Glocal Citizens - Episodes Tagged with “Denver”

Episode 292: Encore Episode | Soul Food and Black Smoke Storytelling with Adrian Miller

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0400

Greetings Glocal Citizens!

This week’s encore episode is a timely flashbackconnection with my guest, the Soul Food Scholar, Adrian Miller. Adrian and I went to primary and secondary school in the same school district—Denver Public Schools, and we also both attended Stanford University. I selected this episode to revisit this week because it represents two locals that have been integral to my global self. I’ve just arrived in Colorado from my undergraduate homecoming reunion weekend in California at Stanford University. What a time was had! And more on that later!

Adrian, known as the Soul Food Scholar, is an award-winning food writer, attorney, and certified barbecue judge. His latest book, Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History: Cooking to the President’s Taste, is the first-ever history of the many chefs of Asian heritage who have prepared meals for the president. Two of his books, his first in 2014 Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time and his 2022 Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue are the James Beard Foundation Award for Reference, History, and Scholarship winners. His second book, The President’s Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas was a finalist for a 2018 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction.” He is also featured in the Netflix hit docus-eries, High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. In addition to his writing and speaking engagements, he is the executive director of the Colorado Councitl of Churches and, as such, is the first African American, and the first layperson, to hold that position.

Along with fascinating anecdotes about foods common on three sides of the Atlantic Ocean, you'll get a sense of how this lawyer by training found himself on a career path in service not only to his dreams, but to the uncovering, elevation and preservation of narratives about culture defining foods and food practices.

Where to find Adrian?
adrianemiller.com
EP135 on Glocal Citizens

Special Guest: Adrian Miller.

Episode 147: A Souljourner Life with Hasira Soul Ashemu

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0400

New month greetings Glocal Citizens!
This week's episode is all about roots and rooting. I've known my guest for more than half my life going back to our roots in Denver, Colorado. From our Angelic days walking the halls of East High High School to living in the lanes in and around Accra, Hasira Soul Ashemu and I have been able to stay connected thanks to social media and a spirit of inspiring and ushering change for marginalized people. Hasira, a community organizer, writer and entrepreneur, is the founder and chief visionary officer for Righteous Rage Institute. Born and raised in Northeast Denver, Colorado, he attended Howard University, “The Mecca,” and later travelled the world spending a decade living in Africa raising his family in Ghana. Hasira is a prolific writer, speaker, facilitator, communications professional who has been using his talents, experience and skills to create and support stimulating, engaging and innovative community initiatives that usher in social change. He is dedicated to the pursuit for social, equity, education and healing justice for society’s most vulnerable children; Black, Brown, Indigenous, Special Needs and those living in poverty. And, his work includes organizing healing and learning journeys, consulting and coaching at the individual, community, national and international levels for nonprofit, corporate, governments, public school districts and higher learning institutions across the US and five African nations. Hasira is also a fellow podcaster; after you take in our conversation, make your way over to his podcast To Heal a People!

Where to find Hasira?
www.righteousrageinstitute.org
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What's Hasira reading?
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The 5 Principles: A Revolutionary Path to Health, Inner Wealth, and Knowledge of Self by Khnum "Stic" Ibomu
You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience by Tarana Burke and Dr. Brené Brown

What's Hasira watching?
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am

Other topics of interest:
About Denver Black Panther Party Founder Lauren Watson
The meaning of Oborɔnyi
YFM Ghana
About Reggie Rockstone
One Africa Health Resort
About Blue Zones
About the Sloth and Pura Vida in Costa Rica
About Buckminster Fuller

On African Stateswomen
On Marcus Aurelius
On Freedom Schools

*When you click and purchase books using the link(s) above, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!

Special Guest: Hasira Soul Ashemu.

Episode 113: When @HewasFunny and Techpreneur merge with Jon Laster

Florence Amerley Adu — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Greetings Glocal Citizens!
This week's guest and I share a bit of our own personal Black history going way back to grade school, when his younger brother and I were in the same class from Kindergarten through primary school. We all met up again in high school as "jocks," doing our thing in the Colorado athletics scene. Fast forward to the late 1990s and there we were again bright-eyed and ambitious in New York City--Brooklyn to be exact, laying the groundwork for becoming the adults that we are today. From the basketball court to the comedy stage, Jon Laster has always been a crowd pleaser. He moved to New York City to realize his dream of being a Comedian and quickly moved up the comedy hierarchy establishing himself as one of the funniest comedians and most sought after hosts. Early in his career, he appeared on three season’s of BET’s Comic View [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103356/], hosted the first and second Underground Comedy Festival in New York City, completed a year-long tour with the National Association for Campus Activities appearing on college campuses across the US and hosted the longest running weekly comedy room ever in Brooklyn. Performing and hosting comedy clubs and colleges such at - the Improv in Los Angeles and Miami to Caroline’s and the Comedy Cellar in New York City, from the out skirts of Nebraska, to the shores of Bermuda, Jon has stood audiences on their feet across the globe.

In response the tragic murder of George Floyd and national upheaval that followed, Jon found himself wanting to do more than simply protest. He wanted to do something that would directly impact and improve Black lives. Targeting Black businesses in particular, Jon recently ticked a new box on his resume becoming a tech CEO, with the launch of the Blapp app.
Blapp connects is communities to local Black businesses across an array of sectors--bars and restaurants, boutiques and markets, professional services and much, much more. With nearly 20,000 downloads since launching in October 2021, Blapp is well on it's way to becoming a game changer in both the brick and mortar and online shopping spaces!

Where to find Jon?
Blapp App
Comedy Cellar
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On YouTube

What's Jon watching?
Valley of the Damned on Discovery ID
Disney+'s Mandalorian

Other topics of interest:
Former CSU President, Albert C. Yates
About Leslie Jones
One Bedroom Film
About Margot Merrill Fernandez
Iqram Magdon-Ismail, Venmo co-founder

Special Guest: Jon Laster.