1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000
Dr. Jerry, you got the whole world waiting.

2
00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:07,000
Been ready for you to start the conversation.

3
00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,000
No point of view, we got the haters confused.

4
00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,000
Leave it up to you to bring us all the good news.

5
00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,000
Positive vibes and a sex appeal too.

6
00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:24,000
Dr. Andre Jerry, can I get an interview?

7
00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,000
Good evening everybody, Dr. Andre here

8
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:32,000
and thank you for tuning in to episode 8 of Live with Dr. Andre Jerry,

9
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,000
one of the hottest new shows on the Artist First Radio Network.

10
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,000
Listen, you guys are in for a fantastic show today

11
00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,000
because we are celebrating Women's History Month this episode

12
00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,000
and featuring two dynamic women who are doing exceptional things

13
00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:52,000
in their respective industries and leaving their mark in women's history,

14
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,000
or should I say herstory.

15
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:58,000
So to all the women out there, happy Women's History Month.

16
00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:03,000
We appreciate and applaud you and your accomplishments, great and small.

17
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,000
So let's get right into it.

18
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,000
My first guest holds a special place in my heart

19
00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,000
because not only is she a dear friend,

20
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000
but she also plays or played an instrumental role

21
00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,000
in jumpstarting my career as a radio show host.

22
00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:24,000
So last April I was invited to appear as a guest on her show

23
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,000
to promote my first book, and now just a year later,

24
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,000
I'm able to return the favor and have her as a guest on my show.

25
00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:38,000
So tonight it's my honor to introduce my good friend, Ms. Renata Morgan.

26
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,000
Renata, how are you today?

27
00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,000
Hello, good evening, and first and foremost, Dr. Andre Jerry,

28
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000
I want to thank you so much for that wonderful introduction.

29
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000
I am greatly appreciated, and I am doing very, very well.

30
00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:53,000
Thank you.

31
00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:58,000
Wonderful to hear it, and thank you so much for sharing your time with me this evening.

32
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000
Listen, I'm very honored to have you as a guest

33
00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:06,000
and introduce you to our listeners, and also happy Women's History Month to you.

34
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,000
You're certainly someone that I admire a great deal,

35
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,000
giving your accomplishments as a combat veteran in the military,

36
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,000
you know, in business and in media.

37
00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:20,000
So you're definitely a role model, not just for women, but for men as well.

38
00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,000
So thank you for all that you do.

39
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000
Oh, Andre, you know I surely appreciate that.

40
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000
Thank you, and I'm grateful to be in the position to do those things.

41
00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,000
So thank you for all the admiration.

42
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:36,000
Not a problem.

43
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000
So let's get right into the interview.

44
00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,000
So for my listeners today who may not be familiar with you and your work,

45
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:51,000
I want you to take just a brief moment to share with us a little bit about your background and yourself.

46
00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:52,000
Okay.

47
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,000
As you stated and introduced me, my name is Renata Morgan.

48
00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,000
First and foremost, I am a child of God.

49
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,000
I'm a queen.

50
00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:02,000
I'm a mother of one.

51
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:07,000
I have an amazing son, which I am extremely proud of.

52
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,000
I'm the eldest of all my siblings.

53
00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:15,000
I was born and raised in a city called Toledo, which is located in Ohio for those that don't know,

54
00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,000
and primarily raised by my grandmother and aunt.

55
00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,000
May they both continue to be God's precious angels.

56
00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,000
I don't take away from my parents being in my life.

57
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,000
However, you know, they were still younger trying to figure things out.

58
00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:37,000
So after completing my high school, you know, I was also in high school very active, very active.

59
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,000
I was a cheerleader.

60
00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:40,000
I was in the band.

61
00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,000
I played the instrument of a clarinet.

62
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:43,000
I ran track.

63
00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,000
I was on the National Honor Society.

64
00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,000
I was in the cotillion.

65
00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:49,000
So I stayed pretty active.

66
00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:51,000
Honor classes and the whole nine.

67
00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,000
Well, after completing my high school is when I decided to join the military,

68
00:03:55,000 --> 00:04:02,000
where I literally was only going to do six years, and somehow six turned into 20.

69
00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:08,000
And now I am here as a retired veteran, which leads me to my entrepreneurial lifestyle.

70
00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:15,000
And I am so, so grateful for the opportunities and the doors that God has allowed to open for me.

71
00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,000
So that's pretty much who.

72
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:18,000
Yes.

73
00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:19,000
Yes. Amen.

74
00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:23,000
And thank you for sharing a little bit about your story to our listeners.

75
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:24,000
I know they appreciate that.

76
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:30,000
So your book, transitioning from a weekend to a war zone, I've read it.

77
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,000
It's a great read.

78
00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:42,000
And I love that it chronicles your transition from a civilian to combat veteran and just shares with the readers your journey as a young woman in the military.

79
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000
I definitely encourage our listeners to pick up a copy.

80
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000
You're currently on a book tour, right?

81
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,000
Are you on a bit of a hiatus?

82
00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,000
Well, I just I am still in a book tour.

83
00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:03,000
But right now I have a couple of things that I'm working on to where I have to take just some time off of that because I'm working on something else.

84
00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,000
But yeah, I'm still in the process of doing my book tour.

85
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,000
That is correct.

86
00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:17,000
I just recently come from Washington and Oregon.

87
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,000
And let me tell you something.

88
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,000
They can keep those states.

89
00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,000
Okay, because I'm so serious.

90
00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,000
That was the whole reason why I moved from up north because of the cold weather.

91
00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,000
And when I tell you, Andre, I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoy my time there.

92
00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,000
I have a I have an uncle that lives there.

93
00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,000
I enjoy my time with him as well.

94
00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:48,000
However, when I tell you it was so old that number one, my flight got delayed.

95
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,000
And then number two, my flight got canceled.

96
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,000
And the only thing I wanted to do was get home so they can have those states.

97
00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,000
I don't think I'm going back there.

98
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:03,000
You didn't fall out with the people you fill out with the weather there, right?

99
00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:04,000
Absolutely.

100
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,000
The weather was.

101
00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:06,000
Yes.

102
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,000
Yes.

103
00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,000
And I know you've been all over the place.

104
00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000
I know you have a specific goal in mind regarding your book tour.

105
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:20,000
Can you let our listeners in on what your overall goal with your book tours are?

106
00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,000
Yes.

107
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:29,000
So my goal for this year is to hit every state in the United States.

108
00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,000
So that's exactly what I'm working on.

109
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,000
And I know I'm going to do it.

110
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,000
I'm not going to say I think I'm going to do it.

111
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,000
I'm already have it embedded in my mind that I'm going to do it.

112
00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:41,000
So it will happen.

113
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,000
It will happen right now.

114
00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,000
I am currently at 34 states to date.

115
00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,000
Wow.

116
00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,000
I know.

117
00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:58,000
I tell people sometimes I'm at these book signings and I'm in states that I've never thought that I would be in.

118
00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:06,000
Because I don't know about you, Andre, but I know when I was in school and in history class,

119
00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:08,000
and we had to learn all 50 states, right?

120
00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:09,000
Right.

121
00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:14,000
And some of these states, I'm like, I would never go to – what would I be doing in these states?

122
00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,000
I have no business there.

123
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:26,000
But then I look up and God has allowed me to travel these different – I mean, when I say I just be in amazement, I am.

124
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:33,000
I mean, I am so blessed to have – to be in the position to do so and have the ability to do so as well.

125
00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,000
So yes, that is my goal.

126
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:43,000
Right. You definitely touch a lot of people when you're on these book tours and going from state to state.

127
00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:48,000
And I know sometimes you call me up and you share with me stories that happen.

128
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:54,000
What I love about your book tour is that, okay, you encounter and interact with so many people.

129
00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,000
And it's just like something that is listed in your bio.

130
00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:07,000
It went from a book tour to you almost sort of came across your ministry in a way,

131
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,000
because you have conversations with people that's not just surrounding your book,

132
00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:18,000
but you come across people that may be depressed or going through a difficult moment in their lives, and you minister to them.

133
00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:26,000
And so just share a little bit about some of those stories and some of these unique encounters that you've had with some of the people that you've encountered on your tour.

134
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:32,000
Okay. Well, you know what? I'll go – I'll talk about the most recent one that I had.

135
00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,000
Like I just stated, I was in the state of Washington, right?

136
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:42,000
And as I'm sitting here at my book signing, there's this woman that's walking to the right of me,

137
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:46,000
where there's this other woman that's standing to the left of me.

138
00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:52,000
And the woman to the right of me, she begins talking, and I'm like, well, she definitely ain't talking to me,

139
00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:56,000
because I know not one soul here in Washington like the location I was at.

140
00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,000
So I'm like, she's definitely not talking to me.

141
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:03,000
Well, you know, she beelined straight to my face.

142
00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,000
And as I'm looking at her, she was like, I met you in South Carolina.

143
00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:12,000
And I'm like, wow. And so we both here, you know, ended up here in Washington, D.C.

144
00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:18,000
And as she began speaking with me, I remember her face.

145
00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:24,000
And in South Carolina, this woman purchased six of my books, OK? Six of them.

146
00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,000
At that time, I did not know that woman started following me.

147
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:34,000
But what she said to me in Washington, D.C., she said, Renata, she said, whatever you do,

148
00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:40,000
please don't stop doing what you're doing. She said, because you admire – I admire what you do.

149
00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:47,000
She said, you encourage me, you inspire me. She said, not just through your book tours,

150
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:55,000
but, you know, I also try to uplift people as well as, you know, exercising and just being healthy and stuff like that as well.

151
00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:01,000
But I say all that to say, at the end of the day, you never know who's watching you. Right?

152
00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:06,000
So keep being the positive person you are and don't change for anybody,

153
00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:11,000
because you have all these people out here watching you and you don't even know it.

154
00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,000
So, you know, that's just, you know, one of the things.

155
00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:20,000
And then in my travels, it's like I'm always running into somebody that I'm like, OK, they're not – nobody's going to know me here.

156
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,000
And then the voice says, I remember you. I got your book from such and such.

157
00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:29,000
So it just feels so good that they supported me, though. You know what I mean?

158
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:36,000
Like, I'm going to tell you, Andre, when I begin – oh, Jesus, see, I'm getting happy.

159
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,000
So you just got to excuse me. But people don't understand the journey.

160
00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:47,000
So when I began doing this, I knew nothing about really being an author.

161
00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:52,000
What I did know is that I had a story to tell. Right? And I wanted to get that story out.

162
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,000
But when I began this entire journey, I spoke to God and I said, Lord,

163
00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:07,000
if you just allow me to encounter one to 500 individuals that will read my story, I'm happy.

164
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:12,000
Because remember, I don't really know what I'm doing. I just know that I have a story to tell.

165
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:20,000
And I want to share with these people. But Andre, Andre, oh, Jesus, look where I am now.

166
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:29,000
I am a couple hundred books shy of 14,000. Do you hear me? 14,000. Oh, Jesus.

167
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:34,000
You got that right. Nothing but that. I am a few hundred books shy of 14,000.

168
00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:40,000
And that's why when you mentioned, yes, I still enjoy my book tours. Yes, I enjoy conversing with people.

169
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:45,000
But at the end of the day, what God has allowed me to do was turn my story into my ministry.

170
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:50,000
And that's what I do now. If people come to my table now and they don't purchase a book, guess what?

171
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:55,000
To wear what I used to be like, man, they don't want to – why? I don't even question it no more.

172
00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:00,000
I don't get upset. Nothing. Because what they will do is walk away with a piece of who I am.

173
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:06,000
And that's what matters to me. So, yes, sir. There you go. I love it.

174
00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:12,000
That's God all day and 14,000 books sold. And we're not talking about Amazon.

175
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:17,000
We're talking about personally sold and signed, right? Absolutely. Absolutely.

176
00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:21,000
Just a few hundred shy of 14,000. Yep. Absolutely.

177
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:29,000
So that means this man, my left hand, has signed those many copies. Yes. Yes.

178
00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:35,000
Oh, my God. And see, so I first encountered you at Robbins Air Force Base when I was stationed at Robbins.

179
00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:42,000
And, you know, I love books. And so I wasn't not going to stop at your table.

180
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,000
But what I admired from the get-go was how outgoing you were.

181
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:52,000
And it wasn't until we later became friends that I realized I thought you were always this outgoing person.

182
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:59,000
You actually told me that you were shy and reserved and that wasn't your typical personality.

183
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:08,000
So when people see you out and about and just being so I almost call yourself a bully because you make people come to your table.

184
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:15,000
You don't even ask like, sir, when you come back out of there, stop by my table. Look at her, bully.

185
00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:24,000
You know, so it was just surprising to know that you weren't exactly the most outgoing person growing up, right?

186
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:30,000
No, I was I was a bit of an introvert. I mean, still still today, I kind of say to myself.

187
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:36,000
But what one thing that I had to learn with Andre was becoming an author.

188
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,000
See, nobody can tell your story the way that you can tell it.

189
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:44,000
You see what I'm saying? I don't care who you are. No, because we all have a story. That's one thing.

190
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:51,000
We all have a story. And I always tell people it all it all depends on how you wish to tell that story. Right.

191
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:58,000
So nobody can tell it like you can tell it. So for me, I literally had to pray.

192
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:08,000
I prayed to God and said, please allow my mouth to open to converse with these individuals in order so they can hear what I have to say.

193
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:18,000
Because other than that, these people walk right past me and I'll be looking dumbfounded like, OK, so nobody's interested in what you know I have going on over here.

194
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:23,000
So I literally I tell people I literally had to pray. And that's what happened.

195
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:27,000
And so now, like you said, I will stop anybody, everybody.

196
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:33,000
I will spark up a conversation and it will lead to if they engage in reading or, you know, something like that.

197
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:40,000
So I don't have any problems conversing with anybody anymore. So, yes, I'm very happy about that.

198
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:44,000
Yes, I love that about you. And I'm taking notes.

199
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:52,000
So we talked about OK, so you said 34 states that you visited so far.

200
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:57,000
Of those 34 states, which ones stick out in your mind? We know Washington, Oregon were cold.

201
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:07,000
You're not feeling that. I think you currently just wrapped up around what you call around Robin in Georgia, where you go to all the various Air Force and Army bases in Georgia.

202
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:12,000
But what what states stick out in your mind on this tour?

203
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:17,000
Oh, my goodness. You know, I've been to some wonderful states. Wonderful.

204
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:28,000
So if I don't name one, please don't hold it against me. But I will say when I touched down in the state of Texas, this is what I will say about Texas.

205
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:33,000
I was at Fort Hood. OK. And it was my first time.

206
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:38,000
And I think I've only been there once, but it was my first time visiting Fort Hood.

207
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:44,000
And when I tell you I normally order my books by the box of 100. OK.

208
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:53,000
So I had already taken 200 books with me because I just you just never know how things will go when you're at a location. You just never know.

209
00:15:53,000 --> 00:16:00,000
What I will tell you, Andre, is not only now I'm only there for a week. OK.

210
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:13,000
Not only did I go through those 200 books, but I had to call and get a shipment expedited for another 200 books while I was in Fort Hood.

211
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:22,000
OK. And then not only that, I had so many people that were just like, can I donate to you?

212
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:27,000
I mean, literally, I cannot make this up.

213
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:35,000
God is just so good. I'm telling you, because sometimes you don't witness this stuff until you be like, until you really witness it.

214
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,000
Like, you know, you hear people talk about it, but until you actually witness it.

215
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:47,000
I had this gentleman purchase my book. OK. He purchased it the first day.

216
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:53,000
That next day, that gentleman came and told me, he said, oh, I finished your book. I said, wow, already?

217
00:16:53,000 --> 00:17:02,000
He said, yes. He grabbed my hand. He said, and I want you to have this, he said, because I so admire what you're doing and I wish more women in the military would do this.

218
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:09,000
I open and listen, listen, if a person, I promise you this, I'm not. This is the truth.

219
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:15,000
If a person, because this is how I am right now with my spirit, if a person come by and they say, can I donate?

220
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:20,000
And they put a penny on my table. I'm happy because they didn't have to do that. You know what I'm saying?

221
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:27,000
I am. But this man opened my hand, Andre, and he placed a hundred dollar bill in my hand.

222
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:40,000
And when he walked away, of course, I didn't look at it while he was there. But when he walked away, I opened my hand and I seen what it was and tears just began to flow down my face because that man didn't have to do that.

223
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:47,000
But because you admire what I did, I spoke to him and said, go back to her.

224
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:52,000
And that's this is what he's telling me. Go back to her and show her how much you appreciate her.

225
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:58,000
So it'd be those things right there that I'll be like, wow. You know what I mean?

226
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:03,000
So I just run across so and that's just that's just one person.

227
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:12,000
When I say I run across so many people in different states and not only just the monetary, but I learned so much from them as well.

228
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:17,000
I mean, I've gained so much wisdom from all these veterans that I've spoke to across my journey.

229
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:23,000
And I'm very, very thankful for that as well. So, yes. Oh, man, that's just so amazing.

230
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:28,000
I know you inspire a lot of people and you'll probably hear about it years later or maybe you won't hear about it.

231
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:39,000
But I know that you've inspired other women, men, to to share their stories about their time in the military or their time as a combat veteran.

232
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:47,000
So many different stories that are just kept silent, not traumatic or, you know, some maybe traumatic stuff.

233
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,000
But there we I feel like we all have a story, particularly our women who are in the military.

234
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:58,000
I feel like there are so many experiences that could be shared that would minister to others.

235
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:06,000
So I love the fact that you are out there encountering and touching base with so many people because I know it's inspiring.

236
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:11,000
And, you know, you never know. I mean, you inspire me to write my book.

237
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:20,000
I mean, I was writing it anyway, but I had pockets of time where I would just procrastinate and not do anything on my book for months.

238
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:25,000
And I would run into you every so often at Robbins and you would always get on me.

239
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,000
Andre, are you working on your book? What have you done? Wait, we're waiting on your book now.

240
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:33,000
You know, so it's a little stuff like that that really helps to inspire people.

241
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:38,000
So you played an instrumental part two in getting my book out.

242
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:48,000
And, you know, as quickly as I did, because otherwise I could have taken a lot more time with it and just use work as an excuse or just just other things that get in the way.

243
00:19:48,000 --> 00:20:00,000
So just thank you for putting yourself out there, overcoming, you know, shyness or whatever other personality traits you may have and just opening yourself up to people.

244
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,000
I know that means a lot to a lot of us.

245
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:16,000
So I'm going to shift gears a little bit and talk about these different roles that you play, because, you know, in addition to being a mother, a retired military veteran, you're an author.

246
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000
You've done some motivational speaking as well.

247
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:25,000
We all know that you are powerful in your entrepreneurial activities and you're a radio show host.

248
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:32,000
But you recently have added another title to your attache and that's actress.

249
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,000
So I want you to tell and congratulations.

250
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:47,000
I want you to tell us a little bit about this and maybe give us some information on some new projects that you are working on that you're at liberty to discuss.

251
00:20:47,000 --> 00:21:01,000
OK, so before I go into that, Andre, I just want to go back and talk about one more thing that you touched on as far as me just encouraging women, you know, to men and women.

252
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:06,000
There's a lot of women that come to my table.

253
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:12,000
Right. And in looking at them, I can look at them until they go through something.

254
00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:18,000
So if I have somebody at my table, I'll just tell them to wait right there one second. I would just like to talk to them one on one.

255
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,000
And Andre, I can't make this stuff up.

256
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000
Them women will break down and cry.

257
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:28,000
And what I tell them, I say, let it go, because at the end of the day, I don't know what you're going through.

