50. Freedom Readers: Why Kids Should Learn About Racism

Music has long been central to the fight for freedom—the rhythmic heartbeat of the struggle for justice. From Beyoncé to Shaboozey to L’il Nas X and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, Black artists have sparked a much-needed conversation about the rich legacy of Black artistic achievement in multiple genres of American music. This episode celebrates the Black roots of country, blues and folk music by bringing together a dynamic group of artists and scholars to reclaim this often ignored history. Guests: Jake Blount (Musician and Historian), Amythyst Kiah (Banjo Player and Historian), Amanda Ewing (Luthier), Tim Wise ( Writer and Racial Justice Educator), Denitia Odigie (Musician). Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, produced by the team at the African American Policy Forum Sr. Podcast Producer /Mixer Nicole Edwards Find more on our show and the African American Policy Forum at ⁠aapf.org⁠ Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Beyoncé, DeFord Bailey. Follow the podcast on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠, and ⁠Bluesky⁠ Check out our special series on the attack against CRT and DEI called ⁠United States of Amnesia: The Real Histories of Critical Race Theory Donate to our show

It's the 11th anniversary of the #SayHerName Campaign. To commemorate, we're uplifting a favourite #SayHerName episode from our archive. Please join us on Dec 8 in NYC for a staged reading of #SayHerName - The Lives That Should have been, featuring a star-studded cast of performers, a talkback with the mothers of the #SayHerName Mothers Network, and a post-show party with performances by special guests. Get your tickets here. This episode highlights a new milestone for the #SayHerName campaign: a new book, entitled #SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of Police Violence and Public Silence.  Co-authored by podcast host Kimberlé Crenshaw and the team at the African American Policy Forum, this book helps readers better understand Black women's susceptibility to police brutality and state-sanctioned violence. It explains —through Black feminist storytelling and ritual — how we can effectively mobilize various communities and empower them to advocate for racial justice for Black women, girls, and femmes. In this podcast episode, you'll hear incredible performances from actors at each of our #SayHerName book tour stops in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. You'll also hear from members from the #SayHerName Mothers Network, a sisterhood of women who have lost other women, girls and femmes in their family to police violence. You'll also hear from Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, Dr. Dorothy Roberts, and Kali Holloway, each of whom served as cohosts at book tour stops in their respective cities. They reflected with Dr. Crenshaw on the power of the tour, the calls to action from the book, and the urgency of the lessons the book contains. Centering Black women’s experiences in police and gender violence discourses sends the powerful message that, in fact, all #BlackLivesMatter, and that the police cannot kill without consequence. Supporting AAPF ensures that this important research and testimony continues to inspire change. To purchase your copy, click ⁠here⁠. Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks), with Dorothy Roberts @DorothyERoberts, Kaye Wise Whitehead @kayewhitehead, and Kali Holloway @kalihollowayftw. Produced by Nicole Edwards and the team at the African American Policy Forum. Mixing by Sean Dunnam Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

This episode features Legal Defense Fund President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson with professors Carol Anderson and Nancy MacLean, in conversation with our host Kimberlé Crenshaw. This riveting and timely conversation shows how anti-Blackness can be weaponized to harm democracy for all through voter suppression, money in politics, and the erosion of democratic safeguards. Clips in this episode from Democracy Forward - How Louisiana v. Callais Could Change Voting Rights and Anti-Discrimination Protections Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow us on Instagram, Facecbook, and Bluesky) Learn more about the African American Policy Forum at aapf.org. Donate here.

Host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by authors Jason Stanley and Randi Weingarten to discuss why authoritarians and fascists target education on the path to destabilizing democracy. They unpack how book bans, attacks on teachers, and efforts to erase history from public institutions threaten the democratic project, and what we can do to fight back. Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, produced by Kevin Minofu, Sr. Producer Nicole Edwards, and the team at AAPF Find more on our show and the African American Policy Forum at aapf.org News clips from Tamron Hall and WJHL, CTV News Music by Blue Dot Sessions Follow the podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky Check out our special series on the attack against CRT and DEI called United States of Amnesia: The Real Histories of Critical Race Theory

As we slide into autocracy, disparities impacting Black Americans are being ignored while Black excellence is actively erased from our workplaces, museums, and history books. These attacks are no longer cloaked with dog whistles. They're happening in plain sight, and endangering our health, eliminating our jobs, and gutting our civil rights infrastructure. Despite the scale of this attack, the response remains muted—even within our own communities. What must we do to sound the alarm and ensure that others hear it? Where do we go from here? Featuring: Kimberlé Crenshaw, African American Policy Forum Melanie Campbell, Convener of Black Women's Roundtable Evelynn Hammonds, Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science and Professor of African and African American Studies Lisa Coleman, President of Adler University Kaye Wise Whitehead, President & CEO National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP)