Dear Readers,

Though born into an affluent family, Bryan did not get to enjoy the privilege of being raised in a prestigious black family. He was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and his grandfather was a prominent medical doctor. The family’s children attended private schools.

However, his mother, years before Bryan’s birth, had become pregnant and eloped with the father of the child. This new husband was not accepted by the wealthy educated family; he was not of the same class, Bryan explained. “This was an embarrassment to the family,” he said. They did assist in raising the baby, but the family patriarch told Bryan’s mother that if she had another child, that second baby would not be welcomed in the home. 

Eighteen months later, the young daughter gave birth to her second child. This little boy was Bryan Wade, who is now 63-years-old. Right after his birth, Bryan was placed in foster care. When child protective services checked on him, they found that during his first year, he had been malnourished and abused. The state pulled him from that house and placed him in a second foster home. For most of the next 17 years, these new people became his family. Reader, how were you greeted into this world?

In this foster home, Bryan said he lived with a dichotomy of parenting styles. He describes his foster father’s alcohol addiction and his foster mother’s religious fervor. “I saw my father’s abuse levied on my mother and on me,” he described. Bryan’s household did not welcome affection or tender words of love. He described two extremes; one gave him physical abuse and the other laid out emotional abuse.

Bryan was a “sickly child,” he said. He was in and out of hospitals often. He remembers spending time in a breathing tent. He would get out of bed and walk around the hospital and visit the other ill children to help make them feel better.  At age three, he was diagnosed with what families called “sugar”, or what we now know is diabetes. His mother took him to church every time the doors were open so the parishioners would pray for him, Bryan said. Six months later, when he went back to the doctors, they said he no longer had “sugar”.

Atypical of 3-year-old behavior, the family noticed that Bryan loved to watch the news and historical documentaries. “I remember that I looked forward to seeing Chet Huntley and David Brinkley on NBC news,” he said.

Bryan didn’t know that he was a foster child until he was eight years old. For a couple of years, he had been playing basketball with other kids. When they would get thirsty, he would go in one of his friend’s home to get a class of Kool-Aid. Every time he did this, the older woman in the house would see Bryan and get teary-eyed. Bryan would ask himself, “why did this lady cry every time she sees me?” One day the woman asked Bryan, “What is your last name? When were you born?” When he told her, she started crying again and introduced herself. She was his grandmother – the mother of his birth father. Unbeknownst to Bryan, the children he had been playing with were some of his cousins on that side of the family. This grandma had never seen him as a baby, and did not know what had happened to him. She said Bryan looked a lot like his birth father. Reader, are you able to tell your family’s story? What impact does it have on you?

By age nine, America was deep in the Vietnam war. Bryan would watch the news and wonder what he could do to help. With his foster mother’s raising, and, as he describes, my “strict Pentecostal, very ridged background”, Bryan thought his only option to help would be if he became a minister. “I saw that as a way of helping people,” he said.

In school, Bryan was a straight-A student. However, his foster parents were not actively involved in his education. It was not their nature, Bryan said. His foster father did menial labor work and his mother was busy babysitting other children and “doing hair in her kitchen,” he said. Their attention was not on Bryan’s school life.

As a child, Bryan remembers asking his foster father for a nickel. He was told, “you better get out and get a job because I’m not going to be giving you money.” Bryan said that was not the answer he wanted, but years later he can see that it helped him to build resiliency, and as Bryan describes, “one of the best gifts his foster dad gave him.” Reader, what is a value you learned from your family’s dynamics?

 

When he was 11, Bryan would hang out at the door to the local grocery store. As customers exited, Bryan would step up to make his money. “I would offer to help people carry their groceries back to their home,” he said. He also had his first “official” job when he began delivering newspapers in his neighborhood. “I was basically taking care of myself by the age of 13,” Bryan said. He bought his own clothes and school supplies. His foster family provided a roof over his head, but it was not a nurturing homelife.

In middle school, Bryan’s grades dropped. A guidance counselor recognized Bryan’s potential and wanted to inspire him to improve his grades. He asked Bryan to start thinking about college. Initially, Bryan wasn’t interested. However, that weekend he watched the 1970 Stanford vs. Arkansas football game. In the pre-game interviews, Jim Plunket’s life was highlighted. Jim was a quarterback who attended the prestigious Stanford University. The story captured Bryan’s attention. That day, when Stanford beat their rivals with a score of 34 to 28, Bryan had made up his mind. He felt a connection to this Stanford quarterback. Like Bryan, the Plunket family didn’t have a lot of money. Similarly, Jim also held odd jobs from a very early age. Bryan learned that Jim entered Stanford on a scholarship. Who inspired you, Reader?

