
Episode 05: Kenrya Rankin, Fighting White Supremacy, and Black Romance Literature
Explicit content warning
02/23/20 • 38 min
Kenrya Rankin, author, activist, doula, and former senior editorial director of Colorlines, joins Chevon and Hiba to talk about everything from ‘freedom dreaming’ to Black love and sex in books and podcasts. Kenrya talks about her beginnings in Cleveland and her move to New York, what her book How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide To White Resistance means to her one year later, and her own journey as co-host of The Turn On, a podcast about sex and literary erotica.
We preview a new Mass Freedom FRED Talks conversation between Dawn Harrington, Executive Director at Free Hearts, and Jessica Rodriguez, an immigrant rights activist and Director of the Southside Workers Center. They explore why it’s important to build solidarity across movements to end mass incarceration and mass detention.
In celebration of Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, Hiba and Chevon discuss the late Eva Rutland’s contributions to the romance novel genre, and talk about the importance of uplifting Black romance writing and representation.
Resources (by order of mention)
Eva Rutland, Browne Popular Culture Library (Thread)
Entwined Destinies Digital Gallery: Elsie B. Washington, Vivian Stephens, and 40 Years of Black Voices in Romance
https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/exhibits/show/entwineddestinies/introduction
30 Romance Authors of Color You Should Be Reading, Twin Cities Geek
http://twincitiesgeek.com/2019/12/30-romance-authors-of-color-you-should-be-reading/
Mass Freedom FRED Talks with Dawn Harrington and Jessica Rodriguez
https://www.massfreedom.org/fred_talks/
Kenrya Rankin Website
The new and updated Colorlines website
How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide To Resistance
The Turn On Podcast
https://www.theturnonpodcast.com/
About Race Forward:
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.
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Building Racial Equity (BRE) Trainings
https://www.raceforward.org/trainings
Facing Race 2020:
https://facingrace.raceforward.org
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Executive Producers:
Hendel Leiva and Melissa Franqui
Kenrya Rankin, author, activist, doula, and former senior editorial director of Colorlines, joins Chevon and Hiba to talk about everything from ‘freedom dreaming’ to Black love and sex in books and podcasts. Kenrya talks about her beginnings in Cleveland and her move to New York, what her book How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide To White Resistance means to her one year later, and her own journey as co-host of The Turn On, a podcast about sex and literary erotica.
We preview a new Mass Freedom FRED Talks conversation between Dawn Harrington, Executive Director at Free Hearts, and Jessica Rodriguez, an immigrant rights activist and Director of the Southside Workers Center. They explore why it’s important to build solidarity across movements to end mass incarceration and mass detention.
In celebration of Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, Hiba and Chevon discuss the late Eva Rutland’s contributions to the romance novel genre, and talk about the importance of uplifting Black romance writing and representation.
Resources (by order of mention)
Eva Rutland, Browne Popular Culture Library (Thread)
Entwined Destinies Digital Gallery: Elsie B. Washington, Vivian Stephens, and 40 Years of Black Voices in Romance
https://digitalgallery.bgsu.edu/exhibits/show/entwineddestinies/introduction
30 Romance Authors of Color You Should Be Reading, Twin Cities Geek
http://twincitiesgeek.com/2019/12/30-romance-authors-of-color-you-should-be-reading/
Mass Freedom FRED Talks with Dawn Harrington and Jessica Rodriguez
https://www.massfreedom.org/fred_talks/
Kenrya Rankin Website
The new and updated Colorlines website
How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide To Resistance
The Turn On Podcast
https://www.theturnonpodcast.com/
About Race Forward:
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.
Follow Race Forward on social media
Follow us on Facebook:
Follow us on Twitter:
Follow us on Instagram:
Building Racial Equity (BRE) Trainings
https://www.raceforward.org/trainings
Facing Race 2020:
https://facingrace.raceforward.org
Subscribe to our newsletter:
Executive Producers:
Hendel Leiva and Melissa Franqui
Previous Episode

Episode 04: Angela Glover Blackwell, “Who Do We Think We Are” Colorlines Series, Discussing Lizzo and Body Positivity
Angela Glover Blackwell, founder in residence at Policylink, and host of the new Radical Imagination Podcast, joins Chevon and Hiba to talk about her longtime work as a leading voice in the movement for equity and racial justice. In this conversation, Angela talks about the “racial moment” we are currently living, and challenges us to think radically in creating narratives that will lead to concrete solutions. Drawing on a lifetime of experience as an activist, Angela provides a reframing of “hopelessness” in this moment in the U.S., and inspires us to use the moment as an opportunity for important social change.
