3 Keys for Your Journey
Business and Community Leaders sharing key principles.
3 Keys for Your Journey
Revitalizing Communities: Honoring Heritage Through Purpose and Collaboration with Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.
What if revitalizing a neighborhood could honor its past while paving the way for a brighter future? Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. , co-founder of Northeast Oklahoma City Renaissance www.neokcr.org, joins us to share his remarkable journey from Little Rock to Oklahoma City, tackling the challenges of urban decline and drug epidemics along the way. Dr. Hughes opens up about how his experiences in historically Black neighborhoods have shaped his ethical approach to development and revitalization, offering invaluable insights into balancing investment with cultural preservation and mentoring minority enterprises.
Ever wonder how to find your guiding North Star in life? We explore the powerful interplay between self-reflection, purpose, and community. Hear firsthand how stepping out of comfort zones led to a transformative career shift from education to community development and venture capital. Learn the importance of a supportive "tribe" that aligns with your purpose, and how life's adversities can reveal hidden strengths. Our conversation underscores the critical role of finding a community that resonates with your vision, ultimately leading to greater personal and collective impact.
Imagine leveraging the power of collaboration like the Avengers. Our discussion highlights the necessity of building resilience and embracing disequilibrium for both personal and professional growth. Using continuous learning and self-reflection, discover how biographies and written reflections can serve as mentors on your journey. Finally, uncover the mission of Northeast Renaissance, focusing on economic development, real estate, and access to capital to unlock community potential. Tune in for an enlightening conversation that challenges you to contribute to a thriving future for your community.
Thank you for listening! YouTube - @3KeysforYourJourney -Tune in for a new episode every Sunday. Connect with us at www.ocfo.info
In this conversation, purpose-driven leadership and community innovation take the spotlight. Dr Quentin Hughes, senior father, husband, co-founder of Northeast Oklahoma City Renaissance, is a passionate advocate for ethical place-based development. From creating vibrant community spaces like Kindred Spirits to mentoring minority enterprises and entrepreneurs and driving innovation in Oklahoma City, he will share stories and strategies that will empower change and inspire action. Join me as we explore the keys to building stronger communities and a brighter future.
Speaker 2:Are you ready to unlock your potential? Tune in to Three Keys for your Journey podcast, where business owners share invaluable insights and empowering strategies to guide you towards success. Based in Oklahoma City, our host, greg T Jones, will inspire and motivate you every week. Get ready to join our conversation as we build community together.
Greg Jones:All right, we have the one and only Dr Q in the house. Sir, yes, sir.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:And how you doing sir.
Greg Jones:I'm doing well, wow, I'm doing well you got a big smile. Listeners can't see you, man, but I can see you. You got the big smile on your face today, man. Okay, so, uh, quinn and I go back quite a ways wow, quite a ways. Uh, I know 10 plus years. I should. I guess I should think about. I should think about my sons when we first uh got hired by the huses for lawn care. My sons are 19. I'm thinking at least 10 years ago. It's been at least 10 years, at least 10.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Yeah, for sure.
Greg Jones:Well, man, we're glad to have you on Three Keys for your Journey podcast today, and it's going to be a great conversation because, man, you are one of the folks in Oklahoma City that people look to as a leader.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:That's crazy, that's crazy, that's crazy man.
