Black Community Service Center @ Stanford University

Passing the Mic! A Stanford Black Community Services Center Podcast

Society EN ↓ 8 episodes

Passing the Mic! started as a podcast to pay homage to the alumni, faculty, and staff who shaped the Black community of Stanford through their commitment to the Black Community Services Center. Our first season explored the audacity our guests needed to ensure the BCSC is still here 55 years after "Take Back the Mic" and the demands that gave birth to our center, and the energy needed to ensure our future. Each season of our podcast takes on a new vibe. Season two was recorded and produced by Liyah Ernest '26. She explores how travel and the arts nourishes and builds community at Stanford.

Author

Black Community Service Center @ Stanford University

Episodes

S2 E3 | Passing the Mic: Nourishing our Collective Well-Being through Travel 22.02.2026 55:27

In our final episode of this season, Liyah Ernest ‘26 chats with some of her close friends about their time in Ghana. They share fond memories and discuss how their friendship nourished them then and now.

S2 E2 | Passing the Mic: Nourishing our Collective Well-Being with TAPS 08.02.2026 34:46

Welcome to the second season of Passing the Mic. We recorded this season during the 2024-2025 school year. In this episode, Liyah Ernest ‘26 speaks with Dr. Aileen Robinson & Eryn Michael ‘24 about the power of theater and arts in self and community care.

S2 E1 | Passing the Mic: Nourishing our collective well-being with the Cantor Arts Center 01.02.2026 33:58

Welcome to the second season of Passing the Mic! In this episode, Liyah Ernest ‘26 talks with Marion Gill and Sandhya Rajan about their journey to the Stanford community and their experience balancing their identities with their positions at work. This episode was recorded during the 2024-2025 school year.

Episode 4: The Audacity to Adapt with Kayla Williams '26, Lauren Green '26, and Nifemi Bankole '27 22.04.2024 36:34

In Liyah's first solo episode she chats with current undergraduate students Kayla Williams '26, Lauren Green '26, and Nifemi Bankole '27. Kayla, Nifemi, and Lauren all have unique stories about their adjustment from their pre-Stanford lives to their current Stanford experiences. Each of them have also participated in the Black House’s Ernest Houston Johnson Scholars Program , a pro...

Episode 3: The Audacity to Lead Where You Are Not Seen with Dr. Mona Hicks 13.03.2024 39:09

In today’s episode we have Dr. Mona Hicks. Dr. Hicks serves as the senior associate vice provost and Dean of students at Stanford University, where she leads Residential Education, the Graduate Life Office, the Office of Accessible Education, Schwab Learning Center, and the Office of Community Standards. Dr. Mona Hicks exemplifies what it means to lead unapologetically and boldly in spaces that wo...

Episode 2: The Audacity to Reimagine with Valerie Brown '98 and DeLise Bernard '98 08.01.2024 1:23:28

Valerie Brown and DeLise Bernard are members of Stanford’s Ladies of ‘98. They, along with the other ladies of ‘98 led a fundraising campaign to construct a teaching kitchen in the Black House’s Henry and Monique Brandon Family Community Room. Their imagination of what the Black Community Services Center could become will open new ways for our community to use the Black House. The first phase of...

Excerpt: Audacity to Give Back 22.11.2023 0:56

In our first episode we sit down with Henry Brandon III to discuss to talk about “The Audacity to Give Back” in front of a live studio audience! Mr. Henry graduated from Stanford in 1978. He was active both on the tennis court and in the Black Community. We actually recorded this episode in the Henry and Monique Brandon family community room at the Black House, which his family helped fund. Liste...

Episode 1: The Audacity to Give Back with Henry Brandon III '78 22.11.2023 32:20

In our first episode we sit down with Henry Brandon III to discuss "The Audacity to Give Back” in front of a live audience! Mr. Henry graduated from Stanford in 1978. He was active both on the tennis court and in the Black Community. We actually recorded this episode in the Henry and Monique Brandon family community room at the Black House, which his family helped fund. Listen as we discuss...