On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Dr. Gloria Howell spend the hour with Dr. Traci Parker. Dr. Parker is a historian, speaker, and author whose work examines African American history, civil rights, and the intersections of consumer culture and social justice. She is an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Davis. She is also next week’s keynote speaker at the City of Bloomington’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration at 6 P.M., at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Along with teaching history, Dr. Parker is the co-editor of The New Civil Rights Movement Reader. She is currently editing a volume on the history of marriage in twentieth- and twenty-first-century America. Her forthcoming book, Revolutionary Love, explores intimacy and radical politics in the Black freedom struggle. She is also at work on a long-overdue biography of Coretta Scott King.

She is a frequent media commentator and public speaker. She has served on the editorial board of the Journal of American History. Currently, she serves as Vice President of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians.

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In today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell continue their conversation with Antonio “A. Jay” Jackson Sr., who has rebuilt his life after incarceration. He started his own business and forged a positive path forward. He is here to talk about the challenges of life after prison and how he was able to create a good life, crediting his grandmother with giving him the power to transform his life. Part Two of their conversation focuses on his post- incarceration commitment to building a better future, not only for himself, but for his community. A. Jay has launched several business enterprises:

Sidewalk snow removal

Home Delivery or store delivery

Jumble Firefood:

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In today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Antonio “A. Jay” Jackson Sr., who has rebuilt his life after incarceration. He started his own business and forged a positive path forward. He is here to talk about the challenges of life after prison and how he was able to create a good life, crediting his grandmother with giving him the power to transform his life.

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On tonight’s edition of Bring It On!, host Clarence Boone and co-host Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Santa D. Sinclair of Georgia, who is the president of Santas of Color Coalition (S.O.C.C.), which promotes Santas of all colors and cultures. Santa D. Sinclair also goes by the moniker of the “Real Black Santa.”

The inclusion of Black Santa Clauses in public spaces like malls, community centers, and parades powerfully reinforces to children of color that they are seen, valued, and embraced. Tonight’s program provides a deep dive into this concept and how the Santas of Color Coalition advances this mission.

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On this edition of Bring It On!, host Clarence Boone and guest co-host Dr. Gloria Howell spend the hour with Indiana State Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) to discuss the Republican-led redistricting efforts. Rep. Pryor is the House Minority Floor Leader and a member of the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment.

On Dec. 2, Indiana House Republicans passed House Bill 1032 out of the House Committee on Elections and Apportionments. The bill was passed despite public outrage. As Rep. Pryor issued in a statement, “Hoosiers do not want this. In the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment, we heard almost five hours of testimony from the public, and the sentiment was overwhelmingly in opposition.”

Although called redistricting by Republicans, generally, most would call this effort a case of gerrymandering. In summary, gerrymandering is the practice of drawing political district boundaries to give one party, group, or incumbent an unfair advantage, often creating bizarre shapes to “pack” opposition voters into fewer districts or “crack” them across many, thereby minimizing their overall voting power and ensuring favorable election outcomes. This manipulative redistricting happens after the U.S. Census and is done by the party in power to solidify their control, leading to less competitive elections and increased political polarization, though it remains a controversial and sometimes legally challenged practice.

On Thursday, December 11, the Republican-controlled state Senate voted 31-19 to defeat the redistricting bill.  This marks a rare defiance of the Trump agenda. Twenty-one of Indiana’s Republican senators joined all ten Democrats in voting down the proposal. The vote cannot occur again until the 2027 session; thus, safeguarding the 2026 mid-elections from gerrymandering in Indiana. Nineteen GOP senators voted in favor of the bill.

Below is a message from Rep. Pryor, thanking supporters and legislative colleagues for this successful fight:

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On this evening’s edition of Bring It On!, host Clarence Boone and co-host Dr. Gloria Howell spend the hour with Dr. Charlie Nelms to discuss trending issues impacting African-American communities.

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In this edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Gloria Howell spend the hour with Nick Marshall, Democrat candidate for Indiana State Senate District 45. The primary will take place May 5, 20226, and the election will take place November 3, 3036. The district has been represented by Republican Chris Garten since 2018.

Nick Marshall’s life was not always picture-perfect. He was born to a mother battling drug and alcohol addiction. Nick grew up a ward of the state. He was raised by two sets of foster parents: a veteran, a teacher, a farmer, and a caregiver. He was able to emerge from that system with his high school diploma and then his bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisville (UofL).

Now, Nick works with organizations across Kentuckiana to advocate for children in foster care, improve child literacy rates, and provide guidance to teenagers working to graduate or obtain their GEDs. Nick’s campaign for State Senate is fueled by his passion for these kids and his own. He and his wife, Melonie, met at UofL and have two children, Sebastian and Evelyn. When he is not coaching their soccer games or changing diapers, he is worried about their futures.

As stated on his campaign’s website, Nick believes strong families are the foundation of any community. He wants to be a leader in the Indiana Legislature who is dedicated to those families every day. Here to shed light on his life, his passions, and his campaign for the Indiana State Senate is Nick Marshall.

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In this edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Gloria Howell spend the hour with Audrey Seader, the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Off Night Productions. She is here to discuss their upcoming production of Off Night Stories: Immigrants, Refugees, & Asylum Seekers. The play offers the public the opportunity to experience powerful, true stories that celebrate resilience, hope, and the human spirit of immigrants in the United States. There will be English-speaking and Spanish-speaking performances from Sunday, November 9 to Tuesday, November 11.

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On toight’s edition of Bring It On!, host Clarence Boone spends the hour with Audrey Thomas McCluskey. She is an American writer and professor emeriti.

She is an alumna of Indiana University where she was an African American and African Diaspora Studies professor and former director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. She received a B.A. magna cum laude from Clark Atlanta University, an M.A. in African Studies, from Howard University, and a Ph.D. in Historical and Comparative Education from IU. She wrote the book Forgotten Sisterhood about four influential female African American educators in the South.

In describing tonight’s guest, the Herald Times wrote the following: “Author, editor and Indiana University professor emerita Audrey McCluskey grew up in America’s Jim Crow South. While no longer teaching classes at IU, she is sharing through her latest book — her memoir, GIRLCHILD: Growing Up between the Pines and Palms in Jim Crow Georgia and Florida. You can purchase her book at audreytmccluskey.com, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.

We then ends tonights broadcast with two segments of “Dark Past, Bright Future”, which are produced and narrated by Liz Mitchell. They are about Madame C.J. Walker and James Somerset, a former slave that sued for and won his freedom.

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In this edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Dale Botting. He is a former Canadian Deputy Minister, the founding CEO of Enterprise and Innovation Saskatchewan, and the current head of Botting Leadership Inc. Through his business coaching services, he has served hundreds of organizations and executives across North America in Small Business, Industry, Indigenous, Non-Profit, and University communities.

Within business coaching, he is well-respected. Dale was recognized by his peers as the Business Coach of the Year for all of Western North America in 2016 and was the first inductee into the Canadian Business Coaches Hall of Fame in 2022. He has degrees and academic awards in Biology, Ecology, Environmental Geography, and Education. Tnus, he is a man who profoundly understands both science and business. He spends the hour with Bring It On! to discuss the current state of U.S. and Canada relations.

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