(upbeat music) - Here's what's next.

- On "You Oughta Know."

"Fresh Air" with Terry Gross celebrates two great honors.

- [Shirley] A local library offers LGBTQ+ kids a safe space to talk.

- [Regina] We're learning about some traditional foods often on the menu at Juneteenth celebrations.

- Plus, we sit down with the creator of our favorite relative, Aunt Mary Pat.

(upbeat music) Welcome to the show, I'm Shirley Min.

- And I'm Regina Mitchell.

Congratulations are in order to Terry Gross and rest of the "Fresh Air" team.

Not only are they celebrating their 35th anniversary on NPR, but they've also been awarded the prestigious Peabody Institutional Award.

Here's how it all started.

(bright music) When I started at WHYY, "Fresh Air" was a three-hour show, five days a week, and I was the only full-time staff member, and it was grueling.

(laughs) And then Danny came, first as an intern, and that's when the show started to be good and to be fun, 'cause working with Danny was just a joy.

So in order to kinda condense the brew, we made the show shorter, started a half-hour edition that went national.

And then Bill Siemering, who was the station manager then, decided that this could be a national show.

- I started with "Fresh Air" in 1979.

I was a student at Temple University, and I wrote a letter to Terry.

She really needed somebody to help her out because Terry was doing everything by herself.

She was booking the show.

She was greeting the guests when they came in.

One selling point was I only lived three blocks away from the station.

The main thing, though, I think is I was so interested in all the things that Terry was talking about on "Fresh Air," all the movies, and Terry played a lot of blues and jazz music.

Our tastes overlapped very nicely, and of course, Terry knew so much more about all of this than I did.

So for me, it was this incredible opportunity to learn and to actually meet some of the people who made the music and the movies and the books that I loved.

- When we went national and started editing the show, that was really great, too, because you can boil things down to its essence, get out the boring parts, and it liberated me because I can take risks.

I can go on tangents knowing if this doesn't work, we'll edit it out.

So when I look back on when we first went national, I was 36.

The show is now 35, so the show is a year younger than I was when I started host it nationally, And that just sounds crazy to me.

(calm music) - I was here in the 1980s when "Fresh Air" was a local show, and people loved what Terry was doing.

And in fact, when it went national, the national show was a little more carefully crafted, but it was obviously great, and the nation loved it.

I went away and did reporting in newspapers and elsewhere.

I came back filling in in the early 2000s.

If they liked it, I did more, I stayed.

And Terry's celebrity is well earned over many years.

I mean, for a long time, the show's been carried over 600 stations and a weekly audience of more than five million people, and so over time, people know it and love it.

And people in the entertainment business really know and love what Terry does, and that's one of the things that gets her on invitations to national shows and eventually got the National Humanities award that she was presented at the White House.

- One of the highlights of my career is getting a national medal in the humanities from President Obama, and I really couldn't believe it.

When he walked in and all the recipients were in the room, he started with a joke.

- We have an impressive crew with us here today.

We've got Terry Gross and a whole bunch of people who Terry Gross has interviewed.

(crowd laughs) - And I thought, "Oh, that's so funny," and I was so honored that that was kinda like part of the lead.

So when he put the ribbon on me with the medal on it, I was like, "I just can't comprehend that this is happening," it was extraordinary.

People who listen to our show often think I come into the studio, I sit down, I do an interview, isn't that fun.

But the truth is, we have this just extraordinary staff who I think of as a family.

We have fantastic producers who find the guests and in some instances pre-interview the guests, and then I'm given the research.

They put so much work into it, and I couldn't possibly do the show without that.

I'm so lucky.

(screen whooshes) - With anti-trans bills up for votes in several states across the country, a new program for elementary-aged kids called Rainbow Connections seems like it's needed now more than ever.

The Abington Township Public Library bills the monthly meetup as a child-centered safe space for LGBTQ+ kids and allies.

(calm music) Last summer, an Abington parent contacted their local library asking if they'd be interested in starting a group for LGBTQ+ kids in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Last summer, my seven-year-old kind of came into themself as being non-binary and gender fluid, and they expressed how they didn't really have anyone at school who understood them.

And so I kind of related since I also identify as non-binary, and I felt like lonely for them essentially.

- [Shirley] Shannon's seven-year-old is Adelaide.

Their pronouns are they/them.

- They just expressed how hard school had been, where people are saying like "You're a girl" essentially and like not understanding where they were coming from.

So I wanted to try to surround them with other kids their age.

