Archived Radio Show

June 30, 2025

Original Radio Show  ID:
WSA250630

Listen to the Show on the Mp3 Player below

Duration 57 minutes

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Featuring

Click the Name to access the Segment below

1. Commentary by our Host, Elaine B. Holtz

2. Guest Dr. Andrea Hall, PhD, RN, Author, Wellness Coach

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1. Commentary by our Host, Elaine B. Holtz:  I have a special guest joining me in the studio is, Dr. Andrea Hall. Andrea is the Community Outreach coordinator for the North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce, member of the Juneteenth Festival organizing committee, a published author and regular guest on Women’s Spaces. She will be read and discussing the poem Juneteenth - Ancestors Are Africans written by Enid Pickett.

Enid Pickett, Poet Laurette, Poet Laurette for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and author of the poem, Juneteenth - Ancestors Are African was scheduled to be on this morning but due to a change in her schedule she cannot make it. I was so impressed with her poem and wanted it read on the air during the time the Freedom Festival is taking place, and I invited Andrea to fill in for her and here we are.  She performed a Table Reading of the poem as an opening event for Freedom Festival on June 19, 2025. We interviewed Enid Picket on June 9, 2025, and she read a part of her poem Juneteenth - Ancestors Are African. That show is archived at the following link:

FYI: The Freedom Festival happens from Juneteenth (which is June 19th) through Independence Day (July 4th). Events will be offered both in person and online from California to New York. These will include conversations about what freedom means to us, about justice and liberty, about Black activists and artists across history. There will be opportunities to play, and to enjoy music and games. Go to https://freedomfestivalusa.org/  for additional information.

This is the last Monday of the Month, and we will be doing the Women’s Spaces Pledge..

Announcements: Alice Waco passed away on June 29. . She was a lifelong activist for peace and justice in Sonoma County and retired counselor and teacher. She founded Educators for Social Responsibility, addressing nuclear disarmament, deforestation, and bias-free education. As a union president, she led a successful teachers’ strike for collective bargaining in Santa Rosa. Inspired by a trip to Nicaragua during the revolution, she helped support CANTERA, a grassroots education nonprofit, for over 35 years.                               Photo by Santa Rosa Democratic Club

After retiring, Alice volunteered with the Alternatives to Violence Project in prisons for two decades. A founding force at the Peace and Justice Center, she found her strength in community and cherished life with her husband, Bill McGee. The Santa Rosa Democratic Club recently honored her. Alice was an inspiration to many. My condolences to her family and friends. We featured Alice Waco on Women's Spaces on January 30, 2023, which is archived at the following link:

2. Our Guest Dr. Andrea Hall:   In this heartfelt Women’s Spaces interview, host Elaine B. Holtz speaks with Dr. Andrea Hall—community outreach coordinator for the North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce, Juneteenth Festival organizer, and author of Wake Up. The conversation begins with reflections on Juneteenth, commemorating the delayed emancipation of enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, in 1865. Hall emphasizes Juneteenth’s enduring significance as a symbol of freedom, justice, and resilience, despite the painful legacy of slavery. She acknowledges the emotional difficulty of revisiting this history, yet affirms its importance in preventing future injustice, referencing the Ghanaian concept of Sankofa—learning from the past to build the future.

Hall reads Enid Pickett’s poem Juneteenth – Ancestors Are African, praising its vivid imagery and deep emotional resonance. She is especially struck by the poem’s portrayal of Juneteenth as a living woman embodying both beauty and trauma, and its references to Black ancestral suffering and strength. The poem sparks discussion of the unique burdens carried by Black women under slavery and the deep affirmation of Black identity and survival.

In the second half of the interview, Hall shifts to her personal journey and her book Wake Up, which emerged from a moment of profound inner disconnection. Though not suicidal, she longed for a more authentic life. A revelatory moment came during a spiritual conference when she alone heard the phrase, “You cannot be a codependent and be whole,” prompting deep personal transformation. Hall explores how women, especially, are conditioned into codependency, sacrificing their needs for others.

With support from metaphysical counselor Reverend Sherri James, Hall began reclaiming her life. She encourages listeners to prioritize self-care, reject harmful patterns, and live with purpose. Her books are available at wholypower.com and on Amazon. Elaine closes by praising Andrea’s courage and contributions to community healing.

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About our Guest: Dr. Andrea Hall iis the youngest of twelve children, Andrea Hall was born and raised in Santa Rosa, CA., where her parents had moved from San Francisco to pastor a Church. Her earliest memories include being in church for many hours and following her mother, also a nurse inspired her to become a nurse.

