RON SCOTT

SpeakerMedia Producer/Host

ActivistTransformationalist

Ron Scott

Ron Scott’s dual passions for activism and producing are evidenced by his two most

impressive awards: the “Unsung Heroes” Award from the

Congressional Black Caucus; and the Emmy and Silver Circle Awards from the National

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He has boasts than 40

years of experience in activism as well as radio, television, and

video production. A co-founding member and officer of the Detroit Branch of the Black Panther Party who appeared on the acclaimed

documentary “Eyes on the Prize,” he has completed significant

documentary projects on various topics related to current affairs,

cultural icons, entertainment, and politics on the North American

continent and the Caribbean. The U.S. Congressional Black Caucus

bestowed on him the “Unsung Heroes” Award. He is also one of the 2008 Recipients of the Silver

Circle Award for Journalism.

As a TV/radio host, Ron Scott has interviewed more than 1,000

luminaries, including:

Law & Activism• Amiri & Amini Baraka

• Benjamin Chavis (formerly Benjamin Muhammad),

• Angela Davis

• Geoffrey Feiger, Civil Litigation Attorney & Former

• Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate

• Rev. Jesse Jackson

• Bobby Seale, Black Panther Party Co-Founder

• Rev. Horace Sheffield, National Action Network Kwame Toure, All African Peoples Revolutionary

• Party

• Michael Schultz, Exec. Dir., Amnesty International

• USA

• Dr. David Abdulai, AIDS Activist, Ghana & West

• Africa

• Chokwe Lumumba, New African Peoples

• Organization

Entertainment/Sports• B.B. King

• Count Basie

• Harry Belafonte

• Public Enemy

• The Four Tops

• Richard Pryor

• Bob Marley

• Stevie Wonder

• Eartha Kitt

• Patti LaBelle

• Joe Williams

Interviews… (cont.)Politics/Government• Former Detroit Mayor Dennis W. Archer• Former Michigan Governor James Blanchard• U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks

Kilpatrick• U.S. Congressman John Conyers• Former President George Bush, Sr.• Former Michigan Governor John Engler• G. Gordon Liddy• Archbishop Napier of Durban, South Africa• Former Michigan Governor George Romney • David Saobeko, Founder, Pan-African

Congress of • Azania (South Africa)• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of

California• Former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young

Business & Entrepreneurship

• Roger Smith, Former President, General Motors

• Corporation

• Lee Ioccoca, Former President, Chrysler Corporation Juergen Schrempp, CEO, DaimlerChrysler

• Corporation

• Reginald Lewis, Chairman, Beatrice Foods

• Randi Payton, Publisher, African Americans on Wheels

TV and Radio Host...Television Host

• One of the first producer/hosts of Detroit Black Journal, WTVS-56, Public Television, Detroit, MI

• Currently co-hosts “For My People,” UPN50, Detroit, MI

Radio Host - Current• “Fighting for Justice,” Anti-Police Brutality

Program, Air America affiliate WDTW 1310AM, Detroit area

Radio Host - Past• Legends of Jazz, WCHB-AM, Detroit, MI• Soul on Sunday, WJR-AM, Detroit, MI• Documentary Series:

– “My Music, My People, WABX-AM, Detroit, MI—Six-part radio series tracing the history of African American music in the context of political and social developments.

– “We Do More Than Run, Jump, & Throw”—Documentary special interviewing African American athletes who made the transition to professional and entrepreneurial endeavors.

– “All Girl Band”—Featuring the edgy “girl” singing group LaBelle shortly before their rise to fame; related their rise to the burgeoning women’s movement.

Ron also appeared in the acclaimed Civil Rights documentary “Eyes on the Prize,” where he talked about the Black Panther Party.

Ron Scott - Politics & Activism

• Co-Founder, Detroit Branch, Black Panther Party

• Spokesperson, Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality—served to impact policies and culture and of the Detroit Police Department and facilitate the decision to impose a Federal Consent Decree to monitor and effect changes in the department’s practices and policies

• Transition Team Member, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

• Helped plan and organize Million Man March follow-up activities

• Advocated successfully on behalf of more than 50,000 public housing tenants to facilitate individual empowerment, social services, and ownership

• Key player in effort to abolish the abusive Detroit Police Department initiative S.T.R.E.S.S. (Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets)

KEY LOCAL AND NATIONAL CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT FOR…

• Former President Bill Clinton

• U.S. Congressman John Conyers

• Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young

• Presidential Candidate Ross Perot

• Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm

Ron Scott - Academia

• Lecturer, University of Michigan – Center for African American & African Studies

• Faculty Member, Black Men & Unions – Collaborative program between Wayne State University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, United Auto Workers, and the AFL-CIO - Focused on issues involving organizing and empowerment of union members

Ron Scott - Speaking Engagements

Organizations:• Africa Rising/Campaign for Human Development,

Detroit, MI (Initiative of the Archdiocese of Detroit)

• Jamaican Film Festival, Kingston, Jamaica

• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

• National Organization for Women

• Corporation for Public Broadcasting – Minneapolis, MN

• Michigan Coalition of Law Enforcement

• Gaelic League of Michigan (Irish Heritage Club)

• Mexican American Youth Organization, Mission, TX

• National Lawyers Guild – National Conference, Detroit, MI

• Arab Cultural Community Economic & Social Services (ACCESS)

• Detroit Empowerment Zone

• Educational Commission of the States (National Educational Policy Organization), Denver, CO

Universities:

• University of Michigan

• University of Maryland, College Park, MD

• University of Detroit

• Marygrove College, Detroit, MI

• Wayne State University (Medical and Law Schools), Detroit, MI

• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

• Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI

• Michigan State University, Lansing, MI

• Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI

• Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

• Macomb Community College, Warren, MI

• Wayne County Community College, Detroit, MI

• Clarion College, Clarion, PA

Ron Scott - Knowledge Areas

• Civil Rights History

• Media

• Police Brutality & Citizen Oversight of Law Enforcement

• Radical/Revolutionary Intellectual Thought

• African American History

• African Americans in Broadcasting

• World History

• Religious Activism

• International Human Rights

• Community Development

• Housing Issues

• Racism & Sexism

• Politics & Activism

Speaking Topics...

Politics & Activism• Police Militarization and the

Assault on American Freedom

• Program, Popularity, Politics, & Pimpin’: An Analysis of Activism and Opportunism Today

• How to End Police Brutality

• How to Fight the Power and Win

• How to Win An Election at Any Level: What We Should Be Doing Now

Media• Who Controls the Media?

• African Americans in Broadcasting—Then and Now

Speaking Topics...

History• It Wasn’t Just About the Gun: The

Lasting Legacy of the Black Panther Party

• Programs, People, Power: Intercommunalism and the Black Panther Party

• Revolutionary Children: How Youth Formulated the Black Panther Party

• Why They Still Hate the Black Panther Party

• Why They Still Love the Black Panther Party

• Spies, Lies, and Murder: Then & Now (Analysis of the continuing Cointelpro Program)

• Soul Women of the Grass Roots: Female Activists Who Changed America

Cultural analysis• Hip Hop: Hype, Hustle, or Revolution?

An Analysis of Critical Trends in Hip Hop

• Singing the Revolution: A History of Progressive and Revolutionary Musicians and Spoken Word Artists

• Pass the Plate: An Analysis of Today’s Prominent Preachers, Politicians, and Personalities

• Can Humanity Survive? A Global Perspective on Unity

• Black Youth and Survival—Future Promise, Future Risk

• Education for Liberation

• You ‘Gotta Be More Than Black

Activism for Impact…Ron Scott has:

Black Panther Party• Defense Captain, Detroit Branch

• Developed elementary schools, medical clinics & free breakfast programs

• Worked to establish the first Sickle Cell Detection Centers in Detroit, MI

• Provided youth political training and

• community organizing expertise for youth

• Formed multicultural coalitions

• Worked to free political prisoners, including Party Founder Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Angela Davis

• Developed collaborations with area churches

• Participated in the Eldridge Cleaver for President Campaign, 1968

Other projects…• Led in advoacy project to eliminate brutal

Detroit Police initiative, “S.T.R.E.S.S.” (Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets)

• Helped to impact the culture of and change policies within the Detroit Police Department

• Led a successful effort to prevent a “Yes” vote to restore the death penalty in Michigan

• Spoke out forcefully against the increasing militarization of police, including the institution of multijurisdictional task forces in urban areas.

• Brought media attention to the abuse of homeless individuals in downtown Detroit, leading to the disbanding of the “Men in Black” private security detail for the Greektown entertainment district.

Activism for Impact…Ron Scott has:

Other projects…(cont.)• Instrumental in influencing the U.S. Justice

Department to issue two Consent Decrees against the Detroit Police Department for use of force and detention abuses.

• Successfully pushed for the hiring of the new Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee, who is now working to restore a community policing framework to the Detroit Police Department.

• Helped facilitate the inclusion of African American organizations in the United Fund’s payroll giving program

• Organized public housing tenants in Detroit to facilitate progressive policies and projects, including recreational facilities, drug use abatement, and economic development

AFFILIATIONS / AWARDS

Spokesperson, Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality

Board Member, National Lawyers Guild – Detroit Chapter

Officer, Democratic Party State Central Committee

Board Member, Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership (founded by James and Grace Lee Boggs)

“Unsung Heroes” Award, Congressional Black Caucus

Other Awards From:

• Michigan Coalition on Human Rights

• Michigan Council on American Islamic Relations

• National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Michigan Chapter—Emmy and Silver Circle Awards