Ground Mouth (3)

At a time when Black women, femmes, and girls are suffering more intersectional oppression than ever, are being pushed to the margins, and have little to no body autonomy, the May 22, 2023 edition of Inside Out LGBTQ+ Radio show #Standing4BlackGirls is critical and another reason why it is imperative that our listening audience support WPFW --home of Jazz and Justice -- where programming like Inside Out LGBTQ+ Radio is on the air every Monday night at 6pm EST.

Host Aishah Shahidah Simmons was joined by guest-host Sheila Alexander-Reid, who for many WPFW listeners in the DC Metro area needs no introduction. Sheila is the founder of Women in the Life Association and the former director of the Mayor’s Office for LGBTQ Affairs from 2015-2021. In 2008, Sheila founded Inside Out Radio on WPFW to create an on the air voice for the LGBTQ community. Fifteen years later and we’re still on the air. Inside Out is Washington, DC's only show of its kind on the FM dial and one of only a handful on the radio in the country. 

Our three distinguished guests included: Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, Brianna Parnell and Zorrie Petrus.

Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson is a writer, educator, director and guitarist. Her books, plays and films include Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical, White Nights, Black Paradise and the 2021 novel and 2022 play Rock ‘n’ Roll Heretic: The Life and Times of Rory Tharpe. Rock 'n' Roll Heretic is a 2023 Lambda Literary Drama finalist. She is a co-facilitator of the L.A.-based Black LGBTQI+ Parent and Caregiver group. Dr. Hutchinson is the founder of the Women’s Leadership Project Black feminist mentoring and civic engagement program for girls of color in South L.A. and Black Skeptics Los Angeles. 

Student activist Brianna Parnell is an artist, budding guitarist, #Standing4BlackGirls coordinator and Women’s Leadership Project (WLP) alumni from Gardena High School, Class of 2019. Brianna aspires to attend Pratt Institute in New York, and pursue a graduate degree. After college, she aspires to be an owner of multiple Black-owned businesses that will put wealth back into her community.

Student-Activist Zorrie Petrus. Zorrie is a 21 year-old photographer, filmmaker and musician (guitar, drums, keyboards and viola), who was born and raised in Los Angeles. She started out as a violist, dancer and overall lover of the arts, then photography and filmmaking came along soon after. She currently attends El Camino College, and has been a member of the Women’s Leadership Project since 10th grade. Sikivu and Zorrie perform as the @DistantEngines band in South L.A.

By amplifying the lives of Black women, femme, and girl victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence, abduction, and homicide, the #Standing4BlackGirls coalition created by the Women's Leadership Project in South Los Angeles, answers the essay question by legendary jazz singer, actor and activist Abbey Lincoln (also known as Aminata Moseka), "Who Will Revere the Black Woman?"

Learn more about the Women's Leadership Project: https://womensleadershipla.org/

#Standing4BlackGirls on Inside Out LGBTQ+ Radio

Noted filmmaker/activist Aishah Shaheedah Simmons weighs in on the issue of #consent in matters of #sexual #violence & the difference in the #burden of #proof for celebs like #Cosby and their #female #accusers. #safespaces #allegations #money #power

The MOJO 11.19.14 - Aishah Shaheedah Simmons

We continue our frank conversation with Aishah Simmons on the #Bill #Cosby rape #allegations, the persistence of #rape #culture, and how society must #change the #narrative on #sexual #violence.

The MOJO 12.16.14 - Aishah Simmons

Filmmaker, educator and sexual violence survivor Aishah Shahidah Simmons provides an update on her latest project, #LoveWithAccountability, the ongoing demands of healing work, and thoughts on the pending Cosby trial's larger societal implications.

MOJO 5.30.17 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Aishah Shahidah Simmons joins Wake Up With WURD, guest host Dr. Aaron Smith, to discuss the recent Bill Cosby verdict and she is also the Producer, Writer, and Director of "NO! The Rape Documentary."

Wake Up With WURD 4.30.17 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Scholar/activist Aishah Shahidah Simmons helps dissect the complex issues involved in seeking accountability for sexual violations of Black women and girls, and how philanthropy and fame affects public opinion.

The Source 5.11.18 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Aishah Shahidah Simmons ​is the Producer, Writer, and Director of “NO! The Rape Documentary.” She rejoins Wake Up With WURD to discuss her newest article, “New Whitney Houston documentary reveals she survived child sexual abuse. But the silence around it harmed her.”

Wake Up With WURD 5.24.18 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

WURD Radio’s President & CEO, Sara Lomax-Reese interviews Tuere Sala, a seasoned meditation teacher and leader in the insight meditation movement. Sala will be in Philadelphia this weekend (Feb. 1st & Feb. 2nd) leading a retreat specifically for People of Color. She will explore how we can cultivate emotional states that will heal rather than harm. For more information, go to https://www.dvinsight.org/events.

Sara Lomax-Reese Interviews Tuere Sala

Aishah Shahidah Simmons (she/her) is a survivor-healer and an award-winning Black feminist lesbian filmmaker and writer who, for 30 years, has examined the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and sexual violence. Her cultural productions, the 2006-released ground breaking film NO! The Rape Documentary, and the 2020 Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology, Love WITH Accountability: Digging Up the Roots of Child Sexual Abuse (AK Press, 2019), center on breaking silences, healing, and non-carceral accountability for harm. Aishah is also a trauma-informed Mindfulness Meditation teacher who has been studying and practicing Theravada Buddhism for 20 years. Her current book-in-process, Love, Justice, and Dharma, is both the capstone of the trilogy of works that began with NO! and the bridge to her new direction of work primarily focused on offering resources and teachings on how mindfulness is a tool for supporting balance and cultivating compassion amid the often turbulent vicissitudes in life. She is on social media  @afrolez. Learn more at https://linktr.ee/afrolez

#Standing4BlackGirls on Inside Out LGBTQ+ Radio

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Related tracks