Introducing the Black Women's Dept. of Labor

“What does a post capitalist future look like?” ~ Renee Hatcher

In our season finale, our brilliant guests share their experience and experiments in commerce and economy to answer this question. Tune in to learn more about:

• Worker cooperatives and the solidarity economy
• Spirit led creative entrepreneurship
• Participatory budgeting
• Democratically governed investment funds
• Time banks

 We get into capitalism 101, the limitations of Black capitalism, the myth of meritocracy, redefining success, and the role of mutualism and cooperation in our collective liberation.

Be sure to take our quick survey! 

And sign up for the upcoming Taja Tuesday Artist Talk on Tues 9/6 – the day after labor day! - to learn more about the love and labor that went into this podcast, and what’s on the horizon. Join the Patreon at the Creative Conversation level or above to access the live virtual event or the replay.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Renee Hatcher is a human rights and solidarity economy lawyer. She is an Assistant Professor of Law and the Director of the Community Enterprise and Solidarity Economy Law Clinic at UIC Law. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:21:45) 

Nia Evans is the Executive Director of the Boston Ujima Project.  Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:29:58)

 Azua Echevarria is a scent alchemist who sells Spirit care products via her brand Age Into Beauty. Alongside Toni Johnson, she is the co-creator of Wild Woman Twin Flame and 2 Dope Rags. Support their GoFundMe campaign! 

Toni Johnson is a healing artist who founded Rework Creative in 2005 where she makes and sells an eclectic collection of jewelry and future relics. Listen to her full interview with Azua on Patreon (running time: 01:43:57)

SUPPORT THE SHOW!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Support our work on Patreon 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!)

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

CREDITS

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle and supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

We're continuing our conversation about domestic labor with a deep dive into the historical and current practice of organizing domestic workers for dignity and respect.

Tune in to learn more about:

• the role of storytelling in building collective identity
• community organizing strategies in and beyond legislated labor protections
• professionalizing the workforce through narratives and negotiations
• the politics of care work

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Allison Julien is the We Dream in Black Organizing Director for the National Domestic Worker’s Alliance.  Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:41:59)

Adela Seally is a professional nanny and childcare specialist, mother of seven, and a member of the National Domestic Workers Alliance - New York We Dream in Black Chapter.  Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 00:59:38)

Rose Gloria* is nanny who has worked with over 50 families in the last 15 years. Her identity and voice have been changed to protect her identity. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 02:26:08)

Premilla Nadasen is a Professor of History at Barnard College, Columbia University and the author of “Household Workers Unite: The Untold Story of African American Women Who Built a Movement.” Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:05:28)

Nikki Brown-Booker is the Program Officer for the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. She is a person with a disability who employs six domestic workers. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 00:56:24)

Learn more about podcast guests here and read their full bios!

SUPPORT THE SHOW!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Support our work on Patreon 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!)

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

CREDITS

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle and supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

Taking care of children, disabled folks, the elderly, and the home is important work, but it doesn’t always get the respect it deserves - whether it’s paid or unpaid labor.

In this first part of a two-part series, we get an inside look into an occupation behind closed doors and in private homes - domestic work.

Tune in to hear from 5 incredible guests about:

• Why and how people become domestic laborers
• The dynamics of race, class, and gender that inform employer and employee relationships
• How domestic workers create and negotiate contracts and boundaries
• The disrespectful treatment and undignified labor conditions domestic workers have endured
• How their labor makes all other work possible

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Allison Julien is the We Dream in Black Organizing Director for the National Domestic Worker’s Alliance.  Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:41:59)

Adela Seally is a professional nanny and childcare specialist, mother of seven, and a member of the National Domestic Workers Alliance - New York We Dream in Black Chapter.  Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 00:59:38)

Rose Gloria* is nanny who has worked with over 50 families in the last 15 years. Her identity and voice have been changed to protect her identity. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 02:26:08)

Premilla Nadasen is a Professor of History at Barnard College, Columbia University and the author of “Household Workers Unite: The Untold Story of African American Women Who Built a Movement.” Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:05:28)

Nikki Brown-Booker is the Program Officer for the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. She is a person with a disability who employs six domestic workers. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 00:56:24)

Learn more about podcast guests here!

SUPPORT THE SHOW!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Support our work on Patreon 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!)

