We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Beverly “BJ” Council. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Beverly “BJ” below.

Beverly “BJ”, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I started You & Five-O, LLC due to the increased or rather more visible shootings of Black bodies by law enforcement (LE). As member first of the African American community and as someone who worked in and still loves the noble profession of LE I wanted to do something to help the Black community and LE in navigating their interactions and working towards understanding and respecting each other’s perspective in the policing of the many diverse communities across this country. The ability to do that is by understanding each other, which includes at a minimum we are all open to at least hearing each other.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I entered LE after leaving college. It was not something I’d ever considered; it started out as a means to simply have a job and an income. It turned out to be exactly what I didn’t know I wanted. My chosen degree was going to be sociology, social worker. It turned out I ended up doing just that, frontline social worker. I created You & Five-O, LLC as a way to help primarily Black & Brown folk understand their basic rights when it comes to interacting with LE. I am very much aware that for those persons who see a lot of police presence in their community out of fear sometimes won’t file complaints on those who patrol their communities. They don’t believe their complaints will be heard much less investigate. As a Black retired female police executive, I bring a perspective that most don’t have, so I am doing my best to change that mindset of not believing their complaints won’t be investigated. It most certainly will, if not then it impacts not just the officer it can have an impact on leadership. I can assure them that filing complaints on officers and ranking officers is the first step to police reform. Reminding communities that officers are doing a job, and there are expectations, holding them accountable sometimes starts with the interaction they have with a community member.
I bring to this discussion first that I’m Black, not Blue, I have some insight as to how the system has impacted marginalized persons, and also a perspective from LE as to what we can and can’t do in a society that expects LE to do it all. I’ve spoken to over 3500 persons over the last seven (7) years. The thing that makes me proud is participants leave the presentation, feeling as though they’ve been heard, allowed to speak freely. They may not always agree, but they feel seen and heard. The other thing that makes me continue this work, is often people will say at the end, “I never considered that perspective”. That’s all I ask. whether they like of still dislike LE when they leave is not my goal, my only goal is to make sure they understand how they and the officer can GET HOME safely after the interaction.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

The journey of this business continues simply because it was never about making money, it was and still is about saving lives. My resilience is the fact that I’m driven because its more than just a business, it’s my purpose. I’m not sure if I’ll have the personal capital to continue to invest in my business after this current year. What I do know is that my doors will stay open as long as I believe someone wants to know how to Get Home safely after an interaction with police.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I started with my own personal money, and that is still mostly how I’ve been able to continue the work. I am fortunate that I don’t depend on this business to pay for any essential life needs or primary bills. I’m retired, so I’m privileged in that way as a small business owner. What I have learned that as a small business, is that for just one “owner” it’s difficult to find funding, especially grants. I don’t fit into the box of a lot of entrepreneurs. I don’t have a need for or can afford to hire employees. I hire other consultants to do work in areas I have no skills, like graphic web design, social media content posting, PR, podcast production. So as a one-person entrepreneur I am actually supporting and paying three (3) other small businesses. I’m spending money in areas that will make me relevant, yet I’m not making any money. So, funding a business, especially if it’s just you, it’s difficult. There are grants, but that funding is counted as income, so you’re penalized during tax time. I choose not to take out low interest rate loans mainly because I don’t want to have other debt, especially since I’ve not had dependable source of money coming into the business. So, not sure if I answered this question. I put my hands together in my own pocket and funded my business, then and now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youandfive-o.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-council/
• Other: https://www.youandfive-o.com/podcast