A Marvel-ous Black History Month 🤎
LISTEN HERE
The Ten News Season 3: Episode 31
🗓️ Find out why Black History Month is celebrated in February 🦸🏿♀️ The Ten News shares five of our favorite black superheroes 🌟 Diamond White, Marvel’s first African American teen girl superhero, tells us about her role as Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur 🦠Trivia with Tessa: what disease did Alice Ball develop a treatment for?
Links
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/01/1075623826/why-is-february-black-history-month
https://www.history.com/.amp/topics/black-history/black-history-month
https://www.npr.org/2023/01/22/1150259944/florida-rejects-ap-class-african-american-studies
https://scientificwomen.net/women/ball-alice-121
Follow Along with Us
📧 Do you have something to tell us? Email us at: hello@thetennews.com
📝 Sign up for The Ten News-letter!
📸 Join us on Instagram
TRANSCRIPT:
Ryan Willard 0:02
I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong. Wow, that's a great quote.
Pamela Kirkland 0:08
Hey, Ryan, what are you reading?
Ryan Willard 0:11
A biography of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass. It's Black History Month and I've decided to learn something new about important Black Americans all month long.
Pamela Kirkland 0:19
That's a great idea, Ryan, another great Frederick Douglass quote, "it's easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
Ryan Willard 0:29
Oh, then we better keep building.
Pamela Kirkland 0:31
I'm Pamela Kirkland.
Ryan Willard 0:33
And I'm Ryan Willard. It's Wednesday, February 1st.
Pamela Kirkland 0:36
This is The Ten News.
Sound Bit 0:39
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Ryan Willard 0:47
Black History Month celebrates the achievements and contributions of Black Americans who have shaped our nation. This year's theme is Black Resistance to honor Black Americans' fight against oppression. But why is our celebration of Black History in February which is the shortest and coldest month?
Pamela Kirkland 1:04
Well, Black History Month began as Negro History Week way back in 1926. The second week of February was chosen because it was the week Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were born. Lincoln, of course, was the president who signed the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in America. Frederick Douglass was a formerly enslaved man who fought for the abolition of slavery and equal rights for black people. Wow. By the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was well underway, the week expanded to Black History Month and now is celebrated every year in the US and Canada. In 2006, President Obama, the first black president said that Black History Month shouldn't just celebrate the greatest hits of black Americans. Instead, it's about the lived shared experience of all African Americans high and low, famous and obscure, and how those experiences have shaped and challenged and ultimately strengthened America.
Ryan Willard 2:12
So, while it's important to celebrate black history this month, it's vital that we recognize black experiences all year round. For Black History Month, we put together a list of five black superheroes we love. Number one on our list is always and forever going to be Black Panther. In case you've been living under a rock Black Panther is a black, African superhero whose power comes from a mystical heart-shaped herb. Wakanda Forever was one of the biggest movies of 2022 and you can finally check it out on Disney+.
Pamela Kirkland 2:54
Fans of X Men no there's no cooler superhero than Storm. She's a mutant who can control the weather. In the comics, and the animated show Storm is a black African in the live-action films, she's African American.
Ryan Willard 3:14
And next on our list is Miles Morales aka Spiderman. In Spider-Man into the spider verse miles finds his own unique way to be a hero. Myles has two sequels coming out Across the Spiderverse and Beyond the Spiderverse, and he's got an incredibly cool game on PlayStation.
Pamela Kirkland 3:35
We could never leave out the incomparable Sam Wilson, the first black Captain America. Sam started out as the Falcon, but Steve Rogers chose to pass the shield to Sam. Marvel has confirmed that Sam Wilson will be front and center in Captain America New World Order on May 3, 2020. Androids aliens and wizards every time we fight, we fight one of the three.
Ryan Willard 4:08
And finally, we've got a brand new black superhero wrapping up our list Lunella Lafayette, aka Moon Girl. Moon Girl is described as the most intelligent character in the Marvel Universe. She's an inventor with a t-rex sidekick. And we have an interview with the actor playing Lunella coming up next.
Pamela Kirkland 4:37
Marvel's newest show is about a black superhero in New York City. Moon Girl is Marvel's first African American teen girl superhero and lives by the code that one girl can make a difference. We are so excited to have Diamond White, the voice of Moon Girl here with us today.
