In our season finale, we chat with writer, producer and journalist A’Lelia Bundles, great-great granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker. Bundles’ New York Times notable book On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker is the first full-scale biography of Madam Walker—the legendary Black entrepreneur and philanthropist. We talk about the legacy of Madam Walker, her thoughts about the Netflix series and Madam Walker’s connection to Haiti. After a 30-year career as an executive and Emmy award winning producer with ABC News and NBC News, Bundles is now the brand historian for MCJW, a line of hair care products inspired by Madam Walker and created by Sundial Brands. She is a trustee of Columbia University and chair emerita of the National Archives Foundation.  Bundles founded the Madam Walker Family Archives and is on the advisory boards of the March on Washington Film Festival, the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and has participated in writing residencies at Yaddo and MacDowell. Watch the trailer for Self Made below:

Jason Fitzroy Jeffers is a true Caribbean renaissance man. A filmmaker, journalist and music maker, his creative endeavors explore social issues as well as uplift Caribbean history and culture. We had a great time chatting with him about his impromptu journey learning Haitian machete fencing, the importance of Caribbean storytelling, and of course, slow jams and human connection in the time of a pandemic. Jason’s journalism work has appeared in The Intercept, The Miami Herald and American Way Magazine. As a ghostwriter, he’s crafted text for two New York Times bestselling authors. As a filmmaker, he has produced award-winning short films such as “Papa Machete” which world premiered at Toronto International Film Festival 2014 and had its U.S. premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2015, and “T”, which won the Golden Bear at Berlinale 2020.As an arts administrator, Jason wears two hats: as Co-Executive Director of Third Horizon, a Caribbean filmmaking collective that produces the annual Third Horizon Film Festival; and as Cinematic Arts Senior Manager at Oolite Arts, one of Miami’s largest artist support organizations. Jason also launched a podcast series called Foggy Windows this past month. You can experience it here: Foggy Windows Radio. Check out his short film “Papa Machete” below. Papa Machete from Third Horizon on Vimeo.

We wanted to take some time to reflect on what’s been happening in our communities. We’re feeling a lot right now: pain, frustration, anger, outrage. Our country has been on fire over the past week. This is a turning point in American history. We want to acknowledge all those who have lost their lives senselessly to police brutality. As Haitians, we are no strangers to the loss of life of our brothers and sisters at the hands of the police. We remember Abner Louima we barely survived with his life after being sodomized by the NYPD. Patrick Dorismond died at the hands of NYPD for no reason other than the fact that he was a Black man in America. Now we have Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and too many others. Enough is enough. This has to stop. We call for the end of police brutality. We call for defunding of the police. We call for this country to value Black Lives.  For our brothers and sisters, we call for justice. We call for healing. We call for the day when we can breathe and not have to worry about the repercussions of that simple human act. If you want to know how you can get involved, we’ve included some resources below which you can access for your own knowledge building. Stay safe, stay in the struggle. #BlackLivesMatter. Resources 10 Films to Watch in Support of Black Liberation – Tambay Obenson The Anti-Racist Starter Pack: 40 TV Series, Documentaries, Movies, TED Talks, and Books to Add to Your List – Brea Baker Community Compiled Resource ListsList 1List 2 Anti-Racism Resources Videos

We could not stop laughing with this week’s guest Michelle Buteau! Michelle has appeared on stand-up specials on Netflix and Comedy Central, as well as an album called “Shut Up!”, which was released on Comedy Central Records. Michelle shot the Netflix feature “Always Be My Maybe” with Ali Wong and Randall Park, and recently landed a leading role in the TV remake of “First Wives Club” for BET. Michelle is about to release a book called Survival of the Thickest and has her own comedy special being released later this year. Check out a clip from First Wives Club below. You can catch the entire series on BET+.

This week we have a chat with filmmaker Guetty Felin. Her film, Ayiti Mon Amour, was Haiti’s first-ever Oscar-nominated film. Guetty is an award-winning independent filmmaker, teacher, and film curator. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in New York, she holds an MFA from the University of Paris School of Cinema. Throughout her career, she has worked on factual and narrative films for European and American television. She produced and co-curated the critically-acclaimed Haiti on Screen in 2004 to celebrate Haiti’s bicentennial. She also helped to launch Haiti’s Film Festival Jakmèl in 2004. Check out the trailer below. You can watch the entire film on Amazon Prime.

