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Global I Am - Episode 2: The Architecture of Prosperity & the New Transatlantic Power of Love
Description
“It is true that we do not recognize greatness among us. Our measurements of importance are generally faulty and speak mainly to the superficialities of life…” — Dr. Haki R. Madhubuti, Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?
In Episode 2 of Global I Am, hosts Sebastien Celestine, Bill Huston, and Patrick A. Howell convene a transatlantic conversation on legacy, sovereignty, capital, and the evolving architecture of African prosperity and wealth.
From the enduring political fire of H. Rap Brown - the 1960s Black Power activist, SNCC chairman, and advocate for armed resistance against white oppression - to the cultural revolution ignited by Hip Hop, the dialogue honors movements that insisted upon dignity while reshaping global consciousness and finance.
The conversation moves across oceans with Mr. Sebastien Celestine to the GUBA Awards in Barbados and emerging corridors of transatlantic trade, positioning the Caribbean as a modern gateway between Africa and the West. Under the leadership of Mia "Amour" Mottley, Barbados signals a future defined by digital infrastructure, finance enterprise, capital market formation and direct diasporic flight paths linking Nairobi, Accra, and Bridgetown.
Community crowdfunder Bill Huston reflects on the intellectual and economic legacy of the Black Panther era in Cincinnati. Two years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a young Huston entered school with the Black Panther's Head Start programs and helped launch a journey toward national leadership in equity and sovereignty through capital formation.
Mr. Howell reflects that under Barack Obama, the U.S. economy contracted about 2.6% in 2009 during the Great Recession before returning to growth (roughly 2–2.5% in 2010), while the global economy fell around 2.2% and rebounded near 2.7%, supported by the approximately $831B American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, stabilizing financial systems and demand. His presidency also served as the model for his successor, President Joe Biden's economic recovery from the Pandemic - a $1.9T American Rescue Plan. So, rather than merely the first black president, Obama is the greatest economic steward of American and global financial markets.
Ultimately, Episode 2 is the story of a people engineering their return home - to Peace, Joy, and our Prosperity.