How do we find opportunities where others see only problems? The BASE founder and president Robert Lewis Jr. and Mida chef and owner Douglass Williams join host Billy Shore for an enlightening conversation about using love and generosity to build community and create generational change. Lewis started The BASE as a way to re-imagine pathways to success for urban youth. “Language matters… we don’t use language around ‘at-risk, disadvantaged and underserved.’ Our young folks are ‘untapped, great and resilient,’” he says. Williams agrees that words can help change minds and hearts. “If everybody just picked up a book about something that they’ve never read before, that would solve 90% of the racism, 90% of the problems we have. It’s just about educating yourself,” he says.
Both guests discuss how their personal experiences have shaped the work they do today. Williams talk about having a serious illness as a child and how his world travels have shaped his perspective. “It’s humbling because you see how other people live… that’s what changes your mind, that’s the mind switch. You cannot unsee the truth,” he explains. Lewis tells personal stories of the racism and violence he endured growing up in the projects in Boston. “People said ‘mother had me at 17, welfare, growing up in the projects, no dad, somebody already wrote the story.’ And we turned around and I guess we kicked that story.” Now he is helping inner city youth because he believes all kids deserve opportunities.
Share in this uplifting conversation that illuminates the impact of sharing the spirit of generosity and love.
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