Ayana Explains It All

The big man on campus is a group of good trouble making students who shall not be moved. The kids are alright.

Sources:

1. "Freedom is a Constant Struggle" by Angela Y. Davis.
2. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/free-speech/2024/04/15/punishments-rise-student-protests-escalate
3. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/diversity/2024/03/08/report-most-jewish-muslim-students-fearful-amid-conflict
4. https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/limits-free-speech
5. https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/04/18/columbia-students-arrests-palestine-israel-encampment-nypd/

Ramadan is the month Muslims burn away our sins and I've been known to keep some of that fire for the unwashed and "rent payment is late" opinions on the animal farm that is social media. It's the Holy Month, not the "Holier than Thou month," see you at sundown.

Or, how conservative Whites are are having a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" and want us all to suffer because of it. But when it comes to the US, they don't know her.

Black Excellence is a sign on a t-shirt and I'm buying two of them but not before I school you on why excellence is a double-edged sword in the Black community.

Until dating apps come with a coupon for a free therapy session, you'll settle for this podcast episode that'll help you find the greatest love of your life--YOU!

Works used in the making of this episode: just one!

"The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brené Brown.

We all know Dr. King had a dream, but he had fears, fears that in the years since his death have been realized and embody the ugly parts of ourselves, infecting our communities and all facets of our society; injustices that he and thousands of others labored hard during the US Civil Rights Era to eradicate. These ghosts of the past haunt our present and make me question if we understand Dr. King at all. Get on the train, people, we're going to fight the good fight!

Works used in the making of this episode:

1. Freedom Is A Constant Struggle. By Angela Y. Davis.
2. Stamped from The Beginning. By Ibram X. Kendi.
3. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/11/martin-luther-king-jr-mlk-israel-palestine-1967-video/
4. https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/50-voices-for-50-years/posts/reclaiming-king2
5. https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/01/16/ibram-kendi-race-relations-martin-luther-king

Just left Pound Town, turns out it's a place where you get beat with a sock full of coins by your unfulfilled hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow. *Sigh*

And it's their Diamond Anniversary! What do you give the couple that's been together for 75 years? Taxpayer-funded genocide, apparently.

A Bonus Episode! The one where I read Congress and the US down to the ashy white paint on The Lincoln's Memorial's knuckles.

You'll have to do it yourselves, misters. Take responsibility, take stock, take a chance, take a drive to your dad's house and slap him in the face for not raising you right.

Works used in the making of this episode:

1. https://loneconservative.com/2023/08/05/the-barbie-movies-lesson-on-masculinity/
2. https://www.happiness.com/magazine/health-body/male-loneliness-time-bomb-killing-men/
3. https://www.thecollector.com/idealized-man-male-beauty-standards-through-history/
4. https://medium.com/illumination/jordan-peterson-king-of-incels-quite-the-opposite-371a6bc965eb
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2919794/#:~:text=The%20term%20folie%20%C3%A0%20deux,share%20the%20same%20delusional%20ideas.
6. https://www.orri-uk.com/archetypes-and-toxic-masculinity/
7. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-avoid-apophenia-bias
8. https://medium.com/illumination/toxic-masculinity-d14ffafb5d30
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id%C3%A9e_fixe_(psychology)

We are all gravitationally blessed, unfortunately, the floor wants to know why it can't catch a break from us walking to the kitchen for snacks.

*I'm not a doctor, I'm a lawyer, that's not close enough to substitute anything in this episode for genuine medical advice. Consult a doctor for any and all things health-related.

Is that time again! That time of year when children are out of school, beaches are full and Black Women have to defend our choices.

