Two Columbia Doctors Want to End Gentrification in Harlem ..

And They Want My Guidance 🦁

WATCH my interview with two Doctors from Columbia University 🩺

Columbia University is quickly devouring Harlem.

Subsuming over 400,000 sq. feet of real estate yearly since 2009, the Ivy League University is mindlessly displacing natives of the iconic Black Haven.

Read more about the crisis in my September 29 newsletter 🚨

Columbia currently serves as New York City’s largest landlord thanks to its dominance over uptown, and that’s bad news for the poor, sick, and Black.

Already suffering from rising costs of living, rent, and inflation, Harlemites are experiencing a ruthless assault on their livelihoods, their legacy, and their health.

All of this strife weighs heavily on the minds and bodies of the people of Harlem.

The stress of their circumstances compounds into diseases of poverty - something that Doctors Kennedy and Guirand are looking to reduce.

Considering my leadership in the Housing Freedom movement, and my understanding of health and vitality, they tapped me for insights on how to solve these complex issues.

Postgame Pep-Talk 🥇

In last week’s newsletter, I shared a written pep talk I gave to myself ahead of a seismic moment in my life.

The pregame speech, if you will.

The hype worked — the interview resulted in a powerful feature piece I wrote for SET Magazine on Lisa Leslie.

The hours leading up to the interview were chaotic and heavily tested my fortitude.

Lessons were learned.

That story is for another time.

As for now, I want to share the postgame version of the speech.

I wrote this after all the adversity concluded after boarding the flight from Miami to New York. 

You’ll be able to feel the energy I wielded during this moment. 

Golden Praise of Gratitude 💫

Major gratitude. Many props to you.

Let the cheers fall from the rafters and the praise ring forever in your heart.

I just make shit happen.

I’ve got Grandma Ana’s blood. I may cut it close, by every measure, but the cut is always made.

I am so proud of myself.

I am true. I am great.

You were present, mindful, and on your A-game today.

Your skills as an interviewer are undeniable.

You are an attentive listener and your questions reflect your curiosity.

When a professional athlete, who has been asked tens of thousands of questions throughout their life, praises yours, you can be certain of your abilities.

I have believed in you for quite a long time.

Now, others, (other great ones, might I add) are believing in you too.

This story will be great, but I must give it careful attention.

All the things of true value take time and effort. In my opinion, value is congruent to the amount of human attention and care put into something.

I care a lot about certain things, and my writing is one of them. When I care about creating something, it is always fantastic.

I make shit happen because I know what I want, and I know how to get it.

All the power is within me. 

Right now, what I want is to fall asleep on this plane and wake up in New York. 

But what I want is not always what I should do.

My responsibilities come first.

What I will do is prepare my story.

I will outline the piece and listen to the interview recordings.

Start small. Finish strong!

I will kill this story.

I am prepared for it – I’ve spent my entire life preparing for moments like this one right now – starting a great piece of writing in earnest.

This is the easy part. Go hard.

Make everyone proud.

ONWARD !!!

Try hyping yourself up this way after a victory, big or small.

Gratitude is powerful and often understated.

And besides – if you aren’t going to be your biggest fan, who will be?