On today’s edition of Bring It On!, host Clarence Boone spends the hour with April Hennessey, the board president of the Monroe County Community School Corporation, and Dountonia S. Batts, a community advocate and board member of the Indiana Coalition of Public Education (ICPE). They discuss the impact of Trump’s most recent executive order, which directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to start dismantling the Department of Education.

Congressional approval, however, would be needed to fully abolish the department. Trump said that he hoped Democrats would vote in favor of legislation to do that. Seated at the signing was Indiana Governor Mike Braun, whom the President warmly acknowledged. Trump’s agenda seems to be matched also Indiana. Not only is Governor Braun a supporter of Trump’s agenda, but, on January 8, 2025, Indiana Representative Jake Teshka, Jeffrey Thompson, and Timothy O’Brien introduced Indiana House Bill 1136 for consideration. HB 1136 provides that:

“…if more than 50% of students who have legal settlement in a school corporation were enrolled in a school that is not operated by the school corporation on the 2024 fall average daily membership count date, the school corporation must be dissolved and all public schools of the school corporation must be transitioned to operating as charter schools. Establishes a new governing board, requirements, and procedures regarding the dissolution and reorganization of the applicable school corporations.”

To date, this legislation appears to be dead in the legislature.

Here to shed light upon this Executive Order by Donald Trump, proposed educational bills in the Indiana legislature, and their views on charter and public schools are April Hennessey, board president of the Monroe County Community School Corporation, and Dountonia S. Batts, community advocate and board member of the Indiana Coalition of Public Education (ICPE).

Credits:

This program originally aired on February 17, 2025:

On this President’s Day, not even a month into the second term of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States of America, uncertainty and chaos have escalated to unprecedented levels through the use of seemingly haphazard presidential executive orders and decrees from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) that face little to no oversight from an apparently impotent Republican Congress.

We are currently witnessing a dismantling of established federal agencies by an unelected billionaire with no resistance from a muted Republican-led Congress. Closer to home in Indiana, within hours of being inaugurated as Governor Mike Braun, signed a flurry of detrimental Executive Orders, such as Executive Order #25-14 which states executive branch state agencies may not use state funds or resources to “support diversity, equity or inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures or programs if they grant preferential treatment based upon one person’s particular race, color, ethnicity, or national origin, over that of another person.”

On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts, Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell, tackle this issue with former University Chancellor, Dr. Charlie Nelms, and Director of Undergraduate Studies in African American and African Diaspora Studies, Dr. Valerie Grim.

CREDITS:

On today’s edition of Bring It On!, host Clarence Boone spends the hour with Indiana University doctoral student, Latonya Wilson, and fellow MLK Commission member and Bring It On contributor, Dr. Gloria Howell, the director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, to discuss the 57th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination on April 4, 1968. Further, as representatives of the City of Bloomington’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission, Latonya Wilson and Dr. Gloria Howell explore the historical significance of his life and death and his legacy of social justice.

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On tonight’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the evening speaking with, first, with Jael Davise, the recipient of the City of Bloomington’s Commission on the Status of Women’s 2025 “Young Woman of the Year”. Next, we then talk with Danielle Bruce, the Director of Resilience Productions. She is here to discuss the Remarkable Women’s Series, which features an evening retrospect on the inspiring life of Judge Viola Taliaferro.

Credits: Today’s hosts are Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell.

On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell continue to salute black women during Women’s History Month by speaking with Danielle Willis, the operator and proprietor of Dynasty Haven Caregiving Services. Women have historically taken on the burden of looking after our elders when living independently becomes infeasible. Unfortunately, the number of women who are available to offer such care is declining. At the same time, America is facing a shortage of in-home caregiving aides to make up for this shortfall. Further, as a result of more people forgoing having children or living far away from their children in recent generations, more and more people are aging alone.

Danielle Willis is here tonight to discuss this problem and how her business, Dynasty Haven, aims to provide care to our elders.  Dynasty Haven vows to provide affordable and quality services essential for clients and families to effectively live the life that they want, despite physical, mental, or emotional ailments that may make that difficult. Dynasty Haven does more than provide homemakers, attendant care, and companion services. They also have special programming provided to strengthen or maintain memory and cognition. Ask about our Sovereign Knowledge education program.

