Collections By Michelle Brown

There are no limits to a mother’s love or the lengths she will go to provide a safe loving environment for her children. Roz Gould Keith is an amazing woman, a life-long learner and believer in community. But first and foremost, she is a mother. When her son told her he was transgender in 2013, she’s the first to admit she was clueless but that didn’t last for long. She began a journey of support, education and advocacy not just for her son but for other transgender youth and their families she met along the way. Roz has embraced the opportunity to be an ally and supporter of the LGBTQ community.   She is the founder and executive director of "Stand WIth Trans." Founded in 2015, Stand with Trans is here for trans youth and their families. The organization’s intention is to be a resource, a source of support, a safe place, and a non-judgmental-all-inclusive organization. Now an empty-nester, Roz continues her advocacy for transgender youth and their families through Stand for Trans. The mission remains the

As Collections by Michelle Brown – Blog Radio enters its 4th year we are taking time to reconnect with old friends who have shared the gift of telling their stories with us by rebroadcasting some of our favorite past interviews that celebrate the strength, inspiration, courage and love of our human spirit. Sharon Harris is a community jewel, a queen, a friend, and a LUPUS Warrior. Back when we first met in 2017 when this interview was recorded, we had never met, and my knowledge about LUPUS was limited.  A month after graduating from Florida A & M University, she was diagnosed with lupus.  When her lupus went into remission she became a flight attendant. Her reasoning was if lupus was going to attack her, it would have to find her on the beaches of Aruba or high above the Eiffel tower. I late 2008 Sharon experienced a lupus flare so great that her doctor told her there was nothing left that he could do. She moved back to her native Detroit.  Following a career with the Lupus Alliance of America Michiga

Tis the season to share stories, reconnect with old friends, exchange gifts, and break bread! In 2020, due to the physical restraints placed on in-person interactions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our need to reconnect, hug, laugh, and just be together with friends and family seems more intense as we enter this holiday season. It has been a difficult time, but we will get through this together by celebrating one another and remembering the strength, inspiration, courage, and love that binds us together in good times and bad. During the month of December, we will reconnect with old friends who have shared the gift of telling their stories with us by rebroadcasting some of our favorite past interviews that celebrate the strength, inspiration, courage, and love of our human spirit. Felix and Paula Sirls are an amazing couple who shared their inspirational journey of love and thriving with HIV. Each had been diagnosed with HIV but rather than give up they found strength in the community to persevere. Along the

It's her birthday and she can rant if she wants to - especially about politics and the 2020 election!!!! But Betty Couvertier's rants are always priceless insights on politics, living on the road, and life in general. If you are missing those spirited discussions around the table or after that big Thanksgiving dinner,  the always outspoken activist is just the cure. She cut her political teeth as an activist and radio host in Georgia. Since her retirement Betty has been traveling across the southern region in her RV with her dogs meeting and hearing alternative perspectives from folks, she has met along the way. Always keeping an eye on Georgia and national politics, Betty drove 500 miles to make sure her vote was counted. Always feisty, often provocative, and rarely at a loss for words Betty joins us on her birthday to serve up some knowledge this Thanksgiving Day!!! Be sure and follow Collections by Michelle Brown-Blog Radio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and let us know if you have a suggestion fo

Diamond Collier is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. Her family moved to Mississippi where Diamond attended Jackson State University.When she found herself homeless, Diamond accepted an invitation from a friend in Houston for an open couch in their home. Thirteen years later Diamond still calls Houston home. Diamond has been involved with the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition and Black Transwomen Inc. since the beginning. After a successful career in retail, she brought her skills and talents to Black Transwomen Inc. to serve as the organization’s executive director.She is also the content creator and co-host of Marsha’s Plate. Marsha's Plate is a lively podcast where three friends come together every Thursday to share opinions and perspectives through a black trans folk's lens. Each year between November 13 – 19, people and organizations around the country participate in Transgender Awareness Week to help raise the visibility about transgender people and address issues members of the community face. Diam

