Before You Go

Betty Chavis spent years as a star recruiter for Michigan Technological University.  If young people of color were to find their way far North to Houghton, MI, they needed someone to trust. Michigan Tech turned to Ms. Chavis, a Detroit native who grew up exploring all of her curiosities. An early career in dance led to sharing the stage with the best as in Katherine Dunham. Then Ms. Chavis formed her own company, performed for lege...

When Ajuma Muhammad was approached with a four-year old Black boy terrorizing the classroom, he relied on his years of practice and observations from his world travels to address  the  client's concerns. As we continue to perpetuate a climate where stress and distress affect the life expectancy of Black men, dedicated professionals like Mr. Muhammad are even more in demand. His loving and familial approach to healing definitely ste...

Audiences tune in to Before You Go for first-hand accounts of the lives of our seniors. What about those of a certain age behind bars? Is death-by-incarceration being discussed enough in mainstream conversation? Formerly incarcerated Yusef Jones is currently out on parole after being sentenced to 30 to 60 years in a correctional facility known for its large population of lifers. In discussing the reality of coming into the system a...

Career educator and Michiana griot Brother Sage and wife Charlotte Pfeifer Gillam, a community advocate, activist and pioneering politician share a loving approach to African American history. Community  is everything to this South Bend, Indiana couple who hail from various locations prior to their current home including Ohio, Michigan and East St. Louis, IL.  In this episode they give an audio tour of the travels of enslaved peopl...

Diana Solomon-Glover answered the call from her friend and musical collaborator Chandler Carter to pursue a commission by the Santa Fe Opera for new works.  They presented the story of Fannie Lou Hamer as an opera, won the commission and  the upcoming debut is sure to be a theatrical experience like no other.

Diana is a longtime friend of Before You Go co-host Nicole Franklin. In this interview, Franklin and Bryant Monteilh learn fi...

August 1 in Canada is cause for a joyous occasion:  Emancipation Day! Before You Go was honored to hear all about the journey to commemorating the freeing of enslaved people from Rosemary Sadlier OOnt (Order of Ontario), a champion of African Canadian education for Canadian residents. Just like crusader Opal Lee's efforts pushed national holiday status for Juneteenth in the United States, Sadlier spent a lifetime bringing  African ...

When this two star major general shared details of his military and Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)  experience with our show, we knew it would be special. For the hosts there was also a jaw-dropping moment  (or two)  due to Major General Gravett's courage, agility, incredible heart and humility.  Hold onto your seat! 

This talented  hero, awarded the Medal of Valor, also  shares crucial information  that addresses the health a...

Before You Go first interviewed Mother Doyle days after the terrorist attack where an 18 year-old white supremacist dressed in tactical gear fatally wounded 10 people in his mission to kill all the Black people he could. Mother Doyle does her usual grocery run on Saturdays at 2pm. She would have been there had she not gone to pick up her dry cleaning that afternoon. Unfortunately her friend and writing colleague Kat Massey was shop...

Rev. Andy Bales has  fought to end homelessness in Los Angeles County for more than three decades.  His tales of life on the streets of Skid Row illustrate the emergency situation in which Los Angeles has found itself. An average of 5.5 people die daily in LA County when they are  unhoused. Bales and his team at Union Rescue Mission have provided housing, counseling, job programs and much more. Seniors end up homeless for a variety...

When searching Richard Press Online Gallery be prepared to experience a powerful variety of an artist's rendition of humanity on canvas. Mr. Press is a renowned artist located in Hampton, VA. This lifelong painter, muralist and educator is busier than ever with his contributions to community. 

Mr. Press' painting "Here Today Gone Tomorrow" is featured in  documentary produced by USA Today. His murals have also captured the attention...

At the time of this recording, the Port of Los Angeles has 45,000 jobs available. Working for the Port means being in the company of a business that pulls in $1.5 billion per day. Hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh have an eye-opening chat with Joe Gatlin about the Port and the close-knit community that borders it, San Pedro, CA. Gatlin is a member of the family who sued the Port in the 1970s for equitable hiring. The Port--...

Robert Branscomb is a veteran, pilot and for a number of years--and still today in his 80's--a generous, experienced financial advisor with a specialty in insurance offerings. How do you make financial planning purposeful and profitable? And how do you avoid embarrassing the family when it comes to end of life decisions? Mr. Branscomb, a Purple Heart veteran, speaks candidly on all with Nicole, Bryant and to audience members in nee...

This episode follows days after a tragic event in the United States--in Buffalo known as the City of Good Neighbors.  Eva M. Doyle writes her column of 44 years "Eye On History" for the nearly 100-year-old Black newspaper The Buffalo Criterion. Ms. Doyle--known as Mother Doyle--happened to change her plans from her routine 2pm Saturday grocery run to Tops Supermarket  and picked up her dry cleaning instead. She avoided death that d...

Isaac Turner, Jr. was introduced to our program Before You Go by KBLA Talk 1580 host Najah Roberts. This 98-year-old war veteran appears with daughter Julia Hardman and recalls war stories from five invasions. Mr. Turner entered the Navy as a cook under Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur and Nimitz and when under attack, all hands were on deck. During one direct hit to their naval ship, Turner survived, but lost five of his best friend...

When news personalities such as Ted Koppel and Walter Cronkite delivered news from overseas, broadcast audiences probably were not aware of who was manning/woman-ing the foreign desks of network newsrooms at the Big Three:  ABC, CBS and NBC. Eric V. Tait, Jr. and Stephen C. Miller give the inside report on how they made decisions--decisions for which they often had to fight to cover--that brought diverse story coverage into the liv...

The LAUSD has been blessed with numerous dedicated educators, one of whom is Caldwell Williams. Mr. Williams was referred to Before You Go hosts Nicole Franklin and  Bryant Monteilh by a listener and fellow veteran friend of his, Farron Dozier, who considers Mr. Williams a mentor. We quickly learn why.

This 88-year-old educator and mental health expert is very sharp as he carefully recounts his detailed journey through several teach...

When Nicole Franklin first met Adger Cowans years ago in New York City she knew other being an extremely talented artist and photographer, he has a welcoming spirit that has put thousands of his subjects through the years at ease. With Adger on the mic, both Bryant and Nicole have a wonderful time recalling his childhood in Columbus, OH, weekend trips to New York to hear jazz greats eventually moving in with his mentor Gordon Parks...

Early in life things seem to have come easy to military veteran Frank Coats. When drafted to the front lines of the Korean War, Coats was promoted to sergeant within a year. But he quickly found out racism often puts African Americans in harm's way. Staying employed and living life responsibly had  its difficulties--even grave ones--but Mr. Coats and his never-give-up attitude came through. 

Hosts Nicole Franklin and Bryant Monteilh...

Carmen de Lavallade grew up in a Mexican neighborhood in East Los Angeles and started dancing as a teenager. It was her time with Lester Horton that inspired her teaching and choreography career.  She was so inspired she invited her junior high school friend Alvin Ailey, to study dance with Horton as well. Both dancers moved to New York to star in an all-star cast of the Broadway show "House of Flowers." On this show she met her hu...