"Becoming a mother increased my compassion for human existence...how can one child be safe if all children are not safe?" - Amana Harris

Meet Amana Harris, Executive Director of The Center for ArtEsteeem, which empowers individuals to be self-aware and inspired through art, creativity, and education, and to make positive choices to break the cycle of violence for themselves and their communities. They also promote the understanding that we can choose peace over conflict and love over fear.

Love over fear. That's a new one. Well actually it is not at all, as it was/is a fundamental tenet of most of the world's major religions, but it is something we easily forget, particularly in times of fear, when it becomes much easier to blame others. 

LISTEN IN as Amana eloquently talks on: 

• apartheid schools
• creativity 
• finding value in every individual
• the power of art to develop the critical voices of young people
• cultivating compassion in places of privilege
• having hard conversations
• being vulnerable and the deep internal work White people must do to shift systemic racism
• and the power and importance of passing on history.

RESOURCES

• RACE: The Power of An Illusion, PBS
  
  
• The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America  by Jonathan Kozol 
  
  
• Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals
  
  
• Color Theory: Race Is a Useful Illusion by Aeeshah Clottey and Kokomon Clottey
  
  
• So Much! by Trish Cooke

To see some of the Oakland Mural Project visit www.ahc-oakland.org/oakland-mural-project

Learn more about Amana's work at Center for ArtEsteem.

Meet award-winning designer and Momfluential, Ayesha Mathews Wadhwa, reflecting on Mentors, Hate Crimes, and the Female Economy

LISTEN IN as Ayesha shares her early teachings about leadership, being a South Asian woman, business leader, and mom in America, overcoming hate crimes, and being a role model for her child.

RESOURCES mentioned in this podcast:

• The First, the Few, the Only: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America by Deepa Purushothaman
  
  
• Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston
  
  
• Children's books by Enid Blyton
  
  
• If you believe you are the victim of a hate crime or believe you witnessed a hate crime:
  
  STEP 1: Call 911 and/or report the crime to your local police.
  
  STEP 2: Quickly follow up this report with a tip to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) | Submit to: https://tips.fbi.gov/

Learn more about Ayesha at www.ayeshamathews.com

A brief history and what you can do to protect women's rights, reproductive rights, and civil rights. Hear from renowned women's health advocate Dr. Sherry Ross and expert legislative analyst Amy Everitt in this intimate Momfluentials conversation just days after the preliminary SCOTUS opinion was leaked. Visit www.momfluentials.com/ProtectOurRights for more information.

Meet Keesa Ocampo, an Emmy Award winning producer and creator who is an expert in multicultural media development and PR. She manages the design, launch, and sustainability of projects from ground zero ideation to production and marketing, with a focus on growing audiences on digital platforms and social media. Her work has been recognized by the PromaxBDA, CableFAXIES, Cynopsis, Telly, New York Festivals and as I mentioned but can certainly be stated again, the Emmy awards! 

Keesa is motivated and motivating! In this episode, you'll hear about:

• Growing up in a multi-cultural family
• Winning an Emmy
• Building a successful team
• Grassroots activism and fundraising
• DEI and being an Asian American business leader
• Redesigning the rules of business
• Magic, love, and more!

To learn more about Keesa, visit www.wesparq.co.

RESOURCES
If you or anyone you know is the victim of abuse, please know there are people who care and who are here to help you.

• National Child Abuse hotline: www.childhelphotline.org | CALL or TEXT 1.800.422.4453
• Domestic Abuse hotline: www.thehotline.org | CALL or TEXT 800.799.7233

It is my great honor to launch the Momfluentials podcast with the OG Momfluential, my very own mama, Andrea Danek Pinkson. In addition to raising my sister and I, and being the most loving, inspiring, and fun grandma ever, Andrea has touched thousands of lives through her work as a registered nurse and as a lactation and parenting consultant to a countless number of our friends and extended community. Affectionately known as Nyuszi by her grandsons—Hungarian for bunny.

In this episode, you'll learn about:

• parenting to raise positivity advocates
• being a refugee
• moms and daughters

For more, follow Andrea on Instagram at @nyuszi45.