Ryan Willard 4:58
All right, Ten'ers. We are here with a living legend, an actual superhero right here in The Ten News Studio, I am incredibly excited. So, I got to know who are you? Where are you from? And what do you do?
Diamond White 5:11
My name is Diamond White. I am an actress/singer and I am the voice of Lunella in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Ryan Willard 5:19
So, who is Lunella Lafayette, exactly?
Diamond White 5:23
Lunella Lafayette is Moon Girl. She is the first Marvel African American teenage girl superhero and her own series. The show goes about when Lunella aka Moon Girl is protesting in the Lower East Side of New York with her partner-in-crime, Devil Dinosaur.
Ryan Willard 5:42
What makes Moon Girl different from a normal 13-year-old?
Diamond White 5:46
Well, Moon Girl is one of the smartest superheroes in the Marvel Universe. And her superpower is her intelligence. It is her brain. Um, that's what makes her, that's what makes it different.
Ryan Willard 5:59
So, does she use her intelligence to get a dinosaur?
Diamond White 6:05
Well, she opens up a portal out of nowhere and a 300-ton red dinosaur comes out. And she decides to name him Devil his name is way too complicated for her to say on an everyday basis. So she decides to name him Devil and she learns his language and they basically fall in love with each other over a couple of thousand hotdogs.
Ryan Willard 6:28
Does she invent things, too?
Diamond White 6:32
She's an inventor, she's a creator, and any quantum physics thing she's into it, she creates all of her gadgets and everything she uses to protect herself from these villains. And yeah, she can make anything solve any equation, and even make messes for herself. Sometimes she goes a little bit too far, she juices things up a little bit too much sometimes. But, her brain always gets her out of those sticky situations.
Ryan Willard 7:01
Outside of being a phenomenal actor and singer. What do you, Diamond White, really care about or fight for?
Diamond White 7:07
Honestly, representation, I grew up being you know, a little brown-skinned girl. And a lot of the time I didn't see characters that had the same skin tone as me or the same hair that I did growing up, and I didn't have a character that was black and was a superhero. I mean, she's the first of her kind. So knowing that, you know, one girl can make a difference and seeing the show and how it brings that message across. That's something that I would have liked to see growing up. And now that I get to voice Lunealla's character, it's really exciting for me to see all the younger girls looking up to Lunella and being like, hey, quantum physics, this is cool. I love being the smartest in my class. I love being a smart kid. And that is something that I wish I would have had growing up.
Ryan Willard 7:54
So, it's actually really cool because Lunella is quite possibly the most relatable character in the MCU if her superpower is intelligence, right, which means that like any kid could kind of be a superhero or be like Lunella?
Diamond White 8:09
Exactly, exactly. And to add to your point, she might be one of the smartest superheroes in the Marvel Universe, but she also has her insecurities and things that she struggles with being a tween, you know?
Ryan Willard 8:24
So, since we're just talking about representation, one of our Ten'ers, was wildly excited when we told her that you were going to be on this show. I was wondering, would you take some questions from her? It's one of our Ten'ers, her name is Saul.
Diamond White 8:40
I will. Yeah, Saul let's hear it!
Ten'er 8:44
My name's Saul and I like reading books. So the comic books were really fun for me. I actually think that it's gonna be a really cool TV show. What's your favorite thing about Moon Girl? What's your favorite thing about Devil Dinosaur?
Diamond White 9:00
My favorite thing about Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is their relationship because it's not like a, "oh, this is my dog or cat." They actually are partners and they have such a love for each other. For like, Devil is very protective of Lunella. And when let anything happen to her and there is a little tiff in the first episode where Casey and Devil are kinda like, you know, do I really trust this person because they both want to be close to Lunella. But eventually, we make a really great team and it shows how friendship is so important. And that's one of the main themes of this is community and friendship and Devil and Lunella has an unbreakable bond he doesn't want to leave her after the first episode like he does not want to go back into that portal.
Ten'er 9:50
Do you get stage fright? Because I do sometimes.