I thought of reaching out to the library.

I figured it wouldn't hurt to try, and their book collection is really inclusive.

So I just emailed them, and then they actually responded, which I was like, "What?"

(laughs) But I was really excited, and from there we just started planning things.

- [Jessica] The main focus of the program is to provide a safe space for kids and also to show them books that we have at the library.

- [Shirley] Jessica Olzak is a children's librarian at Abington library.

- It is a child-centered program, so we do ask parents to let the kids take the lead.

- [Shirley] Jessica and Shannon co-host the monthly meetings over Zoom, initially because of COVID, but now it's more of an accessibility thing.

Kids across the country as far as Arizona are logging in.

- We try to take a general theme each month, so like we did pronouns or gender identity or gender expression, and then around that, we kind of plan a craft activity, a book from the library's collection, and then a book discussion.

- [Shirley] 10-year-old Valencia Gullo identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

She learned about Rainbow Connections from a flyer her mom picked up.

- My mom got some stuff from the library, like Abington library, and when I saw it, I was like, "I have to join."

I felt excited, and I felt that is where I need to be.

- The whole time, she was just glowing.

She was just so happy.

She felt just, "There's people out there like me."

Everybody's sharing their stories or just a little piece about them.

She just feels just so warm inside that "This is the right place for me.

This is where I came to be accepted."

It's open, it's a safe space that she can just flourish in.

- [Shirley] 16 kids attended the first Rainbow Connections meeting last November.

Their most recent meeting had 30 kids.

- It proves that a program like this should be in place.

- And we're not trying to like brainwash anyone to be like non-binary, which I think a lot of people tend to worry about.

That's not what it's about at all.

It's more just like letting kids be who they are and embracing their identities and feeling seen.

And it doesn't have to mean that they're LGBTQ to be in the group, but they're just like so excited to talk about other identities that do intersect with who they are.

It's been cool.

(upbeat music) - Shannon says programs like Rainbow Connections are rare for this age group and believes it's the only library program geared for K through 5.

Recently, Shannon and Jessica split the kids into two groups, K through 2 and 3 through 5 so that they can accommodate even more kids and allow some of the older kids to dig deeper.

Rainbow Connections meets the second Monday every month on Zoom.

Here's how you can learn more about it.

(calm music) - [Michaela] Pride has long been the biggest LGBTQ party of the year, but last year that party fell apart.

- [Reporter] The organization behind Philadelphia's Pride festival has shut down.

- [Reporter] The group behind Boston's historic Pride parade says it is breaking up and will no longer sponsor the event.

- [Reporter] The cancellation of the largest event at Pittsburgh Pride makes it impossible for the group to stay afloat.

- [Michaela] Last summer, the group that's been running Philly's Pride for 30 years suddenly collapsed amidst accusations of racism and transphobia, calls that they've become too corporate and too cozy with police.

This problem has been brewing in Philly and elsewhere for years.

LGBTQ people say a movement that's supposed to be all inclusive has excluded the very people it's supposed to represent.

(lively music) (crowd cheering) - You just heard a portion of WHYY's podcast "March On: The Fight for Pride."

- Billy Penn's Michaela Winberg, host of "March On," joins us now.

Michaela, thank you so much for being here.

- Thank you for having me.

- Let's talk about, for those who haven't heard the podcast, what "March On" is about.

- Sure, so "March On" centers on the revolution that's happening in Philadelphia's LGBTQ community around Pride.

So it sort of came to a head last summer.

In June of 2021, the nonprofit that ran Philly Pride for almost 30 years suddenly disbanded.

They had been accused of racism and transphobia, and this new group of mostly Black and Brown LGBTQ organizers sort of picked up the mantle and tried to create a new Pride that's more inclusive, less focused on police and corporations.

So the podcast sort of follows this whole story and this transition of power.

- I think what really surprises people is that this turmoil within the LGBTQ community in Philadelphia has gone on for so long, and the city is actually known as being so LGBTQ friendly.

- Sure, it's hard to reconcile.

I mean, I do think that Philadelphia is an LGBTQ friendly city, to be clear.

That said, that doesn't mean that the community's immune to all of the forces that we see in the rest of society, in the rest of American society.

Things like racism, discrimination against trans people, white supremacy, like those are really hard forces to take out of society, and we see that in the LGBTQ community, too.

There's the same kinds of power dynamics that exist elsewhere.

- Let's talk about Franny Price.

This woman is sort of at the center of the podcast, and she was running the nonprofit behind Philly Pride.

