What does it look like
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to be an active
leader of your community?
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Stay tuned to meet someone
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who can tell you
just how it's done.
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My name is Jason Bradley,
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and you are
watching Urban Report.
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Hello, and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guest today
is Kenny Anderson.
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He is the host of the
television show called
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"Impact with Kenny Anderson".
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He is a nationally
certified counselor,
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has a bachelor's
degree in psychology,
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and the Lord has blessed him
with many more accomplishments.
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Welcome to Urban
Report, Brother Kenny.
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It's great to be here, Jason.
It's good to see of you, man.
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Good to have
you. Good to have you.
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Now, we had been
talking prior to this program
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when we found out there's...
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We have so many
connections. Yeah.
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Like six degrees of separation
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has become three degrees easily.
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That's right. That's right.
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I took a look at your
bio and I was blown away.
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I'm wondering where
do you find the time
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to get all of these things done.
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But before we go into all
of your many accomplishments,
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and what you're doing now,
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I'd like to give our viewers
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a little bit of
background on you,
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where are you from?
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From New York City.
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I grew up on the Lower East Side
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of Manhattan in gaudy houses.
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It's funny because
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when you grow
up in the projects,
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you don't necessarily know that,
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because home is home.
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And I grew up in a
home with two parents
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who loved us, cared
for us, worked every day,
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I had three sisters,
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lived in a vibrant community
that was really diverse.
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And growing up on
Lower East Side of Manhattan
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was just an amazing experience,
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saw lots of
things, did lots of things,
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and experience lots of things,
that's where my origin began.
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Nice, nice.
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Now what college did you attend?
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I went to a college
in Huntsville, Alabama
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that some people
might know about,
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it's called Oakwood
College then, university today.
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Okay.
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Oakwood is just an
amazing institution.
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And I chose Oakwood
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because I had two friends
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that went to Bethel SDA
Church in Brooklyn, New York.
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They were
people that some people
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might know even today.
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Pastor John Nixon was
a little older than me,
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but he was one of those people
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that came back
from time to time,
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talking about
Oakwood, and Dr. Keith Autise,
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who now lives in Chicago.
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Okay.
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And those guys were
two guys I looked up to.
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I felt that if Oakwood
was good enough for them
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and they were pretty cool guys,
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it was probably
good enough for me.
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And even though it
was a thousand miles
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away from home,
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it was a daunting task to
be able to move down there,
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and transition in a way
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that would be
positive and empowering,
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but it was everything
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that I ever
imagined it could be.
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And my experience at
Oakwood was second to none.
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Every success that I have today,
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I can attribute to the
fact that Oakwood gave me
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a tremendous
opportunity to learn leadership,
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to achieve academically,
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to build a
network of individuals
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that I have even today
that I can benefit from
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in so many ways,
through friendship,
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advice, support, and
other kinds of things.
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Yes, now taking
it back a little bit,
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you said that you
grew up in the projects,
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you know,
there's a lot of things
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that go on in the projects,
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how were you able to
overcome the adversity
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that you probably
faced in that environment?
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Well, it's the
cliché now I'd say probably.
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It's the one that
everybody would expect perhaps,
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but it was God.
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I tell people that, you know,
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my family was really a
family that prayed together.
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And families that prayed
together stayed together.
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We had morning
and evening worship
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that was an important
part of our experience.
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We went to church
together, in fact,
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I remember probably being 14, 15
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before I was able to sit
some place else in church.
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I mean, we were
literally a family
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that sat in church together,
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went to church
on a regular basis,
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but church was not just
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a casual passive
experience for us.
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My parents
demonstrated as the role models
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in my home what love was.
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My parents loved
each other for 43 years
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before my dad passed.
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So they showed us
a foundation of love.
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They did not accept my sisters
and I fussing with each other,
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or cutting up in
public environments,
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I mean, there was always
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a sense of
boundaries and discipline.
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So the Word of God was
the foundation in our home
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and that was
extremely important for me.
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And even in times when I may
have strayed throughout life,
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it was always a compass,
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it was always a
point of emphasis
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that I can always go back to
and be able to claim my roots.
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Nice, so you had that example
and, you know, the Bible says,
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"Train up a child
the way he should go
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and when he grows old,
he won't depart from it."
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I think that's
Proverbs 5:22, I believe.
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That's close. I
believe that's the one.
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If it's not, maybe our
viewers will let me out.
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But, I mean,
that's so true, you know,
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you instill those
values in the kids
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while they're young,
and when they grow old,
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they don't, they
won't depart from it.
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That's right.
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So it's amazing to see
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what the Lord
has led you through
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and where you are today.
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What did you major in college?
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Majored in psychology. Okay.
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Interestingly backstory,
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I went to Oakwood
as the theology major.
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I actually claimed
theology as a major,
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got my card in the mail saying
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that you're a member of
the religion and theology form,
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and welcome to Oakwood.
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When you see my
acceptance letter,
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it says that I'm going to be
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majoring in
religion and theology,
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one of those two, I
knew I was going to be,
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I taught I want to be a pastor.
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But coming to Oakwood,
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I realized that I also
was interested in medicine,
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and after taking
bio and math courses,
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I didn't do very well
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but I was still thinking maybe
this is what's going to happen.
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But in my sophomore year,
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we won the quarter
system at that time,
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I took psychology from
Dr. Keith Wood out of Atlanta,
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and Dr. Wood was just
a phenomenal instructor,
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I say to people all the time
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that he inspired me to
become a psychology major.
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And once I declared
psychology as a major,
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the rest was history.
