Podcast Summary: "How to Save Our Kids: The Crisis No One Wants to Talk About"

Not All Hood (NAH) with Malcolm-Jamal Warner & Candace Kelley
Release Date: November 14, 2025
Guest: Kimberly Latrice Jones

Overview of the Episode

This powerful, unfiltered episode of Not All Hood centers on the urgent crisis facing Black youth in America—a crisis of engagement, opportunity, and survival that is rarely discussed in public. Activist and author Kimberly Latrice Jones shares personal stories and strategic ideas with raw honesty, covering everything from innovative approaches to voter engagement, to the neurological science behind youth behavior, to the vital role of love and accountability in the Black community. The episode aims to break down barriers to understanding and action, offering listeners a roadmap for how to uplift and protect young people, particularly Black boys.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Innovative Youth Engagement Strategies (01:30–03:59)

• Kimberly Latrice Jones describes how she mobilized young voters by organizing a concert headlined by Gucci Mane, Amaretta, and Damani. The only way to attend was with a voter registration card:
  • "You couldn’t buy a ticket. You couldn’t win it on the radio... your voter registration card was the only way you could get the ticket." (02:26)
  • Music executives and influential voices from the community spoke to youth in their own language, making civic engagement "fly and sexy."
  • The event drew 10,000 kids under 25, countering criticisms about the event’s cost by showing the importance of speaking to young people authentically and directly.

2. Teaching about Money and Power (03:27–03:58)

• Jones mentors young Black entrepreneurs by exposing them to government mixers and opportunities, showing them how legislative and economic systems directly impact their businesses:
  • "I talk to them about how she has to get in bed with the commissioners because there is government funds and contracts that can help her business grow." (03:27)
  • "Your legislator’s second biggest job is budget... I teach them, I teach them from a selfish perspective. Let me show you how to get this money..." (03:59)

3. The Science of Youth Decision-Making (04:58–06:29)

• Jones emphasizes that the brains of young people, especially young men, are not fully developed until age 25:
  • "Up until they’re 25, their little brain ain’t even developed. The prefrontal cortex is not fully developed. What does the prefrontal cortex manage? Decision making and risk assessment." (05:36)
  • This scientific fact underscores her advocacy for raising the juvenile court age to 25.

4. The Consequences of Ignoring Brain Development (06:03–08:30)

• The episode tackles (with urgency) the unfairness of treating youth as fully responsible adults:
  • "This is why we shouldn’t be imprisoning 20-year-olds… At 14, the sensors in your head don’t communicate with each other. The part that tells you not to do something, and the part that does it are not yet talking to each other." (06:59, 07:55)
  • Jones passionately frames mass incarceration of Black boys as “a genocide…slavery by a new name.” (08:20)

5. Righteous Anger: Refusing to Be Policed (09:58–12:26)

• Jones shares a personal story from CBS Mornings, pushing back against being labeled "angry":
  • "You were not going to demonize my anger for your comfort... Maybe, but it’s righteous anger. Sometimes we’re so focused on being right, we ain’t concerned about being righteous." (10:03, 10:36)
  • She hopes her legacy will teach children to focus more on being righteous than right, even if it’s uncool.

6. The Need for Communal Love and Accountability (12:43–16:52)

• The group affirms the importance of love in the community and the necessity to self-correct:
  • "As a community... the one thing we need to practice is love. It’s bold. It’s the one thing we haven’t tried." (13:36)
  • "Collaborate. Stay together y’all. Stronger together. And hold each other accountable in righteousness and love... When we do that, the judge don’t get to correct you. The police don’t get to correct you. The jailer don’t get to correct you." (15:35, 16:22)

7. Generational Gaps: Structure, Emotional Intelligence, and Accountability (16:39–19:07)

• The discussion touches on the lost tradition of "correcting" youth within the community and strong family bonds:
  • "We need some uncles. Real uncles. What’s up?...The one time my son really hurt my feelings, his dad said, ‘that’s my partner, not you. If your mother ever call me again sounding like she sound, I’ma forget you my son.’" (18:35, 19:02)
  • The lack of accountability is contrasted with the dangerous proliferation of weapons, making even OGs (elders) fearful to intervene.
  • Kids crave structure, and the lack thereof leads to many social problems, including the misprioritization of values among youth.

8. Lessons from Other Cultures: Community in Marriage and Family (22:30–24:11)

• Jones draws inspiration from the close-knit Romney (Gypsy) family structure, where personal issues like marriage are overseen by a "family council":
  • "The whole family’s ambition is to keep y’all together." (24:12)
  • This communal approach fosters accountability and a support system that is often missing in modern Black families.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kimberly Latrice Jones [03:02]:
  "People thought it was a misuse of $300,000. I thought it was a perfect use because I had 10,000 kids in the building under the age of 25."

• Kimberly Latrice Jones [05:57]:
  "We gotta stop wanting a 24 year old to have the same understanding and capacity as a 44 year old."

• Kimberly Latrice Jones [07:30]:
  "I understand the state of emergency we're in, sitting in those meetings and hearing what they got planned for our boys. It is a genocide. It is a genocide. It is slavery by a new name."

• Kimberly Latrice Jones [10:36]:
  "You were not going to demonize my anger for your comfort... It’s righteous anger. Because sometimes we are so focused on being right, we ain’t concerned about being righteous."

• Kimberly Latrice Jones [15:35]:
  "Collaborate. Stay together, y'all. Stronger together. And hold each other accountable in righteousness and love."

• Kimberly Latrice Jones [16:22]:
  "When we do that, the judge don’t get to correct you. The police don’t get to correct you. The jailer don’t get to correct you. The principal don’t get to correct you. The hospital don’t get to correct you. Oof. We gotta correct each other."

• Kimberly Latrice Jones [13:36]:
  "The one thing that we need to practice is love. It is bold. It's the one thing we haven't tried."

Important Timestamps

• 01:30–03:59 — Youth voter concert strategy & community engagement
• 05:36–06:29 — Discussion on brain development in youth and implications for justice
• 09:58–12:26 — Righteous anger and public perception
• 15:35–16:22 — Advice to youth: accountability and collective correction
• 19:07–21:30 — The impact of missing male role models and community structure
• 22:30–24:12 — Family council and community-oriented problem-solving from Romney culture

Conclusion

This episode offers a nuanced, urgent conversation about the structures, accountability, and love needed to rescue Black youth from systemic neglect and harm. Kimberly Latrice Jones and the hosts blend personal testimony, neuroscience, cultural criticism, and tangible community strategies, making it clear that saving the next generation requires both innovation and a return to fundamental values of love, respect, and collective responsibility. The energy is raw, righteous, and overwhelmingly solution-oriented—a resource for anyone who cares about the future of Black America.