Hello loves, We're back with a final limited Season three of “Us with Dr. Crystallee Crain.” This season is focused on the tools we have or have overlooked that we can tap into to change our lives and our communities.

I’m thrilled to introduce you to a remarkable leader in our community, City Council Member Leon El-Alamin, who embodies the principles of equity, collaboration, and empowerment. He, like myself, are proud Flint natives and have no shame in saying so!

Leon’s vision is rooted in a commitment to addressing the unique needs and aspirations of all Flint residents. At the heart of his mission is the revitalization of our neighborhoods. He is dedicated to creating safe, blight-free, and thriving environments where families can flourish.

He understands that access to affordable housing, employment opportunities, and vital mental health services is essential for reducing recidivism and ensuring the safety of our communities.Leon envisions well-maintained parks, vibrant community centers, and pedestrian-friendly streets that promote connectivity and social interaction.

Through strategic investments in infrastructure improvements and community programs, he works tirelessly to foster a strong sense of pride and belonging among residents, bridging economic and social divides.

His initiatives focus on workforce development, entrepreneurship, mentoring, urban farming, advocacy, and violence prevention.

Join me in welcoming a true champion for our community, City Council Member Leon El-Alamin!

Learn more at www.leonelalamin.com.

Obadyah Ben-Yisrayl, formerly known as Christopher Dwayne Peterson, has a complex and controversial story that revolves around a series of crimes committed in Indiana during a short period in 1990. Born on January 20, 1969, in Gary, Indiana, Obadyah later became known as the "Shotgun Killer" due to alleged involvement in a spree of murders involving a shotgun from October to December 1990.

Although originally described by a witness as a clean-shaven, slender, white man with long stringy brown hair, Obadyah, a Black man, was eventually linked to the crimes through nefarious means. He had initially confessed to the murders but later recanted his confession, claiming duress. The trials surrounding the "Shotgun Killer" spree involved multiple defendants, multiple murder charges, and multiple venues, which made the legal proceedings complex and contentious.

Throughout the trials, Obadyah was acquitted in some cases and found guilty in others. He was initially sentenced to death for the murders but had his sentence commuted to 120 years of imprisonment in 2004. Ronald J. Harris, another individual charged in connection with the murders, was found guilty in two cases and received a 90-year prison sentence.

The story surrounding Obadyah’s case is controversial for several reasons. From the discrepancy between the initial suspect description and Peterson's appearance to the illegal arrest that impacted the admissibility of evidence, there were several significant factors that influenced the trials. Additionally, the composition of all-white juries and the judge's decision to overrule a jury's decision not to impose the death penalty further added to the controversy surrounding the case.

The crimes allegedly committed by Obadyah involved the fatal shootings of seven individuals. The investigations led to his arrest, along with the arrest of his accomplices, based on information provided by witnesses and co-defendants. The trials that followed addressed the various charges and involved the presentation of evidence, including Peterson's confessions, witness testimonies, and firearm analysis.

Throughout the trials, there were inconsistencies and doubts raised regarding the evidence and the use of the confessions. Jurors expressed concerns about the reliability of the confessions and pointed out flaws in the investigation, such as the failure to collect fingerprints from the shotgun and the handling of the crime scene. These factors, among others, influenced the juries' decisions in Peterson's trials, resulting in both acquittals and convictions.

This case serves as a chilling reminder of the dehumanizing and corruptible system of justice we have and the nature of criminal cases and challenges faced in the system when attempting to arrive at a just verdict.

His story highlights the importance of thorough investigations, fair trials, and the diligent pursuit of justice for all parties involved.

Here today we have him on the line with us calling in from Pendleton Correctional Facility. Today we will hear his side of the story and what is needed to get justice for him and the victims families impacted by the murders.

Sign his petition linked here.

Episode was co-produced by 448 Productions.

Dr. Liza J. Rankow is an interfaith minister, educator, activist, and writer. Her lifework centers the deep healing that is essential to personal and social transformation. Liza is the founder and former executive director of OneLife Institute, a pioneering organization that served for 17 years to support the well-being of frontline activists, caregivers, and others working to lift up the community.

