Convergence Partnership

My whole story is a story of diaspora and displacement. We lost everything but what we had on our backs. That’s why tribal communities are on the front lines of this crisis—because they were forced to the furthest ends of Louisiana, to places some thought were unlivable.  — Chief Devon Parfait, chief of the Grand Caillou/Dulac band of Biloxi Chitimacha Choctaw

Host Brenden Parfait takes us to his homeland in the heart of the bayou i...

Now we need to make sure we have sustainable aid, ongoing. So we had to not only be boots on the ground, but also put on suits and go into boardrooms to tell stakeholders: This crisis isn’t over just because the headlines moved on.  - Stephanie Simeon, executive director Heart of the City Neighborhoods 

In this episode we hear from Heart of the City Neighborhoods, a Buffalo-based nonprofit responding to the tragic mass shooting at T...

How many of my friends and kids with similar stories to mine fall through the cracks? I mean, that keeps me up at night. It puts this fire in my belly to try to address the systems that we live in.  - David Sotelo, Hutchinson County resident 

When community members refuse to accept injustice, change becomes possible. In this episode we hear from Hutch in Harmony, a grassroots organization in Hutchinson, Kansas, that has fought to re...

Oftentimes, what’s positive isn’t what’s promoted. And that’s been one of my biggest frustrations. They want the drama. They don’t want the uplifting story that our communities are yearning for. — Avrell Stokes, president BeGreat Together

Who gets to tell the stories of Black and Brown communities? In Kansas City, Be Great Together is shifting the narrative through DocuCourse, a grassroots media platform that amplifies the voices of...

In this episode, local audio producer Marquel Dominique interviews House of Tulip’s co-founders--Mariah Moore and Milan Nicole Sherry--about what inspired them to work for transgender and gender non-conforming housing justicein New Orleans.  In the second segment, Morgan Shannon of Power Coalition for Equity and Justice and Milan Nicole Sherry share the stories that drive them to fight for justice by providing mutual aid and buildi...

In this episode, local audio producer and artist Maria Ta shares the multidisciplinary community theater project by Ujima Company to educate their community about lead poisoning. Their Legacy of Lead production brings forward the stories of those directly impacted by lead poisoning and educates the community about how concentrated poverty adversely affects the health of communities of color. The second segment, hosted by Andrea Ó S...

In this episode, local audio producer Lety Valencia of Faith in the Valley shares the fight against evictions and displacement in California’s San Joaquin Valley.  She interviews organizers who worked with residents as they faced a slew of evictions and a lack of response by elected officials.  The second segment, hosted by Francisco Dueñas of Housing Now, engages housing activists and policy experts from Housing Now’s  statewide c...

In this episode, local audio producer Cynthia Fails interviews Ave Stokes about a year-long process to bring Black and Latinx communities together to heal historic divides and build collective power.  Stokes describes why this work is critical for the racial justice and health equity movement in Kansas City, MO and what they are learning from the process.  Stokes also shares his reflections on funding disparities faced by Black and...

In this episode, local audio producer Joey Lieberman visits the Washington Heights and Logan Square neighborhoods with two community leaders who work on equitable transit oriented development. We learn how Elevated Chicago and their partners are working together to create walkable and equitable communities in the face of displacement from gentrification. In the second segment, Kendra Freeman, a vice-president with the Metropolitan ...