Reimagining Black Relations

Cheryl Contee, Chief Innovation Officer at The Impact Seat expressed the reality that your ideal career might not exist today. While she described how you can create the vision of the "new you", she provided scores of investors with interests in minority founders. "They found that they were able to really get people all the way through their systems except when it comes to writing t...

Percy Hintzen Ph. D., Professor Emeritus at UC Berkeley and currently Professor of Global and Sociocultural Studies in the School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University shared his experiences and expertise of White and Black relations from the Caribbeans to Africa, Asia, Europe, and the rest of Americas. He highlighted the problems faced by indigenous Black countri...

Ja'Net Adams, CEO of EMACK understood the power of financial freedom as a means of bridging the wealth gap. She believes you can have whatever you want, as long as you are still breathing, emphasizing the power of money, the power of social media, and the power of saying "no". "I see... what would I have like to have done differently? Probably would have learned more about my c...

Roger Griffith, a Black British Social Entrepreneur and faculty member at the University of West England spoke to us from Britain. He shared the dichotomy of being Black and being called "British Boy". Roger expressed frustration about the unhealthy obsession towards Black men, yet he conveyed his optimism as he salutes the Windrush generation with a well articulated poem. "I'v...

Russell Davis, Chief of Human Resources, Equity, and Engagement at the Hammer Museum of UCLA discussed his approach to combat emotional shutdown, and how he developed the appropriate emotional responses when his physical, emotional, and spiritual skin fell off. He proposed strategies for individuals, human resources and employees, and leaders of organizations. "When we moved out of Philadelph...

Licy Do Canto, Managing Director for the Washington, DC headquarters of APCO Worldwide. Licy discussed his personal and professional journey to drive change and lift up disadvantaged communities in the U.S. and abroad. A son of Cape Verdean immigrants, raised in Greater Boston, has made diversity, equity, and inclusion his life journey companions. From APCO’s racial equity initiative, “Accelerate...

MJ Fievre, an Haitian writer, author, and publisher who currently resides in the United States, shared the Black experience in Haiti and her objections to anti-whiteness. She emphasized the need for community introspection, communal dialogue without passion, and the social and personal responsibilities of Black people. "The Black experience in Haiti has a lot to do with colorism. So it's...

Caroline Manyapye, a South African executive based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, juxtaposed the benefits of colonization with the innate abilities and excellence of Black people, while she shared her personal stories layered with pain and resilience. "I've got this view and this perception, that we are the most oppressed, simply because we are so powerful and simply because they  know...

Daniel L. Hollar, Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology, Chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Science at Bethune-Cookman University and CEO of Daninger Solutions Inc., expounded on the impact of adopting main stream values while rejecting indigenous cultural values. He proffered solutions that can protect citizens from negative images of dominant cultures. He touched on various topics includin...

Babatunde Ogunnaike, Ph. D., an award winning American Chemical Engineer of Nigerian descent, currently the William L. Friend Chaired Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bio-molecular Engineering at the University of Delaware, spoke on the intersectionality of engineering-sociology-humanity-and cultural anthropology. He affirmed the true story of one woman and the automobile airbag was not a box...

Darryl Mobley, prior corporate executive of Procter and Gamble, the world #1 Coach, and the CEO of Catapult Leaders spoke as a father, a husband, and a professional. He shared his reasons why he considers negativity as a drug, the reason why people want you to hate yourself, what you can do to change, and why fighting may not be bad. "And I am resolute about this stuff. I don't care abou...

Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, Ph. D., Senior Associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Fellow with the Caribbean Policy Consortium, both in Washington, DC, provides vignettes on the end-to-end process of the drug business, which includes production, trans-shipment, consumption, and money laundering. He elaborated on the impact in the Black community, why "just say no&quot...

Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director of AfriLabs Foundation and Working Party Chair of eCommerce Forum Africa, spoke from Lagos in Nigeria. The Nigerian-Senegalese expounded on the excitement and the reality of being a Black youth on the continent. She highlighted the uniqueness of the environment, the people, culture, and solution adaptation, while identifying the most appropriate stakeholders to def...

