This special episode explores the incredible legacy of businessman and visionary philanthropist Julius Rosenwald. How he was born to German Jewish immigrants, rose to become the President of Sears Roebuck and the meaningful way that his legacy continues to live on and have meaningful impact to this day…!

Inspired by the Jewish ideals of tzedakah (charity) and tikkun olam (repairing the world) and a deep concern over racial inequality in America, Rosenwald used his wealth to become one of America's most effective philanthropists. Influenced by the writings of the educator Booker T. Washington, Rosenwald joined forces with African American communities during the Jim Crow era to build 5,300 schools, providing 660,000 black children with access to education in the segregated American South. The Rosenwald Fund also provided grants to support a who's who of African American artists and intellectuals and numerous artists that Eric represents and promotes, including Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, William Artis and others who were greatly helped by Rosenwald Foundation funds.

Featuring Community Leader Roger Smith; Eric’s cousin from Virginia - from the very school that Eric’s Mother attended that was built thanks to the generosity of Rosenwald that is an historic landmark… They discuss how Dunbar Schoolhouse came about, how the building itself had been assembled and how Roger, alongside his Family have been instrumental in restoring and maintaining the school. Preserving its history through an on-sight museum — committed to keeping the story of Dunbar Schoolhouse alive..! The various wonderful community programs that they currently run and the significant role that the school plays in the community.

Filmmaker Aviva Kempner joins Eric from Washington. They discuss her feature-length historical documentary about Julius Rosenwald entitled “Rosenwald: A Remarkable Story of a Jewish Partnership with African American Communities” and all the wonderful things she learned in the process of making the film. They discuss Rosenwald’s background and life — the role of his Rabbi and how it motivated his philanthropic efforts… meeting Booker T. Washington and the strong friendship that they forged. Realizing the need for and power of education as a way to uplift communities and becoming involved in building schools in the rural south. Addressing the needs for housing brought about by the Great Migration, funding the building of housing and YMCAs for African Americans and supporting countess artists and intellectuals including Marian Anderson, James Baldwin, Ralph Bunche, W.E.B. DuBois, Katherine Dunham, Ralph Ellison, John Hope Franklin, Zora Neale Hurston, Jacob Lawrence, Dr. Charles Drew, Augusta Savage, and Langston Hughes. His genius in “matching grants”, the way it made the community feel self-empowered and invested in the mission. The theory of ‘spending down’ and how its principles helped inspire other philanthropic institutions. The unique design and ingenuity of the building construction… the power of community and how his work continues to live on today. They explore what lead to her making movies — from being the daughter of a Holocaust Survivor, a passionate activist and viewing movies as a powerful tool to educate people. The many films she’s made throughout her life and is in the process of producing and her dedication to telling stories that celebrate the lives of lesser-known Jewish heroes for over forty years…!

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In this episode, Eric sits down with civil rights activist and award-winning journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault. They discuss her childhood - from being born in South Carolina during segregation, moving frequently as her father was an army chaplain but spending most of her time in Atlanta. Her early education and the values that were instilled in her at a young age that lent to inspiring her to have high aspirations, self-belief and providing “armor” to shield her throughout her life… and how she gravitated to and was inspired to become a journalist.

They discuss the Brown v. Board of Education landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, how Hunter, along with Hamilton Holmes were the two students selected by a committee to integrate white universities in Atlanta… A successful legal challenge that culminated in her admission to the University of Georgia in January 1961—making her one of the first two Black students to integrate the institution.

Her illustrious career in journalism, from beginning at the New Yorker magazine, to joining The New York Times as a metropolitan reporter specializing in coverage of the urban black community, becoming a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, CNN and the Public Broadcasting… She reflects on covering Apartheid in South Africa and interviewing nelson Nelson Mandela! To eventually authoring five books — her most recent one being “My People: Five Decades of Writing about Black Lives”.

Her passion for writing about Black Lives and History in a way that shows the full, honest picture and her mission of creating a coalition across generations, in order to preserve and honor the path that was paved by her ancestors… and continue to work together, to strive toward a more perfect union in the United States of America…!

