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Michael Baisden will be joining the Tom Joyner Morning Show crew at the 2014 Family Reunion but the former radio host says he’s thinking about one family in particular right now – the family of slain teenager Michael Brown.

“What’s up to the family down in St. Louis,” Baisden says. “There haven’t been many days that I’ve felt a void or a loss since I’ve been off the air  I have during this situation down in Ferguson. So to the family down in St. Louis, please tell Michael Brown’s family that I’m doing everything I can through Baisden Live on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to support them. The great thing about being on in the afternoon is that we had a chance to support them as all these marches were happening  so we were able to have a plan together and to tell the truth about what was going on. I miss you family, and its hard to be on the sidelines for something like this, but I’m sure it’s all going to work out.”

At the 2014 Tom Joyner Allstate Family Reunion which takes place in Orlando August  28 through September 1, Baisden will be hosting the  ‘Raise Your Hand Relationship Seminar,”a mentoring panel for young men and auditioning actors for his stage play Men Cry In The Dark  II. Baisden has committed himself to working with a group of young Black males in the Orlando area and part of what they’re taught is how to respond to the police.

“We’re going to talk about how to respond to the police. We do that at the beginning of every year. We bring police officers in and all of the boys have individual mentors. Mad love to all the churches in Orlando who pitched in and helped us get mentors. The first two books we’re reading are Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Think and Grow Rich by Dennis Kimbro. It’s not just an mentoring issue, it’s an economic issue and we need to own those businesses in our community.”

Its unnerving and frustrating for many parents to think that part of raising their sons to be men is ensuring they know how not get killed by the police. It’s particularly frustrating when those are the very people who are supposedly trained to protect them.

“Someone needs to teach these cops how to respond to us. It’s a lot of police both Black and white, who are afraid of us. This is what the Captain has been saying down there in Ferguson – you have to have a relationship with the people. Cops used to walk the beat and we actually touched the cops, talked to the cops and sat down on a park bench with the cops. That’s part of the problem we’re having right now. This occoupation down there it’s like the Keystone cops nonsense down there. Mad love to the protestors. People don’t want to be invisible. When you’re invisible the only thing you can do is protest. That is the voice of the power and that’s what you see happening right now.”

Baisden understand the pain Black men face every day. That’s why he’s taking his book turned stage play Men Cry In The Dark II on the road. He’ll be auditioning at the Family Reunion with Leah Daniels IYes, Lee’s sister)  and is searching for unknowns as well as experienced actors.

“If you’re an unknown it doesn’t matter. I was an unknown radio personality I was an unknown author so you have to know I’m going to be promoting unknowns.”

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REGISTER NOW for the 2014 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion taking place August 28- September 1, 2014 in Orlando, Florida! For booking information visit here.

Michael Baisden Is Coming To The 2014 Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion, Talks Mentoring Young Men, Casting For New Play  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com