Black Perspective: November 26, 2023

This week on The Black Perspective, we talk to a Black toy retailer; Courtney B. Vance discusses mental health; Bri Wood talks to the star of a new holiday film, and Ramses Ja talks to former NFL Linebacker turned Author Brandon Siler.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's November twenty sixth, and todaywe talk to a black toy retailer.
Courtney b. Vance discusses mental health, Brewood speaks to the star of a
new holiday film, and Ramsay's Jawtalks to former NFL linebacker turned author Brandon
Siler. Those stories in War comingup. Welcome to the Black Perspective.
I'm your host, Mike Island.Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly

(00:23):
community affairs program on the Black InformationNetwork featuring interviews and discussions on issues important
to the Black community. As youshop this holiday season, black toy manufacturers
and retailers hope you will include themin your buying. As we learn in
this conversation with a black retailer fromAtlanta, Georgia, that hope is really
a need. Here's Andrea Coleman,Mike. Toys are such a huge part

(00:46):
of a child's life, especially onspecial occasions like the holidays. For Black
parents wanting gift options that positively reflecttheir child's cultural heritage, finding those items
can sometimes be difficult. Toy manufacturerslike Terry Nishell Bradley are making it easier.
However. In twenty seventeen, ToshellBradley found it the Brown Toy Box
in Atlanta, Georgia, giving theBlack community a wonderful selection of toys and

(01:08):
other products to help the children intheir lives stay entertained in a culturally affirming
way. Mister Schell Bradley joins usnow to talk more about the Brown Toy
Box and some of the popular giftideas children may enjoy this holiday season.
Miss Bradley, thank you so muchfor joining us today. Thank you for
having me so tell us more aboutthe Brown Toy Box. I just love

(01:29):
the name of that. That's justso warm and fun, right yeah.
So we started Brown Toy Box reallyas a social mission, right, Like
I know, I wanted to dosomething that would help to help Black children
see themselves positively represented in play,but then also expand their ideas of the
possibilities for their lives. And sowe started Brown Toy Box as a subscription

(01:51):
box back in twenty seventeen, andthen in twenty twenty we were able to
evolve into a kind of a fullscale toy comb company, creating our own
IP and we immediately got into Targetand we have just been off to the
races ever since. That is wonderful. So, you know, the toy
industry seems like it's quite large.How difficult has it been for you to

(02:13):
break into it as a black woman? Wow? Yeah, how long do
you have? Right? So itis a very difficult industry. It is
a very traditional industry, right,and I think while I have been welcomed
in, you know, through differentassociations and organizations and those kind of things,
you know, a lot of thetoy industry are made up of folks
that have been in it for generations, right, and so it has been

(02:36):
definitely been a challenge, particularly becauseof the type of toys that we create,
right. We do all educational toys, and so we're not creating dolls,
doing team kits and books that representdifferent steam careers and those kinds of
things, and so we're kind ofan odd duck. But it's also been
very interesting, and it's also beenkind of our unique qualifier too, because

(02:58):
of what we do, we're ableto kind of stand apart from other folks.
But really it's just a matter ofthe thing that I always say to
retailers is you've always had diverse customers, but you've never really had inclusive product
offerings, And so here's your opportunityto provide something, to have something available
to your customers who've always been shoppersbut have always had to really struggle to
find things that really represented their kids. And so now you know, Brown

(03:21):
Toy Box can create things that'll helpyou to do that. That's really good.
How many black toy manufacturers are therein the US, you know,
it's interesting, there's more and moreright now. The question is about skill,
Right, So, there's a lotof folks that are kind of social
sellers, which and by that Imean like they're creating something more kind of
like Etsy, very kind of smallbatch, or they're selling it on you

(03:43):
know, through Instagram or through socialmedia whatever, but they don't really go
into retail or anything. Those ofus that are in retail there's a much
smaller number, and certainly those ofus in educational play even smaller still.
Right So, I think during rightafter the pandemic, we saw a lot
more kind of dulls come to life, which is super important. We have
not seen a big growth in educationalplay. But you know, I think

(04:05):
the good thing about blacks and toysis I think a lot of us are
really connected and we're happy to shareand collaborate and you know, like,
hey, this is my this hasbeen my experience, and share those kind
of things. So it's been areally collaborative thing being you know, a
black woman and toys. But it'salso been a super challenging thing as well.
Yeah, lots of learning, Ican only imagine. Yeah, So

(04:27):
how important is it for black shoppersand others? Right? I mean you
don't have to be black to enjoya culturally diverse item or product, not
at all. I think it's superimportant, right, And it has been
hard to find, right, it'shard to find. We are in most
doors in Target, and then we'reon dot com and you know we sell
through Amazon those kind of things.But we think it's really important. And
it's also a two sided education thing. Like I am one of those people

(04:50):
that will go watch people shop,right and see the kind of things they
pick up and why they pick themup, or you know, what their
children are asking for and all ofthat. So I I walk the stores
all the time. But I thinkit is one of those two sided things
because even still, and I'm sureyou're familiar with the Black Dolls test,
right, and even where black childrendidn't want the black doll because they had

(05:12):
attributed all the negative characterists to theblack doll and all the positive went to
the white doll. We still seesome of that to this day, right,
And so there's that piece. Butthen it's like also getting parents to
say, hey, educational play issuper important too, right, And so
it has been a two sided educationthing for us. But when I see
parents, especially in person, andthey just kind of light up, and

(05:32):
I'm like, oh my gosh,this character reminds me of me when I
was a little girl. I wishI had this when I was a kid,
or I wish I had this whenmy kids are little. And then
I see parents that actually are buyingour stuff, and I don't know them
at all, but they're just superexcited to buy one of our steam Kids
around marine biology or astronomy or coding. That is very affirming, right,
And so it's really interesting kind ofwatching shopping behaviors and patterns for folks.

(05:58):
We center and celebrate Black children andour steam Kids and our puzzles and our
books and all of our things.But what was interesting for us was that
our second biggest customer, or WhiteMoss, which we were not expecting,
and when we survey, what wehear is, you know, I didn't
have a diverse toybox growing up.I want to make sure that my kids
do. That's a really good thingbecause we used to say that we want
to normalize black excellence, but wealso want to normalize black existence, right,

(06:23):
so we don't want white kids toonly see black children or black people
in the context of athletes or musicalartists, those kind of things. So
we're just kind of normalized. Andso here's this black astronomer, here's this
black entomologist, here's you know,and just so those kind of things,
and they all have fun when theyplay with our stuff, right, So
it's not like very preachy, itjust is what it is. Dray happens
to have a fade, and he'sthe astronomy character, you know, Maya

(06:46):
happens to have acropuffs and she's ourcoding character. Right. But in terms
of the kids, they're just playing. I love that. I love it.
Now. How do we identify yourproducts and a target on Amazon and
so forth? Yeah, so,well, first of all, we saw
through our side as well as abrown toy box dot com. Then on
Amazon you put in brown toy bockor put in steam kits, right,
so you put in steam kits orbrown toy box puzzles, brown toy box

(07:09):
books, and then all that comesup. We also have a line for
most of our steam kits and thingsare for kids five to eight. And
our puzzles are the giant, reallyfun puzzles that were elected for Oprah's Favorite
Things last year and they're just funshape. There's forty eight pieces. It's
not too hard, but they're verythick quality pieces with the carrying case.

(07:29):
But we also have a line calledCollege Builds HBCU Edition, which are replicas
of HBCUs. Right, So everythingwe do we do with a lot of
intentionality. So we've got licenses foreight different HBCUs and so the kids can
get the kit and they get tobuild. We always start with the library
on the campus, so they'll buildthe library. They've got the blueprint of

(07:49):
the whole campus, and then they'vegot like fact cards and like a like
an architect notepad and pencil and thosekind of things. So they're really trying
to help to build these kids STEMIidentities. But in a way that's just
really fun and joyful. We're actuallyin the midst of the Christmas kwansa holiday
season. Yes, what are someof the products we may want to consider
getting the children in our lives?Oh gosh, there's so many, Right,

(08:13):
It's like, which one's my favorite? Right? I love the Steam
Kids. So we always say thatwe wanted to make sure that we created
valuable products. Right, So,each of our Steam Kids there's a DIY
experiment that there are DIY activity thatthey're going to do. But then there's
multiple ways to play. So wewant to make sure that you know,
parents when they bought it, thatthere was it was value in that there's
they didn't just do one thing andthey were done with it. There's multiple

(08:35):
ways to play and to learn witheach of our kids. The College builds
I think are just so special andso dynamic, and I know that parents
really love those. The books wherethe characters for our kids are the D
D C Academy Crew. The DCmeans curious in Swahili, and say,
we're always trying to cultivate curiosity.So we have a the DC Adventure series

(08:56):
where each of the characters take theirsteams that they represent and that they're most
you know, excited about, andthey're going on these different adventures, these
live learning missions, which are supersuper fun. I think the things that
the parents really do love though,are the puzzles because they come in like
a really heavy, cleander carrying case. So I don't know, if you
you know been around kids particularly,you would get puzzles like in a box

(09:18):
the kids of stuff on the boxing, so you're left looking through like the
ziploc bags to put your pupa piecesin that kind of thing. So we
got them a really good sturdy carryingcase, really thick quality pieces and just
beautiful graphics on there, and soparents really love those for their kids.
And so we've got just some youknow, like I said, everything's been
done with great intentionality and just reallyreally good stuff. Well I'm listening to

(09:41):
you. It sounds like it's beendone with a lot of passion too.
It sounds like you're really enjoying thisspace. Yeah I do. I'm so
like, this is the thing thatgets me up in the morning, Like
I am so excited when I watchyou kids kind of open something and kind
of light up. That is likesuch a huge payoff for me because one,
you know, I really to believethat I'm working in my purpose,

(10:01):
and this is my assignment, youknow, and what I'm this work that
I'm doing. But two, justso kids can really see themselves positively represented.
And you know, people talk aboutpositive representation, you know, and
all those kinds of things, butuntil you really see it and what that
means and how that translates to akid like you can see that connection being
made when they're looking at this thing. It is the most beautiful and inspiring

(10:22):
thing. So I'm super excited aboutthat. So yeah, flight up.
Whenever I'm talking about toys and I'mtalking to kids, let me ask this
too before we hang up. Howimportant is this season for black retailers?
So it is very important for us, right, So we are we came
out of the global supply chain crisis. We came out of retailers cutting orders
from a lot of black brand ornot just black brands, but all brands

(10:43):
together. But it really impacted alot of black brands, right, and
so this holiday season is critical fora lot of us. And so my
hope is that the community will reallyrally and show up, and not just
because we're black, because we're creatingreally great quality stuff, but consider shopping
black, right, Consider supporting blackowned businesses that are creating really great,
high quality stuff and sitting the messageto retail is with their dollars that these

(11:07):
products are needed and wanted. Right. So I think it's this holiday season,
which really is most toy companies.This is our big season, right,
and so we need to have astrong holiday. I know that's right.
And again, poppers can find youonline in Target and on Amazon.
Is that correct? Yeah? Thatis absolutely ri very good, All right,
Terry, Michelle Bradley, thank youso much again for joining us on

(11:28):
the Black Information Network. Thank youso much, Thanks Andrea. The holiday
season is here and although for manythis is a time of joy and great
memories with family and friends, formany this is also a difficult time to
deal with memories of loss. It'sone of the reasons why this next author's
work is so important. Award winningactor Courtney b Vance, who is married

(11:48):
to the equally talented and beautiful AngelaBassett, has released a book called The
Invisible Ache, and he's the subjectof this week's The Color Between the Lines.
Him mister Dillard Black Information Network chattingwith writers and authors who offer an
added perspective for our listeners. Thisis the Color between the Lines on this

(12:13):
edition of The Color between the Lines. I'm talking with some talking about some
very tough subjects that include suicide.That's a warning to those who may be
listening. But some of the thingsthat we're going to talk about here may
be triggering, but definitely need tobe said. The book is called The
Invisible Ache and it's written by internationallyknown superstar and well respected actor Courtney B.

(12:35):
Vance and licensed psychologist doctor Robin Smith. Thank you both for joining me
on the Bion. Thank you forhaving now. I have to be honest,
mister Vance, I stopped several timesafter reading this book saying, good
Lord, the man is job.He's been through it. I had no
idea that you and your wife,Angela Bassett had gone through so much.

(12:58):
And I'm sure that there are alot of people who are going to pick
up this book thinking the same thingthat you know. You have a power
couple who you perceive is on topof the world, has all the money,
has all the fame, has allthe opportunity, never knowing the painful
experiences that they are going through,Hence the title The Invisible Ache. You
started this book talking about your dadtaking his life. What happened and what

(13:20):
happened to you after that? Wasit difficult having to relive all of that
over again writing it in the book. You know, it's therapy. For
me, It's all therapy. I'vegotten to that place where the pain is
understood, and the pain is cathartic, and the talking about it is cathartic.

(13:41):
And that's what happens. I think, and doctor Smith, doctor Robin
will concur. I'm sure that ifyou don't deal with it, then it
continues to fester, and it turnsinto a weeping thing, sugary sweet,
a dream deferred as opposed to somethingthat we you know, we we we

(14:03):
During that time period, my mother, miss Leslie, advanced in the midst
of her pain. After we gotmy sister and I as Cecily. After
we took a month to get heraffairs in order, she turned to us
as we were about to leave.She said, I want the two of
you, the three of us,to go find the therapist and go into

(14:26):
therapy when we get to our yourrespective cities. I'm going to do it
here in Detroit. And we wereboth in shock about it, because especially
me, I hadn't known anything aboutit. My sister maybe had and maybe
had been in therapy a little bit, but I hadn't. And so she
challenged us. And and my journeybegan from my mother. Because if my

(14:48):
mother asked my sister and now todo something, we're gonna do it.
That's just who we are and whoshe is who she was to us,
so U and that began my journey. And so it wasn't you would think
it would be you know, triggeringand it would bring up a lot of
things that are not of painful things. But you know, we I going

(15:13):
through what we went through with myfather, and then when we went through
with my mother. She died ofals about six six years ago today.
So after going through and dealing withyou know, the the pain with my
father, the you know, andmy mother lived with us the last five

(15:33):
years of her life and we weyou know, provided her twenty four to
seven care at our house, sothat you know, we were able to
do that for her, that giftwe're able to give to her, and
she gave us the gift of allowingus to do it for her. So
just you know, doctor Robin,you pick up with me on that about

(15:56):
just the journey to doing the workas we as we have talked about before
doing the work, and what itcosts us. You know, it's yeah,
it's interesting. As Courtney is talkingabout his beloved mother. One of
the things that she did that isso radical and so radically different than so

(16:17):
many parents, particularly of that generation, is parents can say do what I
say, not what I do.And that's a very different message than being
the living example of what she wasasking her son and daughter to do.
We are going to go to therapy, We are going to deal with daddy's

(16:41):
death by suicide. And I don'twant to ever underestimate how powerful it is
to have our caretakers showing their ownvulnerability. So she didn't say, Courtney,
you know you're now the man ofthe family, Courtney, you got
to take over for daddy. Thiswas we're all hurting and we're all going

(17:07):
to get help, and that's sucha powerful example. The other thing is
Courtney was talking just now, andhe and I spent a lot of time
talking about this what it means whenyou are being instructed to do something by
someone you trust, and he andhis sister trusted their mother. They trusted

(17:30):
that if she said we're going togo and do this. Then he and
Cecily were Actually that was the easypart to obey her because they trusted her.
The hard part is how is thatgoing to happen? Because me talking
about Courtney, Courtney knew nothing abouthow to find a therapist. What does

(17:53):
it mean? How do you beginto even have a conversation with someone about
anything vulnerable, let alone the factthat his father died by suicide. I
love how this book is structured inwhich Courtney is giving his story his micro
I guess aspect of the pain,and then you kind of look give it

(18:15):
the macro aspect, talking about howit has a bigger impact. Can you
talk a little bit about your approachto each chapter and what you hoped readers
would gain from that? Absolutely,I will address that, and certainly Courtney
may want to chime in as well. But we wanted it to feel as

(18:37):
if someone was walking, you know, down the street or maybe in a
meadow or someplace with us, andthat they were overhearing his conversation and my
conversation, so that he's telling me, you know, this happened in my
life, this happened in my family, and that I then was responding with

(19:00):
well, not only Courtney, didthat happen in your family, but I
would then be able to talk aboutthe research that there are so many black
boys and men who are suffering silently. We talk about that silence often is
deadly. It's not golden because thethings we don't talk about. It makes

(19:21):
people believe we're not speaking about thembecause they're too hot, too big,
too shameful to address. And sowe wanted to be able to offer not
only Courtney's story and the story ofyou know, his father died by suicide,
his godson, who was only twentythree years young, died at the

(19:42):
beginning of COVID, the summer ofCOVID, parents family intact, parents involved
in this young man, this brilliantyoung man's life. But COVID did not
allow people to go in with theirfamilies to get treat meant to check on
them young, older, somewhere inbetween. And so this young man was

(20:06):
struggling, had two very serious episodes. The hospital was sending him back saying
he was okay, and you know, no medication, no meditation. I
talk about eminem Sometimes we need somemedication, you know, mixed with meditation.

(20:27):
But they weren't doing any of that, and there was no third time
because his godson took his own lifeat twenty three years young. And so
what we want everyone to know andthe invisible ache is not only is it
not a disease to hurt. That'swhy we don't talk about committed suicide.

(20:48):
It's not a crime if you dieby suicide. It's also not a crime
if you want to die. Becausepeople who say that they want to take
their lives, what they're saying isI hurt, I hurt, and does
anyone understand care have any help formy hurt? Courtney, I know that

(21:15):
you you said that your mom wasa very very industrious and outgoing and and
vibrant person. And for her togo through what she went through, and
then her before she went through that, she encouraged you to go to therapy.
Was it surprising that somebody from hergeneration would do that? And how

(21:37):
did that help you? You know, I don't think my sister and I
were surprised by it, because mymother was that kind of person that you
know. My father was of ageneration that the man worked, and the
both of them man worked and thewomen were at home, and my mother
was My mother was like you know, because my mother was a librarian for

(22:00):
thirty five years. And my motherwas like, that's not going to happen.
I'm going to work. We needthe money too, so I'm going
to work. And she said,thank god, I didn't, you know,
give up my job when my husbandasked me to, because of the
way it looked, you know,society. You know, the man's wife
is working, that it means thathe's not able to provide. So she

(22:23):
said, baby, I'm working,you're working. I'm working. And you
know, at a certain point,when the children are past kindergarten, when
they're in the school, I'm transitioningback. And she began and she said,
thank god I didn't give up myparents job. After my husband took
us life, I would be whatwould I be? Where would I be?

(22:45):
You know? And so I don'tthink we were surprised by it.
In fact, our mother was someonewho said, you know, when she
retired, she was someone who showedus what to do. Don't talk about
a baby, do it. Shewas somebody that when she retired from the
library, and as in the tropecalled the library, when she finished at

(23:06):
the library, we saw her startvolunteering everywhere because at that time the library
was the center. There was nocomputer, so the liar, you had
to go to the library to actuallydo any kind of research, any kind
of homework. So we were thelibraries were full at after school on weekends,
they were packed. And so wesaw her being at the downtown at

(23:32):
the library, the main library.The art Institute was there, which we
used to all. She used totake us to the Art Institute's every you
know, Saturday or Sunday until wewere in high school and we were like
mom and but you know, gettingthat culture, getting you know, and
so the literacy program, the food, the food co op, you know,

(23:56):
just the habitat for our humanities.And she drove twenty miles four days
a week to her gym to workout because we lived in the hood,
so there was no gyms. Youweren't gonna be walking around where we lived,
you know, get them to workout in you weren't doing that.
So she knew better and so shefound a gym and that was the I

(24:18):
mean, she showed us how totransition after you finish your your you know.
And my sister, God bless her, she just finished forty years at
FedEx and what did she do.She went right back to school. She's
doing. She's eventually gonna go tolaw school, but she said, let
men start slow a couple of lawclasses. She's gonna go to law school.
So I mean, our mother taughtus what to do. And that's

(24:40):
what we're doing, you know withthis, doctor Robin. That's what we're
doing with this book, is lettingpeople know there is a way, as
you said, doctor Robin, amore excellent way, you know, to
begin, go ahead, ask you. I had and I had to bring
this up because when reading your booktalking about how you had a two parent
hou hold that can really helped pushyou, puts you into schools, everything,

(25:03):
And I totally I connect to thatbecause and I see, it's privilege.
It's privilege, and I have tosay that thank God for the privilege.
I had the opportunity, and youhad the opportunity. But sometimes when
you have opportunity and you're dealing withpain, you feel like, what do
I have to complain about? Whenyou look at all the other people around

(25:26):
you that have much bigger fish tofry? What do you say to those
who may feel like that. Idon't know if you felt like that,
what do I have to complain aboutwhen it comes to you know, having
you know, everyone esther, everyoneand doctor Robin you'll, you'll, you'll

(25:47):
black me up on this. Everyonehas issues issues everybody. I don't care
what color you are. I don'tcare how old you are. You know,
I don't care what your sexuality is. You everyone sits on the edge
of their bed at too in themorning, and what the So the question
for me always is what am Igoing to do about where I am?

(26:10):
And transitions and life is about transitions, lives. You know, you didn't
climb them, mountain them at thetop of the mountain, you know,
you know Winter all Yale Drama School, with the Defences, Broadway Tony nominations.
You know. I'm I'm I'm I'mmoving, I'm nothing to complain about.
But I'm sitting on a stoop outsidemy therapist office, uh and feeling

(26:34):
all of the failure as a man, and feeling like because these these white
folks are walking by me looking likewhat is this little black young man doing?
Uh? In sitting on silver andclutching purses and walking around the stupid
you know, into the street togo by it's you know, and what
does that do to a psyche?You know? And that's lightweight compared to

(26:57):
what our parents, parents and mygreat grandparents and our relatives relations had to
deal with. And so it's it'sall of us of color have to deal
with the pain, the hurt.And the question always is for me,
I understand you didn't have this.You didn't have you know, I had

(27:18):
two parents. I had one parent. You know I didn't you know my
parents didn't this today? What arewe going to do now? How we
go ahead? Doc? Give it? Not only uh, I had one
parent, Some people have no parents. And after to come back to your
question as well, which Courtney isdefinitely elaborating one. This isn't about.

(27:44):
This is no competition about whose woundis bigger. What Courtney is talking about
is once we understand what it meansto be guarded in humanity, that means
we bring wounds to the table.We all have whole h o l e
s. We're longing to behole whol e which is a holy journey and

(28:07):
h O l y it's a sacredjourney. And so a part of this
is Courtney and I talk a lotin the book and the Invisible Ache,
and also on the road about worthiness, whether or not you feel your wound
is worthy of care, not whetheror not your wound is as big as
someone else's wound. Not you know, well, because Courtney's father and god

(28:30):
son died by suicide and I don'thave that, then you know who am
I to talk about my wound?Well, I'm glad you asked, because
you are to talk about your woundis a divine creation of God's And you've
got your own story, your ownjourney, your own aches. And we

(28:53):
really want to get away, particularlyin the black community, with boys and
men and those who love them,of minimizing, diminishing, pathologizing. What
it means for a black boy ora black man to say, ouch,
I hurt. And Courtney and Isay in the book, this isn't about

(29:18):
do you hurt? It's about wheredo you hurt? Not are you wounded?
It's where are you wounded? Andthose micro and macro aggressions that Courtney
is talking about, you know,someone seeing or not seeing him as a
whole human being in Gramercy Park,What does that mean for a person,

(29:42):
a black boy or man to feelinvisible? And I will just say this
that invisibility and we talk a lotabout this. That's part of why the
book is called The Invisible Ache BlackMen identifying their pain and reclaiming their pain
is because invisibility murders the soul,It murders our dreams, It murders our

(30:07):
ability to see ourselves as whole withholes and worthy. And so this is
a challenge that resilience in the blackcommunity can be giving permission for abuse.
Like you never sit down when you'retired, you don't drink when you're thirsty,

(30:29):
and I'm talking about not drink toself medicate. I'm talking about get
a drink of water or get freshair, which Courtney does daily in multiple
times a day if he can,and so do I. And so this
issue of self care and worthiness.Do you feel that you are worthy and
worth being the center of taking careof your wound? Who did we talk

(30:56):
to the other day, doc ina radio interview, and the young man
was talking about I don't I don'thave the time to be to take care
of myself or I'm not you know, deserve it of or whatever he was
referring to it. I mean,that's the feeling I think that that people
have that I mean, am II'm not worth all that. It's not
it's too much for me, allthe excuses until something happens and it becomes

(31:22):
an emergency. Don't wait until youknow your father dies of suicide for you
to realize it's something going on.You know, you're sitting on the edge
of your bed. You know something'sgoing on. And don't wait till you
get the report from the doctor.You know something's going on in your body.
Don't be don't be scared, youknow, go to the doctor,

(31:44):
go to the dentist, and youknow it's that's that's my I think if
if something's going to happen to me, and eventually something's going to happen to
all of us, I'd rather dealwith it in the early stages, you
know, not when the doctor comingin and shaking his head or her head
or their heads and go only only. I don't want to hear that.

(32:05):
Those are the worst words to herto an ear to hear. Well.
I just want to say you saidabout the dentists. You know, when
we go to the dentists to haveour teeth clean, those of us who
are able to go, who havecoverage, and some people have coverage,
but are afraid to go, butthe dentist will often ask do you flass?

(32:27):
Now the dentist is in your mouth, so they aren't asking do you
flaws? They want to know doyou tell the truth? Because already know
whether you floss or not. Ijust want to know about the truth.
And so this book is about invitingpeople into a new, liberating partnership with
the truth. Well, I'm goingto have to leave it there because we're

(32:51):
running out of time. It wasa wonderful, wonderful experience being able to
hear from both of you. I'mhoping that this is not just a book
tour, but a movement in whichyou are going to be making an impact
on the community and changing minds abouttherapy. I really appreciate your time,
both doctor Smith and Courtney b.Vance. Thank you so much for joining

(33:13):
us on the BIM. Thank youfor having us. Thank you. The
book is Invisible Ink. I'm EsterDillard on the Black Information Network. Thanks
Esther. Cameron Arnett is an awardwinning actor in television, film and theater.
Hailing from Port of Prince Haiti,he is also an author, speaker,

(33:36):
film director, and producer and voiceover artist. The Black Information Networks,
Bree would had an opportunity to speakto the actor about his new holiday
film. I'm Bree Wood with theBlack Information Network and holiday season is in
full swing and that means there areseveral new holiday themed movies to check out.
Among them is a heartwarming film witha great message about finding and keeping
faith and hope even in the darkestof circumstances. Today, I have the

(33:59):
play of speaking with one of thestars of the upcoming film, The Great
Turkey Town Miracle, actor, producerand minister, mister Cameron Arnette, who
plays the role of Ethan, ahomeless man who is a believer and encourages
those around him. Thank you somuch for joining me, mister Arnett.
Well, thank you so much forhaving me, Bri. It's a pleasure.
Now, please tell us more aboutthis movie and your character Ethan.

(34:20):
Well, the Great Turkey Town Miracle. Again, as the name says,
it's dealing with God, the Godof the miraculous, and people being able
to experience him, know him,see him, actually work in their lives,
and so Ethan is basically the barometer, the one that keeps the other
characters in the path of what Godis doing, what God is saying,

(34:40):
and how to actually get to apoint of trusting him enough to watch him
bring his word to pass. Andit's quite a charming story because it's a
small town story, but it showsyou how much God is in the details
of everybody's life. Absolutely. Andnow this story is actually based on something
that happened in real life during thingsget years ago in the state of California.

(35:01):
What was that Well, you know, basically it's a combination of two
stories if you would made it puttogether into one, but it is a
true story. It's basically you havethis this jockey who ends up losing his
job and gets hired at a homelessshelter where he has to you know,
feed thousands of people, get fourthousand turkeys at a minute's notice, if

(35:23):
you would. And there's not onlythe fact that he has to do that,
but it's also the adversaries that arein the process of not wanting to
make that happen. It's kind ofa quirky adversary type that happens also there
in the process. And so he'sraising two children, you know, having
a white fool's deceased, and allof that story and seeing God into twined

(35:45):
and also how people come together tomake sure that that he's okay. Yes,
and I love the tagline with ittoo. It says five loaves,
two fishes, and four thousand turkeys. Definitely speaking about how you you know
you can miracles happen if you justbelieve. Even though this film is faith
themed, it's not a film thatis solely for Christians. Anybody can relate

(36:07):
to this film because there are somany different universal themes throughout the film.
You've Got Love, You've Got lost, a single parenting as you mentioned that
he had lost his wife and isnow parenting his child alone. What can
you say to people who might notnecessarily care so much about the faith based
portion of it? What can everybodyget from this film? Well, you
know, the film is a filmof hope. It causes you to understand

(36:30):
that principles are universal. Even asyou just pointed out the things that we
all go through, we all gothrough, and the correct question is how
are you going to go through it? Where is the help going to come
from? Do you have people thatare around you understand your applight? How
can you get involved? How howcan you grow your ability to believe that
things are going to be okay sothat you don't have to false sway to

(36:50):
the depression and everything else. Weall go through the same stuff. The
question becomes how do we go throughit? And who's around us to help
us exactly? And for you,it's a twofold because you're an actor.
But I mentioned earlier you're also aminister, and you got back into acting
after leaving for a while. Nowmany people know you from your roles in
Miami Vice Dougie Howser. Indeed,more recently you've done work in Star Trek

(37:12):
and other movies that are faith based. But what made you come back to
acting after becoming a minister. Well, I'll tell you it was really a
God thing. I never thought thati'd be acting again. I left Hollywood.
They wanted me to do the wholepartial body nudity and left that went
into a pastoring forward made maybe abouttwo decades, And when God called me
back into acting on this side ofthings, I really thought it was all

(37:34):
Hollywood all over again, and Iwent back kicking and screaming. I did
not want to go back, buthe made it clear that he wanted me
to go, and it was ago back this time. It's for me
and when I did. From thatpoint on, it has been a phenomenal
journey. In the last ten years, I may have done like forty different
films and six different television series,and I'm watching this continually grow and expand

(37:57):
beyond my wildest dreams. And it'sgiving people and insight into the heart of
God and the love of God forthem, and that he's not trying to
beat you over the head. He'sactually trying to woo you into a love
and passionate relationship that He had intendedbefore the foundation of the world. Yes,
and for you coming back, Iwould say, with you pastoring for
two decades, what would you sayhas been the biggest change that you've noticed

(38:21):
in Hollywood or else? How youreact and adjust to Hollywood. Yeah,
that's a good question, Bri.I think the biggest change has been first
of all, started with me.It allowed me to see people for being
people because God is in love withhis creation. And so now when I
deal with Hollywood, I don't dealwith all of what they wanted me to
do. I deal with getting overto them how much God cares for them.

(38:44):
And I was once there too,so therefore I understand exactly where you
are and the ability to be usedby God to love on people and to
understand where they are and why theyare where they are, I think has
been the biggest change. And soI've seen a lot of things happen with
friends, with with with people thatare in the industry, and you can

(39:04):
see that God is actually wooing notjust through myself, but through the industry
of media within Christianity. Now thathe's wooing all of his children, you
know, he's bringing us together.And it's really a beautiful thing to watch
because people are realizing now that it'snot a judgment call. It's a love
call. Wow, not a judgmentcall, but a love call. I
do love that. What would yousay is the overall theme or what do

(39:25):
you hope people take from this film? It is about hope. It is
about miracles making the impossible happen.What do you hope that an audience can
glean from this movie, especially duringthese trying times? I think, you
know, besides the hope that we'vealready talked about is the intricacies of you
know, this thing is about,you know, the serendipities, the synchronicities
of life. You know, thethings that you think would not happen,

(39:46):
how they happen, the connecting thedots, and you're watching how all the
things that you may think of orcoincidences in your life is actually a loving
God who's trying to get you towhere is best for you and what he
intended for you. You may nothave that as the background of your mind,
but please understand that all of heavenis for you, and I think
people will begin to see that He'sin the very small details and he cares

(40:09):
about everything wonderful. And so thisfilm is rate at PG, which means
it's for the entire family and incredibletrue story. Released on Thanksgiving Day,
so that is definitely something that youcan do with the family while everybody has
a little time off. Make sureyou check out The Great Turkey Town Miracle.
I'm so happy to speak with oneof the stars, mister Cameron Arnett.
Thank you so much for joining metoday. I really appreciate your time

(40:30):
and thank you for the work thatyou're doing. Thank you, Breed very
much appreciated your social media. Howcan people reach out to you or find
you? Are you on the socials? Do you do you know? Instagram?
Facebook, on Instagram, you cango ahead and catch me at Cameron
Arnett Actor. The same with Facebook, and of course go to Cameron onet
dot com. That'll take you everywhere, and that'll let people know what you're
doing. Aside from this movie andother projects they got about coming so much

(40:52):
information on Cameron one dot com.There are so many things that God is
doing that you just need to beaware of in a sense of what He
will also do for you. Allright, Cameron Arnette, thank you so
much, blass, Thanks Bri.Brandon Siler is a former college football star,
winning a national championship as a captainof the Florida Gators. He went
on to play in the NFL forsix years, but that's only part of

(41:13):
the story. The Black Information thatWorks. Ramsa's Jaw talks to Brandon about
his new book, Definition of aLeader. Ramses Thanks Mike. NFL star
Brandon Siler has been busy since hisdays of playing football. He released a
new book called Definition of a Leader, as well as his recent Netflix documentary
series Swamp Kings. On top ofall this, he is constantly speaking to

(41:35):
audiences about his personal testimony and success, plus actively managing eleven different businesses.
Here to share more about his excitingstory. We have the one and only
Brandon Siler. How you doing today, man, Man, I'm doing good.
Thank you for having absolutely man,it is a pleasure. So give
us a little bit about your background, how you grew up, and effectively

(41:55):
what led you to this conversation today. Basically, I'm a kid from Pie
Projects in Orlando, went on andplayed football, player sports all my life.
Made straight a's most of my liferight. So went to University of
Florida. There I played three years, was the captain of the national championship

(42:16):
team at Florida, went to thedraft, played six years in the NFL,
for for the Chargers, two forthe Chiefs. In twenty thirteen,
I retired from the NFL kind ofwalked out and left after one of my
teammates tragically shot himself in the headand killed himself in front of me.
Led me to try to find somethingelse after the game. I ran a

(42:38):
fortune five hundred company for about twoand a half years before a few of
my players came to me with theproblem and the issue about getting them disabilities
when they was done playing football.I went and started researching things for them
and figuring it out and Ultimately Iended up getting those six guys that was
frustrated about not getting disabilities. Iended up getting it, and I said,

(43:00):
we needed an advocate. We neededsomebody that could do that for us
on a regular basis. So Icreated our company, Legacy Pro Sports,
and now five years later, werepresent over five thousand NFL players. Talk
a little bit more about these variousbusinesses and the impacts that you're creating with
them. Well, Legacy Pro Sportsis where it all started, right.

(43:21):
I wanted to get gouds disabilities thatcouldn't get them. But then I started
seeing issues with the guys. Rightrather it be mental health issues anxiety depression
BTSD, they had neurocog issues andI wanted to do something about that.
So I ended up acquiring a rehabfacility that now all athletes. It's invited

(43:44):
for athletes to come in, andwe usually have professional athletes being basketball,
football, baseball, but we've hadcollegiate athletes as well. They go to
my center and they see psychiatrists,psychologists, neurologists, neuropsyches, they get
brain mapping done, TMS done ontheir brain. It's big when you have

(44:04):
the wives that come back and like, oh, you saved our marriage,
you saved our relationship, his relationshipwith our kids, you saved his life.
Right, So we get that alot, and I think that's God's
work. So that's why what Ido is big to me. It's like,
this is what God put me herefor, is to help people.
Let's switch gears here a bit.Let's talk a little bit about swamp Kings

(44:25):
and why you decided to put thatdocumentary out on Netflix. So for our
listeners that may not be familiar,let's talk about that. So Netflix actually
came to me, right, anda bunch of us players got together and
we had we had to decide ratherwe were really gonna do this, because
there was some negative stuff out thereabout us, right. There was the

(44:45):
or Nandez thing. There was acouple of bar fights and all that kind
of stuff that was out there,and we had to take take all of
that into consideration. But at theend of the day, I made a
decision to do it because I said, you know, our story is going
to be told, so who betterto tell it than us? Right,
We wanted to be a part ofthat story. And you know, it

(45:06):
was a time where we were winningand it seemed like we were gonna win
every game that we played, andwe wanted to be the ones that was
telling that story. So ultimately Netflixcame to me, but I knew that
I had to do it. Iknew I had to tell our story the
right way. What has the receptionbeen to the documentary series. It's been
awesome, man. I mean,everybody that has watched it and seen it,

(45:28):
they've said nothing but positive things.The only thing that they would possibly
say that was bad about it wasthat that we didn't show a lot of
the negative stuff, right, youknow, drama, right, and we
wasn't going to give it to them. You know. Ultimately, the reason
that they made a Netflix documentary aboutus is because we was winning and we
were great, and that's what neededto be highlighted. In that Netflix documentary.

(45:52):
You get a lot of the behindthe scenes things, and that's what
people love. You know. Theyloved the story of my mom going and
confront Urban Maya, and they lovethe stories of me grabbing Tim Tebow and
putting them on the back of myscooter. Right, So it was all
of these different behind the scene looks. What would a person learn about your
time as a college player. Ithink what they ultimate we would learn is

(46:15):
the way that leadership feels and isa necessity. So when you're trying to
achieve something that high, right,you're going to look at the chain of
command and how I led the teamwhen we first started, but how gods
like Tim Tebow, how gods likeBrandon Spikes, the guys that came after

(46:37):
me, how they learned from someof the things that I did and took
that and took it to a wholenother level and used a lot of that
stuff in those next few years tocontinue basically the winning and the dynasty that
we had during that period of time. Sure, one of the things that
I was noticing too, is thatthe way, at least in that part

(46:59):
of the country, the way thatpeople rally around college sports, college football
in particular, it's amazing. Imean SEC football is bigger than pro football.
Yeah, I mean I have alot of fond memories of football,
and my fondest memories are in college. Right. I played six years in

(47:21):
the NFL. I played in somegreat stadiums. But when you have that
college football atmosphere and you're in placeslike the swamp, right, or some
of our competitors. When you goplay at LSU and bat Rouge and you
have ninety six thousand people scream atthe top of the you don't ever replicate

(47:42):
that feeling. It never gets anybetter than that. We are here today
with Brandon Siler, the author ofthe new book Definition of a Leader,
as well as the man behind theNetflix documentary series Swamp Kings. Okay,
so you mentioned your book Definition ofa Leader, and obviously we've kind of
mentioned it in our conversation so far. I kind of want to ask you
a question, who did you havein mind as the reader of this book.

(48:07):
I wrote it really with the intentionthat it goes over a wide range
of people, right, But Ithink ultimately young adults that want to get
more out of their sales, wantsto get more out of whatever their position
is and their occupation, want toelevate their seals in their business. Rather

(48:28):
they're entrepreneur, rather they're at ajob that they want to move up here,
I think that is ultimately the personthat's right for reading this book,
right, because it's a book that'sgoing to make you want to get up
and do something right. It's goingto make you want to get up and
do something about the position that you'rein before we let you go. I
know that you have, like Imentioned, eleven businesses. That's impressive.

(48:52):
I know you're probably or maybe you'renot stretched. Then maybe you're doing exactly
what you want to do and puttingthe right amount of energy into the world
and still keeping yourself centered. Butwhat's next for you? I'll be saying
ambitious. People tend to stay ambitious, So what's next. I think that
we can reach a lot of peoplewith our rehab facilities. I think that
we're doing a lot of work.But what bothers me is the amount of

(49:15):
people that I've lost, the amountof teammates that I've lost do to mental
health. Two days ago, Ihad a teammate that I had in Kansas
City my last year there, thatdied at the age of thirty five.
Right, so, no matter howmany lives we saving right now, we're
trying to do everything that we canto get is many of these rehab facilities

(49:37):
up so that we can save asmany lives as we can. We also
have two foundations, Legacy Pro SportsFoundation and they're also Healthy Minds, where
we raise money to put these athletesin places where they can go and be
vulnerable and get better with their mentalhealth, because you know, it's hard,

(49:58):
Like you are Barbarian, you're awarrior, right, and it's hard
for a lot of these guys toget their head around needing mental health work.
That's an initative that we're trying topush and we're gonna keep on pushing
it. I guess that that's what'snext for me, man, just continuing
the fight to help people as muchas I can. Let's make sure that
we plug that book and we plugyour social media before we let you go,

(50:22):
just so that people who are existingfans and new fans can tap in.
Yeah, so you can find mybook at bsolid dot com. That's
Definition of a Leader. Also,you can catch me and take the journey
with me on my Instagram at BrandonSola forty. The same thing on Facebook,
tap in, follow and take thejourney with me once again. Today's

(50:44):
guest is Brandon Siler, the authorof the new book Definition of a Leader,
as well as the man behind theNetflix documentary series It's Why I'm Kings
for the Black Perspective. I'm Ramses, job Mike back to you. Thanks
Ramses. If you are a blackbusinessiness owner and are looking for support and
the right amount of training to takeyour product or service to the next level.

(51:06):
Doug Davis is the man who canhelp you find the answers. Doug,
Thanks Mike, This is Doug Davisback with another your black business and
the opportunity is right now for changethrough NBE procurement, but with the added
lens of the pressure of the lawsuitsagainst MWB funds, Affirmative Action and the
Supreme Court. Real corporate commitment tochanging outcomes equals talk versus action. With
us to talk more about it isITERA CEO Darryl Byers, who was black.