Guest Bio: Award-winning journalist, author, and school desegregation pioneer Charlayne Hunter-Gault was born on February 27, 1942, in Due West, South Carolina.

In 1961, Hunter became the first African American woman to enroll in the University of Georgia; she was also among the first African American women to graduate from the university, earning a degree in journalism in 1963.

After completing college, Hunter moved to New York City, where she worked for The New Yorker magazine in an administrative job and contributed pieces to the “Talk of the Town” section. Hunter-Gault gained a national audience after she joined the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) news program MacNeil/Lehrer Report in 1978. When the program grew into the 60-minute MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour in 1983, she became its national correspondent and reported on topics that included racism, Vietnam veterans, life under apartheid, drug abuse, and human rights issues.

In 1997 Hunter-Gault left PBS to become the Africa bureau chief for National Public Radio (NPR), and in 1999 she was named Johannesburg bureau chief for the Cable News Network (CNN), a post she held until 2005. She published a memoir, In My Place (1992), and New News Out of Africa (2006), a book documenting positive developments in Africa. In 2005 Hunter-Gault was inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Hall of Fame.

Hunter-Gault lives in Florida and on Martha’s Vineyard.

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In this episode, Eric sits down with pioneering video artist, performing artist and painter Anthony Ramos. They discuss his background - being raised in Providence, Rhode Island and tracing his ancestor’s journey to America from Cape Verde. How he discovered his love for making art at a young age and how his mother and father encouraged his interests. How he cultivated his artistic abilities. How he began his studies as a Political Science Major… to converting to art — studying painting at Southern Illinois University, where he was a graduate assistant to Allan Kaprow and eventually received an M.F.A. from CalArts. Having a video studio in New York. A conscientious objector of the Vietnam war… being jailed for draft evasion… and how all of these experiences have shaped his life.

The artists that have inspired him and the many exciting adventures he has had - while traveling widely in Europe, Africa, China and the Middle East during the 1970s and 1980s. Documenting the end of Portugal's colonial rule in Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. They discuss how his work has evolved through the years… being known as “The Grandfather Video" — to his passion for painting which is now his primary medium.

Why he left the United States to now — living in the South of France and the exciting projects he has in store..!

Guest Bio: Performance and media artist Anthony Ramos was among the earliest video artists to use the medium as a tool for mass media critiques and cultural documentation, and to examine media presentations of "truth." In his powerful but rarely seen video works of the 1970s, Ramos sought to combine art and activism, giving agency to marginalized individuals and communities. In his earliest black-and-white video pieces, Ramos engaged in forceful, direct performances for the camera, often using physical endurance and actions to confront political issues.

Ramos has traveled widely in Europe, Africa, China and the Middle East. He videotaped the end of Portugal's colonial rule of Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau, Teheran during the 1980 hostage crisis, and Beijing just prior to the Tiananmen Square massacre. Ramos produced a number of video works that critique the media through deconstruction and appropriation, and explore the relation of mass cultural imagery, African-American identity, and the politics of race in America. In the late 1980s he turned to painting as his primary medium.

Ramos was born in 1944 in Providence, Rhode Island. He received an M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts, where he was assistant to Allan Kaprow. Among his awards are a National Endowment for the Arts Visual Arts Fellowship and a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship. In the 1970s Ramos was a video consultant for the United Nations and the National Council of Churches. In the 1980s, he lived in Paris where he was a Professor at the American Center, and oversaw the television cabling of ten blocks of Paris for the first time. He has also taught at Rhode Island School of Design, New York University, and the University of California at San Diego.

Ramos lives in Eyguieres, France.

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In this episode, Eric sits down with Dr. Makeda Best — deputy director of Curatorial Affairs at the Oakland Museum of California…! She shares how; at a young age became interested in photography… Early exposures and experiences that drew her to studying studio photography at CalArts, to eventually leading her to become a photography historian. How she began to trace the history of African Americans in California — where they settled after the Civil War…

She shares how African Americans first became interested in and exposed to photography… and the ways in which they participated in making photographs early on; as makers, sitters and consumers. From Frederick Douglass as one of the most imaged figures in the 19th Century, Sojourner Truth… to everyday people — and using the power of photography to combat stereotypes against black people. The role it played in the abolitionist movement; picturing community, preserving and sharing.

