Episode 36: My Country Drove Me Out- I Don't Fit the Description and the Journey Continues with Brian C. Cadogan ll

On October 9, 2020, I read a post on Facebook written by Brian C. Cadogan II. At the time, he wrote, "I have been in the UAE for two months. The experience has been freeing but I am feeling anxious. An anxiety that I have not felt in a while. A tightness in my chest has had my eyes watery and my mind racing. Physiological I am uneasy. I am fearful. Fearful of returning to the US. You see, here in the UAE my skin color doesn’t matter. I am seen as an American, which is weird because in the USA I am Black first, male, and a close second and somewhere down the line, I may be looked at as an American. Being here in the UAE I feel safe physically and more importantly, mentally. I have not fit the description of someone who has committed a crime. I have not been followed while in the mall. I have not been asked if I was the security in the school I work in. I have not been asked what I’m doing while minding my business."

In this episode, Brian discusses not only his journey as a Black male in Abu Dhabi, UAE, but also his journey as a school counselor in Chicago and Maryland, USA. 

BRIEF GUEST BIO: Brian Cadogan II (he, his) has been a school counselor for 17 years in both middle and high schools. His experiences led him to an international position in Abu Dhabi, UAE where he is the 8th and 9th-grade transitions counselor at a private school. Brian graduated from Hampton University with a Bachelor's degree in psychology and later earned a master's degree in the School of Counseling from Long Island University in New York and a Masters in Educational Leadership and Administration from Northern Illinois University in Illinois.

RESOURCES: Margaret Mead and James Baldwin, A Rap on Race 1971. Youtube: https://youtu.be/3WNO6f7rjE0

 
SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES:
Email: bcadoganii@gmail.com
IG: pillar_of_the_community
Facebook: Brian Cadogan II
Twitter: @PillarOTC

(A)Broad in Education is produced by Tiffany Lachelle Smith, Music by Reallionaire Jream. You can access Lady Justice on his Post Cards Album on Sound Cloud. Music from Pixabay.com.
 
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