reClaimed

In Part 15 of Redlining & White Noise, Dr. Jean Kantamu Latting joins us to talk about personal and social change. "If we imitate the worst of the oppressor," she says, "we create a backlash and will not make progress." She speaks with us about the difference between the middle ground and centered space, makes a distinction between agreement and acceptance, and offers her wisdom about how we grant permission for people to change. Dr. Jean Kantamu Latting is President of Leading Consciously, an organization dedicated to building community among those who wish to make a difference in their work and personal and community lives based on the concepts and skills developed in her book, Reframing Change. Professor Emerita at the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston, she has spent her adult life teaching on empowerment, social justice theories, and organizational behavior and change. In addition, she has done extensive research on personal, organizational, and social change in the context of social hierarchies and multiple group identities. For more about Dr. Latting and to have her consult with your organization, please visit her website, LeadingConsciously.com. Her book, Reframing Change: How to Deal with Workplace Dynamics, Influence Others, and Bring People Together to Initiate Positive Change, is available here. For more information, see show notes for this episode at reclaimedpodcast.com.

In Part 14 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Dain and Constance Perry. Dain is a direct descendant of James DeWolf who was the patriarch of America's leading slave trading enterprise and at the time of his death, the second wealthiest person in America. In this moving episode of Redlining & White Noise, we talk with the Perrys about family history, get their lived wisdom about Complicity, Culpability, and Responsibility, and hear their thoughts on what's necessary to heal the ongoing wound of America's original sin. Resources mentioned in this episode: Traces of the Trade film http://www.tracesofthetrade.org Recommended Reading Waking Up White by Debbie Irving Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Story of Enduring Injury and Healing by Joy DeGruy Inheriting the Trade by Thomas DeWolf For more on this episode, visit reclaimedpodcast.com.

In Part 13 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Sammy Rangel, Executive Director of Life After Hate. In this moving conversation, Sammy shares his story of gang violence, incarceration, and how he became immersed in violent extremism. He talks about his transformation from a life of hate to a life of compassion and the organization he co-founded to help others do the same. For more on this episode, visit reclaimedpodcast.com.

In Part 12 of Redlining & White Noise, our friend Jonathan Russell joins us for a conversation about whiteness and land domination. Using his recent article, the 'white lie' connecting President Trump's pardon of arsonists, current immigration policy, and Charlottesville as a launch point, this episode focuses on the historical and contemporary linkage between racial identity and property ownership. Jonathan Russell is the Vice President of Programs at Bay Area Rescue Mission in Richmond, California. He is also a Contributing Fellow at the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture and is an Adjunct Instructor of Philosophy and Religion at Chaffey College. We discuss the ideas of two additional writers in this episode: George Lipsitz-   https://architecturesofspatialjustice.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/w05_lipsitz_race.pdf   https://www.amazon.com/Racism-Takes-Place-George-Lipsitz/dp/1439902569   Willie James Jennings-   https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Imagination-Theology-Origins-Race/dp/0300171366/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1538720518&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=the+christian+imagination+theology+and+the+origins+of+race&dpPl=1&dpID=51h5UW5zf8L&ref=plSrch

Redlining & White Noise Part 11 | Implicit Bias with Edward Palmer In part 11 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Pastor Edward Palmer about Implicit Bias. In this passionate and informed conversation, Pastor Palmer combines personal experience and professional training to inform us about what implicit bias is, how it shapes other-izing decisions and behavior, and what we can do to recognize and mitigate its influence. Pastor Edward Palmer is Senior Pastor of The Sign of The Dove Ministries, International, in Radcliff, Kentucky. He is the National Vice Chair for the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and serves on the Kentucky Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. Pastor Palmer is an expert trainer on implicit bias which he leads around the country.  More information on Pastor Palmer is available here: http://www.sodradcliff.org/content.cfm?id=149&member_id=18

In part 10 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor speak with Will Willimon about his book Who Lynched Willie Earle?, based on the true story of pastor Hawley Lynn's March of 1947 sermon of the same title. Will walks us through the story of the last recorded lynching in Greenville, South Carolina, the complicity of the mainline Protestant church, and how the church can facilitate racial healing. In his distinguished career, Bishop William Willimon served as Bishop in the United Methodist Church and as dean of Duke Chapel. He is currently professor of Christian ministry at Duke Divinity School. He is the author of many books, including most recently Who Lynched Willie Earle: Preaching to Confront Racism. More information about William Willimon is available here: https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/william-willimon  

In part 9 of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor are on location at Project Row Houses in Houston to talk with Eureka Gilkey about Closing the Racial Wealth Gap. Eureka Gilkey is the Executive Director of Project Row Houses, an innovative organization in the Third Ward, which combines art, community development, and historic cultural representation to offer creative solutions for building economic vibrancy for this redlined neighborhood. For more information on Project Row Houses, visit projectrowhouses.org

In this episode of Redlining & White Noise, we get to the topic of Redlining. Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor meet with Preston Allen, Director for Community Development at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, located in the Third Ward of Houston. We talk about what redlining is and--beginning in the early part of the 20th Century--how the U.S. government, through redlining policy, intentionally and systematically segregated African American neighborhoods to limit wealth-building opportunities. We also discuss the current ramifications of the federal government's complicity in this institutional practice of racialized otherization and stripping of wealth. Rev. Preston Allen is Director for Non-Profits and Community Development at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston's Third Ward. He is a leader in criminal justice reform efforts. For further reading: Resource articles about the history and practice of redlining: A Forgotten History of How the U.S. Government Segregated America Redlining's Enduring Legacy We reference Ta-Nehisi Coates' book, We Were Eight Years in Power, particularly chapter six, "The Case for Reparations." You can find his book here.

In the 7th episode of Redlining & White Noise, Charles Rotramel and Gregg Taylor are joined by the award-winning author, Linda Gordon. A renowned historian, Linda is the Florence Kelley Professor of History at New York University. She is the author of The Second Coming of the KKK: The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s and the American Political Tradition. In this enlightening episode, we learn about the KKK of the 1920s, the most significant social movement in America at the time. Linda walks us through a part of American history that is not commonly known and exposes its connection to our current times.

In Part 6 of Redlining & White Noise: Field Trip to Morton Cemetery, Charles and Gregg take a trip back in time to the beginning of Texas -- and into Charles' personal history. Located along the banks of the Brazos River in Ft. Bend County and established in 1825, Morton Cemetery in Richmond is the final resting place for many first settlers of the colony. For more, visit reclaimedpodcast.com/shownotes