Strange Fruit

The FX series "Pose" features the largest LGBTQ cast on television. Five series regulars are transgender. The setting is 1987 New York City -- specifically the ballroom scene and the trans community. So it's basically like if they made a TV show out of "Paris Is Burning." Needless to say, we love it. This week we talk to Steven Canals, who co-created the show along with Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.

It's your partner's birthday and you're looking for the perfect card. But the drug store selection is looking pretty heteronormative. The specialty store might have an LGBTQ section... full of smiling white faces. What's a queer person of color to do? That's what Otis Richardson wanted to know. So he started his own line of greeting cards, Lavenderpop, featuring text and artwork on cards specifically for people who look like us. Otis joins us this week to tell us about his work.

“I’m terrified at the moral apathy – the death of the heart which is happening in my country. These people have deluded themselves for so long that they really don’t think I’m human. I base this on their conduct, not on what they say. And this means that they have become, in themselves, moral monsters.” James Baldwin said it in 1963. Dr. Ricky Jones, from the University of Louisville, reflected on it in a recent column for the Courier-Journal. That got the attention of Fox News, and Jones appeared on Tucker Carlson's show last week. As you might imagine, it didn't go too well. Jones says it's all part of his job: teaching. He joins us this week to talk about what Baldwin meant, how it relates to our country today, and what happened after that interview.

They're a delicious summertime snack -- but they're also associated with a long-standing stereotype about black people. This week we talk to historian Bill Black from Rice University about how watermelons became a racist symbol. And an exhibit at the Carnegie Center for Art and History tells the fascinating story of Lucy Higgs Nichols. She went from enslavement in Tennessee to working as a nurse with the 23rd Indiana Volunteers during the Civil War. Al Gorman with the Carnegie joins us to talk about Nichols' life and local ties, and what you can see in the exhibit.

Darnell Moore has been a frequent and favorite Strange Fruit guest over the years, and through those conversations, we've learned bits and pieces of his history and how his past shaped him into his current activism. Now he has a new memoir, "No Ashes In The Fire: Coming Of Age Black And Free In America," that tells his whole story (and more -- he researched his family members going back to 1877). The book takes its title from one of several life-threatening experiences Darnell recounts. He's on a book tour now and joins us this week to talk about the memoir and why he decided to put it all down on paper. Check out "No Ashes In The Fire" here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/darnell-l-moore/no-ashes-in-the-fire/9781549168727/

Matthew Charles was convicted of seven charges related to the possession and sale of crack cocaine. This was in 1996, when the crack-to-cocaine ratio was still 100 to 1, meaning that selling one gram of crack carried the same punishment as 100 grams of cocaine. Matthew was got a sentence of 30 years to life. While he served his term, the sentencing guidelines were changed. Matthew had a perfect behavioral record while incarcerated, and was released early in 2016, having spent almost half his life on the inside. He got steady work, started volunteering at a halfway house every weekend, bought clothing, furniture, a cell phone, rented a room in East Nashville. He re-established relationships with friends and family, and got into a serious romantic relationship. Basically, he built a life outside prison. But a federal court ruled his term was reduced in error and ordered him back behind bars to finish his sentence. Matthew donated his belongings, said goodbye to his girlfriend and family, and turned himself in.

Our colleague Jacob Ryan from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting was working on a story at Dosker Manor, a high-rise public housing complex in downtown Louisville. As he interviewed residents for his original story, something else kept coming up in the conversations: bedbugs. More than half of residents in the 685-unit complex either had them, had recently had them, or were making drastic lifestyle changes to try to avoid them. Dosker Manor is housing for seniors and people with disabilities. The majority of its residents are black. Whose job is it to make sure this vulnerable slice of the population has housing that is “decent, safe, sanitary and in good repair," as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires public housing to be? Residents have complained to management and called 311 to report problems. But the investigation found that calls aren't being followed up on. Work orders aren't being generated to send exterminators to the infested units. And the seniors living

