Destination Freedom Black Radio Days

Our panel discussion after the audio Drama Marvin Booker Letter from a Denver Jail This Audio drama is the second in our series on the unhoused and will feature the talents of donnie l. betts, Latifah Johnson and John Furtell aka Panama Soweto as Marvin Booker. Our after-show panel will be the Hon. Elias Diggins Denver, Sheriff, Reginald C. Holmes, Pastor, New Covenant Christian Church Alpha and O...

This Audio drama is the second in our series on the unhoused and will feature the talents of donnie l. betts, Latifah Johnson, and John Furtell aka Panama Soweto, as Marvin Booker. Our after-show panel is available in part 2 will be the Hon. Elias Diggins Denver, Sheriff, Reginald C. Holmes, Pastor, New Covenant Christian Church Alpha and Omega. Carla Coburn. Pastor, Freshwind International Minist...

Carmen Latretta Lundy is an American jazz singer, composer, arranger, and visual artist whose career spans over five decades. People  will describe Carmen Lundy as just this American jazz singer, composer, and visual artist. But I just called her an artist because her career spanned so many, so many disciplines. Add to those accolades, activists Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...

Audio Drama- Intersectionality It is a gripping play set in a jail cell with five women.  They are forced to confront their biases, identities, and shared humanity. It is the first in a series on the unhoused and how the public views and treats them.   This audio drama will feature the talents of Zarah Levy, Adrienne Martin Fullwood, Nadiya Jackson, Rachel Turner, Iliana  Lucero Barron with a surp...

This episode is part two of my conversation with author Richard Huntley, the author of Dark Days of Horror at Dozier Rapes, Murders, Beatings, and Slavery. I survived Dozer, the Deadliest Reform School in America. You may have heard of Nickel Boys, the book and film. Well, this story is about one of those real nickel boys from this notorious reform school in Florida. Listen as this brave man retel...

This episode is part one of my conversation with author Richard Huntley, the author of Dark Days of Horror at Dozier Rapes, Murders, Beatings, and Slavery. I survived Dozer, the Deadliest Reform School in America. You may have heard of Nickel Boys, the book and film. Well, this story is about one of those real nickel boys from this notorious reform school in Florida. Listen as this brave man retel...

On this episode of Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days – The Eclectic, we go behind the curtain with Devon Goffman — a seasoned Broadway stage veteran whose résumé reads like a greatest hits of musical theater. His voice and presence have lit up theaters from Jersey Boys to Motown the Musical, and now as Spats Colombo in Some Like It Hot…the Tony Award–winning musical comedy that’s been lighting...

Seven Coffins is a drama of abuse, trafficking, and also awareness. Told via poetry and dialogue. Listen in. Written by Confidence Zora Simone Omenai. Produced and directed by donnie l. betts for No Credits Productions, LLC.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Playwright Nadiya Jackson of Round Solstice says, "The play was inspired by a compilation of poems I wrote referencing the relationship humans have with nature. Over time it became an experimental play adaptation of those poems where I explored the potential consequences of climate change in a more abstract way." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trigger warning: This powerful drama has scenes of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised. Living on the streets Lashawn Hughes a young girl dim of sight and hard of hearing, she is homeless, and hopeless. Then that quiet voice her soul became stronger, louder, leading her spirit true and powerful. Now, all can see her, her strength, her mind, and her heart. The voice of the spirit is clear....

Join us for our conversation with Charles Wright. Mr. Express Yourself himself. Charles Williams Wright (born April 6, 1940) is an American singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. He has been a member of various doo wop groups in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as a solo artist in his own right. He is also the former leader and writer of hits for the group, Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. W...

Join me for my conversation with AG Keith Ellison. We hear his thoughts on what can be done the break the wheel of use of force by police against our communities. With this powerful and intimate trial diary, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison asks the key question: How do we break the wheel of police violence and finally make it stop? The murder of George Floyd sparked global outrage. At the...

