Intersections Radio

Dr. Igwebuike holds a Ph.D. from Ohio State University and law degree from Indiana University School of Law. He is a professor at the Alcorn State University School of Business where he serves as associate professor of legal environment of business. He is an attorney specializing in business law. He is a thought leader in the area of effective listening skills. He helps groups, organizations, and individuals tap the positive power of powerful listening. His work on listening has been featured in magazines such as Toastmasters International, Inspire Magazine, Career Connections, and Purpose Magazine.

Christine E. Sleeter, PhD., is Professor Emerita in the College of Professional Studies at California State University Monterey Bay, where she was a founding faculty member.  She is currently Immediate Past President of the National Association for Multicultural Education, and previously served as Vice President of Division K (Teaching and Teacher Education) of the American Educational Research Association. Her research focuses on anti-racist multicultural education and teacher education, and currently she is developing a critical family history. With a team of researchers in Victoria University, New Zealand, she recently completed an evaluation study of a Maori professional development program for secondary schools. Dr. Sleeter has published over 100 articles in journals and edited books, such as Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Disability Studies Quarterly, Teaching and Teacher Education, andCurriculum Inquiry. Her recent books include Power, Teaching and Teacher Education(Peter Lang, 2013), Professional Development for Culturally Responsive and Relationship-based Pedagogy (Peter Lang, 2013), and Creating Solidarity across Diverse Communities (with Encarnación Soriano, Teachers College Press, 2012). Her work has been translated into Spanish, Korean, French, and Portuguese.  Awards for her work include the American Educational Research Association Social Justice in Education Award, the Chapman University Paulo Freire Education Project Social Justice Award, the American Educational Research Association Division K Legacy Award, the California State University Monterey Bay President's Medal, the National Association for Multicultural Education Research Award, and the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group on Multicultural and Multiethnic Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jacqueline Battalora is an attorney and professor who works as an anti-racist writer and educator. At Saint Xavier University in Chicago, she teaches courses in law and society having completed graduate work at Northwestern University where her research was shaped by an interest in the social forces that make deep human connections across “race” lines so difficult to sustain. Her graduate training includes: theology, social ethics, sociology, and law. Battalora’s approach to white awareness training is enhanced by employment experience that includes educator, corporate attorney, and Chicago police officer. Her writings explore the enforcement of divisions between people specifically, the making of human difference in law. She is the author of Birth of a White Nation and numerous articles including: “Whiteness: an American ideology,” “Difference by law: the one man one woman marriage requirement and antimiscegenation law,” among others.   Battalora speaks widely on the topic of the invention of white people in law and has been conducting white awareness training sessions since the mid 1990s. She has trained teachers as well as lawyers, judges, activists, corporate and law enforcement officials on the legal historical record of the creation and imposition of “white” people in U.S. history and its implications for work conducted today.

Cyd is the co-founder of Outsports.com, Cyd is considered one of the world's preeminent experts on sexuality and sports. He has appeared on ESPN, ABC, Bravo and Logo; he has been a special guest on Fox Sports Radio, ESPN Radio and Sporting News Radio; and his comments have appeared in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and the Chicago Tribune, among many others. Cyd's writing has appeared in the New York Press, Out Magazine, the New York Blade, Bay Windows, and countless Web sites. He contributes regularly to The Huffington Post. Cyd was previously the sports editor for Genre Magazine and a manager of original programming development at Disney Channel, where he developed TV movies and music programming for the basic cable network. Charles Modiano is a writer, lecturer, and trainer dedicated to promoting equity in sports media coverage. Through workshops and as co-founder and editor of POPspot.com, he examines how an influential sports media actively perpetuates systems of power and privilege through biased and prejudicial reporting practices. Charles is the President of Career Skills for Youth, an organization dedicated to advancing the career readiness and employment opportunities for young people. As an accomplished staff trainer and organizational coach, Charles has developed, managed, and supported numerous training initiatives, both nationally and internationally. His interests in sports media reflect his personal passion for sports, and its profound influence on positive youth development. His first book on bias in sports media is due out in 2012.

