Gathering Ground

In this episode of “Gathering Ground,” Mary sits down with four women of the SOL Collective, a Chicago storytelling group built to put Black women and women of color at the center of the stage: co-founder Shelley A. Davis, Karin Norington-Reaves, Terri A. Johnson, and Rev. Michelle Hughes. Shelley traces SOL back to a kitchen table and a year of Thai food dinners, dreamed up after a 2019 show finally gave her an audience that could hear her. Terri, Michelle, and Karin each share the story that turned them into tellers, from facing chemo with humor to a memorial that became a celebration to grieving a daughter's death in front of an audience, and what it took to tell those stories off book.Episode Highlights:- Shelley A. Davis on how SOL began around her kitchen table in 2019, and what makes the collective's “high polish” personal essay storytelling different from Chicago's open mic and spoken word scene- Terri A. Johnson on choosing to tell her breast cancer story with humor instead of avoiding it altogether, and the audience members who always come up afterward with their own- Rev. Michelle Hughes on becoming a storyteller after decades as a “manuscript preacher,” and the memorial service that turned into a party- Karin Norington-Reaves on the sisterhood that carried her through her daughter's death, and how storytelling shapes her work leading the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership“Gathering Ground” is now available on Vimeo! Watch full episodes and subscribe for future conversations.If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

In this episode, Mary Morten gathers four leaders shaping the future of documentary film in Chicago.Stacy Robinson, artistic director of Kartemquin Films, marks the studio's 60th anniversary and the hard-won lessons behind 80-plus films, including Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters. Yvonne Welbon, founder and CEO of Sisters in Cinema, talks about turning 30 years of research into the country's only brick-and-mortar space dedicated to Black women filmmakers. And two filmmakers who came up through their fellowship programs, Cam Be and Arlieta Hall, share what's next: Cam's Joffrey Ballet documentary premiering on PBS, and Arlieta's deeply personal film on caregiving through Alzheimer's, Finding Your Laughter.Together they talk candidly about a funding climate where legacy institutions built around race are being targeted, why finding your people matters more than going it alone, and what it takes to keep Chicago's documentary ecosystem alive.EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS- Stacy Robinson on Kartemquin's 60th anniversary, the studio's philosophy of documentary as social inquiry, and how they decide which stories to tell- Yvonne Welbon on building Sisters in Cinema from a grad school research project into a physical home for Black women filmmakers in South Shore- Cam Be on his process, his fellowship with Kartemquin, and his new PBS documentary Joffrey Ballet: The Next Movement- Arlieta Hall on Finding Your Laughter, her film about caregiving through her father's and mother's Alzheimer's, and balancing comedy, storytelling, and heartAll four guests on a funding climate where the Civil Rights Act of 1866 is being weaponized against race-conscious programs, and why community, not isolation, is what keeps filmmakers goingLISTEN & SUBSCRIBEAll episodes: bit.ly/gatheringgroundSubscribe to this channel for new episodesFOLLOW GATHERING GROUNDInstagram: @mortengroupHost Mary F. Morten: @marymorten

In this annual fireside chat, host Mary Morten reconnects with Angelique Power of the Skillman Foundation and Tracie Hall of the HBCU Library Alliance for a conversation about memory, education, and what it takes to carry the baton in a moment when history is under pressure. From the opening of the Obama Presidential Center to the progress happening in Detroit's public schools, they look at who gets to tell our stories and why staying vocal matters.Episode Highlights- Mary on being featured in the Obama Presidential Center museum through her film “Woke Up Black,” and the story of trying to sneak a DVD into the White House- Angelique on stepping into the Obama Presidential Center and feeling like she had "unzipped the current timeline," plus Tracie on why every family's keepsakes are archives worth protecting- Angelique on Detroit's gains in reading, math, and graduation, and Mary on why she insists young people be on every panel, because her film's teens are "exceptional, but not exceptions"- Tracie on her work with 105 HBCU libraries and how censorship fights that began at school boards now reach libraries, museums, and universities, plus all three on passing the baton and caring for themselves along the wayIf you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

In the season finale of “Gathering Ground,” host Mary Morten sits down with Teresa C. Younger, outgoing president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women, for a candid reflection on 13 years of leading a legacy institution through fundamental transformation. Teresa talks about what it took to center women and girls of color at a second-wave feminist foundation, the listening tour that covered 50,000 miles in her first year, and why she believes succession planning is one of the most overlooked acts of leadership. She also shares what comes next: Project Stargazing, an intentional pause to redesign the constellations.Episode Highlights- Teresa Younger on arriving at the Ms. Foundation as its second Black woman CEO and leading a 50,000-mile listening tour that reshaped the foundation's language, priorities, and grantmaking strategy- On centering women and girls of color as a point of inclusion, not exclusion — and the board conversations, donor fears, and courageous clarity it took to make that shift explicit- Trust-based philanthropy before it had a name: how the Ms. Foundation moved to general operating support, de-siloed its grant pillars, and started treating grantees as partners instead of recipients- Succession planning as a leadership responsibility: why Teresa started the conversation with her board in year eight, why transitions cost money, and what she would tell any long-tenured leader about exit strategyIf you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.

SummaryWhat does it mean to do research that refuses to look away and to protect that work when the political climate demands retreat? In this episode of “Gathering Ground,” host Mary Morten sits down with Dr. Amanda Lewis, current director of the Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, and Dr. Beth Richie, the institute's former director, to mark 25 years of community-centered, justice-oriented scholarship. Together, they trace IRRPP's origins in faculty activism, make the case for engaged research as a more rigorous — not less rigorous — approach to knowledge-making, and speak plainly about what it means to keep saying the word "race" when institutions around the country are flinching.If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to Gathering Ground and leave us a review! Follow Morten Group, LLC on Instagram @mortengroup for more updates.