September 2, 2025 • 27 mins
Ancestral wisdom meets modern mentorship in this powerful conversation with Coach Ed Bradley, whose message to young Black men resonates with profound simplicity: "Stop asking the world for permission to be whole."
Coach Bradley, a transitional life coach and former educator, draws from his experience developing an African-American studies curriculum to address a critical gap in historical understanding. He passionately articulates how Black history didn't begin with slavery but with "kingdoms, libraries, universities, engineers, warriors, and spiritual leaders in places like Cush, Mali, and Timbuktu." This historical amnesia has profound consequences, as African Americans uniquely had their heritage "ripped and raped out of us, stolen from us, beaten out of us"—creating a disconnect from ancestral knowledge that no other cultural group has experienced quite the same way.
The conversation shifts from historical foundations to practical application when Bradley suggests that "history is probably our best mentor and guide." He references Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and Dr. Charles Drew as examples of individuals who "didn't just wait for permission" but instead "saw a need, used what they had, and moved in a way to allow them to fill those needs." This perspective transforms historical knowledge from passive learning into active strategy—particularly valuable for young people navigating identity and purpose today.
Perhaps most striking is Bradley's observation about today's youth having unprecedented "access without awareness." Despite having more information at their fingertips than any previous generation, without proper context and guidance, this access becomes wasted potential. His call to action urges young people to study their history deeply, recognize misinformation, build communities, and take action without waiting for validation. As he powerfully states, "You are more than capable of fixing [community problems]...It is in your blood. You are a fixer because your ancestors are fixers." Connect with Coach Bradley at CoachEdBradley.com to continue this vital conversation about reclaiming historical power and creating new legacies of excellence.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Fatima Bey (00:04):
This is MindShift Power Podcast, the number one
critically acclaimed podcastwhere we have raw, unfiltered
conversations that shapetomorrow.
I'm your host, Fatima Bey, theMindShifter, and welcome
everyone.
Today we have with us Coach EdBradley, and he is out of
(00:28):
Mississippi in the USA.
He is a transitional life coach, a retired educator and a
former basketball coach, and heis a power-packed man with a lot
to say.
How are you doing today, Ed?
Coach Ed Bradley (00:42):
I'm doing well .
Thank you for having me.
Fatima Bey (00:45):
Well, thank you for coming.
As in my usual fashion, I liketo dive right into it.
Why are you on this podcasttoday?
Coach Ed Bradley (00:53):
Well, I'm here because I feel like the world
needs to have more honestconversations, especially when
it comes to our young people whoare navigating identity,
purpose and power.
People who are navigatingidentity, purpose and power.
As a former educator and nowtransitional life coach, my work
is about helping young peoplesee themselves beyond the labels
and limitations society triesto place on them.
(01:14):
I feel like this podcastcreates a space for global
voices to be heard unfiltered,and that's the kind of platform
I believe in.
It's the kind of platform Idefinitely want to be a part of.
You know, I feel like too manytimes, we attempt to help young
people by telling them what todo, and I'm not here to speak at
young people.
I'm here to build with them.
You know, I think it'simportant that they see someone
(01:37):
who looks like them, who's kindof walked through some of the
same roads that they've walkedthrough, and my hope is to help
them realize their story isn'tbroken.
It's just the beginning.
You know, we need to help themnavigate a new path that works
for them in a new world.
You know, things aren't thesame as they used to be when we
were growing up, but a lot ofthe problems still exist, so we
(01:59):
definitely need to find a way tocommunicate with our young
people and help them navigate anew path.
Fatima Bey (02:07):
Absolutely so, something the audience doesn't
know about you yet, but youhelped to build an
African-American studiescurriculum.
Can you tell us about that?
Coach Ed Bradley (02:17):
Absolutely so.
Before I talk about thecurriculum in general, I want to
take a second to mention someother people that were involved,
because this was a project thatwas not just myself but several
amazing educators that cametogether to make this happen.
I have to start with ourprincipal at the time, dr Wesley
(02:37):
Quick, who understood theimportance of representation of
all history.
You know he pushed for andsupported our vision from day
one to ensure that we had thiscurriculum in place.
Understand, the school that wewere working at.
The student population was notoverwhelming African-American I
think the population was maybe60-40, with African-American
(03:00):
being 40% of the population buthe still understood the
importance of ensuring that ourAfrican American students that
their history was represented.
So I have to thank him forreally wanting to ensure that we
taught African American studiesin the school.
Also, one of our assistantprincipals, dr Ceil Burrell.
(03:20):
She's probably one of the bestassistants to principals I've
ever worked for.
She's one of those.
She's a great advocate forteachers and students.
She's one of the people who'sgoing to always advocate for her
students as well as for herstudents.
She's a person who creates astrong school culture and I will
forever admire her.
(03:41):
But she allowed us to be ableto build this curriculum around
the type of truth that reallyteaches the history in the way
it should be taught, not the waysome people may want you to
teach it.
So we always want to thank her.
And then my colleague, who Iwork with as we built this
curriculum, is Ms Laura Guidry.
(04:01):
Ms Guidry again, is one of thebest educators I've ever been
around.
Miss Laura Guidry, miss Guidryagain, is one of the best
educators I've ever been around.
She has a passion and acultural wisdom and a heart that
has made this lesson plan morethan just a lesson plan.
You know, it was definitely adeclaration of pride for every
student that walked through thedoors.
We actually team taught theclass the first year, which is
unusual for most people.
