Friday mornings have a particular kind of energy on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and this past “Love Supreme Friday” was no exception. Hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God kicked off Season 4, Episode 53 with a lot on their minds — Nebraska primary results, the state of civic engagement, and a conversation about what it really means to build community from the inside out. By the time the hour was done, the show had covered everything from voter turnout data to a $20 million capital campaign dream taking shape on North 24th Street.
The morning opened with a conscious pivot. With election season stirring plenty of emotions across the community, Paul B. made a deliberate choice to steer the conversation toward possibility rather than frustration. “It’s a decision,” he said. “We’re going to change our mindsets over to something else — and it’s an effort, because it’s real easy to let your emotions take over when there’s so much to be emotional about.” Buddy the God, meanwhile, kept the civic stakes squarely on the table. “None of that really matters if the people don’t vote,” he said. “And the data and information they use to draw even the gerrymandered racist maps are still based on who’s registered, who’s of age, and actually who comes out to vote.” Viewer Sean McCarthy added context from the chat, noting that the Douglas County Election Commissioner reported average primary voter turnout in the county came in around 35 percent.
That tension between frustration and forward motion set the tone for a broader theme the hosts have been developing all season. “The ecosystem that we have been relying on is crumbling before our very eyes — whether it’s electoral politics, the economy, or education,” Buddy said. “We have to build ecosystems within ecosystems.” It was a frame that proved perfectly suited for the morning’s featured guest.
Dana Murray, founder and executive director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), joined the show for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on urban revitalization, youth development, and the untapped economic power of Black culture. Murray, a South Omaha native who spent eleven years as a musician in New York City before returning home, now runs NMA out of a performance venue and youth academy on North 24th Street — what Paul B. has long called “the most important Black corner in Nebraska.”
Murray spoke candidly about what it takes to make a corridor like “the Deuce” truly thrive. “There are metrics for the success of any district,” he said. “You have to have enough housing, places of service, parking, laundromats, eateries, gas stations — all the things any area needs to be self-sustained.” He also pointed to the need for destinations — entertainment, restaurants, and yes, even a hotel, so that larger festivals and conferences could be hosted right in the community. “A lot of stuff on North 24th Street hasn’t been sustainable,” he acknowledged, “and I can’t get caught up in the emotion of redevelopment — the X’s and O’s have to make sense.”
On the question of his own place in North Omaha’s story, Murray was characteristically direct. “If you’re Black and you’re in Omaha, especially in the 70s and early 80s, North Omaha was the Mecca for all of us — everyone had a shared relationship with it,” he said. He’s worked to make NMA a destination for all of Omaha, and says the results have spoken for themselves. “That taboo about the area’s ability to be an attraction was false. We’ve proven that.” Viewer Pops echoed the sentiment from the chat: “Artists like Fats Domino used to stay at your grandfather’s home when he came to town to perform. More infrastructure for artists around the Deuce corridor would be a godsend.”
At its core, Paul B. explained, NMA exemplifies what he calls the “secondary matrix” — the deeper purpose beneath the surface mission. “Dana Murray teaches kids music on the surface,” Paul said, “but the secondary matrix is creating critical thinkers who will go further in their fields because of the discipline and mind-expanding benefits of musical training.” Murray himself put it plainly: “We’re not only raising musicians; more importantly, we’re raising more critical thinking human beings. All these young kids are not going to become musicians by choice — some will become doctors, lawyers, business owners — but whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.”
Beyond instrument instruction, NMA teaches live sound engineering, podcasting, broadcast production, and live streaming — skills students practice in real time with real artists. “It’s not just telling them ‘you can be this someday,'” Murray said. “No, you can be this right now.” He also spoke urgently about the challenge of inspiring today’s youth in an age of instant information. “Most of their learning comes from Google, ChatGPT, YouTube, and Instagram. We have to figure out how to inspire them within the world they live in.” Viewer Kimber Snipes reinforced the theme from a different angle, sharing that in her conversations with people between the ages of 20 and 35, what she hears most is that they simply don’t know what to do or who the candidates are. “I think we need to have more education and deep dive discussions,” she wrote — a sentiment that applies just as much to civics as it does to music.
Looking ahead, Murray shared that NMA is preparing to launch a capital campaign with a first phase goal of $20 million, with a full campus as the long-term vision. “Money is not our issue in North Omaha — it’s transformative ideas,” he said. And the currency he believes the community should be investing? Culture. “Our culture is equity. Our artistic genius is equity. Every music in America has been built off of our experience. The sooner we look at it as equity to build and monetize for our community, the better we’re going to be.”
The show also celebrated several community wins worth cheering about: Charell Shelton’s Core Science Bio Diagnostics lab took home a $52,000 prize, Omaha North’s engineering program earned national recognition, and Boots Riley’s film I Love Boosters is headed to Film Streams. And on a purely joyful note, viewer Aeros 402 shared some beautiful news from the chat: “My only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both doing well. I feel blessed.” The whole room seemed to smile at that one.
If Friday’s episode was any indication, Season 4 of 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning is in full stride — building ecosystems, celebrating wins, and keeping the conversation rooted right here in this community. Tune in Monday morning and bring a neighbor along for the ride.
