Thought and Opinion

Two-hundred fifty years into the American experiment and there remains no better way to measure America’s commitment to equality and the divinely given right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” than the degree to which America brings justice to those whose American experience has been failed by anti-blackness. As America celebrates its 250th birthday, and as President Donald Trump’s 2nd term pours renewed trauma onto the black experience in this country, the topic of “Black Mental Health in Trump’s America” is mandator. This episode of Thought and Opinion will equip us, black Americans, with perspectives and guideposts for maneuvering through a time in American history for which some were unprepared.But before addressing black mental health in Trump’s America with two guests whose expertise is what is needed within this renewed trauma, exactly what is the renewed trauma that black Americans are living through? Namely in late 2025 black unemployment spiked to its highest level in 4 years; the increased acceleration of wealth held by white households surging past that of black households such that our wealth is comparatively nonexistent; the President’s war on diversity and inclusion which delegitimizes black perspectives in business, academia, government, etc; the offensive against voting rights slowly stripping us of our birthright; black bodies and minds continuing to endure pain at the hands of law enforcement and a government predisposed to inflicting distress on us; the LGBTQ+ community – especially our transgender loved ones – being isolated as targets of classic American discrimination, etc. This is the renewed trauma that we are living through as America turns 250 years old. Therefore, it is right to address our mental health in Trump’s America because very topic begs the question of American devotion to the founding principles put down on paper 250 years ago. We are the litmus test.Necessarily then, today we have clinical psychologist Dr. Erica Holmes. Dr. Holmes’ major areas of concentration are: psychological trauma studies, cultural diversity, humility and belonging; and attachment, coupling and relationships. Dr. Erica Holmes is also the author of Dating With Purpose: A Women’s Guide to Escaping No Man’s Land. Along with Dr. Holmes, I am honored to have Licensed Clinical Social Worker Akilah Peters. Ms Peters’ specialities are aniexty, career counselling, depression, parenting, and stress. She is the author of The Heart Speaks: Affirmations to Open the Heart to Promote Self-love, Confidence, and Emotional Wellness. And, Ms. Peters is also the host of her own podcast called Light Work Era.Takeaways:I define mental wellness as the ability to manage emotions, function, and seek help.We note that renewed trauma includes rising unemployment, shrinking black wealth, and attacks on rights.I emphasize hope as a belief that different and better outcomes are possible despite present pain.We warn that stigma, lack of culturally competent care, exhaustion, and identity pressures block help seeking.I advise practical steps: limit news, practice self care, schedule rest, and seek community support.We explain that chronic stress harms the body and that intentional regulation and rest protect physical health.I urge starting inward by asking who am I, practicing self compassion, naming needs, and building agency.Takeaways:I define mental wellness as the ability to manage emotions, function, and seek help.We note that renewed trauma includes rising unemployment, shrinking black wealth, and attacks on rights.I emphasize hope as a belief that different and better outcomes are possible despite present pain.We warn that stigma, lack of culturally competent care, exhaustion, and identity pressures block help seeking.I advise practical steps: limit news, practice self care, schedule rest, and seek community support.We explain that chronic stress harms the body and that intentional regulation and rest protect physical health.I urge starting inward by asking who am I, practicing self compassion, naming needs, and building agency.Takeaways:I define mental wellness as the ability to manage emotions, function, and seek help.We note that renewed trauma includes rising unemployment, shrinking black wealth, and attacks on rights.I emphasize hope as a belief that different and better outcomes are possible despite present pain.We warn that stigma, lack of culturally competent care, exhaustion, and identity pressures block help seeking.I advise practical steps: limit news, practice self care, schedule rest, and seek community support.We explain that chronic stress harms the body and that intentional regulation and rest protect physical health.I urge starting inward by asking who am I, practicing self compassion, naming needs, and building agency.Takeaways:I define mental wellness as the ability to manage emotions, function, and seek help.We note that renewed trauma includes rising unemployment, shrinking black wealth, and attacks on rights.I emphasize hope as a belief that different and better outcomes are possible despite present pain.We warn that stigma, lack of culturally competent care, exhaustion, and identity pressures block help seeking.I advise practical steps: limit news, practice self care, schedule rest, and seek community support.We explain that chronic stress harms the body and that intentional regulation and rest protect physical health.I urge starting inward by asking who am I, practicing self compassion, naming needs, and building agency.

