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1.) Happy holidays Zeke, welcome to Vents Magazine! Before the train leaves the station and we get started on this particular journey, how have you been during a pretty tumultuous and historic year?
I have been awoken to many things most importantly that I love my family. My sister caught Covid 19 and really powered through. I also have experienced great joy in healing my mind and body through therapy, and fitness, and other therapies.
2.) Congrats and major kudos for Amplify Voices which debutedDecember 11. This is really a streaming show with a difference. For the uninitiated among our readers, can you talk a little bit about the origin of the show, what it’s about and what people who tune in can expect?
When people tune into watch should be prepared for informative and sometimes uncomfortable conversations with amazing individuals who all have done their part to try and move the world forward. What started as a kitchen table conversations with one Zoom meeting became my first ever produced show 11 episodes! I’m proud! Please check it out!
3.) Amplify Voices really provides a platform for a ton of folks who have largely been overlooked and/or marginalized throughout the years. Why was this particularly an important theme for both you and the show?
There are many leaders in the Queer community. There are many people who have supported the queer community for decades. We must learn how to continue moving forward from people who presevered.
4.) 2020 has seen a renewed interest in activism and bringing about solid and significant change with how we all relate to and treat one another. Would Amplify Voices have resounded as significantly in another year that wasn’t 2020? Is it a case of “Right Place, Right Time”?
Destiny is timing. There is no right time, right place for protest. I promised I would be loud during election season; this is only one contribution. It is important for queer people across the world to see themselves represented.
5.) Amplify Voices will be available for free on-demand courtesy of Revry starting on December 11. Streaming has become a big part of our daily lives, particularly during the pandemic. Can you talk a little bit about the streaming phenomenon and what it’s meant for projects such as Amplify Voices that, in another era, may not have found a platform itself to express the concerns we all have about our world?
Streaming is phonemail. I truly believe without a global audience watching America fall we wouldn’t have had the pressure we needed to defeat President Trump.
6.) Can you delve into some of the specific guests and topics that you will be presenting through Amplify Voices? What should audiences expect going forward?
Legendary photographer Mike Ruiz and Life Coach Barrett Paul have a memorable exchange around Race and the LGBT experience. Having CJ Wallace, son of the Iconic Notorious BIG, join for our Cannabis conversation. Moving forward we will continue to push the bounds and have uncomfortable and informed conversations.
7.) What are your ultimate hopes and aspirations for Amplify Voices?
My ultimate hope is that someone will be touched enough to reach out and say to me I learned something.
8.) Amplify Voices is such a learning tool in a very entertaining package. What has doing the show taught you?
The show has taught me that many people are more similar than we give ourselves credit for. We share similar experiences and traumas and if we can find a way to truly unite and use each other to heal and learn we as human beings will prosper.
9.) You’ve worn a lot of hats in your career, Zeke: Television host, activist, producer and DJ. Is there one of these titles over another that you prefer and – P.S. – Where do you find all of the time to be so prolific (I ask enviously)?
When you love what you do and it is making you better and happy you make time. Move forward!
10.) You’re the son of N** legend Isiah Thomas. Can you unpack for readers what that has entailed for you – good and bad – over the years
The good is the love and respect that I have for a great man and father. The bad is growing up under the microscope. I was the third headline of the day after President Obama transition and the Iraq War because I had gotten struck in the head with a bottle for being classified black and gay in a bar in Indiana. Further insult, the police would arrest me at the hospital after being stitched up, just another statistic of systematic racism in America.
11.) People seem so very divided now more than ever. What can we do to heal these divides and – to perhaps borrow a Hallmark colloquialism – make the world a better place for everyone?
Education. Fact is fact. Telling the whole truth can be painful to look at but we can’t be afraid of it. America is a caste system. We live under the values of social statuses black, white, and other. No person should suffer bias or have an advantage because of skin color. We must all reclaim our birthright. Fix the laws that promote the patriarchy and white supremacy and move on as a world.
12.) Who has inspired your own journey to where you are at now, Zeke? Is there anyone that you particularly look up to and that inspires what you’re doing?
Many people inspire me but right now it’s my friends and family encouraging me to be better.
13.) Final (SILLY) Question: Favorite book that you would absolutely have to have with you on a deserted island?
The precious present.