Scott Law, a trusted colleague and friend of mine, shared his thoughts and fears about the current generation, and his hope and aspirations for the next, while discussing the inherent need for all people to value each other and coexist equitably as one human family. "We never thought about things in that way, and I wasn't raised to think about things in that way. We learn about people, w...

Dr. Norman Munroe, a U.S State department Fulbright Scholar and a full professor at Florida International University in the Mechanical and Materials Engineering department. Dr. Munroe described how he was re-educated as a Guyanese-American Black man in Tanzania. He spoke about his visit to one of the wonders of the world, his Christmas experience at Mount Kilimanjaro, his face to face meeting with...

Greg Hendricks, went from the court as a former professional basketball player and coach to becoming a full-time pastor in a mega church - The Rock Church in San Diego, California. Pastor Hendricks speaks about the burden and the calling upon his church and their ministry on the subject of racism, he expands on the commonalities of in-groups and out-groups as a resolution strategy, as he gives out...

Shawn Kennedy, a retired sworn member of the Chicago Police Department for 29 years, currently serving as the Information Officer for the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers spoke about the Black police experience as an officer and a citizen. He highlighted, why Black officers are not speaking up enough, the impacts when they speak up, and why Black men are a primary target. He...

Qazi Fakhir Jamil, President of MQ Technologies spoke from Toronto in Canada. A native of Pakistan, previously the CEO of Converge Technologies, the largest digital media and content company in Pakistan, now resides in Canada. The Tech mogul juxtaposed awareness and exposure with massive data manipulation as a means of changing negative perceptions of Blacks. He highlighted several untapped opport...

James Lafferty, CEO of Fine Hygienic Holdings spoke from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. A Cincinnati native, previously division CEO for P&G, Coca-Cola, British American Tobacco and many world class companies, now resides in Dubai. Jim, also a feminist, described his voting record from '84 to now, his interpretation of mental disarmament from Nelson Mandela's story, his feelings...

Dr. Eve Hudson, Founder and Chief Strategist of Evingerlean Worldwide and Professor of Higher Education at Bellarmine University focused on the main social mobilizer for Black people. She touched on the opportunity available to everyone regardless of the color of their skin or socioeconomic background. "People were people. Even through my high school, I didn't recognize I was going to a...

Julie Kefer, Senior Director of Operations at UCLA was resonate about the need for an equitable society as she acknowledged that racism was always there but it is easy to pretend that it was not. She recognized the enormity of the work can be overwhelming, but she insisted that the outcome must be the motivation. "I feel very sort of overwhelmed by the challenge and the enormity of what we&ap...

Paul Wilson, a founding member of Black Police Association and former superintendent with London’s Metropolitan Police with 31 years of public service expounded on why changing policing is almost insurmountable. He described the Police Occupational Cultures, vulnerabilities within the police services, and the birth of policing in the U.S and U.K. Paul expressed that the greatest pandemic in London...

Leah Turner J.D., Professor at Maryland University and a licensed Acupuncturist shared her experiences as a biracial person. She shared her observations on biracial privileges and moving through white spaces, her perspectives on blackness, and the power of the heart. "She raised me to be racially ambiguous. She didn't hid any of my blackness, she didn't try to deny it. I interacted...

Dian Bourne, J.D., was a high ranking official for the government of Bahamas  as head of the legal Unit in the Ministry of Finance. She spoke on the power structures and the residues of slavery in the Caribbean. Dian expanded on the subject of erasure, how to mitigate it, document the truth, and the process of disseminating the truth. "The narratives they are telling Black people is, we are s...

Femi Omere, Managing Director of Hosted in Africa Group Limited and Barrister at Law at the Bar of England and Wales, applauded African Americans for their roles in the African movement. He invited all Africans in diaspora to join hands with Africa to regenerate the greatness of all Africans. "Reparation" is a must for atonement and the dignity of Black people. "And what I want to s...