Dr. Adolph Brown is an American businessman, investor, author, urban and rural school educator, research-scientist, and keynote speaker.
Brown is a life-long social justice advocate and a career teacher educator. He is best known for inspiring individuals to learn, laugh and lead, while as an implicit bias speaker simultaneously reducing unconscious bias at every turn. He is the leading provider of anti-bias training in business and education.
FMM: You are a life-long social just advocate and career educator. Tell us about your background.
My mother, grandparents, great-aunt Lorraine, and my uncles were extremely committed to fighting for justice. As a middle schooler, I was often summoned to edit letters and prepare mailers for social justice advocates in my community. I always had a burning passion within me to do something that mattered and would have a positive impact on the lives of others. Education was my initial love as I was living proof of the transformative power of education. In high school and throughout college, I was a tutor and a mentor in a variety of Summer, before-school, and after-school programs. As a young adult, I began to see “the gaps” firsthand that I read about in the letters of the public officials’ and community leaders’ that I would edit as a youth. I knew I could be value-added by learning more in college to identify viable solutions. In college, I majored in the disciplines of anthropology, psychology, and education to ensure that I was learned enough to help others celebrate diversity with the spirit of compassion and belonging, without editing my voice or story to make others comfortable.
Prior to the completions of my master’s theses (Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline & The Effects of Communicator Similarity on Healthcare Recommendations) and my world-renowned doctoral dissertation (African-American Males Perception of Law Enforcement From a Psychophysiological Perspective), my research advisors admonished me about the importance of using my findings above and beyond that of a “public intellectual.” Hence today, I have trained over 300 police precincts and countless juvenile and family court judges, medical professionals, corporate officials, and educators on “Equity In Action™ Bridging Racial & Social Divisions without Shaming and Blaming.”
FMM: “Who I am today began with… Please finish the sentence.
Who I am today began with the luxury of humble beginnings, how my village reared me, Head Start, and Public Education.
FMM: You are a Top Youth Motivation Speaker. Tell us about your Head & Heart Master Classes.
I am often referred to as a motivational speaker based on the inspiration and enthusiasm I bring to my master classes. However, I am basically a master teacher having reached the pinnacle of academic achievement as a full tenured university professor. My Head & Heart master classes are designed to inform participants as well as intrigue them for further and future exploration and investigation. All of my master classes involve self-reflection and self-correction, two of the most humbling activities in which human-beings can engage.
FMM: What is an implicit bias speaker? How are you inspiring and changing lives today?
My experience as an expert on the subject of implicit bias extends to my vast experience and research as a black man, a clinical psychologist and a research-scientist. Having experienced the harmful effects of implicit bias and knowing its role in “the opportunity gap,” I made a commitment to research these dynamics. I am positively changing perceptions and perspectives on a daily basis without “blaming or shaming.” I basically remind ALL that we are ALL perceiving life a little bit differently. This is a result of our brain being such a wonderful, dynamic, and plastic organ.
FMM: Tell us about your anti-bias training in business and education.
My anti-bias training helps corporations, universities, school districts, and faith communities create environments whereby ALL feel included, welcomed, supported, and safe. This is done by teaching others that revealing the unique challenges a group has experienced is not divisive but necessary for healing. We cannot heal what we do not reveal. This is followed by teaching how our life experiences and sensory input dictates how our brain cells connect and how our brain chemicals work. These physical changes in the brain influence how we see the world and what we do.
FMM: As a much sought-after motivational speaker, share your upcoming speaking engagements.
I will be addressing many of the nation’s school board associations, human resource professionals, and corporate business leaders in the coming months.
Dr. Brown is also the author of acclaimed books, including the international mental wellness best seller, Two Backpacks. Other best sellers authored by Dr. Brown include a business soft skills classic – Championship Habits; and the education classic – Real Talk.
FMM: Tell us about the “Anti-Bullying One Love Virtual.”
The “Anti-Bullying One Love Tour” is a series of PreK-12 student assemblies facilitated around the world. The tour is comprised of Meghan Shanley (world-renowned recording artist and expert teen girl speaker), Javier Trejo (education administrator and Mexican motivational speaker), and myself. The messages of the inspiring, informing, and uplifting assemblies promote fostering empathy, encouraging mental health, and leaving no space for hate. It gives ALL students hope, as the tour team speak it, demonstrate it, sing it, dance it….and the students absolutely love it!
FMM: What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud to be a man of faith, the husband of Marla, the dad of eight young adults, and the GRANDAD of Aiden and Hazel.
FMM: As we approach 2022, what is your vision for the future?
As we approach 2022, my vision for the future is to accept more media opportunities to increase the spread of love, light, and insight. My farming grandfather often referred to me as his “quiet doer” whenever my inner-city troubles would bring me to the farm to regroup. My grandfather knew I was an introvert with an incredible work ethic and I internalized his words as an adult. From here on out, I will not be as quiet as my messages have the power to unify and bridge racial and social divisions…without shaming and blaming.
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