What if revitalizing a neighborhood could honor its past while paving the way for a brighter future? Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. , co-founder of Northeast Oklahoma City Renaissance www.neokcr.org, joins us to share his remarkable journey from Little Rock to Oklahoma City, tackling the challenges of urban decline and drug epidemics along the way. Dr. Hughes opens up about how his experiences in historically Black neighborhoods have shaped his ethical approach to development and revitalization, offering invaluable insights into balancing investment with cultural preservation and mentoring minority enterprises.
Ever wonder how to find your guiding North Star in life? We explore the powerful interplay between self-reflection, purpose, and community. Hear firsthand how stepping out of comfort zones led to a transformative career shift from education to community development and venture capital. Learn the importance of a supportive "tribe" that aligns with your purpose, and how life's adversities can reveal hidden strengths. Our conversation underscores the critical role of finding a community that resonates with your vision, ultimately leading to greater personal and collective impact.
Imagine leveraging the power of collaboration like the Avengers. Our discussion highlights the necessity of building resilience and embracing disequilibrium for both personal and professional growth. Using continuous learning and self-reflection, discover how biographies and written reflections can serve as mentors on your journey. Finally, uncover the mission of Northeast Renaissance, focusing on economic development, real estate, and access to capital to unlock community potential. Tune in for an enlightening conversation that challenges you to contribute to a thriving future for your community.
Thank you for listening! YouTube - @3KeysforYourJourney -Tune in for a new episode every Sunday. Connect with us at www.ocfo.info
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Greg Jones (00:00):
In this conversation , purpose-driven leadership and
community innovation take thespotlight.
Dr Quentin Hughes, seniorfather, husband, co-founder of
Northeast Oklahoma CityRenaissance, is a passionate
advocate for ethical place-baseddevelopment.
From creating vibrant communityspaces like Kindred Spirits to
mentoring minority enterprisesand entrepreneurs and driving
(00:21):
innovation in Oklahoma City, hewill share stories and
strategies that will empowerchange and inspire action.
Join me as we explore the keysto building stronger communities
and a brighter future.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Are you ready to unlock your potential?
Tune in to Three Keys for yourJourney podcast, where business
owners share invaluable insightsand empowering strategies to
guide you towards success.
Based in Oklahoma City, ourhost, greg T Jones, will inspire
and motivate you every week.
Get ready to join ourconversation as we build
(01:07):
community together.
Greg Jones (01:11):
All right, we have the one and only Dr Q in the
house.
Sir, yes, sir.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (01:16):
And how you doing sir.
Greg Jones (01:17):
I'm doing well, wow, I'm doing well you got a big
smile.
Listeners can't see you, man,but I can see you.
You got the big smile on yourface today, man.
Okay, so, uh, quinn and I goback quite a ways wow, quite a
ways.
Uh, I know 10 plus years.
I should.
I guess I should think about.
I should think about my sonswhen we first uh got hired by
(01:41):
the huses for lawn care.
My sons are 19.
I'm thinking at least 10 yearsago.
It's been at least 10 years, atleast 10.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (01:50):
Yeah, for sure.
Greg Jones (01:51):
Well, man, we're glad to have you on Three Keys
for your Journey podcast today,and it's going to be a great
conversation because, man, youare one of the folks in Oklahoma
City that people look to as aleader.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (02:06):
That's crazy, that's crazy, that's
crazy man.
Greg Jones (02:09):
It's crazy, but it's true.
And so, man, you're not only aI mentioned in the intro a
father, husband and co-founderof a wonderful organization man,
but also a business owner.
And so, for folks that do notknow who you are, introduce
yourself.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (02:27):
Yeah, man, thank you for having me on.
I've been waiting for my chance.
I was smiling because I got tohear the intro music and
everything and I was like, okay,it got me pumped up to talk.
Got me pumped up to talk.
But yeah, man, I was originallyborn in Little Rock, arkansas,
(02:52):
80s.
Baby Grew up during a time wherethere was a lot of negative
attention on my town andpositive attention as well.
On the one end you had theBanging in Little Rock
documentary that so many blackfolks know us for, and then you
had, you know, bill ClintonPresident.
(03:14):
Bill Clinton, you know, comingout of Little Rock who was our
governor of the state ofArkansas and then becoming the
president.
So you kind of had those twostorylines coming up coming out
of the 90s.
But yeah, during that time, youknow, my community was being
kind of ravaged by the drugepidemic Little Rock's kind of
(03:37):
the middle of the country, so alot of trafficking and things of
that nature.
But also at the same time therewas a lot of joy, things of
that nature.
But also at the same time therewas a lot of joy, I think, for
me in the way that I grew up.
But you got to see, you know,neighborhoods that once thrived.
You got to see themdeteriorating over time.
So I spent a lot of time inBoys and Girls Club.
(04:02):
That's where I went afterschool because my mom worked and
so Boys and Girls Clubs aretypically in the middle of a
black neighborhood.
That's deteriorating.
So we got to, you know, wewould go walk the streets, buy
candy from the corner store andsee, you know, gang members,
crackheads, fights, things ofthat nature, and it got to be a
bit ubiquitous, like it was.
(04:23):
You know, members, crackheads,fights, things of that nature,
and it got to be a bitubiquitous, like it was.
You know, it was so commonplace, um.
But then kind of grew up and umwent off to uh, came to oklahoma
, um, to go to college.
I had a scholarship to comehere and over time I would go
(04:44):
back home, you know, for breaksand such.
I say I stayed here to do mybachelor's and then my master's
and so I would continue to goback and forth home through
those programs and I would seechanges, you know, in those
neighborhoods that I came from.
(05:04):
At the same time, similarchanges I could see in black
community and well, incommunities in Oklahoma City,
you know, as a college student,the place where we can go find
black culture was the city, wasOklahoma City.
