GirlTREK

“She made it rain on grassroots integrationists in the South while giving the Kennedy brothers a tongue-lashing for their failure to protect the region’s African-Americans. She inspired a Nina Simone song. She was clocked by the Feds. She wore pearl earrings. She gave a generation of Black actors the roles that would define their careers. She bedded white people years before miscegenation was legalized. She pissed off American theater. She pissed off American theater critics. She named her home in upstate New York Chitterling Heights. Years before Stonewall, she penned letters of solidarity to the early lesbian publication The Ladder. She had a mean sense of humor that continues to defy the “serious activist” stereotype. She didn’t stop until her body made her stop.”  - Excerpt by Fonesca. Review of Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart. Every aspect of Lorraine Hansberry’s life was fascinating, full of intrigue, and worthy of exploration. There is so much to talk about on today’s walk. Get ready to laugh, gasp, shout, and more as we honor the women who told the world there is nothing better than being young, gifted, and Black.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:To Be Young, Gifted and Black | Nina Simone:https://open.spotify.com/track/67RKpDruBXMJgAmhJAivXr?si=X6I9XdANRFi_b7B-bU_xkwWake Up | Ledisi (ft. Sa-Roc):https://open.spotify.com/track/2YjUR0XRhaLa080fcd5r5t?si=FtX72MazTO2OqkGQrPw6EQ

Moms Mabley was brilliant at disrupting the status quo with perfectly portioned bits of truth. It is the recipe of so many Black mothers, aunties, and grandmothers. Closeted geniuses, with disarming side glances, glints of spiritual insight, and easy laughs filled with ancient discernment. We have a wealth of funny in our families and Moms Mabley showed it to the world. Dressed as a toothless grandmother - using the force and bravery of her own grandmother as inspiration - she disarmed the world with edgy comedic perfection. One-liners distilled in hard times. Loaded.  Waiting for just a minute of airtime to kill. Quick wit is survival. Moms Mabley survived the unsurvivable by becoming the funniest woman on the planet.  Let’s learn her magic. Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to comedy except played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:My First Psychotic Break | Tiffany Haddish:https://open.spotify.com/track/3ol1RDEHaxfmdQ0UnA0wq3?si=oQREg_2ZTjaFbDhSpjIs8Q

Today we call the names of the women who do the work. The women who sit on committees, who write papers, edit publications, build coalitions, canvass neighborhoods, attend city council meetings, read and reread all the books. The women who study, learn, and then pass on the knowledge to the rest of us – so that there is a record of what has been and a strategy for a way forward. You too are dreamers and weavers. You are the idea makers. You are the bullhorns and today’s walk is for you. Tune in today as we discuss the Combahee River Collective. We are here because of them.  Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:River | Leon Bridges:https://open.spotify.com/track/3hhbDnFUb2bicI2df6VurK?si=c2a98337c6de4418I'll Take You There | The Staples Singers:https://open.spotify.com/track/5YLnfy7R2kueN0BRPkjiEG?si=93dda173da204287

They tried to intimidate her. Tried to demonize her. Tried to silence her voice. They tried to do the same thing that they try and do with most young Black girl geniuses in this world – extinguish our fire. But, Sister Souljah could not be stopped. She spoke truth to power. Gave voice to generations of young Black youth, and continues to organize against systems of power and oppression. Today’s walk is a celebration. A virtual parade down the main street of every hood in America to honor the brilliance that comes from within. If you don’t know the story of Sister Souljah, if you don’t understand her impact, then you must learn with us today. In real-time let’s write the history that we want our daughters to know. Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech except played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:The Hate The Hate Produced | Sister Soulja:https://youtu.be/neNboHZ3paQThat one time when Sister Souljah schooled Cornel West:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JokCT0CAkE8Fight the Power | Public Enemy:https://open.spotify.com/track/1yo16b3u0lptm6Cs7lx4AD?si=uv-9WqdlTraI9FG1QSBb6Q

Let’s face it. Any time anyone mentions the name Nefertiti, we all picture the beautiful Iman in the Remember the Time video - or maybe you immediately go to the gold-plated knocker earrings that celebrate her glorious profile. ...but what do we reeeeally know about the Queen? Tune in today to learn exactly why there was a Nefertiti revival in every Black neighborhood in America circa 1991, precisely 3,000 years after her dramatic death in ancient Egypt. Roll your shoulders back and adjust your crown queens, this tribute Walk & Talk is going to be gooood.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech except played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat) | Digable Planets:https://bit.ly/3sSUz7THow Many Mics | The Fugees:https://open.spotify.com/track/2lOnbK3gm1N6keYkUD3mis?si=cuTVy2QVRm6HcPfLjUT0LA

The original. Before Nikki, before Cardi, before Kim. Long before Young M.A. was seducing women out of their Fashion Nova, and Meg made that congressman clutch his pearls over WAP, there was Gladys Bentley. An open lesbian, a cross-dressing performer whose raunchy act and lewd lyrics were both the talk of the town and the hottest ticket around. A darling of the Harlem Renaissance, Gladys Bentley was once the richest Black woman in America. A blues singer who got her start singing at rent parties, she was a woman brave enough to love and live as she wanted - until the politics of the time and a brutal system of oppression, that has denied so many of us the opportunity to live in our truth, forced her back into the margins.Our stories are complex. Difficult. Not always redeemable to those who live in the black and white. Not always deemed worthy to be told if not pristine or above reproach. But not in this space. Here, amongst a tribe of women who come bearing our own scars, we make space for every story. And today we tell the story of Gladys, because it is spectacular and because it serves as inspiration for those who will come after her to plant their own flags in planets yet discovered. Can’t wait to walk with you today. Tune in live. This one will be worth it. Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music  played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Worried Blues | Gladys Bentleyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptIBk2PZK74 Back to the Streets | Saweetiehttps://open.spotify.com/track/3MEruRteiUZXkStfTlZqRn?si=Qrepmax0TcuH4odrXBeeRw

