Bring It On! – WFHB

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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On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarenece Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Jane Elliott, noted civil rights activist and racial bias educator. Jane Elliot will be in Bloomington, IN, speaking at The Monroe County History Center on October 2nd and 3rd at 6 PM, and then on October 4th and 5th at 3 PM.

Jane Elliott, 91, is an American diversity educator. As a schoolteacher, she magnified the ramifications of racism with her “Blue eyes/Brown eyes” classroom exercise. She first performed the exercise with her all white, third-grade class in Riceville, IA, on April 5, 1968. It was the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The Associated Press picked up the story first by becoming aware of the published compositions that the children had written about the experience in the local newspaper. From there,  national and even international attention grew.

Jane Elliott was featured on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) ran a documentary on her in 1970, The Eye of the Storm. Thereafter,  Jane Elliott began to receive public attention, most of it negative. Her family suffered, and there were fears about her and her family’s safety. To this day, some in Riceville, IA, have fixed feelings about Jane Elliott and her Blue and Brown Eyed exercise. In December 1970, Elliott attended the White House Conference on Children, where she held the exercise with adults, an audience comprised mostly of other educators,  physicians, social workers, and other professionals who worked with children.

PBS series Frontline featured a reunion of the 1970 class, as well as Elliott’s work with adults, in its 1985 episode “A Class Divided“. Invitations to speak and to conduct her exercise eventually led Elliott to give up school teaching and to become a full-time public speaker against discrimination. She has directed the exercise and lectured on its effects in many places throughout the world.  She has also conducted the exercise with college students, as seen in the 2001 documentary The Angry Eye. Despite criticism of her methods and the diversity training field she pioneered, Elliott continues to lead her exercise in workshops.

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In tonight’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Marté. He joins us this evening to discuss updates on his administration and to provide a progress report on his reelection campaign as Monroe County Sheriff.

Ruben Marté was elected Sheriff of Monroe County in November 2022. He won the race against Republican nominee Nathan Williamson with 62.2% of the vote. With over 31 years of experience with the Indiana State Police. He was a captain in the office of the superintendent and was a pioneering force in his own right. In his first campaign, Sheriff Marté ran on a platform with four key elements: increasing public safety, reducing the rate of recidivism and reentry in the justice system, enhancing training for all sheriff’s office employees, and expanding public outreach and community engagement.

After being sworn in, Sheriff Marté has shed light on poor structural conditions and overcrowding at the jail, and has routinely advocated for improvements. He is now running for reelection in 2026 and officially began his campaign on June 12 of this year. So far in Marté’s service as sheriff, he has increased correctional staff in-service training by over 500%, and increased mental health and other related services in the correctional facility to address re-offenses. If reelected, Marté will prioritize staff training and support, maintain jail safety, and develop a model new jail for other communities.

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On tonight’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell showcase the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and the African American Arts Institute on the Indiana University Bloomington Campus. Our guests today are:

Dr. Gloria Howell and Professors Strong and Wise are here tonight to provide an overview of the upcoming cultural events offered by the NMCC and AAAI.

In January 2002, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center at Indiana University was officially dedicated in honor of the first African American man and woman to graduate from Indiana University: Marcellus Neal earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1895, and Frances Marshall received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1919.

The African American Arts Institute preserves and promotes excellence in African American music, dance, and culture. Its history began in the early 1970s. First, in 1971, the IU Soul Revue was established, and then, in 1974, the African American Dance Company was founded. One year later, in 1975, the African American Choral Ensemble was established to provide students with the opportunity to study and perform various forms of choral music that evolved out of the Black experience. These three ensembles have become integral components of the African American Arts Institute, while they are also offered as courses through the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies.

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On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Eunice Trotter, the Director of Indiana Landmark’s Black Heritage Preservation Program, and Leon Bates, a historian and member of the Indiana Remembrance Coalition. According to the Indiana Historical Bureau, the earliest report of African Americans living in what would become Indiana is from a 1746 report on French settlements, stating that five black slaves accompanied a settlement of forty white men in Vincennes on the Wabash River.

When Indiana became a state, antislavery sentiments dominated, and the 1816 Constitution outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude. Combined with subsequent Indiana Supreme Court rulings in favor of blacks over several decades, slavery was slowly eliminated. Eliminating slavery did not, however, guarantee equal civil rights to African-Americans in Indiana. They did not have the right to vote, serve in the military, or testify in court cases involving white claimants. Black children did not have the right to attend public schools. In addition, after 1831, black settlers in Indiana were required to register with county authorities and to post a $500 bond as a guarantee of good behavior. This is a measure to dissuade African-American settlement. Nonetheless, Indiana became an important part of the Underground Railroad.

Preserving this history is part of the mission for Eunice Trotter when she became the Director of Indiana Landmarks’ new Black Heritage Preservation Program on September 1, 2022. She is a longtime journalist, historian, and community organizer. Trotter brings more than 30 years of experience focused on communications, research, advocacy, and mentorship. In her position, she coordinates a broad initiative to identify, save, and celebrate places significant to Indiana’s Black history.

Leon Bates, a historian and member of the Indiana Remembrance Coalition, has helped to research the lives of unknown Black Hoosiers. He started this quest over a decade ago, after becoming upset with a former deputy mayor who he said claimed Madam C.J. Walker was the only Black person worthy of a statue or monument. Historical markers are one way Hoosiers can get a bite-sized portion of Indiana history. There are over 750 across 92 state counties, including more than 100 in Marion County. But, due to state and federal budget cuts, including 16 layoffs at the Indiana State Library, some local historians say residents could see fewer of these markers around the city and state. And, according to Leon Bates, that means “important stories will go untold”.