We called it the city, and sowe would go to hang out at clubs
or you know, that's where youwould find a barbershop and
(05:26):
things of that nature, and sothe east side didn't it.
You know, the east side wasvery familiar.
Because of that.
You know, the east side ofOklahoma City felt like, in many
ways felt like home.
It's where a lot of churcheswere.
You know, that's where someclubs and stuff were, and that's
kind of way it was in LittleRock as well, and so, um, you
(05:47):
used to, you would start to, um,you know, see changes happening
and you know investmenthappening in Oklahoma City.
And then I go back home and I'dsee investment happening in
Little Rock and, uh, thecommunities that were that were
black, or you know that close todowntown, were changing.
Um, they were being invested inand we just called that
(06:09):
gentrification.
Um, and I, I would also havethe opportunity to travel to
different communities and otherplaces as a grad school student,
going to conferences and Iwould be like near downtowns,
and it felt like the same typeof thing was happening,
happening there as well.
So I just kind of started tohave this, wondering about what
(06:31):
it you know, you know well,first of noticing that, hey,
these communities that are beinginvested in either, you know,
once we're black and are nolonger, once were black and are
no longer, and so I started towonder what would it look like?
You know, what would it be liketo live in a community where
(06:55):
that was being invested in, thatremained black, right, and so
that stayed with me for a while.
I used to ask my mom storiesabout her growing up and things
of that nature and so kind offantasize about what it would be
like to be in a middle class.
You know black neighborhood,you know what I mean and you
know go into business sectorsand see, you know, in commercial
(07:17):
corridors and see thrivingblack businesses and things of
that nature.
So anyway, that kind of set thestage for what I ended up, what
I'm doing now, and you know itcreated, you know, a curiosity
in me and a desire for me to actupon, kind of that, those
(07:39):
wonderings that I had.
And so so, yeah, I, I I've beenin Oklahoma City now 24.
I've been in Oklahoma now like20, 20, well, coming up on 25
years.
Greg Jones (07:53):
Wow man.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (07:55):
Yeah, met my beautiful bride Sasha and
, you know, have a family ofthree kids, and so I'm a, I'm a
Sooner, yeah, I'm an Okie, right, wow, yeah, I'm an Okie.
I've been here.
I've been here since collegeand I've met, you know, lifelong
(08:17):
friends, not only in collegebut after, and so I'm rooted and
now I'm doing work which I'msure we'll kind of touch on.
I'm doing the type of work thatI dreamed about.
You know, whenever, whenever Istarted to have those early one
wonderings now, with NortheastRenaissance as the executive
(08:39):
director.
Greg Jones (08:41):
So just thinking about your three keys, what are
three keys that have been mostimpactful to you when you think
about your journey?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (08:50):
Finding your purpose Right and then
focusing on living a purposefullife Right, right, I'd say,
finding my tribe has been mycommunity of you know, yeah, my
(09:12):
community Right, like mindedindividuals, just people that
you that I want to pour into meand that I want to pour into
into me and that, um, I want topour into um.
I say within that that wouldcontain like mentors and stuff
like that as well.
So I don't want to uh, separateout cause I got so many maybe
(09:33):
keys that could come to mind,but, um, I've been really
focused lately on um, like myown mastery in evolution, like
self mastery in evolution, andso like truly, truly
(10:00):
understanding myself and myability to reflect and identify
and process my thoughts,feelings, emotion, and Respond
(10:23):
versus versus like reacting andyou know, and so that's been.
I think that's been a reallyrelevant you know key here
lately as well, and you know,part of that is really a thirst
for knowledge, is within that,in a growth mindset.
(10:43):
So I'm trying to couch like abunch of keys into my keys,
which is, you know how I can besometimes.
Greg Jones (10:49):
No, it's good.
I think what I'm hearing, withthe three that you've at least
named and the attributes aroundthat a lot of self-inflection,
which probably helps definepurpose helps you understand why
your tribe is so important andwhat, what all that means to
(11:14):
growth as yourself, as a person.
I mean, I'm trying to thinkabout summarizing that a little
bit, but just thinking about howall those interrelate.
They're separate, but how theyinterrelate with one another.
So talk a little bit aboutpurpose.
When you think about purpose,what are the things that come to
your mind?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (11:32):
No, I think it's the answer.
It's like the answer to thereason why I exist.
You know what I mean?
Um, I do.
I do believe that, um, we, that,uh, a major part of our purpose
and some may say, like our onlypurpose is, uh, here, is to
(11:53):
serve, right, um, but then, like, there's unpacking that like
how am I supposed to serve?
You know what I'm saying?
Um, how am I supposed tocontribute to the world?
And so, um, so, yeah, that'show I think about purpose and
and it's it's instrumental to meis because it, it creates, um,
(12:16):
it can provide like guidance foryou.
You know what I mean and I'msearching for words, but it
helps you kind of know whatyou're trying to accomplish, and
so, yeah, it sets a huge goalfor you and it sounds like those
guy rails and it gives you, itgives you that North Star, and
(12:38):
so you see a lot of people, alot of people, I think, a lot of
us, who aren't fortunate enoughto have found what that is
struggle, you know, struggle toknow what it is they want to do
in life.
You know what I'm saying, and soit's really a blessing, I think
(12:58):
, to be able to find that, to beable to find that, um, yeah,
because you know, to find thatreason for existence, because at
least it doesn't leave youfloundering and you know, in
like an exploration phase for anextended amount of time and
when you think because the setone of the second things you
talked about was your tribe howdo you see that interrelate to
(13:22):
kind of what you were justtalking about?
Greg Jones (13:24):
as you start thinking about your tribe and
the importance of even having atribe?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (13:28):
Oh, absolutely, um, you know, I know
in the third one I talk a lotabout self, but, um, you know
it's.
