Melanated Conversations

In this week’s episode, we recap our season 2 show guests and reflect on our  experiences, growth and gratitude for an awesome season. 

Listen in as we speak about our journey in amplifying the voices and stories of black women.

What you'll learn:

• Our mission of shining light on our melanated queens and sharing our lessons and celebrating our successes.
• Recap of all the wonderful women that have been guests to the show. 
• Special love and gratitude to all of our listeners.
• Finding  Black joy in the highs and lows of life
• When you can expect our Season 3 Return.
• How you can stay connected with us during our brief hiatus.
• What's next for Melanated Conversations?

In this week’s episode, we amplify the voice of Sidonie Smith. Sidonie is an international leading lady, as well as a violinist and speaker. A multi-lingual artist, she has graced stages all around the world over the past 10 years performing in both English and German. 

Most recently, she welcomed the reprise of one of her most celebrated roles— Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar on the historic Roten Tor stage in Munich. Previous to that Sidonie starred in Switzerland’s Premier run of Sister Act the musical as Deloris van Cartier—a role that she is thrilled to now have embodied in three countries. 

Sidonie has performed in such well-known large- scale shows as: The Bodyguard (Rachel and Nicki Marron), Jekyll & Hyde (Lucy, Germany), Legally Blonde (Pilar, Austrian Premier), Sister Act (Deloris, Germany, Austrian Premier, Switzerland Premier), AIDA (Aida, Germany), Cabaret (Sally Bowles, Germany) The Bridges of Madison County (Marian, German Premier), Sweeney Todd (Johanna, as the first woman of color to play the role in Germany), Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary Magdalene, Germany), RENT (Maureen, Germany), Little Shop of Horrors (Chiffon, European Tour), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story Germany), and Love Never Dies (Austria, lauded by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber as the best version of the production he had ever seen).

Sidonie's unique talent of playing viola/violin and harmonizing with herself vocally has landed her on many stages of the world, including Broadway and the West End, doing concerts with composers like Scott Alan as well as Oscar/Tony/Grammy award-winning duo Pasek & Paul. Sidonie is also a composer herself, and conducted her first orchestral work, Genesis, as it saw its premier performance when she was just 17 years old. She has since composed for such charitable organizations as: Where Every Child's A Star. 

Sidonie more recently has turned her talent to arrangement, and you can see many of her original arrangements on YouTube, where videos she arranged have garnered well over 36 million views.

Offstage, Sidonie is most proud of her work as a Mindset Mastery and Social Media Mentor coach for performers, supporting them practically in their pursuits to become the strongest versions of themselves— mind, spirit, and body. Her transformational coaching courses guide artists to heal their hearts in order to create great art.  

In this episode, Sidonie sets the stage into her journey into theater and how bolding taking advantage of open doors placed her center stage in some of the biggest roles in her career. We unpack what it’s like being a multi-talented black creative artist in this arena, and how she is holding space for fellow artists to bravely move into their creative passions.

 What you'll learn:

• The opportunity of a lifetime that catapulted her into international theatre.
• Her personal experience as a black woman breaking into the world of acting & theatre.
• How your own daring to be excellent as a Black creative is a form of protest
• Favorite roles pursued in her career.
• Her latest endeavor as a mindset coach devoted to empowering creatives to follow their passion and authentically connect with their audience.
• What's next for Sidonie and her brand?

[music: "Fly" by Makaih Beats]  

CONNECT WITH: SidonieSmith

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/__.sidonie.__/

Website: https://www.sidoniesmith.com/

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Are you ready to start your very own podcast? Check out our 70+ page comprehensive guide that walks you through every step to get your show launched and ready for the world.  We’ve taken our professional knowledge and experience in strategy, recording, editing and presenting into this comprehensive guide so you don’t have to spend months making mistakes you can avoid before you get started. Receive full-on support ranging from mindset shifting, content development, technical setup, recording & editing, and ongoing (strategies) after launch. Let's take you from dreaming to streaming so that you can powerfully share your message while achieving your next level of success.

Get your copy at: https://gum.co/launchpad-ebook

Connect with us

Click Here To Join The Melanated Conversations Collective

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanatedconvos/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/melanatedconvos

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melanatedconvos/

DON’T MISS AN EPISODE OF MELANATED CONVERSATIONS!

Click here to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

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[music: "Fly" by Makaih Beats

In this week’s episode, we amplify the voice of Terrian Jones. Terrian is a wife of 10 years and mother of 2 beautiful girls. She is also creative in every sense of the word and is an avid world traveler that loves to capture the beauty of life from her lens. Terrian leads every aspect of life with the philosophy that all people were created in the image of God and deserve dignity and respect. Guided by her faith, she strives to serve as a living example of what her faith teaches her and to share it with the world both on and off of the mic.