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I kept moving forward,
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I kept believing
that this was something
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I wanted to do,
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and I began understanding
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and seeing my vision
and my purpose for life,
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which really involved
helping others become better.
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Wow.
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Now you were a psychology major,
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but didn't you transition into
teaching psychology as well,
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and how did that take place?
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I did, coming out of Oakwood
after about a year or so,
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I got my first full time job
in the field at a rehab center,
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worked in that
area for about 10 years,
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then went to another facility
and did one-on-one counseling,
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try to retreat hospital,
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I was a
counseling center director,
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I worked at University
of Alabama in Huntsville
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for a period of time
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as a student
development counselor,
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and it was important for me
to be able to hone my craft,
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but I started
teaching part time as well.
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And during that time,
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I transitioned from practicing
psychology to teaching,
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which gave me a chance to do
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the kinds of
things in the classroom
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that I had done in the field.
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So being able to make
practical applications
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was a very
important part of that,
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and I absolutely love teaching.
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I thought I would
retire from that job one day,
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but I've taught at
many different institutions
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in Huntsville,
including Oakwood,
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which gave me my
first chance to teach,
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and, in fact, I still teach
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when I get a chance to do that,
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taught a class
recently for one semester
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and look forward to
doing that again in the future.
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Nice, you need to write
a book on time management
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'cause you've done,
I mean, you have done
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so many different things,
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I don't know where you'd find
the time to do all of these.
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Now, been a
psychology major, I often wonder
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if, like, do you size people up,
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kind of, like, is
it an automatic thing,
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like, you just
kind of size people up
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when you meet them
or when you see them?
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It's not, because I tell people
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that if I was doing that
I have to give them a bill.
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But what does
happen is I say to people,
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I imagine it's a
lot like a mechanic.
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If you're mechanic,
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and you're riding
in somebody's car,
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and somehow that car
is not running right,
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you're going to
intuitively sense that,
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because that's
what you do every day.
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Yes.
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As a doctor, if you see somebody
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whose health is not
exactly what it should be,
00:08:28.94\00:08:31.51
you're probably
going to intuitively
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connect to that experience.
00:08:33.71\00:08:35.04
So I think what
happens with me is
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I pick up on some
things that people would,
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maybe not normally pick up on
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because that's what
I've been trained to do.
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I've been trained
to listen with my mind
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and listen with my heart in ways
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that other people have not.
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And so I'm not sizing people up,
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and drawing conclusions,
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because you've got
to go through a process
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in order to get there.
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But I think I'm
probably in touch
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with some things that,
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because of my training,
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more so than
other people might be.
00:09:00.57\00:09:02.27
Yeah, see, I've
always wondered that,
00:09:02.30\00:09:03.74
because when I
go to a restaurant,
00:09:03.77\00:09:05.71
I used to manage a restaurant,
and when I go out to eat,
00:09:05.74\00:09:09.11
I'm noticing, like,
all kinds of things,
00:09:09.14\00:09:11.68
greet times, silent service,
00:09:11.71\00:09:15.18
you know, all, the list goes on.
00:09:15.22\00:09:16.82
I can't help but to
notice these things.
00:09:16.85\00:09:18.95
I was wondering about
psychology and psychologists
00:09:18.99\00:09:22.22
and how that works out.
00:09:22.26\00:09:23.59
I give people a break. I
don't really put them on.
00:09:23.63\00:09:25.39
I'm just kind of... Yes, yes.
00:09:25.43\00:09:26.76
So hopefully you won't
send me an invoice after this.
00:09:26.80\00:09:29.86
You're good.
00:09:29.90\00:09:31.47
So what's going on
with you currently?
00:09:31.50\00:09:35.94
You're dealing with
multicultural affairs?
00:09:35.97\00:09:38.11
Yes, yes, absolutely.
00:09:38.14\00:09:40.01
So I taught for period of time,
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and then this was
after the psychology career,
00:09:42.28\00:09:44.85
and about five years ago,
00:09:44.88\00:09:46.21
I got a call from
the mayor's office
00:09:46.25\00:09:47.88
in the city of
Huntsville to apply for a job
00:09:47.92\00:09:50.99
as
multicultural affairs officer.
00:09:51.02\00:09:53.82
It's an amazing experience,
an amazing opportunity
00:09:53.86\00:09:56.76
that was created some
years ago by the current mayor
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who felt that it was
important to acknowledge
00:10:00.90\00:10:02.90
the diversity of the community,
00:10:02.93\00:10:04.97
who felt it was
important to recognize
00:10:05.00\00:10:06.70
that with all of the
different academic institutions,
00:10:06.74\00:10:09.74
all of the different
Fortune 500 companies,
00:10:09.77\00:10:11.84
and all the
other exciting things
00:10:11.87\00:10:13.21
that are
happening in Huntsville.
00:10:13.24\00:10:14.58
You have lots of
different kinds of people there.
00:10:14.61\00:10:16.98
So how do we, from a municipal
government perspective,
00:10:17.01\00:10:19.85
make a commitment to
affirming that diversity
00:10:19.88\00:10:22.62
by having an open
door policy where anybody
00:10:22.65\00:10:24.95
who has an issue of
concern can be heard,
00:10:24.99\00:10:27.96
where everyone can feel like
they have a seat at the table
00:10:27.99\00:10:30.46
where they're going to
be at least listened to,
00:10:30.49\00:10:32.89
and we can work
together to build bridges
00:10:32.93\00:10:34.93
across those differences.
00:10:34.96\00:10:36.56
And that's essentially
the work that I'm engaged in.
00:10:36.60\00:10:38.80
So wherever people
are, that's where I am.
00:10:38.83\00:10:40.50
And so how do you
bridge that gap, like?
00:10:40.54\00:10:44.57
The first gap for me
is bridge to my humanity.
00:10:44.61\00:10:47.54
I know that the cross... Okay.
00:10:47.58\00:10:48.91
At the foot of the
cross is level ground.
00:10:48.94\00:10:51.21
Christ died for me, just
like He died for everyone else.
00:10:51.25\00:10:54.58
I don't see people in terms
of their differences per se.
00:10:54.62\00:10:57.32
I acknowledge their differences,
00:10:57.35\00:10:59.05
but I don't make
differences deficiencies.
00:10:59.09\00:11:02.52
And I think that's a
key in terms of dealing
00:11:02.56\00:11:04.46
with the kinds
of work that I do.
00:11:04.49\00:11:06.29
A lot of times
when people see somebody
00:11:06.33\00:11:07.83
who's different,
their interpretation of that
00:11:07.86\00:11:10.23
is because they're different,
they're broken, they're odd,
00:11:10.27\00:11:13.57
they're weird, they're
unusual, they're unacceptable,
00:11:13.60\00:11:16.77
they're the other,
and because of that,
00:11:16.81\00:11:19.17
there's something
that's unique to them
00:11:19.21\00:11:21.11
that won't allow
me to connect to them.
00:11:21.14\00:11:23.65
Well, my job
involves finding out
00:11:23.68\00:11:25.65
what those
differences are and finding out
00:11:25.68\00:11:27.25
how we can build common
ground around those differences.
00:11:27.28\00:11:30.35
And that's
really exciting to me,
00:11:30.39\00:11:31.75
because there's
humanity in every single person.
00:11:31.79\00:11:35.12
If I have an accident
and I have O positive blood,
00:11:35.16\00:11:37.99
I'm not concerned
about a person's gender,
00:11:38.03\00:11:40.00
I'm not concerned about,
00:11:40.03\00:11:41.53
you know, what
school they graduated from,
00:11:41.56\00:11:43.16
what part of the
country they come from,
00:11:43.20\00:11:44.53
I want O positive
healthy blood from a donor,
00:11:44.57\00:11:48.24
and it doesn't
matter who they are.
00:11:48.27\00:11:49.74
So there's level
ground in this abilities
00:11:49.77\00:11:52.64
that we don't
often pursue consistently
00:11:52.67\00:11:55.88
to have those
common ground experiences.
00:11:55.91\00:11:59.31
You come across
as very passion...
00:11:59.35\00:12:02.72
Being very
passionate about the community,
00:12:02.75\00:12:05.32
and what led to that passion,
00:12:05.35\00:12:07.52
and how did your faith
come into play with all that?
00:12:07.56\00:12:10.43
I think the most important
thing is I've been helped,
00:12:10.46\00:12:12.53
you know, everybody has
had a helping hand in life.
00:12:12.56\00:12:15.73
I think about the sacrifices
00:12:15.76\00:12:17.43
that my parents made to send me
00:12:17.47\00:12:18.93
to church school very
early on in the process.
00:12:18.97\00:12:22.20
We didn't have a
lot of money to do that,
00:12:22.24\00:12:24.57
but they did it
00:12:24.61\00:12:25.94
because they felt that
this would be an important part
00:12:25.97\00:12:28.11
of instilling in
me a sense of purpose,
00:12:28.14\00:12:30.85
and a sense of value in others.
00:12:30.88\00:12:32.51
The sacrifice that
they made to send me
00:12:32.55\00:12:34.25
to Oakwood was a huge sacrifice,
00:12:34.28\00:12:36.85
but it paid
tremendous dividends,
00:12:36.89\00:12:38.85
because I chose a major
00:12:38.89\00:12:40.59
through which I was
able to help people,
00:12:40.62\00:12:42.52
and then I was able
to do that consistently.
00:12:42.56\00:12:45.19
I think also
being in the community
00:12:45.23\00:12:46.96
and moving outside
the walls of the church,
00:12:47.00\00:12:49.46
you know, you go to
church to be inspired,
00:12:49.50\00:12:51.33
you go to church to
connect with other people,
00:12:51.37\00:12:53.47
you go to church to
worship the Creator,
00:12:53.50\00:12:56.14
to experience God fully.
00:12:56.17\00:12:59.41
Those are beautiful experiences.
00:12:59.44\00:13:01.41
But beyond that, that should be
a transformational experience.
00:13:01.44\00:13:06.01
You should be so fired up,
00:13:06.05\00:13:07.82
not about the
choir singing good,
00:13:07.85\00:13:09.68
or the minister preaching well,
00:13:09.72\00:13:11.09
or having a great
Sabbath school conversation.
00:13:11.12\00:13:13.46
You should be fired up
because of those things,
00:13:13.49\00:13:15.59
but then move well
beyond that to say,
00:13:15.62\00:13:17.53
"Now what am I going
to do in my community?"
00:13:17.56\00:13:19.89
You know, who is out there
00:13:19.93\00:13:21.73
that I can touch to make
a difference in their life.
00:13:21.76\00:13:24.43
And you've got to be
able to do those things
00:13:24.47\00:13:26.43
if your faith is
going to be real.
00:13:26.47\00:13:29.00
If your spirituality
is going to be dynamic,
00:13:29.04\00:13:31.71
and energizing, and engaging,
00:13:31.74\00:13:33.58
and so it's important
for that to happen for me,
00:13:33.61\00:13:36.75
because it matters,
it makes a difference.
00:13:36.78\00:13:39.15
I can't pass
another person in the street
00:13:39.18\00:13:41.18
and feel, like, as if,
00:13:41.22\00:13:42.65
"That's not my issue,
that's not my concern."
00:13:42.68\00:13:45.52
We have far too many
Good Samaritan experiences
00:13:45.55\00:13:48.12
where with the other
two people that passed.
00:13:48.16\00:13:51.39
The opportunity to help
00:13:51.43\00:13:53.19
as opposed to
the Good Samaritan.
00:13:53.23\00:13:54.80
And so those lessons in life,
reading about those things,
00:13:54.83\00:13:58.73
trying to
understand those things,
00:13:58.77\00:14:00.10
processing those thing,
00:14:00.14\00:14:01.57
having been down
and out in my own life,
00:14:01.60\00:14:04.94
and getting a helping hand,
00:14:04.97\00:14:06.98
helps me connect with people
in a really, really genuine way
00:14:07.01\00:14:09.94
that causes me to be passionate
00:14:09.98\00:14:11.85
about being
connected to my community.
00:14:11.88\00:14:14.68
Going to church
is great, I love it.
00:14:14.72\00:14:16.69
I love being a part of
the faith and the fellowship.
00:14:16.72\00:14:19.25
But once that
happens, and once that ends,
00:14:19.29\00:14:21.99
I should be so fired up about
touching somebody else's life
00:14:22.02\00:14:27.06
that I'm actually
seeking opportunities
00:14:27.10\00:14:29.00
in my community to do that.
00:14:29.03\00:14:30.67
That is awesome, I mean,
it's like the Bible says,
00:14:30.70\00:14:33.30
"Faith without works is dead."
00:14:33.34\00:14:34.84
That's right.
00:14:34.87\00:14:36.20
You know, if you're
hearing these things
00:14:36.24\00:14:37.57
but you're not doing them...
00:14:37.61\00:14:38.94
That's right. That's right.
00:14:38.97\00:14:40.31
You are not doing
00:14:40.34\00:14:41.68
what you are
supposed to be doing.
00:14:41.71\00:14:43.04
Absolutely.
00:14:43.08\00:14:44.41
Now, you also
mentor people too, correct?
00:14:44.45\00:14:45.85
I do.
00:14:45.88\00:14:47.22
I am a member of a
mentoring organization
00:14:47.25\00:14:50.09
called the 100 Black
Men of Greater Huntsville.
00:14:50.12\00:14:52.82
I'm a member of the Rotary Club,
00:14:52.85\00:14:54.72
which is international
mentoring organization.
00:14:54.76\00:14:58.49
I've got to mentor
one of the high schools,
00:14:58.53\00:15:00.20
I've had them for
couple of years now,
00:15:00.23\00:15:01.63
we start mentoring
when they're juniors,
00:15:01.66\00:15:04.27
and we followed them
through when they're seniors,
00:15:04.30\00:15:06.94
and just recently,
00:15:06.97\00:15:08.30
I also started my
own mentoring initiative
00:15:08.34\00:15:10.47
which is called
Rising Stars Mentoring Group.
00:15:10.51\00:15:13.48
And I just, kind of, solicited
from the community anybody,
00:15:13.51\00:15:17.48
who wanted to, kind of,
benefit from some of the things
00:15:17.51\00:15:20.18
that I've been able
to benefit from in life,
00:15:20.22\00:15:21.98
and I had eight
people step up and say,
00:15:22.02\00:15:24.69
teach us, show us, help us,
00:15:24.72\00:15:27.19
and so I'm working
with them on a regular basis
00:15:27.22\00:15:29.66
to, kind of, help
identify their strengths,
00:15:29.69\00:15:32.59
identify their weaknesses,
00:15:32.63\00:15:34.66
and how we can perhaps
strengthen those things,
00:15:34.70\00:15:37.17
identify how they
can create a network
00:15:37.20\00:15:39.07
so that they can
become more successful.
00:15:39.10\00:15:41.37
And I told them that
everything that I experience,
00:15:41.40\00:15:43.67
every person that I know,
I'll make available to them,
00:15:43.71\00:15:46.71
if I think that
that relationship
00:15:46.74\00:15:48.41
will be a
beneficial thing to them,
00:15:48.44\00:15:50.38
and it's been a
great experience so far.
00:15:50.41\00:15:52.28
So mentoring is something
I'm also passionate about,
00:15:52.31\00:15:54.65
because somebody
helped me get to where I am.
00:15:54.68\00:15:57.52
And I'm not
always going to be here,
00:15:57.55\00:15:59.45
my legacy should be that,
00:15:59.49\00:16:01.12
my living was not in vain
00:16:01.16\00:16:04.63
that my living made a difference
00:16:04.66\00:16:06.09
in somebody's life.
00:16:06.13\00:16:07.46
And that because I live,
00:16:07.50\00:16:08.83
people now have
a reason to live.
00:16:08.86\00:16:12.10
Not because I'm the
person, it's because I'm here,
00:16:12.13\00:16:15.47
I've been blessed by so much,
00:16:15.50\00:16:17.74
God has been such a
powerful part of my life.
00:16:17.77\00:16:19.84
His grace and mercy
has continuously flowed
00:16:19.87\00:16:22.54
through my own ups and downs.
00:16:22.58\00:16:25.21
This is something
I should be sharing
00:16:25.25\00:16:26.58
with other people.
00:16:26.61\00:16:27.95
Wow.
00:16:27.98\00:16:29.32
So you're giving back,
you're constantly giving back,
00:16:29.35\00:16:32.02
which is so important,
you know, there's a...
00:16:32.05\00:16:34.39
Unfortunately,
there's a lot of people
00:16:34.42\00:16:35.96
that are, kind of, like,
00:16:35.99\00:16:37.39
there's an expression called
crabs in a barrel, you know,
00:16:37.43\00:16:40.73
where they're just constantly
trying to tear people down
00:16:40.76\00:16:42.96
and bring them down
00:16:43.00\00:16:44.33
when they see someone
rising and being successful.
00:16:44.37\00:16:48.60
But you are pouring
back into the community,
00:16:48.64\00:16:51.37
you're mentoring people.
00:16:51.41\00:16:53.58
You sit on several boards,
00:16:53.61\00:16:57.18
what else do you have going on?
00:16:57.21\00:17:00.15
Well, I have recently
gotten into philanthropy.
00:17:00.18\00:17:03.42
I've established
several scholarships locally,
00:17:03.45\00:17:06.19
because I believe in education
00:17:06.22\00:17:07.69
as much as I
believe in anything else.
00:17:07.72\00:17:09.92
And so several years ago,
00:17:09.96\00:17:11.99
I was celebrating an anniversary
00:17:12.03\00:17:14.40
with my radio show, and I said,
00:17:14.43\00:17:16.53
"I wanted to do something more
than just have a social event."
00:17:16.56\00:17:19.83
I wanted to do something
00:17:19.87\00:17:21.20
that's going to
have a lasting impact.
00:17:21.24\00:17:22.57
And so the school I
was working at the time,
00:17:22.60\00:17:24.04
Calhoun Community College,
00:17:24.07\00:17:25.41
I decided to do an
endowed scholarship,
00:17:25.44\00:17:27.34
which was a minimum of $25,000.
00:17:27.38\00:17:30.15
So we did some
fundraising, we raised that,
00:17:30.18\00:17:32.31
we've had three
students go to school
00:17:32.35\00:17:33.88
in that scholarship as of now,
00:17:33.92\00:17:35.82
and we want many more to go.
00:17:35.85\00:17:37.22
So we keep adding
to that scholarship
00:17:37.25\00:17:39.12
and growing that scholarship.
00:17:39.15\00:17:41.19
I look back in my
alma mater Oakwood,
00:17:41.22\00:17:44.23
I decided to do
two scholarships there,
00:17:44.26\00:17:46.23
a 25 scholarship,
00:17:46.26\00:17:47.60
which is a donation of
$25 a month to just say,
00:17:47.63\00:17:51.37
cover books, to
help students clear,
00:17:51.40\00:17:54.17
and we're
raising money right now
00:17:54.20\00:17:55.70
to actually
launch that scholarship
00:17:55.74\00:17:57.91
sometime in the
very near future.
00:17:57.94\00:17:59.51
And then a third scholarship,
00:17:59.54\00:18:00.98
the 212-community
service scholarship
00:18:01.01\00:18:03.48
is another endowed scholarship
00:18:03.51\00:18:05.05
for which we're raising $25,000,
00:18:05.08\00:18:07.38
we're right about halfway...
00:18:07.42\00:18:09.38
The halfway
mark right now. Okay.
00:18:09.42\00:18:10.99
We're excited about that,
00:18:11.02\00:18:12.35
we hope to close that
process by the end of this year.
00:18:12.39\00:18:14.52
Okay.
00:18:14.56\00:18:15.89
And start sending
students to school next March,
00:18:15.92\00:18:19.93
when they can apply for
the first time to Oakwood,
00:18:19.96\00:18:22.53
it will go to a
psychology student
00:18:22.56\00:18:24.60
who is engaged in
community service,
00:18:24.63\00:18:26.53
because the message for me is
00:18:26.57\00:18:28.40
we don't want to
just give you a handout,
00:18:28.44\00:18:30.34
we want you to now
00:18:30.37\00:18:31.91
extend your hand
to help someone else,
00:18:31.94\00:18:33.91
so help somebody up
00:18:33.94\00:18:35.61
as you're moving up
that ladder as well.
00:18:35.64\00:18:38.01
Give a hand up
not just a hand out.
00:18:38.05\00:18:41.38
Help people as much as you can.
00:18:41.42\00:18:42.92
Be conscientious and aware
00:18:42.95\00:18:44.85
about how your
community matters,
00:18:44.89\00:18:47.26
and because at Oakwood we say,
00:18:47.29\00:18:48.76
"We enter to learn
and we depart to serve."
00:18:48.79\00:18:51.19
What a powerful
message to say that
00:18:51.23\00:18:52.79
we want to empower young people
while they're in school now,
00:18:52.83\00:18:56.36
and making a difference
in other people's lives.
00:18:56.40\00:18:58.43
So we're excited
about the philanthropy
00:18:58.47\00:19:00.34
that's going on in that process.
00:19:00.37\00:19:02.70
Our radio show is
still moving forward
00:19:02.74\00:19:04.74
on Oakwood university station,
Second Chance, 27.5 plus years,
00:19:04.77\00:19:10.28
we're just excited about
00:19:10.31\00:19:12.08
where that process is going
00:19:12.11\00:19:13.75
and God is just making
tremendous opportunities for us
00:19:13.78\00:19:19.12
to make an impact
in people's lives,
00:19:19.15\00:19:20.99
and I'm so blessed by that.
00:19:21.02\00:19:22.82
Amen. Tell us
about Second Chance.
00:19:22.86\00:19:25.59
What is that program about?
00:19:25.63\00:19:28.56
We started to show as I
said 27.5 plus years now, ago,
00:19:28.60\00:19:34.04
and our purpose was one thing,
00:19:34.07\00:19:36.71
we wanted to focus on the fact
00:19:36.74\00:19:38.57
that God is a God of
mercy, love and second chances.
00:19:38.61\00:19:42.48
So that figurative
second chance was, like,
00:19:42.51\00:19:45.01
you fall down, you get back up,
00:19:45.05\00:19:47.22
you know, you
forgive 70 times 7,
00:19:47.25\00:19:49.88
you assist people
00:19:49.92\00:19:51.25
wherever they have
challenges in life,
00:19:51.29\00:19:53.86
because as you
have been assisted,
00:19:53.89\00:19:57.09
you should be able to be willing
00:19:57.13\00:19:58.76
to be assisting someone
else, helping someone else.
00:19:58.79\00:20:03.16
And so the program
began with just that notion,
00:20:03.20\00:20:07.24
that we're gonna
try to help people
00:20:07.27\00:20:08.84
see beyond the adversity,
00:20:08.87\00:20:10.87
and to try to help
people see beyond the pain,
00:20:10.91\00:20:12.81
the failure, the
difficulties in life,
00:20:12.84\00:20:15.31
and that's what
Second Chance is all about.
00:20:15.34\00:20:16.85
So thematically, we focus on
00:20:16.88\00:20:18.98
providing people
with information about
00:20:19.01\00:20:21.12
what's going on
in the community,
00:20:21.15\00:20:23.05
and because we're
on the Internet now,
00:20:23.08\00:20:24.45
we talk to people
around the region,
00:20:24.49\00:20:26.45
around the nation,
00:20:26.49\00:20:27.82
and around the world on
a wide variety of topics.
00:20:27.86\00:20:30.29
Every Sunday
afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00,
00:20:30.33\00:20:32.59
we're live from
Oakland University station.
00:20:32.63\00:20:35.10
We have people coming
in and out of the station
00:20:35.13\00:20:37.30
all the time,
sharing information about
00:20:37.33\00:20:39.07
how God has made an
impact in their life,
00:20:39.10\00:20:41.47
or how their agency
is making a difference
00:20:41.50\00:20:43.57
in people's lives today.
00:20:43.61\00:20:45.61
How an event is
going to, perhaps,
00:20:45.64\00:20:47.38
raise money to be able
00:20:47.41\00:20:48.74
to help people in the community.
00:20:48.78\00:20:50.61
So the one thing
throughout everything
00:20:50.65\00:20:52.08
is we want to help
people, help people.
00:20:52.11\00:20:54.32
And we want to support
people who are helping people,
00:20:54.35\00:20:56.95
and that
everybody can find a way
00:20:56.99\00:20:58.99
to be helpful in that process,
00:20:59.02\00:21:00.39
to make a difference
in somebody else's life.
00:21:00.42\00:21:03.43
Now, what stories
do you have for us,
00:21:03.46\00:21:05.79
where you've seen lives touched,
00:21:05.83\00:21:08.06
where you've
seen lives transformed
00:21:08.10\00:21:09.90
as a result of these
give back initiatives?
00:21:09.93\00:21:13.94
Yeah, you know, it
is an amazing thing
00:21:13.97\00:21:16.84
for someone to
come to you and say,
00:21:16.87\00:21:18.44
"Because of
something that you did,
00:21:18.47\00:21:20.08
it made a
difference in my life."
00:21:20.11\00:21:21.44
I'll tell you a
scholarship story.
00:21:21.48\00:21:23.75
A young lady...
00:21:23.78\00:21:25.11
We don't know who
the scholarship recipient
00:21:25.15\00:21:26.85
is at the
beginning of the school year,
00:21:26.88\00:21:28.35
but they have acknowledgement
00:21:28.38\00:21:31.72
luncheon at the end of the year,
00:21:31.75\00:21:33.09
where you get a chance,
as a donor to meet the person
00:21:33.12\00:21:35.39
that benefited
from the scholarship.
00:21:35.42\00:21:38.03
I met a young lady,
00:21:38.06\00:21:39.39
she was single
mother of two kids,
00:21:39.43\00:21:41.86
attending school,
working on a psychology degree.
00:21:41.90\00:21:45.03
I didn't know any of
this before I met her.
00:21:45.07\00:21:48.00
And she came to me,
00:21:48.04\00:21:49.37
and was in tears sharing with me
00:21:49.40\00:21:52.37
about the impact that
00:21:52.41\00:21:53.74
that scholarship
had made on her life,
00:21:53.78\00:21:55.48
because she was getting
a chance to go to school
00:21:55.51\00:21:59.51
to improve the quality
of her life, which in turn,
00:21:59.55\00:22:02.55
would improve the quality
of life for her children.
00:22:02.58\00:22:05.39
She hugged me, she
thanked me, and I told her,
00:22:05.42\00:22:09.12
you know, "I'm glad
that this has helped you."
00:22:09.16\00:22:12.29
But what I walked away
00:22:12.33\00:22:13.66
from that
experience thinking was that,
00:22:13.70\00:22:15.26
"I've got to work even harder.
00:22:15.30\00:22:17.40
I've got to do more."
00:22:17.43\00:22:19.20
And part of my doing more
00:22:19.23\00:22:20.57
is not just me
doing more physically,
00:22:20.60\00:22:22.14
but inspiring
others to do something.
00:22:22.17\00:22:24.57
Because if more
people would do something,
00:22:24.61\00:22:26.54
everybody could
benefit more from that process.
00:22:26.57\00:22:29.41
And so I walked
out of that experience
00:22:29.44\00:22:32.45
really, really happy for her,
00:22:32.48\00:22:33.92
but saying there's
still so much work to be done,
00:22:33.95\00:22:36.32
that we can't sit back
00:22:36.35\00:22:37.69
and rest on our
laurels of success.
00:22:37.72\00:22:39.65
We can't say because something
has happened positively today,
00:22:39.69\00:22:43.73
last month, or year before,
00:22:43.76\00:22:45.93
that we've done
everything that we can.
00:22:45.96\00:22:47.93
We've got to
consistently looking
00:22:47.96\00:22:49.30
for what can we
do more of in order
00:22:49.33\00:22:52.33
so that more people can
benefit from that process.
00:22:52.37\00:22:55.50
Yes, now where have you seen...
00:22:55.54\00:22:57.54
Okay, so you've poured
into other people's lives,
00:22:57.57\00:23:00.44
tell me a story about
00:23:00.48\00:23:02.04
where they have gone
00:23:02.08\00:23:04.58
and poured into
somebody else's life,
00:23:04.61\00:23:06.55
where you've seen
that reciprocated?
00:23:06.58\00:23:08.92
I've seen it
time and time again,
00:23:08.95\00:23:10.29
especially from the
academic perspective,
00:23:10.32\00:23:12.15
because I have
students that come back
00:23:12.19\00:23:13.86
from time to time and say,
00:23:13.89\00:23:15.49
and this is the best tribute
that a student can give you.
00:23:15.52\00:23:18.79
I became a psychology
major, or a social worker,
00:23:18.83\00:23:23.03
or a helping professional,
because of something
00:23:23.06\00:23:25.77
I experienced in your classroom.
00:23:25.80\00:23:27.47
It was the service
learning opportunity
00:23:27.50\00:23:29.17
that you gave us
to be able to go out
00:23:29.20\00:23:31.37
into the community
to work on a project.
00:23:31.41\00:23:33.51
And now in my agency,
00:23:33.54\00:23:35.61
I am doing the
same type of thing.
00:23:35.64\00:23:37.75
I mean, the
recruiting interns said that
00:23:37.78\00:23:39.68
they can come
work for us as well.
00:23:39.71\00:23:41.85
We're launching
community projects
00:23:41.88\00:23:44.39
so that we can have
something for people
00:23:44.42\00:23:46.76
to do in the community
00:23:46.79\00:23:48.12
to make the
community a better place.
00:23:48.16\00:23:50.13
We're launching a fundraiser,
00:23:50.16\00:23:52.16
and we want your
guidance and direction
00:23:52.19\00:23:53.73
on how we might
affectively go about doing that,
00:23:53.76\00:23:56.13
that happens all the time.
00:23:56.16\00:23:57.83
It's just a consistent flow
00:23:57.87\00:23:59.73
of people coming in
and out of my office,
00:23:59.77\00:24:01.94
sending me emails,
calling me on the phone,
00:24:01.97\00:24:04.61
either thanking
me for that process
00:24:04.64\00:24:06.51
and that experience,
00:24:06.54\00:24:07.88
thanking me for
inspiring in them a sense
00:24:07.91\00:24:10.55
of how it's important
00:24:10.58\00:24:11.91
and why it's important
00:24:11.95\00:24:13.28
for people to be
engaged in community projects.
00:24:13.31\00:24:15.92
And so, one of the
things that excites me every day
00:24:15.95\00:24:19.02
is that every time
I have a new student,
00:24:19.05\00:24:21.46
a new opportunity
presents itself for them
00:24:21.49\00:24:23.89
to take something away.
00:24:23.93\00:24:25.39
And in that exit interview,
00:24:25.43\00:24:26.76
a lot of them say
that one of the things
00:24:26.80\00:24:28.13
that I'm going to take
away from this experience
00:24:28.16\00:24:30.03
is that when I get that job,
00:24:30.07\00:24:31.87
when I'm out
there doing something,
00:24:31.90\00:24:33.23
when I earn enough
money, I'm going to give back,
00:24:33.27\00:24:35.57
I'm going to be a
supporter of United Way
00:24:35.60\00:24:37.07
or whatever the agency might be.
00:24:37.11\00:24:38.97
It's a great thing to be
able to be in an environment
00:24:39.01\00:24:41.31
where you're constantly
creating that kind of energy.
00:24:41.34\00:24:43.85
Yes, yes.
00:24:43.88\00:24:46.41
You do speeches
too, right? I do.
00:24:46.45\00:24:48.28
You give speeches.
00:24:48.32\00:24:49.65
How do people
get in touch with you
00:24:49.68\00:24:51.15
if they want you to
come, speak at their event?
00:24:51.19\00:24:54.16
Yeah, so people can
call me at 256-883-3993,
00:24:54.19\00:24:59.19
and I'd be
happy to talk to them.
00:24:59.23\00:25:01.06
They can also send
me an email at my name
00:25:01.10\00:25:03.16
Kenny Anderson75@gmail.com.
00:25:03.20\00:25:06.70
I speak it all kinds of things,
00:25:06.74\00:25:08.84
family reunions,
commencement exercises,
00:25:08.87\00:25:11.94
I come and do
motivational speeches
00:25:11.97\00:25:14.04
for young people,
you know, one of the...
00:25:14.08\00:25:16.38
I'll tell you real quickly
one of the most challenging
00:25:16.41\00:25:19.31
groups of people to
talk to are young people.
00:25:19.35\00:25:21.38
I believe it. Yeah.
00:25:21.42\00:25:22.75
I was asked to come talk
to a group of young people
00:25:22.78\00:25:24.65
one Super Bowl weekend,
00:25:24.69\00:25:26.02
which is like the worst
thing you can probably do.
