Roots of the Spirit Podcast

Roots of the Spirit Podcast welcomes Golf Curator & Founder of IN-18, LaToya Finney! LaToya Finney is the founder of IN-18, an experiential golf platform created to increase young professionals' participation in golf and teach inclusion through structured workshops paired with course activities. LaToya was exposed to golf in college and realized early on that the game was not easily accessible to...

Listen to Minnijean Brown Trickey (Little Rock Nine), truth connoisseur drop gems on the topic of "race," racism and social justice. 

Jane Elliott is an internationally known teacher who became famous after creating the "Blue-Eyes/Brown-Eyes Exercise" in her 3rd grade classroom in the late sixties. She is a lecturer, diversity trainer, antiracism advocate and recipient of the National Mental Health Association Award for Excellence in Education. She exposes prejudice and bigotry as an irrational class system based upon purely arb...

Naomi Gracechild is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, educator, entrepreneur, social justice activist and worshipper of nature! As the founder of Euphony Works, Naomi brings her cross-sector experience in both urban and rural communities to help clients gain a deeper understanding of socio-political dynamics in order to effectively address issues of inequity. Throughout her professional caree...

Brad Marsden (Gitsegukla Reserve within the Gitksan Nation in Northern British Columbia) is a Life Coach,  Residential School Counselor and Facilitator. He graduated from a Wellness Counselor Program in 2008 and has been trained in SafeTalk as well as Suicide Intervention at the Crisis Center of British Columbia. He provides interactive workshops called, "Impacts of Residential School & Colonizati...

Mark Stoddart has been a Visual Communicator for over 30 years! He combines his passion for music and sports with a spirit of social activism and a commitment to educate & unite as a brand designer, visual artist, and founder of the clothing company L.I.W.I.68 (Live It, Wear It) brand. Under that brand, he works with Dr. John Carlos, an advocate for human rights and the 1968 Olympic sprinter who s...

Monica O. Montgomery is an arts and culture innovator using creativity and narrative as a means of bridging the gap between people and movements. She is the newly minted, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center, A Home for Black Excellence . Monica advocates globally for social justice, at the intersection of art, activism and culture...

Check out this deeply inspiring episode featuring Liberian-born fashion designer and stylist, Korto Momolu (First Runner Up, Project Runway Season 5) who has overcome many challenges to blaze her own path in the fashion industry - stamping her global brand on fashion-forward women's wear and accessories that celebrate the essence of her rich heritage through the use of traditional and luxury fabri...

Roots of the Spirit welcomes Jason Ward - Birder, Writer and host of his own web series "Birds of North America." Born and raised in Bronx, New York Jason's love for wildlife began at a young age as he fell in love with dinosaurs - an infatuation that provided him with an escape from the obstacles growing up in the South Bronx. Now, he gets to share his love for modern-day dinosaurs (birds) with t...

Roots of the Spirit founder and host, Spirit Tawfiq speaks openly about her own personal journey as she marks the 10th episode of the podcast!     

George Moses ,   Executive Director of North East Area Development in Rochester, NY is an experienced community-based activist, researcher and executive who understands the need to balance scholarly research with the practical application needed for positive transformation in challenged communities. He is the key liaison for the establishment of the 1st Western New York Children's Defense Fund Fre...

Welcome Namel Norris and Rick Velasquez, talented "hip-hop artists and motivational speakers in wheelchairs as a result of gun violence" to the Roots of the Spirit podcast! Namel and Rick founded 4 Wheel City  to create more opportunities for people with disabilities and  inspire people not to give up in life. In addition, show the world that people with disabilities can still have talents, dreams...

  Roots of the Spirit welcomes filmmaker, Melissa Lowery to the podcast! Black Girl In Suburbia is Melissa's first feature documentary based off of her own experiences growing up as one of very few African Americans in a predominately White suburb in Oregon.  Black Girl In Suburbia is a feature documentary that looks into the experiences of black girls growing up in predominately White communities...

Roots of the Spirit welcomes Jaimie Milner, photographer, artist and founder of Gifted: A Creative Movement Celebrating the Beauty and Genius of Black Men . "Gifted is an innovative platform focused on expanding a positive image of black men throughout culture. Often times we're surrounded by so many negative images of black men: ones that devalue, degrade and fail to represent their power and the...

#RootsoftheSpirit Podcast is excited to introduce you to Destiny Mabry!!! Educator, motivational speaker, activist, rapper and comedian actress from #Bronx, #NewYork. She has been featured on #MTV News, #BET, #NationalPublicRadio and #NYCMedia. Destiny is passionate about facing social issues head on. She feels it's important for everyone, especially the youth, to know they have the #power to be a...

My very special guest on today's podcast is my older sister, Morning Star Trickey. When thinking of guests to honor for Women's History Month, Morning Star came to mind right away. I have looked up to her and admired her since day 1. When I was coming of age and she was entering her 20's, I worshiped her like no other. Morning Star has been singing as long as I can remember. My little sister, Leil...

Roots of the Spirit welcomes 2019 Arkansas Teacher of the Year , Stacey McAdoo and her vivacious 17-year-old daughter, Jamee McAdoo – senior at Central High School and 2019 Miss Heritage's Outstanding Teen. This beautiful mother / daughter duo graced the Roots of the Spirit podcast by sharing their respective experiences of being a teacher and student at Little Rock Central High School, in additio...

Roots of the Spirit Podcast welcomes Dr. Todd Allen , Special Assistant to the President & Provost for Diversity Affairs/Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.   Dr. Allen is the founder of The Common Ground Project, a community based non-profit dedicated to promoting an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement, and over the past 1...

Reverend Clark Olsen was a white minister who responded to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's call for clergy to travel to Selma, Alabama in 1965 in support of voting rights. Once in Selma, Olsen joined other ministers who had come to support the cause. As he and colleagues were walking to Brown Chapel, his friend Reverend Jim Reeb was attacked by white supremacists and died 2 days later. Rev. Olsen tes...

Spirit Tawfiq launches Roots of the Spirit podcast by speaking truthfully about her experience as the daughter of Little Rock Nine member, Minnijean Brown Trickey who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Born and raised in Canada, she grew up totally unaware of her mother's major role in U.S. history. But upon learning became voraciously passionate about uncovering the truth about...