Black Nouveau

(gentle music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Black Nouveau."

I'm Earl Arms and this is our February edition.

And February, of course, is Black History Month.

And while "Black Nouveau" celebrates the history and achievements of African Americans all year long, there are some special events we'll tell you about happening here on Milwaukee PBS.

One of them is a premiere of Henry Lewis Gates' new special, "Gospel," which starts February 12th.

Our Alexandria Mack goes to Madison to introduce us to Rael, the hip hop gospel artist.

Our own Joanne Williams joins us to discuss her documentary, "The Exchange: Kaukauna & King, 50 Years Later."

It airs on Milwaukee PBS this month.

And James Causey will discuss why the need for organ donors is a major problem in the African American community.

But we begin with a special treat.

Earlier, Alexandria Mack spoke with a young student who I think we'll be hearing a lot more from in the future.

- This year for Milwaukee's 40th annual MLK speech writing contest, students were given the topic of, "What Affects One, Affects All."

It is the central theme from Dr. King's letter from Birmingham Jail.

This is what Zaida Smith, a 5th grader at Samuel Clemens School, wrote: - A show of hands, has anyone ever created something using dominoes?

I see your hand, I see your hand, and I see yours, too.

So my grandmother and I did a thing.

We decided to make a huge heart using dominoes.

First, we drew a heart on a large poster board.

Then we started to place the dominoes very carefully around the borders of the heart.

Now, placing those dominoes is most frustrating because one nervous move and one will fall down, and now they're all falling down prematurely.

So I was careful placing the dominoes until it was time for me to push the first one down.

I couldn't wait.

As I pushed the domino and watched domino after domino topple over, I was overjoyed at watching what they call the domino effect.

If you're wondering, "Zaida, where are you going with this?"

Well, here it is.

When I think of what affects one affects all, I remember that domino project I made with my grandmother.

I vision this world as a huge heart and we, the people, are the dominoes.

Dr. King stated that life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?

Well, Dr. King, here's my answer.

I want to start a domino effect of compassion, peaceful conversations, and acceptance to change this world because what affects one affects all.

I want to be the domino effect of acceptance to fight against racism.

Our world is made up of a diverse group of people, and we all walk around here acting like we are afraid of one another.

Yes, I am an African American female, and yes, I feel great about the skin that I am in.

But that does not mean that I am more privileged than anybody else.

I wanna learn about people who live differently than I do by going to visit museums or maybe just having a simple conversation.

Dr. King stated that, yes, we are on the move and no wave of racism can stop us.

Accepting the fact that we are all different is okay, because at the end of the day, what affects one affects all, no matter who we are.

Next, I want to be the domino effect of peaceful conversations to fight against gun violence.

It's a shame that I have to think twice about whether I'm going to be safe enough to go outside to play or not.

What right does anyone have to be so angry, pick up a gun, and take someone else's life?

What happened to peaceful conversations?

At my school, we partake in restorative practice circles every week.

In these circles, I am learning how to have meaningful conversations with my peers that promotes positivity and respect amongst each other.

Hopefully, my generation will have the power to solve problems peacefully with effective communication instead of a gun.

Dr. King stated that returning violence for violence, multiplies violence.

One thing I know, a bullet has no name on it.

Anyone could be a victim because what affects one affects all.

Lastly, I want to be the domino effect of compassion to help climate change.

Listen here, if we don't get the earth that we share together healthy, we will not have a planet to live on.

Climate change affects the food that we eat, the air that we breathe, and the water that we drink.

My school is becoming a green school and I am delighted.

I look forward to learning more about what I can do and how I can spread the news about having a healthier and cleaner world.

In conclusion, Dr. King stated that we must all learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.

The key word in this quote to me is together.

So as I spread the domino effect of compassion to fight against climate change, acceptance to fight against racism, and peaceful conversations to fight against gun violence, I will keep faithful the purpose of making this world a better place to live because what affects one affects all.

Thank you.

- Wow, Zaida, that was an amazing speech.

Have you written anything before or was this your first time?

- This is my first time.

- So what made you want to enter this contest?

- Dr. Martin Luther King's word and I just really, like, wanted to speak up.

- How long did it take you to write this impressive essay?

- Like, maybe like a few weeks or I would say like a month.

- And your delivery was so powerful.

How long did it take you -- - Thank you.

- to memorize and just be able to enunciate the way you did?

- The same time that it took me to write it.

- So what were you, when you were writing this speech and you were kind of meditating on these themes, what was something that kept coming up for you that you thought was so important for you to share with others?

- Gun violence.

- And why is that?

- Because a lot of lives are getting taken from it.

- Mm-hmm, and a lot of children's lives, kids your age.

Thinking of how this issue impacts the city, what are some of your hopes looking ahead?

- I hope that they, like, chill down with the gun violence.

I hope they stop being rude to people because of the color of their skin.

And I just, like, really hope that they stop littering because it's affecting the animals and a lot more.

- And you are our future, so your opinion really matters.

So what can we expect?

What is the future of Zaida?

What do you want to do when you grow up?

- When I grow up, I want to be a pediatrician or a real estate agent.

- [Alexandria] And why?

- Because I want to be a pediatrician because I want to help kids out when they're sick and just like in general.

I don't even...

I really don't know why I want to be a real estate agent.

It's just something that I want to be.

- Well, those are both very profitable professions and it takes passion to, you know, follow through with them.

Is there anyone that you want to thank that kind of helped you along this process?

- My teacher.

Can I do more than one person?

- Yeah.

- Okay, my teacher, my dad, my mom, and my grandma.

- Beautiful.

Okay, well thank you so much, Zaida.

That was an amazing speech and I can't wait to see what lies ahead for you.

- Thank you for having me.

- Now let's go to Madison, Wisconsin, where I got to meet gospel rapper, Rael The Artist, and talk with him on how he blends the good news with hip hop beats.

Ah - [Rael] My faith hasn't been easy my whole life.

It's really been a a back and forth and a wrestle at times.

My name is Israel Oby.

I go by Rael The Artist.

That's my stage name.

- [Alexandria] The name Israel means he who wrestled with God.

(gentle music) God of the wind and the waves Did I really fall in love Or is it all just a phase Feel I'm bussin on for drug How I been singing your praise And been feeling I'm insane How I been screaming your name - [Alexandria] And for the 25-year-old rapper, his music tells a story of fighting doubt with love that's always been there.

- Music and faith, I feel like they've both shaped my life so much in different ways.

I make music that's really a fusion of gospel and hip hop.

You lifted up my eyes on my sights being higher And nothing in this world Could never light my fire like you Gospel and hip hop, those are my two favorite genres.

I grew up on gospel.

I grew up listening to gospel music all the time.

My parents are pastors, so that's all they used to play.

- From the time Israel was a toddler, maybe one years old, one, two, three, on the front pew, you know, next to me, he would just worship like before he could even... Before his language was fully developed, he knew how to say hallelujah, thank you, Jesus.

- When I went to college, I kinda had a falling out in my faith and I had a long period of time where I wasn't sure if I really believed in God or not.

- [Alexandria] But like the prodigal son, Israel would find his way back with a new fire.

- Around my junior year, I really had what I believe was a radical experience with God that kinda brought me back into my faith.

But in my heart of hearts I feel there's been a shift in my faith I feel like my life ain't been the same Since you done show me your face It's like the light's been brighter And me and shorty good - [Alexandria] Setting ablaze a new ministry of his own through music.

Overcame my demons Put 'em on a shirt this year - I started seeing my job as kind of a barrier to doing the things that I wanted to do.

But that was really hard for me 'cause it was a great job.

It paid well, it was secure.

Have you turnin' off the sound like you Pavlov's dog As I grew in my faith and just my desire to get the message of my faith out more and tell more people about who God was, the more music grew on my heart.

God of the wind and the waves Did I really fall in love Or is it all just a phase God of the wind and the waves - [Alexandria] Rapping the gospel of a faith restored.

- There was a lot of struggles in trying to shift my life again to living a life of faith.

And there were times where I wanted to turn around.

There was times where I didn't know if I could believe.

There was times where my faith was really, really hard for me.

And "Wind and Waves" was, I was in a moment where I really was just feeling grateful for who God is in my life and just wanted to really write kind of a love letter to God that was extremely real and extremely personal about the relationship with God that I felt like I had.

God's gonna heal all his people Way Way To To Pity To pity Broken for me - When I listen to his music, it's a reflection really of his growth.

But it's also a reflection of what a lot of 25 year olds, 24 year olds, what they experience in life.

- We have a younger generation that connects with it.

And as a church, from a church perspective, as we continue to grow or reach the next generation, it's gonna be very prominent or should be very prominent in terms of reaching the next generation.

- I really hope that my music touches people who may have given up on themselves or given up on God.

- [Alexandria] And a purpose renewed.

- [Rael] If anything, I just really hope that my music can help people have a little bit more faith in God than they had before and have a little bit more faith that no matter where they are, no matter who they are, no matter what mistakes they've made, that God's not finished with them yet and that he can transform their life.

I need different (gentle music) (upbeat music) - In the United States, Black people are four times as likely to develop kidney failure as white people, but they are much less likely to receive a life-saving kidney transplant.

Tyrone Dumas, a lifelong public official who has worked with youth much of his career, needs a transplant.

Dumas joins us, along with nephrologist, Dr. Lisa Rich.

Thanks for joining us on this critical issue.

So I wanna start with you, Tyrone.

How long have you been on the kidney donation list and can you tell me what you needed to do to qualify for this list?

- Actually, it started last year.

I got on dialysis in November of '23.

I'm sorry, '22.

And then it took about a... And then my friend, Judge Mosley, said, "You ought to go ahead and try to get on a list."

And he suggested Froedtert.

So I started in their process in November of '22, and in a year I had multiple tests from lots of things.

And now I'm also getting on the list at UW Madison.

So it's been about a year of many tests and processes to make sure my body not only could handle it and that I was fit for a transplant.

- Dr. Rich, why are African Americans more prone for kidney failure and what can be done to address this?

- Well, it's a great question and something we struggle with on a daily basis.

So the causes of kidney failure in this country are primarily diabetes and high blood pressure.

About two-thirds of the patients have diabetes and about half have high blood pressure, because many have both.

The incidence of both diabetes and high blood pressure is higher in the African American population.

And I think one of the more significant issues is lack of access to healthcare.

So when patients don't treat the diabetes adequately, when the blood pressure is not well controlled, then the kidney function goes downhill.

So that's why there's more kidney failure.

But it doesn't wholly address the question of why the rate of transplantation is lower.

There's a lot of issues that are involved in that.

One is skepticism in the African American population where there's a very low donation rate.

If we look at, for example, UW Madison versus Froedtert, UW Madison did about 300 transplants last year, and Froedtert did about 100.

Eight of that 100 were living donors.

Whereas in Madison, 100 of the 300 were living donors.

And so patients who were on the list in the areas that Froedtert and Aurora's transplant program feed into, the county's sort of surrounding Milwaukee which have a higher population of African American patients and population, has a very low rate of living donation.

So those patients are waiting like four and five years to get a transplant.

Whereas someone who goes to UW Madison is only waiting like a year and a half.

Overall, there's like 1,200 people waiting for a transplant.

And as I was saying, it's like 100 were done at Froedtert, another 50 at St. Luke's, but, and then 300 in Madison.

So you can see we're not meeting the need at all.

So a big part of it is people need to sign their donor card.

And that's another portion I think that is underrepresented in the African American community.

People don't sign their donor card.

I think there's been negative stuff in media and like television and stuff where people somehow think if you sign your donor card, we're not gonna take care of you or we're gonna view you as some sort of an organ donor and not as a patient, or that we won't treat you.

And that's just so not true.

- [James] And you can live with one kidney, right?

- Absolutely, absolutely.

So a living donor is the best path for many people to get a kidney.

- [James] So, Tyrone, how has dialysis impacted your life?

What's the process?

