I'm a Survivor: The Rhythm of Public Health Systems

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This week on Black Siren Radio, we survey the worlds of food and health — backgrounded by the many dynamics of COVID-19. We speak with author and educator Olga Lucia Torres about her personal health experiences in the midst of Trump and coronavirus. Drew McClendon, a coordinator at New Jersey community food kitchen Elijah’s Promise, joins the show to talk about how the coronavirus has amplified the urgency of their work and mission. And, we interview Padmore John, manager at the East Harlem Action Center, about developing relationships with the community around public health and social services. Plus, as always, enjoy the music, Meditations in Mayhem, and thought-provoking poetry from college sophomore Tyler Burston! - Black Siren Radio is a place to convene. It’s your aunties in the kitchen. It’s your Saturday morning barbershop appointment. It’s a resistance that accepts that if the future is to belong to us, we have to take it. Co-hosts J. Khadijah Abdurahman (We Be Imagining), Maurice Ivy, and Amiri Tulloch (WKCR) assemble as a multi-generational team to curate a lens that engages specialists in their fields by collecting front-line (wartime) news and keeping a beat on the culture of NYC and beyond. More than anything, Black Siren Radio is a place for us to assemble under the radar, and really be heard. Tune in Mondays to WKCR from 9-10 pm ET (wkcr.org) for a mood board of music interwoven with stories and exclusive interviews stretching a little further than your shelter-in-place hideaway. Reach out and join the movement.

This week’s episode on Black Siren Radio features lupus warrior and Columbia narrative medicine professor, Olga Lucia Torres discussing the hydroxychloroquine shortage following Trump’s endorsement of the drug as a treatment for COVID-19. Drew McClendon, a coordinator at New Jersey’s Elijah’s Promise discusses both the urgency of their mission and the shortcomings of the non-profit industrial complex. Padmore John, manager of the NYDOHMH East Harlem Neighborhood Action Center shares the vision of their staff to repair relationships with a community historically distrusting of the Department of Health and the push back from those who feel they have not taken an active enough role in responding to the pandemic. As always, enjoy the music, Meditations in Mayhem, and Lyrical Report from college sophomore Tyler Burston!