258
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,000
You don't have to tell me what you're going through.

259
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,000
But I guarantee you once you let it go, you'll feel much better.

260
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:40,000
And what I also tell them is that I'm not trying to be your mother, but what I can be is your mentor.

261
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:47,000
So if there's ever a time that you need somebody to talk to, I always give them my personal phone number.

262
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:54,000
And I tell them, no matter what time or day, if you feel like you need to talk to somebody, reach out to me.

263
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,000
So I just wanted to throw that out there because I've done that on several occasions.

264
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:04,000
And I've had people reach out to me, but sometimes they're afraid to talk to other people in the military.

265
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000
They need to talk to somebody outside of the military.

266
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,000
And because I've been where they're going, I know what it's like.

267
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:11,000
You know what I mean?

268
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,000
So I don't have a problem talking to any of them.

269
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:21,000
So, you know, like I told them, any time of the day or night, and they are so appreciative even of that,

270
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:28,000
because just in that gesture, there's a lot of life that can be changed.

271
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,000
So people don't understand how important and imperative that is.

272
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,000
So I just wanted to throw that out there.

273
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,000
No, I'm glad you did.

274
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,000
I'm glad you did, because a lot of people, we all take certain things for granted.

275
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:46,000
We take for granted that everybody out there has someone that they feel cares about them.

276
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:51,000
There are a lot of people out there that feel alone and they feel like no one cares about me.

277
00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,000
So for you to pull someone to the side and say, wait, hold on just a second.

278
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,000
Let me finish this conversation.

279
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,000
But I want to talk to you.

280
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:02,000
Doing stuff like that signals to someone like, wow, I don't know this person,

281
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:09,000
they took time out of what they were doing to check on me and to minister to me and make sure that I'm OK.

282
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,000
That speaks volumes to people.

283
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,000
You don't know how many lives that you potentially could have saved.

284
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:22,000
That person could have been planning to do something really detrimental or harmful to themselves that day.

285
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,000
But you saw something that was a little amiss.

286
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,000
And you said, no, hold on a second.

287
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,000
Let's talk a little later.

288
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:35,000
And just that brief interaction changed the trajectory of their entire life.

289
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,000
So I commend you for that.

290
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,000
And please continue to do that.

291
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:47,000
And just even if you're not pulling someone to the side, like I said, your sheer presence and just opening up.

292
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:52,000
And I love the banner that you have because it really stops kind of you in your tracks.

293
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,000
And it says, what does it say at the top?

294
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,000
Who am I?

295
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000
And then it kind of goes into your story.

296
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:04,000
Yes, it's just it stops you in your tracks and it makes you just stop and look at it and read.

297
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,000
And you see, wow, this is someone that is sharing their story.

298
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,000
And they'll think to themselves, you know, I have a story that I want to share.

299
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:19,000
And you don't have to be this super extroverted, outgoing person to be an author or to even share your story.

300
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:28,000
You know, stay prayed up and just put yourself out there and do what you can and let God fill in the gaps and do the rest.

301
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,000
And you got that right. That is absolutely the truth.

302
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,000
Yes, sir. That's what I say all the time.

303
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,000
Just and people say, I have a story. I say, well, what are you waiting on?

304
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:44,000
A write it because just sometimes people think people think that other people don't want to hear what they have to say.

305
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000
But that's not the truth.

306
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:51,000
I tell people once you put whatever you have to say in the pages of that book, somebody is going to flip through it.

307
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,000
So what are you waiting for?

308
00:24:53,000 --> 00:25:01,000
Because you don't know how you can inspire somebody who's afraid to talk about these different things that are going to be placed in a, you know, in your in the pages of your book.

309
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:05,000
So I'm always anytime somebody say that, I tell them to go for it.

310
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,000
So, yes, that is right.

311
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:14,000
Even with my own book, I you know, there were times when I said, you know, no one wants to hear about my miss, my personal mess.

312
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:19,000
But everyone who reads my book, they all have the same thing to say.

313
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:23,000
I felt like you were writing about me.

314
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,000
It's just I hear it all the time over and over.

315
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:34,000
So just imagine it's that because I'm saying something we all go through things that, you know, are similar.

316
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:35,000
It's not exactly similar.

317
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:40,000
But if you put your story out there, it will resonate with who it needs to resonate with.

318
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,000
And people will see themselves in your story and some of the things that you're talking about.

319
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,000
So I always I want to go off on a tangent.

320
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:51,000
I'm always encouraging people to write their story, you know, just put it out there.

321
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,000
But let's get before we lose track of too much time.

322
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,000
Let's let's talk about this.

323
00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:00,000
This actor actress stuff, because I want to know how you kind of segue into that.

324
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,000
And is that something that you were always in your plan or did you stumble upon this?

325
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,000
Tell us a little bit about this acting stuff now.

326
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:12,000
OK, so who are we?

327
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:22,000
I will tell you that this female and I met not personally, but met through a mutual friend.

328
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:31,000
And what she does is she send me certain things when things are going on, not just in Atlanta or Georgia area, but in different states.

329
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:32,000
Right.

330
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:40,000
So she had sent me something that Tyler Perry was doing and he was actually looking for female soldiers.

331
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:45,000
And I'm like, there's no way like there is no way.

332
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:53,000
So as I'm looking over the criteria, you know, I fill everything out, send my pictures in all of this.

333
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:59,000
So the the email said they had three days to respond to me.

334
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:00,000
Right.

335
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,000
And they did it responding on three days.

336
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:03,000
So I said, you know what?

337
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,000
Maybe it's not my time.

338
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:14,000
Well, the night of the third day is when I received the text message asking me if I was still interested.

339
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,000
And Andre, I cannot make this up.

340
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:23,000
I must have read this thing over like ten times.

341
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:31,000
There is just no way because what I tell people is like hundreds of thousands of people, you know, put in for stuff like this.

342
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:37,000
But I am so grateful and thankful to be able to be.

343
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,000
Oh, my goodness.

344
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:44,000
Play a role of somebody that I was for 20 years of my life, you know, a female soldier.

345
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:55,000
So and to answer your question, I honestly it wasn't that I wanted to I didn't want to I didn't want to act,

346
00:27:55,000 --> 00:28:00,000
but I wanted to put together a movie for others to act in it.

347
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:01,000
You know what I mean?

348
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:04,000
Like, I didn't want to act with myself.

349
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,000
Right.

350
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,000
But but what I say is, man, God is so good.

351
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:13,000
God is so good because he will open these doors and people don't understand.

352
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:18,000
The the manifestation behind things, because what I will tell you, Andre,

353
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:29,000
is that even before me knowing about anything that Tyler Perry was doing as far as military movies go right six months ago in my travels,

354
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,000
you know that I post, you know, certain places that I am.

355
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:36,000
And I'm always thanking my supporters for that particular location that I'm in.

356
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:46,000
So about six months ago, I started tagging Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama.

357
00:28:46,000 --> 00:29:02,000
And have you know, six months later that I'm standing in the room with Tyler Perry, you know, like, how like how like I mean,

358
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:08,000
what manifestation, oh, my God, when I tell you, Andre, when I when I went to set,

359
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,000
I didn't even think that he was going to be in there because I know Mr.

360
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:15,000
Tyler Perry is very busy and he has a lot a lot of things going on.

361
00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:20,000
So I'm not at no time thinking that I was going to lay eyes on him.

362
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:29,000
But when I say this man was on set with us every single day and for him to be just standing next to my shoulder and no,

363
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,000
no, I couldn't really speak to him. And that was perfectly fine.

364
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:37,000
But what I tell people is that transfer of energy.

365
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:47,000
People don't understand how strong that was when I'm standing next to this man and all the thoughts going through my head of where he's come from and how God has positioned him.

366
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:52,000
So now I'm standing next to him and I'm like, oh, like, it was unbelievable.

367
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,000
It really was like unbelievable. I couldn't believe it.

368
00:29:55,000 --> 00:30:02,000
But such a listen, it was phenomenal, Andre, a phenomenal experience.

369
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:08,000
So needless to say, listeners, yes, be on the lookout.

370
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:12,000
Tyler Perry is coming out with a movie and it's called 68 88.

371
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:18,000
And it is a true story about the women back in the World War Two era.

372
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:24,000
And it was about eight hundred and fifty something of these women, but they were an all black, all female battalion.

373
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:37,000
So I'm just happy to say that I am fortunate and God has placed me in the position to be on set and actually just in the room with this man.

374
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:40,000
And I don't leave him, but there's others that I was in the room with as well.

375
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,000
But you know how many people dream to be like, oh, I want to meet Tyler Perry.

376
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:50,000
I want to meet Tyler Perry. And yes, I did say one day I want to meet Tyler Perry.

377
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:57,000
But God made it happen so fast. Like, oh, my God, like God don't plan.

378
00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,000
And not at all. Not at all. So, yes, I'm very thankful for that.

379
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:07,000
So it's just Andre. It's so many doors that has opened for me.

380
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:14,000
And I'm telling you, I can't thank God enough and I can't stress enough how thankful I am.

381
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:25,000
What I tell people all the time and I know we have to wrap things up is that I have faith and I keep my faith day in and day out,

382
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,000
because with that faith, God is going to give me favor.

383
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:32,000
And I don't just have faith, Andre, I have electrifying faith.

384
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,000
And I don't know if people understand what that means.

385
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:41,000
But when I say, OK, because I'm about to go off into something else and I know we have to wrap things up.

386
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:51,000
I would just say I'm so thankful because people don't understand when them doors open, you can.

387
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,000
It's all about God's timing. That's number one.

388
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:58,000
It's all about God's timing, because a lot of times we want things to happen on our time.

389
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:05,000
And he said, no, that's not how things work. It happens when he's ready for it to happen for us.

390
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:10,000
And so that's why I tell people, if you stay ready, you got to get ready, because you never know what angle.

391
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,000
He's going to come at you from. So just be ready for it.

