CTRL THE NARRATIVE

This week I sit down with Pastor Jamaal Bernard, installed as Senior Pastor of Christian Cultural Center in September 2025, taking over the 37,000 member Brooklyn megachurch from his father, Dr. A.R. Bernard. He's not alone. In the same twelve month window, The Potter's House, Victory Christian Center, and Second Baptist Houston all handed their pulpits to the founders' children. In this episode of CTRL the Narrative, Pastor Jamaal Bernard answers directly what "installed" actually means, what he'd say to the nepotism critics, and what accountability looks like now that it's his name on the door.

Subscribe for new episodes of CTRL the Narrative and head to the Substack for the deeper dive: tonyamckenziepr.substack.com

Show this guest some love. Follow Pastor Jamaal Bernard and check out his books, his podcast Off Script, and Christian Cultural Center.

Follow me on Instagram: TonyaMcKenziePR

For media training and crisis comms: [email protected]

#CTRLtheNarrative #PastorJamaalBernard #ChristianCulturalCenter #Megachurch #BlackChurch #PRStrategy #BrandStrategy #Leadership

Society was never built with Black women's needs in mind, so we learned to find our worth in service instead of ourselves. On this episode of CTRL the Narrative, Chief CTRLer Tonya McKenzie breaks down Dr. Donna Oriowo's new book, Drink Water and Mind Your Business: A Black Woman's Guide to Unlearning the BS and Healing Your Self-Esteem, why the research on colorism and self-worth backs up what we already knew, and why controlling your internal narrative is the crisis plan nobody talks about.Dr. Donna Oriowo is a licensed clinical social worker and certified sex therapist specializing in how colorism and texturism shape mental and sexual health. Find her at @dr.donnaoriowo on TikTok and Instagram.Subscribe to this YouTube channel. Read the deeper dive on Substack: CTRL the Narrative, tonyamckenziepr.substack.comFollow TonyaMcKenziePR on InstagramGet the Book: Drink Water and Mind Your Business by Dr. Donna OriowoSubscribe to the CTRL the Narrative Newsletter: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5164451187916800

LA County is home to 10 million people, and for 75 years, just five supervisors have run the show. Measure G changes everything: expanding the Board from 5 to 9, creating an elected County Executive, and establishing an independent Ethics Commission. Today, Governance Reform Task Force members David Russell Phelps and Derek Steele sit down with Tonya McKenzie to break down what this means for your neighborhood, your taxes, and your voice.David Phelps is a lifelong San Fernando Valley business owner, Principal of The Palomino Group, and the only business representative on the 13-member GRTF.Derek Steele is the Executive Director of the Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) in Inglewood, a California 2023 Nonprofit of the Year, and a representative of the community-based organization sector on the task force.CTRL the Narrative or the streets will and not in your favor. Subscribe to the CTRL the Narrative Newsletter: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com

See you over there. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

1,688 polling places closed. One phone call to Georgia. Two filibusters of the John Lewis bill. The tributes to Senator Lindsey Graham will not mention any of it. This episode does.Senator Lindsey Graham died this weekend at 71, and within hours the eulogy machine was running at full speed. On this episode of CTRL the Narrative, I am not celebrating a death and I am not mourning one either. I am doing the third thing nobody talks about: correcting the record. Because an obituary is the final press release, and if nobody shows up with receipts, the draft becomes the record. Permanently.We walk through the documented record, receipt by receipt: the 2020 call to Georgia's Republican Secretary of State about tossing mail ballots in metro Atlanta, the filibusters that blocked the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the "conservative, not liberal" comment about Black South Carolinians, the defense of the "go back" attacks on four congresswomen of color, and the three-decade pattern that ties it all together. Then we talk about what it costs Black America in power, belonging, and memory, and the PR lesson every CTRLer needs to hear: you are writing your obituary right now.CONNECTSubscribe to CTRL the Narrative on Substack for the written version with every source linked: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com/Work with me: https://www.sandandshores.comInstagram, Threads: @tonyamckenziePRTonya is my name. Controlling the narrative is my game.#CTRLtheNarrative #LindseyGraham #VotingRights #JohnLewis #CrisisPR #PublicRelations #BlackVoices #Storytelling #CrisisPR #ControlTheNarrative #LindseyGrahamSubscribe to the CTRL the Narrative Newsletter: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5164451187916800

Police confidence is up 8 points in a year, the biggest swing of any U.S. institution Gallup tracks, but the racial gap in that trust hasn't closed. In NYC, civilians only win misconduct complaints 1 in 7 times.Gabriel Karkaji didn't wait for the system to fix itself. In 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, he built WatchR, a mobile app that lets citizens record, rate, and report their interactions with law enforcement into a searchable public record. On this episode of CTRL the Narrative, we get into how a solo software engineer took an idea from a scroll session to the App Store and Google Play, the hard questions about accountability versus harassment, and his bigger thesis on how technology can be pointed at society's hardest problems.Subscribe for new episodes as often as we can bring them to you. Comment and tell me where you land. And for the deeper dive and full sourcing, head to Substack: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com/#CTRLtheNarrative #TonyaMcKenzie #WatchR #GabrielKarkaji #policeaccountability #civictech #GeorgeFloyd #criminaljusticereform #startupfounder #PublicTrust #ReputationManagement Subscribe to the CTRL the Narrative Newsletter: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5164451187916800

