MBHT - Everyday People, Extraordinary Impact

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...

Supplier diversity programs control billions in corporate contracts. Two procurement leaders reveal how minority-owned businesses can win those contracts and close the racial wealth gap. Dr. Darcel Webb, Director of Supplier Diversity at UT Southwestern Medical Center and President of ACCA, and Indria Hollingsworth-Thomas, South-Central Regional DEI Manager at JE Dunn Construction, share what proc...

A 23-year life expectancy gap exists between South Dallas and North Dallas. Pharmacist Dr. Lamar Quinn explains why Black communities distrust the medical system and what it will take to close the gap. Dr. Lamar T. Quinn, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Toast for Charity, has awarded over $60,000 in scholarships while confronting Dallas's health crisis daily. From Chicago's South Side to Sout...

She tours worldwide as Ari Lennox's background vocalist, topped UK charts with her SoulFunk EP, and uses her Psychology degrees from FAMU to create music that heals. Blanche J holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Psychology from Florida A&M University and approaches music as both art and healing practice. As background vocalist for Grammy-nominated Ari Lennox, she's toured internationally...

We sat down with Ryan Davis one month before his comedy special hit 3.8 million views — and he told us something the algorithm will never show you. This isn't a conversation about going viral. It's about what happens after — the uncomfortable truths of the comedy industry, why he went independent, and how Black comedians like Bert Williams, Moms Mabley, and Timmie Rogers built legacies tha...

WNBA Champion Fran Harris sits down with Liz in this "Special Edition" of Making Black History Today. Fran breaks down the current state of Women's Basketball . Liz hosts Fran from the South Oak Cliff High School gymnasium to discuss the WNBA CBA negotiations , why league officiating is a hot button issue, and the on-court rivalry between MVP A'ja Wilson and superstar rookie Caitlin Clark . Plus,...

2021 Texas Artist of the Year Vicki Meek has spent five decades creating Black art that doesn't just reflect struggle—it builds spaces for healing, liberation, and transformation. As a legendary artist, curator, and cultural critic, Vicki Meek creates work that confronts political violence, honors the African Diaspora, and imagines what thriving—not just surviving—looks like for Black communities....

The first Black Chair of the Dallas Regional Chamber and the President of Texas's African American Chambers reveal how to build real economic power—and why it matters now more than ever. Albert C. Black Jr. and Charles O'Neal didn't just break barriers—they built institutions. With decades of experience shaping Dallas's economic landscape, these two leaders offer a rare, unfiltered conversation ab...

From the Marine Corps to law school dean—how one leader's journey reveals what justice requires in the age of AI. Dean Felecia Epps didn't take a typical path to legal leadership. As a Marine Corps Major, she learned discipline, courage, and what it means to serve under pressure. Now, as Dean of UNT Dallas College of Law, she's preparing the next generation of attorneys for a legal landscape being...

AI is reshaping classrooms faster than policy can keep up. Three Black women leaders explain what's at stake—and how to get it right. What happens when the educators building tomorrow's systems are the same voices historically left out of the conversation? Dr. Onjaleke Brown, Dr. Kimberly Riddick, and Dionne Kirby, Ph. D. Candidate, tackle the hardest questions in education today: Can AI close equ...