Liza has been a spiritual counselor and teacher for more than three decades. She works with individual clients, facilitates healing retreats, and offers classes and workshops in a variety of community and academic settings. Her topics include: Mysticism & Social Change, Sustaining the Soul of Activism, Deepening the Well (multifaith spiritual formation), and several courses on the life and work of Dr. Howard Thurman. She is the producer and co-editor of the six-CD audio collection, The Living Wisdom of Howard Thurman (Sounds True, 2010), and created Inner Oasis, a CD of her original guided meditations, in 2011.

Previously, Liza practiced as a clinical PA in pediatric hematology-oncology at Duke Hospital. From there she moved into public health research and education, particularly related to LGBTQ+ issues. Liza was the project director on one of the first three federal pilot grants awarded under the Women’s Health Initiative to study the health of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women. Her professional publications and resource materials contributed to defining this then-emerging field.

One of Liza’s most profound influences has been her decades-long journey with chronic life-threatening illness. It cultivated a spiritual wisdom within her that informs her work with others, and gave her life a deeper sense of meaning and purpose. Her intimacy with suffering allows her to engage the suffering of the world with a sacred tenderness.

Her publications include anthologized essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and academic articles in both theological and medical journals. She is currently completing her first full-length book.

Liza holds a B.A. in Human Development from Hampshire College, Bachelors and Masters degrees in Health Sciences from Duke University School of Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Religion and Social Transformation from Union Institute & University.

She lives in Oakland, CA, where she enjoys deep and wide community relationships, and spends as much time as possible in her wildly magical garden.

Website - www.lizarankow.org

Blog: Healing Conversations from the Front Lines of Activism - https://lizarankow.substack.com/

Guided Meditations on InsightTimer - https://insighttimer.com/lizarankow

LinkTree - https://linktr.ee/lizarankow

COLAGE on US with Dr Crystallee Crain

Founded in 1990 under the name “Just For Us,” COLAGE (originally Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) began with a group of six young people with lesbian and gay parents. The experience at their first meeting was revolutionary, and they wanted to share similar experiences with other COLAGErs. In 1996, the organization explicitly added work with children of bisexual and transgender parents to its mission, and queerspawn, a term of self-identification lovingly adopted by some members of our community, became widely used.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, COLAGE leadership became increasingly aware of the needs of a new generation of COLAGErs. These were children of the “gayby boom,” whose parents had chosen to form families after coming out – often through adoption or reproductive technology – creating new forms of families with intention. As so many of these youth were people of color, COLAGE adopted a new strategic plan that specifically included an anti-racist, social justice platform.

Amidst intensifying debates on marriage equality, LGBTQ+ parents – and their children – were increasingly thrust into the public eye, dramatically increasing awareness of LGBTQ+ families. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, COLAGE expanded programming to meet the needs of these increasingly visible families as COLAGErs supported marriage equality fights state-by-state and in the Supreme Court.

Today, COLAGE stands as the only national organization dedicated to the empowerment of youth in LGBTQ+ families, and celebrates thirty years of this work.

Today's Guest

Angel Martin (they/them) is the National Program Director at COLAGE. They are a second generation queerspawn with a lesbian mom. Angel started COLAGE programming at the age of 7 and has been an active member of the COLAGE community ever since. When they were in high school, they participated in the Youth Leadership Track as a Facilitator in Training during Family Week. They became a facilitator and, eventually, a coordinator for the Waffles age group.

In 2019, Angel was a Program Intern for Family Week. Angel played an instrumental role in establishing COLAGE’s Transformative Justice Committee in 2020. Angel is excited to work towards a world where all queerspawn have community. Previously, Angel lived in Los Angeles where they did social work at a homeless services agency. They now live in Manhattan with their partner and is a singer-songwriter in their free time.

Click here to learn how to Join COLAGE: https://colage.org/join-us/

COLAGE Upcoming Events: https://colage.org/?post_type=tribe_events

Sound:

ES Do You Believe - Rambutan

ES Life's Good - Hank Lotion

ES Koffee in the Forest - HATAMITSUNAMI

Today we have a very special guest a fellow Flint native Leon Benson who has been recently exonerated for a crime he didn’t commit.

Benson was convicted for the murder of Kasey Schoen, who was shot five times while sitting in his truck near downtown Indianapolis in the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 1998. He was tried twice. The first ended in a mistrial after six of 12 jurors voted not guilty. Benson was convicted after he was retried in July 1999 and was sentenced to 61 years in prison. After 25 years of his life was taken for a wrongful conviction Leon is out as a free man, putting the pieces of his life and leadership together.

Cornel west writes, that “Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope.”

I encourage our listeners to consider this idea, not just for the story you will hear from Leon Benson but for yourself and others you encounter in your life.

Through a mutual connection, I was lucky enough to meet Leon on day 9 after being released. We were able to welcome Leon home to Flint, in our home town at the headquarters of The Everly Collective.

To complete the welcome, we’re bringing Leon on the show today to share with us his wisdom and vision for a better world.

Die Jim Crow Records: https://www.diejimcrow.com/el-bently-448

CashApp: $InnocentBornGuilty23

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-leon-reenter-the-world-with-necessities

Facebook: Freeleonbenson

IG: elbently448

Today we have a very special guest, Kwame Che Skakur.

Kwame is an author, preparing for his book tour! He is the chairman of the Second Rainbow Coalition and a fellow revolutionary.

Book title: My Search for Answers, Truth, and Meaning: The Autobiography of Kwame Shakur.

In Black Skin, White Masks Frantz Fanon writes, “What matters is not to know the world but to change it.” And that’s what our next guest is doing.

Learn more at www.secondrainbowcoalition.com. Social media IG: @shakurkwame Facebook: Kwame Che Shakur

Welcome to US with Dr Crystallee Crain.

I had the honor to come across a social media post regarding an amazing new book called Fighting Times: Organizing on the Front Lines of the Class War.

Authored by Jon Melrod, a long time activist and attorney for political refugees. What I’ve learned from this book is that Jon has made amazing contributions to the radical notions of community, shared power, as well as corporate and government accountability.

It’s an honor for me to sit with him today, as we discuss the connection between labor, dissent, and how the world has and must change.

Learn more at www.jonathonmelrod.com.

What others are saying about Fighting Times?

“Indeed, if one were to explain to a working person interested in organizing a union why they should read this book, the key word would be instructive. The tactics so vividly written down in this text remain useful and appropriate.”

Counterpunch | Ron Jacobs

“…Melrod is not a theoretician. But his book is now an indispensable chapter in the literature on the history of the American working class movement.”

Bulatlat | Prof. Roland Simbulan

“Under the capitalist system, we’re always at the disadvantage because we don’t control the means of production and we don’t control the market. That’s the ultimate contradiction of capitalism. It’s not in business to guarantee employment.”

Against The Current | Dianne Feeley

Chant read from the book

“When the unions inspiration through the workers blood shall run

There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun

Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one

For the Union makes us strong

In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold

Greater than the might of armies magnified a thousandfold

We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old

For the Union makes us strong”

We are blessed to have our first return guest, Kimberly Turner who is the Designer, Creative Director, & Stylist for Elizabeth In Pearls. Kim is also an advocate for awareness for an important public health issue - endometriosis.

According to the Office on Women's Health - Endometriosis, often referred to as “endo,” is a condition that happens when tissue similar to the lining of a woman’s uterus (womb) grows outside of the uterus.

The Endometriosis Association began Endo Awareness Month in 1993. ENDO is common. Nearly 15% of American women are impacted, with over 200 million worldwide. In the U.S., research suggests that race plays a significant role in misdiagnosis. Historically, many doctors once believed that White and Asian women got endometriosis and Black women did not. For decades, endometriosis has been thought of as "a White woman’s disease". However, doctors now know that race and ethnicity play a large role in whether a woman develops endometriosis, and how long it takes to get a correct diagnosis, and treatment. For example:

• Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than White women
• Asian women are most likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than any other racial group
• Hispanic women were less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis than White women

Many healthcare providers were educated based on the idea that an endometriosis diagnosis is less likely in Black women. For example, a 1951 study suggested that Black women rarely got endometriosis due to genetic factors. As a result, racial bias has influenced both diagnosis and endometriosis care in the African American community.

Endometriosis uniquely affects African-American women. Traditional thinking was that endometriosis was a condition of white women but that conventional thinking is rapidly changing. Unfortunately, when Black women have chronic pelvic pain it is presumed to be due to other conditions like PID (pelvic inflammatory disease, a pelvic infection) or uterine fibroid tumors (very common in Black women). However, endometriosis is real and common in many African-American women.