Greg Jones:It's crazy, but it's true. And so, man, you're not only a I mentioned in the intro a father, husband and co-founder of a wonderful organization man, but also a business owner. And so, for folks that do not know who you are, introduce yourself.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Yeah, man, thank you for having me on. I've been waiting for my chance. I was smiling because I got to hear the intro music and everything and I was like, okay, it got me pumped up to talk. Got me pumped up to talk. But yeah, man, I was originally born in Little Rock, arkansas, 80s.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Baby Grew up during a time where there was a lot of negative attention on my town and positive attention as well. On the one end you had the Banging in Little Rock documentary that so many black folks know us for, and then you had, you know, bill Clinton President. Bill Clinton, you know, coming out of Little Rock who was our governor of the state of Arkansas and then becoming the president. So you kind of had those two storylines coming up coming out of the 90s. But yeah, during that time, you know, my community was being kind of ravaged by the drug epidemic Little Rock's kind of the middle of the country, so a lot of trafficking and things of that nature. But also at the same time there was a lot of joy, things of that nature. But also at the same time there was a lot of joy, I think, for me in the way that I grew up. But you got to see, you know, neighborhoods that once thrived. You got to see them deteriorating over time. So I spent a lot of time in Boys and Girls Club. That's where I went after school because my mom worked and so Boys and Girls Clubs are typically in the middle of a black neighborhood. That's deteriorating. So we got to, you know, we would go walk the streets, buy candy from the corner store and see, you know, gang members, crackheads, fights, things of that nature, and it got to be a bit ubiquitous, like it was. You know, members, crackheads, fights, things of that nature, and it got to be a bit ubiquitous, like it was. You know, it was so commonplace, um.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:But then kind of grew up and um went off to uh, came to oklahoma, um, to go to college. I had a scholarship to come here and over time I would go back home, you know, for breaks and such. I say I stayed here to do my bachelor's and then my master's and so I would continue to go back and forth home through those programs and I would see changes, you know, in those neighborhoods that I came from. At the same time, similar changes I could see in black community and well, in communities in Oklahoma City, you know, as a college student, the place where we can go find black culture was the city, was Oklahoma City. We called it the city, and so we would go to hang out at clubs or you know, that's where you would find a barbershop and things of that nature, and so the east side didn't it. You know, the east side was very familiar.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Because of that. You know, the east side of Oklahoma City felt like, in many ways felt like home. It's where a lot of churches were. You know, that's where some clubs and stuff were, and that's kind of way it was in Little Rock as well, and so, um, you used to, you would start to, um, you know, see changes happening and you know investment happening in Oklahoma City. And then I go back home and I'd see investment happening in Little Rock and, uh, the communities that were that were black, or you know that close to downtown, were changing. Um, they were being invested in and we just called that gentrification. Um, and I, I would also have the opportunity to travel to different communities and other places as a grad school student, going to conferences and I would be like near downtowns, and it felt like the same type of thing was happening, happening there as well.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:So I just kind of started to have this, wondering about what it you know, you know well, first of noticing that, hey, these communities that are being invested in either, you know, once we're black and are no longer, once were black and are no longer, and so I started to wonder what would it look like?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:You know, what would it be like to live in a community where that was being invested in, that remained black, right, and so that stayed with me for a while. I used to ask my mom stories about her growing up and things of that nature and so kind of fantasize about what it would be like to be in a middle class. You know black neighborhood, you know what I mean and you know go into business sectors and see, you know, in commercial corridors and see thriving black businesses and things of that nature. So anyway, that kind of set the stage for what I ended up, what I'm doing now, and you know it created, you know, a curiosity in me and a desire for me to act upon, kind of that, those wonderings that I had. And so so, yeah, I, I I've been in Oklahoma City now 24. I've been in Oklahoma now like 20, 20, well, coming up on 25 years.
Greg Jones:Wow man.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Yeah, met my beautiful bride Sasha and, you know, have a family of three kids, and so I'm a, I'm a Sooner, yeah, I'm an Okie, right, wow, yeah, I'm an Okie. I've been here. I've been here since college and I've met, you know, lifelong friends, not only in college but after, and so I'm rooted and now I'm doing work which I'm sure we'll kind of touch on. I'm doing the type of work that I dreamed about. You know, whenever, whenever I started to have those early one wonderings now, with Northeast Renaissance as the executive director.
Greg Jones:So just thinking about your three keys, what are three keys that have been most impactful to you when you think about your journey?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Finding your purpose Right and then focusing on living a purposeful life Right, right, I'd say, finding my tribe has been my community of you know, yeah, my community Right, like minded individuals, just people that you that I want to pour into me and that I want to pour into into me and that, um, I want to pour into um.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:I say within that that would contain like mentors and stuff like that as well. So I don't want to uh, separate out cause I got so many maybe keys that could come to mind, but, um, I've been really focused lately on um, like my own mastery in evolution, like self mastery in evolution, and so like truly, truly understanding myself and my ability to reflect and identify and process my thoughts, feelings, emotion, and Respond versus versus like reacting and you know, and so that's been. I think that's been a really relevant you know key here lately as well, and you know, part of that is really a thirst for knowledge, is within that, in a growth mindset. So I'm trying to couch like a bunch of keys into my keys, which is, you know how I can be sometimes.
