Better to Speak: The Podcast

Since 2016, Cameroon has been engaged in a civil war between its Anglophone and Francophone populations, specifically between Ambazonian nationalists and the Cameroonian government. 

In this episode of The Podcast, Makunde Martin – executive director of Justice for Cameroon, a digital organizing platform focused on supporting on-the-ground efforts and engaging young Cameroonians and Black folks throughout the diaspora – provides an overview of the historical context of the Anglophone crisis and speaks to how more people can get involved.

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Stay Connected with Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Stay Connected with Justice for Cameroon

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anglophonecrisis.carrd.co 

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Learn More + Take Action: 

• Apply to volunteer with J4C:https://forms.gle/R6vscmezvo76cDDx6 
• READ: Civil War in Cameroon Is Escalating 
• READ: The environment is the silent casualty in the Cameroon Anglophone crisis

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“Am I worthy Of belonging? Am I loved just as I am? Am I safe to exist without worry? How do Black women return to our truest selves in systems that answer "no" to these three questions?”

Join Better to Speak for its first author interview with Chichi Agorom, who wrote The Enneagram for Black Liberation to reframe an age-old human development system to explore how Black people, especially Black women, use our personality types as armor against systems of supremacy.

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Stay Connected with Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Stay Connected with Chichi

Instagram

www.chichiagorom.com 

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Learn More + Take Action: 

• Buy The Enneagram for Black Liberation by Chichi Agorom 

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At the time of this interview in 2022, we recognized 70 years since the start of the infamous Brown v. Board of Education case in the Supreme Court and celebrated the anniversary of its ultimate decision to rule segregation in U.S. schools as unconstitutional. 

In this episode of The Podcast, Kési is joined by Jade Jacobs and Dr. Linda Tillman – the Coordinator of Media and Communications and Advisory Board member, respectively, for the Black Education Research Center (BERC) at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College.

The group discusses the history and legacy of Brown v. Board, which most notably impacted the pipeline of training and job opportunities for Black educators – leaving the American education system still failing Black students, families and communities at large. We also dive into BERC’s efforts to address these issues through culturally-sensitive research 

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Stay Connected with Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Stay Connected with BERC

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www.blackedresearch.org 

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Learn More + Take Action: 

• Black Education in the Wake of COVID-19 and Systemic Racism – Report by BERC 
• Register for BERC’s upcoming virtual events
• Connect with BERC through this interest form
• Sources + References: 
• Learn more about Brown v. Board (Source: History Channel)
• Why Black Teachers Walk Away
• America's Leaky Pipeline for Teachers of Color 
• Lessons in Collective Leadership from Black History: Brown v. Board of Education by Mia Henry

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Join Better to Speak’s founder Kési Felton, and Elizabeth Bolarinwa, creator of the Project Alafia Initiative, for a discussion on culturally competent public health content and learn how young Black folks looking to work in public or community health can create change in the spaces they occupy.

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Find Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Find Liz + Project Alafia

Instagram

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Learn More + Take Action: 

• SHARE Research Study: Stopping the Spread of HIV/AIDS through Research and Engagement 
• SHARE Research Study on Instagram
• MOTHER Lab
• M.O.T.H.E.R. Lab on Instagram

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Before the year ends, take a look at Better to Speak’s second annual report to reflect on our progress and impact in 2022!

Listen to the opening letter of this year’s annual report written and read by Better to Speak’s founder, Kési Felton.

In the full PDF Report, you can expect to see…

• A recap of our 2022 Strategic Goals
• Program + project recaps
• Cash flow statement
• A preview of our goals for 2023!

READ MORE HERE: www.bettertospeak.org/annualreport-22

This episode is a REPLAY in honor of ADHD Awareness Month.

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The Duke Center for Girls & Women with ADHD works to enable women and girls with ADHD, as well as their families, providers and communities – to better understand the unique needs of girls and women with ADHD. The Duke Center aims to help individuals seek and receive appropriate treatment, find supportive communities, and reach their full potential by closing key information and resource gaps.

Check out Kési’s conversation with Amina Sesay, Project Coordinator at the Duke Center, as they discuss the lack of information about how Black women and girls experience ADHD, the Duke Center's current projects, and how you can get involved!

