Corner Table Talk

Earning the trust and respect of NBA greats such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant to create award-winning iconic photos is only part of what Andrew Bernstein does.  As the longest tenured NBA League photographer, he has covered 40 NBA Finals and 38 All-Star Games as the senior NBA photographer and is currently the official photographer for the LA Lakers, LA Clippers, LA Kings and LA Sparks.

In 2018, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Award recipient collaborated with five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant on the worldwide bestselling book “The Mamba Mentality: How I Play,” a unique look at Bryant’s 20-year career through Andy’s lens. Previous books include “NBA Hoop Shots: Classic Moments From a Super Era” published in 1996 and “Journey To The Ring” co-authored with Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson in 2010.

In addition to his photography, the warm and affable Andy hosts a weekly podcast, "Legends of Sports", discussing life behind the scenes with some of the biggest names in the world of sports.
 
Join Andy and host, Brad Johnson, as they discuss how he developed as a photographer dedicated to honing his craft, his notable career and how he married two passions to capture iconic moments in time. Andy shares stories with some of the greats and the mutual respect built over a decades long career including his special relationship with LA Laker Kobe Bryant collaborating on his best-selling book. 

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This episode originally aired on January 20, 2022, a few days before the tragic death of Regina’s son, Ian Alexander, Jr. Out of respect for Regina, Ian Sr. and their family, we stopped featuring and unpublished the episode upon learning the news. This is the re-release of the episode.

With a desire to create art and be involved with stories that speak to her, the talented Regina King has a career spanning decades, both in front of and, more recently, behind the camera. Having earned 109 nominations, 59 wins and counting, including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and 4 Emmy Awards, Regina is in demand and making history. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Regina has had many memorable feature film roles such as Cuba Gooding Jr.’s wife ‘Marci’ in the blockbuster film Jerry Maguire, as well as How Stella Got Her Groove Back with Angela Bassett, the hit action thriller Enemy of the State opposite Will Smith, and Boyz N the Hood written and directed by the late John Singleton. For Regina's performance in Barry Jenkins' screenplay adaptation of James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk, she won an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.  She also had an Emmy Award-winning role in the HBO series, Watchmen. Regina's current project is portraying Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress (1968) in the feature Shirley. 

Over the past few years, Regina has stepped behind the camera directing episodes of critically acclaimed television series such as NBC’s award-winning THIS IS US, ABC’s Scandal, and HBO's Insecure among others.  With her directorial feature film debut, One Night in Miami, based on the screenplay from Kemp Powers, Regina made history being the first black female director to debut a film at the 77th Annual Venice International Film Festival. 
 
Join Regina and host, Brad Johnson, as they discuss her approach to work and the connection the audience feels with the realness she brings to her characters, the recent transition to directing, and her new role as Shirley Chisholm. Regina walks us through her experience directing One Night in Miami from first reading the script to connecting with the families of the four icons in the film. With less than 40 hours to prepare, we learn the story behind her giving the opening monologue for the 2021 Academy Awards show against the backdrop of the previous year. Join us!

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For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

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The beachfront resort, Bruce’s Beach, run for and by Black residents of the community, located in Manhattan Beach, was one of the first enclaves of Black leisure in the Los Angeles area during the Jim Crow era. Willa and Charles Bruce bought the land in 1912 and despite harassment and violence from white neighbors, it thrived until the 1920s when the city council used eminent domain to seize the property for use as a park. The land sat unused for years until it was transferred to the state in 1948, then the county, and along the way turned into a park. Roughly a hundred years later in 2021, and worth an estimated $75 million, the descendants of the Bruces were awarded their land back through state legislation unanimously approved, a milestone in the fight for reparations and the return of land stolen from people of color. 

Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson, an independent historian, heritage conservationist, third generation Californian, and a 2021–22 Getty Conservation Institute Scholar in Residence based in Los Angeles, shares some of her research on Bruce’s Beach included in her most recent book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era (University of Nebraska Press). The book was awarded the 2020 Miriam Matthews Ethnic History Award by the Los Angeles City Historical Society for its exceptional contributions to the greater understanding and awareness of regional history. Her work on Bruce’s Beach, has been foundational to a current public policy initiative to rectify 1920s racist actions which chased Black people out of the area. Living the California Dream…has been optioned by actors Brad Pitt and Viola Davis’ production companies in a joint venture with Amazon to produce a scripted TV series.

Join Dr. Jefferson and host Brad Johnson as they discuss how African Americans pioneered the nation’s “frontier of leisure” in Southern California in conjunction with their growing population in the region during the nation’s Jim Crow era (1900s to 1960s); the significance of leisure in pursuing the full range of human experience, fulfillment and dignity; and the meaning of spatial justice. We also hear from Dr. Jefferson about some of her other projects including Santa Monica’s Belmar History + Art and the Angels Walk LA Central Avenue heritage trail which both reconstruct and reinsert the historical African American experience in the regional landscape and American identity; upcoming exhibits; and on-going field trip programming for underserved youth.  Join us at the corner table!

