Episode 4 features Troy Glover and Patrick Young. Troy is the Executive Director of the Center for Employment Opportunity providing returning Citizens with transitional employment opportunities and resources to come home from incarceration with the tools to be successful. Pat Young is the Director of the Mayor’s Office for Gun Violence Prevention and the Founder and Executive Director of SHARP MEN an organization that helps men overcome obstacles to employment. Both of them have overcome obstacles to success themselves-- interaction with the penal system, becoming fathers early, and fighting against the perception folks of all creeds have when it comes to black male leaders who are” proximate to the issues” they tackle. Join me and these two guys who have become like my brothers
This episode is named after the hip hop classic, Hey, Young World by Slick Rick the Ruler. The song is straight up instructions to navigate life. And Dr. Jeff Benjamin and Brian Turner personify this way of reaching young people in the work they do on the campuses of Dillard and Xavier Universities respectively. Colleagues, and co-hosts of the bi-weekly show, Brothers with Degree, they use their professional and personal efforts to expand the health, wealth, and wellness trajectory of black boys and men. This episode we talk about their work collectively and individually and walk away with some tangible tools on how we can support black boys and men and their families.
Teach the student what needs to be taught/ 'Cause Black and white kids both take shorts/ When one doesn't know about the other ones' culture/ Ignorance swoops down like a vulture. -KRS One, You Must Learn Basically, when the elders are speaking, pay attention. Some of the greatest lessons we learn in life don’t come from the classroom. They come being in community with each other. They come from sharing culture and experiences. When we think about community learning that feeds the soul of New Orleans, you can’t think about it without thinking about the Community Book Center. And when you enter the space and get in conversation with Vera Warren or Jennifer Turner. Oh! You are going to learn. Know that you won't leave the way you came in--whether its 15 minutes or 2 hours. Founded by Vera Warren nearly 35 years ago inside her home, Mama Vera as she is so affectionately known, wanted black children and families to have access to books that were written for, by, and about black people. Together with her dear friend and partner, Mama Jennifer Turner, they have kept the store going - moving and growing, surviving Katrina, and surviving the untimely death that often makes the fate of independent bookstores. Episode 2 is inspired by the lyrics of “You Must Learn” by hip-hop philosopher KRS-One. Born in the Bronx, the birthplace of hip-hop and founding member of Boogie Down Productions, KRS is a teacher. Period. Dropping jewels on politics, religion, education, and the contribution of black folks to societies worldwide--especially in these United States.
Rapper Jada Kiss said, "you wanna hide something from a N!$$@ put it in a book". We know that folks who read regularly in these United States continues to decline. How do we get folks engaged? Especially our youth? In this episode we will talk with author and poet Kelly Harris-DeBerry about her journey to writing, raising a voracious reader, and what she thinks we need to help young people grow in literacy and love of the word. Oh and of course gotta bring that Cleveland Connection to ya