Subject Thread Podcast

The importance of the vote is something that in the past millennials and generation Xers have often taken lightly hence the 2016 Presidential election about 19% of those between the ages of 18-35 actually voted.  This year is definitely a different sentiment. With racial issues, economic issues, and the pandemic which is also a major issue, Those who normally wouldn't have voted in the past are definitely changing to that notion.  This is the most important election of our lifetime. This election cannot be taken lightly for vast reasons. It's not about Democrat or Republican its about human rights, minority rights, women's rights,  the preservation of healthcare for over 20 million Americans, LGBTQ rights, the rights to religious freedoms, and for the first time on a larger scale never in history has our democracy been challenged until now.

The very fabric of America was built on principals that do not speak to the language of black, brown, and minority groups, hence the constitution. For those who think "We shouldn't vote it doesn't make a difference", The rebuttal should always be, why Is voter suppression so real if your vote or voice didn't matter.

Subject Thread Podcast believes in the importance of your vote. It's not just about the presidential election its about the local, state, and federal levels as well. The politicians that work behind the scenes and sometimes don't get the recognition in which they deserve.

In this bonus episode, we host a special panel with ProfessorMikelina Yonas Belaineh , Clare Bresnahan President of New Leaders Council, and Gov. Board & 2020 of NLC LA guest host Michael Deegan-McCree we unpack voting topics at a vast and relatable way to all walks of life.

Full Episode Lands 10/22/2020

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Life After College Sports

Change sometimes is inevitable and that is something that a former college athlete who decided to make a shift towards medicine, Dr. Chinyere Okpaleke affectionately known as "Dr.ChiChi" knows firsthand.

She is now an MD and an entrepreneur in the State of Florida. , with her tireless efforts to provide maximum medical health to all, is creating ripples in the medical world.

She believes in helping and empathizing with people and hence goes the extra mile to assist and treat her patients.

When talking to Subject Thread Podcast, Dr. Chinyere shared insight about what her life was like when she made the shift from playing basketball in a D1 college for four years to devoting her life entirely to the medical world.  Dr. ChiChi spoke about her Nigerian heritage, and the injury that would change the course of her life.

Dr.  Chinyere also spoke about the real threat of Covid 19 and the importance of taking the disease seriously.

She even talked about her non-profit company, ‘Reality Speaks Inc.’ and how it came about.

When Dr. ChiChi witnessed the challenges and difficulties student-athletes face after graduation especially when it comes to establishing a career or even finding decent career choices, she decided to create a NGO called Reality Speaks.

The true purpose and essence of Reality Speaks is to help student-athletes to gear them up for life after college.  This includes finding them a career path by discovering their interests besides sports along with their strengths and weaknesses.

Dr. ChiChi’s mission with Reality Speaks is to provide student-athletes with a series of programs through her NGO that will make their shift from athletics to discovering more interests and eventually a potential career much simpler and smooth-sailing for them.

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Harlem enriches a deeper conversation that is like no other. The renaissance of the melodies the infinite possibilities. So much history from the Marcus Garvey, James Baldwin, Duke Ellington, Cotton Club, Apollo, or a summer game at Rucker Park that echos Harlem, New York.

Harlem produces entrepreneurs, entertainers, poets, artists, and chefs. Harlem is the ultimate FieldTrip and that’s the experience that Chef JJ intends for you to have.

Chef JJ Johnson a sneaker-wearing sleeve tattoo Harlem persona mastered, He is a James Beard Award-winning chef he is the guy known for infusing elements within the taste of West Africa and Asia exposing it to the USA. He has been featured in the New York Times, Good Morning America, Esquire Magazine just to name a few.

Chef JJ is the guy responsible for food collaborations Such as his vegan ice cream collab with Eclipse Foods similar to a sneaker collab but it’s food and not many chefs have been able to pull that off.

Chef JJ Johnson also is an acclaimed author with his first book published in the spring of 2018 titled “ Between Harlem and Heaven" based on his experience of infusion of Afro-Asian-American cuisine and he has done that in real life with the restaurant Fieldtrip Harlem.

During his exclusive with Subject Thread Podcast Chef JJ spoke about his diverse Ethnic upbringing, his time in college with fellow foodie entrepreneur and owner of Atlanta based Sublime Donuts Kamal Grant, his second location at the U. S. Open, Shaun King appearing on his show Just Eats which comes on Saturday on The Cleo TV Network which is the sister network to TV One, He also spoke about what it means to be an entrepreneur in the food industry, philanthropist work and more.

