KAMRON: Interview

---By Kameren McNeal Interview 

What advice would you give to the readers—especially the younger

generation during this time in our country? (Include advice you’d give

for remaining safe as they move about their day?)

My advice to the readers - especially the younger generation during this

time in our country -  never be a follower. Stand up for what you believe

and don’t believe everything you hear or just what anyone tells you. Do

your own research and if you don’t get the answer(s) and you are still

unsure about a particular subject you may not be that familiar with talk

to someone who does have that knowledge and can provide you with

the correct information.

Always be true to yourself no matter what anyone says. If you get

negative feedback or criticism let that be your motivation to push even

harder. Always think outside of the box - don’t be in the box. Never

limit yourself and always be open-minded to learn everything you can.

Even though some things are beyond our control don’t purposely put

yourself in an unsafe situation. My advice for remaining safe is try your

best to always be alert and pay attention to your surroundings. Be

careful of who you associate yourself with because everyone is not your

friend and do not always have your best interest. Don’t allow yourself to

be influenced by what everybody else is doing because it seems “cool”

or because you want to be part of the crowd.

What is one thing that has kept you strong during difficult times—not

only as a Black man in America…but also as an entrepreneur?

The one thing that has kept me strong during difficult times as a Black

man in America is holding on to the values that were instilled in me as a

young child by both my mom and grandmother. The most important

thing I was taught was to pray no matter what circumstances I face or

how bad a situation may look. What has kept me strong as an

entrepreneur is if I heard the word “no” I made it become a yes by not

allowing that “no” to discourage me in any way.

What’s the major change you’ve noticed in our world—and in our

country during the last year? 5 years? 20 years?

Being that I am 26 years old, I am going to comment on the changes in

the world and our country based on what I have noticed in the past 5

years. What I see is the world changing and moving very fast. I think

technology has played a major part in this. You see babies in strollers

with electronics. I see very young children growing up and not being

able to enjoy being a child. It is really very sad and heartbreaking to

see how things have changed. What happened to little girls playing with

dolls and little boys with race cars.

Little girls with their fingernails painted, wearing lipstick. Young ladies

having babies at a young age and trying to be their kids friend and not

the parent.

I see a change where kids are disrespectful to adults. They have no

regard of cursing in front of an elderly person. When I was growing up

talking back was never an option.

I think overall the major change is with society and the way people think

compared to the way things were years ago. I believe that a lot of

morals have changed. Not that I judge anyone but for example same

sex marriages. You see commercials advertising a product with men

kissing. Kids are seeing this and they can be easily influenced and

believing these things are okay and acceptable.

What’s the worst or most difficult challenge you’ve had to face as a

Black man growing up in America?  How specifically did you overcome

it? 

The worst and most difficult challenge I have faced too many times (as I

am sure many other Black men can relate) growing up in America is

being profiled by the police (specifically LAPD and Inglewood PD). The

profiling was done by both White officers and Black officers. I lost count

of how many times I was pulled over, harassed, and handcuffed by the

police because of the cars that I would drive. I believe all they saw was

a young Black male with a nice car. What happened to a young Black

man who does actually have a job and worked hard to purchase a nice

vehicle.

Just to give a few examples (because there are many):

I was parked sitting in my car with one of my friends after we had just

gotten tacos. It was LAPD and they shined their light all in my car and

in my console said it was weed. I said, “Those are jalapenos!”

One day I literally was on my way home from work about 10 minutes

away from home. I still had my work vest and badge sitting on the front

seat. On that occasion I was pulled over by the gang unit police officers

who made comments, “You live in Inglewood and you’re not a

gangbanger and you don’t know any gangbangers?” They wanted to

search my car and I told them I was not giving consent. At that time

they told me they were going to call the sergeant and being that I had

been through this so many times - I was like, “Call him - I’ll wait.” Once

the sergeant came I told him the same thing I was not giving consent

because I had not did anything wrong and what reason did they want to

search my vehicle at which point they finally let me go after detaining

me for over 45 minutes.

Every time of being pulled over I would follow the proper procedures

and asked what I was being pulled over for. Mainly the reason was

because my windows were tinted. My take was give me a fix-it ticket

and let me be on my way because my license was always valid, my

insurance was always current but instead they wanted to search my

vehicle. On one occasion I let them search and they destroyed my back

seats - all for nothing.

Another time I was told I was pulled over for speeding and that I was

going over 100 miles and this was literally from one block to the next

block to where I lived. When my mom came outside and talked to the

officers they ended up giving me a ticket that indicated I was going I

believe 60 mph (not 100 as they told me when they stopped me). In the

meantime I had already been pulled out of my car, sitting on the curb in

handcuffs while my car was being searched.

The America that I have lived in as a young Black man I have been

stereotyped by the police for being in a gang because I have tattoos.

