We’re flipping the tables on a fellow theGrio Black Podcast Network Host Dr. Christina Greer. A professor, author and Black History know-it-all, Dr. Greer will have her own knowledge tested by Dear Culture host Panama Jackson.
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Panama Jackson [00:00:00] You are now listening to theGrio’s Black Podcast Network. Black Culture Amplified. What’s going on everybody? Welcome back to Dear Culture, the podcast for by and about Black culture spreading Blackness. Sounds of Blackness. Optimistic type of Blackness. As long as you keep your hands to the sky. Dear Culture is the podcast for you. I’m your host, Panama Jackson. And today we have a special guest. And it’s a special guest because we keep it in house. See, one of the good things about theGrio Black Podcast Network, of which Dear Culture is a part, is that it’s hosted by some amazing, interesting people. And I feel like we need to lecture or need to make sure that everybody who’s hosting gets an opportunity to to share about their own personal stories, because I’m excited to be part of this group of folks. Which brings us to today’s guest, Dr. Christina Greer. Let’s just put our virtual hands together for Dr. Christina Greer. How you doing?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:00:55] I’m great Panama, how are you?
Panama Jackson [00:00:58] I’m awesome. And she is the host of the Blackest Questions, a podcast of which I was on. But that that episode is now part of the archives of Digital Black History. But I remember feeling, doing that podcast, feeling extremely slow and extremely uninformed about the questions you were asking. But I learned a lot, and that seems like the whole point of the Blackest Questions please tell the people about the Blackest Questions. The podcast that you hosted on the Real Black Podcast Network.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:01:28] Well, thank you so much for having me, Panama. I mean, I love being Grio siblings with you. So I have a quiz show podcast because I’m an academic. So, you know, I got to, you know, have a little pop quiz here and there. And so it’s a it’s a podcast essentially because I argue that Black history is American history. Black history is world history. So I bring on really smart Black people and I ask them questions about inventors and entertainers and history, and it’s diasporic. So we’re covering Africa and the Caribbean and Black America just so we can have a little fun and we can entertain ourselves, but we can also educate our listeners as well.
Nadege Fleurimond [00:02:05] Like I wrote a book called Haiti Uncovered Original Adventure into the Art of Haitian Cuisine. And for me, that book was about traveling to Haiti and exploring the food in its traditional form.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:02:15] And no, not everyone gets five out of five. Correct? Oh, you got me. You got me. Let me see. Listen, let me see. I knew you were going to go there, Dr. Greer, but it’s a way for all of us to learn about all the great Black people who have done and are doing stuff in our world.
Panama Jackson [00:02:30] Yeah, look, I listened to the episodes, and you’re right, it’s very diasporic. You have people from all over the place in different walks of life doing different, amazing Black things. And I listen and I’m like, listen, I poor people. I know how I feel. I feel very, very self-conscious because it’s like you missed the first question and all of a sudden the pressure’s on. And I feel like that’s what happened. Like, I got half of the first question, right. Which was a shame, because I think my question was like, what’s the what’s the name of the president of Morehouse College, which is my alma mater? And I got like, I know his last name, but I realized I didn’t. It was the first time I think I named him after the guy who founded Wendy’s. They’re called Dave Thomas. But I think his name was like. I don’t even know. Now already I’m on the hot seat, uh listen.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:03:11] So but here’s the thing, and it’s not to embarrass any of our guests. And, you know, I. I think people get nervous, right? And have these brain freezes. But it’s also it’s helpful for me, you know, as an educator. Yes, I do like putting people in the hot seat. I know later on I might be in the hot seat. So I’m trying not to be nervous. Yeah, the whole point of the pod is to have fun. And hopefully our listeners, you know, I get texts and DMS from different people who say like, I got zero out of five. I had no idea about any of these these individuals that you listed. And so that’s the real point. So people can learn a lot more about all the great things that Black people have done and continue to do in this world. Born in Thayer, Nebraska, this person invented ranch dressing around 1950. Who are they?
Panama Jackson [00:03:56] I have no idea.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:03:58] So here we go. It’s Steve Henson. He was just in the news not too long ago. He was originally a plumber, but he came up with the recipe when he worked in Anchorage, Alaska, and he moved to Southern California with his wife in 1954 and named his property Hidden Valley. And as the popularity grew over the years, Henson sold it to Clorox, the Clorox company, in 1972, for $8 million, and so he passed away in 2007. So in 2017, Hidden Valley Ranch products brought in $400 million.
Panama Jackson [00:04:28] Absolutely. And I love it. I’ve definitely learned a lot of things listening to the podcast, like little, little trivia bites that I can take to the next party I go to. Now, I might I have the facts right, but I know other people don’t. So I can kind of fudge it and make it work for me.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:04:43] Okay. It’s the beginning. The beginning seed planted. That’s what I like to think.
Panama Jackson [00:04:46] There you go. There you go. Well, one of the interesting things about you and is several and I have a I have a question I want to get back to the Blackest Questions was that it’s like you’re an author, you’re a podcast host, you’ve done several podcasts, you’re a writer in different places, like you literally like who is who is Dr. Christina Greer. In the big picture?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:05:10] Because so many Black people live in cities. That’s why I like cities. I like to think about how they work, history of migration of Black people to cities. But I’m really interested. You know, I wrote this book called Black Ethnics, and it’s about Caribbeans Africans, Black Americans. I’m really interested in how Black people build coalitions so we can get more in a policy space. That’s essentially what my book is about. And so the podcast Blackest Questions is really just another way for me to explore Blackness, because I am an American politics professor. I’m really interested in how we exist in this country that has it loved us that that is literally formed on white supremacy and anti-Black racism. So how do we not just survive, but we have thrived in this country and we’ve done it largely by working together in different ways and across time and space. So that’s that’s what I’m constantly trying to excavate and uncover and discover. And so this podcast is just me on a little journey with some interesting people who I may not cross paths with in, in the classroom. And it’s just other people get to ear hustle in on our conversations and learn something.
