About Passing the Mic! A Stanford Black Community Services Center Podcast
Passing the Mic! started as a podcast to pay homage to the alumni, faculty, and staff who shaped the Black community of Stanford through their commitment to the Black Community Services Center. Our first season explored the audacity our guests needed to ensure the BCSC is still here 55 years after "Take Back the Mic" and the demands that gave birth to our center, and the energy needed to ensure our future.
Each season of our podcast takes on a new vibe. Season two was recorded and produced by Liyah Ernest '26. She explores how travel and the arts nourishes and builds community at Stanford.
Publisher
Black Community Service Center @ Stanford University
S2 E3 | Passing the Mic: Nourishing our Collective Well-Being through Travel
In our final episode of this season, Liyah Ernest ‘26 chats with some of her close friends about their time in Ghana. They share fond memories and discuss how their friendship nourished them then and now.
8 Feb 2026
S2 E2 | Passing the Mic: Nourishing our Collective Well-Being with TAPS
Welcome to the second season of Passing the Mic. We recorded this season during the 2024-2025 school year.
In this episode, Liyah Ernest ‘26 speaks with Dr. Aileen Robinson & Eryn Michael ‘24 about the power of theater and arts in self and community care.
1 Feb 2026
S2 E1 | Passing the Mic: Nourishing our collective well-being with the Cantor Arts Center
Welcome to the second season of Passing the Mic!
In this episode, Liyah Ernest ‘26 talks with Marion Gill and Sandhya Rajan about their journey to the Stanford community and their experience balancing their identities with their positions at work. This episode was recorded during the 2024-2025 school year.
22 Apr 2024
Episode 4: The Audacity to Adapt with Kayla Williams '26, Lauren Green '26, and Nifemi Bankole '27
In Liyah's first solo episode she chats with current undergraduate students Kayla Williams '26, Lauren Green '26, and Nifemi Bankole '27. Kayla, Nifemi, and Lauren all have unique stories about their adjustment from their pre-Stanford lives to their current Stanford experiences.
Each of them have also participated in the Black House’s Ernest Houston Johnson Scholars Program (https://bcsc.stanford.edu/programs/ernest-houston-johnson-scholars-program), a program offered by the Black Community Services Center honoring the first black graduate from Stanford. Our program introduces first year students to research concepts, career exploration, Stanford Black history, and a community that lasts beyond their first year at Stanford! Listen in as we discuss how Kayla, Nifemi, and Lauren have the audacity to adapt to Stanford life, and how their relationship with the Black House has helped with their transition.
13 Mar 2024
Episode 3: The Audacity to Lead Where You Are Not Seen with Dr. Mona Hicks
In today’s episode we have Dr. Mona Hicks. Dr. Hicks serves as the senior associate vice provost and Dean of students at Stanford University, where she leads Residential Education, the Graduate Life Office, the Office of Accessible Education, Schwab Learning Center, and the Office of Community Standards. Dr. Mona Hicks exemplifies what it means to lead unapologetically and boldly in spaces that would rather see you shrink and disappear.
Today’s moderator is Dom Johnson, assistant dean and associate director of the Black House. Dom earned a BA in Child Development and American Studies, then went to the Boston College School of Social Work and earned a Master in Social Work, with a concentration in Child, Youth, and Family support.
Later, she returned to Tufts and earned a Masters in Diversity and Inclusion Leadership, with a concentration in Higher Education this past Spring. Mental health is very important to her, as is leadership development, so Dom created a career where she can support Black students at Predominantly White Institutions.
Since being at Stanford, she has been instrumental in organizing and elevating the Black Liberation Month Celebrations, starting the annual Black PopUp Shop on campus, and further diversifying the undergraduate staff of BCSC so more students will find themselves in the space!
Join us as we listen in on Dom and Dr. Mona Hicks’s conversation as they discuss the direct impact of Dr. Mona Hicks’s work in the Stanford Community!
Note: We already celebrated our 55th Anniversary!
8 Jan 2024
Episode 2: The Audacity to Reimagine with Valerie Brown '98 and DeLise Bernard '98
Valerie Brown and DeLise Bernard are members of Stanford’s Ladies of ‘98. They, along with the other ladies of ‘98 led a fundraising campaign to construct a teaching kitchen in the Black House’s Henry and Monique Brandon Family Community Room. Their imagination of what the Black Community Services Center could become will open new ways for our community to use the Black House. The first phase of this project will start this year with remodeling the main entrances to create an easy flow between our community room, deck, and main building. Moderating today’s conversation with Valerie Brown and DeLise Benard is Josie Amoo. Josie is a junior from Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. They are majoring in Environmental Systems Engineering and African and African American studies. They are involved in Black Student Union, Stanford African Students Association, and Black Gender Marginalized Collective. Let’s listen in on Josie’s conversation with Valerie and DeLise, as they discuss how their experiences at the Black house provided them with the fuel they needed to make an impact both during their lives at Stanford and after graduating.
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Instagram: @blackhousesu
Youtube: stanfordblackcommunityserv8606
22 Nov 2023
Excerpt: Audacity to Give Back
In our first episode we sit down with Henry Brandon III to discuss to talk about “The Audacity to Give Back” in front of a live studio audience! Mr. Henry graduated from Stanford in 1978. He was active both on the tennis court and in the Black Community. We actually recorded this episode in the Henry and Monique Brandon family community room at the Black House, which his family helped fund. Listen as we discuss the exposure Mr. Henry experienced at Stanford, his take on choosing a career path, and how he lives everyday with the mindset “today is my best day.”
Check out a teaser for our first episode!
22 Nov 2023
Episode 1: The Audacity to Give Back with Henry Brandon III '78
In our first episode we sit down with Henry Brandon III to discuss "The Audacity to Give Back” in front of a live audience! Mr. Henry graduated from Stanford in 1978. He was active both on the tennis court and in the Black Community. We actually recorded this episode in the Henry and Monique Brandon family community room at the Black House, which his family helped fund. Listen as we discuss the exposure Mr. Henry experienced at Stanford, his take on choosing a career path, and how he lives everyday with the mindset “today is my best day.”
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