#TalkRadio – March 19: The Transformative History of African American Women in the U.S. Part 2

SPEAKERS:

Prof. Ernest J. Quarles, Esq.: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM Eastern Time
Professor at John Hopkins University and African American Policy Forum Board Member; practicing attorney, civil rights advocate, and educator; former student of the late Honorable Judge A. Leon Higginbotham (3rd Circuit Court of Appeals) and was mentored by the late Professor Derrick Bell (Harvard and NYU)

Tiffany Pogue: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
TJC Alumni and Fellow. Tiffany Pogue is a native to Mobile, AL. She is a community organizer, mental health advocate, empowerment activist, and youth mentor. Tiffany is an alumni of the University of South Alabama, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. She utilizes her degree by developing programs, initiatives, and events that curate moments of empowerment and awareness. She is a founding Executive Board Member for Stand Up Mobile, a local non-profit voter mobilization organization. Tiffany is the founder of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama’s Annual Advocates for Girls Conference – where young girls learn from and connect with prominent women in the Mobile community. The third annual Girls’ Empowerment Conference was held on Monday, March 18th and impacted over 100 girls throughout Mobile County. Tiffany is also a lifetime member of the Clotilda Descendants Association – where she shares the story of her African ancestors who survived the last known slave ship in America and she actively supports the community they built: Africatown, AL. 

INTRODUCTION:

The Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, March 19th, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, entitled, “The Transformative History of African American Women in the U.S. Part 2”., will be live with Radio Show Co-Hosts and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders Attorneys Barbara Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl Jones, Esq. and feature special guests Prof. Ernest J. Quarles, Esq. and Tiffany Pogue. This is Part 2 of Igniting Change’s look into Black women’s contributions to the United States, a direct follow up to last week’s show. This show will also begin with two major announcements:

• Barbara and Daryl will remind voters to go to the polls in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio. If there are any issues voting, please call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE.
• Barbara and Daryl will invite the audience to join them on Wednesday, March 27th in Atlanta, Georgia at the Transformative Justice Coalition and Allies’ Prayer Vigil and Rally for the Arbery Family that is occurring prior to oral arguments before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals by the murderers of Ahmuad Arbery seeking to overturn their convictions of hate crimes.

Coming off the heels of African American History Month, this month is Women’s History Month. Very few people are knowledgeable of the full record of amazing accomplishments of Black women throughout the history of the United States. Yet, decade to decade, African American women have left a powerful imprint upon every page of American history. This show will continue to look at African American women, known and unknown, who have made a significant mark upon this country from its inception to the present. 

In addition to highlighting more extraordinary African American women who made major contributions to our history, we will also discuss the women in the mostly unknown story of the Clotilda and Africatown, AL. The story of the Clotilda really exemplifies the evil of American slavers who, based on a dare, decided to defy the law and illegally operated a slave ship that trafficked 110 African men, women, and children. Once the ship reached the US in 1859, after the enslaved people were taken off the ship, the ship was sunk into the waters near Mobile, Alabama. The descendants created what is now known as “Africatown”, Alabama. This story would be lost to history except for the work of renowned Black author Zora Neale Hurston, who in 1931 interviewed a survivor, Cudjo Lewis, and produced a book titled “Barracoon” based on his story.

QUESTIONS:

• [Barbara and Daryl will invite the audience to join them on Wednesday, March 27th in Atlanta, Georgia at the Transformative Justice Coalition and Allies’ Prayer Vigil and Rally for the Arbery Family that is occurring prior to oral arguments before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals by the murderers of Ahmuad Arbery seeking to overturn their convictions of hate crimes.
• Barbara and Daryl will remind voters to go to the polls in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio. If there are any issues voting, please call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE.]
• Last week, we were blessed to cover a number of African American women heroes such as Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells Barnett, Callie House, Fannie Lou Hamer, and others. This show is picking back up on the theme of remarkable African American women in history. Let me start with Prof. Quarles. On Friday night, you, your wife, and I had the pleasure of attending the play “Tempestuous Elements”, which highlighted the life of Anna Julia Cooper, and her 1919 fight with the Washington D.C. School Board and those opposed to African Americans receiving a liberal arts education. For everyone listening around the country, tell us why we all should know the life story of Anna Julia Cooper. 
• Tiffany, it was a pleasure to see you in Selma, Alabama. What led you to come and be a part of the 59th Anniversary Commemoration?
• Tiffany, tell us more about your own legacy as a descendant of the Clotilda and Africatown. 
• Tiffany, what is it that people need to know about the women of the Clotilda and the role that the women played in the building of Africatown?
• Ernie, what did it mean for Zora Neale Hurston to have captured this story?
• Why do you think the book sat unpublished from 1931 until 2018?
• Tiffany, what has it meant to the people of Africatown and Alabama to have this story uncovered and popularized?
• Let’s talk some more about the role of amazing African American women in history. What other Black women do we want to recommend to our audience that they should get to know? (There is a new movie about Shirley Chisholm that just came out that’s showing at the Landmark’s E. Street Cinema, 555 11th Street NW Washington, D.C.)
• Ernie, you have recently written a forward to a major work examining African American women in the US. Can you provide an overview to our audience of this upcoming work so people can start ordering it now?
• Tiffany, you are the founder of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Alabama’s Annual Advocates for Girls Conference – where young girls learn from and connect with prominent women in the Mobile community. The third annual Girls’ Empowerment Conference was held on Monday, March 18th and impacted over 100 girls throughout Mobile County. Tell our audience about this event. 
• How can our listeners learn more about Black women in history? (VotingRightsAlliance.org has our 2024 #VRABlackHistory Series which is rich with stories of African American women)
• Tiffany, you are an Alumni of TJC’s Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Leadership Training and a founding Executive Board Member for Stand Up Mobile, a local non-profit voter mobilization organization. What do you think is the most important grassroots organizing that you think needs to happen in order to ensure strong voter protection and engagement in November 2024?
• Ernie, how can people purchase the book you wrote the forward to?
• How do we make sure our history is taught in the face of book bans, anti-DEI, and other opposition to the teaching of Black History?
• What are your final thoughts to our listeners?
• Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?