WGRL NYC

Le bon ton roulet in New Orleans! This Spring we had the very special opportunity to visit this world class city of art, culture, food and music. In conjunction with our sister group, the YaYa’s, we had a booth at the legendary Jazz Fest and spent 4 days live painting, experiencing and getting inspired by all this beautiful city had to offer.

WGRL was able to conduct a series of remote interviews with some of the most exciting female musicians in the city, both established and rising stars.

Tank, the dynamic lead singer of Tank and the Bangas and her manager Tavia made their way to us in the middle of a tropical downpour and the hecticness of rehearsing for their new tour. We truly appreciate these great inspiring ladies words of wisdom!

AND check out the live painting we did of the beautiful Tank below!

For low-income communities like the Lower East Side, gun violence is more than a simple tragic event. Guns impact us all- physically, economically and mentally. Guns kill people, but they also kill spirit…and murder communities. The aftermath of gun violence leaves everyone feeling helpless and diminished. At The Lower Eastside Girls Club we are building a strong anti-violence message throughout our organization.

This podcast episode highlights some of the members of our community fighting to make a change. We hope you will be inspired to join the fight against gun violence as well!

Last Fall, a group of mothers and young women from The Lower Eastside Girls Club’s (LESGC) Moms Speak Out campaign – women who have been affected by gun violence – joined with Council Members Laurie Cumbo and Jumaane Williams, and peace advocates from the Middle Project of Middle Collegiate Church, to launch the distribution of 3500 copies of William Electric Black’s (aka Ian James, Emmy Award winning former writer of Sesame Street) illustrated early reader: ‘A Gun Is Not Fun’.

For low-income communities like the Lower East Side, gun violence is more than a simple tragic event. Guns impact us all- physically, economically and mentally. Guns kill people, but they also kill spirit…and murder communities. The aftermath of gun violence leaves everyone feeling helpless and diminished. At The Lower Eastside Girls Club we are building a strong anti-violence message throughout our organization.

LESGC’s Moms Speak Out participants distributed the ‘A Gun Is Not Fun’ early reader books in front of every public school and day-care center with Pre-K through 2nd grade classes in the East Village / Lower East Side community. This community has been particularly plagued by youth gun violence over the past five years –  with LESGC girls’ family members killed, ‘stray’ bullets taking the life of a young child simply playing outside, and mothers wounded waiting at a bus stop to get to work.

“As mothers and community leaders, we are tired of raising our children in a climate of fear!  We believe that it is never too early to create a climate of peace! We’re starting now and we’re starting here- in our own Lower East Side community.” – Lyn Pentecost, Ph.D., Executive Director, LESGC

“It is unacceptable to us that our children are growing up in a culture where violence has become the norm on the streets and in the media.”  – Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Executive Director, The Middle Project

William Electric Black (aka Ian James) says, “I wrote this book because we are losing too many young people of color to gun violence. It is a plague facing our nation and something must be done so I decided to use the Sesame Street target audience and start educating them about this timely, and too often deadly, issue”.

We love our children and refuse to raise them in a violent world. The message of ‘A Gun Is Not Fun’ is self-explanatory. It is designed to be read aloud and shared with friends and siblings.

 

Thanks so much to health and beauty guru, DJ and all around lovely person Hannah Bronfman  for stopping by our studios recently.

We chopped it up with the energetic entrepreneur covering everything from DJing to health to eating bugs! Yes bugs!

We had a blast and hope she can come back to WGRL soon to share her latest adventures!

Last session we had the good fortune to have the legendary Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia drop by the studio! It was great to hear about their adventures in music, radio and film and the groundbreaking work they did in the nineties with a radio show that started from the pure love and passion for music. We also got into the reasons we come to Girls’ Club and some of the struggles teens face. Thanks for the great interview guys! Give it a listen below and check out their continuing adventures as radio hosts now on NPR by visiting stretchandbobbito.com

We have so much love for HOT 97’s Nessa and her whole team! She has been super supportive of our team of young journalists and we really admire her as a celebrity who stands up for what is right and just. Take a listen to our podcast from one of Nessa’s first visits to WGRL and find out a little more about this awesome broadcaster and supporter of female journalists and girls’ rights!

WGRL went to the birds literally when we had a visit last Spring with one of the most inspiring guests we have had the pleasure to host – Zacchaeus the Merlin Falcon! Zacchaeus arrived at the studio with his equally inspiring human, migratory bird specialist Jo Santiago. After a program educating our girls and the community about birds of prey and introducing us to a few more of her feathered friend including an American Bald Eagle, Zaccheaus and Jo came up to the WGRL HQ for an intimate heartfelt chat. Take a listen to hear how a New York City girl followed her dreams and passions and now lives a life beyond her wildest dreams. Inspiring listening for all ages and Zacchaeus even gets a word or two in! Special shout out to the U.S. Forest Service and the Wings Across the Americas program for making this phenomenal visit possible!

We were very lucky to take a break with the “Rockstar of Meditation” Donna D’Cruz who came by our studio and got us in touch with some much needed inner peace! The mediation expert and celebrity DJ took us through a short guided meditation and shared some insights about her path using music and mediation to heal and de-stress. Donna has also taken time out of her busy schedule to conduct mediations for our Girls Club Community and we are so proud to have her was part of the Girls Club family! Take a listen and “Dip Into Bliss” with us!

 

We were tickled to have actress/writer/comedian Michelle Buteau at the WGRL studios recently. Born in New Jersey to Caribbean parents,  Michelle brings a cheeky swagger, unique perspective and big personality to stage and screen. As Michelle herself says “Put on a onesie and get ready to have some funsie” by tuning into this intimate interview with a very funny lady!

Get on the Bus! January 21st we did just that – taking a group of 50 young women, Moms and supporters to the historic Women’s March on Washington D.C.!!!

Take a listen to our WGRL girl-powered podcast coverage below and get an idea of what it was like to join close to a million people coming together in solidarity for peace, justice and human rights.

It was a truly empowering moment and inspired us to commit ourselves to the work of making this world a place where all people especially young women and girls feel valued, welcome and safe!

We had a blast with double platinum musician Angelica Rahe when she swung by our WGRL studios! From playing flamenco in the alleyways of Spain as a young child to showcasing her roots in a Pop-driven, "Spanglish" representation of her "hybrid-child" experience Angelica's music is truly soulful and inspiring! We had a chat with Angelica about her career and inspirations and she even played not one but TWO fabulous numbers for us. Check out the interview about and don't forget to grab her latest release Pa'lante!