Joe Speak! Podcast

On this Joe Speak! Podcast, we are joined by Toni Momberger, Executive Editor of Follow Our Courts, a publication that covers legal industry happenings in the Inland Empire of Southern California. Toni is born and raised in the region, and previously spent two decades as a media reporter for local outlets, including the Redlands Daily Facts. Then, community needs and her willing pragmatism landed her, a “non-politician,” on a local City Council for several years. Common to all of her service endeavors is her passion for careful information gathering, and mobilizing data to identify serious problems. In the beginning of what will be a continuing conversation, Toni talks with us about information she has uncovered related to the lag in resources that continues to leave the Inland Empire behind in many categories. Specifically, she lays out some hard facts that demonstrate the glaring deficiencies in court resources that plague Inland county state courts when compared to courts in richer areas statewide. She shares the realities, and challenges, surrounding everything from hiring court staff, to appointing judges, to erecting courthouses to house judges and staff, even as the need is clear. More, she shares how these realities affects caseloads, court priorities, and ultimately the service provided to area citizens, who happen to be primarily of color. Finally, she foresees our additional conversations on other subjects of importance to the Inland Empire, including environmental issues.

Hosted by Joe Richardson.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/D_EVFShmjdk

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Joey Jackson, Esq. is a well-known criminal defense attorney, principal of JOEY JACKSON LAW, PLLC in New York City, and a longtime CNN legal analyst who has been seen on local and national outlets for years. His expert commentary provides perspective that brilliantly takes complicated legal issues and makes them understandable for public consumption.

In this podcast, Mr. Jackson talks about how he was turned on to the prospect of practicing law, and shares how his father’s work as a police officer informed his evolution from prosecutions to Criminal and Labor Law advocacy for Civil Service employees. Mr. Jackson addresses recent police brutality cases, and while acknowledging the potential legal solutions being offered related to police accountability, he points out the key considerations (transcending law) which are at the root of the issue. Importantly, Mr. Jackson reminds that due process is for all of us (including police), offers thoughts on the responsibility of lawyers to make positive contributions (including with sound legal commentary), and displays a fundamental optimism that will energize and encourage listeners that the practice of law is in good hands.

Hosted by: Joe Richardson

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ifph-CNR0tM

In this Joe Speak! Podcast, we are joined by attorney Brian G. Buckmire, criminal defense attorney, anchor for the nationally syndicated Law and Crime Daily, and legal contributor for ABC. He discusses his new novel, “Come Home Safe,” which uses a teenager’s police encounter to explore the pain, the truths, and the hopes that come with growing up as a person of color in America. Brian talks about how his experience as a lawyer, a black man, and a father figure to his younger brother inspired and shows up in this book. He shares why “the talk” and discussions about social justice are so important in the community, and connects the dots between the death of Tyre Nichols, his book, and what should be our value of all lives. Finally, Brian gives a call to action for anyone who wants to help move justice forward as it pertains to police brutality issues.

Presented by: Joe Richardson

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rFKGx2wpriM

Sara Rodriguez has an incredible personal story which made the LA Times, as she was one of the thousands in San Bernardino County that automatic expungement of marijuana related convictions had not filtered down to. A drug possession charge sent her to jail many years ago, and after many ups and downs, she made a decision to rebuild her life. She did so, earning two degrees and dedicating herself to a career of social work on behalf of the formerly incarcerated. But, for all she has accomplished personally against enormous odds, in her heart, it’s not about her at all. In this podcast, you will hear her cite real world examples of the stigma of criminal convictions, with challenges in getting housing, internships in college, and participating in kids’ field trips, and how those challenges do not go away even for those that have “turned things around.” She will give a sense of the difficulties of dealing with the court system for people whose only exposure to the Courts has been negative, and why resources are so important. Ultimately, she is Exhibit 1 of how to make life’s lemons into tasty lemonade, and how “regular people” do extraordinary things toward the cause of justice.

