DCABPI has launched a Blog series in an effort to enlighten viewers / readers about people and local leaders who are making a difference, as well as positive contributions right here in Durham.

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For this series, our DCABPI Interns conduct interviews for our DCABPI - Blog page.  Each interview explores the perspectives shared by individuals from different professional backgrounds (eg, politics, healthcare, housing, education, business) to include DCABPI cohorts, Community Activists, and other local residents.

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Interview questions and answers address the following issues and more:

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• Where / how do you see Racial Inequity exhibited in your everyday life or career path?  

• What changes could be made in Durham communities and beyond to achieve Racial Equity?

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Posted on April 18, 2023

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Homelessness is a growing problem in Durham, and community members including NCCU constituents are looking for solutions.  Homelessness peaked in Durham in 2012, with 14 homeless people per 10,000 citizens. From then until 2017, the number continued to decrease until now.  In 2019, the City of Durham reported 3,482 people experiencing homelessness -- 8 percent increase since 2016. The majority of the homeless in the city are living in shelters, while others are living in abandoned buildings or on the streets.  According to a recent news report by ABC-11, 47 more people lived outside in 2022 compared to 2019, and the numbers have risen since. The national average has increased by 2% since 2019 after homelessness had previously declined nationally for eight of the last nine years.

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Today, Micah Speed (NCCU Class of 23) spoke with Charnequa Kennedy, Director at North Carolina Central University Counseling Center about alarming trends with homelessness and mental health.

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Micah: Please share your professional insight about the growing national problem with housing insecurity?

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Ms. Kennedy: According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 20 to 25% of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of severe mental illness. Nearly three times more than the national average. I do believe that challenges with mental health can present a different barrier when it comes to homelessness. Mental illness, as well as substance use, which at times can be co-occurring, do create different challenges with either establishing housing or finding housing if someone has been displaced,” said Kennedy.

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Roughly 37% of homeless people reported abusing alcohol and 27% abused various drugs. Here in Durham, those percentages are likely higher, and there can be reasonable pathways to help, without criminalization.

To help those struggling, it is important to provide resources and support, rather than criminalize addiction. Organizations such as CAPNC, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous offer resources such as meetings, hotlines, and support groups that help individuals access recovery and treatment resources. Providing employment and access to medical care can also help individuals reduce their risk of addiction as well as access resources that can help them lead healthier lives.

 

Micah: What's being done here in Durham to deal with this growing problem?

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Ms. Kennedy: The City of Durham is taking steps to address the problem by investing in resources that support those in need and providing assistance such as housing vouchers and job training. Unfortunately, this will only be a small step in combating the stigmatization of homelessness, which can often be linked to mental illness and addiction. The issue of homelessness is tightly linked to mental health. Solutions should focus on providing better access to mental health services, including counseling and medication; increasing access to housing and employment opportunities; and providing additional resources to individuals who have experienced homelessness or have poor mental health. To reduce the number of people affected by homelessness and its accompanying mental health issues, a comprehensive, multifaceted approach is essential.

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Micah: Have you found this to be an issue in other places such as your hometown of Columbia, South Carolina?

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Ms. Kennedy: I do recall that the last time I lived there (Columbia, SC), there was concern about the population that was unsheltered or unhoused. As shelter capacity grew more limited and/or priorities were on women and children, men were having fewer options for shelter especially when there was adverse weather or other circumstances. The South Carolina Interagency Council to End Homelessness estimates that there are 651 people homeless in the city each night. To address the issue, the Council works to provide permanent housing, employment, healthcare, and food support to the homeless. They also serve as an advocate to combat homelessness in Columbia by collaborating with organizations and legislators across the state. Additionally, local churches, charities, and other programs support those struggling with homelessness in Columbia.

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Micah: What's being done on NCCU campus with regard to mental health for students?

 

Ms. Kennedy: NCCU students have a plethora of available resources when it comes to mental well-being services. Many professors are personable and we have trained counselors who work with students daily that have the ability and expertise to help them as needed.

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Posted on March 23, 2023

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Today, Ashleigh Mills (NCCU Class of 23) and Ronicha Lee (NCCU Class of 23) spoke with Evelyn Smith Booker, Retired Corporate Television Executive and Author of the book "Winning in Spite of".  Ms. Booker is also an North Carolina Central University alumnus (Class of 73).

