365 Amplified

The Wisconsin Diverse Entreprise Network is a new platform designed to help big businesses find great vendors and help small businesses land big contracts. Beyond that, it offers mentorship and technical assistance to startups and small businesses across the state. A joint effort of the Ethnic and Diverse Business Coaltion (EDBC) and the New North, WiDEN hopes to have 1,000 businesses on the platform by the end of the year. Today, on a special episode of 365 Amplified, we talk to Marjorie Rucker of the EDBC and Glossy Bird Management owner Stephanie Comer. Her business has benefitted from WiDEN and she's a member of the outreach team about the platform, how it works and how you can get involved.

Learn more by visiting www.widen.biz or calling 888-510-9109.

On the podcast this week, we talk through the Tuesday primary results and how race and systems might have played out in the results. Then we talk with Rodlyn-mae Banting about her feature on how creative writers out together careers -- however unstable and nomadic those careers are. Then, County Board candidate Dana Pellebon joins the show to talk about what she's hearing on the campaign trail, the contrast on the ballot in November and what she sees as inequities in the process.

Today's episode is sponsored by American Players Theater.

Rodlyn-mae's feature on the creative writing career is here.

Donate to Madison365 here.

Stephanie is back! She joins Rob Chappell, Omar Waheed & Rodlyn-mae Banting to chat about Black Restaurant Week, Midwest Dad Energy, and the two constitutional amendments on the ballot next week. Speaking of which, Kathleen Fullin from the League of Women Voters of Dane County joins to dispel any misconceptions about the latest rules around voting, and let us know exactly what's on the ballot next week, how you can participate in the election, and why you should trust the results.

More info on Black Restaurant Week here: https://blueprint365.org/featured/madison-black-restaurant-week-begins-sunday/

How the referenda could affect child care: https://madison365.com/constitutional-amendment-questions-on-wisconsins-august-ballot-could-affect-child-care-providers-warn/

Today, Rob, Omar & Rodlyn-mae preview the Briarpatch art fair, ask whether the National Association of Black Journalists should have hosted Donald Trump, note some Wisconsinites competing in the Olympics, and announce the beginning of Madison365's Midsummer Membership Drive. Plus, the 25th Anniversary Season of Dane Dances gets underway tonight! Board Chair Al Cooper stops by the studio to give a preview of the next five Friday nights downtown Madison.

LINKS mentioned in the show:

Dane Dances website

Donate to the Madison365 Midsummer Membership Drive

Today, Rob, Omar and Rodlyn talk through the big news that Vice President Kamala Harris is the new Democratic Party candidate for president, what we're hearing around Madison, and what her West Allis rally felt like compared to Joe Biden's recent visits. Then, we visit Artemis Provisions and Cheese in Mt. Horeb, a business we've been following since it started doing catering and local food delivery during the pandemic. Owners Kingsley and Melissa Gobourne have now opened a retail shop and will soon add a Jamaican American restaurant. Rob talked with them about the origins and dreams for the business.

The Village of Shorewood Hills Board of Trustees rejected a resolution to censure trustee Shabnam Lotfi after she called out racial discrimination, but how did it get that far? On the podcast today we talk through this case as an example of how seemingly small policies and procedures can be used as a tool to marginalize people. Plus, what the discourse over the Biden candidacy says about white fragility and Boys and Girls Clubs of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson joins us to talk about the one-year anniversary of the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center, the new statue of Vel Phillips on the Capitol grounds and the All White Party.

Today's episode is sponsored by Madison Children's Musesum and the Nice Age Trail.

Read our story about Shorewood Hills here.

On the podcast today, Omar recaps his experience at the President's stop in Madison last week and his visit to a practice of the Midwest Warriors, Madison's new amateur football team, which is currently undefeated in its second season in the Northern Lights Football League. Then, we head to Breese Stevens Field to catch up with Forward Madison winger/striker Derek Gebhard. He made his 101st appearance for the Flamingos last week, the most in team history. We talk about his tenure, his background, and how fatherhood has changed him.

Links:

Midwest Warriors, Madison's amateur football team, looks to complete undefeated season, roll into playoffs

"I am running." Biden seeks to reassure voters in visit to Madison

A 14-year-old student was excluded from a University of Wisconsin precollege program because the university wasn't able to accommodate that student's disability. Today, we hear from the student and their mom. Plus, Rob heads to the Gamma Ray Bar to ask owner Kevin Wilmot II what it takes to open a live venue downtown, what it means to have a Black-owned venue downtown, and why he's not Kevin Wilmot, Jr.

Links:

Ho-Chunk chef Elena Terry to compete on Food Network's BBQ Brawl; season five premieres Monday

A leaked customer list of a website that sells hate music includes the name of a Racine police officer. On today's podcast, Rob, Omar and Rodlyn-mae talk through what "hate music" is and why a cop listening to it might raise concerns. Plus, Rodlyn-mae introduces us to musician Leslia Damaso, Omar recounts his star turn in a film being shot in Madison, we compare caffeinated beverage preferences, and Corey Marrioneaux of the Black Mens Coalition of Dane County joins us to talk about a new partnership with Cornell University to offer free education to people coming out of incarceration.

Links:

Leaked list of neo-Nazi music website customers includes name of Racine police officer

"I was hooked on performance." A Q&A With Leslie Damaso, Filipina American Opera Singer, Bookseller, and Community Builder

Black Men Coalition of Dane County to launch groundbreaking free education program

Three seventh graders in Sun Prairie were suspended and excluded from the school's year-end celebration because one of them gave another a hair trim -- because the school considered the clippers a weapon. This week, we talk through what we know, how it could have been handled differently, and whether race was a factor. Then, State Assembly Representative Samba Baldeh joins us to talk about his campaign for State Senate as well as his new grocery store on Madison's East Side.

Links:

https://madison365.com/sun-prairie-7th-graders-suspended-for-giving-friend-a-trim-clipper-considered-a-weapon/

https://blueprint365.org/the-hustle/international-grocery-opens-on-madisons-east-side/