Dl talks to Sheila Jackson Lee is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 18th congressional district, having served since 1995. The district includes most of central Houston. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before the 110th Congress, Jackson Lee served on the House Science Committee and on the Subcommittee that oversees space policy and NASA. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and a CBC whip. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dl talks to Nsé Ufot the chief executive officer of the New Georgia Project, a voter support and legal action nonprofit organization founded by Stacey Abrams in 2013. Ufot's organizing efforts in the Georgia 2020 United States presidential election and the 2021 run-off election contributed to turning the state blue.[1] In 2021, she was named one of Time's 100 Next, nominated by Ai-jen Poo . To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks to Craig Melvin who is an anchor at NBC News and MSNBC. In August 2018, he became a news anchor on NBC's Today and, in October 2018, a co-host of Today Third Hour before being made permanent in January 2019. He is also an actor and author, with a new book, “POPS: Learning to be a Son and a Father" To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks to Nicole Denise Johnson Collier, Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives. Since 2013, she has represented District 95 in Fort Worth, Texas. Collier is a 1996 graduate of the University of Houston. She became a single mother in high school. She graduated from the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth, now Texas A&M University School of Law. In the general election on November 4, 2014, Collier won her second term in the Texas House by defeating Republican candidate, Albert G. McDaniel, by a margin of 21,908 votes (75.8 percent) to 7,002 votes (24.2 percent).[2]Collier won her fourth legislative term in the general election held on November 6, 2018. With 32,953 votes (76.5 percent), Collier defeated the Republican candidate, Stephen A. West, who polled 9,384 votes (21.8 percent), and the Libertarian Party choice, Joshua G. Burns, who drew 734 (1.7 percent). To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks to Sherrilyn Ifill who is president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.[ She is the Legal Defense Fund's seventh president since Thurgood Marshall founded the organization in 1940. Ifill is also a nationally recognized expert on voting rights and judicial selection. She is the author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, a 2008 finalist for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for Nonfiction. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks politics, business, and life with actor, writer and businessman, Hill Harper, . Harper graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, received a JD, cum laude, from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University He has appeared in films such as Beloved, The Skulls, and The Visit (2000). Harper won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for three consecutive years (2008–2010) for his portrayal of Dr. Sheldon Hawkes on CSI: NY. Previously he had been nominated for the award for three consecutive years (2005–2007), for the same character. In 2000, he had also been nominated for the award, for his role in the medical drama City of Angels. On January 9, 2014 his book Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL chats with TV host and entrepreneur Carlos Watson. Watson is a multi-Emmy-winning journalist and television host. He is also an entrepreneur, who co-founded Achieva College Prep Service in 2002, which he later sold to the Washington Post. Watson is the host of The Carlos Watson Show, a daily interview show on YouTube, which launched in August 2020.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DeVon Franklin is a Hollywood producer, best-selling author and motivational speaker. He is best known for the films Miracles from Heaven, Heaven Is for Real, and the New York Times best-seller book The Wait, which he co-wrote with his wife Meagan Good. Franklin a regular on The Dr. Oz Show, where he talks about faith, relationships and spiritual wellness. He has appeared on Dr. Phil, CBS This Morning, Entertainment Tonight, Oprah's Super Soul Sunday, and was named to Oprah's SuperSoul100 list of visionaries and influential leaders.   To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks to Nate Parker who is an American actor and filmmaker. He has appeared in films such as Beyond the Lights, Red Tails, The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters, , and Pride.[2] Parker's directorial debut feature film, The Birth of a Nation, in which he also starred, made history at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival when Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the distribution rights for $17.5 million, breaking the record for the most paid for a Sundance Film Festival production Parker's next film American Skin, which he wrote, directed, and starred had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in August 2019. Parker also directed Solitary which stars David Oyelowo. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dl talks to Leonard Garvey Pitts Jr. (born October 11, 1957)[1] is an American commentator, journalist, and novelist and is a winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Pitts is a bestselling author. His first book, Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood, was published in 2006. His first novel, Before I Forget, was released in March 2009, and earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly.. Pitts's third book, Forward from This Moment: Selected Columns, 1994-2008, was published in August 2009. It is a selection of his columns from the Miami Herald. And he goes deep with Gerard Bush is a director and writer and producer, known for Antebellum (2020), Rapture and 17 Seventeen (2017) and Get Out. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL sits down with the Lucas Bros (Keith and Kenny Lucas)who continue their rise as two of the freshest, most dynamic new faces in entertainment. The brothers are two of the writers (story by) on the highly revered film JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, which has earned them Oscar and WGA Award Nominations for “Best Original Screenplay,” and they will be writing and starring in a new comedy feature with Universal and Lord Miller as well as a reimagined reboot of REVENGE OF THE NERDS with 20th Century Studios and Seth Macfarlane. Keith and Kenny are writers on the much buzzed about dramatic Warner Bros feature JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, starring Daniel Kaluuya (GET OUT, BLACK PANTHER) and Lakeith Stanfield (GET OUT, Atlanta). JUDAS, the story of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his fateful betrayal by FBI informant William O'Neal, premiered in theatres and on HBO Max on February 12th, 2021. The film has garnered multiple awards, including “Best Picture” from The African American Film Critics Association and The WGA’s annual Paul Selvin Award To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks to Keri Leigh Merritt a historian, writer, and activist. Her first book, Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South (Cambridge University Press, 2017), won both the Bennett Wall Award from the Southern Historical Association, honoring the best book in Southern economic or business history published in the previous two years, as well as the President’s Book Award from the Social Science History Association.