Works used in the making of this episode:

1. "Beyoncé and the End of Respectability Politics." By Myles E. Johnson. The New York Times. April 16, 2018. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/opinion/beyonce-coachella-blackness.html.
2. "Respectability Politics Won't Save Black Americans." By Zach Stafford. The Guardian. October 12, 2015. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/12/respectability-politics-wont-save-black-americans.
3. "Keke Palmer Is The Internet's Sweetheart, but the Multi-Hyphenate is More Than Just the Queen of Meme." By Danya Issawi. The Cut. July 10, 2023. Available at: https://www.thecut.com/2023/07/cut-cover-keke-palmer-internet-meme-discourse.html.

This one is heavy, like the weight of all the Black Women society subjugates.

On this very special episode of Ayana Explains It All, we hear from my favorite former high school freshman, my daughter. She regales us with stories of life in the 9th grade spot, feeling sometimes confident, and other times freshie. The transformative years of high school are not wasted on this one.

Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-sum of the time you should skip traveling to places where your race is an indignity to the state. I'm talking about Florida, a usual suspect in the denial of basic human rights, but the entire United States is guilty of denying that there's a "race problem" in the country of Washington and Lincoln, and then with a stubborn attitude, refusing to ameliorate the societal ills created by our "race problem." If there's one thing we're gonna do, it's get in our own way.

The sources used in this episode:

1. "NAACP Issues Travel Advisory for Florida." May 20, 2023. Available at: https://naacp.org/articles/naacp-issues-travel-advisory-florida.
2. Wikipedia entries on Sundown Towns, The Green Book, Rosewood Massacre, and Ocoee Massacre.
3. "Driving Scared: Is your town a Sundown Town?" By Sheila Lettsome, The Center for Community Solutions. July 25, 2022. Available at: https://www.communitysolutions.com/driving-scared-is-your-town-a-sundown-town/.
4. Historical Database of Sundown Towns by James W. Loewen available at https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundown-towns/using-the-sundown-towns-database/state-map/.
5. "Southern Pinellas 'Sundown Towns.'" By James Schnur, The Gabber. March 23, 2023. Available at: https://thegabber.com/southern-pinellas-sundown-towns/.
6. Soul of Athens. "Sundown Towns: East Jackson." Nate Smallwood, story producer. Available at: https://2016.soulofathens.com/sundowntowns.html.
7. "They Look White but Say They're Black: A Tiny Town in Ohio Wrestles with Race." By Khushbuh Shah, The Guardian.com. July 25, 2019. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/25/race-east-jackson-ohio-appalachia-white-black.
8. "Were There Sundown Towns in Central Ohio?" By Michael De Bonis, WOSU, NPR News. April 3, 2023. Available at: https://news.wosu.org/2023-04-03/were-there-sundown-towns-in-central-ohio.
9. "Sundown Towns: A Look at South Florida's Legacy of Segregation." By Phil Prazan, NBCMiami.com. February 18, 2021. Available at: https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/sundown-towns-a-look-at-south-floridas-legacy-of-segregation/2386799/.
10. "Racial Tensions in America's Sundown Towns." By Tim Sullivan and Noreen Nasir, Associated Press. October 14, 2020. Available at: https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/state/2020/10/14/racial-tensions-americas-sundown-towns/3656681001/.
11. "Sundown Town." By Adam Poulisse, et. al., WFTV.com. Available at: https://www.wftv.com/ocoee/sundown-town/.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers sang "everybody's had to fight to be free, you see. You don't have to live like a refugee," that is, unless, you landed at the Southern US border and you had to use an smartphone/computer app to apply for asylum, and unless you schedule an appointment provided you found some free WiFi, then you don't even get to be a refugee.

