Representative James Roberson — a Democratic member of the North Carolina House serving District 39 in Wake County and former Mayor of Knightdale — traces his story back to Wilson, North Carolina, a tobacco town once nicknamed “Little DC” for its deep political ties. He shares how his name came from the doctor who delivered him, a choice his mother made with pride, and recalls growing up in a household where civic engagement was a way of life. From crisp October mornings spent helping register voters to long nights watching election returns on television, those early experiences shaped his sense of purpose. His journey shows how place, family, and early lessons in service guided him from the streets of Wilson to a life in public leadership.

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

Ann E. Moore was born in Washington, North Carolina in 1942 and raised by family there until her mother returned in 1949 to bring her and her siblings to Brooklyn, New York. She recalls the jarring adjustment from quiet Southern life to the rough streets of Brownsville — being chased home from the corner store, losing her eyelashes on an unfamiliar gas stove — while finding pride and inspiration in figures like Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson. Her story is a first-chapter portrait of the Great Migration seen through the eyes of a young Black girl learning to navigate two very different worlds.

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This episode includes AI-generated content.

Michael Jerome Thompson reflects on his upbringing in 1950s Rock Hill, South Carolina, a small, segregated but close‑knit “village” where poverty was shared and childhood felt safe. Raised by his deeply spiritual mother, Estelle, after his father left, Michael grew up surrounded by music, family, and the legacy of gospel singers like his grandfather from the Dixie Hummingbirds. His story traces a journey from rural roots to the working world of Charlotte and later Washington, D.C., where he navigated identity, hardship, and reinvention. Through it all, he carries the meaning of his name — “one who is like God” — as a reminder of the resilience and faith that shaped his life.

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License: This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0). Permissions: If you would like to request permission for uses not allowed under this license (including commercial use, edits, remixes, or redistribution), please contact Griot and Grits at [email protected].

This episode includes AI-generated content.

David E. Reid reflects on his upbringing in Reidsville, North Carolina, where he was raised by his mother and grandmother after his father left during his early childhood. He describes a tight‑knit, church‑centered household rooted in modest means, homegrown food, and shared community values. His memories center on the women who shaped him—especially through cooking, compassion, and lessons about doing good for others. Now 84, he looks back with warmth on the foods, traditions, and moral grounding that defined his early life and continue to guide his character today.

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License: This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0). Permissions: If you would like to request permission for uses not allowed under this license (including commercial use, edits, remixes, or redistribution), please contact Griot and Grits at [email protected].

This episode includes AI-generated content.

Irene Clark reflects on how misinformation and stigma have long distorted Western views of Africa, from travel ads that separate Egypt from the continent to the fearful stereotypes echoed by earlier generations. She contrasts those narratives with her own travels across Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Swaziland, and South Africa, where she witnessed modern cities, deep ingenuity, and a living history far richer than outsiders imagine. Her story underscores the power of seeing Africa firsthand and the profound impact of standing in places like the slave castles, where history becomes impossible to ignore.

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License: This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0). Permissions: If you would like to request permission for uses not allowed under this license (including commercial use, edits, remixes, or redistribution), please contact Griot and Grits at [email protected].

This episode includes AI-generated content.

Lynette Richardson reflects on a childhood shaped by the warmth, discipline, and creativity of her family on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where home was defined less by geography and more by the people who taught her how to see the world. She describes a community anchored by steady work—school crossing guards, construction crews, taxi drivers—and a mother whose presence and purpose set the rhythm of her early life. Through memories of neighborhood jobs, school influences, and the cultural lessons woven into daily life, Lynette traces how her upbringing instilled resilience, identity, and a deep sense of belonging. Her story reveals how family, community, and place become the map one follows long after childhood ends.

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License: This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0). Permissions: If you would like to request permission for uses not allowed under this license (including commercial use, edits, remixes, or redistribution), please contact Griot and Grits at [email protected].

This episode includes AI-generated content.

Rickey Gerard Thomas reflects on his upbringing in Brooklyn as the son of Southern parents who built a new life after meeting at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He describes his father’s influence as a hardworking Navy veteran–turned–plumber whose consistency shaped Rickey’s own quiet, steady approach to life. The interview traces the dynamics of a large family, the personalities of his siblings, and the lessons absorbed from watching people work, study, and find their way. Woven through his memories is a sense of place—how the streets, the block, and the rhythm of New York instilled awareness, resilience, and a belief that true character shows itself through everyday consistency.

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License: This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0). Permissions: If you would like to request permission for uses not allowed under this license (including commercial use, edits, remixes, or redistribution), please contact Griot and Grits at [email protected].

This episode includes AI-generated content.

Dr. Oliver T. Reid reflects on the complicated journey of growing into his own name, sharing how "Oliver" once felt like a burden until he uncovered the powerful legacy behind it—a grandfather who rose from enslavement to reclaim the very land his family once worked. He traces the nicknames that marked different chapters of his life, the move from Concord to Charlotte in North Carolina, and the Boys and Girls Club that became a rare place of safety and belonging during a turbulent childhood. Through heritage, hardship, and the people who held him up, he tells the story of learning to take pride in the name he once rejected.

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License: This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0). Permissions: If you would like to request permission for uses not allowed under this license (including commercial use, edits, remixes, or redistribution), please contact Griot and Grits at [email protected].

This episode includes AI-generated content.

How do we present to the world, and ourselves, when our loved ones depart?

In this week’s episode of “Griot and Grits”, we discover that strength can come from the most unlikely of places. Sometimes that strength that we show to the world is exactly what we need for ourselves.

Take a listen.

Produced by C. Perry Eleazer II & Felicia Rousseau/S2T Media LLC

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In this episode, we talk about ditch water, plum trees, wind and superpowers. And oh yeah, somewhere in all of this, we talk about the power of imagination.

Produced by C. Perry Eleazer II / S2T Media LLC

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License: This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0). Permissions: If you would like to request permission for uses not allowed under this license (including commercial use, edits, remixes, or redistribution), please contact Griot and Grits at [email protected].