This interview will centered around Paul's keynote at WPC 14 in Seattle WA on Thursday, April 11, 2013: "Consumerism as Racial Injustice: The MACRO-Aggressions that Make Me, and Maybe You, a Hypocrite" When Paul started to take stock of his own behaviors and how they might contribute, even if indirectly, to racial injustice, the only conclusion he could come to was this: he is a hypocrite, especially when it comes to consumerist behaviors. In this presentation Paul will talk about consumerism as a series of MACRO-aggressions that feed racial and economic injustice in which nearly all of us, in one way or another, are complicit. Gorski is the founder of EdChange. He also is an Associate Professor of Integrative Studies at George Mason University, where he recently co-designed a new undergraduate program and minor in Social Justice and Human Rights. He is passionate about the intersectionality of all forms of exploitation and liberation, and particularly enjoys working with schools, colleges, and universities that are committed to becoming more equitable and just. He lives in Virginia with his cats, Unity and Buster.

Lawrence Matsuda was born in the Minidoka, Idaho War Concentration Center during World War II.  Matsuda has a Ph.D. in education from the University of Washington and was:  a secondary teacher, university counselor, state level administrator, school principal, assistant superintendent, educational consultant, and visiting professor at Seattle University. In 2005 he and two SU colleagues co-edited the book Community and difference: teaching, pluralism and social justice, Peter Lang Publishing, New York.  It won the 2006 National Association of Multicultural Education Phillip Chinn Book Award.  In July of 2010 his book of poetry entitled, A Cold Wind from Idaho was published by Black Lawrence Press in New York.  His poems appear in Ambush Review, Raven Chronicles, New Orleans Review, Floating Bridge Review, Black Lawrence Press website, Poets Against the War website, Malpais Review, Plumepoetry, Seattle Journal for Social Justice and Cerise Press.   His volunteer experiences include:  President University of Washington Alumni Association Board of Trustees, Co-founder Multi-cultural Alumni Partnership, Washington State Liquor Board Wine Tasting Committee member, Chair of the Seattle University Japanese American Remembrance Garden, and trustee for Cornish College of the Arts. To learn more about Dr. Matsuda and his work: http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/matsuda.htm

Amer Ahmed is scholar, intercultural diversity consultant and college administrator. He is also an acclaimed spoken word poet and Hip Hop activist. His engaging multi-media presentations, which include "Islam: Beyond the Myths, Breaking Down the Barriers," are truly transformative, addressing a range of critical questions that are especially important in the current climate of prejudice and bigotry toward Muslim people in the United States:   What are the tenants of the faith and who are its followers?     What implications does a lack of knowledge of Islam and Muslims in the United States have on our campuses, in our workplaces and communities? How do advocates for diversity, social justice and inclusion challenge the dominant narratives about Muslims framed by popular media? Born in Springfield, Ohio, to Indian Muslim immigrants, Amer has dedicated his life to engaging and facilitating diversity across human difference. During Graduate School at Indiana University, Amer became integrally involved in the Hip Hop Congress, the largest grassroots Hip Hop organization in the United States (www.hiphopcongress.com).   Amer served as Director of Intercultural Programs at Loras College in Dubuque, IA, and later at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN.  His education, global experience and prominent role in the Hip Hop Congress assisted him in addressing pressing issues of diversity on these campuses. He served as an Associate Instructor and PR Officer for the Muslim Student Union (during 9/11) and helped open up important discussion and dialogue regarding Islam in a post-9/11 context, both in the world and in the U.S. Amer strives to be an inspiration to young people who see purpose in the pursuing of their ideals. He stresses the need to identify one's own talents and abilities to reach positions in which we can enact what he calls "Realistic Idealism."

Terrance Nelson is Vice-Chairman of the American Indian Movement, Spokesman for the Okiikida Warrior Society, former Chief of Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, elected five terms in a row.

