On this week's episode, I sat down with Alexa Jay and talked about what we considered the stages black girls who grow up in white communities go through. Basing this all on our own personal experiences, Alexa and I talked and bonded over the many similarities we had growing up, even though we grew up on opposite sides of the country. Our purpose for this episode is to connect further with other black girls (and boys) who may be going through the same thing we had gone through and to show...

On this week's episode, Xavier and I sat down with Kassidy King to discuss the trans experience with him and what that looks like, and how he has navigated the world. We talked about definitions of trans, being a trans father and what it is like, experiences and what it is like going to the hospitals or getting medical advice as someone who is trans, and so much more! Our conversation with Kassidy was real, honest, and fun, and a great way for all of us to learn about something not yet...

On this week's episode, Xavier and I sat down with Asakee Robinson to talk about homophobia and transphobia within the Black household. We talked about what it can look like inside the home, how it hurts and affects the children both inside and outside of the home, struggles faced but also ways to combat it, and so much more. Our conversation with Asakee included personal stories, experiences, and things that happened outside of our lives and in the world. Xavier and I are so grateful to...

On this week's episode, Xavier and I sat down with Jetta Strayhorn to discuss black womanhood and how Jetta navigates being a Black woman and also nonbinary. We also discussed how nonbinaryism plays a role in Black womanhood, educating friends and family, what it feels like educating others, what it means to Jetta to be nonbinary and so much more! Our conversation with Jetta was fun and informational for us to learn about something we have yet to discuss on this podcast but also have not...

On this week's episode, Xavier and I sat down with Malik Williams to discuss what it was like for him to be a professional dancer and a Black man while growing up and working in a White dominant profession and environment. We also discussed with Malik what a Black body is supposed to look like to fit into the beauty standards in the dance world, queer communities, and communities in general. We talked about what his experience was like navigating himself as a Black and queer person in his...

On this week's episode, and The Melanin Pride Wave's first guest, Xavier and I sat down with Obio Jones to discuss masculinity, queer visibility, what it is like presenting as a heterosexual man while queer, and so much more. We talked about if masculinity is overvalued in the Black community, if the Black community is more prejudiced towards homosexuality or more prejudiced towards those who express femininity but are not cis women, how the Black community can better nurture Black queer...

Welcome back everyone! We are back with season 2 of The Melanin Sound Wave and are kicking off this season with some great and extremely important topics and conversations being had!  For this Pride month and these special episodes, I brought back a great friend and previous collaborator to help me with these episodes. As a heterosexual woman, it is not my place to try and explain or have these conversations on what it means to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community or to talk about experiences...

On this week's episode, I sat down with Jordan Simone to talk about the body positivity movement and fatphobia that exists especially in the black community. We talked about how the body positivity movement has been hijacked and changed into a movement that does not share the space with larger women (which is what the movement was originally about) and continues to place the focus on mainly thinner women who do not need the attention as much as larger women do. We also talked about how...

On this week's episode, I sat down with Fatimata Cham to talk about a few different topics that Fatimata wrote about in her poetry. We talked about the hijab ban in France, colorism, and criminal justice in a slightly different way than normally done on these episodes! As mentioned, Fatimata is a poet, and on each of these topics, she has written a poem on and we would discuss the topic before and after she had read her poetry on them. You can find the poems she read on this episode on The...

On this week's episode, I sat down with Kamryn Davis to talk about people of color representation in kids' movies and t.v. shows, talking about what we have seen in movies and the portrayal and most importantly why it is so important for the representation to happen. We talk throughout the episode about how important it is not just for people of color to see themselves in a positive light but also for people who are not minorities to see us in a positive light on the screen so that they have...

On this week's episode, I sat down with Catherine Volcy to talk about colorism, taking personal experiences, viewpoints, and examples of where we have seen it to have this conversation. Throughout the episode, Catherine and I talked about the root of colorism and where it stemmed from, why and in what ways has the black community enabled colorism to continue and become such a large issue, where we see colorism in media and entertainment, and so much more. In one part of the episode, we talked...

On this episode, I sat down with Cheyenne Tyler Jacobs to talk about the over-sexualization of black girls and black women that are seen in society and in media - being the entertainment industry or just the news. Throughout the episode, Cheyenne and I talked about how hairstyle and clothing are turned into something sexual and asked the question of who sexualized these things that should be seen as what they are which is just a hairstyle and just clothing. We also talked about how damaging...