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Ashleigh: What was it like for you and your sister to be the first black students to integrate the school system in Columbus County, North Carolina in 1965?

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Ms. Booker: That year (1965) was the first year in North Carolina that it was optional to attend the all black school located in our area or you could decide to go to the white school.  Students could elect to attend whichever school was closer to your home. In my case it just so happened that the all white school was closer to our home.  My sister [Clara] and I were the only two black students that chose to go to the white school.  All of the other black students continued to go to the black school in Nakina, NC (Columbus County) that was 20 miles away.  Columbus County is located just below Fayetteville, NC.  To put it bluntly, there were some days that we will never, ever forget.  I was talking to my sister the other day, and she said those were days that are forever etched into our memories.  They called us all kinds of names from the N-word to monkey.

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Once we started taking test at the school and the teachers back then would post everything.  They discovered that our names were always at the top of the list with the best grades.  Things quickly changed.  They learned that it has nothing to do with the color of your skin, but all about knowledge and brightness.  My mom used to tell us you are just as good, if not better than the next person, and it has nothing to do with their skin color.  The only difference is how do you apply your God given talents.  We discovered very readily that we were just as gifted, if not more gifted than they were.  And ironically, all of our books were second hand books.  When we received them, there already had 2 to 3 names in the books before we got them, which means that the kids at the white schools had them first and we had what you would call "hand me downs".  The good news is the content in the book was the same.  They can't take anything away from what we gather in our brains.

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Ronicha: What do you want readers to get out of your book and what message are you giving people to inspire them through the book?

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Ms. Booker: I want people to know that no matter who you are and where you come from, your current situation does not necessarily dictate the final destination.  The sky's the limit.  You can be anybody or anything that you choose to be if you apply yourselves.  If you do that, then you chart your path and lay out goals: One year, Five year, Ten year goals.  They might not remain the same as you go along, but document your progress along the way by putting things in writing.  Your current situation does not dictate where you're going to end up.  Get all the knowledge you can even when you go into a large corporation or a smaller company.  Find a mentor and let them know what your long term goals are, and what your short term goals are.  Solicit their input by asking them to help you and guide you in your decision making.  Learn all you can about every subject that you can.

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There are no excuses now for not knowing something.  My advice would be to always apply yourself.  Give it your best shot.  In the book, I talk about never giving up.  There will be days when you get up and things aren't the way you'd hoped they would be.  That's when you tell yourself -- You know what?  It's going to get better. Do affirmations and post them in your bathroom or on your mirror in your bedroom to say, "Today is going to be an awesome day".  And guess what?  That day will be an awesome day.  Any words that have positive connotations, those are the ones that you post.  Anytime you can quickly turn a negative into a positive, that's what you want to do.  I advise you to shoot for the stars.  If you want to be an engineer, a doctor or a lawyer, or even a floor sweeper, whatever it is, be the best. You always want to be the best version of you that you can be.

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Ashleigh: How can we get our generation to have a mindset and the motivation to get out and make a change like you all shared during the Sixties and during the Civil Rights Movement?

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Ms. Booker: You've got to get out there and make a difference, and you've got to join organizations that are about something.  When you're talking to different groups of people, ask what are your goals?  What are your ambitions?  What is your mission statement?  And if they're headed in the same direction that you are, then you can align yourself with them.  You've got to get involved in organizations that are about something and that are about moving this process forward.  The only way you can do that is to find out what their ultimate goals are. Have drive, tenacity, and persistence.  And by all means, definitely fight, fight and fight some more to move us forward.

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Ronicha: What is your "R&R philosophy" to relax and how can it be implemented in our everyday lives?

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Ms. Booker: What you want to do is while sitting at your desk, inhale and count one, two, three, four or five, then ixhale as deeply as you can.  Count six, seven, eight, nine, ten, then inhale a second time and count One, two, three, four, five, and you exhale.  Let it all out and count Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.  The third time when you inhale, think of the most beautiful place you've ever gone on vacation.  Could be the beach.  I love the water, the sound of the ocean.  I love walking in the sand and feeling that sand through my toes, wherever it is.  With that front and center. Inhale. One, two, three, four, five.  That beautiful place that you vacation.  Let it all out.  Count Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.  If you had any tension in your shoulders or if you had a sinus headache, you should feel that tension dissipating and leaving your body.  And you can do that without saying anything to anybody. Just do it for 60 seconds and you're going to be amazed at how much better you feel.

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What you also want to do throughout the day, if you're at your desk, make sure that your feet are flat on the floor.  Put your back all the way to the back of the chair and just breathe deeply.  Your posture has a lot to do with how you feel overall.  When you're getting ready to relax at night, I also have a ritual where I think about my day and I keep a journal.  I write down the five things that happened to me that day, and what you learned from those lessons.  First of all, give thanks for even seeing another day, and then have the activity for your limbs. You've got eyesight, which means you can drive to where you want to go.  You're blessed to have some money in your pocket, whether your parents gave it to you or if you're in financial aid, whatever the situation.  Then think of all of the positives.  Some days your list might be redundant, because every day you're going to be grateful for health.  When you write down your daily activities, get in a room where there's no TV, and no books, Rhe books can be there, but don't touch them.  Just concentrate on you for 10 minutes and how blessed you are.  When you write down those ten things that that you're grateful for, it's called attitude of gratitude that you're grateful for that day.  At the end of seven days, you're going to be amazed at why you're still here and what your true purpose is.  Finally, when when you get ready to lie down that night, play some soft music that you like.  I personally love Reggae music, Jazz, and African music.

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Posted on November 30, 2022

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Today, Grace Uko (NCCU Class of 23) and Yuri McCray (NCCU Class of 23) spoke with Damon Williams, Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety at North Carolina Central University about his professional journey.  Chief Williams also serves as President of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police.

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Grace: As police chief at NCCU, how do you help ensure the safety of students on an open campus?

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Chief Williams: Number one, I try to be accessible to my students. The motto that we have for the 2022-2023 academic school year is “Build Relationships”. I can’t build relationships if I stay in my office, it makes me inaccessible. No matter what is going on in my schedule, I always carve out time for the students. That’s why you see me in the cafeteria, as well as why you’ll see me in some of the residence halls walking, laughing, talking, and really trying to build those relationships. Once that relationship is established and there’s a sense of trust there, the students will then depend on me in situations to assist them which is what we want. We want to step in before they take harsh actions that costs them something very serious. I tell my officers, before you can make a withdrawal, you have to make a deposit. So, when I am walking, talking, interacting, and listening to different students about their problems, I am making a deposit into building relationships. This is so they know that I am more than just a police chief and a police officer. I am a person and someone who cares about their success and future. I want our students to be successful. Before a student acts on something that may cost them their success, call me first and let’s see if we can’t work it out. All in all, before I can make that withdrawal for them to call me, I've got to make a deposit into that trust.

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Grace: Would you mind giving us a little insight on the statewide organization you run and some of the things that you all do for the community?

 

Chief Williams: Outside of being the NCCU Police Chief, I was elected president by a majority of the members of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police which represents all 512 police departments in North Carolina. We oversee and try to assist with legislative agendas, along with offer training and insight for police departments in North Carolina. Our job is to support the local departments to ensure that their officers have the best training possible in order for them to go out and support the community. In this role, I am more of a support entity for the actual organization and member departments.

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Grace: How has race played a role in your career and what are some of the biggest obstacles you’ve faced being a police chief?

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Chief Williams: In my career and at least two agencies, I became the first African American police chief. This was challenging because at the first agency, I was selected as chief over two other individuals who were older than me and more experience than I did. They did not have the same level of education that I had but they had been in the profession a little longer. I came into the job as their superior officer. Being younger and coming in as the first African American police chief brought challenges that I had to overcome but working with those individuals allowed us to move past those obstacles very quickly.

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At the second agency, it was much more difficult. Yet again, I was the first African American police chief they had ever had as well as the youngest police chief they had ever had in the position. I came into an agency that had very little diversity. Although they cried that they wanted diversity, it was a constant fight to diversify the department. In my role as police chief, you're always going to have to, as a minority, do better and be better. You must demonstrate those tendencies as you move forward. So, does race play a role in my career? I think it does.

