Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Jennifer Bailey and Margaret Ernst, colleagues who are working together to build radically inclusive spaces by disrupting systems that render any human as other, and establishing authentic community. Jen is an ordained minister, public theologian, and national leader in the multi-faith movement for justice. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Faith Matters Network. Margaret is a community organizer and pastor, and serves as the Director of Learning and Integration at Faith Matters Network. Their work is grounded in Womanist Values, and in this conversation they lift up the efficacy of these values in seeing people whole, prioritizing well being and leaving no one behind.

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Carl W Kenney II and Julia Bowden, two activist leaders whose relationship is deeply rooted in their faith led justice work. Carl is a Pastor and award-winning author, who is known, among other things, for his popular blog Rev-elution. Julia is an elder in full-connection with the NC Conference of the United Methodist Church. She has been a hospital chaplain and a United Methodist Pastor. Carl and Julia find an intimate and complicated connection at the intersections of race, gender and faith. Their relationship reflects the work that must be done for BIPOC folks to be seen and believed, both within and outside of their racially defined communities, in order to grasp the complexity and multidimensionality of our social justice challenges.

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Keith Daniel and Tom Droege to discuss their very intentional efforts to build a working relationship of parity, while still managing deeply embedded power dynamics as a result of the white dominant system we all live in. Keith and Tom are partners in Resilient Ventures the goal of which is to close the existing wealth gap by expanding access to capital, networks, and opportunity for African American entrepreneurs. Their partnership points to the essential wisdom of Black and Brown folks to work toward this end.

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Shantell Hinton-Hill and Lyndsey Godwin, two who met at the intersection of their common struggle to make sense of their multiple identities and what they mean for living integral and ethical lives. Shantell is Senior Equity Officer at The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in Little Rock, Arkansas. Lyndsey is an organizer and activist with a focus on queer liberation and reproductive freedom. Shantell and Lyndsey share a sharp analysis that is clear on whiteness as a power system, and given its connection to the multiple forms systemic oppression, they know the value of clearly naming it as such.

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Sabrina Slade and Kellan Moore to discuss how they communicate, listen to one another and build trust in their working relationship. Sabrina is Director of Racial Equity and Advocacy and Kellan is the Executive Director of John Rex Endowment in Raleigh, NC. Together they are committed to “turning philanthropy on its head.”

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Whitney Tucker and Wesley Tharpe to discuss their professional policy work to make space across our country for all to be “as big as they are.” Whitney is the Deputy Director for Research and Wesley is Deputy Director of State Policy Research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The honesty and trust in their relationship acknowledges that while they are partners in racial justice work, they are keenly aware, as a Black woman and white man, that their roles are different. That difference in the roles they play has important implications for how they can best honor what each of them brings to the struggle, and the labor required of them along the way.

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Melissa Forde and LaTonya McKoy to talk about the tools they have been using to decenter whiteness. Melissa Forde is an advocate and practitioner for racial justice. LaTonya McKoy graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a BS in social work and is currently engaged in helping her community develop and change for the better.

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with Anika Whitfield and Zachary crow to discuss their work battling the injustices of capitalism and white supremacy. Rev. Dr. Anika Whitfield is a Micah Fellow, ordained baptist minister, podiatrist, co-chair of Grassroots Arkansas and tri-chair of Arkansa’s Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Find her on Twitter as @RealAnikaWhit. Zachary Crow is the director of Decarcerate, a grassroots coalition working to end mass incarceration in Arkansas with and on the behalf of prisoners and their families. Zachary is a radio personality, storyteller, filmmaker and poet.

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with two friends, Melvin Bray and Sharon Groves talk about the mutuality of their liberation as they work in tandem to build racial equity. Melvin Bray is an Emmy® award-winning storyteller, social entrepreneur, and author who lives and gardens with his wife, three kids and two dogs in southwest Atlanta, GA. Sharon Groves is the Vice-President for Partner Engagement at Auburn Seminary working at the intersection of faith, LGBTQ equality, and social justice and specializes in breaking down cultural barriers between those on opposing sides of the “culture wars.”

Join Sterling Freeman as he sits down with two faith leaders to discuss how to build racial equity from the margins. Rev. Vernon Williams is the associate pastor at Fountain Baptist Church in Summit New Jersey and the president of the Summit Interfaith Council. Rev. Emilie Boggis is the associate minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit New Jersey. Together they serve on the Summit Interfaith Council which allows them to enact significant change in their shared

Join host Sterling Freeman as he sits down to chat with guests Kathleen Crabbs and Gita Gulati-Partee. Kathleen is a leadership and equity educator and coach, and a partner in organizational and cultural systems change. Gita Gulati-Partee is a the founder and principal of Open Source Leadership Strategies which researches, designs and evaluates racial and social justice efforts as well as builds capacity for racial and social justice organizations, movements and leaders around the world.

Hosted by Sterling Freeman and produced by Crystal Cheatham, “The Wisdom & The Work” features activists, scholars and “scholactivists” who have dedicated themselves to racial justice. Join us tomorrow, January 6th on the anniversary of the capitol insurrection to relive how far we’ve come in a year since that tragic day. What can we do to dismantle and change our collective behaviour? Listen to The Wisdom and The Work starting January 6th to learn more.