(04:21):
Any educators out therelistening will know that you
don't usually get to do that,but I absolutely enjoyed team
teaching with her because shewas able to bring some things to
the classroom that I had neverseen before.
It made it a much easiertransition for me.
But, to answer your question,the truth of what we wanted our
students to take from the classwas you are more than a product
(04:45):
of struggle, your legacy.
You are a legacy of brilliance.
Too many times our historybooks portray our ancestors as
if they didn't exist until theybecame enslaved people in this
country.
Many times those history booksignored all the amazing
accomplishments of our peoplebefore the history of slavery.
So our history didn't beginwith chains.
(05:08):
You know.
It begins with kingdoms,libraries, universities,
engineers, warriors, spiritualleaders in places like Cush,
mali and Timbuktu, and we wantedthem to know those places and
we wanted them to understand thestrength of our ancestors and
that it was more than juststruggle.
You know, we wanted them tounderstand that before we were
(05:30):
brought here and stripped ofeverything, even though we went
through those things, we stillrose.
After being brought here andstripped of everything, we still
innovated, we still builtcommunities, we still built
economies, music, movements andinventions in a land that still
tried to erase us, but some kindof way we still survived that.
You know, we didn't justsurvive it, we thrived.
(05:51):
You know we showed more thanjust our struggles.
We showed that we're a peopleof resiliency and genius, and
even though current historybooks don't always talk about
those things, we wanted to makesure that our curriculum and our
classes pointed these thingsout so that when you left that
classroom, you knew that we weremore than just a product of
(06:13):
struggle.
We were definitely a people ofresilience and ingenious.
Fatima Bey (06:18):
So what I'm hearing out of a lot of what you just
said.
Number one you were able toaccomplish this not by yourself,
but because you had support.
You had genuine support frompeople around you, and that's
true for anything we want toaccomplish.
We actually, no matter how goodwe are, how strong our desires
are, we do need some form ofsupport.
And I'm not just talking aboutwhat you did in school, I mean
in general.
(06:38):
But the other thing I'mgathering from what you said is
I'm going to rephrase it A lotof time we hear oh you poor
little slave, it's a good thingyou're free now, and that's the
general idea that you know kindof how we're portrayed as
African-Americans.
But the other thing I want topoint out and you said it more
eloquently and I'm going to sayit more simply we, unlike any
(07:05):
other African culture, unlikeany other culture I can think of
now, some of y'all can correctme if there's some Europeans
where this happened to them, butas far as I know, there's no
other people in the world exceptAfrican Americans that actually
don't know their history, thatactually had it ripped and raped
out of us, stolen from us,beaten out of us.
(07:27):
We were not allowed to evenlearn how to read, et cetera, et
cetera.
We're the only ones that had noidentity.
And then we wonder why there'sthis?
I'm proud to be Black explosionin the 70s, duh, and you know,
we're the only people in theworld that has that particular
history.
We're're the only people in theworld that that has that
particular history.
We're not the only people thatare downtrodden.
(07:48):
We're not the only people thatwent through slavery.
You know that all those otherelements.
Other people have gone through,even some europeans, at
different times, in differentways, but we're the only ones
that had that ripped out from us.
And what I hear you saying isyou want our descendants, their
descendants, which we're part ofthat to know that we are more
(08:08):
than just poor little slaves,that we actually came from
greatness before we were turnedinto that, and that, to me, is a
story that's not often heard,and I completely agree with you.
And so why do you think it'simportant?
Coach Ed Bradley (08:28):
Well, I think, first, it's important that we
understand where we come from,because too many times we've
been placed in a box, that,within this box, we've been told
that this is who we are, thisis who we're going to be, this
is where we're going, withouttruly understanding where we
truly came from.
(08:48):
When you know where you camefrom, you also have an
understanding of where you cango.
You understand who you are,what your limitations are and,
in all honesty, our ancestorshad no limits, considering what
we dealt with, considering thethings that we were put through,
to be able to come out on theother side the way we did.
(09:11):
There is no reason why we, as apeople today, with all the
advantages that we have comparedto what our ancestors went
through, that we should not befurther along as a society,
while we should not be growingand thriving, even more so
considering you know, as youmentioned, you know we're the
only society that was rippedaway from our ancestors, that
(09:34):
was ripped away from ourhomeland, ripped away from our
history, not allowed to learn toread and those type of things.
In some kind of way, we stillmanage to hang on to certain
aspects of our culture, so muchso that a big part of American
culture is still rooted inAfrican culture.
When you look at our music andour food, and a lot of the
things that we consider to beAmerican culture that many
(09:58):
people don't want to accept isall, honestly, goes back to
African culture.
A lot of our music is rooted inAfrican culture.
A lot of our food is rooted inAfrican culture.
A lot of what we look at withinour government and our overall
structure in our society startedin those African cultures and,
(10:19):
even though we were not allowedto learn about those things, a
lot of Europeans stole a lot ofthe things that we did math,
science A lot of those thingswere stolen from our people and
then presented as if their ownideas.
So there's a reason why theydon't want us to learn our true
history.
There's a reason why our truehistory is not being taught.
(10:41):
There's a reason why certainbooks are being banned Because
if you truly learn where youcame from and see where your
ancestors ended up, consideringall the hardships they had to
fight through to become thepeople that they became, the
success stories that they made,if you saw those things and then
(11:04):
you look at all of the thingsthat are that are available to
you now, how could you not comeup?
Come up with the idea of I canbe so much better than this.
I can do so much more because Ihave so much more than my
ancestors.
Fatima Bey (11:19):
As a young let's let's pretend I'm a young black
man, so what do I do from here?
Coach Ed Bradley (11:25):
Well, I think the first thing you do, I think
the first thing you do is youlearn your true history.
You really take a step back.
And all those books they tellyou not to read, go read them.
All that history they don'twant you to learn, go learn.
Fatima Bey (11:45):
Yes, yes, I agree.
Coach Ed Bradley (11:46):
Go find out about, you know, imhotep and
Mansa Musa and those type ofpeople.
Go look at the tribes thatexisted in Africa before the
slave trades, Because of course,they want you to believe that
(12:08):
when Europe landed in Africa,all they found was a bunch of
savages just running around withno real structure, when in
reality, what they found wassocieties that existed with
their own governmental structure.
Go find out the way theseAfrican tribes lived.
Go learn how much ourgovernment today is patterned
(12:31):
after the things these Europeanslearned.
Go look at some of thescientific innovations, the
mathematic innovations that werefound in Africa during that
time period that was brought tothe Americas that was used to
build this country.
Then look at, historically, allthe things that we did to build
(12:54):
this country.
How many things existed in thiscountry as a result of our
labor Not only our labor, butour brains as well.
If it were not for Africanslaves, the South would not have
had plantations.
They didn't know how to growcotton, indigo and those things
like that.
They had no clue how to dothose.
(13:15):
It took us to teach them how todo those things and then,
instead of them creatingpartnerships and learning from
us, they shackled us and treatedus as less than because they
wanted to feel like they werebetter than us and they wanted
you to think they were betterthan us.
So that's the first move.
(13:35):
I think the first move is tolearn where our people truly
came from and understand there'sa reason why people don't want
you to know your true history.
It's time to learn where youtruly came from.
Get out there and truly learnwhere you came from and
understand that your ancestorswere the smartest of the
smartest on this planet, thatmany of what exists in this
(14:00):
world today is a result of theirculture, is a result of their
hard work, is a result of theirbrain work, it's a result of
their brain power.
And start building on thosethings.
Live up to that.
There is a history ofexcellence that was started by
our people and it's time westart living up to that.
Fatima Bey (14:28):
Stop living up to stereotypes and live up to the
expectations and the examplesthat were set before us.
What I'm hearing from you is aprinciple.
Actually, I teach all the time,but on a personal level, and
right now we're specificallytalking to young Black men.
Finding out who you are helpsyou to become a better you.
We say that in the self-helprealm, in the coaching realm, in
(14:50):
the therapy realm, in the wecan be better realm.
It is true culturally as well.
So, even though you know, likeI said, we say that sort of
stuff all the time because it'sa true principle, but it's time
that our young Black men startrecognizing that it's true for
them as well.
So tell me, how does this?
(15:10):
Something that you're verypassionate about is mentorship.
How does this tie intomentorship?
Coach Ed Bradley (15:16):
Well, being an old history teacher, former
coach, the one thing I wouldprobably tell people is history
is probably our best mentor andguide.
To begin with, you know,especially for young black men,
(15:36):
If you look at our history andyou know where to look, it
doesn't.
It doesn't just tell you astory, it gives you strategy.
You know, when you study thelives of our people people like
Frederick Douglass, ida B Wells,dr Charles Drew you realize you
didn't just they didn't justwait for permission to leave
group.
You realize they didn't justwait for permission to leave.
They saw a need, they used whatthey had and they moved in a
way to allow them to fill thoseneeds.
(15:56):
There are plenty of needs in oursociety today that need to be
filled and you don't have towait for permission from someone
else to fill those needs.
We have the ability, we havethe skill, we have the know-how
to fill those needs and we don'tneed somebody else to tell us
how to do it.
It's just a matter of us goingout into our society and
stepping up and finding a way tofix those problems.
(16:19):
So I mean, if you don't have amentor right now, there are
people throughout our history,in our own bloodlines that can
show us how to be mentors inthose situations.
You know, we've got people inour history who have beat the
odds.
You know who have been where weneed, where we want to go, and
(16:40):
they got there through muchworse situations than we are.
You know, we have a legacy ofmentorship.
We have a legacy of fightingthrough hardships.
So there are many examples inour history of fighting through
hardships and finding a way togetting it done.
And we don't have nearly thehurdles in our way that our
(17:04):
ancestors in our way that ourancestors.
So, if we took the time toreally learn, go back and, like
I said, frederick Douglass wassomeone who was not allowed to
learn how to read, yet he taughthimself how to read and was
considered one of the greatestorators of his time frame.
You know a person like Ida BWells, who became one of the
(17:26):
greatest writers of all timesand shined a light on the
atrocities of Lenten's.
Or Dr Charles Drew, who becamean innovator.
You know, in the medical field.
You know, at a time when justbeing able to even walk into a
hospital was unheard of for ourpeople, you know, just imagine
the things that they wentthrough to be able to fill a
(17:47):
need.
And here we are with theadvantages that they don't have,
that they did not have.
We have all the advantages theydidn't have.
We can look at the things thatthey did to fill those needs.
We can follow their exampleswith much greater advantages and
(18:09):
have so much more success.
Fatima Bey (18:13):
I want to piggyback off of everything you just said
right now, and I'm going to talkto the listeners right now.
I don't care what color you are, what race you are.
Yes, we're talking to youngBlack men today and this episode
is focused on them.
But no matter who you are, whatage you are, what race you are,
I want you to listen toeverything that Ed is saying and
hear the principles behind whathe's saying, Because you could
(18:38):
be Bosnian and apply thisprinciple to your life, to your
people.
You could be Russian, whatever,just pick one.
You could be whatever, and youcould still listen to the
principles.
And also what he's saying aboutlooking at history to learn
from it.
I strongly strongly agree withthat.
(18:58):
But when you look at history andthe history of your people,
whoever they are, don't justlook at the details of their
history.
Technology changes the details,but what doesn't change is
principles.
When you look at people whofought and they won battles that
we don't have to fight nowbecause they won it for us,
what's the principle behind,what made it work for them?
(19:21):
Not just the details.
They had a gun that we don'tuse anymore.
No, the gun wasn't the point.
The fight and the not giving upwas what's the principle behind
what you're looking at?
And I just have to say that toall the listeners out there you
really, when you're learninglessons from history and you're
paying attention, pay attentionto the principles behind the
(19:44):
lesson, not just the details,because that's when you'll get
lost and have to take the lessonagain.
Coach Ed Bradley (19:50):
No, absolutely yes, Thank you.
Fatima Bey (19:54):
Now, what advice do you have for the youth of the
world today?
Any advice that you want.
Coach Ed Bradley (19:59):
Well, I would start by telling them to stop
asking the world for permissionto be whole.
I would start by telling themto stop asking the world for
permission to be whole, you knowyou don't need, I'm sorry.
Fatima Bey (20:08):
Can you repeat that about 20 more times?
Coach Ed Bradley (20:11):
Yes, you know, you don't need permission from
other people to be who you areor who you want to be.
Who you need to be, you know.
Be curious about who you are,where you come from, where
you're going.
It is completely up to you.
Know your history, because whenyou understand your roots you
grow stronger.
You know there's a reason theydon't want to teach our history.
(20:31):
They try to ban our books.
Find that information, learnfrom it, use it.
You know just this generation,you guys, have more access to
information, connections andinnovations than any generation
before us.
That access without awarenessis wasted and and that's
something I want to say againaccess without awareness is
(20:52):
wasted.
We have too much access and notenough awareness to what we
have access to and we arewasting it.
And I think it's reallyimportant that we recognize
misinformation as well.
I think that is key, becausewhat you are finding now is they
are taking information aboutour people and misrepresenting
(21:16):
us in many ways, so that we havethe wrong idea about who we are
and where we came from, whichis why I think it's very
important that we study ourpeople beyond, before we became
enslaved.
People in this countryUnderstand who we were before we
got here, understand thecontributions we made, not just
(21:37):
to the United States but to theworld as a whole, understand the
principles of our people, whatwe stood for, who we were and
who we became, and thenunderstand what we did for this
country.
Even though the history booksdon't always tell you this,
there are many, many of ourgreat ancestors who wrote their
(21:59):
own histories, who putinformation out there to tell
you the things that we did forthis country.
Many of the things that existtoday exist because of us.
Understand those things, allright, and use that information,
use that access All right To goout and build our communities,
(22:20):
speak truth and then act.
As I mentioned earlier, you knowwhat needs to be done.
You know what problems exist inyour community.
Don't wait for somebody else tofix those problems.
You see them every single day.
You know what it takes to fixthem.
You are more than capable offixing them.
Don't wait for permission, justdo it.
(22:42):
Go out there and do it becauseyou are smart enough, you are
strong enough and you can dothis because your ancestors have
done it.
It is in your blood.
You are a fixer just becauseyour ancestors are fixers.
Get out there and do it, don'tjust shine.
Share your light, show up foryour people.
Volunteer mentor lead you comefrom a history of volunteers.
(23:04):
Volunteer mentor lead you comefrom a history of volunteers.
You come from a history ofmentors.
You come from a history ofleaders.
The best way to honor ourancestors is not with hashtags.
It's with their hands, yourheart and with hustle, and we
are capable of doing all thosethings.
I think it is definitely timefor our young people to step up
and do the things that ourancestors have done.
(23:25):
They have set a great example,and a big part of that is
getting involved gettinginvolved with the process and
creating your own process, forthat matter.
Fatima Bey (23:34):
That was a lot to say, but all true.
Now you do.
You're a transitional lifecoach.
Do you do your coaching inperson?
Only Are you online.
Coach Ed Bradley (23:45):
Yes, so I do.
I do have in-person coaching,but I also do a lot of things
online through telehealth Well,I guess you call it telehealth,
but so if you want to connectwith me, you can find me at my
website, which isCoachEdBradleycom website, which
is coachedbradleycom.
You can also find me on socialmedia Instagram, facebook,
(24:16):
tiktok, linkedin, which is alsoCoach Ed Bradley.
If anything I said today youknow resonates with anyone,
please reach out to me throughany of those.
I'd love to work with you totry to build something to help
our youth.
I think it's really important.
I also work as an educationalconsultant, as a public speaker,
anything I can to support ouryouth, to support educational
outreach and anything I can tohelp our communities to build
(24:38):
stronger and become better.
Fatima Bey (24:41):
I'm going to add to this, you guys, because this is
audio only.
You can't see Coach Ed Bradley,but he has one of the biggest
hearts for young Black menlistening.
He has one of the biggesthearts for you that I've ever
seen.
So if you are looking to talkto somebody who gets you, he's
(25:02):
the one.
So do reach out, and he justcares about our youth in general
, but we're specifically talkingto young Black men for this
episode and I want you to knowthat there's those of us out
there who really care and wantto see you rise, and he's
definitely one of them.
Well, coach Bradley, thank youso much for coming on today.
(25:24):
I really appreciate you talkingto all my kids, to our youth,
and thank you.
Coach Ed Bradley (25:32):
Thank you.
I really appreciate being here.
Look forward to coming back oneday, I hope.
Fatima Bey (25:40):
And now for a mind shifting moment.
Now for a mind-shifting momentHistory.
Let's talk about that word fora moment.
If you do not know your history, if you don't know what
happened before, if you don'tlearn some lessons from that
(26:03):
story, you're almost guaranteedand doomed to repeat it.
I want you to think about thisHistory.
What history do you know?
After all, it's his story.
(26:25):
What is his story?
Is it true young black man?
Is it true woman?
What is his story?
Why don't you find out whatyour story is instead?
This is MindShift Power Podcast, the number one
critically acclaimed podcastwhere we have raw, unfiltered
conversations that shapetomorrow.
I'm your host, Fatima Bey, theMindShifter, and welcome
everyone.
Today we have with us Coach EdBradley, and he is out of
(00:28):
Mississippi in the USA.
He is a transitional life coach, a retired educator and a
former basketball coach, and heis a power-packed man with a lot
to say.
How are you doing today, Ed?
Coach Ed Bradley (00:42):
I'm doing well .
Thank you for having me.
Fatima Bey (00:45):
Well, thank you for coming.
As in my usual fashion, I liketo dive right into it.
Why are you on this podcasttoday?
Coach Ed Bradley (00:53):
Well, I'm here because I feel like the world
needs to have more honestconversations, especially when
it comes to our young people whoare navigating identity,
purpose and power.
People who are navigatingidentity, purpose and power.
As a former educator and nowtransitional life coach, my work
is about helping young peoplesee themselves beyond the labels
and limitations society triesto place on them.
(01:14):
I feel like this podcastcreates a space for global
voices to be heard unfiltered,and that's the kind of platform
I believe in.
It's the kind of platform Idefinitely want to be a part of.
You know, I feel like too manytimes, we attempt to help young
people by telling them what todo, and I'm not here to speak at
young people.
I'm here to build with them.
You know, I think it'simportant that they see someone
(01:37):
who looks like them, who's kindof walked through some of the
same roads that they've walkedthrough, and my hope is to help
them realize their story isn'tbroken.
It's just the beginning.
You know, we need to help themnavigate a new path that works
for them in a new world.
You know, things aren't thesame as they used to be when we
were growing up, but a lot ofthe problems still exist, so we
(01:59):
definitely need to find a way tocommunicate with our young
people and help them navigate anew path.
Fatima Bey (02:07):
Absolutely so, something the audience doesn't
know about you yet, but youhelped to build an
African-American studiescurriculum.
Can you tell us about that?
Coach Ed Bradley (02:17):
Absolutely so.
Before I talk about thecurriculum in general, I want to
take a second to mention someother people that were involved,
because this was a project thatwas not just myself but several
amazing educators that cametogether to make this happen.
I have to start with ourprincipal at the time, dr Wesley
(02:37):
Quick, who understood theimportance of representation of
all history.
You know he pushed for andsupported our vision from day
one to ensure that we had thiscurriculum in place.
Understand, the school that wewere working at.
The student population was notoverwhelming African-American I
think the population was maybe60-40, with African-American
(03:00):
being 40% of the population buthe still understood the
importance of ensuring that ourAfrican American students that
their history was represented.
So I have to thank him forreally wanting to ensure that we
taught African American studiesin the school.
Also, one of our assistantprincipals, dr Ceil Burrell.
(03:20):
She's probably one of the bestassistants to principals I've
ever worked for.
She's one of those.
She's a great advocate forteachers and students.
She's one of the people who'sgoing to always advocate for her
students as well as for herstudents.
She's a person who creates astrong school culture and I will
forever admire her.
(03:41):
But she allowed us to be ableto build this curriculum around
the type of truth that reallyteaches the history in the way
it should be taught, not the waysome people may want you to
teach it.
So we always want to thank her.
And then my colleague, who Iwork with as we built this
curriculum, is Ms Laura Guidry.
(04:01):
Ms Guidry again, is one of thebest educators I've ever been
around.
Miss Laura Guidry, miss Guidryagain, is one of the best
educators I've ever been around.
She has a passion and acultural wisdom and a heart that
has made this lesson plan morethan just a lesson plan.
You know, it was definitely adeclaration of pride for every
student that walked through thedoors.
We actually team taught theclass the first year, which is
unusual for most people.
(04:21):
Any educators out therelistening will know that you
don't usually get to do that,but I absolutely enjoyed team
teaching with her because shewas able to bring some things to
the classroom that I had neverseen before.
It made it a much easiertransition for me.
But, to answer your question,the truth of what we wanted our
students to take from the classwas you are more than a product
(04:45):
of struggle, your legacy.
You are a legacy of brilliance.
Too many times our historybooks portray our ancestors as
if they didn't exist until theybecame enslaved people in this
country.
Many times those history booksignored all the amazing
accomplishments of our peoplebefore the history of slavery.
So our history didn't beginwith chains.
(05:08):
You know.
It begins with kingdoms,libraries, universities,
engineers, warriors, spiritualleaders in places like Cush,
mali and Timbuktu, and we wantedthem to know those places and
we wanted them to understand thestrength of our ancestors and
that it was more than juststruggle.
You know, we wanted them tounderstand that before we were
(05:30):
brought here and stripped ofeverything, even though we went
through those things, we stillrose.
After being brought here andstripped of everything, we still
innovated, we still builtcommunities, we still built
economies, music, movements andinventions in a land that still
tried to erase us, but some kindof way we still survived that.
You know, we didn't justsurvive it, we thrived.
(05:51):
You know we showed more thanjust our struggles.
We showed that we're a peopleof resiliency and genius, and
even though current historybooks don't always talk about
those things, we wanted to makesure that our curriculum and our
classes pointed these thingsout so that when you left that
classroom, you knew that we weremore than just a product of
(06:13):
struggle.
We were definitely a people ofresilience and ingenious.
Fatima Bey (06:18):
So what I'm hearing out of a lot of what you just
said.
Number one you were able toaccomplish this not by yourself,
but because you had support.
You had genuine support frompeople around you, and that's
true for anything we want toaccomplish.
We actually, no matter how goodwe are, how strong our desires
are, we do need some form ofsupport.
And I'm not just talking aboutwhat you did in school, I mean
in general.
(06:38):
But the other thing I'mgathering from what you said is
I'm going to rephrase it A lotof time we hear oh you poor
little slave, it's a good thingyou're free now, and that's the
general idea that you know kindof how we're portrayed as
African-Americans.
But the other thing I want topoint out and you said it more
eloquently and I'm going to sayit more simply we, unlike any
(07:05):
other African culture, unlikeany other culture I can think of
now, some of y'all can correctme if there's some Europeans
where this happened to them, butas far as I know, there's no
other people in the world exceptAfrican Americans that actually
don't know their history, thatactually had it ripped and raped
out of us, stolen from us,beaten out of us.
(07:27):
We were not allowed to evenlearn how to read, et cetera, et
cetera.
We're the only ones that had noidentity.
And then we wonder why there'sthis?
I'm proud to be Black explosionin the 70s, duh, and you know,
we're the only people in theworld that has that particular
history.
We're're the only people in theworld that that has that
particular history.
We're not the only people thatare downtrodden.
(07:48):
We're not the only people thatwent through slavery.
You know that all those otherelements.
Other people have gone through,even some europeans, at
different times, in differentways, but we're the only ones
that had that ripped out from us.
And what I hear you saying isyou want our descendants, their
descendants, which we're part ofthat to know that we are more
(08:08):
than just poor little slaves,that we actually came from
greatness before we were turnedinto that, and that, to me, is a
story that's not often heard,and I completely agree with you.
And so why do you think it'simportant?
Coach Ed Bradley (08:28):
Well, I think, first, it's important that we
understand where we come from,because too many times we've
been placed in a box, that,within this box, we've been told
that this is who we are, thisis who we're going to be, this
is where we're going, withouttruly understanding where we
truly came from.
(08:48):
When you know where you camefrom, you also have an
understanding of where you cango.
You understand who you are,what your limitations are and,
in all honesty, our ancestorshad no limits, considering what
we dealt with, considering thethings that we were put through,
to be able to come out on theother side the way we did.
(09:11):
There is no reason why we, as apeople today, with all the
advantages that we have comparedto what our ancestors went
through, that we should not befurther along as a society,
while we should not be growingand thriving, even more so
considering you know, as youmentioned, you know we're the
only society that was rippedaway from our ancestors, that
(09:34):
was ripped away from ourhomeland, ripped away from our
history, not allowed to learn toread and those type of things.
In some kind of way, we stillmanage to hang on to certain
aspects of our culture, so muchso that a big part of American
culture is still rooted inAfrican culture.
When you look at our music andour food, and a lot of the
things that we consider to beAmerican culture that many
(09:58):
people don't want to accept isall, honestly, goes back to
African culture.
A lot of our music is rooted inAfrican culture.
A lot of our food is rooted inAfrican culture.
A lot of what we look at withinour government and our overall
structure in our society startedin those African cultures and,
(10:19):
even though we were not allowedto learn about those things, a
lot of Europeans stole a lot ofthe things that we did math,
science A lot of those thingswere stolen from our people and
then presented as if their ownideas.
So there's a reason why theydon't want us to learn our true
history.
There's a reason why our truehistory is not being taught.
(10:41):
There's a reason why certainbooks are being banned Because
if you truly learn where youcame from and see where your
ancestors ended up, consideringall the hardships they had to
fight through to become thepeople that they became, the
success stories that they made,if you saw those things and then
(11:04):
you look at all of the thingsthat are that are available to
you now, how could you not comeup?
Come up with the idea of I canbe so much better than this.
I can do so much more because Ihave so much more than my
ancestors.
Fatima Bey (11:19):
As a young let's let's pretend I'm a young black
man, so what do I do from here?
Coach Ed Bradley (11:25):
Well, I think the first thing you do, I think
the first thing you do is youlearn your true history.
You really take a step back.
And all those books they tellyou not to read, go read them.
All that history they don'twant you to learn, go learn.
Fatima Bey (11:45):
Yes, yes, I agree.
Coach Ed Bradley (11:46):
Go find out about, you know, imhotep and
Mansa Musa and those type ofpeople.
Go look at the tribes thatexisted in Africa before the
slave trades, Because of course,they want you to believe that
(12:08):
when Europe landed in Africa,all they found was a bunch of
savages just running around withno real structure, when in
reality, what they found wassocieties that existed with
their own governmental structure.
Go find out the way theseAfrican tribes lived.
Go learn how much ourgovernment today is patterned
(12:31):
after the things these Europeanslearned.
Go look at some of thescientific innovations, the
mathematic innovations that werefound in Africa during that
time period that was brought tothe Americas that was used to
build this country.
Then look at, historically, allthe things that we did to build
(12:54):
this country.
How many things existed in thiscountry as a result of our
labor Not only our labor, butour brains as well.
If it were not for Africanslaves, the South would not have
had plantations.
They didn't know how to growcotton, indigo and those things
like that.
They had no clue how to dothose.
(13:15):
It took us to teach them how todo those things and then,
instead of them creatingpartnerships and learning from
us, they shackled us and treatedus as less than because they
wanted to feel like they werebetter than us and they wanted
you to think they were betterthan us.
So that's the first move.
(13:35):
I think the first move is tolearn where our people truly
came from and understand there'sa reason why people don't want
you to know your true history.
It's time to learn where youtruly came from.
Get out there and truly learnwhere you came from and
understand that your ancestorswere the smartest of the
smartest on this planet, thatmany of what exists in this
(14:00):
world today is a result of theirculture, is a result of their
hard work, is a result of theirbrain work, it's a result of
their brain power.
And start building on thosethings.
Live up to that.
There is a history ofexcellence that was started by
our people and it's time westart living up to that.
Fatima Bey (14:28):
Stop living up to stereotypes and live up to the
expectations and the examplesthat were set before us.
What I'm hearing from you is aprinciple.
Actually, I teach all the time,but on a personal level, and
right now we're specificallytalking to young Black men.
Finding out who you are helpsyou to become a better you.
We say that in the self-helprealm, in the coaching realm, in
(14:50):
the therapy realm, in the wecan be better realm.
It is true culturally as well.
So, even though you know, likeI said, we say that sort of
stuff all the time because it'sa true principle, but it's time
that our young Black men startrecognizing that it's true for
them as well.
So tell me, how does this?
(15:10):
Something that you're verypassionate about is mentorship.
How does this tie intomentorship?
Coach Ed Bradley (15:16):
Well, being an old history teacher, former
coach, the one thing I wouldprobably tell people is history
is probably our best mentor andguide.
To begin with, you know,especially for young black men,
(15:36):
If you look at our history andyou know where to look, it
doesn't.
It doesn't just tell you astory, it gives you strategy.
You know, when you study thelives of our people people like
Frederick Douglass, ida B Wells,dr Charles Drew you realize you
didn't just they didn't justwait for permission to leave
group.
You realize they didn't justwait for permission to leave.
They saw a need, they used whatthey had and they moved in a
way to allow them to fill thoseneeds.
(15:56):
There are plenty of needs in oursociety today that need to be
filled and you don't have towait for permission from someone
else to fill those needs.
We have the ability, we havethe skill, we have the know-how
to fill those needs and we don'tneed somebody else to tell us
how to do it.
It's just a matter of us goingout into our society and
stepping up and finding a way tofix those problems.
(16:19):
So I mean, if you don't have amentor right now, there are
people throughout our history,in our own bloodlines that can
show us how to be mentors inthose situations.
You know, we've got people inour history who have beat the
odds.
You know who have been where weneed, where we want to go, and
(16:40):
they got there through muchworse situations than we are.
You know, we have a legacy ofmentorship.
We have a legacy of fightingthrough hardships.
So there are many examples inour history of fighting through
hardships and finding a way togetting it done.
And we don't have nearly thehurdles in our way that our
(17:04):
ancestors in our way that ourancestors.
So, if we took the time toreally learn, go back and, like
I said, frederick Douglass wassomeone who was not allowed to
learn how to read, yet he taughthimself how to read and was
considered one of the greatestorators of his time frame.
You know a person like Ida BWells, who became one of the
(17:26):
greatest writers of all timesand shined a light on the
atrocities of Lenten's.
Or Dr Charles Drew, who becamean innovator.
You know, in the medical field.
You know, at a time when justbeing able to even walk into a
hospital was unheard of for ourpeople, you know, just imagine
the things that they wentthrough to be able to fill a
(17:47):
need.
And here we are with theadvantages that they don't have,
that they did not have.
We have all the advantages theydidn't have.
We can look at the things thatthey did to fill those needs.
We can follow their exampleswith much greater advantages and
(18:09):
have so much more success.
Fatima Bey (18:13):
I want to piggyback off of everything you just said
right now, and I'm going to talkto the listeners right now.
I don't care what color you are, what race you are.
Yes, we're talking to youngBlack men today and this episode
is focused on them.
But no matter who you are, whatage you are, what race you are,
I want you to listen toeverything that Ed is saying and
hear the principles behind whathe's saying, Because you could
(18:38):
be Bosnian and apply thisprinciple to your life, to your
people.
You could be Russian, whatever,just pick one.
You could be whatever, and youcould still listen to the
principles.
And also what he's saying aboutlooking at history to learn
from it.
I strongly strongly agree withthat.
(18:58):
But when you look at history andthe history of your people,
whoever they are, don't justlook at the details of their
history.
Technology changes the details,but what doesn't change is
principles.
When you look at people whofought and they won battles that
we don't have to fight nowbecause they won it for us,
what's the principle behind,what made it work for them?
(19:21):
Not just the details.
They had a gun that we don'tuse anymore.
No, the gun wasn't the point.
The fight and the not giving upwas what's the principle behind
what you're looking at?
