Episodios
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Places on the Internet to Learn More:
Soft Power Vote website and Instagram and their June 2021 Primary Voter Guide and their Candidate Criteria
Ranked Choice Voting Info and where to find your poll site and sample ballot
Dianne Morales’ Campaign Woes
Rebecca Traister on Maya Wiley and New York Magazine’s feature on Andrew Yang
New York Nico interviews the Mayoral Candidates
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Kelsey Jones and Gabriela Tejedor, are the founders and Co-Heads of School and the respective Math and ELA teachers at Brooklyn Independent, a private middle school with a sliding scale tuition model located in Fort Greene. BKI names diversity and inclusion as keys to effective learning, and the school’s goal is to cultivate a community that sincerely reflects the racial and socioeconomic diversity of Brooklyn. Gaby and Kelsey started BKI as a response to the stark segregation and inequity that plagues New York City’s school system, two things they witnessed and felt in their decade-long careers as educators. Gaby and Kelsey opened the doors of BKI to their first class of 6th graders in the fall of 2019 after years of intense, and at times, disheartening, planning. BKI is now in its second year of operation, serving 6th and 7th graders, with plans to expand in the coming years.
This conversation is rigorous (to borrow an overused word from the ed world) and emotionally rich and thought provoking and very very honest. In this episode, Gaby and Kelsey discuss their protective, stubborn relationships with New York City, how to fundraise and recruit for a school with a social justice mission and different tuition tiers, the ugly truth about remote learning, and running a school during a pandemic and last summer’s uprising. They also reflect on the email they sent out last June in support of Black Lives Matter and the many iterations the school’s systems have gone through to most accurately actualize their mission and to better serve all of the students and families in their community. Alexis, Kelsey and Gaby also all share details about their own uncomfortable reckonings with how they have shown up (and not shown up) as educators in the past, and how to do it with more awareness.
Places on the Internet to Learn More:
Brooklyn Independent’s Website and Instagram
Initiate Equity
Teaching Tolerance’s Social Justice Standards
MCOD: Multicultural Organization Development Framework
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Brittany Owens Micek is the founder and lead organizer of Meditating for Black Lives, a community organization that uses the principles and practices of various meditation traditions to support community efforts to heal oppression. Brittany started Meditating for Black Lives last summer with hopes to create a space for attendees to sit in contemplation together to process our absorbed trauma and breathe for the lives of Black and Brown people, and for all people, throughout the world. On Saturdays and Sundays from June 2020 lasting through the fall, Brittany or other intentionally selected guides led up to 2,000 attendees through 30 minute guided meditations in both Bed Stuy and Brownsville that focused on the privilege and precarity of breath.
This is part two of our conversation with Brittany. Topics include, how the wellness industrial complex has co-opted the ancient practice of meditation, leaving it falsely synonymous with whiteness and money… and also how Meditating for Black Lives is an attempt to counteract that. Brittany explains why she chose to move the meditations to Lincoln Terrace Park from a park in a gentrifying Bed Stuy, how she intentionally chose the meditation leaders and how the local NYPD precincts chose to behave when she applied for a park permit with “Meditating for Black Lives” in the title. We also talk about the psychology of whiteness and why nobody ever talks about it, Alexis’ honest journey with yoga and we somehow manage to stumble on conversations about Jay-Z, NoName, Atlanta, Robin D’Angelo, Solange, DMX and the Goonies.
Meditating for Black Lives is also back for its second season! They will hold three meditations every Saturday and Sunday in May at Swivel Gallery in Bed Stuy. Visit the links for MFBL and Swivel Gallery below to check the times and sign up in advance.