- Well, I get it, I'm on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule and I'm in the chair for three and a half hours.

But you gotta count that I gotta get there 15 minutes before and also after the needles are removed, then my blood has to clot and stop.

And so sometimes I'm really about four hours in or more depending on how that day going.

So now I have to arrange my day around that.

And then I have to try to make sure that I get some kind of a rest and exercise in, because when you finish, you're drained.

I'm drained, and it takes me a while to rejuvenate my body and rejuvenate my spirit.

And I think what always makes it good for me is I still have hope and I still have optimism.

But I can see where you could lose it because you gotta find a way in three and a half to four hours to keep yourself active, keep your mind active, and not to think negative thoughts and to try to work your way through it.

And that's three days a week.

And now you are limited to what you can do, how you travel, all of the things you do.

And there's multiple ways you can do it.

You can do it yourself at home.

You don't have to always go into a center to do it.

I chose to go into a center.

I'm not doing it at home.

I think that's called a certain kind of dialysis, but- - Peritoneal dialysis.

- So I tried, I decided I would go into the center my three days a week rather than have equipment and supplies in my house and do it myself at home.

- Dr. Rich, real quick, we're running outta time, but can you tell me what are the signs people should look for if they may suspect that they may have kidney failure?

- That's an excellent question.

One of the big barriers to identifying kidney disease is that there's no symptoms until it's very, very late.

Literally 90% of your kidney function is gone before you have any symptoms.

So many times I've had patients saying, "I don't believe I have kidney disease because my urine looks fine, I'm making urine."

Well, you can have failing kidneys and still make urine.

So the signs which are very late are things like as the waste builds up, nausea, lack of appetite, weight loss, shortness of breath as fluid weight builds up, and weakness, cramps in the muscles, twitching muscles, all of which are very not specific to kidney disease.

And many people have kidney failure and never see any change in how much urine, what the urine looks like.

So really, we have to identify that with a blood test and urine tests, you know, for microscopic measurements.

- So it sounds like it's important to really follow up with your doctor.

- It's so important to see your doctor and have those tests done.

- And also the diabetes component, making sure you're following those regimens and the high blood pressure regimens and the foods you eat.

I learned I had to change my diet.

I had to meet with the doctor and a nutritionist and say, "You gotta stay away from processed food," and many different things that I took for granted.

- Thank you, thank you, I appreciate it.

- You're welcome.

(upbeat music) - It was an experiment in race relations that would define norms and change lives.

- Not everyone agreed with the idea.

- White students from Kaukauna, Wisconsin and Black students in Milwaukee step into unknown worlds to live and perform a controversial play.

- This was an opportunity to look at life differently.

- Now they reunite to reflect and watch as a new generation reprises their performance, "The Exchange: Kaukauna & King 50 Years Later."

(audience applauding) - EARL That's a segment from "The Exchange: Kaukauna & King 50 Years Later," produced by our very own Joanne Williams, former host of "Black Nouveau" and a journalist and reporter in Milwaukee for a number of years prior to that.

But you're here now and it's so good to have you here on PBS "Black Nouveau."

- JOANNE Thank you very much for inviting me.

- All right, so first off, just talk about why you wanted to create this film and this documentary.

- Because I knew about the story.

I'd had it in the back of my mind, in the back of my files for more than 50 years, and I just never did anything about it.

Until one day I was cleaning out my garage, found a newspaper, high school newspaper, and it said 1966, and this was in 2016.

And I said, "This was 50 years ago, and I know this is a good story, so I'm gonna tell it."

- Yep, and certainly you know how to find a good story.

So what's the reception been like?

You have two communities, obviously, impacted, Kaukauna and the Rufus King community.

So talk about what the story's been like for them and even folks beyond that.

- Well, you know, I haven't gotten that much response from the Rufus King community.

We'd screened there and we had some technical difficulties, so it didn't go that well.

But when we went up to Kaukauna about a year ago when I was on tour with the film, we had a big turnout.

We had almost 300 people come to see the film who had not seen it before.

And they were all very happy with it, had lots of questions, wanted to talk to me about it.