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For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

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After 27 years as the chief editor of Essence magazine and the visionary credited with building the brand, Susan Taylor left publishing to devote her life to building an organization that is devoted to breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty among African Americans. A community-mobilization movement, National CARES Mentoring Movement is the only organization dedicated to providing mentoring, healing and wellness services on a national scale for Black children.
 
Susan is the best-selling author of four books, and editor of eight others, a fourth-generation entrepreneur, who grew up in Harlem working in her father’s clothing store. At 24, she founded her own cosmetics company, which led to the beauty editor’s position at Essence, the publication she would go on to shape as chief editor into a world-renown brand with more than 8 million readers. Ms. Taylor authored the magazine's most popular column, In the Spirit—the first in a mainstream U.S. magazine to champion spiritual growth as a pathway to total well-being and a meaningful life.
 
Ms. Taylor is a recipient of more than a dozen honorary doctorates and hundreds of awards, including presidential citations, Image Awards and the NAACP President's Award for Visionary Leadership. She is the only African American woman to be recognized by the Magazine Publishers of America’s Henry Johnson Fisher Award—the industry's highest honor—and the first to be inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame.
 
In this episode, Susan and host, Brad Johnson, having known each other since Brad was 15 years old, share an intimate conversation about life philosophy, the benefits of self-care and taking time to be still, the confluence of experiences and self-confidence that led to becoming Editor-In- Chief of Essence, the importance of unity and community organization, the value of elder’s wisdom, the unprecedented rise in black child suicide, and her highest calling to provide wellness, mentoring and opportunity to today’s vulnerable youth through her organization.

Join us at the corner table!

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Please follow @CornerTableTalk on Instagram and Facebook

For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

For questions or comments, please e.mail: [email protected]

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A long-time friend of Ambassador Shabazz (eldest daughter of Malcolm X), Dr. Julius Garvey is the only surviving son of the founder of the United Negro Improvement Association, the Honorable Marcus Garvey, and activist and journalist, Amy Jacques Garvey. In this episode, he shares insights with host, Brad Johnson and the Ambassador on topics including his view on the current world order being out of balance, spirituality being replaced by scientific materialism, the Euro-centric distortion of history,  African civilization being the starting point of all civilizations, and the concept of a return to social entrepreneurship as part of an African mindset.

Born in Jamaica in 1933, Dr. Garvey attended school in Jamaica before attending McGill University earning his undergraduate and medical degrees. As a highly accomplished surgeon and medical professor, Dr. Garvey has held a number of positions in his career including teaching at Columbia University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as holding several leadership positions including Chief of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at Queens Hospital Center and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. Dr. Garvey has lectured in Agroecology in South Africa, Ghana, Namibia, Jamaica and Trinidad, while also lecturing annually at the Global Health Catalyst Summit since 2016.

Continuing to honor his father's legacy, Dr. Garvey lectures on his legendary father's life and teachings known as Garveyism. Marcus Garvey was a human and civil rights hero deported to Jamaica having been falsely charged and convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud when his civil rights activities in the United States caught the attention of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. Known as the "Father of Black Nationalism", he was heavily involved in promoting the Universal Negro Improvement Association formed in 1914 that stressed pride among people of African descent across the globe, excellence of character, and racial unity among African-Americans.

Currently, there is a petition drive to exonerate The Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Sr. posthumously. One hundred thousand signatures (100,000) are required during the month of February 2022 to obligate President Biden to address the request. For more information, visit JusticeforGarvey.org

Join us at the corner table for a fascinating conversation!

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For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

For questions or comments, please e.mail: [email protected]

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In this episode, the highly accomplished Paula Williams Madison, converses with host, Brad Johnson, on topics including the evolution of fake news from the perspective of an award-winning journalist and media executive, her position on "Defund the Police" having formerly served as VP of the Los Angeles Police Commission, and tracing her ancestral roots documented in both a book and documentary film.

As an African-American with Jamaican and Asian ancestry,  Paula grew up in Harlem, attended Vassar, became a powerhouse media executive who spent 22 years at NBC Universal (NBCU), and is on the Board of her family's investment company that is the majority shareholder in The Africa Channel, a cable and streaming channel focusing on the lands, people, culture, and history of Africa, seen in the USA, Caribbean, Canada and South America. Paula currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Madison Media Management LLC and 88 Madison Media Works Inc.

Named one of the "75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America" by Black Enterprise Magazine and included in the Hollywood Reporter's "Power 100", Paula has also been recognized as one of the "Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business" and awarded the Historymaker Award by the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles.

As author and executive producer, respectively, of the book and documentary Finding Samuel Lowe, Paula tells the story of her journey to connect with  her Chinese grandfather's descendants in China. Additionally, she serves on several boards including the Black Filmmaker Foundation, the Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles, The Advisory Board of Advanced Journalism Studies - Morgan State, and The Advisory Board of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the creator of the annual Golden Globe Awards and donates millions to over 70 entertainment-related charities, as well as funding scholarships and other programs for future film and television professionals. 

Join us at the corner table!