Her mother told her that she was singing before she could hold her head up. Calling at birth. An air bender. And on any given Sunday, if you walk through the right neighborhood at precisely the right time, you’ll hear it. ...just behind the smell of fresh laundry and the sizzle of Sazón, you feel it coming. "¡Azúuucar!" Every sound system must bow. The clap of her voice is more ancient than the rivers of Benin. Celia Cruz gave us pathways home. She was our clave, the pulse of our diaspora, our mother's lullaby, and Oya’s cry. “The Queen of Salsa'' stoked our collective imaginations and taught us to fly. And for that, we dedicate today’s walk to this cultural cosmonaut. Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech except played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Quimbara - Zaire, Africa 1974 | Celia Cruz & The Fania All Stars: https://bit.ly/3sSUz7TBemba Colora Live | Celia Cruz:https://open.spotify.com/track/4fn2fJjnuu5vxR2sRw5D5t?si=fcVlBk4HTsSGBm6C40vLSA

This is the story that you need today. A royal story. A queen story. A story about taking up space, owning your gifts, and using your voice. A story about overcoming the worst to become the best to ever do it.  A history lesson on courage. A demonstration on Blackness. A journey through the life of the greatest singer of all time. This is the story of Aretha Franklin. Ain’t no way (ha!) you'll listen without getting your whole life. There is so much to be said and so much to learn from this woman who came holding a gift from God and used it to transform the world.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - 21 Cosmonauts at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 women who were ahead of their time.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech except played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:RESPECT | Aretha Franklin:https://open.spotify.com/track/7s25THrKz86DM225dOYwnr?si=x8NB7U_tTQSs5R2MN_83xADay Dreaming | Aretha Franklin:https://open.spotify.com/track/7L4G39PVgMfaeHRyi1ML7y?si=eq6zDjvwRJKXAySCyPeavw

We watched him forgive, for all of us.Today, Bishop Tutu is 89 years old and is still changing the moral climate of the world.  In 1996, this spiritual titan - who is a survivor of Apartheid -  proceeded over the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings.  Together, we listened to gruesome stories of torture and unthinkable confessions of death squads.  The entire concept was radical - truth for freedom.  Let go of retribution to restore justice. Bring mass healing for all.It was a master class.Bishop Tutu received a Nobel Peace Prize.  Yes.  But more than his achievements,  I am struck by his laugher.  It's brilliant.  And after a lifetime of resistance to the repression and violence of Apartheid, his laughter proves that there is a God.  Some of the most beautiful moments in the last decade are between Bishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama.  The two men charged with smiling eyes, praying hands, and foot-stomping laughter, show us the bounty of spiritual enlightenment. We are humbled to honor this living legend.  His daughter, Rev. Naomi Tutu will join us today live.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrica - Gospel Train:https://open.spotify.com/track/5HiC1rsHmXbrh5zy7cG5LS?si=sJpd8UeIQr6v1Mop6BAp5AForgiveness: "What do you do to forgive someone?" - Archbishop Desmond Tutu:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo2LGGqtjqM&feature=youtu.beBo Noo Ni - Joe Mettle:https://open.spotify.com/track/7eirw5Zy1bUWOka5g2HWrb?si=847jZABmSrmkRP1NNzuxBQ

… A tree was chopped down and the fruit was scatteredI cried because I had lost a family the trunk, my father the branches, his support so muchthe fruit, the wife and children who meant so much to him tasty loving as they should be all on the ground some out of his reachin the ground the roots, happiness cut off from him.        - Zindzi MandelaThis is an ode to Black love. The love that survived and the love that didn’t.This is an honoring of the sacrifice of Black men who could have loved more tenderly and Black women who could have received more softly if only the world wasn’t content on destroying them.This is an honoring of the lovers who sought refuge in each other and found it, if only for a moment.  This is a space where we honor the gray area of relationships. A space that knows no blame. A space that honors that there is no manual for how to love during wartime.  This is a conversation and an exploration of the life and love of Winnie and Nelson Mandela.Our heroes were humans and they gave at great sacrifice. Today we honor that sacrifice and look for the lessons by diving deep into the Mandelas' powerful legacy.Join GirlTrek’s Black History Bootcamp - The Prayer Edition at blackhistorybootcamp.com to receive specially curated emails with prayers, survival tips, speeches + dedicated songs to listen to for each episode. Together we will discover the stories of 21 spiritual warriors.Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:Soweto Blues - Miriam Makeba:https://open.spotify.com/track/7qb0KJZ0iXtS8LMSXCH353?si=t5ZnQGQjRiydvR4uzTBY_wLet's Stay Together - Al Green:https://open.spotify.com/track/63xdwScd1Ai1GigAwQxE8y?si=79Zk_xL5Ss6hoNLeUOipMw