Story Power Podcast

In her debut book, Everybody Come Alive, Marcie Alvis Walker invites readers into a deeply intimate and illuminating memoir comprising lyrical essays and remembrances of being a curious child of the seventies and eighties, raised under the critical and watchful eye of Jim Crow matriarchs who struggled to integrate their lives and remain whole.

While swimming in rivers of racial trauma and racial reckoning, Alvis Walker explores her earliest memories of abandonment and erasure, of her mother’s mental illness and incarceration, and of her ongoing struggles with perfectionism and body dysmorphia in hopes of leaving a healed and whole legacy for her own child. Nostalgic but unflinching, candid yet tender, Everybody Come Alive is an invitation to be vulnerable along with her as she unravels all the beauty and terror of God, race, and gender’s imprint on her life.

This is a coming-of-age journey touching on the bittersweet pain and joy of what it takes to become a person who embraces being Black, a woman, and holy in America. Alvis Walker’s unforgettable writing challenges readers to not only see and hold her story as being fully human, but also to see and hold their own stories too.

 

Marcie Alvis Walker is the creator of the popular Instagram feed Black Coffee with White Friends. She is also the creator of Black Eyed Bible Stories. Marcie is passionate about what it means to embrace intersectionality, diversity, and inclusion in our spiritual lives. She lives in Chicago with her husband, her college-aged kid Max, and their dog, Evie.

 

We are revisiting some of our favorite episodes!

 

On this episode of Story Power Podcast, Bradley Mason joined Jen to talk about Critical Race Theory, what it is, what it isn't, and why it's such a hot topic at the moment.

You can find Brad and his writings on the subject at www.alsoacarpenter.com 

Follow Brad onTwitter @alsoacarpenter

Daniel Kastner calls himself a technology enthusiast, but I happen to think he's being modest. Daniel is the creator of Ruva, a new social media app designed with mental health in mind. 

You can find more at www.ruva.app

Laura Davis is the author of six non-fiction books, including The Courage to Heal: For Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, The Courage to Heal Workbook, Becoming the Parent You Want to Be and I Thought We'd Never Speak Again: The Road from Estrangement to Reconciliation.

 

Laura joined Jen to talk about her new memoir The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story, and how she helps people find connection and healing through words.

You can find Laura, her new book The Burning Light of Two Stars: A Mother-Daughter Story, and information about her writing classes at www.lauradavis.net

 

 

Jahmeer Reynolds is a community activist, the Executive Director of the Marin County Cooperation Team (“MCCT”), and the Community Engagement Manager for the Sausalito Marin City School District.

 

MCCT provides Marin County’s most vulnerable residents with comprehensive support services which address both critical and long-term needs.  

 

As MCCT’s ED and founder, Jahmeer is the architect of the Marin City Public Safety Initiative (“MCPSI”), the Frederick Leon Marcus Youth Academy ("FLMYA"), and the School to Life Project ("STL") (launching Fall 2021). 

 

The MCPSI is an initiative about re-imagining policing and public safety, as summarized in Jahmeer’s recent TedTalk: “Reimagining Policing for the Good of All”. 

 

Named for the first Black Sheriff Deputy in Marin County, the Frederick Leon Marcus Youth Academy (“FLMYA”) is designed to empower students (grades 9th-12th, mostly) with the tools that they need to maximize their strengths and potential, become community organizers, and influence their world at large. Through a variety of partnerships with community-based organizations, and local public service agencies, students are equipped with civic engagement, social justice, wellness, financial literacy, coding, trauma response, and public safety training.

 

The STL is designed to interrupt the special education to prison pipeline,through the provision of skilled, trained mentors to build relationships and provide academic, social and emotional support to students with special education needs.

For his work as MCCT's ED, Jahmeer received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for Outstanding Innovation from the U.S. Congress, a Certification of Recognition from both the California State Legislature and the Marin County Board of Supervisors, was selected as a Kron 4 Hero, and was given the “Excellence in Innovation” award from the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership.

Tasha Hunter is an Air Force veteran with a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Social Work. She’s a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and resides in North Carolina. She is the author of her memoir, "What Children Remember" and host of the podcast " When We Speak". Her private practice, Ascension Growth Center, specializes in the treatment of childhood trauma-related PTSD. She works to eradicate the stigma of mental health by speaking to others at workshops and seminars about trauma and related mental health topics. Driven and well-informed by personal experience, her mission is to spread awareness about complex trauma and to give survivors a safe space to heal.

 

Tasha Hunter, MSW, LCSW is the owner of Ascension Growth Center, PLLC

Author of the memoir What Children Remember

and host of the podcast When We Speak - Available on Apple Itunes, Google, Spotify, etc.

Nya Abernathy is the creator of The Dignity Effect, LLC and she joined Jen to talk about what motivates her to help people learn about "Social-Emotional Well-Ness + Unity Oriented Peacemaking."

 

You can learn more about Nya and her work at nyasabernathy.com

If you didn't catch the episode with Propaganda, this is a Part 2 of sorts where Kina and Jen talk about their interview with Prop and dig a little deeper into what Terraforming and building a new world could look like.

 

On this episode of Story Power Podcast, Jen and guest co-host Kina Reed got to interview Propaganda about his new book, Terraform: Building a Better World.

 

"Propaganda is a poet, political activist, husband, father, academic & emcee

 

With LA flowing through his veins & armed with a bold message, Propaganda has assembled a body of work that challenges and guides. Propaganda’s ideas stem from where he sits at the intersection. He sees how cultures cross and inspire one another, and can see the oneness of us all. Propaganda will cause you to nod your head, but more importantly, he will stretch your mind & heart."

 

You can find and follow Prop on IG and Twitter @prophiphop as well as prophiphop.com. 

On today's episode of Story Power Podcast, Jen talks to Melissa Florer-Bixler about her new book- How To Have An Enemy, Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace.

 

Melissa is the pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church and a graduate of Duke University and Princeton Theological Seminary. She spent time studying in Israel/Palestine, Kenya, and England. Much of her formation took place in the L'Arche community of Portland, OR. Now she prefers the Eno River and her garden in Raleigh, NC. She is the chair of L'Arche North Carolina and a steering committee member in broad-based organizing in her county. Melissa's writing has appeared in Christian Century, Sojourners, Geez, Anabaptist Witness, The Bias, Faith&Leadership, and Anabaptist Vision. From time to time she publishes academic writing. She and her spouse parent three children.