For Our Edification

During her vice presidential nomination speech, Kamala Harris gave a shout-out to the Divine Nine after mentioning her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. Many of us were pretty excited that she took the time to do so. But why, on the biggest stage of her career and in such a critical moment, would she do such a thing?

I know exactly why--identity and value. Alpha Kappa Alpha, like so many of our sororities and fraternities, probably helped her figure out who she is and how she influences those around her. Not only that, but Divine Nine organizations are built on causes. Listen to me break it down on this episode.

Some Divine Resources:

A Deeper Look at the Divine Nine's Impact | The Huffington Post

Black Greek Success Blog | BlackGreekSuccess.org

Sister Soldiers: A Look at Black Sororities in the Black Lives Matter Movement | Essence

Loretta Lynch hearing: Why all those red suits in the crowd? | Christian Science Monitor

Watch the Yard

Grown and Greek TV

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

In 2018, on the old Eddie Francis Podcast Show, Halima and I thought it would be great to interview Eric and Maleka Beal, a husband and wife team that lost nearly 300 lbs., combined. Their feat was so impressive that the couple had been featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Dr. Oz," in Essence, and People. Their success also led them to start the health and wellness company Better Choices.

In this great interview, Eric and Maleka talk about how their relationship blossomed and served as a foundation for their health and wellness success with Better Choices.

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Every September, HazingPrevention.org holds National Hazing Prevention Week to create and share awareness about the dangers of hazing. An instrumental figure in tracking hazing deaths is Hank Nuwer. On the old Eddie Francis Podcast Show, we talked to professional mental health counselors Leslie Brown and Dr. Von Eaglin about the psychology of hazing, particularly in the Divine Nine. As a member of a Divine Nine fraternity, I thought it important to talk to a couple of counselors who speak our language, and both came through with great insight about what goes through the mind of potential hazers.

Leslie is no stranger to For Our Edification. A member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., she appeared on episode 4, "The Mental Health Benefits of Giving". Leslie is a relational counselor with extensive experience working with military veterans, veterans' families, and women/families in substance abuse recovery. She is a doctoral candidate at Barry University, where her research interests include the evolution of families, polyamory families, race/class/gender, and cultural competency, as well as indigenous and traditional mental health healing modalities. Leslie earned her bachelor's degree from Hampton University in mass media arts and her Master of Science in marriage and family therapy from St. Thomas University (Fla).

Von is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. He talks about positive psychology on One Life Radio. Von earned his bachelor's degree in business administration, his master's degree in education, and his Ph.D. (earned after this interview was recorded) from the University of North Texas. He has experience working with physically and sexually abused youth, couples, men’s issues, anger management, adolescents, depression, anxiety, and addictions.

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

August is Black Philanthropy Month, so that means it's Halima and Write to Bear Alms time! With such a great celebration, there are many who get into the spirit of giving. One's giving should have purpose, however. For this edition of the Write to Bear Alms segment, Halima breaks down how having a philanthropic identity can lead to more meaningful giving.

Halima breaks down the philanthropic identity. She defines it, how it feeds into one's reputation, what it means to protect a philanthropic identity, the difference between influence and power in philanthropy, and how to establish a philanthropic identity.

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

In so many conversations about college, someone inevitably offers up that "college isn't for everybody." There's no disputing that, but we decided to challenge that statement. On this episode of For Our Edification, we don't challenge its truth so much as we challenge the frequency with which it is said. Specifically, we discuss why that statement does more harm to Black America than any other sector of society.

For this discussion, we lean on Halima's knowledge of education. Having earned her master's degree in Educational Sociology, Halima touches on the history of higher education, which includes the complex history of HBCUs. From there, we do a deep dive discussion about what is left on the table by people quickly dismissing college as a viable option for success. Unapologetically, we tie higher education into a critical part of Black America's identity and value.

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Here is a pair of throwback interviews to my radio days when I was a co-producer and contributor to the award-winning show "Sunday Journal with Hal Clark". In 2010, I was introduced to hip hop artist and educator Voice Monet, whose discography includes "Black Maria" and "Voice Presents Cutz". Voice's single "Black Maria" features her mother Zardis.  

Before that, however, I had the pleasure of interviewing her dad, actor and acting instructor, Lance E. Nichols. By far, this is one of the most entertaining interviews I have ever done, thanks to Lance's energy and charm. Lance has appeared as Dr. Larry Williams in "Tremé", as Gene Clancy in "House of Cards", and as the Preacher in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons". Enjoy!

