Reimagining Black Relations

Jeremiah Bourgeois (J.J.), Criminal Legal System Consultant and Director of Beyond the Blindfold of Justice Project, described his childhood journey from private and boarding schools, to the streets, to life in prison without parole at age 14, and now a legal consultant and  a J.D candidate shaping the policies influencing the legal systems.

"At least with respect to shaping the African American experience, we grew up in a world where the educational system taught us about equality and liberty and upward mobility but a lot of our reality is something completely different. And it is that conflict between what we were told when we were children with what we're experiencing as adults that leads to that frustration" - Jeremiah (J.J.) Bourgeois

O.T. Wells II J.D., the Chief Procurement Officer for UCLA affirmed the resilience of Black people. His family knows the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quite well, and he shared some insider stories about the Reverend. O.T. sees pockets of bright spots, and he shared the secret ingredient every Black person in America needs: to be cheered among their peers, to meet Black legends face to face, and to learn about their real history.

"Black Lives Matter is a statement. And the movement was just to show that Black lives do matter, because if you look at what's happening, it doesn't seem like they do. Stark contrast, 14,000 people had been arrested through Black Lives Matter, only 108 had been arrested for the Capitol protest. If that was a Black Lives Matter protest, I think most of those people would not be alive today." - O.T. Wells II J.D.

Olajide N. Bamishigbin Jr. Ph.D.,  an Assistant Professor at California State University, Long Beach discussed the state of affairs of Black men in the United States. He focused on their health, socioeconomic status, and education, while delineating the impact on boys from men.

"Black men are a very disadvantaged group. They tend to have some of the worst health in the country, physical health, with regards to cardiovascular diseases, mortality from cancer, things like that, Black men tends not to do very well. Black men have low socioeconomic standards with regards to income and education relative to other groups. Black men, as we know, there is a mass incarceration and Black men have been the primary victims in this country. It's a group that is very disadvantaged in a lot of ways. And I want to make sure that I point out that, it's not due to the failures of Black men" -  Olajide N. Bamishigbin Jr. Ph.D.

George Critchlow, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, practitioner, and author addressed the subjects of law enforcement, defunding the police, and why America is leading the world in incarceration, ahead of China and Russia. He expounded on what a Fear-based society is and the painful process of transformation.

"You do not have any kind of relationship between the representation of African Americans in prison and the nature of the criminal problem in the United States. I don't know how people can look at those statistics and reach the conclusion that the problem of crime in the United States comes out of Black communities. It's just almost unconscionable that we have got a situation in the prison that is not at all reflective of the situation in our communities. - George Critchlow, Ph.D., 

Norma Hollis, founder of Authenticity Programs contended on the irrelevance of guilt, necessity of taking one step at a time, and the shift from autopilot.

"But my parent's vision and what I realized about two decades ago, was that, one reason my parent lacked vision was because they couldn't vote until they were in their 40s. So, how can you have vision if you can't even envision yourself voting? So, that's one. And then I just realized that, my father bought a house in 1954, and that's where we moved the family to. And it was in 1954 that Blacks were then allowed to have mortgages" -  Norma Hollis

Jacob U'Mofe Gordon, Ph.D., LLD (Hon), the first black Professor Emeritus at the University of Kansas, and current President & CEO of American Health Coalition discussed the root cause of racism, black brainwash, history of America, current colonies, education, a working solution in Florida, and the way forward.

"Now, you got to remember now, that the same group of people who colonized Africa, who enslaved Africans, also developed educational system for them. The educational systems were designed to brainwash them, to teach them about their inferiority" - Prof. Jacob Gordon

Tokiwa Smith, a black female Chemical Engineer, Social Entrepreneur, and the founder of a STEM Education firm discussed the double-edge challenges faced by young black students. She introduced the systemic complexities working against black students, and proposed a solution pathway, both from home and school.

"The education field is very much a white woman's profession, right. And that whole culture fits within education even in districts that has majority teachers of color. And so with that, there are always biases against black children - from higher suspension rates to more in special ed, to determining this kids can't do anything...." - Tokiwa Smith

Join me as we recap all 2020 episodes with the memorable soundbites. I'll introduce the episode number, title, description, and you can listen to the soundbite. A great way to quickly scan through all the episodes.

Thank you for your support - I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2021. We'll be back on Jan. 9th, 2021.

Sola Bamis is a black female actress, writer, performance artist, producer, and film-maker in Hollywood. She discussed the inner workings of Hollywood, the challenges and opportunities, and the big "ask" from the power players of Hollywood.

"There is also a very very predictable Hollywood systems, you know, a Hollywood caste system, that makes it, so that, you know, the younger you are, the whiter you are, the thinner you are, the bluer your eyes, the blonder your hair, that is what affords you the privilege as a performer or just as a person.." - Sola Bamis