This week on WURD: National Guard in Chicago, exhausted while Black, the resilience of Black women

Cleopatra Draper is the midday host for WURD’s sister station, WVON in Chicago. Draper joined Wake Up With WURD with Solomon Jones to discuss the public response to the deployment of the National Guard and ICE to Chicago. She also weighed in on the current mood in the city and how these actions are impacting the Black community.

Dr. McKinley Melton, an associate professor and chair of Africana Studies at Rhodes College, appeared on Evening WURDs with Dr. James Peterson and spoke about his Africana Studies coursework and his work with the Furious Flower Poetry Center. The conversation also touched upon the nature of political movements, militarization, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Dr. Wendi Williams is the president-elect of the American Psychological Association, a visionary psychologist, educator, and leadership strategist. Dr. Williams joined The Midday Break Room with Tiffany Bacon to discuss her books “Black Women at Work: On Refusal and Recovery” and “The Majestic Place: The Freedom Possible in Black Women’s Leadership,” while also talking about the overall resiliency of Black women.

Annie Fox is the staff attorney for the Clean Air Council. Fox joined ecoWURD Magazine with P.O.C. to talk about the EPA’s decision to grant petitions objecting to flawed air pollution permits at U.S. Steel’s Irvin Plant and Neville Chemical. She also shared how the ruling strengthens accountability for polluters, improves protections for residents, and marks a necessary step toward cleaner air in Pennsylvania communities.

Kyle Carter is the CEO of NAMI Philadelphia (National Alliance of Mental Illness) and a dedicated advocate for mental health equity. Carter joined Soulful Sunrise with Karen Taylor-Bass to talk about his organization, promote his NAMIWalks Philly event on October 18, which raises awareness for mental health support, and he also weighed in on the topic of “Exhausted Mentally, While Black.”