Audio Nuggets is the Mining For Gold cypher, where we are expressive, independent, and a bit impatient as we struggle for even a taste of justice. It is a place where paradox is visible. Where often two things can be and are true at once. The edges of society exist as protection for some, simultaneously evoking expression. Audio Nuggets is where you will find a symbiotic force, both the heaviness of minimal air to breathe, and the light of freedom and liberation. The longing for connection and community ceases because WE ARE the community. Where human consciousness is bold and alive. We rely on the impact of the crowd to maintain the flow and the energy. Together, Audio Nuggets creates a matrix of sharing, of welcoming, of rawness. Of unity, of flavor. And most importantly, of gold mining. If you are community member and would like to have your liberated voice heard, please make a connection at: Libvoice@miningforgoldcommunity.com
How Is That Legal?: Breaking Down Systemic Racism One Law at a Time
Kee Tobar and expert guests break down examples of systemic racism in the law and policy. By the end of each episode, you’ll understand the forces behind everyday injustices that make us ask, “How in the world is that legal?” How Is That Legal is a podcast from Community Legal Services of Philadelphia and Rowhome Productions.
I Am
Audio Nuggets warmly welcomes our dear brother and friend, Matthew Stewart, for Episode 13: “I Am”.
Matthew is liberated and shares that his becomING is family justice. This conversation unpacks the relationship between Black bodies and anti-Black ideology in child welfare and how that has impacted him directly.
Matthew embodies love, humanity, liberation, and justice by ascribing power to families.
He imagines and dreams of a culture within child welfare that doesn’t punish families; but instead, loves and practices heart work. We need each other. We can’t do this alone.
The Law Can’t Be at the Center
Erika K. Wilson is fighting back against racialized violence in civil courts! In Part Two of our conversation, she shares how she’s putting critical race theory into practice at UNC’s Critical Race Lawyering Clinic, why representing Black and Brown people is not the same as working through a race equity lens, and what happens when her clients push back against anti-blackness. Altogether, Professor Wilson demonstrates that the law cannot be at the center of dismantling white supremacy.
If you haven’t already, listen to Part One of Kee’s conversation with Professor Wilson on the legal foundations of white supremacy.
Guest:
Erika K. Wilson (@Erika_K_Wilson) is a Professor of Law, the Wade Edwards Distinguished Scholar and Thomas Willis Lambeth Distinguished Chair in Public Policy at the UNC School of Law. She directs the Critical Race Lawyering Clinic.
We Have The Receipts
Professor Erika K. Wilson lays out the legal foundations of white supremacy, breaking down how the law has distributed power and resources in favor of white people over everyone else. Plus, she brings the receipts to prove it! If you’ve ever wondered how systemic racism has persisted after the courts struck down Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.
This episode is part I of the conversation with Professor Wilson. In part II, you’ll learn how civil courts produce racialized violence and how Professor Wilson’s Critical Race Lawyering Clinic applies critical race theory to legal aid.
Guest:
Erika K. Wilson (@Erika_K_Wilson) is a Professor of Law, the Wade Edwards Distinguished Scholar and Thomas Willis Lambeth Distinguished Chair in Public Policy at the UNC School of Law. She also directs the Critical Race Lawyering Clinic at UNC.
Underdog Dreaming Liberation
Audio Nuggets is honored to welcome Derrick Stephens for Episode 12: Underdog Dreaming Liberation.
Derrick brings his uniqueness and dreaming to the cypher. This conversation unpacks the shoulders to stand on and obligations of Black bodies of this generation to “get into a lot of good trouble,” acknowledging that planting seeds for tomorrow requires liberation. Derrick reveals that from a young age, he was always dreaming of freedom and liberation.
To Derrick, liberation is freedom for his family to live life in a way that is enjoyable. Free to dream. Free to question. Free to be our authentic self. By not creating unnecessary adversarial relationships, Derrick is on the healing journey by showing up, sacrifice, giving love, loving oneself, and making hard boundaries.
Fighting for Her Name
Welcome to Pennsylvania’s ChildLine Registry… where parents can be labeled as child abusers for life with no right to a hearing.
In 2004, Angela West and six coworkers were placed on the ChildLine Registry after a child at their job developed unexplained bruising. Ms. West fought to clear her name for 18 years before finally winning her appeal, but she could not get living wage jobs in her field or volunteer at her grandchildren’s schools during that time. Angela West and CLS Attorney Tracie Johnson discuss the racialized harm of Pennsylvania’s ChildLine Registry and imagine better ways to protect children from abuse and neglect.
