Slater Hayes Podcast

Send us Fan Mail They are seeking to fortify their power through their ability(ies) to exert authority over the laws that were originally intended to only benefit them. Laws that were enacted by those that stepped out the ranks and the brotherhood of solidarity. Although the laws under assault were those that were on the books that sought to benefit the general populace of amerikkka, those that ha...

Send us Fan Mail I have held on to this piece for so long. My  Caucasian brethren for whom I possess an affinity will undoubtedly think that I am lumping the entirety of their race into one huge category. If you are one of those that think that then I am probably going to disappoint you-for I am lumping all white people into this category. However, there is a distinction. There are those that cons...

Send us Fan Mail This piece was originally written in honor of Andre Hill - murdered in a garage by a police officer as he arrived to  deliver Christmas packages...REMEMBER!! I publish it today because of the murder of Patrick Lyoya...by a police officer. Grown men -GROWN BLACK MEN - now expressing a fear to leave their homes. Afraid, that they will be accosted by the police. Black mother's,...

Send us Fan Mail The manner-the racist systemic manner- in which we all are taught, programmed to behave, is prevalent throughout society. The method and venue from which it is delivered was brought into question during the Supreme Court nomination hearing of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Hispanic Senator Ted Cruz feigned disbelief that children are somehow taught to become racist, exhibit racist a...

Send us Fan Mail I have held on to this piece...awaiting the "right" time to publish it. A time when it would not be perceived as some type of precursor to violence. No, not by those who would relish in thinking so, but by those who are new to my writings and those who desire to exclusively view me from their memories of my past life. However, in actuality, it seems that as a Black man w...

Send us Fan Mail What person or thing have you allowed to permeate the boundaries of your spirit...your soul? What have you willfully invited to change the trajectory of your life simply because it caused you to feel " some type of way"?  Oftentimes, "that way", that feeling, being a direct contradiction to anything that you have previously experienced at any time in life. It i...

Send us Fan Mail Being large in stature has caused, throughout my life, persons to formulate opinions about me without any interaction with me. The fact that I am a "Big Black Man" leads to additional assumptions that are the furthest thing from the truth. On top of all that, add to the mix that I am an athlete -an athlete from the South-and you have those that automatically think they k...

Send us Fan Mail January 28, 2021...we lost an American icon. Ms. Cicely Tyson. "She Answered the Call" are my feelings that I put into words, on the day of her transition, as a way of personal tribute to her, her endearing spirit and the legacy that she leaves behind. OUR SPIRIT LIVES!!! PEACE!!!

Send us Fan Mail Simply, As we travel along this journey,  is your level of influence affecting those with whom you come into contact in a positive or negative manner? Whether we acknowledge it or not, be it intentionally or accidentally, each of our encounters leaves an indelible memory. With that, I ask, are you a... "Dream Maker or Dream Taker" ...it is solely up to each of us to   ma...

Send us Fan Mail Chicagoland, Atlanta, Jackson, Memphis, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., ... all of the preceding cities are seeing an increase in the number of crimes and the number of crimes committed with firearms.  If that was not enough, the types of weapons being utilized are becoming increasingly larger and exponentially more lethal. Additionally, the number of rounds that are discharged with...

Send us Fan Mail After listening to this piece, I know that a number of males that reside within the Midwest, especially the Chicagoland area, will possess the same feelings as I. There is something about the brutal winds of Chiago that exposes the true nature of its inhabitants. The corner of Madison and State, purported to be the coldest corner in America, will lead one to seriously consider rel...

Send us Fan Mail I did not write this piece with the current situations regarding the recruitment/signing of high-profile athletes by historically black colleges and universities (HBCU's) in mind. However, the words of my pieces apply to all aspects of life. This piece addresses the cause(s) of the level of vitriol and rancor that has ensued from high profile white coaches at predominantly wh...

Send us Fan Mail This is a piece that was written at the onset of the pandemic. Being a black man who happens to be large in stature, I found myself bombarded by the greetings of persons that, during previous times, would do everything in their power to avoid or ignore me.  I decided to determine if it was due to their uncertainty regarding my intentions by conducting an informal experiment. I fou...

Send us Fan Mail I dedicate this piece to my son. Jamil, and all who find themselves placing something other than a COMMA at this specific juncture of their lives. There is GREATNESS to follow this pause!! This piece .. This piece really leaves me without words-as those things that I feel are truly captured within the words that were imparted unto me and expressed in "Constant Discovery"...

Send us Fan Mail Yes, INDEED you know. As the introduction points out, a number of us have come to know the feelings that coincide with the absence of a loved one. Oftentimes, we are left to  feel that prolonged separation is unbearable. It goes without saying that none is more emotionally wrenching than  permanent loss. "Love" ...was written from the perspective of each. It seems that w...

Send us Fan Mail We all have been, or will be viewed,  at one point in life as the person who can "get it done"-regardless of the respective field. This is especially true for the  athlete that arrives on campus as the designated savior. The anointed  one in whom all  the alumni and the irrepressible hangers-on stake the entire future of their beloved programs. Unfortunately,  for the at...

Send us Fan Mail The full majesty  of this experiment called democracy may, in my humble opinion, never be fully illuminated due to the resistance of those exerting control to  forthrightly address their  systemic and  personal affinity(ies) for racism. Their has been, in the last two weeks, an attempt  by this platform to silence my individual and personal thoughts/beliefs. Why, I ask? Nothing I...

Send us Fan Mail This is an edited version of a piece that was previously published on THE SPOKEN WORD with Slater Hayes  podcast. Although it has been edited, it does not diminish the content contained within. The various  manner(s) by which the effects of the whip are affecting US, my people, are multitudinous. It is incumbent upon us to recognize the "Messaging II" and the inherent de...

Send us Fan Mail I am re-publishing this piece on this day, June 3, 2022, because the FEAR that is now running rampant throughout the land is palpable. Children are afraid to attend the last days of school, parents are deathly afraid to send them, mall and big store shoppers stare wearily at the many who seem out-of-place and unexpected popping sounds create mass hysteria. All, created by the many...

Send us Fan Mail This  picture that I captured  depicts an example  of nature's pure beauty. The complexities of this web are eerily similar to the perplexities encountered within the lives of the addicted. The affliction of addiction leaves one believing that the beautiful  distorted  canvas of life that is being created  is "all good"- leaving one unable to discern  that each mind...

Send us Fan Mail Oftentimes as we go about the life of living out our addiction, irrespective of our affliction of choice, we refuse to take note of the effect that it has on our temperament, our ability  to socialize- our physical appearance. In my case, I even spent an inordinate amount of time in the mirror,  hell-bent on ensuring that what was before me met the standards of those  with whom I...

Send us Fan Mail Glory !!! That is our exultation when we shed ourselves of those things that are designed to inhibit us by making us FEEL GOOD while indulging in what we know is wrong. "Trappings" is that piece... that piece that  addresses the struggle WE face when WE have conquered, be it by the delivering power of GOD, or through one's personal stength, a specific affliction. It...

Send us Fan Mail The things from which  we seek solace are oftentimes those things that are a known detriment to our overall health-both mentally and physically. This episode, and a number of my subsequent episodes, is the beginning of a series that I feel compelled to share as part of my personal testimony. The episodes will not be shared in any specific order as it relates to certain periods of...

Send us Fan Mail The continuous killing of my people and the barrage of those events being televised continuously has eliminated the need for indoctrination once incorporated at the "special pic-a-nic". White youth are now being plopped down in front of televisions and are being taught the intricacies of hatred, wittingly and unwittingly, without leaving their homes. This was especially...

Send us Fan Mail It's hard to believe that on this day 35 years ago you were relegated to being a memory. We love you just as much now as we did then. Not because of your super human feats on the court, and believe me they were super human, but because of who you were. Your out-going personality, desire to satisfy and accommodate all, regardless of the request. Maybe that contributed to your...