MBHT - Everyday People, Extraordinary Impact

Elections change who's in office. But who keeps our communities informed about the candidates and after the votes are counted? For more than 70 years, The Dallas Weekly has documented Black history, culture, and community life. In this episode of Making Black History Today , Liz and Porter sit down with Jessica Washington, Publisher and CEO of The Dallas Weekly, to explore the legacy of Black-...

Election Day is November 3. But what inspires someone to go from growing up in a community to seeking a role in representing it? Before Damarcus Offord entered politics, he was a 14-year-old student at Lincoln Humanities and Communications Magnet High School in South Dallas, participating in the Dallas Police Explorer program. More than 20 years later, he's pursuing public office. In this epis...

What does it take to keep family land for four generations? P. Wade Ross, a fourth-generation farmer, joins Liz and Porter to discuss Black farming, Black land ownership, generational wealth, sustainable agriculture, and the challenges facing Black farmers in America. Wade shares his family's farming legacy and what it takes to sustain land across generations, from soil health and regenerative...

Leah Frazier went from practicing law to becoming an entrepreneur, founder of Think Three Media, media personality, and Emmy and ADDY Award winner, but building a business came at a cost. In this candid conversation with Liz and Porter, Leah opens up about losing her car, investing her life savings, starting over, career reinvention, and learning when it's time to pivot. She shares the question th...

There is more than $1 trillion in contracting opportunity. Getting access to it is another story. For small, Black-owned, minority-owned and women-owned businesses, government contracts can mean growth, jobs, capacity and generational wealth. But getting a seat at the table has never been simple. And now, some of the rules are changing. Angela L. Alexander, Executive Director of the North Central...

Shirley Ison-Newsome integrated a school as a fourth grader before spending nearly 40 years transforming education in Dallas ISD. She shares what school integration taught her, why poverty should never determine a child's ability to learn, and why she refused to lower expectations for Black students. From educational equity and Black school leadership to the vision behind Barack Obama Male Lea...

History doesn't disappear all at once. It disappears one story at a time. For more than 50 years, Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney has dedicated his life to preserving African American history from Black Dallas and Texas to the people, places, institutions, and stories that helped shape America. In this episode of Making Black History Today, Liz and Porter sit down with the historian, scholar, educator,...

"Travel teaches you something powerful...you realize how much we are all the same." — Ambassador Ron Kirk Former Dallas Mayor and U.S. Trade Representative under President Barack Obama, Ambassador Ron Kirk reflects on the leadership lessons, relationships, and life experiences that shaped one of America's most respected public servants. This isn't a résumé recap. In this exclusiv...

Wall Street has historically shut its doors to Black women, so right here in Dallas, two founders built their own. This week on Making Black History Today, hosts Liz & Porter sit down with LaToya Gooden and JaCoi Pugh, the creators of Black Women's Wall Street. Together, they break down what it actually takes to invest while Black, push past the barriers still built into corporate finance,...

Can music heal a city? Can faith create common ground? And what happens when people choose unity over division? In this episode of  Making Black History Today , Pastor Richie Butler, founder and CEO of Project Unity, joins internationally acclaimed conductor Maestro Leon Lacey for a conversation about leadership, community, and the power of music to bring people together. Pastor Richie Butler shar...

For years, the Forest Theater stood empty. A historic landmark. A cultural icon. A reminder of what once was. Many people accepted that story. Elizabeth Wattley did not. In this Season II premiere of Making Black History Today, the President and CEO of Forest Forward joins us to discuss the effort to bring one of South Dallas' most important landmarks back to life and why the work is about muc...

Naomi Green shares a firsthand experience of discrimination inside a doctor’s office and what it revealed about how bias can show up in everyday healthcare interactions. What happens when the place designed to care for you becomes the place where you feel dismissed? In this conversation on Making Black History Today, Naomi opens up about her experience and the broader questions it raises about vis...

In this special "BONUS" episode of Making Black History Today, we sit down with Maryum “May May” Ali, author, advocate, playwright, and the eldest daughter of Muhammad Ali. Maryum shares what it was really like growing up with one of the most iconic athletes in history, the lessons her father taught her about service and humanity, and why her new one-woman play, FLOAT, premiering in Dall...

