We Can Be podcast - The Heinz Endowments

Blindsided by the Taliban: Journalist & Postindustrial media co-founder Carmen Gentile S02EP14

In 2010, journalist and Postindustrial media co-founder Carmen Gentile was embedded with the 32 Calvary regiment in eastern Afghanistan when he was struck in the right side of the face by a rocket-propelled grenade.

 

Carmen details the moment he was blinded in his right eye – and the ensuing years of heartbreak and healing, including his return to Afghanistan and his decision to make Pittsburgh his base – in his 2018 book “Blindsided by the Taliban: A Journalist’s Story of War, Trauma, Love and Loss.”

 

In this conversation with “We Can Be” host Grant Oliphant, Carmen gives his frank, first-hand account of the true cost of our 18-year war in Afghanistan, why it’s considered un-American to question our military, and how he came to turn his efforts to reporting and producing stories that lift up innovators of the Rust Belt and Greater Appalachia through Postindustrial’s print and digital media outlets.

 

“I didn’t want this to be the defining moment for the rest of my life,” said Carmen about his injury in Afghanistan. “I knew I wanted to get back out there, and tell the stories that need to be told.”

 

Hear about his journey to tell the stories of our time in this episode of “We Can Be.”

 

Listen today at heinz.org/podcast, or on leading podcast sites including Stitcher, Podbean, GooglePlay, iTunes, and Spotify.

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by  Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music by Josh Slifkin; incidental by music Giuseppi Capolupa. Guest image by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries can be made to Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.

From homelessness to Emmy Award winning composer & director: the shining light of Emmai Alaquiva S02EP13

Emmy-winning composer, in-demand director and respected mentor Emmai Alaquiva is candid about what rescued him during his early hard times: “The arts saved my life.”

 

CEO of the media production entity Ya Momz House (a tribute to his own mother) and a centrifugal force of light and positivity, Emmai shares his story of homelessness; his early ‘90s hip-hop days with Pensoulzinakup; and how he’s built a career that has included working with The Roots, Dr. Maya Angelou, Solange Knowles and Common.

 

He’s giving back, too, empowering rising creatives through the youth-arts education and mentoring program Hip-Hop On L.O.C.K.; speaking out as an advocate for a living wage; and opening eyes to the Black Lives Matter movement, oppression, homophobia and xenophobia through his Optic Voices photography project.

 

“When I was down, I said ‘God, if you allow me to get on my feet, I’ll spend the rest of my life helping others get on their feet,’ ” Emmai recalls.

 

Experience Emmai’s energy, passion and light as he tells his story to host Grant Oliphant in this episode of “We Can Be.”

 

Listen today at heinz.org/podcast, or on leading podcast sites including Stitcher, Podbean, GooglePlay, Itunes, and Spotify.

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by  Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Guest image by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries: Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.

Dr. Cornel West & Bikari Kitwana 2: the revolution in priorities our society needs S02EP12

In part two of host Grant Oliphant’s two-episode conversation with Dr. Cornel West and Bakari Kitwana, they examine the revolution in priorities our society needs if we are to thrive, the young activists that are driving their hope, and why empathy – on both sides of the aisle – is key.

 

Celebrated activist and academic Dr. Cornel West is professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University, the author of a number of bestsellers, a prominent pop culture figure, and a revered voice in the social justice realm.

 

Journalist, activist and political analyst Bakari Kitwana is a senior media fellow at the Harvard Law School-based think tank The Jamestown Project, and author of “The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American Culture,” which is part of the curriculum at more than 100 universities nationwide.

 

“For young people who are activists, one of the most important things for them to remember is that they are fighting not only for themselves, but for generations to come,” says Mr. Kitwana. “We need to have a vision that allows us to dream of a world that is yet to come.”

 

“Every generation has to grapple with obsession with power, with a too-narrow definition of success,” says Dr. West. “We need a revolution in priorities.”

 

Listen today at heinz.org/podcast, or on leading podcast sites including Stitcher, Podbean, GooglePlay, iTunes, and Spotify.

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by The Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music by Josh Slifkin; guest images by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries: Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.

Dr. Cornel West & Bikari Kitwana on the joy & struggle of today’s freedom fighters S02EP11

In part one of a two-episode conversation, Dr. Cornel West and Bakari Kitwana examine why joy is important in our lives (especially for those in the social justice realm), what reparations could mean to our nation, and why artists are the indispensable ingredient in society today.