That next week, back in school, when the guidance counselor asked Bryan if he had thought about college, Bryan said, “I want to go to Stanford.” This was not the answer the counselor expected, however he encouraged Bryan to improve his grades. He was pleased that something had sparked an interest in Bryan to further his education.

Bryan had a knack for music. In his youth he played the oboe, French horn, baritone, tuba and various other instruments. Later in life, he also learned the bass and drums. Bryan describes his skill as a “jack-of-all-trades but a master of none.” Throughout his high school years, he played in the band and was on the football team at Harrisburg High. Sadly, staying true to his family’s history, on graduation day, Bryan stood alone looking around at all the other students hugging and celebrating with their families. Yet, for Bryan, no one attended. “It was an emotional trauma,” he said.  He can now look back and see the cycle of abandonment he would feel for most of his life.

Considering his options of college or the Navy, Bryan decided to enlist. “I thought it would be good structure for me,” he said. Also, in the 70s, it would allow him to use the GI Bill which was a program that provided various benefits for returning veterans such as paying for college costs.

He took his first plane ride to Orlando, Florida for boot camp. Next, he was stationed in Philadelphia, and six months later he attended a communications school in San Diego, California. For several months, he learned the configurations for code communications used in the military. One of the highlights of his time on the west coast was when he spent a weekend visiting Stanford University, a place that gave him much inspiration from childhood and into his future.  It was November 9, 1976, and he was able to visit the campus and attend a USC vs Stanford football game.

Then, Bryan traveled to York, PA, to visit his girlfriend. Afterwards, he left from Philadelphia for a tour of duty that required him to travel through Europe and into Naples, Italy. There, he boarded the U.S.S. California, a Navy ship where Bryan would serve for the next 2 ½ years. They traveled as far north as Norway, south on the African shores and east into the Mediterranean regions.

By the time Bryan completed his term of enlistment in 1979, he was married and his son was born. A year later, the couple had a daughter. Bryan and his wife lived in York and he completed several semesters at Lancaster Bible College. Then, he served a two-year stint with the Army National Guard. As well, for the next ten years, he worked fulltime for several different manufacturing companies. Each position allowed Bryan to develop more quality control skills of the equipment that was manufactured. Bryan honed his industrial knowledge of nuclear, aerospace and armed vehicle products.

Throughout that decade, while working in the manufacturing companies, Bryan was required to train some of his coworkers. Then, he would watch them moving up to higher positions, but Bryan was not offered the same advancement opportunities. By 1991, in one such company, coworkers left nooses on his desk. Notes telling him, “go back to Africa, monkey” were a part of his workday. A white colleague told Bryan that he would probably never be promoted “because we don’t like a black man telling a white man what to do.” All of this led to a lawsuit. However, the judge determined there was not enough evidence of discrimination.  Reader, how to you support non-discrimination practices in your company or volunteer work?

After the lawsuit, Bryan worked at a local hospital for a few months, and then became a homeschool liaison for the York City School district in York, Pennsylvania. By 1994, he was attending York College and working odd jobs, both at a part-time capacity. 

For the next several years, Bryan’s focus was in education: pursuing his undergraduate work and teaching in charter schools. While continuing his own college classes, Bryan held the position of music, physical education and art teacher for two years in a charter school in central Pennsylvania. Then, he was hired as the second-grade teacher in another charter school.

An idea sparked for Bryan, when in 1997, he attended a lecture by author, Andrew Hacker. The discussion was about the author’s book, Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile, Unequal. Hacker told the audience, “communities need to continue this conversation around race.” This lecture inspired Bryan to create a television program titled “Worlds Apart”.  Bryan became the executive producer, and the show first aired on York’s community access television station. Bryan said, “within nine months the program was seen commercially in different media markets.” The viewing audience primarily included Pennsylvania’s state capitol, Harrisburg and the surrounding mid-Atlantic region.  Reader, do you have an idea brewing that you have not yet brought to fruition? If so, what is your first step?

Discussing the mission of the program “Worlds Apart”, Bryan said, “I wanted to examine the social constructs, myths and stereotypes about race.” During the course of its publication, Bryan interviewed leaders from Stanford, Morehouse University and Drexel, to name a few. Bryan gave examples of some of the topics covered. “We discussed disparities in healthcare, the criminal justice system and education.” As well, in 2002, at Penn State’s Harrisburg campus, he held a gubernatorial dialogue about race.