I think it's important to buildself to the extent of like, the
ability to be interdependent.
You know what I'm saying.
And so, when it comes to atribe and how it connects to
purpose, is that you know whenyou're, when you're like walking
(13:52):
in purpose, then you're goingto be navigating in spaces.
You're more likely to benavigating in spaces where
you're going to be interactingwith people you know what I'm
saying that are of like mind.
You know what I'm saying.
Or you're you know, at somepoint you're going to be able to
find people of like purpose,right, and so that can help you,
(14:15):
you know, build that communitybut also help you discern you
know what people you want tothat you should allow in your
circle.
You know what I'm saying, causeyou, um, you're able to know
whether or not, like, thesepeople are going to help you
further that purpose or not.
You know what I'm saying, um,so it's kind of it creates like
(14:37):
this litmus test that you get touse for determining, like, what
your next move is, what peopleare going to be in your life,
what kind of roles you're goingto, what kind of jobs you're
going to take.
You know what I'm saying.
All of those types of things.
Greg Jones (14:51):
It seems like, as you're talking and I'm thinking,
imagining this is that it's aprocess and it's over time and
I'm sure in your life you've hada lot of bumps along the way.
Absolutely, tell us aboutsometimes how those bumps also
help you really understandpurpose and this interdependence
(15:16):
.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (15:18):
Um, so those bumps that is I'm going to
call adversity are, are almostlike tests, right, and so, um,
they will teach you aboutyourself you know what I'm
saying and, uh, sometimes aboutothers, um, so, yes, so they'll
(15:46):
teach you about yourself andthey'll uh a lot of times like,
I guess, overcoming them um will, uh, will, show you what you
can do, like what's possible, um, for you, uh, that you, that
you can overcome, and it helpsyou to build a level of
confidence, helps you to build alevel of confidence, it helps
(16:09):
you to build that level ofindependence you know of agency.
You know what I mean, and so,and that translates to other
opportunities.
So, specifically, you know,there was a time I took a risk
and left.
You know I was an educator forabout a decade.
I worked in education, which Ididn't mention in the story, but
(16:36):
I made it so long already Icouldn't add that to it.
So I spent about a decade ineducation, which was safe, and I
felt it was purposeful in termsof my bigger vision for what I
want to accomplish.
However, I thought that I couldhave more impact in the
community development space if Icould be full time in that
(16:58):
space, and so I had anopportunity to go out and work
in the private sector for anorganization I had an
opportunity to like build a fundwhich would be like an impact
fund, that would support, likecommunity development efforts
for, like this venture capitalcompany, which I had no
(17:21):
background in finance oranything like that.
And so I did it.
I took that leap and I worked inthat capacity for a little bit
over a year, and every bit ofthat year was challenging.
Every bit of that year was achallenge and a struggle because
(17:43):
there was so much that I had tolearn, like there was so much,
and I think they purposefullylet me flounder, because that
was that was.
You know what was going tocreate the disequilibrium.
You know the it was going tocreate that equilibrium.
You know the it was going tocreate that and that's exactly
what it did, you know.
(18:10):
So I, I built, I had to, youknow, use resources, either in
that place or externally, myrelationships, whatever to put
together something that I hadnever done before, whether it
was a great product or not.
Um, I did it and I would haveto randomly present to people,
you know pitch it, and theywould tear it up and give me,
you know, give me criticalfeedback and things of that
nature.
(18:31):
But at the end of thatexperience, it let me know that
it was that I could do it likethat I could stand there and
take those, you know, take thosehits, and that I would be
resilient, take those hits andthat I would be resilient.
You know what I mean.
And it gave me confidence.
It gave me the confidence totake the next step, right.
(19:00):
And so, yeah, so, like I was, Iwas independent in that
opportunity, but at the sametime, well, I think I displayed
interdependence when I utilizedthose resources, when I tapped
into those resources to supportmy effort, right.
And then the confidence that itbuilt, I think, set me up to be
(19:21):
more of an independent force,right, that could contribute to
the broader movement right ofother partners.
And so that's where theinterdependence goes.
So now I could play a criticalrole.
You know what I'm saying.
Regardless, I can get thingsdone by myself, but now it's
(19:44):
like knowing um is now I put.
You know my production, youknow I, I, we grow the pride by
adding my production to theproduction of the next person
who can, who can, contribute atthat level as well, and so, and
that's kind of what we see atNortheast Renaissance.
You know it's like.
You know, interdependence islike the Avengers, you know what
(20:07):
I'm saying.
Or the Justice League that'sinterdependence.
Like Wonder Woman can do herown thing, you know what I'm
saying.
But when you're facingintergalactic evils like OK,
we're going to come together youknow what I'm saying To to
(20:27):
defeat this, this power, becauseour powers combined are you
know what I mean are going to beobviously multiplied.
You know what I'm saying to theextent that that needs to be in
order to defeat this foe orwhatever that is.
So that's kind of how I seeinterdependence.
And you know those challengesis like that kind of like that
crucible that you go through tobuild your character, to build
those muscles of resilience andto build those skills that are
(20:50):
needed to be transferable.
Like I would not if I didn'thave to build that fund.
It would be a lot harder for meto struggle through developing
a budget.
You know what I'm saying as anED, and not that I can just do
it easily.
You know what I'm saying as anED, and not that I can just do
it easily.
You know what I mean, but I'mconfident that I can because I
had to struggle through buildinga pro forma you know what I'm
saying for that fund.
(21:12):
So I do a lot of listening tobooks.
I'm not as much of a reader ofphysical books, but I maybe
listen on average to a book aweek, right, and because I'm
constantly I'm thirsting forknowledge that will support my
(21:35):
continued evolution as a, as ahuman Right, as a leader, as a
husband.
