Let Us Not Forget

Ms V, The Voice of Reason, shares a personal and faith-centered vision for the future of Black America. Drawing from her father’s story of building wealth, opportunity, and legacy despite limited formal education, she lays out a call for stronger families, safer neighborhoods, better schools, thriving Black businesses, and deeper community responsibility.This episode is a reflection on generational vision, entrepreneurship, education, and the role of faith in community restoration. It is both a personal testimony and a rallying cry for parents, churches, schools, and neighbors to help plant what future generations will grow.

• Ms V explains her dream for Black America: strong, safe, vibrant Black communities with strong families, excellent schools, thriving businesses, and people returning to God.
• She tells the story of her father, who could not read or write at first but still envisioned owning a building on Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia and later owned two.
• She highlights how her parents, with limited formal education and many disadvantages, raised five children who all graduated from high school, with some going on to college.
• She emphasizes that vision matters before visible results, saying people often have to see something before they can build it.
• She argues that protecting Black children starts with the family, with parents prioritizing learning, advocacy, and presence in school life.
• She calls for quality schools, after-school programs, and safe spaces for children when the school day ends and parents are still working.
• She stresses that communities, churches, nonprofits, businesses, and schools must work together rather than expecting any one group to solve the problem alone.
• She urges parents and neighbors to show up at school meetings, school board meetings, city council meetings, PTA events, and children’s activities.
• She makes a case for community centers as more than buildings, focusing on what happens inside them: mentors, coaches, tutors, arts, recreation, and leadership development.
• She expands the dream to include entrepreneurship, trades, and career and technical education, challenging the idea that college is the only path to success.

“Sometimes you have to see something before you can build it.”

“Maybe my assignment is to plant it.”

“Dreams become visions. Visions become plans. Plans become action.”

Covering our Black children means helping create a physical, mental, social, and emotional protective circle around them. However, there is another part of protecting our Black children that we cannot afford to ignore. Covering our children means acknowledging that racism is real. It means recognizing that our children may encounter racial difference, stereotypes, exclusion, unequal discipline, lowered expectations, or hurtful comments at a very young age—sometimes before they have the words to explain what happened.This may be especially important when a Black child attends a predominantly White school and is one of only a few children who look like them. That does not mean every White teacher, student, or family will mistreat our children. Many will encourage them, teach them, befriend them, and stand beside them. But loving our children requires us to prepare them for the possibility that someone may judge their skin, hair, name, culture, intelligence, or behavior unfairly. Therefore, silence does not keep children innocent. Silence may leave them unprepared. We must reach our children’s hearts before racism does. This episode can help us understand what we need to know, do , and avoid doing, when it comes to Covering our Black children.

One closed program may not determine a child’s future. But when several protections disappear together, the risks surrounding that child can grow.

We must understand something about belonging.

Every child wants to belong somewhere.

Every child wants to be noticed by someone.

Every child wants to feel good at something.

Every child wants to believe that their life matters.

The dangerous influence does not always create the need. Sometimes it takes advantage of a need that responsible adults and institutions have left unmet.

That is why our response cannot begin only after the child is suspended, arrested, injured, addicted, or lost.

We must reach our children before the crisis. When Positive doors close, who opens another one? Dare To Care.

What happens when community centers close, school programs disappear, and trusted adults and positive activities are no longer available to our children? In this episode, Ms. V examines how the loss of safe people, places, and opportunities has affected Black children and communities—and why parents, schools, churches, organizations, businesses, and elected officials must work together to rebuild the village. It is time to move beyond saying we care and begin showing it. We must Dare to C.A.R.E: Cover, Advocate, Respect, and Empower our children, before a crisis.

The episode emphasizes the importance of community participation and highlights the impact of small acts in rebuilding the village. It encourages individuals, families, businesses, and young people to adopt a school and support education as a collective responsibility.

Takeaways

• Community participation is essential
• Small acts create a big impact

Chapters

• 00:00 The Power of Community Participation

The podcast episode emphasizes the importance of community involvement in supporting schools and creating a strong village around children. It explores the impact of small acts and introduces the 'Adopt a School' initiative as a way to rebuild the village around our children.

Takeaways

• Community involvement
• Supporting schools

Chapters

• 00:00 The Power of Community Involvement
• 05:17 Adopt a School Initiative

What would happen if every church, business, family, elder, and neighbor adopted a school?

No child should walk in a community that does not care.

The village must return.

Join Ms. V, the Voice of Reason, on the Let Us Not Forget Podcast as we launch:
“Adopt A School: Rebuilding the Village Around Our Children.”

Everybody can help. Little things matter.
Small acts create big impact.

#AdoptASchool #RestoreTheVillage #LetUsNotForget #MorePassPlus #StrongCommunities #StrongSchools #BlackCommunity #YouthLeadership

The podcast episode emphasizes the power of voting, faith, and steadfastness in the face of pressure. It also discusses the true meaning of fasting and justice, as well as the importance of rebuilding the connection between God, family, and community. The key takeaways are that pressure does not mean powerlessness and the importance of choosing faith over fear.

Takeaways

• Pressure does not mean powerless
• Faith over fear

Chapters

• 00:00 The Power of Voting and Faith
• 07:18 The True Meaning of Fasting and Justice

The Let Us Not Forget podcast, hosted by Ms. V, focuses on the importance of passing the baton to the next generation, restoring connections between God, family, and community, and rebuilding hope and purpose. The podcast emphasizes the need for mentorship, guidance, and love for young people, as well as the importance of faith, wisdom, and community responsibility.

Takeaways

• Passing the baton to the next generation
• Restoring connections between God, family, and community

Chapters

• 00:00 Passing the Baton: Revival for the Next Generation
• 06:02 Programs for Restoration
• 12:08 Inviting Voices to the Podcast

The episode discusses the gap between policy and reality in addressing community concerns, emphasizing the importance of clear communication, timely follow-through, coordination across systems, and community feedback loops. It highlights the impact of this gap on trust and the need to align policy with lived experience for real change.

Takeaways

• Policy vs. Reality
• Closing the Gap

Chapters

• 00:00 The Gap Between Policy and Reality