In this episode of  Making Black History Today , Dallas ISD Trustee Ed Turner and educator Nakia Douglas discuss what that means for students, schools, mentorship, discipline, leadership, and the future of public education. Why are so few Black men entering education? What happens when students never see themselves reflected in positions of authority and mentorship? And are we paying enough attent...

The Met Gala just declared "Fashion is Art," but in Dallas, three entrepreneurs have been living that truth long before the red carpet rolled out. This week on Making Black History Today, hosts Liz & Porter sit down with Cubby the Creator, a custom fashion designer and owner of Untamed Heart and Watch for Smiling Faces and Jasmine & Devon Carter of Balacia, whose custom fine jewe...

What does it actually look like when someone uses power to serve their community instead of leaving it behind? Dr. Tiffany M. Clark grew up in DeSoto, Texas and instead of moving on, she moved up and came back. Now serving as the Texas State Board of Education Representative for District 13, Dr. Clark is in the rooms where decisions get made about the future of Texas students, and she's making...

Most people struggle to do one job well. Bessye Adams is a City Councilwoman for Grand Prairie, the Financial Controller for DeSoto ISD, an entrepreneur, and a community advocate , all at the same time. In this conversation, she breaks down what it actually takes to manage public money in education, why she ran for city council, and what community leadership looks like when it goes beyond the titl...

Emmy winner. Presidential Leadership Scholar. Dallas 500 Most Powerful. Jerry L. Hawkins has spent his career making sure Black history doesn't disappear. As the leader of Dallas Truth Racial Healing & Transformation for nearly seven years, producer of the PBS/KERA documentary  Recovering The Stories , and now writing  A People's History of Dallas , dropping in 2027, he's not just preserving t...

She renamed a city. Now she's putting it on the world's biggest stage. Noelle LeVeaux is the marketing strategist behind the Dallas "BIG" campaign, the rebrand that changed how the world sees Dallas. Named one of Skift's Top 50 Travel Marketers in the World, she's spent three decades shaping the city's identity through brand strategy, civic leadership, and purpose-dri...

Black women are the most educated demographic in America, yet hundreds of thousands are currently out of work. Dr. Froswa' Booker-Drew has spent her career sitting in that contradiction and refusing to accept it. From leading the NAACP chapter at University of Texas at Arlington to building philanthropic infrastructure through the HeriTage Giving Circle, she's turned community leadership i...

Roses Are Red MAC Band 1988 #1 R&B hit Babyface LA Reid Arsenio Hall Show Dallas police officer Black History Month Valentine's Day Ray McCampbell of The MAC Band Featuring The McCampbell Brothers scored a #1 R&B chart hit in 1988 with "Roses Are Red"—then left music for 25 years in law enforcement. This episode covers:  1988 R&B music Babyface and LA Reid production, Ars...

Harrison Blair leads Dallas' oldest Black business organization. His grandfather played in the Negro Leagues. His mentor from the grave is civil rights pioneer A. Maceo Smith. Now he's preparing Black entrepreneurs for Texas' changing policy landscape. Topics:  Black business funding beyond DEI, 2024 election voting patterns, economic power building, Dallas Chamber leadership. Making Black History...

Why do Black nonprofits struggle to get funding while billion-dollar organizations face zero scrutiny? Three Dallas nonprofit leaders expose the Trust Gap keeping minority-led organizations from resources. Shawana Carter of Carter's House, Pastor Donald Parish Jr. of A Steady Hand, and King Shakur of Volunteering While Black discuss nonprofit funding barriers, how TV shows like Apple TV's Loot and...

Two Black women vice presidents at major banks reveal what it really takes to reach leadership in corporate America and how they're using their power to close the racial wealth gap. Tiffanie Rice, Regional VP of External Affairs at Comerica Bank and Certified Diversity Professional, and Terri Thomas, VP of Business Development at Chase Bank Texas, discuss navigating male-dominated banking industri...

Join us for a special year-end celebration as we revisit the most powerful moments from our inaugural year! Since launching on Juneteenth 2025, we've spotlighted Black history makers who are building wealth, breaking barriers, and creating change right now. In this Best of 2025 episode, hear highlights from: - Ryan Davis (2.9M view comedy special) - Richard Miles (wrongful conviction to justice re...