Coffee Conversations with Greg J

May 19 marks the 100th Birthday of Malcolm X. In this episode, we are reflecting with arts and culture icon Torrence Brannon-Reese as he shares perspectives of thought founded on the history of Malcolm, and celebrate his long standing vision of designating a sretch of Crenshaw Blvd in Los Angeles as the Malcom X Corridor. Profound discussion!!

South Africa has been in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration. Clearly South Arican born Elon Musk has a great deal of influence in these decisions. Listen as we encourage the people to support South Africa. What are the issues there? What should we as Black Americans Be aware of? What is Land Expropriation? Listen and contemplate… Pastor Kelvin Sauls is a South African born faith leader and...

In the whirlwind of executive orders and conflagrations of federal government administration, we see this all is happening in the midst of conflict in the Congo, and the concellation of the work being done by USAID.. These actions affect relief and community development work in Africa. Paul Turner has worked on the continent for years providing expertise in economic development and aducation. He b...

Recently, the Hip-Hop industry lost a legend. Nasty Nes was essential in claiming Seattle's place in the rap matrix through the massive success of Sir Mix A Lot, NastyMix Records was a dynamic imprint that illuminated an obscure geographic region in terms of rap music. We recorded this broadcast in 2024 and did not publish it because we had a really bad technical day. And so now today as we mourn...

Following a motion forwarded by Long Beach City Councilmember Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, and seconded by Councilmember Dr. Jodi Ricks-Oddie, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the raising of the Pan African Flag. The motion requested that annually, the flag will fly alongside the Stars and Stripes, The State of California Flag and the City of Long Beach flag on the plaza of the Long Beach Ci...

We are honored to speak with Gwen Austin - a prominent businesswoman, author and philanthropist. She is a Liberian-born American residing in the LA area. She shares her story of immigration to this country and reflects on the changes she has seen in the US and the changes we are seeing on the Continent.

The fires raging across the Los Angeles area have been devastating. Entire neighborhoods have been wiped out. In Altadena the devastation is apocalyptic as thousands are left with nothing after thier homes have completely burned down. Generations of African Americans left homeless and in despair. And yet, the West Angeles Community Development Corporation once again steps into its more than 30 yea...

 Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day has been a centerpiece in cities all over the Southland. In recent years, it would appear that black centered cultural celbrations have been muted. So what are the cultural  and civic nuances in presenting cultural celebrations? Is there an air of anti blackness? In Long Beach, CA activists believe city government has minimized black reppresentation in...

And so, as the peaceful transition of power takes place, the government is taking action against immigrants.  We hear talk of mass deportation and birthrights, The narrative has folk stereotypically thinking of  Latino immigrants. However; the discussion affects the Diasporic immigrants. Black folk from Africa, the Caribbean, South America et. al. We discus immigration with the publisher of Immigr...

As wildfires siege LA County, we turn our attention to the community of Altadena, where a vibrant community of black folk have lived for generations. The neighborhood has been deeply impacted by the wildfires in an incredibly and unimaginable way. Pastor G. LaKeith Kenebrew of the Hillside Church of God in Christ in Altadena joins us to share his experiences in the fire. A part of the church prope...

As we move through the festive season and into the new year, we are eating a lot. Being mindful of how and what we eat is essential to our consciousness as a people. Disease, unhealthy diets and pratices set us up for discproportinate disease and malady in our communties. Dr. Sharita Yazid speaks to us live from Accra Ghana with a strong conversation about food and the necessity of holistic nutrit...

We're taking an examination of Kwanzaa - What is it? How did it start? Did Dr. Karenga really develop the Nguzu Saba? Long time Kwanzaa and the former/original Director of the Kwanzaa People of Color Coordinating Committee RW Akile as he shares first hand observations of the history of Kwanzaa. You will be surprised!

Its the seaso of "Ghana in December" and we're linking with one of Ghana's top music stars. Wutah Kobby is well know having a huge discography of hits and production credits for many of the most popular artsts in the West African Nation. We're talking cultural exchange, Ghana's relevance in the world music scene and general perspectives on music, arts and culture. This is a fascinating conversatio...

