“I cannot be shackled by words. Whatever caused that man to believe that that was the words that he needed to use against me, I can’t stop him from believing that. But I cannot let him have power over me by making me react how he thinks I should react. That’s the freedom that I’m going to have. That’s the freedom that I’m taking back.”

In this special first episode of 2022, Ever Forward Club’s Ashanti Branch reflects on a racist incident that occurred over one year ago.

0:44 Ashanti’s introduction.

1:15 Ashanti recorded a video reflection on the incident, and we share it here. It covers what happened and why it took so long for him to share the video of the incident.

13:18 We play the entire video/sound of the incident.

18:05 Ashanti’s video reflection continues. He shares how failing to share what happened and failing to process what happened has had detrimental effects on his health. He also explains what he wants young people to learn from this incident and how he wants to speak up and stand up for his beliefs more often.

26:05 In Ashanti’s conclusion, he shares what freedom means to him.

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If you are interested in being on the Face to Face podcast, email us at [email protected]

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Connect with Ashanti Branch:

Instagram: instagram.com/branchspeaks

Facebook: facebook.com/BranchSpeaks

Twitter: twitter.com/BranchSpeaks

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashantibranch

Website: branchspeaks.com

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Send in a voice message:

anchor.fm/branch-speaks/message

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Connect with Ever Forward Club:

Instagram: instagram.com/everforward

Facebook: facebook.com/everforwardclub

Twitter: twitter.com/everforwardclub

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-ever-forward-club