To God Be The Glory! We Must Never Give Up!: This Is My Story Growing Up Black In America

Charles A. Wiley grew up in the Projects of Lincoln Heights, Ohio. Growing up Charles found himself being a part of Black on Black Violence. As an adult working in Corporate America he experienced systemic racism. And as a Black man living in Cincinnati, Ohio, Charles was also a victim of racial profiling and police brutality. Charles’ racially charged interactions with the police in Cincinnati resulted in a class action lawsuit against the Cincinnati Police Department. From that successful lawsuit, a Collaborative Agreement was formed in the City of Cincinnati. The Collaborative is a groundbreaking agreement - still in effect - of police reforms, which is now considered an international standard of successful systemic change in a police department. In these times of massive, ground breaking BLACK LIVES MATTER protests nationally and across the world, Charles’ story illustrates what a successful end result looks like, when an individual is willing to risk his career and reputation to stand up for what’s right.