Native Drums

You Can Change Careers And Still Win

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/fan_mail/new] Your career doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else for it to work and Shemeka Cusack is living proof. We talk with Shemeka about what it looks like to pivot from early college plans and radiology coursework into hair school, salon ownership, real estate, and ultimately a calling in pediatric speech therapy. The through line is growth: every job teaches a skill you can reuse, especially when you’re building a life that includes entrepreneurship, family responsibilities, and real-world constraints. We also dig into what Shemeka does now as a speech-language pathologist and business owner. She explains early intervention services for children who are delayed in milestones, what therapy can look like in a natural environment, and why play-based methods matter when you’re serving pediatric patients. If you’ve searched for early intervention, pediatric speech therapy services, or how speech therapy supports school-age children, you’ll hear a grounded, local perspective on how care is delivered and how families can get connected. Business Awareness Month gives us the perfect reason to get practical. We talk about using a business incubator for free training, networking, marketing support, and SBA guidance for grants and loans. Then we switch to the details many founders miss: home office tax deductions, when a CPA is worth it, and how to form an LLC and get an EIN without paying ridiculous fees. Shemeka even shares how free tools like ChatGPT can help you research faster and ask better questions. If you like honest stories, clear steps, and real small business advice you can use today, subscribe, share this conversation with a friend who’s building something, and leave a review so more listeners can find Native Drums. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/support]

A Homecoming For The Pee Dee As Wilson High Marks 160 Years With A Parade Block Party And Gospel Weekend

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/fan_mail/new] 160 years doesn’t just mark time, it marks sacrifice, pride, and the kind of education that reshaped families across generations. We sit down with Bryant Moses, chairman of the Wilson High School 160th anniversary committee, to share what’s coming and why this celebration belongs to the entire Pee Dee region, not only Florence locals or recent grads. If Wilson touched your family through parents, grandparents, church ties, or the old freedom school legacy, you’re already part of the story. Bryant walks us through the full Wilson High School anniversary weekend lineup: a parade that leads into a community block party with vendors and music, the return of the Purple and Gold Gala, and a Sunday that honors the school’s roots through Cumberland United Methodist Church followed by a gospel concert featuring Vickie Winans. We also talk history that too many people never hear, including Wilson’s earliest locations and how students once traveled in from surrounding towns like Johnsonville, Hemingway, Marion, Pamplico, and Lake City. The message is simple: purple and gold runs deep, and “you’re a Tiger” whether you realize it or not. Then we get real about the future. Bryant shares why he’s concerned for today’s students, what mentoring should look like now, and why listening matters as much as advising. We push one core takeaway again and again: education is the legacy, and nobody can take it from you once you’ve earned it. We close with practical details on tickets, packages, committee contacts, and how to attend the Vickie Winans show at the Francis Marion Performing Arts Center, including the note about no online service charge for Wilson Tigers. Subscribe to Native Drums, share this with a Wilson Tiger, and leave a review to help more alumni find the celebration. What does Wilson mean to your family? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/support]

From Coach To Superintendent

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/fan_mail/new] A lot of people imagine superintendents as “career administrators” who climbed a neat ladder. Bernard McDaniel’s story is messier, more human, and far more useful. From teacher and football coach to principal, district leader, and now Superintendent of Lee County Schools, he breaks down the real moves that shaped his leadership and the hard moments that tested it. We talk about how athletics and education leadership overlap in ways most people miss. Bernard shares why being named South Carolina Athletic Administrators Association Superintendent of the Year matters to him, and how coaches can become mentors, disciplinarians, and steady guides for kids who need a strong example. He also makes the case that small rural school districts deserve the same respect and fair opportunities as larger systems, especially when it comes to student athletics, resources, and visibility. Then we get practical about one of the biggest K-12 challenges right now: teacher recruitment and retention. Bernard explains Lee County’s Grow Your Own program, including alternate certification pathways, Praxis and Principles of Learning and Teaching support, and why “building from within” creates continuity and commitment that outside hiring often can’t match. If you care about rural education, building a teacher pipeline, or preparing for roles like principal or superintendent, this conversation lays out what “being ready” actually looks like. If this resonated, subscribe to Native Drums, share the episode with an educator or coach who leads with heart, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/support]

What Do You Owe Your Ancestors And Your Vote

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/fan_mail/new] A single deed can hold a whole world. We talk with Terry James, founder and executive director of the Jamestown Foundation, about what it takes to protect Black family land and turn it into a public place of learning. Terry walks us from the foundation’s start in 2007 to the annual Jamestown celebration, where storytellers, craftspeople, Tuscarora artists, and historical reenactors help visitors understand life during Reconstruction and beyond.  We also dig into the award-winning attention Jamestown has received, including major news recognition and an Emmy win for “Our Family’s History: The Story of Jamestown.” That visibility sparks something bigger than headlines: it draws people from across the country who are hungry for African American history that is specific, documented, and rooted in place. Terry shares the gripping story of Irvin James buying 109 acres in the 1870s, signing with an X, and pushing forward when the odds were designed to stop him.  From there, the conversation widens into genealogy research and civic engagement. We talk DNA testing, archives, census and estate records, and the emotional moment when family history becomes proof. Terry also brings practical voter registration guidance for South Carolina, including how to check status on scvotes.org, what “inactive” really means, and why voting rights history still shapes what happens today. If you care about genealogy, Reconstruction-era history, African American landownership, and voter registration facts, this one connects the dots.  Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with someone who cares about local history, and leave a review with the biggest question you’re still trying to answer about your family or your vote. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/support]

Tracing African Roots From Genesis Through Egypt

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/fan_mail/new] The version of the Bible most of us grew up with had a quiet message baked into the pictures, the movies, and even the way history got taught: Black people were missing from the sacred story. That claim doesn’t hold up when you read with a map open and the text taken seriously, so we invited Dr. Antonio Black, pastor of Green Hill Baptist Church, to walk with us through what scripture actually says about Black presence in the Bible.  We start with the foundation, Genesis and the family of Noah, then follow the lineage tied to African nations and the names that keep showing up across the Old Testament: Cush, Mizraim, Put, Canaan. From there we connect the dots through biblical geography, intermarriage, and the ancient world surrounding Egypt and North Africa. We also dig into major figures people think they already know: Moses and Zipporah, Joseph’s life in Egypt, Judah’s Canaanite marriage, and what those details imply about the look of the people at the center of biblical history.  Then we bring it home. We talk honestly about why so many young Black minds feel pushed away from Christianity, especially when the Bible was weaponized to defend slavery and dehumanization. We explore what changes when representation is truthful, when teaching tools match history, and when we rebuild connection through study, research, and better visuals, including graphic novels and modern technology.  If you care about Black history, biblical scholarship, Christian faith, and reclaiming identity through truth, press play, then share this with someone who’s ready to read deeper. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what passage you want us to unpack next. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2442306/support]