 

Celebrated activist and academic Dr. Cornel West is professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University, and the author of bestsellers such as “Race Matters” and “Black Prophetic Fire.” He has written a dozen more seminal works about modern civil rights issues and figures. He also is a prominent pop culture figure, with appearances in two “Matrix” movies, and is a favorite guest on a range of news programs.

 

Journalist, activist and political analyst Bakari Kitwana is a senior media fellow at the Harvard Law-based think tank The Jamestown Project, and author of “The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American Culture,” which is part of the curriculum at more than 100 universities nationwide. His political commentary has been heard on CNN, FOX News, C-Span, PBS and NPR, and he has been a consultant for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

“We are in a quagmire where wealth and inequality crush those who are struggling, and the structures we have in place to ensure that doesn’t happen are no longer working,” says Mr. Kitwana. “We can hope to luck our way out of it, but I think it is going to take more than that.”  

 

It is our young people that will give that “more,” says Dr. West. “On the ground, especially among the younger generation, we have more sensitivity and empathy than we’ve ever had in our country.”

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by  Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music by Josh Slifkin; guest images by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries: contact Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.

Different but united: the palpable positivity of 24-hours-a-day bridge-builder Wasi Mohamed S2EP10

When Wasi Mohamed led the Muslim community in an international fundraising effort that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the families of those killed in the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the world got to know the man many have called “a 24-hours-a-day bridge-builder.”

 

Born and raised in an Indian-Muslim family in central Pennsylvania, Wasi recalls his childhood home being pelted with mustard packets and paint bombs, and dynamite exploding their mailbox.

 

“It changes who you are at a very young age,” he says.

 

But the change it spurred in Wasi was to push forward with palpable positivity when interacting with others and to follow a calling to build bridges between disparate communities, first as executive director of the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, and currently addressing economic justice as Pittsburgh local director of community entrepreneurship with Forward Cities.  

 

Wasi speaks with refreshing candor about how he’s seen the United States’ “wheel of oppression” roll in his lifetime, how we can regain the grace that has been lost by racist narratives that program division into our national character, and why he believes we can, indeed, be “different but united.”

 

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music by Josh Slifkin; incidental music by Giuseppe Capolupo. Guest image by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries: Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.

From Parkland to Pittsburgh, student activists are forever altering the social change landscape S2E9

More than 2,300 lives have been lost and 8,500 people wounded in over 2,000 mass shootings in the United States in the past seven years. Survivors of the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida., that left 17 dead know this trauma of violence all too well.

 

But Parkland students are organizing, speaking out, and reaching across boundaries to offer support to others who have survived or been affected by gun violence, including members of the Pittsburgh community still reeling from the attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

 

Recorded in the midst of a visit hosted by Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh's Center for Loving Kindness in conjunction with the teen service program J-Serve, Parkland students Adam Habona and Alyssa Fletcher share their journey to activism.

 

Alyssa was an organizer of the Parkland “March for Our Lives” rally, which grew to include 800 partner marches around the world and has been described as one of the biggest youth-led protests since the Vietnam War.

 

“Your heart beating means you have purpose in this world,” says Adam, who has traveled extensively to spread word about how “that day” rebooted his life forever.

 

Adam and Alyssa talk about how their faith – Muslim and Jewish, respectively – has fueled their anti-gun-violence activism, the intense bond they feel with students from Pittsburgh and Christchurch, New Zealand, and why, as Alyssa says, “We are not going away.”

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme and incidental music by Josh Slifkin. Guest image by Josh Franzos.  Guest inquiries: Scott Roller sroller@heinz.org 

From Air Force plane nosedive to university president: Dr. Chris Howard & the power of mentoring S2EP8

As a United States Air Force pilot, newly engaged to his South African fiancée, Chris Howard ejected from his aircraft as it fell into a nosedive during a solo training mission in January 1995. Twenty years later, he was one of the youngest university presidents in the United States.

 

Dr. Chris Howard, president of Robert Morris University since 2015, grew up in Plano, Texas, the great-great-grandson of an enslaved man, and the son of parents who instilled in him the values of humility and service.

 

As a high school and United States Air Force Academy football star, Dr. Howard guided his teams to championships, and used those leadership skills in active duty tours in Afghanistan and Bosnia. Through it all, he credits a strong cohort of mentors as key to navigating his path.

 

“Mentoring is a form of service where you don’t have to be a billionaire to change someone’s life,” he says. “It’s empowering, and it’s an honor.”

 

In this episode of “We Can Be,” Dr. Howard discusses the “only-ness” of being the singular black student in fourth grade, the Zulu word that is his North Star, and why he is using his capital to speak up for veterans and gender equality.

 

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme and incidental music by Josh Slifkin. Guest image by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries: Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org.

