start off with a three hour block of news from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m.. We’re then going to have a program live out of Washington, D.C. that focuses on the politics of the day as seen through the eyes of the congressional Black news, the Congressional Black Caucus, rather. When this show is over, we go into another live broadcast in from Tallahassee, our studio with two young female anchors. And that show is going to be called Being a Woman. And it’s going to highlight issues of the day as it relates to young girls up to the age of women, 30. They’re going to talk about issues that are important to them in the afternoon. And then we go into a series of programs that we call the ABC Presents. Those programs will feature documentaries on Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, BeyoncÇ, Rihanna, Lil Wayne, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson. If it’s a pop culture person, we have a show that’s going to spotlight that as well as Morgan Freeman’s look at the Chitlin Circuit blues. But we kind of have a little bit of everything for everybody in that program. Later in the afternoon, we have another show that’s primarily focused on females. It’s called Ladies Choice. And this show is going to spotlight issues that are important to women 30 plus. And so that’s going to be hosted by our two female anchors, one of which happens to be a clinical psychologist. We then go into a three hour block of prime news that will air live from our studios and it’ll be in prime on the West Coast. We also have programs that feature Dr. Corey Bare as our staff medical person who will be producing programs on health as it relates to the African-American audience. Mark McEwen, formerly of CBC News, will host a program for men and it’s called All Things Men. And so he’s going to sit back and talk with everybody from ministers to football players. So we’re going to highlight those issues that are important to the fellows. And that’s just some of the highlights. We’re going to have Olympic programing, We have HBCU sports programing, we have FIBA World Basketball, we have star workout. So if it’s of interest to the Black audience, it’s of interest to us, and we intend to put it on, as well as spotlighting the best of our the best of the best from the nation’s HBCU, we have a program that’s specially designed for our HBCU students to be able to show themselves off, as it were, and programing that we’re going to produce around their reports as well. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:09:34] How did you go about deciding what to put on air? I’m quite sure you had a large white board, a black board or whatever kind of board that you are used to come up with this line up. Gary Wardlaw [00:09:44] It really wasn’t that complicated. I basically sit back and I so for the most part, I mean, I would talk to people that I know. One of my favorite research facilities is called the Barbershop. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:09:58] And let’s say. Gary Wardlaw [00:09:58] You go in a barbershop and you listen to the brothers and you go come up with some stuff for TV. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:10:02] That’s right. Gary Wardlaw [00:10:03] I like to say that the barbershop is a Black men’s club. I’m going to be myself and listen and you get some pretty you know, you do some pretty good research on what’s happening in the Black community. And you go to the beauty shop, you get the same things. So I listen to the people and try to put together programing that people told me was of interest to them. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:10:25] I heard that. Mr. Wardlaw, what makes you excited about this invention? Gary Wardlaw [00:10:30] Well, for the first time in forever, we’re going to have a network where we are unapologetically Black. The world will look in and catch us being ourselves, and they’ll find out that we’re more than crime in the streets. We’re more than music, we’re more than sports. We have brains, we have opinions, we have scientists, we have educators, we have lawyers, we have doctors. We know we have specialists. It’s nothing wrong with being a star football player or a basketball player. It’s nothing wrong with being a musician. But the world is going to see us in greater scope than just athletics or music. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:11:06] If you’re just joining us, I’m John L. Hanson Jr., and you’re listening to In Black America from KUT Radio and speaking with Gary Wardlaw, vice president of news and programing at the Black News Channel cable network. Mr. Wardlaw, I saw there’s a cast of 20 some million dollars that put this endeavor in motion. What does that type of money buy you as far as facilities and personnel? Gary Wardlaw [00:11:35] Well, the facility that’s being built out in Tallahassee is second to none in the world. It’s state of the art equipment. And nothing was there was nothing. No corners were cut to put this place together. Mm. The set is going to be unlike any other news that you’ve ever seen, the music that you know, every newscast has its news. Music. Our music is being written and produced by two Grammy winners. One of the fellows involved in our music is also up for an Oscar this year. Well, it will be original music. That sounds like us. It feels like us. And what makes me most excited about all this is that this has never been done before. No one in America has ever had my job. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:12:20] Right. Gary Wardlaw [00:12:20] So. This is truly going to be an interesting thing. I don’t sleep very much these days. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:12:26] I understand. Tell us there was a push back as we speak today, was initially was going to be the last day, but now it’s going to be January 2020. Why the pushback? Gary Wardlaw [00:12:39] We originally were going to launch to an audience of some 33 million people. We’re working with some other vendors, carriers that have come on board to play. And rather than have multiple announcements, we’re going to have these deals all in place by the first of the year and it’s going to make news in itself. When we report the people that are going to carry this network and where individuals in this country can find it, but we didn’t want to do it multiple times when the one great big announcement until America, where it can find us, whether you’re in California or Florida. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:13:14] Is this a subscription service? Gary Wardlaw [00:13:16] It will be free on some in some based on some basis, but it will be subscription on others. It depends on which part of the service you want. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:13:24] I understand Jaycee wants former congressperson and quarterback in Oklahoma. What was your immediate reaction from his call or did he call you personally? Gary Wardlaw [00:13:37] Yeah, there are a couple of people that started recruiting me back in the early 2000, early two that I know. Correct. They’ve been working on putting this together for a long time. Okay. J.C. Watts is a charming, bright, articulate man who, when he chatted with me, told me what his vision was about, what he wanted to see, and why would marry mine almost Exactly. And so it wasn’t a big sales pitch. It was, Hey, man, what Can we get started? Where is the money? Let’s get this thing done. And it took some time to to get all of the financing in place. But once that was done, it was just a let’s let’s get it on. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:14:18] How will this endeavor increase the participation of African-American or people of color as journalists going forward? Gary Wardlaw [00:14:27] Well, people of color have pretty much dropped out of watching TV news. If you turn on your local newscast, you’ll think that every Black person in America is a gangster. The only thing that happens in our community is crime. The only people you see on TV are in handcuffs. Why would I watch that? Hmm. Well, our African-Americans, especially our young people, have just tuned out. They’re tired of hearing what we all know not to be true. If you look at what’s happening in Chicago, you think everybody in Chicago carries a gun and that you’re going to get shot, you know, trying to go to the grocery store. It’s just not true and it’s not fair. And so we’re going to invite America, especially Black America, to tune in to find out what the real story is in their community. By doing that, we’re going to also partner with every Black newspaper in the country. Okay. But we’re going to find those stories in every community. The mainstream media overlooks the ten year old boy who’s a loser sophomore in college, or the 12 year old girl who’s a college professor. We don’t hear those stories on TV. Well, we’re going to give license to those people to tell those stories on TV. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:15:36] When you look at the landscape as you just articulated, how are you all going to compete on a level of of some of the other majors? Gary Wardlaw [00:15:45] I’m in not excuse me, I’m in no competition with the scenes and the foxes. Okay. They’re going to be in competition with us.…

Full show notes at the publisher

Cheryl Grace (Ep. 4, 2020) Dec 29, 2019

Show notes

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Cheryl Grace, Nielsen’s Senior Vice President of Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement, and co-creator of the 2019 Diverse Intelligence Series Report on African Americans. Announcer [00:00:15] From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. Cheryl Grace [00:00:23] Well, actually, in 2011, so about six years after I joined the company, I was heading up the communications for our global, what we call CPG division, consumer packaged goods division, which is, you know, where people buy the retailers, where they buy their groceries, the manufacturers that make all fast consumable goods. And I saw all of this data coming across my desk about multicultural consumers. And I knew I wasn’t aware of the power that we had. So I just assumed that the general population and our clients were also not aware of this. And so tossed around and started working with some analysts. And we pulled together the first report on the African-American consumer that kind of talked about what we watch, what we buy and and why we watch and buy what we do. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:01:19] Cheryl Grace, Nielsen’s senior vice president of Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement and co-creator of the 2019 diverse intelligence series report on African-Americans. At 47.8 million strong and a buying power that’s on par with many countries gross domestic products, African-Americans continue to outpace spending nationally. This year’s report title is in the Bag. Black Consumers Path to Purchase focused on assisting brands and marketers understand the multifaceted process that African-Americans take to buy products. There were several drive as well. Culture is at the center of them all. Also, their love for technology make African-Americans more savvy and conscious consumers. The report highlights several differences in shopping, behavior and purchasing when compared to the total U.S. population. I’m John L. Hanson Jr. And welcome to another edition of In Black America on this weeks’ program, It’s In the Bag Black Consumers Path to Purchase with Cheryl Grace, Neilson’s Senior Vice President of Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement In Black America. Cheryl Grace [00:02:29] So what we included in this year’s report was what the African-American focused media spend is for, like how much money companies are spending on the different platforms. And you would think, given the fact that African-Americans watch so much TV that the ad spend would be comparable, but it’s not is actually at odds with our consumption habits, which is fair to say. There has been a decline year over year. So cable television had a 1% decline, digital advertising had a 12% decline, national magazines had a 9% decline, network TV had a 13% decline, but Radio 4% and syndicated TV had 11% decline. So across the board, the platforms that are focused on African American media saw decline. And that’s that’s not good. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:03:27] According to Nielsen’s latest report on African-American spending, African-Americans want more for themselves. And from corporate America, the report title is in the bag. Black Consumers Path to Purchase revealed that African-Americans are more likely than the total population to agree that advertising provides meaningful information on most platforms. But advertising dollars designed to reach African-American swimmers declined by $1 billion between 2017 and 2018. Nielsen’s 2019 Diverse Intelligence series report on African-Americans also include deeper insight into how culture, socioeconomic and business influence, how, why and what motivate African-American spending. In addition, African-Americans outspent the total market on personal soap and their products by nearly 19%. That’s $573.6 million recently. And Black America spoke of show Grace Nielsen, senior vice president of Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement and co-creator of the DIS Report. Cheryl Grace [00:04:37] I live in Chicago. I was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I’ve been in Chicago since I graduated from college. So that’s actually longer now than when I lived in my hometown. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:04:50] And what college did you attend? Cheryl Grace [00:04:52] Purdue University for? My undergrad. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:04:54] Oh, so you didn’t stray too far from home? Cheryl Grace [00:04:56] No, I did not. I did not. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:04:59] What brought you to the Nielsen Company? Cheryl Grace [00:05:01] Whoa. So in 2004, when I joined the company, they were experiencing a little bit of unsettledness, if you will, with the African-American and Latino population. And there was an assertion being put forth that Nielsen wasn’t accurately measuring people of color, which was not true. And I actually had experience working for a television station, local NBC affiliate in Chicago, and I also had community organizing background and a background in working in politics because I had worked as the press secretary for the Chicago city treasurer. And so they were looking for a person with those qualifications specifically to kind of help them navigate establishing a community relations and government relations department. And so I joined at that time. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:05:58] What brought Nielsen to the point where it thought it needed to produce these reports? Cheryl Grace [00:06:05] Well, actually, in 2011, so about six years after I joined the company, I was heading up the communications for our global, what we call CPG division, consumer packaged goods division, which is, you know, where people buy the retailers, where they buy their groceries, the manufacturers that make all fast consumable goods. And I saw all of this data coming across my desk about multicultural consumers. And I knew I wasn’t aware of the power that we had. So I just assumed that the general population and our clients were also not aware of this and so talked around and started working with some analysts. And we put together the first report on the African-American consumer that kind of talked about what we watch, what we buy in and why we watch and buy what we do. And it was such a success. That first report, it actually won a number of awards that the company stepped back and said, hey, maybe we should take a look at consumers who are Asian American and Latin American as well. And but the diverse intelligence series of reports were born. And now we put forth at least three or four reports every single year on some of those diverse communities. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:07:26] Why is this information significant? Cheryl Grace [00:07:29] It’s really important because particularly multicultural consumers are rapidly growing. Our purchasing power is rapidly growing right now collectively. African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans have over 3.2 $3.4 trillion of purchasing power. When you combine all of it and that’s like if we were a GDP, there are only four countries in the entire world who would have economies that are larger than that, and that would be the United States. It would be China. It would be Japan and it would be Germany. And so you cannot overlook that type of tremendous power. And we need not only for our brands and clients and marketers to understand and value diversity when it comes to consumer and our consumption habits and behaviors. We also need the consumers who are making these decisions to understand what their power is so that they can use it accordingly. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:08:37] How did you go about developing the metrics to measure? Cheryl Grace [00:08:42] You know, Nielsen measures what consumers watch, what consumers by, what consumers listen to. And what we do is we just simply pull together a lot of the information that we’ve already collected, but we vary with a different lens. So we very strategically pull out the information on African-American consumers for the African-American report. So it’s information that we’re already gathering. We just put it in a consolidated place so that we have access and we can provide that to our clients and to consumers. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:09:14] When you looked at the numbers and we’re going to talk about, you know, some of the numbers up in the conversation, did you have any aha moments from this report, from the one that you first did in 2011? Cheryl Grace [00:09:28] Yeah. So I think the biggest shift there were two for me that I’m starting to see from a trend perspective, and I’ve been doing this report for nine years now. I can say that the biggest shift I’ve seen over the last few years was in how differently the top 20 programs are that African-Americans are watching versus non-Hispanic whites. And what we have seen is historically there have been overlapping in content from what Blacks are watching to what the total market is watching. Generally, about 40, 50% of an overlap. This year, we saw a lot less of that. So with Blacks who are 18 to 34, there were only like two shows that. They watch that the total market is also watching. And that was Empire and a show called 911 on Fox. And when you’re looking at Blacks, 35 and over, there were only four shows out of the 20 that crossover. This is us Chicago P.D., FBI and Manifest. So for me, that’s significant because it says that if you build it or rather produce it, they will come. And when Blacks have choices about what they want to see, they’re going to turn to the shows that have cast and characters who look like them. It used to be that we would see we were tuning in to shows that had diversity, but especially for 18 to 34 year olds, their shows are almost all exclusively African-American cast. Not 100%, but but primarily Black. And so that’s been the biggest shift that I’ve seen. I’ve also seen this shift when it comes to viewing. And we watch a lot of television, by the way, we watch more than 50 hours a week of television. We’re watching, I think it’s close to 57 hours a week, watching about 11 hours more than the total population watches. And when you take a look at the differences between the viewing habits, I think a lot of it is being driven now by people having options to network and cable shows. So now they’ve got the streaming choices and those streaming services are really providing a lot of diverse content. So the network and the cable providers have to keep up. So that’s why you’re starting to see a lot of changes on TV is driving a lot of the interest for adults 35 plus and for those 18 to 34 year olds. VH one is is nailing it. VH one has so many of the love and hip hop franchises that pop up on that top 20 list. But for 18 to 34 year olds are really into reality television. Surprised. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:12:26] Alastair? As a television viewer myself, I should be watching the program for entertainment purposes. But I’m also watching it to see what commercials are being shown in that vein. Does the viewership of that particular program dictate the type of commercials that are going to be shown or shown for that particular program? Cheryl Grace [00:12:53] So what we included in this year’s report was what the African-American focused media spend is for, like how much money companies are spending on the different platforms. Right. And you would think, given the fact that African-Americans watched so much TV, that the ad spend would be comparable, but it’s not is actually at odds with our consumption habits, which is sad to say. So there has been a decline year over year. So cable television had a 1% decline. Digital advertising had a 12% decline. National magazines had a 9% decline. Network TV had a 13% decline. Radio 4% and syndicated TV had 11% decline. So across the board, the platforms that are focused on African-American media saw decline. And that’s that’s not good because radio. 92% of all Blacks watch. I’m sorry listen to radio in any given week. And so that’s the number one way to reach African-Americans. But still, we’re seeing the decline in radio. We’re seeing a decline in television. It’s just not it’s not adding up. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:14:10] Was there any indication of advertising towards the four or five African-American cable channels that we have be TV? Cheryl Grace [00:14:22] I did not pool the specific programs or networks where the ads were dedicated this year, unfortunately. Okay. Something I can look into. But we didn’t pull those numbers this year. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:14:34] Why is it important? And I’m looking at the report that cultural has significant place in what African-Americans purchase. Cheryl Grace [00:14:45] Well, you know, advertising in particular resonates with African-Americans. And we are not as averse to having ads, for example, pop up on our mobile phones. But we find that ads resonate with us. And there’s a certain reason why. So like 51% of Blacks say that a celebrity endorsement may influence them to consider or buy a product. So. Celebrities are really important. I love keeping up with celebrity news and gossip. 44% of Blacks say that when a celebrity designs a product, I’m more likely to buy it. 35% of Blacks say that. And I’m influenced by what’s hot and what’s not. 33% of Blacks agree with that statement. These are like relevant because we again, we want to see ads that reflect people who look like us. But we also have this admiration for celebrities. And Blacks are actually considered to be very cool, if you will. And we’re trendsetters. And so what you find is that when you’re marketing and using African-American celebrities, not only does that appeal to African-Americans, it also appeals to all of the other demographics as well. I think it’s 76% of of Caucasians and 67% of Hispanics say that they think blacks drive pop culture. And so when you’re marketing to us, you kind of get a bonus in that other cultures are following our trends. So something that happens with us in our communities generally, six months to a year, you start to see it happening across other communities as well. So we’re definitely trendsetters. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:16:37] If you’re just joining us, I’m John L. Hanson Jr and you’re listening to In Black America from KUT Radio. I’m speaking with Cheryl Grace, senior vice president of Community Alliances and Consumer Engagement and co-creator of Nielsen’s 2019 Diverse intelligence series Report on African-Americans. Miss Grace, I live in Dallas, and for the life of me, I see a lot of African-Americans driving high end in cars. And I’m looking at this report and it says Blacks are 20% more likely than the population to pay extra for products that is consistent with the image, but also to shop at high end stores. So we like the good stuff. Cheryl Grace [00:17:20] We actually. Oh, definitely. Image is everything for African-Americans. And you think about it. It is what we are projecting and who we present to the world and who we are is very important to our our our integrity. Right. And some of that can be tracked and traced back to some of the problems that we’ve had historically where we haven’t been valued or we’ve been pushed aside or we haven’t been respected in terms of what we bring to the table. So image means a lot and you know what you mean. In Dallas, it was interesting to me to note that Texas has become the number one state with the highest buying power for Americans. So that’s why you’re seeing all those fancy cars. And it’s also the number one state with the highest population of Blacks. Most of that is in the Dallas and Houston. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:18:22] Houston. Cheryl Grace [00:18:23] Markets. Yeah, but I, I found that really very interesting that Texas. People are moving to Texas. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:18:30] Yes. Yes, they are. Miss Grace, how has online purchasing affected African-American buying power overall than going to the store in person? Cheryl Grace [00:18:42] So that was also something that was…

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Glen Crawley (Ep. 3, 2020) Dec 22, 2019

Show notes

This week, In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Glen Crawley, co-owner, with Kenny Garth, of ATX Hello Tours, a rare African American-owned helicopter tour service, located in Pflugerville, a suburb of Austin, Texas. Intro music [00:00:08] The In Black America theme music, an instrumental by Kyle Turner. Announcer [00:00:08] From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. Glen Crawley [00:00:23] The high school that he went to was Air Force ROTC. So he did that. I got to see him come home in his uniform. And then when he went off to to the academy here in San Antonio, he sent back a picture of him standing next to a fighter jet. And in my mind, he was a superhero. You know, I’m I’m still in junior high. He’s he’s standing next to a fighter jet and I’m like, oh, my God, my brother’s awesome. So he kind of set me on that path to want to be, to leave the ground basically in class, something. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:00:52] Crawley, co-owner of ATX Heli Tours, located in Pflugerville, Texas, a northern suburb of Austin, Texas, and 2017, Crawley, along with his partner Kenny Goff, opened the helicopter tour company. Crawley and Goff both met while they were in flight school, preparing to take their flight test before receiving their licenses. Their instructor thought that they might pair up and split the cost of the flight. Crowley had always wanted to fly because of his brother and Goff’s partner, who was an aircraft mechanic, trash-talked his way into the sky. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 3% of the nation’s commercial pilots are African American. Both of them hope to change this by showing their passion for flying. They want to encourage others, especially young people, that they, too, can become pilots. I’m John L. Hanson Jr. And welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week’s program, ATX Heli Tours with the co-owner Glen Crawley, In Black America. Glen Crawley [00:01:57] We wanted to lease a helicopter one day. I had spoken to the owner of the business and he said that I could and then the message didn’t get back to the school and the school wouldn’t allow us to take one of the helicopters. And then Kenny kind of got upset about that. He was like, look, this is the last time we’re going to have to ask anybody to borrow anything. So let’s just buy our own helicopter. And in my mind, I’m thinking we can’t afford a helicopter, but they are super expensive. So he was like, we’re going to figure it out. So we just started looking around and we met this really nice business guy who who owned his own helicopter, but he just didn’t have time to fly it. And now he’s a really good friend of ours. And his name’s Ed Mouser. He pretty much let us pay a third of his helicopter upfront. And then he said he would self-finance the rest of it. So he already owned it outright. And so he self-financed the rest of it. And that’s how we were able to get this helicopter.. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:02:46] ATX Heli Tours offer a view of Austin, Texas never seen before. They say one should never have to sacrifice durability for beauty and comfort. They helicopters have a closed cockpit with air conditioning and leather seats. Open in 2017 Crowley and his partner, Kenny Goff, have flown hundreds of customers since then. Their tours range from 10 minutes to an hour long tour all across the city. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. Glen Crawley is an engineer with Freescale in XP. His partner, Kenny Goff, is an aircraft mechanic. They met in flight school. Little did they know one day they will own their own helicopter to a company. In the beginning, they were reluctant in fear that the public might not respond knowing the company was owned by African-Americans. That fear has been laid to rest. As the company grows, they want to establish partnerships with schools with the intent on exposing young people to the joys of flying. Recently In Black America spoke with Glen Crawley. Glen Crawley [00:03:53] I was born in Memphis, Tennessee. I grew up primarily in Montgomery, Alabama, and so I spent most of my formative years in Montgomery, Alabama. And after college, I moved down to Florida to start my first job in the high tech industry, where I still work part time today. And so I I’ve worked in this industry for almost 29 years, and for the last two and a half to three years, I’ve had this helicopter tour business that I do because I have three or four days off per week and I’m able to to operate the business on my off days. I have a business partner as well. And so we we kind of share duties. So when I’m working, he takes care of the business and when I’m off, I cover the business and we work together. So that’s what I do. But yeah, primarily I grew up in in the South and I’ve been in Texas, here in Austin for about 25 years. So I always say that I’ve been here long enough to consider this home. I’ve lived in Austin longer than anywhere else, so I’m an Austinite, I would say. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:04:52] Any brothers and sisters? Glen Crawley [00:04:53] Oh, yeah. I’m the youngest of five. I have one brother and three sisters. So I’ve, you know, I’ve been fortunate enough to be the younger, you know, some people. I mean, I see that as a benefit, but it was rough, I could say that. But I have had the opportunity to watch my siblings do things and learn from what they did some good, some of the mistakes they made, you know? I didn’t have to make a lot of mistakes myself. I was able to learn from others mistakes, so they didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I mean, we were raised pretty well. But, you know, I learned how not to get into trouble. But my brother, seven years older, he was really my I would say my mentor source always, because he never did anything wrong. I mean, he he did everything right. I mean, he’s you know, it’s hard to follow this guy, but he did everything right. So I had no excuse really for doing anything wrong because he never showed me that. He only showed me what was right. So I had, uh, I had my brother to look up to and follow behind. He went the route of, uh, the Air Force. He was in Junior ROTC in high school. The high school that he went to was Air Force ROTC. So he did that. So I got to see him come home in his uniform. And then when he went off to to the academy here in San Antonio, he sent back a picture of him standing next to a fighter jet. And in my mind, he was a superhero. You know, I’m still in junior high and he’s he’s standing next to a fighter jet and I’m like, oh, my God, my brother’s awesome. So. So he kind of set me on that path to want to be to leave the ground, basically, and fly something. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:23] And what college did you attend? Glen Crawley [00:06:25] I went to a tech school and I’m in Birmingham, Alabama. You know, I went there at at a tech school there and the University of Alabama in Birmingham as well. So I knew I wanted to do education because growing up in my household and just everyone around, they knew that after high school they would have to go do something right. There was no just get out of high school, hang around a neighborhood because that wasn’t the best environment, you know, to be hanging around in. And so we knew that after high school we would have to go do something. And so I couldn’t wait, really. I wanted to get out of town. So I went to Birmingham, Alabama, to school there, and then straight out of out of out of school. I went straight to Florida and the Palm Bay Melbourne area. Right. And started my my career in the high tech industry. So Motorola brought me to to Austin. So I started working here for Motorola. Then the name change to Freescale, then in XP. So, um, but I’ve always wanted to fly. It’s been my passion forever, just wanting to, uh, to fly a helicopter. So I got the opportunity to do so and I haven’t looked back. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:07:33] Oh, I heard that. How did you and Kenny meet? Glen Crawley [00:07:35] I met Kenny in flight school, actually. Kenny’s my business partner. Of course he, uh, he he is a chance, I’d say he’s a chance taker, but he definitely saw something we wanted. First of all, we were leasing helicopters after we finished flight school. We were leasing helicopters from the place where we went to school. And so we would lease helicopters and go do flying around, just personal flying. And then he one day said that, uh, we should buy own helicopter, and it wasn’t because he thought that we could. It was because we wanted to lease a helicopter. One day I spoken to the owner of the business and he said that I could and then the message didn’t get back to the school, and the school wouldn’t allow us to take one of the helicopters. And then Kenny kind of got upset about that. He was like, look, this is the last time we’re going to have to ask anybody to borrow anything. So let’s just buy our own helicopter. And in my mind, I’m thinking we can’t afford a helicopter, but they are super expensive. So he was like, we’re gonna figure it out. So we just started looking around and we met this really nice business guy who who owned his own helicopter, but he just didn’t have time to fly it. And now he’s a really good friend of ours. And his name’s Ed Mouser. He he pretty much let us pay a third of his helicopter upfront. And then he said he self-financed the rest of it, so he already owned it outright and so he self-financed the rest of it. And that’s how we were able to get this helicopter. Our hats off to Ed Mouser couldn’t couldn’t couldn’t be here without him. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:09:00] Give us an idea what the flight instruction and training looks to fly a helicopter. Glen Crawley [00:09:06] Well, to fly a helicopter, I could tell you, is difficult. It’s difficult. It is. It’s not very similar to flying an airplane. I mean, the communications over the radio is the same, but all of the controls inside the helicopter is totally different. It’s a lot more intense, I would say, to fly a helicopter because you’re using all of your extremities, your right foot, left foot, right hand, left hand. They’re all doing something different and all simultaneous. So you’re doing all these things based on what the winds are doing and what the weather conditions are. So when you just trying to hover right above the ground, that’s the most intense time for a helicopter pilot because it’s a heavy workload, trying to keep the helicopter stable in an aircraft. You basically for an airplane, you just need forward air speed and, you know, you lower the flaps or whatever if you come in for a landing and then and then it comes down. Once you’re on the ground, you’re pretty much, you know, having to do a whole lot with the controls. You just you control the throttle more or less just to move it forward. But a helicopter is very, very intense in the training and it takes a long time. There’s a lot of a lot to learn. And depending on how much free time you have to put in the study time, it could be extended out for quite a bit of time to get the the training in, to get to where you get certified. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:10:16] That was my next question. How long did it take you all, take you, to obtain your license? Glen Crawley [00:10:22] Well, for me, it took a while because I had a I had a kid right in the middle of it so the expense to do it, I didn’t have because I had child care. You know, $1,000 a month primarily. And so I didn’t have the extra money to continue the training. So I had to stop training for a while, then go back to it and finish it later. So for me, it took a few years to finish it. But you can finish, I would say, if you had time to dedicate two or three flight training sessions per week, you probably could finish it in about 6 to 8 months, I would say. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:10:54] I understand that Glenn is an aircraft mechanic? Glen Crawley [00:10:58] No, Kenny is an aircraft mechanic. He’s a certified AMP mechanic and he’s also a pilot. So he works on aircraft, but it’s more of a civilian style of aircraft, But he works on the aircraft that supplies, I guess, gear supplies to the military. So he’s in Afghanistan for two months out of the year, about two months, and he comes back for two months. So he’s out of the country for two months and he comes back. But while he’s over there, he works on aircraft that helps with the support for the military. So he’s flying in supplies for the military, but it’s not a military aircraft. So he works over there as a civilian on aircraft that supply things for the military. And so he’s a he’s a helicopter pilot as well, and he’s a amp mechanic so he can work on our helicopter. So saves us quite a bit of money having someone who’s also a mechanic and a pilot so we don’t have to really go outside and pay someone else to work on the aircraft because we have our own in-house mechanic for that. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:11:54] I understand. If you’re just joining us, I’m John L. Hanson Jr., and you’re listening to In Black America from KUT Radio. We’re speaking with Glen Crawley, co-owner of ATX Heli Tours, located in Pflugerville, Texas. Glen is one thing to, you know, fly a helicopter leisurely on your spare time, but it’s another thing to open up a business. What led you all to this endeavor? Glen Crawley [00:12:19] Well, for one, we wanted to bring Austin something that they didn’t have. Okay. There was I think there was another helicopter tour company here. But what we wanted to provide was something that was a little bit different, a little bit better, and a little bit more, uh, luxurious, I would say. So what we offer is something that’s a little bit better. Our customer service is most important to us. So we come in, we want to make sure that the customer is happy and we want their tour experience to be the very best that it could possibly be. So we make sure that we give them a little bit more than they expect. So for anyone wanting a tour, it doesn’t even matter which tour you select. If you choose to have champagne or you need flowers for your mate or whoever, you just let us know that ahead of time and we’ll make sure we get those for you. There’s no extra charge for that. We just wanted to be the very best to experience. We had a guy call us up and he said, Hey, man, I don’t I don’t really have much money, but I love my I love my girlfriend and I want to treat her special I don’t have much money. So we have a tour for $59 per person. He bring her out for that tour. We’ll have chocolates for her, we’ll have champagne for you guys. And we’ll have flowers. So we don’t charge you for that. Just bring her out. We’ll make her feel special. So he brought her out. We gave her all those things. And of course, he got high fives and kudos all day because he’s the best boyfriend in the world now. Right? But he only had $120 to spare. But he still got all of that with his $120 tour package. So that’s that’s kind of what we do. That’s an entry level tour that we have at $59 per person, and it goes up as high as $300 per person. But, you know, we just want everyone to feel special. So we want the the experience to be the very best that it could be. So that’s what we brought to this town, that it didn’t have. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:14:04] What are the other type of tours that you all provide? Glen Crawley [00:14:07] Okay. We provide the the the entry level tours that we have as a tour that goes over Pflugerville. Since we are located in Pflugerville, there’s a lake right there in Pflugerville. And so we fly primarily from our airport in Pflugerville to Lake Pflugerville, and it flies over. That’s about a 8 to 10 minute tour, and that’s the one that is $59 per person. And it flies over lake Pflugerville and then over Typhoon, Texas. There’s a little water park over there. So just to get the initial feel for what it’s like to be in the helicopter, that’s that’s our en…

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Dr. Glenda Glover Dec 15, 2019

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This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Dr. Glenda Glover, President of Tennessee State University and International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha University, Inc., the oldest Greek letter organization established by African American college-educated women. Intro music [00:00:08] The In Black America theme music, an instrumental by Kyle Turner. Announcer [00:00:15] From the University of Texas at Austin, KUT Radio, this is In Black America. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:00:22] Well, as a college president, I see firsthand the plight of Black colleges. I see the financial struggles. We see what’s needed for them to invest and to act for sustainability. So one of my platforms, one of the major platform is HBCU. A Call to Action HBCU to help market pay to use to help students who choose to attend. Hey, so we see you can go along with that instead of doing something that talks about awareness, because that’s where we had a first awareness campaign. We all need an awareness campaign. ABC Usually money. We are way too aware of them. We need money. So we said we would set out to do a campaign to raise money, basically. See you. You started 2018. The first year that I was president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and we raised over $1 million, $1.3 million. In that one day. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:01:22] Dr. Glenda Glover, International president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and president of Tennessee State University. This past fall, local chapters, private donors and corporate matching dollars from across the globe helped a 100 year old service organization reach a $1 million fundraising goal for the second consecutive year. The sorority has essentially raised $1 million for the benefit of historically Black colleges and universities. HBCU, as part of its HBCU Impact Day Initiative, founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., is the oldest Greek letter organization established by African-American college educated women. The sorority is comprised of nearly 300,000 members and more than 1000 graduate and undergraduate chapters in this country and around the world. I’m John L. Hanson Jr. And welcome to another edition of In Black America. On this week’s program, HBCU Impact Day Initiative with Dr. Glenda Glover, International president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and president of Tennessee State University. In Black America. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:02:43] We thought the way to make an impact is for the membership to galvanize and show that we are serious about HBCU. If you really love something, you will spend money. If you love time, you pay money for it. And so we love HBCU. We showed that by raising over $1,000,000.20 18. We had to repeat it in 2019 and do it again in 2020 and 2021. We plan to raise $1,000,000 each year in support of HBCU. But let me say this. Not only did we raise it, we gave out. We gave back out to HBCU use right away. Three months later, we had a meeting. I guess it was fine with me. In February, we had a meeting in Chicago, invited one third of the college presidents, HBCU presidents, to Chicago to take a corporate office, and we started an endowment. And at each university we gave everybody a $50,000 check because they signed an agreement. And so because this endowment represents sustainability, and that’s what we mean to sustain HBCU, they need funding. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:03:39] Dr. Glenda Glover is committed to making a difference in young people’s lives. As the international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and president of Tennessee State University, she knows firsthand the importance of a college education. And February 2019, A.K.A., gets it $1.6 million to the first 32 of 96 HBCU through the ACC HBCU Endowment Fund. The second cycle consisting of 32 more HBCU will be funded in 2020. The endowment fund falls on these organizations. Target HBCU for Life A Call to Action, which aims to promote HBCU use by encouraging students to attend and matriculate to these institutions. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Glover earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Tennessee State University, a master’s from Clark Atlanta, a doctorate from George Washington University, and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Glover is one of few African-American women to hold a Ph.D. CPA and JD combination in the nation. Recently In Black America spoke with Glover regarding Aka’s HBCU Impact Day and significance of HBCU. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:05:00] I was born in Memphis. I ran in Memphis. I spent a lot of time in Tennessee and Washington, D.C. and Atlanta and Jackson, Mississippi, and now I’ve come back home to Nashville. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:05:13] Any brothers and sisters? Dr. Glenda Glover [00:05:15] Yes. Six of us. Wonder why younger brother and their five siblings. I’m the third one. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:05:22] And I read somewhere that you are a daughter of civil rights activist. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:05:28] My father is a similar civil rights activist. And in fact, they had a street naming after him last year. We were very honored about that. He, uh, he passed away in the mid-nineties. And so his children are now living up to his his goals and ideas. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:05:46] Tell me what was like, like growing up, I mean, in Memphis excuse me, Memphis. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:05:50] Where I grew up. I went to high school in Memphis, went to elementary school in Memphis, is my church in Memphis. It was like any other young lady growing up in Memphis. We understood that there a better day was coming and we looked at my dad, how he possibly could in Memphis to make that day reality and making sure his children went to college. And I try to contribute back to society and become the leaders that we try to become. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:20] Well, I understand one of the some of your favorite subjects while you were in school. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:06:23] It was always math. So that’s why I chose accounting. It was always math. It was always numbers. And I love the dictionary and I love the scriptures. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:33] And you did your undergraduate way at Tennessee State. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:06:36] Tennessee State. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:37] And why? Dr. Glenda Glover [00:06:38] So you can imagine what I’m blessed is. What I’m honored is to come back and leave the very school that gave me my foundation. It’s, um. It’s just a not unusual blessing. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:06:49] I understand. And you want a few African-American women and hos pace day, a CPA and a law degree. Why were you so and merged in education at a young age. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:07:03] That says it? I was just very much immersed into the education arena, studying the dictionary, growing up, trying to pursue the more difficult areas, because I thought if you learn at the same level as everyone else, then you are gonna compete at the same level. But if you chose a harder path, you were slightly ahead above your peers. So I kind of grew up with the thinking and chose math and and accounting and economics and business. So the rewards have been great. I use I use every aspect of everything. Every day of my life. Jonathan, say you’re on the verge of it. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:07:45] And you players AK and 71 Y that sorority. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:07:51] And AK 71 at Tennessee State University. And let me say this, it’s a full circle moment for me. Alpha Kappa Alpha at Tennessee State. Come back and lead Tennessee State. It is a full circle moment for me, and it is a very special moment in my life. It’s all about Kappa Alpha because of what it represents a service organization who is all about service, not just on the service organization, because there are others. But that’s the one that stood out most to me at the time. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:08:19] And you all have a Oh, I had a fundraising initiative. Tell us about the HBCU Impact Day. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:08:26] Well, as a college president, I see firsthand the plight of Black colleges. I see the financial struggles. We see what’s needed for them to advance and to act for sustainability. So one of my platforms, one of the major platforms, is HBCU is a call to action, HBCU to help market HBCU to help students who choose to attend HBCU. And so along with that, instead of doing something that talk about awareness, cause that’s where it was here, that first a awareness campaign. We all need an awareness campaign. HBCU usually money. We are well aware of them. We need money. So we said we will set out to do a campaign to raise money for HBCU Inspired In 2018, the first year that I was president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and we raised over $1,000,000, $1.3 million. And at one day we thought the way to make an impact is for the membership to galvanize and and show that we are serious about HBCU. And if you really love something, you will spend money on it. If you love time, you paid money for it. And so we love HBCU. We show that by raising over $1,000,000.20 18, we had to repeat it in 2019 and do it again in 2020 and 2021. You plan to raise $1,000,000 this year in support of basically you. But let me say this. Not only did we raise it, we gave out. We gave back out to HBCU use right away. Three months later, we had a meeting. I guess it was fine with late February. We had a meeting in Chicago, invited one third of the college presidents, HBCU presidents, to Chicago to today, a corporate office. And we started endowments at each university. We gave everybody a $50,000 check because they signed an agreement. And so because this endowment represents sustainability, and that’s what we mean to sustain HBCU, they need funding. So we want to take the lead in that and show, again, being a college president, I know the needs. I know the financial need. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:10:36] What do you see the immediate challenges besides funding, which is a big challenge that HBCU face today? Dr. Glenda Glover [00:10:47] Well, yes, funding is always a challenge, but I think the the major challenge that HBCU has, the lack of a solid the advocacy is what’s needed. And when you go to the legislature, you go to other areas. You can really see others out there pushing their universities. They’re out there. They have strong advocacy that’s missing in the Black community. We have it to a certain extent, but we need to beef up that because money will come from those who are pushing the university. That’s how you get more funding. You have folks out there beating the bush, the president for you. And so that’s that’s what we really, really need. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:11:29] Tell us about your five point vision plan for the university. Dr. Glenda Glover [00:11:33] Oh, sure. Well, so first, the first part about the institution is we want to make sure first that students receive a quality education. That’s always why we go to HBCU. The one single reason that we attend this talk about college is you get a good education, so some other things come with it. Of course, come kind of with that may be you got to have similar mind and some individuals who are similar to you but the number one reason go to college education. So that first part of vision is to make sure that students receive a quality education, and then you want to make sure there’s customer service. I mean, schools need to improve customer service, and we’re one of them. The customer service needs to be beefed up where customer service is. The second one. They want to have the community engagement because t issue is part of the community. We don’t operate as solo. We operate within the community of which we serve. So we want to make sure that we’re we’re visible to the community. We’re serving the community we want to. Increase our enrollment and ensure that we don’t just have enrollment based on numbers, based on quality of students, ensure that students have the wherewithal to graduate. We don’t do them any service by omitting a student who will have no support, no opportunity to graduate. So that’s why we say if it makes sense to do that. And then, of course, public safety is always an issue. So we know we have some standards. When I came here seven years ago, but now we’ve kind of refined them a little bit more as we as we went along. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:13:18] How has the enrollment been thus far? Dr. Glenda Glover [00:13:20] Yeah, enrollment dropped there declined. We made the standards a little different. We say standards and made them higher to be admitted. But it is. And in time it will come back around this year. Enrollment is up because it took a dive for two years and then this year turned around. It took about three years. This year was turned around and we’re happy that it’s turned around. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:13:47] Can you talk to us about any partnerships that you all have developed in the city in Nashville? Dr. Glenda Glover [00:13:53] Well, we’ve because we also have into the community and into the corporate world that I sit on a corporate board. So I’m really immersed in the corporate world. We have two outstanding new partnerships in the community itself. We have HCA, the Hospital Corporation of America, where we give back. We have Amazon, Apple, we’re HCA regions right here in the city and also fifth, Third Bank, Pinnacle Financial Partners. And then we have a national partnership that we just enter into which we are very, very special to us. One with Apple, where we’re teaching people how to code. Everyone can code and not coding, whether you know, C++ or COBOL. Not that I forget. I’m talking about app developer development and understanding of the coding aspects of solving problems. You know, so and it’s been a fun partnership. In fact, this year, this fall is the first time we’re offering the courses for credit. And we’ve had some academies where we talk about coding. But this fall we’re doing it for credit. We have about a thousand students who were interested at various levels between the high school, the dual enrollment, the alumni, the college level, you know, I mean, at the graduate level. And then there are those who are in and that’s who’s taking the course. So it’s everyone I can call everyone can create this a music series. So we’re talking about creativity and music, creativity, then the promise of Amazon. Amazon has moved to Nashville in the process of moving in Nashville. And so we’re developing an outstanding partnership with Amazon. In fact, they’ve endowed a professor in our cause of computing and engineering in the computer science area. So we’re having fun with the partnership. We’re developing more. Each time we meet, we want to Silicon Valley just meet with firms and establish new partnerships. John L. Hanson Jr. [00:15:49] I understand that when you were at Jackson State, you implemented a Ph.D. program in business part two of that program. How important are these programs to the sustainability of HBCU for the future? Dr. Glenda Glover [00:16:05] Absolutely important. You know, we started growing our own doctors. And once there was a time when I would hear my peers make comments that you don’t want all your degrees from a Black college, you all get one degree. Well, that sounds ludicrous. If you have the the quality of the faculty and you have a good university. A great university. Yes. Stay there and get a degree. That’s what happens in majority institutions. They have they have spots that are pretty much I’m not going to say earmarked, but spots for students who attend them at undergraduate level. And so there’s nothing wrong with getting a master’s degree or a doctorate from your HBCU. And so we grow our own doctor. We come back and teach the knowledge that we’ve gained to the students. That’s what it’s all about. That’s how we sustain ourselves. We grow doctorates, we come back and let them impart that knowledge to others. John L.…

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