Climate change will displace more than 180 million people around the world by the end of this century. Along the Gulf Coast of the United States, rising seas are already threatening historic Black and indigenous communities. In Louisiana, for example, a piece of land the size of a football disappears into the water every hour-and-a-half. In this episode, Radical Imagination host Angela Glover Blackwell talks with Colette Pichon Battle, executive director at the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy, about what’s being done to address the crisis in some of the most vulnerable communities in America. We also hear from Houma Nation Chief August Creppel, who is racing against time to figure out solutions for his people.

In episode 4 Deidrick shines the spotlight on Lillian Singh, vice-president of Racial Wealth Equity at Prosperity Now.

No major institution in America has wrestled more deeply with the question of reparations for African Americans than Georgetown University. Five years ago, a student discovered that Maryland Jesuits sold 272 slaves in 1838 to save the school from financial ruin. That forgotten history sparked an anguished conversation about Georgetown’s complicity in slavery and the school’s responsibility to the descendants of the 272 enslaved people. In this episode of Radical Imagination, Angela Glover Blackwell speaks with one of the descendants, Melisande Short-Colomb, who is now a a student at Georgetown. We also hear from Howard University history professor Ana Lucia Araujo about what it will take for our nation to finally reckon with and atone for slavery and its legacy.

A live panel discussion with director, Mignotae Kebede, and director of photography, Mansa Johnson, of the documentary "What Happened 2 Chocolate City". This documentary explores the rise and decline of DC which is our nation's most prominent black community through the narrative of three individuals: John Russell, Mike Perry, and Zarina Witherspoon.

About 1 in 3 Americans is currently a freelancer or a small business owner. By 2020, the number of freelancers are estimated to grow to 40%!It's becoming easier than ever to start your own business and work for yourself. But the idea of giving up a steady paycheck, retirement benefits, and health insurance can be daunting.The good news is that most successful freelancers and entrepreneurs don't just up and quit one day. They take their time to build a foundation for their business and personal finances before they leave their day jobs, and you can too.In Part 1, we talk about how to:•Start diversifying your income and exploring your skills with side hustle ideas•Categorize your skills and talents and identify potential income streams and customers/clientsEpisode Highlights:Dyalekt: Poor people in America are the most charitable people in America...Poor people give about 4.3% to charity or some sort of charitable function, and for everybody it’s 2.2% average.Pam: Not everyone wants to, or should want to, go freelance, or should want to do this on their own. Maybe you just need to quit your job and get another job.Pam: Are you someone who needs structure? Are you someone who needs to be told what to do in a sense? Yes, jobs will give you autonomy, but are you someone who needs feedback from someone else to know whether you’re making progress? Because, as a freelancer, you’re not ever gonna get that...Do you need external motivation go get your work done? And that doesn’t mean that you can’t get that work done. It just means needing those deadlines, and needing someone like a boss to tell you what to do next and how to prioritize stuff, there’s a lot of people who need that. Pam: It [freelancing] doesn’t have to be that serious. You could give this whole freelancing thing a try. Try your own thing, and know that the worse case scenario is that you just get a job if it doesn’t work out.Pam: Ask yourself, one, what have you already done to make money? ...Write down everything you’ve done to make money, from babysitting to newspapers...The next question is what do you like to do that has not been paid? And this gives you a lens into what your interests are that you enjoy, outside of your day job. ...And then the last question we want you to ask yourself is: What are some things you wanna learn how to do, regardless of how much money you’ll make?Pam: Who are you selling to? And who is gonna be drawn to your product or service?

In episode 3 of Spotlight Dedrick speaks with Angela Glover Blackwell, nationally renowned organizer, activist, author, and thought leader, about the history of the equity movement, where we are today, and how we need that equity understanding to help address issues like the racial wealth divide. Dedrick: Today we have as our guest Angela Glover Blackwell. Angela founded Policy Link in 1999, which has become the country's leading equity organization. Prior to founding Policy Link, Angela served as Senior Vice President at the Rockefeller Foundation where she oversaw the foundations domestic and cultural programs. She is also known for pioneering new approaches to neighborhood revitalization as founder of the Oakland, California Urban Strategies Council and from 1977 to 1987, she was a partner of public advocates, a nationally known public interest law firm. So, Angela, thank you so much for joining us today.Angela: But just the fact that people are drawn to the language warms my heart because I think that it suggests that we are moving in a direction that is going to make it more urgent to really achieve the outcomes for everyone especially focusing on the people who have been left behind. And, as we thought about it, we thought what we really need to do is put down a marker, what are we trying to do? We felt that what we were trying to do was create a society in which people could reach their full potential. And that while equal opportunity and equality were important concepts and we didn't need to give up on those, just creating equal inputs would not produce reaching your full potential. Take education as the classic example of that. If you talk about equality and education what people kind of go to is, let's make sure that children go to school the same amount of time, have teachers who are equally well prepared, have challenging curriculum. But when you think about what children bring into the classroom, some having been in a preschool program for two years already, some with parents that can provide everything that they might need in terms of outside the school room: violin lessons or theater, whatever that might be, schools that are very well equipped with everything. Just making sure that you have the same curriculum does not really guarantee that children will reach their full potential. Some need more. Some need intensive early childhood development programs; some need wrap around services from communities.Angela: That is not just a conversation that is taking place within communities of color. It is becoming, and I predict, it is going to become even more the national conversation. The majority of babies born in this country since 2012 had been of color. By 2030 the majority of the young workforce will be of color. By 2044 the majority of all people in this country will be of color. The fate of the nation is now dependent on the very people who have been left behind and I predict that that conversation, once it is fully unleashed is going to really drive everything that happens going forward. The people who are now in power in the White House and many of the people who support them are nostalgic for a time that never was. America was not great when people were living under Jim Crow. America was not great when people were working in the fields, and children not even able to go to school. America was not great when people were being lynched in America. We know that people are nostalgic for a time that never was, but the sad thing is that they are ignoring a future that is inevitable and right. Because what’s needed in the future we will have because of the shifting demographics.