Actress Niecy Nash tells Ashley she knew at a young age that she wanted to be “Black, fabulous and on TV.” She spoke her destiny into being before she even knew what acting was. Growing up, Niecy’s family pushed her to find success in traditional professions like nursing or teaching, but she never gave up on becoming an actress. The tragic loss of her 17-year-old brother the day before she turned 23 helped Niecy realize she could use comedy to spare others the pain she was running from. She says...
Oct 24, 2022•41 min
Actor and activist Kendrick Sampson ( Insecure) is learning to dream without limiting himself. Kendrick and Ashley revisit who they were as audacious young adults when they first met at the American Black Film Festival in 2008. The Houston native says growing up he wasn’t taught to embrace his Southern culture, and that having a Black father and white mother often left him feeling like he lived in a ‘gray area.’ However, as an adult, a passion for storytelling and social justice helped him recon...
Oct 17, 2022•37 min
Certified sex and relationship expert Shan Boodram has mastered the art of navigating private spaces publicly. The veteran intimacy educator walks Ashley through her humble beginnings on Youtube and gets into the challenges of spreading her powerful message in “an industry of silence.” Shan explains that, for her, conversations on sex and intimacy have always gone far beyond the physical. With over a decade of vlogging experience and nearly a million YouTube subscribers today, Shan now helps oth...
Oct 10, 2022•42 min
HBO star Yvonne Orji (Insecure) has decided to retire from perfectionism. In this insightful conversation, the Emmy-nominated actress explains to Ashley how growing personally and professionally required new tools, like welcoming more collaborators into her creative process. Yvonne’s bold faith and relentless pursuit of excellence led to career highs. But now, instead of striving for a perfect finished product, she’s trusting that others will enjoy seeing her make progress. Yvonne says she is le...
Oct 03, 2022•38 min
How to Get Away with Murder actress Aja Naomi King is a self-proclaimed eternal optimist. Today, Aja confides in Ashley about how that optimism has sometimes hurt more than it has helped. Aja explains how shedding harmful superstitions and embracing vulnerability helped her receive the support she needed after experiencing two devastating miscarriages. Aja also discusses what both motherhood and her disappointments taught her about idealized expectations, surrender and control. In this engaging ...
Sep 26, 2022•45 min
YouTube star and creative producer Maya Washington, popularly known as ‘Shameless Maya,’ has never said no to a challenge. Maya describes how growing up in Canada offered her a supportive environment of both diversity and exploring the arts. Once Maya moved to New York City, she says she finally found the courage to fully express herself because to make it in NYC, you had to be “shameless.” Maya also talks about the peaks and the valleys of her career, as well as the ups and downs of her romanti...
Sep 19, 2022•43 min
Before landing her dream role as the first Black lesbian superhero in The CW’s Black Lightning , Nafessa Williams prayed for the endurance to persevere in Hollywood. In this enlightening conversation, Ashley and Nafessa discuss taking leaps of faith. In Nafessa’s case, that was trading in the safety of her district-attorney job to pursue acting. Inspired by Sidney Poitier’s famous quote: “The reward is in the journey”… Nafessa now pushes through doubt and fear and embraces her process. Nafessa e...
Sep 12, 2022•39 min
With over 40 years in the entertainment industry, Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph has a trove of both trials and triumphs to her credit. The Tony Award-nominated multi-hyphenate takes Ashley back to the beginning of her career and describes who she was before landing her breakthrough role as Deena Jones in the seminal Broadway musical Dreamgirls . Sheryl underscores key lessons she learned from her parents and mentors, including the power to determine which doors to leave closed. The ori...
Sep 05, 2022•38 min
Ten years after releasing a concept trailer that would go viral and propel his career, Dear White People creator Justin Simien is learning to take a step back and celebrate his wins. Already close friends, Justin and Ashley reflect on their personal and professional growth since the show ended and revisit the risks that led to their success. The fearless visionary unpacks the pressures of breaking ground as a Black creative and touches on the discipline necessary to create opportunities for hims...
