This month’s guest on the Babblery podcast is retired judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell. I first interviewed LaDoris about her work with the African American Composer Initiative. In both interviews, she gives a passionate defense of what she calls today’s “dirty word”—DEI. In this Minibabble, producer Suki Wessling reflects on what it means to hold the door open for others.
Read the full text on Babblery.Substack.com.
Retired judge LaDoris Cordell is known for her groundbreaking career as a judge in Northern California and then her stint as Independent Police Auditor for the City of San Jose. Join us in a wide-ranging conversation, from a segregated childhood, an unusual education, and an unlikely acceptance to Stanford Law School, to retired judge, community activist, musician, artist, and grandmother.
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Early in the 20th century, in which has been named the Great Migration, millions of Black southerners moved North, looking for opportunity and an escape from Jim Crow. The vibrant….
Sometimes all it takes is one question to spur a revelation that inspires a movement. The African American Composer Initiative started with a question and has become a thriving nonprofit, discovering, performing, and recording underappreciated concert music by Black composers.
