In America, we like to think that we're always talking about race. Like the conversation is happening everywhere, all the time. But race is embedded in society in ways we don't even think about -- just like fish don't see the water they're swimming in. In Race Unwrapped, host Michelle Tyrene Johnson tackles different ways to unwrap and unpack race and identity.
Join us to celebrate the end of “Race Unwrapped," season five (https://www.raceunwrapped.org/)! Since its launch in 2020, this podcast has unwrapped the ways race affects our lives, whether we’re thinking about it or not. We spent the latest season exploring the intersection of art and activism, and how creators use their art to make the world better.
Featuring a conversation between “Race Unwrapped” host and playwright Michelle Tyrene Johnson and Louisville poet and artist Lance G. Newman II, who performs under the name Mr. SpreadLove (https://www.spreadlove.life/mr--spreadlove), an interactive workshop empowering you to create your own art with guidance from KMAC staff, and a poetry slam (https://www.kmacmuseum.org/poetry-slam), where poets are invited to explore their visions for the future, and how we get there from here.
When:
August 29, 2026
Doors at 3:00 p.m.
(Un)Wrap Party 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Poetry Slam 5:30 p.m.
Where: KMAC Contemporary Art Museum (https://www.kmacmuseum.org/) (715 West Main Street, Louisville, KY)
This event is free, art supplies will be provided, and all ages are welcome. Space in the gallery is limited, so reserve your spot today (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/race-unwrapped-season-5-unwrap-party-art-as-activism-tickets-1996258713550) and spend an afternoon with us centering creativity and unlocking your own creative potential. Because when the systems we live under try to marginalize us, art reminds us: as long as you can create, you are not powerless.
5 Aug 2026
‘Look how we find joy.’ Dr. J. Drew Lanham on poetry and justice
Dr. J. Drew Lanham is an academic, poet, creative writer, curator, ornithologist and, in his words, “trending feral.” He joins us to talk about poetry, particularly his own poetry that unravels themes of representation, power, and often, birds. Dr. Lanham and host Michelle Tyrene Johnson share their experiences of Blackness as artists, and as humans.
Learn more about Dr. Lanham’s work at jdrewlanham.com (http://jdrewlanham.com).
This season of Race Unwrapped is supported by the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (https://kcaah.org/), and by our listeners. Click here (https://secure.givelively.org/donate/kentucky-public-radio-inc/race-unwrapped) to help make this work possible (and we’ll send you a Race Unwrapped sticker)!
29 Jul 2026
‘Artists are still crossing those boundaries.’ Dr. Minkah Makalani on the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance
You can't tell the story of art and social change without visiting the brilliant minds of the Harlem Renaissance. For Dr. Minkah Makalani, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University, that's an area of particular interest and scholarship. He joins us to illustrate how the co-mingling of art and politics was present then, and draw a throughline to how artists and creators interact with our political systems today.
Learn more about Dr. Makalani’s work here (https://history.jhu.edu/directory/minkah-makalani/).
This season of Race Unwrapped is supported by the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage (https://kcaah.org/), and by our listeners. Click here (https://secure.givelively.org/donate/kentucky-public-radio-inc/race-unwrapped) to help make this work possible (and we’ll send you a Race Unwrapped sticker)!
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.1 / 5
16 ratings
Spotify
4.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 16 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
11
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
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