Kaila just had a rough semester. Her students wouldn't do their reading and didn't seem to be paying much attention. She was feeling low. Then she got a box in the mail packed with Audre-Lorde-themed swag from a student who appreciated her class. Turns out, it was a Homegirl Box. And she knew we had to interview whoever came up with it. This week we talk to Brittany Brathwaite, co-creator of the Homegirl Box, a gift box inspired by the life and legacy of bold and visionary women of color. Each box contains 4 or 5 creations from women and non-binary artists, designers and business owners. We talk to Brittany about her work, and her company's philosophy on doing business ethically. We also have an update on Michael Rotondo, the 30-year-old man who wouldn't vacate his folks' house in New York. And of course, we say a great big, "Bye, Roseanne!"

We've all been busy this week, doing our civic duty. Not only was Tuesday Election Day, but Doc has been on jury duty all week! Her stories about the people she's met there bring up some questions about whether serving on a jury is too much of a hardship for hourly workers and low-income folks. Event planner Darien Green has been busy too. He's planning the second annual installment of "A Gay-la Experience," which is scheduled for June 2. Darien joined us this week to tell us more about the party, which is geared toward the LBGTQ community. "I basically created this event because I have a lot of friends who are transgender and they didn't get to attend their high school prom as their true selves," Darien said. "They don't share their prom pictures, they don't even talk about their prom experience, because it wasn't a happy time for them. I thought about what I could do to help them have that experience." While Darien was here we also talked about the case of Michael Rotondo, a 30

Amber Phillips flies a lot, and she knows what can happen to people whose bodies don't fit perfectly in small airplane seats. So when she sat down for a short flight from Raleigh-Durham to Washington, DC late last month, and her arm was touching a fellow passenger's arm, she was worried. “I was thinking, I really hope she doesn’t treat me mean,” Phillips would later tell the Washington Post. "She was fidgeting, and finally she looks at me and goes, 'Can you move over?'" But Phillips was in the window seat, and there was nowhere else to go. This week on Strange Fruit, she tells the story of what happened over the next 45 minutes while the plane made its way to Reagan National Airport, and after it landed. Like so many news stories lately, it culminates in a white person calling the police on a black person engaged in an everyday activity. Or as Phillips put it in a later tweet, "The cops were called on me for flying while fat & Black."

When we talk about racism and sexism, we often talk about women and people of color. But what does it mean to be an informed, empathetic, white man? That's the question posed by a series of workshops in San Francisco called "Stepping Up." Unlike many diversity and inclusion programs, this one is specifically designed for white men, and lead by white men. During the sessions, students can ask questions anonymously through an app, to lessen the fear of asking or saying something racist or sexist. Paul Mann founded Stepping Up, and he joins us this week to talk abut why it's important for white guys to take responsibility for teaching each other about racism and sexism (not to rely on women and people of color to do the educating), and some of the backlash he's gotten so far.

She's featured on Beyoncé's "Formation" and in Drake's song "Nice for What." You've heard her voice and most definitely heard her influence. But there's a good chance you don't know what Big Freedia looks like. Popular (and mainstream) artists like Bey and Drake are quick to use Big Freedia on their songs, but never feature the Queen of Bounce in their videos. "You know, my voice be on a lot of different stuff and people want to use bounce music as a part of their music, but when it comes to the proper recognition of me being in the video, that's something that we're steady working towards to make it happen," Freedia said in an interview with Fader in April. Myles Johnson (Janelle Monáe recently called him "one of the greatest writers of this generation," no big deal) recently wrote about it in an essay called "The Ghost of Big Freedia." He joins us this week to talk about the erasure of Big Freedia and the history of pop music taking from more marginalized ar

It's almost Derby Week, and there's already a lot going on in Louisville! So this week, we're doing an all-Juicy-Fruit news round-up. We cover Shania Twain putting her cowgirl boot in her mouth with fans, the Philadelphia Police Chief's misunderstanding of coffee shop culture, why girls' and women's clothes don't have pockets, and more.

