In Search of Black Power

Jan 08 2025 72 ep. 51 mins 110
In Search of Black Power Podcast artwork

In Search of Black Power challenges conventional narratives around Black policy, Black movements, and Black Life. We focus on creating a new language to discuss the issues presenting Black America, with a focus on independent institutional building and seeing Black folks as the solutions to our own problems. 

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The Baltimore Model of Community Controlled Reparations

Jan 08 2025 50 mins  
Send us a textOver the past decade, reparations have shifted from a fringe issue championed by Black nationalists to a mainstream topic in Democratic and nonprofit circles.In Baltimore, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle (LBS) has advanced a reparations agenda rooted in Black community control, challenging assumptions of the broader movement. LBS Director of Research, Lawrence Grandpr

Post Election Panel: Is the Left Ready to Get Serious About Wielding Power?

Dec 18 2024 90 mins  
Send us a textIn the conclusion of Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle's Post-Election Analysis, we share a panel discussion hosted by Baltimore Racial Justice Action (BRJA), held the week after the election.Moderated by Julia Scott, the panel featured:Lawrence Grandpre, Director of Research at Leaders of a Beautiful StruggleAndy Ellis, Chairman of Baltimore for Democracy and 2026 Gree

Grassroots Election Recap: Elite Dems Failed Black Folks and Brought Us Trump 2.0

Nov 27 2024 47 mins  
Send us a textTrump has won the election—again. But why? Lawrence and Dayvon delve beyond the data, drawing on their on-the-ground experience to contextualize the results. They highlight the Democratic Party’s failures on issues like criminal justice, expungement, housing policy, and maternal health, connecting these shortcomings to voter frustration and the collapse in turnout

Pre-Election Special: Kamala Harris's Black Male Agenda and Cannabis Legalization

Oct 22 2024 57 mins  
Send us a textKamala Harris released her Black Male Opportunity agenda amid discussions about lower support from Black men compared to Black women, with even Barack Obama criticizing "the brothers." In this episode, we examine how Harris balances appealing to Black men while avoiding policies directly targeting them. We also critique her cannabis legalization strategy, which may hi

The White Liberals Keep the Score: An African Centered Critique of The Body Keeps the Score (Part 2)

Oct 02 2024 75 mins  
Send us a textIn this episode, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle Director of Research, Lawrence Grandpre, critiques the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) framework, showing how it centers Eurocentric norms of trauma—focusing on individual and family experiences—while neglecting African-centered views of cultural and political trauma.We discuss how institutional responses to AC

The White Liberals Keep the Score: An African Centered Critique of The Body Keeps the Score (Part 1)

Sep 04 2024 62 mins  
Send us a textBessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score has become a global sensation, shaping mental health services and public conversations by centering trauma. Originally aimed at improving doctor-patient relationships, trauma-informed analysis has evolved into a political tool, with some advocating for its use in resource allocation to historically oppressed communities.

Guiding Black Youth: The legacy of African-Centered Rites of Passage

Aug 07 2024 69 mins  
Send us a textAfrican-centered Rites of Passage is a cultural practice and intervention that uses traditional African culture to facilitate the transition of young people to adulthood. Andre "Akintola" Turner, with over 20 years of experience in education and public health, provides an in-depth analysis of this practice through the Baltimore Rites of Passage Initiative. As a Senior

Sacrificing “Sum of Us”: Why Black Power Can’t Help Everyone (Part 2)

Jul 03 2024 71 mins  
Send us a textIn part two of our podcast analysis of Heather McGhee’s book “The Sum of Us,” hosted by Lawrence Grandpre, we use a historical lens to examine the effectiveness of multiracial positive-sum politics. We challenge McGhee’s argument that multiracial coalitions can effectively address global warming, showing that the history of political advocacy complicates this

Sacrificing “Sum of Us”: Why Black Power Can’t Help Everyone (Part 1)

Jun 05 2024 43 mins  
Send us a textHeather McGee’s book, The Sum of Us, is touted as a new approach to racial justice. Her arguments, showcased from TED Talks to late-night shows, suggest that framing investments in Black communities as beneficial for everyone can counter white backlash. However, this emotional appeal to multiracial coalitions undermines Black autonomy by decentering demands for Blac

Anti-Blackness and progressive approaches to Economic Redistribution

May 01 2024 61 mins  
Send us a textIn this episode, Lawrence explores the intersections of race and economic redistribution. Advocates of "race-neutral" economic redistribution policies have rebranded them as "race-conscious," asserting that policies like baby bonds and Universal Basic Income (UBI) would disproportionately benefit Black people while mitigating political backlash. This discussion expose