Archive of Living Your Truth Forums
October 12, 2023
Speakers: Brandon Fish is the Director of Community Relations for the Charleston Jewish Federation
and Damon Lamar Fordham

Brandon Fish is the Director of Community Relations for the Charleston Jewish Federation, where his work revolves around advocacy, government affairs, and intergroup relations. Since 2017, he has served the Jewish community and the Charleston community at large through the development of collaborative fresh food distribution programs in food deserts, building meaningful intergroup relationships, and expanding Jewish communal consensus-based advocacy. In 2018, Fish helped found the Stamp Out Hate SC Coalition to advance hate crimes legislation in South Carolina, and currently sits on the Boards of several issue-based statewide coalitions and the Charleston Interreligious Council. In addition to local work, Brandon serves on the Policy Advisory Committee for the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Prior to his work in the Jewish community, Fish was an active advocate and organizer for a number of grassroots Charleston organizations, including being a founding member of Charleston’s first Black Lives Matter organization.
Damon Lamar Fordham was born in Spartanburg, SC on December 23, 1964 to Anne Montgomery and was adopted by Pearl and Abraham Fordham of Mt. Pleasant, SC the following year. He received his Master’s Degree in history from the College of Charleston and the Citadel, and his undergraduate degrees at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He is currently an adjunct professor of World Civilizations, United States, and African-American History at Charleston Southern University and The Citadel in Charleston, SC and has taught US History and African-American Studies at the College of Charleston. He was a weekly columnist for the Charleston Coastal Times from 1994 to 1998, as well as the author of The 1895 Segregation Fight in South Carolina (Charleston: History Press, 2022), Mr. Potts and Me (Charleston: Evening Post Books, 2012) Voices of Black South Carolina-Legend and Legacy (Charleston: History Press, 2009), True Stories of Black South Carolina (Charleston: History Press, 2008) and coauthor of Born to Serve-The Story of the WBEMC in South Carolina in 2006.
Research and articles by Mr. Fordham appear in the books Sweetgrass Baskets and the Gullah Tradition by Joyce Coakley, South of Main by Beatrice Hill and Brenda Lee, The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore for the University of Missouri Press, Cecil Williams and Sonny DuBose’s Orangeburg 1968, and The Malcolm X Encyclopedia for the University of Southern Mississippi Press in 2001. He has also commented on history and storytelling for numerous radio and television programs in the United States, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. He was on a ten day tour of Senegal and Gambia, West Africa, with fellow educators where he spoke to students at the University of The Gambia and toured the Slave Posts and Goree Island in May 2022 .
He has also appeared on the NBC LX News in 2022. He conducts a walking tour called “The Lost Stories of Black Charleston, and has received a citation form the South Carolina House of Representatives for his work in education, historical research, and social justice. His motto is Educate yourself to lead yourself, for if you wait on others to show you the way, you will wait for a long time.
April 26, 2022
Speakers: North Charleston City Council Member Virginia W. Jameson
and Former Charleston City Council Member Carol Jackson

Council Member Virginia Jamison. Native of North Charleston, SC Educated in the Charleston County Public Schools. She pursued her higher education from the Community College of the Air Force; and the Trident Technical College, she studied at the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. She knows that “education is a possession; which man cannot be robbed”.
A 1963 Graduated of Bonds Wilson High School in North Charleston, SC; Ms. Jamison Served in the US Army from 1964 to 1968. Upon completion of recruit training at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, Ms. Jamison attended the Medical Corpsman School in Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Permanent duty assignment over the next four years consisting of two years at Ft Monroe, Virginia, one year at Fitzsimmons General Hospital, Colorado, one year at Ft Jackson, SC. During her Army Service she obtained the rank of Specialist E- 5. She also gained certification as a Cardiology Specialist. Ms. Jamison is serving in her 2nd term on North Charleston City Council. She pledges to address infrastructure issues, adherence to the comprehensive development plan for District 3, police sustainability through training and increase diversity, communication and inclusion of all citizens of these communities.
Ms. Jamison is the mother of two adult daughters: Felicia Lecque US Army Retired & Thayer Lecque (Deceased). She has one Granddaughter (Lady Kennedy).
Former Council Member Carol Jackson is a retired non-profit executive and served the National Trust for Historic Preservation as Director of Administration when she first came to Charleston in support of NTHP’s Regional Office establishment as a vital step in the redevelopment of Upper King Street in the 1980’s. She served, first as a Board volunteer, and later as Executive Director for her local Northern Virginia community’s non-profit housing organization. Non-profit housing and community development have defined the latter years of her management career. She was most recently the Director of Alexandria Housing Development Corporation in Virginia prior to retiring and moving fulltime and permanently to Charleston, where she and her husband first became property owners in 2002. She currently works for friends and family in Residential Real Estate Sales for Charleston Real Estate Group, is a volunteer for Charleston WaterKeeper, and an active member of a number of local organizations.
Upcoming (Date TBD)
Speakers: Mayor Steve Benjamin
and Mayor Joseph. P.Riley, Jr.
Moderated by Dwayne Green

September 2021
Speakers: C. Edward Rawl, Jr.
and Dr. Tommy Preston, Jr.
Moderated by Dwayne Green

TOMMY PRESTON, JR. Vice President Ethics Law & Global Compliance, The Boeing Company – Tommy Preston, Jr. is the vice president of Ethics at The Boeing Company, where he leads a team of global professionals focused on articulating, amplifying and embedding the company’s values across the enterprise. The Ethics organization also ensures efficient and trusted reporting mechanisms and a strong anti-retaliation policy; works with senior leadership to foster a speak up culture through messaging and employee engagement; and embeds ethics advisors across Boeing business units and sites to identify risk areas, reinforce expectations of ethical behavior and provide bespoke guidance to employees. Preston is also co-chair of the company’s Racial Equity Task Force, and collaborates with stakeholders to advance key measures of equity, diversity and inclusion within the company.
C. EDWARD RAWL, JR. Senior Counsel, Boeing South Carolina – C. Edward Rawl, Jr. is a Senior Counsel at The Boeing Company in its Labor, Employment & Benefits Law Group. He works on a wide range of labor and employment matters related to strategy, counseling and advice, union avoidance, and litigation across the Boeing enterprise with a geographic focus in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia, supporting Boeing Commercial, Defense, and Services businesses. Prior to joining Boeing in 2016, Edward was a partner at Fisher Phillips LLP in Columbia, South Carolina. Edward is a member of Boeing’s 20-member Racial Equity Task Force advising the Company’s CEO and Executive Counsel on matters related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, driving systemic improvements across the enterprise.
November 2020
Speakers: Ralph Dawson
and Henry Smythe
Moderated by Dwayne Green

Ralph enjoyed and participated in the stimulating academic environment at Yale, and he also became a campus activist, participating in the establishment of the first African-American Studies Major at a leading American institution. He was also the leader of the Black Student Alliance at Yale (“BSAY”) during the tumultuous period known as “May Day 1970,” when New Haven, Connecticut and Yale were the site of a major murder trial involving the Black Panther Party, and a series of protests against the Vietnam War. The BSAY played a crucial role in keeping the peace on the campus, generating support for the conduct of a fair trial for the Black Panthers, and encouraging Yale to embrace its civic responsibilities to the New Haven Community.
With an AV rating by the Martin Hubbell Law Directory, Smythe has been named as a Leader in his field of Litigation by Chambers USA as well as Defendants Lawyer of the Year in 2013 by The Best Lawyers in America. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the South Carolina Bar Association where he has served as a past president. A certified mediator, he is a member in the Product Liability Advisory Council, Sport and Fitness Industry Association, American Board of Trial Advocates, American Counsel Association, Defense Research Institute-Products Section, Litigation Counsel of America, SC Defense Trial Attorneys Association, and World’s Leading Product Liability Lawyers.
A former Charleston City Council member from 1992-1996, Smythe currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International African American Museum and the Saul Alexander Foundation. He served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Coastal Community Foundation from 1988-1991, where he was a board member from 1985-1991 and 1999-2005. He has also served on the boards of the College of Charleston Foundation and Spoleto Festival, USA. A member of the Leadership South Carolina Class of 1982, he also served as the Town Attorney for the Town of Sullivan’s Island from 1977-1978.
June 2020
“A Focus on Youth Social Justice”
Speakers: Students Maya Green
and Courtney White
Moderated by Lavonda Brown.

September 2019
Speakers: Dr. Thaddeus Bell
and Dr. Chanita Hughes-Halbert
Moderated by Adam Parker of Post and Courier.

In 1980 he cofounded the Elijah Wright Cross-Family Health Center, a free clinic for the underserved people in the rural community of Cross, SC. He was the only physician in Cross for 10 years. The Cross-health center is now a part of the Franklin C. Fetter health network a federally funded center which Dr. Bell assisted in making happen.
Dr. Bell joined the faculty of MUSC in 1993, serving as Associate Dean for Minority Affairs in the College of Medicine for 17 years (1993-2010). Dr. James B Edwards (President of MUSC) appointed Dr. Bell Director of the University’s Office of Diversity in 1996, a position he held until 2004. In those positions, he created many programs to improve the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of African American students at MUSC.
During his tenure at MUSC as a student, faculty member, and administrator Dr. Bell became very disturbed about the apparent disparities in health at MUSC, South Carolina and the nation. Theses disparities were apparent to him his entire journey throughout his career
He was inspired to address health disparities in South Carolina and focused on health literacy in the black community. To that end, he found Closing the Gap in Health Care (CGHC), which is a non-profit organization aimed at decreasing health disparities by providing health education for African Americans and other underserved populations. He began to address the health issues of African Americans in health seminars, lectures, barber and beauty shops, and health fairs. throughout the state of South Carolina. Radio commercials were suggested to reach a larger target audience.
The Closing the Gap in Health Care Inc is the parent organization for Thaddeus John Bell Endowed Scholarship for African American Students at MUSC through the Community Foundation of Charleston and has an endowed scholarship which will be given to a student in perpetuity. This scholarship is already assisting African Americans students in the health care professions. The Low Country Jazz Festival helps to raise funds for the scholarship, and in 2012, this event was voted one of the top 20 festivals in the South.

May 2019
Speakers: Dr. Melvin Brown
and Dr. Andrew Savage
Moderated by Dwayne Green.


January 2019
Speakers: Mrs. Melissa Maddox-Evans, JD
and Rev. Bill Stanfield
Moderated by Amanda Lawrence.


November 2018
Speakers: Mayor John Tecklenberg
and Dr.Damon Ford
Moderated by Ms. Marion Gill
October 2018
Speakers: Senator Marlon Kimspon
and Rep Peter McCoy
Moderated by Madeleine McGee
September 2018
Speakers: Rev. Dr. Kylon Middleton
and Mr. Thomas Tisdale, J.D.
Moderated by Dr. Roof
May 2018
Speakers: Mr. Darrin Goss
and Mr. Brian Duffey
Moderated by Rita Scott
March 2018
Speakers: Rev. Dr. Kylon Middleton
and Mr. Thomas Tisdale, J.D.
Moderated by Dr. Roof
January 2018
Speakers: Mrs. Lucille Whipper
and Ms. Linda Ketner,
Moderated by Patricia Williams-Lessane

November 2017
Speakers: Dr. Millicent Brown
and Mr. Armand Derfner
Moderated by KJ Kearney
May and September 2017
Speakers: Mrs. Lucille Whipper
and Ms. Linda Ketner
Moderated by Patricia Williams-Lessane
