LaToya Brannen, Senior Organizer with 9to5 Georgia, and Joel Caldwell, Program Director for Georgia STAND-UP, join us to discuss social justice and racial equity in Georgia following the signing of the state’s new voting law. Learn about their civic engagement work and why it is so important to continue efforts to educate our communities about voting rights and exercising their power at the polls.

To learn more about their organizations, their programs, and how to participate in the movement visit GeorgiaStandUp.org and 9to5.org.

Mila Konomos is a wife, mother, artist, poet and activist. She is also an transracial and international adoptee. Mila was adopted as a baby in South Korea by a military family and brought to the United States. As she grew and began school, she quickly realized that she was not like the other children.

Mila gives us unique insight into what it feels like to be an international, transracial adoptee. She shares her struggle of feeling like she didn’t fit in, and her extreme loss of identity. Even though her parents loved her they could not understand or help her work through this pain. She turned to writing poetry as a way of trying to make sense of what she was feeling.

This is Mila’s story of coming to terms with being adopted, connecting with her Korean heritage and the search for her birth mother. Her latest project “Empress Han” is a testament to that journey. It is an experimental exploration where Mila adapts her poetry to music and vocals. Inspired by the traditional Korean art form of storytelling called Pansori, "Han" is a direct reference to the Korean cultural concept of han, which has been defined as "a traumatic loss of identity," both collectively and individually. It has also been described as an intense angst and longing due to unresolved injustice, pain, and suffering.

Mila expects to launch Empress Han early next year. To learn more about Mila, and to get updates on release dates visit: https://theempresshan.wixsite.com/empresshan

The women of the Sistah Scribes Writers Group believe that every woman has a story and that only she can tell it. They came together to encourage each other and promote regular writing practices. The result was their first book, "Shaking off the Dust: Personal Narratives of Triumph".

The book is a very personal compilation of stories that looks back on the struggles, tragedies, and life-changing moments that shaped their lives today. In this episode, we introduce you to some of their members and why they want to encourage women to write their stories, share them with others now, and preserve them for posterity.

For our season 2 premiere, we sit down with Angela Harrington Rice, a true #RenaissanceWoman. Angela has been inducted into the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Silver Circle for exemplary service in broadcast media and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Ministers and Laity Board of Preachers at Morehouse College. She is a certified grief counselor and founder of "Widow Wings", a published author, and the founder of the One Love Spiritual Center. Tune in to hear how Angela turned personal tragedy into triumph and inspired others to do the same.

Illinois bred singer and songwriter, Dozzy Daniel is making his mark early on the R&B scene. In the past year he has released his freshman EP entitled Lessons, a coming of age story derived from the lessons his Grandfathers have instilled in him. His most recent single Sweet Dandelion is a heartfelt song birthed from the pain of the tragic loss of Ahmaud Arbury, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many more Black Kings and Queens lost at the hands of police brutality. Come along the journey as Dozzy Daniel blooms into the next R&B sensation.

You can find Dozzy on all music platforms including #Soundcloud and #Spotify. You can also follow in on Instagram and Facebook @DozzyDaniel.

Randiesia Fletcher, winner of the 2017/2018 Tucson Public Voices Fellowship is an author, educator, and public speaker, but on the streets, she’s heralded as an "urban missionary." Her passion is fueled by helping the under-served populations society often ignores.

Fletcher grew up in L.A.’s Skid Row slums—reared by drug-addicted parents. Her childhood was plagued with abuse, neglect, and homelessness, so as a teen, she enlisted into the USMC. It proved to have its own challenges of racism and sexism and was subsequently retired as a Disabled Veteran.

Not defeated, Fletcher completed a Bachelors of Arts in Creative Writing/ Anthropology—University of Arizona, and a Master's of Arts in Education—University of Phoenix. She completed research abroad in Women’s Occupations in the Republic of Fiji. To highlight her struggle, she published Scratches, Needles, and the Glass Pipe: Coping with Rejection, Hurt, and Abandonment  and  Social Mindfulness: Child Soldiers: Stories 1-3. Dedicated to volunteering, she founded I Can Do All Things, Inc., a nonprofit organization, to help alleviate generational poverty through teaching Sustainability Education, and she co-created the nonprofit organization, Refugee Resource Center, to advocate for refugees, asylees, and others victimized by poverty and sexual assault. In 2018, she and her husband started Harris-Fletcher Enterprises, a Social-Enterprises geared at helping American Descendants of Slaves (ADOS) and Black Indigenous People of Color BIPOC who experience housing, food, and financial insecurities become socially responsible by providing affordable housing located on an urban food forest through life and social mindfulness training through art and other mediums. The wife and mother of three, continues to write her own story.

Tinnette Hemmons is a multi-creative artist from the south suburbs of Chicago IL who branded herself the name of TWISTED CLAY in 2009.

Twisted Clay is statement jewelry and wall art made from polymer clay and other mixed medium. Tinnette has been known to make collections for each season that are geared for the person who is not afraid to walk a unique path of fashion and jewelry. Her one of a kind wearable art has been described as funky, unique conversation pieces.

Twisted Clay can be seen on Facebook and instagram. Website of past work can be found at TwistedClay.net.

"Frilingdik Umbazigt - As the Spring, Unconquered"

In part 2 of our interview with Francisco Dean we discuss the personal impact of creating Frilingdik Umbazigt and what it has meant his students, the school's faculty and the larger Jewish community. Learn how an unexpected encounter brings the past and present together in an emotionally profound way, bringing students and faculty at the University of Chicago Lab School to tears.

Frilingdik Umbazigt is a unique experience for all who listen. It brings us inside the experiences of the many lives that were lost at Auschwitz, and the pain and great sense of loss of those who survived.

We are thankful to Francisco for sharing their live performance with us during this episode. We hope you enjoy this performance as much as we did.

We would love to have you as a part of the S.O.W. family. Learn more about us and how to become a member at www.sowpodcast.com.

"As the Spring, Unconquered"

In this episode we introduce you to Francisco Dean, a musician, educator and podcast producer. Francisco shares with us how he brought to life the memories of Holocaust victims by using their own words, combining them with the art of sound design, to form a powerful composition entitled "Frilingdik Umbazigt - As the Spring, Unconquered".

The composition was performed live by the students at the University of Chicago Lab School using sounds captured from artifacts in the archives of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Illinois. It is a moving piece that captures the pain, hope and struggles of Jewish people, young and old, at Auschwitz. Told in 2 parts, this is an episode you don't want to miss.

We are so fortunate to have a behind the scenes look at Francisco's creative process. This video will be made available to all our members on our website.

www.sowpodcast.com

JIM HILL - Artist • Educator • Humanitarian

In his poverty-stricken days as a youth in the inner city of New York, Jim could not afford art supplies. Out of necessity, he created his own palette of colors consisting of recycled paper materials. He uses the different colors from pictures and print ads cut into small pieces to create the palette for his Mosaic Master-Pieces.

Jim was listed in Who’s Who in America in 1994-95 as an Outstanding Educator and was cited in newspapers and on television for his contributions and work with the homeless and underprivileged.

Jim was honored by the United Nations for his, anti-Apartheid poster. He won first place in the prestigious Weeksville Art Contest, and was feted and praised by Omega Psi Phi fraternity for his dedication to expanding educational and career opportunities for young people in the advertising community.