On November 14th, Life After the Impact hosted its FIRST LIVE & IN PERSON event at Busboys and Poets in Washington DC. Kofi Annan, April Goggans, and Jolicia Ward were our esteemed panelists examining, “What’s next in the Fight for Justice? Discussing Strategies to Eliminate Police Violence.”

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Kofi Annan is an award-winning racial justice activist and two-time award-winning author. He previously served two terms as the president of the Fairfax County, Virginia National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was awarded the NAACP’s Thalheimer Award for being the best branch in the country under his administration. He is now dedicated to training and consulting leaders interested in doing the challenging but meaningful racial justice work. His memoir Bull in a China Shop: Evolution of a Racial Justice Activist won the 2022 Bookfest first place award in the category of Government Corruption and politics. He also authored Leadership in Action: 5 Key Principles of Effective Racial Justice Work. Kofi is a decorated war veteran who served honorably in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also had a distinguished career as an intelligence analyst in the federal government. He graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and from Troy University with a Masters degree in International Relations. He is married to Shareem Annan and together they have two sons -- one who recently graduated from Virginia State University and the other who is a sophomore also at VSU.

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April Goggans is an organizer, disrupter, abolitionist, single mother of one adult daughter, originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado she is now a proud Southeast DC resident since 2006. Ms. Goggans became a Core Organizer with Black Lives Matter DC in September of 2015. Her organizing work focuses on community power building, affordable housing and tenants rights, labor, large scale direct action organizing, intra-community violence, policing and police brutality. She recently launched #KeepDC4Me. #KeepDC4Me is a leaderFULL coalition working to find non-police solutions to intra-community violence in ways that disrupt, confront, and dismantle systems of state sanctioned violence that displace and criminalize Black people through political education, building community power, and direct action. April has been organizing for more than 25 years and almost 12 of those years have been in southeast Washington, DC.

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Jolicia Ward is an accomplished activist, advocate, former Candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in District 99, former full-time healthcare professional for both the Department of Defense for the United States Army, and current local healthcare worker. ‍ Prior to activism and politics, Ward achieved her bachelor’s degree in mass communication from The University of Virginia, College at Wise, and her master’s degree in Entrepreneurial Management from Stratford University. Her expertise in Entrepreneurship is the reason why she has become passionate about small and local business owners and created a policy platform with multiple ways in which she will assist local entrepreneurs in her district.

Monique Cullars Doty was our featured guest on Life After the Impact. Monique told us about the fight for justice she and her family have undertaken on behalf of her nephew, Marcus Golden.

As a 24 year old, Marcus was killed by St. Paul police on January 14th, 2015. St. Paul police horrifically shot Marcus in the back of his head, while he sat in his car. Despite the case against the police having passed the three-year statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim in Minnesota, the family’s lawyer, Paul Bosman, created a new precedent by successfully winning the suit stating the death was caused by an intentional act constituting murder.

Please tune in to learn what YOU can do to support the fight for justice for Marcus Golden and for all lives stolen at the hands of the police.

October 11th on Life After the Impact, LaToya Benton and Roxane Johnson interviewed Sabrina Foster, mother of Glenn Foster Jr.Glenn Foster Jr., former New Orleans Saints player, was killed while in police custody in Pickens County, Alabama, a county with a history of arrests that lead to fatalities. Glenn himself was found unresponsive in a police vehicle upon arriving at a medical facility, one day after he was arrested for a simple speeding violation. A grand jury chose to not indict anyone. We want answers and stand with his family in demanding the case be reopened.Please join us for this live conversation to learn how YOU can take action on getting Justice for Glenn Foster Jr.

September 12th, LaToya Benton and Roxane Johnson interviewed Sabrina Jordan on Life After the Impact.Sabrina Jordan is the founder and chair of Ohio Families Unite Against Police Brutality (OFUAPB) and the proud mother of Jamal and Jamarco McShann. Jamal was 22 years old when he was killed on October 15, 2013 due to gun violence, and Jamarco was killed as a 23 year old on October 20, 2017 by Moraine Ohio police officers.Sabrina has been involved with the fight against police brutality ever since, working to make legislative changes in order to save lives and to support extended families, who, while not related by blood are bonded through the needless bloodshed of our loved ones.Join us to learn how YOU can get involved.

Life After the Impact hosted it's 3rd Community Townhall: Pastors on Politics, Policy and Power. We are asking: Where is the Black church in the 21st century fight for civil rights?It’s no secret the church was “a vehicle and driving force for the civil rights struggle,” as Henry Lewis Gates said in his book, “The Black Church: This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song.”But what is the role of the Black church in today’s fight for Justice — in the fight against police violence?As Reverend Dr. Gardner said, while the community is “no longer waiting on the permission of the church to go out and take action, we still look to the Black church for direction in the Black community.”Addressing these questions were our guests: Pastor Gary Holland, Dr. Adrinne Blackstock, Reverend Michael McBride, Reverend Anthony Galloway, and Reverend Dr. Greta Carter-Willis.