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What makes a moment sacred? How do memory, ancestry, and spirit converge in a single image?

In Part II of our extraordinary conversation with acclaimed photographer and visual historian Chester Higgins Jr., we journey deeper into the spiritual and emotional dimensions of photography and human experience. A longtime photographer for The New York Times and one of the most important chroniclers of the African diaspora, Higgins has spent more than five decades documenting the beauty, dignity, and sacredness of Black life around the world.

Joined by host Patrick A. Howell, Higgins reflects on the moments that transcend journalism and become acts of witness—capturing not simply what people looked like, but who they were, what they believed, and the unseen forces that connected them to their ancestors and to one another.

Together, they explore the meaning of sacred memory, the responsibility of artists as cultural stewards, the enduring influence of Gordon Parks, and the profound idea that every human being carries within them a divine story waiting to be seen.

This is not merely a conversation about photography. It is a meditation on spirit, purpose, remembrance, and the timeless power of seeing ourselves—and each other—with grace.

Global I Am. Wisdom & Grace.

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Chester Higgins Jr. is not simply a photographer. He is one of the great visual historians of the Black world — a man whose lens transformed memory into sacred text. A longtime staff photographer for The New York Times for nearly four decades, Higgins captured the spiritual architecture of Black life with extraordinary dignity and force. His photographs of Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, and Amiri Baraka at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture remain among the most powerful visual records of Black intellect, movement, artistry and spirit. His work lives in museums, archives, history — and in the consciousness of a people still learning to see themselves whole. ()

The Chester Higgins episode of Global I Am is now produced. It still needs a touch more work on the production end — but already it breathes. Soulful. Profound. Brilliant. What began as one conversation became two episodes — a rare gift unfolding at the intersection of storytelling, photography, revolt, memory, and the apex of a master’s eye.

In this conversation, the lineage becomes clear. Gordon Parks became more than photographer; he became witness. Oracle. The Eye of Horus. The ancient Kemetic symbol of protection, healing, restoration — the eye wounded, then restored. Sun and moon. Spirit and return. Through that tradition, Chester Higgins does not merely photograph people. He illuminates them.

His lens is not mechanical. It is spiritual architecture.

Spirit. Soul. Excellence.

He has become that rare artist who transforms as he reveals — reminding us not only how we looked, but how we loved, endured, struggled, prayed, created, resisted, and remembered. His presence itself becomes an archive of grace.

Through Chester Higgins, we remember how to see one another again.

Sacred. In the Spirit. Renewed.

Global I Am.

Wisdom & Grace.

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The Global I Am's Max Rodriguez welcomes PBS NewsHour anchor and acclaimed author Geoff Bennett for a candid conversation about his memoir Black Out Loud, the power of storytelling, and the role of journalism in strengthening democracy. Bennett reflects on the mentors, experiences, and defining moments that shaped his remarkable journey, offering insights on leadership, representation, and the importance of finding—and using—your voice.

Topics Include:

• The inspiration behind Black Out Loud
• Journalism, democracy, and public trust
• Mentorship and the power of representation
• Leadership through storytelling
• Race, identity, and the American experience
• Building bridges across communities and perspectives
• Finding your voice and using it with purpose

A thoughtful and timely discussion with one of America's most respected journalists on truth, leadership, and the stories that shape our lives.

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Global I Am - Episode 4: Dr. Dennis Kimbro
“Think and Grow Rich: The African Choice”

In this powerful conversation, renowned author, educator, and economic thinker Dr. Dennis Kimbro joins culturalist Max Rodriguez for a far-reaching discussion on wealth, legacy, vision, and the future of Black economic consciousness.

Best known for his groundbreaking adaptation of Napoleon Hill’s philosophy through works such as Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice, Dr. Kimbro has spent decades exploring the principles of achievement, ownership, discipline, and generational prosperity within the African diaspora. And he is still only beginning.

Together, Kimbro and Rodriguez examine how “being in the black” is not simply an accounting term — but a visionary framework for imagining the future, building institutions, and redefining community wealth in the 21st century.

This episode of Global I Am explores a larger idea increasingly central to the movement: that community itself may be one of the world’s most undervalued asset classes.

A conversation on economics, culture, self-determination, and the architecture of possibility. A conversation around the prosperity of love.

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Welcome back to the full season of The Global I AM Podcast at the Nexus of THE Culture and Our Capital. After our first 2 beta-episodes as well as episodes from our vaults earlier this year, Global I Am will resume every Friday to share information from around the worlds of culture and finance.

For our first episode back, we lean into the wisdom of the Pacific Ocean at Point Loma University, a Christian liberal arts university in San Diego, California, founded in 1902 and rooted in the Wesleyan tradition - Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is named after its location on the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego, California, where it moved in 1973

In a rare and layered gathering of minds — Dr. Dean Nelson of Point Loma University, our Max Rodriguez of the Harlem Book Fair, Kenyan leader Wavinya Makai of Cambridge University, global financier Bill Huston and visionary Patrick A. Howell - explore the intersection of literature, leadership, and lived identity.

At the center stands Jesse Jackson as a living force through the people whom he inspired. When he declared, “I Am Somebody,” in 1984 and 1989 as a presidential aspirant, he did more than inspire - he changed the nation, he changed the world.

Dean and Max talk about Jamaica Kincaid - a literary force whose voice, rooted in Antigua and expanded across the world, has shaped how we understand place, power and self-definition, from St. John’s to Harvard, from the Caribbean to the global stage.

Dean E. Nelson, Ph.D., is a beloved award-winning journalist, author, and 21st Century thought leader who founded and directs the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU). He is also the founder and host of the distinguished annual Writer's Symposium by the Sea.

This episode moves across continents and disciplines:

• From the civil rights movement to the global diaspora
• From economic systems to cultural production
• From personal testimony to institutional consequence

It positions Jesse Jackson as what he truly is:

The bridge - between Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama, between protest and policy, between voice and power.

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Hollywood icon Bill Duke joins the Global I Am Archive in a conversation that examines the intersection of capital and culture. At Global I Am we operate from a simple premise: culture is not separate from markets — culture is markets.

Across films in which Duke has acted, directed, or produced, the combined box office impact exceeds $1.6 billion, including projects such as Predator, Sister Act II, Payback, Red Dragon, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Nearly 80% of these films are major studio productions, with over 70% profitable, reflecting the rare combination of artistic mastery and professional discipline that defines Duke’s career.

Yet the deeper story is craft. With more credits behind the camera than in front of it, Duke has spent decades refining his work across film and television—from Kojak and Miami Vice to Black Lightning.

In Global I Am terms, Bill Duke represents the fusion of story, wisdom, and enterprise - a modern global griot whose legacy reminds us that the oldest technology in human civilization remains the story itself.

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In this powerful archival episode of Global I Am — At the Nexus of Culture & Our Capital, we sit with Ruth E. Carter, one of the most influential costume designers in cinema history.

Originally recorded for our legacy Victory and Noble series Getting Deals Done, this conversation explores Carter’s extraordinary ability to translate cultural memory into visual language — a gift inspired in part by Black Arts Movement icons Sonia Sanchez and Nikki Giovanni.

Ruth Carter has long shaped how Black history, imagination, and identity appear on screen — from Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) to Spike Lee classics including Malcolm X (1992) and Do the Right Thing (1989). Here, she reflects on her journey, her craft, and her role as a cultural custodian.

This episode lands at a historic moment: Carter has received a new Academy Award nomination for her work on Sinners — a recognition underscoring her enduring impact on American cinema and global cultural storytelling.

At its core, Sinners follows twin brothers returning home only to confront a darker reality than the one they left — a powerful meditation on memory, reckoning, and the ghosts we carry.

In this archival Global I Am conversation, we explore:

• How design becomes narrative and living archive
• The responsibility of cultural representation in global media
• The lineage of Black aesthetics in film and performance
• What it means to stand at the intersection of heritage and innovation

Carter’s work reminds us: culture is a language — and those who shape it shape how communities see themselves and the world.

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In this archival episode of Getting Deals Done, the Mastermind Forum, we look at a larger cosmic picture and identify opportunities based upon information gleaned from past episodes. In this case, we note trends by Fortune 500 companies as Viasat Satellite Communications and Newport Beach's Alhambra Technologies with manufacturing in Bahir, Ethiopia.

The Africa insurance market reached a value of US $70 billion in 2020. Revenue in the eCommerce market is projected to reach US $43,885 million in 2022. Agriculture takes up 15 percent ($100 billion annually) of the whole continent's GDP and is also the largest economic sector. African infrastructure saw a raise in compound annual rate at 17%. Banking, Oil and Gas, and Telecommunication also showcase markets with astronomical potential. The new BRIC are centrally located on the continent where all civilization, technology and visions began.

We trace Africa’s rise from informal ingenuity to investable scale, with Nigeria’s momentum, Senegal’s smart-city vision, and a people-first ethos that powers real markets. Along the way, we frame Afrofuturism as practical design for dignity, trust, and growth.

• Nigeria’s scale, GDP context, and entrepreneurial tribes
• Why informal markets are the infrastructure of daily life
• Startup capital growth and Fortune 500 attention
• Senegal’s smart sustainable city and crypto-enabled services
• Afrofuturism as a blueprint for practical innovation
• Integrity, purpose, and human potential as market drivers
• Partnerships across media, water stewardship, and hospitality
• Invitation to our virtual mastermind forum

Be sure to join us for our virtual mastermind forum at the Global I Am

Prosperity is a state of being, not a ledger line on your bank account.