Panama Jackson [00:06:22] Fair enough. How did you come up with this idea for the Blacklest Questions? What’s the impetus for this quiz show trivia Black History podcast that is so entertaining and so engaging?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:06:34] Well, when I was in grad school and then, you know, after even after that, I threw these parties where for Black History Month we would have quizzes. And so people would break off into teams. You know, we party for a while and then it was ding, ding, ding, it’s time for the test. And so you’d break off into a team and there were IDs that were fill in the blanks. They were, you know, chronological orders. There was matching, you know, the sort of S.A.T., you know, read the paragraph and identify who the speaker was. And so it turned into a great way for other folks to get to know people at the party. And, you know, obviously, Black folk could be very competitive if you’ve ever watched us play cards. So it’s about speed and accuracy. And so because we had so much fun learning about either obscure Black facts or things that, you know, quite honestly, we should know, right? We should know that Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman to ever serve in U.S. Congress. We should also know that she’s the first Black woman to run for the presidency on a major party ticket in 1972. So those are the types of questions where so many of us were denied this these facts in in school. And no matter what kind of fancy schools you went to or whether you went to non fancy schools. So it was a way to, you know, to have some fun. Obviously, I’m an academic, so, you know, there’s going to be a quiz and then it’s just transferred into a version of that now and a podcast.
Panama Jackson [00:07:56] I definitely want to get to the academic part because I’m very curious about what, you know, what kind of classes you teach in, like your academic pursuits. But if I hear you right. You threw a test and called it a party? Yep.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:09] Sure did.
Panama Jackson [00:08:11] Every year is an annual test. Like an annual bragging. Right. So basically.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:08:17] Whatever team won. You know, they the they get books one year we give out rings. But you had an entire year of bragging rights. So I threw a lot of parties. And up until COVID, I threw a lot of parties. And so you basically at the at every subsequent party until the next Black History Month, you got to brag and say that you were part of the winning team. And then you tried to hold on to, you know, your title. But the composition of the teams was always changing. You know, one year, a whole bunch of journalists won. One year a whole bunch of historians won. One year a whole bunch of hodgepodge folks who just didn’t really have a professor background. They beat the whole the whole party. So, you know, it’s it’s a lot of it’s a great way to also just mix it up and make sure all of my friends meet one another in a high pressure situation while they’re taking an exam.
Panama Jackson [00:09:08] Got to ask, was there ever a team of non-Black people that one do non-Black people attend the Blackness? The Black question test? Yeah.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:09:16] So there were there are lots of non-Black people who were on teams with Black people. But, you know, they actually did really well because they studied. They did not want to walk into a room full of Black PhDs and other really smart Black people and embarrassed themselves. So they were the ones, you know, because you can’t use your phone. You can’t, you know, use the Internet to help you answer the questions. So they were the ones who studied I mean, studied study, not just about Black American history, but diasporic. They knew the presidents of various African nations and Caribbean nations. And when they got their independence, you know, they wanted to study inventors. They wanted to study athletes who broke barriers. I mean, they were not about to come in and embarass themselves, because if you are a non-Black person in your own with me and my friends, you’re coming. Correct. Like, is there. No, there’s no half step in that category.
Panama Jackson [00:10:05] Well, that’s all right. I like that. And then taking something fun that you do in your personal life and turning it into a podcast. That’s brilliant. I really enjoyed it. And I like like I said, I like the podcast. It’s one of the many wonderful podcasts we have at our at our podcast network. But I really enjoyed yours because I like to learn things and I like to try to see if I get the answers, much like watching Jeopardy, you know what I mean? Like you watch the show, you try to get them right. And, you know, that’s home into in-house bragging rights, right? You know what I’m saying? If you get if you get more right than anybody else. My mom used to give us quarters if we’d get the answers. Right.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:10:35] Right. And I mean, I’m basically playing the Alex Trebek. Right. My great producer is helped put together the questions with me. And, you know, I give some background context. You know, I sound like Alex Trebek, some of these questions I even I didn’t know before I read them. So the real goal, as I said before, is is really to to have fun, to educate not just my guests, but our listeners and to just really like Hammer in the fact that Black history is American history. And we should all know it. Not just Black people, but like anyone who cares about, you know, Black folks, America, like it’s a global conversation. And so all of our contributions that oftentimes aren’t taught in school should be should be known and celebrated.
Panama Jackson [00:11:17] That’s dope I like that. And as you alluded to, we’re going to put you on the hot seat. We’re going to put that thing down, flip it and reverse it and have you on a hot seat. Towards the end of this episode, we’ll do our own little. A reverse Black well it’s Blackest Questions still but we’ll just I’ll I’ll get to be the host that’s.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:11:31] Right.
Panama Jackson [00:11:32] For for the nervous.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:11:33] But.
Panama Jackson [00:11:35] Here we.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:11:35] Are.
Panama Jackson [00:11:36] I listen I love it because I was nervous. I’m sure everybody’s every one one comment that that permeates every one of your episodes as people starting out with. All right I don’t know I don’t know how that’s going to go. I’m not sure if I’m ready. Something along those some variation of that is what happens every single time. But, you know, one of the reasons I wanted to do this conversation, too, is because, like I said earlier, I think everybody who’s a part of these shows is so interesting as hosts. And I wanted to be able to dig more into the things that make us interesting, the things that make you interesting. And one of those things is, is the fact that you’re a professor and I’m sure you can get the correct title. Associate professor, I believe, at Fordham University. Right? Is that correct?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:12:15] That’s right.
Panama Jackson [00:12:17] So that’s exactly what I wanted to get into. Like most of the academics I know were a little more, you know, stoic and still a little more rigid. But you are here, though, and academic parties and all this other stuff, because you you are an academic. You are a you have a Ph.D. you’re professor, you’re a political scientist. You write books. You been teaching all the classes. You seem to be doing it now. I’m doing my B’s in there, my Ph.D.. Tell us a little bit about like the classes you teach and what it is you do. Like you have a book called Black Ethnics. Like, you’re such a fascinating person, so please know everybody about what it is that you do and who you are.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:12:54] Yeah, well, you know, I’m kind of basic in the sense that I just love Black people and cities. If you know that about me, you kind of know everything about me. And so I wrote this book called Black Ethnics because I was really interested. I’m. Fascinated by how Black people exist in this country. That is America, that’s like founded on white supremacy and anti-Black racism, capitalism, patriarchy, and how it is that we not only survive, but we thrive, but we do so interacting with voluntary Black immigrants from the Caribbean, an African immigrant the last few decades, and then also involuntary folks who are my ancestors who came through U.S. chattel slavery and essentially built a country. So how do we interact? And I’m fascinated by cities because that’s where a lot of us live. But that’s not where all of us live. And so what does it mean to have Black leaders and Black mayors? And we haven’t had a lot of Black governors, but I’m interested in, you know, what would it mean if we had Stacey Abrams as the first Black female governor? We’ve never had a Black female governor. You know, we’ve only had two Black female senators. What is it about race and gender? It’s for being a Black woman in this country. It’s like it sort of creates a ceiling and not just a glass ceiling, but a very concrete calcified ceiling, it seems. So as I try and detangle what it means to be a Black person in this country, I thought this podcast would be a great way for me to A, meet other interesting Black people and talk to them about the things we love, but B, really highlight how we’ve contributed to this country that doesn’t always love us back. And that’s kind of the conversation that we’ve been having generation after generation, about these loyal Black people to a nation that is just very cold and uninviting and unkind in a lot of different facets of our lives.