Aug 29, 2022•42 min
Insecure (HBO) & Twenties (BET) actress Christina Elmore has always had a game plan for her career, but now she’s learning how to let the cards fall where they may. Ashley and Christina, who’s also one of her very best friends, dig deep into what it means to let go of unrealistic expectations and allow your most authentic self to emerge. Like most black and brown women, Christina has faced pressure to be everything to everyone throughout her life. As a self-proclaimed planner and overachiever, C...
Aug 22, 2022•43 min
A recognized leader in the DEI field and Ashley’s mother, Cynthia Featherson has always been the backbone of her family. However, she has rarely asked for what she needs in return. As she gets older, Cynthia realizes that keeping her world small and her feelings bottled up does not serve her. She attributes this new-found awareness to Ashley. Throughout the years, Ashley has encouraged her mom to speak her truth unapologetically. In this episode, Cynthia shares the difficulties she faced growing...
Aug 15, 2022•42 min
Jurassic World: Dominion actress DeWanda Wise is allowing herself to take risks and give God the steering wheel. DeWanda says because she and her family didn’t have a lot growing up, she “was always a person who questioned, naturally, the status quo.” She shares how her intuition, even at a young age, has shaped the stories she gets to tell in her work. DeWanda explains how she has come to realize her purpose in life is “to bear witness and continue to be a mirror, to my friends and to society a...
Aug 08, 2022•43 min
Originally aired by NPR's The Limits with Jay Williams on 7/19/22. Emmy-nominated actor Colman Domingo discusses the power of intentional art, his recent projects, and coping with loss.
Aug 02, 2022•45 min
Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, actress and author Michelle Williams has been perfecting the art of manifestation. Michelle tells us what happens when she speaks about her greatest dreams and fears out loud and says that you must “put voice” to your ambitions for them to happen. She tells Ashley about her battle with depression, acknowledging that even at times when “we think we’re unscathed physically,” our mental health can be heavily impacted. Michelle shares how following her intuition co...
Aug 01, 2022•40 min
This week, Ashley welcomes Dear White People costar Griffin Matthews to dig into the promises made over the course of their lives. Griffin details his upbringing in the suburbs of Pittsburgh from experiencing racism in his youth to finding community in college and healing from those past hurts at Carnegie Mellon. He discloses how the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on gay marriage empowered him to dream of marriage and how that commitment impacted his relationship with now husband Matt (affect...
Jul 25, 2022•43 min
To get to her breakout role as Mercedes on Glee , Amber P. Riley made some hard choices that eventually led her to the life she’d always dreamed of. But, as she tells Ashley, it didn't happen overnight. Amber’s relationship with the Glee cast was tested through real-life experiences they navigated together, including some she describes as “trauma bonding.” She also discusses the tragic losses of several of her Glee castmates. Throughout the different seasons of her career, Amber has come to acce...
Jul 18, 2022•42 min
Hip Hop rising star Lady London is known for her unique flow and powerful freestyles. Unlike some of her most memorable lyrics, her success hasn’t been improvised. Lady London explains to Ashley why she believes “stagnancy is the same as regression” and how she finds growth in times of being uncomfortable. She shares her struggles with being “subject to public scrutiny or subject to whatever people have to say” on social media. She discusses how she used her darkest times to find the importance ...
Jul 11, 2022•38 min
Ashley’s husband Darroll Jenkins Jr. reveals the changes and challenges he overcame to become the life partner he is today. Darroll, who is now a sports agent, talks about letting go of his basketball dreams and what it took for him to build an abundant life with Ashley. Darroll admits to being a selfish boyfriend at the start of their relationship, but now lives to love and support Ashley for a lifetime. Darroll and Ashley tell the emotional story of how they made it down the aisle and what kee...