Somebody is already telling your story. Right now. While you are deciding whether you have the time, the budget, or the nerve to tell it yourself, a reporter, a competitor, a group chat, or a comment section is writing the version people believe. And they are not protecting your name.In this episode of CTRL the Narrative, I break down why silence is never neutral, why your reputation is like a fire extinguisher, and the four moves that put you back in control of your own story before a crisis ever hits.I am Tonya McKenzie. Founder and Principal Consultant at Sand and Shores, Los Angeles County Commissioner of Alcohol and Other Drugs, and the Chief CTRLer of the Narrative. I have spent 20+ years helping leaders, brands, athletes, and institutions control the narrative before the narrative controls them. I do not do fluff. I do strategy.WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:~Why a vacuum never stays empty, and what rushes in when you stay quiet~The three real reasons smart people lose control of their story (none of them are about talent)~The CTRL approach: know your message, face the hard question, respond with intention, build before you need it~Three things you can do today to take your narrative backDO THIS TODAY:Write your one sentence. Who are you and what do you stand for, in one breath.Name the question you are afraid of, then answer it out loud on camera.Google yourself. You cannot control a narrative you have not even read.If your story deserves better handling than a group chat and a prayer, we should talk. ~LIKE this episode so the algorithm puts it in front of the people who need it. ~COMMENT with the one question you are afraid somebody will ask you. ~SUBSCRIBE so you never miss an episode. ~Read CTRL the Narrative on Substack for the strategy I cannot fit into 20 minutes, and connect with me on Instagram @tonyamckenziepr for the conversation that is a little too petty for the podcast.Tonya is my name, controlling the narrative is my game. Because if you don't CTRL the narrative, the streets will, and it will not be in your favor.CONNECT:Website: sandandshores.comEmail: [email protected]: CTRL the NarrativeInstagram: @tonyamckenziepr#CTRLtheNarrative #PublicRelations #CrisisCommunications #MediaTraining #PersonalBranding #ReputationManagement #TonyaMcKenzie #SandAndShores #ThoughtLeadership #StorytellingSubscribe to the CTRL the Narrative Newsletter: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com

Can a minor be charged with child pornography for sending explicit images to another minor? Yes. In 23 states it is a felony. No adult required.

1 in 7 teens is sending explicit images right now. 1 in 4 has received them. Child pornography prosecutions are up 34 percent since 2020. Coaches are pulling scholarship offers over a single screenshot. And most parents have not had the conversation.

Tonya McKenzie, communications and crisis strategist, Founder of Sand & Shores, and mother of four student athletes, breaks down the real legal, reputational, and career consequences of teen sexting that families are not prepared for.

This episode includes the real story of a 14-year-old, her son's best friend and the brother of an NBA player, prosecuted under child pornography law. Both minors. No adult involved. The system made an example anyway. He lost his whole future.

The conversation you are not having with your child is the one that will cost them everything.

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Contact Tonya:[email protected] | sandandshores.com

#StudentAthletes #TeenSexting #DigitalSafety #ReputationManagement #CTRLtheNarrative #SandAndShores #TonyaMcKenzie #JudgyPodcast #SportsPR

The Judgy Wrap-Up: Pop Culture, PR, and the Truth Nobody Wanted to Say Out Loud ft. Elle Murasaki aka BriefedByElle. Every week, the culture does something worth dissecting. This week, I brought in Elle Murasaki, pop culture critic and communications strategist, to help me do exactly that. We covered fake apologies, the difference between accountability and cancellation in sport, the reputational risk of going viral, and so much more. Check us out. Follow Elle: @justellemurasaki | ellemurasaki.com Follow Tonya: @TonyaMcKenziePR | sandandshores.com Subscribe to the CTRL the Narrative Newsletter: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com

Welcome to The Judgment Zone. Where we fight anti-intellectualism one episode at a time. You'll learn more about me as we go. Right now, we have work to do. Let us know your thoughts. What would you like to see discussed? Subscribe to the CTRL the Narrative Newsletter: https://tonyamckenziepr.substack.com🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5164451187916800www.SandAndShores.com Follow Tonya on Instagram @TonyaMcKenziePR

The NCAA just proposed the biggest eligibility overhaul in decades and most sports parents have no idea what it actually means for their athlete.

Here is what we know... they are blowing the whole system up.

The 5-for-5 proposal gives athletes five full years of eligibility starting at age 19 or high school graduation, whichever comes first. No redshirts. No medical waivers. No exceptions. And it could be implemented as early as fall 2026.

In this episode I break down:

• What the 5-for-5 model actually means in plain language
• Why reclassing DOWN could now cost your athlete a year of eligibility before they ever step on a college campus
• The grandfather clause questions that are still unanswered for athletes already in college
• Why the NIL money is the real reason this system collapsed
• What families with athletes at every level need to do right now

The deadline on this proposal is August 1, 2026.

DROP A COMMENT below and tell me, is your family navigating a reclassing decision right now? I want to hear where you are in the process.

If this episode gave you something to think about, SHARE IT with every sports parent in your network. This is the conversation that needs to be happening in every dugout, gym, and sideline right now.

And if you are not already subscribed to CTRL the Narrative, do it now so you never miss an episode. Because when the rules change, you want to be the first to know.

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#CTRLtheNarrative #SandAndShores #TheJudgyPodcast #StudentAthletes #NCAAEligibility #NIL #SportsParent #GenXMom #AthleteParents #CollegeSports #Reclassing #NILStrategy