Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Dr. Angelo Reynold
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000061S
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet a man that was destined for failure
00:03 but with perseverance and God's blessings 00:06 his life was transformed... now he shares his knowledge 00:09 and skills with others in the inner city and abroad. 00:13 My name if Yvonne Lewis and you're watching Urban Report 00:39 Hello and welcome to Urban Report 00:41 my guest today is Dr. Angelo Reynolds 00:44 Speaker and Literacy Expert. Welcome to Urban Report 00:48 Dr. Reynolds... Thank you so much for having me 00:52 God bless you... Thank you... God bless you... 00:54 we're so glad that you're here. Yeah, so glad to be here... 00:59 You have had... such an interesting journey 01:02 tell us a bit about how you grew up... 01:07 Well, it was only the journey 01:10 as it appeared to be 01:11 it was just only... I'm here to talk about it now... 01:14 through God's grace... I'm mean.. because it sincerely 01:17 it sincerely has been a journey, it has been very 01:20 tumultuous years for me and it all began 01:23 about three and a half hours south of where I am now... 01:26 I'm in the Washington, D.C. area... 01:28 and it began in a place called Portsmouth, Virginia 01:32 a lot of people know the place the Tidewater area 01:34 and so I was born and raised in a small housing project 01:38 there... by a single mom... with three kids... 01:41 me being the oldest... and one of the biggest 01:44 obstacles or challenges that I had faced early on 01:47 beginning at the early age of three 01:50 in fact... 3-years-old was when my father left home 01:53 and said that he's never going to return 01:56 and so it all began at the age of three 01:58 and so you can imagine, three, and even having a recollection 02:02 of someone telling you... your dad saying, 02:05 "Hey, I'm leaving and I'm never coming back" 02:07 and so from that point on... it was such an abandonment 02:11 problem and it was a big loss for me... because he literally 02:15 did not come back... 02:16 Now prior to that, Dr. Reynolds, prior to that... 02:19 did you have... a strong relationship with your dad? 02:23 I mean... I was too young to really understand... 02:25 I mean, he was there... in the home but literally not there 02:29 you know, I mean... it was... he came, he'd just come and go, 02:32 and so there wasn't a whole lot... at age three 02:35 you can imagine... three being very young 02:36 and so and you'll probably say, "Well, how does this guy 02:39 remember this at age three" but I specifically remember 02:42 the day he actually walked out and that's exactly what he said, 02:45 so, from that point on... you know, that whole loss 02:50 or that whole void of not having a dad there 02:52 was just the start of some things that I didn't know was 02:56 going to happen later on in life one... it was an eerie feeling 02:58 to know that I didn't have a dad in the house any longer 03:02 two... the environment in which I was surrounded by 03:05 at that time was negativity... it was very frightening... 03:08 and so traumatizing and frightening were the two things 03:11 that I would actually say that actually began 03:13 the whole tumultuous years. You know, that... 03:16 you made some really important points here because 03:20 I think so often... people don't really understand 03:24 the role... the importance of the father in the home... 03:27 the fact that you could remember at three... 03:30 you have this intense memory of something that happened 03:34 when you were three years old... shows how traumatic it was 03:38 and I think... if parents really knew 03:41 how significant it is to have both parents in the home... 03:46 I think that it might make a difference 03:48 because this was so traumatic and this is such a prevalent 03:52 issue in our Communities today, the absence of the father 03:56 so you're saying that you lost that feeling 03:59 of protection... you lost that feeling of... 04:02 you had an eerie feeling you said... 04:04 and that feeling of protection comes from... having a father 04:09 a father... his role is to protect... 04:12 and so... one of his roles... and so you lost that 04:15 and so, you then, kind of like, I guess, felt like, 04:18 you were kind of on your own, so what happened from there? 04:21 Well, you know, those years of growing up as a young boy 04:25 and growing up into teenage years, you know, 04:28 just became very difficult in terms of "trust issues" 04:31 that I had... particularly with men... 04:34 you know, because there was always 04:37 the fear of being abandoned again... 04:39 by someone that may become close to the family... 