About Making Black History Today: Everyday People, Extraordinary Impact
Making Black History Today is an award-winning podcast featuring the Black leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, innovators and changemakers shaping Dallas and beyond.
Hosted by Liz and Porter, each episode goes beyond the résumé to uncover the stories, lessons, challenges and defining moments behind people making an impact in business, education, culture, history, leadership and community.
Guests include Ambassador Ron Kirk, Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney, Comedian Ryan Davis, Leah Frazier, Maryum Ali and more.
New episodes drop every other Thursday. Follow the show so you don’t miss what’s next.
Leah Frazier: From Lawyer to Entrepreneur — The Power of the Pivot
Leah Frazier went from practicing law to becoming an entrepreneur, founder of Think Three Media, media personality, and Emmy and ADDY Award winner, but building a business came at a cost.
In this candid conversation with Liz and Porter, Leah opens up about losing her car, investing her life savings, starting over, career reinvention, and learning when it's time to pivot. She shares the question that changed how she approached entrepreneurship and her future: “What else can I build?”
Follow Making Black History Today for new conversations every other Thursday at 5:00 a.m.
10 Sept 2026
$1.2 Trillion in Contracts But Who Actually Gets Access?
There is more than $1 trillion in contracting opportunity. Getting access to it is another story.
For small, Black-owned, minority-owned and women-owned businesses, government contracts can mean growth, jobs, capacity and generational wealth.
But getting a seat at the table has never been simple.
And now, some of the rules are changing.
Angela L. Alexander, Executive Director of the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA), joins Making Black History Today to break down what business owners need to know about government contracting, certification, procurement and access to opportunity.
Changes affecting the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) programs are reshaping how some businesses demonstrate eligibility.
But Angela makes something else clear:
Getting certified doesn't mean you're getting the contract.
Businesses still need capacity. Relationships. Information. Strategy. And, increasingly, partnerships and joint ventures that can help them compete for larger opportunities.
Angela also explains The Bridge by NCTRCA, an AI-powered directory designed to increase the visibility of certified businesses and help connect them with buyers and prime contractors.
This isn't simply a conversation about certification.
It's about who gets to compete.
Who gets the information.
Who builds the relationships.
Who has the capacity.
And who is ready when opportunity shows up.
Because with $1.2 trillion in contracting opportunities, the question isn't simply whether the money exists.
The question is: Who is positioned to get their share?
• What NCTRCA does and why certification matters
• What's changing for DBE and ACDBE businesses
• Why certification doesn't guarantee a government contract
• What business owners should do after getting certified
• Why capacity and relationships matter
• How partnerships and joint ventures can create larger opportunities
• How The Bridge by NCTRCA connects certified businesses with buyers and prime contractors
• What Angela Alexander believes small businesses need to do to compete in a changing environment
🎙️ Making Black History Today documents the leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, creatives and change-makers writing Black history right now.
Hosted by Liz & Porter.
Follow Making Black History Today so you don't miss the next conversation.
27 Aug 2026
She Integrated a School in the 4th Grade. Then She Spent 40 Years in Dallas ISD Refusing to Settle.
“Poverty has nothing to do with one's ability to learn.” Shirley Ison-Newsome integrated a school as a fourth grader; decades later, that belief would shape nearly 40 years of leadership in Dallas ISD, where she developed educators, reshaped schools, and helped build the vision behind Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy.
But refusing to lower the standard came with a cost. Ison-Newsome talks candidly about school integration, Black education, educational equity, leadership, and the resistance that can come when you demand excellence inside a system that doesn't always welcome it.
Today, a Dallas ISD school carries her name: Shirley Ison-Newsome Montessori Academy. This is the story of what it took to earn that legacy.
We are just getting started.
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