Send us a text

The podcast topic, "African American Men & The Cycle of Hate," stems from me personally taking the time to watch the movie, "South Central," a crime-based film written and directed by Stephen Milburn Anderson, released on September 18, 1992.

The movie sheds light on African American men and our "Cycle of Hate" towards the world because so many of us grew/grow up in the projects, the hood or very impoverished areas. Our communities are much more prone to violence because it is a daily fight for survival because of where we live/lived and how we grew/grow up. It is that out of control anger and hatred inside of us that leads too many African American men to prison, on drugs or selling drugs, gang life or dead, thus leaving far too many moms and especially children without fathers. The movie tells us that so many African American men are either in prison or dodging prison while our kids suffer at home. When kids see a life in the gang world that shows them that school is a waste of time but making money by dealing drugs as well as robbing and stealing is the way to go, then our kids without their fathers are more destined to go the gang route or seek other negative ways of life. The bottom line is that every African American man, and for that matter, any non-African American man who grew up in or still live in a less than adequate communities, please take the time to see if you still possess that same anger and hatred today. In fact, watch 2 specific scenes from the movie that are identified in the episode so that you understand what is meant by the "Cycle of Hate," and then ask yourselves am I still that man today and how do I break the Cycle of Hate I continue to harbor!

Send us a text

This episode provides a recap to my previous episode, The House is on Fire Part II, and the ultimate outcome to Dad's dire plan to save his two young sons from a deadly house fire and Mom's ultimate plan to ensure, not only her and the children, but also the community and her other family and friends learned the knowledge, importance and understanding of implementing and properly executing a House Fire & Equipment Safety Prevention Plan to combat the possibility of a deadly house fire.

The episode also has a two-part challenge, with Part I being you, the Listener, tasked to watch Season 11, Episode 1, of Chicago Med and specifically note the scene involving a dad, son and babysitter thought to be the son's mom and closely witness the damage a deadly house fire can do to the human body and psyche of a family moving forward, especially when it concerns a child or children. Part II of the challenge tasks you with taking inventory of your home (square footage, # of bedrooms, # levels) while imagining you and your family being trapped in your bedrooms and in need of a plan to get the entire family to safety. You have no actual Fire Safety & Equipment Prevention Plan, so you are first tasked with looking within the bedrooms to see if you have anything that can assist you with combating the house fire. Second, you are to jot down in detail, what you believe you would do to get to safety with you and your family trapped in your bedrooms, with a fire that has breached the hallway(s) and all main entry and exit points. Finally, you are asked to provide feedback to the show and share that information because you may have information that is viable to other Listeners and they may want to share it with others as well!

Send us a text

This episode is fiction but tells the story of the well-known Bennett family, a dad, mom and 3 young children, who encounter an unsuspecting house fire in the wee hours of the morning while sound asleep. A small electrical fire starts in the kid's upstairs bathroom and intensely grows steadily from there. In the case of dad, he gets mom and daughter to safety first, but is now left with the dire decision regarding how too get to his 2 young sons with the fire blazing between him and them. He calculates an insane plan, and without regard for his own life, he executes getting through the fire and into the room on the other side of the upstairs hallway where his sons are located. The plan is reckless and dangerous but he has no other alternative and refuses to lose his boys. He then has to create another immediate plan to get them to safety because the fire has consumed the hallway and stairs so there is no way out, except from the 2d floor bedroom window. With Police, Fire & Rescue finally on the scene, but no time to wait for them to get completely into position, and with the fire pushing into the room and filling up with smoke, dad realizes that It is too far to jump and too far to lower them down using his arms, so he remembers a movie from 1975 and executes the only plan that can save him and his sons. Wow, the fire is now inside the room and starting to consume everything in it's path, so dad executes the plan. However, the plan works to get everyone to safety, but does it comes with a major cost?

Note 1: Contact your local Fire Department for detailed information regarding Fire Safety Prevention and Equipment Plans for homes and other types of residences. Ask them if they would be willing to come out to your home or resident, look at your blueprint and help you in putting together the best possible plan for you and our families.

Note 2: Google Fire Safety Prevention Plans for outlines that can help you and your families put together a detailed plan to aid you in combating house fires.

Note 3: Google Fire Safety Equipment to learn about different types of protective equipment you and your families can use to aid you in combating house fires. Ensure you have an equipment expert to walk you through using the equipment properly as well as the best place to keep the equipment.