04:42 and so those issues sort of had me... 04:44 even the issues with school, you know, being able to 04:48 have someone to, you know, help with your homework 04:51 and my dad to be able to go to the school... 04:53 when you are having problems in school... 04:55 that was another void that was not filled and so that caused 04:59 all kinds of problems for me early on... academically 05:02 especially this whole piece about reading... 05:04 which we'll talk about it a little later... 05:06 So, after your dad left, you kind of got caught in a 05:13 tailspin... and kind of going down academically, socially, 05:17 and probably... economically as well because we know that 05:21 the statistics say that children from fatherless 05:25 homes have a much more preponderance of poverty 05:28 than those that have a father there... 05:31 so all kinds of ramifications take place... 05:35 after the father leaves... did you get caught up 05:39 in anti-social behavior at all? Well, it wasn't so much 05:42 the anti-social behavior but I think it became 05:46 the defiance piece for me... something that... 05:49 because you got to remember I'm also a child that was angry 05:54 growing up because one... my dad wasn't there 05:57 and then, my mom, she turned to... 05:59 unfortunately, like many single parents... 06:02 sometimes fall into the realm of drug and alcohol use 06:04 and so when you have those surroundings... 06:07 the house becomes... turmoil... you know, it becomes turmoil... 06:11 and so... there was a lot of confusion... 06:13 me being the oldest and trying to look out for my brother 06:17 and sister... both academically, socially... 06:20 and it became a very, very difficult task... 06:24 and even... almost... up to a point where there was 06:26 social isolation... if you will. Yes, you know, and this story 06:31 Dr. Reynolds, unfortunately, is more common than we want 06:37 to acknowledge... you know... the absentee father 06:41 and then... the other parent perhaps being so overwhelmed 06:44 by circumstances... falling into... 06:48 these other things... substance abuse, and then, 06:51 by doing that... then there is neglect 06:53 of the children... and so then, it falls on... 06:57 one of the children or more than one 07:00 to be caregivers... both of the parent... 07:03 and the children... it becomes this... 07:05 downward spiral... and here on Urban Report 07:09 we talk about God's divine plan and the enemy's plan 07:15 the enemy's plan is to destroy, God's plan for us 07:20 is to build us up... and to bless us... 07:24 and the enemy's plan is to just take us down 07:26 this downward spiral... and so what you're saying... 07:30 and you use the word "confusion" and we know that God is not 07:34 the author of confusion... so what we know... 07:37 is that the enemy was taking over... with his plan, 07:42 and this is so common... in our Communities today, 07:47 so you had to become... were you the oldest 07:50 of your siblings... 07:52 I was the oldest... my brother and sister... 07:53 they were twins... they are two years younger 07:55 than I am... Ah... so you became... 07:57 kind of the quote "man of the house" 07:59 so to speak... Yeah, yeah, yeah... 08:02 ...at a very early age... Yeah, yeah... which, you know, 08:06 taking on that... the term "man of the house" 08:09 is just... you know, it brings just a whole 'nother level of 08:13 fear but you actually step into that role and to actually think 08:17 that you are the man of the house... 08:18 but you're nothing but a boy trying to learn himself 08:21 and trying to grow up in a world that's a negative environment 08:24 it's so bad... and so... then you begin to... 08:27 I began to sort of act like I was actually the 08:30 man of the house, I mean, I tried to... as much as I could 08:33 to make sure that my brother and sister were fed, 08:36 they were safe, that they... 08:38 we have the activities after school... 08:40 we would try to get homework done 08:42 and so literally... with my mom being in the 08:46 position that she was in, I literally became 08:49 the man of the house... but, in fact, I was nothing 08:53 but a boy trying to find himself and trying to adapt to an 08:55 environment that was so debilitating to myself... 08:59 Yes... look at the demands that were placed upon you, 09:02 to be a man... when you are a child... 09:06 to be a caregiver... when you should have been nurtured 09:12 and so... you went through all of these things... 09:14 and how old were you when you were doing all of this? 09:17 I must have been... you know, when I really started to 09:20 really take that role and become very independent... 09:24 I tell my own kids sometimes, my youngest son is 9 09:28 I remember telling him the story about how I... 09:31 he said, "Dad, you can cook" that I learned how to cook 09:34 at an early age... and so back then... 09:36 I learned how to cut up a chicken... 09:38 and we had our own chickens back then.. so... 09:40 I learned how to wash the chicken, cut it up, 09:43 put it in the flour, fry it, at 9- and 10-years-old 09:46 because my mother either wasn't there or she wasn't 09:50 mentally able to do those types of things... 09:53 so, that being said, my brother and sister... 09:55 we had to eat... someone had to take on that role 09:58 and at a young age... I can't imagine my son at nine 10:01 cutting up a whole chicken, trying to clean it 10:04 and also trying to fry it without burning himself 10:07 or burning the house down. Yes... yes... 10:08 but when you're placed in positions, you know, 10:11 such as that... God has a way... to make sure 10:15 that you are equipped... Come on... 10:17 He makes sure that you are equipped... 10:19 and so that you don't burn the house down... 10:21 or burn yourself... but also, that your basic needs 10:24 are being taken care of... Yes, yes... 10:27 we just praise God that His attention... 10:30 His eyes are never off of you... 10:32 that He's there through everything.. through every trial 10:36 He is there and so when you were nine... you were doing all this 10:43 where were you at 13? Well, at 13, I was transitioning 10:48 obviously... you're ready to go to High School 10:52 but at age 8 or 9... and I still remember 10:57 'cause I'm not really sure, I also experienced abuse, okay.. 11:00 sexual abuse... that haunted me for years... 11:06 as I became a young man and even as a young adult 11:11 because I began to do things such as blame my father 11:15 for not being there as a protector but also 11:18 blaming my mom... because she had succumbed to drugs 11:21 and alcohol so bad... so by the time I was 13... 11:24 here I am still exploring life trying to get a grasp 11:27 on being a teenager... but I'm also dealing with the 11:30 traumatization of abuse, abandonment, 11:33 and trying to still fit in... as a young person... 11:36 and trying to adapt... to my Community... 11:38 That is so... traumatic... 11:42 it's like an onion... 11:44 with all of these different layers... you know, 11:47 it's like... all of these things that you had to negotiate 11:51 through the natural issues that a teenager has... 11:57 on top of the substance abuse of a parent... 12:00 on top of the absence of the other parent... 12:03 and on top of sexual abuse... and these things again... 12:08 you're not alone... it's all too common... 12:11 and really... one of the things that we know... 12:15 that is an issue is a spiritual deficit... 12:18 there's something missing spiritually in that home, 12:22 and so... what happened to you, when you were 13 12:26 and you're going through all of this stuff 12:28 by the time you're 16... where are you? 12:30 Well, by the time I was 16, I was like a junior in 12:34 High School... getting ready to try to get out of High School 12:37 but I was faced with the fact of failing... 12:40 I did so poorly in school academically... 12:42 you know and I always... my reading comprehension 12:46 and being able to spell were always... 12:48 I was always... I mean... I don't know how I even passed 12:52 because I did so poorly in school so I was threatened 12:54 with the fact that I may have to repeat a grade... 12:57 but because I worked really hard and I tried to seek help 13:01 when I could... I was able to go on and graduate from High School 13:05 but, you know, 12 and 13... as you know... 13:08 is a very pivotal point in terms of transition... 13:12 because that is the age where now, you've gone from 13:16 pre-teen or adolescent to now an actual teenager... 13:19 and so anything prior to that both academically, socially, 13:23 spiritually... anything that has happened in your past 13:27 you know, it really starts to come to surface 13:30 because you really try to identify... who you are... 13:32 at this point... Yes, yes, yes... 13:35 and you're going through so many things at one time 13:39 you know, it's not like, "Well, here I'm just dealing 13:43 with my issues as a teenager" no, you're dealing with that 13:47 while you're dealing with parental issues 13:50 and all of that... so how did you... 13:53 well, let me back up for a second... 13:55 you just said that academically there was the threat 13:59 of even being retained... so you are having issues with 14:04 reading comprehension and all of that... 14:06 how did you get out of that... how did things turn around... 14:12 how did God turn them around for you... 14:13 Well, from a very little boy I always prayed... 14:17 I prayed for a lot of things... my grandmother... 14:19 she was very influential in terms of, you know, 14:22 talking about God... and a lot of things... 