In 1992 James and Grace Lee Boggs brought together a coalition of local and national activists/organizations to work with young people to form a multicultural, intergenerational youth program/movement called DETROIT SUMMER. Our guest is Detroiter, Educator, and Activist Julia Putnam. Today she  is the principal of the James & Grace Lee Boggs School in Detroit named after the legendary Detroit activists. The school offers a Place-Based Education (PBE) program which is committed to school-community partnerships to develop students as citizen-stewards of healthy ecological-social systems.   PBE immerses students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities, and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, and other subjects across the curriculum. It emphasizes learning through participation in service projects for the school and the local community, often focused on eco-justice. Participation in service projects for local community

Nakia Jones always wanted to be a productive member in her neighborhood and was drawn to a career where she could both “protect and serve”. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and studied criminal justice at Wilberforce University with the intention of becoming a prosecuting attorney .In 1999 Officer Jones joined the Highland Hills Police Department and in 2002 she was sworn in as the first African American female officer for the City of Warrensville Heights where she also lived.She held that position as the Senior Response Officer until 2017.   After the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in 2016 she posted a passionate video on Facebook responding to the shootings as a mother, an African American ad a police officer. Little did she know, what she thought was a personal post for friends and family would go viral. Within 24 hours her video had been viewed more than 1.2 million times with nearly 80,000 shares and the views continued to climb. Her video, which lasts more than seven minutes, included

Maria Rimarkable Garcia is a Detroit Native currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Rimarkable is a renaissance woman who redefines the word remix. This DJ, vocalist and producer has rocked crowds on international dance floors for two decades. Her unique sound becomes ceremony with a witches brew of House and Techno, in a soul, funk and disco cauldron. She has penned and performed commercial jingles. Her original work was featured in several off-Broadway productions, award winning short films and has been found on fashion runways. Rimarkable is the creator of “The Alchemy of DJing Learning Workshops” which focus on creatively engage in social justice and empowering women and youth. The current pandemic has Rimarkable looking at ways to keep bringing the dance floor magic often to a virtual audience. Through her creative production company “Rimarkable Things” she continues to explore new ways to express the music in her spirit and explore new ways to express not just her creativity but empower others alo

Tonight, we are rebroadcasting our conversation with Monica Roberts here on Blog Talk Radio with a special opening tribute! The world has lost a giant, a queen, an award-winning blogger, a Texas legend, LGBTQ+ advocate, Transgender activist, and a beloved sister/friend, Monica Roberts. She made her transition on October 5th from natural causes. Tributes were held across the country. Her BTAC/BTWI family held a memorial tribute in Dallas. Her Houston, TX hosted the three-day celebration of her life on October 23-25. Her influence was felt across the country  in the struggle for not only Transgender Equality and Rights but in the ongoing strruggle for social justice for all. She was one of the first and repeat guests on Collections by Michelle Brown. I spoke with Monica not long before her transition. Of course, we talked about politics not just the presidential election but elections across the country. We talked about the vacancy on the Supreme. We talked about the Corona Virus and its devastating effect o

For seven years  Allener Baker-Rogers worked with her co-author Fasaha Traylor on their book “They Carried Us: The Social Impact of Philadelphia’s Black Women Leaders.” The book is an informative and inspirational collection of compelling narratives and powerful photographs that capture the extraordinary lives of well-known and obscure historical and contemporary African-American women in Philadelphia. The women who are focused on in the book are divided into nine sections ranging from Community Building and Movement Activism to The Art of the Beautiful from Underground Railroad Conductor Harriet Tubman to Filmmaker Maori Karmael Holmes. Baker-Rogers was born and raised in West Philadelphia. She is a lifelong educator and holds a doctorate in higher education leadership. A former university administrator and assistant professor of educational research she now resides in Virginia. Known as Sissy by her friends and colleagues, Baker-Rogers is also a pas recipient of the Jane S. Abrams and Cecil B. Moore Commu