Panama Jackson [00:14:38] So I got to ask, I’m also fascinated by cities. I have a master’s degree in public policy and I love.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:14:44] You are going to guest lecturer in my class. Just so you know, you will be coming in.
Panama Jackson [00:14:49] I’m going to say this and it’s going to be it’s going to be this is my lowest academic point. I was teaching a class on statistics once. I won’t say where. And it was the college seniors and they just weren’t getting it. And I, I haphazardly mentioned like. Cocaine like a brick. Like I was using hip hop lyrics or something, and all of a sudden everybody’s interest got picked. So I ended up teaching an entire class using drug references and trying to explain the drug trade to a bunch of into a bunch of students in a stats class. Now, the thing is, it was the most it was the one part of the final everybody got right. Like once you start teaching people about cocaine and everything and how crazy the eighties and nineties were, boy, they really get invested. But anyway, point is, I think I would be happy to come guest lecturer class. I just need to know the parameters ahead of time because next thing you know, I’m starting. I’m starting to ask questions about paraphernalia and things and, you know, things. But anyway.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:15:42] Well, you know, when I teach and I teach in a very conversational tone because people tend to remember conversations more than a lecture. Right. So if I’m explaining someone or something or some particular concept it’s a conversation, just back and forth, because when you’re trying to recall this on the exam, you’re going to remember some jokes, you remember the banter, you’re going to remember that, you know, I told Panama, Hey, like, take your hat off brah as I’m talking about the criminals that are the founding fathers. Right. And I also bring in guest lectures because there are people who are experts, in particular facets of what I’m trying to explain. So if we want to talk about how the media portrays cities or Black people in cities, I’m going to bring in a journalist because they’re the ones who do this every single day. I had a friend who, you know, when I taught urban politics years ago, who was a much more detailed, he worked in finance. So it’s like I can tell you about bonds and city ratings and why it is that Detroit had a low rating compared to New York or D.C. and that’s that’s a lecture. Whereas I can bring in someone who has structured a bond deal with the mayor of Atlanta. Right. And so that’s a much more interesting conversation to have with students, because then they have other questions about the real tactile process. And so for me, I’m from a long generation. I think I’m a fourth or fifth generation educator. It’s really important that, you know, A, people see me as a Black woman in front of the classroom. But, you know, I love the fact that, you know, it’s sort of like, you know, you see this being a parent, you throw out seeds every day and you just keep watering them and you have no idea what’s going to flourish and when it’s going to flourish. But when it does, sometimes I see it in three months, sometimes I see it in three years, sometimes I see it, you know, when a student emails me ten years after, like, Hey, finally got the concepts you were talking about just popped in my head. Now I get it. And it’s like that to me is just one of the greatest feelings is being an educator. I think your listeners who are educators know exactly what I’m talking about.
Panama Jackson [00:17:43] So I wonder you, I imagine because you teach classes that have to do with Blackness a lot. I mean, among other things, you have Black students in your class, like probably the Black students interested in poli sci are going to be taking your class. Right. Do you do you see like a difference in what the talking heads are talking about, of the issues in the Black community versus what students in class who are coming in with ideas like they haven’t been boxed in, so to speak, by what TV or what everything is saying or the problems like. Is there just a different perspective, a difference in perspective that you see versus, I guess, the mainstream media versus what students are thinking are the the prevailing issues of the day?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:18:21] Yeah, one is so much of my job Panama is teaching students to actually read the news. You know, I read several local papers every day. I consume news for a good hour and change before I even put my feet on the ground. So, you know, I always tell my students that I teach intro to politics every semester because I think it should be taught by people who are sort of experts in the field. And, you know, my stature in the department, the associate chair. So it’s like, why are you teaching intro? That’s usually something that, you know, we sort of farm off a lot of universities, farm off to someone else, but no, no, no. To me, the intro classes are the most important classes, not the least important classes, not the senior seminars. I think, you know, the intro classes like that’s where you get your foundation. So I saw my students as like reading the news should be done, like brushing your teeth at least twice a day right in the morning and evening. And then if you’re really on it, like throughout the day. But I have a lot. Most of my students, Black and other, don’t come to my classes having, you know, a strong sense of like needing to read the news. And so I recognize that most of the concepts that I teach them, they’ll forget, you know, in the next few years. And that’s fine. You know, I’m laying the foundation and it’s a feeling that I want to leave them with. So it’s like I want to leave them with the feeling of if they haven’t read the news in the morning, they should feel like I’m missing something. Like what’s going on in the world, not just in America, but like what? Like, do you know, obviously during the the reign of President 45, you know, it was like, are we going to be at war in the morning? Like, you need to wake up and read the news. You don’t know what beef he started, while you were sleeping. Like, are we fighting with someone in the middle of the Baltic Sea? I don’t know. So this is, you know, we’re a slightly more calm period, but, you know, we should know if our neighbors in Mississippi have no water. We should know, you know, if the mayor of New York City, like, what is he doing now that the federal government said you can carry guns in major cities, but we live in New York, so we should know how that’s going to play out. And so trying to get them linked and connected to what they see in the news is directly linked to them. And they should care about what’s going on, not just in their city that is in their home city, but across the U.S. and more broadly in a global sense.
