Black Perspective: October 1, 2023

This week on The Black Perspective, we speak with Maxine Waters and other Black Political Leaders in the country; Esther Dillard talks with an author about Black women balancing family and business; Andrea Coleman speaks with a two-time cancer survivor and how turning to veganism has helped change his life; Ahmed Gordon speaks to Pastor Mike Todd about his new book Damaged but not Destroyed, and Doug Davis has a conversation with a Canadian doctor about maternal health.

Listen now!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's October first, and we speakto Representative Maxine Waters and other black political
leaders in the country. Esther Dillardtalks with an author about black women balancing
family and business. And Andrea Colemanspeaks with a two time cancer survivor.
And Ahmed Gordon gets the gospel truthfrom pastor Mike Todd. Those stories are
more coming up. Welcome to theBlack Perspective. I'm your host, Mike

(00:24):
Island. Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program on the
Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussionson issues important to the black community.
The Congressional Black Caucus fifty second AnnualLegislative Conference just wrapped up last week.
This year's theme was securing our democracy, protecting our freedoms, uplifting our culture,

(00:45):
and the record number who participated triedto do all of that The Black
Information That Works. Vanessa Tyler wasthere. Thanks Mike. There's urgency at
this year's CBC Foundation Annual Legislative Conference. What's at stake for black people,
makers say is a matter of survival, starting with our vote. Congressman and
Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus,Steve Horsford from Nevada. We are proud

(01:08):
that as part of this conference,we just reintroduced the John R. Lewis
Voting Rights Advancement Act, led byRepresentative Terry Sewell, endorsed by all of
the members of the Congressional Black Caucusand House Democrats, which will ensure that
we have fair and free elections throughoutthe country at every level, local,

(01:32):
state, and federal. And we'regoing to work hard to get that legislation
passed. That's especially important now wehave maps across the country being redrawn,
we have new voting rules, andthat's such a patchwork, very confusing,
I guess its own purpose, I'msure. So how likely is that to
pass and in time for presidential elections? So two things. One is,

(01:56):
we were with Senate Majority Leader Schumeryesterday we discussed this being a priority legislation.
This is the first time in fortyyears that the Voting Rights Act has
not been reauthorized in a bipartisan way. Republicans for the first time have not
worked to protect our voting rights.And think about that for a minute.

(02:16):
This is not just voting rights forblack people or voting rights for Democrats.
This is voting rights for all Americans. Regardless of what party you belong to
or what can it you vote for. This is the first time in forty
years, and the question is why, what's changed And the answer is demographics
have changed and the more that blackand other communities of color and marginalized communities

(02:42):
show up and vote, we win. And because of that, there are
these efforts in state legislatures and localgovernments that are attempting to suppress the vote,
that are attempting to make it harderfor people to vote. And as
you indicated, states like Alabama whichpassed illegal and unconstitutional redistricting maps that should

(03:07):
have afforded a second opportunity district,which would mean a black district in Alabama
based on the population. Not onlydid the Supreme Court strike down the map
as unconstitutional, they told them togo back redraw it, and the legislature
defied them and still passed the mapthat's unconstitutional. So the Congressional Black Caucus,

(03:30):
through our affiliated organizations, have filedan amicus brief. We're suing the
state of Alabama to ensure that thepeople there have full access to representation that
they deserve. And we're going tosee that legislation through CBC Foundation President and
CEO Nicole Austin, Hillary says blackgains are slipping. This conference is designed

(03:53):
to fight back. We were verystrategic in choosing the theme this year.
It is securing our democracy, protectingour freedoms, and uplifting our culture.
We know that we are in acritical moment in terms of this country,
but specifically with respect to Black America. So many of the issues that our
democracy protects and that we depend onliving in a democracy are under attack right

(04:16):
now and are being challenged. Theright to vote, the right to have
access to educational opportunities. We sawthe Supreme Court strike down race based affirmative
action in college admissions in private universities. We know that there are attacks on
the secondary educational level in terms ofwhat our young people can learn and whether

(04:38):
they can learn accurate African American history, which by the way, is not
African American history, it is Americanhistory. We know that efforts to ensure
diversity, equity, and inclusion atall levels in corporate America and educational opportunities,
it's under attack. There are lawsuitsright now as we speak Vanessa that

(04:58):
are being filed to say you cannotfocus on efforts to include communities that have
historically been left out. That's notwhat democracy is about, and so that's
why we wanted to focus on howdo we secure our democracy and the freedoms.
And we use the word freedoms pluralpurposefully because all of these issues are

(05:20):
about our freedoms. Whether you're talkingabout voting, whether you're talking about education,
whether you're talking about the right tohousing, all of these are human
rights and civil rights. And thenin terms of uplifting our culture, we
know that historically, as a Blackcommunity, even when we are facing challenges,
we bring joy. And we knowthat having joy and celebrating is a

(05:43):
part of how we make it through. It's a part of how our ancestors
made it over, and it's whatwe're going to do as well. So
that's why we chose that theme thisyear. There are more than one hundred
panels topics on life and death.California and Congresswoman Barbara Lee headed a panel
centered around HIV and AIDS, anissue she's been in the forefront on for
decades through bipartisan legislation she's sponsored.She is certain millions of lives have been

(06:06):
saved, but fears this too isunder attack, just as she says,
we're close to wiping it out.We can reach and AIDS free generation by
twenty thirty, but we can't allowthe politics of these people, the Republicans.
Quite frankly, that's who they are, the mega extremist Republicans who are
trying to put poison pills in itso that they can defeat it. It's

(06:29):
been bipartisan up to now, soI'm determined it's gonna stay bipartisan, and
I'm working with Republicans to try toget us to a place where we can
pass it. Yeah, because yes, the AIDS numbers have been going down.
Unfortunately for black women the number hasbeen going up. So this is
certainly not the time to take yourfoot off the aside now. And we
have to remember this is a globalpandemic, and the United States global pandemic

(06:53):
is part of the global Also,we're part of the world family. And
so here in America, the transmissionvirus it's acting black women disproportional mental health.
Another panel, Congressman Troy Carter ofLouisiana says, we are not okay
the realities of mental health and therealities of what has happened in our communities

(07:15):
posts COVID. We've seen the numbersof suicides and attempts of suicides to escalate
among young people. Oh, thosenumbers are shocking. It's set up eighty
within the past decade. Yes,and that is that is demonstrative of the
reversal of funding for mental health.If we go all the way back to

(07:39):
and watch where we started to seethe ratcheting back of resources to address mental
health, we start to see theincrease of dropouts, crime and issues that
are in drug abuse and alcohol abusebecause people unfortunately attempt to self medicate.
They know something's wrong, they don'tknow what, they don't want to talk

(08:01):
to anybody, so they find alittle relief in drugs. And that's not
the answer. So when we seeyoung brothers and sisters on the street corner
and we say get a job,you bum, you're out here holding the
sun, take a second and thinkmaybe they need help. Maybe that addiction
that they've turned to is a resultof mental health and trying to self medicate.