As we face uncertain paths in government, reparations has been a vigorous discussion in California. After a landmark 1100 page report composed by a select Reparations Task Force and supported by State Government, two critical reparations bills were to be voted on during the last Legislative Session in the State Capitol. Suddenly and with seemingly no explanation, the vote for those bills did not h...

There is this narrative out there that says Black men will not vote for VP KLamala Harris because she is a woman. I have never heard any man speak like that. Brothas are looking at policy as far as I know... And then in California, the California Legislative Black Caucus botched reparations vote advanced after the historic and detailed report delivered by the Reparations Task Force. Some say the b...

We wanted to get an update on the crisis in Haiti. and then Trump made the outrageous claim that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs in Springfield, OH. Today, we are joined by Haitian Community activist Dr. Jude Azad who shares with us the hooros in Haiti, and his community'sd experience in Springfield as rumps remarks have ignited a firestorm of hate against Haitians in thier town. 

As we are consumed with a contentious presidential election, are we in danger of losing our African Centered Consciousness? Are we losing the essence of African Centered thought? How do we reconcile our ccultural center in this day and time that also tries to stoke our patriotism? Dr. Tony Browder joins us to discuss our Ancestral Intelligence, encouraging the audience to read and research and bec...

Trump exhorts all Christians to vote for him... What does this mean? We reached out to one of our most endearing theological scholars and Church leaders, Dr. Mark Whitlock, Pastor of the Reid Temple AME Church in Glenn Dale, MD for perspective.. This is fascinating discussion from a black church perspective...

The Nationa Association of Black Journalists is holding its national convention this week in Chicago. They invited Former President Donald Trump. Many objected to the invitation, some even resigned their membership within the organization. And then the line of questioning... we reached out to longtime NABJ member and veteran, renowned news anchor Beverly White (now retired) as she reflects on what...

What a whirlwind of events!! First the debate debacle.... then the Assassination Attempt... then Presidential COVID... then the bombshell announcement of pulling out of the race and endorsing VP Kamala Harris... tens of thousands of black women and men mobilize to raise millions of dollars and to drum up support for this historic moment... We reached out to speak with Carolyn Fowler, Controller of...

Its been thirty years since the dismantling of Apartheid in South Africa. Nelson mandela merged from 27 years of imprisonment. Duly Elcted President and the long fought democratic government was put in place. Now, its been thirty years. Where is South africa now? Hat are the triumphs? What are the challenges? WQe are joined live from Johannesburg South Africa by Pastor Kelvin Sauls as he shares fr...

It's a sad story. In the 6th District near Martin Luther King Jr. Park, are various artistic expressions in homage to Dr. King. ON such expression of street art was a utility box adorned with a beautiful painting of Dr. King. Unfortunately, gang culture made thier presence known by defacing the face of Dr. King with the identification of thier set. It was tragic and alarmed many in the community....

South African Jazz Movement: I am often asked about the music of Africa. Sure, we hear Afrobeats, that awesome genre centered from a lot of Nigerian artists, but what about other expressions of Music from other parts of the continent? Other genres like r&b, jazz? On the next Coffee Conversations with Greg J., we explore the music of South Africa… more specifically the genre of jazz and the mov...

As we consider issues of the eelectorate, Reparations are an issue that is making its presence known in the halls of the California State Capitol. Cali is the only state to have created a Reparations Task force where legislators have undertaken a massive and comprehensive study of the issue of Reparations - the systemic cause in the history of the State, what would the award look like, who is enti...

Last week, we were honored to hear from renowned journalist, witer, and Former UN Official Monique Clesca as she shared an "on the ground" perspective of the chaos erupting in Haiti. Armed gangs have taken over large swaths of land and government has been rendered ineffective. Two prison breaks and unbridled violence are happening all around. When we livestreamed this we encountered many audio pro...