The ZAMI NOBLA Podcast

In August 2020, Verlena L. Johnson was featured in ZAMI NOBLA’s virtual art show, Cocktails, Tea, and Art. This interview was recorded remotely a few days before the show.

Verlena L. Johnson was born and raised in the Midwest (Wisconsin and Illinois), but also briefly lived in New York City, Ealing England, Oakland, Long Beach and most recently Los Angeles.  She earned a Master's Degree in Afro-American Studies (emphasis: Art H...

Reverend Elder Janyce Jackson Jones was one of the artists showcased in August 2020 at ZAMI NOBLA’s visual art exhibit, Cocktails, Tea, and Art. She discovered her passion for art upon retiring to coastal North Carolina after 21 years of dedicated service to her church and social justice causes in Newark, New Jersey. She since has experimented with and been inspired by several techniques and styles, finding what she calls “Creative...

Lorraine Lane was a guest artist for our virtual art show, “Cocktails, Tea, & Art,” in August 2020. In this episode, she talks about how to make a great cocktail, how she came to love bourbon, and the challenges of operating a restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lorraine came into the Food Industry on the pathway of love for Deborah VanTrece. Lorraine is Deborah’s business partner and wife. She serves as the Bar Director f...

This is a file from our archives.

On August 31, 2020, ZAMI NOBLA in Partnership with the Southern Unity Movement sponsored

Working Cross Differences:

The Black LGBTQIA Health/Wellness Public Forum as part of Atlanta Black Gay Pride. This audio clip is from a conversation with Dr. Lourdes Dolores Follins and Dr. Jonathan Mathias Lassiter, moderated by Dr. Kofi Adoma.

The first voice you hear after the musical selection is Dr. Adoma ...

In February 2020, Angela Denise Davis interviewed Mary D. Watkins at her home in Oakland, California. Watkins was gracious in her recounting of major life events and her work as a composer and musician.

Trained in classical music at Howard University, Watkins has composed three operas and has written for symphony orchestras, chamber and jazz ensembles, film, theatre, dance, and choral groups, in addition to being a popular recordin...

Dr. Wilhelmina Perry (85) was interviewed by Angela Denise Davis from her home in June 2020. She talked about growing up in Harlem, her 30-year partnership with Antonia Pantoja, radical activism, and life during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a community activist, social work educator, spiritual leader, homeless youth and marriage equality advocate, author, and the co-founder of LGBT Faith Leaders of African Descent.

Dr. Perry holds...

Brenda Joyce Crawford has been in the thick of social justice work for over five decades. She’s an unapologetic butch woman who comes from a blue collar working class background in the U.S. South. A great deal of her career has been spent promoting values-based leadership in order to create safe and welcoming environments where the richness of the information that resides within all communities can emerge and be appreciated and inc...

Lisbet Tellefsen is an activist, publisher, producer and archivist that has served the Bay Area’s LGBT community for over 3 decades.

In 1989 she co-founded Aché: a Black Lesbian Journal —which served as an cultural, political and social nexus for LGBT communities of color both nationally and internationally. As a producer her production credits include over 50 events ranging from drag king shows to the landmark 2006 production “Sis...

Lourdes Dolores Follins’s Biography

Dr. Lourdes Dolores Follins is a Black, queer femme psychotherapist and writer. As a therapist, researcher, and organizational consultant, she has worked with adolescents and adults of color who are marginalized because of their ethnoracial background and gender and/or sexual identities for over 25 years. Her clinical and research interests are the resilience and resistance of LGBTQI people in th...

Angela interviewed Ericka Huggins at her home in Oakland, California in  February 2020. Huggins, an educator, Black Panther Party member, former political prisoner, human rights advocate and poet, generously shared poignant parts of her life.

For 40 years Ericka has lectured in the United States, and internationally, on Restorative Practices and, the role of spiritual practice in creating social change. 

Ericka speaks on campuses, ...

This episode is a conversation with sister podcaster, Michelle Elizabeth Brown, who lives in Detroit, Michigan. In addition to being a podcaster, Michelle is a public speaker, poet, author, and activist. She is a force for change!

She was born and raised in Detroit graduating from Cass Technical High School then went on to attend Wayne State University. 

Through her career, creative endeavors, and volunteer work, she has used her s...

Benae Beamon is from North Carolina, where she started dancing and joined the acclaimed North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble under the direction of Gene Medler. She went on to earn a BA from Colgate University and an MA from Yale University and is currently completing her PhD at Boston University in Religious Studies. Her scholarship and art focus on black queer and trans populations and the ethical value of black artistic expression....

During these uncertain times, it is important to have accurate information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Our guest, Dr. Tonia Poteat, fielded questions for a webinar sponsored by ZAMI NOBLA on March 22, 2020. This is a recording of that event.

Tonia Poteat, PhD, PA-C, MPH, is Assistant Professor of Social Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as core faculty in the UNC Center for Health Equity Research. After completing her PhD...

We interviewed Jowanna Tillman and Edonna Koon in the summer of 2019. They shared how they came to the RV life and what sustains them as they travel and work across the United States.

This travel loving couple started full time RVing in early 2018. They are always up for an adventure.  Edonna is a retired Marine who has a passion for science.  Jowanna, who  used to work in higher education, has a passion for healthy living.  I ho...

What is it like to live and work outside the United States? In this episode, Joi and Jane Mitchell tell us about their experiences living abroad in Korea and the UK. We also talk about shifts in careers, national identity, and culture.

Dr. Joi Mitchell is Originally from Detroit, Michigan. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degree from the AUC center. She also holds a Ph.D. from Capella University. Her first career was a psyc...

In August 2019, we interviewed Sheila Alexander-Reid at her home in Washington, D.C. Reid is the Director, Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs, and Founding Member, Women in the Life Association. She talks about the origins of Women in the Life, her work in the Mayor’s Office, and the preservation of black lesbian herstory.

Sheila Alexander-Reid has been a vital part of the LGBT community for well over 20 years. She started as a ...

This is the third in a four episode series on lesbian couples. Today, we talk about the process of creating physical emotional, and familial space in our lives. Creating space in a lesbian relationship can be especially challenging when a couple has different ethnic backgrounds as do our guests today.

Deepali Gokhale is a queer South Asian daughter, sister, friend, co-pilot, parent, mechanical engineer, custom software developer,...