You know what I'm saying, um,and so you know I.
I think I listened to one booksay that um talk about the value
of, of reading Um, and ittalked about um biographies
(21:56):
specifically.
It's like reading biographiesis like being mentored by the
greats, right, and then, butthere's also been more recently,
I do like a writtenself-reflection most days of the
week, where I'm thinking aboutyesterday and I might go deep
(22:17):
onto a topic and reallyintrospectively think about what
that means, or even like myaction.
You know what I'm saying Like.
Why did I do that?
Could it be because of this?
You know what I'm saying, um,because this happened a long
time ago and you know, is this,why is this a trigger?
And so they also.
A book also said um reflections.
(22:38):
Um, like writing reflection islike mentoring yourself.
You know what I mean and so youknow, I think, definitely, like
I think I think the questionwas, you know, kind of expanded
upon you know self, selfevolution and self leadership.
(23:01):
I think those are those havebeen some really key elements to
my, my growth here lately, andso you know, I think the In this
(23:23):
, in this work of communitydevelopment, northeast
Renaissance focuses on, you know, economic development, real
estate development and thenaccess to capital, and we see
those as like, as like threepriorities that will support
community revitalization fromwithin.
And there are ways that thereare some surface ways that you
(23:44):
can kind of look at those, andso I read more materials that
are related to it, so that I canget at depth you know what I
(24:13):
mean so I can get more at depth,whether that be economics or
that be the, the biography of acity or of a community similar
to ours, or case studies andthings of that nature.
To really try to get in theminds of others, um, learn from
their successes and theirmistakes as well, to um, so that
we have the benefit, um as anorganization and as a community,
of uh, of those insights youknow what I'm saying, um, and to
really ensure and checkourselves and check our
assumptions about whether or not, um, you know, we can do things
(24:36):
better.
You know what I mean, and so Ithink that's what that.
That's really what thatself-evolution piece is about is
about you know, being able tostep outside of yourself and
analyze your own thoughts andeven get to the point where you
can begin to anticipate you knowwhat I'm saying?
Um, and kind of project wisdom.
(25:02):
Rather than it being more of auh, uh, it can be more of a
leading indicator than a laggingindicator.
Greg Jones (25:05):
You know what I mean .
Well, I love, uh, you know,everything you're you're talking
about today, I think gives sucha um key insights.
Because my mind went back tothinking historically.
We think about you know, yourparents, grandparents, you think
about your lineage, so to speak.
But then you can think the sameway in terms of communities and
(25:28):
then you know I've had recentlythe opportunity over the years
to go to other places you know,outside the country, country and
it feels like in a lot of otherplaces you always get a sense
of where you are.
Particularly when you're inthese other other places you get
a sense of what happened 30, 40, 50, 100 years ago and
(25:50):
oftentimes in underservedcommunities.
A lot of that historicalperspective is lost, and what I
mean by that, when I'm tyingthat together, is the evolution
of, is a mindset, and so Ididn't realize how much of my
parents' mindset I justinherited and how much, probably
(26:10):
, of their mindset theyinherited from their parents.
They inherited from theirparents.
So if I'm not constantlyseeking to learn and pour into
and research and haveperspective and dig things out,
my perspective will be passed onto my kids.
I'm not saying that all thingsare bad, but there are a lot of
(26:36):
things that, because of that,mindset and perspective need to
be different.
And if I want somethingdifferent for myself, I'm also
passing that on to my childrenas well.
They can have somethingdifferent.
Our community can havesomething different.
So the last thing I always ask,quentin, is most people ask me
like how?
Speaker 2 (26:49):
do I get?
Greg Jones (26:50):
And I heard this guy you had on the podcast, Dr
Quentin.
How do we get in contact withhim?
How do we learn more about theorganizations with him?
How do we learn more about theorganizations he went?
How do we learn more about whathe's doing?
So what would you pass on assome information if somebody is
trying to figure out how theycan get in contact with?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (27:06):
you All right With Northeast Renaissance
if you want you know, if youwant to learn more about our
organization is Northeast OKCRenaissance Inc.
You can go to our website tolearn more.
That's N-E-O-K-C-R dot O-R-G.
We are also on most majorsocial media platforms, as at
(27:28):
N-E-O-K-C-R, and that'sInstagram, I believe Facebook as
well.
We are also on LinkedIn.
I want to plus on what you said,greg, about.
You know that generational, youknow kind of those generate
that uh power.
I think it was uh intentionallysuppressed, um, to the extent
(28:06):
that by the time we showed, weshowed up, we we have, no, we
don't know what our true poweris and the you know the system
that was created to suppress it.
They know full well.
I think I think the folks thatcreated this stuff knew full
well with what the potential is,and so so much about I think
(28:26):
the self evolution.
For me is um, unlocking, youknow, uh, unlocking that latent
power, that latent potential,and I think a lot about how as a
person, as an organization, wecan participate in helping
others do that, and then thatenables us to be us all, to be
(28:55):
like contributors to theadvancement of our own
communities or our own culture,you know, through throughout the
diaspora and so, yeah, you makea great point there.
But that and that's where Ifeel like my purpose is.
My contribution to this worldis like I just want to see my
people throughout the worldthrive, and that changes a bit
(29:17):
more the more I learn whatthriving looks like.
Whereas at one point it lookedlike economically, we had enough
money, right.
Well, now it doesn't look likethat Like.
You know, what does it looklike to thrive holistically?
You know what I mean, and so Ithink a lot about what my
contribution can be to that.
Greg Jones (29:39):
Man, I appreciate all of that.
It feels like we're going tohave a part two to this podcast.
Yeah, man, we could dig in awhole lot more, but, man, I
appreciate you stopping by beingon the podcast.
Again, dr Quinn Hughes,appreciate you so much, and so
for all of our listeningaudience, again, we'll put that
contact, information, websites,all that.
(29:59):
That'll be in the informations.
But when you tune in, you know,one of the things that I always
ask is just something that youmay have learned from our
podcast.
You know, take what you'velearned and share it with
somebody else.
Quentin said it best, and weall got a tribe, a community
around us, and we need eachother.
And so again, quentin said itbest, and we all got a tribe, a
community around us, and we needeach other.
And so again, quentin man,thank you so much for being here
(30:19):
, thanks for having me.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (30:23):
I don't think I went business the way I
need.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Thanks for joining Three Keys for your Journey.
Tune in next time for anotherepisode.
In this conversation , purpose-driven leadership and
community innovation take thespotlight.
Dr Quentin Hughes, seniorfather, husband, co-founder of
Northeast Oklahoma CityRenaissance, is a passionate
advocate for ethical place-baseddevelopment.
From creating vibrant communityspaces like Kindred Spirits to
mentoring minority enterprisesand entrepreneurs and driving
(00:21):
innovation in Oklahoma City, hewill share stories and
strategies that will empowerchange and inspire action.
Join me as we explore the keysto building stronger communities
and a brighter future.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Are you ready to unlock your potential?
Tune in to Three Keys for yourJourney podcast, where business
owners share invaluable insightsand empowering strategies to
guide you towards success.
Based in Oklahoma City, ourhost, greg T Jones, will inspire
and motivate you every week.
Get ready to join ourconversation as we build
(01:07):
community together.
Greg Jones (01:11):
All right, we have the one and only Dr Q in the
house.
Sir, yes, sir.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (01:16):
And how you doing sir.
Greg Jones (01:17):
I'm doing well, wow, I'm doing well you got a big
smile.
Listeners can't see you, man,but I can see you.
You got the big smile on yourface today, man.
Okay, so, uh, quinn and I goback quite a ways wow, quite a
ways.
Uh, I know 10 plus years.
I should.
I guess I should think about.
I should think about my sonswhen we first uh got hired by
(01:41):
the huses for lawn care.
My sons are 19.
I'm thinking at least 10 yearsago.
It's been at least 10 years, atleast 10.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (01:50):
Yeah, for sure.
Greg Jones (01:51):
Well, man, we're glad to have you on Three Keys
for your Journey podcast today,and it's going to be a great
conversation because, man, youare one of the folks in Oklahoma
City that people look to as aleader.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (02:06):
That's crazy, that's crazy, that's
crazy man.
Greg Jones (02:09):
It's crazy, but it's true.
And so, man, you're not only aI mentioned in the intro a
father, husband and co-founderof a wonderful organization man,
but also a business owner.
And so, for folks that do notknow who you are, introduce
yourself.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (02:27):
Yeah, man, thank you for having me on.
I've been waiting for my chance.
I was smiling because I got tohear the intro music and
everything and I was like, okay,it got me pumped up to talk.
Got me pumped up to talk.
But yeah, man, I was originallyborn in Little Rock, arkansas,
(02:52):
80s.
Baby Grew up during a time wherethere was a lot of negative
attention on my town andpositive attention as well.
On the one end you had theBanging in Little Rock
documentary that so many blackfolks know us for, and then you
had, you know, bill ClintonPresident.
(03:14):
Bill Clinton, you know, comingout of Little Rock who was our
governor of the state ofArkansas and then becoming the
president.
So you kind of had those twostorylines coming up coming out
of the 90s.
But yeah, during that time, youknow, my community was being
kind of ravaged by the drugepidemic Little Rock's kind of
(03:37):
the middle of the country, so alot of trafficking and things of
that nature.
But also at the same time therewas a lot of joy, things of
that nature.
But also at the same time therewas a lot of joy, I think, for
me in the way that I grew up.
But you got to see, you know,neighborhoods that once thrived.
You got to see themdeteriorating over time.
So I spent a lot of time inBoys and Girls Club.
(04:02):
That's where I went afterschool because my mom worked and
so Boys and Girls Clubs aretypically in the middle of a
black neighborhood.
That's deteriorating.
So we got to, you know, wewould go walk the streets, buy
candy from the corner store andsee, you know, gang members,
crackheads, fights, things ofthat nature, and it got to be a
bit ubiquitous, like it was.
(04:23):
You know, members, crackheads,fights, things of that nature,
and it got to be a bitubiquitous, like it was.
You know, it was so commonplace, um.
But then kind of grew up and umwent off to uh, came to oklahoma
, um, to go to college.
I had a scholarship to comehere and over time I would go
(04:44):
back home, you know, for breaksand such.
I say I stayed here to do mybachelor's and then my master's
and so I would continue to goback and forth home through
those programs and I would seechanges, you know, in those
neighborhoods that I came from.
(05:04):
At the same time, similarchanges I could see in black
community and well, incommunities in Oklahoma City,
you know, as a college student,the place where we can go find
black culture was the city, wasOklahoma City.
We called it the city, and sowe would go to hang out at clubs
or you know, that's where youwould find a barbershop and
(05:26):
things of that nature, and sothe east side didn't it.
You know, the east side wasvery familiar.
Because of that.
You know, the east side ofOklahoma City felt like, in many
ways felt like home.
It's where a lot of churcheswere.
You know, that's where someclubs and stuff were, and that's
kind of way it was in LittleRock as well, and so, um, you
(05:47):
used to, you would start to, um,you know, see changes happening
and you know investmenthappening in Oklahoma City.
And then I go back home and I'dsee investment happening in
Little Rock and, uh, thecommunities that were that were
black, or you know that close todowntown, were changing.
