Braids on Stage

When you meet Greg Eskridge, you’ll notice his smile, how easy it is to talk to him, and you’ll lean in when he tells you his story. After being incarcerated for 30 Christmases, he's making this one special. Today, award-winning journalist and storyteller Greg Eskridge reflects on love, family, and what this season means to him.

'Have a seat in my chair..'Today we're at the braiding salon with Ghanaian American playwright Jocelyn Bioh, creator of the Tony Award-winning Broadway play,  Jaja's African Hair Braiding.We chat with her about braiding salon culture, and the different kinds of people she portrays in the play. We explore the African American-African immigrant dynamics that can happen at braiding salons, we talk immigrant life,  audiences that maybe don't get it, and the practice of Black playwrights holding "Black out" nights at the theatre.

As Black country music is having its moment, Hana has always wondered why her Sudanese mom loved Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton. You can hear country music playing in cafes in African capitals. There is a love of American country music among our African elders, many say they grew up with it. While for many, country music is associated with white culture and isn't relatable, for many African elders it holds a very special place in their hearts. Why? We explore the surprising histories and the appeal, and follow the story of legendary Ivorian country music duo Peter One & Jess Sah Bi.This ain't Texas. It's Africa.

Let’s take a moment.It was a tense few months leading up to the election. Today we want to pause, and share an ode to the Black women who continue to show up. Featuring an essay by writer Stacia Brown.

We don't hear alot of personal stories about what it is to be a big man in Black spaces. Today we go there with Ronald Young Jr., award-winning podcaster and creator of the hit show “Weight for It.” We stoop it out as he takes us back in time to when he was roasted at church, and unpacks what it feels like to be on the receiving end of ridicule by those who you feel closest to. 

Ring Ring! Is anyone there? After George Floyd’s death in 2020, companies across the US were called upon to acknowledge the ways they were discriminatory and inequitable towards Black people. In response, they vowed to create space for Black voices, support Black content, and put Black people in positions of power. Black projects were greenlit and Black creators were asked to pitch their ideas. The “Black jobs” were on fire! Until it wasn’t a priority anymore. The phones stopped ringing. Today we talk about the wave that subsided and meet with PR expert Ekaette Kern to hear her story of how she navigated the promises of corporate America that many now see as a grand facade.

What if we told you there's an entire book dedicated to the things Black folk say?  Historically Black Phrases by jarett hill and Tre'vell Anderson introduces and explains sayings like "I AIN'T ONE OF YOUR LIL' FRIENDS"  to  "WHO ALL GON' BE THERE?".  The book is a blend of the many things you grew up hearing and their definitions and usage all in one place. We sit down with the authors to talk about what makes a phrase "Black" and ask, 'are some phrases reserved for only some Black people?'Join us! 

We should all be free to be, free to love, and be celebrated in that process - if not by others, then definitely by ourselves. In this episode, Hana and Leila explore three stories that center queerness and spirituality, Black drag culture, and shifting relationship structures through polyamory. Through it all, the episode guests had to wrestle with disapproval from their communities - and sift through feelings of being outcasts - to eventually accept themselves. Bob the Drag Queen, Darnell Moore, Bishop Yvette Flunder, and The Verts make an appearance.  

It's our 100th episode!We're celebrating by going back to some special episode moments over 10 seasons of the show. Some made us laugh, others made us cry, some moments made us question whether we should really go there, and others made us even question ourselves.It's a look back, behind the scenes, of what makes The Stoop, The Stoop.Thank you for Stoopin' with us for 100 episodes!

Welcome to our Mother's Day special!There are many unexpected ways that people step into parenting. In this special from The Stoop, we hear stories about redefining family on your own terms. We explore the term ‘Auntie’ and how some women find it problematic, we hear about the challenges of IVF for Black women, and we meet a family that shows us how co-parenting can evolve.