Panama Jackson [00:20:31] I have a somewhat theoretical question about like the political sphere in in molding the minds of young people. I feel like in order to fully engage with politics, there has to be a certain level of optimism that you have to maintain. You have to believe that there is some there is some essential core that people all hold true, that their shooting forces we might have different ways of getting there, but for a lot of people, cynicism is also like politics. I worked on Capitol Hill for years, maybe completely cynical. Not only that, I worked with the money, so I worked with the budgets, I worked with the doe. So I’m completely cynical about the whole process. But how do you maintain that optimism and provide that optimism to the young people who are stepping off into this world because they’re going to major in poly sci politics of any sort? You got to believe in the system to some degree. You got to believe that there’s a system that genuinely wants to work and can, if not for the people who are involved in it. So how do you keep that energy and keep that optimism?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:21:30] Absolutely. I mean, I’m a pragmatic optimist. So, you know, I know who this country is and I know her limitations. And I know that she has evolved and retracted and evolved some more and retracted some more. I think part of my optimism is I have the privilege of being with the youth of America. So, so much of, you know, the hate mail that I get from my forward facing work when I, you know, talk on news programs is, you know, these sort of right wing racist people who were just incensed that I actually do get to more of the minds of the future generation. You know, I actually do get to sort of help them see themselves as a part of future conversations. So most of my exam questions actually don’t have like a right or wrong answer. It’s actually you have to analyze something. And so if you can make your case, then we can go from there. So for example, like if I’m teaching intro to politics, you know, final exam question has been, you know, what branch of government do you think is the strongest? Courts, presidency or or legislative branch? Right. And if you make the case that it’s the courts and you say, well, because of the dobbs decision, you know, and a woman’s right to choose, the courts are the most powerful branch. And you write 12 pages as to what that argument is. And someone else is like, no, no, no, it’s Congress. Look at the laws that they made and they overrode a veto. And you make that argument, that is also correct. But if you say no, the president, he just did, you know, 16 executive orders and he’s got power for the next three years. So those are questions where it’s like, I’m putting you directly in the center of things. And I’m also reminding you where it’s like, well, at some point, Panama, you may be a senator who called on you to think about do we expand the court? So in the past, the question has been hypothetical question, but now it’s a real question. You know, if we expand the size of the Supreme Court, what number should it be? Some people say 13, some people say 21. Well, so what we’ve talked all semester about collective action problems. You know, those of you who are from big families, you know, it’s like if Christie and Panama are trying to decide where to go to dinner, you say pizza, I say sushi. We can flip a coin. Right. But if you, me, Michael, Mark, you and the rest of theGrio family, then all of a sudden we’ve got a collective action problem. So I try and help them see, you know, because I always have some students who are like, Yeah, my mom has nine brothers. You know, my dad has 12 sisters. So it’s like, right, if all your cousins have to make a decision versus you and your two sisters, that’s a very different conversation. So imagine if you’re the Supreme Court or imagine if you’re the House versus the Senate 435 verses 100. So having them see themselves as future individuals who will be charged with thinking through these issues, either as an elected official or someone who works in government in some capacity.
Panama Jackson [00:24:15] I like that. I like the imaginative. Like you have to see yourself in the system. Yes. To impact the system, you have to see how you are a player or a part of it. I like that. Good job.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:24:27] Well, I’m trying, man. I’m trying. And especially for, you know, my female students, most of them are from states where they’ve never had a female senator or a female governor. And so there are a lot of my students where, you know, I get asked to moderate panels and obviously I can’t get paid for for this type of work. But I get paid in. You can give me five tickets for my students to attend. So I try and, you know, give everyone opportunity. But it’s definitely if the if the senator from Washington State is going to be there, I’m going to invite a student from my class who’s from Washington State. Right. If the senator from you know, or the governor from Michigan is going to be there, I’m going to invite my student from Michigan, because once you meet one elected official, you are exponentially more likely to A, vote and B, participate in a much more active way in iolitics. And so that’s politics is an imperfect game. I understand a lot of people are corrupt and they’re already jaded, even at a young age. But it will not change if we just write it off and say that we’re disinterested. We have to be in it.
Panama Jackson [00:25:34] I’m with you. I love that. I love the representation piece of I love all that. Before we go to break. Tell us about your book, Black Ethnics. I love the title, but but what does that mean? What are we talking about?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:25:45] Right. So I started with a vignette when I went to college at Tufts. There were a lot of students who were Caribbean descent, lessons of African descent. There was a small number of us who were Black Americans, or the J-B’s right it was like, Oh, where you from? It’s like, you know, Chicago is like, No, where you from from? It’s like, I don’t know, I’m just Black. So it’s like, you know, the J-B’s. And then you had the you had the, you know, you had the just Blacks. And then folks who were like Ghana, Nigeria, Trinidad, Jamaica, Haiti, you know, the whole the whole spectrum. And so I was really interested in not the divisive conversation, but what are the policy points where there’s specific policy issues where we could actually come together and build coalitions and actually get more as a group as opposed to being sort of three separate entities. And so when is it that race is the primary factor as like us as Black folks? And when is it that ethnicity actually really matters where someone’s like, no, no, no, no, I’m Ghanaian and you’re Black American, and we are not on the same page. And so moving forward, it’s all for me. It’s all about coalition building for Black people. And like, knowing where that is so we can actually get more as a team.
Panama Jackson [00:26:54] So my wife is from Ghana and when I tell you I probably need to get your book is coalition building is probably one of the most significant that I I love the fact that my wife is from a different country like we’re both Black people but, both went ot HBCUs, she went to Howard went to Morehouse. But boy, when I tell you those cultural differences, really, they’re real interesting. I’ve had the most fascinating conversations, arguments, debates with our family, with my family, just like about the differences and is and I’m from down south. So, you know, we don’t it’s it’s typically it tends to be Black people, white people and Latinos of some sort. Right. You know, we but when I started in the Northeast, you get everybody genuinely claiming their their cultural identity creates all these different conversations.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:27:42] So and sometimes some tensions, too. And we it was a horrible thing, right? Because these were these are internal conversations we’ve been having. And this is a hard book because I can’t say, hey, now, Black people, you can’t read it. So it’s like there is an element of laundry that we have and it has to do with, you know, voluntary versus involuntary. There’s obviously some different class elements, but time matters as well. And so, you know, yes, we are all Black and they’re Black with a prefix, too. They don’t just get to be American. They have to be Black Americans, unlike other immigrants. And so what does that then mean when we’re still trying to exist in the shadow of white supremacy and anti-Black racism?
Panama Jackson [00:28:26] I love it. I’m I’m about to get a copy of that book. I can’t wait.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:28:29] I’ll send you a copy, personal signed copy for you and the wife.