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In the past years, the persona of cannabis is seen to have taken a massive leap. It has become more widely acceptable all across the globe especially amongst millennials for medicinal purposes in particular. Two-thirds of the American population now favors the legalization of cannabis. 

Medicinal cannabis has proven to be highly beneficial to treat illnesses such as Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Cancer, and Muscle Spasms to name a few. Cannabinoids that are found in medicinal cannabis are what cater chemicals that induce movement, memory, and appetite in the human body.  

Born and raised in Newport News, Virginia, Linda Greene is a bi-racial co-founder and CEO of minority women owned, Anacostia Organics, which is a medical cannabis dispensary. She is truly stirring up the medicinal cannabis world, a jack-of-all-trades and a force to be reckoned with.  

Growing up, Linda faced a fair share of struggles and difficulties. Her immigrant father whose profession was involved with seafaring only visited twice a year and Virginia at the time was rather racist. However, she didn’t let her problems hinder her growth. 

She grew up to be the first person of color to be the Student Mayor of Newport News and remained a prominent figure in her school life along with playing many instruments and joining school clubs and bands. 

Her interest in politics is what compelled her to move to Washington DC in 1972. She served as a political adviser and a fundraising consultant to congress members however it was after she learned that DC had legalized medicinal marijuana that she decided to venture out in this business. She went to many different conventions and conferences to learn about this business. The fact that the industry lacked the presence of minorities and diversity urged her to start Anacostia Organics along with her co-founders Sherri Blount and Yolanda Caraway. 

Whilst talking to Subject Thread Podcast, Linda talked about the medical cannabis industry and how with changing times, medical research, and awareness cannabis for treatment of many illnesses is becoming more acceptable.

Linda gave personal insight to her friendships particularly with her best friend Mary Wilson of the Supremes. 

Linda even gave personal insight with people who want to get into business and shared details about what difficulties she faced when she decided to get into this industry. She told her listeners that the biggest problem people of color face are a lack of access to capital to start-up in the first place. 

During the podcast, Linda also talked about her life in Washington DC and what entrepreneurship in the minority space is like, and the challenges that she faced in order to make her space in the medicinal cannabis industry as a minority woman. 

Linda has now made a big name for herself in the medical cannabis industry. She is Chair of the DC Medical Cannabis Trade Association and the Strategic Advisor of the Cannabis Trade Federation (CTF). 

Linda also hosts podcasts, “Cannabis Conversations Podcast with Linda Mercado Greene” which is the only government-funded cannabis broadcasting in DC. She travels all across the country to speak about the rapidly expanding medicinal cannabis industry in different summits and conventions.

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Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Tim Okamura is a renowned, Canadian contemporary artist who currently resides in Brooklyn. Tim’s expertise is merging women of color in urban settings and highlighting their strengths, culture, resilience, and beauty through his art. 

He, delicately and extraordinarily, blends his realist art in graffiti and portrait techniques along with keeping the tones raw and is never afraid to experiment and stretch to the horizons of art. This inevitably results in some truly phenomenal work each time. 

Tim loves highlighting the unwavering vigor of women of color especially in times of suffering and oppression hence most of his work is based on depicting exactly that. 

While speaking to Subject Thread Podcast, Tim talked about his recent projects, one of which involves a Samurai gang, He also spoke about the history of oppression against Japanese Americans and Canadians during the Pearl Harbor era, He spoke about his love for music, Toni Morrison and He even shared as to why his primary focus is women of color. 

Tim’s unique ability to merge historic elements and street art together has gained him a lot of recognition across the globe. His work has been displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in London, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Douglass Udell Gallery, Edmonton Alberta, Canada, and Lyons Wier Gallery, New York to name a few. 

Tim conducted quite a few notable and highly successful solo exhibitions mostly across Canada and New York. 

Tim’s work has also been featured in quite a few motion pictures and he had the honor of being shortlisted for a portrait of Queen Elizabeth of England a few years back. 

Tim's work is nothing short of amazing.

Stream new episodes weekly on Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, Player FM, Listen Notes, Podchaser, Google Podcast, Soundcloud, Youtube, and www.subjectthreadpodcast.com