Tell us about her.

- Sure, yeah, Franny took over the Philly Pride organization in like the late '90s.

She ran Philly Pride for almost 30 years, and she's really a huge figure in Philly's Gayborhood.

She's owned multiple businesses there.

She married this like legendary Black drag queen who was one of the first to integrate nightclubs in Philly, and yeah, she ran Philly Pride.

So her legacy on how she ran Philly Pride is kind of polarizing in the community.

Some people think that she caused a lot of harm that, you know, by things like charging for tickets to enter the festival, by centering police at the festival that, you know, she caused harm.

And other people think that she did a great job, and she worked really hard and produced something that was meaningful to the community.

So she's a complicated figure, and we sort of dig into her personality in the podcast.

- You've attended the Pride parades in the past.

How does this Philly Pride compare to the past events?

- It was pretty different.

Pride this year, so Pride in Philly usually starts out with a big parade, and it's, you know, these huge corporate floats, floats with nonprofits or staff from bars, things like that.

And this year it was not a parade at all, it was a march.

So instead of floats sort of running down the street, it was just people, so it was thousands of people taking up like I think they said three or four city blocks, and there were actually protests there.

You know, they were calling for racial equity, calling for freedom for trans people.

And it ended, the march ended in the Gayborhood with this big street festival.

It's kind of comparable to Outfest, for some of your viewers who may have gone to those.

It was much more like a block party vibe than a parade with a ticketed festival, and this one was free.

So that's the first time the Philly Pride festival has been free in almost 30 years.

- [Regina] And was that received better?

Like, did people enjoy that more?

- [Michaela] I do think people really enjoyed it.

I heard from some people, I was there reporting and interviewing people, I heard from some people that they kinda missed the parade vibe, but I do think a lot of people felt like it kind of brought the focus of Philly Pride back to community, you know, like- - Yeah, it was needed now.

- Exactly, it was more about the people and less about, you know, this big fanfare.

So I think people were hungry for that.

- I will say the podcast just opens your eyes to a completely, you know, a story that I think I never would have otherwise looked into as deep as you go into it in the podcast, so- - Appreciate that.

- Episodes are out now.

- They are.

- How often are they coming out?

- Yes, they come out every Thursday.

So four episodes are out already, and the final fifth episode comes out this Thursday.

- [Shirley] Oh my gosh, I just got goosebumps.

(all laughing) - It's ending, you're gonna have to say goodbye.

- Yeah, oh, my gosh!

I definitely binged it, it's so good.

Michaela, thank you so much for joining us.

And for more coverage, you can head over to Billy Penn, where Michaela and the Billy Penn team have got you covered.

(screen whooshes) - If you're going to a Juneteenth celebration, you may see a common thread with the foods on the menu.

We learn more about that in Food and Culture with Kae Lani Palmisano.

(lively music) - Hi, I'm Kae Lani Palmisano, and we're here today at the People's Kitchen in South Philly with chef Valerie Erwin.

Valerie, I really love what the People's Kitchen is all about.

Can you tell us about the mission?

- The People's Kitchen is a mutual aid kitchen.

We provide employment for cooks and chefs, training for culinary students, food free of charge to members of the community.

And besides that, we have a community garden in Southwest Philadelphia where we grow food for the People's Kitchen, and also we distribute food to community members.

- And we're here today to talk about Juneteenth.

Tell us about Juneteenth.

- [Valerie] The Emancipation Proclamation was signed in January of 1863.

In June 19th of 1865, federal troops reached Galveston, Texas, and were able to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation and allow the enslaved people there to claim their freedom.

- [Kae Lani] How do we celebrate?

- So it's a summer holiday, and it's festive, so you celebrate it with festive foods.

Red is a celebratory color in the African American community and in the African community, so you might see things like watermelon or barbecued ribs or strawberry shortcake or a red drink like sorrel.

Sorrel is a hibiscus drink that comes from West Africa and is made in the Caribbean still, and that's the drink that now when I want a red drink, that's what I make.

- [Kae Lani] How do we make sorrel?

- So sorrel is the calyx of the hibiscus plant.

You can buy it in a bag like this at Caribbean markets or West African markets.

The flowers are steeped with a whole variety of spices.

So I'm gonna put the sorrel in a bowl, and we have ginger, the sorrel.

Orange peel, I have some of it peeled, but we're gonna peel a little bit more.

Just a cinnamon stick, cloves.

You don't have to do anything else.

You just put 'em in, it's 10 whole cloves, and all spice, which is a Caribbean spice, and it looks like a little brown berry, and that I crack, too.

And I put it in a piece of Saran so it doesn't go all over.

- [Kae Lani] Don't want this pieces going everywhere.

- [Valerie] All right, and then I'm just gonna peel a piece of the ginger.

(mellow reggae music) - [Kae Lani] There's a lot of aromatics that are going into this.

- Yes, it's very, you know, very sweet spices.

And then you cover this with boiling water, oh, thanks.

So this is seven cups of water, and it's four cups of the sorrel flowers.

- How long does this need to steep?

- You steep it overnight, and you can just leave it on your counter, and then in the morning, it would look like this.

Now we're gonna strain all of the solids out.

So at this point, we're gonna put in sugar.

- [Kae Lani] And how much sugar is that?

- This is two cups ,and we're probably only gonna need maybe a cup and a half.

(lively reggae music) - [Kae Lani] Ooh.

Nothing beats a fizzy drink.

- Yes.

- On a hot summer day.

- I agree.

- Well, cheers!

- Cheers!

- Thank you so much for showing us how to make sorrel.

- After a two-year hiatus because of COVID, the Food Bank of Delaware announced its food structure building contest is back.

It's called CANgineering because interested organizations build structures out of nonperishable food items like canned goods.

(bright music) - CANgineering is a fun way for us to engage local businesses, to encourage companies to hold food drives and then create structures out of the food.

(bright music) We've seen some incredible structures over the years like lighthouses, the Eagles stadium, construction vehicles.

We're really excited to see what everybody builds this year.

- [Shirley] Heading into its sixth year, Kim says the food bank came up with CANgineering as a way to boost donations from the community at a time when they typically drop off significantly.

- We just want to remind people that people are hungry year-round, and we appreciate the support of the community not only at the holidays, but 12 months of the year.

- [Shirley] The food bank serves more than 114,000 Delawareans, many of whom experienced food insecurity for the first time because of the pandemic and now inflation.

- [Kim] Food and fuel prices so high, we know that everybody is feeling the pinch, but especially our lower-income neighbors.

Some people are just really having a tough time.

It's up to all of us to help our neighbors in need.

(bright music) - The deadline for teams to register has passed, but we'll update you when the winner is announced, which will be on June 30th.

There is a People's Choice award where you can vote for a winner on Facebook.

In the meantime, if you can, here's how you can donate to the Food Bank of Delaware.

(calm music) - A Delaware dance company is getting ready for their return to the stage after being sidelined by the pandemic.

- And release, pelvis presses through, long neck, shoulders.

I'm Chauntee D. Andrews, the executive director of DANCE4LIFE School of the Arts and Training Institute in Claymont, Delaware.

♪ Make me scream, get on up ♪ ♪ Make me shout, get on up ♪ ♪ Turn me on, get on up ♪ ♪ Turn me out, get on up ♪ ♪ Make me scream, get on up ♪ ♪ Make me shout, get on up ♪ Since 2019, we have not been back live to have our concert to close out our school year.

The year of the pandemic, I remember it very distinctly.

We were preparing for our annual Easter concert, and as I was saying goodbye to all of the dancers, they said, "We'll see you Tuesday, Miss Chauntee."

And I knew in my gut there wasn't gonna be a Tuesday.

So Mother's Day weekend, I put out information that we would have Zoom classes.

These children arrived to their Zoom dance class the way they arrived to the building here.

They had on their dance clothes, their leotards, their tights, their proper shoes, hair pulled back in that bun, and many of the parents ordered mats for the children so we could continue acro classes and ballet bars.

So as I looked at the screen, it was filled with beautiful ballet bars and all of these children taking class.

- [Regina] And as the saying goes, opportunity met preparation, and the dancers were invited to participate in a popular holiday event.

- [Chauntee] We were so excited to be back live in front of the cameras, in front of an audience for the Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade that airs live on 6abc Thanksgiving morning.

(triumphant music) ♪ That feeling in the air ♪ - [Regina] After taking their Thanksgiving bows, it was back to the studio to prepare for the big show.

- So we are back to close out our school year at The Grand Opera House Copeland Hall here in Wilmington, Delaware.

Our date is gonna be Saturday, June 18th, at 4:00 PM.

The show's theme this year is slogans, so it's anything from Red Bull Gives You Wings to Skittles, Taste the Rainbow.

So everyone's developing a storyline and a dance behind one of those slogans.

So we are coming back strong, coming back big, and excited about this show.