Panama Jackson [00:28:34] Because let me tell you, we have as parents, the children and the boys who are growing up here in America, like just the. Yeah. We have a lot of they are in amicably of course but there’s just a lot of learning that everybody has to do on both sides about what it means to be who you are and where you’re from and how that impacts the way you view everything. And yeah, I love this book. Look, that’s awesome. I can’t wait to dig in. I’m definitely going to listen. You send me a signed copy. I’m reading that bad boy is going to it’s going to be sitting on my coffee table downstairs.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:08] It will be done this week.
Panama Jackson [00:29:09] Welcome to my home, let’s argue. We’re going to take a real quick break right here. And when we come back, we’re going to flip the tables on Chrissy. We’re going to give her some Blackest Questions trivia and see if she can see if she can get them based on things that you know and love. So we’ll be right back here on Dear Culture. Stay tuned.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:29:28] theGrio. Black Podcast Network is here. Everything you’ve been waiting for. Black Culture Amplifed. Find your voice on the Black Podcast Network. Listen today on theGrio Mobile App and tune in everywhere great podcast are heard.
Panama Jackson [00:29:46] We’re back here on Deer Culture. Our guest is still Dr. Christina Greer, Chrissy the homie, the host of the Blackest Questions podcast here on a theGrio Black Podcast Network. And typically she’s you listen to her podcast, she’s asking people all kinds of questions they can’t answer. They have no idea people get things right. Well, people are always going to get at least one thing wrong. Has anybody got all the answers right yet?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:30:10] I think Michael Twitty, who is an amazing chef and an author of a new cooking book called The Cooking Gene and Kosher Soul is his newest book. I think he got all of them right. Who was the only Black person to be featured in the Celebrity Chef Postage Stamp Series in 2014? Edna Lewis Oh, my goodness, you’re hot today. But most people don’t. And that’s okay, right? Because we’re we’re all learning together. We’re all an intellectual journey together. I say that because now I’m scared.
Panama Jackson [00:30:44] I tell my kids that nonsense, too. Like, I get the answers right home. Like, listen, I feel you, but it’s the nobody who sits down for a test is like, You know what? I’m just going to shoot to get a couple, right? You want to get them? All right. I’ll deal with the hurt when you don’t go.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:30:58] Right. You don’t want to tell your teacher? I was just on an intellectual journey here.
Panama Jackson [00:31:02] Right? No, nobody cares. I mean, we care, but everybody’s like, Yeah, but did you get to answer? Like, What did you get wrong? And why so? You are a music a music person. Right. That’s, you’re a big music fan. You have a very interesting hip hop specific like era that you’re a fan of. So we’re going to talk about that after I ask this first question. We’re going to see if you get it right. Okay. And I only have three questions for you, but this should be fun. All right. So you told me before that Biggie, The Notorious B.I.G. Is your favorite rapper.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:31:34] Christopher Wallace, yes.
Panama Jackson [00:31:36] Christopher Wallace. Our first introduction for most people was juicy, right? Juicy is the song that most people probably came to know. I’m familiar from the Who’s the Man soundtrack with the song Party and BS. So, I didn’t even realize I was the same person by the time I came around. Anyway. What was his first charting number one pop hit?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:31:56] Mm.
Panama Jackson [00:31:57] He has two. he has, two. But what was the first one?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:32:05] Mm. That’s a good one. I don’t know. It was not a Party and BS.
Panama Jackson [00:32:11] It. It is not.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:32:12] It’s not juicy. Oh, I don’t know. I’m thinking of, like, junior mafia. But that’s not. That’s not good money. I don’t know. Tell me.
Panama Jackson [00:32:26] Hypnotize. Oh, of course. Hypnotize is how.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:32:29] I guess feel. Of course it is.
Panama Jackson [00:32:31] Yes, it is. Must want to do one score for em.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:32:38] Right.
Panama Jackson [00:32:38] Now. He has like five. He has like five, like rap number ones. But he has to pop number ones, which would be more money, more poblems, hypnotize, which is his first one, possibly spurred also by his passing. You know, the single comes out and then. But. Yeah.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:32:54] Huh. Okay. More money, more problems, I think, with, like, humming around in my head. But hypnotize all right. That makes sense. Oh, Biggie.
Panama Jackson [00:33:01] Absolutely. Huge video, million plus dollar budget, insane. Pure insanity. Now you have this interesting era, like a small frame of of hip hop that you listen to. Please tell, please tell the people about this, this the small era of which you listen to and why.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:33:17] I’m stuck in 1993 to 1998, and I’m totally happy with it, but I have no idea who all the Lil’s are like Lil Baby and Dababy all these people. My niece is always trying to explain. I’m like What? These names are ridiculous or young this person, young that person. I’m like, No, it is just it’s like, it’s Biggie, it’s Tribe, it’s Outkast, it’s Wu-Tang. Like, that is all I need. If someone is like, you have to go on a desert island and just take like a few CDs. It’s like, I’m taking Missy’s first album, I’m taking Busta Rhymes. When disaster strikes, I’m taking Biggie’s first album. I’m taking Tribes, Midnight Marauders, I’m taking Outcast ATLiens, probably. I’m taking obviously Wu-Tang first album. I’m taking Old Dirty Bastard, who’s my favorite of the Wu-Tang Clan. Like his solo album, I think is a piece of art. Like literally, I think it is a masterpiece in like, it feels like it feels like like performance art like it should be in the Guggenheim or something like that.
Ol’ Dirty Bastard [00:34:23] For you to even touch my skill, you gotta have the one killer bee and he ain’t gonna kill now.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:34:23] So, you know, obviously, Queen Latifah’s Black reign. Like, I’m. I’m just stuck, and I’m happy with that. And that’s not to say that, you know, like the Fugees first album, like other albums have come out after 1998. They’re fine. But I don’t need him, really. I just need whatever came out, you know, like Dr. Dre, Snoop. I mean, like Snoop’s first album. I just. That’s all I need. And you thik about, And it’s like, listen, their subsequent albums have been great. Sure. But like, when you think of Snoop’s first album, when you think of Dres or something, Biggie’s first album, you really don’t need much else. The only place where I debate is Outkast. First album doesn’t really do that much for me. It’s their second album that does stuff. Tribe’s first album doesn’t really do that much for me. It’s their second and third albums that really do it for me. So I’m very specific. It gets a little more complicated with R&B and other artists, but like for hip hop, I’m stuck and I’m fine and I have my Mount Rushmore and I’m good.
