"The Chocolate Scoop" Podcast With Nikki Williams Producer/Host

 “The Chocolate Scoop” Podcast #9 “Holding God in Her Throat” – Black Women Serving in the ClergyMarch 22, 2026, Nikki Williams Producer/Host Inspired by the deeply moving and reflective poem, “Our Grandmothers” written by Dr. Maya Angelou and her personal remembrances of her own Grandmother Mrs. Irene Ivey, whose deferred dream and life ambition was to serve God as a member of the Clergy, Producer/Host Nikki Williams embarks on a eye opening and highly personal Journey with Reverend Dr. Michele Sweeting DeCaro as Dr. DeCaro speaks about the Challenges and Triumphs of being a Black Woman Pastor.  “Holding God in Her Throat,” a line from Dr. Maya Angelou’s magnificent poem “Our Grandmothers.” The poem is chorus threaded throughout with the words, “I Shall Not Be Moved.”  And those words are part of a Gospel Song that goes, “Like a tree that stands by the water, I Shall not be Moved.”  As Dr. Maya Angelou gives examples of how the stoic faith of Black Grandmothers are like a tree planted by the water, Dr. Michele Sweeting DeCaro recounts how she stayed tree stoic as she faced and stared down adversities, as well as how she looked openly into the gentle eyes of Grace. An Award-Winning Professor, Author and Vocalist, Reverend Dr. DeCaro generously shares with “The Chocolate Scoop” listening audience, the importance of her Trust and Faith in the God of her Understanding, her personal Truth of what it means to be a Black Woman in the Clergy, as well as Inspirational Words of Wisdom through Song, Poetry and Personal Narratives. Reverend Dr. Michele Sweeting DeCaro holds a PhD in Education.  She is an Ordained Minister. and Pastor of the People's Church located in New York.  She is an Award-Winning College Professor. a Billboard charted vocalist and the Author of “Finding Your Pie.”   Dr. DeCaro is also a contributing Author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” as well as the Author of the book “Speaking Now.” www.thechocolatescoop.net

“The Chocolate Scoop” Podcast #10 “Heart to Art” - A Divine Dialogue Between Dad and Daughter Creatives March 29, 2026 Sharing more than just genetics.  Sharing more than their last names.  Multi-GRAMMY®-nominated Saxophonist, Composer, Bandleader, Educator and Producer, Bobby Watson and Award-Winning Physical and Digital Artist Developer, Educator, and AR Content Creator, Lafiya Watson, share their laughter, love, and lives with Nikki Williams, Producer/Host of “The Chocolate Scoop.”   From temperaments to tendencies, tastes to talents, testimonies to truths, both Watsons offer the listener a rare and tender glance and glimpse of their special Dad and Daughter relationship. Episode #10 of “The Chocolate Scoop” Podcast is a humorous, thoughtful peak into the precious Dad/Daughter memories of two genius creators and innovators as well as their artistic philosophies and experiences. Daughter Lafiya Watson has successfully worked with tech teams to explore AR and immersive technology to working with seniors learning digital literacy, making complex technology feel approachable.  Dad, Bobby Watson, has for more than four decades contributed consistently to intelligent, sensitive, and well thought out music to the modern-day jazz lexicon. While both Watsons are accomplished Artists are very devoted to their craft, it is evidently clear in this conversation that they each place above everything else, the unconditional Love and unbreakable bond that the relationship of Dad and Daughter has Gifted them.  Being a Girl Dad and a Dad’s Girl is a Blessing.  In this first-time recorded “Heart to Art” conversation between Gifted Creatives Bobby Watson and his first-born child and daughter Lafiya Watson, we get to hear an audio Love Letter that reminds each of us that Love and Family is indeed the Greatest Gift of All.  www.thechocolatescoop.net

