Dear Hannah ... I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the brother from another planet. Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. I am learning to be #CircumspectAboutDisrespect. Let me show you something ...

[1-16-2017] Being part of a church has helped me to grow - both in my walk with God, and in my understanding of life and people.Church helped me to wake up, grow up, speak up, and wise up. The experience has not always been "pretty" - but has taught me key lessons ...Your gifts can become weapons (against you and others) without the BALANCE of healing and accepting, affirming, accountable, authoritative relationships (SEE TABLE BELOW).Hurt people hurt people.Healed people help people heal.People who help people sometimes exploit the people they help - and the people who help them.We are all mentors to each other through shared life experiences - good, bad, and ugly.Your mentor's good works are beacons of light that show you the path; his missteps are clear warnings to you. Take heed.

[3-3-2017] A long time ago (1997) in Petersburg, VA (where my wife Keisha was born and raised), Tim and Daphne Maxwell Reid launched New Millennium Studios - a 15,000-square-foot full-service movie production studio on 60 acres of land ... land with a rich Civil War history. It was the only full-service movie production studio in the state of Virginia. Tim Reid (a native of Norfolk, VA) may be best known as "Ray" - Tia and Tamera's dad on the 1990's sitcom "Sister, Sister". He was also the star of the underrated, award-winning 1980's CBS sitcom "Frank's Place". Daphne Maxwell Reid was "Aunt Viv" (the second one) on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". She was also on "Frank's Place". After me and Keisha married in March 2011, that Christmas holiday I took her to New Millennium Studios for their guided tour. We arrived and thought we were the only guests who signed up for our time slot. It turned out that we were the only 2 people in the studio besides Tim and Daphne. Daphne was our tour guide. This lady epitomizes style and elegant grace. She explained that the Steven Spielberg movie "Lincoln" had just wrapped up filming at New Millennium. That was part of the reason why it was so quiet during our visit. She took the time to tell us the history of the studio, the land it sat on, and the reality of the tough times they were enduring. Their vision was for New Millennium to become the centerpiece of a Virginia film community. The growth of their business in Virginia was hindered, though, by a lack of state-supported film production financial incentives. As she led us through their offices, I spotted Tim Reid at his desk and we made eye contact ...

[2-26-2017] Charles Darrow lost his job as a heater salesman at the beginning of The Great Depression in 1929. He then created, patented, copyrighted, and licensed Monopoly between 1933 and 1935 - but Monopoly was based on versions of real estate trading games whose patents date back to 1904. Why did Darrow's version flourish - making him the first millionaire game designer? Well, two lessons come to mind ...

[3-5-2017] A long time ago, a movie called "The Matrix" captured our attention. The movie conveyed that reality was not "real" - but simulated and imagined. It made lots of "real" money, though. A few years after, author Sophia Stewart sued the key players behind "The Matrix" for copyright infringement. She also sued the key players behind "The Terminator". She alleged that both movies were based on works she created in the early 1980s. Court documents show that Stewart did not win her lawsuit. They also suggest that she did not win because her case was legally difficult to prove - not necessarily because it was false. Stewart had to show that the defendants viewed her works, and had to show how they were incorporated into both films ...

[3-17-2017] American history has not been kind to Paul Robeson. Robeson was a complex individual. Even complex individuals can be erased - one dimension at a time. As an actor and singer, he was erased - even as one of the most powerful and popular performers in the world. As a football player, he was erased - even as a Rutgers University All-American. As a civil rights activist, he was erased ("blacklisted") for his "un-American" support of communism and The Soviet Union. Despite these concerted efforts, we still have choices regarding how we remember Robeson. We can either acknowledge his considerable achievements and prowess - or dismiss them. We either agree on, disagree on, or misunderstand his politics. There are two noteworthy nuggets that have earned my respect, though ...

[2-4-2018] I was able to attend Brother Darryl Robinson's homegoing yesterday. I drove down with Willie Frasier. We met during the 1985 Clemson Career Workshop, too, and have been friends ever since. He shared some great memories of "Cheese" during our ride. He was Cheese's roommate for a while. I never knew, but was not surprised ... not in the least. Yesterday was amazing in more ways than I can recount here ... but I will stick to the highlights. We arrived just after Omega Psi Phi's memorial service ended ...

[3-2-2024] Hey folks. My name is Derrick Brown. I'm a #StandupStoryteller. I'm the brother from another planet. Strange people think I am strange. I think that what I experience is strange. And still I rise. #HappyBlackHistoryMonth. On a good day, I have a keen focus on life, liberty, and my pursuit of happiness. That focus intensifies during #BlackHistoryMonth. On a good day, I am intentional about my interactions and conversations. That focus intensifies during #BlackHistoryMonth. See - life for me is no crystal stair. But I climb the steps every day. And learn to avoid what is in my way. I am learning to plant ... then allow seeds to grow. I am learning to move on when the seeds say "no". I am learning to navigate life's status quo. I am learning to stay ... and learning to "go". Let me show you something ...

[2-11-2024] Good morning, good people. Let me show you something ... I am a missionary on a journey to powerful purpose ... with a charge to help others get there, too. That pathway is paved with ministry, entrepreneurship, stewardship, litercy, numeracy, language, self-expression, self-identity, and analysis / synthesis. This journey has given birth to a dream ... that I will use #StandupStorytelling (oration, rap, singing, spoken word, and teaching) to bring messages of hope, healing, and change ... to small-group audiences that embrace mentoring, mediation, and problem solving. I have to finance my dream. Finance is the management of money and other resources. I do not have a lot of money. I do have a lot of resources ...

[1-28-2018] I met Darryl "Cheese" Robinson when I was 15 years old. He was my hall counselor during the Clemson Career Workshop in 1985. He may have been the head counselor - then again, maybe not.But if he wasn't - it sure seemed like he was. His room door was always open, and he was always in there speaking into someone. Older students. Younger students. It did not matter - he was dropping knowledge for the masses ...

Today, I will share a story that articulates a concrete strategy to create sustainable change through *persistent* efforts to connect (with like-minded people), collect (information), protect (spirit, energy, and identity), and project (collaborate in consistent, meaningful ways).

On 2-4-2021, I hosted and moderated a conversation. The participants in this conversation were all connected to the history and legacy of the Lemon Street Schools. The Lemon Street Schools were segregated schools for Cobb County Blacks. When integration closed the schools and absorbed them into the Marietta City School district, a lot of people were hurt. A lot of their legacy was suppressed, ignored and marginalized … but still they rise. That resilient spirit has been evident in all the conversations that we had … the recent one, and the ones previous to that. What may not be as evident is how this conversation models the type of sensitive inclusion that will help us all do life in an understanding way. See, I've been having this beautiful restorative conversation with the Lemon Street community for months now. I hold the conversations as sacred because of the way they have inspired me. These folks have helped me breathe again … and I don't want to disturb that groove at all. I wanna keep it all to myself. But there are bigger fish to fry … there's a bigger picture to paint. So you have to open this conversation to others ...

Harriet Tubman conducted 13 rescue missions on the Underground Railroad over a 10-year period. Those long journeys to freedom resulted in lots of hungry people. Tubman was a professional cook - which provided her mission's startup capital, and creativity under pressure. She once stopped at a market to buy 2 chickens, and almost came face-to-face with a former overseer ... so she dropped one of the chickens and started to chase it. The comedy allowed her to escape unnoticed - even though everyone could see her. When they can't see you, learn to take advantage of being "hidden" and underestimated.

I am a "Standup Storyteller". I am comfortable standing up and speaking my truth. Here's today's truth - I have blind spots. Help me to see them today by listening. I have a special set of skills ... acquired over a long career ... that make me attractive as a workhorse problem solving employee ... but not necessarily as a leader. Let me say that this lack of validation follows a pattern in my life. This lack of validation has become my validation.

I don't know a lot about the Tuskegee Airmen. Don't know a lot of details, but now here's what I do know. I know that they were a group of courageous men of color ... who sought to break barriers in a profession ... that constructed a lot of them ... to make sure that pilots were of a certain hue, if you understand what I'm saying. And to overcome those barriers, they had to defeat barriers about intelligence and that means intelligence requirements ... not being able to combine physical, mental strength and courage along with the intelligence and the wherewithal to maintain your orientation when you are turned upside down. I know they overcame all of that. I know that the Tuskegee Airmen went to the Tuskegee Institute, now known as Tuskegee University, and I know that they overcame and they excelled to a degree where they became "the crew" in America's wars fought on other soils. But now I also know that they became a reliable crew in fighting the war that's been waged on American soil for far too long. And that is the war for equality, for equity, for the access to opportunity. And the more important war for access to better circumstances that produce equality and equity.

Once upon a time, the President gave a group of African-American community leaders a seat at the table. The leaders brought their own menu. It took a long time to make the meeting a reality - lots of letters & telegrams, and several more civil rights crises (like the desegregation of Little Rock, AR schools) for 29-year-old Southern Christian Leadership Conference leader Martin Luther King, Jr. to convene a meeting with then President Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 23, 1958. King attended the meeting with 62-year-old National Urban League Executive Director Lester Granger, 69-year-old organizer A. Philip Randolph, and 57-year-old NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins.

(Marietta, GA) Lemon Street High School's Mr. Lewis Clyde Scott taught many students ... several of whom became teachers. He has transferred his wealth (his knowledge) in ways that have personally inspired me ... without my ever having met him. I have met many of his students. Their lives and stories have told me the kind of teacher and influence he is. On 2-10-2022, I presented some of them to the public ... and they will present Mr. Scott to you from their experiences.

The "SeeSayShow" is a short "class monologue" that shares stories powered by "real-world" LEarning. I teach my classes in a building that used to be an annex to the former segregated high school for Cobb County Blacks. Today's episode shares a story about the first Black city councilman in our city (a graduate of the segregated high school), and how a lawsuit helped to facilitate his election. I am using a "quiz bowl" gameshow shtick to engage the students.

MLK's letter writing practice was strategic. It probably helped him remember who he was meeting, who they were, and what their encounters and meetings produced. These letters were probably his KnowledgeBase, and helped him to make moves.

‘Smart’ buildings merge environmentally responsible design with embedded (“hidden”) computing technology (powered by lots of sensors). This podcast lesson introduces ‘smart’ buildings that rely on ‘The Internet Of Things’ (a massive Web of ‘connected’ personal devices and appliances). It concludes by asking student teams to ‘unplug’ and use only their “Spidey senses” (an innate ability to sense problems, but an even stronger sense of how to solve them) to apply these ‘smart’ concepts to improving their schools’ culture, climate, and community.