The Parley in All Blue with Mark Dawson

In this episode, Mark is talking with Dr. Tara T. Green about respectable life of Alice Dunbar Nelson.

Dr. Tara T. Green is CLASS Distinguished Professor and Chair of African American Studies at the University of Houston. She is the author and editor of six books. She has most recently published Love, Activism and The Respectable Life of Alice Dunbar-Nelson (Bloomsbury), which was named a Prose Award Finalist in the Biography/Autobi...

Today, Mark and Dr. Sekou Franklin discuss Tennessee's recent political spotlight after the General Assembly voted to expel three of its members, who were leading a protest against gun control laws after a mass shooting in Nashville. 

This episode highlights the rarity of expulsion and the possible racism involved in the expulsion of two black representatives, while a white representative was not expelled. Dr. Franklin also points o...

The Texas Rangers are celebrating their 200th year, and are widely known as a rugged and upright law enforcement agency that symbolizes Texas. However, the book "Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers" presents a more ruthless, racist, and barbarous history of the organization, and highlights their close ties to moneyed groups and powerful politicians. This book challenges the widely held view of the Texas ...

In this episode, Mark had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Gay Byron about Christianity in Ethiopia and its deep roots on the African continent. Dr. Byron explained that Ethiopia has a unique history with Christianity, being one of the first nations in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion in the 4th century. Overall, this was a fascinating conversation that shed light on the deep roots of Christianity in Ethiopia a...

On this episode of The Parlay in All Blue Power history and culture collide. And yes, we're gonna talk about voting because voting is the first step. It is an essential tool for building wealth and obtaining and retaining power in the United States. The voting power of black people now is under attack. It is being attacked by Republican legislatures in the states of Louisiana and Alabama.

Mark is talking with Dr. Wendy Gaudin about ...

In this episode, Mark is talking with Anna Wolfe about Mississippi's Welfare Scandal.

Anna Wolfe is an investigative reporter for Mississippi Today, a nonprofit newsroom founded in 2016. Her coverage of poverty, public assistance and debtors prisons has received national recognition, including the Goldsmith Prize, the Collier Prize and the National Press Foundation’s Poverty and Inequality Award. 

Before joining the staff at Mississi...

On the season finale of  The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by Dr. Stephen Finley who is the inaugural chair of African and African American studies at LSU. Dr. Finely is an associate professor of religious studies at LSU, as well. He's gonna walk us through how religion, the religion of "whiteness" fuels attacks, or the religion of white nationalism and white supremacy fuels attacks like that in Buffalo at Tops grocery store o...

Today is part 2 of the conversation about the shooting that took place at Jackson State in May 1970. We have a very special guest, Vernon Steve Weakley, who is here to give us a firsthand account of what happened that tragic night at Jackson State University.

Vernon is an alumnus of Jackson State University and a graduate of the University of Houston. He was also a member of the Jackson State University, Houston Alumni Chapter. 

He i...

Mark is thrilled to have Dr. Nancy Bristow on the podcast today to discuss her book, "Steeped in the Blood of Racism: Black Power, Law and Order, and the 1970 Shootings at Jackson State College." The book sheds light on the tragedy that occurred on May 14, 1970, at Jackson State University, Mississippi.

Dr. Nancy K. Bristow is a Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Puget Sound, where she also serves on the leaders...

Our guest this week is Dr. Mary Emma Graham, who's written a thorough, detailed and outstanding biography on the life of Margaret Walker, titled, The House Where My Soul Lives. 

Margaret Walker, an award-winning poet, writer, and institution builder, is brought back into the spotlight in the first comprehensive biography of her life. Though she did not label herself as a radical or feminist, Walker embodied the role of a traditional...

In this episode, Mark is joined by Charlie Cobb to discuss his  book, "This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible." Charlie discusses how guns were an essential tool for self-defense during the Civil Rights Movement, particularly in the South where white supremacist groups used violence and intimidation to maintain segregation. 

Specifically, Mark and Charlie explore the relationship be...

On this week's episode of the Parley in All Blue Podcast, Mark sits down with Spellman professor Dr. Na'Taki Osborne Jelks, co-founder of the West Atlanta watershed alliance and who also serves on the EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory counsel. Today's discussion is about climate change, environmental risk, solutions, and the troubling menace of Urban Heat Islands. The duo also discuss environmental habits and how we can...

On this week's episode of the Parley in All Blue Podcast, Mark sits down with Howard W. French, an author and a professor of journalism at Columbia University. Today's discussion delves deep into Professor French's book: Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War. 

Highlights from the episode:

• Price of Gold 
• Mansa Musa
• Europe in 1471
• The Fort of El Mina
• Portugal & West  Afric...

On this episode of The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by Leon A. Waters. Mr. Waters  is a New Orleans native, historian, publisher and social activist. Waters attended Xavier University for Business Administration and graduated from St. Augustine High School. He serves as the Board Chairperson of the Louisiana Museum of African American History (LMAAH). He joins us on The Parley in All Blue to walk through America's largest sla...

On this episode of The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by Curtis Austin, an associate professor at Arizona State University where he focuses on civil rights and black power movements. This episode advances the history of black empowerment from our previous episode with Taylor Branch, which focused on civil rights. This episode focuses on black power, the Black Power Movement, and the vanguard of the Revolution, which is the Blac...

On this episode of The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by Taylor Branch. A native to Atlanta Georgia, Mr. Branch is also a National Book award recipient, author, and Pulitzer Prize winner for his books; America in the King Years ( Parting the waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge). A trilogy which covers the life of the late great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights movement person by person (from 1954...

On this episode of The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by Entrepreneur, and the founder of Cxffeeblack (Coffeeblack), Bartholomew Jones. Bartholomew isn't only an entrepreneur, he's also a hip hop artist and a filmmaker (Cxffeeblack to Africa) which you can check out on his YouTube page. A proud Memphian, who is also a husband, father, and activist, who coined the phrase "Make Coffee Black again." He's also apart of the Anti Gen...

On this episode of The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by Dennis DeShields. Dennis is a fourth-generation descendent of Bellevue, where his father and aunt continue to reside. While visiting his grandparents in the 1980s, Dennis was consistently taken by Bellevue’s location on the Chesapeake, its community spirit, and its history. Eventually, Bellevue became a holiday and weekend retreat for Dennis, his wife Dr. Mary De Shields,...

On this episode of The Parley in All Blue, Mark is joined by John Graham Jr. John is the Vice President of employer brand, diversity & culture at Shaker Recruitment Marketing. John is also an author of the book Plantation Theory: The Black Professional's Struggle between Freedom and Security. In this book John takes the reader through his personal journey,and gives them the accounts of many black professionals in the corporate spac...