Dr. Retzloff teaches LGBTQ studies and U.S. history at Michigan State University. The Tim Retzloff oral history interviews (1993-2012) consist of over eighty oral histories conducted by Retzloff with members of Detroit's LGBTQ community. In 2018 we sat down with LGBTQ historian Tim Retzloff to talk about his research on Michigan’s LGBTQ+ History. H returns to update us on his work as we celebate LGBTQ History month His work chronicling the lives of the LGBTQ+ community continues with the addition of his website Michigan LGBTQ Remembers. The site was launched in March of 2017. It is dedicated to documenting the diverse lives of LGBTQ Michiganders and their allies who are no longer with us.The individuals on the website were leaders, activists, and volunteers. Some were bar owners or employees, customers, or entertainers. Some were elders, and some were still in their youth. All were ordinary people who were members of the LGBTQ community who went about their everyday lives. The website posts their obituaries

Originally from Puerto Rico Bonsai Bermudez has a bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Dance and has worked professionally as a ballet/modern dancer and actor. Bonsai became a part of Ballet Teatro de Puerto Rico, Conservatory of Ballet Concierto, Broadway Dance Center, Traveling Theatre of Puerto Rico, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, among others. He completed a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Puerto Rico with a concentration on LGBTQ issues. He has been working in the social justice-service field for over 20 years - focusing on trauma, transformative justice, and harm reduction practices. He joined to Board of Chicago’s Orgullo en Accion in 2010 to politically advocate for the Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Community.  He spent five years at the Broadway Youth Center, a Chicago program that serves LGBTQ youth experiencing housing instability or homelessness, as the Drop-In and Resource Advocacy Manager. Bermudez is Co-Founder and Executive Artist

After graduating magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Political Science, Sydney Baloue pursued public policy research as a German Academic Exchange Scholar and Transatlantic Fellow in Berlin, Germany before completing a dual-degree masters in Urban Policy at the Paris Institute for Political Studies and the London School of Economics. This amateur boxer/trainer, ballroom historian, writer, and advocate for racial, social, and gender justice, also advocates for trans-masculine visibility in voguing, in boxing, and in the film and television industry. Sydney is a proud member of the House of Xtravaganza. He made history in 2019 as the first transgender man to win a voguing category (Old Way Performance) at The Latex Ball. After writing an op-ed in the New York Times he was tapped to be a writer and producer on the HBO Max show “Legendary.”  He advocates for trans-masculine visibility in voguing, in boxing, and in the film and television industry, Besides working on his book chr

Mecca Jamilah Sullivan is the author of the short story collection, Blue Talk and Love. This proud Harlem native holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from Temple University, and a B.A. in Afro-American Studies from Smith College.  She is Assistant Professor of English at Bryn Mawr College, where she teaches courses in African American poetry and poetics, black feminist literature, and creative writing. Sullivan has a way with words. She beautifully weaves words together, telling the vivid stories of the characters in Blue Talk and Love. These eclectic characters come to life, bringing feelings of nostalgia, comfort, and connectedness. In her fiction, she explores the intellectual, emotional, and bodily lives of young black women through voice, music, and hip-hop inflected magical realist techniques. Her short stories have appeared in several journals and periodicals. She is the winner of several awards including the Charles Johnso

Calling from Mumbai India, Vaishnavi Mahant MacDonald shares her thoughts about life, spirituality, her relationship with God in context with her life as an Indian film and TV actress. Her first acting role was as a child when she had a small role in her uncle’s horror film. But acting wasn’t her first choice, Vaishnavi wanted to be a scientist but life had different plans Six years later she returned to acting to help her mother support the family after her parents divorced. From 1998 to 2005, she played the female lead in a superhero series. The show, as well as her character, got high acclaim and was considered her breakthrough role. When her journalist character was written out of the series, fan protests prompted the producers to bring her back. She went on to play leading roles in several movies. She has been nominated for and won awards for her acting and recently directed her first short film. Her website VAISHNAVI REINVENTED brings a unique Holistic experience designed to enhance Spiritual, Emoti