Our guest is author and award-winning journalist Patti Hartigan. Her recent book August Wilson A Life is receiving praise from literary circles, theatre circles, and academic circles alike. I am joined in conversation with Patti next on Destination Freedom Black Radio Days - The Eclectic. August Wilson (né Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. H...

Destination Freedom Black Radio Days Year in Review 2023. Interviews with David Byrne, Lynn Nottage, and others, plus audio dramas. Enjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest is artist Allison Semmes. One of Allison's latest achievements is that she is part of the Barry Manilow/Bruce Sussman musical Harmony. She portrays the artist and activist icon Josephine Baker. Allison Semmes is a multi-genre singer/songwriter and Broadway actress. She studied vocal performance as a coloratura soprano at the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana, then musical theater a...

Join us for our conversation with artist Sheryl McCallum. McCallum is a graduate of Denver South High School who found lasting success on Broadway playing several roles in Disney’s The Lion King. Connection is also a recurring theme in how McCallum and David Nehls came to make “Miss Rhythm,” which is based on the 1996 book “Miss Rhythm: The Autobiography of Ruth Brown, Rhythm and Blues Legend” by...

In the summer of 1961, Rutha Mae Harris was home visiting her family after her first year at Florida A&M University. Protests had been erupting in Albany, her hometown, and Harris had to face a question that many young people involved in the struggle asked themselves – would she go back to school or stay and organize? She knew the need. Harris grew up with strong roots in the community. Her father...

Producer/Director donnie l. betts first hand report on the trial of Elijah McClain. The officers now on trial — Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt — are charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent reckless homicide and assault, all felonies. They pleaded not guilty. Roedema, a former Marine who is currently suspended without pay, had been with the department for five years before McClain's dea...

Live from the studios of KGNU in Boulder, Colorado, Destination Freedom Black Radio Days comes to you with The Difference by Peter Trinh. The Difference is a candid dive into racial dynamics and the chasm that grows between the perceived and global majority. Peering into the veiled, uncomfortable, underbelly of neo-supremacist ideology. Produced and directed by donnie l. betts. Stay tuned after th...

Our guest is Lynn Nottage. Ms. Nottage has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for her play Ruined, and in 2017 for her play Sweat. She is the first and the only woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times. Nottage is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship and was included in Time magazine's 2019 list of the 100 Most Influential People. On January 13, 2022 L...

June 19th is host donnie l. betts birthday. Born and raised in east Texas he reached out to others that were born on this day and are not from Texas and asked their thoughts on this day - retired Judge Vallera Johnson and marketing rep Danielle Brooks. Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining...

Join me producer donnie l. betts for my conversation with SHARON WASHINGTON (Co-Book Writer) "New York New York" Tony nominee. A proud Native New Yorker with her family living in Manhattan since 1835, Sharon is celebrating over 30 years as an actor. She is thrilled to continue her collaboration with this incredible creative team who she worked with on The Scottsboro Boys musical—this time as a wri...

Folks may be familiar with the fine clothes, big hats, and of course the fast horses. But did you know the first 10 winners of the Derby were Black? The first 3 time winner was Issac Murphy. Many consider Murphy the greatest American jockey of all time. By his own account, Murphy won 44% of his races. Racing historians can only verify 34.5% from the era, but it's likely that some of Murphy's races...

Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, singer, comedian, activist, writer, and television producer whose career spans seven decades. Gibbs is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons (1975–1985), for which she received five nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actres...

“I Am” was written by Kenya Fashaw and directed by donnie l. betts. Mimi and Jabari are in love however will Mimi's insane jealousy spoil the young lovers' quest for a beautiful life together? Mimi might need a little help from an unexpected source. Let’s find out in this episode of Destination Freedom Black Radio Days. "I Am" features as MIMI: Nadiya Jackson, JABARI/DADDY/MALIK: James Brunt, I AM...