We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. D Pulane Lucas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. D Pulane, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
The affirmation that I truly consider my favorite is one that emerged during the writing of my book, “God and The Self: Insights from Major Thinkers in the Western Philosophical Tradition.” But, while I had not named the concept at the center of this affirmation, I have lived by this notion almost all my life. This affirmation grows out of my life’s struggles. Ironically, it serves as a theological and psychological anchor that keeps me tethered to intellectual, spiritual, and personal foundations of strength. Yet, it’s a notion rooted in fluidity. When I repeat this affirmation, which I do often, I hold on to it like a shield of protection that realigns me toward my purpose. But it’s also sort of like a north star that shines a light on my path so that I have a sense of direction that informs my actions and guides my behaviors. My favorite affirmation reminds me to always remain cognitively malleable. It reads: “Oh to be cognitively flexible.” Yes, it’s that simple but powerful!

I believe that cognitive flexibility is a requirement to think critically, creatively, and strategically. There is an unstated prerequisite of fearlessness at its core: a willingness to think outside the box, defy norms, and buck expectations. Cognitive flexibility demands freedom, autonomy, and wisdom. It refuses to settle or be oppressed. There is quiet resilience embedded within the notion of cognitive flexibility. It prompts me to self-reflect, imagine, and create a way out of any situation that I find myself in but don’t want to be in.

Cognitive flexibility is essential to problem solving. It can be employed to explore and study effectively the complex ideas that stem from the multilayered problems in society today. These problems have consequences—some severely impact the lives of people and populations negatively. My approach to life is to never allow my beliefs and ways of thinking to become rigid. I always want to be able to consider and appreciate alternative opinions, theories, and belief systems. I always aim to recognize and value individuality while also embracing and elevating intersectionality. I tend to operate at the nexus of interdisciplinary approaches where I find a more in-depth understanding of myself and others.

Ultimately, I desire to come to know myself and learn to thrive–not just survive—in our rapidly changing world. I truly believe that by remaining cognitively flexible I can gain self-awareness, attain self-knowledge, exercise self-empowerment, and hone self-appreciation. I engage in the process of coming to know myself daily: fixed yet fluid. Each moment I come to know myself, I value my self-worth and reawaken the genius inside of me again so that I can gain greater control of my thoughts, actions, and life. It is only then that I live through my pain, struggles, and joys to seek my perfect highest good. My aim is to live out my purpose on this earth and become who I believe God has chosen me to be.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I serve as President and CEO of Policy Pathways, Inc., that is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, but serves youth across the country. The mission of Policy Pathways is to train and educate youth and young adults ages 15 – 25, who desire to become leaders in public policy, public administration, and international affairs. In partnership with the Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Policy Pathways offers educational programs and developmental activities that include the Summer Academy for Policy Leadership and Public Service, a two-week immersive online and in-person program for students covering essential topics like policy formation, policy analysis, criminal justice, environmental policy, health equity, and social justice. The Academy affords young people the opportunity to work on real-world policy-focused capstone projects and equips them with critical skills in thinking, advocacy, and research.

Another collaboration is the Wilder Pathways Policy Research Institute, a four-week program that allows students to take a deep dive into policy-focused research methods, statistics, and data analysis. Our goals are to: (1) play a vital role along a continuum of educational and social support for the high school and college student population by offering early insights to academic programs and professional careers in public policy and public service, and (2) address the underrepresentation of individuals from low-income families and historically-marginalized populations in policy-related degree programs. Graduates of the Summer Academy are given the opportunity to become Policy Pathways interns and employees. I am most proud of knowing that participation in our programs provide experiences that allow our alumni to stand out even more in academic, talent, and professional pipelines. You can learn more about Policy Pathways at: www.policypathways.org

Here are links to two articles that speak to the individuals, institutions, and influences that have informed my development and who I am today:

https://www.csueastbay.edu/cbe/about/50th-anniversary/opening-a-pathway-to-policy.html
https://wilder.vcu.edu/news-and-events/news-posts/alumni-changemaker-d-pulane-lucas-phd-paves-the-way-for-future-policy-leaders-with-policy-pathways-inc.html

I want the world to know that I am a proud African American woman who is humbled by the faith in God and fight for justice that African Americans have demonstrated for generations in America. There is an undying spirit that lives in me. The same spirit of captured Africans many who died during transport and others who survived across the Middle Passage, were enslaved, and endured a brutal oppression in America.

The heartbreak of Stanley’s death was unimaginable. Becoming intimately aware of grief from the death of my son sent me into a depression. Yet, I was never spiritually broken. I depended on my faith in God and myself, Stanley’s spiritual presence in my life, my daughter Fredericka, and others to help pull me through so that I could transmute pain into power, purpose, and activism. I have committed my life to initiatives related to Stanley’s life and death that can enlightened and support others and save lives. Stanley’s death has not been counted in LASD and California State online databases. When your child’s in-custody death is “uncounted,” there seems to be an attempt to erase his death and the situations contributing to his death from institutional records. I and my work are particularly inspired by the work of Ida B. Wells, an American investigative journalist and educator and early leader in the civil rights movement. She dedicated her life to combating prejudice and violence against African Americans. Ida B. Wells documented the manner in which lynching terrorized Blacks in the South. She exposed the horrors of lynching endured by African Americans. Today, there are many who would like to erase the work of Ida B. Wells and other history documenting the brutal legacy of white supremacy in America and horrific treatment endured by Black Americans. But African American history cannot be deleted with its removal from textbooks or the elimination of webpages. We are a people with African roots, yet born out of American soil and faced with a unique set of American experiences. Our history is infused with a spirit that cannot be extinguished. A visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC, will confirm these statements as truth.

Everyone should read about the inmates who died in Southern penitentiaries (many uncounted and buried on or just off the premises), like Angola Prison in Louisiana. Watch “Nickle Boys,” a film inspired by the Dozier School for boys. Talk about “the least of these” – imprisoned–some falsely accused, many pre-trial. Even today, there are a disproportionate number of Black and brown men and boys dying prematurely in jails and prisons. For too many, incarceration is equivalent to death sentences–even though they were never found guilty. As Dr. Nicholas Shapiro, UCLA Professor, states: “Life in carceral environments is slating toward death.” As the mother of a son who had been deemed incompetent to stand trial and died in custody, I am personally aware of how systemic racism, structural inefficiencies, and discriminatory practices, can entrap individuals with mental illness in jails instead of mental health hospitals where they can receive treatment.

I have committed myself to the issues related to Stanley’s life and death. One initiative is Uncounted, which strives to collect critical information from civilians and other responsible citizens who are committed to attaining more accurate data on individuals who die in custody. Uncounted aims to address weaknesses in the current death-in-custody reporting systems of law enforcement agencies and governmental hospitals and departments. When deaths are not counted due to conflicting accounts of custodial responsibility or a desire to keep death counts artificially low, transparency measures meant to help eliminate deaths in custody are undercut. The failure to adequately count in-custody deaths not only deprives individuals—some innocent, many pre-trial, all deserving the right to be counted and respected as human beings—it also deprives Congress and the public of information about the size, scope, and causes of this problem. The lack of information impedes the identification of custodial death trends and hampers corrective actions to improve custodial, medical, and mental health care.

Uncounted is committed to bringing recognition of and transparency to custodial deaths across America by drawing upon civilians and responsible citizens to report individuals who die in prisons, jails, and detention centers, ensuring that their deaths are not overlooked, forgotten, or intentionally left unreported. Our goal is to provide an online portal where deaths in custody can be reported and investigated so that systemic issues can be better addressed. We envision a future where every death in custody is reported, documented, and analyzed to drive meaningful reforms in the criminal justice system and prevent unnecessary loss of life.

The need for transparent reporting on custodial deaths is critical, as current federal and state governmental data are often incomplete or inaccessible. Uncounted is dedicated to shedding light on custodial deaths and holding institutions accountable. By serving as a critical data collection initiative that values the voice of civilians and responsible citizens, we seek to empower journalists, researchers, and advocates who strive to ensure that every life lost in custody is counted and remembered.

To access the Civilian In-Custody Death Report Submission Form, please visit: incustodydeathreportform.com

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take my friend to breakfast at Kreation Organic then we would go to the Walk of Fame and up to the Hollywood sign. We would then go to the Santa Monica Pier and Beach for lunch. We would catch a movie or play. We would have dinner at Mercado LA. We would visit friends at UCLA, while also sightseeing in Beverly Hills and travel along Pacific Coast Highway. We would also catch a live performance, maybe jazz or someone playing at the Grammy Museum soundstage. We would go shopping and visit Rodeo Drive. And we would spend some time at Griffith Observatory.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
On February 1, 2023, I received the worst possible news any mother could get: my only son, Stanley Wilson Jr., had passed away. He had been housed in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Twin Towers Correctional Facility. After being deemed incompetent to stand trial, Stanley died under suspicious circumstances while being transferred to Metropolitan State Hospital for mental health treatment. He was declared dead at Patio 104 on the premises of Metropolitan Hospital.

Stanley attended Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, where he became a standout football player as a safety and member of the track team. He also performed in theater productions, served as a calculus tutor, and was crowned homecoming king. Stanley was a student leader, track star, and standout football player at Stanford University. He went on to play in the NFL for the Detroit Lions. After retiring from the NFL, Stanley struggled with mental illness, substance use disorder, and untreated trauma from being molested by an uncle who babysat him as a child. He spent the final months of his life in LASD custody. Stanley was only 40 years old when he died. I learned from his post-mortem exam that he had suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. I was–and still am–heartbroken. The individuals and organizations mentioned below have shown me love and support during my time of bereavement and while fighting for justice on Stanley’s behalf.

I would like to give a shoutout to the mothers and families who have lost loved ones while in-custody or during the process of being detained or transferred and particularly those whose loved ones died while incarcerated but who were not counted in state and local death-in-custody reporting databases. I am sending love to my sister mothers who lost their children in custody: Helen Jones (John Horton III); Terry Lovett (Jalani Lovett), Tennel Crooks (Cameron Nettles), and Paloma Serna (Elisa Serna).

A big shoutout goes out to Carpenter and Zuckerman (Attorneys John Carpenter and Carlos Hernandez) and the ACLU of Southern California (Attorney Melissa Camacho and Berklee Donavan)

I would like to give a big shoutout to all of the organizations like JusticeLA and Dignity and Power Now, who are fighting to reduce jail deaths, funding for alternatives to incarceration, the closing of Men’s Central Jail, and improving the medical and mental health services for the incarcerated. Much loves goes out to Janet Asante, Anthony Arenas, James Takamatsu, and Marcella Rosen.

I also want to give a shoutout to the team working on a documentary about my son, Stanley Wilson, Jr’s, life and death: Fredericka Lucas and Michael Hawthorne (Our Beloved Sons Productions); and Jeremy Hartman and AJ Lovelace (Way Out West Productions).

A shoutout goes out to the UCLA professors (Dr. Nicholas Shapiro and Dr. Terence Keel), researchers/partners (Shayla Wilson), and graduate students including Emma S. Christie and Amil Hogan.

Shoutouts are sent out to my parents Delbert and Deanna Evans, my husband Rev. Dr. Fred Lucas and Brooklyn Community Church, and my mentors Drs. Connie and Preston Williams and the Hon. Leo Bazile.

I am sending shouts out to the members of the Policy Pathways Board of Directors and Administrative and Teaching Staff, as well as all of our partner organizations that include the Virginia Commonwealth University L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs; Richmond (VA) Public Schools; and the Hampton Roads Community Action Program.

Finally, I send shoutouts to the educational institutions that have contributed to my academic and professional development: California State University East Bay, Harvard Business School, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the VCU L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

Website: https://www.policypathways.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/policypathways/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/policypathways

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@policypathwaysinc.99

Other: https://www.incustodydeathreportform.com

Image Credits
All images are courtesy of Dr. D. Pulane Lucas, except the black and white photo of me seated with my finger on my chin. This photo is courtesy of Jeremy Hartman.

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