Trigger Warning: This conversation pertains to the topic of child abuse, and may not be appropriate for young people.
Guests:
Tracie Johnson is the lead Staff Attorney for the Youth Justice Project at Community Legal Services where she connects young people ages 16-24 to free legal help with criminal records, public benefits, housing, debt, and their families.
Angela West works in direct support for men and women with mental health challenges. As an advocate, Ms. West is the lead petitioner in CLS’s ChildLine Registry lawsuit A.W. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Past is Prologue
Sofia Ali-Khan breaks down the forced migration of Black and Brown people in every corner of this country. Her new book, A Good Country: My Life in Twelve Towns and the Devastating Battle for a White America, recounts government efforts to preserve a white center in each of the places she’s lived, worked, and worshiped. Sofia also discusses her time as a legal aid attorney at Community Legal Services and why she believes that learning our true history is the very first step in achieving the change we seek.
Guest:
Sofia Ali-Khan (Sofia_alikhan) is a social justice lawyer turned writer. She has worked for Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, Prairie State Legal Services in Illinois, and the American Bar Association. Sofia’s writing at the intersection of politics, race, history, and Muslim America has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Time, the Chicago Tribune, Tricycle Magazine, and on several other platforms.
This Is How We Can Build Power
Pennsylvania State Senator Nikil Saval breaks down why racism is the bedrock of America’s housing system and how anti-Black attitudes led the federal government to neglect affordable housing for decades. Senator Saval illustrates how movements can build power through coalition-building and “making an ask,” and he explains how initiatives like a Homes Guarantee, Whole-Home Repairs, and eviction record sealing would help address racial inequity in housing.
Guests:
Nikil Saval (@SenatorSaval) represents Pennsylvania’s first district in the State Senate. Prior to elected office, Senator Saval was an organizer with UNITE HERE and the Bernie Sanders campaign, as well as a journalist for the New York Times, The New Yorker, and n+1.
Truth-Telling Is Justice-Doing
Welcome to the Mining For Gold cypher for this explosive, special Black History Month 2023 edition of Audio Nuggets. 23 commemorates the 47th year that February is designated as Black History Month. In honor, we gather in this sacred space for Episode 10: Truth-Telling Is Justice Doing. And we are here to be guided by the truth. The cypher is graced with the ONE and ONLY Joyce McMillan, of JMACForFamilies.
Joyce embodies justice, humanity and belonging in her life’s mission for abolition of the family policing system, educating the listeners that abolition is the removal of the parts of the system that are harmful, destructive, and creating outcomes that are horrific for Black families. Joyce’s body of work in relationship with her community and with parents recognizes power by ascribing power to those most impacted by government intrusion and surveillance.
Organizing For Black Family Justice
In our final episode for 2022, Audio Nuggets is overjoyed that Angela Olivia Burton joins the cypher as the anchor, in Episode 8, “Organizing For Black Family Justice”. Her personal liberation journey and using her power, influence, and liberated voice, is the core of her work, as she leverages these experiences to elevate the voices of Black parents, who are fighting to protect their families from unwarranted government intrusion and destruction of their families.
In this conversation, we turn our attention to CAPTA. Angela educates the audience that “CPS lives here- so we must begin here.” Dissecting the history of the law written in 1974, which was written for reporting, investigating, prosecuting, and the treatment of alleged child abuse and neglect; this law criminalizes parents. So much so, that the government feels they must intrude. Angela unpacks for the audience her experience in the organizing movement of bringing the condition of Black families in the U.S. to the international stage in Geneva Switzerland at the United Nations, and the mission of repealing racist policies such as CAPTA and ASFA.
Part 2: Family Policing and the Journey to Reproductive Justice
Audio Nuggets is proud to announce that Professor Dorothy Roberts has joined us back in the cypher for Part 2: Family Policing and the Journey to Reproductive Justice. In this conversation, MFG and Professor Roberts dive into the post-Roe era, and how the historical legacy of Black women and families have been the centrality of her work for the past 25 years. Killing the Black Body, her authored chapter, Race, in The 1619 Project, and her newest book Torn Apart illustrate for us that criminalizing pregnancy in Black women, the carceral system, and family policing are all interconnected, anti-Black ideologies. It is inherent in this ideology that Black women transfer depravity to their wombs, and with this ideology also comes the vilification of Black mothers in the family policing system.
