The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience Podcast, we sit down with innovative arts leader Jacob G. Padrón for a deeply meaningful conversation about ancestry, spirituality, culture, leadership, and healing. Together, we explore how our ancestors continue to influence our lives, why honoring those who came before us matters, and how faith, memory, and legacy can guide...

Send us Fan Mail What If Society Is the Disability? What if the greatest barriers people face aren’t always their disabilities—but the environments, systems, and assumptions surrounding them? In this episode of The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience Podcast , we sit down with Jordan Colbert , a leader in accessibility at Yale University, to explore the powerful intersections of neurodiversity, disabi...

Send us Fan Mail Are you dealing with a narcissist—or trying to make sense of a relationship that leaves you feeling unheard, emotionally drained, or questioning your own reality? In this episode of The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience Podcast, we explore the complex connection between narcissistic traits, ghosting, childhood experiences, emotional safety, and the family patterns that can influence...

Send us Fan Mail In this thought-provoking episode of The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience Podcast, we sit down with playwright, producer, and storyteller Terrell M. Green, creator of the controversial rap-poetic musical Harriet Tubman: Love Slave . The production sparked national conversation and media attention, including coverage on CNN, for its bold reimagining of one of America's most rev...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when theater becomes more than entertainment—and turns into a tool for activism, healing, and social change? In this powerful episode of R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience, we sit down with Tony Award-winning director, educator, and activist Zhailon Levingston, one of the most influential voices redefining American theater today. Raised in Louisiana and celebrated as the...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful Season 2 premiere of The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience Podcast , we sit down with genealogist, historian, and author John Mills to uncover remarkable stories of courage, resilience, and legacy. John discusses his groundbreaking new book, The Narrative of Primus , which traces the life of Primus, a young African boy who survived the horrors of enslavement in colo...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful and deeply moving episode of The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience Podcast, we sit down with Rev. Dr. Odell Montgomery Cooper—author, speaker, and founder of Interruptions Without Walls—for a conversation that is as heartbreaking as it is transformative. Dr. Cooper shares her personal journey through unimaginable loss following the tragic death of her son, and how t...

Send us Fan Mail "Say The Thing Outloud: Behind Our Why"  goes beyond the mic and into the story behind the story. 🎙️ In this exclusive behind-the-scenes episode of Our Why, we open up in a deeper, more personal way—sharing the experiences, moments, and truths that shaped each of us. This is where the mission becomes real, and the roots of R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience come to life. If...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when one woman challenges one of the most powerful universities in the world to reclaim her family’s stolen history? Tamara Lanier shares the powerful story behind her fight with Harvard to honor the humanity and legacy of her ancestors. In this powerful episode, Tamara reveals the deeply personal journey that began with a family story and led to a historic legal batt...

Send us Fan Mail Rochell Sanders Prater is the Executive Director of Descendants United, formerly known as the GU272 Descendants Association. Rochell is the great-granddaughter of Jackson Hawkins, who was just three years old when he was forced aboard the Katherine Jackson, one of the ships that carried 272 enslaved people from Maryland to Louisiana in 1838. These men, women, and children were own...

Send us Fan Mail This episode explores the intersection of grief, spirituality, and ancestral connection through the lens of psychic mediumship and ministry. The R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience podcast welcomes Dr. Lakara Foster — psychic medium, minister, and author of The Mourning After. Together, the hosts and guests examine how spiritual gifts, sacred contracts, and faith help reconstruct life...

Send us Fan Mail To open the R.E.A.L. Roots & Resilience series by exploring how faith, ancestry, and family history shape emotional identity, resilience, and silence within Black communities. Each host shares their “why” — a personal reflection that connects lived experience, spirituality, and lineage to healing through storytelling. The goal is to show that narrative reflection is the interv...