Art is making souls soar in this rapidly changing neighborhood S02EP07

“I got into art-making because I want show the different ways that people show up in the world, and to represent voices that are often not heard,” says janera solomon, executive director of the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. That aim has never been needed more than now, as her neighborhood grapples with rapid change and the risk of cultural erasure.

 

In the past decade, Pittsburgh’s historic East Liberty community has seen big-name tech companies set up shop in former warehouses, heated controversies ignited about affordable housing, and black-owned businesses priced out of their long-time locations. Steady through it all has been janera and the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, named for native sons/entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn.

 

In addition to her passion for bringing world-class art to her city and giving agency to often underrepresented voices, janera champions a belief in the power of art to address the big issues of our day. 

 

“If we’re going to make the case that our art – and our arts organizations - are important, they have to be more important than just for art’s sake,” says janera. “We have a responsibility to show up for all of the issues that are impacting our communities, and to bring all of our creativity, imagination and rigor to the table.”

 

Hear janera explain the role her immigration story plays in her artistic vision, the three things she believes today’s art world must consider, and how her mom taught her to look fear in the eye – all in this episode of “We Can Be.”

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by The Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music by Josh Slifkin, with incidental music by Giuseppe Capolupo. Guest image by Josh Franzos. Guest inquiries: Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org. 

As environmental stakes rise, Emily Collins helps the underserved get a fair shake S02EP06

Groundwater poisoned from fracking, toxic coal sludge, and industrial pollution can sicken those who live near the source, and ruin land for generations to come. Often those most acutely affected are also those with the least resources to fight for environmental justice.

 

So, Emily Collins did something about it, founding Fair Shake, the nation’s first nonprofit law firm devoted to providing environmental legal services regardless of the client’s ability to pay.

 

Hear about Emily's journey from the woods of her family’s Ohio homestead to the courtroom where she and the Fair Shake team work with individuals, community groups, nonprofit organizations and farmers to give them a fighting chance in their environmental battles.

 

And those battles have increasingly higher stakes, too. “I used to work on cases about impacts to one waterway,” Emily says. “Now, I find myself writing sentences like ‘the project will disturb 246 acres, resulting in impacts to 14 wetlands, one pond and 67 streams.’”

 

Emily shares the very first environmental “citation” she gave – she was in elementary school – and explains why she and her Fair Shake team have run and cycled thousands of miles on the land of those for whom they advocate.

 

“The environmental fights many are facing are not just David versus Goliath, but more like David versus two Goliaths,” Emily says.

 

Hear how Emily is helping even those astronomical odds in this episode of “We Can Be.”

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music by Josh Slifkin, with incidental music by Giuseppe Capolupo. Guest image by Josh Franzos. Audio clips at marks 23:51 and 25:29 feature the voice of environmentalist and “Silent Spring” author Rachel Carson. For guest consideration, contact Scott Roller at sroller@heinz.org. 

Trayvon Martin's activism legacy: mother Sybrina Fulton, Jasiri X & Black Lives Matter stand strong S2E5

Sybrina Fulton is the mother of slain teen Trayvon Martin, and Jasiri X is the co-founder of anti-violence artist collective 1Hood Media, but both are so much more than those descriptors suggest.

 

“He was my youngest boy,” says Sybrina of her son Trayvon, the unarmed 17-year-old who was followed and shot to death in 2012 by a neighborhood watch coordinator for “looking suspicious” in a Sanford, Fla., gated community. “He loved aviation, Skittles, babies and his family. He was a regular kid.”

 

Recording artist-activist Jasiri X, who also is a father, remembers the moment he first heard about Trayvon’s death. “I was used to police killing us, but at that moment it felt like anyone could kill us and get away with it,” he says. “It felt like open season on black men and boys.”

 

In this episode of “We Can Be,” Sybrina shares her moving journey from grieving mother to author (“Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin”) and activist (The Trayvon Martin Foundation).

 

Her story has helped to inspire millions – including Jasiri X who wrote a song titled “Trayvon” - to speak up against gun violence, “stand your ground” laws and racial profiling.

 

In the wake of the killing of unarmed Pittsburgh teenager Antwon Rose II, voices like those of Sybrina Fulton and Jasiri X are more vital than ever.

 

“I speak for and from Trayvon Martin,” says Sybrina of her son, whose death sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. “I stand for the other mothers who cannot.”

 

“We Can Be” is hosted by Heinz Endowments President Grant Oliphant, and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music by Josh Slifkin. Incidental music by James Royce and Isaiah Small. Guest image by Josh Franzos.