# Civic Power, Real Talk, and Black Health in Des Moines (with Abena Sankofa Imhotep)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-city-talks-6298840/civic-power-real-talk-and-black-health-in-des-moines-with-abena-sankofa-imhotep
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-city-talks-6298840/civic-power-real-talk-and-black-health-in-des-moines-with-abena-sankofa-imhotep.md
Podcast: [My City Talks](https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-city-talks-6298840)
Published: 2025-07-28T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://mycitymyhealth.transistor.fm/24
Audio file: https://2.gum.fm/op3.dev/e/pdcn.co/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/pdst.fm/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/media.transistor.fm/d6988c86/3b50e1aa.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/my-city-talks-6298840/episodes/civic-power-real-talk-and-black-health-in-des-moines-with-abena-sankofa-imhotep
Duration seconds: 2186

## Resource

Abena Sankofa Imhotep—author, podcaster, and moderator of the Civic Engagement Panel at this year’s My City My Health Conference—joins Corey Dion Lewis to talk about what civic power really looks like in 2025. From voting and fundraising to storytelling and showing up in community spaces, this conversation unpacks the layers of visibility, accountability, and connection that drive public health outcomes for Black communities. They also explore the myth of “Iowa Nice,” why storytelling personalizes health data, and how public health can’t be a one-and-done conversation. This episode is personal, rooted, and full of real takeaways. 🎟️ Register for My City My Health Des Moines (Nov 14): https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/my-city-my-health-des-moines--2025 — Show Notes: 00:00 – Intro: Why This Conversation Matters 01:10 – Abena’s Roots and Love for Des Moines 03:00 – What Civic Engagement Means 06:45 – Showing Up, Boards, and Community Work 10:15 – Fundraising, Bake Sales, and Local Impact 12:30 – The Bike Lane Analogy & Marginalized Communities 15:00 – Deconstructing “Iowa Nice” and Accountability 19:40 – Public Health Is Personal 22:00 – Storytelling that Humanizes Data 25:30 – Stephen’s Story: Prostate Cancer in the Black Community 28:40 – Abena’s Work: Sankofa Group, Substack, Podcast 33:30 – Final Thoughts + Conference Preview Follow Abena: 🌐 https://www.abenasankofa.com 📰 The Imhotep Report on Substack 🎙️ Black and Privileged in America Podcast Subscribe to My City Talks for more real conversations at the intersection of health, equity, and community.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/my-city-talks-6298840/episodes/civic-power-real-talk-and-black-health-in-des-moines-with-abena-sankofa-imhotep/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/my-city-talks-6298840/civic-power-real-talk-and-black-health-in-des-moines-with-abena-sankofa-imhotep.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.