Rebecca Barber, aka “608Bosslady” on the air with hiphop Saturday nights from midnight-3 am on WORT’s Universal Soul Explosion, was recently a featured guest on Breyon Oneofmani Sommerville‘s podcast “LookLocal1st.” Breyon gives her much respect for bringing the beats and even more for airing the shout-outs from prisoners which can be heard on U.S.E. every week. Click here to listen to the podcast episode focusing on Rebecca and her work with WORT and elsewhere in the community, such as her “day job” as Nehemiah Re-Entry Staff/Housing Coordinator for Dignity Housing Program and volunteering with Urban Community Arts Network (UCAN), as a Board member for the Madison Hip Hop Awards and more. Now celebrating a decade of hosting U.S.E., since the quarantine started she’s also helped keep the Fanjacker Radio show (Friday nights 2-5 am) on the air – it’s currently being produced by Wazzup Radio (host D Teck is the A&R Manager of Konvict Records) and they also simulcast the Soul Explosion on their network Saturday nights.
Justified Anger, an initiative of Nehemiah, brings stories and conversations from staff and the community that inspire, educate, and engage people toward justice action. The goal is to eliminate racial disparities by provoking moral conscience and directing collective action at the grassroots and systemic levels. In the first episode of Justified Anger Podcast, the staff of Nehemiah’s Reentry Team explored experiences and issues occurring in Wisconsin correctional facilities during the coronavirus pandemic. Through the stories and relationships of the staff, the voices of those impacted by incarceration are heard in phone calls, letters, and interviews. Rebecca Barber and Shannon Ross provide perspectives on conditions in the actual prisons and jails right now during the COVID outbreaks of the past year.
Rebecca’s actually been involved with all of the Justified Anger podcasts since February 2, when the first episode of their series on the COVID Corrections Crisis was released. All episodes listed below can be heard on their website here.
“The Shout Out,” she explains, “is a way for someone to get a personal message to someone listening to the show. A close friend or family member calls the station, I put them on the air and their loved one hears their individual message of love and support. The inmates have countless positive and meaningful messages that the public, especially young people, should be hearing. But all those voices are inside. There has to be ways to bring them out.”