Um, they were being invested inand we just called that
(06:09):
gentrification.
Um, and I, I would also havethe opportunity to travel to
different communities and otherplaces as a grad school student,
going to conferences and Iwould be like near downtowns,
and it felt like the same typeof thing was happening,
happening there as well.
So I just kind of started tohave this, wondering about what
(06:31):
it you know, you know well,first of noticing that, hey,
these communities that are beinginvested in either, you know,
once we're black and are nolonger, once were black and are
no longer, and so I started towonder what would it look like?
You know, what would it be liketo live in a community where
(06:55):
that was being invested in, thatremained black, right, and so
that stayed with me for a while.
I used to ask my mom storiesabout her growing up and things
of that nature and so kind offantasize about what it would be
like to be in a middle class.
You know black neighborhood,you know what I mean and you
know go into business sectorsand see, you know, in commercial
(07:17):
corridors and see thrivingblack businesses and things of
that nature.
So anyway, that kind of set thestage for what I ended up, what
I'm doing now, and you know itcreated, you know, a curiosity
in me and a desire for me to actupon, kind of that, those
(07:39):
wonderings that I had.
And so so, yeah, I, I I've beenin Oklahoma City now 24.
I've been in Oklahoma now like20, 20, well, coming up on 25
years.
Greg Jones (07:53):
Wow man.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (07:55):
Yeah, met my beautiful bride Sasha and
, you know, have a family ofthree kids, and so I'm a, I'm a
Sooner, yeah, I'm an Okie, right, wow, yeah, I'm an Okie.
I've been here.
I've been here since collegeand I've met, you know, lifelong
(08:17):
friends, not only in collegebut after, and so I'm rooted and
now I'm doing work which I'msure we'll kind of touch on.
I'm doing the type of work thatI dreamed about.
You know, whenever, whenever Istarted to have those early one
wonderings now, with NortheastRenaissance as the executive
(08:39):
director.
Greg Jones (08:41):
So just thinking about your three keys, what are
three keys that have been mostimpactful to you when you think
about your journey?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (08:50):
Finding your purpose Right and then
focusing on living a purposefullife Right, right, I'd say,
finding my tribe has been mycommunity of you know, yeah, my
(09:12):
community Right, like mindedindividuals, just people that
you that I want to pour into meand that I want to pour into
into me and that, um, I want topour into um.
I say within that that wouldcontain like mentors and stuff
like that as well.
So I don't want to uh, separateout cause I got so many maybe
(09:33):
keys that could come to mind,but, um, I've been really
focused lately on um, like myown mastery in evolution, like
self mastery in evolution, andso like truly, truly
(10:00):
understanding myself and myability to reflect and identify
and process my thoughts,feelings, emotion, and Respond
(10:23):
versus versus like reacting andyou know, and so that's been.
I think that's been a reallyrelevant you know key here
lately as well, and you know,part of that is really a thirst
for knowledge, is within that,in a growth mindset.
(10:43):
So I'm trying to couch like abunch of keys into my keys,
which is, you know how I can besometimes.
Greg Jones (10:49):
No, it's good.
I think what I'm hearing, withthe three that you've at least
named and the attributes aroundthat a lot of self-inflection,
which probably helps definepurpose helps you understand why
your tribe is so important andwhat, what all that means to
(11:14):
growth as yourself, as a person.
I mean, I'm trying to thinkabout summarizing that a little
bit, but just thinking about howall those interrelate.
They're separate, but how theyinterrelate with one another.
So talk a little bit aboutpurpose.
When you think about purpose,what are the things that come to
your mind?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (11:32):
No, I think it's the answer.
It's like the answer to thereason why I exist.
You know what I mean?
Um, I do.
I do believe that, um, we, that,uh, a major part of our purpose
and some may say, like our onlypurpose is, uh, here, is to
(11:53):
serve, right, um, but then, like, there's unpacking that like
how am I supposed to serve?
You know what I'm saying?
Um, how am I supposed tocontribute to the world?
And so, um, so, yeah, that'show I think about purpose and
and it's it's instrumental to meis because it, it creates, um,
(12:16):
it can provide like guidance foryou.
You know what I mean and I'msearching for words, but it
helps you kind of know whatyou're trying to accomplish, and
so, yeah, it sets a huge goalfor you and it sounds like those
guy rails and it gives you, itgives you that North Star, and
(12:38):
so you see a lot of people, alot of people, I think, a lot of
us, who aren't fortunate enoughto have found what that is
struggle, you know, struggle toknow what it is they want to do
in life.
You know what I'm saying, and soit's really a blessing, I think
(12:58):
, to be able to find that, to beable to find that, um, yeah,
because you know, to find thatreason for existence, because at
least it doesn't leave youfloundering and you know, in
like an exploration phase for anextended amount of time and
when you think because the setone of the second things you
talked about was your tribe howdo you see that interrelate to
(13:22):
kind of what you were justtalking about?
Greg Jones (13:24):
as you start thinking about your tribe and
the importance of even having atribe?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (13:28):
Oh, absolutely, um, you know, I know
in the third one I talk a lotabout self, but, um, you know
it's.
I think it's important to buildself to the extent of like, the
ability to be interdependent.
You know what I'm saying.
And so, when it comes to atribe and how it connects to
purpose, is that you know whenyou're, when you're like walking
(13:52):
in purpose, then you're goingto be navigating in spaces.
You're more likely to benavigating in spaces where
you're going to be interactingwith people you know what I'm
saying that are of like mind.
You know what I'm saying.
Or you're you know, at somepoint you're going to be able to
find people of like purpose,right, and so that can help you,
(14:15):
you know, build that communitybut also help you discern you
know what people you want tothat you should allow in your
circle.
You know what I'm saying, causeyou, um, you're able to know
whether or not, like, thesepeople are going to help you
further that purpose or not.