(51:30):
Welcome to the bion and before weget started, if you can't explain
a bit about the company, sure. For the last almost twenty years,
Interrice has been training minority owned businesses, established businesses and how to grow their
business through a curriculum we call thestreet Wise MBA. This is a very
intense seven month program with five modulesthat really cover every delwning business and where

(51:52):
it takes to grow your business.And we're in eighty cities across the country
that has over ten thousand businesses thathave been through the program. That's great.
Do you have a typical so whattype of business qualifies for your programs?
Do you have to be a bigbusiness, small business? It's mostly
small businesses. And you know whatwe look for is companies that have at
least two employees that are doing twohundred and fifty thousand dollars a year in

(52:15):
annual revenue and as just back upand the two employees so one can take
the course and one can work inthe course, and that they've been in
business for at least two years.And it really runs runs again that we
have companies who do two hundred andfifty thousand dollars a year, we have
companies that do it for twenty thousanddollars a year that takes the course,
so it really spreads out. Butwhat we find out is even with that,

(52:37):
why dispairit disparity between those two typesof companies. It's still the same
issues that each company will face.Gotcha, gotcha? So why is enabling
and including minority companies in procurement soimportant? It's very important because what we
have found through our research is thatcompanies who go through our course and take

(53:00):
district wise MBA, they grow eighteenpercent on that it's over that over after
the first year. Now when theyget a multi year contract with a large
company or InCor institution, they growover thirty percent a year and it's because
of securing those contracts that makes thedifference. And what this will mean is
that they'll be well paying jobs thatare being created and the economic basis is

(53:23):
spanding as well. So what you'rereally doing is you're helping the community.
Because we also know that minority yourown businesses when they hire fifty two hundred
percent of the people they hire arefrom the local community. So you are
having impact in the community. Sothat's why it's important that that minority your
own businesses are paying these contracts andgrow their business and grow the community.

(53:47):
What are some of the biggest challengesthat you see that the street Wise NBA
program can help benefit minority businesses.Sure, you know what we always hear
most and you know for any smallbusiness is really accessing capital. So we
really work with these companies to learnhow they can access capital of what they
need to do to qualify. Youknow, it's not just becoming a certified

(54:14):
minority or women owned business enterprise.It's also mean there are steps you have
to take as far as knowing whatyou need to do to have the right
funds so you can continue to growyour organization, what capital is needed,
and to find out what where theRFPs are and how to apply for those

(54:35):
RFP with major institutions or local,state and federal government contracts. So these
are some of the things that youlearned during the seven months and what we
hear from the feedback from our organizationsare the most important. Also, lastly,
I think it's a peer to peernetworking. Being a CEO of a
business is a very lonely job.So the fact that we have over ten

(54:59):
time and businesses that have been throughthe course that you can connect with through
a platform we design called Interrorize connectand have a dialogue with what is a
challenge is what did you do toovercome this challenge? Is what's working for
you? And you know, wewant to make sure that we don't leave
you behind, so we're always workingto continue the education process with you.

(55:22):
That's great. That's great, Andif you can toss out the website and
how people can learn more about theprogram, sure, so you can go
to interrize dot org and learn moreabout the program. A little bit more
in depth about the five modules thatyou that you go through uh uh uh
interrorize, and but you also canhear some of the stories some of the

(55:45):
businesses that have taken the course andthat have succeeded. I think you know
something that you'll find out. Itdoesn't matter what type of business that you
have. Okay, we've been throughit and it's small, like I said,
very small the meetium sized businesses,but we can help you continue to
grow. And what you can alsosee is some of the webinars that we

(56:08):
do for the leums of our program. So, like I said, we
want to make sure you continue tolearn and they continue to take deep size
into some of the modules such asaccessing capital, understanding your finances, how
to market your company, things likethat. The education process continues. You
can learn about some of that stuffwhen you go to our website. That's

(56:29):
really good. What should buyers andsuppliers be doing differently to develop a more
equitable process? Yeah, I thinkyou know. Suppliers, what they really
need to do is really start thinkingout of the box, you know,
first being aware foremost of the processthey have and look at what changes they

(56:51):
have to make and evaluating their systemsand their processes and maybe even taking a
look at some of the companies thatare doing it right around the country and
really implementing some of those processes intointo your businesses. So you need to
look at what challenges that are preventingyou from finding and contracting with minority businesses,

(57:14):
and you know when and when theywhen the companies do this, when
they when they really make these changes, really see the community here and that
they're supporting the development of minority businessesand giving them the tools that will help
them grow. So what we're tryingto do is help them erase those stereotypes

(57:36):
that you've heard about for many,many, many many decades. Really is
minority businesses can do the job.They're not qualified, they don't have the
price structure, they don't know what'sinvolved. You know, working with these
companies, we can help erase thosepigmas have been out there for decades.
Absolutely, do you work with investors. We don't work directly with uh of

(58:00):
VC firms or anything like that,but we can help lead you to those
firms that can help you. So, you know, one of the things
that we do during the seven monthsis we bring subject matter experts in and
you know, our instructors can't bean expert and everything. So when we
get to accessing capital or bringing asubject matter expert and they can help you

(58:22):
during that time figure out the pathwaythat you might need to access that capital.
Whether it's a you know, aCDFI, whether it's one of the
bank, whether it's fintech, whathave you. These subject matter ascrits will
help you. And there's kind ofa story where companies have received a contract

(58:43):
from a large institution and needed thatcapital right away so they can hire the
staff they need to bring in andmake sure they fulfill those contracts. And
there's many stories we have like thatwhere really it happens almost immediately and they
were able to access that capital becausethey knew who to go to. Appla
the street Wise NBA. Darryl Byersenter i CEO, talking about the street

(59:07):
Wise NBA program. I'm Doug Davis. You're listening to your Black Business on
the Black Information Network and the BlackPerspective. Thanks Doug for more on these
stories. Listen to the Black InformationNetwork on the free iHeartRadio app or log
onto binnews dot com where you canhear this program. In its entirety on
demand. Also follow us on socialmedia at Black Information Network and on x

(59:30):
formerly known as Twitter. At blackinfo Net, we thank you for joining
us on the black perspective and lookforward to continuing to have needed conversations for
the black community. Next week,I'm Mike Island on the Black Information Network.