This episode features Aneesah Abdel-Qawi, a future chef, and strong young Black woman. She describes her experiences with colorism and discrimination from Black people and other people of color. She also discusses the importance of being a voice in the movement for Black lives and how each of us has a role to play in fighting racism and discrimination. If you enjoy the episode please leave a comment, we definitely read the comments.  And subscribe to Unhidden Voices. Also, visit our website UnhiddenVoices.org to learn more about our work building empathy and disrupting the invisibility of Black girls, students, and families.

Episode 7 Transcript Link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17tnH-0hVibCZM6PMbl06t9eN-P8VWqK_udKAjOqD8Pw/edit?usp=sharing

 I got a chance to speak to and learn from my mentor, big brother cousin, Oakland High School Principal Matin Abdel Qawi. He is a well-respected educator and one of the founding members of the African American male achievement program in Oakland, California. We talked about everything from raising children, valuing family, addressing racism, experiencing police brutality, and what it takes to educate African American students. Matin is a Black man, a leader, a father, and a friend. Listen to this episode I promise you're going to learn a lot. The transcript is here.

Dr. Malika Hollinside and Dr. Carmen Johnston have been best friends since junior high school in the 1980s. We sat down over zoom and enjoyed an inspiring conversation about how we survive the protracted struggle as Black women,  the work of supporting our families, what humanizing education means for our students, and what we need from our allies. Join the conversation. Listen, Learn, and Amplify Episode 5!   Links to Resources Mentioned in Episode Below  Tony Porter,  Aristotle and Dante, Bell Hooks,  Sisters of Nia, My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Amazon.com, What White People Don't Understand About Black Hair. The episode Transcript can be found here. 

This episode is an opportunity for listeners to hear my voice unfiltered. My friend Babalwa Kwanele, MS LMFT, interviews me and asks my thoughts on the murder of George Floyd, the impact of racism and discrimination on Black students, and how people who have learned to be racist can become antiracist. I have launched UnHidden Voices LLC and am creating a curriculum, training, and materials to support the movement to make Black Lives Matter. Please join the conversation and work toward Becoming Antiracist. You can preorder the curriculum or training by visiting aaminahnorris.com and leaving me a message or comment there and/or on this podcast.  Please also read Becoming an Antiracist: Six Steps You Can Take Toward Making Black Lives Matter.  The Transcript for this episode can be found here. 

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Welcome to (Un)Hidden voices an opportunity for you to take the time to listen, to learn, and to experience the stories.  We need to listen to people's experiences so that we can learn from them. The power lies in each and every story. 

D is my 15-year-old nephew from New Jersey. D amazes me. Listen to my conversation with him. He will amaze you too. He describes discrimination he has faced at school including a police officer using excessive force on a close friend of his when they were in the 7th grade. After I spoke with him, I was convinced that UnHidden Voices is an important platform. If nothing else, Listener you will learn from D that the police should not be in our public schools.  Listen, learn, amplify, and comment on this episode. The link to the transcript can be found here.

This episode is a real treat because I sit down with my mother, Brenda Harker a veteran professor and the person responsible for teaching me to value family and education. During my interview with her, she reveals her experience of growing up in segregated Atlantic City, New Jersey. We travel back in time to the 1950s and by the end of our conversation, I finally understand what it means to Make America Work for Us.  Please listen and share your thoughts on this episode in the comment section. Here is a transcript 

Welcome to UnHidden Voices I am your Host Dr. Aaminah Norris. This is more than just a podcast, It’s a movement to Amplify Black Voices.  Every Monday we will hear from Black folks what it means to be Black in America. We will listen to and learn from Black people starting with members of my family how to resist, persist, overcome, and survive. UnHidden Voices Fight the Silence!

On June 12, 2020, Rayshard Brooks was shot in the back in front of Wendy’s in Atlanta, GA the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Martlin Luther King jr was born there and Rayshard Brooks was murdered there by Atlanta police. Setting buildings on fire is a “fight” response to the complex trauma experienced because of state-sanctioned murder. To help us recognize the manifestations of complex trauma that we are seeing in Black communities, I turn to my friend, my sister, Babalwa Kwanele, MS, LMFT. Recently, I sat down with Kwanele. She explains how complex trauma impacts the mind and the body. She also provides us with concrete advice for ways to address the trauma that is terrorizing us every day.