Don't Touch My Podcast

While Jenn was conquering the world, Giselle sat down to chat with Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham, co-founder of Casita Cultura Latina and presenter of the annual Día de los Muertos event.  Learn more about Día de los Muertos & Casita Cultura Latina: casitaculturalatina.com/event

At its height in 1921, this empire had become a refined worldwide network, ruling approximately one-quarter of all the land on Earth. The nations conquered were linked by trade as well as politics, and this lasted for quite a while. While various countries gained their independence over time, even by 1952 when Queen Elizabeth took the throne, over 70 colonies still existed in the empire overseas....

Tune in as Jennifer and Giselle discuss culture, how to understand it and how much they both like rice. What is culture? Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, and it is different all over the world. Cultural appropriation is a term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group by...

  We had the pleasure to chat with @ericasimonebarnett, cast member of the touring @broadwaycom show @meangirlsbway and discuss representation and what it means to be a part of a diverse cast all while holding it down for the women of color on stage

Belonging is that sense you get that you are a valued member of a community. When people feel that they are part of a community, they feel a sense of purpose. A sense of belonging brings meaning into our lives, and this is true for all communities, whether it’s your sports teams, your church, your parenting group, or even your workplace.  A 2019 survey by BetterUp found that: Workplace belong...

What is Inclusionary Zoning? Inclusionary zoning would allowed new development to set aside a certain amount of units, a market rate, and an affordable market level, so that individuals who live in Worcester are able to live in those new developments that are coming on into the city. This policy is in place in many other cities in Massachusetts like Boston and Malden and a way to help tackle our h...

We advocate for smarter, positive, results-based criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe. These policies include issues that are very important to us: treatment for mental health issues and addiction, judicial discretion in sentencing, and an end to racial disparities at all levels of the system. In part 2 of our Racism & Policing series, we discuss the breakdown of the actionab...

The criminal justice system is heavily impacted by the bias of police mentality and outdated judicial precedents. The system is largely driven by racial disparities and the Black community continues to be a target. The results are brutal and long lasting. "All cruelty begins with dehumanization — not seeing the face of the other, not seeing the whole humanity of the other. A cultural regime of deh...

In this special episode of Don't Touch my Podcast, we sit down with Councilwoman Julia Mejia of Boston City Council. We discuss everything from our Afro-Latina roots to how we show up in the world in our authenticity to education and what it means to be a leader. Follow Councilwoman Julia Mejia on Instagram and Facebook at @juliaforboston.

Psychological safety — the belief that one can speak up without risk of punishment or humiliation — has been well established as a critical driver of high-quality decision making, healthy group dynamics and interpersonal relationships, greater innovation, and more effective execution. The term psychological safety was coined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson. She defines it as “ a...

The UK and the United States are the countries where people carry the largest student loan debt. The average college debt among student loan borrowers in America is $32,731, according to the Federal Reserve. This is an increase of approximately 20% from 2015-2016. Most borrowers have between $25,000 and $50,000 outstanding in student loan debt. But more than 600,000 borrowers in the country are ov...

Critical race theorists base this thinking on a few important observations: Race is a social construct that doesn’t have anything to do with biological differences among people, including differences in intelligence or physical ability. This became definitively clear after the Human Genome Project. The U.S., and all of its laws and institutions, were founded and created based on the myth of white...

“Another Leak Indicates Supreme Court Set to Overturn Roe v. Wade. Less than a week after a draft majority opinion was leaked indicating that the U.S. Supreme Court will soon overturn Roe v. Wade and end the constitutional right to an abortion, the pending decision appears to have been confirmed by yet another leak.” NYmag.com We are here to say “Dear Government, Don’t Touch Our Bodies!”

Let's talk about the “school-to-prison pipeline,” a disturbing national trend wherein youth are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal legal systems. Many of these youth are Black or Brown, have disabilities, or histories of poverty, abuse, or neglect, and would benefit from additional support and resources. Instead, they are isolated, punished, and pushed out.

Funding inequities are happening in a context of increased poverty in our schools. In 2013, I documented how the number of high poverty schools had increased by about 60 percent to one out of every five schools in 2011 from one out of every eight schools in 2000. To win this unwelcome designation, 75 percent or more of an elementary, middle or high school’s students lived in families poor enough t...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. It is important to know that though hunger and food insecurity are closely related, they are distinct concepts. Hunger refers to a personal, physical sensation of discomfort, while food insecurity refers to a lack of available financial resources for food at...

In light of all of the recent news in Boston and Worcester about increased assaults involving roofies at local bars, we sit down with Nikki-Bell Peña, Founder of LIFT Worcester. To find more information about LIFT and the work they do for sexual assault survivors and education, check out their website: LIFT Worcester

Today, we will walk through what gentrification means, why it matters and how communities are mobilizing to stop it. Ruth Class wrote her book called London aspects of change. One by one, many of the working class quarters of London have been invaded by the middle-class upper and lower. Once this process of gentrification starts in a district, it goes  on rapidly until all of, most of the ori...

With the baby formula shortage impacting women everywhere, we must talk about the narratives being told to women like "just breastfeed" or "formula isn't the only way to go." For many women, formula is the only way to supply the nutrients their babies need. Not all women supply enough breast milk to maintain their baby's appetite and mother's shouldn't be shamed for it. If we want to be upset abou...

Housing discrimination refers to patterns of discrimination that affect a person's ability to rent or buy housing. In 2020, a black couple sought a second opinion on their home appraisal. The home appraisal was more than ½ million dollars more than the original appraisal given to the black couple. In the second appraisal, they had white friends act as if they were the homeowners.

Unlike income or education, wealth can be passed directly across generations. Parents can also use their resources indirectly to advantage their offspring’s future wealth accumulation, such as by purchasing a home that allows their children to grow up in an advantageous neighborhood. But Latin and Black families, with a net worth of $3020 and $8, respectively, can’t achieve this. This is the issue...

Black hair is a 2.5 billion dollar industry annually. One Black woman shared her annual budget on hair styling along with $3,000 - Not including any hair extensions, products, etc she may have needed in the styling - and we are here to break down what it means to have black hair. Black hair is tied to slavery therefore, the ability to change our hair texture to something similar to white people is...