Strange Fruit

From Paula Deen, to Brock Turner, to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, we live in a society that allows many white people who commit racist, violent or illegal actions to be punished lightly and quickly forgiven. This quickness to forgive is present in both the court of public opinion and also within the country’s political and judicial systems. This week we challenge notions of instant white redemption and second chances with Marley K, an author and advocate whose essay asks, “Why Does A White Man’s Legacy Trump A Black Man’s Trauma?"

Have you ever just wished that you could wave a wand and all of the oppression, injustices and traumas in the world would just disappear, like magic? Author Ariel Gore, a self-described social justice witch, says that not only is it possible, but she’s written a magical guide to show us just how to do it. "Hexing the Patriarchy: 26 Potions, Spells, and Magical Elixirs to Embolden the Resistance" contains more than two dozen incantations, recipes, and rituals collected from actual witches from various traditions. Gore joins us this week to discuss her own journey to social justice witchcraft and shares how feminist magic can help uplift and empower the disenfranchised. Later in the show we have a provocative conversation regarding race, interracial unions and social justice with writer Madena Maxine. We talk about why white folks in interracial marriages should care about anti-racism work, which is what she examines in her deeply personal essay "Racial Trauma & My Interracial Marriage."

Telling the histories and lived experiences of Black LGBTQ+ people is beneficial not only for the future generations who hear or read these stories, but is vital to our own survival as well. This week, professor and author Dr. E. Patrick Johnson returns to the show to discuss his new book, "Honeypot: Black Southern Women Who Love Women," which introduces readers to a variety of Black Southern queer women who shared with Johnson the stories of the joy, pain, terror and triumphs that have colored their lives. Later, Jordan Williams stops by the studio to talk about his compelling short feature on the online platform Queer Kentucky. Williams discusses his journey to self-love and self-acceptance as a queer Black man and talks about how he coped with the lack of racial diversity while growing up in Hardin County, Kentucky.

Lots of folks may consider themselves to be “not racist” -- a sort of personal, private declaration -- but is that enough in these volatile political times? Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, a leading scholar on race and discriminatory policy in America, says that the true goal is to be actively “antiracist.” Kendi is a New York Times bestselling author and the founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University. He joins us this week to discuss his new book "How To Be An Antiracist," in which he analyzes law, history, ethics and science to contextualize his own journey toward awakening as an anti-racist. Later in the show we talk to culture writer Jonita Davis about the growing phenomenon of Black women in motorsports culture and motorcycle clubs, which she highlights in her feature “Yes, Black Girls Ride Too.”

Abortion remains a hot button issue in these political times, as some states race to restrict or ban abortion, while others race to protect it. In some regions of the country, citizens rely on abortion call centers to ask questions about abortions, locate providers, and schedule the procedure. Operators also sometimes help callers figure out how to get there or how to pay for it. The telephone staff at The Women’s Centers provide an important service for potential clients of a network of five abortion providers in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states, and in Georgia. This week author Lux Alptraum joins us to shed light on what it's like to work at an abortion call center. Later, in honor of National Inspirational Role Models Month, Fruitcake and frequent guest Aaron Weathers joins us to recognize two inspirational figures in his life.

This week we talk to Rowaida Abdelaziz about her essay, "When Swimming As A Muslim Becomes A Political Act." And UofL student activist Finn DePriest joins us to talk about the importance of finding queer role models.

In 1978 a landmark study revealed that many accomplished and highly ambitious women suffered from a psychological condition coined impostor syndrome: a tendency to minimize achievements, chalk up accomplishments to luck, and hold an overwhelming fear that they will eventually be discovered as frauds. While this study was groundbreaking, it primarily focused how the impostor phenomenon manifests within educated, middle to upper class white women. This week we speak with therapist and educator Lincoln Hill about why impostor syndrome is worse for women of color, and how such studies fall short by overlooking the unique experience of being simultaneously Black and a woman in professional settings. To start this week’s show, we’re joined for hot topics by educator and mentor Shauntrice Martin, and we discuss school safety, controversial Halloween costumes for kids, and the recent revelation that all modern humans originated in Botswana on the continent of Africa.

This week we talk with Mathangi Subramanian about her family, her work, and her recent essay, "The Day My Outrage Went Viral: Racist attitudes against my Brown daughter energized me to raise my voice." (Read it here: https://zora.medium.com/the-day-my-outrage-went-viral-7ad1257d7ff9) In Juicy Fruit: Calling the cops when someone steals your illegal weed, and casting news about Sony's upcoming Cinderella retelling. 