Places on the Internet to Learn More:
Visit Meditating for Black Lives’ Website and Instagram to sign up for a meditation and donate if you are able
You can also sign up for a meditation on Swivel Gallery’s website
“Corporate Mindfulness Programs Are an Abomination”, Thom James Carter for Current Affairs
Yoga is Dead Podcast
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Brittany Owens Micek is the founder and lead organizer of Meditating for Black Lives, a community organization that uses the principles and practices of various meditation traditions to support community efforts to heal oppression. Brittany started Meditating for Black Lives last summer with hopes to create a space for attendees to sit in contemplation together to process our absorbed trauma and breathe for the lives of Black and Brown people, and for all people, throughout the world. On Saturdays and Sundays from June 2020 lasting through the fall, Brittany or other intentionally selected guides led up to 2,000 attendees through 30 minute guided meditations in both Bed Stuy and Brownsville that focused on the privilege and precarity of breath.
You will hear our conversation with Brittany in two parts. And they are both damn good, if we do say so ourselves.
This is part one. In this episode, Brittany and Alexis talk about their spiritual relationships with New York City and its often overlooked natural beauty, how an image of three of her selves in a red convertible in the wake of a pandemic related lay off led Brittany to start Meditating for Black Lives, and how listening to music can be both comforting and also emotionally manipulative (word to Brandy on that one). Brittany also tells us some foundational things to know about meditation and about her experience at a silent retreat at a Buddhist monastery and its impact on her- including altering her relationship to New York’s infamous and indomitable cockroach population. You will hear the beginnings of the genesis of Meditating for Black Lives, but we leave you on an intentional cliff hanger. So tune in to part two!
Meditating for Black Lives is also back for its second season! They will hold three meditations every Saturday and Sunday in May at Swivel Gallery in Bed Stuy. Visit the links for MFBL and Swivel Gallery below to check the times and sign up in advance.
Places on the Internet to Learn More:
Visit Meditating for Black Lives’ Website and Instagram to sign up for a meditation and donate if you are able
You can also sign up for a meditation on Swivel Gallery’s website
Stella Bugbee on hyperlocal NYC fashion for New York Magazine
Empty Cloud Monastery
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Today, we bring you part II of Alexis’ conversation with Rev. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft. In part II, Alexis and Amanda discuss: the tension of being a white person in the anti-racist movement and how they wrestle with that tension, how anti-racism needs to show up in day to day life beyond Instagram, the complicated relationship between the Black Lives Matter movement and capitalist institutions like the Grammys, the danger of white feminism and the off base assumptions progressive white people make. Alexis also explains why this moment in time feels, to her, like one long episode of Atlanta. Amanda shares the story behind her controversial decision to appear on Fox News, twice, the relationship between spirituality and protest, and her own decision to go to seminary. She also discusses the history of Middle Church as a progressive spiritual haven and it’s future after a devastating fire burnt it’s Second Avenue sanctuary to the ground last December.
If you missed Part I, Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft is a white mother raising three white kids, a 5 year old daughter and 7 year old twin boys, in the East Village of NYC. She was born and raised in a small town in Kentucky, went to college in Birmingham, AL and to seminary in Richmond, VA. She has lived in NYC for 13 years. Amanda is a movement builder and leader who writes, speaks and studies at the intersection of race, faith, politics, feminism, and parenting. Amanda is also the Executive Minister for Justice, Education & Movement Building at Middle Church, a historic, multicultural inclusive church in the East Village.
You can find the episode in our feed to hear Amanda and Alexis discuss our perceptions of the REAL differences between the American South and NYC, early conversations we had (or didn’t have) about race in our childhood homes, and our definitions of activism. Amanda shares why she brings her own kids to protests, what anti-racist parenting looks and feels like in everyday life (including breaking down the importance of J.Lo and Shakira’s 2019 superbowl halftime performance and discussing the wonders of Dolly Parton with her children), why it is the responsibility of all white parents to talk to their kids about race and why parenting is inherently political.
Places on The Internet to Learn More:
Middle Church and the fire that destroyed it’s sanctuary
“Anti-Racist Reading Lists, What Are They For?”, Lauren Michele Jackson for Vulture
Minor Feelings, Cathy Park Hong
The atrocities of Peter Stuyvesant
Amanda on Fox News
Tamika Mallory on the Grammys
Stand Your Ground, Kelly Brown Douglas
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Do we hate the player, but love the game? Ball is Business is an investigation into the complex world of amateur basketball, from the players who love the game to the systems that break their hearts.
