With large-scale in-person events finally occurring again after this unhinged roller coaster of an 18 month period, the DFW Metroplex will once more be hosting the Lucky Leaf Expo; the multi-state cannabis and hemp convention and expo that always encompasses all aspects of the cultivation and business processes. With exhibitors representing some of the biggest brands in hemp/cannabis to informative speakers discussing every topic pertinent to cannabis reform and legitimacy, there’s consistently an activity for nearly all attendees. A must-see is Tyrone Russell.
Tyrone Russell comes with droves of educational and professional experience in the subjects of advocacy and social reform is Chief Executive Officer of Faces International marketing agency and President of the Cleveland School of Cannabis. With a presentation entitled “Educate your Government Officials on Cannabis and the Benefits will last for Generations”, Russell’s years of experience in advocacy and Higher Education make him a perfect host for the discussion.
Originally a California native, Tyrone Russell would receive a Bachelor’s in sociology from Colgate University and a Master’s in Counseling and College Student Personnel from Shippensburg University. While at Colgate, Russell formed an organization geared towards strengthening the presence and community of minority students on campus called Brothers, an organization still existing on the campus of Colgate to this day. At only 18 and 19 years old, Russell and his fellow members were booking speeches from notable celebrities such as basketball legend Kareem Abdul Jabar and historic Reverend and one-time SNL host Al Sharpton. Even a performance by this one comedian you may have heard of named Dave Chapelle.
During his widespread career in Higher Education, Tyrone Russell held positions that span from a counselor at Northampton Community College to Director of Multicultural Affairs at Lehigh University. He held roles such as Program Coordinator and various counselor and faculty roles at several universities, especially at Lehigh University.
“While in the college ranks I started programs such as LUSSI, a first generation college student program to help students find their way through the hills of private schools. I led interesting housing programs that linked learning to living.” Russell explained.
After his time in higher education had concluded at Lehigh, Tyrone Russell focused full time on racial and ethnic justice causes, topics that “examine issues stemming from the intersection of race and ethnicity with the legal system” according to the American Bar Association. However, Russell’s courses also focus on societal situations in which race/ethnicity are relevant outside of the legal system as well.
Hosting sessions for colleges and corporations entitled cultural realization sessions which use themes and lessons similar to the hotly debated critical race theory courses, Russell’s sessions teach how deeply ingrained in all facets of American society that one’s race and culture has been throughout our country’s shameful history in regards to prejudice based on those very attributes.
“So it (the sessions) isn’t saying you’re culturally incompetent, but it teaches that you may not have realized how your culture has impacted the world around you and how you live through cultural ways that dictate what normal is for you.” Russell described. “And when you’re a part of the dominant culture, what’s normal for you is what you think should be normal for everyone.
But as you take a journey through cultural realization, you’ll realize that it’s because you’re a part of this dominant culture if you will that everyone is supposed to share this culture and in actuality, they don’t. So it’s about getting people to understand how their culture exists when they’re put up against cultures who’ve experienced the world differently than them.”
Even in the subjects of cannabis, critical race theory and Russell’s lessons on cultural realization couldn’t be more relevant. The fact that Black Americans are four times as likely to be convicted of a cannabis offense and the racial disparities in incarcerated individuals due to drug offenses can’t be ignored. It’s an undeniable fact that the devastating failure that insists on referring to itself as The War on Drugs tore apart communities of color and left generational trauma and inequality that will be felt by more generations in the future.
As the CEO of the community and advocacy-based marketing firm Faces International, those two themes are very close to Russell and the operations and clientele of the firm itself. While they are a full-fledged marketing firm, they hold a special focus on community building and development, both for their client’s projects and for the employees themselves. In fact, Russell carries over the themes of cultural realization into their purpose as well.
“Your marketing plan starts with your staff. How are they understanding their relationships? How are they understanding their purpose in the organization? How are they understanding their relationship to the product and what they care about as they move forward as tools to this test?”
Their message gained significant recognition and contracts after the nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd and the stark discussions on race and racial advocacy swept the nation.
“The clients started seeing their staff tear each other apart as a result of what was going on in the world. This is what we said all along but you thought it hadn’t been an issue for you but it’s been an issue all along. You just haven’t been talking about it until now. Now people start understanding how Faces International works, which is why we’re seeing a lot of contracts who see us as a marketing firm who now understand the importance of developing your staff with cultural understanding and realization in your staff to deliver a product.”
As his presentation surrounds advocacy and educating public officials, Russell has quite the experience in both subjects. His “Educate your Government Officials on Cannabis and the Benefits will last for Generations” presentation at the upcoming Dallas Lucky Leaf Expo will touch on many vital parts of properly effective advocacy; such as advocates positively representing cannabis, how to provide elected officials with evidence in favor of the plant as well as how to support the plant in a governmental body likely against it and ending the stigma and demonization of usage. For attendees from cannabis battleground states with an equal number of elected politicians who swing all kinds of ways on the subject for a multitude of reasons, Russell’s presentation is a must.
“My presentation will be about the power of education and how miseducation got us here but powerful education and real education can get us to the opposite of whatever “here” is.” Russell stated.
As for those prohibitionist politicians who could look at a sick child of a veteran who’s found relief through cannabis yet still vote to keep their medicine illegal, Tyrone Russell agrees with the standpoint of advocates that those politicians are beyond persuasion and simply must be voted out.
“Once you’re educated and have a better understanding and a responsibility to serve your people, you have work to do. Whether you’re pro or against it, when you see your people struggling and suffering as a result of not having access to medicine that can help them and you’re not doing anything to combat that, you’re being irresponsible. And I don’t have any hope in folks like that.”