You know what I'm saying, um,so it's kind of it creates like
(14:37):
this litmus test that you get touse for determining, like, what
your next move is, what peopleare going to be in your life,
what kind of roles you're goingto, what kind of jobs you're
going to take.
You know what I'm saying.
All of those types of things.
Greg Jones (14:51):
It seems like, as you're talking and I'm thinking,
imagining this is that it's aprocess and it's over time and
I'm sure in your life you've hada lot of bumps along the way.
Absolutely, tell us aboutsometimes how those bumps also
help you really understandpurpose and this interdependence
(15:16):
.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (15:18):
Um, so those bumps that is I'm going to
call adversity are, are almostlike tests, right, and so, um,
they will teach you aboutyourself you know what I'm
saying and, uh, sometimes aboutothers, um, so, yes, so they'll
(15:46):
teach you about yourself andthey'll uh a lot of times like,
I guess, overcoming them um will, uh, will, show you what you
can do, like what's possible, um, for you, uh, that you, that
you can overcome, and it helpsyou to build a level of
confidence, helps you to build alevel of confidence, it helps
(16:09):
you to build that level ofindependence you know of agency.
You know what I mean, and so,and that translates to other
opportunities.
So, specifically, you know,there was a time I took a risk
and left.
You know I was an educator forabout a decade.
I worked in education, which Ididn't mention in the story, but
(16:36):
I made it so long already Icouldn't add that to it.
So I spent about a decade ineducation, which was safe, and I
felt it was purposeful in termsof my bigger vision for what I
want to accomplish.
However, I thought that I couldhave more impact in the
community development space if Icould be full time in that
(16:58):
space, and so I had anopportunity to go out and work
in the private sector for anorganization I had an
opportunity to like build a fundwhich would be like an impact
fund, that would support, likecommunity development efforts
for, like this venture capitalcompany, which I had no
(17:21):
background in finance oranything like that.
And so I did it.
I took that leap and I worked inthat capacity for a little bit
over a year, and every bit ofthat year was challenging.
Every bit of that year was achallenge and a struggle because
(17:43):
there was so much that I had tolearn, like there was so much,
and I think they purposefullylet me flounder, because that
was that was.
You know what was going tocreate the disequilibrium.
You know the it was going tocreate that equilibrium.
You know the it was going tocreate that and that's exactly
what it did, you know.
(18:10):
So I, I built, I had to, youknow, use resources, either in
that place or externally, myrelationships, whatever to put
together something that I hadnever done before, whether it
was a great product or not.
Um, I did it and I would haveto randomly present to people,
you know pitch it, and theywould tear it up and give me,
you know, give me criticalfeedback and things of that
nature.
(18:31):
But at the end of thatexperience, it let me know that
it was that I could do it likethat I could stand there and
take those, you know, take thosehits, and that I would be
resilient, take those hits andthat I would be resilient.
You know what I mean.
And it gave me confidence.
It gave me the confidence totake the next step, right.
(19:00):
And so, yeah, so, like I was, Iwas independent in that
opportunity, but at the sametime, well, I think I displayed
interdependence when I utilizedthose resources, when I tapped
into those resources to supportmy effort, right.
And then the confidence that itbuilt, I think, set me up to be
(19:21):
more of an independent force,right, that could contribute to
the broader movement right ofother partners.
And so that's where theinterdependence goes.
So now I could play a criticalrole.
You know what I'm saying.
Regardless, I can get thingsdone by myself, but now it's
(19:44):
like knowing um is now I put.
You know my production, youknow I, I, we grow the pride by
adding my production to theproduction of the next person
who can, who can, contribute atthat level as well, and so, and
that's kind of what we see atNortheast Renaissance.
You know it's like.
You know, interdependence islike the Avengers, you know what
(20:07):
I'm saying.
Or the Justice League that'sinterdependence.
Like Wonder Woman can do herown thing, you know what I'm
saying.
But when you're facingintergalactic evils like OK,
we're going to come together youknow what I'm saying To to
(20:27):
defeat this, this power, becauseour powers combined are you
know what I mean are going to beobviously multiplied.
You know what I'm saying to theextent that that needs to be in
order to defeat this foe orwhatever that is.
So that's kind of how I seeinterdependence.
And you know those challengesis like that kind of like that
crucible that you go through tobuild your character, to build
those muscles of resilience andto build those skills that are
(20:50):
needed to be transferable.
Like I would not if I didn'thave to build that fund.
It would be a lot harder for meto struggle through developing
a budget.
You know what I'm saying as anED, and not that I can just do
it easily.
You know what I'm saying as anED, and not that I can just do
it easily.
You know what I mean, but I'mconfident that I can because I
had to struggle through buildinga pro forma you know what I'm
saying for that fund.
(21:12):
So I do a lot of listening tobooks.
I'm not as much of a reader ofphysical books, but I maybe
listen on average to a book aweek, right, and because I'm
constantly I'm thirsting forknowledge that will support my
(21:35):
continued evolution as a, as ahuman Right, as a leader, as a
husband.
You know what I'm saying, um,and so you know I.
I think I listened to one booksay that um talk about the value
of, of reading Um, and ittalked about um biographies
(21:56):
specifically.
It's like reading biographiesis like being mentored by the
greats, right, and then, butthere's also been more recently,
I do like a writtenself-reflection most days of the
week, where I'm thinking aboutyesterday and I might go deep
(22:17):
onto a topic and reallyintrospectively think about what
that means, or even like myaction.
You know what I'm saying Like.
Why did I do that?
Could it be because of this?
You know what I'm saying, um,because this happened a long
time ago and you know, is this,why is this a trigger?
And so they also.
A book also said um reflections.
