Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Brothers Give Voice and Restore Hope to Thousands Suffering Economic Uncertainty

Amid economic uncertainties and a pervasive sense of voicelessness for many, three members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., are empowering countless Washingtonians to create their own narratives and forge new directions through entrepreneurship and artistic expression.​

Led by a call to activism and a love for community, Brandon “Breeze” Briscoe, Deon Jenkins, and Daniel “Aladdin” Philip are teaching Washingtonians to subsidize their income through entrepreneurial endeavors that yield financial dividends and provide a voice to many who feel silenced.

For Jenkins, this message of self-empowerment and financial literacy is one he learned early from his father, a self-taught entrepreneur.  “My father was a DJ, I worked with him powering sound from a car battery.  He taught me that you don’t need special degrees or fancy equipment to be successful.  He also demonstrated the valuable lesson that tech skills can be learned at any age.”

Lessons Jenkins learned from his father and the brotherhood regarding teaching future generations, sharing knowledge, and serving communities in times of need seem especially apropos now.

“Nationally, over 75,000 federal employees have accepted buyouts, many probationary federal employees have been fired, and the administration has instituted a hiring freeze, allowing only one replacement employee for every four that leave,” according to the DC Office of Revenue Analysis. As a result, federal employment in the District of Columbia is projected to drastically decline by approximately 40,000 jobs, or a total of 21%.

Brotherhood Rises to Increase Community Financial Literacy

Recognizing the profound impact of these challenges, Briscoe, Jenkins, and Philip are using their collective business acumen and artistic creativity to help Washingtonians amplify their voices and forge new entrepreneurial paths.​

Jenkins, 49, brings a wealth of expertise as a videographer, DJ, sound engineer, photographer, and entrepreneur. With over 37 years of experience, he offers artists and professionals business and technical skills to upscale, or even restart, career paths in the face of devastating job losses.​

“Updating headshots, teaching how to create and maintain a professional online presence, filming video presentations and voiceovers, teaching the use of AI, are skills that not only help give clarity to one’s professional path, they also empower and instill confidence during a time when many are feeling defeated,” said Jenkins, CEO of Diggs Digital Media.

Known to many Washingtonians as Aladdin, Philip, 40, emphasized the transformative power of art, particularly in navigating today’s challenges. 

“Art is a reflection of the people and, in many ways, a reflection of rebellion. The greatest art comes from angst, frustration, and rebellion,” he emphatically stated. “The changing landscape of our nation has birthed high levels of creative energy. Anytime in history that we are on the cusp of great change, art that transcends is usually the result,” said the popular 93.9 FM radio host.

The multi-hyphenate artist has seized this critical time in our nation’s history to teach creatives the importance of the business side of art.

“Register your art, copyright your work, track sales of your projects, study your field of art—information is power,” Phillip said. “Being competitive is not always about being the most talented, it is often about being the most prepared.”

National Unrest Gives Birth to Community Activism

Throughout history, national unrest has consistently birthed powerful waves of community activism. From the civil rights era to today’s socio-economic challenges, hardship has often ignited creativity, resistance, and resilience. 

“As much as things change, they stay the same,” said Briscoe, CEO of New Jackz Entertainment. “From transatlantic slave times to modern civil rights, music and activism have always been our voice when we are under the greatest pressure to be silent.” 

Leveraging his 37-year music and sound recording career, Briscoe mentors on the importance of developing and sustaining multiple income sources. He stresses the importance of being financially literate, even during times of financial stability and prosperity.

This lesson of financial preparedness is striking home for Briscoe, who in June, along with 1300 others, will lose his job as a consultant for a large corporation due to massive nationwide employment downsizing.

Yet, Briscoe looks to the future with optimism, “ true service to the community is passing on what was passed down to you.  I have two sons, I want my legacy to them to be the way that I treated people, the way I helped to foster free expression, but above all, the way that I rose from even great hardships with my morals, ethics, and character intact.”

Current Pressure, Future Leaders

By empowering voices, sparking movements, teaching financial literacy, and encouraging economic independence, Briscoe, Jenkins, and Philip highlight the important role of community in social change. 

“Anything worthwhile has to go through an intense pressure process: gold, diamonds, even one’s character.  Squeezing a peoples back against the wall does crush, but the pressure eventually causes a refining where precious movements are birthed,” Briscoe said. “Right now, this pressure is producing, as it has for every generation, a community of greatness.  Out of trying times, the best of us rise.”

Collectively, these brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. give a platform to thousands across the nation who feel disenfranchised.  

The people to whom they mentor are not always the outspoken.  Through providing skills and services such as podcasting, sound recording, graphics, and monetization of intellectual property, Briscoe, Jenkins, and Philip are themselves creating a community movement of empowerment for the outspoken and those who are timidly beginning to find their voice.

“The most valuable lesson I’ve learned through my mentorship from Aladdin is the way that he maintains and nurtures relationships,” said musical artist Kalonji “Arckitech” Mack, 31. “From national artists to local Washingtonians, people come back to him at different stages of their lives and careers, sometimes over decades.  He builds community in a way that benefits now, and plants lessons and skills that sustain for life.”

In a time when many feel silenced by economic hardships and societal shifts, the initiatives spearheaded by the fraternity brothers serve as beacons of hope. By equipping individuals with the tools to start businesses, express themselves through music, and share their stories, they are facilitating economic independence and nurturing a community where voices are heard, creativity thrives, and future leaders are nurtured.​