We talk this week with Emma Akpan about how certain Black religious institutions expect Black women to conform to white supremacist ideals -- especially when it comes to sexuality, motherhood and family structures. She explores it in her recent essay, "I’ve Lost Faith in the Way the Black Church Polices Women’s Bodies." And October 14-18 was the YWCA's Week Without Violence -- part of a global movement within the organization to end gender-based violence. YWCA CEO Alejandra Y. Castillo joins us to explain that work.

Most often in America, when we talk about issues of race, racial tensions, and racialized politics, it's within a Black and white paradigm. But what is it like for someone to grow up and become socialized within this country whose ethnic identity doesn’t fall within this binary? This week we speak with writer Eda Yu about her essay on identity for Vice, “Finding Asian Identity in a Black and White America,” in which she discusses navigating this racial and ethnic conundrum and how she finally began to grow into and actualize her authentic Asian American self.

Corporal punishment describes using physical punishment intended to cause pain as a means of discipline. The most common version of this practice involves hitting or spanking children. Black folks commonly call it getting or giving a “whupping.” The phrase “spare the rod, spoil the child” is often cited as a sort of religious mandate for such physical discipline of children (even though the popular idiom isn’t actually in the Bible). And despite research to the contrary, there are still many Black parents who contend that hitting their children will turn them into good adults, teach them respect, and protect them for the lure of social ills. In her book “Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Won’t Save Black America,” Dr. Stacey Patton asserts that whupping Black children has far-reaching, seldom-discussed consequences, including producing traumatized children that are prone to higher suspension and expulsions rates in school, interactions with the criminal justice system, mental health issues, and foster c

Director, screenwriter, and producer Patrik-Ian Polk has been creating phenomenal Black LGBTQ content for film and television audiences for nearly two decades, starting with the 2000 feature film "Punks," which he wrote, directed and produced. Polk is best known for his groundbreaking television series "Noah’s Arc," which ran for premiered in 2005 and ran for two seasons on the Logo cable channel. The series featured gay Black and Latinx characters and highlighted many social issues including same-sex marriage, queer parenthood, HIV/AIDS awareness, and gay bashing. Logo TV recently made the entire series available for free on their YouTube channel. This week we got to speak with the visionary and queer icon about his 20-year career as a filmmaker, director, and producer of Black and Queer art, and we got to fan out and tell him just how much his work has brought us joy, given us LIFE and allowed us to see ourselves like we were never able to before.

Lambda Award-winning writer and activist Michelle Tea has always considered herself “radical queer,” – those outside-of-the-mainstream LGBTQ folks who have nothing left to lose and make their own rules about everything. As she describes it in an essay for Buzzfeed, for Tea and the queer friends she shared a radical subculture with, “that meant prioritizing freedom, glorifying poverty, experimenting with our bodies in every way possible. The possibility of having children was raised only to highlight how absurd that would be….[we] mostly viewed kids as a potential drag on [our] liberties, or simply an impossibility.” Which is why almost everyone who knew her was shocked when she suddenly decided to get pregnant and become a parent at 40 years old – while single, uninsured, and living in an expensive city and working a somewhat unstable job. Spoiler alert: It’s now several years later and parenthood has ultimately worked out well for Tea and she’s learned some important lessons and made some unexpected (straig

What are some of the barriers that prevent intergenerational bonding and mentorship among LGBTQ people? What are some of the factors that hold us back from sharing knowledge and wisdom between folks of different age groups within the queer community? This week we explore intergenerational mentorship and queer concepts of chosen family. Philadelphia Inquirer photo journalist Heather Khalifa introduces us to a black trans woman and her fiancé who act as stand-in parents to LGBTQ youth in their Philadelphia neighborhood. Andrea Lamour-Harrington has opened her home to struggling LGBTQ young people since the 1980s, and as the “mother” of the House of Lamour she has mentored some eighty-seven “children.” Later, Writer and former ActUp NY activist James “Jim” Finn notes that there is a popular perception that intergenerational friendships don’t exist among gay men and other queer people. In his essay “LGBTQ Generations — Mentoring and More,” Finn says that queer folks’ hesitation to mentor youth is rooted in in

Conversations about the intersections of identify can be awkward, uncomfortable and sometimes emotionally exhausting -- especially when discussing race and gender. And especially when these conversations have to happen between parents and their children. To that end, this week we chat with parents who are having very intentional conversations with their respective family members about ways the world assigns value to -- or holds stereotypical expectations of -- women of color. We’re joined this week by two thought-provoking writers. Author Kay Bolden explains “Why Women in My Family Don’t Scrub Floors.” And later, Canadian writer Anam Ahmed is the mother of two biracial girls – one who shares her Pakistani brown skin and another whose skin and hair more closely resembles the complexion of her Dutch-English-Canadian husband, which she writes about in “My Biracial Children Are Noticing We’re Not All the Same Color.” Support Strange Fruit! Visit donate.strangefruitpod.org

