Licy Do Canto, Managing Director for the Washington, DC headquarters of APCO Worldwide. Licy discussed his personal and professional journey to drive change and lift up disadvantaged communities in the U.S. and abroad. A son of Cape Verdean immigrants, raised in Greater Boston, has made diversity, equity, and inclusion his life journey companions. From APCO’s racial equity initiative, “Accelerate What’s Right,” to his perspective on the important difference between equality and equity, Licy shar...
Aug 20, 2021•36 min•Season 5Ep. 46
MJ Fievre, an Haitian writer, author, and publisher who currently resides in the United States, shared the Black experience in Haiti and her objections to anti-whiteness. She emphasized the need for community introspection, communal dialogue without passion, and the social and personal responsibilities of Black people. "The Black experience in Haiti has a lot to do with colorism. So it's the idea that if you're lighter skinned, you are more beautiful, you are probably more educated, or you have ...
Aug 06, 2021•44 min•Season 5Ep. 45
Caroline Manyapye, a South African executive based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, juxtaposed the benefits of colonization with the innate abilities and excellence of Black people, while she shared her personal stories layered with pain and resilience. "I've got this view and this perception, that we are the most oppressed, simply because we are so powerful and simply because they know our power. They know our power even if sometimes we don't see our power, they see it and they know it. Why woul...
Jul 23, 2021•37 min•Season 5Ep. 44
Daniel L. Hollar, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, Chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Science at Bethune-Cookman University and CEO of Daninger Solutions Inc., expounded on the impact of adopting main stream values while rejecting indigenous cultural values. He proffered solutions that can protect citizens from negative images of dominant cultures. He touched on various topics including traumas in the Black communities, benefits of building culturally competent officers, and the need ...
Jul 09, 2021•30 min•Season 5Ep. 43
Babatunde Ogunnaike, Ph.D., an award winning American Chemical Engineer of Nigerian descent, currently the William L. Friend Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bio-molecular Engineering at the University of Delaware, spoke on the intersectionality of engineering-sociology-humanity-and cultural anthropology. He affirmed the true story of one woman and the automobile airbag was not a box to be checked, just as the Black race are humans of significant worth. "Not having women in engineer...
Jul 02, 2021•47 min•Season 5Ep. 42
Darryl Mobley, prior corporate executive of Procter and Gamble, the world #1 Coach, and the CEO of Catapult Leaders spoke as a father, a husband, and a professional. He shared his reasons why he considers negativity as a drug, the reason why people want you to hate yourself, what you can do to change, and why fighting may not be bad. "And I am resolute about this stuff. I don't care about your politics. I don't care about what you call yourself. I don't care about the party you belong to - it's ...
Jun 26, 2021•45 min•Season 5Ep. 41
Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, Ph.D., Senior Associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Fellow with the Caribbean Policy Consortium, both in Washington, DC, provides vignettes on the end-to-end process of the drug business, which includes production, trans-shipment, consumption, and money laundering. He elaborated on the impact in the Black community, why "just say no" did not work, and why "the war on drugs" was unhelpful. The recommendations of this two-time university presi...
Jun 04, 2021•50 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director of AfriLabs Foundation and Working Party Chair of eCommerce Forum Africa, spoke from Lagos in Nigeria. The Nigerian-Senegalese expounded on the excitement and the reality of being a Black youth on the continent. She highlighted the uniqueness of the environment, the people, culture, and solution adaptation, while identifying the most appropriate stakeholders to define and solve the Black problems. (Since the recording of the podcast, Anna has joined a Nigerian po...
May 28, 2021•47 min•Season 4Ep. 39
Scott Law, a trusted colleague and friend of mine, shared his thoughts and fears about the current generation, and his hope and aspirations for the next, while discussing the inherent need for all people to value each other and coexist equitably as one human family. "We never thought about things in that way, and I wasn't raised to think about things in that way. We learn about people, we didn't learn about or be taught that there was this difference between a Hispanic person and a Black person,...
May 21, 2021•43 min•Season 4Ep. 38
Dr. Norman Munroe, a U.S State department Fulbright Scholar and a full professor at Florida International University in the Mechanical and Materials Engineering department. Dr. Munroe described how he was re-educated as a Guyanese-American Black man in Tanzania. He spoke about his visit to one of the wonders of the world, his Christmas experience at Mount Kilimanjaro, his face to face meeting with President Julius Nyeyere, and his escapade in Uganda a week before Idi Amin's coup. "I was able to ...
