Collections by Michelle Brown

There are no limits to a mother’s love or the lengths she will go to provide a safe loving environment for her children. Roz Gould Keith is an amazing woman, a life-long learner and believer in community. But first and foremost, she is a mother. When her son told her he was transgender in 2013, she’s the first to admit she was clueless but that didn’t last for long.

She began a journey of support, education and advocacy not just for her son but for other transgender youth and their families she met along the way. Roz has embraced the opportunity to be an ally and supporter of the LGBTQ community.  

She is the founder and executive director of "Stand WIth Trans." Founded in 2015, Stand with Trans is here for trans youth and their families. The organization’s intention is to be a resource, a source of support, a safe place, and a non-judgmental-all-inclusive organization.

Now an empty-nester, Roz continues her advocacy for transgender youth and their families through Stand for Trans. The mission remains the same- to provide education, advocacy, mentorship, scholarship, empowerment and support to transgender youth and their families- and to provide the tools needed by transgender youth so they are more confident, feel validated and loved as they transition an authentic life.

She returns to tell how Stand With Trans has grown from its beginning to continue to serve trans youth and families.

As Collections by Michelle Brown – Blog Radio enters its 4th year we are taking time to reconnect with old friends who have shared the gift of telling their stories with us by rebroadcasting some of our favorite past interviews that celebrate the strength, inspiration, courage and love of our human spirit.

Sharon Harris is a community jewel, a queen, a friend, and a LUPUS Warrior. Back when we first met in 2017 when this interview was recorded, we had never met, and my knowledge about LUPUS was limited. 

A month after graduating from Florida A & M University, she was diagnosed with lupus.  When her lupus went into remission she became a flight attendant. Her reasoning was if lupus was going to attack her, it would have to find her on the beaches of Aruba or high above the Eiffel tower. I late 2008 Sharon experienced a lupus flare so great that her doctor told her there was nothing left that he could do. She moved back to her native Detroit. 

Following a career with the Lupus Alliance of America Michigan Indiana Affiliate.  She went on to found LUPUS Detroit a support and advocacy organization for LUPUS Warriors. 

The organization hosts monthly support meetings and pre-2020 has hosted annual events including a brunch/gala and walk to raise funds to provide services for Lupus Warriors. A scholarship fund helps Lupus Warriors return to school.

The organization is primarily volunteer-based with Sharon at the helm raising funds, cheering members on, providing support and encouragement while fighting her own battle against this disease with no known cure. 

This is a rebroadcast of an early interview with Sharon Over the years she has introduced us to others who were living and thriving with LUPUS.

Tis the season to share stories, reconnect with old friends, exchange gifts, and break bread! In 2020, due to the physical restraints placed on in-person interactions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our need to reconnect, hug, laugh, and just be together with friends and family seems more intense as we enter this holiday season.

It has been a difficult time, but we will get through this together by celebrating one another and remembering the strength, inspiration, courage, and love that binds us together in good times and bad. During the month of December, we will reconnect with old friends who have shared the gift of telling their stories with us by rebroadcasting some of our favorite past interviews that celebrate the strength, inspiration, courage, and love of our human spirit.

Felix and Paula Sirls are an amazing couple who shared their inspirational journey of love and thriving with HIV. Each had been diagnosed with HIV but rather than give up they found strength in the community to persevere. Along the way they found a love that is deep, boundless, inspiring and rock solid. They have been married for over 20 years are parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. I’m talking relationship goals for everyone.They continue to give back to the community sharing their story and love with all they encounter.  During these challenging times, knowing Felix and Paula Sirls reminds me that not only will get through this but gives me strength.

I hope you enjoy this rebroadcast of my conversation with My favorite power couple Felix and Paula Sirls.

It's her birthday and she can rant if she wants to - especially about politics and the 2020 election!!!! But Betty Couvertier's rants are always priceless insights on politics, living on the road, and life in general.

If you are missing those spirited discussions around the table or after that big Thanksgiving dinner,  the always outspoken activist is just the cure. She cut her political teeth as an activist and radio host in Georgia.

Since her retirement Betty has been traveling across the southern region in her RV with her dogs meeting and hearing alternative perspectives from folks, she has met along the way. Always keeping an eye on Georgia and national politics, Betty drove 500 miles to make sure her vote was counted.

Always feisty, often provocative, and rarely at a loss for words Betty joins us on her birthday to serve up some knowledge this Thanksgiving Day!!!

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You can also listen to this or past episodes of the show on SoundCloud, iTunes, Stitcher,

Diamond Collier is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. Her family moved to Mississippi where Diamond attended Jackson State University.When she found herself homeless, Diamond accepted an invitation from a friend in Houston for an open couch in their home. Thirteen years later Diamond still calls Houston home.

Diamond has been involved with the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition and Black Transwomen Inc. since the beginning. After a successful career in retail, she brought her skills and talents to Black Transwomen Inc. to serve as the organization’s executive director.She is also the content creator and co-host of Marsha’s Plate. Marsha's Plate is a lively podcast where three friends come together every Thursday to share opinions and perspectives through a black trans folk's lens.