14:24 I didn't understand... as a young boy 14:26 but she said, "Certainly, if you are praying and asking God 14:28 for guidance... He'll always protect you 14:30 and He'll always... He'll never leave you 14:32 nor forsake you He will always take you into the 14:35 direction once you seek him... " and so, that stuck with me... 14:38 Yes... ... for years... and when things 14:40 got tough I always just remembered... 14:41 going to Him and saying... "God, please, rescue me... " 14:43 you know what I mean... "rescue me... 14:45 please remove these ill feelings from me... 14:48 help me out in school... help me to do better 14:51 in the Community... make sure that I'm a 14:53 better person and that I can contribute something to Society" 14:56 and so, my grandmother, she was a very pivotal person 14:59 in terms of spirituality but also guidance 15:02 because she used to always tell, she'd say, 15:04 "Son, if you can read or write, you can accomplish anything 15:07 in life... " and so, I tried my best 15:09 to make sure, even though I failed continuously... 15:12 you know, subject after subject and failed and did poorly 15:15 in school... I always had an effort and tried to do 15:18 the best that I could... and I always had a thing where 15:21 you know, "If you try... if you take one step... 15:23 God will help take another and more steps 15:25 He will always protect those who seek Him"... but also 15:28 He had something bigger for me that I didn't know 15:30 until many years later... that I was going to be able 15:33 to have an impact on the world. Come on now... 15:35 Absolutely He did... absolutely He continues to... 15:39 and that is something that is so important 15:42 for our viewers to know that even though 15:44 you were on a path... really... that was destined... 15:49 in which you were destined to fail... 15:52 God had a better path for you... He had another way for you, 15:57 He had His own divine plan for you 16:00 and I'm thankful that you had the spirit to persevere 16:06 because a lot of times... people give up 16:09 a lot of times, they are overwhelmed themselves 16:12 by their circumstances... and they just give up... 16:16 but thankfully, that seed was planted in your life... 16:19 in your spirit... your grandmother planted that 16:23 seed that you can go to God when there's something going on 16:26 and He will help you... and so, thankfully you had that 16:30 to hold on to... as you negotiated through 16:33 this murky thing that we call life... God was there for you... 16:38 so, you had difficulty trusting, was this your maternal 16:43 or paternal grandmother... this was my mom's mom... 16:47 Okay... Yes... yes... 16:49 And so, she was there for you 16:51 and she saw what was going on with her daughter 16:54 but your grandmother was there to kind of hold you up 16:58 through all of that... Yes, she was the frame... 17:01 you know... she was the glue that kept us together 17:05 because at one point when my mom suffered 17:09 from mental breakdown, she wouldn't allow 17:13 the Social Services to take us into custody for adoption 17:16 she wouldn't allow that... she would come and take care 17:19 of us before she would let us go into the State... 17:21 and that is something that she always vowed... 17:24 she said, "I'll never leave you guys... I want you to always 17:26 be around and I'll take care of you" when my mom just 17:29 physically or mentally... she just couldn't do it. 17:32 So, this story is so compelling, and I thank you so much 17:39 for being so transparent with us because so many of our viewers 17:43 are going through similar circumstances 17:45 and they don't know where to turn or what to do. 17:49 What should they do? If there's a little boy 17:52 right now that's going through what you went through 17:55 what should he do, Dr. Reynolds? I tell you, one of the first and 17:59 foremost thing that needs to be done is... 18:02 he needs to develop a relationship with God 18:05 because... once you do that... you communicate with God 18:09 and once you begin to communicate with God... 18:11 He communicates back to you... All right... 18:14 that's number one... but the second thing... 18:17 and the number one thing right now... 18:19 that I found in the last few years that's really ailing 18:22 our Communities and continue to ail our communities 18:25 is we need to learn how to read, that is something that, I mean, 18:30 can you imagine being in a household 18:34 where everybody is functionally illiterate... 18:38 and if we teach young kids how to read... at an early age 18:43 he or she has a greater chance of succeeding 18:46 in anything in life... I'm going to tell you 18:49 what it will do... it will also teach a young boy, 18:51 not just a boy, but it will teach him, 18:53 once he knows how to read, it will teach him... 18:56 how to avoid conflict... how to communicate effectively, 19:00 it will teach him how to build relationships but it will also 19:04 teach him how to be a productive citizen in society 19:08 so that he and others can go back and teach 19:12 and bring other people you have to be a role model 19:14 and all too many times, especially... 19:16 and I am going to throw this number here because 19:18 data does not steer us in the wrong way... 19:23 87 percent of African-American children right now... 19:27 87 percent of children in the Black Community 19:31 are functionally illiterate... that means... they are reading 19:34 below proficient level... now that's a very staggering 19:37 and disheartening number for us to realize and say, 19:40 "What are we doing... " you know, if I can just 19:43 interject right now... you know that I'm a psychologist 19:46 by education... I'm not sure if you read that... 19:48 Yes... yes... ... but one of the things 19:50 that we fail to do... and when I say "we" 19:53 I'm talking about myself... because I like to take 19:55 accountability... one of the things as psychologists 19:58 that we fail to do... we fail to get kids tested 20:01 for reading... we made a lot of, what I call, 20:04 misdiagnosis and we are quick to call kids ADD, ADHD 20:10 but we fail relentlessly in identifying... 20:14 what the actual problem was 20:16 and that's kids being functionally illiterate... 20:19 What a great point... so many kids are labeled ADD, 20:23 ADHD... that basically... just can't read... 20:26 if they could read, maybe their behavior would be different... 20:29 is that what you're saying? I'm absolutely saying it... 20:32 and I was there... 20:34 let's say we get referrals 20:36 from the school... and the first thing... 20:38 in order for us to be able to make a diagnosis... 20:41 we have to be able to sit down 20:42 and look at what Johnny does... so... the teacher says, 20:45 "Johnny... he's distracted, he's out of focus, 20:48 he can't sit still, he talks a lot, 20:50 he can't get his work, he's failing this class" 20:54 so when they come to us then, we have to sit down 20:58 and make a diagnosis... well, that identifies 21:01 right there... that he has ADHD... 21:04 so immediately we make a diagnosis of ADHD, ADD 21:08 and so now we have labeled... mislabeled a child 21:12 instead of going and finding out what the real root 21:16 of the problem is which is illiteracy... 21:19 hey, listen... how would you feel... if you couldn't read 21:22 and you sat in a classroom... do you think 21:24 that you could sit still... do you think 21:26 that you could pass Science if you can't read? 21:28 We get mad at kids... keep in mind... 21:33 when I say "we" I'm talking about me... accountability 21:36 this is what has happened in the past... 21:37 we get made with kids... they come home with "Ds" 21:39 and we say, "Oh, you're just not studying hard enough... 21:42 you're not focused... " you know, "you talk too much" 21:44 but these kids can't read... and so, if I'm sitting in class 21:49 with 29 kids and 19 of the kids can't read.. what does that say? 21:53 That's huge... that is huge... and what you just pointed to 22:01 is something that is really important... 22:03 the root cause... let's get to the root cause 22:06 of these problems... so, what are you doing... 22:09 what is your Organization... your website... all that... 22:13 tell us about what you're doing... 22:14 Well, I've been so... I mean... it has been 22:17 life changing for me, you know, a very prominent educator 22:21 literally opened my eyes up to some of these root problems 22:25 that are really ailing our Community... 22:27 and what he told me was, he formed it in a way... 22:30 that when I got off the phone with him... 22:33 it really made think... because... 22:35 we talked about mentoring... we talked about tutoring... 22:38 we talked about "big brother" "big sister" 22:40 we talked about kids who are in the juvenile justice system 22:43 and he asked me some of the antidotes and things that I had 22:47 what would I do... and I would give him those things 22:49 but the one question that he asked me... and changed my life 22:54 was... "Have you taught them how to read?" 22:57 Hmmmm... "Have you taught a young man 22:59 how to read... because if you teach a young person 23:02 how to read... you're going to change his life forever" 23:06 That's right... that's right... ... and so what we're doing 23:09 right now... I'm so blessed and honored to be on this 23:12 campaign for transforming the lives of young kids... 23:15 of all kids and for the Company it's called testourkids. com 23:21 and what we're doing is two-fold one... we serve as an informer 23:26 we educate people in the awareness of how important 23:30 it is to get your kid tested to see if he or she can read... 23:33 one of the things that I hear so often 23:36 and it really tears me down... I get angry when I hear people 23:41 say... and educators say... "Parents don't care" 23:44 that's not true... and I totally disagree with it. 23:47 Parents do care and they have a right to know 23:51 if their child cannot read... so that's the first thing 23:54 that we do... we bring the awareness 23:56 to educators, administrators, 23:59 community activists, 24:00 and more importantly parents so that they can find out 24:03 if their kid can read... and we have a diagnostic test 24:06 that's right on our website that you can sit, right there, 24:10 and have your kid tested to see if he or she can read... 24:14 And what age group does this cover? 