Originally from Detroit, this brother has lived all over the world. He speaks several languages including Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. He is one of five openly gay Imams in the world. His parents supported him, his six older brothers, his younger sister, and his oldest step-sister from his father's first marriage to find religion despite his parent's Southern Baptist beliefs  When he was 8 years old, he visited a Synagogue, a Hindu temple, and an assortment of Christian denominations. None of these religions he had explored fit him exactly, so he continued to search for a religion he could put his faith into. He converted to Islam at age 30. He is the Executive Director of the MECCA Institute, a non-profit organization, focusing on Women, the LGBTQ community, and Youth through its online school, which prepares Muslim scholars for leadership positions and through its think tank, Thoughtful, world wise even funny its an honor to call him friend.

Reg Flowers is an artist, activist and educator, whose work is rooted in ancient shamanic, African trickster, and Brazilian Joker traditions. They use Theater of the Oppressed, Art of Hosting, Navajo Peacemaking, and other anti-oppression techniques, as the foundation of their theater-making, mediation, problem-solving, and group healing practices. Reg began their career as a theater artist, on and off-Broadway. They are the founder of Award-winning Falconworks Theater Company in Red Hook, Brooklyn, which uses popular theater to build capacities for civic engagement and social change. They have received broad recognition, numerous awards, and citations for their community service. They are a faculty member at Pace University and a company member of Shakespeare in Detroit. Listening to Reg, one word that comes to mind is magic. Reg’s recounting of their experiences from childhood to the present day really captures what it means to be deeply connected to flow and intuition. Reg has always embraced play and im

Verlena Johnson was born in Chicago and grew up in Madison and Beloit Wisconsin but now calls California home. She is a multimedia artist whose artwork includes drawing, painting, sculpture, puppetry, performance and video. Her art is often figurative and conveys a narrative. exploring racial and gender identity—how they are constructed, their social/cultural/political meaning, and her relationship to them. She shares her journey in expressing art from the political to the personal. Especially interesting is how she brings her energy work, her spirituality into her art. Various symbols that appear in mysticism, e.g., halos, spirals, and birds appear in much of her work. Halos are depicted in many of the pieces and symbolize the subject’s divinity (her belief is that we are all divine). While halos often have religious origins, for Verlena they represent a figure’s life force or the energy That Moves Through ALL Things. She says "Further, circles represent continuity, connectivity and the cycle of life (i

Barbara L. Jones, is a lifelong Detroiter and community activist, organizer and youth-violence prevention advocate. She is the Community Dispute Resolution Specialist and Faculty Instructor for the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Wayne State University. Barbara mentors and advocates for the youth in Detroit and in the metro Detroit area in a variety of capacities in schools and with organizations. She is the Program Director for the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, a program that delivers expertise training in a higher learning academic setting that provides high school youth development services that focus on civic engagement, conflict resolution intervention, violence prevention, bullying, diversity, civil rights, race relations, negotiation, leadership, international affairs, diplomacy, social justice, and crucial life skills with the overarching theme and tools of how to teach students to individually and collectively foster peace within their own schools and communities. She has worked

Vinnie Bagwell is a sculptor who creates three-dimensional and bas-relief sculptures in bronze and bronze resin. Born in Yonkers, New York she is an untutored artist who began sculpting in 1993. She has the rare ability to cross over between illustration, graphic design, painting, and sculpture. Her portraits display immense spirit and authenticity. She has powers of observation and an innate understanding of proportion. Her first commission: “The First Lady of Jazz Ella Fitzgerald” was commissioned by the City of Yonkers in 1996. It is the first sculpture of a contemporary African-American woman to be commissioned by a municipality in the United States. In 2018, a sculpture of Hartford educator, “Walter ‘Doc’ Hurley”, commissioned by the State of Connecticut, became the first public artwork of a contemporary African American in Connecticut. A life-sized sculpture of music icon Marvin Gaye has also commissioned for the new Marvin Gaye Recreation Center in NE DC. After ten years she will complete the Enslav