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On the Edge with Eddie: Detangling our Black Identities

On the Edge with Eddie: Detangling our Black Identities

By Eddie Etsey

A podcast bridging Black Africans, Black Americans and every melanin in-between.
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20. Afua Asare: Vision of a "White" Black Girl

On the Edge with Eddie: Detangling our Black IdentitiesFeb 19, 2021

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56:15
34. Eunice Upshaw: The Black Mother - Emergence from brokenness to entrepreneurship

34. Eunice Upshaw: The Black Mother - Emergence from brokenness to entrepreneurship

Eunice Upshaw, a passionate businesswoman and mother, generously shares her personal experiences navigating the intricacies of identity, belonging, and societal expectations as a light-skinned Black woman. Together, we delve into the complexities of being at the intersection of privilege and prejudice within the Black community and society at large.

Throughout our conversation, Eunice provides valuable insights into the challenges she has faced, the stereotypes she has encountered, and the quest for self-discovery in a world that often oversimplifies the narrative. We discuss the importance of understanding and embracing the diverse range of experiences within the Black community.

Jan 26, 202447:28
33: Jeannette George: The Black Nurse - Running for my life to saving lives

33: Jeannette George: The Black Nurse - Running for my life to saving lives

From a war-torn country to now a Nurse Practitioner, Jeannette George aka Nurse LaVie takes us on a journey of her life as a refugee, running for her life to now saving lives. My conversation with Jeannette sheds light on immigrants moving to the US, a fight for a better life and the health disparities among Black People.

Today, Jeannette is a Family Nurse practitioner, content creator/influencer, using her platforms to educate, motivate, and encourage others to follow their dreams and never give up. You can follow Jeannette on IG (nurselavie), facebook (iamnurselavie) or TikTok (Itslavie). Jeannette graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor in Nursing and International Studies with a minor in African Studies. She completed her Masters in Nursing at Texas Arlington.

Mar 03, 202201:14:48
32. The Eddie & Raina Convo: Black History Month, Is it for White People or Black People?

32. The Eddie & Raina Convo: Black History Month, Is it for White People or Black People?

A conversation with Raina Harmon on various issues Black People face on daily basis including a perspective on Black History from our viewpoint. From the effects of code-switching, isolation, to black mental health, you don't want to miss this season opener. Raina Harmon is an advocate for social justice reform, she has been the keynote speaker for the CMU Multicultural Celebratory as well as the Liberty High School Diversity and Inclusion Series. To learn more about Raina, listen to Episode 10 of this podcast: It's time to Unify.

Feb 15, 202253:34
31. On the Edge with Eddie: Season 2 Trailer

31. On the Edge with Eddie: Season 2 Trailer

On the Edge with Eddie: Season 2 Trailer

Feb 15, 202205:44
30. Angelo T. Robinson: The Black Navy Veteran - Patriotism to healing the world through art
Apr 09, 202101:03:33
29. Shalisa Gladney: The Black Advocate - Being held to different standards

29. Shalisa Gladney: The Black Advocate - Being held to different standards

A former coordinator for the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP), Shalisa Gladney detangles her varied identities from being a black feminist, advocate and womanist. My conversation with Shalisa, who is currently the coordinator of the Afro-American Cultural Center, expands on setting boundaries for a heathy relationship to what it means to be identified as queer.

Shalisa is an educator and advocate passionate about community activism, education and grassroots organizing, especially within Black communities. As a violence prevention educator, she specializes in consent, healthy relationships, dismantling rape culture, and responding to disclosures. She is the president of the UI African American Council and Vice President for Sankofa Outreach connection, an organization that provides social events for women of color in the Iowa City area.

Apr 07, 202143:57
28. Brie Orr: The Black Setter - Assisting in Social Justice movement

28. Brie Orr: The Black Setter - Assisting in Social Justice movement

Gabrielle Orr aka Brie, a native of Eagan, Minnesota detangles the complexity of being a mixed race and the struggles that comes with having a black father and a white mother. A volleyball superstar, who at an early age found her identity in sports, my conversation with Brie details her experience as a Black Student-Athlete in a predominately white sport.

In High School Brie guided her team to an AAU National Championship (2014) and a USJO National Championship (2015). She named United States Junior Olympic (USJO) All-American MVP and was selected for the Minnesota State High School League State All-Tournament team as a freshman. In her decorated career at Eagan HS, she amassed 1,271 kills, 1,983 assists, 1,139 digs, 177 blocks and 116 service aces. Off the court, Brie uses her voice to educate and promote justice. She is a current member of the Presidential committee on Athletics student health and well-being subcommittee and the leadership chair for ISAAC, a student-athlete leadership group acting as the voice of student-athletes within UI campus, B1G conference, and the NCAA.

