Michael Phillips: Chief Engagement Fulfillment Officer for the T.D. Jakes Foundation

Michael Phillips: Chief Engagement Fulfillment Officer for the 

T.D. Jakes Foundation

Author of Wrong Lanes Have Right Turns

Interviewed and written by Aaron Robinson - Editor @iamcomprehend

Michael Phillips is creating positive change in developing social impact initiatives to solve systemic and community-based problems. Phillips is an Education Advocate, Social Entrepreneur, Purpose Agent, and was recently appointed as Chief Engagement and Fulfillment Officer for the T.D. Jakes Foundation.

I had the opportunity to interview Michael Phillips. Here is what he has to share with the readers.

Aaron Robinson: You are the newly appointed chief engagement fulfillment officer for the T.D. Jakes Foundation, what type of gratification has that been for you?

Michael Phillips: It has been an absolute honor to join Bishop Jakes and the work that he wants to do in legacy building to make sure that we're building sustainable communities and transforming lives. To join him in any capacity is really humbling but also inspiring. I'm excited to get up every day to help scale those efforts all over the world because he's having global impact.

Aaron: Oh, that's great! Regarding the T.D. Jakes foundation, you are creating positive changes and developing social impact initiatives to solve community based and systematic problems. Can you tell us a little about some of these much needed initiatives?

Michael: Absolutely! One of the things that are incredible about the foundation is its ability to build the bridge of opportunity. There are some communities who need a broader pathway for social mobility and upward mobility. The T.D. Jakes Foundation is providing that through its Pathway Programs that connects the divide between corporations and individuals looking for work. That's one way that that vision is being fulfilled. Not only doing the typical workforce development which is necessary providing people with skills to go into the workforce but also to close that gap that corporations are looking for as it relates to individuals who have the skills and tools to work in their companies. We're breaking down those barriers to build the bridge of opportunities so that people can have access to jobs. I'm talking about individuals who have the degree, who have the bachelor’s or the master’s degrees, who have the skills and who have the certificates.

Also, on the other side of the spectrum, individuals who are returning citizens, who might need more skills, who might need a little bit more assistance, they're also getting the opportunity and a commitment from the corporations that we're partnering with to have gainful employment.

Aaron: That's great! Well, it's definitely needed. You mentioned diversity and inclusion in the education system. What's your take on it when it comes to the black community regarding the resources and the education system? Could you talk about this a little bit?

Michael: Well, I think we have been plagued with a lack of equality in most of our systems, in particular regarding education. You can see this in all of the gaps that are pervasive in education, achievement gap, income gap, gap of words from pre-K and so on. When I talk about having equity or diversity and inclusion within education – that goes for the school itself; it goes for the curriculum; it goes for the staff; it goes for the policy and the practices of not only individual schools, but districts and States. Let's talk about teachers, for example. The average teacher in America is a 40 year old white female. And when the population of students is well over 56% persons of color, and so, when you don't have individuals who look like you - who understand the things that you're going through, there is going to be a gap in language and understanding of culture and all those things. Not to say that teachers who aren't black or brown cannot fit the bill, and that's not what I'm suggesting. I'm just suggesting that it's a pervasive problem that we need to pay attention to and perhaps do something about in our society.

Aaron: Yeah, absolutely. And that goes into my next question regarding the school-to-prison-pipeline. That has been a major issue in this country as well. So when it comes to our youth, what are some of the practical ways to combat this issue to deter our youth from being incarcerated, going to jail and being a statistic to the prison system and so forth?

Michael: So I break it down real simple... people, policy and practice. Then I have one final one 'priority'. First, let's start with people. First and foremost, if we are going to dismantle school to the prison pipeline, it's going to require individuals to first understand this is a real problem. So, parents, teachers, and administrators, we all have to make sure we know what our disciplinary practices are in our school systems so that we don't have zero tolerance policy that put children in harm’s way of dealing with the criminal justice system before they turn 13 or 14. The responsibility falls on all of us as people to make sure that we're creating that culture and environment inside of school, outside of school, in the house and in the community. We really have to deepen community to that, to the place where we are really pushing one another forward, championing one another.

Secondly, we have to start with policy. There has to be legislative policy in place that stops young people from being incarcerated at the high levels that they're being concentrated for minor offenses. Getting a criminal record for some of the minor offenses that they get and then lengthy sentencing that derails somewhat their future sets them back. That's an injustice. How much money can he be making? Or, how much damage could he be doing if he's smoking. Let's get the kids some help. Let's support them. There has to be policy and of course there has to be a priority to do these things with some sort of urgency.

