Joy Gilfilen, co-host Karen Ball and our panel continue a deep historical reflection following their clinical analysis of the historical structures of law in episode #221, this session shifts the focus to the immediate present. The panel examines the social turmoil and confusion in our streets and headlines today, arguing that these are not isolated incidents of unrest. Instead, they represent the predictable breaking point of a globalized logic of dominance, and the pathologies of historical amnesia, social anesthesia, and collective denial.

In this episode, James Addington, author of Tragic Investment, explains how the artificial fabrication of race continues to sabotage communities and jeopardize our learning to think and feel like ancestors. He invites listeners to grapple with the dynamics of racialization and its connection to power and how that plays out.

Bill describes the colonization process where western European countries sent ships to subdue people living in other geographic locations and imposed their image of government control. This process was brutal and extractive. This historical theme has continued to today and Mel points out that it is time to intentionally change our vision and create a new story for the generations to come.

Join us as we learn to see the world through a lens of restorative justice and uncover the tools necessary to transform our present.

Host Joy Gilfilen brings you an extraordinary, “local-to-global” high-stakes conversation with a dynamic trio of leaders: Mel Hoover, James Addington, and William Gardiner. These three men offer a rare "Bird’s Eye View" from the epicenters of social change, possessing direct, real-world lived experience with intentional change over time. Past cross-generational issues of habits of slavery, structural imprisonment, religious caste, and economic class are 2026 issues for tomorrow’s children.

In this episode, we explore the ripples of the Civil Rights movement specifically as it gained steam and shifted from the Atlantic Seaboard and the deep South toward the West. Our guests reveal the waves of change through time, how they’ve seen the "logic" of these bioregions travel, shaping the civic systems we inhabit in 2026.

The "Practical Historian" Framework

James Addington challenges us to move beyond academic history and become ‘Practical Historians’. This means developing the comfort to look at the "complexity and ambiguity" of our past so we can understand exactly how we got here. As James notes, citing theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer and academic Olufemi Taiwo, we must learn to “think and feel like ancestors” to ensure the options we deliver to future generations are rooted in shared humanity.

Inside this Episode:

The Invention of "Race" for Power: James Addington explains why "race" is an artificial fabrication—a system of classification created solely to determine social value, access, and participation.

From Indentured to Enslaved: Mel Hoover breaks down the turning point in American law where white and black indentured servants began to organize together. To break that power, the wealthy elite created a new category: lifelong chattel slavery, intentionally stripping humanity from African-heritage people to protect property and wealth.

The Global Blueprint: Discover the sobering truth that the American ‘Indian reservation’ system and legal segregation served as the functional engineers for South African Apartheid and were even admired by the Nazi regime.

The "Asterisk" of Whiteness: Bill Gardiner and James Addington discuss growing up in "American Apartheid" and the "asterisk" of whiteness—how many white families have forgotten their own immigrant histories of discrimination (Irish, Polish, Italian) and their own complex heritages (including Choctaw and enslaved ancestors).

Bioregional Logic: We parse the differences between the political and religious structures of the East and South, and how those cultural "logics" of dominance were exported across the nation.

Mel Hoover, James Addington, and Bill Gardiner demonstrate how becoming practical historians reveals and can promote productive community changes. We cannot remove the "foot on the neck" of the present until we understand the biased structure of the law that placed it there.

Join us for this "Major League" conversation on rehumanizing the human race.

Special Premier for MLK Day...

Offering Lived Experience of the Civil Rights Movement and Wisdom needed for 2026. Hosts Joy Gilfilen and Karen Ball are joined by Civil Rights Activist Mel Hoover, a pillar of wisdom whose life experience bridges the worlds where Martin Luther King Jr. and his family walked and lived. We are profoundly enriched by this elder sharing his lived experience of the civil rights movement and his personal knowledge of his namesake, Dr. Melvin Watson, who was a close friend and mentor to the King family.

A trailblazer in ministry, education, and social justice, Mel opens the windows to bring in fresh air for a frank, grassroots understanding of what “I have a dream!” meant to “we the people.” This episode—the first of several—brings forward a powerhouse of lived experience from a challenging period of history to help us navigate our current times.

Inside this Episode:

• Predicting the Past: Mel explains why we must honestly examine our history to change our present. If we don’t understand how the "foot on the neck" functioned in the past, we cannot remove it in the future.

• The Messenger vs. The Movement: A deep dive into how Dr. King was the voice, but the community—especially the power of Black women—was the engine.

• Geographical Perspectives: Comparing the marches in Texas to the border-community perspectives of Whatcom County, Washington, to see how location shapes our understanding of race and restorative work.

• Logic to Legacy: We explore shifting from transactional, hierarchical systems to a Living Restorative Legacy based on shared humanity and the "eyes of love."

Mel Hoover demonstrates how focusing on local needs promotes positive community changes. Join us for this "Major League" conversation on rehumanizing the human race.

Available NOW on all streaming platforms. 🎧Broadcasting Thursday, Jan 22nd at Noon on KOYS-LPFM 94.1. 📻🕛