We decided for this special Juneteenth podcast that we’d start the podcast with some music from a formerly enslaved person who was freed in Texas.  I’m thrilled today to have Tarienne Mitchell who is on our board of directors here at Latter-day Saints in Action.  She found some recordings from interviews of formerly enslaved people. While Tarienne works for the Library of Congress, she is not representing the Library of Congress in any way.This podcast has the N-word that was spoken during an interview.  We decided not to bleep it out so that the historical record is accurate, so keep that in mind while listening.Here are some resources we referenced in our interview:Intro Music from Laura Smalley: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941016_afs05497a/Pictures of Billy McCrea: https://www.loc.gov/item/2007660042/#, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015647534/Library of Congress Slave Narratives project: https://www.loc.gov/collections/slave-narratives-from-the-federal-writers-project-1936-to-1938/about-this-collection/Interview with Laura Smalley: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941016_afs05497b/Interview with Billy McCrea: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1940003_afs03975a/Original Order read in Galveston: https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/juneteenth-original-documentUtah Black History Museum for information on the Bus: https://www.ubhm.org/home/

My guest today is a member of the house of representatives in Utah and former board member of this organization’s predecessor, Latter-day Left.  We’re talking about gun violence again and focusing on those that survive mass shootings as well as offer 3 solutions from an op-ed Gay Lynn published in the Salt Lake Tribune.Links from places referenced in the conversation:http://wslcofutah.org/https://momsdemandaction.org/https://braverangels.org/

Over the past few weeks, my wife Brittany and I have had many discussions about the senseless gun violence we hear about every day in the United States.  The mass shootings in Uvalde Texas and Buffalo New York have sparked especially poignant conversations and I wanted to share with you some of her wisdom in how to cope with grief. I hope you gain as much insight and value from this conversation as I did.Resources:Try Softer by Aundi KoblerOn Grief and Grieving by David Kessler and Elizabeth Kubeler RossDavid Kessler podcast with Brene Brown Unlocking UsGrief.com@jaimegrantcoaching on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaimegrantcoaching/Professional counselingMeditation: headspace app, CalmHeadspace specifically has a course on griefGeorgia Anderson coaching

I’m delighted to have on as my guest someone from the Mormon Literature scene, James Goldberg.  We took a few minutes and talked about an annual short-story competition that he helped create. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to chat with James and learn more about the Mormon arts world.  I hope you take some time to browse the wonderful literature from previous competitions and learn more about it and maybe enter something in yourself in the future.https://lit.mormonartist.net/

For this podcast we have gathered the board of directors to talk about the last General Conference.  We also introduce the newest member of the board of directors, Tarienne Mitchell.  Elisabeth was not feeling well when we recorded, so listen for her during our next book club episode. Let’s take a listen.I’m so glad I got to chat with Tarienne and Kristin.  I’m so happy to have such a wonderful board of directors and hope this episode helps you hear their perspective and love.

I recently got the chance to interview Tarienne Mitchell, who is an archivist for the Library of Congress.  She and Lex Scott, who was a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in Utah, created a Utah Black History Bus.  I hope you enjoy our conversation.I’m so glad I got the chance to interview Tarienne today.  I learned quite a few stories from history from her. I hope you learned something too.https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/bankhead-mary-lucille-perkins-1902-1994/https://www.ubhm.org/introducing-the-muse/

Did you know that Black folks have been in Utah since at least 1822?  I was surprised too.  I learned this from an organization dedicated to sharing the truth about African American genealogy and history: The Sema Hadithi Foundation (semahadithi.org).  I had an incredible conversation with the founder of the organization, Robert Burch.  One of the things I loved that he said was this, “As long as we continue to manifest untruthfulness, then it makes it difficult for us to have a community.”I hope that as we learn more about the truth of our past and our ancestors, we can heal from the animosity of the past and move into the future with stronger communities.

I’m excited to have on our book club chair Elisabeth Westwood to talk about an exciting new book: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus.

 As part 2 of our focus at Latter-day Saints in Action on Ukraine, I got the chance to speak with Owen Grimshaw about his experience as a missionary in Ukraine.  I am so glad I got the chance to speak with both Owen and Betsy while focusing on Ukraine and the conflict there.  It has been a privilege to get to know the Ukrainian people and culture better.

Like many of you I’ve been watching in horror as Russians have invaded Ukraine and seen refugees fleeing in terror from their homes to safety.  My staff and I reached out to returned missionaries who served in Ukraine to help us understand their culture and what is going on a little better.  I got the chance this past week to speak with Betsy Croft. I’m so glad I got to speak with Betsy.  I love her encouragement for us to look for or create something beautiful to help us cope with this crisis.Betsy is hosting a fundraiser at the end of this month.  You can find out more about that here: https://betsycroft.bigcartel.com/products?fbclid=IwAR1Yu4B9TrjJ-ULSm-4RGl3Gw2E3dR-jNiWFJL9kJ7CM8omVUP5crkMZBtcYou can also find more of her creations here: https://shop.thehousethatlarsbuilt.com/products/pysanky-easter-egg-e-book?fbclid=IwAR2dsBl4j8-eujvd7ZoeyuBRqsmbQjZJP84l2JDeOp_B0Cn37TLQSk0763A