3. Milmon F. Harrison and Gwen Johnson

Milmon and Gwen met each other for the first time at the 2017 Imagining America national conference, just two days before they sat down to record their conversation. 

Milmon is a sociologist and member of the faculty in the African American and African Studies Department at the University of California, Davis.  His teaching interests include race and ethnic relations in the U-S, the Great Migration and the role of the Black Church in the African American freedom struggle. 

Gwen is an educator, community volunteer and lover of Appalachia.  Her family has deep roots in the coal mining community of eastern Kentucky.  She works as an Early Childhood Training Coordinator at the University of Kentucky.  

Despite their disparate backgrounds, they quickly learned they had a lot in common.  They discuss the importance of empathy, recognizing cycles of oppression and remembering our common humanity.