Follow-up to The Maggie Linton Show
First, a HUGE thank you to Maggie Linton for having me on her show this morning on Sirius XM Urban View Channel 126 and to her team – Kimberly and Tyleah who make it all happen behind the scenes! Maggie, you are an amazing Linker and your gift to the world is the platform you provide for voices to be heard and views to be shared. You keep conversations going and we thank you so very much!
Second, a great thank you to the callers who responded to our conversation! We were not able to get to all the calls but know that we still want to continue the conversations and this is one place where we can do that. Thank you for your comments, opinions, insights and knowledge! Let’s keep it going!
I have received several inquiries about the work that I do around the issue of Conflict and why I chose this particular area for my master’s degree. So, true story.
My son has spent the last 10 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. The sentence brought my world to a hard stop and I retreated from the world in the 24 hours immediately following that verdict. I had no answers. I was lost. The Internet had no answers. No one in my family had ever before been incarcerated. No one in my family wanted to talk about it. I suffered what Western doctors told me was a stroke that caused my face to be twisted and I lost my speech for a month. That’s when God said, “Now that I have your attention, here is what I want you to do. Be the voice. Lead the way.”
Now this was before the days of selfies so I couldn’t take a quick shot and send it on up high but I just knew that God had me mixed up with someone else and I needed to remind him who I was.
“Listen God. It’s me…Dee…social security number 2….I heard you but I think you have me mixed up with someone else because I have no clue how to do any of this!”
I had to get back to the world, for the sake of my daughter and to fight for my son. I did not have the money to go to law school but I wanted my graduate degree to be relevant and something that I could truly use. Handling disagreements, soothing hurt feelings, listening in a different way, rewording to express compassion and not judgment– all of this was a part of my personal and professional life and a Master of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Management offered techniques on how to address and effectively handle these types of situations. My choice was clear.
The events of the past 48 hours – wow, so much has happened in such a short period of time – is confirmation that conflict is real! The violent responses to this escalating conflict is a reminder that we must find a way to reach each other without resorting to violence as the first choice of solution. It never has and never will solve the root issue.
The conversations on the Maggie Linton Show today proved that there are multiple factors from which change must be addressed if we are to truly impact the way in which police officers are approaching their interactions with Black people. Understanding how we handle conflict is one such factor – and the one to which I am committed. Learning how to listen to each other and how to respond to what we hear – and especially what we think we hear – is a critical element that I address in understanding how to handle conflict.
I am on a mission to speak for those who have no voice. I know what that is like.
I am on a mission to speak for those who cannot be heard. My son is one of them, along with the other 1+ million incarcerated individuals and the sons and daughters we have lost to violence.
I am on a mission to help those who say they want to understand but don’t know where or how to begin. I was once in that same space.
No one can do this alone, and you are not alone.
Begin here….....with me......…right now! Let’s go!
I am,
Dian Erica.