In Black America

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes his conversation with Michael Carter, Jr., a fifth-generation farmer in Virginia and author of Africulture: How the Principles, Practices, Plants and People of African Descent Have Shaped American Agriculture, exploring the history and generational stewardship and preservation of agricultural practices with […] Th...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. begins a conversation with Michael Carter, Jr., a fifth-generation farmer in Virginia and author of Africulture: How the Principles, Practices, Plants and People of African Descent Have Shaped American Agriculture, exploring the history and generational stewardship and preservation of agricultural practices with […] The pos...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents highlights from excerpts from a discussion by representavies of civil rights organizations, and state and federal legislators organized by National Urban League CEO in response to the April 29, 2026 Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana vs. Callais, which dealt a devastating […] The post The Voting Rights Act (Ep. 30,...

On this week’s edition of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Donald Cravins, Jr. president and CEO of The National Minority Supplier Development Council, and former CEO of The National Urban League’s Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., discussing his career as an advocate for expanding opportunities for minority-owned small […] The post Donald &...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a conversation with Marion E. Orr, political scientist, professor of Public Policy and Political Science and Urban Studies at Brown University, and author of House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs, Jr. […] The post The House of Diggs, with Marion...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes his conversation with attorney Jason Green, former Special Assistant and Associate White House Counsel to President Barack Obama, co-founder of SkilSmart, CEO of Evergreen Labs, and author ofToo Precious To Lose: A Memoir of Family, Community, and Possibility, with a discussion […] The post Jason G. Green, pt. 2 (...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. begins a conversation with attorney Jason Green, former Special Assistant and Associate White House Counsel to President Barack Obama, co-founder of SkilSmart, CEO of Evergreen Labs, and author of Too Precious To Lose: A Memoir of Family, Community, and Possibility, with a […] The post Jason G. Green, pt. 1 (Ep. 26, 2026) a...

On this edition of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes his conversation with former U.S. Marine, Compton, California police officer and undercover FBI agent, Larry Wansley, discussing his new book, Tough Streets, Rough Skies and Sunday Sidelines, which details Wansley’s career in law enforcement, the military, and the world of […] The post Larry Wansley, p...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. begins a conversation with Larry Wansley, former Marine, Compton, California police officer, FBI undercover agent, and author of Tough Streets, Rough Skies and Sunday Sidelines, discussing his military and law enforcement career, as well as his tenure as the first Director of […] The post Larry Wansley, pt. 1 (Ep. 24, 2026)...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes his conversation with Mark S. Robinson, author of Black on Madison Avenue, about his four decade-long career working at a high level in marketing and advertising, providing rare and valuable insight into the lack of diversity in the advertising world, and […] The post Mark S. Robinson, pt. 2 (Ep. 23, 2026) appeare...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Mark S. Robinson, a forty-year veteran of high-level, prestigious advertising and marketing agencies and author or Black on Madison Avenue, an inside look at the lack of diversity and the obstacles faced by African American professionals in the advertising agency […] The post Mark S. Robinson (Ep. 22, 2026) appe...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. discusses the life and legacy of pioneering African American basketball player Harry “Bucky” Lew with Chris Boucher, author of Harry “Bucky” Lew: A Biography of Basketball’s First Black Professional, shedding light on Lew’s perseverance and triumph over racial discrimination and his pivotal [&#...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Dr. Rosenna Bakari, psychologist, empowerment expert, educator and author of Seven Exits: Leave Behind What No Longer Serves You, discussing her career as a counselor and educator, and her work to support a cultural shift from focusing on mental wellness […] The post Dr. Rosenna Bakari (Ep. 20, 2026) appeared fi...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes his conversation with Gladys H. DeClouet, a pioneering executive and engineer who began her professional career as the first female engineer in offshore oil and gas exploration and later became an executive leading divisions at major corporations like British Petroleum, Burger […] The post Gladys H. DeCouet, pt. 2...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. begins a conversation with Gladys DeClouet, a pioneering executive leading divisions at major corporations like British Petroleum, Burger King and Jack in the Box, who began her professional career as the first female engineer in offshore oil and gas exploration. She is […] The post Gladys H. DeClouet (Ep. 18, 2026) appeare...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson presents a conversation with Ed Welburn, Vice President of Global Design at General Motors, the first African American to head one of the largest design organizations in the world, leading design centers in eight countries, responsible for the design and development of all […] The post Ed Welburn (Ep. 17, 2026 r–broadcast)...

On this episode of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. remembers the late William F. “Bill” Williams, the pioneering philanthropic co-founder of Glory Foods, Inc. in 1989, developing the concept of producing and distributing food products targeting African American consumers and promoting the growth of ethnic food distribution. Williams died December […] The p...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a 2024 conversation with Dr. Tameka Gillum, Associate Professor of Community Health in the College of Population Health at the University of New Mexico, and author of a study examining the multilevel societal factors that contribute to disparities in gun violence […] The post Dr. Tameka Gillum (Ep. 15, 2026 re-broa...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a conversation with Michelle Adams, law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, and author of Containment: Detroit, The Supreme Court, and the Battle for Racial Justice in the North, which tells the epic story of the struggle to integrate […] The post Michelle Adams (Ep. 14, 2026 re-broadcast) appeared...

On this week’s edition of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a conversation with Dr. Blair LM Kelley, a noted scholar of Black History and the African American experience, Director of the Center for the Study of the American South and The National Humanities Center, and award-winning author of Black […] The post Dr. Blair LM Kelley (Ep. 13, 2026 re-broadca...

On this episode of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a tribute to the late Earl Graves, Sr., entrepreneur, publisher, philanthropist and advocate of African American businesses, who founded Black Enterprise Magazine in 1970. He died April 8, 2020, at the age of 85. The full transcript of this episode […] The post A Tribute to Earl G. Graves, Sr. (Ep. 12, 2026 r...

On this week’s In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson presents an interview recorded in 1985 with Robert C. Maynard, a newspaper journalist and editor who became the first African American owner of a major daily newspaper, The Oakland Tribune. Maynard was also a co-founder of The Institute For Journalism Education, a non-profit […] The post Robert C. Maynard (Ep. 11, 2026 r...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson pays tribute to the life and career of legendary biographer, screenwriter and novelist Alexander Murray Palmer Haley, best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family, and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, with an interview recorded in February 1988. […] The post A Tribute to Alex Haley (Ep. 10, 2026 re-broadcast)...

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with pioneering music video director, DJ and VJ Ralph McDaniels, who in 1983 created Studio 31 Dance Party, a television program presenting recordings of music performances that evolved into the long-running music video program he created and co-hosts, Video Music Box. […] The post Ralph McDaniels (Ep. 09, 2026 re-br...

On this episode of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson speaks with Jeffery Lorenzo Williams, real estate broker, creator of the shoe and fashion brand JLORENZO, and author of My Feet Are Off The Ground: Turning Tragedy Into Triumph, the inspirational story of his journey from suffering permanent paralysis from an accidental […] The post Jeffery L. Williams (Ep. 08, 2026 re-bro...