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Find Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Find the Duke Center for Girls & Women with ADHD

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www.adhdgirlsandwomen.org

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Learn More + Take Action : 

• What I Wish You Knew: A letter to my younger myself about our ADHD – by Kési Felton on Medium 
• Translating ADHD Podcast
• Sistas with ADHD
• Women & ADHD Podcast 
• Adulting with ADHD 
• “Let’s TikTalk About It” featured creator: Tiffany Lindley (@epiphanylane)
• Epiphany Lane Counseling 
• Four Steps Towards Better Serving Black and Brown Girls with ADHD – Duke Center for Girls & Women with ADHD
• CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) 
• ADDitude Magazine – Self-Tests for ADHD, ODD, Autism, OCD, Learning Disabilities
• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)

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This episode is a REPLAY in honor of ADHD Awareness Month.

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The first question every one of our guests answers is “What’s your story? How did you get to where you are today?”

In the Season 3 premiere of Better to Speak: The Podcast, Kési (host and founder of Better to Speak) explores her own personal story on the show for the first time.

This episode is dedicated to Audre Lorde (February 18, 1934 - November 17, 1992), whose works including “A Litany for Survival,” “Transforming Silence Into Language and Action,” and “Your Silence Will Not Protect You” continue to guide Better to Speak’s mission and vision as its north star.

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Find Better to Speak:

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Find Kési:

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www.kesifelton.com 

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Episode Sources:

• What I Wish You Knew: A letter to my younger myself about our ADHD
• Neurodivergents: Justice Warriors
• "To Be Young, Gifted & Black" performed by Nina Simone

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NAL Media is disrupting the media industry with its new app, Brij. Brij connects creative professionals in the media industry to new connections and opportunities and democratizing pathways to success for marginalized creatives. 

Listen to learn more about co-founders Clarke Williams and Naomi Lilly, and their goals to transform networking and mentorship in the media industry as we traditionally know it.

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Find Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Find NAL Media + Brij

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www.nal-media.com 

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Learn More + Take Action: 

• Download the Brij app for iOS today!
• Learn more and donate to #Since2017, Better to Speak’s first-ever grassroots fundraiser, to support and sustain our Black youth and young adult-led community media programming including Better to Speak: The Podcast: www.bettertospeak.org/since2017 

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This June, we’re Celebrating Black History and Culture – specifically in honor of Black Music Month, Caribbean Heritage Month, as well as Pride Month. 

To further explore this, we spoke with Melly and Kae, co-founders of Eight88 Studios – an interdisciplinary production company, about their work to serve independent artists through a Queer Black Feminist lens. 

They offer artist management, currently managing three independent music artists as they journey through the beginning of their careers, video production and graphic design services, and are cultivating a working environment rooted in the holistic care of all artists: from the stories they tell, to the people who tell them, to the processes they curate.

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Find Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Find Eight88 Studios

Instagram 

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Learn More + Take Action: 

• Black Queer Feminism – Mecca Jamilah Sullivan
• Mecca Jamilah Sullivan 
• EXODUS by Melly 
• eight88's Inquiry Form  
• Melly on Instagram
• Kae on Instagram

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Better to Speak is excited to announce our participation in the second-annual Mental Health Action Day held on Thursday, May 19 with more than 1,600 other leading organizations and leaders. 

Our intention as a partner organization for Mental Health Action Day 2022 will be to encourage Black youth and young adults, as well as other Black folks, to take their first steps towards mental health action with a focus on collectivism and connection. 

In this episode of The Podcast, we spoke to Jada Wesson, who is addressing those concepts through her Instagram page @BlvkPsych, to dig deeper into how various social systems impact Black mental wellness and how Black youth and young adults can learn more to not just better understand our mental health on a personal level, but a collective one.

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Find Better to Speak

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www.bettertospeak.org 

Find Jada & BLVKPSYCH

Instagram

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Learn More + Take Action: 

• Better to Speak Joins Second National Mental Health Action Day to Transform #SilenceIntoAction for Black Mental Wellness 
• Black Mental Health (@blvkpsych) – Instagram
• Break Away from Hustle Culture 
• Black Folk Mental Health: Generational Trauma, Traditions & Truth – Jelan Agnew
• 'It's Life or Death': The Mental Health Crisis Among US Teens - The New York Times 
• Black Youth Suicide: Investigation of Current Trends and Precipitating Circumstances - Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 
• Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body & Spirit 
• Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression
• You Aren't Lazy. You Just Need To Slow Down
• Laziness Does Not Exist – Devon Price, Ph.D.
• “Let’s TikTalk About It” featured creator: @4TheeHotties (original content from Nike's 'Nike Training Club' app)

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