Hosted by Joe Richardson.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pBIVc3Q3sOY

Connie Leyva is probably best known for her years in the California State Senate. However, the bookends of her career show a consistent line of distinguished service that has included trailblazing union leadership, and which continues with her new post as Executive Director of KVCR, a public radio dual licensee that also operates First Nations Experience, a digital multicast channel for Native American and Indigenous programming. In this podcast, Connie will discuss her amazing journey, the highs and lows of being on the State Senate, and how her new job is a natural continuation of her service. She will give listeners a primer on KVCR including its current programming and talk about future plans her role is signed to support. She will add her observations on the Inland Empire as a region with still untapped potential, and how her new responsibilities will further the work of equity in our state and region which has always been a central goal in all of her endeavors.

Hosted by Joe Richardson.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Aqz9qOInGpQ

In this Joespeak Podcast, Author Leslie Ferguson shares thoughts on her memoir “When I Was Her Daughter, a compelling story of her difficult upbringing with a severely mentally ill mother who vacillated between harming herself and harming her children. She chronicles being homeless, and having things get worse in foster care when she finally spoke up for herself. Leslie discusses the duplicity and ironies that she saw around her, and how she had to make sense of it all, as if she was an adult, while being a child. Finally, Leslie talks about finding home with a grade school teacher (and her husband) who rescued her from the uncertain life that she had to live.

In this Joespeak! Podcast, Executive Dora Barilla shares her experience as a healthcare strategist, executive, educator, and entrepreneur. She is president and co-founder of HC2 Strategies Inc, a transformational leadership and strategic planning firm based in Southern California, and the newly designated Public Health Officer for McCune Wright Arevalo. Dora talks about public health as a cornerstone of community infrastructure, and how COVID-19 laid bare the progress yet to be made in availability of public health related services. Finally, Dora discusses the equity implications of public health, and, looking toward the future, makes the case for a legal services component to whole person health.

On this Joespeak! Podcast, Candace Clark Trincieri joins us, talking about her new book, “Dream Redefined: The Struggle and Success Through Infertility as a Woman of Color.” Candace talks transparently about her own infertility story, which starts many years before trying to have kids--with a diagnosis of Endometriosis as a young adult after years of symptoms. The daughter of parents active in the civil rights movement, and the granddaughter of one of first black mayors of a major southern city, Candace talks about finding her multigenerational activist voice providing the unique (and forgotten) perspective of women of color through infertility diagnosis and treatment. Now an ambassador for RESOLVE – The National Infertility Association, Candace talks about the stereotypes and stigmas that surround this issue, which both assume the fertility of black women and treat the infertility of white women with more sensitivity (and resources). She reminds that the already existing racial inequities of our health care system do not disappear, but intensify, when dealing with infertility issues, and discusses policies that would improve the situation. In sum, Candace gives us a window into a complex issue through her compelling story of finding peace in the midst of long personal storm.

In this Joespeak! Podcast, Dr. Josie Johnson, longtime civil rights leader, previews her book “Hope in the Struggle,” which gives us nearly a century of her lived perspective on the civil rights movement. Receiving a multigenerational legacy of servant leadership, she talks about walking precincts with her family as a child fighting to get rid of the poll tax. Dr. Johnson gives an account of events leading to the passage of a landmark housing bill in Minnesota, an effort for which she served as chief lobbyist and which served as a national blueprint for fair housing legislation. Dr. Johnson breaks down the commonalities in the movement, then and now, and reminds of the always prominent battleground of voting rights and its current urgency. She connects the dots between her generation and the current one, giving some advice on how to identify and embrace commonalties in the overarching goal to move us toward a more just society. Ultimately, Dr. Johnson reminds us all of the embrace of both the sacrifices and accomplishments of the ancestors that should keep us hoping, marching, and expecting.

In this Joespeak Podcast, we are joined by Pastor Sam Casey, the pastor of New Life Christian Church and Executive Director of Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement, a 501(c)3 faith-based organization. Pastor Sam talks about the convergence of his roles as pastor and community organizer over more than two decades, and explains how he approaches his advocacy for issues in communities of color. He makes clear that churches must be involved in justice issues to be true to their fundamental spiritual mission. He lets us know how the playing field changed with COVID-19 in both the church and the larger community, and how his organization is partnering with public and private entities to sound the alarm on available resources and deal with long held community distrust. Finally, Pastor Casey talks about why he remains optimistic and casts a wide net to encourage involvement of everyone, spiritually inclined and otherwise-- in today’s fight for justice.