Ujamaa Place: A Black Man’s Sketch

S1, E22: Ujamaanomics - Confronting Slavery and Lynching

Ujamaa Place coach, men, staff and its Twin Cities Communities of Practice (TCCoP) partners traveled south on a Ujamaanomics Civil Rights Research Experience confronting our nation's history of slavery and lynching in America.
The conversation explores how this history systemically perpetuates poverty and is linked to the present-day lynchings of Mr. George Floyd and Philando Castile.
Special guests: 
Captain Charles Alphin, DTK Tours 
Twin Cities Communities of Practice Partners: YWCA Saint Paul, PPL and Cultural Wellness Center

S1, E21: The State v. Derek Chauvin Pt. IV

A Black Man's Sketch The State v. Derek Chauvin | The Verdict, is the final episode of a special 4-part series covering the trial of the century.  
Episode 21 begins with the audio statement that Ujamaa Place CEO Otis Zanders released after Judge Cahill read the verdict convicting former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin on all three counts of murder: second degree murder, third degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.  Mr. Zanders' statement is followed by a discussion with Ujamaa men Ryan Delaney and Cedric Smith reflecting on their feelings after hearing the verdict and what does moving forward look like for Ujamaa men.

S1, E20: The State v. Derek Chauvin Pt. III

Monday, April 19th, jurors in The State v. Derek Chauvin trial will hear closing arguments from the prosecution and the defense, while the world awaits the verdict.  
Ujamaa Wellness coach Darnell leads this week's update with two Ujamaa Men, Cedric Smith and "OJ" Anderson, joined by Housing coach Gary-El and CEO Otis Zanders.
 

S1, E19: The State v. Derek Chauvin Pt. II

Ujamaa Place CEO Otis Zanders welcomes special guest community leader Melvin Whitfield Carter Jr. who served as a Saint Paul Police Officer for twenty-eight years.  Mr. Carter is the Founder/Executive Director of "Save Our Sons" and is also well-known as the father of the Mayor of Saint Paul and the husband of distinguished Chair of the Ramsey County Commissioners, and father to three amazingly strong, intelligent trailblazing daughters.  
We are joined by Ujamaa Men Cedric Smith and Ryan Delaney and Ujamaa Coaches Darnell Baker and Kenneth Gary El, who engage with Mr. Carter about the extraordinary testimony this week from Minneapolis Chief of Police Medaria Arradondo and other officers that torn down the blue wall of silence.

S1, E18: The State v. Derek Chauvin Pt. I

The world remains on edge questioning whether the current justice system can achieve Justice for George Floyd by convicting the police officers responsible for his death.
The inequalities that have existed for Black people in the U.S. for over 400 years reached a boiling point in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. The world witnessed Mr. Floyd plead for his life while Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee into Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.
Mr. Floyd’s death made the world stop and take a serious look at racial injustice in this country and the urgent need for criminal justice and police reform. An estimated 15-26 million protestors took to the streets to proclaim that “Black Lives Matter”, making it the largest civil rights movement in history. The world remains on edge questioning whether the current justice system can achieve #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd by convicting the police officers responsible for his death.

S1, E17: Criminal Justice Advocacy with Judge Stephenson

Judge Stephenson Bio:
 
Education:
J.D., William Mitchell College of Law, 1985
B.A., St. Mary’s College, 1980
 
Judge Stephenson was instrumental in establishing the John School Program, a program whose aim is to reduce prostitution-related crime; offenders are required to pay for their participation in the program and the proceeds are used to assist former prostitutes in remaining out of the life of prostitution and to assist them in finding stable housing.  
  
Judge Stephenson was involved in establishing St. Paul’s Community Court, a program which more assertively handles cases involving “quality of life” (neighborhood nuisance) offenses with an emphasis on completing community service hours. 
  
Judge Stephenson also took the lead in establishing the Community Prosecutor Program under Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner and former St. Paul City Attorney Clayton Robinson.  The program’s aim was to focus on the troubled Frogtown/Summit-University neighborhoods in St. Paul and to improve police community relations, to encourage community policing, and to improve communication among the various partners in the criminal justice system.  The program has now expanded to service the East Side and West Side of St. Paul.