In this episode, Terrian takes us on a  journey as she pulls back the curtain on her life and shares one of her most vulnerable life-changing moments. Walking the path of forgiveness and finding her voice Terrian encourages others to do the same.

Listen in as Terrian takes us on a personal journey of self-discovery and healing.

 What you'll learn:

• Terrian's personal story of transformation.
• Snatching back ownership of your story with a peace of mind.
• The "study" that helped her forgive others and heal through a traumatic event in her life.
• How individuals can offer support to many facing similar circumstances.
• What's next for Terrian and her brand?

[music: "Fly" by Makaih Beats]  

CONNECT WITH: Terrian Jones

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrian4reel

Email: [email protected]

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Are you ready to start your very own podcast? Check out our 70+ page comprehensive guide that walks you through every step to get your show launched and ready for the world.  We’ve taken our professional knowledge and experience in strategy, recording, editing and presenting into this comprehensive guide so you don’t have to spend months making mistakes you can avoid before you get started. Receive full-on support ranging from mindset shifting, content development, technical setup, recording & editing, and ongoing (strategies) after launch. Let's take you from dreaming to streaming so that you can powerfully share your message while achieving your next level of success.

Get your copy at: https://gum.co/launchpad-ebook

Connect with us

Click Here To Join The Melanated Conversations Collective

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanatedconvos/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/melanatedconvos

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melanatedconvos/

DON’T MISS AN EPISODE OF MELANATED CONVERSATIONS!

Click here to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Click here to subscribe to us on Stitcher.

Click here to subscribe to us on Spotify.

Click here to subscribe to us on Google Podcasts. 

[music: "Fly" by Makaih Beats]  

While we stand for justice, dignity and honor of the black life all too often the names of black women senselessly murdered by law enforcement are glazed over. We have a duty and responsibility  as Black women and hosts of a podcast that advocate and amplify the voices of black women to bring awareness and shed light  on the sisters who are no longer with us. We will always and forever SAY HER NAME.

 Rekia Boyd

Boyd was born on November 5, 1989, in Chicago, Illinois. She moved with her family from Chicago’s Southside to Dolton, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. On March 21, 2012, Boyd was hanging out with friends at Douglas Park on Chicago’s West Side at a party listening to music while having a few drinks.  Around 1:00 am,  22 year old Boyd and some of her friends walk to a nearby cornerstore. Around that same time, Servin who was just finishing his shift on his second job was off duty, heading to a fast food restaurant for a hamburger. Servin drove to Douglas Park after a citizen called police about a noise complaint. Servin saw Boyd and her friends and later claimed they were arguing in an alley.  Whether Servin calmly approached Boyd and her friends or was rude and aggressive is still debated. One of Boyd’s friends, Antonio Cross, claimed that Servin attempted to buy drugs from the group. When Cross told Servin to “get his Crackhead ass out of here,” Servin pulled a gun, stuck it out of the window of his car and fired into the group, hitting Boyd in the head.  She was instantly killed and Cross was wounded in the hand.

After the shooting, the Chicago Police Department defended Servin’s actions and arrested Cross. The Police Department claimed that Servin had discharged his weapon after Cross had approached him with a gun.  Upon investigation it was discovered that Cross was holding a cellphone.

In November 2013, Servin was charged with involuntary manslaughter but was cleared of all charges two years later on April 20, 2015, by Judge Dennis J. Porter following a non-jury trial. On November 24, 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called for Dante Servin to be fired by the Chicago Police Board.  On May 17, 2016, Servin resigned from the police force. The city of Chicago also paid $4.5 million to the Boyd family. Boyd’s death at the hands of Chicago Police Officer Dante Servin would help inspire the Black Lives Matter movement.

"They don’t talk about women that much when they get killed by the police. They barely talk about women. Why is that? It’s crazy, because you see that even in death, women play the second role."

                                                              - Martinez Sutton, Rekia Boyd’s brother

 Yvette Smith

On the 16th of January 2014, mother of 3 Yvette Smith was shot in her friend’s home by Daniel Willis, the officer coming to settle a disturbance.. She was seemingly trying to act as a peacemaker during a dispute between a father and a son that involved a gun. She called 911 about half an hour after midnight. When Bastrop County police arrived at the house, at least one of the men was in the front yard and the worst of the disturbance had seemed to be over.

The disagreement was settled before the officers arrived. The owner of the home Mr. Willie Thomas was outside when police arrived The officers issued verbal commands for the other occupants to exit the property. Yvette Smith was shot three seconds after the door was opened as shown by body camera footage. She was shot twice by the deputy sheriff’s with his personal AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle. The officers claimed she threatened them with a gun despite no weapons being found within the home. The dispatcher claimed the opposite and Thomas said it was false information. In April 2016 Daniel Willis, a former Texas police deputy, was found not guilty of murder.