Dark Past, Bright Future (DPBF) – C: Liz Micthell concludes tonight’s program by putting the spotlight on a notable figure in Black History. Tonight DPBF focuses on Rueben A. Mayes (born June 6, 1963), a Canadian former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1986 to 1993. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, becoming an All-American football player.

Mayes is a direct descendant of a group of African Americans who fled racial persecution in Oklahoma in 1910 and traveled north to Saskatchewan, Canada, after reading flyers that promised 160 acres (0.65 km2) of free land to anyone willing to move there. This group of pioneers was known as the “Shiloh People”, named after the “Shiloh Baptist Church”, a small log cabin church they built after they arrived.

He first gained acclaim as a running back at North Battleford Comprehensive High School in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. In 1980, Mayes led the NBCHS Vikings to an undefeated season and the SHSAA 3A provincial football championship. In 1981, he set a provincial record in the 100 meters at the SHSAA provincial track and field championship that still stands. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

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This program originally aired on August 20, 2018:

Cornelius Wright and William Hosea welcome Benedicte Joan and Dr. Karen Renner.

PART ONE:

PART TWO:

CREDITS

On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts, Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell, speak with author Dr. Nicole Etcheson and film producer/documentarian David Gudaitis about the documentary, A Generation at War: The Civil War Era in a Northern Indiana Community. The film delves deeper into the rarely discussed dynamics of how blacks and whites in neighboring counties in the Union’s Midwestern Heartland were affected.

Etcheson’s book, A Generation at War: The Civil War Era in a Northern Community (2011), won the 2012 Avery O. Craven Award from the Organization of American Historians for the most original book on the Civil War era and the 2012 Best Nonfiction Book of Indiana from the Indiana Center for the Book, Indiana State Library.

In addition to her books, Etcheson is the author of numerous articles in professional journals and a frequent presenter at historical conferences. She is a member of the American Historical Association, Kansas State Historical Society, Organization of American Historians, Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, Southern Historical Association, and the Indiana Historical Society. Etcheson came to Ball State University with twelve years of organizing for National History Day at the local and state levels, as well as fourteen years of experience in teaching.

David Gudaitis is known for And Justice for All: Indiana’s Federal Courts (2017), Thunder Rolls: The World of Blind Baseball (2025) and many other films.

Credits:

On this President’s Day, not even a month into the second term of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States of America, uncertainty and chaos have escalated to unprecedented levels through the use of seemingly haphazard presidential executive orders and decrees from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) that face little to no oversight from an apparently impotent Republican Congress.

We are currently witnessing a dismantling of established federal agencies by an unelected billionaire with no resistance from a muted Republican-led Congress. Closer to home in Indiana, within hours of being inaugurated as Governor Mike Braun, signed a flurry of detrimental Executive Orders, such as Executive Order #25-14 which states executive branch state agencies may not use state funds or resources to “support diversity, equity or inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures or programs if they grant preferential treatment based upon one person’s particular race, color, ethnicity, or national origin, over that of another person.”

On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts, Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell, tackle this issue with former University Chancellor, Dr. Charlie Nelms, and Director of Undergraduate Studies in African American and African Diaspora Studies, Dr. Valerie Grim.

CREDITS:

This is re-broadcast from January 27, 2025:

On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour discussing Bloomington’s celebration of Black History Month with Dr. Gloria Howell, Director of the Indiana University Bloomington Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, and Mr. Andrew Shannon, Director of Safe and Civil Cities for the City of Bloomington.

CREDITS:

On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with former Bring It On! anchor Bev Redmonds and her husband, Marq. While living in Bloomington, the formerly Ms. Beverly Smith was a Bring It On! anchor and a fixture for years. She served as the Director of Diversity, School & Community Services for Monroe County Community School Corporation for over eleven years. After marrying Marquelle Redmond and departing from Indiana, she became the Assistant Superintendent of Public Affairs for one of the largest school districts in the Pacific Northwest. Before this endeavor, Beverly was a public relations professional, award-winning journalist, and consultant.

Marquelle or “Marq” is currently an instructor at Chicago’s Malcolm X College and is the award-winning author of Revelations of a Real Man (Or Woman). Since its debut in 2017, Marq and his wife, Beverly, have traveled extensively, spreading their ministry of amputation, accountability, and authorship across the country to churches, conventions, libraries, and schools. Bev and Marq look forward to even greater success with launching a podcast series and new book, Finally, I Do…Again.

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