Panama Jackson [00:35:24] Fair enough. So you’re a Ready to Die verse Life After Death person because you mentioned life after death, but you didn’t say anything about I mean, you mentioned Ready to Die, which you didn’t like.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:35:34] Life after death is good. I just I’m curious as to what it would have been like if Biggie were fully alive. Some of those cuts and remixes were made after he passed or he was murdered. But I think that Ready to Die is a perfect conceptual album where I can listen to it, start to finish the skits, all work, everything is seamless. I think life after death. To me, there’s certain songs on when I can get this one right. So it’s sort of.
Panama Jackson [00:36:03] It’s a double album that happens.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:36:04] It happens with a double album, you know, like think of like the love below. It’s like, Yeah, well, you know, I don’t need to hear all of it.
Panama Jackson [00:36:09] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Perfect album.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:36:12] Like Big Boy’s, I skip some of his songs. All right.
Panama Jackson [00:36:15] Yeah, but that speaker box, that’s me.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:36:18] That love, love below. So I call, this let’s me, you know my bias, right? I call love below speaker box just love below cause I basically my line we can skip over most of speaker box even though I have great respect for Big Boy. He’s not on my Mount Rushmore, but I have great respect for the Midnight Marauders. I can also listen to start to finish. Just, you know, like purple rain, like there’s. I don’t even skip anything.
Panama Jackson [00:36:44] Yeah, I think that’s the one album that if every time I’ve lost it, I went to go buy it. Like if I had to take one album with me, like period, that’s the album I probably would take. And it overtook De La Soul as Dead, which for I don’t know, for 20 years was like my literal favorite hip hop favorite album, bar none like genre, regardless of genre, but because of streaming, it was never my go to on streaming. It was never my go to was always Midnight Marauders. And I think it just kind of naturally took over.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:37:11] But I have Midnight Marauders on wax like I have midnight marauders on wax. I had ready to die on wax. I have Wu-Tang on wax, I have Ol’ dirty bastard on wax. So there are certain albums that I had the tape, I had the CD and now I have the vinyl because it’s like, I need it, I need to access it no matter where I am and when I am.
Panama Jackson [00:37:33] Okay. So hip hop is a little bit limited there, but limited in the most expansive way. Yeah, you got it. R&B, soul different story. So you also told me that Luther Vandross, one of your favorite artists. So here’s here’s a question related to Luther. What song did Luther Vandross write for Dionne Warwick? But because it wasn’t released as a single for her, he rerecorded it and released it himself later and became one of the most staple Luther Vandross songs of all time.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:38:05] Is it A House Is Not A Home?
Panama Jackson [00:38:08] It is not.
[00:38:08] Any love?
Panama Jackson [00:38:13] It is not that either.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:38:13] I don’t know. I know he sang backup for Roberta Flack before she let him go. And then we started the Patti LaBelle Fan Club. I don’t know. I mean, Dionne Warwick, I have a lot of her records because I have all my dad’s record collection from college. She’s a beast, low key. Like, we sleep with Dionne Warwick a lot. I don’t know. Tell me.
Panama Jackson [00:38:33] That would be the song. So amazing.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:38:35] Oh, that that would be a really great Dionne Warwick song.
Luther Vandross [00:38:41] You know. I’d glady go anywhere you take me. It’s so amazing to be loved. I’d follow you to the moon in the sky above.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:38:59] Because, you know she has all that.
Panama Jackson [00:39:00] Oh, it’s amazing.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:39:01] Bacharach of covers. And I just. Yes. Her voice to me is like she’s a female Lou Rawls to me. Lou Rawls is one of my favorites.
Panama Jackson [00:39:12] I can see that.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:39:14] His voice is like chocolate milk to me and hers is like a version of that. It’s like smoky and, like, thick. It’s almost like you’re pouring, like, glue out or something like that. Like, I love her voice, but I also love Cissy Houston’s voice. I mean, like the two of them, you know, when you sort of think about Cissy Houston, sing backup for Aretha and like Dionne having her own career with all these Burt Bacharach hits, I’m just like, I listen to my dad’s albums on wax and they’re in pretty solid condition. So people are like, What kind of time capsule are we in when you come to the Greer household? Cause I just I like to, you know why? Playing records, slows down a conversation. And for people like us who like conversations and we have 13 conversations on the table at once, playing an album makes us take a beat, pun intended. And I have to go and flip the album, or have to go and get a new album. And it sort of resets the conversation in a nice kind of natural way. And then we reshift, as opposed to, say, Spotify, where it’s just like every 4 minutes we change.
Panama Jackson [00:40:19] Right. Vinyl and vinyl. It does something to people, like when people see if they’re interested in vinyl too. Like there’s a whole conversation that people have that you have. So you have albums like, Oh, why do you have this? Or Look, they have to look at your collection to see what they have, you know, depending on what.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:40:34] You remember.
Panama Jackson [00:40:35] Does. And having a record player does that. It makes you look it makes you look sophisticated, number one. And it’s a conversation piece all by yourself.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:40:43] Well, the fact that I bought new records, but the vast majority of my collection, I would say like 90% of my collection is my dad’s record collection. So I feel like I’ve gotten to know my dad through his record collection. I mean, you know, I was raised with my dad, you know, we’re chatty. But to know his records and what he was into in his twenties and he gave me his record collection when I was in my late teens, early twenties, I was like, This is what he was listening to in college. So I listened to his records in college with my friends. And it’s just it’s a it was a very different way to, like, get to know my dad. But also when people stay at my house, I pull out records that I think they would be interested in. And so sometimes they’re like, I had no idea this existed, but it’s like, Yeah, I thought of you. And I thought that this this obscure Isley Brothers record would be something. And it’s also great because you see how much people have sampled. You know, obviously Dr. Dre is deep in the crates. So you have some, you know, one off artists that my dad has the record for and it’s like Dr. Dre sample this are like Puffy. It’s like you had no idea that, you know, they were even listening to, you know, Stevie Wonder’s random girlfriend from like that one year that he made a record for.
