Us with Dr. Crystallee Crain - Critical Conversations On The Challenges & Opportunities Of Our Time

HER 250, Episode 3: From Bearing Witness to Building Power The final episode of HER 250 turns from history to the present — and to what comes next. Dr. Crystallee Crain opens with an unflinching look at where the gaps from Episodes One and Two still show up today. The wage gap remains stark and racially specific: Native American women are paid 53 cents, Latinas 54 cents, and Black women 63 cents f...

HER 250, Episode 2: Race, Erasure, and the Women Who Were Told to Wait Their Turn In 1913, more than five thousand women marched on Washington to demand the vote — and Black women were told to march at the back. Ida B. Wells refused. In Episode Two of HER 250 , Dr. Crystallee Crain pulls apart the suffrage movement's celebrated history to show what it cost the women it left behind. She names w...

HER 250, Episode 1: This country is turning 250. But whose independence are we actually celebrating? In the opening episode of HER 250 , Dr. Crystallee Crain pulls back the curtain on America's founding to ask a question the parades won't: where were the women of color when this nation was born — and why were their stories left out of the textbooks? Dr. Crain tells the story of Ona Judge ,...

What does it take to turn a prison conversation into a life's mission? In this episode, Dr. Crystallee Crain sits down with Geremy Johnson — justice-informed strategist, peer-led innovator, and Founder of Turning 365, Inc. — for a conversation that is equal parts reckoning and revelation. Geremy doesn't come with talking points. He comes with truth. Born in New York City, rooted in Virgini...

A long awaited compilation of poetry by dr crystallee crain, her debut poetry album I Am She explores over 10 years of talent, triumph and tragedy in prose that provoke emotion and truth in the experience of women of color, and in particular, black women in the United States. It's not a work of perfection but to express and show process and growth. The last track of the project - SLATED - is t...

What happens when private pain is finally spoken aloud? In her powerful new memoir, Superfluous Pains: A Life Given Without Consent, But Lived with Intent, Dr. Crystallee Crain turns lived experience into testimony, healing, and action. This is not just a book of memories. It is a courageous collection of essays, poems, micro-nonfiction, and reflections that confront trauma, family wounds, race an...

In this episode of  Community Conversations with The Liberation Caucus & Mayor Daniel Mahoney of Jackson, Michigan , Dr. Crystallee Cain hosts a powerful discussion on the challenges of our time, centering Black liberation, community advocacy, and the work of dismantling systems of oppression. Featuring our amazing guest hosts  Brandon Jessup ,  Dr. Stacey Deering they join  Dr. Crystallee in...

Where the Flint Water Crisis Stands in 2026. This episode of US with Dr. Crystallee Crain revisits the Flint water crisis more than a decade later, summarizing the history, weighing current infrastructure and policy progress, and explaining the ongoing public‑health and social consequences for residents and clinicians. What you’ll hear: a recap of the 2014–2015 contamination and its disproportiona...

In this deeply personal episode, Dr. Crystallee Crain shares her powerful essay exploring love, loss, and emotional abuse through the lens of supporting a man recently exonerated after decades in prison. She reveals the complex effects of incarceration trauma, the challenges of intimate relationships post-release, and the collateral damage for loved ones. A raw, honest reflection on healing, freed...

Welcome to a pivotal episode of US with Dr. Crystallee Crain. As we stand on the cusp of what could be a transformative shift in how we're able to serve our communities, I invite you to listen closely to the profound implications of Project 2025 —a Presidential Transition Plan upending the very foundations of community based, nonprofit, and human service work nationally. Review the Protecting...

In my work I'm living with the overwhelm of the unknown from the federal government - and beyond. In this space, I have chosen to co-create solutions and lean into possibility to prevent future harm. A Tiered Consent Model allows us to protect ourselves from the weaponization of our experiences by the federal government. We are reaching out to the Henry Ford Health System with a simple yet mea...

Hello beautiful listeners, welcome back to another inspiring episode of US with Dr. Crystallee Crain. I am beyond thrilled to have you here with me today as we unlock the second chapter of my poetry album series, "I AM SHE" - Part Two: Unladylike. In this segment of our journey, we delve into a world that challenges our conventions and urges us to embrace the unfiltered, raw, and unapologetic esse...