Professor Roberts leaves us with even more nuggets to noodle on, and we are incredibly grateful to uplift her work, and stand committed to continue to join her in the movement for justice and liberation for Black families.
The Cost Is Too High
None of us can afford climate change, but the costs are even higher for Black and Brown people and communities, especially for those who can’t afford heating or cooling.
As the planet gets hotter, we must address climate change while also making sure that people can afford to keep their homes comfortable. It’s not too late, but if we don’t act soon, we will pay one way or another. Bishop Dwayne Royster and Kintéshia Scott explain why environment vs. energy affordability is a false narrative, how systems of injustice are interconnected, and what we must do to make sure no one gets left behind in the transition to renewable energy.
Guests:
Bishop Dwayne Royster (@ddroyster) is the Executive Director of POWER, an interfaith coalition of activists, organizers and community advocates in Pennsylvania in their commitment to racial and economic justice on a livable planet. As a pastor, political activist, and radio show host, Bishop Royster’s work is fueled by deep faith and passionate commitment to bringing about social justice.
Kintéshia Scott (@KinteshiaScott) is a Staff Attorney in the Energy Unit at Community Legal Services. Kintéshia advocates for low-income Philadelphians to have access to affordable water, heat, and electricity in their homes through direct legal representation and policy advocacy.
Debt After Death
Welcome to America…. where low-income families risk losing their homes if a loved one lives in a nursing home or needs help with personal care at home.
That’s right. If a Medicaid recipient receives long-term care, the state can recover costs from their estate after they pass away. Stephanie Altman from the Shriver Center on Poverty Law joins us to discuss Medicaid estate recovery. She breaks down who actually receives Medicaid, why estate recovery is a misleading name for taking the very few assets Medicaid patients leave behind, and the racist stereotypes that led to its creation in the nineties.
Guest:
Stephanie Altman (@StephanieAltma2) is the Director of Healthcare Justice and Senior Director of Policy at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law. She directs the Shriver Center’s work to uncover systemic inequities and create new pathways for opportunity through legislation and systemic changes. She also directs the organization’s healthcare advocacy, representing clients in individual and class actions related to healthcare equity and advocating for accessible healthcare through administrative and legislative forums.
Locked Out of Wealth
For many Black and Brown homeowners, their dream of homeownership disintegrates into a uniquely American nightmare designed to extract wealth and lock them out of economic mobility.
Attorney Rachel Gallegos and Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson join us to discuss racial disparities in homeownership, the bureaucratic saga that unfolds when homeowners pass away, and changes needed to preserve Black and Brown intergenerational wealth. Councilmember Gilmore Richardson also shares her own family’s struggle to untangle their titles and save their family homes.
Guests:
Rachel Gallegos (@RKG80) is a Senior Staff Attorney in the Homeownership and Consumer Rights Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. Prior to joining CLS, Ms. Gallegos was a law clerk to the Honorable John T. McNeill, III, in the Camden County Superior Court and the Honorable Annette M. Rizzo (Ret.) in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
Katherine Gilmore Richardson (@CouncilwomanKGR) is serving her first term as Councilmember At-Large for the City of Philadelphia. She is the youngest woman ever elected citywide and the youngest African American woman ever elected to the Philadelphia City Council. Councilmember Gilmore Richardson successfully championed legislation to require funeral homes to provide a guide to heirs so they understand their rights and how to keep their family home.
Part 1: The Analysis of Anti-Black Ideology
Audio Nuggets is honored and filled with gratitude to be joined by the legendary racial and family justice scholar and activist Dorothy Roberts for Episode 5: Part 1: The Analysis of Anti-Black Ideology.
Dorothy utilizes her critical analysis of Roe, reproductive justice, and family policing to demonstrate how interconnected systems and racist policies have had a devastating and violent impact on Black families. In this explosive and electrifying episode, Dorothy offers her expertise in activism, organizing, and truth-telling as gifts and nuggets to the audience. “Abolition already exists for white families.” Therefore, abolition is the only way to transform the family policing system so that Black families have the opportunity to glimpse a life without a punitive system’s obsessive attachment to terrorizing their families. Dorothy and MFG are creating a culture to be bold, explicit, and courageous in the name of justice, liberation, and abolition.
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