392
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:19,000
And so, again, I am just very thankful for the opportunities.

393
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:24,000
I am very grateful for all my supporters. I mean, I'm just I just am.

394
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:29,000
And I thank God for everything. So that's it.

395
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:31,000
Well, I'm extremely happy for you.

396
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:36,000
I was going to ask you about last thoughts that you wanted to give our listeners, but I think you just did.

397
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:44,000
I mean, your faith is, like you said, electrifying is just a testimony to the life that you live.

398
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,000
And I just some of that rubs off on me as well.

399
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,000
I mean, I think I'm a man of faith myself.

400
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:57,000
But I mean, the faith that you have really is just outstanding and just encourages me to rely on God and wait on God even more.

401
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,000
So I appreciate you sharing this story with us.

402
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:12,000
As you know, time flies when you're on the live radio, but I want to thank you once again for being my guest this evening and helping me to celebrate Women's History Month.

403
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:17,000
I hope you know you're welcome back anytime to give us an update on whatever it is that you're working on.

404
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:20,000
So just thank you so much for your time this evening.

405
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:24,000
And Dr. Andre Jerry, I most certainly thank you.

406
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,000
And you have a wonderful evening.

407
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,000
Same to you.

408
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:36,000
Well, listen, everybody, Renata's book, Transition from a Weekend to a War Zone, is available for sale at BooksOfBrilliant.com and on Amazon.

409
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:46,000
Also come out and support the second annual Relevant with Renata event that's taking place at J.C. Venue Plus in Morrow, Georgia on April 15th.

410
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:52,000
So for more info, check our show's web page or visit BooksOfBrilliant.com.

411
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:58,000
We're going to take a quick break, but when we return, I'll have another dynamic woman that I want you to meet.

412
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:25,000
So stay tuned and we'll be right back.

413
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,000
It's going to be live.

414
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,000
You're entertained.

415
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,000
Get ready for Travis Maloy.

416
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,000
He's on stage.

417
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:34,000
Here comes Sharp Day Scrooge.

418
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,000
For an OG Rocks, aka I Am Him.

419
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,000
It's Marcus Ladeo.

420
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,000
Here comes Tracy the Rare Breed.

421
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:42,000
It's poet Dr. Andre Jerry.

422
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:43,000
Get ready for jewelry.

423
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,000
On the 1st and 2nd, it's T.J. Wiggles.

424
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,000
Saturday, April 15th at J.S. Venue Plus.

425
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,000
The second annual Revalent with Renata.

426
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,000
A night of poetry, soul, and a whole lot more.

427
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,000
So now you're ready to get those tickets, right?

428
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:56,000
I know you are.

429
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,000
The doors open at 7, showtime's at 8.

430
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,000
Your tickets are $45.

431
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:02,000
Your ticket price includes a free buffet.

432
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:05,000
Get ready for a cash bar, sweets and treats, spenders, you're welcome.

433
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:10,000
For more information, call Revalent with Renata at 678-586-1656.

434
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,000
Or email us at Books of Brilliant at Gmail.com.

435
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:16,000
That's Books of Brilliant at Gmail.com.

436
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,000
An unprecedented event that's on its way to Mauro, Georgia.

437
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,000
Saturday, April 15th, the second annual Revalent with Renata.

438
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,000
Soul, poetry, and a whole lot more.

439
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,000
Get your tickets now.

440
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:32,000
Remember, as soon as you open the door, know that you're a Revalent for sure.

441
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,000
This is a sound brought to you by Rob the Soundman.

442
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,000
Saturday, April 15th at J.S. Venue Plus.

443
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:38,000
Mauro, Georgia.

444
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:43,000
Get your tickets and allow your Revalents to begin.

445
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:49,000
You're back live with Dr. Andre Geary.

446
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,000
Hey everyone, welcome back to the show.

447
00:35:51,000 --> 00:36:02,000
So if you're just tuning in, we're celebrating Women's History Month on tonight's episode by featuring incredible women who are doing outstanding work in their respective industries.

448
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:10,000
So I was introduced to my next guest through a mutual friend and also through her inspirational posts on Instagram.

449
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:25,000
She has an impressive background in numerous accomplishments in academia, most notably a PhD in education from UCLA with an emphasis in educational psychology, human development, and liberatory education.

450
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:42,000
She's currently an associate professor of psychology and child development at California State University, Stanislaus, and also a public speaker and transformational coach and consultant that specializes in diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.

451
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,000
Please help me welcome to the show Dr. Aletha Harbin.

452
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,000
Dr. Harbin, welcome to the show.

453
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:57,000
Hi, hi everyone. Thank you so much, Dr. Geary for having me on the show today.

454
00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:00,000
And thank you so much for that.

455
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:07,000
Oh, no problem. It's my pleasure to have you on the broadcast. This is exciting. This is a treat for both me and the listeners.

456
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:19,000
So listen, I know I gave our listeners just sort of a brief interview of your background, but I'd like for you just to share a little bit more about yourself just to give our listeners some insight into who Dr. Aletha Harbin is.

457
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:22,000
Absolutely.

458
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:40,000
So, like you said, I did earn my PhD in education from UCLA, and I did emphasize, or my degree emphasis is in educational psychology. So I focus on what's happening with what's happening among students within schools.

459
00:37:40,000 --> 00:38:03,000
I focus a lot on their mental health, their psychological adjustment, their psychosocial adjustment. It's all really interesting to me to see how school contextual factors like teacher behavior, teachers pedagogical practices, just what's happening within the school context can impact students' functioning, right, their mental health.

460
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:22,000
And so also in thinking of educational psychology, I am a motivational scholar, so I like to focus on student motivation, and this is why I do have a more general focus on achievement motivation when I work not only with students, but with educators in general.

461
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:37,000
And like you said, I do have a very strong background in human development. I focus a lot on child and adolescent development in particular, and then, yes, I have a social justice focus with all that I do as well.

462
00:38:37,000 --> 00:39:04,000
So I love what I do. It all intersects, you know, because I'm all about addressing issues that impact diverse groups of students, but also diverse educators as well, because if our educators who are working with our students are in a good mental space, right, if their mental health is good,

463
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:19,000
if they feel supported, if they feel a sense of belonging, then it's easy to show up in a very positive way for their students. So I like to focus on both students and educators and what's happening within the classroom.

464
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,000
Oh, that's wonderful.

465
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:50,000
Yes, and you did mention how I'm a public speaker and a transformational coach and consultant. So, yes, I do focus on DEI. That is huge right now, but it's something that I have been trained in really well, and, you know, I definitely believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and there are so many different ways that not only educators, but people who are not in education and other industries.

466
00:39:50,000 --> 00:40:13,000
Can really step up to the plate and ensure that their place of work is carrying out a DEI agenda that's truly effective and transformational. Also, because I am a motivational scholar, I speak a lot and do a lot of consulting and coaching in the area of achievement motivation.

467
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:29,000
So that's why you'll see a lot of motivational, you know, quotes, just material on my Instagram page and then wellness is really important to me as well. And that goes hand in hand for me, at least with mental health.

468
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:51,000
Well, that runs the gamut. You pretty much care about the individual as a whole, and I love that you focus on not only students, but educators as well, because I can imagine dealing with, you know, trying to educate our kids and deal with some of their emotional issues that they also develop some type of mental health issues as well along the line.

469
00:40:51,000 --> 00:41:17,000
So it's good that you focus on not only the students, but the educators as well. And let me just say that you, you have such a calming, reassuring voice. It's like the perfect voice for psychology, because if you have some type of mental instability, you want for your therapist to have a voice that's soothing and reassuring and makes you feel like you're in a safe space.

470
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:21,000
It makes me feel good to hear you say that.

471
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:33,000
Well, listen, in line with some of the stuff that you deal with with your students, what are some of the trends that you've been noticing in terms of mental health challenges with students overall?

472
00:41:33,000 --> 00:41:53,000
Well, I think, I think, you know, at the onset of the pandemic, we started to see an increase, right, in health issues among students, but also among educators and just lots of different people.

473
00:41:53,000 --> 00:42:06,000
And I would say, you know, I think in our society, we are becoming better at normalizing, seeking help, right?

474
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:26,000
Therapy, seeking counseling, and I hope that that trend continues. But even with the students that I work with, I have noticed such an increase amongst my own students when it comes to their mental health challenges. So, yes, my, you know, I have students who

475
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:38,000
would come to me and talk to me because I'd like to meet with all my students one on one if I'm able to. And they would reveal to me any mental health challenges they were dealing with.

476
00:42:38,000 --> 00:43:00,000
However, I feel that there are so many more challenges that have, that students are talking about now, given the pandemic. And so I know that, at least for instance, on my campus, it's kind of like all hands on deck, especially in my Department of Psychology and Child Development.

477
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:19,000
I know we're really working hard to cater to the needs of our students. I know that our counseling department is working hard to cater to our students. But yes, I do a lot of work within my classes with students, too, because I teach psychology classes.

478
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:40,000
So we do address the topic of depression. We do talk about anxiety. We talk about stress, right? We talk about all of these really important, we talk about a lot of important mental health challenges because students want to talk about it and they want to talk about coping mechanisms.

479
00:43:40,000 --> 00:43:54,000
But I definitely always refer students and make sure that they are connected to the right people to receive the help that they need. So that is a major trend that I'm seeing. Yeah.

480
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,000
Oh, it's good that there's more. Go ahead.

481
00:43:57,000 --> 00:44:03,000
I was just thinking about housing and security.

482
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:05,000
I didn't catch that last part.

483
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,000
So housing and security.

484
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:29,000
Okay, gotcha. So students who, I would say housing and security, food and security, so students who might be homeless or searching for a permanent place to stay while trying to take my classes and their other, you know, professors classes and then also with food and security.

485
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:39,000
There are a lot of students who are hungry. And so just, you know, I'm just trying to address those issues with my own students.

486
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:50,000
I know I had, you know, I sometimes will have students who they can't continue the semester because of what's happening. So I just try to help them as much as possible.

487
00:44:50,000 --> 00:45:01,000
So those are just some of the issues, but there are a lot of issues, including social and emotional functioning and some challenges surrounding that.

488
00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:10,000
Right. I'm glad that you mentioned that because, you know, we focus so much on mental health, not to, you know, take away from the importance of that.

489
00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:23,000
But to your point, there are a lot of children that are dealing with food and housing insecurities that also negatively impacts their ability to learn and just, you know, you know, being a social environment in a safe space.

490
00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:28,000
So I'm glad that you are just kind of shining a light on that. I wanted to ask you something.

491
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:39,000
You know, there's a lot of therapy that's now being done virtually in this climate. Do you feel that the virtual counseling is just as effective as the in-person counseling?

492
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:46,000
You know, I think it can be. I was actually just talking to one of my classes about this yesterday.

493
00:45:46,000 --> 00:46:02,000
I think it can be. I definitely think that people need to do their homework and make sure that they look, you know, just make sure that you look into whoever it is that you are seeking assistance from.

494
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:10,000
But I know there are a lot of therapists and a lot of counselors who are advertising their services online.

495
00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:19,000
I'm on social media quite a bit. So there are different therapists who I'm connected to, and they're doing really great work and putting out really great content.

496
00:46:19,000 --> 00:46:34,000
And they seem to be really awesome. So I think it's just a matter of, you know, everyone doing their homework and making sure that they are connecting with someone who can really help them on their journey.

497
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:46,000
Wonderful. And I'll just shift gears a bit because everyone knows that I love an author and you do have a book that you co-author alongside Kimberly Gordon Biddle

498
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:52,000
and also Cynthia Hudley that focuses on careers in child and adolescent development.

499
00:46:52,000 --> 00:47:02,000
Can you briefly tell the listeners about this book and its intended audience and then also how your expertise contributed to the content of this book?

500
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:08,000
Absolutely. I love this book. It's a really great book and it's doing really well.

501
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:16,000
So my colleagues and I, we wanted to focus on students in the field of child and adolescent development.

502
00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:25,000
And we really wanted to help students in that field to understand the many career paths that exist within the field.

503
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:34,000
I know that for me, a lot of students would always approach me and ask me, what else can I do besides being a preschool teacher?

504
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:39,000
Of course, we definitely need a lot of really wonderful, great preschool teachers.

505
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:48,000
But I know that students, they do want to know what else is available to them because sometimes they're, depending on what program they're in,

506
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:57,000
there may be a stronger focus on being a preschool teacher and not necessarily on some of the other careers that they can have.

507
00:47:57,000 --> 00:48:06,000
And so my colleagues and I came together because we have been experiencing this for a while and we said, let's write a book because we noticed that there,

508
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:17,000
as far as we could see, there were no other books that existed that were specific to child and adolescent development and really exploring different career paths.

509
00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:21,000
So this is really the first book of its kind and we're really proud of it.

510
00:48:21,000 --> 00:48:30,000
And I think this is why it's doing so well because so many people are interested in learning about different career paths that they can take.

511
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:38,000
And so my colleagues and I, we leaned into our own knowledge on a variety of different careers in this field.

512
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:48,000
And we conducted expert interviews and also posed questions for the readers to consider in thinking about, you know,

513
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:57,000
what career they may want to, you know, what career they want to adopt within child and adolescent development.

514
00:48:57,000 --> 00:49:05,000
So for instance, you know, let's say a reader was thinking about developing children's toys, right?

515
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,000
That's something that they can do.

516
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:17,000
Or if they want to work with organizations that are focused on children with terminal illnesses, that's a particular path they can take.

517
00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:23,000
Or if they want an administrative position, right, that's a possible career path.

518
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:28,000
So there's just different types of careers and we're really happy with this book. I like it.

519
00:49:28,000 --> 00:49:36,000
So yes, it's a book that students, we definitely are encouraging students to purchase and read.

520
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:44,000
But also it's a book for anybody who is interested in working with children, adolescents, and families.

521
00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:52,000
I love it. So it really is about career trajectory and offering different options in the adolescent development career field

522
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:57,000
and people who are in adjacent career fields that may be not lost,

523
00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:04,000
but just need some direction in where they want to take their career or how they want to broaden their career, so to speak.

524
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:08,000
So, yeah, I think that's definitely a great book.

525
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:14,000
Definitely encourage our readers to go out and get a copy of it. And it is available on Amazon, correct?

526
00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:17,000
Yes, it's available on Amazon.

527
00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:22,000
Wonderful. Do you have any plans to write any additional books?

528
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:32,000
You know, yes. I actually am under contract right now to write a book that is focused on a growth mindset.

529
00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:40,000
It's funny because one of my colleagues, she contacted me and she said,

530
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:44,000
hey, I'm working on a book series. I want you to write a book for the series.

531
00:50:44,000 --> 00:50:47,000
I said, sure, sounds good. And I told her what I wanted to write.

532
00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:52,000
She said, that sounds great to me, but I want you to write on this.

533
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:59,000
I said, that's great, but I want to write on this. And we kind of went back and forth for a while.

534
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:03,000
And so I finally, we were talking about it and I said, okay,

535
00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:06,000
because there's a certain kind of vision she has for the whole series, right?

536
00:51:06,000 --> 00:51:11,000
And she was like, come on. And so I decided to combine, right,

537
00:51:11,000 --> 00:51:16,000
combine both of our interests with this particular book.

538
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:21,000
And I love growth mindset. It's totally great. I am a motivational scholar and so is my colleague.

539
00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:31,000
And so it is something I can easily write on. It's just, I think, because of where my mind is right now,

540
00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:38,000
like with social justice, I was trying to think about, okay, well, how do I want to kind of, you know,

541
00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:44,000
pull this book off and it speaks to various interests that I have.

542
00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:47,000
And so that's what I was working on with this particular book.

543
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:52,000
So anyway, I'm excited about the book, but yeah, the main focus is on growth mindset.

544
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:57,000
So I know that that's a really popular theory right now.

545
00:51:57,000 --> 00:52:03,000
So if anyone's interested in maybe picking up my book when it does get released, I definitely,

546
00:52:03,000 --> 00:52:07,000
I'll let you know when it gets released if anyone wants to.

547
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:12,000
Oh, please do. We'll have to have you back on once you have the book ready and it's been released.

548
00:52:12,000 --> 00:52:15,000
But yeah, either on growth mindset or social justice,

549
00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:20,000
either one of those are trending topics that I know a lot of people would want to read about.

550
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:25,000
So definitely keep going with that. I definitely spur you on with that.

551
00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:32,000
And I'm going to talk about your web series because you also have a web series out that focuses on equity

552
00:52:32,000 --> 00:52:36,000
and inclusion in education and some other areas as well.

553
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:43,000
But in this web series, you tackle a lot of sensitive and many would say controversial topics.

554
00:52:43,000 --> 00:52:49,000
So tell us a little bit about why you felt it's important to kind of facilitate discussions on topics like this,

555
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:54,000
you know, because our mainstream contemporaries, as you know, often avoid topics that you touch on.

556
00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:57,000
So, yeah, just talk about that a little bit.

557
00:52:57,000 --> 00:53:00,000
Right. Thank you so much for bringing this up.

558
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:05,000
I am super proud of my webinar series and I really like it.

559
00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:07,000
It's something that I look forward to.

560
00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:16,000
I've been on a bit of a hiatus, but I am going to start producing some more shows for that program.

561
00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:19,000
But yes, it's on YouTube for anyone who's listening.

562
00:53:19,000 --> 00:53:25,000
It's called Transformative Conversations, Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Education and Beyond.

563
00:53:25,000 --> 00:53:34,000
And I actually have a couple of programs that I did for this series that I am going to be posting soon

564
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:37,000
if anyone wants to check the series out.

565
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:46,000
But what how this came about is when George Floyd was murdered almost three years ago now,

566
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:55,000
I put on a webinar titled Confronting Anti-Black Racism on College Campuses.

567
00:53:55,000 --> 00:54:00,000
So it was a two day webinar program that I put on.

568
00:54:00,000 --> 00:54:07,000
And that was my first time putting on like a major webinar program and it actually it went national.

569
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:09,000
It drew an international audience.

570
00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:12,000
And so I'm glad it did.

571
00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:18,000
I think a lot of people, especially during that time, were interested in learning more about anti-black racism,

572
00:54:18,000 --> 00:54:24,000
what it is, what it looks like, how it manifests itself in different ways.

573
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:34,000
And so once that two day training was over, I decided to put this program on because I said, you know,

574
00:54:34,000 --> 00:54:36,000
I want to continue the conversation.

575
00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:38,000
I don't want to just stop it.

576
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:41,000
And so that's where Transformative Conversations came from.

577
00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:45,000
And I launched the series in the fall of 2020.

578
00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:47,000
So it's been like two and a half years.

579
00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:49,000
I'm in my third season.

580
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:57,000
And the focus has been so far, for the most part, on the black experience, particularly in education.

581
00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:04,000
And again, that's because, you know, I had the two day training on confronting anti-black racism.

582
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:09,000
And so then I just kept moving forward with discussing the black experience.

583
00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:19,000
And, you know, I'm expanding, of course, because I do focus on other diverse groups and communities as well.

584
00:55:19,000 --> 00:55:28,000
But I thought it was really important to center the black experience in education because sometimes it's not talked about enough in mainstream,

585
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:31,000
like with mainstream discussions.

586
00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:41,000
And so I, if you check out my YouTube series, you'll see that I'm talking with other black experts on educational topics that I think are really important.

587
00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:47,000
So, for instance, inclusion and belonging, the campus color line, which deals with race,

588
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:57,000
and it's about how race is still a major issue on our college campuses and education really in general.