Greg Jones:No, it's good. I think what I'm hearing, with the three that you've at least named and the attributes around that a lot of self-inflection, which probably helps define purpose helps you understand why your tribe is so important and what, what all that means to growth as yourself, as a person. I mean, I'm trying to think about summarizing that a little bit, but just thinking about how all those interrelate. They're separate, but how they interrelate with one another. So talk a little bit about purpose. When you think about purpose, what are the things that come to your mind?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:No, I think it's the answer. It's like the answer to the reason why I exist. You know what I mean? Um, I do.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:I do believe that, um, we, that, uh, a major part of our purpose and some may say, like our only purpose is, uh, here, is to serve, right, um, but then, like, there's unpacking that like how am I supposed to serve? You know what I'm saying? Um, how am I supposed to contribute to the world? And so, um, so, yeah, that's how I think about purpose and and it's it's instrumental to me is because it, it creates, um, it can provide like guidance for you. You know what I mean and I'm searching for words, but it helps you kind of know what you're trying to accomplish, and so, yeah, it sets a huge goal for you and it sounds like those guy rails and it gives you, it gives you that North Star, and so you see a lot of people, a lot of people, I think, a lot of us, who aren't fortunate enough to have found what that is struggle, you know, struggle to know what it is they want to do in life.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:You know what I'm saying, and so it's really a blessing, I think, to be able to find that, to be able to find that, um, yeah, because you know, to find that reason for existence, because at least it doesn't leave you floundering and you know, in like an exploration phase for an extended amount of time and when you think because the set one of the second things you talked about was your tribe how do you see that interrelate to kind of what you were just talking about?
Greg Jones:as you start thinking about your tribe and the importance of even having a tribe?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Oh, absolutely, um, you know, I know in the third one I talk a lot about self, but, um, you know it's. I think it's important to build self to the extent of like, the ability to be interdependent. You know what I'm saying. And so, when it comes to a tribe and how it connects to purpose, is that you know when you're, when you're like walking in purpose, then you're going to be navigating in spaces. You're more likely to be navigating in spaces where you're going to be interacting with people you know what I'm saying that are of like mind. You know what I'm saying.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Or you're you know, at some point you're going to be able to find people of like purpose, right, and so that can help you, you know, build that community but also help you discern you know what people you want to that you should allow in your circle. You know what I'm saying, cause you, um, you're able to know whether or not, like, these people are going to help you further that purpose or not. You know what I'm saying, um, so it's kind of it creates like this litmus test that you get to use for determining, like, what your next move is, what people are going to be in your life, what kind of roles you're going to, what kind of jobs you're going to take. You know what I'm saying. All of those types of things.
