Illuminate
Powered by Melanin MeetUps, Illuminate is a dynamic Ted-Talk-like series featuring leading Black luminaries, visionaries, professionals, and changemakers tackling society's most pressing challenges. Hear powerful stories and innovative ideas from established and emerging voices across all industries, addressing imaginative and solution-based ideas from climate change, mental health, entertainment, social justice and more. Illuminate aims to unlock human potential and forge a new path of enlightenment. Download now to be inspired and enlightened.
Ideas connect us.
Episodes
18 episodes
Drag, at the cross sections of glitter and social action | Amber St. James
Live at The Old Globe Theater, drag activist and artist Amber St. James delivers a transformative Illuminate talk on drag as a medium for social action. Discover how St. James uses the art of drag to challenge norms and create space for self-di...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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8:25
Amplifying black voices on stage | Jamila Demby
Live at San Diego Theatre's The Old Globe, join Director of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Access (EDIA) at The Old Globe Theatre Jamila Demby as she takes us through her journey in regional theatre to discusses how Black stories on stage con...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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22:24
Breaking barriers and how I found my voice as an artist | Andréa Agosto
Live from San Diego's world-renowned theatre, The Old Globe, San Diego artist and playwright Andréa Agosto shares a compelling personal journey to artistry in at Melanin MeetUps' Illuminate series. Discover how Agosto navigated obstacles to fin...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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10:14
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The power of theatre to break cycles of trauma | Kirk Brown
Founder of Melanin MeetUps, Kirk Brown discusses the power of theater as a tool for breaking cycles and inspiring personal growth in this riveting Illuminate talk. Live at San Diego Theatre's The Old Globe, Brown highlights the powerful role of...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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12:58
Theater and the arts in 'The Reset' | Ahmed Kenyatta Dents
Live at San Diego's The Old Globe Theatre, Performing Arts Administrator of Mainly Mozart Ahmed Kenyatta Dents discusses the evolving role of theater and the arts as we navigate a period of resetting and renewal. Dents shares strategies to help...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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19:51
Black dreaming and divesting from the white imagination | Kelsey O. Daniels
Live at San Diego's The Old Globe Theatre, San Diego artist and founder of Black Dream Experiment, Kelsey O'Daniels explores the concept of Black dreaming and the urgency of moving beyond the white imagination in the arts in this powerful Illum...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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14:05
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Staging change, black performance and theatrical evolution | Amani Starnes
Live from San Diego's world-renowned theatre, The Old Globe, Dr. Amani Starnes examines the power of Black performance to drive societal change and personal evolution in Illuminate. Dr. Starnes unpacks the pathways to reimagining Black identity...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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14:50
Bravery and shaping the new America | Malcolm Kenyatta
Ever feel that knot when it's time to act? "Don't wait on your neighbor because your neighbor may be waiting on you," says Pennsylvania Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, quoting his great-grandfather, a former slave. But what does bravery in leadership lo...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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14:15
What it means to be young, gifted, black and suffering | Dr. Nicole Green
Unaddressed trauma in young, gifted, Black youth often leads to anxiety, depression, and silence. Healing requires safe spaces, culturally sensitive support, and addressing both personal and generational pain. For the Black community, breaking ...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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19:36
How trauma-informed services help voter turn out | Park Cannon
What happens when you're othered by a racist ad campaign or forced to vote in line during a pandemic? Georgia State Representative Park Cannon explores these questions in her Illuminate talk, connecting trauma with recent voting suppression ini...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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12:13
Using imagination to meet needs for change | Holly J. Mitchell
Join Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell in her Illuminate talk as she explores the power of imagination through Langston Hughes' "crystal stairs" and the vision of a 5-year-old in a NASA jumpsuit. She discusses how imagination can drive movements, in...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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13:59
Leading from within for change | Cory Booker
Join us for an inspiring talk by U.S. Senator Cory Booker at Illuminate, where he shares a transformative encounter with Ms. Virginia Jones, a tenant president in New Jersey. This powerful meeting shaped his worldview and creativity in advocati...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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5:27
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How to make fear your friend in the creative process | Charles Ray Hamilton
Fear is a powerful force for Black creatives like Charles Ray Hamilton, a Black, queer writer who made it to Hollywood, penning for STARZ's POWER. Fear doesn't disappear with success—it fuels creativity and resilience. Hamilton’s story...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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12:55
Van Lathan and the state of reshaping black narratives in media | Illuminate Fireside chat
The 2019 Illuminate Fireside Chat at hClubLA brought together Van Lathan and Jarrett Hill for a powerful conversation on what it means to be a Black American journalist in today's polarized media landscape. With the press labeled as a "threat" ...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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27:10
Humanizing characters on television for self-love | Cameron Johnson
"You're cute, for a black guy." This microaggression is just one of the many experiences that inspired television writer Cameron Johnson's powerful short documentary titled as such. Through humor and insight, Johnson explores how television sha...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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11:22
Emancipating the image of the black woman | Amani Starnes
What does it mean to be a strong black woman? Hollywood is transforming the portrayal of Black American artists, especially Black women, who are now breaking out of traditional roles and showing more nuanced experiences. Dr. Starnes explores ho...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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13:49
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Memorializing plantations to heal | Kirk Brown
What's in a name? For many southern Black Americans, their last name is not their own yet belongs to someone else beginning on American Plantations or was picked by themselves. With their identity so malleable and a society that has routinely t...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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13:12
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How to reconnect to self after trauma | Dr. Thema Bryant
What does it mean to be disconnected from yourself? What does it mean to be disconnected from your body after trauma? What does healing look like for the African-American community and the Black American after historical and contemporary trauma...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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12:03
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