How did the 2020 Minneapolis, Minnesota protests play out? What is Racial Battle Fatigue (coined by William A. Smith)? How did the hashtag #BlackInTheIvory amplify the voices of Black academics to speak truth about racism in academia? What is an example of privilege in mass media? This episode, Arthur Maxwell Powell II discusses these topics with John Nehemiah Harper.

Shoutout to Photographer Earnest Norris Jr., who captured moments during the 2020 Minnesota protests.

Mr. John Harper currently serves in the office of the president at South Central College as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and as the Interim Director of Admissions. He holds a degree in Political Science and Masters of Educational Leadership and Administration from Minnesota State University in Mankato. John has experience in college admissions and is passionate about access and equity within higher education. At South Central, John actively works with academic deans and faculty to examine policy, procedure and assessments with an equity lens. He recently was accepted into Morgan State University and will begin his doctoral program this fall. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-nehemiah-harper-a7453516

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This is my thirteenth interview, recorded on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2020.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening! Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?