In this episode, Dr. Kendra Jason, an Associate Professor of Sociology at UNC Charlotte and Founder of Work for Change, shares her approach to creating inclusive workspaces in higher education and other professional environments. Dr. Jason shares her personal background and research focus on low-wage workers and their opportunities for social mobility. She recounts her University's diversity initiatives following the murder of George Floyd and the challenges faced with the closure of her insitution's diversity, equity and inclusion office in 2024. Dr. Jason also talks about her consultancy, Work for Change, which focuses on helping organizations build inclusive cultures and address systemic work process issues. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Jason invites us to look at challenging times as an opportunity to own our social justice work and carve out opportunities for its continuity with or without institutional supports. 

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In this episode of 'Intersectionality in the American South,' host Dr. Katie Acosta dives into the ways tech is changing how educators and administrators approach their work higher education . Recorded during a symposium in Mainz, Germany, this episode features interviews with Dr. Kameelah Martin and Dr. Karen Jackson Weaver. Dr. Martin talks about her new research project looking at the ways digital platforms connect cultures across the diaspora. Dr. Jackson Weaver shares her views on using AI in education while emphasizing the need for digital ethics and inclusivity. Both guests highlight how tech can both advance learning and pose challenges for BIPOC communities.

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In this episode, We speak with Sig Giordano who offers a first hand account of their time in the West Bank picking olives alongside Palestinians during the annual olive harvest.  Giordano candidly takes the listener through their learning journey as the granddaughter of Nazi holocaust survivors and advocate for Palestinian liberation. This episode offers a nuanced analysis of what Palestinian resistance looks like a year and a half into the War in Gaza. 

To learn more about the International Solidarity Movement, the organization that Sig travelled to the West Bank with, visit their website.  

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In this episode of Intersectionality in the American South, host Dr. Katie Acosta highlights reflections on the Gullah Geechee Immersive Field School taken by students from Georgia State University and the College of Charleston. Students share their thoughts and feelings about visiting historic sites like McLeod Plantation and Sullivan's Island, meeting Gullah Geechee elders, and learning about the harsh realities of slavery. The episode features insights from two students, Tiara Mbonisi and Zaree Ross, as they reflect on their family histories and the personal growth they experienced during the trip.

To see pictures and videos taken by the students, visit the Students digital archive on instagram @ fieldschool_gullahgeechee

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On this episode of Intersectionality in the American South, guest Dr. Jessica Berry shares a bit on the significance of the Gullah Geechee language for her personally and professionally. She shares experiences about her upbringing, the unspoken rule of code-switching inside and outside the Gullah community, and the challenges she faced in a predominantly white high school.  Dr. Jessica Berry goes on to discuss her professional and community efforts to preserve and promote the Gullah Geechee culture and language, particularly through the Okra Soup Foundation.  Listen now to hear about the transformative impact Dr. Berry's work has had on youth and her vision for preserving Gullah Geechee language and culture in South Carolina schools.

Dr. Jessica Berry is an accomplished and highly respected educator and researcher from Huger, South Carolina. With her B.A. and M.A. in speech-language pathology & audiology from Winthrop University and South Carolina State University, respectively, and her doctoral studies at Louisiana State University in communication disorders with a minor in linguistics, she is an expert in her field. Dr. Berry is a nationally certified and state-licensed speech-language pathologist who has dedicated her career to sharing knowledge about the Gullah Geechee language, culture, and history. As a dedicated higher education professional and the owner of Garden City Gymnastics, LLC in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Dr. Berry is a driven and successful entrepreneur, educator, and researcher. 

She founded The O.K.R.A. Soup Foundation, a 501c3 organization that empowers Gullah Geechee youth through the We Been Ya: Geechee Girls Rock Program, reflecting her passion for creating equitable spaces for children who speak non-mainstream varieties of English to succeed. Dr. Berry is a wife and mother of two girls, and in her spare time, she enjoys leading praise and worship, recording new music, and reading. With her impressive accomplishments and unwavering determination to continue her work as an educator and researcher, Dr. Berry is an inspiration to all who know her.

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In July 2024, the Intersectionality in the American South Collective had the privilege of visiting the McLeod Plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. In this episode, Dr. Katie Acosta speaks with one of the site's preservationists, Reverend Toby Smith, about McLeod's history, the opening of this historic site to the general public, and the intentional efforts to make McLeod a space where the history of slavery is told from the perspective of the enslaved. 

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Did you know that there are 6 Detention facilities in the state of Georgia used to house undocumented migrants and asylees?  On this episode of Intersectionality in the American South,  we hear from Mr. Amilcar Valencia Executive Director of El Refugio a non profit organization that advocates on the behalf of the detained and their families. 

Interested in learning more about this amazing organization? Check out their website at elrefugiostewart.org

Learn more about becoming a volunteer with el Refugio here. 

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After a life threatening crash left a family member disabled, Dr. Raeda Anderson—Research Scientist and the Lead Statistician for the Crawford Research Institute at the Shepherd Center—devoted her life work to seeking change for the disabled community. Too often, conversations about the disabled community are on “fixing” the disabled, which in turn, shifts focus and policy away from this communities primary need: accessibility. In this episode, Dr. Raeda Anderson demonstrates how the social factors of livability and affordability force the disabled to merely negotiate survival. In contrast, she asks what if society and policy makers normalized creating accessible spaces for the disabled to thrive inside and outside the home?

Faculty Work at Georgia State University: https://cas.gsu.edu/profile/raeda-k-anderson/

Shepherd Center: https://www.shepherd.org/research/acquired-brain-injury/staff/273

What inspires Dr. Anderson's work: https://news.shepherd.org/raeda-anderson-shepherd-center-from-all-angles/

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The systems we have built don’t always work for the people they were built for.  The problem is that we too often have systems being built by people, not for people. In this episode, Stephanie Diaz and Dana Lloyd speak on the failure of society to build a system that works well for people with disabilities and their work in the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO) to address this trend.  From individual advocacy, individual legal advocacy, to systematic litigation, on any given day they might touch all three levels of advocacy in order to help make change for the disabled. In the process, their advocacy work helps listeners rethink value, visibility, and voice for the disabled in this podcast episode.

See their latest court case: 
GAO Files Lawsuit Seeking to End Institutionalization and Confinement of Children in Georgia

https://thegao.org/gao-files-lawsuit-seeking-to-end-institutionalization-and-confinement-of-children-in-georgia/

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Emile YX? is a Hip Hop activist who reclaims the power of Hip Hop to help the next generation rethink their identity, purpose, and place in their respective communities. A pioneer of beat breaking in his South African cultural context, an educator through his Heal the Hood project, and a survivor of apartheid, Emile YX? channels his experiences to rewrite narratives for the marginalized and recenter Africa for uplift. In the process, he helps us rethink Hip Hop culture as a tool of power through this podcast.

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