Many of us may recognize my next guest, Madison Shockley III, from his role as Fred on “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl”. 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 motherly 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.