Bring It On! – WFHB

On Wednesday, September 30, and Thursday, October 1, IU’s Department of History will be presenting three events designed to bring together IU and the greater Bloomington community in a conversation focused on race, white supremacy, and voter suppression. This year’s speaker for the virtual town hall meeting on Thursday, October 1, from 6 to 8 PM, is Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, co-executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center. Beforehand on Wednesday, September 30, there will be a Virtual Justice Fair (2 to 4 PM) and a Virtual Organizing Workshop (6 to 8 PM) with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson.

In tonight’s show, hosts Clarence Boone and William Hosea spend the hour with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson and Dr. Amrita Myers to give an overview of some of the issues that will be explored in depthly during the workshop:

Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson is a 34 year-old, Affrilachian (Black Appalachian), working-class woman, born and raised in Southeast Tennessee. Ash-Lee is the first Black woman executive director of the Highlander Research & Education Center, a social justice leadership training school and cultural center founded in 1932. Through popular education, language justice, participatory research, cultural work, and intergenerational organizing, they help create spaces — at Highlander and in communities — where people gain knowledge, hope, and courage, expanding their ideas of what is possible. Ash-Lee is a long-time activist working against environmental racism in central and southern Appalachia – and has fought for workers’ rights, racial justice, women and LGBTQUIA+ rights, reproductive justice, international human rights, and led-intergenerational social movements across the South. She serves on the governance council of the Southern Movement Assembly and is a nationally recognized leader in the Movement for Black Lives.

Amrita Myers, Ph.D., is the Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor of History and Gender Studies at Indiana University. Her research focuses on issues of race, gender, freedom, sex, and power and the ways in which these constructs intersect with one another in the lives of black women in the Old South. Her first book, Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston (2011), examines the lives of free black women, both legal and de facto, in Charleston, South Carolina, from 1790-1860. Her second book, Remembering Julia: A Tale of Sex, Race, Power, and Place (2019),  examines the limits of agency, power, and privileges denied to black women through the exploration of the decades-long relationship of Julia Chinn, a woman of color, and U.S. congressman, senator, and one-term Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson, a white man.

To register for the virtual Defending Democracy events, please click here.

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

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: