Category
đ ïž
LifestyleTranscript
00:00It is not the need of every Black person to do something like start an organization.
00:05Paying attention, sharing information that's real about things that can hurt and does hurt
00:10our community is as revolutionary as starting an organization. Using your voice does not require
00:15you to be recognized by Essence. It does not recognize you or realize for you to
00:20be recognized by anybody. It's just that action of doing.
00:31Hello, everyone. I am Essence News and Politics Editor, Melissa Noel, and today I am so excited
00:38to be joined by a few of our 2025 Essence Black Futures Now list honorees. So one, I just want
00:46to start off by giving each of you a round of applause and to really, really thank you for
00:52the incredible work that you do. We are celebrating your groundbreaking work as part of this list.
00:59This is only the second time we have done this in recognition of people who are shaping a bold,
01:05Black, and beautiful future. So we're honoring people like you all who have done that.
01:12And it's really, really important, especially in these times where we're seeing so many Black
01:16voices silenced, that we continue to celebrate the people who are ensuring that we are heard,
01:22seen, and celebrated. Joining me today, I have Dr. Brandon Frames, founder of the Black Man Can,
01:29and professor of social emotional learning at Sacred Heart University,
01:34Tavon Blair, executive director of Excel Leader, and the driving force behind both HBCU,
01:41Dr. Topeka K. Sam, founder of the Ladies of Hope Ministries, and W. Mondale Robinson,
01:50mayor of Enfield, North Carolina, and founder of the Black Male Voter Project.
01:56Thank you all so much for joining me this afternoon.
01:59Thank you so much for having us.
02:01Thank you for having us.
02:02Of course. So let's get into this conversation, our 2025 Black Futures List Now honorees. I want
02:09to start off hopeful and on a positive note and ask you, even in these times that we're in right
02:17now, I mentioned that so many Black voices are being silenced right now, but what is it that
02:22gives you hope for the Black, for us? What gives you hope about our Black futures as a community,
02:29even in these times that are so polarizing and we have seen a lot of division?
02:34Well, I'll kick things off with the word you said, community. Community is what keeps me driving,
02:40and I know that we talk about this word community, wanting to build community,
02:44but it's possible for us to actually do these things, regardless of whichever subgroup you're
02:48part of. History has shown us how strong and powerful we can be, and so when everything is
02:55being shut down around us or people are removing Black from their websites and things like that,
03:01there's us who tell our stories and us being a community with each other to drive the change.
03:06So the word that I can give to people is just talk to people around you, talk to people that
03:12are in your space, in your community, and be very genuine about building community and building
03:17connections with others, and that's just going to keep you sane in whatever's happening around
03:21us right now. Thank you for that. Yeah, I want to add and build on that. I think about community,
03:27but I think these times are forcing us to also think about how we forge that community. We do
03:36have our different interests and things that allow us to be in different communities because you like
03:42sports or you like hair, whatever, these communities, but this is forcing us to say,
03:46hey, we need to come together as Black people, as the diaspora, as a community. We can't actually
03:54be like, okay, I'm from the Caribbean, I'm from Africa, I'm African American, I'm Black American.
03:59This is forcing us to say, hey, because we're watching class warfare take place. We're watching
04:05racial warfare take place, and it's going to be incumbent upon us because even in the diaspora
04:10we are different socioeconomic statuses. We have these different identities, and we have to start
04:14to think about what does community look like by just saying, this is the diaspora. We are all
04:19coming together to put our buying power together, put our spending power together, put our political
04:24power together, not just in these smaller groups. We do have to come together as a mass. I think it's
04:28forcing us to think about community in that way and moving past some of the vision that we even
04:34have in our own community as Black people so that we can be one force. Mayor Robinson or Dr. Sam,
04:40do you have anything to add there? Yeah, sure. What I've said is that I'm just really, really
04:46excited about this list. The fact that you all saw us and the work that we do, for me,
04:54is indicative of all of the work that we are doing in our communities around the country.
04:59While we are always looking at the top down, unfortunately, I think it's just human nature.
05:06If we're really looking at what's happening on the ground, there are those of us that are working
05:10in community each and every day that irrespective, honestly, to who's in office, we understand
05:18what's happening within our communities and we are the solution. We've created organizations.
05:24We are all aligned at making sure that our community has the resources and opportunity in
05:28order to thrive and not just survive, but thrive. I think this is a unique moment where it will
05:35allow us to come together and hopefully pull resources together within our community that
05:41will also help us to continue to do the work that we know our community so desperately deserves and
05:47needs. Yeah. I think in continuations and also just a soft pushback on something about not
05:55separating ourselves, I think it's important that we name that we are Caribbean, that we are from
06:01certain countries in Africa, that we are from Brazil, because what happens is then it prevents
06:06the majority or the mainstream for just making us one thing. If we're doing it, if we're naming who
06:13and what we are to add power to Black people, I think that is important. Now, if we're doing it
06:18to delineate, then that's something different completely and toxic in itself, but I think it's
06:22important that people don't just believe Black people are Southern or urban folk. People need
06:28to know that we are also country people. We are also from the islands. We are also from Latin
06:33America. Actually, the largest Latin American country have more Black people than any country
06:37except for Nigeria. We're talking about Brazil. I think that's important to add power to who and
06:42what we are, but it also points out a blazing lie that exists in our world and our ethos.
06:49None of this is new for us. The world feels as if this moment is new, but to be Black in the
06:55new world is to be in this exact moment for the past few centuries. I think what people can do is
07:02tap into their Blackness, even if they are not Black, and know that the spirit of resistance
07:06that exists in us, not that we are superheroes and that we don't suffer, but we have a unique
07:12way of surviving in Whiteness, in the face of Whiteness. I think in this moment, we will be
07:17challenged. When I say we, I'm talking about the collective outside of Blackness, because Black
07:22people will thrive and survive through this, but the people outside of us that are in proximity to
07:27Blackness better latch on quickly if they are to expect and survive. I think what happened is
07:33the only time America has felt something similar to this would be the tragedy of 9-11, where
07:38the world niggerized America in a way to make them feel Black. I think the only lessons to be taught
07:45are those of our past. You mentioned there for people to tap into their Blackness, even if
07:51they're not Black. What do you mean by that? We're talking about a people. If you look at
07:55our community, America has created a violent system. What I mean by violence, I'm talking
08:01physical, I'm talking about emotional, and then also death, that's not physical death,
08:07that is represented by Black people in a way that is unique. Black people make up the lowest
08:12rung of most social markers, if not all of them. Black men, for instance, we die younger than
08:17anybody, not just in this country, but in out of 152 countries out of all of the countries
08:22in the world. You need to go to places like Afghanistan. Black men are the only people
08:26in this country that will be born rich or poor and will still wind up poor in their life. Black
08:32men are uniquely discarded from America's system. So when I say tap into your Blackness, you need
08:38to figure out how to be American, even when America is saying that you aren't. That requires
08:42you to put this country and all of its institutions above yourself, and we do that better than most
08:47people. Okay, that really brings me to another point. All of you really mentioned some really
08:53specific key things in your responses. And so one thing it made me think about is the fact that
08:58right now, a lot of people are saying, for the next four years, Black people are resting, right?
09:03We are resting, we're off the clock, we're not involved in this. What is your response to that?
09:10Is this a time to rest? How do you respond to that? Or how can we kind of, I guess, rest but
09:18still be engaged for the people who are trying to figure out what do I do during this time,
09:22especially for those who are feeling despondent? This is not a time to rest. While, yes,
09:28I think so often we are, you know, looked at, and I really don't like the word resilience,
09:33because we come, you know, we overcome so much. And, you know, we're so strong and courageous.