That same year, Bryan graduated with an elementary education degree. This time, for his graduation, both his moms attended, as well as a small gathering of family and friends. He also remembers getting a hug from business leader, Tom Wolf. Mr. Wolf had been one of Bryan’s sponsors and sources of encouragement throughout Bryan’s college years. For those who recognize the name, Mr. Wolf later became Pennsylvania’s governor.

That school year, Bryan was invited to teach language and communication arts for grades 6, 7 and 8 for York City School district. Two years later, he took a sabbatical to focus on his television show and radio program. Then, by 2007, Bryan was divorced and moved to North Carolina. There he worked as a mental health specialist for at-risk youth ages 8 to 16. Then, a position opened for Bryan to get back into teaching. He taught a fifth-grade class.

Bryan wanted to continue to work in the education field. However, around this time, 2008, the country was in a financial housing recession and it was difficult for many to find work. For the next few years, in somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle, Bryan traveled to California, North Carolina and Kansas. In each place, he was finding it difficult to build a new life with stable employment. He eventually moved back to Pennsylvania and took a position as a teacher’s assistant in a York City middle school. Then he was offered a position in a school in Harrisburg. He became the director of curriculum for ages toddler through second grade. 

Next, he was invited to take on the position as ombudsman for the Harrisburg mayor’s cabinet. It was during a time when Harrisburg had elected its first woman and its first African American mayor. “Some people resented that,” Bryan said. For the six months that he held that role, he described it as the “most stressful job” he ever held. What job was most stressful for you, Reader? Why?

By spring of 2013, Bryan went back to work in a manufacturing plant, where he became a non-destructive tester for a York County company.  Then, for the next two years, he was assistant manager of a Walmart.

However, this all came to a halt. Bryan’s career sidelined when he had to get knee surgery. “Things started to go downhill,” Bryan said. His knee had weakened over the years, and the doctor said it was time to repair it with surgery. It was inconvenient and expensive. Like storm clouds on the horizon, Bryan’s medical bills loomed – becoming more ominous each day. Eventually, he couldn’t pay his rent or medical costs. “I ran out of money,” he said. He couldn’t keep his apartment, and he had to live in a homeless shelter.

In this challenging time, Bryan’s creative resiliency materialized. He had to focus on allowing his knee to heal and he had to find a place to live. Yet, is spite of his own difficulties, – triggered from Bryan’s younger years – was that desire to help others. He couldn’t give up. He still had a drive to serve his community. Sitting in the homeless shelter, he worked on a documentary for the National Civil War Museum. He created the narrative and worked on the casting. In a down time in your life, Reader, what did you do mentally to keep moving forward?

In fact, for Bryan himself as a former soldier, he was able to get assistance from the Veterans Affairs (VA). “They helped me get back on my feet,” Bryan said. He was able to move into an apartment in Dillsburg. He also began working in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, commonly called the War College. There, he was a preservationist of artifacts – documents such as those from Pearl Harbor, and even as far back as the Civil War.

Then, similar to two years earlier, history repeated itself. Bryan’s other knee required surgery. Once again, medical bills overrode the costs of daily living. Bryan found himself living in a homeless shelter for another 30 days. Once more, the Veterans Affairs office stepped in to assist. They helped Bryan get an apartment in the Italian Lake section of Harrisburg. To cover his expenses, he pieced together a number of part-time positions: chauffeur, food delivery, valet and shuttle bus driver.

Behind the scenes, Bryan’s thoughts accompanied him about how to serve his community. He began to actualize his dream – to address the disparity in education that either excludes or only minimally covers African American History in the classroom settings. By 2017, his research led him to create what would later become his nonprofit – “Keystones”. With this platform, he initially focused on oral histories of the African American Influence.

Two years later, he was living in Maryland, working full-time as a chauffeur. Simultaneously, he was concentrating on building the steps to implement Keystones. A Veterans Affairs representative was very interested in Bryan’s mission. As they talked, Keystones began to cement itself into a three-fold educational tool: a Hall of Fame, an oral history documentary and curriculum for schools. The first phase focused on the African American history through the stories of those who had served in military duty. The long-term goal is that Keystones will expand its work to include other professions and ethnicities. In November of 2017, Bryan released the first documentary for Dauphin County. Over 700 people attended the honoring of 200 veterans.

During those earlier years, Bryan was introducing the idea of Keystones to influential community members. He was driving the efforts to raise funds through private donations and grants. Finally, by 2020, Keystones officially became a 501(C)3 nonprofit with a seven-member board. The mission continued to be refined; Bryan wanted to raise cultural awareness through education. The tools he planned to use were documentaries and school curriculums.