(08:26):
Gun violence Front and Center Valerie Fauciof North Carolina says, we're all
at risk. The sad truth iswe can't guarantee safety in our schools.
We can't guarantee safety in our grocerystores, our places of worship at ball
games. We have to do what'snecessary to stop this habitual gun violence in

(08:52):
America. The Congressional Black Caucus Foundationtackled all topics from black health to black
wealth through home ownership. Congresswoman MarylynStrickland from Tacoma, Washington says, beware
of the racist redline. When wethink of the term redlining, we often
think it is a relic of thepast. But even though there are not

(09:13):
legal means for people to exclude usout of neighborhoods or to deem them undesirable
or lower the property values, thereare still practices that take place that are
discriminatory in nature. And so toyour point about how they value homes in
certain neighborhoods. I even have astory of a good friend about ten years
ago. She and her husband wereactually looking for a home, and this

(09:37):
is an affluent to income family,and they were on the telephone talking with
the real estate person. They showedup and they were not expecting to see
a couple that was Asian and black, and somehow, all of a sudden,
well, we got another bid onthe house and well, you know,
the price is different now, Andso she actually had me call them

(09:58):
and pretend I was interested in thesame property, and the woman said,
oh, yeah, we can doa showing for you tomorrow. Wow.
And I think there's something interesting too, because you know, I'm from the
Pacific Northwest. You hear my toneand voice, and probably to the real
estate agent, she didn't think,oh, this is a woman who's black.
And you know, that's a verydiscriminatory concept in and of itself,

(10:18):
because I say, to folks,what does black sound like? You don't
sound black exactly, so anyway,So I just, you know, I
think of that. I think ofthe way people have treated the extension of
public transportation in different neighborhoods, whereyou have neighborhoods that have been predominantly white,
and then when you want to expanda transit line, people are saying,
well, we don't want those peoplecoming into our neighborhood. Who are

(10:39):
those people? What are you talkingabout? So they're married of practices that
people engage in that are not redlining, but they are definitely discriminatory when it
comes to housing. Congressman Glenn Ivyof Maryland Warren's black businesses are the next
targets of affirmative action attack. Butit's clear that even in the Harvard and
UNC cases that the Supreme Courts nothanks to Clarence Thomas, still left avenues

(11:03):
for individuals to be considered with respectto social and economic disadvantage. So that's
still there. But remember the Harvardand UNC case did not directly apply to
federal contracting. That might come downthe road we're going to be Those are
fights we might have to have inthe future, but for now, those
programs have not been challenged on thosegrounds. And that's true at the state

(11:26):
and local level as well. Weneed to make sure that state representatives,
the attorney general for your particular state, Uh, they do federal they do
state and local contracting too. Theyput out billions of dollars as well that
we need to compete for. Weneed to make sure that's that we continue
to protect those programs too. Andthen finally, on the private sector side,

(11:46):
their corporations that do billions of dollarsin contracting and subcontracting, we need
to continue to compete for those andmake sure we're going after those dollars as
well. A lot of those businessesmade commitments to the African American community right
to the George Floyd tragedy. Weneed to make sure that we hold them
to the promises they made at thattime and keep them accountable. Their future

(12:09):
and the present is AI and awarning. New York Congresswoman Yvette Clark says
Black people need to get involved now. These platforms don't include the lived experiences
of Black people, and when youuse the data of our lives as part

(12:30):
of a commercial marketing tool, itcan be weaponized. And so I want
to make sure that our communities areeducated, are informed, are included in
all things tech, from not onlymoving from the consumer ends to being creators,

(12:52):
innovators, and inclusive in the useand monitoring the standardization of things AI.
Right now, I have a pieceof legislation that I've introduced because you
know, AI has moved with lightningspeed. Many people are using it.
We all have used it in ourdaily lives in one form or another.

(13:13):
But now it's being weaponized. Andwhen I think about the political climate that
we're in, I'm concerned that themisinformation disinformation can be disruptive to our democracy.
The Black Information Networks exclusive coverage wasfront and center. Bi N President

(13:35):
Tony Cole says, it's vital ourlisteners here directly from lawmakers. We're really
proud to be here, and thisis something that is so important because every
story that we do is a Blackstory, and more importantly, it's how
it affects the Black community. Andwhen it comes to things that affect the
black community, there is no moreimportant place to be than the CBCF.

(13:58):
As the week wrapped, lawmakers leftthe convention Center for Capitol Hill with their
marching orders. Everything's at stake.Anyone who thought the battle was won,
Georgia US Senator Raphael Warnock reminds uswe're far from it. One of the
things we have to do is we'vegot to pass the Freedom to Vote Act,
which I introduced earlier this year,and we've got to pass to John

(14:22):
Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. It'strue that I was elected from Georgia,
first black senator from Georgia, bythe way, we elected that same year,
as you know, the first Jewishsenator from Georgia. That happened on
January fifth. But come January six, we witnessed the most violent assault on
our nation's Capitol since the War ofeighteen twelve. That violent assault then metastasize

(14:48):
in to vote a suppression law,some hundreds of them throughout the body politic.
A couple dozens of them have beenpassed. We're in a fight for
our democracy, the framework in whichwe get to advocate for the things that
matter, and so job one isto show up and to secure the democracy,

(15:11):
as this conference has listed as itstheme, so that we can protect
our freedom and in the midst ofthat, of course, uplift the culture.
At the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation AnnualLegislative Conference, I'm Vanessa Tyler with
the Black Perspective on the Black InformationNetwork. Thanks Vanessa, let's stay at
the Congressional Black Caucus fifty second AnnualLegislative Conference as the Black Information That Works.

