The Table On Air with Darius Caffey is a vibrant talk show that celebrates the diversity and accomplishments of the BIPOC LGBTQ+ community, featuring candid conversations with artists, social change makers, and entrepreneurs in a safe, brave space, while utilizing social trends and pop culture moments to reach a wider audience.

Tuesday ⦿ 7:30PM (CST) ⦿ CAN TV19 or https://cantv.org/thetableonair/

Program Overview

On Episode 3, Season 2 of ‘The Table On Air’ the 7th District Senator of Illinois, Mike Simmons (he/him), joins us.

Senator Simmons shares more about how his team his advocating for communities in Chicago through public service, especially for the neighborhoods that he serves, including Lincoln Square, Rogers Park, Uptown, Edgewater, Andersonville, Bowmanville, North Center, Ravenswood, Lakeview, and West Ridge.

As our host Darius Caffey dives deeper, he learns more about the senator's Ethiopian roots, family history to entrepreneurship, love for his partner, and some of his hobbies.

To find more information and support ‘The Table On Air,’ please visit: https://cantv.org/thetableonair/

Follow Us On Social Media for More Updates, Too!

• Guest: Senator Mike Simmons (@senmikesimmons)

• Host: Darius Caffey (@dcaffgotem)

• Chicago Access Network Television (@cantvchicago)

• The Closet Unlocked (@closetunlockd)

Blaque Report

Okay, so, I’ve been reading this book, as I usually am, called ‘Rest Is Resistance’ by Tricia Hersey, a black woman from Chicago (period), and something she wrote in it stuck with me. 

She said, “Rest uplifts and boosts our Spirit, allowing us to know that we are enough and that the care of our souls deserves a role in our healing plan.”

“The care of our souls deserves a role in our healing plan” – woo, that last part got me. 

Now, understand why this hit home for me. As I’ve been leaning into this new season of my life, I’ve had to realize what things I needed to start changing for the better. Or better yet, what things life was forcing me to change. When they say, “if you don't pick a day to rest, your body will pick it for you,” they really meant it because that’s what was beginning to happen to me. 

I’m a natural busybody who loves to be involved in different things, connect with people, and celebrate stuff – but I can’t do that all the time. Especially as an introvert-extrovert, if you know, you know. And I had to realize it. I had reached a point where I felt like a hamster running on a wheel, burning myself out, trying to juggle all the things family, friends, jobs, hobbies, self-care, and all the others in between that I was missing when I decided that my body had had enough. 

I needed to rest, family. I needed a break from doing all of the things to better focus on my spirit and realize that even when I’m not doing everything, I’m still enough. I can take a break, and I do deserve it. 

And I’m not saying it’s easy to do ‘cause the Lord knows I’m still trying, but that’s what I’ve been prioritizing in my life: balancing rest and learning when to be still. Which is a hard lesson to catch, but stories like those of Farmers Donna Dear and Paulette Greene continue to show me just how important it can be. In the upcoming short film documentary, “The Aunties: From the North Star to the Poplar,” which was co-directed by their nieces Jeannine and Charlyn, they show us how finding a place to rest helped them protect the history of their ancestors. The queer couple recounts the history of how they’ve been able to preserve Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms, the land they own, which was once used as a prayer site for runaway slaves on the underground railroad. Shoutout my girl, Harriet! 

Stories like this show us how important it is sometimes to take that moment and just explore the life in it, using where we are now to dream and plan for where we want to be.

In those moments of rest, it’s easier for us to connect with not just ourselves but with the people around us too. They’re part of this healing journey with us, and it’s time to start showing them that they, too, are enough and deserve to be protected. 

That’s a wrap on our Blaque Report with a Q-U-E, and until next week, keep finding ways to celebrate yourself.