Reflecting on the Past and Looking Towards the Future with Dr. Kirk Harris, Hubert Morgan, and Nateya Taylor

Nateya Taylor

“There needs to be more radical solutions because whatever we’ve been doing so far has not been working.”

Dr. Kirk Harris, Hubert Morgan, and Nateya Taylor, joined together to recap season one of “The Black Dispatch.” Reviewing each episode, which featured interviews from Illinois senators, educators, and community advocates, one common theme emerged in all the episodes: inequality. Each podcast guest shared how Illinois residents experience various types of inequality in neighborhoods, education, health care, and the criminal justice system. Not only did they share how inequality impacts Illinois residents, but also the legislative and community work they and others are doing to reduce inequality. Overall, the interviews revealed there is more work to be done and that more radical approaches to equity and justice are needed. 

This episode featured guest Nateya Taylor who joined “The Black Dispatch” team as a Project Assistant in 2021 as a 1st year Urban Studies MS student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Although Taylor’s contract as a Project Assistant was only for a semester, she agreed to continue working on the project after her contract ended. Taylor worked behind the scenes editing podcast episodes, designing the website, and writing blog posts for each episode to prepare for “The Black Dispatch” launch. Now that she has graduated, Taylor is using her skills in her role as a Communications Specialist at the Institute for Research on Poverty at UW-Madison and as a Multimedia Storyteller for her own company she started called Naesthetycs. 

Moving forward, “The Black Dispatch” strives to be more consistent and have more conversations that will explore and uplift the challenges and aspirations of communities of color while also using their perspectives as a guide to build better communities.