Podcast Description

“And that’s why black women are like ‘Peace. Out. I’m Done!’ The fastest growing entrepreneurial group in America they’re like ’Y’all are crazy, like who want’s to deal with this?!?”Karen Fleshman Esq. is an attorney, activist, and a nationally recognized expert on racism, feminism, workplace fair practices, police brutality, and politics.Working in nonprofits and local government, Karen came to understand that racism is the underlying problem in our society.In 2014, Karen founded Racy Conversations, a training company, to inspire the first antiracist generation.She gives talks and facilitates workshops at companies throughout the United States on unconscious bias, micro aggressions, sexual harassment, and raising antiracist children. Her clients include the Sierra Club, the Wikimedia Foundation, Yahoo, Sony, Xero, Salesforce, Upwork, and KARGO. She blogs for Huffington Post, Moguldom, and Blavity, and is a Medium Top Voice on Racism, Feminism, and Politics.Karen dedicates much of her time to police accountability activism and serves on the workgroup overseeing implementation of the United States Department of Justice recommendations on ending bias at the San Francisco Police Department. She was arrested four times at the US Senate protesting the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.Karen is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, the University of Texas at Austin, and New York Law School, and is admitted to practice law in New York.

Additional Resources

Racy ConversationsWHITE WOMEN GOT THIS BLACK REPORTER FIRED FOR SHARING ARTICLE ABOUT WHITE FRAGILITYHow white women use strategic tears to silence women of colourA plea to white women to stop calling the cops on people of colorSecond arrest protesting Kavanaugh

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Karen Fleshman, Esq

Become a #causeascene Podcast sponsor because disruption and innovation are products of individuals who take bold steps in order to shift the collective and challenge the status quo.Learn more >All music for the #causeascene podcast is composed and produced by Chaos, Chao Pack, and Listen on SoundCloud.

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“At it’s core [supremacy] means that men and whites are basically incapable. They have to have all these blacks and women propping them up. They have to have us beneath them. And they are so cynical about their own inability to compete, to be self-sufficient, that they won’t even hear of trying.” John Edward Lawson […]

Podcast Description

“At it’s core [supremacy] means that men and whites are basically incapable. They have to have all these blacks and women propping them up. They have to have us beneath them. And they are so cynical about their own inability to compete, to be self-sufficient, that they won’t even hear of trying.”

John Edward Lawson is the author of 16 books of fiction and poetry. He has been called “the forgotten black man of horror,” but he also regularly publishes in other genres. His poems, short fiction, and books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Stoker Award (finalist, 2006) and the Wonderland Award (finalist, 2007). The former editor-in-chief of The Dream People online literary journal John now serves as editor of Raw Dog Screaming Press/Dog Star Books.

From a young age John has cultivated his interest in the arts and media. As part of a pioneering media arts public school program in the late 1980s he was part of projects that garnered nationwide attention, and served as audio engineer on an award winning interview with Civil Rights Movement leader Dr. James Farmer, Jr. During the 1990s John was a musician and professional audio engineer, and his forthcoming Rage Inducer double album focuses on the subject of genocide. He has been involved in the production of numerous short films, including award winners Party Girl and Uberman: An Experiment in Consciousness. Director Jayson Densman has collaborated with John for years spawning a trilogy derived from his poetry.

Currently John is vice president of Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction, and travels the country speaking on issues of diversity and inclusion in the arts.

Additional Resources

The Future of Afrofuturism panel discussion recorded at Capclave and broadcast on Geek Girl Riot

Mary Robinette Kowal

Rick Riordan

Diverse Writers and Artists of Speculative Fiction

MeToo Guide for Men

Chuck Wendig

https://twitter.com/bethany_lacina/status/1051928145069268995

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John Edward Lawson

Become a #causeascene Podcast sponsor because disruption and innovation are products of individuals who take bold steps in order to shift the collective and challenge the status quo.

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All music for the #causeascene podcast is composed and produced by Chaos, Chao Pack, and Listen on SoundCloud.

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Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with @ashermaj & @digitalsista and our discussion about the ways technology is being used to target, harass &silence Black Women on and offline. “When [we] started explicitly talking about the racist narratives and started explicitly talking about what was happening to us, not just in context of watching the […]

Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with @ashermaj & @digitalsista  and our discussion about the ways technology is being used to target, harass & silence Black Women on and offline. “When [we] started explicitly talking about the racist narratives and started explicitly talking about what was happening to us, not just in context of watching the […]