From its practical and everyday uses, to Black celebrities and fashion icons donning it on red carpets, the durag is finally getting its just due. Fashion & beauty editor Jamé Jackson of TheBlondeMisfit.com joins us this week talk to us about her essay, "How the Durag Became a Political Statement." It illuminates the cultural and political significance of the durag, and how it’s always represented much more than just a hair accessory. Later in the show we switch gears and turn our attention -- and the conversation -- to last spring’s Met Gala where fashion theme was “Camp: Note on Fashion.” Jackson explores the queer, black and urban roots of camp, and argues that ideas around and performances of camp belonged to Black and queer communities long before it became popular at the annual ball. In our Juicy Fruit segment, we’re surprised by just how long many Americans will go without changing their underwear. Strange Fruit is listener supported. Click here to chip in: donate.strangefruitpod.org

The official end of summer and LGBTQ pride season is fast approaching, but there’s still time to have some fun at some events in the region. Now in its third year, OUTLOUD Musical Festival in Nashville features 14 LGBTQ+ artists across two stages, including headliners Greyson Chance, Kim Petras and Gia Woods. OUTLOUD creator and producer Jack Davis joins us at the start of this week’s show to tell us what to expect at the festival happening on September 14. We also speak with friend to the show Mike Slaton, Executive Director of the Louisville Pride Foundation, about the Louisville Pride Festival coming up on September 21. The event is free and this year's headliner is performer Todrick Hall. In our feature interview, we explore the notoriously segregated history of swimming pools and other public spaces dedicated to leisure and enjoyment. Dr. Victoria Wolcott joins us to discuss her insightful piece “The Forgotten History Of Segregated Swimming Pools And Amusement Parks" published by The Conversation, and he

As the host of Strange Fruit we’ve often wondered why pants made for men have plenty of pockets while most pants designed for women are pocketless. This week we discuss about the problematics of the gender binary when it comes to fashion and clothing and speak with Washington Post writer Samantha Schmidt about a Washington, DC area sewing class designed to deconstruct the gender rules in fashion and reconstruct clothing that better meets form and function for the queer and trans participants. Later this month, Louisville plays host to the second annual Midwest Queer Comedy Festival, a showcase designed to expose audiences to comedic voices from the LGBTQ community. Starting August 21st, the MQCFest will be five nights of shows, showcases, podcasts, and after parties. This year's line-up is stacked with nearly 75 acts, including headliner Sampson McCormick. McCormick is an award-winning Black queer comic who first joined us for a conversion about breaking barriers last December. He’s back this week to talk abo

This week we’re joined by writer and reproductive justice activist Quita Tinsley. In her recent piece "Why I Refuse To Leave the South as a Queer Black Person," Tinsley argues that while the potential for violence or discrimination against queer and trans folks in the South can be higher than other regions, the entire nation is unsafe for those same people. And when she visited northern “Gay Meccas” like New York and San Francisco, she felt isolated and experienced overwhelming levels of anti-blackness that exceeded what she felt in the South. We discuss how she learned to embrace and celebrate her identity as a Southerner. Later in the show we shift the discussion from regional space to “gayborhoods,” an area of a city or town characterized as being inhabited or frequented by LGBTQ folks. In his feature article “Won’t You Be My Gaybor?” for Richmond, VA’s RVA Mag writer Wyatt Gordon discusses the city’s lack of a gayborhood — the absence of gayborhoods in many southern cities — and examines if it

This week we’re joined by Tarell Alvin McCraney, chair of play writing at the Yale School of Drama, 2013 recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Genius Grant, and the 2017 Academy Award winner for Best Adapted Screenplay for Moonlight. McCraney’s newest endeavor is his first television project, an original scripted series for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network called David Makes Man. The compelling lyrical drama will premiere on August 14.  David Makes Man centers on a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects of South Miami who is haunted by the death of his closest friend, and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty. We discuss the show, its phenomenal ensemble cast, his life since Moonlight, and how important it is for him to create Black art for Black people.  Later in the show we speak to culture writer Beandrea July about the new documentaryToni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. We discuss the themes of the documentary, Morrison’s legacy as a writer, and the resistance and criticism Morrison encountered