So I'm very glad with the reception I got from Kaukauna.

- What's been the biggest surprise as far as that reception or what people saw from the film?

Like what's been the, I guess, biggest surprise that you've seen from it?

- Well, people always tend to ask about their high school experience, which is what I wanted them to do.

I wanted them to turn to the person in the audience and say, "What was your high school experience like?

Was it like anything you saw in the film?"

I had people ask me all sorts of questions about how I did the film, how I found the people who were in the film.

It took me almost three and a half years to find people from 50 years earlier to put in the film.

They want to know if I think anything has changed in the United States in the 50 years between '66 and '16.

And I said, "Not much, but things are changing."

So I've had all sorts of questions come after the film and I enjoy all of them.

- Is that what people see in the film?

What are people gonna see or what have people seen when they watch it?

- They're going to see a group of high school students who took this adventure to go to a different community, live with families there that they'd never met before, and then come from Kaukauna down to Milwaukee to live with families that they really didn't know.

And this exchange took two months, and they produced this play.

The play was called "In White America."

And the play went very well and the exchange went very well, which is something I didn't expect.

It went off without very much conflict, considering it happened in 1966.

- I was gonna ask, just considering kind of the political climate there.

Yeah, no conflict, that really is surprising.

But what was there?

Was there comradery?

Was there folks getting along?

Just what were those relationships like?

- The kids who were in the exchange got along very well.

They got to know each other.

They lived with each other's families.

Some of the people kept in touch with each other over the years.

Some of them saw each other again when they went to college.

So they became friends.

Now, the people around the kids who were in the exchange didn't get as close as the kids who were in the exchange.

I refer to them as kids because they were kids back then.

- [Earl] Kids back then, yeah, absolutely.

- And so was I because I was there when it happened.

- Oh yeah, oh yeah.

So this film is gonna be on PBS here this month, but you're gonna have this film other places, too.

So talk about where this film is and, you know, where you're taking it.

- Well, it's on the film festival circuit.

It premiered at the Milwaukee Film Festival in 2022.

It's been in now 12 festivals.

It's either been won or nominated in eight festivals, best documentary, best true story.

Its most recent festival, I've been nominated in that one, too.

So we'll see what happens about that.

But it's interesting when I take the film to festivals around the country, and people in California and see it and people in Iowa and people in Wisconsin.

They look at it a little differently.

They ask me different kinds of questions, which I find fascinating.

I had one woman ask me if I thought the film was dangerous.

And I said, "Why?"

She said, "Well, I didn't know what it was about until I saw it."

I said to her, "Did you think it was dangerous?"

She said, "No, I didn't.

But I wasn't sure before I saw it."

- Well, just outta curiosity, because the film's not dangerous, obviously, you don't think much has changed though since then.

So what do you hope people get from it?

Or what do you hope people learn from that exchange to now?

What do you hope changes per se?

- I hope they learn that the only way we can solve problems of race in the United States is to get to know people personally, to get to know people one-on-one.

Because that's the way you change minds.

And you can do a lot of that through art, which is what they did in the film.

They were in a play called "In White America."

And the film is also art.

So by watching the film, you can get to see what happened with this exchange.

And maybe that'll get you thinking, "Maybe I should talk to someone that doesn't look like me, that I don't know very well," and not feel uncomfortable asking questions and listening.

Listening is most important.

Listen to what people say.

And that's how you get to know people, and that's how, as they say in the film, barriers drop.

- Amen.

Thank you so much, Joanne, for being here on "Black Nouveau."

- You're welcome.

- Before we close tonight, we have a special announcement.

Our senior producer since 2006, Everett L. Marshburn, is being inducted this weekend into the NATAS Chicago Gold Circle for making significant and enduring contributions to the broadcast industry.

His career started in 1968 in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, where he joined the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting.

There and here, he's earned a reputation for producing programs and telling important stories that often get overlooked, and for mentoring and teaching a number of people coming into this business, including me.

So well-deserved.

Congratulations, Everett.

That's our program for this month.

For "Black Nouveau," I'm Earl Arms.

Have a meaningful Black History Month.

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