Among Neighbors Podcast

This podcast explores the challenges faced by Small Businesses owned by Women and Minorities.

This podcast explores the history behind the racial divide that exists in America's churches.

In this episode Andy and Barbara talk with Dr. Kimberly Ellis about the history of the Lower Hill District in Pittsburgh including the construction of the Civic Arena. Dr. Ellis talks about what that area can teach us about race, power and privilege in southwestern Pennsylvania.

This week Andy and Barbara discuss the importance of Black History and how Black History should be seen as American History. They are then joined by Samuel W. Black, the Director of the African American Program at Senator John Heinz History Center. He shares his knowledge of the origins of Black History Month and how Americans can use this month as an example of learning about other cultures that are ingrained in the American experience.

In this episode Andy and Barbara discuss how Santa is portrayed in American culture, and how Black Santas are less common. They are then joined by Debbie Norrell, a Lifestyle Writer at The Soul Pitt Quarterly and collector of Black Santas. Later Wali Jamal Abdullah, a Playwright, Actor, and Artistic Director, joins us to discuss is his experience playing Santa as a Black man. Also discussed are childhood Christmases and some thoughts on how to be more inclusive during the holidays.

In this episode Andy and Barbara talk about their experiences making interracial friends in Pittsburgh. We are then joined by Connie George and Marcus Charleston to discuss their friendships with the hosts and how race has affected them. The group chats about how the places where they grew up affected their friendships.

In this episode, Andy and Barbara talk with Mell Steven-Cosnek. They discuss President Trump’s executive order to rule out racial bias training for the federal government and its contractors, the ways pop culture portrays race and gender, and whether students learn accurate American history.

In this episode, Andy and Barbara talk about the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and how support for the Black Lives Matter movement has changed. Then they are joined by Alexis Johnson, a reporter for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. They ask about her experiences covering the George Floyd protests in Pittsburgh. The support she received after sending a tweet poking fun at the mess typically made outside of Kenny Chesney concerts, that prohibited her and others at the Post Gazette from the protest coverage. They also talk about her journalism piece that focused on highlighting black restaurants in Pittsburgh and the struggles for reporters of color around the country.

In this episode of Among Neighbors, Andy Conte and Barbara Johnson talk to Lori Delale-O'Connor and Amber Thompson about COVID-19 and how it has enhanced issues in the educational system. Delale-O'Connor is an assistant professor of Education at the Center for Urban Education. Thompson wrote a first-person story for Publicsource, "Black moms like me will not be patient with Pittsburgh Public Schools. We need to demand more."

In this episode of Among Neighbors, Andy and Barbara have a conversation with Letrell Crittenden Program Director and Assistant Professor of Communication at Thomas Jefferson University. They talk about Pittsburgh's lack of diversity in newsrooms and how that affects the coverage of stories.

In the first episode of Among Neighbors, we meet the hosts of the podcast, Andy Conte and Barbara Johnson. They explain the concept of this podcast and their hopes of having honest conversations about power privilege and race in Pittsburgh.