Black Issues Forum: 2014-2015

In her documentary "Baartman, Beyoncé and Me" filmmaker Natalie Bullock Brown plans to explore the roots of the American beauty ideal and ask how it affects the self-perception and treatment of African American women and girls in our society. She's joined by Omisade Burney-Scott of Ananse Consulting and Duke University professor Dr. Mark Anthony Neal to share their thoughts on the subject.

Non-profit leaders in Greensboro talk about an exciting upcoming public event Art Plus Dialogue: Responding to Racial Tension in America that will use art, dance, music, and more to start conversations about race. Organizers Laura Way of the Greenhill Center; Dr. Dara Nix-Stevenson with the Center for Visual Artists, and Ivan Canada of the National Conference for Community and Justice discuss.

Robin Emmons left her job in corporate America to plant seeds and dig in the dirt. Now she's discovered her passion for growing fresh produce in sustainable ways to feed, educate, and advocate for marginalized communities. Her work has also earned her recognition as a William C. Friday Fellow for Human Relations. She talks about her non-profit, Sow Much Good.

Young CEO Atrayus Goode shares how the intervention of a mentor through 100 Black Men of Charlotte helped him choose the right roads growing up to later attend college and found a mentoring organization of his own. While attending UNC Chapel Hill, Atrayus founded "Movement of Youth" which has grown into a successful, multiple county network of college students who mentor high school students.

Award-winners in children's books publishing, author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Vanessa Brantly Newton discuss the importance of diverse characters and subject matter, how to use books to talk with children about difficult social issues, and the real gatekeeping and institutional challenges African Americans face in publishing

At the 2015 National Health Equity Research Webcast, presenters will talk about ways to empower communities in violence prevention. Join presenters Nia Wilson of SpiritHouse in Durham, Leon Andrews with Race, Equity And Leadership (REAL) out of Washington, DC, and Dr. Stephanie Baker White of the UNC Greensboro Department of Public Health Education and webcast planning committee.

Visitors in North Carolina spend over $55 million a day in the hospitality industry, and nationwide tourism supports the jobs of more than 7 million workers. In this discussion, one of only 32 African American B&B owners and a milleniel who's achieved managerial status in the hotel industry share their thoughts about African Americans as consumers, workers, and business owners in hospitality.

Studies show less than 50% of Americans have a will in place. Find out why this documentation is so important and how to get started with expert advice from Clemonte Mills, President of Mills Funeral Home in Kinston, and the Money Coach Ed Fulbright of Fulbright and Fulbright CPA-PA, host of the weekly radio show "Mastering Your Money", which airs Sunday evenings at 6 on 90.7 FM WNCU Radio.

LeVelle Moton is the championship coach of NCCU's men's basketball team and a North Carolina success story. In his book "The Worst Times are the Best Times" he shares his most vulnerable moments and emotions as a boy growing up without a father in the projects of Boston then Raleigh and builds these touchstones into a tower of lessons on how to overcome obstacles and achieve success in life.

In 1944 American soldiers were engaged abroad in World War Two, but in North Carolina, blacks and whites moved to the rhythm of a complex dance called Jim Crow. Still, a courageous act involving blacks and whites occurred right in Durham, kept secret, until now. Hear details about the game as author Scott Ellsworth shares insights from his book "The Secret Game".