Panama Jackson [00:41:52] Right? Okay. Well, so amazing. You should check out Dylan’s version if you haven’t. It is. It is so amazing. Very similar. But, you know, they just got different voices in it. Luther just takes it to a whole, but it sounds the same. It’s just the, you know, vocally, the the the different voices, the textures is completely different. But both both are awesome. But obviously, Luther’s is the more popular one at this point. Half the people I talked to don’t even realize Dione? That was like Dione’s song first. It was really Clive Davis didn’t want that to be a single. So when it became a single that I think it even won awards like a Soul Train award and became like a hit single for Luther. Dione, went back to Clive like, see, you ain’t wrong, you ain’t right all the time.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:42:33] Well, I have an old school record of early eighties that Luther produced for Aretha Franklin, so she’s kind of gone like, you know, it was like changing of the time, changing of the guard, change of her label. And Luther wrote and produced this album for her, and he sings backup. And it basically feels like a Luther Junior album. And it’s it’s his imprint is very strong. I will say in, in sort of eighties and nineties music in my household especially. Okay. I’m oh for two. I love it, go ahead. I need this. I need this ego grounding.
Panama Jackson [00:43:08] Well, that’s the last question. So that’s going to be the last question. But you’ve mentioned Aretha already, so you kind of segwayed in for us. This one might be a trick question, so I’m just gonna let you know that ahead of time. How long was Aretha Franklin’s funeral?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:43:23] Oh, goodness, Lord. I was at a conference and I had like had to go present paper, came back and we had a new casket. How long was her funeral? I’m going to say, what’s it like, 7 hours or something? Or was it a few days?
Panama Jackson [00:43:40] We’ll see. So you know what? You got the answer, right? It don’t even matter. The fact that you said a few days, 7 hours, there’s no right answer to this question. That’s why it’s a trick question. There is no right answer. If you said it’s still going on right now, the answer’s still correct. I believe it clocked in to over 8 hours. So it’s funny, I actually I don’t know if you remember when she passed, they put out this they they put out like a a list of everybody that was going to be performing and they had everybody put a time slot. So I was at the root at the time and I wrote this article. I was like The Aretha Franklin, whatever is the most optimistic funeral scheduled ever seen in my life, and.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:44:15] Anyone who’s ever been to a funeral knows.
Panama Jackson [00:44:18] Right. You remember people’s eating snacks because, you know, people are maybe you give 4 minutes to Tasha Cobbs. Like are you crazy? Like you think Yolanda Adams can do one run in a minute, like she needs, like, 15 minutes. The funeral lasted forever. There were outfit changes in the whole nine, anyway. So that’s why it was a trick question. Because there’s no right answer. Whatever you say is the right answer.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:44:37] Well, I went to Luther Vandross’ funeral. But you got there because it was, you know, down the street from me when I was in grad school at Riverside Church. And I don’t know who put that in first. It was like Stevie Wonder performed it and Aretha, and Roberta Flack and you know, everyone was there. But someone had the audacity to put Patti LaBelle as like a reader of a poem, but not on as a singer. So, you know, Dione Warwick, what was there, Cissy Houston there. And these are people who are performing. But they expected Patti to just go read a passage and not sing. So, of course, she gets up in her canary yellow dress, whatever they “Pattie”, and she’s like, right, I’mma sit here and sing a song that is not on the program. And of course, you know, you got a whole bunch of divas in the first round. It then turned into a full concert, which, as we’re all grieving, the late, great Luther Vandross. But I was like, Who thought that Patti LaBelle would just go up there and read a two minute passage with all of her friends slash arch nemesis are singing like. I don’t think so. So, yeah, it was a beautiful funeral, you know, as Black funerals always are, you know, little bit of drama and lots of levity. That’s just how we do it.
Panama Jackson [00:45:52] That is how we do it. Well, look, you missed the first two, but you got the last one, right? So that’s how I think most of us feel on the Blackest questions. Everyone that I’ve listened to, everybody goes in real nervous. They’re like, I don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know. But, you know, we all learn something. We all gain information and knowledge and it’s all is all. Absolutely. So we’re going to take one last break here at Culture, come back with two of my favorite segments here to close out the episode. Or we’re going to find out a little bit more about Dr. Christina Greer and her Blackness here on the culture stay to. All right. We’re back here on Dear Culture with Dr. Christina Greer, Chrissy the homie. We’ve just had a fun little back and forth using her Black is format a Blackest Questions format where we ask them questions. Two of them she didn’t get right. And that’s how I felt. That’s how we all feel. It’s how we all feel. We get hit with those questions like say what would who would know that? Oh, you know that. Okay. That’s all right. But I appreciate that. I appreciate the give and take. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this is all about. The give and take. Well to end our show Dear Culture, to end every episode we do this thing where we have we ask our guests for Blackfession. A Blackfession being a confession about your Blackness. Basically something people might not expect because we’re a Black person. Yes. The answer has always run the gamut. So I’m very I’m always interested to see what people come to the table with. Do you have a Blackfession?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:47:28] I first made it to our friend Roy Wood Jr, who’s a friend of theGrio, and then when I had Michael Twitty on my Black Questions podcast, he’s a chef and a cookbook author. I confessed, and I’m going to tell you and your listeners that I am a Black person. I am a descendant of the US South. Both my both sets of my grandparents are Southerners and I can only eat my grits with ketchup and mustard until they are bright fluorescent orange. And that is the only way I can eat grits. I don’t do butter, I don’t do sugar. I don’t do salt and pepper. I don’t do cheese. It has to be ketchup and yellow mustard. That is my Blackfession. I know you can take over my Black card if you want to. I don’t care. I’m standing true, but everyone says they hate it. But no one has tried it. So don’t knock it before you try it with some fried fish on top.
Panama Jackson [00:48:22] How did you just how did you discover this? I was like, what? What what happened that day when you were like, you know what it’s like? What weren’t you doing where you decided to put ketchup and mustard?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:48:33] I think I was four and I think we had a babysitter. We had grits and I wasn’t eating them because I didn’t like the texture. You know, a lot of folks are very sensitive about texture. Like, I don’t like the texture of eggplant, but I love the texture of okra. And I think she was trying to get me to eat my grits and because I like ketchup and mustard on my hot dog when I was a kid when I ate hot dogs until I realized what’s in a hotdog. I think she just sort of was like, Hey, let’s try this. And I loved it. And I love fried fish and grits. And so I like fried fish with hot sauce and lime juice over my ketchup and mustard grits. That is my Blackfession. Your face was horrified. You look mortified.
Panama Jackson [00:49:13] Have people seen you do this?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:49:16] Like the thing you do this. I only look around my family and I don’t eat grits in public because it usually causes a kerfuffle. So if there are grits, like if we’re at brunch.