Mar 26, 202148:18
27. Jerard Butts: The Black Technologist - Surrounded by black love

27. Jerard Butts: The Black Technologist - Surrounded by black love

With over 20 years of technology experience including leadership roles, Jerard Butts aka JB, takes us on his journey of growing up in Chicago, surrounded by black love and acceptance of his black self at a very early age. My conversation with JB touches on navigating obstacles that hinders black people from being successful in certain spaces.

Jerard is currently the IT Manager for the U.S. Soccer Federation where he provides leadership, direction and support in the development and deployment of the organization’s information technology initiatives. Prior to joining the US Soccer Federation, JB held several other leadership positions in IT including Assistant Athletics Director for Information Technology at the University of Mississippi and Data Center Operations Director for the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Mar 25, 202146:09
26. Judge Kevin McKeever: The Black Judge - Serving country to serving justice

26. Judge Kevin McKeever: The Black Judge - Serving country to serving justice

Judge Kevin McKeever, the first African-American judge to be appointed to Iowa's Sixth District court, shares his story of growing up black in Southside Chicago, his journey in the Navy and now a district court judge. My eye opening conversation with Judge McKeever shares light on the judicial system and the best way to make positive change. 

Prior to being appointed to the bench, Judge Mckeever was an officer with the United States Navy, an Assistant Ramsey County Attorney, a Staff Attorney with ACT Inc. and an Assistant Muscatine County Attorney. Among many involvement in the community and dedication to empowerment of veterans, Judge McKeever also serves as a board member of the African American Museum of Iowa. 

Mar 22, 202101:06:26
25. Marcella David (Take Two): The Black Geek Continues – The reality of being Black
Mar 17, 202101:07:32
24. Marcella David: The Black Geek – From little church girl to Provost
Mar 09, 202158:41
23. Vanita Lee Tatum: Emergence of my new Black self
Mar 07, 202155:02
22. Sandrah Nina: The next generation Black dance

22. Sandrah Nina: The next generation Black dance

A Kenyan descent empowered by her love for modern and contemporary dance, Sandrah Nina, shares light on the struggles of the up and coming Generation Z. Bullied and made fun off for speaking "proper English" or told she was not black enough to be a black American, Sandrah’s journey to discover her black identity is a byproduct of the encouragement she received from her Kenyan mother and her determination to change the world through dance.

Sandrah Nina is a graduate of Iowa City West High School and is currently studying BFA Modern Dance/ Marketing at Point Park University, Pittsburg, PA.

Mar 06, 202151:30
21. Keith Burrell: The Black Iowan

21. Keith Burrell: The Black Iowan

Keith Burrell, born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa shares his story of growing up Black in a predominantly white State. As the 8th child of his family, Keith's black journey reveals the struggles of black parenting and how the educational system disadvantages the black population. 

Keith is now an Application Developer at the University of Iowa Health Care. He has over 10 years of experience in reporting and analytics and uses this expertise to help Departments, Providers and researchers with their data needs. Keith earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from University of Iowa. 

Mar 02, 202101:01:14
20. Afua Asare: Vision of a "White" Black Girl

20. Afua Asare: Vision of a "White" Black Girl

As a researcher with training and experience in clinical optometry, vision science and public health, Afua Asare’s research has focused on exploring barriers and disparities in accessing vision care and vision health initiatives in vulnerable and resource-poor populations. Afua has received several academic and research awards. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious Ezell fellowship awarded by the American Academy of Optometry, the Canadian National Institute of the Blind Doctoral Fellowship, the Harvard Presidential Scholarship from Harvard University, and the Ghanaian-Canadian Achievement Award (2013). In this episode, Afua takes us on her journey from Papua New Guinea across the oceans to Toronto, Canada. Our conversation involves her experience of being called the "white girl" to the effects George Floyd's incident had on her mental health.

Feb 19, 202156:15
19. Kwesi Atta-Krah: The Multicultural Black Father

19. Kwesi Atta-Krah: The Multicultural Black Father

Kwesi Atta-Krah is a compliance attorney at Delta Dental of Iowa where he helps provide reasonable assurance of compliance with, among other areas, applicable federal and state healthcare related laws and standards. Before law school, Kwesi held senior-level positions in auditing. In his last post, he supervised and managed risk assessments, internal controls testing and implementation, and audits involving corporate governance, corporate finance and accounting, and consumer credit solutions. Kwesi earned his J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, where he graduated with distinction. He also earned his MBA in accounting and his BSBA in finance and accounting from Drake University. A Ghanaian American married to an Indian, our conversation ranges from his journey to America, difficulties making black friends to the emotional effects of George Floyd. 