The family filed for wrongful death suit and settled with 1.22 million in compensation. However, Daniel Willis still walks a free man who killed an innocent unarmed black woman. The case raised broad issues about police accountability and questions about police recruiting standards and the general conduct of the sheriff’s department.

 Shantel Davis

On June 14, 2012, Shantel Davis, a 23-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot by New York City,  New York Police Department (NYPD) officer Phil Atkins. She was unarmed, and her death occurred while the national discussion of police brutality was gaining publicity in the wake of similar killings. That debate led to the creation of the Black Lives Matter Movement  the following year.

Two plainclothes police officers saw Davis driving erratically and pursued her vehicle. Once her car came to a stop after colliding with a minivan, the officers got out of their car and approached on foot.

Davis opened her passenger side door, knocking one officer to the ground. She then got back into the driver’s seat. Believing that Davis was trying to drive away, and with the car moving backwards, Detective Phil Atkins reached into her car and tried to shift it into park. While they struggled for control, Atkins shot her once in the chest.

When the officers asked her to exit the car, she stumbled out while bleeding profusely onto the pavement in front of a large crowd. One witness, George Ricketts, said that Davis cried out that she didn’t want to die, and a woman attempted to comfort her. Despite paramedics’ attempts to revive her, Davis was later pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital.

According to East Flatbush residents, the officer who killed Davis had a history of brutality. 

At the time of her death, her friends and family said that Shantel was trying to get her GED and turn her life around. While police alleged that Davis had been trying to escape when she was shot, several witnesses stated that she was trapped behind an airbag and was not attempting to get away. 

In 2017, Shantel’s family reports that there have been no investigations into her death or the officer who killed her, despite multiple attempts to follow up with the Brooklyn District Attorney office.

  Atatiana Jefferson

Atatiana Jefferson, had been up late playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew, in her final moments leading up to her fatal shot by an officer, Aaron Y. Dean, who was standing in her backyard with a flashlight and a gun. He would go on to resign two days later, hours before the police chief had planned to fire him.

Jefferson who was 28 at the time of her death, graduated from Louisiana's Xavier University in 2014 with a degree in biology and worked in the field of pharmaceutical equipment sales. She was planning and saving for medical school. Atatiana was a loving aunt who would play basketball and video games with her nephews, and recently moved in with her mother to care for her as she had health problems. Her (mother) learned about her daughter’s shooting while in a hospital.

In the moments leading up to the shooting, one of Ms. Jefferson’s neighbors, called a nonemergency line at 2:23 a.m. on Saturday to check on the safety of the residents after spotting the door open. Two officers responding to the call parked a block away from Ms. Jefferson’s house before unlatching a fence door and entering the backyard. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Jefferson told her nephew she heard someone outside moments before the shooting, so she got her handgun from her purse and pointed it out a window.

Dean, who never identified himself as a police officer despite yelling for Jefferson to put her hands up, according to the affidavit, fired through the window, killing Jefferson.

As previously stated, Aaron Dean resigned before he could be fired. He was arrested and in December 2019 he was indicted by the Texas grand jury for murder, however the trial has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

"My God, I was so happy to know that the man that shot and killed my daughter is going to be indicted for murder," said Yolanda Carr, Jefferson's mother. She went on to say that "Justice was served on that part, but I know we got a long way to go," "I'm so glad that they finally indicted that man on murder because he murdered my baby."

While we stand for justice, dignity and honor of the black life all too often the names of black women senselessly murdered by law enforcement are glazed over. We have a duty and responsibility  as Black women and hosts of a podcast that advocate and amplify the voices of black women to bring awareness and shed light  on the sisters who are no longer with us. We will always and forever SAY HER NAME.

In memory of #breonnataylor we are releasing a special episode today to honor her life.

Before she was a hashtag or became a headline Breonna or Bre’ as she was affectionally known to her friends and family was a then 26-year-old woman who loved her work in healthcare and spending quality time with her aunts playing cards. Phase 10 and Skip-Bo were her favs. Breonna Taylor was born June 05, 1993 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Tamika Palmer and she spent the early part of her life in Grand Rapids, Michigan before moving to Louisville when she was a teen.

Breonna graduated from Western High School in 2011, and later went on to experience college at University of Kentucky. She was an accomplished EMT for the city of Louisville. She worked full time as ER Technician for Jewish East and PRN for Norton Healthcare. She served on the front line and dedicated her life to the care of others. On her Facebook page, Taylor described her love for helping others and stated “Working in health care is so rewarding! It makes me so happy when I know I’ve made a difference in someone else’s life!” As an essential worker she put her life on the line daily fighting one of the deadliest pandemics of our time only to have it tragically taken away at the hands of police. In mid-March Breonna went to bed like the rest of us, but she didn’t get to see the light of day as police officers barged into Taylor’s home in Louisville, Kentucky, in the middle of the night and discharged a spray of bullets that struck and killed the 26-year-old EMT. Breonna Taylor was a daughter, Breonna Taylor a granddaughter, Breonna Taylor a sister, Breonna Taylor a niece and a best friend to so many especially Kenneth Walker. But above else Breonna Taylor was a HUMAN.