“The Chocolate Scoop” Podcast #9 “Holding God in Her Throat” – Black Women Serving in the ClergyMarch 22, 2026, Nikki Williams Producer/Host Inspired by the deeply moving and reflective poem, “Our Grandmothers” written by Dr. Maya Angelou and her personal remembrances of her own Grandmother Mrs. Irene Ivey, whose deferred dream and life ambition was to serve God as a member of the Clergy, Producer/Host Nikki Williams embarks on a eye opening and highly personal Journey with Reverend Dr. Michele Sweeting DeCaro as Dr. DeCaro speaks about the Challenges and Triumphs of being a Black Woman Pastor.  “Holding God in Her Throat,” a line from Dr. Maya Angelou’s magnificent poem “Our Grandmothers.” The poem is chorus threaded throughout with the words, “I Shall Not Be Moved.”  And those words are part of a Gospel Song that goes, “Like a tree that stands by the water, I Shall not be Moved.”  As Dr. Maya Angelou gives examples of how the stoic faith of Black Grandmothers are like a tree planted by the water, Dr. Michele Sweeting DeCaro recounts how she stayed tree stoic as she faced and stared down adversities, as well as how she looked openly into the gentle eyes of Grace. An Award-Winning Professor, Author and Vocalist, Reverend Dr. DeCaro generously shares with “The Chocolate Scoop” listening audience, the importance of her Trust and Faith in the God of her Understanding, her personal Truth of what it means to be a Black Woman in the Clergy, as well as Inspirational Words of Wisdom through Song, Poetry and Personal Narratives. Reverend Dr. Michele Sweeting DeCaro holds a PhD in Education.  She is an Ordained Minister. and Pastor of the People's Church located in New York.  She is an Award-Winning College Professor. a Billboard charted vocalist and the Author of “Finding Your Pie.”   Dr. DeCaro is also a contributing Author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” as well as the Author of the book “Speaking Now.”Michele Sweeting-D (@singteachrevwww.thechocolatescoop.netthechocolatescoop@myyahoo.com 

“The Chocolate Scoop Podcast Episode #8 – “And So, Yet Shall They Speak” A Presentation during Women’s History Month Nikki Williams, Producer and Host of “The Chocolate Scoop” is joined in an extremely informative and fact-packed conversation with Ms. Cheyney McKnight, Founder and Owner of “Not Your Momma’s History,” a firm that consults and aids museums, historical sites, historical societies, private businesses, etc. in developing specialized programming about slavery and the African experience within 18th and 19th century America.    Ms. McKnight speaks with passionate conviction about the need to preserve, document, and share and chronical the everyday narratives and traditions of enslaved ancestors of African descent.  Ms. McKnight is very intentional in her mission and devotion to letting the voices of every enslaved ancestor that she learns about be given space to be heard and remembered.  The demoralizing and depredating realities of people of African descent who endured chatteled lives are not given the same attention of those who as Williams phrased the term, “Celebrity Ancestors,” – Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and the like. “Not Your Momma’s History,” led by Ms. McKnight is a graduate of Simmons University and holds a bachelor’s degree in political history.  More information about “Not Your Momma’s History,” can be found on its social media pages as well as its YouTube channel which has over 200,000 subscribers and 5 million views. www.notyourmommashistory.com

“The Chocolate Scoop Podcast Episode #8 – “And So, Yet Shall They Speak” A Presentation during Women’s History Month Nikki Williams, Producer and Host of “The Chocolate Scoop” is joined in an extremely informative and fact-packed conversation with Ms. Cheyney McKnight, Founder and Owner of “Not Your Momma’s History,” a firm that consults and aids museums, historical sites, historical societies, private businesses, etc. in developing specialized programming about slavery and the African experience within 18th and 19th century America.    Ms. McKnight speaks with passionate conviction about the need to preserve, document, and share and chronical the everyday narratives and traditions of enslaved ancestors of African descent.  Ms. McKnight is very intentional in her mission and devotion to letting the voices of every enslaved ancestor that she learns about be given space to be heard and remembered.  The demoralizing and depredating realities of people of African descent who endured chatteled lives are not given the same attention of those who as Williams phrased the term, “Celebrity Ancestors,” – Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and the like. “Not Your Momma’s History,” led by Ms. McKnight is a graduate of Simmons University and holds a bachelor’s degree in political history.  More information about “Not Your Momma’s History,” can be found on its social media pages as well as its YouTube channel which has over 200,000 subscribers and 5 million views. www.notyourmommashistory.comhttps://[email protected]://www.spreadinjamjoyandjive.comhttps://www.byojbringyourownjoy.com

"The Chocolate Scoop" Podcast #7 "The Rhythm and Rhyme Of It All" - Music and the Shaping of Black ManhoodRecorded March 1, 2026Join Producer/Host Nikki Williams as she is reunited with former Bronx Writers Corp members Mr. Azekiwe Providence and Mr. Steven Sapp. Mr. Providence is a Photographer, Performance Poet, Documentarian, Educator, and Community Curator. Mr. Sapp is a Writer, Poet, Director, Performance Artist and Co-founder of two organizations: "The Point" and "UniVerses."  In this in-depth and extended discussion, both guests share their thoughts on how music, in particular, Rap and Hip Hop, informed and shaped their understanding of Black Manhood back in the early days of the music genre's inception.  Like Rap and Hip Hop, both Artists were raised in the Bronx with Fathers who heavily influenced their sense and style of Artistry.  In addition to being Educators and Practicing Artists, Mr. Providence and Mr. Sapp, speak about their personal strategies of how they look to reach today's young up and coming Artists.