589
00:55:57,000 --> 00:56:06,000
And something with thinking about that, right, about systemic racism and how race is still impacting so many different people,

590
00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:16,000
I noticed that a lot of times the conversations about what's happening, let's say, on college campuses focus on students, which is great.

591
00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:17,000
That's wonderful.

592
00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:19,000
We should focus on students.

593
00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:30,000
But sometimes there is, like, not enough of a focus on what's happening with faculty and staff who are black and who may be from other marginalized communities.

594
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:31,000
And I think that's really problematic.

595
00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:32,000
I agree.

596
00:56:32,000 --> 00:56:38,000
Yeah, because I think of myself as like, OK, if I'm not well, then I'm not going to be able to show up for my students.

597
00:56:38,000 --> 00:56:40,000
So we do need to focus on me.

598
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:42,000
We do need to focus on my unique experiences.

599
00:56:42,000 --> 00:56:50,000
We need to focus on the unique experiences of other black faculty and staff and black and faculty and staff of color.

600
00:56:50,000 --> 00:56:52,000
It's super, super important.

601
00:56:52,000 --> 00:56:54,000
And it's just not about our students.

602
00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:55,000
Our students are important.

603
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:59,000
It's about everyone else who is functioning on a campus.

604
00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:00,000
Right.

605
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:05,000
And so I am expanding my focus, of course, to other marginalized groups.

606
00:57:05,000 --> 00:57:12,000
And I have like I've had a couple of talks that have focused on black and Jewish relations.

607
00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:19,000
And I do want to make a note that, yes, there are people who are black and Jewish.

608
00:57:19,000 --> 00:57:24,000
The last conversation that I had was at the end of November, beginning of December.

609
00:57:24,000 --> 00:57:30,000
And it was a three day event for my series.

610
00:57:30,000 --> 00:57:37,000
The focus was on Kanye West and Kyrie Irving and everything that was going on surrounding the two of them.

611
00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:52,000
And it was really great to bring on different speakers to join me in conversation because we were able to explore a lot of different aspects of what was going on.

612
00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:58,000
And so, you know, if that's something you ever want to discuss, we can discuss that, I'm sure, at another time.

613
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:03,000
But there are so many diverse opinions about what happened.

614
00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:07,000
And it was just good to kind of talk it out with different people.

615
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:14,000
But anyways, I am going to continue to expand on a lot of different issues for the series in different communities.

616
00:58:14,000 --> 00:58:24,000
I hope you do because, you know, just the last topic that you mentioned about Kanye West and Kyrie, I mean, at work we were afraid to talk about it.

617
00:58:24,000 --> 00:58:28,000
You know, there would be little private circles where two or three people would talk about it.

618
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:33,000
But as a whole, we just really shied away from because you don't want to say the wrong thing.

619
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:34,000
You don't want to offend anyone.

620
00:58:34,000 --> 00:58:40,000
And it's such a sensitive topic that, you know, a lot of people just avoided it altogether.

621
00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:48,000
So I appreciate forums like this where we're confronting each other, not in a combative way, but in a, you know, how do you consider it?

622
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:50,000
How do you feel about this?

623
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:51,000
How did this make you feel?

624
00:58:51,000 --> 00:58:52,000
What's your take on this?

625
00:58:52,000 --> 00:59:00,000
And it just invites you different points of view that you may be able to take something positive from and expand your perspective on a matter.

626
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:02,000
So definitely continue this.

627
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:04,000
It's a great web series.

628
00:59:04,000 --> 00:59:08,000
I just love how time just gets away from me on these radio shows.

629
00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:12,000
There's some other topic that I wanted to touch on.

630
00:59:12,000 --> 00:59:15,000
And I'll see if we can go over a little bit.

631
00:59:15,000 --> 00:59:17,000
But I'll touch on this.

632
00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:31,000
So you recently did an IG live on spirituality, relationships and mental health with Tina Love, who is a very colorful character.

633
00:59:31,000 --> 00:59:36,000
Can you tell me about how this dynamic came about?

634
00:59:36,000 --> 00:59:38,000
How did you meet her?

635
00:59:38,000 --> 00:59:41,000
And, you know, when are you going to do another show with her?

636
00:59:41,000 --> 00:59:44,000
Because that show tickled me so much.

637
00:59:44,000 --> 00:59:46,000
I know you were laughing.

638
00:59:46,000 --> 00:59:47,000
You know what?

639
00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:52,000
I actually randomly met her after seeing her.

640
00:59:52,000 --> 00:59:58,000
Like I was in the audience of a couple of IG live, just in the audience hanging out there.

641
00:59:58,000 --> 01:00:01,000
And somehow we connected.

642
01:00:01,000 --> 01:00:04,000
I can't remember who reached out to who.

643
01:00:04,000 --> 01:00:09,000
But she reached out to me and said she wanted to go live with me.

644
01:00:09,000 --> 01:00:10,000
And I said, sure, why not?

645
01:00:10,000 --> 01:00:17,000
And so we just decided to go live on this topic of spirituality, relationships and mental health.

646
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:20,000
And we've gone live maybe a few times now.

647
01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:30,000
And one of our discussions was on Chris Rock, once again getting into, like you said, catching on sensitive topics, which I never shy away from.

648
01:00:30,000 --> 01:00:39,000
I guess for me personally, I personally do not see the big deal in discussing these different topics.

649
01:00:39,000 --> 01:00:43,000
I think part of that is because I'm used to discussing sensitive topics.

650
01:00:43,000 --> 01:00:47,000
It was something that I was like at UCLA.

651
01:00:47,000 --> 01:00:50,000
That was something we were always like encouraged to do.

652
01:00:50,000 --> 01:00:54,000
And there's a way to discuss sensitive topics as well, you know.

653
01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:59,000
So and also with all my classes, I'm always talking about sensitive topics with my students.

654
01:00:59,000 --> 01:01:04,000
So sometimes I remember when I, you know, when I was first at my current institution,

655
01:01:04,000 --> 01:01:07,000
sometimes my students would be shocked at what we were discussing.

656
01:01:07,000 --> 01:01:13,000
And now I think students are just used to what I'm going to bring up in class like the top.

657
01:01:13,000 --> 01:01:15,000
It's like we have to talk about this.

658
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:21,000
I mean, I have to help increase your cultural competence, but we need to have these conversations.

659
01:01:21,000 --> 01:01:24,000
But anyways, yeah, she and I had a really good conversation.

660
01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:33,000
And, you know, honestly, most topics that I discuss, whether spirituality, relationships,

661
01:01:33,000 --> 01:01:38,000
mental health, like what Tina and I were discussing, it's all related to the work that I do.

662
01:01:38,000 --> 01:01:43,000
Because I know for me, I'm always checking in with myself, checking in on my own mental health.

663
01:01:43,000 --> 01:01:48,000
I always am coming from a very spiritual place.

664
01:01:48,000 --> 01:01:50,000
I'm a Christian, a proud Christian.

665
01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:55,000
And so for me, I'm always thinking about my own Christian values.

666
01:01:55,000 --> 01:01:58,000
And I let that lead the way often.

667
01:01:58,000 --> 01:02:02,000
So I do consider myself to be spiritual in a lot of different ways.

668
01:02:02,000 --> 01:02:04,000
So it's just a good discussion we were having.

669
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:08,000
But yeah, I know she's a very colorful character, like you said.

670
01:02:08,000 --> 01:02:12,000
She's very funny.

671
01:02:12,000 --> 01:02:13,000
I just loved it.

672
01:02:13,000 --> 01:02:17,000
And I love that you're open to having conversations with people from different backgrounds.

673
01:02:17,000 --> 01:02:22,000
I mean, because if you say if you're just talking amongst your colleagues or, you know,

674
01:02:22,000 --> 01:02:27,000
fellow educators or what have you, I mean, those can be great discussions,

675
01:02:27,000 --> 01:02:29,000
but then you're also limiting the perspective a bit.

676
01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:33,000
But when you kind of broaden out and get people from various backgrounds,

677
01:02:33,000 --> 01:02:37,000
it can really enlighten the conversations significantly.

678
01:02:37,000 --> 01:02:40,000
So I just I love that you were open to that.

679
01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:46,000
And the dynamic between you two, it was just funny because she would say something like completely inappropriate.

680
01:02:46,000 --> 01:02:49,000
And you would kind of smile and laugh your way through it.

681
01:02:49,000 --> 01:02:51,000
It just tickled me for some reason.

682
01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:58,000
But when you have another one that you're about to do, just send me a note so I can make sure I block out the time

683
01:02:58,000 --> 01:03:02,000
because I was definitely enthralled with that.

684
01:03:02,000 --> 01:03:05,000
I was trying to stay professional with what she was saying.

685
01:03:05,000 --> 01:03:07,000
You know, I was like.

686
01:03:07,000 --> 01:03:09,000
Right. That's what made it funny.

687
01:03:09,000 --> 01:03:11,000
That's what made it funny.

688
01:03:11,000 --> 01:03:16,000
But listen, I'm going to OK, so I got word from my engineer that we can go over a little bit.

689
01:03:16,000 --> 01:03:20,000
So I'm going to press with a few more of my questions, because I wanted to touch on feminism a bit,

690
01:03:20,000 --> 01:03:26,000
because this is this is a topic that even for me, I don't really fully.

691
01:03:26,000 --> 01:03:29,000
I don't feel like I fully appreciate it as much as I could.

692
01:03:29,000 --> 01:03:37,000
So in one of your recent posts on social media, you were commemorating Women's History Month and you quoted an excerpt from

693
01:03:37,000 --> 01:03:41,000
Feminism is for Everybody by author Bill Hooks.

694
01:03:41,000 --> 01:03:43,000
And I'm going to read it in a second.

695
01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:52,000
But what I loved about this quote is that I feel as though it encapsulates the essence of what the feminist movement is all about.

696
01:03:52,000 --> 01:04:01,000
But it says, if any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence,

697
01:04:01,000 --> 01:04:07,000
she has already given away her power to be self-defining her agency.

698
01:04:07,000 --> 01:04:09,000
So, like I said, I just love this quote.

699
01:04:09,000 --> 01:04:12,000
What about this quote resonated with you?

700
01:04:12,000 --> 01:04:14,000
Oh, my God, I love that quote.

701
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:17,000
And I love Bill Hooks, who's no longer with us.

702
01:04:17,000 --> 01:04:23,000
She was an American author, an educator, theorist, a social critic, distinguished professor.

703
01:04:23,000 --> 01:04:25,000
She was absolutely amazing.

704
01:04:25,000 --> 01:04:28,000
And the reason I love this quote is because I'm a woman.

705
01:04:28,000 --> 01:04:32,000
And as a woman, I know that we have agency, right?

706
01:04:32,000 --> 01:04:40,000
And that means we can make our own decisions and live lives that are in alignment with our own values and interests and desires.

707
01:04:40,000 --> 01:04:47,000
And also, as women, we don't have to wait around for anyone to lead us, particularly a man.

708
01:04:47,000 --> 01:04:54,000
As women, we can be leaders in our own lives and in the lives of others.

709
01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:57,000
And just trust me, I appreciate men.

710
01:04:57,000 --> 01:04:59,000
I think men are great.

711
01:04:59,000 --> 01:05:04,000
But as a woman, I have my own vision.

712
01:05:04,000 --> 01:05:12,000
I have my own needs and desires, and it's not surrounding a man, right?

713
01:05:12,000 --> 01:05:21,000
It's about me, or it's about what it's about me being in alignment with my faith, too, as a Christian.

714
01:05:21,000 --> 01:05:26,000
And that may not necessarily have anything to do with a man.

715
01:05:26,000 --> 01:05:29,000
And so with feminism, right?

716
01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:44,000
I mean, I don't know what brand of feminism different people are prescribing to, but more generally, the way I see it is it is about equality of the sexes.

717
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:53,000
And it's just about everyone being able to live their lives in the best way that they know how.

718
01:05:53,000 --> 01:05:56,000
And so I want to read this quick quote to you.

719
01:05:56,000 --> 01:05:59,000
And I actually posted this on social media, too.

720
01:05:59,000 --> 01:06:08,000
I read this quote, and it's by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was the former associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

721
01:06:08,000 --> 01:06:19,000
And they quote, feminism is the notion that we should each be free to develop our own talents and not be held back by manmade barriers.

722
01:06:19,000 --> 01:06:24,000
And I really love this quote, because again, right?

723
01:06:24,000 --> 01:06:30,000
Feminism is about empowering, like I said, all people and of course women in particular.

724
01:06:30,000 --> 01:06:37,000
And it's really a movement to achieve, like I mentioned before, gender equality in law and in practice.

725
01:06:37,000 --> 01:06:43,000
And we can do that by addressing oppression, so sexism, sex exploitation.

726
01:06:43,000 --> 01:06:47,000
Something else I want to bring up to you real quick is intersectional feminism.

727
01:06:47,000 --> 01:06:52,000
So that's been talked about, or that's been talked about more and more.

728
01:06:52,000 --> 01:06:58,000
And so this is about addressing the overlapping or even intersecting, right?

729
01:06:58,000 --> 01:07:03,000
Overlapping and intersecting nature of different forms of discrimination.

730
01:07:03,000 --> 01:07:07,000
So for instance, sexism, racism, classism, right?

731
01:07:07,000 --> 01:07:15,000
How do all of those come together to, you know, affect different communities of women?

732
01:07:15,000 --> 01:07:20,000
And so an example would be, you know, I'm a black woman, right?

733
01:07:20,000 --> 01:07:26,000
And I have some really good friends who are white women.

734
01:07:26,000 --> 01:07:32,000
And so there are certain experiences that we all share, regardless of our race.

735
01:07:32,000 --> 01:07:35,000
There are certain experiences such as sexism, right?

736
01:07:35,000 --> 01:07:37,000
In different forms of oppression.

737
01:07:37,000 --> 01:07:42,000
However, we still are having different experiences because me as a black woman,

738
01:07:42,000 --> 01:07:48,000
I'm dealing with or I'm having experiences that aren't different from my white female friends.

739
01:07:48,000 --> 01:07:53,000
I check in with them, I talk with them, and we're having different experiences, you know?

740
01:07:53,000 --> 01:07:59,000
So for instance, I was thinking of, you know, the stereotype that black women are strong, right?

741
01:07:59,000 --> 01:08:04,000
There's a stereotype that exists about our strength.

742
01:08:04,000 --> 01:08:09,000
So we're strong, we're brave, we're courageous, you know, I hear all of that.

743
01:08:09,000 --> 01:08:12,000
Sure, you know, but we have to be strong, right?

744
01:08:12,000 --> 01:08:16,000
It's like we don't, a lot of times we don't have a choice.

745
01:08:16,000 --> 01:08:20,000
It's like we kind of have to speak up for ourselves.

746
01:08:20,000 --> 01:08:25,000
We have to, you know, fight against injustice.

747
01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:28,000
If we don't do it, then who's going to do it for us, right?

748
01:08:28,000 --> 01:08:30,000
So we have to do that.

749
01:08:30,000 --> 01:08:36,000
And so then, you know, for white women, there's some other stereotypes associated with them,

750
01:08:36,000 --> 01:08:41,000
such as, you know, white women being soft, being feminine, being gentle, needing compassion.

751
01:08:41,000 --> 01:08:45,000
Like we don't always hear that when it comes to black women.

752
01:08:45,000 --> 01:08:49,000
That doesn't mean it's necessarily true, but I'm kind of just going on different stereotypes, right?

753
01:08:49,000 --> 01:08:59,000
And so if I continue with this example, right, I've been in situations where I have been discriminated against by white women.

754
01:08:59,000 --> 01:09:09,000
And if I bring up my feelings associated with that to, you know, maybe to this particular white woman,

755
01:09:09,000 --> 01:09:13,000
she may start crying and now everyone's focused on her tears.

756
01:09:13,000 --> 01:09:19,000
And no one's focused on my pain, right, my pain in that particular moment.

757
01:09:19,000 --> 01:09:26,000
And so these, I'm just trying to give some examples, right, of how, yes, there are certain experiences

758
01:09:26,000 --> 01:09:33,000
that are going to be similar between, let's say, myself as a black woman and other white women, like my white friends.

759
01:09:33,000 --> 01:09:36,000
But we are also having different experiences.

760
01:09:36,000 --> 01:09:48,000
And so intersectional feminism takes that into account and it kind of speaks to how, yes, with feminism, you know,

761
01:09:48,000 --> 01:09:57,000
I knew that there's so many, me and I, we kind of touched on this a little bit earlier,

762
01:09:57,000 --> 01:10:02,000
but I know that there's different feelings surrounding that, you know, that some men might have.

763
01:10:02,000 --> 01:10:12,000
But, you know, some of what white women might be fighting for might be different than what black women are fighting for, right?

764
01:10:12,000 --> 01:10:14,000
Right, right.

765
01:10:14,000 --> 01:10:21,000
So thinking about like being independent, right, being, so black women, for instance, for the most part,

766
01:10:21,000 --> 01:10:29,000
have needed to be independent, right, and highly self-sufficient.

767
01:10:29,000 --> 01:10:30,000
Yes.

768
01:10:30,000 --> 01:10:32,000
Because of systemic racism.

769
01:10:32,000 --> 01:10:34,000
And that says nothing about our black men.

770
01:10:34,000 --> 01:10:38,000
Our black men are absolutely amazing and absolutely wonderful.

771
01:10:38,000 --> 01:10:42,000
But systemic racism affects black men and black women in really unique ways.

772
01:10:42,000 --> 01:10:50,000
And so black women, for the most part, have had to work, you know, and have had to, you know, really,

773
01:10:50,000 --> 01:10:57,000
and even for the ones who haven't had to work, like we're still dealing with systemic racism.

774
01:10:57,000 --> 01:11:04,000
Whereas, so, you know, there's, I feel like there's so much I can say regarding this, but I'll try to kind of wrap it up.

775
01:11:04,000 --> 01:11:15,000
But, you know, I know that, I guess my bottom line here is that different or diverse communities of women are,

776
01:11:15,000 --> 01:11:29,000
have diverse needs and when it comes to feminism are pushing for, you know, are pushing to be seen and heard in a lot of different ways, right?

777
01:11:29,000 --> 01:11:41,000
So while there are certain truths that, you know, women in general are dealing with, there's still a lot of diversity.

778
01:11:41,000 --> 01:11:48,000
And, you know, in terms of what we, like what our experiences are and what we're fighting for.

779
01:11:48,000 --> 01:11:54,000
And so it is important for us to take intersectional feminism into account.

780
01:11:54,000 --> 01:12:04,000
I'm glad that you touched on intersectional feminism because it challenges that perspective that I know a lot of black men have.

781
01:12:04,000 --> 01:12:11,000
And I even had it, you know, in my 20s that, you know, feminism is a white woman issue.

782
01:12:11,000 --> 01:12:18,000
And, you know, we didn't exactly view it as a cause that black women in particular should be taking up.

783
01:12:18,000 --> 01:12:23,000
But, you know, what you said about intersectional feminism, it does challenge that notion.

784
01:12:23,000 --> 01:12:32,000
So I'm glad that you talked about that a bit because I feel like it will help enlighten that perspective of feminism as a whole

785
01:12:32,000 --> 01:12:37,000
to a lot of people who don't fully appreciate what it all encompasses.

786
01:12:37,000 --> 01:12:40,000
So I'm glad that you mentioned that.

787
01:12:40,000 --> 01:12:42,000
Can I bring something up to you real quick?

788
01:12:42,000 --> 01:12:43,000
Go right ahead.

789
01:12:43,000 --> 01:12:46,000
Maybe you've heard about it. It's been going on online.

