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Episode #33
WISHING FOR AN EARTHQUAKE
with
DAMEIAN HARTFIELD
Episode Summary
In Episode #33, Dameian Hartfield joins the podcast for a deeply honest conversation, recounting some of the major moments in his life. In many respects, this podcast is a continuation of an ongoing conversation we have had as friends for nearly two decades, where Dameian speaks his truth and in doing so acts as an ambassador for the greater good, sharing the realities of what comes with growing up in an at-risk community like the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects in the Watts neighborhood.
Beginning the show with his reasons for a slow-cook approach to doing this podcast and then his experiences doing gang-intervention work and some of the key dilemmas and pressures that went with it, we get a feel for the values and lessons Dameian has earned in his life. For example, he describes how political agendas and lack of trust between different organizations in a community add more pressure to one’s that are already struggling. We also see how he positioned himself in relation to those politics.
Following that, we begin to hear about the challenges that come with life after being in a gang. The uphill battle of re-establishing a positive reputation along with carrying the war-like events of street battles without a reconciliation process to move forward in the way military veterans have is hard edge to have in one’s reality.
Sharing with us some details of his journey, like being shot at the age of fifteen and having to deal with conflict zones like ‘Hamburger Hill,’ we come to learn why the trauma of being a young, misdirected, urban warrior would need healing places like the one where we first met — at a men’s retreat held by the Mosaic Multicultural Foundation deep in the redwoods of Mendocino, California. It was there Dameian and I have formed a relationship that has transcended our native neighborhoods and social upbringings.
Next, Dameian takes us into the powerful decisions and transformations that took place for for him as he spent a decade in prison, repaying his debt to society. We hear how he learned to become a communicator, leaving behind his older strategies of simply acting in ways that he thought were needed. Dameian made key decisions to use his prison sentence for his own personal development, even knowing he had a very real possibility of never making it out. In this part of the podcast, we get some profound contours of Dameian’s path through this important period of change and soul searching.
Further on we learn about how, when he was on the run for a case against him, his relationship with his mother kept him from getting into deeper trouble, perhaps even getting killed. Dameian also walks us through how his Mom imparted to him the realities of the financial struggles they had, and pulled along his questions and challenges into a place of greater understanding and participation in the struggle. Even in his darkest moments of despair, his Mom was able to help him see beyond his hopelessness. In these stories we get a powerful picture of his mom’s capacity to guide in the face of adversity, and the important impact that had.
In total, this powerful, authentic episode takes us underneath the illegality of gang life in an at risk community, providing us with a sincere portrait of the human lives in and around those situations. And just when we think we are wrapping up, Dameian takes us a step further into his life experiences. He closes out our conversation with an incredibly moving and undeniable accurate portrait of what the challenges of being a black man in the American story is like.
*****
Dameian Hartfield primarily grew up in Nickerson Gardens housing projects in Los Angeles, California. He also spent part of his youth in Pomona, CA. Currently, Dameian spends his time growing his company, 1 Tamu Essentials, with his wife Dana, and spending time with his kids and grandkids. Mr. Hartfield has also spent a good deal of time mentoring at-risk youth and being a supporter and advocate for the Nickerson Gardens community. Dameian comes to the mentoring and community work out of a past involvement with a neighborhood gang and a decade of time spent in the penal system as a result. Often he finds himself in the role as cultural ambassador, bridging typically divided social silos with gift of being a powerful communicator.
