April 28, 2023 • 21 mins
Today's guest is Leon Ford, an award-winning entrepreneur, community organizer, and activist. Leon joins host Ramses Ja to discuss his book " An Unspeakable Hope" which outlines the tragic police encounter that left him paralyzed. From this incident, Leon has devoted his life to the betterment of his community and ending police brutality.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tragically shot five times by a police officer during a
racially charged traffic stop in twenty twelve. While leon Ford
was thankful to still have his life due to the
egregious violence perpetuated upon him by those who had been
designated to protect, he was left physically paralyzed. Remarkable with
his resilience in both overcoming the bullets as well as
(00:23):
the new hurdles that being on the receiving end of
severe police brutality created. Leon Ford has overcome the odds
stacked against him and has become an influential figure in
the social justice and mental health activist and advocacy realms
with purpose and perseverance, inspiring others through speaking engagements, mentorship,
(00:45):
and fostering open dialogue.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
A member of.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
The Aspen Institute's inaugural Civil Society Fellowship, leon Ford is
committed to positively impacting his community and devoted to nurturing
the next generation of leaders and active vists. The twenty
seventeen recipient of President Obama's Volunteer Service Award featured on
notable Who's Who's List, including the Route one hundred, Pittsburgh's
(01:10):
forty Under forty, as well as Forbes thirty under thirty.
Leon Ford is the co founder of the Leon Ford
Legacy Fund and holds board positions with multiple organizations. In
addition to his activism, Ford has authored valuable resources for
overcoming adversity. I'm Promoting well Being, including I'm Told Testimony
(01:30):
and Guide to Overcoming Adversity, The Leon Self Care Handbook
From Surviving to Thriving, and his newly released memoir An
Unspeakable Hope, Brutality, Forgiveness and Building a Better Future for
My Son. A change maker dedicated to driving positive change
in his community and beyond. Here to introduce his new book,
(01:50):
Unspeakable Hope to share more about the innovative community work
he is leading, as well as to discuss the power
of resilience, purpose and positivity, and the importance of developing
I'm pouring into our next generation of leaders. We have
the Lae shooting survivor, celebrated author, social entrepreneur, and activist,
mister Leon Ford, Maggie Bowen and this is the Black
(02:15):
Information Network Daily Podcast with your host ramses Jaw.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
All Right, mister Leon Ford, welcome to the show man.
How you doing.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I'm well man, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Of course, man, we got a lot to talk about today,
Let's get to it. So I would like for you
to share a bit about yourself for our listeners, you know,
sort of your upbringing and what led you to the
career path that you're on now.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Absolutely so. I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I grew up, you know,
around a lot of love, but also a lot of
dysfunction that I had to navigate. I was an athlete,
I loved boxing, I love cars, And you know what
brought me here today was really me being shot by
(03:05):
a police officer and how my upbringing connected to me
being shot kind of served as a springboard for me
to become an activist and entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Okay, and I know that that kind of led you
to kind of what we're talking about today, your book.
So tell tell us a bit about your book, Unspeakable Hope, Brutality, forgiveness,
and building a better future for my son. Tell us
a bit about that turning point and sort of what
prompted for this book to come to life.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
A lot of times when people think of my story,
it starts when I was shot, and I wanted to
share more about my upbringing, more about you know, how
I evolved into the man that I am today. There's
two big questions that people usually have for me. One
is why did you pull off the night that you
(03:59):
are shot? The second one is how did you forgive?
And I wanted to answer those questions but also create,
you know, a framework for healing injustice?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Is that? Is that sort of what you're hoping readers
will take away from the book?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Okay, So obviously you're you're speaking on going through some
very traumatic experiences, one in particular. I'm sure that this
is outlined in the book, but let's give our listeners
kind of a sneak peek. What was it that kind
of motivated you in your darkest hour? If you will.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
One thing that motivated me in my darkest hour was love?
And love is complicated, right. It's like, I remember when
I woke up in the hospital after being shot, I read,
you know, the comments on of the news sites here,
you know, in Pittsburgh, and these were the most racist
(05:07):
comments that you know, I you know, read about me
and about my family. And so it caused a lot
of hatred, caused a lot of anger and frustration, not
only toward police, but toward white people. And you know,
I told myself, I not only hate all police officers,
but I hate all white people general. Until you know,
(05:31):
my doctors and my nurses, they were so good to me.
They looked out to me for me so much, and
and I told myself, I hate all white people but them.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
And so it was it was a subtle, you know,
exposure to love, you know, love from family, love from community. Uh,
there were you know, the Quakers. You know, the Quakers
were a group that really linked in and helped advocate
for me. They were like my first allies and the Quakers,
(06:07):
you know, in Pittsburgh, it's like a predominantly white group,
but they were really really supportive in my work.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
And so you know, those.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
Experiences that love, that that support, that encouragement really inspired
me in my darkest hour.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Okay, now, without giving too much away, let's take our
listeners back to that incident where you were shot, so
that we kind of understand what was going on in
your life and in your world at that time. So, yeah,
(06:46):
talk us through, without giving too much way again, talk
us through what led to that and how how that
came about.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Yeah, I was actually hitded to my grandmother's house Sunday,
you know, Sunday dinner. That was really looking forward to
spending time with my family. When I was stopped by
these police officers and I provided my driver's license, registration,
car insurance, they ran my name instead of write me
(07:13):
a ticket. You know, they told me that I was
lying about my identity. They told me I was not
Leon Forward instead I was Lamont Ford.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
And these you know.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Officers questioned me on the side of the road for
you know, upwards like twenty twenty five minutes, threatened me,
you know, use several racial slurs, and you know, it
got to a point where they want hands on to
try to pull me out of the vehicle, and I panicked,
you know, I was afraid and decided to drive off.
(07:46):
And when I did that, one of the officers who
was on the passenger side, actually jumped inside of my
vehicle and shot me five times point blank range. So
I was shot once in my neck, two times in
my chest, once in my arm, and once in my hip.
One of the bullets that went through my chest is
the bullet that actually paralyzed me.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Yeah, now.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That's a lot to the process, but I appreciate you
sharing that.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Now.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Since then, obviously you've made major inroads, not just in
terms of your social activism, but in several different arenas.
One of those accomplishments is executive producing the twenty nineteen
(08:42):
can Film Festival Award winning documentary Leon and Breaking Bread,
a Conversation on Race in America, which won at the
twenty twenty one Shorty Awards. So tell us about these
films and how they came to be and if folks
wanted to check those out, what they could expect.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
So Leon is a very interesting film because it was
supposed to be a short film about a police brutality
survivor who ran for city council and won. The issue was,
in the midst of running for city council, I was
having a mental breakdown and so while you know, in
(09:23):
the community, I was seen as a hero. You know,
so many people missed the fact that I needed to
focus on my healing.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And so I literally.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Told my friend who was directed the short film, I
need to see a therapist, and you know, I scheduled
an appointment, and you know, selfishly, he was like, bro,
can I feel it? And so he actually filmed my
first ever session with my therapist, and you know, they
(10:01):
had no idea I was going to have like these
breakthroughs on camera, and one of the breakthroughs was that
I wasn't going to run for.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
A city council. Wow.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
And so this short fan that was supposed to be
about this race for city council ended up being a
fan about mental health and about the significance of choosing you.
And that was in that moment I decided to choose myself,
and I ended up being the catalyst for my growth
and evolution as a leader. My mindset back then, Uh,
(10:36):
it was it was more was I was broken and
I was trying. I'm very I could be very charismatic
at times and look put together right, but I was
just struggling internally. Long Hill has a quote she says,
We're taught to protect our outer man while our inner
man is dying. And my inner man was was definitely
(10:57):
dying at that time. And so I'm grateful for that
moment and to have leaned into therapy which completely changed
my life. Breaking Bread was a conversation between you know
a few different leaders who come from different backgrounds.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Right.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
You had you know, a black Republican, you have you know,
an activist, you Alexemberman, you had a white woman, you know,
whose husband was a police officer and he was murdered
a few years you know before this was you know, shot,
and so when we sat down, we had no idea
(11:36):
you know, who had what stories, and we just you know,
broke bread and had meaningful discussions and dialogue about what
was going on in our country. And what we realized
is that we had so much more in common than
we thought.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
It was a really powerful discussion.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Okay, we are here today with police shootings survivor, celebrated author,
social entrepreneur, and activist mister Leon Ford, learning more about
the innovative community work he is leading and his new
memoir Unspeakable Hope, as well as discussing the power of
resilience and the importance of developing and pouring into our
(12:18):
next generation of leaders.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I want to make sure that we mentioned these again.
So one is called Leon and the other one is
called Breaking Bread, A conversation on race in America. I
definitely want to before we let you go, I want
to make sure that we get some sort of connective
tissue to connect our our listeners with those films. But
(12:43):
that's not the only thing you've been up to. You've
also been working with police officers on cultural competency as
well as legislators in drafting policies to modify the use
of force laws. So talk to us about your progress
with those efforts so far, and maybe even what else
needs to be done on what you might be looking
forward to doing in the future.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
As a result of going to therapy, I found myself
in a space where I could lean into these relationships
with law enforcement. And you know, before leaning into those relationships,
I thought I had to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I thought, you know, I knew, you.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Know, how to reform policing based on my lived experience.
But what I've learned is that there are many things
that police officers want to change about policing that helps
both police officers you know, and community. And so, you know,
(13:41):
as far as policy, you know that we haven't quite
changed anything, but we're getting a conversation started. And it's
interesting because the conversations five years ago, when it was
me and a bunch of activists and the legislators together,
it's much different than having police officers around our table,
(14:05):
as well having Democrats and Republicans, you know, who are
equally invested in police reforming. I really credit meaningful relation,
relationship building that kind of served as the catalyst to
bring all these different stakeholders together. The other thing is
(14:29):
my you know foundation launched a Here Foundation, and we
have a very diverse board. We have federal judges on
the board, we have you know, people who are formally
incarcerated activists, and you know, collectively we are working together
to change policing in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Now, you mentioned a little bit about the Here Foundation,
tell us a bit about the movement Starts with us.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Starts with us?
Speaker 4 (15:00):
US starts with us is you know, basically a movement
with several different founding members who are focused on changing
the narrative here in America. Uh, there's a lot of
polarity going on, a lot of divisiveness, and we're saying
change starts with us. So we're challenging you know, the
(15:21):
US versus them rhetoric where you know, we condemned people.
We're saying, let's lean into these relationships, let's have meaningful
dialogue and really, you know, be the change that we
want to see.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I like that, So speaking in which here's a question
that I have to ask before we let you go.
Why is pouring into our future leaders and organizers and
social entrepreneurs. Ah, why is that of critical importance?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Yeah, so this goes back to the title my book, right,
build it in a better future for my son. Someone
asks me, you know, how am I preparing my son
for the world. And my respond to that, as I
reflected on how my parents preparing me for the world,
(16:18):
I said that I'm not only preparing my son for
the world and preparing the world for my son. So
it's twofold, right. I think it's important for us to
you know, pour into our youth, pour into our leaders,
you know, continue as leaders ourselves, continue to seek leadership,
you know, development, and continue to grow and evolve and
(16:40):
challenge ourselves. But it's also equally important to create an
environment in which we can thrive. One of my favorite
quotes is when the flower doesn't bloom, you fix the
environment in which it grows, not the flower. And so,
you know, it's important to nurture and you know, one
of those individual flowers, but you know, it's equally important
(17:01):
to curate an environment for those flowbers to thrive. And so,
you know, as we grow, as you know, as a community,
as a country, you know, as a world, I think
it's important for us to cultivate those leaders who are mindful,
who are thoughtful, who are strategic, who are compassionate, loving
(17:21):
and caring, so that we can solve many of our issues.
You know, some issues connected to social justice, others connected
to the environment and climate change. All these things are
really important.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I love that, all right. So obviously there's a lot
going on in your world and being such an inspiration
and confident that a lot of our listeners will want
to explore all of these goings on and support you.
So let's talk about that before we say goodbye. Tell
(17:57):
us about again your films, Let's plug those. Of course,
we need to hear about the book and where people
can go to find it. Anything else that you're working
on that people can support. How to get a dollar
from folks, pockets, into your pockets, social media, you name it.
Let's make sure that we get folks what they need
to plug in.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Yeah, thanks a lot for you know, to find me
on social media at Leon Ford Speaks on Instagram and Twitter,
Leon Ford on Facebook and LinkedIn. My website is leonford
speaks dot com similar to my Instagram and if you
want to check out the Here Foundation, Here Foundation dot
(18:39):
com is the work that I'm doing with police officers
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Right well, I would like to thank you very much,
not only for coming on the show today, but for
all the work that you do. As I mentioned, you're
an inspiring person and that's what we like around here.
So please come back anytime you have anything else going on.
Let's talk about lists. Let the people know. Once again,
ladies and gentlemen, today's guest is coach, police shooting survivor,
(19:06):
celebrated author, social entrepreneur and activist mister Leon Ford.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Thanks brother, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I am Maggie Bowen and today I'll leave you with this,
a truly timeless testimony and one that demonstrates great success
found after navigating some tumultuous and uncertain times, showcasing what's
possible when resilience and restoration overcome trauma, hardship or fear.
(19:38):
Leon Ford is someone who has truly turned his pain
into perseverance and trials to triumphs. A living example of
a sacred words no weapon formed against Michelle Prosper, crossing
invisible lines and building bridges with those who once designated
him as an enemy and an individual to be dreaded
(19:59):
Leon Ford. He has successfully transformed his personal challenges into purpose,
heart and by his conviction, dedication, determination, and extraordinary commitment
to community.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
May we leave.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Today's conversation inspired, encouraged, and motivated to overcome. With exercise, resilience,
a positive mind, and constructive action, pain can be turned
into purpose, and trials can be turned into triumphs. With
that gratefully acknowledged, let us move accordingly. This has been
(20:34):
a production of the Black Information Network. Today's show is
produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like to share,
use the red microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
We'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download
all of our episodes. Find your daily podcast host at
Ramsey's Jaw on all social media. We look forward to
her joining us tomorrow as we share our news with
our voice from our perspective right here on the Black
Information Network Daily Podcast
Tragically shot five times by a police officer during a
racially charged traffic stop in twenty twelve. While leon Ford
was thankful to still have his life due to the
egregious violence perpetuated upon him by those who had been
designated to protect, he was left physically paralyzed. Remarkable with
his resilience in both overcoming the bullets as well as
(00:23):
the new hurdles that being on the receiving end of
severe police brutality created. Leon Ford has overcome the odds
stacked against him and has become an influential figure in
the social justice and mental health activist and advocacy realms
with purpose and perseverance, inspiring others through speaking engagements, mentorship,
(00:45):
and fostering open dialogue.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
A member of.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
The Aspen Institute's inaugural Civil Society Fellowship, leon Ford is
committed to positively impacting his community and devoted to nurturing
the next generation of leaders and active vists. The twenty
seventeen recipient of President Obama's Volunteer Service Award featured on
notable Who's Who's List, including the Route one hundred, Pittsburgh's
(01:10):
forty Under forty, as well as Forbes thirty under thirty.
Leon Ford is the co founder of the Leon Ford
Legacy Fund and holds board positions with multiple organizations. In
addition to his activism, Ford has authored valuable resources for
overcoming adversity. I'm Promoting well Being, including I'm Told Testimony
(01:30):
and Guide to Overcoming Adversity, The Leon Self Care Handbook
From Surviving to Thriving, and his newly released memoir An
Unspeakable Hope, Brutality, Forgiveness and Building a Better Future for
My Son. A change maker dedicated to driving positive change
in his community and beyond. Here to introduce his new book,
(01:50):
Unspeakable Hope to share more about the innovative community work
he is leading, as well as to discuss the power
of resilience, purpose and positivity, and the importance of developing
I'm pouring into our next generation of leaders. We have
the Lae shooting survivor, celebrated author, social entrepreneur, and activist,
mister Leon Ford, Maggie Bowen and this is the Black
(02:15):
Information Network Daily Podcast with your host ramses Jaw.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
All Right, mister Leon Ford, welcome to the show man.
How you doing.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
I'm well man, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Of course, man, we got a lot to talk about today,
Let's get to it. So I would like for you
to share a bit about yourself for our listeners, you know,
sort of your upbringing and what led you to the
career path that you're on now.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Absolutely so. I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I grew up, you know,
around a lot of love, but also a lot of
dysfunction that I had to navigate. I was an athlete,
I loved boxing, I love cars, And you know what
brought me here today was really me being shot by
(03:05):
a police officer and how my upbringing connected to me
being shot kind of served as a springboard for me
to become an activist and entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Okay, and I know that that kind of led you
to kind of what we're talking about today, your book.
So tell tell us a bit about your book, Unspeakable Hope, Brutality, forgiveness,
and building a better future for my son. Tell us
a bit about that turning point and sort of what
prompted for this book to come to life.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
A lot of times when people think of my story,
it starts when I was shot, and I wanted to
share more about my upbringing, more about you know, how
I evolved into the man that I am today. There's
two big questions that people usually have for me. One
is why did you pull off the night that you
(03:59):
are shot? The second one is how did you forgive?
And I wanted to answer those questions but also create,
you know, a framework for healing injustice?
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Is that? Is that sort of what you're hoping readers
will take away from the book?
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Absolutely?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Okay, So obviously you're you're speaking on going through some
very traumatic experiences, one in particular. I'm sure that this
is outlined in the book, but let's give our listeners
kind of a sneak peek. What was it that kind
of motivated you in your darkest hour? If you will.
Speaker 4 (04:44):
One thing that motivated me in my darkest hour was love?
And love is complicated, right. It's like, I remember when
I woke up in the hospital after being shot, I read,
you know, the comments on of the news sites here,
you know, in Pittsburgh, and these were the most racist
(05:07):
comments that you know, I you know, read about me
and about my family. And so it caused a lot
of hatred, caused a lot of anger and frustration, not
only toward police, but toward white people. And you know,
I told myself, I not only hate all police officers,
but I hate all white people general. Until you know,
(05:31):
my doctors and my nurses, they were so good to me.
They looked out to me for me so much, and
and I told myself, I hate all white people but them.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
And so it was it was a subtle, you know,
exposure to love, you know, love from family, love from community. Uh,
there were you know, the Quakers. You know, the Quakers
were a group that really linked in and helped advocate
for me. They were like my first allies and the Quakers,
(06:07):
you know, in Pittsburgh, it's like a predominantly white group,
but they were really really supportive in my work.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
And so you know, those.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
Experiences that love, that that support, that encouragement really inspired
me in my darkest hour.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Okay, now, without giving too much away, let's take our
listeners back to that incident where you were shot, so
that we kind of understand what was going on in
your life and in your world at that time. So, yeah,
(06:46):
talk us through, without giving too much way again, talk
us through what led to that and how how that
came about.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Yeah, I was actually hitded to my grandmother's house Sunday,
you know, Sunday dinner. That was really looking forward to
spending time with my family. When I was stopped by
these police officers and I provided my driver's license, registration,
car insurance, they ran my name instead of write me
(07:13):
a ticket. You know, they told me that I was
lying about my identity. They told me I was not
Leon Forward instead I was Lamont Ford.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
And these you know.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
Officers questioned me on the side of the road for
you know, upwards like twenty twenty five minutes, threatened me,
you know, use several racial slurs, and you know, it
got to a point where they want hands on to
try to pull me out of the vehicle, and I panicked,
you know, I was afraid and decided to drive off.
(07:46):
And when I did that, one of the officers who
was on the passenger side, actually jumped inside of my
vehicle and shot me five times point blank range. So
I was shot once in my neck, two times in
my chest, once in my arm, and once in my hip.
One of the bullets that went through my chest is
the bullet that actually paralyzed me.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Yeah, now.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
That's a lot to the process, but I appreciate you
sharing that.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Now.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Since then, obviously you've made major inroads, not just in
terms of your social activism, but in several different arenas.
One of those accomplishments is executive producing the twenty nineteen
(08:42):
can Film Festival Award winning documentary Leon and Breaking Bread,
a Conversation on Race in America, which won at the
twenty twenty one Shorty Awards. So tell us about these
films and how they came to be and if folks
wanted to check those out, what they could expect.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
So Leon is a very interesting film because it was
supposed to be a short film about a police brutality
survivor who ran for city council and won. The issue was,
in the midst of running for city council, I was
having a mental breakdown and so while you know, in
(09:23):
the community, I was seen as a hero. You know,
so many people missed the fact that I needed to
focus on my healing.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
And so I literally.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
Told my friend who was directed the short film, I
need to see a therapist, and you know, I scheduled
an appointment, and you know, selfishly, he was like, bro,
can I feel it? And so he actually filmed my
first ever session with my therapist, and you know, they
(10:01):
had no idea I was going to have like these
breakthroughs on camera, and one of the breakthroughs was that
I wasn't going to run for.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
A city council. Wow.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
And so this short fan that was supposed to be
about this race for city council ended up being a
fan about mental health and about the significance of choosing you.
And that was in that moment I decided to choose myself,
and I ended up being the catalyst for my growth
and evolution as a leader. My mindset back then, Uh,
(10:36):
it was it was more was I was broken and
I was trying. I'm very I could be very charismatic
at times and look put together right, but I was
just struggling internally. Long Hill has a quote she says,
We're taught to protect our outer man while our inner
man is dying. And my inner man was was definitely
(10:57):
dying at that time. And so I'm grateful for that
moment and to have leaned into therapy which completely changed
my life. Breaking Bread was a conversation between you know
a few different leaders who come from different backgrounds.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Right.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
You had you know, a black Republican, you have you know,
an activist, you Alexemberman, you had a white woman, you know,
whose husband was a police officer and he was murdered
a few years you know before this was you know, shot,
and so when we sat down, we had no idea
(11:36):
you know, who had what stories, and we just you know,
broke bread and had meaningful discussions and dialogue about what
was going on in our country. And what we realized
is that we had so much more in common than
we thought.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
It was a really powerful discussion.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Okay, we are here today with police shootings survivor, celebrated author,
social entrepreneur, and activist mister Leon Ford, learning more about
the innovative community work he is leading and his new
memoir Unspeakable Hope, as well as discussing the power of
resilience and the importance of developing and pouring into our
(12:18):
next generation of leaders.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
I want to make sure that we mentioned these again.
So one is called Leon and the other one is
called Breaking Bread, A conversation on race in America. I
definitely want to before we let you go, I want
to make sure that we get some sort of connective
tissue to connect our our listeners with those films. But
(12:43):
that's not the only thing you've been up to. You've
also been working with police officers on cultural competency as
well as legislators in drafting policies to modify the use
of force laws. So talk to us about your progress
with those efforts so far, and maybe even what else
needs to be done on what you might be looking
forward to doing in the future.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (13:05):
As a result of going to therapy, I found myself
in a space where I could lean into these relationships
with law enforcement. And you know, before leaning into those relationships,
I thought I had to figure it out.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
I thought, you know, I knew, you.
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Know, how to reform policing based on my lived experience.
But what I've learned is that there are many things
that police officers want to change about policing that helps
both police officers you know, and community. And so, you know,
(13:41):
as far as policy, you know that we haven't quite
changed anything, but we're getting a conversation started. And it's
interesting because the conversations five years ago, when it was
me and a bunch of activists and the legislators together,
it's much different than having police officers around our table,
(14:05):
as well having Democrats and Republicans, you know, who are
equally invested in police reforming. I really credit meaningful relation,
relationship building that kind of served as the catalyst to
bring all these different stakeholders together. The other thing is
(14:29):
my you know foundation launched a Here Foundation, and we
have a very diverse board. We have federal judges on
the board, we have you know, people who are formally
incarcerated activists, and you know, collectively we are working together
to change policing in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
Now, you mentioned a little bit about the Here Foundation,
tell us a bit about the movement Starts with us.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Starts with us?
Speaker 4 (15:00):
US starts with us is you know, basically a movement
with several different founding members who are focused on changing
the narrative here in America. Uh, there's a lot of
polarity going on, a lot of divisiveness, and we're saying
change starts with us. So we're challenging you know, the
(15:21):
US versus them rhetoric where you know, we condemned people.
We're saying, let's lean into these relationships, let's have meaningful
dialogue and really, you know, be the change that we
want to see.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I like that, So speaking in which here's a question
that I have to ask before we let you go.
Why is pouring into our future leaders and organizers and
social entrepreneurs. Ah, why is that of critical importance?
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Yeah, so this goes back to the title my book, right,
build it in a better future for my son. Someone
asks me, you know, how am I preparing my son
for the world. And my respond to that, as I
reflected on how my parents preparing me for the world,
(16:18):
I said that I'm not only preparing my son for
the world and preparing the world for my son. So
it's twofold, right. I think it's important for us to
you know, pour into our youth, pour into our leaders,
you know, continue as leaders ourselves, continue to seek leadership,
you know, development, and continue to grow and evolve and
(16:40):
challenge ourselves. But it's also equally important to create an
environment in which we can thrive. One of my favorite
quotes is when the flower doesn't bloom, you fix the
environment in which it grows, not the flower. And so,
you know, it's important to nurture and you know, one
of those individual flowers, but you know, it's equally important
(17:01):
to curate an environment for those flowbers to thrive. And so,
you know, as we grow, as you know, as a community,
as a country, you know, as a world, I think
it's important for us to cultivate those leaders who are mindful,
who are thoughtful, who are strategic, who are compassionate, loving
(17:21):
and caring, so that we can solve many of our issues.
You know, some issues connected to social justice, others connected
to the environment and climate change. All these things are
really important.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
I love that, all right. So obviously there's a lot
going on in your world and being such an inspiration
and confident that a lot of our listeners will want
to explore all of these goings on and support you.
So let's talk about that before we say goodbye. Tell
(17:57):
us about again your films, Let's plug those. Of course,
we need to hear about the book and where people
can go to find it. Anything else that you're working
on that people can support. How to get a dollar
from folks, pockets, into your pockets, social media, you name it.
Let's make sure that we get folks what they need
to plug in.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Yeah, thanks a lot for you know, to find me
on social media at Leon Ford Speaks on Instagram and Twitter,
Leon Ford on Facebook and LinkedIn. My website is leonford
speaks dot com similar to my Instagram and if you
want to check out the Here Foundation, Here Foundation dot
(18:39):
com is the work that I'm doing with police officers
in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 2 (18:45):
Right well, I would like to thank you very much,
not only for coming on the show today, but for
all the work that you do. As I mentioned, you're
an inspiring person and that's what we like around here.
So please come back anytime you have anything else going on.
Let's talk about lists. Let the people know. Once again,
ladies and gentlemen, today's guest is coach, police shooting survivor,
(19:06):
celebrated author, social entrepreneur and activist mister Leon Ford.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Thanks brother, I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
I am Maggie Bowen and today I'll leave you with this,
a truly timeless testimony and one that demonstrates great success
found after navigating some tumultuous and uncertain times, showcasing what's
possible when resilience and restoration overcome trauma, hardship or fear.
(19:38):
Leon Ford is someone who has truly turned his pain
into perseverance and trials to triumphs. A living example of
a sacred words no weapon formed against Michelle Prosper, crossing
invisible lines and building bridges with those who once designated
him as an enemy and an individual to be dreaded
(19:59):
Leon Ford. He has successfully transformed his personal challenges into purpose,
heart and by his conviction, dedication, determination, and extraordinary commitment
to community.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
May we leave.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Today's conversation inspired, encouraged, and motivated to overcome. With exercise, resilience,
a positive mind, and constructive action, pain can be turned
into purpose, and trials can be turned into triumphs. With
that gratefully acknowledged, let us move accordingly. This has been
(20:34):
a production of the Black Information Network. Today's show is
produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts you'd like to share,
use the red microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
We'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
While you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download
all of our episodes. Find your daily podcast host at
Ramsey's Jaw on all social media. We look forward to
her joining us tomorrow as we share our news with
our voice from our perspective right here on the Black
Information Network Daily Podcast
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