A timely discussion I am so grateful for the opportunity to have.
Charles Fai grew up in Cameroon, West Africa. Shannon May was born and raised in Minnesota. They met during her trip to Cameroon. They call Duluth home, where they both have businesses and raise their 3 children.
Charles works as a mental health therapist, soccer (football) fan and coach. He is a trainer of the Duluth Police Department on Implicit Bias and working with people who experience mental illness.
Shannon is a Naturopathic Doctor with her practice in Duluth.
Many things have stuck in my head after recording this conversation.
One of them is this…
His daily mantra to himself when he wakes up in the morning. The first thing on his mind.
Then, listen to his story that follows… the story that built that mantra… that prayer.
Shannon shares her experience of living in Cameroon where she was the first white person some had ever seen.
Raising children… creating for them a home… a place for bliss and peace – And then preparing them for the world and how the color of their skin can change perceptions.
She makes a great point…. we can accept kids…. but something shifts as they get older… especially boys.
How do we start to make REAL and MEANINGFUL changes? That thread is woven through our conversation.
Charles challenges us to think about our words, our division of community. Is it a problem for the “black communities” to figure out? The danger of thinking “communities of color” are separate from the community, the town, the city.
Who has the power to make change?
Charles gives us a great way to think about advantages.
The Super Bowl… our team and race.
Where do we… all of us.. have advantages?
How do we honor those advantages and also recognize that we have them?
What does it mean to go from Sympathizer to Ally?
Food for thought…
Do our businesses reflect our population?
Seeing diversity as an asset not a liability
What are business owners doing to attract people of color to their business as employers?
How can we create opportunities for people of color to be heard… (Beyond the protests.)
Little changes can add up to big changes… if we invest ourselves a little.
How do we start those changes that need to come from within ourselves and inside our communities?
Please join us for part two as we dive deeper into this conversation.
Charles shares his experiences.
Some are intense… and some are all too consistent.
When you are a black man pulled over by the police.
Being pulled over when you are the only sober person in your group leaving the bar… multiple times.
Getting through the stress, the fear, the frustration… being held at gun point to make sure he made it home to see his wife and unborn child… for having done nothing wrong.
We talk about the concept of being “colorblind”
We, of course, continue the conversation of how we make the world a more equitable place.
YouTube Videos
LEARN MORE…
about the work Charles is doing with Duluth, MN police and Implicit Bias Training
Intersections: Charles Fai
https://youtu.be/K6ALwSXtIbg
Intersections: Charles Fai, Part 2
https://youtu.be/-A7zMbTgjHs
Great interview, Judy.