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

It's a throwback on For Our Edification for the Write to Bear Alms segment! On this episode, we're going back to the old "Eddie Francis Podcast Show" when Halima had a conversation about Black philanthropy. Her guests were Darryl Lester and Vince Bayyan. The conversation defined Black philanthropy, discussed trends, and the importance of empowering everyday people to be strategic in their giving.

About Darryl Lester

A leading voice in philanthropy, Darryl is the director of Service Year at North Carolina State University's Institute for Emerging Issues. He is also the founder of HindSight Consulting and the Community Investment Network. Darryl had also served as the director of Community Leadership and Programs at the Triangle Community Foundation (NC) and as a trustee of the Warner Foundation. An alumnus of Wofford College(B.A., economics) and North Carolina State University (M.Ed. in counselor education and minor in psychology), Darryl is a brother of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

About Vince Bayyan

Vince is a former development leader at Claflin University and St. Augustine's University. He also has non-profit experience as a former executive director of the YMCA Clarence E. Lightner Youth Leadership Academy in North Carolina. Also a dedicated artist, Vince is the principal partner of Bayyan Ventures and the Arts Conference Event Center. Vince holds a B.A. in mass communications from Hampton University.

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Social media was abuzz in early 2019 when two documentaries about the infamous Fyre Festival dropped on Netflix and Hulu. People could not believe how the event got so out of hand and how the festival's creator seemed oblivious to the harm he caused several parties in the process. I believe the reason is McFarland's narcissism.

Using my professional experience and information I am gathering for my master's degree research, I lay out the signs of narcissistic leadership using the events surrounding Fyre Fest as portrayed in the documentaries. This isn't about the organizer so much as it is about helping people understand how working under narcissistic leaders can adversely affect one's identity and value. Trust me, I know. We look at both warning signs and ways people can protect themselves under narcissistic leadership. 

For Dr. Ramani Durvasula’s TED talk on narcissism, click here.

SOURCES

Leader Narcissism and Outcomes in Organizations: A Review at Multiple Levels of Analysis and Implications for Future Research by Susanne Braun

The Narcissism Spectrum Model: A Synthetic View of Narcissistic Personality by Zlatan Krizan and Anne Herlache

How to Handle Narcissistic Abuse by Darlene Lancer

Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons by Michael Maccoby

8 Types of Narcissists -- Including One to Stay Away From at All Costs by Kristen Milstead

Narcissistic Leaders and Their Victims: Followers Low on Self-Esteem and Low on Core Self-Evaluations Suffer Most by Barbara Nevicka, Annebel De Hoogh, Deanne Den Hartog & Frank Belschak

The Narcissism Epidemic and What We Can Do About It by Joe Pierre

EDITORIAL NOTE

I referenced the Op Ed Project during my "to be sure." Please take time to find out more about this great organization.

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

Halima and I continue to unpack her Ph.D. experience in part two of a conversation about how her identity and value were affected during her doctoral journey. Here, it gets even more interesting as we discuss the value of doctorates to greater society. Halima gives thoughts about how people who engage in doctoral studies shape important social issues. By the way, there are interesting segments where Halima gives her thoughts about how doctoral work had been adversely affected in Black America in the 1990s and cultural representation in scholarship.

Finally, Halima offers words of advice to anyone considering or just embarking on the doctoral journey. Pay close attention to her thoughts on maintaining a sense of mental wellness and wholeness on the quest for knowledge.

One more thing. You'll hear some odd noises at 12:55. Ignore it; we have no idea what was going on. *smiles*

Closing music by Swagg Beats.

The views expressed on “For Our Edification” do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

The year 2018 was a great one for Halima. After defending her doctoral dissertation in November 2017, she received her Ph.D. in 2018 from New York University's Steihardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. Having had so many conversations about the process, we thought it would be a good idea to pick her brain about how the process affected her identity and value.

In part one, Halima discusses why she chose to pursue a Ph.D. and why she chose her research. We find out how her passion for understanding fundraising capacity-building at HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and being an alumna of Hampton University served as key motivators. This part goes deep as we find out how the inequities between HBCUs' and majority institutions' are more intricate than many realize.

That being said, we learn that the doctoral journey can be a very personal process. Halima also discusses who she was prior to her doctoral journey and her identity and value now.

Closing music by Swagg Beats