♪ We're going there together ♪ ♪ Gonna feel all right ♪ - Just beautiful, this year's closing event is even more special for Chauntee.

Her granddaughter will be performing for the first time.

Here's how you can get tickets and check out other upcoming events.

(mellow music) - As youse guys well know, we got a snow warning for today, and people are losing their minds, and they're freaking their (beep) out, and they're like, "My god, I gotta go to the ACME and buy up all the stuff because I could be stuck in the house for two years."

First all, in recent memory, when has it snowed so bad that you've been trapped in your house for two years?

Why do these people go to the grocery store like they're about to be trapped in their house for life?

I don't understand.

(screen whooshes) - As you just saw, Aunt Mary Pat is making it make sense.

- That's right, for the last few years, she has been telling it like it T-I is.

- (laughs) Welcome to the show Troy Hendrickson, creator of Aunt Mary Pat, also known as AMP.

Troy, we love Aunt Mary Pat so much.

- Yes!

- How did you come up with her?

- So it's a pretty funny story.

Right after the Eagles won the Super Bowl, I called my mom, and she was so excited.

I knew she was out watching the game, and she was like whispering, and she's like, "Shh, shh, shh," and I was like, "What's up?"

And she was like, "Oh, I'm at Modell's buying up all the gear before they jack up all the prices."

And I was like, "Oh my goodness."

So the next day I made a video making fun of her, you know, put on a wig.

The character didn't even have a name yet, and put it on my social media, and then it just kinda took on a life of its own.

- Well, I just love that you're from Delaware, and yet you have perfected this Delco accent.

- Yeah, so my mom, like, I mean, her family's from Delaware County.

I work there in a lot of my professional life, and it just kinda made sense, and I just made fun of the way that she spoke, and then it just kinda resonated with the whole Delco area.

- So in your comedy, you call out real issues, and you say that laughter is the best form of healing.

How did you come to that idea?

- Especially like during COVID, just being stuck in the house and getting really depressed, I used the character to talk about real-life things and make myself laugh because I was, you know, on the verge of tears, and I was very public about my struggle with mental health and anxiety and depression, and the character in a way saved me just by being able to do silly things and make myself laugh and you know, help other people in the process, too.

- I love that, it does, it sorta opens the door in an approachable way and just really breaks down some of the barriers and the stigma around mental health issues.

And did you find that to be true?

Like, I knew you were getting some feedback from some audience members.

- Yeah, when we started touring again and going out to live shows, you know, a lotta people would come up after the show and say, "Thank you, you got me through COVID."

Like, "Talking about your mental health really helped open the door to have a conversation with myself."

And during one of my last shows, a lady slipped me a note, and she said, "Don't read it until after I leave."

And when I read it and she said, "Thank you for speaking up about mental health.

You saved my life."

- Wow.

- And that just meant everything to me.

- Wow.

- I mean, you couldn't have anticipated that going into this career.

- Yeah.

- Did you?

- No, not at all, I mean, it just, the character like took on a life of its own and very blessed and very grateful for everything that the character has done for me professionally, personally, and just being able to laugh with myself and make fun of things that I probably wouldn't be able or feel comfortable talking about, but the character has allowed me to kinda speak on those issues.

- And thousands of thousands of people are laughing with you.

So from social media to now albums and shows, what can we expect from AMP this year?

- We are on the "Downashore & More Tour" right now.

So we're going all over tri-state bringing the summer show to towns near you.

And then we do a big holiday tour every year.

So I'm really excited to kinda get some normalcy and get back out there and do a full Christmas show.

But between videos, we have upcoming like short film projects, new music coming out soon.

The rollercoaster, I just, that's my, honestly, my favorite part is making these silly songs that are actually like really good and people enjoy them.

So a whole bunch of stuff coming up, but just really getting back out there and interacting with people again is just my main goal.

- Wow.

- We are really looking forward to it.

- Yes.

(Troy laughing) - You know, thank you so much for giving us a glimpse of this behind-the-scenes look into Aunt Mary Pat.

And also, you oughta know, here is where you can find Aunt Mary Pat's performance schedule.

You're not gonna wanna miss it.

No, you gotta check her out.

(Troy laughs) (bright music) We should go to one of her shows.

- We should, it'd be so much fun.

Let's do it.

- Absolutely, yes!

Yes, I'm totally down.

- Well, that'll do it for us tonight.

- Thanks for watching, goodnight, everyone.

- See you next week, bye.

(upbeat music)