In September 2020, Alexis' original pitch for “Ball is Business” was chosen as one of 10 finalists (out of 1,800 entries) in iHeartRadio’s Next Great Podcast competition. She had three weeks to create a pilot of an narrative documentary podcast investigating the exploitative nature of the high school basketball recruitment circuit. The pilot features interviews with ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, The Last Shot’s Corey Johnson, top NYC youth basketball recruit Jermel Thomas and Dr. Akuoma Nwadike discussing the effects being a star athlete as a kid has on your mind, body and identity.
Alexis is currently pitching the series to outlets who are interested in producing Ball is Business into a full series with care, passion and a relentless pursuit for truth! Take a listen to the pilot and hit us up if you know anybody who fits that description!
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Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft is a white mother raising three white kids, a 5 year old daughter and 7 year old twin boys, in the East Village of NYC. She was born and raised in a small town in Kentucky, went to college in Birmingham, AL and to seminary in Richmond, VA. She has lived in NYC for 13 years. Amanda is a movement builder and leader who writes, speaks and studies at the intersection of race, faith, politics, feminism, and parenting. Amanda is the founder of Raising Imagination, an online movement platform that looks at the evolution of social issues through the lens of imagination. Her platform is largely dedicated to the necessary work white parents must undergo to raise their white kids as anti-racist and how to involve kids in advocacy. Her work has been cited in CNN, Refinery29, the Wall Street Journal, WNBC, and Crooked Media. Amanda is also the Executive Minister for Justice, Education & Movement Building at Middle Church, a historic, multicultural inclusive church in the East Village.
In today’s conversation, Amanda and Alexis discuss our perceptions of the REAL differences between the American South and NYC, early conversations we had (or didn’t have) about race in our childhood homes, and our definitions of activism. Amanda shares why she brings her own kids to protests, what anti-racist parenting looks and feels like in everyday life (including breaking down the importance of J.Lo and Shakira’s 2019 superbowl halftime performance and discussing the wonders of Dolly Parton with her children), why it is the responsibility of all white parents to talk to their kids about race and why parenting is inherently political.
Today’s episode is the first of two conversations featuring Amanda. Look out for the release of part two in the coming days!
Places on the Internet to Learn More:
Raising Imagination on Instagram
Amanda’s essay about watching the J.Lo and Shakira halftime show with her kids
White Too Long: The History of White Supremacy in American Christianity, Robert P. Jones
Seeing White podcast series
The teachings of Dr. Katie Cannon, Monique Melton, June Jordan, Tabitha St Bernard-Jacobs
Raising White Kids, Jennifer Harvey
Middle Church
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Nattalyee Randall is an actor, singer and voice over artist based in Manhattan. She is also the founder and leader of the 50 Mile Run for Justice Protest, a national initiative to use running as a means to fight for and celebrate the lives of Black people who lost their lives because of police brutality. In November of 2020, she ran a 50 mile route that spanned the five boroughs honoring 50 Black lives lost to police violence. She is currently training to run 100 miles for 100 lives lost on Juneteenth 2021. These impressive feats, along with Nattalyee’s personal running journey, will be documented in her upcoming documentary The Race Against Race. Nattalyee lost her mother Tinnie Randall to Covid-19 in December of 2020. Nattalyee and her sisters have organized a commemorative scholarship, dedicated to their mother, that will be awarded to two 6-12 grade students who have lost a parent or parent figure to the coronavirus. The link to apply by May 1st, 2021 is below.
In this episode Nattalyee discusses being an actor during the pandemic, her own personal running journey, the link between running and activism, normalizing Black runners, the inspiration behind and making of her documentary, the power of singing in the streets and her love for Law and Order SVU. We also discuss the delight of the ferry ride to the Rockaways and the majesty of Tina Turner.
