Let Black Women Lead (w/Elizabeth Clay Roy, Jasmin A. Young, Ph.D., Nicole Richards Diop, Ph.D., & Tanya Denise Fields)
Greetings, Scorekeepers! It's another episode of your favorite podcast, THE SCORE! This week, we've got a very special show for you. In honor of our second Juneteenth together, we've brought together a group of Black women leaders and scholars from around the globe for a conversation that is equal parts empowering, hopeful, tactical, and provocative (0:16:10). We asked what organizations and communities like ours can do to support their work and the issues they champion, and their answers reflect the multiple perspectives and diverse experiences of the communities they represent. We invite all of you to join us in this opportunity to think in new ways about engaging this vital part of our community. Plus, a much-needed Pure Black Joy featuring The Circle, Jennifer Hudson, and the Queen Bey herself (1:05:45)! Let's do it to it, y'all!
(And Lee, Rocky, and Iyawo would like to thank our friend, Fei Chen, for picking up the logistical responsibilities at a moment’s notice!)
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Hosts: Lee Bynum, Iyawo Inawale, Rocky Jones
Guests: Elizabeth Clay Roy, Jasmin A. Young, Ph.D., Nicole Richards Diop, Ph.D., Tanya Denise Fields
Producer: Rocky Jones
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About Our Panelists:
Elizabeth Clay Roy - Chief Executive Officer, Generation Citizen
Twitter: @lizclayroy
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Clay Roy
Elizabeth Clay Roy is a lifelong leader of civic engagement and social change initiatives, and the CEO of Generation Citizen (GC), a national nonprofit committed to providing youth with the knowledge and skills they need to actively participate in our democracy. Named a 40 Under 40 Rising Star by New York Nonprofit Media and a Trailblazer by Community Resource Exchange, she has worked toward a more inclusive, participatory and equitable democracy in several roles. These include TakeRoot Justice and South Bronx Rising Together in NYC, the Opportunity Nation campaign and serving Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick as a Policy Advisor and the Director of Grassroots Governance. She began her career working in participatory planning in India and remains engaged in international education as a member of the Board of World Learning.
Jasmin A. Young, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, University of California, Riverside
Jasmin A. Young is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies. Prior to joining the faculty at UCR, she was a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of African American Studies at UCLA. Dr. Young holds a B.A. in Africana Studies from California State University, Northridge, an M.A. in African American Studies from Columbia University and an M.S.c in Gender Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr. Young received her Ph.D. in History from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 2018.
Nicole Richards Diop, Ph.D. - Founder, Rose Pan African Education
Instagram: rosepanafrica_
Nicole Richards Diop lives in Senegal and was born and raised in Upstate New York. As a scholar, her research focuses on queer Black fatherhood- a theoretical contribution to the field of Black Studies. Nicole is the founder and executive director of Rose Pan African Education, a nonprofit that seeks to foster ties to West Africa through education, arts, and eco service. RPA will be running its inaugural Global Black Summer Institute this June and July in Senegal and will be welcoming 11 students for arts and immersive learning. Nicole is mother to three- year-old named Frederick— her little light —and wife to a handsome Leo named Moustapha. In her spare time, she enjoys them, food, and Netflix.
Tanya Denise Fields - Executive Director, Black Feminist Project
Facebook: Tanya, Black Feminist Project
Instagram: Mama Tanya’s Kitchen
Inspired by her experiences as a single working mother living in a marginalized community, Tanya Denise Fields founded the Black Feminist Project (formerly the BLK Projek) in 2009 as a response to sexist institutional policies, structurally reinforced cycles of poverty, and harsh inequities in wealth and access to capital that result in far too many women being unable to rise out of poverty and sustain their families. The group’s work has been covered by the New York Times, MSNBC’s The Melissa Harris Perry Show, The New York Daily News and numerous other print and digital platforms. Tanya’s numerous fellowships and commitment to professional development has connected her with a national cohort of social justice change agents. With a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Baruch College, and a talent for public speaking, blogging and singing, Tanya has become a sought-after public speaker. She provided widely praised keynote speeches at the 2012 Just Food conference, the City University of New York School of Professional Studies 2013 commencement, the Marion Institute’s Connecting Through Change conference and the 2016 Greenthumb Conference: Grow Together, to just name a few. She has served on several plenary panels, lead and facilitate workshops across the country. Previous to the Black Feminist Project, Tanya worked with several high-profile environmental organizations located in the South Bronx - Mothers on the Move, Sustainable South Bronx and the Majora Carter Group.
Tanya built upon the network, skills, resources and knowledge she gained through those experiences to create the Black Feminist Project. She is a reputed and rising public speaker and educator. She has spoken, conducted workshops and participated on panels at Just Food Annual Conference, NOFA NY Winter Conference, Manhattanville College, Kingsboro College, Brooklyn Food Coalition, NEWSAWG and others. In addition to her work as a nonprofit and community leader, she is a thought-leader, cultural influencer and social media personality. With a strong following on Facebook and Twitter, Tanya created and stars in Mama Tanya’s Kitchen, a web-based cooking and lifestyle show.
With a heaping amount of humor and a dash of sass, Tanya teaches viewers how to cook affordable, diverse meals with gourmet flair. Her episodes and Facebook Lives are popular and attract attention in the food world and beyond. She is a sometimes writer previously writing a column on food and food justice for EBONY.com, giving astute commentary on radical Black motherhood and fashions herself a “rachet feminist.” She has also contributed a chapter for the book The Next Eco-Warriors by Emily Hunter and has been cited in many other academic and educational texts.
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