24:17 We're looking at... age is from 4 to 14... 24:20 and the reason why that age is... it's a gap there 24:24 is because right now... the US Department of Education 24:28 and other big Foundations found in this Country 24:30 that 68 percent of the kids that are leaving the third... 24:33 going to the fourth grade are functionally illiterate 24:37 68 percent... and I'm going moderate with that 24:40 but it's higher than that... 68 percent because what we're 24:43 finding now... what we found is that 24:46 by the time... if kids don't know how to read 24:48 and they get to the third grade, they rarely catch up... ever... 24:51 Yes... ... and so by the time they get 24:52 to Middle School... they're failing relentlessly... 24:56 I mean... they just never catch up... 24:58 because they haven't had any dynamic interventions 25:01 early on... so when we talk about 25:04 intervention implementation we're talking about... 25:07 K- Kindergarten to about 3rd grade 25:09 those are the most formidable, critical years 25:13 of reading intervention... if you can get a kid taught 25:16 how to read between Kindergarten and third grade... 25:19 I guarantee you... he'll succeed in school and in life. 25:22 That's tremendous... reading opens up the world... 25:27 to you... it's amazing to me when I see that 25:31 children can't read... that adults... can't read... 25:34 and can't write really well, it's amazing to me... 25:38 so, tell me... because I cannot believe how quickly this program 25:42 has gone by... we only have about two minutes left 25:45 tell me, your website, at your website... 25:48 it tests children's reading ability 25:51 and then based on that 25:52 where do you go from there? Well, thank you for asking... 25:55 but on the website... you actually... 25:58 and this is so great because you can do this in the confines 26:01 of your own house at your computer... 26:03 there are probably very few people who do not have access 26:07 to a computer and you sit down... and listen to this, 26:10 even the parent does not have to be a literate person 26:14 to sit down with a young person follow the lesson plans 26:17 all they're doing is facilitating... 26:19 because what we're doing is we're going back to the basics 26:21 the phonics, the sounds, 26:24 the spelling, you can't comprehend until you learn 26:27 the sounds... you cannot pronounce the word 26:30 until you go back to the phonics... 26:31 so, you go on to the website, you look at the assessment, 26:34 take the assessment, we have facilitators there 26:37 to set up the reading actual test... 26:40 they walk you through it, then you find out 26:43 where your kids read... and then comes the lessons 26:46 15-20 minutes a night... on the computer. 26:48 Six weeks... I guarantee you... you'll see your kid start to 26:53 improve drastically in 6 weeks. That is so tremendous... 26:57 I am so thankful that we can bring this to our viewers 27:01 because even if somebody watching doesn't know about this 27:06 or doesn't have a child that can use this, 27:11 they know somebody who does... 27:13 and they can share this information... 27:15 And that is so true, and what's so important 27:17 lastly about the awareness it brings... 27:20 let people hear about this, what I did was, 27:22 when I started this campaign, I actually ordered my 27:25 transcripts from Kindergarten to 12th grade... 27:27 and guess what I discovered? What... 27:29 that I read two to three grades below where I was supposed to be 27:33 in my entire school... So, if you had had some program 27:37 like this... it would have changed your life... 27:39 It would have changed my whole life 27:40 and how to deal with just life in general... 27:43 If I had certain type of intervention like this... 27:45 because we didn't have this... you know, we have to get back, 27:49 there's too much technology today for anyone to be walking 27:51 around... especially kids... functionally illiterate... 27:54 in this country today. Absolutely, thank you so much 27:57 Dr. Reynolds... God bless you, God bless you. 27:59 Thank you... thank you... Thank you for having me... 28:01 Thank you... and thank you for viewing... 28:04 Next time, tune in, because you know what... 28:07 It just wouldn't be the same... without you. |
Revised 2025-01-23