Meet Dr. Alfonso Brown

We recently connected with Dr. Alfonso Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Dr. Alfonso, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?

A popular notion in the U.S. is that education is a great equalizer. However, in 2017, after graduating with an associate and an undergrad degree, I was sleeping at the men’s shelter for the second time. It does not become real until you have been in a flophouse with 56 men squeezed together on cots with everybody snoring at once—thick, unwashed socks saturated with urine and defecated underwear. And those bodies in the dark, fat, and thin and bent. Some are legless, some are armless, some are mindless, and worst of all, there is a total absence of hope. It shrouds them and covers them totally; it was not bearable. Those men were all children once. So, what has happened, and most importantly, what has happened to me?

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Despite lacking housing throughout most of my college career, this past June I was selected to be the 49th student commencement speaker of a private university in Seattle, WA representing their U.S., Canada, and Mexico programs. I received a doctorate in education. As an author/researcher, I share my experience and insights internationally with the hope of bridging the gap between our communities’ haves and have-nots. I decided to pursue my EdD because it is practice-based and students in an EdD program do not want to just study their area of interest but leverage that research in ways that can positively impact their community.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Current studies on trauma and coping investigate how individuals make sense of adverse experiences, how those circumstances become a source of meaning, and how a person sustains a sense of value in the face of adverse events. Therefore, looking back on what my three most impactful qualities in my journey were, adverse experiences, how I was able to use them as sources of meaning, and my ability to sustain a sense of value during those adversities.

The construction of meaning through vital engagement combines the concept of vital engagement of John Dewey, who believed people’s experiences are constructed from interactions with the sociocultural system. The idea is that one important way people find meaning in their lives is by becoming deeply involved in purposeful activities. Education helped me retain my sense of purpose. So, my recommendation for others who may be early in their journey is to determine what those sources of demands and constraints are in their pursuit of happiness and create a new understanding of the values and attitudes they need to succeed.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

Because of the overwhelming pain that emanates from the visuals of people shedding tears of rage, and the crying tears that run down the cheeks of the disparate, a particular challenge that I am currently facing is when people break promises and do not do the things they say they are going to do. When you live in a world where work and survival are being eliminated, sleep feels more real than the deadening effects of day-to-day living. Therefore, breaking promises runs counter to the narratives of street life and toughness Trust is a stride forward, however, it cannot withstand the violence of this gesture.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alfonsobrown.journoportfolio.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTgComFYq2B9KBGeN6W5O9Q