(22:38):
Um, like writing reflection islike mentoring yourself.
You know what I mean and so youknow, I think, definitely, like
I think I think the questionwas, you know, kind of expanded
upon you know self, selfevolution and self leadership.
(23:01):
I think those are those havebeen some really key elements to
my, my growth here lately, andso you know, I think the In this
(23:23):
, in this work of communitydevelopment, northeast
Renaissance focuses on, you know, economic development, real
estate development and thenaccess to capital, and we see
those as like, as like threepriorities that will support
community revitalization fromwithin.
And there are ways that thereare some surface ways that you
(23:44):
can kind of look at those, andso I read more materials that
are related to it, so that I canget at depth you know what I
(24:13):
mean so I can get more at depth,whether that be economics or
that be the, the biography of acity or of a community similar
to ours, or case studies andthings of that nature.
To really try to get in theminds of others, um, learn from
their successes and theirmistakes as well, to um, so that
we have the benefit, um as anorganization and as a community,
of uh, of those insights youknow what I'm saying, um, and to
really ensure and checkourselves and check our
assumptions about whether or not, um, you know, we can do things
(24:36):
better.
You know what I mean, and so Ithink that's what that.
That's really what thatself-evolution piece is about is
about you know, being able tostep outside of yourself and
analyze your own thoughts andeven get to the point where you
can begin to anticipate you knowwhat I'm saying?
Um, and kind of project wisdom.
(25:02):
Rather than it being more of auh, uh, it can be more of a
leading indicator than a laggingindicator.
Greg Jones (25:05):
You know what I mean .
Well, I love, uh, you know,everything you're you're talking
about today, I think gives sucha um key insights.
Because my mind went back tothinking historically.
We think about you know, yourparents, grandparents, you think
about your lineage, so to speak.
But then you can think the sameway in terms of communities and
(25:28):
then you know I've had recentlythe opportunity over the years
to go to other places you know,outside the country, country and
it feels like in a lot of otherplaces you always get a sense
of where you are.
Particularly when you're inthese other other places you get
a sense of what happened 30, 40, 50, 100 years ago and
(25:50):
oftentimes in underservedcommunities.
A lot of that historicalperspective is lost, and what I
mean by that, when I'm tyingthat together, is the evolution
of, is a mindset, and so Ididn't realize how much of my
parents' mindset I justinherited and how much, probably
(26:10):
, of their mindset theyinherited from their parents.
They inherited from theirparents.
So if I'm not constantlyseeking to learn and pour into
and research and haveperspective and dig things out,
my perspective will be passed onto my kids.
I'm not saying that all thingsare bad, but there are a lot of
(26:36):
things that, because of that,mindset and perspective need to
be different.
And if I want somethingdifferent for myself, I'm also
passing that on to my childrenas well.
They can have somethingdifferent.
Our community can havesomething different.
So the last thing I always ask,quentin, is most people ask me
like how?
Speaker 2 (26:49):
do I get?
Greg Jones (26:50):
And I heard this guy you had on the podcast, Dr
Quentin.
How do we get in contact withhim?
How do we learn more about theorganizations with him?
How do we learn more about theorganizations he went?
How do we learn more about whathe's doing?
So what would you pass on assome information if somebody is
trying to figure out how theycan get in contact with?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (27:06):
you All right With Northeast Renaissance
if you want you know, if youwant to learn more about our
organization is Northeast OKCRenaissance Inc.
You can go to our website tolearn more.
That's N-E-O-K-C-R dot O-R-G.
We are also on most majorsocial media platforms, as at
(27:28):
N-E-O-K-C-R, and that'sInstagram, I believe Facebook as
well.
We are also on LinkedIn.
I want to plus on what you said,greg, about.
You know that generational, youknow kind of those generate
that uh power.
I think it was uh intentionallysuppressed, um, to the extent
(28:06):
that by the time we showed, weshowed up, we we have, no, we
don't know what our true poweris and the you know the system
that was created to suppress it.
They know full well.
I think I think the folks thatcreated this stuff knew full
well with what the potential is,and so so much about I think
(28:26):
the self evolution.
For me is um, unlocking, youknow, uh, unlocking that latent
power, that latent potential,and I think a lot about how as a
person, as an organization, wecan participate in helping
others do that, and then thatenables us to be us all, to be
(28:55):
like contributors to theadvancement of our own
communities or our own culture,you know, through throughout the
diaspora and so, yeah, you makea great point there.
But that and that's where Ifeel like my purpose is.
My contribution to this worldis like I just want to see my
people throughout the worldthrive, and that changes a bit
(29:17):
more the more I learn whatthriving looks like.
Whereas at one point it lookedlike economically, we had enough
money, right.
Well, now it doesn't look likethat Like.
You know, what does it looklike to thrive holistically?
You know what I mean, and so Ithink a lot about what my
contribution can be to that.
Greg Jones (29:39):
Man, I appreciate all of that.
It feels like we're going tohave a part two to this podcast.
Yeah, man, we could dig in awhole lot more, but, man, I
appreciate you stopping by beingon the podcast.
Again, dr Quinn Hughes,appreciate you so much, and so
for all of our listeningaudience, again, we'll put that
contact, information, websites,all that.
(29:59):
That'll be in the informations.
But when you tune in, you know,one of the things that I always
ask is just something that youmay have learned from our
podcast.
You know, take what you'velearned and share it with
somebody else.
Quentin said it best, and weall got a tribe, a community
around us, and we need eachother.
And so again, quentin said itbest, and we all got a tribe, a
community around us, and we needeach other.
And so again, quentin man,thank you so much for being here
(30:19):
, thanks for having me.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. (30:23):
I don't think I went business the way I
need.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Thanks for joining Three Keys for your Journey.
Tune in next time for anotherepisode.
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