Fatima Bey: 0:04

This is MindShift Power Podcast, the number one critically acclaimed podcast where we have raw, unfiltered conversations that shape tomorrow. I'm your host, Fatima Bey, the MindShifter, and welcome everyone. Today we have with us Coach Ed Bradley, and he is out of Mississippi in the USA. He is a transitional life coach, a retired educator and a former basketball coach, and he is a power-packed man with a lot to say. How are you doing today, Ed?

Coach Ed Bradley: 0:42

I'm doing well. Thank you for having me.

Fatima Bey: 0:45

Well, thank you for coming. As in my usual fashion, I like to dive right into it. Why are you on this podcast today?

Coach Ed Bradley: 0:53

Well, I'm here because I feel like the world needs to have more honest conversations, especially when it comes to our young people who are navigating identity, purpose and power. People who are navigating identity, purpose and power. As a former educator and now transitional life coach, my work is about helping young people see themselves beyond the labels and limitations society tries to place on them. I feel like this podcast creates 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 I definitely want to be a part of.

Coach Ed Bradley: 1:24

You know, I feel like too many times, we attempt to help young people by telling them what to do, and I'm not here to speak at young people. I'm here to build with them. You know, I think it's important that they see someone who looks like them, who's kind of walked through some of the same roads that they've walked through, and my hope is to help them realize their story isn't broken. It's just the beginning. You know, we need to help them navigate a new path that works for them in a new world. You know, things aren't the same as they used to be when we were growing up, but a lot of the problems still exist, so we definitely need to find a way to communicate with our young people and help them navigate a new path.

Fatima Bey: 2:07

Absolutely so, something the audience doesn't know about you yet, but you helped to build an African-American studies curriculum. Can you tell us about that?

Coach Ed Bradley: 2:17

Absolutely so. Before I talk about the curriculum in general, I want to take a second to mention some other people that were involved, because this was a project that was not just myself but several amazing educators that came together to make this happen. I have to start with our principal at the time, dr Wesley Quick, who understood the importance of representation of all history. You know he pushed for and supported our vision from day one to ensure that we had this curriculum in place. Understand, the school that we were working at. The student population was not overwhelming African-American I think the population was maybe 60-40, with African-American being 40% of the population but he still understood the importance of ensuring that our African American students that their history was represented. So I have to thank him for really wanting to ensure that we taught African American studies in the school. Also, one of our assistant principals, dr Ceil Burrell. She's probably one of the best assistants to principals I've ever worked for. She's one of those. She's a great advocate for teachers and students. She's one of the people who's going to always advocate for her students as well as for her students. She's a person who creates a strong school culture and I will forever admire her. But she allowed us to be able to build this curriculum around the type of truth that really teaches the history in the way it should be taught, not the way some people may want you to teach it. So we always want to thank her.

Coach Ed Bradley: 3:55

And then my colleague, who I work with as we built this curriculum, is Ms Laura Guidry. Ms Guidry again, is one of the best educators I've ever been around. Miss Laura Guidry, miss Guidry again, is one of the best educators I've ever been around. She has a passion and a cultural wisdom and a heart that has made this lesson plan more than just a lesson plan. You know, it was definitely a declaration of pride for every student that walked through the doors. We actually team taught the class the first year, which is unusual for most people. Any educators out there listening will know that you don't usually get to do that, but I absolutely enjoyed team teaching with her because she was able to bring some things to the classroom that I had never seen before. It made it a much easier transition for me.

Coach Ed Bradley: 4:36

But, to answer your question, the truth of what we wanted our students to take from the class was you are more than a product of struggle, your legacy. You are a legacy of brilliance. Too many times our history books portray our ancestors as if they didn't exist until they became enslaved people in this country. Many times those history books ignored all the amazing accomplishments of our people before the history of slavery. So our history didn't begin with chains.