This week we hosted our first live discussion and screening! We were joined by the creatives of the webseries “A Haitian’s Guide to Disappointing Your Parents. Joining us live was Micheal Drew (Creator and Actor), Karina Bonnefil (Actor) and Bechir Sylvain (Actor). Watch Episode 1 below and the rest of the series on YouTube.

This week we have an important discussion with Dr. Monique Morris about her work examining violence against Black girls. Her documentary Pushout centers the voices of Black girls to tell their stories about their lives and how they want to be seen. Monique Morris, Ed.D. is an award-winning author and social justice scholar with three decades of experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and social justice. Dr. Morris is the author of Sing A Rhythm, Dance A Blues: Education for the Liberation of Black and Brown Girls (The New Press, 2019), which explores a pedagogy to counter the criminalization of Black and Brown girls in schools. She is also the author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (The New Press, 2016). You can watch the trailer for Pushout below. *Trigger warning – there is violence depicted in this trailer.*

This week Michele Weaver chats with us and drops gems about being an actor in Hollywood. Her candor about the business and pride in her Haitian heritage made for a great conversation! Michele Weaver is on her way to becoming a major force in Hollywood. She is currently starring in NBC’s highly critically acclaimed drama Council of Dads with Sarah Wayne Callies. Based on a book with the same title, the hour-long drama follows a group of carefully chosen friends who take a family through the ups and downs of life following a potentially terminal diagnosis. She also appears in the USA Network show Briarpatch. Michele has starred in the lead role in OWN’s straight to series, hour-long romantic dramedy Love is __, created by Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil. She attended Pepperdine University and majored in Theatre Acting and Media Production under a Theater Arts Scholarship. She traveled with the theater program to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. She is from Colorado and currently resides in Los Angeles. Check out the trailer for “Council of Dads” below.

Up and coming actor Ethan Herisse took some time to chat with us about how he got in the business and landing his big break in the 4 part series “When They See Us,” directed by Ava DuVernay. The Herisse family (Ethan, parents Henry and Carline, and his two little sisters Kerry-Ann and Naima) moved to Burbank, California in 2012 so that Ethan could pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Ethan has appeared in many television shows and films including Big Time Rush, Go On, About a Boy, Born in a Bottle, The Mindy Project, Key and Peel, Miss Virginia and When They See Us (Central Park 5). Ethan enjoys spending time with friends, reading, hiking, playing basketball, and video games. He also holds a junior black belt in taekwondo. You can watch all four episodes of “When They See Us” on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.

This week we are chatting with filmmaker Dudley Alexis, director of the films “Liberty in a Soup” and most recently, the award-winning documentary, “When Liberty Burns.” Dudley just took home the $30,000 Knight Made in MIA Feature Film Award, the most anticipated prize of the 37th edition of Miami Dade College’s acclaimed Miami Film Festival. An independent filmmaker and visual artist. Dudley Alexis is both a cultural anthropologist and historian who sees his world through unique multicultural eyes. His mission as a Creative is to mine the wealth of hidden details that provide meaning to the lives of those often written off by the mainstream, finding in their stories, real treasure. His gift is in gaining the trust of others who then poignantly share their personal stories, often filled with tragedy and triumph. Alexis vividly portrays their drive to thrive and to live with dignity and equality in a world that would too often attempt to keep them marginalized. Born in Haiti, Alexis immigrated to the United States in his teens, attending high school and college in Miami where he began studying fine art. His body of work includes a vast number of short documentaries including stories about the First Nation Micousukee Tribe of Florida, made while employed by Micousukee Magazine. He went on to write, film, direct and edit his first full length documentary, ‘Liberty in a Soup’ completed in 2016. ‘Liberty in a Soup’ tells the historical significance of Soup Joumou, the national dish of Haiti, which commemorates the island nation’s triumphant independence from France, making it the first independent Black Republic in the Western Hemisphere. His work on the Arthur McDuffie story began almost immediately after, but not at the exclusion of creating and exhibiting his fine art, and was most recently was selected and featured in the exhibition ‘Kingdom of This World, Reimagined’, curated by noted artist Edouard Duval Carrié , during Miami’s 2019 Art Week as part of the prestigious Art Basel festivities. Definitely a contemporary ‘Renaissance Man’, Alexis is not just creative but is also a risk-taker possessing focused perseverance, self-discipline and a thirst for knowledge and new experiences. Alexis continues to develop his mastery of multiple mediums. His gift of seemingly endless curiosity and keen insight brings us all closer to confronting global issues as part of his ongoing effort to facilitate public awareness and bring societal parity and change wherever needed. Check out the trailer for When Liberty Burns: