The Wisdom & The Work

Womanist Values

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Jennifer Bailey and Margaret Ernst, colleagues who are working together to build radically inclusive spaces by disrupting systems that render any human as other and establishing an authentic community. Jen is an ordained minister, public theologian, and national leader in the multi-faith movement for justice. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Faith Matters Network. Margaret is a community organizer and pastor and serves as the Director of Learning and Integration at Faith Matters Network. Their work is grounded in Womanist Values, and in this conversation they lift up the efficacy of these values in seeing people whole, prioritizing well-being, and leaving no one behind.

Race and...

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Carl W Kenney II and Julia Bowden, two activist leaders whose relationship is deeply rooted in their faith-led justice work. Carl is a Pastor and award-winning author, who is known, among other things, for his popular blog Rev-elution. Julia is an elder in full connection with the NC Conference of the United Methodist  Church. She has been a hospital chaplain and a United Methodist Pastor. Carl and Julia find an intimate and complicated connection at the intersections of race, gender, and faith. Their relationship reflects the work that must be done for BIPOC folks to be seen and believed, both within and outside of their racially defined communities, in order to grasp the complex and multidimensionality of our social justice challenges. 

Naming Whiteness

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Shantell Hinton-Hill and Lyndsey Godwin, two of who met at the intersection of their common struggle to make sense of their multiple identities and what they mean for living integral and ethical lives. Shantell is Senior Equity Officer at The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in Little Rock, Arkansas. Lyndsey is an organizer and activist with a focus on queer liberation and reproductive freedom. Shantell and Lyndsey share a sharp analysis that is clear on whiteness as a power system, and given its connection to the multiple forms of systemic oppression, they know the value of clearly naming it as such.

Spaciousness

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Whitney Tucker and Wesley Tharpe to discuss their professional policy work to make space across our country for all to be “as big as they are.” Whitney is the Deputy Director for Research and Wesley is Deputy Director of State Policy Research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The honesty and trust in their relationship acknowledges that while they are partners in racial justice work, they are keenly aware, as a Black woman and white man, that their roles are different. That difference in the roles they play has important implications for how they can best honor what each of them brings to the struggle, and the labor required of them along the way.

Who Really Knows Best?

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Keith Daniel and Tom Droege to discuss their very intentional efforts to build a working relationship of parity, while still managing deeply embedded power dynamics as a result of the white dominant system we all live in. Keith and Tom are partners in Resilient Ventures the goal of which is to close the existing wealth gap by expanding access to capital, networks, and opportunity for African American entrepreneurs. Their partnership points to the essential wisdom of Black and Brown folks to work toward this end.

Are You Listening?

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Sabrina Slade and Kellan Moore to discuss how they communicate, listen to one another and build trust in their working relationship.  Sabrina is CEO of Racial Equity and Advocacy and Kellan is the Executive Director of John Rex Endowment in Raleigh, NC.  Together they are committed to “turning philanthropy on its head.”

Decentering Whiteness & Unleashing Wisdom

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Melissa Forde and LaTonya McKoy to talk about the tools they have been using to decenter whiteness.

A Credible Witness

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Anika Whitfield and Zachary crow to discuss their work battling the injustices of capitalism and white supremacy.

The Liberation is Mutual

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with two friends, Melvin Bray and Sharon Groves talk about the mutuality of their liberation as they work in tandem to build racial equity.

Through The Lens of Faith

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with two faith leaders to discuss how to build racial equity from the margins.