Perspectives with Condace Pressley

As we close Black History Month we have conversations with a pair of present day history makers. Virgil Miller is President of Aflac, a Fortune 200, $22 billion dollar insurance company. He is the first African American male to sit in that chair in the C-suite. He follows the first woman to hold the role, Teresa White. Miller believes African Americans who enjoy success have a responsibility to gi...

Owning a home remains the American Dream, especially for Black Americans. Yet barriers remain keeping this basic tool of generational wealth building out of reach. NeighborWorks America is a nonprofit organization working to help more Black Americans move from renter to home owner. Last year, the organization helped nearly 4,000 Black adults buy homes. Dr. Christie Cade, NeighborWorks America Regi...

For the first time since the pandemic, the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival returns to multiple theaters around Atlanta. The Festival runs through February 21st and features 60 films from 18 countries in 16 languages. There remains a virtual option for film goers. From the 16th through February 19th, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Atlanta at the Fox Theater. I sit down with Artistic Dir...

For Black Inventors, the road to owning patents comes with barriers. Black inventors comprise only 1.6 percent of patent holders in the United States. Moreover, gender gap in US patents leads to fewer inventions that help women. My guest is inventor Eva Jane Bunkley. She's the two time Emmy award-winning makeup artist and inventor of the Makeup Bullet®: Hi-Def Cosmetic Finger Sponge. It is one of...

A journey for justice turned into a love story when WNBA superstar Maya Moore met Jonathan Irons. He'd been arrested, tried and wrongly convicted for a crime that he did not commit. She met him via her uncle's prison ministry. Over time they became friends. In 2019 she exited her WNBA career to commit herself full-time to winning her love's freedom. A judge overturned his conviction in March 2020....

The United Way of Greater Atlanta's VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) wants to assure no one earning less than $60,000 a year pays to have their income taxes prepared. On Friday, January 27th, the United Way will host a webinar for interested persons and groups with information on maximizing one's tax savings. My guest is Economy - yes that is her name - Jackson, Director Asset Building Incom...

As people ponder their 2023 New Year’s resolutions, the Alzheimer’s Association is encouraging everyone to include activities to reduce risk of cognitive decline on the list. Research shows that healthy lifestyle interventions may reduce the risk of cognitive decline and help reduce the risk of dementia. There are currently more than 6 million Americans age 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s, in...

The Atlanta History Center invites you to celebrate MLK Day 2023 with a tour of historic moments and artifacts at the center. There are special programs for children and talks for adults. Admission is free. All the History Center asks is that you register your attendance. Next, 30 years ago a group of guys from New York came together to change the face of hip hop music. They are Wu Tang Clan and o...

April Ryan, member of the White House Press Corps for more than 25 years now has a platform and she's putting it to use. She's written a book that's first person reporting, memoir and a love letter to the leaders who have inspired her. The book is Black Women will Save the World: An Anthem, and this Baltimore-born journalist pulls no punches in sharing her experiences especially her coverage of fo...

When Anisa Palmer was on tour in the Iraqi desert she looked up and saw a familiar image. It was her mother. A woman she'd lost to breast cancer when Anisa was only 5 years old. She'd struggled with losing her mom for some time. Seeing this mirage in the desert heat gave Palmer a message. Her work, once her military service ended would be in helping women like her mom. 12 years ago, she founded I...

During the holidays each year, the Jewish Christian Discovery Center (JCDC) distributes wooden Jewish Star of David Christmas Tree ornaments at metro Atlantad churches for parishioners to hang on their Christmas Trees. JCDC says it is a way to share Jesus' Jewish upbringing with Christians and to show respect for each others' faith. Given the recent rise in antisemitism. we talk with Rabbi Albert...

Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 provides that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. This law – enacted 50 years ago – helped pave the way for equality in women’s athletics. We enter into conversation...

In The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions, veteran admissions experts Timothy Fields and Shereem Herndon-Brown share with us their provocative insights. They also demystify the complex process of college admissions. They answer important questions including where to apply and how to get in. Our conversation also tackles questions raised by the current social justice movement and how import...