Emcee and community activist Jasiri X is the creative force and artist behind the ground breaking internet news series, This Week with Jasiri X, which has garnered critical acclaim, thousands of subscribers, and millions of internet views. From the controversial viral video What if the Tea Party was Black?, to the hard hitting truth of A Song for Trayvon, Jasiri X cleverly uses Hip-Hop to provide social commentary on a variety of issues. His videos have been featured on websites as diverse as Allhiphop.com and The Huffington Post and Jasiri has been a guest on BET Rap City, The Michael Baisden Show, Free Speech TV, Left of Black, and Russia Today.   Jasiri X first burst on the National and International Hip-Hop scene with the powerful hit song Free The Jena 6 which was played on more than 100 radio stations and was named Hip-hop Political Song of the Year. His debut album, American History X, was named Album of the Year at the Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Awards. A six time Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Award winner, Jasiri recently became the first Hip-Hop artist to received the coveted August Wilson Center for African American Culture Fellowship. A founding member of the anti-violence group One Hood, Jasiri started the New Media Academy to teach young African-American boys how to analyze and create media for themselves.   Jasiri has performed from New York City to Berlin, Germany and various cities in between, including recently in front of 30,000 at the Our Communities Our Jobs Rally in Los Angeles. He has toured colleges and universities across the country presenting his innovative workshop, How to Succeed in Hip-Hop Without Selling Your Soul, and is working on a book of the same name. He also blogs for Jack and Jill Politics, Daveyd.com, and The Black Youth Project. Jasiri X signed a record deal with Wandering Worx Entertainment and is currently working on his album, Ascension with acclaimed producer Rel!g!on.

Stephanie Puentes, Principal of Puentes Consulting, specializes in training, consulting, and teambuilding in the areas of diversity and cultural competence. She brings her deep commitment to social justice to her work as a presenter, trainer, and facilitator. Stephanie's work in the area of racial justice uses a combination of experiential techniques and lecture to increase the understanding of both the normativeness of whiteness in the United States, and the experiences of people of color in adapting to that world. This is also the basis for her work on climate justice where she acts as a bridge between the social justice and sustainability communities to help strengthen equity's place in the triple bottom line along with the environment and the economy.  Stephanie has been an Institute and workshop presenter at the White Privilege Conference since 2008. She is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy and President of the Board of Community Action Partnership Sonoma County. Dr. Heather Hackman is founder of Hackman Consulting Group. She has published in the area of social justice education theory and practice, sexism and gender liberation in the widely used Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, racism in health care (with Stephen Nelson), and is currently working on two books, one addressing anti-racism professional development training for P-12 professionals and another examining racism through the lens of cellular wisdom. Dr. Hackman is nationally known for teaching and training and the recipient of numerous awards including: Research Fellowship with the Great Place to Work Institute and Professor of the Year Award four times while at St Cloud State. She has served on the boards of Minnesota NAME (as president) and Rainbow Families, participated in numerous committees committed to multicultural and social justice work, and is currently an Advisory Board member for the White Privilege Conference.

JLOVE CALDERóN  is a white woman who is an author, activist, producer, and social entrepreneur working on issues of social justice, race, and gender. She has authored five books, including her life story in That White Girl, (optioned for film), and just released Occupying Privilege; Conversations on Love, Race & Liberation.  JLove is committed to Truth, Love, and Freedom, and spends her time raising her family and working with courageous people on bold projects that inspire dialogue and action toward peace and liberation for all people and the planet. More info about JLOVE: www.jlovecalderon.com.

Dr. Kerry Frank is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of St Thomas and teaches courses in learning and cognition, counseling diverse populations, social psychology, ethics, and personality.  Dr. Frank is a consultant and writer in areas of diversity, the self (self-concept/self-esteem), identity development, and cooperative learning and has presented both nationally and internationally in these areas.

Gary R. Howard has 35 years of experience working with issues of civil rights, social justice, equity, education, and diversity, including 30 years as the Founder of the REACH Center for Multicultural Education. He is a keynote speaker, writer, and workshop leader who travels extensively throughout the United States and Australia. His most recent book, We Can't Teach What We Don't Know, Second Edition (2006), was published by Columbia University and is considered a groundbreaking work examining issues of privilege, power, and the role of White leaders and educators in a multicultural society. His current work is centered on leading Equity Leadership Institutes, which provide organizations with the internal capacity to implement long-term systemic change strategies for achieving greater equity and social justice in their practices.

