Counter Stories

Where do we come from and why is that important? The crew talks about the want and need to, but also the barriers to, finding their roots. Once discovered (what we can), how can we preserve the story of our roots for future generations - not just so they know their history, but so they can embrace it?

This week we tackle the continuous work of debunking Stereotypes inside and outside of our communities. There are many ways to debunk stereotypes, but one thing we know for sure is that authentic relationships outweigh them all.

In what is likely the first of its kind, our guests this week started a conference about eating disorders in BIPOC communities. Intergenerational trauma, accessibility, beauty standards and disability justice are just a few issues that play a role in our relationship with food. Guests: Angela Goens, Whitney Trotter 

Our latest show explores how people of color often experience extractive experiences when in predominantly white spaces. From professional compensation to the reliving of their own experiences, the crew invites listeners to ask themselves, are my personal or professional interactions extracting resource, time, energy from my BIPOC peers? 

Our latest Grab Bag show touches on a variety of topics including the January 6th hearings, the first Indigenous Miss Minnesota, the record settlement between the city of Brooklyn Center and the family of Daunte Wright, and a check in with our co-hosts. 

As Juneteenth becomes a more mainstream celebration, we wondered if those benefiting from the holiday know the history behind it. Rose McGee, the brains behind Sweet Potato Comfort Pie and author of Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story joins the crew to dig deeper into the history of the emancipation proclamation and the recent resurgence of interest in the importance of June 19th. 

Rose McGee, Sweet Potato Comfort Pie 

There are many complexities to mental health. Those complexities increase when you’re a person of color. Sam Choo sought to bring those complexities to the surface as the, up until recently, content producer for the public radio show Call to Mind; bringing personal experience, cultural perspectives and the ability to bring the conversation to the public. 

On this episode, we vent about where we are as the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder coincides with a recent string of mass shootings raising the question, when will enough be enough?

Counter Stories is a co-production of the Counter Stories crew, the other media group, and Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities. With support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Sarah Lancaster is many things. She is a public school teacher, a coach, a director of school plays, president of the local civic association, and as the only teacher of color in her rural school district, she’s an important connection between her students and the education system. Onamia is majority Indigenous students, and having grown up in the community, Lancaster made her journey back to make sure students were learning about and seeing themselves reflected in their education.
Guest: Sarah Lancaster, 2022 Minnesota Teacher of the Year

May is Foster Awareness month. Hoang Murphy joins the crew to talk about his personal experience in the foster system and how his organization, Foster Advocates, is giving the power to the young people living this often-invisible reality. 

Guest: Hoang Murphy, Foster Advocates