Jul 04, 2022•48 min
Actress and singer/songwriter Naturi Naughton-Lewis’ greatest trials have become her greatest triumphs. Ashley and Naturi chart her journey from singing in her church to stardom becoming the final member of the platinum-selling girl group 3LW. The two-time NAACP Award winning actress recounts making the difficult decision to leave 3LW at its height and details the decade it took her to get over the pain it caused her. Naturi explains how she held on to the unwavering belief that her best days we...
Jun 27, 2022•45 min
Ashley chats with close friend and critically acclaimed actress Aisha Hinds about her path to replenishment. Aisha has appeared in a number of hit series including 9-1-1, True Blood and The Shield . She made her mark with a powerful performance in Underground playing icon Harriett Tubman. In this vulnerable conversation, Aisha reflects on how her parents’ divorce left her feeling fractured as a young girl and led to her “pursuit of wholeness.” Aisha discusses how her church family stepped in dur...
Jun 20, 2022•45 min
Trials to Triumphs host Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins welcomes award-winning actress Malinda Williams to the show for a powerful conversation about discernment. Malinda has appeared on a wide variety of beloved TV shows including Sister, Sister , Moesha and Soul Food. She has also turned in powerhouse performances in films such as The Wood , Accidental Love and First Sunday . Malinda explains why she's cautious about the roles she selects; how her willingness to follow God's clues led her to ...
Jun 13, 2022•44 min
Emmy- and Tony-nominated and Grammy-winning actress Danielle Brooks opens up to Ashley about pushing through some of her darkest hours to find love, sisterhood and her purpose. She talks about the sacrifices that led to dream roles in HBO’s Peacemaker, Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and The Color Purple on Broadway. She also describes how she balances marriage and motherhood with the hectic career of a working actress. Danielle vividly recalls the “no” that led to her biggest blessing, and ho...
Jun 06, 2022•41 min
Comedian and executive producer Robin Thede created HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show to surround herself with funny women. She explains to Ashley that making room in the entertainment industry is serious business. After years ascending from the writers’ room to on-camera work, Robin says she realized that her work isn’t about making everyone happy, but about “elevating the art in some way that’s valuable.” Robin tells Ashley about her humble beginnings in Davenport, Iowa where she dreamed of makin...
May 30, 2022•40 min
Ashley sits down with Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter Estelle to talk about “the courage to lay it all down.” Estelle shares how losing her manager at a crucial time in her career led to a turning point. Like a rocket rising and watching the pieces fall away, she released harmful habits during this intense season of growth. Estelle says she steered herself out of her own way to make room for new experiences. She reveals what her parents’ rekindled romance taught her about time and growth,...
May 23, 2022•34 min
Ashley has a heart-to-heart with her close friend and Dear White People costar Logan Browning about the places and people who made her. Logan, best known for playing Samantha White on the hit Netflix series, speaks candidly about the show’s cultural impact and what it taught her about colorism in the entertainment industry. She shares how she found the confidence to challenge the status quo and turn down roles that should go to darker-skinned actresses. Logan also opens up about her father’s bat...
May 16, 2022•37 min
Trials to Triumphs, host Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins has a soulful chat with acclaimed actress Sonequa Martin-Green. Sonequa starred as Sasha Williams on The Walking Dead and currently plays the main role of Captain Michael Burnham on Star Trek: Discovery. Sonequa opens up about losing both her parents within 24 hours of each other. She explains how she learned to accept that “grief stays with you, it’s just part of you from that point forward.” She describes how she now sees her parents th...
May 09, 2022•40 min
In this candid interview, Kelly Rowland gets real about questions she's never been asked. She describes the moment she knew she belonged on stage and reveals how her “tumultuous” relationship with her mother changed after she passed away. Kelly also speaks about her once estranged father, childhood trauma and the therapy that has helped her survive. She says her healed wounds have helped her teach her sons how to forgive others and themselves. Kelly describes what she calls “ the gift of grace t...
May 02, 2022•42 min
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Apr 11, 2022•3 min