May 14, 2021•36 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Greg Hendricks, went from the court as a former professional basketball player and coach to becoming a full-time pastor in a mega church - The Rock Church in San Diego, California. Pastor Hendricks speaks about the burden and the calling upon his church and their ministry on the subject of racism, he expands on the commonalities of in-groups and out-groups as a resolution strategy, as he gives out a special invitation. "We started internally first and we had some really great dialogue. There wer...
May 07, 2021•54 min•Season 4Ep. 36
Shawn Kennedy, a retired sworn member of the Chicago Police Department for 29 years, currently serving as the Information Officer for the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers spoke about the Black police experience as an officer and a citizen. He highlighted, why Black officers are not speaking up enough, the impacts when they speak up, and why Black men are a primary target. He provided specific call to action for Black officers and citizens. "People say, "are they trying to p...
Apr 30, 2021•46 min•Season 4Ep. 35
Qazi Fakhir Jamil, President of MQ Technologies spoke from Toronto in Canada. A native of Pakistan, previously the CEO of Converge Technologies, the largest digital media and content company in Pakistan, now resides in Canada. The Tech mogul juxtaposed awareness and exposure with massive data manipulation as a means of changing negative perceptions of Blacks. He highlighted several untapped opportunities in the Technology world and challenged Blacks to leverage the power of e-commerce to elevate...
Apr 23, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 34
James Lafferty, CEO of Fine Hygienic Holdings spoke from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. A Cincinnati native, previously division CEO for P&G, Coca-Cola, British American Tobacco and many world class companies, now resides in Dubai. Jim, also a feminist, described his voting record from '84 to now, his interpretation of mental disarmament from Nelson Mandela's story, his feelings about white privilege, thought about Klans, perception of minority progressions and how to win their votes an...
Apr 16, 2021•55 min•Season 4Ep. 33
Dr. Eve Hudson, Founder and Chief Strategist of Evingerlean Worldwide and Professor of Higher Education at Bellarmine University focused on the main social mobilizer for Black people. She touched on the opportunity available to everyone regardless of the color of their skin or socioeconomic background. "People were people. Even through my high school, I didn't recognize I was going to a predominantly Black institution, predominantly Black school even, because I was going to school with friends. ...
Apr 10, 2021•29 min0
Julie Kefer, Senior Director of Operations at UCLA was resonate about the need for an equitable society as she acknowledged that racism was always there but it is easy to pretend that it was not. She recognized the enormity of the work can be overwhelming, but she insisted that the outcome must be the motivation. "I feel very sort of overwhelmed by the challenge and the enormity of what we're all realizing especially as a white person, phew... we're not where we thought we were at all. How do we...
Apr 03, 2021•38 min0
Paul Wilson, a founding member of Black Police Association and former superintendent with London’s Metropolitan Police with 31 years of public service expounded on why changing policing is almost insurmountable. He described the Police Occupational Cultures, vulnerabilities within the police services, and the birth of policing in the U.S and U.K. Paul expressed that the greatest pandemic in London is the loss of young Black men because regardless of your location in England and Wales, Black peop...
Mar 20, 2021•40 min0
Leah Turner J.D., Professor at Maryland University and a licensed Acupuncturist shared her experiences as a biracial person. She shared her observations on biracial privileges and moving through white spaces, her perspectives on blackness, and the power of the heart. "She raised me to be racially ambiguous. She didn't hid any of my blackness, she didn't try to deny it. I interacted with my father's side of the family, in fact, That was the only side of the family I knew. My mother's side, the wh...
Mar 13, 2021•40 min0
Dian Bourne, J.D., was a high ranking official for the government of Bahamas as head of the legal Unit in the Ministry of Finance. She spoke on the power structures and the residues of slavery in the Caribbean. Dian expanded on the subject of erasure, how to mitigate it, document the truth, and the process of disseminating the truth. "The narratives they are telling Black people is, we are selling three things: they are either good entertainers, we are good athletes, or we are good criminals. An...
Mar 06, 2021•36 min0
Femi Omere, Managing Director of Hosted in Africa Group Limited and Barrister at Law at the Bar of England and Wales, applauded African Americans for their roles in the African movement. He invited all Africans in diaspora to join hands with Africa to regenerate the greatness of all Africans. "Reparation" is a must for atonement and the dignity of Black people. "And what I want to say to that, because as I've gotten older and I hope wiser, you begin to understand that, hold on a minute, The Amer...