S1, E16: Smallest Freedom Fighter with Sheyann Webb-Christburg

Today’s episode, sponsored by Saint Paul Public Library will take us to Selma, Alabama, where 8-year old Sheyann Webb’s encounter with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shaped her life as a Civil Rights leaders by becoming the “Smallest Freedom Fighter” and co-author of the book Selma Lord Selma, which was released as a Disney movie in 1999.  
Guest Bio:  
Ms. Sheyann Webb was born on February 17, 1956 in Selma, Alabama. She grew up from a poor family of eight children in George Washington Carver Projects. She is a voice for justice, equality and self-achievement. Ms. Webb is also known as a humanitarian, civil rights activist, mentor and youth advocate. She is the nationally known co-author of “Selma, Lord, Selma: Girlhood Memories of the Civil Rights Days”. Her book, which is now a Disney Movie, was nominated for Best Television Mini Series by the NAACP Image Awards in 2000. The movie depicts her childhood experiences with the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the late Jonathan Daniels, and other civil rights leaders as one of the youngest activist during the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama in the 1960’s.
Sheyann was named the “Smallest Freedom Fighter” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. At age eight, Ms. Webb would sneak out of her house to attend mass meetings. She also led the congregation in singing freedom songs. She was the youngest participant to take part in the historically first attempted Selma to Montgomery march known as “Bloody Sunday”.
Ms. Sheyann Webb attended a segregated public school in Dallas County, Alabama until her junior high year when she became one of the first blacks to integrate an all white school. Sheyann says that her junior high years were among her most horrific years. She was pushed down stairs, called bad names, suspended from school and spat on; and nothing was done by the school administration.
Join Ujamaa Place in partnership with Saint Paul Public Library for the beloved community talk LIVE on Zoom with Ms. Sheyann Webb-Christburg taking place on February 24th at noon.  Register at: https://bit.ly/3arn5ai.

S1, E15: African American History Timeline

Guest Bio: 
Rev. Dr. Earl F. Miller The Reverend Doctor Earl Fredrick Miller, Sr., was born in Jackson, Mississippi and has been married forty-seven (47) years to Eunice Miller.  From this union they are the parents of three (3) children and have nine (9) grandchildren.  Pastor Miller is a distinguished, widely traveled, and respected preacher, scholar, teacher and community leader. Education & Training: Bachelor of Music, Jackson State University | Master of Music Education, University of Illinois-Graduate School of Music | Master of Divinity, Virginia Union University-School of Theology | Doctor of Ministry, Union Theological Seminary Current & Former Pastorate: Senior Pastor, Progressive Baptist Church, St. Paul, Minnesota – March, 1992 - Present Senior Pastor, Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. Paul, Minnesota – 1977-1992 Senior Pastor, Mount Olivet Baptist Church, Glen Allen, VA – 1972-1977 Dr. 
Miller is a dynamic Preacher, a Man of God, and is currently the Senior Pastor and Founder of the Progressive Baptist Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In his 18 years as the Leader of Progressive, the church’s membership has grown from 21 members to over 1,500 members.  The initial buildings and property purchased by the church, was paid off and a Mortgage Burning Ceremony was held on Easter Sunday in 2005.  
God’s next miracle occurred three years later on Sunday September 21, 2008 when Dr. Miller and The Progressive Church Family marched into their new $5,300,000.00 Church Sanctuary and Family Life Center located at 1505 Burns Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. 
Dr. Miller has also excelled as an actor.  For the past 25 years, Dr. Miller has performed the lead role in the award winning Broadway play:”The Gospel at Colonus”.  For the first four years he performed with and mentored the renowned actor Morgan Freeman, on Broadway and in theaters worldwide. In addition to Broadway, he has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Apollo Theater, The Chicago Arts Center, Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, The Seattle Washington Arts Center, The Salt Lake City Utah Arts Center, The University of Michigan Arts Center, The Atlanta Georgia Arts Center, The Mississippi Arts Center, Stage Arena Washington D.C., The Philadelphia Art Center, San Pablo, Brazil, Spoleto, Italy, Barcelona, Spain, South France, Paris France; Vienna, Austria, and a year ago Athens Greece.   Dr. Miller and the Steele Family perform at the Ordway Theatre in Saint Paul, August 5-11, 2010 and at the Edinburgh Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, August 18-23, 2010.