In school, Andrea’s greatest interests were in science, sociology, health, and physical education. Her continued studies in all of them resulted in degrees and licenses in nursing, multicultural studies, metaphysics, and physical fitness. She is a coach in Heart Math./p>

Andrea’s most recent interests lie in writing about her favorite life experiences. Therefore, in her works of fiction, you’ll find elements of all that she loves, including nursing, spirituality, love, and family. She recently retired from her nursing career and is looking forward to enjoying life and adventure in her next phase. She is a mother of three beautiful children and five grandchildren.

Andrea is the proud author of two books, which we talked about in our previous interview on March 25, 2024, and serves as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the North Bay Black Chamber of Commerce.

Guest Links:

Dr. Andrea Hall's website, books:  https://drandreahall.com/

Transform your LIfe through Mind-Body Wellness Coaching with Dr. Andrea Hall:  https://whollypower.com/

Reference Links:

  Enid Pickett's website with new book Through the Eyes of Enid :  www.enidpickett.com

Freedom Festival website with Event Schedule: https://freedomfestivalusa.org/  

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Our History Is Our Strength

Check out important dates to remember in Herstory at the National Women's History Alliance, wher, where the date descriptions were sourced unless otherwise indicated.

Special thank you to the National Women’s History Alliance for making women’s history alive. Shout out to Co-Founder and Retiring Executive Director, Molly McGregor who will be on the show when we celebrate Women’s History Month in March for making the fabulous list of Women in History where I get most of the info I present in this Herstory segment.

Herstory Birthdays:

June 29, 1897 (1992) – Kazue Togasaki, physician who pioneered a place in medicine for women of Japanese ancestry and was one of the few physicians allowed to practice medicine in the Japanese Internment Camps during World War II.

June 29, 1900 (1997) – Margaret Storrs Grierson, archivist, professor, founder and first director of the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College which she molded into a women’s history archive.

June 30, 1883- March 16, 1970 – Dorothy Tilly, civil rights reformer, devoted her life to reforming southern race relations.

June 30, 1917 (2010) – Lena Horne, singer, first African American woman to sign long-term Hollywood contract, fought for contracts guaranteeing African Americans could attend her shows.

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Announcements  

Wednesday, July 7, 2025, 11 AM PT, the show  features our host Elaine B. Holtz on her graduation speech 50 years ago.  Radio KBBF 89.1 FM, North SF Bay or live streaming at https://kbbf.org/live

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Wednesday, July 9, 2025, 10 AM PT, the show is a repeat of our show of 6/30/25 that features our host Elaine B. Holtz on her graduation speech 50 years ago.  Radio KPCA 103.3 FM, Petaluma, CA. https://petalumacommunityaccess.org/kpca 

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Freedom Festival is from June 19th to July 4th every year, with discussion groups local in person and/or virtual scheduled all year, see description and upcoming events at https://freedomfestivalusa.org/.  

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Ongoing:

Every Wednesday the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County (PJCSC) issues new weekly list of events and links to community non-profit organizations. It includes ongoing peace and human rights rallies and protests, and those sponsored by the  Community United to Resist Fascism (CURF) of which PJCSC is a member : Website www.pjcsoco.org

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Every Sunday, Palestine Support Sunday, 2- 4 pm, Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa, CA

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Every Thursday, Rally for Veterans Health Benefits, Protesting Potential Cuts to VA Funding, VA Center, 2285 Challenger Way, Santa Rosa, CA

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Take action every day - Calendar: https://indivisiblesoco.org/calendar/

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The North Bay Organizing Project - Rapid Response Project

https://www.northbayop.org/nbrrn

Add this number to your contacts list on your smartphone: (707)800-4544

Music Selections

The Opening and Closing Theme song The Woman in Your Life is You is done with permission of the Composer and Singer Alix Dobkin ((August 16, 1940 – May 19, 2021) Alix Dobkin death was just announced - Thank you for all you did for Lesbians to be recognized and Women to be honored. May you rest in peace. See our Interview with Alix Dobkin on 12/1/2014 and our Memorial to Alix Dobkin on 5/24/2021.

A Change is Gonna Come, sung by Leila James, from the album A Change is Gonna Come (2003, 2004, 2005 Warner Brothers Records, Inc. for the US and WEA International, Inc. for the world outside the US).

We Who Believe in Freedom, sung by Emily Ebert from the album We Who Believe in Freedom (2018 Emily Ebert) 

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For music purchasing opportunity, supporting the artists: