In this episode, Tony Reeves reflects on how a simple kindergarten classroom in 1974 became the backdrop for one of the most profound social transformations in American history.

Born in 1969 and starting school just two decades after Brown v. Board of Education, Tony shares what it was like to begin his education during the final waves of school desegregation in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. What felt like an ordinary start to childhood was actually a quiet revolution — where innocence and integration met for the first time.

He also pays tribute to his mother, one of the first Black teachers in an integrated kindergarten in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, who carried the weight of generational change while protecting her son’s innocence. Through their shared experience, Tony explores how Black Generation X became the bridge between the struggles of the past and the promise of a new America.
In this episode you’ll hear:

• What it meant to start kindergarten in the post-Jim Crow South
• How school integration reshaped early childhood for Black Gen X
• The untold strength of Black educators during desegregation
• Why Generation X still carries the legacy of those first classrooms

🎙️ “We weren’t just learning our ABCs — we were learning what equality looked like, even before we understood the word.”Call to Action:If this story resonates with your own journey — or your parents’ — share this episode and subscribe for more reflections on history, identity, and the experiences that shaped Black Gen X.

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In this episode of IN THE KNOW with Anthony Reeves, we take a deep look at what it meant to be Black Generation X — the first generation to grow up in a multicultural America while still carrying the emotional weight of segregation, loss, and social transformation. 

Anthony reflects on how his generation was shaped by the trauma and triumphs of their parents and grandparents — from the assassinations of the 1960s and the Civil Rights victories that followed, to the modern echoes of George Floyd’s death and global reckoning. 

Through powerful storytelling, historical parallels, and personal insight, Anthony explores how Black Gen X became the bridge generation — raised by those who endured the fight for equality, and tasked with living out its promise in real time. 
🔹 Topics include:

• The legacy of Civil Rights and generational trauma
• The psychological impact of rapid social change
• How the death of George Floyd mirrors earlier generational pain
• The story of Anthony’s mother — a teacher and mother navigating a new world
• Why remembering the past is key to healing the present

🎙️ “Black Gen X grew up between progress and pain. We were America’s test case for transformation.”
👉 Listen, follow, and share to join the conversation on how history continues to shape our lives. For more reflections, check out Anthony’s e-book “Black Generation X Journey: The World Before Me” — available now on Fourthwall.

#BlackGenX #InTheKnowPodcast #AnthonyReeves #CulturalTrauma #CivilRightsLegacy #GenerationalHealing #BetweenHopeAndTrauma #SocialJustice #BlackHistory #GenXVoices

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(00:00:00) Lessons from the Past: Why Black Travelers still move differently
(00:00:08) Intro: Moving Differently for a Reason
(00:00:32) The Myth That Time Erases Danger
(00:02:00) The Generational Warning System
(00:03:37) From Emmett Till to Interstate 10
(00:05:51) It’s not about fear. It’s about Focus
(00:07:29) Closing: Blueprints, not baggage

For many of us in Black Gen X, travel has never been just about the destination — it’s about survival through awareness. 

In this episode, I explore how generations before us taught vital lessons about how to move in certain spaces — lessons that were never about fear, but about staying safe in a world that didn’t always welcome us equally. From family warnings before road trips down South to stories of Emmett Till and beyond, I reflect on how these “travel codes” became a quiet form of self-protection that still resonates today. Because the truth is — the past isn’t baggage. It’s a blueprint for survival

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In 1987, I was just 18 — a college freshman at the University of Tampa and a brand-new Army Reservist trying to earn a $4,000 bonus. What should’ve been a routine weekend drill turned into one of the wildest, most dangerous journeys of my life. 

No car. No money. No phone. Just a uniform, a highway, and the belief that I could walk 80 miles from Orlando back to Tampa — because, at that age, I thought I was invincible. 

In this episode, I share how that long, dark walk down I-4 became a defining lesson about freedom, faith, and foolishness. From begging for food at a gas station to crawling under a resort fence just to use a phone, to being rescued by a kind Black couple at night — this story is about more than survival. 

It’s about what it truly meant to be Black Gen X — the first generation told we were “free to move,” yet still learning that freedom didn’t always mean safety. 

🎧 Tune in as I unpack how one night on a Florida highway revealed what Traveling While Black Gen X really felt like — equal parts courage, ignorance, and grace.

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In 2008, I had just started my own law firm in Central Florida and was commuting daily through the quiet backroads of Polk County. One day, a young woman in my mentor’s office pulled me aside and said, “Be careful driving through that town — the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan lives there.”

That moment stopped me cold. Not because I feared what might happen, but because it revealed something deeper — that even decades after Jim Crow, the echoes of history still shape how we move through certain spaces. 

In this episode, I revisit that conversation, unpack what it meant for me as a Black Gen Xer, and reflect on how generational awareness — even from those born long after the civil rights era — reminds us that history doesn’t fade just because the laws change. 

Join me as I explore why awareness isn’t paranoia, why silence doesn’t equal safety, and why talking about history isn’t divisive — it’s survival. 

🎧 Listen, reflect, and share this story with someone who believes history no longer matters. 💬 For exclusive reflections and bonus commentary, visit my Patreon at linktr.ee/anthonyreeves.

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In 1996, I was a 27-year-old Black naval officer stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. One late night, I was driving home from Jacksonville along a dark, two-lane rural road — no lights, no traffic, just me and the sound of my tires against the pavement.

Then I saw it — headlights, brake lights, and the unmistakable turn of a police cruiser making a U-turn behind me.

In that moment, every image I had ever seen of how quickly things could go wrong for someone who looked like me came rushing to the surface. Nobody had ever given me “the talk.” I didn’t know the playbook. All I knew was that I wanted to make it home alive. 

This episode shares the story of that night — the split-second decisions, the unexpected conversation with the officer, and the reflections that came years later. It’s about instinct, survival, and the quiet ways Black Gen X learned lessons that weren’t always spoken but deeply understood. 
Because sometimes, survival isn’t about being brave — it’s about being wise.

🔊  In This Episode:

• Growing up without “the talk” about police encounters
• The night I got pulled over in rural North Carolina
• The three choices that flashed through my mind
• How a shared military connection shifted the moment
• Why survival sometimes means de-escalating before it begins
• Reflections from older Black Marines who reminded me what mattered most

💬  Call to Action:

If this story resonates with you, share your thoughts in the comments or send a voice message through the platform. Your stories matter — and together, we keep these conversations alive.
Explore more reflections, exclusive stories, and digital books at Linktree.com/mynameisreeves and join me on Patreon for behind-the-scenes access at Patreon.com/TheAnthonyReevesExperience.

🏷️  Hashtags / Tags for Podcast Platforms

#BlackGenX #TheAnthonyReevesExperience #LifeLessons #TrueStory #BlackMenAndPolice #CampLejeune #SurvivalStory #MilitaryLife #Awareness #GenXReflections

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In this episode, Tony Reeves takes listeners beyond the viral video “Beware of the Klan County” to unpack what it truly meant for Black Generation X to grow up after the fall of legal segregation.
The Civil Rights victories of the 1950s and 1960s—Brown v. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act—changed the laws. But they didn’t immediately change the people.

Tony explores how Gen X became the first generation to live without Jim Crow, yet still under the shadow of those who thrived during it. From courtrooms still fighting school segregation into the 1980s to the quiet persistence of prejudice in everyday life, this episode reveals the growing pains of a nation learning how to desegregate—and the emotional toll of being a transitional generation. 
Generation X inherited the promise of freedom without a blueprint for how to live it. This is our story.


🔊  Highlights Include

• Brown v. Board II and the slow road to integration
• Why 1970 marked a turning point for institutional discrimination
• How laws and culture reinforced one another for generations
• What happened when the institutions changed but the bigots didn’t
• The identity divide within Generation X
• Why remembering history is not “dwelling on the past”

🎙️  Call to Action (for your podcast outro or show notes)

👉🏾 Join the conversation — Share your thoughts about growing up in the shadow of change. 👉🏾 Support the work — Visit mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com for books and reflections from the Black Gen X Reflections collection.

 👉🏾 Subscribe to IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves wherever you listen to podcasts for more real talk about history, identity, and lived experience.

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In 1995, I arrived in Jacksonville, North Carolina — a young, proud Black naval officer reporting for duty at Camp Lejeune. Like anyone new to a duty station, I was trying to find my way — where to live, where to eat, and how to adjust. 

But within weeks, I received a warning I’ll never forget. A senior non-commissioned officer pulled me aside and said: 

“If you’re driving, make sure you drive the speed limit through that county.” 
At first, I thought he was talking about speed traps — until he told me that less than ten years earlier, that same county had a billboard that read:

“Home of the Ku Klux Klan.” 

That warning changed how I saw everything. It wasn’t about fear — it was about awareness. Even though the signs came down, the attitudes hadn’t always disappeared. 

In this episode, I share how that experience shaped my understanding of race, safety, and survival in America — and why it still matters today. 

This story also marks the first reference to my upcoming book, Traveling While Black Gen X, a reflection on what it meant for my generation — post–Jim Crow, pre-smartphone — to navigate freedom and fear on the same road. 

🎧 Listen now to hear how one warning became a lifelong reminder that awareness is not fear — it’s protection.

Call to Action 

If this episode resonates with you: ✅ Follow and share this podcast with someone who values real stories and honest reflections. 💬 Join the conversation by leaving a comment or message on my socials. 📚 Learn more about my upcoming book, Traveling While Black Gen X, and how these experiences shaped its creation.

🏷️  Hashtags / Tags

#BeCarefulOfTheKlanCounty #TravelingWhileBlackGenX #DrivingWhileBlack #BlackGenX #TheAnthonyReevesExperience #AmericanHistory #BlackExperience #TonyReeves #AwarenessNotFear #Storytime #RealTalkPodcast

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In this special Commentary on the Comments episode of IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves, I’m responding to a viewer who asked a simple but powerful question:

“Why do you keep talking about Black Generation X?”

My answer goes far beyond nostalgia. Black Gen X stands at the crossroads of history — the first generation to grow up in a legally desegregated world but still carry the weight of institutional racism’s shadow. 

In this reflection, I explore how history remembers other generations through defining moments like Prohibition, World War II, and the Civil Rights Movement — but rarely defines our generation by anything beyond pop culture and MTV. 

I discuss how that historical oversight shapes the way we understand progress, identity, and belonging — and why it’s dangerous to “delete” parts of our shared story in the name of moving on. 
✊🏾 Key themes:

• How history overlooks Black Gen X in favor of larger narratives
• Why we’re called the “transitional generation”
• The risk of erasing lived experiences in the name of progress
• Why remembering our stories is essential to understanding where we are today

💬 Join the conversation: Do you think Black Gen X has been overlooked or misrepresented in American history? Share your thoughts on YouTube or social media using the hashtag #CommentaryOnTheComments — I might feature your response in a future episode. 

🔔 Follow IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves wherever you get your podcasts for more reflections on life, identity, and the truth behind the stories we tell.

🎧 Listen. Reflect. Engage.

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At 7 years old, I thought I found the perfect friend. We played, laughed, and shared childhood joy—until one day, he told me we couldn’t play anymore because I was Black. That moment of rejection was my first real encounter with how quickly a welcoming space could become unwelcome.

In this episode, I reflect on the innocence lost that day and how it shaped my understanding of race, belonging, and adaptation as a Black Gen Xer. From childhood confusion to adult perspective, I explore what it meant to grow up in spaces where acceptance was conditional and rejection could arrive without warning. 

Tune in for a personal story about resilience, race, and the lifelong impact of a single childhood moment.


Do you want me to also add a short call-to-action for listeners (e.g., inviting them to follow, share their own experiences, or check out your e-books/memberships) so the podcast description doubles as both narrative and promotion?

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In this episode, I reflect on what it meant to be a Black Gen Xer navigating college life, cultural misunderstandings, and the loneliness of being “the only one” in spaces where I didn’t always feel welcome. From being told that HBCUs weren’t “the real world,” to living four years as the only Black student on my dorm floor, I share the raw lessons and coping strategies that my generation had to invent on the fly.

We didn’t always get it right—but we tried. Gen X carried the burden of learning to survive in a world that claimed to be equal but wasn’t, and we passed those lessons—messy as they were—on to future generations.

🎧 Tune in as I explore: 

• Why people “Monday morning quarterback” racism but rarely understand what it feels like in real time
• How cultural misunderstandings shaped my interactions and forced me to adapt
• What it meant to be the only one, and how safe spaces became essential for survival
• Why Generation X is the overlooked bridge generation between Baby Boomers and Millennials

📩 Stay connected beyond the podcast:
👉 Sign up for my mailing list:Mailing list signup 
📚 Explore my eBooks: https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/

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In this episode, I share my very first experience of being exposed to racism as a child growing up in the rural South during the 1970s. At just eight years old, an innocent invitation to play on a trampoline turned into a painful lesson about exclusion, bigotry, and the way prejudice is passed down through generations.

But this story is also about courage. When I was told I wasn’t welcome, one Cub Scout Den Mother stood up for me, making it clear that if I wasn’t accepted, none of the kids would be a part of it. That moment showed me not only what racism looked like up close, but also what it means to have someone defend you when you can’t defend yourself.
Join me as I reflect on:

• The innocence of childhood interrupted by racism.
• How generational prejudice poisons relationships.
• The powerful role of allies who refuse to stay silent.
• Why these stories still matter today.

👉 After listening, I’d love to hear from you: When was your first exposure to racism or bigotry?

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What was it like to hit the road in the late ’80s and early ’90s without cell phones, GPS, or streaming music? In this episode, I take you back to my days as a Black Gen Xer making 14-hour road trips from Pine Bluff, Arkansas to Tampa, Florida. From glovebox maps and pay phones to dodging sundown towns and planning gas stops, traveling was more than just getting from point A to point B — it was survival. I share the strategies, the risks, and the independence that defined an entire generation of travelers. 

If you’ve ever wondered how Gen X navigated long-distance road trips — or what it meant to travel while Black in the South — this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

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In this episode, I reflect on the unique reality of being part of Black Gen X—caught between two worlds that often felt at odds. Our parents, mostly Baby Boomers, grew up under segregation and faced open hostility, while we were the first generation to come of age in a fully desegregated society.
I share my story of growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas—a majority-Black town in a majority-White state—where I saw both the nurturing support of Black communities and the subtle hostilities that lingered outside of them. I explore the shift from “hard bigotry” to “soft bigotry,” the absence of a blueprint for navigating this new reality, and the ways both Black and White Gen X had to learn by trial and error.
This is a conversation about resilience, identity, and how Gen X forged its own path without letting the weight of the past hold us back.

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IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves dives deep into the intersections of law, life, and lived experience. Hosted by Administrative Law Judge and storyteller Tony Reeves, this podcast explores the realities of navigating professional spaces, surviving systemic barriers, and finding your voice in a world that often overlooks it.

From reflections on growing up post–Jim Crow, to the challenges of being “the only one” in corporate America, to practical insights on equity, access, and resilience — every episode blends personal stories with lessons that inspire, inform, and empower.

Whether you’re a professional charting your own career path, someone seeking a better understanding of equity and justice, or just looking for real talk about what it means to thrive against the odds, this podcast brings you authentic conversations and timeless insights. 

👉 New episodes weekly. Listen in, get inspired, and stay In the Know.


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 Black Gen X grew up with no blueprint. Mainstream TV and movies didn’t reflect our lives—until the arts began to open the door. From The Cosby Show to Hip Hop, from BET to School Daze, representation transformed how we saw ourselves and how others saw us.
 
📖 For more insights, check out my book Black Gen X in the Middle, where I share how our generation bridged the gap between era

https://mynameisreeves-shop.fourthwall.com/products/gen-x-in-the-middle-how-black-gen-x-bridged-two-worlds

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When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, our lives changed overnight. Schools shut down, graduations moved to front lawns, and families were thrown into a reality no one had prepared for.

Even after two years, many were left traumatized by the sudden shift. 

But what if we take that same lens and look back further? Imagine living under 90 years of Jim Crow and then seeing those laws vanish virtually overnight. For Black Gen X, that was our inheritance — growing up in a desegregated society that our parents and grandparents had never experienced, with no roadmap to guide us. 

In this episode, I connect the shock of the pandemic to the deeper historical transition after Jim Crow, showing how Gen X became the generation raised without a blueprint. 

📚 This conversation is one of the central themes in my new book, Black Gen X in the Middle. Leave a comment on the YouTube version of this episode and request a free code for a copy!

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In this episode, I revisit a powerful college conversation that revealed how deeply history shapes our everyday choices.

Two young women — one from Jamaica, one from Georgia — faced the same situation: walking into a space known for hostility toward people of color. The Jamaican friend walked in without hesitation. The Georgia friend held back, cautious and wary.

What followed was more than a difference of opinion — it was a clash between cultural confidence and generational survival. From the legacy of Jim Crow to the resilience of the Caribbean, this story unpacks why both courage and caution can be valid, and why empathy is crucial when perspectives collide. 

Tune in to explore how history, culture, and lived experience shape the way we move through the world — and how understanding these differences can bring us closer together.

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McDonald’s was a cultural staple for me—growing up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, hanging out after games, and later during college nights in Tampa. But I discovered something that changed my perspective forever: my great aunt lived her entire life without ever stepping foot into a McDonald’s. 

The reason? She remembered when McDonald’s was segregated and refused to serve Black customers. For her, that rejection was unforgettable, and she made a quiet, lifelong stand of resistance: “If my money wasn’t good then, it’s not good now.” 

In this episode, I share how her story impacted me as a member of Black Gen X—the first generation to live fully in an integrated world, yet still directly connected to those who endured segregation. This is more than a family story; it’s a reminder of the sacrifices and scars that shaped our path forward, and why we must keep telling these stories for future generations. 

👉 Tune in as I reflect on what it means to be a gatekeeper of history, memory, and cultural lessons.

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Have you ever thought you landed your dream job—only to realize it was just comfortable? In this episode, I open up about what it’s really like to hit a career crossroads at 40.

I share my personal journey of thinking I had my “forever” job, only to be forced into an unexpected pivot. That moment became the shock I needed to leave my old firm, build my own practice, and run it successfully for nearly a decade.

This episode is a reminder that reaching a turning point in your late 30s or 40s is not the end of your career. It may be the chance to rebuild, refocus, and redefine your path. 

If you’ve ever asked yourself “What’s next for me?”—this conversation is for you.

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