00:25:26.05\00:25:27.39
Super Bowl weekend.
00:25:27.42\00:25:28.76
It was the day of the game. Wow.
00:25:28.79\00:25:30.96
And I walked into
this huge auditorium
00:25:30.99\00:25:33.16
where there are supposed
to be a bunch of kids there,
00:25:33.19\00:25:34.56
and I'm like, "How am I
gonna keep their attention
00:25:34.60\00:25:36.16
for the next hour and a half."
00:25:36.20\00:25:38.03
And so what I did was,
00:25:38.07\00:25:39.40
I just put my
thinking cap on quick,
00:25:39.43\00:25:40.77
I went back and
changed my presentation.
00:25:40.80\00:25:43.07
I put the name of the
teams that were playing,
00:25:43.10\00:25:45.54
and I came in
00:25:45.57\00:25:47.01
and asked the DJ to bring me in.
00:25:47.04\00:25:49.11
So the DJ started
playing some music,
00:25:49.14\00:25:50.55
and I came and
high-five the bunch of kids,
00:25:50.58\00:25:52.61
they got excited.
00:25:52.65\00:25:53.98
And then I
started naming the teams,
00:25:54.02\00:25:55.35
and who's on this,
who's was on that side?
00:25:55.38\00:25:57.02
And from that point,
00:25:57.05\00:25:58.39
I just had them
totally engaged in the process.
00:25:58.42\00:26:00.96
And so thinking on the fly
is an important thing to do
00:26:00.99\00:26:04.19
when you're talking
about working with people,
00:26:04.23\00:26:06.73
that's the kind of high energy
presentations we like to do.
00:26:06.76\00:26:09.30
We like to bring
engagement to the process,
00:26:09.33\00:26:11.67
create interactivity,
00:26:11.70\00:26:13.80
and inspire people
to do something more
00:26:13.84\00:26:16.27
than what they're
doing at that moment.
00:26:16.30\00:26:17.64
And how did you get
involved in public speaking?
00:26:17.67\00:26:19.97
That's a huge backstory too,
I'll tell you the short story.
00:26:20.01\00:26:22.21
I did not take
public speech in college
00:26:22.24\00:26:23.81
because I was too
afraid to speak in public.
00:26:23.85\00:26:25.81
Okay, and a lot of
people are. A lot of people are.
00:26:25.85\00:26:28.52
They fear it more
than death, literally.
00:26:28.55\00:26:31.72
And public speaking
people get nervous, they sweat,
00:26:31.75\00:26:34.52
they faint, they do
all kinds of things.
00:26:34.56\00:26:36.69
And so, I had a job to work
as a mental health counselor,
00:26:36.73\00:26:39.69
where I had to go
into the community
00:26:39.73\00:26:41.06
and promote our services.
00:26:41.10\00:26:42.93
And over the
course of three years,
00:26:42.96\00:26:44.60
my development director
had said, "You know, Kenny,
00:26:44.63\00:26:47.70
you've gotten
pretty good at this.
00:26:47.74\00:26:49.07
You should think
about doing this more."
00:26:49.10\00:26:50.91
And her
inspiration encouraged me.
00:26:50.94\00:26:53.14
And that's why I
said it's so important
00:26:53.17\00:26:54.51
for you to have
champions in your life.
00:26:54.54\00:26:56.24
It's important
for advocates to help
00:26:56.28\00:26:58.25
you know what you're doing
well and help you do better with
00:26:58.28\00:27:00.98
what you may not be doing well.
00:27:01.02\00:27:02.88
And because of
Debbie Davis' support
00:27:02.92\00:27:04.89
and her encouragement,
00:27:04.92\00:27:06.32
I decided to launch a business
00:27:06.35\00:27:08.66
and began doing
public speaking, and it's...
00:27:08.69\00:27:11.03
The rest is history.
00:27:11.06\00:27:12.39
It's been 23 years
now since that happened.
00:27:12.43\00:27:14.23
Wow!
00:27:14.26\00:27:15.60
What advice would
you have for somebody
00:27:15.63\00:27:17.43
that wants to get active
00:27:17.47\00:27:19.53
and involved in their community
00:27:19.57\00:27:20.90
in the short time
that we have left.
00:27:20.94\00:27:22.97
Just do it.
00:27:23.00\00:27:24.34
There are so many ways
that you can get involved.
00:27:24.37\00:27:26.47
I mentioned United Way earlier,
00:27:26.51\00:27:28.04
United Ways across the
nation and around the world.
00:27:28.08\00:27:30.58
If you want to
just simply find out
00:27:30.61\00:27:32.61
what's happening
in your community,
00:27:32.65\00:27:33.98
these places have
volunteer centers,
00:27:34.02\00:27:35.98
you can go out to schools,
00:27:36.02\00:27:37.85
you can go out to
the faith community,
00:27:37.89\00:27:39.62
lots of churches are
looking for volunteers,
00:27:39.65\00:27:42.36
you have local organizations,
community based organizations,
00:27:42.39\00:27:45.93
reach out to them,
00:27:45.96\00:27:47.30
do some googling in a
proactive positive way,
00:27:47.33\00:27:49.80
get that information.
00:27:49.83\00:27:51.17
Yes, well, thank you so much
00:27:51.20\00:27:52.53
for coming on
and sharing with us.
00:27:52.57\00:27:54.10
And thank you for joining us.
00:27:54.14\00:27:55.74
Well, we've reached
the end of another program.
00:27:55.77\00:27:58.27
Join us next time, and remember,
00:27:58.31\00:27:59.94
it just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:27:59.97\00:28:02.44