Keith Strickland is the president and CEO of Making the Transition Inc., an organization committed to providing services for youth to stay safe, out avoid violence and continue their education. Strickland received an honorary doctorate degree for his work in the community and dedication to the advancement of youth at Carver Bible College, and the obstacles he faced to get here.
Strickland talks with rolling out about his journey, his experience being incarcerated, and offers advice on keeping Black youth out of the line of fire..
Tell us about your journey of getting your PhD.
I just celebrated being honored in being given a doctorate for my work in the community at Carver Bible College. You look at George Washington Carver and all the sacrifices he made so that we can have the right to be able to have enterprises and to be able to even sell our own goods. It made me look at how much has been done in my life just so I can get here, and speaking of getting here, that was a journey. I was just asked to speak to the seniors at my high school and the crazy thing about it is, I went back to my high school with a PhD, but I left my high school as a convicted felon.
I was locked up with 80 dime bags of weed at my high school and was expelled. I never made it out of the ninth grade. After that, I went directly into the streets and had a career run as a criminal, serving about five years in total. I had 14 felony convictions. I just look over the course of when it started. 1999 was the year I was supposed to come out of high school and the year I caught my first felony. Then you look at 2022, I have my Ph.D. and I own a national company. A lot of people can’t see how that transition can come and why it’s so regular for people like us.
How can we keep the Black youth out of bad situations?
I think it’s these stories that you need to tell them. Let them know to stop listening to the stuff they’re hearing in music, because they’re not telling you their side. By the grace of God, I went into facilities already having a name because I had big homies who went before me, so I never had issues.
My daughter died while I was incarcerated, and they told me I couldn’t go to the funeral because they didn’t need another n—- at the funeral. But that’s what they got the right to do to you because you’re property. If you’re a Black person and you made it out of the hood, go back to the hood and talk about how you made it out. Open up a door.
