The protests that have broken out in the United States following the brutal murder  of George Floyd in Minnesota by a white police officer has led to a lot of uncomfortable, yet overdue  conversations about race relations, police brutality, and systems of oppression, amongst others. On this episode, Anurag chats with two young black leaders, Willie Thompson and Justin Bryant to unpack some of these conversations that are finally happening now. They discuss what it was like to grow up black in America, how as young people, we can work to address and combat systems of oppression, and how they took initiative to bring about tangible change in a community that they are active members of - the Schwarzman Scholars Program.

Willie J. Thompson grew up in Griffin, GA and earned his B.A. in Economics with a minor in Chinese Studies from Morehouse College. After graduating summa cum laude / Phi Beta Kappa from Morehouse, Willie worked as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Taichung, Taiwan with the Fulbright Program. Upon finishing his service as an ETA, Willie worked as an Associate Consultant for The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting firm that works with non-profits and philanthropists to address society's most pressing needs and challenges. Willie spent a year as a member of the  Schwarzman Scholars Program, where he earned a Master’s in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Willie returned to Bridgespan, where he currently works on impact investing, philanthropic prizes, and workforce development as an Associate Consultant. He is also an avid jazz fan, having played drums for the Morehouse College Jazz Band all four years of his college career. Connect with Willie on LinkedIn.

Justin is a second-year J.D. candidate at Stanford Law School. He has a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University, an MSc in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar, and an LL.M in European and International Business Law from the University of Vienna School of Law. Justin focuses on the intersection of law and technology and seeks to create ecosystems in which individuals can experience the benefits of technology without suffering harm. He advanced this mission during his time at ALT Advisory in Johannesburg, where he built Data Protection Africa. Justin was a cyberlaw fellow at the law firm Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe in Menlo Park, California, and he previously worked at Microsoft in Beijing and San Francisco on projects concerning cybersecurity, government relations, and civic uses of technology. He will be working at the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project in New York this summer. Connect with Justin on LinkedIn.

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Cover Art obtained from Unsplash: Photo by James Eades on Unsplash

Title music Ikson-Alive is obtained from the artist's website, and used with due credit given. Support Ikson's music on https://soundcloud.com/ikson