Supporting Donald Trump?”I pose this question because despite being convicted of falsifying business records to increase his chances of winning the 2016 Presidential race; and, being found liable of sexual assault and engaging in “massive fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself” by overstating property values to get better interest rates from banks and lower premiums from insurers American evangelical Protestants continue to be among Donald Trump’s most devoted supporters. Notwithstanding Donald Trump’s life being an unrepentant pattern of lying, adultery and fornication, reviling, extortion, hate, pride, and the like the evangelical church continues to crown him as god’s anointed vessel come to restore godliness to America. By that devotion the evangelical church has forfeited any claim to a divine calling and has shown its works to be that of a menstrual cloth.One would think that because of Trump’s unrepentant sinfulness and boasting about sin; such as, grabbing women by the pussy and hating his enemies, that many in the American evangelical church would have mounted a clear biblical basis for their dedication to Donald Trump. But, as we shall see, no such case has been made. By briefly examining the arguments of the late Dr. John MacArthur, Dr Albert Mohler, Dr. Wayne Grudem, and pastor Douglas Wilson we shall see that from scholars, to theologians, to pastors no argument seems to exist. That is to say, that those who wear the name evangelical, and are purported to have the saving message of Christ Jesus as the core of their only message to – as they would say – a lost world have made no scriptural case for evangelical support of Donald Trump. Meaning, their support of Trump is not founded on biblical truth.

Today, I welcome BOYSLOVEFLOWERS to Thought and Opinion. He is the founder and CEO of BOYSLOVERECORDS, a new LA-based record label that centers black gay and queer artists. Prior to founding BOYSLOVERECORDS, BOYSLOVEFLOWRS had established himself within LA’s gay and queer community as one of tomorrow’s leaders. It is the reputation as a proven quantity that he brings to his role of chief executive of BOYSLOVERECORDS. BOYSLOVEFLOWERS, welcome to Thought and Opinion. Takeaways:I founded Boys Love Records so artists can own their masters and publishing rights.We provide contracts, legal review, and business guidance to prevent artists from losing their songs.I shifted from performing to being CEO because I wanted to build a lasting platform for other artists.We center black gay and queer artists by contracting black LGBT creatives across production, video direction, events, management, and legal teams to create a fully owned creative ecosystem.I expect artists to arrive with a clear sense of self, some work, and a plan to grow.We will refuse bad deals, insist on fair royalties, and support strategic collaborations that build lasting careers.I worry about safety for our artists at live events and so we employ personal security and protocols.We seek authenticity, hard work, and artists who can advocate for their career beyond just looking attractive.Companies mentioned in this episode:Boys Love RecordsBoys Love the RadioKiso DTLAUniversal RecordsRepublic RecordsParkwood EntertainmentRoc NationZeus NetworkRolling LoudSiriusXM Urban ViewHarderwearThought and OpinionThought Dominion

I present this topic because Hollywood has long been the epicenter of global popular entertainment. But that status partly hinges not only on the talent and grit of the actors who give a script life but also on their opportunity to work and be compensated justly for their talent. And it is that opportunity and just compensation that have been severely risked by in the last 5 yrs. COVID and the consequent closures and shutdown of productions and the writers and actors guilds being forced to strike for equitable pay eliminated the opportunity to work for thousands who represent the talent and grit of Hollywood and reduced their ability earn a living to an agonizing standstill. The repercussions of which are still felt today. It is important to understand the cost exacted on those whom have suffered the brunt of these last 5 yrs in Hollywood. They are our neighbors, friends; and for many, family. To that end, Thought and Opinion is honored to have 3 tremendous actors who walk us through COVID and the strikes, Hollywood after it all. I convene a rigorous conversation with Cleo King, Wolé Parks, and Stu James to examine the profound disruptions that COVID-19 and the subsequent guild strikes have imposed upon the Hollywood economy and its practitioners. We delineate how production shutdowns erased routine employment, how the advent of streaming and new media altered compensation models, and how unresolved questions about residuals and artificial intelligence compelled performers to assert their labor rights. I frame the strikes as necessary and consequential: a collective effort to protect likeness, remuneration, and enduring creative agency in the face of industry consolidation and technological appropriation. We also interrogate the human cost. The discussion catalogs tangible hardships—loss of work, threats to health insurance, and the emotional toll of protracted uncertainty—while situating those harms within a larger discourse about structural change in the entertainment ecosystem. I guide listeners through how the strike negotiations unfolded, the reasoning behind sustained picketing, and the ways in which the studios’ initial posture intensified the duration and stakes of labor action. The segment concludes with a sober appraisal of industry fragmentation and the imperative for collective care and strategic adaptation moving forward.Companies mentioned in this episode:Apple TV+Prime VideoNetflixParamount+LifetimeHuluNBCCBSChaseWalmartUber EatsInstacartTargetSAG-AFTRABroadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDSCatalina Jazz ClubDisneyI convene a rigorous conversation with Cleo King, Wolé Parks, and Stu James to examine the profound disruptions that COVID-19 and the subsequent guild strikes have imposed upon the Hollywood economy and its practitioners. We delineate how production shutdowns erased routine employment, how the advent of streaming and new media altered compensation models, and how unresolved questions about residuals and artificial intelligence compelled performers to assert their labor rights. I frame the strikes as necessary and consequential: a collective effort to protect likeness, remuneration, and enduring creative agency in the face of industry consolidation and technological appropriation. We also interrogate the human cost. The discussion catalogs tangible hardships—loss of work, threats to health insurance, and the emotional toll of protracted uncertainty—while situating those harms within a larger discourse about structural change in the entertainment ecosystem. I guide listeners through how the strike negotiations unfolded, the reasoning behind sustained picketing, and the ways in which the studios’ initial posture intensified the duration and stakes of labor action. The segment concludes with a sober appraisal of industry fragmentation and the imperative for collective care and strategic adaptation moving forward.Companies mentioned in this episode:Apple TV+Prime VideoNetflixParamount+LifetimeHuluNBCCBSChaseWalmartUber EatsInstacartTargetSAG-AFTRABroadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDSCatalina Jazz ClubDisney

I present this topic because the idea of fatherhood, wanting to become a father that is, has not always seemed desirable or achievable for out gay black men. Race and sexual identity, and class, were exploited to make fatherhood and out and proud conflicting choices. Intersectional trauma notwithstanding, many out black gay men made the decision to become fathers, and along with their children, are flourishing. So, let’s have a conversation that we should have more often. I open with a sustained critique of the prevailing narrative that seeks to render fatherhood and outness mutually exclusive for Black gay men, and I invite Lawrence Carroll and Martel Okonji to articulate lived counternarratives that complicate that falsehood. We recount how historical constructs of race, class and sexual identity have been weaponized to delegitimize Black fathers, and we dismantle those constructs by foregrounding examples of intentional family formation, sustained co‑parenting, and visible love. Lawrence describes an intentional co‑parenting arrangement with a lesbian partner, the pragmatic use of at‑home insemination kits, and the quotidian practices—shared calendars, divided weeks, presence at first moments—that render parenthood concrete. Martel centers love as an identity and a practice, reflecting on the labor of learning to be rather than merely to perform parental tasks. We identify systemic impediments—clinic guidelines that stigmatize gay Black donors—and emphasize the necessity of community visibility, research, and conversations that normalize varied family configurations and uplift healing practices for us as fathers.Takeaways:I spoke about countering false stereotypes and showed evidence that black fathers do show up.We described how pursuing fatherhood as out gay men required deliberate planning and shared intention.I said love became the core of my identity as a father and guided my choices.I explained that therapy, reflection, and healing were necessary steps to become the parent I want, and that unpacking family history is essential work.We made concrete life changes like leaving nightlife, shifting careers, and enforcing clear boundaries for family stability.I acknowledged intersectional trauma, classism, and homophobia shape parenting concerns but we commit to conscious parenting practices.We shared simple joys such as watching our children play, smile, learn, and become confident little people.Companies mentioned in this episode:Developing Communities Together Consulting, LLCCalifornia State University, Northridge (CSUN)Majestic Art GalleryLA PrideBoys Love the RadioThe Abbey Food & BarE! (E! Entertainment Television)Vanderpump RulesCVS PharmacyWalmartMosey Baby