Many of us may recognize my next guest, Madison Shockley III, from his role as Fred on “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl”. This wildly successful YouTube comedy attracted almost 2 million views on the first episode alone by serving up a slice of Black life not often available on-screen. The viral web series challenged the archetypes generally available for Black people in entertainment, especially women, who are often cast as sassy, power hungry, angry or mammy figures — sometimes a combination of them all — but rarely awkward.

What most of us may not know is that, through his organization SEOWA (Social Equity Owners and Workers Association), this actor-turned-cannabis entrepreneur, is at the forefront of activism pertaining to LA’s Social Equity Program (SEP). Cannabis criminalization and its enforcement has had long-term, adverse impacts on Los Angeles, particularly for low income and minority communities.  The SEP is one tool LA is using to begin to acknowledge and repair the harm caused by the War on Drugs and the disparate enforcement of cannabis prohibition.

Tune is as we discuss why Madison backed away from acting, his feelings about and contributions to Awkward Black Girl, SEOWA’s current work, future plans, and challenges, his motivation behind leaving a legacy, (surprising!) hurdles with dating and dating apps, and more!