790
01:12:46,000 --> 01:12:55,000
So you're right. There have been some interesting conversations I've been a part of where, and again, this is not all black men, right?

791
01:12:55,000 --> 01:13:01,000
But there have been black men who have talked about, have you heard of like passport rose?

792
01:13:01,000 --> 01:13:03,000
I don't know all the details surrounding it.

793
01:13:03,000 --> 01:13:05,000
What is it?

794
01:13:05,000 --> 01:13:13,000
It's apparently this community called Passport Bros. Have you heard of this? This is like online.

795
01:13:13,000 --> 01:13:18,000
Vaguely I've heard of Passport Bros. But enlighten me. What is it?

796
01:13:18,000 --> 01:13:20,000
Yeah. Well, you know what? I'm learning too.

797
01:13:20,000 --> 01:13:30,000
So I've been hearing about it more recently online. It sounds like this has been kind of a community that's been growing.

798
01:13:30,000 --> 01:13:35,000
But basically it seems like there's this growing community of men.

799
01:13:35,000 --> 01:13:38,000
And I think this is how they're referring to themselves.

800
01:13:38,000 --> 01:13:45,000
Passport Bros. And just like you, I vaguely heard about it, but I'm hearing about it more and more the more I'm online.

801
01:13:45,000 --> 01:13:53,000
And basically it's a group of men who are saying that feminism is the problem and feminism is what's ruining the black family.

802
01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:55,000
Like this is what I'm hearing.

803
01:13:55,000 --> 01:14:01,000
And I'm hearing this straight from the men's mouths who are a part of this community.

804
01:14:01,000 --> 01:14:10,000
And again, I'm just going off what I'm literally hearing when I'm attending different like discussions that are occurring online.

805
01:14:10,000 --> 01:14:19,000
But what's interesting is at the same time these, you know, a number of these men, what's happening is they're using their passports and they're going overseas.

806
01:14:19,000 --> 01:14:33,000
They're going to countries like the Dominican Republic, for instance, and they are engaging in what many are saying looks like sex tourism and even sex exploitation.

807
01:14:33,000 --> 01:14:36,000
And that doesn't mean that's what all the men are doing.

808
01:14:36,000 --> 01:14:51,000
There are men who are apparently going over to other countries to marry a woman from overseas because they're saying that women here in America are into feminism and they don't want any part of that.

809
01:14:51,000 --> 01:14:55,000
And so I find it all to be problematic in general, you know.

810
01:14:55,000 --> 01:14:57,000
And again, this isn't all men.

811
01:14:57,000 --> 01:15:04,000
This is not, you know, this is like a group of men and I'm a growing group of men.

812
01:15:04,000 --> 01:15:09,000
And it seems to be a trend what's happening and I'm kind of reading about it a little bit more.

813
01:15:09,000 --> 01:15:31,000
But I do find this problematic because on the one hand, you know, we have this group of men who are complaining about feminism here in America but are going overseas and engaging in behaviors that I think are questionable when it comes to the women in some of these other countries.

814
01:15:31,000 --> 01:15:36,000
And I think this might be coming out of not fully understanding them.

815
01:15:36,000 --> 01:15:42,000
And I don't know what's really going on and I don't want to, I don't think I want to speak beyond what I currently know.

816
01:15:42,000 --> 01:15:44,000
But this is what I currently know.

817
01:15:44,000 --> 01:15:47,000
Apparently there have been some, I think, some articles written about it too.

818
01:15:47,000 --> 01:15:48,000
Right.

819
01:15:48,000 --> 01:15:57,000
No, I'm giggling a bit because I'm listening to you but I'm also Googling passport bros as well just to get an understanding.

820
01:15:57,000 --> 01:16:10,000
I'm like I said I was vaguely familiar with this terminology but what I have here is that the passport bros are men who have chosen to seek out foreign women, typically from other countries for relationships.

821
01:16:10,000 --> 01:16:19,000
They believe that Western women have been influenced by cultural and societal pressures to behave a certain way.

822
01:16:19,000 --> 01:16:28,000
And so that spurs them seeking out foreign women. It doesn't necessarily say for sex. I know that that goes on too.

823
01:16:28,000 --> 01:16:33,000
I think that's a whole separate issue, the exploitation of foreign women.

824
01:16:33,000 --> 01:16:42,000
But yeah, but from this definition that I'm, and it may be a limited definition, I'll definitely do some more research on it, but it tends to be more of a school of thought that hey,

825
01:16:42,000 --> 01:16:59,000
there's a issue with Westernized women in terms of, you know, feminism type thing and not really being in line with the traditional role of a woman in a relationship.

826
01:16:59,000 --> 01:17:03,000
So I think it's more along those lines and less so about sex.

827
01:17:03,000 --> 01:17:13,000
But I'm actually glad that you brought this up because this would be a great conversation to have with some friends of mine who I think may fall into this category.

828
01:17:13,000 --> 01:17:31,000
You know, truthfully, even I share some of that sentiment that Westernized women are a little bit more difficult to court, so to speak, and not placing all Western women in a box.

829
01:17:31,000 --> 01:17:37,000
But certainly a lot of men share that school of thought.

830
01:17:37,000 --> 01:17:46,000
So I think that's a perfect topic for your next web series. I'd actually like to be a part of that.

831
01:17:46,000 --> 01:17:57,000
That's actually a really good topic of discussion because it's because I'm kind of scared talking to you about it because it's just one of those topics that, you know, oh my God, I don't want to fall out.

832
01:17:57,000 --> 01:18:01,000
I don't want to have a difficult conversation, but this is stuff that we need to talk about.

833
01:18:01,000 --> 01:18:10,000
It needs to be talked about. Seriously. I think we both need to do some independent research on it, get more knowledgeable about it, and highlight it.

834
01:18:10,000 --> 01:18:15,000
I think it's a perfect topic for a web series. So I'm actually glad you brought it up.

835
01:18:15,000 --> 01:18:21,000
Perfect. And one last thing I want to say just really, really quickly is, you know, and because I want to make it clear to the audience,

836
01:18:21,000 --> 01:18:28,000
this particular community of men is something that I am still learning about myself.

837
01:18:28,000 --> 01:18:35,000
So when I brought up like sex tourism, for example, or sex exploitation, do I think that there may be men who are engaged in that?

838
01:18:35,000 --> 01:18:45,000
Yes, because I don't know 100% sure, but that is the conversation. That's one of the conversations and one of the more critical conversations surrounding this.

839
01:18:45,000 --> 01:18:51,000
But yes, there are all men who are part of that community may not be doing that. I would bring that up.

840
01:18:51,000 --> 01:18:52,000
Absolutely.

841
01:18:52,000 --> 01:18:57,000
That's a critical conversation that's occurring, but I don't want, but I want to make it very clear.

842
01:18:57,000 --> 01:19:06,000
I'm not saying that all the men who are part of that community are even engaging in that because that is highly problematic.

843
01:19:06,000 --> 01:19:13,000
But what I, another really problematic conversation surrounding it is who makes up that group?

844
01:19:13,000 --> 01:19:20,000
And a lot of the stereotypes about women that are associated with that, and black women in particular.

845
01:19:20,000 --> 01:19:32,000
So there are men from that community who are making really, well, really problematic remarks about black women and really grouping black women together

846
01:19:32,000 --> 01:19:44,000
and saying things that just aren't true about all black women as an excuse to, as their excuse to go overseas as really putting black women down at the same time.

847
01:19:44,000 --> 01:19:53,000
And so that was one of the reasons I kind of wanted to bring that up as we were talking about intersectional feminism because, you know, as black women,

848
01:19:53,000 --> 01:20:08,000
I think, you know, we want our black men, right, to support us and whether online or offline and so to be hearing, you know, some of our own men.

849
01:20:08,000 --> 01:20:22,000
And it's not all, of course not, you know, but hearing some of our own men make really, you know, horrible remarks about us and not really understanding our role in feminism is hard to hear.

850
01:20:22,000 --> 01:20:28,000
I agree. It's time to have the conversation because I do see a great divide coming in that area.

851
01:20:28,000 --> 01:20:38,000
If we don't sit down and have these difficult conversations and enlightening conversations on topics like this, it's just going to further divide the community.

852
01:20:38,000 --> 01:20:49,000
So I am a big proponent of talking more about this. So glad you brought this up because this, like I said, is a worthy conversation.

853
01:20:49,000 --> 01:20:58,000
Dr. Harvin, this has been a blast. I know we've gone over. I don't want to continue on too much and take advantage of the kindness of my engineer,

854
01:20:58,000 --> 01:21:10,000
but I appreciate him extending our time a bit. And I really have enjoyed this conversation. I do hope that we reconvene on some level, whether it's on your web series or perhaps another segment here on this show.

855
01:21:10,000 --> 01:21:21,000
This has been an absolute blast. I thank you so much for your time today. And again, happy Women's History Month to you. And I look forward to connecting with you soon.

856
01:21:21,000 --> 01:21:30,000
Thank you so much. I appreciate you having me on the show. And if anyone wants to connect with me, be sure to connect with me on Instagram.

857
01:21:30,000 --> 01:21:49,000
My handle is at Dr. so D-R-period-A-L-E-T-H-A-H-A-R-B-E-N. So that's at Dr. Harvin. And then my email is AlethaHarvin at gmail.com and my website is alethaharvin.com.

858
01:21:49,000 --> 01:22:05,000
And Dr. Harvin's book is again, Careers in Child and Adolescent Development, and it's available now on Amazon. Also be sure to check out her web series on YouTube. And like she said, follow her on Instagram. She has a wonderful Instagram page with a lot of great content.

859
01:22:05,000 --> 01:22:23,000
And you can check our show's web page for more information. So thank you again. That's our show for tonight, folks. Be sure to tune in for our next episode, which airs live on Wednesday, April 26th at 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on the Artist First Radio Network. Good night, everybody.

860
01:22:35,000 --> 01:22:56,000
Bye.

