Common Narrative

Equity & Education & Executive Orders

Federal funding freeze suddenly rescinded. ICE was granted the authority in or near schools. School boards around the country have taken precautions to reassure students, parents and families but the fear and uncertainty remains. 
Massachusetts Attorney general Andrea Campbell has sent a memo to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education saying schools are prohibited from giving, either verbally or in writing, a student's information to third parties -- including ICE agents -- without specific, informed written consent of a parent or guardian, under state and federal laws and regulations.
It leaves the conversation around equity in education wide open. I sat down with Education Civil Rights Attorney Matthew Cregor to talk about it. 

DEI is under attack

Major companies, including Walmart, Lowe’s, Ford and Toyota, have dialed back their DEI programs, with META one of the most recent brands to pull back their efforts. 
But there are major players doubling down -- Costco said its DEI efforts help the company attract and retain a wide range of employees and improve merchandise and services in stores. Costco also said its members want to interact with a diverse employee base.
Jill Harvey, the first equity officer for the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Beya Jimenez is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Culture at Northeastern University and Dr. Alana Anderson, Corporate DEI consultant and strategist join me to talk about the future of DEI. 

Holiday Business Boom with Black Market Nubian

According to the National Retail Federation, holiday retail sales in the United States reached over $950 billion in 2023, with online sales accounting for nearly 20% of that figure. 
Black Market was established in 2017 as a pop-market with a vision to help close Boston’s $247,500 wealth gap and mission to reignite Roxbury’s creative economy. 
Black-owned businesses can tap into this expanding market by offering unique products and services that cater to niche audiences…and no one does that better than Black Market Nubian. I sit down with founder, Kai Grant. 
 

Boston Writers on The Poetry & Legacy of Nikki Giovanni

One of the world's best-known African-American poets,Nikki Giovanni ‘s work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. 
We’re talking to Tatiana (she/her) is the author of Nocturne in Joy (2023), winner of the Julia Ward Howe Award in Poetry and Amanda She, a two-time Boston Music Award-winning Spoken Word Artist. 

Season Premiere - Election Special on SPARK FM

Election Eve on Common Narrative, where we break down some of the major civic and social issues with the change agents at the center of it all. 
Our weekly series, we go deep with leading subject-matter experts AND the real folx at the center of the stories impacting communities.
It’s our season premiere and election special! Today’s show is gonna be a good one with PHOEBE SEGAL of the MFA talking about the new POWER OF THE PEOPLE EXHIBIT which presents diverse perspectives on democracy through 180 works of art. 
In her book, The New Bostonians,  Marilynn Johnson examines the historical confluence of recent immigration and urban transformation in greater Boston, a region that underwent dramatic decline after World War II.
To understand the stakes here is to understand what the next four years and possibly more will look like. To help break it all down is my dear friend and the best politico I know, Jaquetta Van Zandt, host of  Politics and Prosecco here on SPARK FM. 
Common Narrative streams Monday 1-3pm on SPARKFM online and replays Wednesdays on Apple Podcasts.

Black Mamas Matter

It's an ugly truth in the U.S. -- black women are three times more likely to die due to complications from pregnancy and childbirth. I share my own experience carrying my son with complications with Massachusetts State Rep. Liz Miranda.
 
**note: Rep. Miranda is now Senator-elect 

Mapping Police Violence

Almost 1000 people have died at the hands of police and methods for tracking those numbers are still evolving. 
I sit down with Mapping Police Violence (mappingpoliceviolence.us) founder Samuel Sinyangwe who says data science is the key to saving lives. 

Mass and Cass- The Fight for Home

Boston police say they expect to make dozens of arrests in the summer of 2022 in an effort to address a rise in violent crimes and open drug use in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, also known as Methadone Mile. 
Parents with kids who go to school in the area, and those live and work near Mass and Cass have turned to activism after years of inaction by local and state lawmakers. It's now a central issue of the Boston mayoral race. 
 
Joining us in conversation are three members of the South End Roxbury Partnership

People Not Mascots - Racism and Native American Imagery

 
Controversy continues across the commonwealth over the use of Native American images for school mascots. 
The town of Wakefield voted to keep their mascot after the school committee voted to get rid of it over concerns the warriors logo was offensive to Native Americans. 
I spoke with tribal leaders about that vote and a push at the statehouse to ban the use of Native American mascots in all Massachusetts communities.

Teacher Shortage or Student Shortage?

Teacher shortages are happening across the country and here in Massachusetts. Or are they? 
Educators for Excellence’s ED Lisa Lazare on why teachers in the space say it’s the student shortage that’s the problem and it goes beyond the pandemic.