Aaron: That's true, absolutely true. Let’s talk briefly about you because you are a success story. What led you to overcome the challenges as being involved in the street life and you avoided the prison system and so forth. What was the light that came on? What happened in your life?

Michael: I love the title of your magazine. I became conscious; I became conscious and aware that life is a gift. Your purpose and your potential – these are gifts. I was tired of being a generational thief. My parents and my grandparents had to endure hardship and suffering so that I could have a better life. I became aware of that. The answer to your question would be on the surface level...faith and my faith in God. That helped and all that's true, but the underbelly of that was I became very aware that there were people who fought and died, and worked, and did everything they could so that I can have a better life. I am doing all of them an injustice by living at the level that I'm living at choosing to live at; I can do better. I had to let go of so much because I'm deeply loyal as an individual. And to leave that world and leave all that behind to pursue something great, it was very hard, but I thought it's not as hard as letting down my ancestors as much as I felt that I was. I just had to get my stuff together.

Aaron: Right! Do you think what you mentioned earlier prior to how you escaped the street life, regarding history and our ancestors, do you think that this will give us more pride to be more rooted in our culture and want more out of life?

Michael: We definitely need culturally competent pedagogy. We need culturally competent instruction, instructors and curriculum. It's hard to be what you cannot see, but it's very easy to become what you often see. If you weren't an athlete, if you weren't in entertainer…that's about it. If you weren’t gifted physically, I mean, fortunately I had some physical gifts and ended up going to college with a scholarship, but when I lost that scholarship and couldn't play ball anymore, I hit them streets. That's how I got into a world of trouble and so forth. Young kids who don’t have the exposure to see what's available and what his or her options are, it's going to be quite troubling for them because they're only going to go and look at the models that are in front of them. They're going to do that because that's what they think is success.

Aaron: Do you have any words of encouragement or advice for those high school students that may be lost and who don't know what way they're going to go when they get out of high school or for those who may have been college dropouts in hopes that they could continue their education and their life to their fullest potential?

Michael: Absolutely. The goal of education is not college. The goal of education is to pull out of you all of your innate gifts and talents and possibilities of who you are. It is to develop you so that you can go into whatever passion you have. And if you're in high school right now, and you're not sure where you're going to go to college, or if you're going to go to college, that's okay. What I do want to urge you to do is have a plan of action for what you want to accomplish. So maybe college isn't for you, but perhaps there's a program that's going to help you gain a certificate for the career that you want. Or, perhaps there's another pathway to get you there that isn't the traditional pathway of a four year institution. Or, maybe you go to school for two years somewhere, and that puts you into a situation to get a job and then maybe you go back to school later. Whatever your pathway is, I want you to know you do have one. You’re not out of time; you are not out of options. If you can't develop a plan of action for what you want to do, don't wonder. Wonder about the possibilities of what's out there and develop a plan of action to get it to go there. There are multiple pathways to do it. So stay encouraged and know that you have everything it takes to make it.

Aaron: Absolutely! Regarding the foundations that you are a part of, or nonprofits, do you guys have anything regarding financial literacy and so forth?

Michael: We're working on something right now. I'm not at liberty to divulge all of it, but we're working on a national program to be able to help with financial literacy, generationally. Not only will the students be able to get this, adults also will be able to get at this and have access to it because you know your future is a decision, it is not a destination. When it comes to your finances, you need to be literate about what your options and choices are, how money works, how currency flows and what you get to do with your money. These are lessons that were not taught to us generationally. So when we get older, we don't know about credit and we don't know about interest rates. We don't know how finances work.

Aaron: Mr. Phillips, before we conclude the interview, would you like to talk about anything that we haven't discussed or you would like to share anything else?

Michael: Yeah, a lot of these thoughts that we are discussing in my new book Wrong Lanes Have Right Turns that's coming out in January of 2022. You are able to pre-order it wherever books are sold. I'm very excited about this book. If you're interested in anything I said, or the stories I was telling a lot of – that is in the book.

Aaron: I just want to thank you again. Have a great rest of the day and I appreciate this conversation with you.

Michael: You too! Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate you.

 

For more information on Michael Phillips please visit https://michaelphillips.info.

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and Twitter https://twitter.com/OfficialMP74