Panama Jackson [00:49:28] Yeah, I mean, talk about a weird brunch.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:49:30] You’re like, you know, or I’m at your house and, you know, you guys have grits on the table. I won’t eat grits. If we’re out at a restaurant, I won’t eat grits. But if I’m with my family in the safe space of people who know that I do this and they just they look and, you know, the spirit of my grandmother just shakes her head. That’s that. But it’s it’s like, you know, one of those things where it’s like, you know, how some people are like, you know, closet smokers or like closet drinkers. I’m like a closet grits eater where I can only I can only do it around certain people.
Panama Jackson [00:50:02] You know, I got to say, I don’t know how many episodes we’ve done of this show of Dear Culture. You. You are easily the number one Blackfession. There is nothing topping that because number one, I didn’t see it coming. Number two, I mean, people argue about sugar and salt and butter and grits and you over here and ketchup and mustard. And you need.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:50:27] I need it to be bright orange and I go by color. That’s when I know it’s ready. Yes, I know.
Panama Jackson [00:50:36] My face says it all and I just. Wow. I just became a meme. I think I just got.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:50:42] Well you know, the thing is, I’ve kep this as a secret for so many years and now just standing in my truth. That’s right.
Panama Jackson [00:50:49] Listen. You should. You should. I’m with you. I mean, I’m not with you, but I respect it while also being slightly horrified. There’s no there’s literally no universe where I would try that. Like, it is impossible. Oh, my goodness. All right. That’s fine. Congratulations to you. I’m very happy for you. And I hope that. That it brings you as much joy as it brings me, whatever the extreme other end of joy is. Okay. Well, after we give a Blackfession, which again, number one.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:51:24] I’ve stumped Panama.
Panama Jackson [00:51:24] You are number one Blackfession. I don’t even know you did. You did. So we also like to ask our guests for a Blackcommendation, which is a recommendation about something for, by and about Black about Black people. I’m going to ask that you don’t include grits with ketchup and mustard as a Blackcommendation. But I am curious to see what you might be bringing to the table. Do you have a Blackcommendation as well?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:51:52] I do. So, I mean, obviously, you know, I would love for your listeners to tune in to the Blackest Qustions and play along with us. We’ve had some great guests and we have a new episode with a Haitian chef, coincidentally. She’s just also, you know, showcasing just the beauty of Black people, just really kind, smart Black people. But, you know, I support Polly Irungu, who is she’s a woman who started Black women photographers. And, you know, they’re on Instagram and they’re on Twitter. And every few months they do like a sale to support Black female photographers. And they, you know, they have a print sale. So they’ll sell various prints of the women who are part of this collective. So they’re from all over the continent of Africa, all of the Caribbean and Black women from all across the U.S. and in certain parts of Europe as well, you know, because we’re diasporic people. But I’ve gotten some beautiful prints in my home. But they really she’s she started this from like a small idea. But it’s a really great way to kind of see the world through Black women’s eyes. And so, you know, the pictures range from landscapes to people having fun to protest from, you know, a few summers ago to all different types of photography. So if you’re into photography, you can buy prints when they have sales and it helps other Black women, you know, get a camera or get a photo lesson. And it’s a collective. And, you know, I love coalition building. So this this collective of Black women, they share resources. They share jobs. And so I like to help them out, support whenever I can.
Panama Jackson [00:53:33] That sounds dope. Okay.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:53:37] That redimed me? From my grits.
Panama Jackson [00:53:38] I’m there with you on that one. Well, it brought you back. So I’m this and it’s going to take me a little while when I have the process, that one on the other end of that. But tell people where can they find what you got going on? You know, where can they everybody what’s the social media? Where can people find you and listen to your podcast?
Dr. Christina Greer [00:53:58] So on Twitter and Instagram, I’m at D-R underscores C-M Greer. G-R-E-E-R. I write a weekly column for the Amsterdam News, which is one of the oldest Black newspapers in the country. Obviously, I have the Blackest Questions podcast. You can find me on theGrio Black Podcast Network. And then I sort of if you live in New York, I’m a political contributor for New York One. And if you watch national news, I sometimes dibble and dabble on MSNBC and talk about national politics. And on New York One, I talk about New York City politics.
Panama Jackson [00:54:31] Well, all right. That’s awesome. I love it. I love Black people who are doing amazing things. And you were definitely one of those folks. So thank you for being a part of the Dear Culture podcast. I’m a fan of yours. I listen to the episodes. I learn a lot. I love learning. So that’s one of the things that I gain from from from your podcast. And everybody should check it out. The Blackest Questions. What date is it? It comes out what day.
Dr. Christina Greer [00:54:54] We drop every Tuesday. And I just want to thank you so much for having me on. I’ve been a fan of yours since back in the day. The old school BSB days. You and Damon have just been so, so wonderful and so smart and the leaders in the culture. So thank you so much for having me on Dear Culture.
Panama Jackson [00:55:10] Well, I appreciate that. And thank you, everybody, for listening. If you like what you heard, make sure you download theGrio app and check out all the podcasts that we have. Obviously the Blackest Questions. Please check out other episodes of Dear Culture, Grio Daily, Writing Black with Maiysha Kai. We have a bunch of podcasts in the pipeline that are about to drop like so much Blackness, so much Black excellence. It’s really worth your time, energy and effort. Please email all questions, suggestions, scams, cash apps that you want to send me for my time and services. Whatever you got, please send it to podcasts at theGrio.com though if you send money there, I’m sure the company is going to take this amount, put my name on it, like put my name in, say please send this to Panama. Dear Culture is an original podcast, is the Real Black Podcast Network. It is produced by Sasha Armstrong and edited by Camara Blackwell. Tarzi Senior is our logistic associate producer and Regina Griffin is our managing editor of podcasts. I’m your host, Panama Jackson. Thank you for listening. Thank you for checking out your culture. Have a Black one.
Maiysha Kai [00:56:13] Don’t forget, you can listen to theGrios Writing Black podcast hosted by me, my issue guy. This isn’t your typical writing podcast. We interview any and everybody that has anything to do with writing from comics to poets to authors to journalists, to politicians and more. Remember, that’s Writing Black every Sunday right here on theGrio’s Black Podcast Network. Download theGrios app to listen to Writing Black wherever you are.