Retired WSB-TV anchor John Pruitt has written his first novel, Tell it True. About the book, Ambassador Andrew Young wrote, "In 1964, a decorated war veteran was murdered by Klansmen in Georgia for driving while black. As a freshman reporter, John Pruitt covered the event, and in the decades since, his name has been synonymous with truth and accuracy, a reputation he lives up to even in his powerf...

Blacktold is a collection of essays that are highly relevant and resonant on the topics of social justice, Black Lives matter, race and the NFL, the pandemic, the election and sports icons. Raina Kelly, editor-in-chief of Andscape, writes the forward to this collection of 33 distinct essays. Andscape is a reimagination, expansion and diversification of The Undefeated.

Sheldon Epps is a multi-talented director with credits on both on and off Broadway, in London and at many theatres across America. He also has an active television career having stood behind the camera of shows including The Upshaws, Frasier, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Evening Shade and Sister, Sister. For five seasons he also was producer/director of the hit series "Girlfriends." He's shar...

Chromatic Black launches season Two of the Ida B. Wells Fund and has issued a call for entries in short filmmaking and two new categories - visual arts and creative placemaking. This season the Fund expends to offer awards ranging from $1,000 to $25,000. The Ida B. Wells Fund is open to unique storytellers with fresh perspectives, multifaceted characters and unpredictable arcs. Organization co-fou...

Ramon Hervey II is a pioneer in the toughest side of the entertainment business: the demanding work and genius of conceptualizing, molding, sustaining, and fixing the messes of celebrities. In THE FAME GAME: An Insider’s Playbook for Earning Your 15 Minutes, Hervey presents a fascinating, informative, star-studded retrospective of his career representing an impressive roster of famous people in mu...

A groundbreaking memoir from professional NFL player, writer, and advocate R.K. Russell, who made history by becoming the first out active NFL player to identify as bisexual. In 2019, R.K. Russell broke the mold when he came out as bisexual in an essay for ESPN that ignited the sports world. Now, in his powerful memoir, The Yards Between Us he shares his story and explores his love of football, me...

For two decades, Dr. Dharius Daniels' passion has been to help people “do the work” of digging into their identity and removing the obstacles holding them back from living their lives to their fullest potential. In his latest book, Your Purpose Is Calling, Daniels has created an inspirational, encouraging guide that provides clear steps for anyone looking to overcome the obstacles that inhibit the...

Our guest is 11-year-old Bellen Woodard, and this is a late post. Woodard appeared on Perspectives on August 7th to discuss her career as an activist. That career began when she was only eight years old. If someone asked you to hand them “the skin-color crayon”, which color would you give them? When Bellen Woodard was asked that question, she knew they meant the peach crayon. But not everyone’s sk...

After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze. But between the fearsome new Head Minister’s strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton’s curse steadily worsening, Amari’s plate is full. When the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand...

Unlike many countries in Europe and the far East, the United States does not legally ban Muslim women from wearing a hijab or niqab, a veil worn along with the headscarf, leaving only the eyes exposed. Still, such “visibly” Muslim women in America routinely encounter disapproval, if not hostility, in public, and often deal with discrimination in the workplace. In UNRULY WOMEN: Race, Neocolonialism...

The Rise of the Black Quarterback: What It Means for America by NFL journalist Jason Reid, chronicles the history of the treatment of Black Players in the NFL, and the breakout careers of a thrilling new generation of Black quarterbacks. The quarterback is king in the NFL. He’s the smartest guy in the room and the coolest one to boot. Nearly all of the team’s major decisions, both on and off the f...

Jazz remains an original, American art form and famed instrumentalist Edwin Williams and his wife Janice lead the nonprofit Jazz Matters to assure the art is appreciated in Atlanta. The couple and their organization will host a post-pandemic return to the Jazz Matters concert series with performances at the historic Joel Chandler Harris House, known locally as The Wren's Nest on August 19 and Sept...