In this episode, host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by Cheryl Harris, Robin D.G. Kelley, and Janai Nelson. They explain what has been happening with the College Board’s proposed AP African American Studies course, share a close reading of what the revisions are and what they mean, and discuss what we can all do about it. Kimberlé also shares exciting news about the launch of the Freedom to Learn Network, including information on the national day of action happening on May 3rd, 2023.

With: 
Cheryl Harris, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Chair in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at UCLA School of Law

Robin D.G. Kelly, the Gary B. Nash Professor of American History at UCLA

Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF)

Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw (@sandylocks) 
Produced by Nicole Edwards, with support from Kristin Penner, Kevin Minofu, Marjorie Bostwick, and Heather Malveaux. Mixing by Sean Dunnam.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions 

Follow us at @intersectionalitymatters, @IMKC_podcast

Resources

Go to www.freedomtolearn.net for more information on the campaign, including resources like social media toolkits, and to access Freedom to Learn TV.

Register here for the Freedom to Learn Rallies and NYC Reception:
https://bit.ly/F2LNYCRally
https://bit.ly/F2LDCRally
https://bit.ly/F2LNYCReception

Find out what people are doing in your area on the Freedom to Learn National Day of Action on May 3rd: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mlNoKD0xvfy372T6tNcm1qDWMdb3GBrTn9hhhAp05pU/edit?usp=sharing 

Sign the Open Letter on Fighting “Anti-Woke” Censorship of Intersectionality and Black Feminism: bit.ly/NoErasure

52. Democracy at Stake - Fighting for the Freedom to Learn

Professor Monica McLemore, PhD, MPH, and RN, is a preeminent scholar of anti-racist birth equity research. In this half-hour conversation with Chana Wilson, she talks about the many factors that lead Black women to be 3 to 4 times more likely than white women to have life-threatening pregnancy-related conditions. She describes her vision, rooted in Reproductive Justice, of what political, medical, and social changes are needed for reproductive health in America.

Reproductive Justice in post-Roe America

Women and Climate Activism. Producer Chana Wilson speaks with Zainab Salbi, a long-time International Women's Rights activist. A year ago, she co-founded  “Daughters for Earth.” Daughters for Earth provides resources to women around the world doing nature conservation, restoration, and regenerative agriculture projects that are contributing to solving the climate crisis. In the past year, Daughters for Earth has funded 50 women-powered projects to protect and restore the earth. These projects span the globe, with projects in India, Africa, the Arctic, South America, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Daughters for Earth: https://daughtersforearth.org/  Zainab Salbi: http://zainabsalbi.com/

Zainab Salbi, Daughters For Earth, and climate activism

Stories bring us close to lived experiences. Amidst all the coverage of the politics of abortion, we rarely hear personal stories directly. You'll hear three women talking about their experiences. Co-produced by Kendall Crakow and Chana Wilson.

Abortion Stories

I wrote this script for Katrina Schwartz (KQED Bay Curious) based on a 15 minute interview that she’d done with Stephanie Scott. 

After I received the raw tape, I visited the shop to meet Steph and take photos _of the photos_ of people Katrina and Steph had talked about, as well as photos I found interesting. 

Then I wrote the script, and recorded and edited a full audio draft with myself doing Katrina’s voice over and the host’s lede and outro in order to give an idea of voicing and length.

You can find my script and photos, as well as the raw interview mp3 and transcript, in this Google folder: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1_kz2yPLftKV8tKHsyerehWMw5R55qujO

Who's Fishing in San Francisco? (KQED Bay Curious sample)

While reporting on bishop pines and wildfires in Tomales Bay, I was given a handful of bishop pine cones. These cones are held shut with pitch so that the seeds won't spread until a wildfire clears the way. Nonetheless, there are some who say that on a very hot day, when the fog is gone and the sun presses down heavy and creepy, you can still hear the bishop pine cones cracking open....

This is a recording of the bishop pine cones unfurling in the heat of a not-so-wild-fire. The petals scritching open is most noticeable around :30, followed shortly by me dumping out the newly freed seeds (the seeds look like black lentils attached to a helicopter wing, ready to twirl away in the lovingly blown kiss of a raging inferno).

For best experience, listen with headphones.

Bishop pine cones popping open in a wildfire

I created this short aural explainer as a scene in a larger longform piece on padel: the fastest growing international sport that most of us in the US have never heard of. 

While reporting the history of padel, and the 2032 Olympic-sport ambitions of the piece's primary character, everyone I spoke with explained padel in terms of "it's in the middle between tennis and pickleball." I decided to make a fun and informative explainer that _showed_ us the differences in game speed and court size by how it sounds to actually be a player.

Radio Lab-style aural comparison of tennis and pickleball

In Kasaan Alaska, two generations of an Alaskan Native family are reviving their Haida Nation's cultural practices. Members of the Hamar family are carving oceangoing canoes, totem poles, and masks, weaving ceremonial regalia, practicing traditional harvesting of foods, curating a family museum of artifacts, and taking part in language revitalization.

People Of The Water: A Haida Family Revitalizing Their Culture

Work sample

MIC: Zoom H4e stereo XY mics
LOCATION: Giant, untreated indoor space (museum)
SOURCE: ~20-person orchestra, four indigenous performers on either side, two speakers in front of stage
CAPTURE: Center of audience

Work sample: Giant Redwood Drum

Work sample: field interview

MIC: Rode VideoMic Pro+ (supercardioid condenser)
LOCATION: Large, untreated office
SOURCE: Interview
CAPTURE: ~3 feet, mounted on tripod between us

Reproductive Justice in post-Roe America

Chana Wilson

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