23. The Next Generation of Social Justice, with Austin Smith

Austin Smith just graduated in the class of 2020 from Bexley High School. He will be attending Ohio State University this fall to study biology and Spanish with a focus on pre-med. He’s also passionate about investing, specifically in stocks and real estate. This summer he plans to intern to learn more about the medical field.

During these past few weeks, he’s been involved with numerous peaceful protests in downtown Columbus. Going to these protests made Austin feel like people were there for him, and he wanted more people to experience that feeling. He began organizing his own peaceful protests, which eventually led to the founding of the Bexley Anti-Racism Project which is completely run by Bexley graduates.

What Brett asks:

• [02:18] Can you share with us what your early childhood looked like?
• [03:44] Is being a leader just part of your DNA?
• [09:49] How were you supported, or not supported, at Bexley?
• [12:37] What was it like being a black man at Bexley and what led you to found this anti-racism project there?
• [16:18] What is the dialogue between sports versus academics in the African-American community?
• [22:28] What has the murder of George Floyd felt like for you?
• [25:22] Do you think it’s possible that people will start to understand the fear Black people live with every day in this country?
• [27:33] Can you talk about any actionable steps we need to be taking as a country?
• [41:24] What are your thoughts on defunding the police?
• [44:46] Is there anything else that needs to be said that we should talk about?
• [47:07] Where is your head at when thinking about your future?

To learn more about intentional living, and for the complete show notes, visit: gravityproject.com

Resources:

• Instagram: instagram.com/the_a_boy
• Snapchat: austindaabeast

Gravity is a production of Crate Media