Feb 17, 202151:44
18. Toren Young: Breaking free of "tackles" as a Black Athlete

18. Toren Young: Breaking free of "tackles" as a Black Athlete

As a star running back who rushed for over 5,000 yards with 54 touchdowns in three seasons with the Silver Eagles at Monona Grove High School, Wisconsin, Toren Young opens up about the struggles of being a black student athlete at High School and at the Collegiate level. An Academic All-Big Ten, Team Hustle Award recipient, a member of the Team Leadership group with the Iowa Football program, Toren discusses how and why he needed to work twice as hard to prove himself. Being raised in a single family home, backed by his love for God, his success story has inspired many of his Iowa teammates, both White and Black. Toren Young is currently an Account Manager at Oxford Global Resources. 

Feb 12, 202158:12
17. Nadine Petty: The value of acceptance and racism in higher education

17. Nadine Petty: The value of acceptance and racism in higher education

Having spent her early formative years in Jamaica, Dr. Nadine Petty is the Chief Diversity Officer and Associate Vice President for Community, Equity and Diversity at the University of New Hampshire. Nadine has over twenty years of experience in educational settings, including fourteen years in higher education. For the majority of her personal life and professional career, she has devoted herself to a wide-range of diversity and social justice causes and endeavors which include teaching cultural ethnography in college classrooms, serving on and leading various diversity-related committees and boards, creating and strengthening services for individuals with marginalized identities, and providing numerous interactive diversity and social justice workshops and trainings to students, colleagues, and community members. My conversation with Nadine centers around the value of acceptance, racism in higher education and dismantling systems to promote inclusivity. 

Feb 11, 202147:52
16. Kosheno Moore Takahashi: Amazing Grace - Black journey from anger to gratitude
Feb 10, 202101:04:25
15. Tameka Cage Conley: The fight for my identity - balance between life and death for Black People.

15. Tameka Cage Conley: The fight for my identity - balance between life and death for Black People.

Tameka Cage Conley, PhD is a graduate of the fiction program of the Iowa Writers' Workshop where she was awarded the Truman Capote Fellowship and the Provost Postgraduate Visiting Writer Fellowship in Fiction. Her work is published in Ploughshares, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Callaloo, The African American Review and elsewhere. She has received writing fellowships from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, the Cave Canem Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and the Vermont Studio Center. The opera for which she wrote the libretto, A Gathering of Sons, was awarded the Bronze Medal in the Society and Social Issues category of the New York Festivals TV and Film Awards. Tameka received her PhD from Louisiana State University in 2006, where she was a recipient of the Huel Perkins Doctoral Fellowship and recipient of the Lewis Simpson Distinguished Dissertation Award for her dissertation. She is at work on her first novel, You, Your Father--an epic family saga that considers the untimely deaths of African American men over six decades beginning in the early 1940s in northern Louisiana.  She is Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Oxford College of Emory University. Tameka and I discuss the origin of her pain, love and strength as a Black Woman growing up down South and her travels to Ghana, West Africa. 

Feb 10, 202101:11:17
14. Alex Lodge: Chemist to an Attorney - Leading Expungement clinics
Feb 08, 202151:29
13. Coronda Lee: Accepting my whole Black Self

13. Coronda Lee: Accepting my whole Black Self

Growing up in the deep South, Coronda “Aku” Lee discusses her struggles of being raised with the southern culture with lack of black representations. Our conversation includes topic of code switching, fitting into the southern culture and the difficulties of making friends in different parts of America. Coronda received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and her Masters in Program Management from Colorado State University. She is currently the Medical Education Team Lead for Neurology Residency Program at VCU.

Feb 01, 202156:53
12. Annica Morrison: Being confident in your own skin

12. Annica Morrison: Being confident in your own skin

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Annica joined the University of Iowa athletic staff as assistant athletic trainer in October, 2010 working with Women's Soccer and Softball. As a graduate of Central Florida University and Northern Iowa, she has been involved in many sports ranging from football, men's and women's tennis to baseball. A member of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, the Athletic Trainer's Association of Florida and the Southeastern Athletic Trainer's Association, Annica and I discuss her journey from Jamaica to Iowa, and the inspiration she received from a single mother. 

Jan 31, 202142:34
11. Modei Akyea: Catching the flow of the moment

11. Modei Akyea: Catching the flow of the moment

As a decorated dancer and instructor (specializing in Latin American style dancing), Modei Akyea brings rich perspective from his travels around the world. A gentle soul with soo much knowledge about dance and language, Modei and I talk through how dance and languages play in telling the black story. 

Jan 31, 202153:25
10. Raina Harmon: It's time to Unify

10. Raina Harmon: It's time to Unify

As a passionate supporter of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiatives, Harmon currently serves on Iowa’s DEI Accountability Board. As an advocate for social justice reform, she has been the keynote speaker for the CMU Multicultural Celebratory as well as the Liberty High School Diversity and Inclusion Series. Lastly, she has created a “brave space” within Iowa’s WBB program for Black student-athletes to share their experiences in an effort to amplify the voices of minority student-athletes within the athletic department. Harmon played on the Central Michigan University women’s basketball team from 2000-04. Majoring in Sports Studies, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2004. She earned her Master’s degree in Sports Administration from Wayne State in 2009. Our conversation in this episode dives into the mind of a trailblazer athlete turned coach and all the struggles that comes with it.

Jan 30, 202153:17
9. Dean Adrien Wing Part 2: Multiplicative Identity and Othermothering
Jan 30, 202148:07
8. Ugo Nwaigwe: One's true Black Self

8. Ugo Nwaigwe: One's true Black Self

The 6-3 center is agile and athletic with a tremendous work ethic. As a Nigerian native, Ugo is a 2016 Temple University master’s graduate with a degree in globalization and development communications. In college, she helped guide her team to the WNIT Elite Eight (2016) and the American Athletic Conference semifinals (2016). Nwaigwe played professionally overseas in Nigeria, Spain, Angola, Portugal, and Argentina and was a Nigerian National team member in 2016 and 2017. Ugo and I talk all things growing up Nigerian-America and the difficulties of adjusting as a Black athlete. 

Jan 30, 202157:55
7. D.K. Nnuro: The pursuit of an American Identity

7. D.K. Nnuro: The pursuit of an American Identity

Derek Kwadwo (D.K.) Nnuro is a Ghanaian-American fiction writer. He is a graduate of the fiction program at the Iowa Writers Workshop, where he was a recipient of the Meta Rosenberg Memorial Fellowship and a Teaching Writing Fellowship. He was awarded the Robert J. Schulze Fellowship in 2016 and is a recipient of a fellowship from the Ragdale Foundation.  In this episode we chat about the identities from DK's new novel, What Napoleon Could Not Do and his pursuit of the American Identity as a Black man.

Jan 30, 202101:04:44
6. Trudy Odom: Imposter Syndrome and Diplomatic Racism in UK

6. Trudy Odom: Imposter Syndrome and Diplomatic Racism in UK

As a specialist in business financial crime and financial crime compliance policies in the UK, my conversation with Trudy, a Ghanaian-Londoner focuses on the diplomatic nature of racism in Europe, specifically in the UK. We also discuss the topic of imposter syndrome as a black individual. 

Jan 30, 202144:11
5. Nana Ama Agyemang Asante: A journalist's view of the Black Culture around the world

5. Nana Ama Agyemang Asante: A journalist's view of the Black Culture around the world

Nana Ama Agyemang Asante is a Ghanaian journalist, editor and writer. She co-hosts the “Citi Breakfast Show” at the Accra-based radio station Citi FM. In 2015, she was named Radio Personality of the Year for your persistent efforts in speaking truth to power. 2017, she was awarded a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship by the National Endowment for Democracy. In this episode we chat about her travels and her views on the black culture in Ghana, US and the UK.

Jan 30, 202156:34
4. Adrien Wing: Critical Race Theory - An Introduction
Jan 30, 202101:07:39
3. Etsey Siblings: Coming to America

3. Etsey Siblings: Coming to America

In the first episode of On the Edge with Eddie, I have a conversation with my sisters on what it was like for us when we moved to the United States and the struggles of being an Africa in America at a young age. Hope you learn something from our shared experiences. 

Jan 30, 202101:03:47
2. Let's talk Identity - Spoken Words

2. Let's talk Identity - Spoken Words

In this episode, I introduce the concept of Black Identity through spoken words. Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster and all feels as we discuss black identities.

Jan 03, 202109:60
1. On the Edge with Eddie Trailer

1. On the Edge with Eddie Trailer

Season 1 Trailer. What to expect on the Edge with Eddie - Detangling our black identities. This trailers gives a high level of what's coming in Season 1. 

Dec 17, 202002:25