Givens Foundation | Black Market Reads

Black Market Reads is a menu for Black literary consumption and all of its spin-offs. Featuring Black artists who love to read and write and engage in arts and culture.

To listen to episodes and find great additional content about our authors and their work, visit our website (https://blackmarketreads.com/).

Join the conversation! Follow us on Facebook (@GivensFoundationforAfricanAmericanLiterature), rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, and share us with all your friends.

PRODUCER: The Givens Foundation for African American Literature
PRODUCTION SERVICES: iDream.tv

SEASON TWO - FOUR: Hosted by Lissa Jones

SEASON ONE: BMR was originated by Tana Hargest on behalf of The Givens Foundation, HOSTED BY Erin Sharkey and Junauda Petrus of Free Black Dirt, and other guest hosts as introduced, MUSIC: Sarah White - Through People [M¥K Remix]

Black Market Reads is made possible through the generous support of our individual donors, Target Foundation, and the voters of Minnesota, through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

For more information about the Givens Foundation, visit their website. (http://www.givens.org)

Episode 93 - Dr. Gail C. Christopher, Rx for Racial Healing: A Guide to Embracing Our Humanity

Apr 2, 2025

In this episode Lissa talks with Dr. Gail C. Christopher —a nationally recognized leader in health equity, a pioneer in integrative medicine, and the visionary architect behind the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation initiative (TRHT). Dr. Christopher has spent decades designing and leading national programs...

Episode 90 - Sarah LaBrie, No One Gets To Fall Apart: A memoir

Oct 24, 2024

Sarah LaBrie was in her early thirties when her mother was found on a highway outside Houston, screaming at passing cars and paranoid that she would be murdered by invisible assailants. She was ultimately diagnosed with schizophrenia—and in an instant, the entirety of LaBrie’s childhood came into sharp...

BONUS Episode - Karen Nance: Ethel Ray, Living in the White, Gray, and Black

May 24, 2024

This episode of Black Market Reads was recorded before a live audience at the historic Capri Theater in North Minneapolis.

Lissa talks with author Karen Felicia Nance about her latest book Ethel Ray: Living in the White, Gray and Black, the story of her grandmother's contributions to Civil Rights.

Ethel Ray’s world...

Episode 82 - Rose McGee, Can't Nobody Make a Sweet Potato Pie Like Our Mama

Mar 12, 2024

In this episode Lissa welcomes co-host Bukata Hayes as they explore the power of storytelling and the nourishment of soulful food with author Rose McGee.

ROSE MCGEE, founder of Sweet Potato Comfort Pie, travels
across the United States to deliver pies and nurture relationships.
She was featured in the 2015 PBS...

Episode 80 - Seph Rodney, The Personalization of the Museum Visit

Feb 13, 2024

More About Seph Rodney

Seph Rodney, PhD was born in Jamaica, and came of age in the Bronx, New York. He has an English degree from Long Island University, Brooklyn; a studio art MFA from the University of California, Irvine; and a PhD in museum studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. While in London, he...