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With her smooth, velvety voice, the R&B/Soul singer Meli'sa Morgan is known for her string of urban contemporary hits starting in the mid–1980s through the mid–1990s. Meli'sa began her singing career at nine years old as a member of the Starlets of Corona gospel choir. She went on to study music and theatre at The Juilliard School Performing Arts Conservatory in New York. Meli'sa built a career including collaborations with other performers such as Najee, Kashif, Freddie Jackson, Valerie Simpson, and Mary J. Blige as well as launching a solo career. 

Meli'sa gained experience as a backup singer with Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, and Melba Moore before releasing her solo debut album Do Me Baby (1985) on Capitol Records. The title track, her cover of the Prince original, topped R&B charts for three weeks. Meli'sa's most notable songs include "Do You Still Love Me" (1986), "Fool's Paradise" (1986) and "Still in Love With You" (1992). To date, she has two Top 20 Albums and four Top 5 hits.

Still performing, songwriting and acting,  Meli'sa's current work includes her role as Nana in the movie, Footprints of an Angel, as well as releasing the accompanying title track. Meli'sa's next live performance is Valentine's Day at the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club with saxophonist,  Marion Meadows. 

Tune in to hear Meli'sa and host, Brad Johnson, as they discuss the building blocks of Meli'sa's career, the experience she gained performing at The Cellar in the early days, Brad's father's popular live venue on NYC's Upper West Side, including the lessons learned and why Brad temporarily fired her. We learn about her experience with the music industry's less than transparent accounting and her advice. On a personal note, hear Meli'sa's life philosophy, how she enjoys spending time between her homes in Queens, NY, South Carolina, and Aruba, and her engagement to the man who won her heart. Join us!

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Inspired by his mother's missionary travels and a college professor's dare, Nathan Fluellen set out to travel the world in 2004 and thus far, has visited 60 countries and six continents. In his latest series with the Africa Channel,  Escape With Nate: In Search of Black Utopia, Nate sits down with today’s top Black travel influencers and celebrities and explores how travel opens the doors for people of color.

Fearless and with a big appetite for adventure and the exploration of other cultures, Nate started out filming his adventure travel to share in his video blog and his audience blossomed. Evangelizing the enormous economic, social and cultural benefits of travel, Nate landed as creator, executive producer and host of the Telly Award winning series, Africa Channel's World Wide Nate, focusing on adventure, food, and culture. Running with the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, swimming with jellyfish in Palau, defying gravity while descending Conveyor Quay Tower in Montreal, Canada, and hanging out with Koala bears in South Australia, Nate inspires and educates others with a desire to experience the world.

As a fitness enthusiast, Nate does boxing training, yoga, surfing and rock climbing and includes eating a balanced meal as a core principle of fitness. His clean diet includes foods high in protein and low in carbs. He’s incorporated this lifestyle into his travels, sharing his Train Hard Thursday workouts and cheat day meals on Fried Chicken Friday with his social media followers. 

Listen in as Nate and host, Brad Johnson, discuss Nate's philosophy as a citizen of the world, a few of his most unique experiences around the world including participating in the Masai Olympics, his inspiration to travel the world with his Mom and encouraging others to do the same with their parents. Bringing travel adventures to his friends and community, we hear about the search for a black utopia and what that means to different people, how African Americans are viewed by other black people around the world, the hospitality extended and desire to be in their presence. 

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Please follow @CornerTableTalk on Instagram and Facebook

For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

For questions or comments, please e.mail: [email protected]

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Street-art and hip-hop pioneer, Fred Brathwaite, aka Fab 5 Freddy, is a cultural influencer whose career encompasses graffiti artist, rapper, an internationally exhibited painter, video and TV-commercial director, screenwriter, film scorer, actor, lecturer, television personality, and creative director of museum exhibits.

Along with friends and contemporaries, Futura 2000, Keith Haring, Lee Quinones and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Fab was a key player in New York’s 1980’s downtown cultural scene instrumental in elevating graffiti into a disruptive movement that would eventually give birth to street art. In addition to his visual art, Fab directed numerous hip-hop music videos and he was the original host of YO! MTV Raps, the groundbreaking TV show that accelerated hip-hop culture globally.

In 2019, a feature length documentary Fab produced and directed for Netflix titled, “Grass is Greener” was released examining the history of cannabis, music and criminal justice in America. Inspired by the documentary, he launched a social equity cannabis brand in 2021 called, B Noble, named for Bernard Noble, who was arrested in Louisiana and sentenced to 13 years of hard labor for possessing the equivalent of two joints.

In this episode, Fab and host, Brad Johnson, discuss his childhood memories and the influence of his father and bebop jazz musician friends’ civil rights conversations, his exposure to fine art, and his quest to find a way for his ideas in the music and art worlds. Discussing more recent activity, we learn about Fab’s cannabis brand, B Noble as well as his role as Creative Director of Contact High: A Visual History of Hip-Hop at Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop).

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Please follow @CornerTableTalk on Instagram and Facebook

For more information on host Brad Johnson or to join our mailing list, please visit: https://postandbeamhospitality.com/

For questions or comments, please e.mail: [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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