The Equity Matters Podcast

“Social work isn’t a profession.” “ Public health isn’t a real field.” “Your degree doesn’t matter.”   Every time society dismisses a field, it affects funding, pay, and the people doing the hardest work: social workers, public health professionals, educators, and caregivers who sustain our communities. In this episode of Equity Matters, Dr. James Bell III explores the history and politics of professionalism, showing how traits like formal education, licensure, and hierarchy were historically built to exclude women, Black and Brown professionals, and working-class communities. We dive into the consequences of structural inequities, including undervalued labor, disposable workforces, and narratives shaped by outsiders rather than the people doing the work.   Listen & Subscribe to Equity Matters Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Follow us on TikTok Check out our Free Resources on Gumroad Visit Dr. Bell’s Website

“Social work isn’t a profession.” “Public health isn’t a real field.” “Your degree doesn’t matter.” These statements might sound like casual opinions, but they reveal something deeper about how society decides which professions deserve respect, funding, and power. In this preview of the upcoming Equity Matters episode “Respeck on My Name (Work To Do)”, Dr. James Bell III explores the history and politics of professionalism and why fields like social work and public health are often dismissed even though they are essential to the health and stability of our communities. This full episode will look at: The history of professional status in the United States How race, gender, and power shaped who gets to be called a “professional” Why care professions are often undervalued and underfunded The impact this has on the public health and social work workforce Subscribe and stay tuned for the full conversation starting this Wednesday. 

Somebody said n****. Someone has a neurological disorder. Who is to blame? Can you hold two truths at once? Listen & Subscribe to Equity Matters Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Follow us on TikTok Check out our Free Resources on Gumroad Visit Dr. Bell’s Website

Dr. Bell has something to say. Listen & Subscribe to Equity Matters Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube  Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Follow us on TikTok Check out our Free Resources on Gumroad Visit Dr. Bell’s Website

What happens when silence becomes a survival skill and survival becomes a sickness? In this episode of Equity Matters, we examine the crisis of Black men’s health in America, where strength is too often defined by endurance and silence. From heart disease and diabetes to colorectal cancer, Black men face some of the highest rates of preventable illness yet many avoid care altogether, shaped by fear, stigma, and a history of systemic neglect. We trace how cultural expectations, mistrust, and racial bias collide to create deadly outcomes — and how breaking the silence could be one of the most radical acts of care. This isn’t just about health. It’s about what happens when a society teaches men to carry pain quietly and calls it pride. The Sound of Silence now streaming wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen & Subscribe to Equity Matters Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Follow us on TikTok Check out our Free Resources on Gumroad Visit Dr. Bell’s Website Join the Equity Matters Circle

Strength shouldn’t mean silence. Yet for too many Black men, staying quiet has become a matter of survival. The Sound of Silence (Boy’s Don’t Cry) explores what happens when care is delayed, pain is ignored, and the system treats endurance as enough. It’s time to talk about what silence is really costing us. Listen Friday. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.

Explore the origins of America's social safety net and the stark divisions of 'deserving' versus 'undeserving' poor. Discover how early welfare programs were rooted in racial bias, privileging white, middle-class mothers. Unpack the impact of the New Deal's exclusions and the harmful welfare queen narrative. Learn about the real beneficiaries of programs like WIC and SNAP, and how local action can combat myths and inequities in welfare policies. Join the call to use storytelling for change and promote social responsibility.

We were promised a nation that would “promote the general welfare.” But whose welfare did they mean? In Hunger Games (We the People), we trace how America built a safety net with holes big enough for entire communities to fall through and how myths about “deserving” and “undeserving” still shape who gets to eat, rest, and heal. This isn’t just about policy. It’s about power and the stories we’ve been told to believe. 🎧 Listen Friday. Subscribe now so you don’t miss it.

What does it mean to disappear in plain sight? In this episode of Equity Matters, we go inside Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility hidden deep in the Everglades and examine how isolation, bureaucracy, and profit intersect to erase human lives. We explore the systems that justify confinement, the historical patterns they echo, and the human cost of making suffering invisible. This episode asks hard questions about accountability, equity, and what it would take to put humanity before legality and profit. Listen & Subscribe to Equity Matters Podcast: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Follow us on Instagram Like us on Facebook Follow us on TikTok Check out our Free Resources on Gumroad Visit Dr. Bell’s Website

New episode of Equity Matters drops tomorrow. What does it mean to disappear in plain sight? In Ain’t No Sunshine, we go inside Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz and explore how isolation, bureaucracy, and profit erase human lives. Listen Friday to hear the full story and the questions it asks about accountability, equity, and humanity. Subscribe now so you don't miss it!