09:39And we have to do so much that other races don't, because of the expectation of the strength that
09:46we have to have. So do I feel that we need to rest? No. Do I think it's a time to reset? Yes.
09:52And I say that because right now is a critical time for us to come together. I am not a person
10:00that goes against the current. You know, that's not who I am. Who I am is I try to go in the
10:07current, right? So even, I mean, I'm a swimmer, you know, I can do all the things. But it's
10:14important for me to understand what's going on in our country. And we cannot ignore what's
10:18happening around us, because we can look up in four years and be left behind, right? And so
10:24we cannot ignore. It is not, do not rest, sisters and brothers. Right now, you must get engaged.
10:32And while it may feel uncomfortable in certain cases, why we may not like the things that we're
10:38seeing, that we're hearing, and we understand that how this will harm so many people on so
10:47many levels, right? We still have to engage because you have to understand what's going
10:53on other than what you hear and what you see. Tavon, I'll take it to you next. Is it a time
10:58to rest? What can people do right now, especially from the youth perspective? As I know,
11:03the work that you do is heavily focused on HBCU students, especially as we talk about engaging in
11:08the voting process. So I'm going to switch the word around a bit. I know we're saying rest,
11:13but I think to let people know, like, rest is very important. You should do that.
11:18Let's not get comfortable. I think we've been comfortable for so long. And when we've seen
11:23this past election cycle is that there were people who didn't understand, one,
11:29what is happening on the national level when it comes to voting or what these issues actually are,
11:34the way that people talk to college students or talk to just people who are not every day
11:40really involved in what's happening on politics or what's on the news. And they've gotten
11:44comfortable in saying that, hey, we've done this, we've been able to get these huge wins,
11:49but we've done our part. And it's like more so of, yes, we've had these great wins. We were
11:55able to see people step into leadership. We've been able to see more Black leaders into executive
12:00roles. But what are we doing in our local communities? What are we doing to make sure
12:04that we are educating our communities about what's happening? And so when we see that we
12:08got comfortable for so long, a lack of education started to become a priority. And it was a way
12:15that I saw for students, they are so easy to say that I'm not political. And it's like, actually,
12:22you are. Let me explain the different experiences that you have every day of how the different
12:27policies that happen on campus, the policies that happen in your community are shifting and making
12:31changes in your life. And so, yes, prioritize rest, but know that you can never get comfortable
12:36and think that things are going to be OK, because right now we're seeing history repeat itself.
12:41We have been in these places before, and it seems like everything, like,
12:45paused or shifted after the 1960s. And we saw progress happening and progress continue to
12:54happen. And then we got very comfortable in 2008, and then we got comfortable again in 2012.
12:59And I want our leaders, and I'm so glad that you all talk about Black futures,
13:06because what are we doing today? What are the people in leadership doing today,
13:10the people in our communities, the role models, educating and ensuring that these next generation
13:14of leaders have the resources, they have the proper education to make informed decisions?
13:20And I think we've gotten so comfortable. And so, yes, let's prioritize rest, but do not,
13:26we say, like, put your foot on people's necks. Let's not release the foot. Let's continue it,
13:31pressing down and talking to everyone. I know we focus specifically on college students,
13:35but we want to make sure these college students are going back into their community, talking to
13:38their families, talking to communities outside of, I went to school at Dillard University in New
13:43Orleans, and it's called the Gentilly community. Go out into Gentilly and talk to the community
13:48and make sure that they are educated and have the resource to make informed decisions,
13:52and you can also rest. Dr. Frame, you, with the Black Man Can, you specifically are focusing on
13:59young men, boys, Black men in particular. And we saw Black men really in the spotlight,
14:05particularly in the last election, and we will continue to see Black men kind of come to the
14:10forefront a little bit more. So talk a little bit about what that means to you in terms of this idea
14:16of, should people be resting? And how does that really kind of, how does that specifically speak
14:21to your demographic and how we should really be paying attention to Black men and their needs?
14:28Well, first, just to answer the question about rest, the answer is no, we can't rest. I think,
14:35I don't know too many Black men that have just rested. There's, that's another conversation
14:40around prioritizing yourself in terms of self-care and so that you can show up your best self. But
14:45it's definitely not the time to rest. It is the time to mobilize. It is the time to strategize.
14:52It is the time to think about how we, as Black men, continue to show up for our community,
14:58because we have done so and been doing so. The spotlight has been, has come about a little more
15:06than it has in the past. And even, that's why we even started the Black Man Can is to tell the
15:11stories of Black men and how they're showing up in their communities all across the country and
15:16have been doing so over time. And so I see Black men coming together, mobilizing for voting,
15:22mobilizing HBCUs. Brothers want to be active. Brothers want to be involved, want to be engaged.
15:28We want to connect. And I see that happening. And the beauty is like, just with who you are
15:34spotlighting in Black Futures Now, it shows that, right? Just as well as the sisters who are doing
15:39amazing work and mobilizing and strategizing. And there's no time to rest. And as we continue to do
15:45the work, I think it is connecting the islands of success, right? A lot of times we find ourselves
15:51in the silos. We do find ourselves on an island by ourselves, but we feel that we're on an island
15:56by ourselves, which goes back to the community aspect of bringing us together. Like there needs
16:01to be opportunity for all of us that are Black Futures Now to just connect and see where the
16:05synergy lies. There's somebody that I know that everybody knows that can be like, oh, you know
16:10what? You need to know this person and you need to know this person. This is where funding can
16:14come from. We need to have those conversations so that we can strategize, mobilize, and continue to
16:20move our communities, us, and society forward. Yeah. And I appreciate the conversation and also
16:29the, especially from the youth on the call, reminding us that rest is something that's
16:34essential and comfort is completely different. I do want to say though, we're in a moment of
16:41white backlash. We see this every time there's Black progress in this country. There's always,
16:46at every moment Black people make progress, we see white people push back in a way that it
16:51resembles this, right? Donald Trump is not the first Donald Trump is what I like to say. There
16:56were the Klan, there were white citizens. We got the sixties, then we got Ronald Reagan, right?
17:01So I think people forget that what we're doing is repeating history in a way that is unhealthy.
17:06And part of that is grounded in the fact that we are resting when we shouldn't be. We should be
17:10building. This is a moment where we should be working harder than ever. We should be working
17:15harder now than we are when people that see the world the way that we see it are in political
17:20power. Mainly because us resting tells people, other people, that we don't stand up for what's
17:26ours or what we are owed. And Black people are owed a lot if you consider the fact that right now
17:32DEI is being used as a racial slur against us. And the taking of it is an exact attack on who
17:39we are and what we represent to this country. This is a reminder to Black people, this
17:44administration in its first couple of months has been a reminder to Black people that whiteness
17:49believes that democracy means white people have to lose something so as to make Black people equal.
17:56We're not looking for equal. We're looking for equity. And I think that's what's missing. And
18:00that's what we're obligated to fight for in this moment because it's missing in all of the policies
18:05and executive orders we've seen presented thus far. And they've all, if you look at them,
18:09while they look like they're an attack on other people, they're rooted in anti-Blackness.
18:14For instance, the attack on this birthright citizenship, when we know birthright citizenship
18:19was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk. When we see the attack on DEI while
18:35we know birthright citizenship was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk.
18:39When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright citizenship was created to protect
18:43the newly freed enslaved folk. When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright citizenship
18:47was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk. When we see the attack on DEI while we know
18:51birthright citizenship was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk. When we see the attack on
18:55DEI while we know birthright citizenship was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk.
18:57When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright citizenship was created to protect the newly freed
18:59enslaved folk. When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright citizenship was created to
19:01protect the newly freed enslaved folk. When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright
19:03citizenship was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk. When we see the attack on DEI
19:05while we know birthright citizenship was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk.
19:07When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright citizenship was created to protect the
19:09newly freed enslaved folk. When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright
19:11citizenship was created to protect the newly freed enslaved folk.
19:13When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright
19:15citizenship was created to protect the newly freed
19:17enslaved folk.
19:19When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright
19:21citizenship was created to protect the newly freed
19:23enslaved folk.
19:25When we see the attack on DEI while we know birthright
19:27citizenship was created to protect the newly freed
19:29enslaved folk.
19:31I wanna touch on a little bit of
19:35just very tangible look like examples that anyone
19:37can do for how you can get started right where
19:39you are.
19:41I think that's really powerful.
19:43I wanna take a turn here to you Dr.
19:46reform, financial empowerment. Um, what do you think is one
19:50thing that needs to shift and how we support formerly
19:54incarcerated people so that they can thrive as leaders in
19:59our community? How? Like, how can we continue to shift as we
20:03go along to create that support where it's necessary in our own
20:06communities? So in our own community, we need to
20:09acknowledge that, you know, one in three adults has
20:13experienced incarceration, right? First of all, that's
20:16across the board. It's irrespective to whether you're
20:19black, you're white, you're brown. Um, one in three adults,
20:23I think so often in our community, there's still a big
20:25stigma, right? Unfortunately, about the fact that people, um,
20:30from our families and our communities go to prison. When
20:32people come home from incarceration, they need safe
20:36places to live. We need, you know, equitable opportunities
20:40and grow focused careers. We need, you know, to be able to
20:44pursue educational goals and other things. Um, we need to be
20:48able to live where we desire to live and not where someone
20:51tells us we have to, you know, and I think it starts within
20:55our community. Even when I think about, you know, my
20:57organization, my organization historically has been supported
21:02by other people and not within even my own community. And yet
21:07I focus specifically on women and families that are impacted
21:12by the carceral system, which is disproportionately impacted,
21:16especially around women with black and brown families. So I
21:20think the first thing is to us for us to stop saying it's
21:24their issue and it's our issue, you know, to understand that we
21:29have to provide opportunities for each other. Because if we
21:33don't do it, especially in these times, you know, I kind of, um,
21:37while I saw everything happening around D. E. I. You
21:41know, this is something that I've been fighting for, you
21:43know, even people with convictions to be included in a
21:46protected class of people. Because when you think about
21:50stopping opportunities, people with convictions are the last
21:54ones that we think about, right? And that often is irrespective
21:58of race. You know, when you think about housing, you know,
22:01a person can afford housing. You can, you know, have the
22:04credit, you can have the job. And yet, because you have this
22:08conviction, people will not want to rent you. So what do we do?
22:11We encourage people to purchase a home because there's no
22:15discrimination in that. But often people don't realize that
22:18they can purchase because of the rhetoric that's out there around
22:22what people with convictions can do. And so, you know, I just
22:26would love to see more of our community embracing those of us
22:31that have experienced incarceration. I would love to
22:35see our community, you know, uplift those of us who have
22:39experienced incarceration and to understand that, you know,
22:43especially in our community, right? Everyone has a family
22:47member that has experienced some type of trauma that has either
22:51landed them to being unsheltered through some type of substance
22:56misuse, some type of emotional and mental trauma and or
22:59incarceration. And so acknowledging the issue,
23:03embracing our community, when we come home, 95% of all people
23:07incarcerated will come home one day. And we want to come home
23:10into safety, security and into love. And so that's what I ask,
23:14especially in this time that we need each other.
23:19Thank you so much.
23:20I know, but the doc, I'm sorry.
23:24I love the doc being so polite about this. She's, she's so
23:28eloquent about how she speak about it. And there is
23:30definitely some critiques for our community on how we see our
23:32brothers and sisters coming home from the incarceration system.
23:35But we are also, we are also obligated to put fire to
23:38America and question what it means to be incarcerated in this
23:42country or be impacted by the criminal justice system. When
23:44the person who is now the president of the United States
23:47did not have to put up on his application, we should be
23:50demanding that no state, nobody, no job ask anybody about their,
23:54their, their criminal history or past or until they've been
23:58promised this job, because we see that America continues to
24:01show us that while, while a lot of people in this country, we
24:05imprison more people, Black and white people, Brown people as
24:07well than anybody in the world. But we know that the system
24:11disproportionately affect our community. And it affects us
24:14when it comes to job sentencing, over policing, and all of that
24:18has to be questioned at this moment. So the blessing, if
24:21there is one in Donald Trump being president is going forward,
24:24how do we interact with Black people with felony convictions?
24:27And we have to demand more. And we need to hold feet to fire as
24:31a potency of these people that are coming home, because the
24:34system is not playing fair, because I will posit anybody and
24:38find out, try to find out which Black man, which Black woman
24:41with 37 felony conviction could become president in this
24:44country. Actually, which Black man that is overqualified, which
24:46Black woman that is overqualified, like we just saw
24:49the one who had services in local government, state
24:53government, federal government, and was vice president. And that
24:56still was not enough to be a white man with 37 felony
24:59conviction. So we are, we're obligated to have a real
25:01conversation about what our criminal justice system is doing
25:04mentally to people, and also what it's doing to them when
25:07they come home about leaving people behind.
25:10You literally, you literally answered the next question I had
25:12as the follow up. So thank you for that Mayor Robinson.
25:16Does anyone else have anything to add there? Before I move on
25:19to the next question, because I know we have a lot to say a lot
25:22happening here. And I really appreciate all the thoughtful
25:24responses.
25:26I'll just add in one. Thank you, Dr. Sam, for what you're like
25:30adding to the conversation. Because I think about young
25:32people, like this college students that I work with, it
25:34should not be only people who have like a lived experience of
25:38being formerly incarcerated to advocate for these issues. It
25:40should be everyone advocating for these issues. And how we
25:43talked earlier about us being in our subgroups, and, you know,
25:47we're only segmented in these areas, we should be learning how
25:49to be advocates for other issues that may not directly impact us.
25:53But it expands to the conversation on the importance
25:56of it. So when we talk about DEI, we always advocate for the
26:00issues that personally impact us. But what else can we do to
26:04become advocates on issues that can support a new community, a
26:07different community that is being impacted. And so to our
26:11conversation earlier about rest, maybe shift that rest,
26:15and try to mentor and try to look back and like find these
26:19young people who are doing the work. So when we think about the
26:22civil rights movement, and just movements in general, young
26:24people have been the ones doing that work. And so we can't rest
26:29and just all of our leaders rest, all of our mentors, our
26:31role models rest, what will the future look like, and I would
26:34love to just find ways to empower these HBCU students to
26:38be advocates on so many different issues.
26:40Thank you so much for that. Dr. Frame, I wanted to come to you
26:44a bit on this, because both as an educator and as a founder,
26:49just thinking about how do we ensure that social emotional
26:52learning becomes like a foundational tool for the next
26:56generation of black leaders, we know the work that you do with
26:59social emotional learning, the work that you do with your
27:01organization, but how do we ensure that that becomes a tool
27:04that we can utilize in our communities as we understand
27:07that, hey, we can't necessarily rest, but we have to find
27:10communities. So how do we utilize that as a way to do
27:13that?
27:15Thank you for that question. I think the first one of the first
27:18things we have to ask ourselves is, why is it not prioritized
27:22and even our in our K through 12 education system, I spent a lot
27:26of time with different school districts, and even the classes
27:29that I teach are focused on the implementation of social
27:32emotional learning. If we just take just all of us here, and
27:36we go back to being in middle school or high school, and I
27:40would ask you, how are you doing with your social emotional
27:43skills? What are your strengths, challenges and needs? Everyone
27:46here might not be able to answer that question. If I were to ask
27:49you how you're doing academically, what are your
27:51strengths, challenges and needs, you'd be able to give me some
27:53sort of answer, I'm good at this subject, maybe not so good at
27:56this subject, whatever it may be, that's still kids today,
27:59right? So kids are graduating from our high schools not having
28:02the opportunity to think about their social emotional skills,
28:06and learn that they are skills. That's a big piece that we have
28:09to talk about when we're talking about social emotional
28:11development, is that when we talk about empathy, compassion,
28:14self awareness, self management, these are skills, which means
28:17they can be taught. And so what does it look like to ensure
28:20that's happening in our schools? What does it look like to ensure
28:22that is also happening at home, so that we grow young people
28:25into adults who have social emotional skills that are able
28:29to use their emotional intelligence to lead to build
28:31community to have conversation with each other. And so it's
28:35very important that we prioritize that, and that in
28:38your respective communities, and even at the state level, and the
28:42federal level, we're talking about how are we teaching social
28:45emotional skills, right? We're watching them try to dismantle
28:50the Department of Education, right? And things that are
28:53happening, we're watching them ban books, right? These are all
28:56things that we have to fight for, we have to show up and say,
29:00Hey, this is wrong. I know something one things that we're
29:02working on is black men against ban books, right? Like, how are
29:06we mobilizing even black men to just show up, right? Another
29:10area is a black man for maternal health, right? All these areas,
29:14because this goes back to what it looks like when we mobilize
29:17one just as black men, if we if I get 100 black men to show up
29:21to the to the Capitol building, and to go into offices and meet
29:24with legislators, whether it's a red state or blue state, if 100
29:27black men show up to walk into different offices, the news is
29:30showing up, right? And think about all the different topics
29:33that we could make bring to the forefront, because we showed up
29:36every day, because all those buildings are public buildings,
29:39whether you're in Albany, here in New York, you're in Atlanta,
29:42you're in Washington, DC, all those buildings where your state
29:46and your local and your federal people sit or public buildings,
29:49you can walk in any single day, go through the security scanners
29:52and walk to your representative's office. What does
29:55it look like for us to mobilize in that way? And really make
29:58noise on the things that are really important to us, as we
30:01also marching in the streets and doing what we need to do to
30:05ensure that we have a future that allows for students to have
30:09social emotional skills and so much more.
30:12Well, I thank you for that. And it seems like we have to stay
30:14tuned because there's a lot coming up. And I loved hearing
30:18you know, black men for some of the things you talked about
30:21black men from maternal health, when it comes to banned books,
30:24those kinds of things. So look forward to those follow ups for
30:26sure. I want to just kind of wrap up the conversation here by
30:33asking each of you to let me know if there was one thing that
30:38one call to action that you have for our communities for 2025 and
30:42beyond. What would that be? I know it may be hard to just
30:44choose one. But if there was a call to action that you that you
30:48have, what would that be? And why?
30:50The call to action for our community is to read, to read
30:56and to educate ourselves on what has happened before and how
30:59we can. Yes, we are repeating history right now. But what did
31:02our ancestors do? What did our past leaders do? Nothing that
31:06we're seeing today is new. The only thing new is the technology
31:09that exists. And so by having opportunities for us to open up
31:12a book and explore what has happened or what knowledge that
31:15we can gain to help educate ensure that our young people are
31:18being educated as we know book bands are a thing that the
31:22education is being taught a bit differently, is that we do our
31:25part and to ensure that we are talking to young people, even
31:28though they may seem like it's hard to get through to people,
31:31just you know, hey, find a way to speak to them, have them put
31:35that phone down and you just have genuine conversations. I'm
31:39telling you, it'll be so much more of an impact and change for
31:42their future lives because we are advocating and fighting for
31:44their future.
31:45Dr. Sam, would you like to go next?
31:47I think for the sake of this conversation, I would, I would
31:51ask that we as a people continue to love each other,
31:57continue to hold each other and continue to support each other.
32:02You know, this is not a time for us to have a lack of limitation
32:06viewpoint. We must continue to work together. We must come
32:11together. We cannot separate from one another. We have to
32:16open up opportunities for anyone. We need to make sure we
32:20are working together to get the things that we need to get
32:23within our community, take care of our children. We cannot turn
32:27a blind eye, you know, when you're walking down the street
32:29and you see our kids fighting or you see a child acting, you
32:33have to stop them. Sometimes you just have to hold them and hug
32:36them. We have to take care of each other.
32:39I think about, there's a few things. One, I think what Dr.
32:44Sam just mentioned around a call to action around connecting
32:49with the ally, allyship, if you will, because aside from the
32:54race warfare, we really are watching class warfare take
32:58place with the policies that are being put forth, which gives us
33:01an opportunity to connect across races and ethnicities because,
33:06yes, the person is black or white, but like we're in the
33:09same social economic status. Those certain policies and
33:13things that are being put out are going to affect us the same
33:16simply because of where we fall monetarily. I think that that is
33:20really important as a call to action to think about what does
33:23that look like? If you think about it, that is why they killed
33:26Fred Hampton. That is why they killed Dr. King. They killed Dr.
33:28King for the I have a dream speech. They killed him for the
33:30poor people movement. When you can connect people across
33:34socioeconomic lines, that's scary to the establishment or
33:39the, I like to call them the puppet masters of mankind, who
33:43are trying to, you know, do different things. And then I
33:47think also just thinking about that we are the architects, we
33:50are innovators, we are the storytellers and the
33:53revolutionaries pushing the culture forward. And so we need
33:57everyone, we need everyone's voice, everyone's vision and
34:00everyone's power so that we can support black futures, support
34:04black led initiatives and elevate black excellence.
34:09Mayor Robinson to bring us home, wrap us up.
34:13Yeah, I think, you know, we started this call before we
34:16started recording where, you know, collectively, I think all
34:19four of us felt that it was important that we said to
34:22essence, it is not vain to be seen. So we thank you all for
34:26seeing us. And I think that is a perfect place to remind black
34:29people where we should be right now. It's not a magic thing to
34:33be involved in your community. It's not magic that changes
34:36community. It is the empathy that changes community. And I
34:39think both everybody that spoke before me told us like the idea
34:43of the call to read more. It's not an arrogant or a bourgeoisie
34:46call. It is to empower your mind. This brother was asking
34:50his young brothers asking us to make sure that what we are
34:53saying or sharing is true information, not
34:55misinformation, which we know does so much harm to our
34:58community and to work. I think also the idea that supporting
35:03community is necessary and is the most revolutionary thing you
35:06can do. Politics is a big part of my life. Not only am I a
35:10mayor of a town, I'm also the founder of Black Male Voter
35:13Project, which is the nation's first organization that focused
35:16solely on increasing black men's participation in politics. But
35:20it is not it is not the need of every black person to do
35:23something like start an organization. Paying attention,
35:27sharing information that's real about things that can hurt and
35:30does hurt our community is as revolutionary as starting an
35:33organization. Using your voice does not require you to be
35:36recognized by Essence. It does not recognize you or realize
35:41for you to be recognized by anybody. It's just that action
35:44of doing. So many of us gave up on doing. Small things make big
35:49actions. There's not a dollar bill that does not start with
35:52one cent. So we should all be at least doing the one cent. Be a
35:56penny and then knowing that if 99 other people do it, you got a
35:59dollar. So let's get these dollars politically, socially
36:03and equitably.
36:04I think that was a perfect note for us to end on. I want to
36:07thank each of you not only for the work that you do every
36:10single day, but for literally exemplifying community and
36:15living in community and showing us how to do that as well. We
36:19are so honored to have you as a part of our 2025 Essence Black
36:23Futures List. We honor you, we thank you and we will continue
36:26to amplify your work. So thank you so much for joining us
36:30today and congratulations again.