Created Equal

Stephen Henderson revisits a conversation with Carol Anderson, the author of the New York Times bestseller, "White Rage: The unspoken truth of our nation’s divide."

Many cities across the U.S. are exploring the idea of reparations, and Detroit is one of them. The city created the Detroit Reparations Task Force in February 2023 to better address historical discrimination and harm done against Black Detroiters. In this episode of "Created Equal," host Stephen Henderson was joined by two steering committee members of The African American Redress Network — an organization that provides reparations education and advocacy on the local level — to discuss what reparations might look like in Detroit.

On the inaugural episode of "Created Equal," host Stephen Henderson sat down with Jamon Jordan, Detroit’s official historian, and Desiree Cooper, a writer and activist, whose work helps explain the impacts of inequality — both locally and nationally.

Psychologist and author of “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?” Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum discusses her groundbreaking 1997 book with Henderson in the context of this moment of cultural and racial reckoning. They talk about how young people internalize race, systemic racism through suburban communities and the importance of cross racial friendships.

Award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa talks about immigrating to America, growing up in Chicago, and the process of writing about past trauma.

Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. is chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University and the author of the new book “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.” He and Stephen Henderson discuss “the efficiency of American exceptionalism as an ideology.”

Award-winning poet and activist Caroline Randall Williams talks with Stephen Henderson about her work and what gives her hope during this dark time in American history.

Writing Professor and Author Jerald Walker discusses his poignant collection of essays called “How To Make A Slave," which is a finalist for a National Book Award. In the book, Walker reflects on growing up on Chicago's Southside, what it means to depict Black American life with authenticity and what he hopes to teach his children about the complex joy of the African-American experience.

JM Holmes, author of the collection of short stories How Are You Going to Save Yourself, talks with Stephen Henderson about the roles of race and gender in his writing.

NPR’s first full-time TV critic, Eric Deggans, joins Stephen Henderson to discuss how prejudice, racism and sexism fuels some elements of modern media.