Another episode that Twitter gets a lot of the glory for bringing me yet another fantastic guest. I am not one to spend my time in just one arena. I think that goes for pretty much all aspects of my life. True, when I get into something I really get into that something. But, I throw my net pretty wide.

For some years now, I have been extremely interested in the things that are not right in front of my face. That meant looking outside of mainstream media and network news. This opened my eyes to a lot of the things that are starting to get a little more light shed on them lately.

I shake my head as I type this. How is it possible we are still talking about racism? And as I type that sentence, I feel like it makes me appear ignorant. I'm not trying to re-invent the wheel with this post. I'm not trying to write something to have it go viral. Now, that would be ignorant. But, a big part of me wants to scream out: "HOW IS RACISM STILL SO PREVALENT?!"

As a person who happens to be white (I credit that phrase to Amanda Seales), it deeply saddens me that this is still an issue. In many ways, it really doesn't seem like we have gained that much ground since 'the old days'. Over the past couple of years alone, the racist acts that you can find pretty much daily... it's just astonishing. And in my whiteness, my maleness and my not getting any youngerness, it's all downright embarrassing and leaves me incredulous at times. And, yes, I'm aware I just put my own self into a category right there.

During my personal search for more reality (good or bad), it has led me to a lot of people I respect in many ways. Benjamin Dixon is someone I stumbled upon via Twitter at some point in 2018. I very quickly recognized his fire for putting the spotlight on important issues. At the time, I wasn't aware of what Benjamin was working on in the background.

We recorded this episode a couple of weeks before its initial launch, but on Valentine's Day, The North Star was officially (re)birthed into the world. A project of Benjamin and Shaun King's, the North Star was originally an abolitionist newspaper established in 1847 by Frederick Douglass.

Taken from their website: "Started in 1847 by Frederick Douglass & Dr. Martin Delany as the leading abolitionist newspaper of its day, we have rebuilt and relaunched The North Star as a modern hub for liberation journalism. Every article, podcast, broadcast, and story that we tell will not just be told to change the news. The North Star is here to change the world."

I reached out to Benjamin late last year and I'd almost be okay with describing myself as giddy that he was interested in recording for Daddy Unscripted with me. I felt like I knew a decent amount about Ben's life going into the recording but quickly learned I truly had no idea.

As we talked, it really started unfolding how many similarities we had. From our youthful years with fathers that were pastors to many of our tales as Dads, we have a lot of common ground.

You'll hear us get a little emotional in this episode as we talk about missing our Dads. Benjamin gives a solid history of his life before I nudge him into a history of his career. I'm so happy we were able to record this episode during such a busy time for Benjamin. Make sure you check out all of the things that keep Benjamin busy and the ways that he is working to make things better and clearer for others of us in the world.

Go to Benjamin's Twitter to find links to pretty much everything, username @BenjaminPDixon. Also, make sure you check out The North Star at www.TheNorthStar.com

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