Sources used in this episode:

1. "US unveils rule that rights groups say stifles access to asylum." Al Jazeera. May 10, 2023. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/10/us-unveils-rule-rights-groups-say-stifles-right-to-seek-asylum.
2. "Asylum Seekers Told to Use a Mobile App to Enter US as Title 42 Expires. Here's How the CBP App Works." Gerardo Pons, NBCMiami.com. May 10, 2023. Available at: https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/national-international/asylum-seekers-told-to-use-a-mobile-app-to-enter-us-as-title-42-expires-heres-how-the-cbp-app-works/3032118/#:~:text=What%20is%20CBP%20One%20App,available%20in%20English%20and%20Spanish.
3. "Migrant Crossing Surges Aren’t New. Why Is the Border Overwhelmed?" Eileen Sullivan, The New York Times. May 10, 2023. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/us/politics/title-42-border-history-immigration.html.
4. "Hoover on Immigration." Spencer Howard. August 14, 2016. Available at: https://hoover.blogs.archives.gov/2016/08/04/hoover-on-immigration/.
5. "Covid-Era Border Policy Expires." Miriam Jordan, Eileen Sullivan, Michael D. Shear and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, The New York Times. May 11, 2023. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/05/11/us/title-42-immigration.

It's that time of year, the kids are back from college and looking at the world through an adult lens, but their cerebral prefrontal cortex is still forming so maybe they're kids after all. Join me as I query my own son about being a college freshman, the challenges and rewards, and what it means to be a student athlete going from the "big man on campus" in high school, to a "little fish in a big pond" in college.

Ramadan Mubarak! Sit back, stand up, run, walk to this re-examined, re-explained, reuploaded episode from Season 1 all about Ramadan. It is the holiest month of the Islamic calendar, and when the new moon drops on the 9th month, every bodily desire and distraction decreases but the spiritual duties increase. Don't mind the audio, this episode pre-dated my fine tuned era.

Gather round for this here read of US public education, from the States to the governors to the Speaker of the House. The governmental bodies are gutting public education with no condom and leaving narrow views for children to peer out of--I'm looking at you Sarah Huckabee DeSantis. 

Works Cited:

1. "Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the dividing line in America is between normal and crazy. Full text of Republican response to Biden’s State of the Union."  Marketwatch.com.  02/08/2023.  Available at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sarah-huckabee-sanders-gives-republican-response-to-biden-full-text-11675829909.
2. "Kevin McCarthy’s Troubling Focus On Our Public Schools."  Raymond Pierce, Forbes Magazine.  01/23/2023.  Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/raymondpierce/2023/01/31/kevin-mccarthys-troubling-focus-on-our-public-schools/?sh=4f5923755b53. 
3. "DeSantis’ attack on AP, SAT and College Board creates an uncertain future for FL high schoolers. Civil rights activists, religious leaders, students, parents to rally Wednesday over AP African American studies course."  Danielle Brown, Florida Phoenix.  02/14/2023.  Available at: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/02/14/desantis-attack-on-ap-sat-and-college-board-creates-an-uncertain-future-for-fl-high-schoolers/.  
4. "George M. Johnson: America Banned My Book, But I Refuse to Stay Silent."  George M. Johnson, Refinery29.com. 02/01/2023. Available at: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2023/02/11253589/george-m-johnson-all-boys-arent-blue-banned.

It's time we clear the air about the racial bias in crime reporting and the media's hyper focus on police violence in the Black American Community.

Shed a thug tear for ya girl, things just got real...bad.

Kids are not tiny adults, they're cute little tax deductions with so much to learn.

This episode is for quitters and quitters only and I expect that to be everyone.  Who among us hasn't had more stops and starts than an old Buick?

Freedom of speech is a fine concept, in a democratic republic, it is guaranteed.  However, some speech is loud and wrong and dangerous. and the consequences of allowing it to flourish, history shows, are not favorable.  

Warning: This episode describes first-hand accounts of views from inside WWII-era concentration camps.

Works used in this podcast:

1. Atlanta Daily World "WWII Veteran Remembers The Horror of the Holocaust."  April 22, 2013.  Available at: https://atlantadailyworld.com/2013/04/22/wwii-veteran-remembers-the-horror-of-the-holocaust-william-alexander-scott-iii-1923-1992/
2. "An American Soldier's Two Fronts: 12 Years that Shook the World Podcast." Hosted by Erin Harper. Released September 15, 2022. Available at: https://www.ushmm.org/learn/podcasts-and-audio/12-years-that-shook-the-world/an-american-soldiers-two-fronts
3. "He Documented Atrocities," by Bluesy Day.  December 13, 2016.  Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/147039490@N04/31463273732
4. https://www.ushmm.org/collections/bibliography/black-people

All this holiday talk reminds me of food.  So, put up your fences and put down your dukes, it's time to eat and live in peace.  

This Thanksgiving, some turkeys will be left behind...cause there's a shortage and they cost too damn much.

Works used in this episode:

1. “The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage they Imbue.” Claire Bugos. Smithsonian Magazine, 11/26/2019.  Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/thanksgiving-myth-and-what-we-should-be-teaching-kids-180973655/
2. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index October 2022 published 11/10/2022. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm  

A judgement-free, gluten free, carb free and honest conversation about weight loss and weight gain.  

Works used in the making of this podcast: 

1. "Obesity Facts in America."  By Kimberly Holland.  Healthline.com.  January 18, 2022.  Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/obesity-facts#15.-Individuals-with-obesity-miss-more-work.
2. "'Fat Shaming' Won't Solve Obesity. Science Might."  By Johanna Younghans.   University of Michigan Health Lab.  September 17, 2019.  Available at: https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/body-work/fat-shaming-wont-solve-obesity-science-might

This episode is heavy on religion, like your new girlfriend's family.  It contains language that some listeners may find offensive, you're welcome.

"In a world where people are forgiven of their debts...It's worse than the Zombie Apocalypse! DON'T SAY IT IN THE MIRROR THREE TIMES IF YOU WANT TO STAY ALIVE!" 

Works used in the making of this episode: 

1) "College Tuition is Too High, but Competition Can Fix It." Preston Cooper, March 8, 2021. Forbes.com; 

2) Educationdata.org;

3) My life.

RING THE BELL! School's back in, Suckas!  

The presence of the US Constitution is the root of all evil.  The absence of the US Constitution is the root of all evil.  The US Constitution shrugged. 

Works Used In The Making of This Episode: 

1. NSA Warrantless Searches. Wikipedia.
2. Reality Winner. Wikipedia.
3. FISA. Wikipedia.
4. "Limiting no-knock warrants is not enough. The Breonna Taylor tragedy leaves no doubt." The Editorial Board, USA TODAY. July 19, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/todaysdebate/2021/07/19/breonna-taylor-limiting-no-knock-warrants-isnt-enough/7937814002/.       
5.  "Detention Short of Arrest: Stop and Frisk." Justia US Law. https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-04/14-detention-short-of-arrest-stop-and-frisk.html
6. "The No-Knock Warrant for Breonna Taylor was Illegal."  Radley Balko, Washington Post. June 3, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/03/no-knock-warrant-breonna-taylor-was-illegal/. 
7. "Surveillance Under the USA Patriot Act." https://www.aclu.org/other/surveillance-under-usapatriot-act. 
8. "The FBI searched Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence." https://www.vox.com/23302249/fbi-search-mar-a-lago-former-president-donald-trump-florida-doj
9. LawByMike on TikTok.

There are smart cars, smart refrigerators, and smart-mouth kids.  Why not smart relationships?  Find out how you can get yours back to healthy!*

*results not guaranteed

If you're on your way out the door to college (or looking for a refill on your "things you should know" mental folder), don't go before you've heard these "7 Hard Truths" that may make you a better human or hate being a grown up altogether.  Put them in a box labeled "TOOLS" and use them as often as needed, which is everyday.  Unlike your game console these tools won't break before the warranty is up.  

Music by Skilsel at Pixabay.com.

Inspired by "8 Hard to Swallow Pills" by TherapyWithMaggieLPC at Instagram.com.

It's a special episode of "Ayana Explains It All," I breakdown what's giving me the blues lately. Life is full of surprises but this ain't one--you guessed it, this country sucks.  NSFW unless you accidentally stream the podcast without your headphones on, then it's a happy accident.