Greg Jones:It seems like, as you're talking and I'm thinking, imagining this is that it's a process and it's over time and I'm sure in your life you've had a lot of bumps along the way. Absolutely, tell us about sometimes how those bumps also help you really understand purpose and this interdependence.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:Um, so those bumps that is I'm going to call adversity are, are almost like tests, right, and so, um, they will teach you about yourself you know what I'm saying and, uh, sometimes about others, um, so, yes, so they'll teach you about yourself and they'll uh a lot of times like, I guess, overcoming them um will, uh, will, show you what you can do, like what's possible, um, for you, uh, that you, that you can overcome, and it helps you to build a level of confidence, helps you to build a level of confidence, it helps you to build that level of independence you know of agency. You know what I mean, and so, and that translates to other opportunities. So, specifically, you know, there was a time I took a risk and left. You know I was an educator for about a decade. I worked in education, which I didn't mention in the story, but I made it so long already I couldn't add that to it. So I spent about a decade in education, which was safe, and I felt it was purposeful in terms of my bigger vision for what I want to accomplish. However, I thought that I could have more impact in the community development space if I could be full time in that space, and so I had an opportunity to go out and work in the private sector for an organization I had an opportunity to like build a fund which would be like an impact fund, that would support, like community development efforts for, like this venture capital company, which I had no background in finance or anything like that. And so I did it.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:I took that leap and I worked in that capacity for a little bit over a year, and every bit of that year was challenging. Every bit of that year was a challenge and a struggle because there was so much that I had to learn, like there was so much, and I think they purposefully let me flounder, because that was that was. You know what was going to create the disequilibrium. You know the it was going to create that equilibrium. You know the it was going to create that and that's exactly what it did, you know. So I, I built, I had to, you know, use resources, either in that place or externally, my relationships, whatever to put together something that I had never done before, whether it was a great product or not. Um, I did it and I would have to randomly present to people, you know pitch it, and they would tear it up and give me, you know, give me critical feedback and things of that nature.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:But at the end of that experience, it let me know that it was that I could do it like that I could stand there and take those, you know, take those hits, and that I would be resilient, take those hits and that I would be resilient. You know what I mean. And it gave me confidence. It gave me the confidence to take the next step, right. And so, yeah, so, like I was, I was independent in that opportunity, but at the same time, well, I think I displayed interdependence when I utilized those resources, when I tapped into those resources to support my effort, right. And then the confidence that it built, I think, set me up to be more of an independent force, right, that could contribute to the broader movement right of other partners. And so that's where the interdependence goes. So now I could play a critical role.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:You know what I'm saying. Regardless, I can get things done by myself, but now it's like knowing um is now I put. You know my production, you know I, I, we grow the pride by adding my production to the production of the next person who can, who can, contribute at that level as well, and so, and that's kind of what we see at Northeast Renaissance. You know it's like. You know, interdependence is like the Avengers, you know what I'm saying. Or the Justice League that's interdependence. Like Wonder Woman can do her own thing, you know what I'm saying. But when you're facing intergalactic evils like OK, we're going to come together you know what I'm saying To to defeat this, this power, because our powers combined are you know what I mean are going to be obviously multiplied. You know what I'm saying to the extent that that needs to be in order to defeat this foe or whatever that is. So that's kind of how I see interdependence. And you know those challenges is like that kind of like that crucible that you go through to build your character, to build those muscles of resilience and to build those skills that are needed to be transferable. Like I would not if I didn't have to build that fund. It would be a lot harder for me to struggle through developing a budget. You know what I'm saying as an ED, and not that I can just do it easily. You know what I'm saying as an ED, and not that I can just do it easily. You know what I mean, but I'm confident that I can because I had to struggle through building a pro forma you know what I'm saying for that fund.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:So I do a lot of listening to books. I'm not as much of a reader of physical books, but I maybe listen on average to a book a week, right, and because I'm constantly I'm thirsting for knowledge that will support my continued evolution as a, as a human Right, as a leader, as a husband. You know what I'm saying, um, and so you know I. I think I listened to one book say that um talk about the value of, of reading Um, and it talked about um biographies specifically. It's like reading biographies is like being mentored by the greats, right, and then, but there's also been more recently, I do like a written self-reflection most days of the week, where I'm thinking about yesterday and I might go deep onto a topic and really introspectively think about what that means, or even like my action. You know what I'm saying Like. Why did I do that? Could it be because of this? You know what I'm saying, um, because this happened a long time ago and you know, is this, why is this a trigger? And so they also. A book also said um reflections. Um, like writing reflection is like mentoring yourself. You know what I mean and so you know, I think, definitely, like I think I think the question was, you know, kind of expanded upon you know self, self evolution and self leadership. I think those are those have been some really key elements to my, my growth here lately, and so you know, I think the In this, in this work of community development, northeast Renaissance focuses on, you know, economic development, real estate development and then access to capital, and we see those as like, as like three priorities that will support community revitalization from within.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:And there are ways that there are some surface ways that you can kind of look at those, and so I read more materials that are related to it, so that I can get at depth you know what I mean so I can get more at depth, whether that be economics or that be the, the biography of a city or of a community similar to ours, or case studies and things of that nature.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:To really try to get in the minds of others, um, learn from their successes and their mistakes as well, to um, so that we have the benefit, um as an organization and as a community, of uh, of those insights you know what I'm saying, um, and to really ensure and check ourselves and check our assumptions about whether or not, um, you know, we can do things better. You know what I mean, and so I think that's what that. That's really what that self-evolution piece is about is about you know, being able to step outside of yourself and analyze your own thoughts and even get to the point where you can begin to anticipate you know what I'm saying? Um, and kind of project wisdom. Rather than it being more of a uh, uh, it can be more of a leading indicator than a lagging indicator.