"The Dreams Eye See" - A vibrant vocalizing of Visions with two veterans working in the visual medium (theater, film, photography). Join Producer/Host Nikki Williams Producer/Host of "The Chocolate Scoop," with her guests Ms. Barbara Chirinos, the Inaugural Artistic Director of the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts (CI&A) and the LaTonya Richardson Jackson and Samuel L. Jackson Center for the Performing Arts, and Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker, Photographer, Educator, Author, and Cultural Historian, Mr. Melvin McCray III, as they share Narratives and Knowledge about how their Visual Artforms, shaped their life-long Creative Dreams. 

"The Chocolate Scoop" podcast #5 premiers with the first podcast of "Brother's Gonna Work it Out" - Black Men in the Arts Speak about Roles and Responsibilities as Black Male Creators.The first podcast starts with a conversation with Jamaican born Mr. E. Lloyd Napier, Educator, Actor, Director, Playwright, Visual Artist. Mr. Napier speaks about his Jamaican roots, his professional career in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and other parts of the United States.Mr. Napier also shares reflections on his Artistic Career spanning over a fifty-year period, as well as his reflections on the influence of the late Theater Visionary, Mr. Woodie King, Jr., on Black Theater and the Arts. Recorded February 8, 2026Nikki Williams Producer/Host

The Chocolate Scoop" Podcast #1: "The Gift of Beginning Again"  - A Conversation with Innovators and Creators, Dr. Venis Wilder Henry and Attorney Kevin Sylvan. Both Dr. Venis Wilder and Attorney Kevin Sylvan are Artists as well as Professionals with their own Practices.In this inaugural "The Chocolate Scoop" podcast, the audience learns how Dr. Venis Wilder and Attorney Kevin Sylvan balance Practice and Art and how each influences the other in their daily lives.Both guests share family narratives and read a selection of poetry from their original collections.Recorded January 11, 2026. Nikki Williams Producer/Host.

"The Chocolate Scoop" Podcast #4 In this continuing celebration of the Artistic Spirit, we welcome you, the audience to be part of a personal and revealing Creative Conversation with Authors, Poets, and Performance Artists, Josefina Baez, and Tumani Ra'ine Jordan.  In this inspirational and Heartfelt episode, two dynamic Women Artists of the African Diaspora - one African Dominican, the other African American, share poetry, prose, and insights that cross "so-called" borders and boundaries. Join us in this Sistah Soul Connection of Culture, as we Celebrate the power of Faith and Sacredness of Sistahood. This episode of "The Chocolate Scoop" was recorded on February 1, 2026. Nikki Williams Producer/Host.

"Love & Passion: The New LP" In this third episode of "The Chocolate Scoop" podcast, Nikki Williams' Room for Living, is filled with the Joyful Spirit of three fabulous Jazz Musicians, North Carolinian born and bred, Trombonist Tyrone Jefferson, and born and bred South Carolinian Vocalist and Lyricist Terri Davis. Adding to the sparkling conversation is Tyrone's wife and collaborator, Vocalist and Lyricist Toni Jefferson.With decades of musicianship under each of their brilliant belts, each Musician discusses what it takes to find and keep the Love and Passion needed to create, live and thrive as Artists. Tyrone Jefferson and Terri Davis also speak about their Carolinian roots and the people who inspired their creativity."The Chocolate Scoop" is a weekly podcast that offers Theatrical and Literary Performances, Music and Art, News, and Interviews, as it celebrates the Mocha-Middle, Melanin-Rich Creative Spirit of Artists of Color.Nikki Williams is the Producer/Host of "The "Chocolate Scoop""The Chocolate Scoop" [email protected]://www.thechocolatescoop.net

"They'll Be Singing Over Me" - A Melanin Melodic Conversation with Authors: Dr. Kevin McGruder, Associate Professor of History at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, Author of Race and Real Estate: Conflict and Cooperation in Harlem, 1890-1920, Ms. Lorraine Currelley, Author, NY USA Lifetime Beat Poet Laureate, Executive Director for the Bronx Book Fair aka The People’s Book Fair and Founder and Executive Director for Poets Network & Exchange. and Dr. Lindamichelle Baron, Poet, Author, Faculty Advisor for the international Honor Society for Teachers, and Associate Professor, York College. On this second podcast of "The Chocolate Scoop," our special guests speak about the Triumphs of Creativity, Education, and Innovation, as it pertains to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026. The podcast is also a Poetic Tribute to the sweet "Laying on of Hands," of 1950's and 1960's Childhood. Nikki Williams is the Producer and Host of "The Chocolate Scoop." Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved.