Podcast
The Reckoning
Hosted by Counter Narrative Project · EN
The Reckoning Podcast is a podcast from CNP that features conversations old and new from the #CNPTribe about Blackness and liberation from all walks of life.
18episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Archbishop Carl Bean on Faith, Music, and HIV Activism
Aug 2500:51:55Tap to summarizeArchbishop Carl Bean (1944-2021), spiritual leader, HIV activism pioneer, and the voice behind the 1977 version of “I Was Born This Way,” joins host Johnnie Ray Kornegay III for a rare, deeply personal conversation recorded in January 2021. This show features excerpts from the discussion between the two. This conversation is being shared in honor of National Faith HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NFHAAD). From a Baltimore childhood steeped in “high-church” music and NAACP youth organizing to the artistic whirlwind of 1960s New York, Bean traces the path that shaped his voice and his calling. He shares how gospel great Alex Bradford opened doors, how the creative circle around Vinnette Carroll widened his world, and how hearing Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” pushed him to move to Los Angeles and step beyond Gospel and speak more boldly to the times through music.Bean reflects on forming the band Universal Love, landing his record deal with ABC Records, and ultimately recording “I Was Born This Way” at Motown, bringing in The Sweet Inspirations and insisting the song premiere at Jewel’s Catch One. He then opens up about the birth of Unity Fellowship and the pastoral work that called him to hospitals and families during the height of the AIDS crisis, and the personal toll it took.If you care about Black music, queer history, public health, or the power of one voice to move a people, this conversation will stay with you.Note: This episode includes discussion of AIDS-related loss and grief.Chapter Markers00:00 Intro Theme00:50 Disclaimer About Project and Request from Archbishop Carl Bean03:28 Archbishop Carl Bean's Early Life and Career Beginnings07:55 Joining the Bradford Singers and Professional Growth15:20 Cultural and Creative Influences in New York19:16 Transition to Solo Career and Personal Reflections25:04 MidRoll25:54 Formation of the band Universal Love30:09 Getting His Record Deal with ABC Records and "All We Need Is Love"33:58 The Motown Connection35:04 Recording 'I Was Born This Way'37:15 "I Was Born This Way" First Performed Live At Jewel's Catch One38:56 Foundations of Unity Fellowship42:11 On the AIDS Crisis and Personal Loss46:28 Spiritual Reflections50:23 Final Thoughts and Legacy51:30 Outro Theme✔ Join Our Mailing List ► https://bit.ly/joincnptribeSupport CNP ✔ Donation ► https://www.thecounternarrative.org/donationJoin us on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok✔ TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@cnptribe✔ BlueSky ► https://bsky.app/profile/cnptribe.org✔ Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/cnptribe✔ Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/cnptribe©2025 The Counter Narrative Project, All Rights Reserved
Transcribe →Letter From Home
Nov 26, 2024Tap to summarizeI do not want to disappoint God, Mississippi, or home with this letter, but I have to disappoint God, Mississippi, and home with this letter. I am currently succumbing to evil.
Transcribe →Creating Safe Spaces for Black Queer Youth in Schools: You Don’t Have to Do It All, But You Should Do Something
Oct 22, 2024Tap to summarizeAs a Black queer teacher with over 10+ years of teaching across various cultures, including in the Midwest, East Coast, Appalachia, and at an HBCU in the South, I wanted to provide a road map/examples of how teachers of all sorts can intentionally create spaces where Black queer students thrive.
Transcribe →Not All Book Bans Are Equal: Censorship and the erasure of Black queer literature
Oct 15, 2024Tap to summarizeWhile ample attention has been given to book bans, especially recently, one aspect is, oddly, glaringly absent from the conversation- how are minority children who desire to read these books impacted by these bans?
Transcribe →What We Missed In The Moonlight: Chiron’s Journey and the Unchecked School-To-Prison Pipeline For Black Queer Students
Sep 5, 2024Tap to summarizeInstead, it was a post that read “They’re having a best gay movie off” and it featured two films - Call Me By Your Name and Red, White & Royal Blue. Individuals, particularly Black queer men like myself, were stunned as the film Moonlight, which won an Oscar, was glaringly absent from the discussion (a topic for another day).
Transcribe →Back to School for Black Queer Kids: Its Complicated
Aug 27, 2024Tap to summarizeIt is incredibly dehumanizing, discouraging, and demoralizing to be a 1st generation, neurodivergent Black queer man who flourished academically while others, including friends, seemed to be relegated to the shadows.
Transcribe →One Step Forward & Two Steps Back: Unpacking the Heteronormative Barriers to Gay Men Having Children
Jul 31, 2024Tap to summarizeWhile it is important to highlight fatherhood and those who shepherd their children into adult life, we frequently forget to ask a critical question: who gets the opportunity (and privilege) to be a father if desired? For many men who identify as queer, there is a delta between wanting a child and having one.
Transcribe →An Unfortunate Perfect Storm: We Need To Talk To Gen Z about HIV
Jul 23, 2024Tap to summarizeDespite waning attention, HIV is still around, and most new cases are found in gay men ages 13-34. Of note, we know Gen Zers are between the ages of 13-27. Thus, an unfortunate and impactful storm is brewing, but we must predict the weather and prepare.
Transcribe →Municipal Judgeship Is the Latest First for Atlanta Gay Attorney
Jul 9, 2024Tap to summarizeAt barely 10 years old, Pierce Hand Seitz already had a leg up on other 5th graders: After getting a taste of legal proceedings during a mock trial, he was pretty certain he wanted to be a lawyer when he grew up
Transcribe →My Journey to an ADHD Diagnosis
Jun 6, 2024Tap to summarizeI want to highlight my long but important journey to being diagnosed with ADHD and how I am continuing to grow my flowers. The diagnosis was not the rain; instead, it was the sunlight needed to illuminate how and where I could grow.
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