Greg Jones:You know what I mean. Well, I love, uh, you know, everything you're you're talking about today, I think gives such a um key insights. Because my mind went back to thinking historically. We think about you know, your parents, grandparents, you think about your lineage, so to speak. But then you can think the same way in terms of communities and then you know I've had recently the opportunity over the years to go to other places you know, outside the country, country and it feels like in a lot of other places you always get a sense of where you are. Particularly when you're in these other other places you get a sense of what happened 30, 40, 50, 100 years ago and oftentimes in underserved communities.
Greg Jones:A lot of that historical perspective is lost, and what I mean by that, when I'm tying that together, is the evolution of, is a mindset, and so I didn't realize how much of my parents' mindset I just inherited and how much, probably, of their mindset they inherited from their parents. They inherited from their parents. So if I'm not constantly seeking to learn and pour into and research and have perspective and dig things out, my perspective will be passed on to my kids. I'm not saying that all things are bad, but there are a lot of things that, because of that, mindset and perspective need to be different. And if I want something different for myself, I'm also passing that on to my children as well. They can have something different. Our community can have something different. So the last thing I always ask, quentin, is most people ask me like how?
Speaker 2:do I get?
Greg Jones:And I heard this guy you had on the podcast, Dr Quentin. How do we get in contact with him? How do we learn more about the organizations with him? How do we learn more about the organizations he went? How do we learn more about what he's doing? So what would you pass on as some information if somebody is trying to figure out how they can get in contact with?
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:you All right With Northeast Renaissance if you want you know, if you want to learn more about our organization is Northeast OKC Renaissance Inc. You can go to our website to learn more. That's N-E-O-K-C-R dot O-R-G. We are also on most major social media platforms, as at N-E-O-K-C-R, and that's Instagram, I believe Facebook as well. We are also on LinkedIn.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:I want to plus on what you said, greg, about. You know that generational, you know kind of those generate that uh power. I think it was uh intentionally suppressed, um, to the extent that by the time we showed, we showed up, we we have, no, we don't know what our true power is and the you know the system that was created to suppress it. They know full well. I think I think the folks that created this stuff knew full well with what the potential is, and so so much about I think the self evolution.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:For me is um, unlocking, you know, uh, unlocking that latent power, that latent potential, and I think a lot about how as a person, as an organization, we can participate in helping others do that, and then that enables us to be us all, to be like contributors to the advancement of our own communities or our own culture, you know, through throughout the diaspora and so, yeah, you make a great point there. But that and that's where I feel like my purpose is. My contribution to this world is like I just want to see my people throughout the world thrive, and that changes a bit more the more I learn what thriving looks like. Whereas at one point it looked like economically, we had enough money, right. Well, now it doesn't look like that Like. You know, what does it look like to thrive holistically? You know what I mean, and so I think a lot about what my contribution can be to that.
Greg Jones:Man, I appreciate all of that. It feels like we're going to have a part two to this podcast. Yeah, man, we could dig in a whole lot more, but, man, I appreciate you stopping by being on the podcast. Again, dr Quinn Hughes, appreciate you so much, and so for all of our listening audience, again, we'll put that contact, information, websites, all that. That'll be in the informations. But when you tune in, you know, one of the things that I always ask is just something that you may have learned from our podcast. You know, take what you've learned and share it with somebody else. Quentin said it best, and we all got a tribe, a community around us, and we need each other. And so again, quentin said it best, and we all got a tribe, a community around us, and we need each other. And so again, quentin man, thank you so much for being here, thanks for having me.
Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr.:I don't think I went business the way I need.
Speaker 2:Thanks for joining Three Keys for your Journey. Tune in next time for another episode.