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Some of the biggest obstacles I've faced pertains to race, and I’ve had to overcome some pretty serious issues with regard to race. As I mentioned, I was the youngest police chief they had ever had at the first agency but that wasn’t the headline. The headline was “City Hires First Black Chief”. I thought to myself “Oh my, we’re in the 2000’s and that’s the best headline they’ve got?”

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Race is something that is a factor in this profession, however I will say that we have come a long way from the time I first started as a police chief until today. We have some very innovative and forward-thinking leaders in North Carolina leading some of our police agencies, and that has made a big difference. Some of the biggest challenges still exist with politics, and some of the chiefs in the state who want to do the right thing, are still dealing with politicians who want to do the wrong thing. This makes it a constant challenge.

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Yuri: Do you have any advice you would like to give the younger generation of minority students about what you had to overcome?

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Chief Williams: Yes, I talk to students all the time, and the first thing I tell them is to “study your craft. If you are going to be a nurse, be the best nurse you can be. Study your craft and understand your skill set, understand where your deficiencies are and try to build those deficiencies into the skills that are needed”. I try to get students to understand that everything is a continuous learning process. You must understand your craft, always study to be better, and never stop learning. As you grow in your career, always look to the top if that's where you want to be. Also don’t be afraid to follow before you believe you can lead. People have to follow in order to learn the skills needed, and they must follow before they can be the actual leader they want to become in the future. Therefore, the main thing I say to students is: know your craft. I tell students all the time that education is the key to success. It doesn't guarantee you success, but it is a key to the door. So, know your craft and study your craft.

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Yuri: What are some policies you have implemented on NCCU’s campus regarding safety?

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Chief Williams: We have changed the way we police on campus. We’ve gone to a motto of community policing that requires officers to engage, work, and build programming. Officers have been assigned to residence halls to work with student leaders, such as RA’s, and to develop programs for those residence halls. This is why you see our officers doing “Meet & Greets” in Alston Avenue or the “Donut & Coffee with a Cop” in Lawson Avenue. Some other policies that we do are Eagle Card checks such as those implemented in George Street and Eagleson Hall.

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We have also instituted many policies and programming. For example, policies like R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense Class). In the class we teach our female students’ defensive techniques and how to defend themselves in a situation that may involve their safety. It’s a week-long class done 1-2 times per semester. Another program we have is a therapy animal program. We have a new therapy dog on campus named Jasper. Jasper is there for the students to interact with, pet, love, have fun with, and just brighten their day as they go about their daily rigors. College can be stressful, so we want to do everything we can to help mitigate some of those stressors. We have also increased our technology by changing out all of our aging emergency blue light phones that used to be on campus. They used to be a brown color and now they are digitized and bright blue towers with cameras on top of them. We’ve increased the technology on campus to increase and improve safety.

 

Although we focus on community policing and building trust within the students, it does not mean that we will not hit a hiccup. Students are humans and so are the officers. Students are going to have bad days and believe it or not, officers are going to have bad days too. What having that trust and relationship with students does is give us an opportunity to correct issues. The most important thing is that we work through those issues as they arise.

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Yuri: Why do you love your job?

 

Chief Williams: Great question! I’ve been a police chief for a while now and working at North Carolina Central University is probably the most fun I have ever had. I started my career as an educator and now I am back in the environment that I chose as a career in the first place - Education. I get the best of both worlds because I love being a police officer and I love being an educator. Working at NCCU, I get to see students at a point I’d like to call “an Apex”. Students are at the point in life where they have to make some pretty serious choices about what they want to do.

 

I had a discussion with a student a few weeks ago about being “hood”. I essentially told this student to “leave the ‘hoodness’ where you came from. You’ve got an opportunity now to be a success. You have an opportunity now to change the outlook. You can leave those “hood” activities where you came from and be better. We had a very serious conversation and believe it or not, he listened. He was listening intently to what I was saying.

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This job gives me an opportunity to make a difference. When I see all of the students on campus, I see me. Someone who started from almost nothing, to becoming a successful man. I come from a single parent home, with a mother who was disabled so we had assistance from the state. Therefore, being at NCCU allows me to show students that I am living proof that you can do it. Saying you cannot make it is not an option because if I can make it, anybody can make it. I think that is why I enjoy my job so much. It is a chance to engage with you all at an apex in your life and try to offer something that you may not have gotten otherwise.