Notable African American photographers such as James Presley Ball and Augustus Washington… They discuss James van der Zee and how he photographed the Harlem Renaissance — using large group portraits; to document Families, weddings… capturing how vibrant the period was.

The art, skill and science behind photography and the technological developments through the years… From photography studios, to itinerant photographers with traveling dark rooms. The works of Ansel Adams. Daguerreotype - metal based images and how by the 1860s — the arrival of card-based format, cartes-de-visite processes and mass production portraiture that created an influx in making images and portraits — and how African Americans were involved in that.

The exhibition she curated for the Boston Athenaeum that centers around the photography albums gifted to Harriet Hayden from lawyer Robert Morris — that explores the world of the Boston-based abolitionist couple Lewis and Harriet Hayden. How photography and gifting culture played a role in the abolitionist movement, their home on Beacon Hill, housing African Americans and the extraordinary efforts of Harriet Hayden and the contributions she made to society. How the exhibition came about, the process of producing the show and what it aims to accomplish..!

Guest Bio: Makeda Best, Ph.D., is currently the Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA). Best comes to OMCA after serving at Harvard University Art Museums as Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography since 2017, and previously as Assistant Professor of Visual Studies at California College of the Arts. Her exhibitions at the Harvard Art Museums include Devour the Land: War and American Landscape Photography Since 1970, Crossing Lines, Constricting Home: Displacement and Belonging in Contemporary Art; Winslow Homer: Eyewitness; Time is Now: Photography and Social Change in James Baldwin’s America, and Please Stay Home: Darrel Ellis in Conversation with Wardell Milan and Leslie Hewitt.

Beyond photography, Best conceived of the Museums’ curatorial ReFrame initiative, which aims to critically examine the museum and its collections. With Kevin Moore, she co-curated the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial exhibition, On the Line – Documents of Risk and Faith. Her current exhibition project with the Boston Athenaeum explores the world of the Boston-based abolitionist couple Lewis and Harriet Hayden. Best has contributed to multiple exhibition catalogues, journals, and scholarly publications. She co-edited Conflict, Identity, and Protest in American Art (2015). She is the author of Elevate the Masses: Alexander Gardner, Photography and Democracy in 19th Century America. Her exhibition catalogue, Devour the Land: War and American Landscape Photography since 1970 (2022), was awarded the Photography Catalogue of the Year Award at the 2022 Paris Photo-Aperture PhotoBook Awards.

In this episode, Eric sits down with scholar, author & curator Dr. Ethelene Whitmire. They discuss her educational journey, her passion for libraries and working in the library field as a professor of Library Science and getting the resources to the public. How she became attracted to the art field. Having the opportunity of going to England to study abroad… visiting museums that helped her develop an eye for art. Developing an interest in visiting museums and tracing black art and culture within the art world and art institutions.

How writing a biography about Regina Andrews; a Harlem Renaissance librarian opened her horizons to learning about theatre and the artwork of the time, that then led her to explore African Americans in Denmark — including African American jazz musicians who lived and are buried there. How her love of Danish films and her fascination of African Americans in Denmark led to her to research, publishing some of writing and lecturing on the subject… and how her research has come now to life in an exhibition that she co-curated entitled “Nordic Utopia? : African Americans in the 20th Century” which opened at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle, WA that explores the wave of artists who migrated to Denmark to escape segregation and feel freedom as artists… and the realities of their experience of living abroad. How this wonderful work came about, what it hopes to achieve and how it plans to travel across the nation..!

Guest Bio: Born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey and attended Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey for a bachelor’s degree in English and Communication and master’s degree in Library Service. She received a PhD from the University of Michigan – School of Education’s Center for the Study of Higher and Post-secondary Education.

Dr. Ethelene Whitmire is currently the Chair and a professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Author of the award-winning book “Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian” (University of Illinois Press, 2014) offers the first full-length study of Andrews' activism and pioneering work with the NYPL.