Podcast Description

“When [we] started explicitly talking about the racist narratives and started explicitly talking about what was happening to us, not just in context of watching the show, but our accounts being hacked and people being doxed. You had people who are like: ‘Why can’t you just shut up and enjoy it?’ In one season it was assault, and in the next season it’s “oh he’s my boyfriend” - so I have been attacked, doxed and hacked and yet you’re expecting me to be your boyfriend. Why can’t we all just get along."Welcome to Part 2 of my conversation with @ashermaj & @digitalsista  and our discussion about the ways technology is being used to target, harass & silence Black Women on and offline.Asher's BioAsher has been in the femslash fandom world for about twenty years. She watched fandom go from being the only places where she could see relationships like her own that weren't sad, tragic or terrible to being organized, vocal, effective advocates for better representation of marginalized groups in media. It's not just fanfiction and fanart anymore. It's fanfiction, fanart, pop culture analysis AND social justice. Who knew?! She has a boring job involving mucking about with databases. The saga of #swanqueen, the most beautiful ship to ever have been squandered by soulless hacks is far more interesting. Fandom, if you're not into it, is a vast undiscovered country of awesome weirdness, brilliant authors, breathtaking art and free novel-length works of fiction ranging from Holy Sh*t good to My Immortal. Google My Immortal +fanfic, trust me, just google it.Shireen's BioShireen is an Internet pioneer and serial founder who was born and raised in the projects of New York City, playing video games before they could be played on televisions and designing BBS boards and gopher sites prior to the Web going world wide. 

Additional Resources

Facebook Ads that Targeted Voters Centered on Black American Culture with Voter Suppression as the End GameThe neurochemistry of story, the dramatic arc, and empathy“inner demons don’t play well with angels”Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a powerful thing. -Mary Margaret

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Shireen Mitchell

Become a #causeascene Podcast sponsor because disruption and innovation are products of individuals who take bold steps in order to shift the collective and challenge the status quo.Learn more >

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Asher

Become a #causeascene Podcast sponsor because disruption and innovation are products of individuals who take bold steps in order to shift the collective and challenge the status quo.Learn more >All music for the #causeascene podcast is composed and produced by Chaos, Chao Pack, and Listen on SoundCloud.

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Some of you may be aware of the calls to #ListenToBlackWomen, #AffirmBlackWomen, #VoteLikeBlackWomen, #SupportBlackWomen, etc because we are, as I so often put it, “The moral compass of this country [U.S.]”. We are the one group who has consistently been sounding the warning bells about the “radical” changes WHITENESS is just becoming aware off and […]

Some of you may be aware of the calls to #ListenToBlackWomen, #AffirmBlackWomen, #VoteLikeBlackWomen, #SupportBlackWomen, etc because we are, as I so often put it, “The moral compass of this country [U.S.]”. We are the one group who has consistently been sounding the warning bells about the “radical” changes WHITENESS is just becoming aware off and […]

Podcast Description

Some of you may be aware of the calls to #ListenToBlackWomen, #AffirmBlackWomen, #VoteLikeBlackWomen, #SupportBlackWomen, etc because we are, as I so often put it, "The moral compass of this country [U.S.]". We are the one group who has consistently been sounding the warning bells about the "radical" changes WHITENESS is just becoming aware off and due to our proximity to POWER and OPPRESSION, we have unique perspectives on solutions and technology has enabled us to amplify our messages like never before. Although all of this is true, what is also true is that Black Women and our voices are under attack. Technology has created a quiet storm [not so quiet anymore] of opportunities for Black Women to be targeted, harassed, doxed, and silenced. Our "voices" have been copied by bots and WHITENESS and is being used as a strategy against us and those who look to us for guidance. In this episode of the #causeascene Podcast, my guests and I, Shireen Mitchell and Asher, discuss how tech and tech leaders are failing Black Women and due to lack of perspective, and let's face it, any genuine interest, are facilitating the attacks on the voices of Black Women. Shireen's BioShireen is an Internet pioneer and serial founder who was born and raised in the projects of New York City, playing video games before they could be played on televisions and designing BBS boards and gopher sites prior to the Web going world wide.Asher's BioAsher has been in the femslash fandom world for about twenty years. She watched fandom go from being the only places where she could see relationships like her own that weren't sad, tragic or terrible to being organized, vocal, effective advocates for better representation of marginalized groups in media. It's not just fanfiction and fanart anymore. It's fanfiction, fanart, pop culture analysis AND social justice. Who knew?! She has a boring job involving mucking about with databases. The saga of #swanqueen, the most beautiful ship to ever have been squandered by soulless hacks is far more interesting. Fandom, if you're not into it, is a vast undiscovered country of awesome weirdness, brilliant authors, breathtaking art and free novel-length works of fiction ranging from Holy Sh*t good to My Immortal. Google My Immortal +fanfic, trust me, just google it.

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Shireen Mitchell

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Asher

Become a #causeascene Podcast sponsor because disruption and innovation are products of individuals who take bold steps in order to shift the collective and challenge the status quo.Learn more >All music for the #causeascene podcast is composed and produced by Chaos, Chao Pack, and Listen on SoundCloud.

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“You’re not gonna solve diversity on your own internally, you need organizations that are on the ground floor of this. Like, I’m personally invested in what we do as an organization.” Greg Greenlee is the Founder of the Blacks In Technology organization. He works as a Systems and Network Engineer and has spent over 15 years in […]