Feb 27, 2021•49 min0
Jeremiah Bourgeois (J.J.), Criminal Legal System Consultant and Director of Beyond the Blindfold of Justice Project, described his childhood journey from private and boarding schools, to the streets, to life in prison without parole at age 14, and now a legal consultant and a J.D candidate shaping the policies influencing the legal systems. "At least with respect to shaping the African American experience, we grew up in a world where the educational system taught us about equality and liberty an...
Feb 20, 2021•57 min•Season 3Ep. 26
O.T. Wells II J.D., the Chief Procurement Officer for UCLA affirmed the resilience of Black people. His family knows the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quite well, and he shared some insider stories about the Reverend. O.T. sees pockets of bright spots, and he shared the secret ingredient every Black person in America needs: to be cheered among their peers, to meet Black legends face to face, and to learn about their real history. "Black Lives Matter is a statement. And the movement was just t...
Feb 13, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 25
Olajide N. Bamishigbin Jr. Ph.D., an Assistant Professor at California State University, Long Beach discussed the state of affairs of Black men in the United States. He focused on their health, socioeconomic status, and education, while delineating the impact on boys from men. "Black men are a very disadvantaged group. They tend to have some of the worst health in the country, physical health, with regards to cardiovascular diseases, mortality from cancer, things like that, Black men tends not t...
Feb 06, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 24
George Critchlow, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, practitioner, and author addressed the subjects of law enforcement, defunding the police, and why America is leading the world in incarceration, ahead of China and Russia. He expounded on what a Fear-based society is and the painful process of transformation. "You do not have any kind of relationship between the representation of African Americans in prison and the nature of the criminal problem in the United States. I don't know how people can look a...
Jan 30, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Norma Hollis, founder of Authenticity Programs contended on the irrelevance of guilt, necessity of taking one step at a time, and the shift from autopilot. "But my parent's vision and what I realized about two decades ago, was that, one reason my parent lacked vision was because they couldn't vote until they were in their 40s. So, how can you have vision if you can't even envision yourself voting? So, that's one. And then I just realized that, my father bought a house in 1954, and that's where w...
Jan 23, 2021•41 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Jacob U'Mofe Gordon, Ph.D., LLD (Hon), the first black Professor Emeritus at the University of Kansas, and current President & CEO of American Health Coalition discussed the root cause of racism, black brainwash, history of America, current colonies, education, a working solution in Florida, and the way forward. "Now, you got to remember now, that the same group of people who colonized Africa, who enslaved Africans, also developed educational system for them. The educational systems were des...
Jan 16, 2021•59 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Tokiwa Smith, a black female Chemical Engineer, Social Entrepreneur, and the founder of a STEM Education firm discussed the double-edge challenges faced by young black students. She introduced the systemic complexities working against black students, and proposed a solution pathway, both from home and school. "The education field is very much a white woman's profession, right. And that whole culture fits within education even in districts that has majority teachers of color. And so with that, th...
Jan 09, 2021•47 min•Season 3Ep. 20
Join me as we recap all 2020 episodes with the memorable soundbites. I'll introduce the episode number, title, description, and you can listen to the soundbite. A great way to quickly scan through all the episodes. Thank you for your support - I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2021. We'll be back on Jan. 9th, 2021.
Dec 19, 2020•19 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Sola Bamis is a black female actress, writer, performance artist, producer, and film-maker in Hollywood. She discussed the inner workings of Hollywood, the challenges and opportunities, and the big "ask" from the power players of Hollywood. "There is also a very very predictable Hollywood systems, you know, a Hollywood caste system, that makes it, so that, you know, the younger you are, the whiter you are, the thinner you are, the bluer your eyes, the blonder your hair, that is what affords you ...
Dec 11, 2020•39 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Ken Bentley, black male executive and CEO of APGA Tour, and previously a Vice President at Nestle USA spoke about his childhood experience as a black inner city kid from Los Angeles. He cited a number of black role models that many are unaware of, and he discussed his path to the top at Nestle, the significance of "Amen corner", and bridging the opportunity gap. "Then my mother showed up, she had been parking the car. She shows up and she said, "I'm going to have the NAACP investigate this. This...
Dec 05, 2020•52 min•Season 2Ep. 17