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In tonight’s episode of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the evening with Marcous Friday to discuss the history of the Black Rodeo in America.

Marcous Friday has been Arizona’s Black Rodeo announcer for more than 10 years. He says the rodeo experience is amazing: “We’re able to showcase African American cowboys and cowgirls, which is very rare.” It is a testament to the resilience of African Americans. “Back in the day when the cowboys couldn’t even compete in the white rodeos, and if they did, they had to go after the rodeo, so they started these all-black associations because they could not go to a lot of the white rodeos,” explained Friday, as he prepared to announce the rodeo in front of a sold-out crowd in Westworld Arena in Arizona.

Regarding the history of rodeos, Jason and Rae Miller share the following: “Rodeos have long been a tradition that often gets associated with Western culture. Despite this, what we have seen on the big screen and in many history books is not the complete story. Many of these pieces of media influence overlooked and marginalized the Black cowboys and cowgirls that were a part of the tradition. Nationwide information about black rodeo events can be found at Black Rodeo USA. For example, the Roy Leblanc Okmulgee Invitational Rodeo, with a 70-year history, will take place on August 8-9, 2025, in Okmulgee, OK. It is also one of Oklahoma’s longest-running rodeos and one of the largest African-American sporting events in the entire nation.

The black rodeo functions like a traditional rodeo. It’s full of events like bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing, and steer wrestling. It emphasizes the talents, skills, and heritage of Black cowboys and cowgirls. At the same time, the black rodeo celebrates the many cowboys and cowgirls who often got the short end of the stick. Few people have documented their stories like many others in rodeo. Some played significant roles in cattle ranching, cattle drives, and rodeo sports.

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On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell welcome Attorney Jerome Ezell, Indiana’s 3rd black appointed State Trooper. Mr. Ezell had over 50 years of service to Indiana Law Enforcement. State police are specialized law enforcement agencies that operate under state governments in the United States, distinct from local police and federal agencies. Their primary functions include highway safety, traffic control, and criminal investigations.

In the State of Indiana, a partial list of their duties includes:

Indiana’s 1st black state trooper was Jim Sears in 1962. At the time, State Police Superintendent Melvin Carraway said Sears was a mentor for blacks who aspired to become police officers. Sears retired as Captain in 1992 after 30 years of service. Rubin Hill became the 2nd African American trooper in 1964. Pat King was the 1st African American woman to join the Indiana State Police in the 1980s.

Attorney Jerome Ezell has played an integral role in serving our Hoosier communities. Having served in the United States Marine Corps from 1966 to 1968, Jerome joined the Indiana State Police in 1968, fulfilling his lifelong goal of becoming a state trooper. He also served as Director of Pioneers of the Indiana State Police, contributing valuable insight with over five decades of experience. We are thankful for the gallant service that Mr. Ezell and others have provided for the citizens of the State of Indiana.

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On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Dale Botting, a renowned Canadian business leader and executive coach whose career spans several sectors, including economic development, international trade, biotechnology, and public policy. He is the founder of the Global Alliance for Professional Leadership Development and was inducted into the Canadian Business Coaches ‘ Hall of Fame. They discuss the current state of trade relations between Canada and the United States of America, with him contributing his Canadian business expertise to the conversation.

For over 100 years, the United States and Canada have collaborated closely due to their shared border and robust connections in trade and security. But in recent years, their relationship has faced some challenges. Nevertheless, relations have been strained considerably since President Trump began his global Tariff war. At present, President Donald Trump states that the U.S. will immediately terminate trade talks with Canada and impose a new tariff rate on the neighboring country within the next week. Trump, in a post on Truth Social, cited a decision by Canada to leave in place its digital services tax on American companies, which he cast as “a direct and blatant attack” on the United States. This announcement comes in the wake of repeated suggestions that Canada become the “51st” state of the United States.

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In today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell spend the hour with Dr. Alwiya Saleh Omar and Dr. Ng’uono Okelo to discuss World Kiswahili Language Day. Both Dr. Omar and Dr. Ng’uono are affiliated with the African Studies Program and the National African Language Resource Center at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Dr. Omar is from Tanzania, and Dr. Okelo is from Kenya.

World Kiswahili Language Day is celebrated on July 7  each year. According to the United Nations, Kiswahili is “one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and the world, with over 200 million speakers. It is a vital tool of communication and integration across East, Central, and Southern Africa, and serves as an official language of the African Union (AU), SADC, and the EAC. Kiswahili is more than a language—it is a vessel of African identity, unity, and culture. From its role in liberation movements, including those led by Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, to its modern use in education, diplomacy, and media, Kiswahili continues to foster regional cohesion and global cultural understanding.”

Recognized by UNESCO as the first African language to be honored with its own international day, Kiswahili embodies the power of multilingualism to promote diversity, tolerance, and sustainable development. As a bridge between communities and civilizations, it plays a critical role in quality education, cultural preservation, and socio-economic progress. More than just a means of communication, Kiswahili is a carrier of identity, values, and a worldview, representing the rich cultural tapestry of the African continent.

In acknowledgment of its growing global significance, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/78/312, further affirming the importance of Kiswahili in fostering solidarity, peace, and pan-African unity.”

The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market will holding a World Kiswahili Language Day on Saturday, July 5 with Dr. Alwiya Saleh Omar and Dr. Ng’uono Okelo:

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