How to Reframe Your Shame and Finally Love Yourself | Dr. Delvena Thomas

Daniella Levine Cava on Growing Up With a Bully and Becoming Anti-Bully

In this deeply personal segment, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava reflects on growing up in a household shaped by emotional bullying and the complicated role she played within it. She shares how identifying with her father, rather than defending her mother, became a source of quiet shame, and how that experience stayed with her long after childhood. But instead of avoiding it, she examines it. What emerges is a powerful realization: the very thing she once struggled to understand became the foundation of her leadership. Today, her zero-tolerance stance on bullying isn’t just policy, it’s personal. This conversation explores how even our most uncomfortable truths can shape the way we lead, protect others, and show up in the world. Daniella Levine Cava Instagram | @mayordlc [https://www.instagram.com/mayordlc/] Explore more from OneUnited Bank: 🏦 Learn more: oneunited.com [https://www.oneunited.com/] 💡 Build smarter with WiseOne: oneunited.com/wiseone [https://www.oneunited.com/wiseone/] 💳 Get the Card: oneunited.com/apply [https://www.oneunited.com/apply/] Who's Your Ma' Honey?  is produced by EPYC Media Network (visit at epyc.co [https://www.epyc.co/])

4: How Feeling Like an Outcast Led to Daniella Levine Cava Becoming Mayor

What if the moments that made you feel like you didn’t belong… were actually shaping who you were meant to become? In this episode of Who’s Your Ma Honey?, Teri Williams and Suzan McDowell sit down with Miami-Dade Mayor Daxniella Levine Cava to unpack how early feelings of loneliness, disconnection, and not fitting in became the foundation of her leadership. From being an outcast as a child to navigating constant change and reinvention, Mayor Levine Cava shares how those experiences forced her to develop empathy, deep listening, and a people-first perspective that would ultimately define her path. Tune in - this episode not only talks about identity, perspective, and purpose, but it’s also about realizing that the discomfort you once tried to escape may actually be the thing preparing you to lead. KEY POINTS:  * Discovering the true source of success  * Being made to feel ashamed of where Mayor Levine came from * Realizing shame was actually her superpower * Understanding “undeserved shame” and how it shapes identity * Feeling like an outcast and not fitting in as a child * Reinventing herself through new environments * Becoming a leader by including others, not excluding them * How perspective and exposure shaped her worldview * Why deep listening became her greatest leadership skill QUOTES: “I wanted to have more friends, and I wanted to belong.” – Mayor Daniella Levine Cava “I had an opportunity to reinvent myself.” – Mayor Daniella Levine Cava “I needed to get outside of myself, be more present for others and listen better.” – Mayor Daniella Levine Cava RESOURCES: Daniella Levine Cava Instagram | @mayordlc [https://www.instagram.com/mayordlc/] Explore more from OneUnited Bank: 🏦 Learn more: oneunited.com [https://www.oneunited.com/] 💡 Build smarter with WiseOne: oneunited.com/wiseone [https://www.oneunited.com/wiseone/] 💳 Get the Card: oneunited.com/apply [https://www.oneunited.com/apply/] Who's Your Ma' Honey?  is produced by EPYC Media Network (visit at epyc.co [https://www.epyc.co/])

Addonis Parker on The Dangerous Lies We Tell Ourselves

In this emotional segment, Addonis Parker opens up about the lie he carried for years. He shares how rejection, pain, and self-doubt led him to believe he wouldn’t make it past 25, and how that internal narrative shaped the way he saw himself and his future. But instead of letting that lie define him, he chose to confront it.   This conversation is a powerful reminder that the most dangerous stories aren’t always the ones told to us, but the ones we repeat to ourselves, and that healing begins the moment we tell the truth. Explore more from OneUnited Bank: 🏦 Learn more: oneunited.com [https://www.oneunited.com/] 💡 Build smarter with WiseOne: oneunited.com/wiseone [https://www.oneunited.com/wiseone/] 💳 Get the Card: oneunited.com/apply [https://www.oneunited.com/apply/] Who's Your Ma' Honey?  is produced by EPYC Media Network (visit at epyc.co [https://www.epyc.co/])

3: How Addonis Parker Went From Hiding His Art to Owning His Gift

What happens when the thing you’re called to be… is the very thing the world tells you to hide? Today, Teri Williams and Suzan McDowell welcome the world-renowned artist Addonis Parker to unpack identity, masculinity, and the cost of suppressing your true self. From hiding his creativity as a young athlete to being told how his art should look, Addonis shares the internal battle of trying to fit into a version of himself that the world would accept. But what he once buried eventually became the very thing that saved his life. Listen in as this conversation goes deeper than art. It’s about confronting shame, reclaiming your identity, and understanding that your difference is not a weakness, but your calling. KEY POINTS:  * 0:00 – Introduction  * 3:14 – Success leaves clues: Legacy, lineage, and “Who am I?” * 5:17 – Hiding creativity: Sports, masculinity, and burying emotion * 6:48 – The moment at six: A sketchpad, sunlight, and realizing he was different * 11:02 – Learning to be “other”: Accepting that art + athletics can coexist * 13:51 – Being ashamed of “Adonis”: When your own name feels too artistic * 15:35 – Everything changes: Owning “Adonis” and watching the world respond * 24:21 – “Stop painting Black people”: The pushback against his Black art * 39:17 – Turning pain into fuel: Using rejection as hidden fire and purpose * 41:48 – The lie that almost killed him: Not expecting to live past 25 QUOTES: “When God gives you a gift, you've got to add on to it.” – Addonis Parker “You have to realize that you are a human being with worth before you become a superhero.” – Addonis Parker “The worst lie you can tell is the one you tell yourself.” – Addonis Parker RESOURCES: Addonis Parker  Website | addonisparker.com [https://addonisparker.com/] Instagram | @addonisp [https://www.instagram.com/addonisp/] Explore more from OneUnited Bank: 🏦 Learn more: oneunited.com [https://www.oneunited.com/] 💡 Build smarter with WiseOne: oneunited.com/wiseone [https://www.oneunited.com/wiseone/] 💳 Get the Card: oneunited.com/apply [https://www.oneunited.com/apply/] Who's Your Ma' Honey?  is produced by EPYC Media Network (visit at epyc.co [https://www.epyc.co/])

Karen Hunter on Getting Fired, Racism, and Becoming Undeniable

After being told her work was “not up to par” and getting fired early in her career, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Karen Hunter was forced to confront rejection, self-doubt, and the realities of navigating spaces that weren’t built for her. But instead of folding, she doubled down. From calling the newsroom every day to outworking everyone around her, Karen turned that moment into fuel and went on to land front-page stories at one of the biggest newspapers in the country. This isn’t just a story about getting fired. It’s about what you do next. RESOURCES: Karen Hunter  Website | www.karenhuntershow.com [https://www.karenhuntershow.com/] Instagram | @karenhuntershow [https://www.instagram.com/karenhuntershow/] Explore more from OneUnited Bank: 🏦 Learn more: https://www.oneunited.com/ [https://www.oneunited.com/] 💡 Build smarter with WiseOne: https://www.oneunited.com/wiseone/ [https://www.oneunited.com/wiseone/] 💳 Get the Card: https://www.oneunited.com/apply/ [https://www.oneunited.com/apply/] Who's Your Ma' Honey?  is produced by EPYC Media Network (visit at https://www.epyc.co/ [https://www.epyc.co/])