On this episode, I sat down with Kara Roselle to talk about what our experiences were like growing up as minorities in predominantly white communities and how those experiences shaped and changed us. Throughout the episode, Kara and I pulled from and noticed many shared experiences that we had even though we grew up in different states and talked about how common our experiences are. We talked about how it felt difficult to love our skin and natural hair, being called out in class and be the...

*Note from Ayanna - In one part of the episode, I mistakenly said the wrong name for an event that occurred. I said that Jackie Robinson after a game had scratched at his skin, wanting it to be white because of the way he was treated. It was not Jackie Robinson but another baseball player (not named) who was coached by the same person who had brought on Jackie Robinson. I apologize for that misinformation but the statement and significance still hold true. Here is writing describing the...

On this week's episode, I sat down with Brianna Perry to discuss and talk about attitudes towards mental health in the black community and discuss why we believe they are the way they are. We talked about why mental health and therapy are perceived as a negative in the black community, where this attitude stems from, and advice for people who don't have the support system they need. Throughout the episode, we used statistics and also personal experiences to discuss this topic and provide our...

On this week's episode, we sat down with Alliyah Edwards to discuss what exactly is felony disenfranchisement and in what ways does it affect people who get labeled as a felon. We talked about what felons are no longer able to do in today's society (especially focusing on voting), how high of a percentage of African Americans are disenfranchised compared to non-African Americans, why that is, and why it is so important for us to look at these cases where we see the lasting effects of felony...

On this week's episode, we sat down with Xavier Khalil to discuss how we have seen white supremacy create certain attitudes towards misogyny and homophobia in the black community. Within this episode, we discussed a range of topics, highlighting things such as Christianity, colonization, buck breaking, what we see today from members of the black community and how they treat black queer people, and more. This episode took personal stories and experiences, the realities and hardships of...

On this week's episode, we sat down with Morgan Reece to discuss society's blindness towards missing and murdered black people. Within the episode, we talked about a range of topics and subjects that fit into this episode, using stories and information found. We talked about specific cases such as Quawan Charles, we discussed the alarming number of black trans people who are murdered every year, we also discussed where we see issues in terms of how media outlets decide to address these...

On this week's episode and our first episode for Black History Month, we sat down with Adrian, Wanda, and Milan Lewis who are all in different parts of the entertainment industry. From singing, photography, modeling, and videography, the Lewis children were able to provide us with their opinions and insight on what they have seen in the industry. We discussed a range of topics connecting them with personal experiences and viewpoints with their relationship to the black experience and impact...

This week’s episode is our first of a new series we are going to start doing, where we sit down with you guys, our followers, and listeners and talk! This week, our followers who won our contest to be featured were Jess Hanon and Sonam -! We discussed the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and our thoughts on what happened before, during, and after this historical moment! This is a great episode to hear more of our personal thoughts on this historical moment...

On this week’s episode, we sat down with Dr. Ayoka Wiles, who has spent over 20 years organizing and doing program development for the arts, culture, education, youth development, and social justice organizations. Most recently, she is focusing on Black women and women of color voices in the nonprofit sector. We discussed what the resilient movement is, Black women as leaders, their roles as leaders in history and so much more while bringing in personal experiences and history. During the...

Hi for the first time in 2021! We missed you all so much over the last couple of weeks during our break but we are so excited to be back and for you guys to hear and see all the amazing content we have planned! In this week’s episode, we wanted to give you guys an extremely unstructured episode so you got to know more about us (maybe that was a mistake but you let us know what you think)! We talked about ourselves, our biggest takeaways from 2020, what we are hoping for in 2021, and our...

On this week's episode, we sat down with Ú-Leea Santos, who is the COO and Co-Founder of My LÚA. Her company focuses on working to decrease postpartum depression and mortality while looking at racial disparities in maternal health care. We discussed on this weeks episode, her company and goals for it, discussed if there is truth behind the phrase "Doctors are to Black Women what Cops are to Black Men", ways to decrease maternal mortality and the racial disparities when it comes to maternal...

On this week's episode, we sat down with Adrina Fanore from Audio Sessions Podcast. We discussed personal experiences and personal stories that connected directly with this week's episode topic. Our conversation focused on this week's episode topic, allyship, looking at what it means to be a good ally, what to do and what not to do, and what conversations allies need to be present at in order to be a good ally, and so much more!  We hope this episode provides allies a better insight on what...