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

CREDITS

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle and supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

Welfare reform in the 90’s and the recent pandemic may seem like radically different moments in history but they share a few things in common, namely back to work labor narratives that:

• are overly reliant on frameworks of personal responsibility
• prioritize work over health and wellbeing
• perpetuate policies, practices, and beliefs that are racist, sexist, classist, and ableist

Tune in to hear from three brilliant guests sharing their stories and expertise on:

• the history and impact of welfare reform in the 90’s
• navigating return to work during the pandemic
• the medicine and wisdom of disability justice in imagining new ways to work and live

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Sydnie Mosley is an artist-activist and educator who works with communities to organize for gender and racial justice through experiential dance performance with her dance-theater collective Sydnie L. Mosley Dances. She wrote an article in Dance Magazine entitled "I Have No Desire to Produce a Performance, Live or Livestreamed, Until the Pandemic Is Over. I’ll Wait." Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:32:43)

Diana Romero is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Social Sciences and director of the Maternal, Child, Reproductive and Sexual Health specialization (MCRSH) at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy in New York City. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:29:51)

Nikki Brown-Booker is the Program Officer for the Disability Inclusion Fund at Borealis Philanthropy. As a person with a disability and a biracial woman, she has devoted her work to advancing rights at the intersection of disability justice and racial justice. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 00:56:24)

Learn more about podcast guests here!

SUPPORT THE SHOW!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram and turn on notifications!
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Support our work on Patreon where you will have exclusive access to full-length interviews with each of our guests featured this season. 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!)

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

CREDITS

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle and supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

Have you ever asked yourself: 

“why am I alive?”| “what is my calling?” | “what’s my next career move?” 

If so, this episode is for you!

In this intergenerational podcast workshop, we discuss:

• Astrology 101 reviewing signs, elements, and modalities
• How to tap into your personal astrology without knowing your birth time or location
• The houses to look to in your natal chart for a sense of your talents, gifts, resources, work style, purpose, and legacy
• Example chart readings of Black women artists and activists

 Tune in to learn more about your place among the stars!

 Also! check out our 37 page digital workbook designed to help you follow along and to integrate what you learn in the episode. This workbook includes: 

• 22 worksheets to help you decode your cosmic blueprint
• 10 cheat sheets of correspondences, rulerships, and keywords
• Plus! Relevant bonus info  we didn’t have time to cover in the episode!

Join the Patreon at the Creative Foundation level or above to access the workbook!

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

deria (they/she/we) is a revolutionary lover looking to the stars and the soil for guidance in this lifetime. she has creative works published at Nightboat Blog, Spicy Zine, Felt Mag, Black Youth Project, and Desert Rose Magazine. you can email her at deria [dot] em [at] gmail [dot] com to connect. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:32:43)

Deborah Singletary has served as an astrological consultant for 40 years. She loves teaching astrology, giving personal consultations as well as utilizing her passion for art in her work as an interfaith minister to create workshops to help people to pierce the veil separating them from their true selves. She founded Vision Carriers in 1986 as a way of organizing her life missions and purposes. Listen to her full interview on Patreon (running time: 01:50:35)

 
SUPPORT THE SHOW

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram
• Sign up for our newsletter
• Support our work on Patreon
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix)

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

CREDIT

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle and supported by the
Economic Hardship Reporting Project

“We are in the business of putting ourselves out of business.” Nico Le Blanc

In our first - and only! - panel discussion of the season, Taja Lindley facilitates a conversation with 3 diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practitioners with 40+ years of experience between them. Tune in to hear:

• What DEI work looks like in institutional settings to support racial equity and social movements.
• How they determine who they will (not) work with and why.
• The frameworks that guide their practice (i.e. critical race theory, radical Black feminism, etc.)
• The ways race and gender impact how their work gets done.
• What it’s like to hold space for anti-racism while Black.
• Who is responsible for doing this work? And who should (not) be doing this work?

PANELISTS

Megan Pamela Ruth Madison is a facilitator and author based in NYC  (unceded land of the Lenape people). As she wraps up her doctoral studies, she works part-time as a trainer for the Center for Racial Justice in Education, the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, and Bank Street's Center on Culture, Race & Equity.  Megan is co-author of First Conversations, a critically acclaimed series of books for young children on race, gender, consent, and bodies. 

Nico Le Blanc is a passionate Black, Queer, Non-Binary BEing who currently serves as Associate Director for Diversity & Inclusion at NYU and as a yoga and meditation instructor, counselor, and advocate focused on creating positive, safe, and empowering spaces that facilitate vulnerability, and healing. They are committed to the upliftment, self-care, health, vitality, and liberation of ALL Black BEings. 