Hello loves, We're back with a final limited Season three of “Us with D r. Crystallee Crain .” This season is focused on the tools we have or have overlooked that we can tap into to change our lives and our communities. I’m thrilled to introduce you to a remarkable leader in our community, City Council Member Leon El-Alamin, who embodies the principles of equity, collaboration, and empowerment...

Obadyah Ben-Yisrayl, formerly known as Christopher Dwayne Peterson, has a complex and controversial story that revolves around a series of crimes committed in Indiana during a short period in 1990. Born on January 20, 1969, in Gary, Indiana, Obadyah later became known as the "Shotgun Killer" due to alleged involvement in a spree of murders involving a shotgun from October to December 199...

Dr. Liza J. Rankow is an interfaith minister, educator, activist, and writer. Her lifework centers the deep healing that is essential to personal and social transformation. Liza is the founder and former executive director of OneLife Institute, a pioneering organization that served for 17 years to support the well-being of frontline activists, caregivers, and others working to lift up the communit...

COLAGE on US with Dr Crystallee Crain Founded in 1990 under the name “Just For Us,” COLAGE (originally Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) began with a group of six young people with lesbian and gay parents. The experience at their first meeting was revolutionary, and they wanted to share similar experiences with other COLAGErs. In 1996, the organization explicitly added work with children o...

Welcome to US with Dr Crystallee Crain.  I had the honor to come across a social media post regarding an amazing new book called Fighting Times: Organizing on the Front Lines of the Class War. Authored by Jon Melrod, a long time activist and attorney for political refugees. What I’ve learned from this book is that Jon has made amazing contributions to the radical notions of community, shared...

We are blessed to have our first return guest, Kimberly Turner who is the Designer, Creative Director, & Stylist for Elizabeth In Pearls. Kim is also an advocate for awareness for an important public health issue - endometriosis. A ccording to the Office on Women's Health - Endometriosis, often referred to as “endo,” is a condition that happens when tissue similar to the lining of a woman’s ut...

Sandhya Jha (they/them) is an anti-oppression consultant who particularly loves helping organizations get Diversity/Equity/Inclusion teams off the ground. Sandhya is the founder and former executive director of the Oakland Peace Center, a collective of 40 organizations working to create equity, access, and dignity as the means of creating peace in Oakland and the Bay Area. An ordained pastor with...

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Kim is the Creative Director and Stylist for Elizabeth in Pearls, which is named after her grandmothers Elizabeth - also known as grandmommy - and Pearl - also known as Ma Pearl.  As the Founder of Elizabeth In Pearls, she creates uncommon jewelry and art that speak uplifting stories and messages.  I’m hoping today we can talk about some of those uplifting messages and the roots of her c...

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Elisha Hall, the African American Engagement Director with Compassion and Choices, and Joel Simone Maldanado, who is a recent addition to the Board of Directors and a licensed funeral director, insurance agent, and sacred grief practitioner. Compassion and Choices is an organization dedicated to improving care, expanding options, and empowering everyone to chart t...

Gigi Traore is the newly appointed Mayor of Newburgh Heights, Ohio. She is the first black mayor of this town. Gigi is also the Founder & Principal Consultant with G3 MANAGEMENT Firm. For over a decade G3 MANAGEMENT Firm has provided strategic development, management, and sustainable solutions to clients in Midwest states. Professionally, Gigi has over 20 years of experience in politics, nonpr...

As reported in the IOM Interim report - The International Observer Mission, sponsored by the ICHRP, found that the May 9 Philippine National Elections were marred by a higher level of failure of the electronic voting systems than ever before, along with a higher level of blatant vote-buying, disturbing levels of red-tagging and a number of incidents of violence.  According to the IOM report,...

I’m so glad to bring on four amazing guests who have dedicated their wisdom and time to researching and understanding health disparities and ways to increase equity in care, research, and overall access.  Today the topic we are tapping into an important conversation on health as a human right. It only feels right to acknowledge that on Friday, June 24th - the Supreme Court ruling on Dobb...