Places on the Internet to Learn More:
Follow the 50 Mile Run for Justice on Instagram to get involved and hear updates about The Race Against Race
Nattalyee’s Personal IG
Sobriety Clubhouse
Apply to the Tinnie Randall Scholarship
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Michael Shelton is 28, from Washington Heights, a music lover, biker, software engineer and activist currently living in Williamsburg. Michael is also an organizer and member of Riders 4 Rights, a community organization that organizes bike protests, leads educational rides and provides mutual aid to New Yorkers across the city, all in the fight for Black Liberation with the intention of building community and keeping its members safe. In this episode, Michael fills Alexis in on how life in the NYC of his childhood compares to the NYC of today, what drew him into organizing, the beauty of the bike protest, the agony and ecstasy of summer 2020, the power of organizing in community and what it means to be an LCD Soundsystem groupie.
Places on the Internet to Learn More:
Follow Riders 4 Rights on InstagramWhy Passive Voice in Journalism is So Dangerous, Adrienne Samuels Gibbs, September 3rd, 2020The Black Led Groups Biking Against Racism, The Guardian, July 2nd, 2020 -
Marcus Alston is 18 years old. A Bushwick native. An activist. A Fashion Killa. A 2020 graduate of Pace High School in lower Manhattan and current freshman at Lafayette College in Easton, PA. Marcus is an activist who is in love with activism and his people. He has spent the last four years fighting for a more equitable city, with a specific focus on school suspension reform and integrating New York City’s very segregated schools. In this episode, Marcus shares with Alexis his experience growing up in Bushwick, its gentrification, his history as an activist, his experience protesting last summer, being a Black person at a PWI and living outside of NYC for the first time in his life. We also hear his take on the impact of a year of protests, the power of his generation and his hopes for our city moving forward. Oh, and how much he loves thrifting and Pop Smoke.
Marcus’s interview is the first of our second season, which is a love letter to New York City after a year of sickness, sadness, and tragedy that was also filled with love, solidarity and triumph. Many of this season’s episodes will be dedicated to the activists and organizers who have been holding us down over the past year.
Places on the Internet to learn more:
Ok Boomer, Teen Vogue
Inside New York’s Suspension Schools, Chalkbeat
Marcus on New York Times’ The Weekly: The Fight to Desegregate New York City’s Schools
What Black Schools Mean to Black Kids (Jemilah Lemieux,The Nation)
Teens Take Charge
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Alexis won an award! The pilot episode of her show, Appropriate:Stories from the grey area of consuming culture was award BRIC Media Arts 2019 B Spoke award- recognizing a show that pushes the boundaries of free speech in podcasting. In this episode she examines her relationship to hip hop and attempts to answer the following questions:Why do so many white people like Chance the Rapper? Why were there so many of us at his concert? Why are there so many of us at rap concerts in general? Why do so many white people listen to rap music? Have we always listened to rap music or is this some sort of new thing? Am I overthinking this? Do I overthink everything? Is it even a big deal that we listen to rap music? And what’s up with the WAY we listen to rap music? Spoiler alert: she doesn't come up with any final answers, but she sure tries. Tune in to hear Alexis examine her own relationship with rap music with NYILYBYC favorite Ruth, as well as her conversations with poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib, Refinery 29's Connie Wang, The Wing's Yari Blanco and others. More episodes to come!
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In part II of our final episode, we return to Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown to sit down with Mei Lum- the store's fifth generation owner. She explains what informed her decision in 2016 at the age of 26 to defer her acceptance to grad school at Columbia and assume ownership of the store. And also how that ownership has informed the development of the W.O.W project, her non profit whose mission is to sustain ownership over Chinatown's future by growing, protecting and preserving Chinatown's creative culture through arts and activism. Mei and Alexis also dig into how Chinese culture is often appropriated, and Mei drafts a response to an inappropriate Instagram post. She also fills us in on the history Chinatown holds, the challenges it faces and her (cautious) vision for her store, her project and her neighborhood. You can stop by W.O.W (26 Mott Street) any day of the week between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. And to learn more about the store's history, visit their website and listen to the Prelude to the End: Alexis Says Goodbye to NewYorkILYBYC.