In this past year, for his Black Oral History series, Bryan has interviewed more than 50 individuals. Many of those stories were included in the first, of what will be, fourteen documentaries. Bryan’s upcoming goals include the completion of the remaining Black history documentaries and curriculum. As well he started work on a 15-part documentary series about Native American history. This too will include a curriculum for schools. Reader, what would help you better understand other’s experiences?

Bryan developed media-savviness in promoting his work on Facebook and through his website. The online initiative generated a larger audience of people who were now aware, interested and supportive of his mission. What drives Bryan is his continual concern about the disparity of race and how it affects all areas of our lives. As a former educator, Bryan said, “it is important that people have a sense of self-identity. Where do I belong? Where do I fit?” Bryan does not feel that, currently, ethnic stories are chronicled accurately. “For schools to be culturally competent, we have to effectively communicate and document our stories,” he said.

Booker T. Washington was an author and educator in our nation. This former slave rose to become an advisor to multiple presidents.  He once said, “success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” When I think of the many hurdles Bryan has jumped over, I am inspired.

Bryan wasn’t defeated by the challenges he faced. Each one strengthened him. Each door became an entryway that he pushed open. Bryan developed and continues to create an education platform that speaks to all people about our nation’s history. It respects and tells the truth about the lives of those whose pasts were suppressed throughout centuries.

Readers, when an ethnic group is not recognized in our education, it devalues their role and importance to our history. It ignores the celebration of the many nationalities’ importance to the formation of who we are. We need to allow students to analyze and have a better societal understanding of how we can improve with each generation.  Ethnic history explores the patterns, belief systems, and laws that operated and changed. It challenges both the subtle and palpable biases in which we operate as a nation and what we must do to improve. For textbooks to be reliable and a credible scholarly manuscript, we need to include all stories, not just the ones that are handpicked by the majority.

Author James Baldwin said, “the paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.” Readers, for those of you who know my history, these are matters that I have worked for and challenged since my young adult years. I am now 63 years old, and it hurts my heart and baffles my mind that we are still trying to make peace with our country’s history as it pertains to race and ethnicity. I am not saying this in judgement. I still have a lot to learn. I pray we continue to keep our minds and hearts open. Let’s find ways to build a healthy community and educate our young people with accurate information. Let’s work to illuminate and eliminate the disparity in our schools and neighborhoods. Is change easy? No. Is change needed? Yes. So, let’s press on to create a better society for everyone. Reader, what is a step you could take to be more educated about other cultures’ history?

Last month you were introduced to Louisiana-based actor, John C. Coffman. His story was enjoyed by many readers: Ava, Lisa, Dorela, Paula, Kim, Janet, Hazel and Jeanette. Dianne said to John, “WOW! I only thought I knew you! Very nice, impressive and enjoyable read!”

Paula said she wanted to go back and watch John’s movies. Paula, I agree. That is something I enjoyed during the writing of John’s story. I watched many of his films. However, I saw them now through different eyes. Instead of just following the story, I was watching for the lighting, the photography, the dialogue…so many different aspects that John talked about with his craft!

Until next month, may peace be at your side,

Debbie Noel

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Debbie Noel
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Ways to contact Bryan and see his work:

• Introducing Keystones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkiIFTrgs-E&feature=youtu.be
• Keystones’ Oral Histories Partnership with York College https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnnwvaPtoqk&feature=youtu.be  
• One of the episodes from Bryan’s television program World’s Apart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j63aOwzTbkI
• Promotional video for Keystones Oral History series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_TYXPh-AXA
• Bryan interviewing David Waters, Sr. for Keystones Oral History series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAOJuX-QAEw
• Bryan interviewed by Ron Chapel with radio station The Voice out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2046907892118739&ref=watch_permalink

James Baldwin’s is known for his analysis of distinctions about our nation’s views surrounding class, sexuality and race. His body of work in numerous; including his book of essays title “Notes of a Native Son” and his documentary, I Am Not Your Negro which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Booker T. Washington was born in 1856 into one of the last generation of slaves. He started his education, by while still a servant, gained permission to walk miles to and from school where he learned to read. He became an outspoken orator against race discrimination. He was a well-known proponent for African American businesses. He chronicled his life in his own autobiography, Up from Slavery. He contributed 14 books and recognized as an educator. Starting with one room in a church in Alabama, his dream for a schooled let him to establish the historical black college, now called the Tuskegee University in Alabama.  He was a leading educator there for 30 years. He was known and respected worldwide.