We Can Be podcast - The Heinz Endowments
Society & Culture
Tammy Thompson was nine when she and her family left a West Virginia coal mining town for the promise of a good-paying job and a new life in Pittsburgh. They shot through the Fort Pitt tunnels, where on the other end the golden bridges and sparkling lights of the city and its rivers burst into dazzling view.
Then it all went wrong.
As a third-grader, Tammy saw her family’s high hopes and financial stability crumble in ways that still affect them today. But she now heads an arm of national anti-poverty group Circles and is the producer of the documentary film We Wear the Mask: the Hidden Faces of Women in Poverty. She is an undeniable success story, and she spreads knowledge, hope and love to everyone with whom she comes in contact.
The trauma of poverty — and the strength from rising out of it — informs all that Tammy does. Her story is very much an American story. It’s a story of loading into the family car and chasing after the promise of a better life only to find it is just the beginning of an even rougher road. And then, against unfathomable odds, overcoming the impossibly difficult circumstances.
Tammy is upbeat, smart and brings energy and empathy to all who come into her own circle. Don’t miss the story of her journey, her perhaps surprising thoughts on gentrification, and her belief that going “beyond survival into ‘thrival’ ” should — and must — be our goal.
“We Can Be” is hosted by The Heinz Endowments’ Grant Oliphant and produced by the Endowments and Treehouse Media. Theme music is composed by John Dziuban, with incidental music by Josh Slifkin.
The joy & complexity of giving w/ Giving Done Right author Phil Buchanan S02EP17
Poet, soldier, author & father Tim O’Brien on the extraordinary, beautiful power of maybe S02EP16
Building an army of support for refugees: Hello Neighbor’s Sloane Davidson S02EP15
Blindsided by the Taliban: Journalist & Postindustrial media co-founder Carmen Gentile S02EP14
From homelessness to Emmy Award winning composer & director: the shining light of Emmai Alaquiva S02EP13
Dr. Cornel West & Bikari Kitwana 2: the revolution in priorities our society needs S02EP12
Dr. Cornel West & Bikari Kitwana on the joy & struggle of today’s freedom fighters S02EP11
Different but united: the palpable positivity of 24-hours-a-day bridge-builder Wasi Mohamed S2EP10
From Parkland to Pittsburgh, student activists are forever altering the social change landscape S2E9
From Air Force plane nosedive to university president: Dr. Chris Howard & the power of mentoring S2EP8
Art is making souls soar in this rapidly changing neighborhood S02EP07
As environmental stakes rise, Emily Collins helps the underserved get a fair shake S02EP06
Trayvon Martin's activism legacy: mother Sybrina Fulton, Jasiri X & Black Lives Matter stand strong S2E5
Very Smart Brothas' Damon Young: the hyper-cognizance & beauty of being black in America S2E04
Archeology, family & fantasy: the fantastic Afrofuturist art of Alisha Wormsley S2E03
Tree of Life leaders: "We didn't think about courage; we thought about doing the right thing" S2E02
In aftermath of tragedy at Tree of Life synagogue, random acts of beauty & unity are the new normal (S02EP01)
Lifting the arc: Hazelwood’s Tim Smith & grassroots energy bring a new future to this riverfront community S01EP20
San Juan, PR Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz: speaking truth to power, green energy & her grandmother’s enduring impact. (S01EP19)
Truthful Art: Jasiri X on Trayvon Martin, Antwon Rose Jr. & the cross-section of unity that gives him hope. (S01EP18)
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