And I just have to say that toall the listeners out there you
really, when you're learninglessons from history and you're
paying attention, pay attentionto the principles behind the
(19:44):
lesson, not just the details,because that's when you'll get
lost and have to take the lessonagain.
Coach Ed Bradley (19:50):
No, absolutely yes, Thank you.
Fatima Bey (19:54):
Now, what advice do you have for the youth of the
world today?
Any advice that you want.
Coach Ed Bradley (19:59):
Well, I would start by telling them to stop
asking the world for permissionto be whole.
I would start by telling themto stop asking the world for
permission to be whole, you knowyou don't need, I'm sorry.
Fatima Bey (20:08):
Can you repeat that about 20 more times?
Coach Ed Bradley (20:11):
Yes, you know, you don't need permission from
other people to be who you areor who you want to be.
Who you need to be, you know.
Be curious about who you are,where you come from, where
you're going.
It is completely up to you.
Know your history, because whenyou understand your roots you
grow stronger.
You know there's a reason theydon't want to teach our history.
(20:31):
They try to ban our books.
Find that information, learnfrom it, use it.
You know just this generation,you guys, have more access to
information, connections andinnovations than any generation
before us.
That access without awarenessis wasted and and that's
something I want to say againaccess without awareness is
(20:52):
wasted.
We have too much access and notenough awareness to what we
have access to and we arewasting it.
And I think it's reallyimportant that we recognize
misinformation as well.
I think that is key, becausewhat you are finding now is they
are taking information aboutour people and misrepresenting
(21:16):
us in many ways, so that we havethe wrong idea about who we are
and where we came from, whichis why I think it's very
important that we study ourpeople beyond, before we became
enslaved.
People in this countryUnderstand who we were before we
got here, understand thecontributions we made, not just
(21:37):
to the United States but to theworld as a whole, understand the
principles of our people, whatwe stood for, who we were and
who we became, and thenunderstand what we did for this
country.
Even though the history booksdon't always tell you this,
there are many, many of ourgreat ancestors who wrote their
(21:59):
own histories, who putinformation out there to tell
you the things that we did forthis country.
Many of the things that existtoday exist because of us.
Understand those things, allright, and use that information,
use that access All right To goout and build our communities,
(22:20):
speak truth and then act.
As I mentioned earlier, you knowwhat needs to be done.
You know what problems exist inyour community.
Don't wait for somebody else tofix those problems.
You see them every single day.
You know what it takes to fixthem.
You are more than capable offixing them.
Don't wait for permission, justdo it.
(22:42):
Go out there and do it becauseyou are smart enough, you are
strong enough and you can dothis because your ancestors have
done it.
It is in your blood.
You are a fixer just becauseyour ancestors are fixers.
Get out there and do it, don'tjust shine.
Share your light, show up foryour people.
Volunteer mentor lead you comefrom a history of volunteers.
(23:04):
Volunteer mentor lead you comefrom a history of volunteers.
You come from a history ofmentors.
You come from a history ofleaders.
The best way to honor ourancestors is not with hashtags.
It's with their hands, yourheart and with hustle, and we
are capable of doing all thosethings.
I think it is definitely timefor our young people to step up
and do the things that ourancestors have done.
(23:25):
They have set a great example,and a big part of that is
getting involved gettinginvolved with the process and
creating your own process, forthat matter.
Fatima Bey (23:34):
That was a lot to say, but all true.
Now you do.
You're a transitional lifecoach.
Do you do your coaching inperson?
Only Are you online.
Coach Ed Bradley (23:45):
Yes, so I do.
I do have in-person coaching,but I also do a lot of things
online through telehealth Well,I guess you call it telehealth,
but so if you want to connectwith me, you can find me at my
website, which isCoachEdBradleycom website, which
is coachedbradleycom.
You can also find me on socialmedia Instagram, facebook,
(24:16):
tiktok, linkedin, which is alsoCoach Ed Bradley.
If anything I said today youknow resonates with anyone,
please reach out to me throughany of those.
I'd love to work with you totry to build something to help
our youth.
I think it's really important.
I also work as an educationalconsultant, as a public speaker,
anything I can to support ouryouth, to support educational
outreach and anything I can tohelp our communities to build
(24:38):
stronger and become better.
Fatima Bey (24:41):
I'm going to add to this, you guys, because this is
audio only.
You can't see Coach Ed Bradley,but he has one of the biggest
hearts for young Black menlistening.
He has one of the biggesthearts for you that I've ever
seen.
So if you are looking to talkto somebody who gets you, he's
(25:02):
the one.
So do reach out, and he justcares about our youth in general
, but we're specifically talkingto young Black men for this
episode and I want you to knowthat there's those of us out
there who really care and wantto see you rise, and he's
definitely one of them.
Well, coach Bradley, thank youso much for coming on today.
(25:24):
I really appreciate you talkingto all my kids, to our youth,
and thank you.
Coach Ed Bradley (25:32):
Thank you.
I really appreciate being here.
Look forward to coming back oneday, I hope.
Fatima Bey (25:40):
And now for a mind shifting moment.
Now for a mind-shifting momentHistory.
Let's talk about that word fora moment.
If you do not know your history, if you don't know what
happened before, if you don'tlearn some lessons from that
(26:03):
story, you're almost guaranteedand doomed to repeat it.
I want you to think about thisHistory.
What history do you know?
After all, it's his story.
(26:25):
What is his story?
Is it true young black man?
Is it true woman?
What is his story?
Why don't you find out whatyour story is instead?
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