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dl talks to rapper and activist Talib Kweli Greene who is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Kweli earned early fame with his collaboration with fellow  rapper Mos Def, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued as a solo artist. His most recent solo album is titled Gotham, released in 2020. In 2011, Kweli founded his own record label, Javotti Media. Then he talks fashion with star designer Sergio Hudson whose luxury women's ready-to-wear label is designed and produced entirely in Los Angeles. Composed of jaw dropping statement pieces and wardrobe staples, the collections show a masterful use of color and silhouette, making the Hudson woman stand out from the rest. In 2014, Hudson launched his namesake ready-to-wear collection, establishing an aesthetic defined by immaculate tailoring and infusions of androgyny paired with overtly sexy silhouettes. His vision is to bring back the joy of dressing which he is doing- one collection at a time. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks to Andra Day, who is a multi-Grammy nominated singer songwriter, and Emmy nominated, Golden Globe winning and Academy Award nominated actress. Her portrayal of Billie Holiday in the biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday, won her wide acclaim as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She is currently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her stage name was inspired by Holiday, whose nickname was "Lady Day."  And she is considered one of the hottest and most talented performers today.   Then DL chats with Arlan Hamilton, a remarkable entrepreneur who built a venture capital fund from the ground up, while homeless. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to minimizing funding disparities in tech by investing in high-potential founders who are people of color, women, and/or LGBT. Backstage has now raised more than $15 million and invested in more than 175 startup companies led by underestimated founders and has been featured in Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Quartz. Arlan made history by making the cover of Fast Company as the first Black woman non-celebrity to do so, and her book “It’s About Damn Time” is out on Penguin Random House’s business imprint Currency.   To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL brings in guest Lalah Hathaway, the 5x GRAMMY award-winning singer/songwriter and producer and 10-time nominee. Lalah's music transcends genre - from R&B ballads and uptempo numbers to pop standards and soulful jazz - she frequently appears on the Hot R&B charts with today’s top hitmakers, including Pharrell Williams, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre, Anderson. Paak and Snoop Dogg. Lalah has also shared the stage with music legends, from Prince to Stevie Wonder to Anita Baker. Lalah headlined the Lincoln Center's Out of Doors summer concert series with a sold out one night only show “Lalah Hathaway Sings Donny Hathaway.” Most recently, Lalah released the single "So Emotional," where she served as the featured artist on the lost album of the legendary Miles Davis To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL grills Frank Figliuzzi who was the FBI"s Assistant Director for Counterintelligence and served 25 years as a Special Agent. He is a national security expert and has unique insight into domestic terrorism. Then DL gets up close and personal with director and choreographer, Laurieann Gibson who is one of the most important pop culture influencers in entertainment today. Gibson’s expertise in developing artists’ performance skills earned her an Emmy nomination for directing Lady Gaga’s HBO concert special Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden. Laurieann also directed and choreographed Nicki Minaj’s sold out “Pink Print World Tour” and Diddy’s “Bad Boy 20th Anniversary Reunion Tour.” To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First DL talks to author and political commentator Heather McGhee who is a distinguished senior fellow and former president of Demos, a non-profit progressive U.S. think tank. McGhee is also a regular contributor to a wide range of TV news shows. Then DL chats with celebrity chef,  Gerry Garvin who is known for his television show nbsp; Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin. The show ran for seven seasons on TV One. His cookbook, nbsp; Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin, nbsp; won an American Literacy Award. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL talks with Fred David Gray a legendary civil rights attorney, preacher and activist who came to prominence working with Martin Luther King Jr. and defending him from tax evasion charges, winning an acquittal from an all-white Jury. Among his many famous civil rights cases, Gray defended Rosa Parks, who was charged with disorderly conduct for refusing to sit in the rear of segregated city buses, and represented plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit about the controversial federal Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972). During the Great Depression, the study was changed to review untreated syphilis in rural African-American male subjects, who thought they were receiving free health care and funeral benefits. Gray is portrayed by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the 2014 film Selma and by Shawn Michael Howard in the 2001 film Boycott, in which Gray, himself, plays a cameo role as a supporter of Martin Luther King Jr. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raphael Warnock is a pastor and politician who came to prominence in Georgia politics as a leader in the campaign to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. He is running in a key Senate election in Georgia against Kelly Loeffler. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

DL goes head to head with former RNC Chairman, Michael Steele  Steele served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007; he was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Maryland. As lieutenant governor, Steele chaired the Minority Business Enterprise task force, actively promoting an expansion of affirmative action in the corporate world. And then DL talks to recording artist, Bishop Marvin Sapp, an American Gospel music singer-songwriter who recorded with the group Commissioned during the 1990s before beginning a record-breaking solo career. Sapp is also the founder and senior pastor of Lighthouse Full Life Center Church, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He recorded Perfect Peace in 1995. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices