We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Frederick Engram Jr. recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Dr. Frederick, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
As an African American or a Black person in this country it is one of the things that we do not have much say-so about. In order to exist in a country that quite literally is wired to hate you, resilience is tantamount to your survival. We are not privileged with the ability to simply exist. Free from the gaze of others; free from the expectations of others; free from the unnecessary fear from others. Our existence is rooted in both resilience and resistance.
My ability to resist in a place that demands that I cower, bend, or disappear is my superpower. I do not need the permission of whiteness to exist in my physical being. In fact, I find great delight in the knowing that I do not care what the oppressors think of me. My thoughts are my own. My resistance is my own. My success and my triumphs? Those are for my people.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My profession is that of an educator, More specifically, I am a college professor. I am appointed with the privilege of shaping our next generation of critical thinkers. People who will one day be the decision makers of this nation. My most fervent hope is that they learned [from me] that our greatest effort should be given to fighting for liberation.
What I feel is most exciting about what I do is that I am walking history. Many of my students have never had a Black male educator prior to attending college, I did not have a Black male educator prior to attending college. I provide for them the realities of the possible. Shaping within them and breaking them free from their visions of Black males as educators. We are infinite and we are possible.
I am the author of the forthcoming book titled “Black Liberation through Action and Resistance: MOVE” which will debut in the coming months. I am proud of this work and I hope that it is a conversation starter but more than anything I hope that it serves as a reality check and a calling-in for those who need it. Liberation is everyone’s responsibility!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities that I believed impacted my journey were tenacity, keen vision, and indomitable courage.
Situate yourself among people who can be honest with you but will also fight for and alongside you. Be afraid of yes-people and seek out people who are capable of supporting and balancing you. Both are equally important!
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
My biggest area of growth over the past four years has been my learning and leaning into who I am. Like many others, I was taught that we should be committed to our employers and that does not often benefit us. I believe in hard work but I also believe in being honest about who I am and what gifts I possess.
That means having the fortitude and bravery to walk away from experiences [professional and social] that do not also benefit me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.drfrederickengramjr.com/
- Instagram: dr.engram19
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederick-engram-ed-d-1a3a7067/
- Twitter: @VanCarlito2003
Image Credits
Photo 1: UTA Photography Photo 2: Kenny Myers Photo 4: Zyshonne Harris