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Gary Lum is the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper of Wing on Wo & Co, the oldest continuously operating store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Wing on Wo has been at its current location, 26 Mott Street, since 1925 and sells consciously chosen Chinese porcelain. Wing on Wo is a family business and is truly one of the most special spaces in our city. The Lum’s story of tenacity, legacy and loyalty is New York City at its very best. There couldn't be a more fitting interview to close this series with. In part I, Gary shares the beauties and challenges of growing up as the American born son of Chinese Immigrants in the Chinatown of the 1960s and 70s. He definitely knows the neighborhood has changed but he discusses how he manages to work within it. He also talks about the complex roles Stuyvesant High School and the Jersey Shore played in his life and why he tries to cultivate genuine connections with his customers.And most importantly, Gary gives some insight into how raising his two awesome daughters, Mei and Lina, empowered him to correct the lasting effects of a childhood he considered less than ideal. To hear more about the history of the store and some other lessons Gary taught Alexis, tune into the Prelude to the End: Alexis Says Goodbye to NewYorkILYBYC and visit our website.
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Tomorrow, the last episode of New York, I Love You But You've Changed will air in two parts. Part one will feature an interview with Gary Lum, the steward, guardian and current shopkeeper at Wing on Wo & Co- the oldest continuously running store in Manhattan's Chinatown. Part two features an interview with Gary's daughter, Mei Lum- the fifth generation owner of her family's store. As a prelude to this final episode, Alexis shares what making this show has taught her (people don't like to answer emails/ capturing perfect audio is really hard!), why she's stopping (something new is coming!), what New York City really means to her (pretty much everything!) and the best trains to cry on (the Q-duh!). Plus you will hear some audio clips of wisdom Gary shared about the experience of being a guest on a show like this. Tune in, read the text on our website and we will see you on Thursday. XOXO
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From Seinfeld to bagels with lox, New York City has been anointed the pinnacle of American Jewish culture. But what does that actually mean? Is there a difference between being Jewish by culture and Jewish by religion? And do all of NYC’s Jewish residents access their religion and their city in the same way? Judaism in NYC is at once both highly visible and highly misunderstood. In this week’s episode we attempt to answer those questions and clear up some misunderstandings along the way. We talk to Joe, a lifelong New Yorker who grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. He names and delineates the differences between the denominations of Judaism that exist in New York City, shoots down a few myths and shares some things about his past and current relationship with the religion. Along the way we learn about the Orthodox Jewish version of dating "apps", gender roles within different Jewish communities, how secular folks react when they learn that eating Kosher means never tasting bacon and why 54% of Orthodox Jews voted for T***P. You’ll learn a lot, and have a few laughs along the way. As always, you can find links to everything we referenced in this episode on our website.
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Kya and Jonah are two 12 year old Brooklynites with a lot to say, and on this week's episode of NewYorkILYBYC they say a lot. They took some time out of their busy school day to share with Alexis their thoughts on the peaks and valleys of growing up as kids of color in 2018 Brooklyn. They give their take on local issues including gang participation, police brutality, racial profiling in retail, and the borough's drop out rates while making connections to national themes like our current president, the real value of the Obama presidency, mass incarceration, the Bill Cosby verdict and the legacy of slavery in housing, the workforce and politics. Their opinions are unique and provocative (they also DEFINITELY don't always agree with each other), and they bravely share some things about their own lives along the way. They also give us the dish on Snapchat, the music the cool kids are listening to, the best things to do during the summer in BK (ever heard of Links?) and where we should eat when we are done doing those things. Kya and Jonah hold nothing back, and give us a lot to think about. As always, you can find links to everything we referenced in this episode on our website.