Zerandrian Morris (aka ‘The Ignant Intellectual’) is a capital 'B' Black non-binary transmasculine girl-identified person born & raised in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans currently living in DC. Zerandrian is a 2001 graduate of THE Spelman College. Zerandrian is a social impact strategist who creates paradigm-shifting experiences for companies, institutions, organizations, and individuals around topics like anti-racism, anti-Blackness, and racial equity. 

SUPPORT THE SHOW

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram and turn on notifications!
• Sign up for our newsletter!
• Support our work on Patreon where you will have exclusive access to full length interviews with each of our guests featured this season. 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal. 
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!). All sales go towards the production of the podcast and support with project expenses.

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

CREDITS

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle 

Is a diverse healthcare workforce enough to eradicate racism in medicine?

The short is no.

 Using race to remedy racism is not enough. 

And let's talk about why with four Black providers in reproductive health: an OBGYN, a nurse midwife, a traditional midwife, and a midwifery student.

Tune in to hear the benefits of adding more Black folks to the healthcare workforce, as well as how this diversity-based approach is an incomplete strategy to remedy health inequity, including:

• The ways racism is embedded into healthcare education, training, tools and systems
• How harm can be reproduced in medical settings regardless of the race of the provider 
• How Black folks can have poor experiences with Black providers
• Alternative and additional strategies to ensure better health experiences and outcomes for Black pregnant and birthing people

GUESTS
Camille A. Clare, MD, MPH, CPE, FACOG is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and was recently appointed as Chair and Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of  SUNY-Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine and School of Public Health. Full interview on Patreon (00:57:15)

Efe Osaren has been a doula since 2014 and is currently completing her midwifery education. She has served over 200 families and is crowdfunding  to help pay for her license and board exam. Efe is also a reproductive justice advocate and is the Founder of Doula Chronicles. Full interview on Patreon (01:16:10)

Nubia Earth Martin is a Community Birth Worker, Traditional Midwife, and Founder/President of Birth from The Earth Inc., a non-profit organization steeped in education and empowerment, providing a variety of health and wellness services. Full interview on Patreon (01:10:23)

Melissa Thomas* is a Black nurse midwife working in a major metropolitan area who has attended over 350 births in her career spanning over a decade in primarily hospital settings. She came on the podcast anonymously and her name has been changed to protect her identity. Full interview on Patreon (01:03:47)

SUPPORT!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram and turn on notifications!
• Sign up for our newsletter!
• Support our work on Patreon where you will have exclusive access to full length interviews with each of our guests featured this season. 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal. 
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!). All sales go towards the production of the podcast and support with project expenses.

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more and to access the studies Dr. Clare referenced in the episode.

CREDITS

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle 

Part Two: The Old Fashion Gay Way

Are you curious about how to get pregnant when queer?
“Don't use a turkey baster!” Olivia Ford

Olivia started her path to parenthood before being partnered. After her intuition told her it was time to pursue pregnancy, she popped the question to her gay guy friend: how would you like to make a baby with me? After 10 unsuccessful tries, she and her boo (now wife) purchased semen during a BOGO sale at a sperm bank and got pregnant with the second vial. 

Tune in to hear Olivia's nine year journey to Black queer motherhood including:

• intracervical and intrauterine insemination 
• pursuing pregnancy with a known donor who is living with HIV
• dating while trying to get pregnant
• the limitations and possibilities of the fertility industry for Black people and queer folks

During the interview, Olivia mentions this piece from Linda Villarosa in The New York Times Magazine entitled: "Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis"

This episode is the second part of a two-part series featuring birth stories that relied on assisted reproductive technologies and it has been edited for clarity and length. To listen to the full interview, visit Patreon.com/TajaLindley.

Olivia Ford (she/her; they/their) has been engaged with HIV-related media since 2007. She is the editorial director for The Well Project, an online information, support, and advocacy resource serving a global audience of women living with HIV. She trained as a doula in 2004 and serves as a perinatal health advocate with Birthmark Doula Collective, a birth justice organization supporting pregnant and parenting people and their families in the New Orleans, Louisiana area. Olivia and her wife are the dazzled, exhausted co-mamas of a smart-mouthed toddler, Orian (pronounced like “Dorian” without the “D”).