Matthew W. Hughey, PhD is currently Assistant Professor of Sociology at Mississippi State University.  In the fall of 2013 he becomes Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia (2009) where he served as a research fellow with the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies. His research examines the relationship between inter-subjective meanings and asymmetrical social relations, with a focus on racial identity formation, racialized organizations, and mass mediated racial representations. His scholarly articles have appeared in top academic journals such as Social Psychology Quarterly, Social Problems, Symbolic Interaction, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Critical Sociology, The Sociological Quarterly, Du Bois Review, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and Ethnicities.  He is the author of White Bound: White Nationalists, White Antiracists, and the Shared Meanings of Race (Stanford University Press) and is co-editor of The Obamas and a (Post) Racial America? (Oxford University Press, 2011), Black Greek-Letter Organizations, 2.0: New Directions in the Study of African American Fraternities and Sororities (University Press of Mississippi, 2011) and 12 Angry Men: True Stories of Being a Black Man in America Today (The New Press, 2010).  He is currently at work on two new books: The Wrongs of the Right: Race and the Republican Party in the Age of Obama (New York University Press, 2014, with Gregory S. Parks) and The White Savior Film: Content, Critics, and Consumption (Temple University Press, 2014). An active member of his professional discipline, he sits on the editorial board of Social Problems, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, and Ethnic and Racial Studies, and he is a Founding Associate Editor of the American Sociological Association's first journal dedicated to the study of race: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity.

Dena R. Samuels, PhD is a sociologist specializing in race, gender, sexuality and social justice curriculum development.  She is an Assistant Professor in Women's and Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, and received the university's Outstanding Instructor Award. She has also been recognized for Advancing Campus Diversity. She is co-editor of the anthology, The Matrix Reader: Examining the Dynamics of Oppression and Privilege (McGraw-Hill, 2009), and author of Teaching Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Dena is currently writing a book on faculty preparedness to build cultural inclusiveness (Teachers College Press, forthcoming). She is a Senior Consultant of Diversity Services for UCCS' Matrix Center for the Advancement of Social Equity and Inclusion. Dena Samuels Consulting provides seminars and consultation to schools, campuses, and organizations nationally and internationally on the processes of integrating diversity and building inclusiveness.

Paul is a social justice activist and educator, founder of EdChange, and assoc. prof. of Integrative Studies [social justice concentration] at George Mason University in Washington, D.C. Recent work includes: Cultivating Social Justice Teachers: How Teacher Educators Have Helped Students Overcome Cognitive Bottlenecks and Learn Critical Social Justice Paul will deliver a keynote address at WPC 14 in Seattle, WA in April 2013. For more information about Paul and his work: http://paulgorski.efoliomn.com/WebSites

Glenn Eric Singleton is founder and president of Pacific Educational Group, Inc. In 1992, he created PEG to more closely support families in their transitions within and between K-12 and higher education. His company later grew into a vehicle for addressing systemic issues of educational inequity by providing guidance to schools and districts on meeting the needs of underserved students of color. In 1995, Singleton developed Beyond Diversity, a widely recognized seminar aimed at helping educators identify and examine the powerful intersection of race and schooling. Today, participants around the world use Singleton's Courageous Conversation Agreements, Conditions and Compass, introduced to them in Beyond Diversity, as they strive to usher in culturally proficient curriculum, instruction, and assesment.

Abby Ferber is the Director of the Matrix Center for the Advancement of Social Equity and Inclusion at the University of Colorado at COlorado Springs.

Fran Davidson is first of all an activist with a particular focus on the lives of young children and their families. On their behalf and the issues that impact healthy growth and development, she teaches, coaches and mentors teachers of young children, we well as writes and presents at early childhood conferences. Fran is active in organizations that promote confronting social injustice and honoring diversity as this pertains to both children and adults: The Praxis Institute for Early Childhood Education, The Seattle Culturally Relevant/Anti-Bias Leadership Education Group (Seattle CR/AB), and The Work of European Americans as Cultural Teachers (We-Act).

Ali Michael is a filmmaker and educator with a PhD in Teacher Education from the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in Anthropology and Education from Teachers College.  During her doctoral work, she studied the common questions, dilemmas and successes of White teachers who were learning to address racial inequity in their classrooms and schools.  As an adjunct instructor at Penn, she teaches a course that she designed, entitled "Whiteness: Counseling and Educational Perspectives." Her current research focuses on supporting teachers to mitigate the unintentional, pervasive effects of institutional and individual racism in their classrooms.  She also studies how white families racially socialize their children. Ali has made two films, both of which portray students discussing their experiences of race.  She is also the author of "My Scar, My Road," the biography of South African feminist activist Gertrude Nonzwakazi Sgwentu, which demonstrates the long term effects of racism and White supremacy on one woman growing up under Apartheid. Ali is also a Friends Council on Education presenter and a guest blogger for the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in Education.