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We welcome fan favorite Rutherford back to NewYorkILYBYC for a very special episode. This week, Alexis and Rutherford share some premium recommendations to keep listeners busy. In part one, the ladies discuss what they are currently reading- books to make you a better human for Ruth (think Rumi and Ta-Nehisi Coates) and Alexis shares the long form journalism she is currently crushing on (covering topics ranging from NYC's homelessness crisis to Coney Island's brightest basketball prospects). In part two, Alexis and Ruth talk about the TV and films they are currently obsessed with (Atlanta, duh). We also hear a story about how Breaking Bad sparked a serious argument between the Haut sisters and the REAL reason Alexis does not watch Game of Thrones. In part three, your girls chat about the music that they are turning on and turning up including new J.Cole, favorites like Ms. Lauryn Hill and Solange and young visionaries like Willow Smith. Throughout you'll be treated to the fresh analysis you've come to expect from two of your favorite Brooklyn Babes. Make sure you're ready to take some notes or visit our website for links to all the rad stuff referenced in this episode. We will be back next week with a new interview.
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The vast majority of cases brought to the attention of New York City's child protection system are cases of neglect, not abuse. Neglect is a subjective term that is applied quite differently in the city's poor neighborhoods than in its rich ones. Letting your child wander independently down the sidewalk in Park Slope is a funny anecdote. In the South Bronx, where more than 30% of our city's foster children hail from, this is often considered posing imminent risk to a child's life- and can result in that child being forcefully removed from their parent. In this episode, our guest Emma Ketteringham explains why our city's child protection system deserves to be subject to the same critique as our country's system of mass incarceration, why it hasn't been and its effect on families in NYC's poorest neighborhoods. Emma is the managing director of the Family Defense Practice at the Bronx Defenders, a public defender organization determined to give their clients the high quality, multi-disciplinary representation that residents of more privileged neighborhoods have come to expect from private attorneys. Emma manages 50 lawyers, advocates, and social workers who represent over 85% of parents involved in child protection cases in the South Bronx. Drawing from her impressive professional experience as a public interest lawyer, historical and political knowledge and personal reference library of straight up facts, Emma paints us a clear picture of how the system fails to serve the parents and children it was built to protect. We also learn more about the incredible progress the Defenders have made and how we can help address one of the most important social and feminist issues our city faces. Oh, Alexis and Emma also throw you some book recommendations and some commentary on what makes Cardi B so great. As always, you can find links to everything referenced in this episode on our website.
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Nick E Finn and Mairys Joaquin are a crazy talented Brooklyn couple who define the word "hustle". Mairys is a Brooklyn native (East New York) who is a former teacher and school leader, and current singer-actor-musician-real estate agent-entrepreneur. Her partner Nick is originally from Seattle (read: NOT Brooklyn), but has declared that he will be buried in NYC's best borough. Also a former teacher, Nick is a poet-writer-actor-educator. Nick and Mairys tell Alexis about what makes Brooklyn so great, what challenges it faces and how the city has impacted their relationship and their work as teachers and artists. Mairys lets us know how her childhood in NYC informs her work as an educator, broker and community member. Nick shares how he has reckoned with his role in Brooklyn's gentrification as both a teacher and an artist, and how it inspired him to write and perform in his solo show The Last Hipster in Brooklyn. And as tends to happen when three teachers get together, Nick, Mairys and Alexis got a lot done in a little bit of time. They hit on the beauty of Bachata in the summer, how Jay-Z sold Brooklyn on a basketball team, Spike Lee (of course) and more. Follow Nick and Mairys on their social pages to keep up with their past and upcoming work. And as always, find links to everything referenced on our website and follow us on Instagram @newyorkilybyc.
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Rutherford is a life-long Brooklynite (Crown Heights by way of Canarsie), and proud daughter of Haitian immigrants. She is a creative entrepreneur working on a number of things like editorial curation for Black Girl Fly Magazine and building a sustainable town in Haiti. In this episode, Ruth shares with Alexis her insight on how new Crown Heights residents have changed the neighborhood's landscape (hint: it's not always for the better). She also discusses the oft-overlooked effects of gentrification on Brooklyn's outer neighborhoods like Canarsie. In the process, she and Alexis hit on everything from racism and reparations to Get Out and Goodfellas. They also share their thoughts on the their ginger ale preferences, their plans to call in stunt doubles by the year 2020, whether or not the Nets are really a New York basketball team and the magic of 106.7 Lite Fm. For more about the episode and our show visit our website at www.newyorkilybyc.com and find us on Instagram under the handle @newyorkilybyc
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