ESC-Hate

Ryan Lo'Ree (@ryanl4change) is a Michigan-based political activist and community organizer, who was once Vice President of the white supremacist gang, the Rollingwood Skins. His involvement with the group led to his incarceration, followed by a long period of introspection, transformation, and then healing. Ryan began his activism in 2013 by opening a Mixed Martial Arts studio for troubled youth in his hometown of Flint, and has gone onto work in to partner with local government offices and organizations, including, most recently, Light Upon Light. He’s the second speaker in our series, and will be talking with Jesse today about his journey, the work they do, and why it’s so important for our country at this time. —————————————————————————— Visit Ryan's website: http://www.ryan4change.com  —————————————————————————— Esc-Hate is hosted and produced by Naama Kates with Light Upon Light for Crawlspace Media. —————————————————————————— Theme music for Esc-Hate is composed by Cyrus Melchor. —————————————————————————— Learn more about this organization and how to get involved by visiting www.LightUponLight.online.

Welcome back, after several months of radio silence for you as listeners, and a lot of very loud and dissonant noise for us all as citizens. Polarization is at an all-time high, so we’re hitting the reset button here at Escape Hate. The podcast will run coincident to additional efforts at Light Upon Light to address the polarization, dehumanization, and hate plaguing our nation, by assembling the right voices to lead the conversation. The next series of episodes will feature founder, Jesse Morton in conversations with five individuals working on the front lines to bring us all some wisdom and perspective during these turbulent times. First up is Eldra Jackson III, co-executive director of Inside Circle, an organization that works with inmates and ex-convicts to provide opportunities for healing and transformation. He first encountered the organization while serving 24 years of a life sentence in a California State Penitentiary, and is proof of the power of their approach. You’ll be hearing from Eldra today, in conversation with founder, Jesse Morton. —————————————————————————— Esc-Hate is hosted and produced by Naama Kates with Light Upon Light for Crawlspace Media. —————————————————————————— Theme music for Esc-Hate is composed by Cyrus Melchor. —————————————————————————— Learn more about this organization and how to get involved by visiting www.LightUponLight.online.

Today, as protestors gather, demanding justice for George Floyd, we must acknowledge the hard truth that our nation is in crisis. Though it feels as though our very democracy is under attack, we must appreciate the very American tradition of organizing in the name of justice. In today’s episode of Escape Hate, we sit down and talk to two extraordinary and heroic individuals, who have recently come to call this country home - Abdalaziz al-Hamza, Syrianfounder of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently,” and Faisal Saeed al-Mutar, Iraqi founder of “Ideas Beyond Borders.” —————————————————————————— Esc-Hate is hosted and produced by Naama Kates with Light Upon Light for Crawlspace Media. —————————————————————————— Theme music for Esc-Hate is composed by Cyrus Melchor. —————————————————————————— Learn more about this organization and how to get involved by visiting www.LightUponLight.online.  

In episode 2, Naama sits down with Daryl Davis, a blues musician, author, and humanitarian, and Jeff Schoep, the former leader of the National Socialist Movement, to discuss the story of their unlikely friendship and address issues of racial animosity and hatred in America.  Davis's singular efforts to improve race relations have been covered by NPR, the Washington Post, and CNN. He is also the subject of 2016 independent documentary entitled, "Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America." Schoep served as commander of the NSM, "America's largest neo-Nazi organization," for over 20 years before stepping down and publicly denouncing the movement in March of 2019. Today, he shares his story in an effort to combat hate and extremism. —————————————————————————— Esc-Hate is hosted and produced by Naama Kates with Light Upon Light for Crawlspace Media. —————————————————————————— Theme music for Esc-Hate is composed by Cyrus Melchor. —————————————————————————— Learn more about this organization and how to get involved by visiting www.LightUponLight.online.