Keep in mind my tattoos are my mom and grandma’s name on each of

my forearms, a gigantic picture of Jesus on my outer arm/shoulder area,

a tribute to my brother who was murdered when I was 8 years old, and

my birthday in Roman numerals.

Sometimes the officers were polite and after talking to me and saw that I

had some intelligence they would end up telling me “I can see you are a

good kid and raised right” but in reality this was all after-the-fact that I

got pulled over.

I even went to Internal Affairs and the outcome was that the officers

were within their rights. Unfortunately this is the society we are living in

where I believe there is not very much justice for Blacks.

I can’t really say that I have truly overcome some of the police

challenges but just being more alert and aware making sure I am not

giving them any reason to pull me over and really staying out of the way.

Sadly, at some point, I felt I begin to become numb to the harassment

and being pulled over. 

If you’re an entrepreneur, what’s been your biggest challenge?

As an entrepreneur and owner/operator of a rental car business my

biggest challenge was getting started and finding avenues to get clients

but once I was able to get this established my business really did take

off. I began to get returning customers, customers that were referrals,

and a lot through my advertising on social media. For my returning

clients I would give them special discounted rates, gift cards showing

my appreciation for them renting from me on a regular basis.

The rental car business itself is very risky. The challenge of being an

entrepreneur in this business is hoping and praying your vehicle is taken

care of. It was basically a matter of being on top of my game because

people will definitely try to get over on you. Before renting I would verify

a person’s license and insurance information. People would send me a

picture of a fake license or when calling to verify their insurance it had

lapsed. Some examples of other challenges: There was an instance

where my vehicle was put in police impound because the person I

rented it to allowed someone else without a license to drive it. Vehicles

have been in accidents and totaled and the challenge of that is losing

some of your fleet and having to replace vehicles to maintain your

business. Believe it or not someone rented my Tesla for a week and

ended up selling it to someone on Offer Up with a fake pink slip. I was

able to track my car and had to have a sheriff go with me to get my

vehicle back. 

Best advice you believe you were given that remains with you?  Did you

receive/accept it at the time? Why or why not?

The best advice I was given that remains with me today is always follow

your dreams, never give up no matter what, and there is nothing that

you can’t accomplish if you put your mind to it. I believe I received and

accepted the advice at the time even though I may not have always

applied it at certain times just from being young but when I would sit

back and think about it that is when I believe I accepted it a lot more and

tried to live by it. The most important advice I received was to treat

people as you want to be treated.

Who has been the most impactful person in your life? Why?

Without a doubt the most impactful person in my life are two people -

my mom and my grandma. The two of them were (and still are) my

biggest motivators. Always giving me encouraging words and helped to

keep me grounded. 

What is your “go to” in times of trouble or indecision? 

My go-to in times of trouble or indecision is God. I pray and I listen to

“hear” what is being said to me to direct me in the way I should go or

handle a certain situation. My second go-to is my mom and my

grandma. They listen to me and will give their opinion about whatever it

is. I can talk to them about anything and they never judge me even

when I have made some bad decisions. What amazes me the most is

they always seem to be in sync. I can tell them the same thing at

different times and I pretty much always get the exact same answer

from both of them. I have to laugh sometimes and say, “That’s the

same thing momma said” or “that’s the same thing granny said.” 

How important is it to support Black businesses? 

I feel it is very important to support Black businesses because we have

to keep each other uplifted as a community and embrace each other

with that support. Having a Black business is already challenging

enough and without that support I believe there is a greater chance of

the business possibly failing. I personally try to support black owned

businesses such as beauty supplies and restaurants. 

Why do you think many of them do not survive?

I think many of them do not survive because they are not supported by

many which can lead to a decrease in their revenue. I believe that they

may not have the funding or resources available to them to maintain

their business. I think it is important to do as much research as possible

to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to have a more successful

Business. 

What is your educational background?  Was it worth it?

Let me be honest - I never even liked school because I would struggle.

I wasn’t a terrible student but I did not always apply myself as I could or

should have. It wasn’t until high school that I realized I needed to start

taking school a lot more seriously and there was no more playing

around. I have to admit playing football was a major reason for this

because I knew if I didn’t keep my grades up I would not be able to play.

By my senior year I think that is when reality really started to kick in that

I needed to get prepared to go out into the real world. After graduating

from Hamilton High School I went directly to West Los Angeles College

and received my Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences:

Behavioral and Social Science. Without a doubt it was definitely worth it

and I have no regrets because it was a big accomplishment for me.

Name two of your Black heroes…and explain why you chose them.

My two Black heroes are my mother and my grandmother. They are not

famous to anyone such as the many Black heroes in American history

like Martin Luther King, Jr. for example, but they are heroes in my eyes

for many reasons. The faith that I know and see that they both have.

They have so much strength no matter what they may have went

through in life and they overcame all of those struggles - never giving up

and never giving in. Honestly I feel I am the man that I am today

because of my two heroes.