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In the second part of this conversation, we discuss some of the critical political elements, including: 

• The power dynamics within interracial adoptions 
• The politics of the Democratic party and an over-reliance on the Supreme Court 
• Potential legislative solutions to build Black power in the child welfare space 

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Many well-meaning folks, in the name of "protecting children" support the idea of "child welfare/protective services" - believing government services that surveil families for signs of mistreatment are the only way to prevent child abuse. However, in a special two-part episode, we analyze how the reality of this system does not live up to its promises. Far from protecting youth, the system criminalizes poverty, targets Black families for family separation, and serves as a vector of policing and structural violence. 

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Part Two of our conversation around the "left" and its engagement (or lack thereof) with urban gun violence. 

Topics discussed include:

• How the Black left should understand the "Black establishment" in more nuanced ways (to understand how to extract resources for the community on critical issues). 
• What the left's failure of to persuade working class Black folks means for the future of the "left". 

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Previous conversations have addressed how the progressive mainstream is failing to offer effective solutions to urban gun violence. In this follow-up episode, Lawrence and Dayvon address some of the reasons why these limitations exist.

They’ll be discussing the nature of the left and what are the ideological and structural reasons why in-depth solutions to gun violence in the Black community get subsumed by more generic universal, long-term solutions to inequality. 

The left's failure to address Black community's immediate material needs for security and self-determination is exposed to be a critical reason why working-class Black voters seem reluctant to vote for leftist candidates.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Senator Jill P. Carter is the most progressive member of the Maryland State Senate and long time Maryland legislator. She discusses her battles with the Democratic Party establishment in Maryland. 

Jill P. Carter has had a successful career championing for the marginalized and disenfranchised because it is in her DNA. Carter is the daughter of the late civil rights activist, leader, and visionary, Walter P. Carter. Carter was the third African-American female attorney elected to serve in the Maryland General Assembly as delegate for Baltimore City, Dist. 41. Former Delegate Carter, often referred to as “the legacy” embodies the spirit of her freedom fighter father.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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The joy of summertime in too many Black communities is marred by the prospect of an all too common spike in violent crime. This summer has, unfortunately, not been different, with cities around the nation reeling from an up to 40% increase in murder since 2020. 

But hope is, at least in theory, on the horizon. From the federal government to big foundations investing in a range of programs deemed "Community Violence Intervention" (CVI) - a suite of programs that promise to bring a "public health" approach to violence prevention. Their objective is to decrease violence and the need to rely on cops. These leave some important questions:

• What are the assumptions behind these programs? 
• Who benefits from them? 
• What are the limitations of surrounding the issue of urban gun violence to the nonprofit/public health industrial complex?

In this episode, Lawrence and Rasheem give a presentation tackling these issues: 

• Discuss the limitations of the mainstream CVI programming, 
• Expose some of the fundamental limitations of their approach, 
• Propose structural interventions into the political economy of Black cities Help solve the root causes of violence
• Give practical advise community members can use to ensure CVI programming in their communities reflects the cultural and best practices of African people.

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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The repeal of Roe vs. Wade sent a shockwave throughout the American political systems, but the history, context, and specific dynamics around reproductive justice for the Black community are often left out of the mainstream conversation. 

In this special two-part episode, Lawrence and Rasheem start with a discussion of Roe's repeal, what it means for the Black community and how we got here. We then transition to an episode recorded before Roe's repeal, where they discuss some of the larger dynamics around reproductive justice. Topics discussed include: 

•  how state-level law continues to restrict women's rights, 
• how reproductive justice extends beyond the right to choose to have the resources and power to create thriving families
• a discussion of the limitations of the non-profit "abortions rights" movements and the potential cooption of the black maternity crisis by corporations 
• the complex history the Black community has had with the issue of abortion and gender equity issues. 

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Stacey Patton's book, "Spare the Kids", has led to spirited debate among parents. Some say Black children need physical discipline to inculcate self-discipline necessary to prevent them from being victims of white supremacy. Others say it is carrying on a legacy of white supremacy and causing permanent harm to children - creating trauma that causes the exact negative outcomes parents seek to prevent. 

In this conversation, Rasheem (a parent) and Larence (not a parent) talk about the research and their personal experiences with physical discipline and seek to understand why, despite research on the empirical harms of physical discipline, so many Black parents feel it is a part of a necessary part of raising Black kids. 

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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2021 had the highest rate of death by overdose in American history, with over 100,000 Americans dead. 

In opposition to the "Just Say No" ideology of the 80's and 90's - harm reduction rejects abstinence-only dogma and promotes "any positive change" toward more healthy and more controlled substance use. It has has received more attention and some federal funding. Yet in the Black community, who has faced decades of addiction struggle - some have raised issues with harm reduction apparently "libertarian" and 'permissive" attitude toward drug use. 

Lawrence and Rasheem talk about the racial dynamics of addiction and harm reduction. They cover critiques of 12 Step/Narcotics Anonymous, the need for harm reduction, and legitimate critiques of harm reduction. This willl explain the reticence of some Black community members towards harm reduction and give recommendations for a more racially equitable harm reduction movement. 

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In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)

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Dayvon Love sits down with Dorcas Gilmore to discuss the operational dynamics and politics of cooperative economics.

Dorcas has spent the past 17 years as a racial and economic justice advocate, attorney, and consultant working with nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, and small businesses. Currently, she is a principal of Gilmore Khandhar, LLC, a solidarity economies law firm, and a teacher in the Small Business & Community Economic Development Clinic at The George Washington University Law School. 

Dorcas was an attorney with the national office of NAACP and Community Law Center in Baltimore and taught at American University Washington College of Law. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Black Worker Center Project, the Baltimore Algebra Project, and co-founder of the Baltimore Action Legal Team.

Support the show

In Search of Black Power is a Black-owned internet show and podcast. This podcast is sponsored and produced by Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS).

The internet show is published in collaboration with Black Liberation Media (BLM)