IAmFiveFifths

Racial identity appears to be front and center in black America, displaying itself under the auspices identity politics, corporate diversity and anti-racism, race rejection. There are claims that blacks are overly engaged in racial identity, unable to be in the world without being blanketed by it. However, others counter stating that race is essential to black culture, as well as in fighting racism. Is there a black identity crisis?  In this podcast, co-hosts Bill and Ahmad examine the faultlines of black identity. Join us!

According to a NIH Study on fatherhood, black males are the most  active men in the lives of their children, more than all other male  demographic groups. This fun fact would likely win contrarians lots of  money in Vegas. So often, black male identity as fathers are associated  with the worse perceptions – deadbeats, absentees or uninterested dads.

So, I Am Five Fifths invited a black men into a virtual  forum to explore fatherhood beyond the myths and misconceptions. These  men are from a myriad of backgrounds (entrepreneur, engineer, life  coach, project manager, digital nomad, medical doctor). They share their  lessons, wisdom and emotions along the journey of fatherhood.

IAmFiveFifths speaks to Dr. Boyce Watkins, a media commentator,  serial entrepreneur and founder of the Black Business School, a financial  education platform focused on building wealth. We cover a range of topics related to the social economy of black America - challenges and opportunities.

Co-hosts Bill and Ahmad, like many  Americans, knew exactly where they were on that dreadful day called 9/11. In this episode, the co-hosts discusses the moment, loss and the impact on society. Join us for a reflection that covers collective psychology, geopolitics and the emergence of the national security state. 

In this episode, co-host Bill Thomason is pumped up because believes that there is a disappearance of black male voices from the American zeitgeist . He sees disheartening signals emerging in society where there are efforts to muddle black male expression inside and outside of black culture. Join us, as Bill and Ahmad engage in an unapologetic discussion as they seek to understand what the heck is occurring and why. 

Van Jones received $100 million from Amazon’s Chairman Jeff Bezos with no strings attached. Van expressed his gratitude stating, “sometimes dreams come true ... this game changer for justice.” This philanthropic giving is one of many that has been awarded to people and organizations since George Floyd's death, as a gesture to the perceived racial challenges in America. IAmFiveFifths co-hosts Bill and Ahmad examines philanthropy in the black community, including the controversial BLM, the black elite, and corporate gender politics. Question posed for this episode: Does it simply reward grievance mindset? Who gets to receive it? Who determines the problem? How is social impact measured? Does it really matter? 

Join Bill and Ahmad on a provocative take on these critical issue. 

Ashanti Branch, Executive Director of the Everforward Club, talks about how the efforts of his organization to provide social-emotional support for Black and Latino boys led to a global movement. Anshanti references his own personal journey of growing up in Oakland, California, where he - as a young boy - had to present two sides of himself in order to avoid ridicule for a being high achieving student. Ashanti sees this as a larger endemic challenge for youth in general, prompting his organization to launch the #millionmaskmovement. Join IAmFiveFifths co-hosts Bill and Ahmad, as they engage Ashanti on a wide range of topic related to black boys: schools, achievement, funding, growth, emotions, as well as his path from being high paid engineer to becoming a teacher and subsequently starting EverForward. 

IAmFiveFifths talks to global enterprise technologist and futurist Norman B. Anderson about the future of AI and its potential implications on black communities. We cover a range of topics, including search, work, policing, autonomous vehicles, business and social impact.

IAmFiveFifths examines the field of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), challenging whether it is an effective source for real change and opportunities or is it simply a hype machine for the black professional class.