Chicago dominatrix Mistress Velvet did not intentionally build her practice around dominating white men. But she was living in a predominantly white part of North Carolina at the time, and most of the people who could afford to hire her, fit that demographic. "It just happened to be that a lot of my clients were white men," she says, "and they were just really awful." One client said he appreciated that she was so well educated. "I've had black mistresses in the past," he told her, "but they were often ghetto." At the same time, she said he seemed to be struggling with a lot of white guilt. She figured he needed some education himself -- and he happened to be paying her to tell him what to do. So she ordered him to read an essay by Patricia Hill Collins on the importance of black feminist theory. "It just gave me so much life," she says. "He was on his knees, at my feet, reading an essay to me, and I'm like snapping the whole time -- at least internally.

It isn't unusual to see homoeroticism in hypermasculine spaces - like the locker room, the wrestling ring, or the military barracks. But what about the barbershop? It's a social and community hub and where black masculinity is centered. But you''ll also encounter homophobia there, and for many queer black men, it doesn't feel like a safe space. So where does that leave LGBTQ black men who need that sense of community (or just a haircut)? We talk about the black barbershop - good and bad - on this week's show. Our guest is Da'Shaun Harrison, who recently tackled the subject in an essay for the Black Youth Project. Plus, actor Lee Doud joins us to talk about anti-Asian bias in the gay community, particularly when it comes to dating and desire.

Louisville photographer Sowande Malone joins us this week, because he doesn't just take pictures - he's also a huge comic book fan. Together we unpack all things "Black Panther," including how gender and sexuality play out in the movie. And since it's the movie that launched a thousand think pieces, we talk about those too - even the ones we don't agree with.

The 45th Dr. Joseph H. McMillan National Black Family Conference is happening in Louisville later this month, and this year's theme is "Elevating the Health and Safety of the Black Family and Community." Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother, will deliver a keynote speech at the conference, and she joins us on this week's show to talk about her advocacy work, and her son's legacy. We also check in with Monique Judge from The Root, about an article she recently published about homophobia and what she called "toxic black masculinity." And in a shocking Valentine's Day revelation, we learn that Jai still pokes people on Facebook.

What is after Earth for women? That's the question science fiction author Author Olivia A. Cole has in mind for her latest project, "Kindred: Making Space in Space." And unlike much of her previous work, this isn't a book. It's an art exhibition featuring poetry, short fiction, visual art, and even music and dance, all created by Kentucky women from ages 10-21. Cole joins us on this week's show to talk about the women writers who have inspired her, and how she hopes to encourage other girls and women to carry the science and speculative fiction mantle into the future. We also reclaim some time this week to talk with Clarkisha Kent about an article she wrote for The Root, "Top 10 Moments Black People Won in 2017." And our favorite fellow word nerd Grant Barrett catches us up on the American Dialect Society's Words of the Year for 2017, from covfefe to caucasity.

This week we talk to author and poet Kyla Jenee Lacey, whose essay, "Why I'm Open to Dating Bisexual Men," was published last month on The Root. At first glance, it might seen biphobic that we even need a headline like that, but it's apparently still A Thing. Or as Lacey says, "It’s 2018, in the year of our lord and savior Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and people are still 7-year-olds when it comes to sexual fluidity." Lacey calls it the "one-drop rule" approach to sexual fluidity, and here's how she describes it: "If a man has sex with one man and 100 women, we will still erroneously view him as gay and not bisexual, or sexually fluid, or even just a heterosexual man who experimented with a man and came to the conclusion that he didn’t like men. Women, on the other hand can have a whole bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate phase of having had sex with women and then turn around and reclaim their heterosexuality." As you might imagine, there's a lot to unpack here, including ideas

It happens, to some extent, every single day. People of color are exposed to racism in many ways -- from watching footage of police shootings, to experiencing racism in our own communities. Psychologists call it "racial trauma," and it can change the way our brains and bodies relate to, and process, the world around us. Psychologist Dr. Carlton Green joins us on this week's show to tell us more about racial trauma, how to cope with it. and how mental health professionals are learning to treat it.