Each year between November 13 – 19, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility about transgender people and address issues members of the community face. Diamond sees her work as continuing the visibility and issues affecting the Transgender community beyond one week each year and lifting up the community across Texas and around the world.

Transgender Day of Remembrance is Friday November 20, 2020. In 2020 over 30 transgender Americans have been killed. Like in previous years, transgender women of color are disproportionately impacted.

In 1992 James and Grace Lee Boggs brought together a coalition of local and national activists/organizations to work with young people to form a multicultural, intergenerational youth program/movement called DETROIT SUMMER. Our guest is Detroiter, Educator, and Activist Julia Putnam. Today she  is the principal of the James & Grace Lee Boggs School in Detroit named after the legendary Detroit activists.

The school offers a Place-Based Education (PBE) program which is committed to school-community partnerships to develop students as citizen-stewards of healthy ecological-social systems.   PBE immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities, and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects across the curriculum. It emphasizes learning through participation in service projects for the school and the local community, often focused on eco-justice.

Participation in service projects for local community is nothing new to Putnam. She was the first youth Volunteer of DETROIT SUMMER.It was led by James and Grace Lee Boggs along with a coalition of local and national activists and organizations. The experience of working with this broad spectrum of people challenged some of the preconceptions she had picked up as a youngster. DETROIT SUMMER was a family and catalyst to many activities in the rebuilding, redefining and respiriting of Detroit's neighborhoods. The Boggs’ challenge to activists, volunteers, and the community was “What can we be that our children might see?”  The legacy lives on at the school in its new home and in Putnam.

Nakia Jones always wanted to be a productive member in her neighborhood and was drawn to a career where she could both “protect and serve”. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and studied criminal justice at Wilberforce University with the intention of becoming a prosecuting attorney

.In 1999 Officer Jones joined the Highland Hills Police Department and in 2002 she was sworn in as the first African American female officer for the City of Warrensville Heights where she also lived.She held that position as the Senior Response Officer until 2017.  

After the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in 2016 she posted a passionate video on Facebook responding to the shootings as a mother, an African American ad a police officer. Little did she know, what she thought was a personal post for friends and family would go viral. Within 24 hours her video had been viewed more than 1.2 million times with nearly 80,000 shares and the views continued to climb. Her video, which lasts more than seven minutes, included calling out any officers who may have racial problems continues to be watched three years later.

Officer Jones talks about the contradictions between living as an African American woman and mother while walking the “Blue” line as a police officer.

Maria Rimarkable Garcia is a Detroit Native currently living in Brooklyn, New York.

Rimarkable is a renaissance woman who redefines the word remix. This DJ, vocalist and producer has rocked crowds on international dance floors for two decades.

Her unique sound becomes ceremony with a witches brew of House and Techno, in a soul, funk and disco cauldron.

She has penned and performed commercial jingles. Her original work was featured in several off-Broadway productions, award winning short films and has been found on fashion runways.

Rimarkable is the creator of “The Alchemy of DJing Learning Workshops” which focus on creatively engage in social justice and empowering women and youth.

The current pandemic has Rimarkable looking at ways to keep bringing the dance floor magic often to a virtual audience.

Through her creative production company “Rimarkable Things” she continues to explore new ways to express the music in her spirit and explore new ways to express not just her creativity but empower others along the way.

Tonight, we are rebroadcasting our conversation with Monica Roberts here on Blog Talk Radio with a special opening tribute!

The world has lost a giant, a queen, an award-winning blogger, a Texas legend, LGBTQ+ advocate, Transgender activist, and a beloved sister/friend, Monica Roberts. She made her transition on October 5th from natural causes. Tributes were held across the country. Her BTAC/BTWI family held a memorial tribute in Dallas. Her Houston, TX hosted the three-day celebration of her life on October 23-25. Her influence was felt across the country  in the struggle for not only Transgender Equality and Rights but in the ongoing strruggle for social justice for all.

She was one of the first and repeat guests on Collections by Michelle Brown.

I spoke with Monica not long before her transition. Of course, we talked about politics not just the presidential election but elections across the country. We talked about the vacancy on the Supreme. We talked about the Corona Virus and its devastating effect on Black, Brown, and LGBTQ+ communities. We talked about the work before us as community activists leading up to and after the election. And we checked in with one another as friends about life - our health, families, finances. As always, we ended the conversation saying, “Love you, sis!”

For seven years  Allener Baker-Rogers worked with her co-author Fasaha Traylor on their book “They Carried Us: The Social Impact of Philadelphia’s Black Women Leaders.”

The book is an informative and inspirational collection of compelling narratives and powerful photographs that capture the extraordinary lives of well-known and obscure historical and contemporary African-American women in Philadelphia. The women who are focused on in the book are divided into nine sections ranging from Community Building and Movement Activism to The Art of the Beautiful from Underground Railroad Conductor Harriet Tubman to Filmmaker Maori Karmael Holmes.

Baker-Rogers was born and raised in West Philadelphia. She is a lifelong educator and holds a doctorate in higher education leadership. A former university administrator and assistant professor of educational research she now resides in Virginia. Known as Sissy by her friends and colleagues, Baker-Rogers is also a pas recipient of the Jane S. Abrams and Cecil B. Moore Community Service Awards.