Archived Radio Show

May 22, 2023

Original Radio Show  ID:
WSA230522

Listen to the Show on the Mp3 Player below

Duration 57 minutes

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Featuring

Click the Name to access the Segment below

1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz,  Host of Women's Spaces 

2. Michelle Duster, Author, Educator and Great- Granddaughter of activist Ida B. Wells

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1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz:  I have a very special guest this morning. Joining me on the phone from Chicago, Illinois is Michelle Duster, author, educator and great-granddaughter of activist, educator, feminist and co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP), Ida B. Wells. We will be in conversation about her Great-Grandmother and how her actions, vision and courage are needed today. 

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2. Our guest Michelle Duster shares the influence she felt from her great-grandmother Ida B. Wells. She recounts that her grandmother Alfreda Duster, who was Ida’s youngest daughter, discovered the unfinished autobiography of her mother, edited, and published it in 1970 under the title Crusade for Justice, which spurred great interest and more books about Ida to be published by others. Michelle’s focus is to bring her history to the people in public places and in school curriculums. She was able to get one of the largest boulevards, Congress Parkway, in Chicago renamed to Ida B. Wells Drive and is currently working on the Ida B. Wells National Monument in Chicago at 37th & Langley, on the land where the Ida B. Wells Homes stood from 1941-2002. She wonders why the voices against critical thinking are favored over those who benefit from such thinking, as in critical race theory. Michelle has recently published in 2021 Ida B, the Queen, followed by her children’s book Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth. She has worked with Mattel to bring out a Ida B. Wells Barbie doll. As Ida B. Wells was a suffragist, Michelle laments the different metrics used for women in our patriarchal society to try to confine them to childcare and housekeeping, and notes that few Boards of Directors have substantial women representation. Ida B. Wells was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), that was formed in response to the Springfield, IL, race riot in 1909. She later distanced herself from the NAACP when she felt it was focusing on too much study and not enough action. Today there are chapters all over the country, for the NAACP is  still needed. Michelle’s goal is the bring forth the African American experience to the center, as Black American history is American history, and kids deserve to read and hear the full history. Her favorite quotes of her great grandmother are:
• Better to die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or rat in a trap.
• The way to right wrongs is to shine the light of truth on them.
As you can imagine, Ida B. Wells had to deal with fake news of her time, which makes her even more relevant today.

About our Guest:  Michelle Duster is an author, public historian, professor, and champion of racial and gender equity who has worked for over 30 years in various mediums to highlight the positive contributions of women and African Americans to the United States. She has written, edited or contributed to numerous articles and over 20 books, plus worked on monuments, markers, murals, statues, documentary films, and film festivals -- all to tell stories that have frequently been omitted, skewed or marginalized. She is determined to help current and future generations be exposed to and inspired by more inclusive and truthful representation.

Her most recent books about her great-grandmother Ida B. Wells are the picture book, Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth and the adult book Ida B. the Queen. She also co-edited the anthologies Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism and Michelle Obama’s Impact on African American Women and Girls.

Guest Links:

 Michelle Duster's website, including her books:  https://mldwrites.com/

Michelle Duster's Public History Projects:
https://mldwrites.com/public-history-projects

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Reference Links:

Ida B. Wells Barbie Inspiring Women Doll - Mattel Creations  https://creations.mattel.com/products/barbie-inspiring-women-ida-b-wells-hcb81

Ida B. Wells Barnett Biography:

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-b-wells-barnett

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 Herstory

Our history is our strength. Check out important dates to remember in herstory at the National Women's History Alliance,, where the date descriptions were sourced unless otherwise indicated.

Herstory Birthdays:

May 23, 1810 (1850) – Margaret Fuller, journalist, critic, and women’s rights advocate, the first full-time American woman book reviewer in journalism, her book Woman in the Nineteenth Century is considered the first major feminist work in the U.S.

May 25, 1889 (1975) – Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson, pioneer civil rights activist, organizer of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP, she pioneered the tactic of non-violent resistance.

May 25, 1905 (1995) – Dorothy Wesley, librarian, and historian, one of the first African- American women to earn a master’s degree in library science (Howard University, 1932), as curator of the Moorland-Spingarn Collection at Howard University, she helped it become a world-renowned resource on the history and culture of African Americans.

May 25, 1910 (1997) – Mary Keyserling, economist, Director of the Women’s Bureau of the Labor Department (1964-1969), Executive Director of the National Consumers’ League (1938), and personal advisor to Eleanor Roosevelt in the Office of Civilian Defense.

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Announcements  

Monday, May 29, 2023, 11 AM PT # repeats 11 PM PT, the show will feature a repeat of our show of 5/8/2023 with guest Christian Nunes on the 2023 Feminist State of the Union with her interview of Hillary Clinton for that event.  Radio KBBF 89.1 FM, North SF Bay or live streaming at https://kbbf.org/live

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Wednesday, May 31, 2023, 11 AM PT, repeat of Monday's show that features a repeat of our show of 5/8/2023 with guest Christian Nunes on the 2023 Feminist State of the Union with her interview of Hillary Clinton for that event..  Radio KPCA 103.3 FM, Petaluma, CA. https://petalumacommunityaccess.org/kpca 

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Monday, June 5, 2023, 11 AM PT # repeats 11 PM PT, the show will feature guests Celeste Austin and Amy Nykamp reporting on the Pride Parade of June 3rd in Santa Rosa, and guest Jane Sorenson, Bandleader of The Poyntlyss Sistars Rockin' Show Band.  Radio KBBF 89.1 FM, North SF Bay or live streaming at https://kbbf.org/live

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Wednesday,June 7, 2023, 11 AM PT, repeat of Monday's show that features guests Celeste Austin and Amy Nykamp reporting on the Pride Parade of June 3rd in Santa Rosa, and guest Jane Sorenson, Bandleader of The Poyntlyss Sistars Rockin' Show Band.  Radio KPCA 103.3 FM, Petaluma, CA. https://petalumacommunityaccess.org/kpca 

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Saturday, June 17, 2023, 1:00 - 9:00 PM, 51st Annual MLK/Juneteenth Celebration, Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, Santa Rosa. Event details at https://www.facebook.com/events/140103454829016

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Music Selections

The Opening and Closing Theme song The Woman in Your Life is You is done with permission of the Composer and Singer Alix Dobkin ((August 16, 1940 – May 19, 2021) Alix Dobkin death was just announced - Thank you for all you did for Lesbians to be recognized and Women to be honored. May you rest in peace. See our Interview with Alix Dobkin on 12/1/2014 and our Memorial to Alix Dobkin on 5/24/2021

The Woman in Your Life is You by Alix Dobkin from the album Living with Lavender Jane (2010 Women's Wax Works) - www.alixdobkin.com

Standing on the Shoulders, sung by Earth Mama from the album Earth Mama Love Large (1966 Rouse House, LLCC). 

Blood of the Ancients, sung by Betsey Rose and the Women’s Choir from the Album Welcome to the Circle (2006 Paper Crane Music)

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Link:  Spinitron.com Playlist for Women's Spaces Show