On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the origins of Southern hip hop, its impact on Southern culture, and why hip hop music from the South has become a major force in the global music industry today.

Our guests on today’s episode are Speech, a Grammy Award-winning music artist and founder of the legendary hip hop group, Arrested Development, who will speak about the origins of the Southern hip hop movement of the 1990s and the factors behind its global success today; and Dr. Regina Bradley, a college professor and hip hop scholar who talks about the rise of Southern hip hop in the 1990s, the impact of the group Outkast on the global expansion of Southern hip hop, and why hip hop music from the South today remains a global force.

On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the disparities in women’s healthcare across the South, the impact of these disparities on women living in the region, and why the South leads the nation in passing legislation that threatens the lives and reproductive health of millions of women.

Our guests on today’s episode are Dr. Nina Ragunanthan, a Gynecologist and Obstetrician based in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, who shares her experiences about working as a doctor in the Mississippi Delta, and the challenges she faces providing quality healthcare to women living one of the poorest regions of the country; and Khenia Haro-Perez, an advocate for Latino women’s healthcare rights in the State of Virginia, who speaks about the role that the state of Virginia plays in providing reproductive healthcare for women across the South, and the challenges that women of color face getting adequate healthcare in the South.

On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the legacy of college football in the South, the impact that the sport and its traditions have had on Southern culture, and why Southern-based universities have dominated national college football over the last 20 years.

Our guests on today’s episode are Charlie Neal, a legendary television broadcaster, universally known as the “The Voice of HBCU Sports,” who will speak about the impact that college football has had on Southern culture, and the legacy of great football players and coaches that have represented Historically Black Colleges and Universities based in the South; and Dr. Eric Bain-Selbo, a college professor, a lifelong college football fan, and accomplished author, who talks about the impact of college football and its many traditions on Southern culture, and why the sport of college football is considered to be a “religion” to many people living in the South.

On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the rise of tourism in today’s South and how two Southern traditions once considered taboo, slavery and the bootleg liquor industry, have spawned major tourist attractions, drawing people from around the world to the South and injecting millions of dollars into their states’ tourism economies.  

Our guests on today’s episode are Sara Havens, also known as The Bar Belle, a Louisville, Kentucky-based journalist and bourbon aficionado, who will speak about the history of bourbon production in the South, and how the Bourbon Trail has become a major tourist attraction in Kentucky; and Dr. Tonya Mathews, the President and CEO of the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, who will speak about her journey to the South to help build this historic museum, and how the success of the museum has impacted the South Carolina tourism economy as a whole.

In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss Southern politics and the challenges facing immigrants and first generation Americans seeking to gain political office in the South. 

Our guests on today’s episode are Steve “Junior” Ezeonu, a Nigerian born, Texas raised community leader who currently serves as a City Councilman in the city of Grand Prairie, Texas. Steve speaks about the impact of the Nigerian presence in Texas, the challenges that he faced while running for office in the South, and how he became one of the first Black City Councilman elected to office in Grand Prairie in more than 30 years.

Also, Steve Rao, who was the first Indian ever elected to public office in Wake County, North Carolina, and is currently the longest serving Asian American elected official in the state of North Carolina, speaks about the impact that immigration, especially Asian American immigration, has had on his community and across the state of North Carolina; and how the rise in technology companies moving to the Research Triangle has benefited his constituents.

Steve “Junior” Ezeonu is currently an At-Large City Councilman serving the city of Grand Prairie, Texas. Steve Rao is an At-Large City Councilman currently serving the Town of Morrisville, North Carolina.

In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss the evolution of transgender communities in the South and the challenges that they face in the midst of a growing political backlash emanating from Southern government leaders.

Our guests on today’s episode are Errol “ER” Anderson, the Executive Director of Charis Circle, the non-profit arm of one the South’s oldest feminist bookstores, who speaks about the challenges facing transgender communities in Georgia, and why he chose to go public with his own transition.

Also, Joaquin Carcaño, who works for the University of North Carolina Institute for Global Health and Infectious Disease, speaks about becoming a plaintiff in a lawsuit fighting North Carolina’s anti-Transgender HB2 legislation, and also talks about issues that immigrants and first generation Amricans face in the South receiving quality healthcare, especially in the areas of HIV training and treatment.

ER Anderson is the Executive Director of Charis Circle, is lead facilitator of Charis’ Trans and Friends adult support group, and co-facilitates the Gender Creative Parenting Collective.

Joaquin works at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute for Global Health and Infectious Disease, where he provides medical education and services such as HIV testing to the Latino population. He also serves as the Director of Southern Health Policy for Latinos In The South and is a Board Member of the Southern AIDS Coalition and the ACLU of NC.

In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss the changing tide of religious expression in today’s South, and how factors such as immigration and the rise of atheism have altered the traditional idea of the South as being a region dominated by Christianity. 

Our guests on today’s episode are Dr. Anthony Pinn, a noted religious scholar and Professor at Rice University in Houston, Texas, who will speak about the growing diversity of religions in the South today, and how many Southerners, including a large number of African Americans, are becoming more and more religiously unaffiliated.

Also, Reverend Patricia Mathews, an Episcopal Priest based in Little Rock, Arkansas, who serves as the Executive Director of the Interfaith Center, speaks about the power of interfaith dialogue among leaders of diverse religious communities in the South, and how these interactions have helped to foster greater religious respect and tolerance across the South.

Dr. Anthony Pinn is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University, and is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning in Houston, Texas.

Reverend Patricia Mathews is an Assistant Rector at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Little Rock, Arkansas is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Center, where the group’s mission is to “reduce the fear and prejudice among the people of the world’s religions.” 

In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss the influence that Historically Black Colleges and Universities have had on the South, and their impact today.

Our guests on today’s episode are Dr. Walter Kimbrough, one of the nation’s most distinguished HBCU Presidents, who speaks about the current state of HBCUs during this historic period of increased enrollment and funding; and why more young students of all colors are choosing to attend HBCUs over Predominately White Institutions. Also, Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Spelman College in Atlanta, and Director of the UNCF/Mellon Programs, speaks about the vast diversity of young women attending Spelman today, and the school’s mission to educate and inspire future leaders.

Dr. Walter Kimbrough, nationally known as “The Hip Hop Prez,” is currently the Interim President of Talladega College, an HBCU located in Talladega, Alabama. Dr. Kimbrough formerly served as President of both Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Cynthia Spence is a lifelong Atlanta native who graduated from Spelman and has served the school in multiple capacities throughout her distinguished career. As the Director of the UNCF/Mellon Programs, she has been influential in creating programs to help United Negro College Fund students obtain doctorate degrees and become future faculty members at UNCF institutions.

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In this episode of Our New South, Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the censorship of education in the South with Amanda Jones, a small-town, Louisiana librarian and self-proclaimed, "accidental activist," who became a nationally recognized figure due to her fight against censorship in Louisiana schools; and Robert Cassanello, a tenured professor of History at the University of Central Florida who took on the state of Florida in their fight against the teaching of critical race theory in state-funded schools.

Amanda Jones is the author of the national bestseller 'That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America', which is part memoir, part manifesto, the story of a small-town Louisiana librarian advocating for inclusivity.

Robert Cassanello, is an associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida. He is the author of To Render Invisible: Jim Crow and Public Life in New South Jacksonville. He has co-edited two books Florida's Working-Class Past: Current Perspectives on Labor, Race, and Gender from Spanish Florida to the New Immigration (with Melanie Shell-Weiss) and Migration and the Transformation of the Southern Workplace since 1945 (with Colin J. Davis). He produced film documentaries The Committee and Filthy Dreamers, and the public history podcast series A History of Central Florida, the Florida Historical Quarterly Podcast and The Art of the Review.

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In the Season 2 premiere of Our New South, cohosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss food with Aarón Sanchez, an award-winning chef, TV personality, author, philanthropist, and Chefs Greg & Subrina Collier, owners of multiple restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Aarón Sanchez is a judge on Masterchef and Masterchef Junior. He is the host and executive producer of El Toque De Aarón on Discovery Familia and Hogar de HGTV. He is a third generation cookbook author and has also written a memoir called 'Where I Come From: Life Lessons From A Latino Chef.' He cohosts a podcast with his mom, Zarela Martinez, called 'Cooking in Mexican From A to Z', and is the Chef/Partner of Restaurants Johnny Sánchez in New Orleans. Last but not least, he is the founder of The Aarón Sanchez Impact Fund, a non profit program whose mission is to uplift the lives of latino youth through food.

Greg & Subrina Collier are chefs and restauranteurs from Memphis, Tennessee. They are the owners of Uptown Yolk, Leah & Louise, and 3rd & Fernwood in Charlotte, North Carolina. They created the Bayhaven Food & Wine Festival. Greg Collier is a 3-time James Beard Award-nominee, and a semi-finalist.

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Learn more about Levine Museum of the New South here.