(15:33):
Morgan Wood was able to have amoment for the Representative Maxine Waters.
Morgan, you are involved in alot of events here at the CBC.
You're no stranger to this. Inthis particular year, you're celebrating fifty years
of hip hop, you're promoting blackbusiness and also criminal justice reform. What
do you hope that people take awayfrom this experience? Well, you know.

(15:56):
I think this is always an opportunitywhen we hold the grets from black
Hawk because legislative conference people come fromall over the country. Many of them
are not involved. They want tocome here and see what's going on.
Some people want to come here andtake information back. Excuse me, we're
doing the interview. Okay, Okay, they want to take information back.

(16:19):
So I'm hopeful that we can inspirepeople, that we can motivate people,
that we can get them involved insome of the issues that we're all concerned
about. And so that's what myworkshops are all about. There are some
lawmakers that believe that there should bea cap on the age for public servants,
being that these issues don't affect anda certain age group. What are

(16:44):
your comments on that, baby,I'm too old to talk about a cap
on age. No, as longas you're breathing, you're working, you're
thinking, and you're doing things,you need to keep working and so,
of course I don't support a capI appreciate you, thank you for being
here. Thanks Morgan. How blackwomen navigate the world with their families,
business, and personal discovery. That'ssome of the things an award winning black

(17:07):
author addresses with Esther Dillard on thisedition of The Color Between the Laws.
Hi'm Ester Dillard on the Black InformationNetwork, chatting with writers and authors who
offer an added perspective for our listeners. This is the Color between the Lines.

(17:29):
On this edition of The Color Betweenthe Lines. We're talking with a
heavy hitter in the writing world,and that is Deneene Milner. For those
who may not recognize her name,Miss Milner is best known for co authoring
Steve Harvey's two number one New YorkTimes bestsellers, Act Like a Lady,
Think Like a Man and Straight TalkNo Chaser. The original Lifetime movie with
this ring, based on Milner's coauthored book The Vow, debuted in January

(17:56):
twenty fifteen. She's also co authoredCharlie Wilson's Memory I Am Charlie Wilson twenty
fifteen, and there's so many more. If you want to know about her,
you just need to google this writerand you will see be amazed at
how many books she has written inthe past several years. But today she's
gracing us with her presence to talkabout her newest book that dropped just a

(18:18):
few days ago, and there isa wonderful audio version out there for those
of you who like to read andlisten while you drive like I do.
The book is called One Blood,and I'm honored to have the author,
Denien Milner, to tell us allabout it. Thank you so much for
joining us on the Bian. Thankyou so much for having me. I'm
deeply honored to be here. Oh. I like this book. This book

(18:41):
was really to me three books inone, because each major character kind of
is a book in themselves. It'sGrace Stolores Ray. Can you please briefly
tell our audience who are these charactersand what is the connection that are all
between them stories. One Blood isa story about three women, one a

(19:04):
teenage unwed mother who has their babytaken away, the adoptive mother who raised
that baby, and then that babyas a grown up and mother in her
own right. And the story connectsthe three through adoption and family and family
secrets and their struggle with what itmeans to be a black woman in a

(19:26):
society that hinges its bets on racismand patriarchy and classism, and how they
all fight through that to get toa place where they get to be the
kind of women that they want tobe and it's a struggle, but you
know, they all have their nosetoward freedom, and so I wanted to

(19:47):
explore in these three different stories,how these three different women find their way
to freedom. I understand that thisstory really was inspired by your own personal
adoption story. Can you talk alittle bit about what are some of those
things in your own story that madeyou write or want to write One Blood?
Because many other stories that you've written, there's a lot of different stories

(20:11):
that you've co authored with others inthe past, this one seems more centered
on some of your experience, right. Oh, yes, So you know,
all the other books that I wrotewere either with someone or for someone,
and this one is my own personalheart. One Blood starts with the
premise, who are we and whoare our families? And how are we

(20:37):
interconnected? Is it necessary to havesomeone's blood in your body in order to
consider them family? Or can familybe someone who does not share your blood,
but who chose you? And Icome to the story as an adopted
child. I found out that Iwas adopted when I was aged twelve snooping

(20:57):
in my parents' papers as I'm anatural journalist, always have been, and
I wanted to see you know whatthey held in this little metal box.
And at the bottom of that metalbox that they kept hidden under their bed
were my adoption papers. And soI never told them that I was adopted,

(21:18):
that I knew I was adopted.I thought that if they held it
as a secret, then I shouldprobably honor that secret. I was also
really scared of being, you know, getting in trouble for looking through their
things. But I also now thatI'm a grown up, and looking back
on the moment, there probably wasa part of me that was scared that

(21:40):
if they got angry, that maybethey would send me away too. That
wasn't something that ran through my mindwhen I was a kid. I was
more afraid of, you know,getting a belt or a switch. But
but now I can see where myfear came from. And so One Blood
explores who all the questions and sortof like the fantasy that I've made up

(22:03):
in my head basically about my birthmom. And then the Book of Low
and that's the Book of Grace.The Book of Lolo is really about all
the things that I wanted to askmy own mom about what it means to
be a mother and a wife anda woman, and how you operate within
a box that society creates for blackmothers in particular. And you know,

(22:27):
my mom passed away when I wasthirty four. It was about three weeks
after I had my second daughter.My first starter was only three years old.
And when my kids were born,our relationship changed. My mom was
very strict. She believed in Jesus. She joked for Jesus every week.
You know, she instilled a reallystrong moral center in me. And she

(22:51):
was from the South, and soshe believed deeply. And children are to
be seen and not heard. Andyou didn't really ask a whole lot of
questions of your mother. You justyou subsisted in the home. And then
maybe when you get older and youbecome a woman yourself, you might be
able to see that change in thatrelationship. And I did get to see
that, but only for three yearswhen I was subsumed with or consumed with

(23:15):
raising a child in the whirlwind ofbeing a new mom. And so the
Book of Dolores is really all ofthe questions that I ever wanted to ask
my mother that I never got toask her while she was alive. And
then the Book of Ray is reallysort of a meditation on what it means
to find out that you're adopted,and then how you look at your life

(23:38):
as a child, watching from achild's perspective a marriage and then making up
in your mind the role that awoman should play in it. And you
know that's boistered by the way thatyour mom played her role in a marriage,
right, you know, like youcook, you clean, you make
sure that your family's taken care of. If you're a black woman, you

(23:59):
probably work into and so you're youknow, balancing all those things. But
this is your lot. And sothrough the Book of Ray, we're watching
her try to fit into that thatbox, but then figuring out that that's
not necessarily the way that she wantsto conduct her life, and growing through
conversations with her mother, and so, you know, all of those things

(24:23):
are directly related to me and mylife as a mother, certainly as a
black woman, as a former wife, you know, as a significant other,
thinking about how I'm going to gointo my next relationship and what it
is that I expect and what itis that I want and desire, and
so you know, I explored allof that in One Blood. Is there

(24:45):
one particular character that you identify withthe most or more than another. I'd
probably identify most with Ray just becauseher her journey starts and the nine.
She's a TV producer, She's inNew York and Brooklyn. That's, you
know, pretty much the key towho I was in the nineties. I

(25:08):
wasn't a television producer. I wasa journalist at the New York Daily News
and then an editor at Honey andParenting magazine. But you know, her
her journey, being married, tryingto juggle a career, a husband,
a child, and trying to figureout where her womanhood comes in through all

(25:30):
of that, and dealing with racismand dealing with classism and dealing with sexism,
like all of those different things.I think that I identify most with
that. But I also think thatI identify with Grace. Grace really,
really, really loves love, andshe really loves family, and she leads

(25:56):
a very simple life surrounded by peoplewho deeply love her. And that was
my life as a sixteen year old. Now, I didn't have a baby
when I was, you know,sixteen years old and go through some of
the things that Grace went through.But the trajectory, the trajectory of her
story is really about finding her place, rooting her feet in love, and

(26:18):
I'd like to think that, youknow, I still have a lot of
that in me. I was,It's funny when I was thinking about how
to ask different questions in regard tothis book. An interview that I listened
to it was on a podcast andit featured this lady by the name of
doctor Betty Kovacs, and the bookin my earbook, in my opinion,

(26:42):
kind of addresses feminine energy, andshe talked about recently how before with the
in the Dark Ages, before theestablishment of the Catholic Church, it was
a direct, you know, likeeffort to erase feminine from Christianity. The
female was, you know, prettymuch relegated to subservient, less than and

(27:03):
so that permeates our Western society andour rules about what's appropriate what's not appropriate
for those walking on the earth asa feminine body on the planet. And
then you add on the layer ofbeing black and then that whole thing.
Were you trying to in many wayswith the story, trying to get readers

(27:25):
to kind of deconstruct some of thatstuff that for themselves when they were reading
this. I really was, youknow, one of the things that I
said for forever was that I wantedto see a story about sort of like
the lifetime of my mom as ayoung mom, as a young black mom

(27:47):
in the sixties and seventies and eighties. Right, Like we see those lives
sort of deconstructed for white women,but we never really look at, you
know, how it what it wasfor black women of that time, right,
and not all of us were inthe street marching and getting beaten by
dogs and you know, like gettingon the bus in the back of the

(28:11):
bus and and trying to fight thesystem. And there's nothing wrong with that.
I want to be very clear thatthere was nothing wrong with that.
They were heroes for us, butthere were other there were so many other
layers to us. And I justhaven't found that we we that books and

(28:34):
movies and all the different ways thatwe consume art that is supposed to tell
the truth, it's just not outthere in any grand degree. And so
you know, like, of coursewe have like Tony Morrison and Alice Walker
and Pearl Clegg, and you know, they were telling our story. But
I really wanted I when I sitback and I think about growing up in

(28:56):
my mother's household, but my momand my dad and my mom, you
know, on a Saturday evening playingpokeno with her girlfriends. And we go
to this one house and we knowthat she's going to have you know,
lemon pound cake that she learned howto make when she was growing up in
West Virginia. Or were going tothis lady's house to have chitlins because we

(29:18):
trust she's going to clean them right. Or we go to you know,
this other place because they have apool in their backyard in their big,
pretty house. Like that is theway that I was that I grew up,
and I wanted to really kind ofunderstand the lives, the interior lives
of those women, like Lolo forinstance, you know, like she's married

(29:40):
to a man who tells her togo and quit her job because I told
you that I'm going to protect youand take care of you as your man.
And then we see Lolo kind ofstruggling against like, oh, it
sounds like a good, good ideato be able to stay home, but
what exactly does that? But yousaid the two little kids, and you

(30:03):
know, like your husband wants youto fix his lunch before he leaves work
at six am, and then thekids are up and one is throwing meal
against the wall and the other oneis, you know, crying because she
wants you to feed her the eggswith your fingers. Like what does that
look like? Who are your friends? When I see pictures of my parents
having parties in their basement, Iwant to know what music were they listening

(30:26):
to? Were they down there drinkingand smoking Rifa and listening to Marvin Gay
and dancing nasty? Like? Iwant to know, you know, like
who they were and how that translatedfor them as women in this world fighting
against all of these different things butstill being able to find joy, but

(30:47):
also trying to figure out how tonavigate being what other people want and not
necessarily what they want. Well,we could talk about this all day long,
but I have to end the interview. It is such an honor to
have you with us. To nameMilner for joining us on the BIM.
Thank you so much. Thank youfor having me. It was such a
pleasure and a joy to talk toyou. The book is One Blood.

(31:08):
It's a powerful multigenerational tale that definitelywill get you to thinking about your own
life. I'm Ester Dillard on theBlack Information Network. Thanks as oftentimes when
we hear the word cancer, wethink the worst. But for some people,

(31:29):
such a diagnosis signals a need tochange their lifestyle. Such was the
case for Mark Ingram, a twotime cancer survivor who recently shared his story
with the Black Information Networks and DreaColeman. Good morning, Mark, Good
morning. So when were you firstdiagnosed with prostate cancer. I was diagnosed
with prostate cancer in twenty seventeen,and the fact that was my second bout

(31:55):
with cancer. I was diagnosed intwenty eleven with rectal colon cancer and so
I had surgery for that in twentytwelve, which was a very aggressive surgery,
and then I got rediagnosed again intwenty seventeen with prostate cancer. Had
the prostate removed after a year ofthe diagnosis. But prior to that,
I actually did a whole lifestyle change. I went to a wellness institute and

(32:17):
learned how to take care of mybody holistically. I became a vegan and
it pretty much changed everything. Andso when I finally decided to have the
prostate surgery, it was kind ofunder protest because I actually thought I was
doing okay. In fact, Iwas doing very good that year that I
was changing my lifestyle but not knowingwhat the cancer was doing with the prostate,

(32:42):
you know, they unknown. Soit's like, okay, because that's
what my doctors are saying, thisis probably best for you to just have
it removed. And so that's whyI did. So. Now, did
you have the diagnosis before you startedyour lifestyle change or did it come after?
I had the diagnosis before, whichpip pitated me doing that, you
know, because it was my secondbelt and I'm like, okay, three

(33:02):
strikes you out, you know whatI mean. And so that was my
second diagnosis. I said, Ineed to do something differently because obviously I'm
a cancer magnet. That's kind ofwhat I was thinking. I'm like,
and I need to change something.What do I do to avoid being diagnosed
with cancer again? At least domy part? I mean, I can't
stop that from happening, but atleast I can do my part. And

(33:23):
so that's when I decided to makethe lifestyle change. And that's quite a
drastic change for many of us,right, I mean, at least those
of us who eat a more typicalAmerican diet that includes meat and a variety
of other things. How difficult wasit for you to make the change?
Well, it was, it wasquite difficult, and be honest with you,

(33:44):
it's still difficult, you know.But my motivation is cancer. That's
the difference. So I'm motivated bybeing a two time cancer survivor, you
know, and I don't I don'twant to be diagnosed with it again,
at least one that I do everythingthat I was supposed to do. And
so that's an easier right when you'remotivated by something like that. But I

(34:07):
would think it would be even moredifficult for those who just trying to make
the lifestyle change, trying to beproactive before any diagnosis. It is quite
difficult. But again, my motivationis cancer, which makes it a lot
easier for me. Prostate cancer inparticular is curable, which means some cancers
you can treat and prolonged life.But prostate cancer actually is curable, which

(34:28):
means that you can cure it andregain a full functioning life once it's treated
and so forth. So what stage, And I'm asking about stage because the
key is early detection and treatment.Absolutely stage was your prostate cancer and when
it was diagnosed, I would saythat it was stage one? But the
difference was was where my cancer was. It was like right on the lining

(34:49):
inside of the prostate, and thefear was that it would actually grow to
be to go outside of the prostate. And even though there was no guarantee
that that would not happen, thatwas the concern. And so what I
decided to do with the whole lifestylechange, and what I learned in that
process was how to take care ofyour body, how to build up your
immune system with the way you eat, the way you sleep, the way

(35:14):
you exercise, and to be honestwith you Andrea, that changed everything because
not only with our diagnose the prostatecancer, I'm a type two diabetic.
They were about to put me onmedication for high blood pressure. I'm on
medication for my cholesterol. And whenI became a vegan, I've reversed all
of that and so since twenty seventeen, I have not been on any meds

(35:34):
for anything. And I'm diagnosed asa type two diabetic. I'm not diabetic
anymore, but once diagnosed, you'realways diagnosed as a type two diabetic.
But I haven't been on meds.My numbers are normal and have been since
I've been doing this, that's tremendous. It is and and and so that's
that's what made me a believer,because I be honest with you, I
was really never a believer in that. My brother is a vegetarian and it's

(35:57):
been a vegetarian as long as I'vebeen knowing him. So and you know,
that's lifetime, right. He's beenbeating us over the head with that
for years. Of course, aman is not accepting in his own home.
So we would never listen to anythinghe had to say until I got
diagnosed with cancer. And so everythingthat I learned in this process, he
had been telling me for years,you know. And so it has changed
my life and I feel better thanI have problems in the last twenty years.

(36:20):
I have more energy, I sleepbetter, I can see better people
than not. It's life changing.And it's really hard to believe I tell
this story, and these people it'shard for them to believe it, but
it's true. If you're just joiningus this morning, we're talking with Mark
Ingram, a cancer survivor, twotime cancer survivor who has made the drastic
life change as he has adopted thevegan lifestyle and he's seeing tremendous, outstanding,

(36:45):
actually exceptional results. Because of that, we're talking to him as we
look at prostate cancer in the Blackcommunity and observation of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month,
and Mark, we thank you forjoining us. I do want to
get into some of this specific changesyou made and the discipline that it takes
for for anyone looking to make thatchange in their life to something a little

(37:06):
bit more restrictive like a vegan lifestyle. But first, if you could talk
about your symptoms. So, myfirst diagnosis with the rector colon cancer was
through colonoscopy, and so they foundit on a colonospy, a routine colonoscopy,
and I was a little late evenon that the colonoscopy. I had
a year and a half after Iwas supposed to have it. And so

(37:27):
they found the cancer and then itwas between stage one and two, but
the surgery was successful and it hadnot spread. And then on the prostate
cancer, it was to my PSAlevels. My ps levels just started skyrocketing,
and so that was the indicator thatsomething was the miss and that's how
they found it. There, talka little bit about what you would advise
black men look for, and adoctor and how they may find one that's

(37:50):
right for them. You know,that's also a great question because just for
myself over the years, you know, finding a doctor that you can trust,
that you have a relationship ship with, that would take care of all
of your needs and they would directyou to the people the specialists that you
need to see if you need tosee one. Very good. All right,
now, let's get to this veganlifestyle, because that is quite a

(38:10):
shift. And when you say vegan, it's a little bit more restrictive than
vegetarians. So if you could explainto our listeners exactly what vegan is,
well, vegans do not eat dairymeats anything really just mostly all plant based
stuff, nothing with dairy products,no meats, no fish. So you
know how difficult that can be becauseI love all of that and even today,

(38:36):
I still love the smell of itall. And but I'm at the
point now I can I can goto buffets with my wife or with friends
and it doesn't bother me. Buthow it all started, and again it
was it was It was hard road. I started off being a row vegan,
and mind you, this was throughconsultation. It wasn't something I just
did on my own. I hadto be coached, I had to be
instructed, and I had to beyou know, monitored. And so I

(38:59):
learned how to do these things againbecause my motivation was I had cancer at
the time. You know, allI wanted to do was just beat it
and be well. So I dideverything that was that was necessary to beat
it and be well, hopefully thatthat was the thing that would that would
do that. And so I startedoff being a raw vegan, which means
everything I ate was raw, nothingwas cooked. It was mostly all plants,

(39:22):
and it was plants that I hadnever heard of in most cases,
and of course many that you do. And I learned how to mix plants
and what things not to eat together. When I say went to an institute,
is actually was like going to auniversity to learn how to be a
vegan and how to take care ofyour body holistically. And so I did
that four a year and a half. Raw, that raw thing changed my

(39:45):
whole metabolism, my whole immune system, and my every It changed everything.
That's what reversed everything. Their diabetes, the high blood pressure, the high
cholesterol. It changed everything and myenergy. I slept better, I sleep
better, the raw did that,and what I learned about the raw that
most of the vitamins and minerals andenzymes that your body needs is in the

(40:08):
sprouted plant, not in a fullygrown plant. It's when the plant sprouts,
that little route that comes out,when the plant starts sprouting, that's
what you eat. That's what youstart eating. And so I've learned how
to sprout do sprouting in my basement, different sprouts like sunflower sprouts, peace
sprouts, lentils, all of thosethings. And it's work, but it's

(40:32):
no different than preparing You know thatstate, you know all of that pot
rolls, and that's what did itfor me. It's not easy, but
it's worth it. As we wrapup, I'd love for you to share
whatever word of encouragement you can toour listeners, especially for our black male
listeners, but even for their lovedones, because this journey often includes the

(40:53):
entire family. While one person maybe diagnosed with an element, it really
does impact they are, how yourfamily and community. But if you would
for a moment speak to our blackfamilies about the importance of maintaining good health
and why it's worth the investment.I'm glad you went there because one of
the things that I've learned through mywhole cancer diagnosis, even from that first

(41:15):
one, is men don't talk toeach other about issues like this. And
when I got diagnosed with my firstdiagnosis with the colon rectal cancer, I
was depressed. I went into astate of depression. And you know,
you hear man, I'm praying foryou, and I know how you feel,
and this and that, and howdo you know how I feel if

(41:37):
you have not gone through what I'vegone through, you know. And though
I accepted all of that, theyweren't helpful for me at all until I
got a visit from a friend whohadn't seen in two years, who just
did it what I call a driveby stop by, just to say hello,
and I started I was in mydepression, and I started telling him
what was going on with me becausehe's a trusted friend, and he was

(41:59):
just smiling at me the whole time, and I just asked him, what
are you smiling about? And hepulled up his shirt and showed me a
scar from a surgery. He said, I went through exactly what you're about
to go through. And that changedeverything for me, you know, And
the same thing with my prostate diagnosis. When I got diagnosed with prostate cancer,
of course I was depressed again,and I talked to a cousin and

(42:22):
told him about my diagnosis, onlyto find out that he had prostate cancer
as well, which he never toldme about. After I had diagnosed with
prostate cancer, I found out thattwo of my closest other closest friends had
prostate surgery, which they never toldme about. So I would encourage men
to talk to each other about thesethings. Early detection is very very important.

(42:44):
Go to the doctor when you're supposedto go to the doctor, and
be honest with you. That yearand a half it took me to go
to get my colonosophy. Angel Isthe one who encouraged me to go,
kept rioting me to go, OtherwiseI probably would not have gone down.
So early detection is key. Goto the doctor, get it actor that
you trust, and men talk toeach other. That's very good. And
it's interesting that you mentioned your wife, Angela, because I've heard before that

(43:08):
sometimes it does help if the womenin our men's lives will will help them,
encourage them and making certain that theydo follow up. As you said,
on those exams, those annual routinehealth exams which can be beneficial.
And then one last question for you, Mark before we wrap up, and
that is if you'll speak to othersurvivors of prostate or any form of cancer,

(43:30):
any words of advice that you havefor them, words of advice as
well as encouragement, if you will. Here's one thing that I learned as
far as going to the institute andlearning about how to take care of your
body, especially being a cancer survivor. There's there's no such thing as being
cancer free. This is what theytold me, especially for those who have
had cancer, because of the waywe've been eating. While our society eat

(43:52):
the foods, we eat, theprocessed foods, in that it's probably a
cancer cell living in every American andhow do you keep that can at bay?
That's what the whole lifestyle, theholistic way of eating, is to
not feed it, and so cancerthrives on sugar. That's the other thing
that I learned that the number onefood that cancer thrives on is sugar.

(44:15):
And in my case, being atwo time cancer survivor and also diabetic,
sugar is not my friend. SoI had to take sugar completely out of
my diet and especially not to feedthe cancer. The cancer that's still there.
So I'm a believer that I've survivedcancer. But it's in remission okay,
which means it's at bay. ButI could wake that thing up if

(44:36):
I don't do what I'm supposed todo and I don't plan to wake it
up. Thanks Sandrea. By theway, Marcus the husband of Angela Ingram,
Senior vice president of Communications for iHeartMediaChicago Region, and the director of
Community Advocacy and Engagement for the BlackInformation Network and remember to please check with
your doctor before making any dietary changes. Is the pastor of Transformation Church in

(45:00):
Oklahoma, one of the largest churchesin the country. But even with all
his success, Pastor Mike Todd hashad to go through tribulation to get to
his triumphs. He talks about itwith the Black Information That Works on med
Gordon and this week's edition of TheGospel Truth. Thanks Mike. In the
studio with me right now is aman of faith, a man that you

(45:20):
might have seen go viral several timesover the last few years. I'm excited
because it's my first time meeting himand I've heard about him talked about him,
had discussions about him so many timeson the air at my previous job.
So it's good to have him inthe building to talk to the man
himself. Pastor Mike Alexander, howare you going? What's going on?

(45:43):
Boss Vy? You good today?And I'm doing excellent. I am,
again, like I said, veryexcited to talk to you, man,
because it just feels like this hasbeen in the making for some years.
And so because we're very close tothe same person, Williemore Junior, and
it's good to actually have you inthe building with me. So we are
talking about your new book, damagebut not Destroyed. Come on, bro,
And I told you this before wegot started. I'm like, you

(46:06):
did not hold any punches because Iwas telling you know, when I have
these interviews with people who have books, I skimmed through the book. Yeah,
and I usually read like the firstcouple of pages and then I'll go
skip ahead and like what else hegot it? Yeah, that first chapter
it got you got me messed up, messed me up. I was just
like, he talking to me,Why are you talking to me so fast?

(46:27):
Talk to me about how you juststart this book and you're just yeah,
this is who I am, Thisis my flaws boom. At the
end of the day, man,I feel like one of my superpowers is
actually being vulnerable, which gives otherpeople the opportunity to be vulnerable. And
I know that if I'm talking aboutsomebody about their damage, most people don't
want to talk about that. Mostpeople don't want to talk about the things

(46:50):
that hurt them and the loss andthe frustrations that they've had. And so
I knew if I was going toget anybody to go on this journey with
me, I had to go first. So literally six pages is in we
in there like you you. Thisis not cookie cut, this is raw,
this is authentic. But I believethat and I say it like this
all the time. God doesn't blesswho you pretend to be. He blesses

(47:12):
who you really are. And Ijust feel like, for me, if
this is where I am and whereI was, I think that's the place
that everybody needs to identify with becausethis new book is teaching people how to
go from trauma to triumph. Andwe all have trauma, whether we accept
it or deny it, we allgot it. It's the reason why we
do what we do. But whatdo you do with it? And I

(47:34):
think that there's a way that I'velearned from my own life to go from
trauma every bad thing that happens toyou, to triumph and you can help
other people. And so this ismy invitation into that. In the first
chapter, you're talking about all thedifferent kind of hits. Yeah, you've
taken in your life, and youare a very successful human being right now,
but the hitch is what made youwho you are. Well, I

(47:55):
told people over the time that I'vebeen writing this book, and when interviews
like there's no hit like the oneyou don't see coming, And you know,
I think that in this last fiveyears, for most of us,
we've all taken a hit that wedidn't know was coming. I mean,
whether it's relationally, whether it's financially, whether it was COVID, whether it

(48:15):
was business wise, like like dang, where did that come from? And
a lot of times, when youtake a hit that you don't see coming,
it stuns you and a lot ofpeople don't know what to do with
that trauma. That's why if you'veever watched the boxing match and somebody gets
a right upper cut, they losefeeling in their legs, they fall,
and some of the hits have madepeople that were really strong at one time

(48:36):
fall. I want to encourage peoplelike, listen, this is the season
where you may have fallen, thatsomething may have been traumatic that has happened,
but we want to take all thatdamage and we want it to push
you to your destiny. And forme, I just feel like everybody was
given a purpose on this life anda lot of people aren't reaching it because
of past traumas. This is theseason where we're gonna face those things and

(48:58):
we're gonna move forward and we're goingto actually reach our destiny. So when
I saw you on social media recentlyand you show the mug shot, I'm
like, yeah, this man amug shot. Where the mug shot come
from? And again in the book, you dive right into it. There's
no Well, chapter six when weget No No, No, No No,
page three gets into the into themug shot and seeing how it happened,

(49:20):
could it could happen to Anybody's happento anybody? Anybody? The truth
of the matter, of the truthof the matter is all of us have
issues and things that have happened thatwe have not just told anybody about.
We bury them. We walk aroundlike they never happen, but they're affecting
us every day. Our body keepsthe score, how we interact with our
children are anger. All of thesedifferent things are really dictating, and we

(49:45):
actually need to offload some of thisweight. We need to go to therapy.
I believe in therapy and theology.I think we need to pray,
and we need to visit somebody's practice. I think that there are certain things
that we haven't been talking about.And yeah, like I ended up and
having to turn my self in andI for car insurance fraud and I got
into a situation and all that,and I see, I'm still I'm still

(50:06):
trying to figure out how how theycaught you five years later though, Bro,
you weren't thinking about it. Iwasn't even thinking about it. They
came back five years later and waslike, yeah, you going to jail,
bro, and and I was likea statue or something, and It's
like nah. And the beautiful thingabout it is that could have been damaging

(50:27):
for me, but I wasn't becauseI Number one, I had grown from
the moment I made the mistake fiveyears ago compared to five years in the
future, you should be evolving,transforming. That's why I always subscribe to
the thought progression over perfection. Ifwe just keep making a step forward,
we'll be somewhere different. So Iwas. I was far away from the
situation, but it was still veryembarrassing and like, what's going on.

(50:51):
But when I went into that jail, bro, I was adding value to
people. I was there for ninehours, I think eight or nine hours,
and the whole time I was inthere, I went and got a
haircut. But for I did it. I put on a nice suit.
Shot clean. It's clean, youhear me. Let me talk to people
real quick. I usually don't dothis, but look up Mike Tid's book

(51:13):
shot. It's one of the bestmuck shots I've ever seen in my life.
I wouldn't have got a haircut,bro. I put on a suit
and assert and I said, I'mgonna use this moment to be able to
let people know they can go throughsomething bad and something good can come out
of it. I went in therebroad. I was talking to people,
encouraging people who had life, peoplewho were about to be gone for years
that were about to and I wasable to be encouraging to them. And

(51:35):
then that night I got out andI went to go preach to youth that
night. Like, I just don'tthink that if we get the right perspective
we have to have the same resultsas everybody else. We can actually turn
our damage into destiny, damage butnot destroyed. New book from pasta Mike
tids my man. Look, thebook is available October three. Pre order

(52:00):
it right now, right now,right now, go ahead and get it.
And Mike telling, let me askyou this before I let you go.
What is your gospel truth? Yeah, the gospel truth is I'm a
sinner saved by grace and the lovethat I've been extended. Because I've done
a lot of bad stuff, manipulator, addicted to pornography, a lot of
bad stuff in my heart. ButI had a real transformation, and I

(52:23):
believe that no matter where anybody isright now, there is hope for you,
no matter what's going on, nomatter who left you, no matter
what you're addicted to, the gospeltruth is there's still hope for you.
You may be damaged, but you'renot destroyed. Amen. Amen, It's

(52:43):
a black information network. The gospeltruth, Mike, expect to you Thanks
mad. Doug Davis talks to oneof Canada's leading black doctors the discussion black
maternal health and how to avoid dyingfrom pregnancy related illnesses. Doug, Hey,
thanks Mike. This is Doug Davisand I focus my attention on maternal
health in the black community. Accordingto the CDC, black women are three

(53:05):
times more likely to die from pregnancyrelated causes than white women. The agency
says multiple factors such as quality healthcareand structural racism are just a few of
the main reasons for the disparaging numbers, and the problem just does not exist
here in the US, but inCanada as well. With us to talk
more about it is doctor Quadro Karramentang, I see you, physician at the
Ottawa Hospital and assistant professor at theUniversity of Ottawa. Folks up north called

(53:30):
him doctor k Doc. Welcome tothe Black Information Network, Doug. As
always, it is an absolute pleasure. Thanks for having all right, so
let's talk about the maternal healthcare issuesin Canada. Are the numbers just as
bad there as they are here inthe US? Honestly, Doug, my
humble opinion is it's not as badof an issue as it is in the

(53:50):
US, but we're not capturing itat the same level in Canada. But
certainly, I gotta say, thisis an issue that's relatively new to me,
Like I didn't realize this was anissue till the post George Floyd movement
where we starting to talk about somany more black issues making the front and
center. And when I saw thisstatistic, Holy cow, was that ever

(54:13):
striking. It was one of thosethings where you almost fell out of your
chair where you realize that our people, just based on the color of their
skin are having worse outcomes with thebaby and the mom. And this is
something that I think, I'm soglad you're bringing up as an issue because
it starts with awareness, and itstarts with these conversations that we're having today.

(54:35):
Absolutely, so, what specific initiativesor programs are being implemented to address
various variations in quality healthcare that contributeto their racial disparities and maternal mortality rates
between black and white women. Igotta say, what I'm encouraged about is
the amount of movement, especially oflate, that is being pushed at a
state level, at a national level. I'll give you a couple example.

(54:59):
Black Mamma's Matter Alliance to be MMA, there's the Birthplace Labs, JJ's way,
that National Birth Equity Collaborative. Andwhen I love about this, Doug,
is that by increasing the awareness,we start having these conversations, and
when we're aware that this is aproblem is when we do something about it.
Because a lot of these issues wereunrecognized, and often the treatment of

(55:25):
our people were subconscious. People don'trealize often that they're mistreating our people.
They're disqualifying the pain that they're having, they're disqualifying the symptoms that they might
be having. And honestly, there'seven evidence out there. You black women
with a black child go to ablack hospital predominantly black staff in there,
the outcomes are better, like simplyjust by being in a predominantly black hospital

(55:49):
because it's it's one of those thingswhere diversity matters. And so these organizations
really proud that they're raising the voicebecause this is how change happens exactly.
And you know, great segue hereif you can elaborate on some of those
key underlying chronic conditions that you know, disupportunately affect black women during pregnancy.
Yeah, it's such a great question, Doug, like when you look at

(56:12):
our people, unfortunately we have higherrates of high blood pressure, high rates
of diabetes, are rates of cardiovasculardisease. When you look at things at
a whole, there are risk ofhaving complications during pregnancy. All these conditions
are exacerbated during pregnancy. And somaking sure that our folks get early access

(56:34):
to care and get treatment for theirhigh blood pressure, get treatment for their
diabetes, to make sure they're wellcontrolled so that way there's less risk of
complications. So getting access increasingly awarenessand not being ignored and not being mistreated
like it's I always say, youknow, as a doctor, I always
try and treat someone like it's myfamily member. And I wish that was

(56:58):
more front center. If you treatsomeone like you, they're your loved ones,
You're you're always going to do You'realways going to do them well.
And I think that's all, unfortunately, part of the puzzle how our healthcare
professionals in Canada addressing the disparaging numberswith you know, black women when it
comes to pregnancy and related issues thatthey have to deal with. I think

(57:19):
it's more more of the same,my friend, Like, I really think
it's the raising the bar and andlike we've had this on the news,
I've been able to speak on thenews naturally about this very topic. You
we were seeing more and more blackfolks getting admitted into medical school or seeing
like black streams where where as aresult that representation is going to make a

(57:44):
difference. We're seeing more black peoplein leadership positions. And so yeah,
up here we're doing the exact samething that we're that we think it's important
and we'll get there. Doug,what kind of advice can you give black
women to a share of the thatthey have a safe pregnancy and a safe
birth. That's that's a great question. One is to I'm gonna say it

(58:07):
again, like make sure when youespecially when you have those complications of obesity,
types of diabetes, high blood pressure, that you seek medical attention.
Try and do your very best tomake those numbers optimal because that's going to
reduce your risk of complications. Second, when you're in hospital, you're delivering
your baby, you think something's wrong, you feel like you need that attention,

(58:30):
be able, like speak up.I always say I see it all
the time in my work, patients, especially women, in my humble opinion,
their instincts are on point. Whensomething is wrong, something wrong with
your baby, somethings wrong with you, You be an advocate. You and
your family be an advocates. Don'ttake no foreign answer if you're being dismissed,

(58:52):
because this is this is how thesenegative outcomes have happened. I'm talking
dude, doctor Quadrow karamintang I Seu, physician at Ottawa Hospital. When we
are talking black maternal health, I'msure Canada is happy to have you.
My name is Doug Davis. You'relistening to the Black Information Network right here
on the Black Perspective. Thanks Dougfor more on these stories. Listen to

(59:15):
the Black Information Network on the freeiHeartRadio app or log onto Vinnews dot com
where you can hear this program inits entirety on demand. Also follow us
on social media at Black Information Networkand on x formerly known as Twitter at
black info neet. We thank youfor joining us on the Black Perspective and

(59:36):
look forward to continuing to have neededconversations for the black community. Next week.
I'm Mike Island on the Black InformationNetwork.