Everyone sees the heated exchanges that occur daily on social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook. There is often very little actual learning through sharing of ideas that occurs during those "discussions", and most often, people are misunderstood or their ideas are misinterpreted. We also see that legitimate, non-hostile disagreement is met with harshness, sarcasm and even threats of violence.
Robert Gillan and I had a few discussions on social media a few years back, and for the most part, we disagreed on the topics at hand. We recently talked about those disagreements after I became aware of some interesting discussions that Robert was having on YouTube, and I came to find out that Robert had a different recollection than I did concerning those disagreements. "No problem", I thought. "Let's talk about it." We did just that over the phone right before this episode, and here is the tail end of it all. I feel that if we had had a face to face/eye to eye conversation back then like we have on this episode of The Comin' Home Podcast With John Alan, then the misunderstandings would have been much less than they were. Robert and I still disagree on a few things, such as my credentials or "worthiness" to be profiled in the media, and that becomes apparent in our discussion here, as you will see.
In spite of any disagreements that Robert and I have, I believe that our discussion during this episode displays the positive point that black American men are not all the same. We can have the same goals, but our backgrounds and skill sets can and do differ, and we do not have to agree on the methods that are used to succeed on the path to reaching our goals.
Robert Gillan is the voice behind DaRealNordicBlack which you can find on YouTube. He has had some highly interesting guests on his channel, including Jane Elliott and Dr. Jacqueline Battalora.
According to Robert:
"The DaRealNordicBlack has two main objectives: First, is to educate all people of the injustices of racial discrimination and how it harms all of us in the larger context of humanity. I hope to achieve this through casual, open and accessible conversation with authors, historians and scholars who have inspired and educated me. Second, and arguably just as important, is to celebrate people of color. To highlight their achievements beyond classic stereotypes. Celebrating those who set aside limitations and simply express themselves in authentically and in unusual ways."
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