Diamond White 9:54
I do get stage fright every time I'm about to go on stage or perform, while I give people the silent treatment because I'm freaking out inside, almost paying less. But as soon as I step out on stage, I pretend that everyone is just positive and they have, they want me to do well because that's what changed my perspective about going on stage. If I expect people to want me to not do well, then I'll have a bad show. But if I go on stage with a positive mindset, and I'm like, everyone's here to support me, then I do an amazing job. So keep the positivity in your head. No one wants to see you fall on your face.
Ten'er 10:35
If I don't have superpowers, what do you think I can do to be a hero?
Diamond White 10:40
To be a hero? Honestly, standing up for people that don't have a voice. That is something that I do in my everyday life to feel like a superhero, spreading kindness. Spreading good vibes. Yeah, just not letting the darkness of the world and other people's you know, insecurities. You know, simmer and let them you know, come out onto other people. If you see something wrong, talk about it. Stand up about it, and try to be a good person basically having a good heart.
Ryan Willard 11:15
Diamond, you are absolutely tremendous. I am super excited to watch Moon girl and Devil Dinosaur. Is there anything else you want to tell our Ten'ers?
Diamond White 11:23
Just that it's not only for the kids, it's for the teams for the tweens for the whole family. You can get everybody in one room. Yeah, it's a really good show for all ages, and it's a really good message that it brings one girl who can make a difference and I'm super excited to be part of something so incredible.
Ryan Willard 11:42
Thanks for joining us, Diamond White. You can watch Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur on February 10th on the Disney Channel, and February 15th On Disney+.
Tessa Flannery 11:55
Welcome to the trivia room.
Diamond White 11:58
Wow, this is so cool. You have a whole room just for trivia?
Tessa Flannery 12:03
That's right, Diamond White. Welcome to The Ten News trivia room, complete with a trivia thrown. Why don't you hop up on the throne? And I'll give you today's trivia question.
Diamond White 12:12
All right, this throne is comfy, sounds good!
Sound Bit 12:18
What is going on here?
Tessa Flannery 12:27
It's Black History Month and today's trivia celebrates an amazing black chemist named Alice Ball. Alice Ball was a researcher and professor and was the first woman to get a master's degree from the University of Hawaii. But do you know which disease she developed a treatment for? Is it a) leprosy, b) arthritis, or c) polio? Ten'ers, did you guess it? Diamond? What's your answer?
Diamond White 12:53
I'm going to go with arthritis. Because when you're in school, and you're studying a bunch, you write a bunch. She was working with a lot of tools. So, I'm gonna say she got arthritis.
Tessa Flannery 13:08
The answer is A. Alice Ball developed the Ball Method, the most effective treatment for leprosy in the early 1900s. And she accomplished it at only 23 years old.
Diamond White 13:23
Oh my goodness. That's incredible.
Tessa Flannery 13:26
Well, thank you so much for stopping by the trivia room. We really appreciate it, Diamond.
Diamond White 13:30
Alrighty, thank you so much for having me.
Tessa Flannery 13:33
Ten'ers, do you want to sit on the trivia throne and share your trivia knowledge? Visit us at thetennews.com/contact to get in touch. And we might have you on the show.
Ryan Willard 13:44
And now we've got to give Special Ten News snaps to one of our listeners.
Pamela Kirkland 13:49
But before we do, here's a quick note for the grown-ups.
Ryan Willard 13:54
Now it's time for the Ten News Snaps.
Pamela Kirkland 14:00
Ten'ers, PandaBears7398 wrote this review of The Ten News. Great podcast for kids from 8 to 13. Love it, fire emoji, fire emoji, fire emoji.
Ryan Willard 14:14
Thanks, PandaBears7398, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Ten Things You Need to Know drops every Tuesday and our in-depth reports drop every Wednesday. But if you want some bonus content, you could join the Ten'ers Club on our website or on Apple podcasts.
Pamela Kirkland 14:28
The Ten News is a coproduction of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts.
Ryan Willard 14:33
The Ten News creative team is celebrating black resistance and includes Tracey Crooks, Pete Musto, and Tessa Flannery.
Pamela Kirkland 14:41
Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and our executive producers are Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan.
Ryan Willard 14:49
I'm Ryan Willard.
Pamela Kirkland 14:50
And I'm Pamela Kirkland. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. One girl can make a difference. Hey, Ryan, do you think I could be the next Moon Girl?
