Equity & Justice

Helping leaders create more just, equitable, and loving organizations and communities through conversations, language, spaces, and systems that embody the principles of the Beloved Community.

On May 31, 2020, I took his first public step into the conversation about racism, injustice, and inequality in America after the murder of George Floyd when the Central Florida Foundation invited me to speak on a virtual panel in front of 700 people.

During this discussion, I made a series of provocative remarks that called the audience to question why they were content with the level of historical and current racism, injustice, and inequality in America. I also posted a series of photos that showed my deep anger and sadness. With these statements, I reacted as a black

man, with personal and costly encounters with racism and injustice, as a husband of a black woman searching for answers and comfort, and as a father of a little black boy who must grow up in this world.

Images and words are essential, but I knew that if I wanted to continue the conversation, I had to clarify my voice and platform, and all of this had to lead to meaningful action.

I was not interested in activities that treat symptoms instead of the underlying problems. I was not interested in activities rooted in saviorism. Nor was I interested in activities that pit people with different views and opinions against each other.

Instead, I was interested in activities that affirm the dignity of all human beings, push back against acts of racism, poverty, and aggression, and work for healing and repair instead of punishment and shame.

After a few months of self-reflection, research, discussions with friends, and courageous conversations with people of different beliefs, I constructed a framework that formed the basis for my voice, platform, and actions. This framework was built on the vision of the Beloved Community, a notion popularized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., where he envisioned a society that was just, afforded equal opportunity, and was undergirded by love for fellow human beings, and the structure of Restorative Justice, an approach that brings together victims and offenders of crime into an encounter that's designed to lead towards healing and repair.

Today, I help leaders create more just, equitable, and loving organizations and communities through conversations, language, and systems that embody the principles of the Beloved Community

Five Principles of The Beloved Community

• Love - A selfless concern for the well-being of others.

• Dignity - All people are worthy of respect because they have an unconditional and absolute value to humanity that extends beyond their usefulness and abilities toward others conveniences and goals.

• Intolerance - Poverty, hunger and homelessness are not tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it.

• Inclusiveness - Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice are replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of kinship.

• Reconciliation - Disputes are resolved by peaceful conflict resolution and reconciliation of adversaries instead of force and aggression.