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.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

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.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

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.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

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.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

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.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

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

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

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

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

Presenting the story of the second ( yeah... the second) scariest night of my life.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

On this episode, we're talking about School Bells, Scars, and Mile Markers as I lead you through a particular........thorny aspect of my life and how it fundamentally shaped my basic philosophies around trials, community, and fatherhood


Produced by C. Perry Eleazer II / S2T Media LLC.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.

Explore more voices, support the work, or share your own story at griotandgrits.org.