Black Men We Know: Intro

What a perfect time to talk with this month's guest Jamoki Dantzler, a Licensed Professional Counselor! We visited his childhood as a military brat in Germany and all over the US before moving on to his desire to embrace his Black identity and his efforts to find parent-approved role models, like the Fresh Prince (so timely!). We laughed at how, for both of us, Black stand-up comedy inspired and attracted us in the 80s, and how we both harbor unrealized dreams of stand-up careers. And we eventually, gravitated towards big questions like why Black kids so often don't seek therapy, and how social media and new technology are giving kids more awareness of mental health issues but also raising their threshold for seeing and sharing violence. Join us!

After six months and six full episodes, it's time for another run at the intro. So join me for the intro and then join us each month as we talk work and life with black men who are making it in the US today. Thanks for checking this out!  

In this episode, we get to talk with an architect, a profession that has held my admiration and interest since I was a kid. My guest was architect and artist Raphael Ogoe of Rafagoe Studio https://rafogoe.com. In this eye-opening conversation, the Ghanaian-American designer walks us down his path to today, from his childhood passions and  early views on America to his move from Accra to New Jersey for study and his awakening to race and racism in the US to his experience studying and working in architecture. While his work on Philly's Museum of the American Revolution and the Museum of Black Civilization in Dakar and other major projects is noteworthy, his work in historical preservation and advocating art and art education for youth in Ghana is no less impressive or important. Join us for all this, but also for his reminiscences about the swagger of Denzel and the beauty of his first fast-food job paycheck in the US.  

In this episode, I talk with IT executive at Microsoft Todd Singleton. Today, a lot of our assumptions about what a computer engineer looks and acts like have changed dramatically since the days of bad fashion and pocket protectors in the 1980s. But Todd's story will stomp all over many of the assumptions that you have left. We talk about his leadership role with Microsoft's Azure Group and previous roles at IBM and Google but also about the lack of African-American IT workers in Silicon Valley. We take a whirlwind trip through Todd's international childhood, as a military brat, his increasing awareness of race and racism as well as White advocates and allies, the strong, supportive role of his family, and the development of his interest in computers. Of course, we also had to spend awhile discussing his four-year NCAA basketball career at Duke, where he majored in engineering. I'm so glad we got to have this conversation and even more that I can share it with you. So join us! 

In this episode, I talk with another Black Nascar fan. But he's also a Judge for the Jackson County Circuit Court. Beyond explaining in plain English what exactly he does as a judge (can't we all use a refresher?), we chat about his path to this position and what he tries to do with it, both on and off the bench. We explore his challenges in making it to college, let alone law school and his experiences as one of a tiny number of Black men and women in law school and, and of even fewer Black judges. The judge also describes  his work with an innovative program that gives hope and second chances to defendants with drug charges and another one that motivated urban teens to just showing up to class. This was fun, inspiring, and informative for me, and I know it will be for you to. So join us.

In this month's episode, our third full episode (!), I talk with Jason Dukes of Captain's Chair Coaching (https://captains-chair.com). He takes us through his journey from organizing neighborhood bicycle races as a kid to running race tracks for NASCAR to his most recent endeavor as an executive and life coach. We talk about race in the world of racing (ha ha ha), supportive family and friends who didn't understand his accomplishments, the importance of just showing up as a black man, tons more. So please tune in and enjoy!

In this second full episode, I'm chatting with Brandon Calloway, cofounder of G.I.F.T. (Generating Income for Tomorrow) in Kansas City, Missouri. There is some feedback from my airpods and a squeaky chair. But, more importantly, there is also a great introduction to this amazing organization that gives grants to local entrepreneurs trying to start or grow businesses in the redlined neighborhood where my grandma used to live. We talk about Brandon's path through the military and a career in the fitness industry to non-profit sector, a very special eighth grade teacher, talking big money with big banks while Black, and so much more. We somehow also dove into Brandon's burgeoning comic book universe... Tune in! 

In this episode, the first full episode of the show, I talk with carpenter and craftsman Sam French of Gill Clear Country Woodworks in Gill Massachusetts about the beautiful woodwork that he created to fulfill a commission for the new Nielson Library at Smith College, a building designed by the famous designer Maya Lin. We also chat about his journey to now and about topics such as the transmission of a craft, taking risks, and defining success. But of course we also explore difficulties and difficult realizations related to growing up as an African American male in the US and the challenge of passing on that kind of hard knowledge to our sons while still emphasizing the beauty and legacy of our Black culture and heritage.