Dr. Whitmire received the 2004 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and was a visiting scholar at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education & Information Studies during the 2004 – 2005 academic year. She also received the Anna Julia Cooper Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the University of Wisconsin – Madison prior to my appointment as assistant professor in their School of Library & Information Studies.

Her doctoral studies were funded by the University of Michigan’s Rackham Merit Fellowship. Recipient of the 2002 American Library Association’s (ALA) Carroll Preston Baber Research Award. Her professional library experience includes an appointment as a Librarian-in-Residence at Yale University (1997 – 1999). Recently was awarded a Public Works grant from the from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for the Humanities funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Her current book projects are: The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking) and Searching for Utopia: African Americans in 20th Century Denmark about African Americans who lived, worked, studied and performed in Denmark in the 20th Century.

Her writing has appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, Narratively, and Longreads.

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In this episode, Eric sits down with the talented artist Sam Pace..! They discuss his early life; having been born in Texas but raised in California and his adventures as a young man. How he first discovered his artistic talent… his educational journey, cultivating his artistic abilities and the mentors he’s had along the way from William Pajaud, to Charles Dickson! His passion for and dedication to practicing and mastering Karate.. how he reconciled between his two passions and how the martial arts has shaped him as a visual artist by instilling the principles of discipline into his artistic practices. His exciting travels; from competing in a Karate tournament in Hawaii, to living in France and painting for a year… His process as an artist, the mediums he works in and other artists and musicians that have inspired and influenced him. His passion for music and how it translates into his work… and what it means as an artist to give your message to the world.

Guest Bio: Born to a mother and father from the Deep South, who followed the Great Black Migration west seeking better opportunities, Sam’s talents were given the chance to flourish. Encouraged by his parents to express his creative abilities, he continued developing his skills throughout high school where he earned a Fine Arts scholarship.

During high school and college, Sam expanded his energies to mastering the martial arts. He became a world ranked tournament champion who continues to share his talent through his leadership in the Black Karate Federation.
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In 1989 Sam moved to Europe where he began developing his current style, using Jazz and Blues as the subject matter. His unique interpretation co-mingles the moods and sounds of contemporary and 1920's Black Renaissance Jazz and Blues artists into a visual narrative. His works vary in several different mediums from acrylic on canvas, wood, and collage, to discarded recyclable objects.

Among his credits, Sam has produced works for such notables and organizations as the president of an investment company, vice president of Blue Note Records, Los Angeles Urban League, and entertainers Nancy Wilson, Poncho Sanchez, Cassandra Wilson, and Eddie Palmarie.
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Commissioned works include famed drummer Elvin Jones for the Playboy Jazz Festival, Vancouver Wine and Jazz Festival, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, Central Avenue Jazz Festival, and Watts Towers Jazz Festival.

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In this episode, Eric sits down with award winning actress, director and art patron Phylicia Rashad. They discuss her experience of growing up in Houston, Texas during legal segregation, travels with her Family as a young girl. Her early exposure to art through her mother’s many interests and love for art. Her experience of studying Theater at Howard University during a time of social upheaval. Moving to New York City, acting in plays and performing on Broadway, breaking into the entertainment industry... to eventually acting in Television shows including The Cosby Show, where she played the beloved role of Clair Huxtable and Films including CREED I, II, & III and The Beekeeper. They explore how she first discovered her love for acting and cultivated her craft, the support she had from her parents to pursue a career in the arts, evolving as a performer and working in different mediums... including her passion for directing plays!

...To now serving as Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University — where she’s enjoying her role and commitment to 'presenting windows of access and opportunity'. They explore the role that James Porter played during his time at Howard. His devotion to the Art department and art history. Howard University’s extensive collection of African American art and how the students live amongst the art. They explore her own personal collection of visual art. Stifling of human creativity as being deliberate and the role of and necessity of creativity and freedom to explore creativity for human development. Publishing her Mother’s book of poetry and reviving her mother’s work at Brainerd Institute Heritage of educational and cultural practices; promoting literacy through the arts for pre-school children...!

