Stephone ♦️👌🏾⚜️

From deposit shifts to policy advocacy, I'm talking about (individual and collective) that transform banking from a tool of control into a pathway to financial justice. Let’s redirect capital where it belongs—into people, not penalties!

Tuesday, I'll be speaking at "Opportunity in Action: Banking, Barriers, and Building Economic Power" webinar about how we can use our Financial Levers of Power to dismantle the systems trapping formerly incarcerated people in cycles of debt and exclusion.

Veterans Who Work in Texas VA Health System: ‘The Dam’s Gonna Break’ Some vets say they’re being hurt as both workers and patients by Trump administration staffing decisions.

“I think it’s my duty, because I look at them as my brothers.”

Now this vet sees 60 patients a day as a VA medical technician, and says the system is struggling to keep up:

CC: @lissaharris.bsky.social

I feel you deeply. It’s why I focus heavily on the Build the Goor part of the Just Transition framework. Check out the work we are doing at Hip Hop Caucus. I’m leading a campaign called Bank Black & Green that is about building the good. @jael.bsky.social

The Texas GOP’s ‘Unprecedented,’ Risky Gerrymandering Scheme A redistricting expert discusses Tom Delay, ‘dummymanders,’ and the long history of racial gerrymandering in the state.

"Every map since the 1970s has been challenged or redrawn in part because they were racially discriminatory or violated the Voting Rights Act. ... Whether Democrats drew the maps or Republicans drew the maps, Texas has struggled for decades to draw maps that fairly represented communities of color."

Voter Turnout Matters.

From paradigm shifts to power-structure interventions, this piece shows why our July 25 UT Arlington event is just one node in a larger strategy for financial liberation.

Claiming Your (Financial) Independence: A Systems Thinking Approach to Student Debt Justice Using the Financial Levers of Power framework to map systemic intervention points for lasting change

Am I on to something or missing the mark (if so, where)?

My newest Substack post is live ahead of this Friday's in person event at UT Arlington. My latest Substack essay uses systems thinking to reframe student debt advocacy.

#SystemsChange #StudentDebt #FinancialJustice #BlackSky

Securing your bag to school: Financial Freedom Learn practical Financial Literacy skills from Young Invincibles and Hip Hop Caucus.

If you engage in activism or advocacy work here in Texas you should attend. This isn't just another financial workshop - it's preparation for real policy changes happening in 2026-2027. Comment if you're attending or share so others can know about this and attend.

I'm speaking on protection strategies & mitigation tactics this Friday at an event that every young professional in Texas should attend.

The passage of the recent big bill may lead to changes that could significantly impact student borrowers, and most people have no idea what's coming.

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Cappin’ my birthday off at my favorite spot with a glass of Sangria on the house.

a man in a suit is asking how about a drum roll ALT: a man in a suit is asking how about a drum roll

Today is 7/18/25. 7+18=25

The State of Consumer Protections

Here is the webinar in the comments and I look forward to sharing a broader effort that I will be a part of to ensure toxic chemicals are not in beauty products or any other consumer products.

Please repost to help me share petition

action.consumerreports.org/20250521

Demand two companies get benzene out of their products Get dangerous carcinogens out of braiding hair - sign the petition

Millions of Black women and girls wear braids for weeks or months at a time.

I talked about this on the @consumerreports.org webinar I was on a few months ago. They deserve products that are safe. Signing on to this petition and sharing it is the minimum we can do to support. #BlackSky #GreenSky

The climate crisis reveals who gets recovery resources versus who gets left behind. But it also reveals community power.

If investing in climate solutions could have saved one life last week, isn't it worth it?

Shifting capital flow isn't charity, it's economic self-defense.

Look at your energy bills, insurance premiums. Climate change isn't distant, it's hitting your wallet NOW. When extreme weather disrupts supply chains, everyone pays more.

Economic inaction is structural violence @hiphopcaucus.bsky.social Bank Black & Green campaign isn't just moving money, it's investing in our people's survival. Economic justice is life and death.

Climate inaction extracts wealth twice: through environmental devastation, then by denying rebuilding capital. Same banks financing fossil fuels deny communities adaptation.

These events expose cracks in our safety nets: outdated warning systems, underfunded emergency responses.

Why do communities still lack modern warning systems after years of warnings? Why are frontline communities last for life-saving infrastructure? Why do major banks continue financing projects that put neighborhoods at risk?

From my time banking, I've seen how climate disasters create economic extraction feedback loops. We're conditioned to view disasters as 'acts of God' rather than products of our financial system partnering with fossil fuel industries.

#GreenSky #BlackSky

We are building the good by shifting our money from institutions funding economic, racial, & environmental harm into building systems that prioritize people over predict and demand solutions that prevent tragedies before they happen! #RadicallyHopeful #HipHopCaucus

As we have seen, institutions respond to economic pressure, even more than moral arguments. That’s one of the reasons this work at I get to lead at @hiphopcaucus.bsky.social is so critical.

What we are experiencing represents a system failure, not just a weather event. What’s changing over time isn’t just the frequency or intensity of disasters, it’s the depth of our loss.

Thank you @revyearwood.bsky.social for the opportunity to join you Leah & Cami on today’s episode of #ClimateFriday to talk about the impact of the Climate Crisis and how the ultimate cost of climate disaster isn’t measured in dollars— it’s measured in lives lost. #GreenSky #EconomicJustice

The GEO Group, a major ICE contractor that was the first maxed-out corporate donor to Trump's 2024 campaign, has boosted bonuses and stock awards for its top executives following passage of Trump's Big Ugly Bill.

The border-industrial complex is getting rich off cruelty.

Eye on Texas: The Wages of Inequality—Behind Bars Because the state refuses to pay us for our labor, incarcerated women rely on money from the outside to get by.

“If you’re not receiving money, you’ve got a target on your back.”

From 2024: Texas prison labor is completely unpaid, creating a stark divide between those who get money from home and those who don't.

Last month, people from across the country came together to share powerful stories of broken promises that underscored the urgent need for the Trump administration to return control of America’s future to local communities. We’ll keep raising our voices to put communities back in the driver’s seat.

@reeciecolbert.bsky.social the way you and Erica just said he JD needs to get a professional to do his eyeliner because it’s too heavy has me in a fit of laughter.

J.Dena needs a complete makeover starting with that mind first then IMMEDIATELY to the mascara next.

What does #Juneteenth mean to you?

#Juneteenth #Juneteenth2025 #OpalsWalk #MissJuneteenthDFW #RadicallyHopeful