We introduce our brand new Colorlines series “Who Do We Think We Are” by Race Forward’s Senior Fellow, Rosana Cruz that is timely in the wake of the recent “American Dirt” book controversy. Hiba sits with Rosana for a conversation about the creation of the series, and their experience interviewing Latinx-identified movement leaders, artists, and cultural innovators about how they define themselves racially.
Hiba and Chevon also discuss the former ‘Biggest Loser’ trainer Jillian Michaels and her recent comments on Lizzo’s body image, Lizzo’s response and self-affirmations, and place Michaels’ comments in the context of systemic racism, anti-blackness, and fatphobia.
Leave a 5-star review, and subscribe for more episodes of Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast!
Resources (by order of mention)
“Who Do We Think We Are” Colorlines Series
http://bit.ly/WhoThinkWeAreCLSeries
PolicyLink
Radical Imagination Podcast
“My Role in a Social Change Ecosystem” by Deepa Iyer
http://bit.ly/SocialChangeEcosystemIyer
Update on Moms For Housing Campaign
http://bit.ly/RFMomsForHousingUpdate
Follow Angela Glover Blackwell on Twitter
About Race Forward:
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.
Follow Race Forward on social media
Follow us on Facebook:
Follow us on Twitter:
Follow us on Instagram:
Building Racial Equity (BRE) Trainings
https://www.raceforward.org/trainings
Facing Race 2020:
https://facingrace.raceforward.org
Subscribe to our newsletter:
Executive Producers:
Hendel Leiva and Melissa Franqui
Next Episode

Episode 06: Hyping Census 2020 with Maria Dautruche: My Family Matters, My Family Counts!
We’re talking all about the upcoming Census 2020, and the “My Family Matters, My Family Counts" campaign!
In this episode, Maria Dautruche, Vice President for Foundation Partnerships at the National Urban League joins Hiba, Chevon, and Elana Needle, to talk about her work in fundraising, racial equity, civic engagement, and discusses her role in the reproductive justice field as co-founder of New Voices For Reproductive Justice.
Maria describes the framework of the “My Family Matters, My Family Counts” campaign, answers questions about families being accurately counted on Census Day, and talks about the impact of the census on communities of color in the next decade.
We preview “What is Energy Democracy?”, our new video available on YouTube, that uplifts the events of the 2019 Strategic Energy Democracy Convening. Thirty-six energy democracy leaders from across the nation convened to build collective power around the mission of advancing the movement to democratize energy, while placing an important emphasis on the centrality of race to energy issues.
*Producer’s note: In this episode there are references to in-person organizing for Census 2020. In the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency, we encourage all organizing to take place by phone or online. Please see our official statement below.
Resources (by order of mention)
My Family Votes, My Family Counts
Census Website (take the census online)
What Is Energy Democracy? (Video)
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
https://www.wkkf.org/who-we-are/overview
National Urban League
New Voices For Reproductive Justice
http://www.newvoicespittsburgh.org
Racial Equity Anchor Twitter
Maria Dautruche Twitter
https://twitter.com/MariaDautruche
Maria Dautruce Instagram
https://twitter.com/MariaDautruche
My Black Counts Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/myblackcounts
About Race Forward:
Race Forward catalyzes movement building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, we build strategies to advance racial justice in our policies, institutions, and culture. Race Forward imagines a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose.
Follow Race Forward on social media
Follow us on Facebook:
Follow us on Twitter:
Follow us on Instagram:
Building Racial Equity (BRE) Trainings
https://www.raceforward.org/trainings
Facing Race 2020:
https://facingrace.raceforward.org
Subscribe to our newsletter:
Executive Producers:
Hendel Leiva and Melissa Franqui
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