Coach Ed Bradley: 5:08

You know. It begins with kingdoms, libraries, universities, engineers, warriors, spiritual leaders in places like Cush, mali and Timbuktu, and we wanted them to know those places and we wanted them to understand the strength of our ancestors and that it was more than just struggle. You know, we wanted them to understand that before we were brought here and stripped of everything, even though we went through those things, we still rose. After being brought here and stripped of everything, we still innovated, we still built communities, we still built economies, music, movements and inventions in a land that still tried to erase us, but some kind of way we still survived that. You know, we didn't just survive it, we thrived. You know we showed more than just our struggles. We showed that we're a people of resiliency and genius, and even though current history books don't always talk about those things, we wanted to make sure that our curriculum and our classes pointed these things out so that when you left that classroom, you knew that we were more than just a product of struggle. We were definitely a people of resilience and ingenious.

Fatima Bey: 6:18

So what I'm hearing out of a lot of what you just said. Number one you were able to accomplish this not by yourself, but because you had support. You had genuine support from people around you, and that's true for anything we want to accomplish. We actually, no matter how good we are, how strong our desires are, we do need some form of support. And I'm not just talking about what you did in school, I mean in general. But the other thing I'm gathering from what you said is I'm going to rephrase it A lot of time we hear oh you poor little slave, it's a good thing you're free now, and that's the general idea that you know kind of how we're portrayed as African-Americans.

Fatima Bey: 6:55

But the other thing I want to point out and you said it more eloquently and I'm going to say it more simply we, unlike any other African culture, unlike any other culture I can think of now, some of y'all can correct me if there's some Europeans where this happened to them, but as far as I know, there's no other people in the world except African Americans that actually don't know their history, that actually had it ripped and raped out of us, stolen from us, beaten out of us. We were not allowed to even learn how to read, et cetera, et cetera. We're the only ones that had no identity. And then we wonder why there's this? I'm proud to be Black explosion in the 70s, duh, and you know, we're the only people in the world that has that particular history. We're're the only people in the world that that has that particular history.

Fatima Bey: 7:47

We're not the only people that are downtrodden. We're not the only people that went through slavery. You know that all those other elements. Other people have gone through, even some europeans, at different times, in different ways, but we're the only ones that had that ripped out from us. And what I hear you saying is you want our descendants, their descendants, which we're part of that to know that we are more than just poor little slaves, that we actually came from greatness before we were turned into 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's important?

Coach Ed Bradley: 8:28

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, this is who we're going to be, this is where we're going, without truly understanding where we truly came from. When you know where you came from, you also have an understanding of where you can go. You understand who you are, what your limitations are and, in all honesty, our ancestors had no limits, considering what we dealt with, considering the things that we were put through, to be able to come out on the other side the way we did. There is no reason why we, as a people today, with all the advantages that we have compared to what our ancestors went through, that we should not be further along as a society, while we should not be growing and thriving, even more so considering you know, as you mentioned, you know we're the only society that was ripped away from our ancestors, that was ripped away from our homeland, ripped away from our history, not allowed to learn to read and those type of things.

Coach Ed Bradley: 9:41

In some kind of way, we still manage to hang on to certain aspects of our culture, so much so that a big part of American culture is still rooted in African culture. When you look at our music and our food, and a lot of the things that we consider to be American culture that many people don't want to accept is all, honestly, goes back to African culture. A lot of our music is rooted in African culture. A lot of our food is rooted in African culture. A lot of what we look at within our government and our overall structure in our society started in those African cultures and, even though we were not allowed to learn about those things, a lot of Europeans stole a lot of the things that we did math, science A lot of those things were stolen from our people and then presented as if their own ideas.

Coach Ed Bradley: 10:33

So there's a reason why they don't want us to learn our true history. There's a reason why our true history is not being taught. There's a reason why certain books are being banned Because if you truly learn where you came from and see where your ancestors ended up, considering all the hardships they had to fight through to become the people that they became, the success stories that they made, if you saw those things and then you look at all of the things that are that are available to you now, how could you not come up? Come up with the idea of I can be so much better than this. I can do so much more because I have 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 you learn your true history. You really take a step back. And all those books they tell you not to read, go read them. All that history they don't want 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 of people. Go look at the tribes that existed in Africa before the slave trades, Because of course, they want you to believe that when Europe landed in Africa, all they found was a bunch of savages just running around with no real structure, when in reality, what they found was societies that existed with their own governmental structure. Go find out the way these African tribes lived. Go learn how much our government today is patterned after the things these Europeans learned. Go look at some of the scientific innovations, the mathematic innovations that were found in Africa during that time period that was brought to the Americas that was used to build this country. Then look at, historically, all the things that we did to build this country. How many things existed in this country as a result of our labor Not only our labor, but our brains as well.

Coach Ed Bradley: 13:04

If it were not for African slaves, the South would not have had plantations. They didn't know how to grow cotton, indigo and those things like that. They had no clue how to do those. It took us to teach them how to do those things and then, instead of them creating partnerships and learning from us, they shackled us and treated us as less than because they wanted to feel like they were better than us and they wanted you to think they were better than us. So that's the first move.

Coach Ed Bradley: 13:35

I think the first move is to learn where our people truly came from and understand there's a reason why people don't want you to know your true history. It's time to learn where you truly came from. Get out there and truly learn where you came from and understand that your ancestors were the smartest of the smartest on this planet, that many of what exists in this world today is a result of their culture, is a result of their hard work, is a result of their brain work, it's a result of their brain power. And start building on those things. Live up to that. There is a history of excellence that was started by our people and it's time we start living up to that.

Fatima Bey: 14:28

Stop living up to stereotypes and live up to the expectations and the examples that were set before us. What I'm hearing from you is a principle. Actually, I teach all the time, but on a personal level, and right now we're specifically talking to young Black men. Finding out who you are helps you to become a better you. We say that in the self-help realm, in the coaching realm, in the therapy realm, in the we can be better realm. It is true culturally as well. So, even though you know, like I said, we say that sort of stuff all the time because it's a true principle, but it's time that our young Black men start recognizing that it's true for them as well. So tell me, how does this? Something that you're very passionate about is mentorship. How does this tie into mentorship?

Coach Ed Bradley: 15:16

Well, being an old history teacher, former coach, the one thing I would probably tell people is history is probably our best mentor and guide. To begin with, you know, especially for young black men, If you look at our history and you know where to look, it doesn't. It doesn't just tell you a story, it gives you strategy. You know, when you study the lives of our people people like Frederick Douglass, ida B Wells, dr Charles Drew you realize you didn't just they didn't just wait for permission to leave group. You realize they didn't just wait for permission to leave. They saw a need, they used what they had and they moved in a way to allow them to fill those needs.

Coach Ed Bradley: 15:56

There are plenty of needs in our society today that need to be filled and you don't have to wait for permission from someone else to fill those needs. We have the ability, we have the skill, we have the know-how to fill those needs and we don't need somebody else to tell us how to do it. It's just a matter of us going out into our society and stepping up and finding a way to fix those problems. So I mean, if you don't have a mentor right now, there are people throughout our history, in our own bloodlines that can show us how to be mentors in those situations. You know, we've got people in our history who have beat the odds. You know who have been where we need, where we want to go, and they got there through much worse situations than we are. You know, we have a legacy of mentorship. We have a legacy of fighting through hardships. So there are many examples in our history of fighting through hardships and finding a way to getting it done. And we don't have nearly the hurdles in our way that our ancestors in our way that our ancestors.

Coach Ed Bradley: 17:08

So, if we took the time to really learn, go back and, like I said, frederick Douglass was someone who was not allowed to learn how to read, yet he taught himself how to read and was considered one of the greatest orators of his time frame. You know a person like Ida B Wells, who became one of the greatest writers of all times and shined a light on the atrocities of Lenten's. Or Dr Charles Drew, who became an innovator. You know, in the medical field. You know, at a time when just being able to even walk into a hospital was unheard of for our people, you know, just imagine the things that they went through to be able to fill a need. And here we are with the advantages that they don't have, that they did not have. We have all the advantages they didn't have. We can look at the things that they did to fill those needs. We can follow their examples with much greater advantages and 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 talk to the listeners right now. I don't care what color you are, what race you are. Yes, we're talking to young Black men today and this episode is focused on them. But no matter who you are, what age you are, what race you are, I want you to listen to everything that Ed is saying and hear the principles behind what he's saying, Because you could be Bosnian and apply this principle to your life, to your people. You could be Russian, whatever, just pick one. You could be whatever, and you could still listen to the principles. And also what he's saying about looking at history to learn from it. I strongly strongly agree with that.

Fatima Bey: 18:58

But when you look at history and the history of your people, whoever they are, don't just look at the details of their history. Technology changes the details, but what doesn't change is principles. When you look at people who fought and they won battles that we don't have to fight now because they won it for us, what's the principle behind, what made it work for them? Not just the details. They had a gun that we don't use anymore. No, the gun wasn't the point. The fight and the not giving up was what's the principle behind what you're looking at? And I just have to say that to all the listeners out there you really, when you're learning lessons from history and you're paying attention, pay attention to the principles behind the lesson, not just the details, because that's when you'll get lost and have to take the lesson again.

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 permission to be whole. I would start by telling them to stop asking the world for permission to be whole, you know you 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 are or 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 when you understand your roots you grow stronger. You know there's a reason they don't want to teach our history. They try to ban our books. Find that information, learn from it, use it.

Coach Ed Bradley: 20:36

You know just this generation, you guys, have more access to information, connections and innovations than any generation before us. That access without awareness is wasted and and that's something I want to say again access without awareness is wasted. We have too much access and not enough awareness to what we have access to and we are wasting it. And I think it's really important that we recognize misinformation as well. I think that is key, because what you are finding now is they are taking information about our people and misrepresenting us in many ways, so that we have the wrong idea about who we are and where we came from, which is why I think it's very important that we study our people beyond, before we became enslaved. People in this country Understand who we were before we got here, understand the contributions we made, not just to the United States but to the world as a whole, understand the principles of our people, what we stood for, who we were and who we became, and then understand what we did for this country. Even though the history books don't always tell you this, there are many, many of our great ancestors who wrote their own histories, who put information out there to tell you the things that we did for this country. Many of the things that exist today exist because of us. Understand those things, all right, and use that information, use that access All right To go out and build our communities, speak truth and then act.

Coach Ed Bradley: 22:23

As I mentioned earlier, you know what needs to be done. You know what problems exist in your community. Don't wait for somebody else to fix those problems. You see them every single day. You know what it takes to fix them. You are more than capable of fixing them. Don't wait for permission, just do it. Go out there and do it because you are smart enough, you are strong enough and you can do this because your ancestors have done it. It is in your blood. You are a fixer just because your ancestors are fixers. Get out there and do it, don't just shine. Share your light, show up for your people.

Coach Ed Bradley: 23:00

Volunteer mentor lead you come from a history of volunteers. Volunteer mentor lead you come from a history of volunteers. You come from a history of mentors. You come from a history of leaders. The best way to honor our ancestors is not with hashtags. It's with their hands, your heart and with hustle, and we are capable of doing all those things. I think it is definitely time for our young people to step up and do the things that our ancestors have done. They have set a great example, and a big part of that is getting involved getting involved with the process and creating your own process, for that matter.

Fatima Bey: 23:34

That was a lot to say, but all true. Now you do. You're a transitional life coach. Do you do your coaching in person? 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 connect with me, you can find me at my website, which is CoachEdBradleycom website, which is coachedbradleycom. You can also find me on social media Instagram, facebook, tiktok, linkedin, which is also Coach Ed Bradley. If anything I said today you know resonates with anyone, please reach out to me through any of those. I'd love to work with you to try to build something to help our youth. I think it's really important. I also work as an educational consultant, as a public speaker, anything I can to support our youth, to support educational outreach and anything I can to help our communities to build 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 men listening. He has one of the biggest hearts for you that I've ever seen. So if you are looking to talk to somebody who gets you, he's the one. So do reach out, and he just cares about our youth in general, but we're specifically talking to young Black men for this episode and I want you to know that there's those of us out there who really care and want to see you rise, and he's definitely one of them. Well, coach Bradley, thank you so much for coming on today. I really appreciate you talking to 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 one day, I hope.

Fatima Bey: 25:40

And now for a mind shifting moment. Now for a mind-shifting moment History. Let's talk about that word for a moment. If you do not know your history, if you don't know what happened before, if you don't learn some lessons from that story, you're almost guaranteed and doomed to repeat it. I want you to think about this History. What history do you know? After all, it's his story. What is his story? Is it true young black man? Is it true woman? What is his story? Why don't you find out what your story is instead?