She died before her story could truly unfold. Now it’s our duty to continue to carry the torch and honor her name. We always say her name. . . . #sayhername #birthdayforbreonna #herlifemattered #blacklivesmatter

1. Share this statement and call to action with others.
2. Donate a portion of your show proceeds and ask audience members to donate to any of the following:
   1. George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
   2. Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
   3. Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
   4. Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
   5. Black Lives Matter: https://www.Blacklivesmatter.com
   6. Minneapolis NAACP Branch: https://www.paypal.me/mplsnaacp4050B
3. Sign A petition & Ask Your Network To Sign:
   1. Text “Floyd” to 55156 to sign a petition a demand justice for George Floyd
   2. Sign-up at Color of Change: https://colorofchange.org/ to be notified of more opportunities to take action

In this week’s episode, we amplify the voices of Vanielle Price-Lewis and Lakrisha Toliver 

Vanielle and Lakrisha  are the owners VK Beauty Bar.  These ladies are a duo that came together to offer a upscale relaxing environment inside the salon. Their goal and "why" is to educate women inside as well as outside the salon on hair care, catering to the everyday business woman that is on the go.

 VK Beauty Bars first priority is healthy hair and educating clients on how to care for hair outside the salon also. We provide multiple different deep conditioners. We also offer microlinks, wigs, hair color and natural hair care. VK Beauty Bar retails multiple haircare products such as shampoos conditioners and moisturizers for daily care. 

Tune in to our special Group Chat episode as we keep it real and discuss all things hair, the good bad and the ugly.

In this week’s episode, we amplify the voice of Brittany Sherell. Brittany is a Power-Packed Speaker, Coach, and Author who helps High-Achieving Women live with meaning and lead with confidence. Brittany is known for her high-energy, engaging approach to learning and development. Her practical approaches to achieving results are easy to incorporate without ever getting overwhelmed.

In her 2-in-1 live interactive book/workbook, Brittany challenges readers not to fall victim to the lure of success-chasing, but rather unmask their true identity and use it for meaningful work. She explores the incredible power of tapping into what you perform well to create a life of purpose.

Beyond her business, Brittany spends time loving on her close-knit family, two fur babies, and trying new coffee blends.

Listen in as we chat with Brittany as she shares her journey of building a mega lifestyle empire.

 What you'll learn:

• Brittany's personal story of transformation.
• Britany's M.O.V.E. framework that walks you through "How to align your gifts  and abilities to experience the fruits of fulfillment."
• Getting clear on what you want and what it will take to make it a reality.
• Snatching back ownership of your time and energy with a peace of mind.
• Killing self-doubt and building your Confidence.
• What's next for Brittany and her brand?

[music: "Fly" by Makaih Beats]  

CONNECT WITH: Brittany Sherell 

Website: http://brittanysherell.com/

@Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brittany-Sherell-Coaching-and-Consulting-2953466454694278

@Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanysherell/

@LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/LinkBritt

GET The Fulfillment Factor Book

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Are you ready to start your very own podcast? Check out our 70+ page comprehensive guide that walks you through every step to get your show launched and ready for the world.  We’ve taken our professional knowledge and experience in strategy, recording, editing and presenting into this comprehensive guide so you don’t have to spend months making mistakes you can avoid before you get started. Receive full-on support ranging from mindset shifting, content development, technical setup, recording & editing, and ongoing (strategies) after launch. Let's take you from dreaming to streaming so that you can powerfully share your message while achieving your next level of success.

Get your copy at: https://gum.co/launchpad-ebook

Connect with us

Click Here To Join The Melanated Conversations Collective

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanatedconvos/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/melanatedconvos

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melanatedconvos/

DON’T MISS AN EPISODE OF MELANATED CONVERSATIONS!

Click here to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts.

Click here to subscribe to us on Stitcher.

Click here to subscribe to us on Spotify.

Click here to subscribe to us on Google Podcasts. 

[music: "Fly" by Makaih Beats]  

In this week’s episode, We pressed pause on regular scheduled program and take time to  share our personal reflections on our Mother's Day. We also take the opportunity to  have a personal heart to heart and share some of our thoughts and feelings on the current state of our nation in light of recent events. 

We share these feelings around the 54-minute mark in this episode.

Listen in to hear our hearts 

We will resume back to our regular schedule next Sunday.