Tonight’s show focuses on the upcoming Indiana State elections. Hosts Clarence Boone and William Hosea speak with Tonda Pauley and Dana Black to address the many concerns of this election season, such as increasing voter registration and turnout, mail-in voting concerns, and what the key races are to watch in Indiana. Both women have served in public service roles within the Indiana Democratic Party.

Tonda Pauley is running for election to the Indiana House of Representatives to represent District 78 in Vanderburgh County, IN. She’s served as the State President of the Indiana Democrat African American Caucus (IDAAC) for the past seven years and is a member of the Indiana Democratic Central Committee. She has previously held the position of Vice-President and Secretary of IDAAC.

Dana Black is the Indiana Democrat Party Deputy Chair of Engagement, the Indiana Stonewall Democrats President, and a Lawrence Township Democrat Club Member. She is also a Lawrence Township Precinct Committeeman and an NAACP Member. She is also the host of the radio show Turn Left and Co-Host of the podcast Policy with a Purpose. Dana works to bring the legislative information Hoosiers need to make sound decisions about those that should represent us.

CREDITS: The hosts of today’s show are Clarence Boone and William Hosea.

Today’s edition of Bring It On! focuses on the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman from colorectal cancer and how this cancer is affecting the Black Community. In the first half of the show hosts, Clarence Boone and Cornelius Wright, examine the legacy and impact of Boseman’s too-brief career with Dr. Terri Francis, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies and Director of The Black Film Center/Archive in The Media School at Indiana University. In the second half of the program, Clarence Boone and Roberta Radovich speak with Dr. Karen Reid-Renner, a family medicine specialist at Southern Indiana Family Practice Center and Rejuv Aesthetics.

Chadwick Boseman’s career peaked with his portrayal of T’Challa, the king of Wakanda, a mythical African country unmarred by a history of colonialism and the producer of vibranium, who also leads a double life as the Marvel Comics superhero The Black Panther.  Boseman appeared as the superhero first in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, and then most famously in 2018’s Black Panther, followed up again in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Boseman also did voice-work as the Black Panther in the upcoming animated series What If…? During these years he was also secretly waging a battle with colorectal cancer, which progressed from Stage 3 to 4 and ultimately took his life.

Boseman’s death at such a young from colorectal cancer shocked the world. This type of cancer also has the highest incidence and mortality rate among African Americans of any other ethnic group in the United States. Even after adjusting for disparities in screening rates and other socio-economic factors, there seems to exist specific environmental and genetic factors more commonly found among African-Americans that significantly contribute to colorectal cancer’s prevalence. In the aftermath of Boseman’s tragic death, many in the African American community are now calling for more education, better detection, and greater prevention measures to combat this disease.

CREDITS: The hosts of today’s show are Clarence Boone, Cornelius Wright,  and Roberta Radovich.

Today’s broadcast is from our archives and was originally aired on February 25, 2020:

PART ONE: Hosts Clarence Boone and Roberta Radovich speak with Wes Martin, News Director for WFHB, about State Senate Bill 12. This is a hate crimes bill, in which Republicans removed all references to race, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, and other protected classes, on February 19, 2019.

PART TWO: Hosts Clarence Boone and Roberta Radovich review with Shatoyia Moss and James Sanders the 91st Academy Awards where there were many historic firsts for African Americans.

CREDITS:

Hosts Clarence Boone and William Hosea spend the hour with Robin Winston, who is the former Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party. Mr. Winston is also a principal offer with the Winston Terrell Group. He is a skilled community development professional and business leader. They spend assessing the success of last week’s 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Because of COVID-19, the Democratic National Committee has decided to make the unprecedented decision to have a 100% virtual 2020 Democratic Convention. Given that the purpose of the convention is to rally supporters and generate increased enthusiasm among voters for their presidential  candidate, concerns were high about how effective a virtual convention would be in achieving these goals.

This topic, among many other important related topics, is the focus of today’s show.

CREDITS: The hosts of today’s show are Cornelius Wright and Amnita Myers.

Hosts Cornelius Wright and Amnita Myers discuss the 1921 Tulsa/Greenwood Race Massacre with Liz Mitchel, a regular Bring It On! anchor and producer of award-winning WFHB segment “Dark Past, Bring Future”, and Professor Jewell Parker-Rhodes, bestselling novelist and award-winning academic.

The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred over the span of two days in 1921,  from May 31 to June 1, when mobs of whites from the area indiscriminately attacked and often killed the black residents, especially those living in the Greenwood District of Tulsa. The white mobs went on to destroy more than 35 square blocks of what was then the wealthiest black community in the United States, which was dubbed the “Black Wall Street”.

In mid-June, Donald Trump was widely criticized as extremely insensitive to this tragedy when he scheduled his “Keep America Great” rally in Tulsa, OK shortly after the Massacre’s 99-year anniversary and on, and then rescheduled to the day after, Juneteenth.  With the spark of the massacre starting with the arrest of 19-year-old black  Dick Rowland for the assault of Sarah Page, a 17-year-old white, rumors had spread that Rowland was going to be lynched. Reportedly, 75 black men, some armed, arrived at the jail to ensure that would not happen. After reassurance from the sheriff,  while the group of black men was leaving the jail, a member of the white mob already assembled at the jail attempted to disarm one of the black men. A shot was fired, and, according to the sheriff, “all hell broke loose”.

Many members of the white mob were deputized and armed by city officials.  It is estimated that more than 800 black residents were hospitalized and up to 6,000 black residents were detained, many for several days. Officially, 36 were killed in the Race Massacre, but historians have estimated that anywhere from 75 to 300 were killed. Black Wall Street was left in ashes.

Professor Jewell Parker Rhodes and Liz Mitchell come to Bring It On! to help us understand this tragedy and its long-lasting psychological and economic impact on the black communities in Tulsa and throughout the United States.

CREDITS: The hosts of today’s show are Cornelius Wright and Amnita Myers.