This week on WURD: Delco DEI director dismissed, Mississippi torture case, what you need to know about AI and more

Lauren Footman was the first DEI director for Delaware County. She joined Solomon Jones on Wake Up With WURD to discuss her termination from the job this week after filing a racial discrimination alleging that her boss, a Black man, treated her and other women employees unfairly.

Malik Z. Shabazz is the attorney representing the two Black men tortured by Rankin County sheriff’s deputies in Braxton, Miss. He detailed the horrific events that transpired and discussed the deputies’ sentences, ranging from 7 1/2 to 40 years.

Reggie McNeil, Secretary of the Department of General Services for the state of Pennsylvania, joined Dr. James Peterson on Evening WURDs during the Level Up pitch party. McNeil discussed last year’s executive order to increase opportunities for small businesses to compete for state contracts.

Gilberto Gonzalez and Roz Pichardo are residents of Kensington, the neighborhood often considered the epicenter of the nation’s opioid crises. Gonzalez and Pichardo described what life is like in Kensington, coping with the effects of violence, drug abuse, poverty and more.

Malik Burroughs is a judicial candidate for a seat on California’s Superior Court. He joined Carol Riddick on Love & Life to talk about language, including the use of the n-word and the term “African American.” He also discussed slavery and how America’s legal system motivated his candidacy.

Jerry Kaplan, technologist, futurist and author of Generative Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know joined Tonya Pendleton on Reality Check to explore how advances in AI will transform virtually every aspect of human life, from medicine to the arts to education and more.