Her full interview is available on Patreon (running time: 02:26:18)

Support the Show!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram and turn on notifications!
• Sign up for our newsletter!
• Support our work on Patreon where you will have exclusive access to full length interviews with each of our guests featured this season. 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal. 
• Purchase the podcast music. All sales go towards the production of the podcast and support with project expenses.

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

Credits

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle 

Part One: The Ol’ Mama Gang

“I saw my daughter for the first time in a vision while I was meditating.” LeConté Dill

After Dr. LeConté Dill’s vision in 2014, she met her husband, had an epic first date, eloped, and began her journey to motherhood. 

She soon discovered she would need some support to get pregnant, namely A.R.T.s - or assisted reproductive technologies. She leaned on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive the baby of her literal dreams and gave birth in her early 40’s right before the lockdowns in NYC Spring 2020.

Tune in to hear how this crunk public health scholar:

• created sacred ceremony and rituals to support her process
• moved through the grief of miscarriage with poetry
• addressed disrespectful medical treatment
• received bomb-ass support from her mom, hubby, and doulas (Dana Ain-Davis - author of Reproductive Injustice - and Katy Cecen) during her pregnancy, labor, and immediate postpartum

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. To listen to the full interview, visit Patreon.com/TajaLindley.

Dr. LeConté Dill is a scholar, educator, and a poet in and out of classroom and community spaces from South Central Los Angeles, California. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University. She listens to and shows up for urban Black girls and other youth of color and works to rigorously document their experiences of safety, resilience, resistance, and wellness. Her work has been published in Poetry Magazine, Mom Egg Review, Journal of Poetry Therapy, and The Feminist Wire. Her full interview is available on Patreon (running time: 01:31:06).

Learn more about podcast guests here!

Support the Show!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram and turn on notifications!
• Sign up for our newsletter!
• Support our work on Patreon where you will have exclusive access to full length interviews with each of our guests featured this season. 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal. 
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!). All sales go towards the production of the podcast and support with project expenses.

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

Credits

Creator, Host and HBIC: Taja Lindley

Audio Engineering by Lilah Larson

Music by Emma Alabaster who also served as the Pre-Production Associate Producer

Additional Music Production by Chip Belton

Vocals by Patience Sings

Mixing and Mastering by Chip Belton

Lyrics by Taja Lindley and Emma Alabaster

Logo and Graphic Design Templates by Homegirl HQ

This podcast is produced by Colored Girls Hustle 

A Select History of Race, Labor, & Reproduction in the U.S.

“Black women are at the heart of the history of the Atlantic world.”  Jennifer Morgan

What does it mean to be gendered as laborers? Both physiologically and economically? 

How has that served colonial and U.S. economic interests? 

And how has the U.S. responded when Black women’s labor and reproduction no longer served racial capitalism?

Tune in to time travel with us: your host, Taja Lindley, and our guests - Jennifer Morgan and Dorothy Roberts - as we discuss historical evidence and insight into these questions.

Be sure to support this work at Patreon.com/TajaLindley where you will be able to access exclusive content (including the upcoming Taja Tuesday Artist Talk) and full length interviews. 

Jennifer L. Morgan is Professor of History in the department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University where she also serves as Chair.  She is the author of Reckoning with Slavery: Gender, Kinship and Capitalism in the Early Black Atlantic (Duke University Press, 2021, enter E21MORGN for a discount!); Laboring Women: Gender and Reproduction in the Making of New World Slavery (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004) and the co-editor of Connexions: Histories of Race and Sex in America (University of Illinois Press, 2016). Her research examines the intersections of gender and race in the Black Atlantic. 

Dorothy Roberts is the George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, with joint appointments in Africana Studies, Sociology, and the Law School, where she is the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights. An acclaimed scholar and social justice activist, she is author of Killing the Black Body; Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare; Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century; and Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—And How Abolition Can Build a Safer World.

Learn more about podcast guests here!

Support the Show!

• Follow @BlackWomensLabor on Instagram and turn on notifications!
• Sign up for our newsletter!
• Support our work on Patreon where you will have exclusive access to full length interviews with each of our guests featured this season. 
• Make a one-time donation on PayPal. 
• Purchase the podcast music (and remix!). All sales go towards the production of the podcast and support with project expenses.

Visit www.BlackWomensLabor.com to learn more.

CREDITS

Creator, Host and HBIC of the