On the season finale of The Unwanted Sorority, we are giving flowers to Lupita Nyong'o for her global commitment to elevating the voices and messages of Black women across the diaspora through her art and her activism.

Rachel Markham, our Roll Call guest also joins us to share her testimony of healing from sexual assault. A writer, DJ, and sexual assault survivor, Rachel shares her journey through the work raising awareness about sexual assault in Ghana with her organization Sexual Assault Africa and The Transformation Foundation.

This episode is a full celebration of our strength and support across the diaspora. Let's get into it! Until next time, listeners...

Resources & Mentions

Lupita Nyong'o's excerpts from her New York Times op-ed as cited from Mike Miller's article in People Magazine titled "Lupita Nyong'o Says Harvey Weinstein Asked Her for a Massage"

Errin Haines Whack's article "Why so few women of color in the wave of accusers? ‘Stakes higher’' for WHYY

Lawretta Egba's article "Lupita Nyong’o Speaks up for “Broken” Women; Calls for “Healing” at Variety Power of Women Luncheon" for Face2Face Africa

Rachel Markham's book Transformation

Rachel's Nonprofit Recommendations:

1. The Boring Talkative, a Ghanian NGO focused on equality, consent, sexual and gender-based violence
2. The Brotar Foundation, a Ghanian NGO focused on on mental health awareness
3. Power to Girls, a Greater Toronto Area and Ghana-based nonprofit focused on Black and marginalized girls with programming and support in personal development, mentorship, mental health and wellness. Follow them on IG here: @power2girlsgh

About the Spotlight Initiative

Florence Keya's organization Together for Girls

Wangu Kanja Foundation

Women's Media Center-'s “#AmINext: South African women push back” in honor of Uyinene Mrwetyana

The New Humanitarian's article about the rise of violence against women in Sudan

Mukwege Foundation- Survivor network in Nigeria press release

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of The Unwanted Sorority, we are honoring the groundbreaking legacy of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, whose investigative journalism exposed the ties between racial terror and sexual violence in the South, laying a foundation for future generations of survivor-advocates.

Our Roll Call guest, Lori Johnson, shares her own story of survival and healing. Growing up in NYC and moving to the South, Lori experienced family instability and within the strict teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness faith, Lori carried shame and trauma for years. Today, she traces her healing journey back to her Gullah Igala cultural and ancestral roots, where spirituality, community, and history become sources of strength.

If you’ve ever felt unseen in your story, this episode reminds you: your survival is sacred, your healing is valid, and you are not alone.

Resources & Mentions

Ida B. Wells-Barnett's Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All its Phases - Oct. 5, 1892, from the archives of The New York Public Library

The Bill of Rights Institute's curriculum assignment Ida B. Wells and the Campaign against Lynching

Mary E. Triece's book, Radical Advocate: Ida B. Wells and the Road to Race and Gender Justice, featured on The University of Alabama Press's website

Amb Ayegba Abdullahi Adojoh's article "A Study of the Cultural Relationship between Igala (Igula) Kingdom of Nigeria and Gullah People of North America" in the International Journal of Trend in Research and Development, Volume 9(5), ISSN: 2394-9333

RAINN (800-656-HOPE)

Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The Unwanted Sorority, Leatra honors Rosa Parks’s lesser-known role as an NAACP sexual assault investigator and her advocacy for Recy Taylor, tying their courage to today’s movement and this episode's Roll Call guest. She also speaks with Dom, who shares how therapy, storytelling, and community have been central to reclaiming power after trauma. In Unpacking the Ritual, Leatra names patterns many Black women and femme survivors will recognize: the adultification of Black girls, stonewalling, and dissociation. Inspired by Dom's interview, Leatra works to reframe self-care as accountability, love, and liberation.

Join the conversation: @theunwantedsorority on IG/TikTok.

Resources and Mentions

Ryan Mattimore's article for History.com "Before the Bus, Rosa Parks Was a Sexual Assault Investigator: Why has History Left Out This Piece of Rosa Parks' Story?"

Laura L. Rogers (Deputy Director for Office of Violence Against Women): National African American History Month: Remembering Rosa Parks’ Work to Address Sexual Assault

Tell Me More (Podcast on NPR): Hidden Pattern Of Rape Helped Stir Civil Rights Movement

"The Black Girlhood Studies Collection" by Aria S. Halliday

Ellie Lisitsa's article for Gottman.com "The Four Horsemen: Stonewalling"

Tonjie Reese's blog post for California Partnership to End Domestic Violence "The War Against Black Girls: Addressing the adultification bias"

RAINN (800-656-HOPE)

DoD Safe Helpline (877-995-5247)

Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.