Guest Bio: An accomplished actor and stage director, Phylicia Rashad became a household name when she portrayed Claire Huxtable on The Cosby Show, a character whose enduring appeal has earned her numerous honors and awards. She has appeared in NBC’s This Is Us, in the popular Fox TV series Empire, and in Tarrell Alvin McCraney's Peabody Award-winning series David Makes Man, on the OWN Network.

A force on the stage; appearing both on and Off Broadway, often in projects that showcase her musical talent such as Jelly's Last Jam, Into the Woods, Dreamgirls and The Wiz. In 2016, Rashad was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame and received both the Drama Desk and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her riveting performance as Lena Younger in the 2004 Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in The Sun. Among Ms. Rashad’s film credits are Creed and Creed II, Just Wright, Tyler Perry's Good Deeds, A Fall From Grace.

Ms. Rashad made her critically acclaimed directorial debut at the Seattle Repertory Theater with August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. She has also directed Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Our Lady of 121st Street, The Roommate, Blues for an Alabama Sky, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (2014 NAACP Theatre Award for Best Director).

Respected in the academic world as well, Ms. Rashad was appointed Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University in May of 2021. Ms. Rashad also holds the distinction of being the first recipient of the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre at Fordham University.

She has received countless esteemed awards including the BET Honors Theatrical Arts Award, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's Spirit of Shakespeare Award. And serves on several important boards including Brainerd Institute Heritage and DADA, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.

Phylicia Rashad graduated Magna Cum Laude from Howard University and is the mother of two adult children.



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In this episode, Eric sits down with philanthropist, entrepreneur and patron of the arts… Bernard Kinsey. They discuss his early life; having been raised in a middle class family in West Palm Beach, Florida. The loving environment that fostered him and instilled in him strong values. His experience of growing-up in a segregated state, attending Florida A&M University and meeting his beloved wife Shirley. His illustrious career in the corporate world, followed by his entrepreneurial ventures… to eventually retiring and devoting his energies to his philanthropic efforts and the Kinsey Collection.

They explore how he developed an interest in uncovering the story of African Americans, his passion for spotlighting the African American culture and the role that they have played in making American what it is today. His dedication to honoring the African American heroes along with their stories and his mission to change the narrative, reshape how we think about and remove the “cataracts” that blind us from seeing and understanding American history in its entirety… in hopes that this will inspire a respectful, level-eyed conversation.

They delve into the many facets of his collection; that ranges from two and three dimensional art, to photography, rare books, records, artifacts and more that document the African American experience from the 16th century until the present. Sourcing the material that tells how this story came about. How his son Khalil has taken an active role in stewarding the collection and what’s in store for the Kinsey collection in the future..!

Guest Bio: Bernard Kinsey is a Los Angeles philanthropist and entrepreneur with a passion for African American history and art of the 19th and 20th centuries. He and his wife, Shirley, have been called "one of the most admired and respected couples in Los Angeles." They are known for espousing two life principles, “To whom much is given much is required" and live “A life of no regrets”. The couple have one son, Khalil, who is the general manager and curator of The Kinsey African American Art and History Collection and foundation.

Born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida and attended Florida A&M University. There, he met his wife Shirley. After graduating from Florida A&M University he was hired as the first African American sales representative for Humble Oil Company. Kinsey was immediately successful and quickly became Humble Oil's number one sales representative. In 1971, Kinsey joined Xerox Corporation. During that same year, Kinsey and a group of African American Xerox employees protested the promotion of a less qualified white employee over an African American with supervisory experience and a college degree. Xerox promoted the African American employee. This action resulted in the creation of the Xerox Black Employees Organization, which Kinsey co-founded. Kinsey became a vice president of Xerox within ten years.

Kinsey also worked to create a program for bringing African Americans and other minorities into the company and training them for jobs with opportunities for advancement. In 1992, he became the chief operating officer and co-chairman of Rebuild Los Angeles. RLA's mission was to bring jobs, economic opportunities and pride to the area that had been devastated by the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Kinsey succeeded in generating more than $380 million dollars in investments for inner city Los Angeles.

The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection travels the globe as an award-winning museum exhibition – lead by the stewardship of Bernard, Shirley, and Khalil Kinsey. The exhibition celebrates the achievements and contributions of black Americans from before the formation of the United States to present times.