Exclusive Interview with Dr. Dia and H.Y.P.E

By Sherita Searcy – Gospel360nline.com

Dr. Adia Winfrey, known to many as “Dr. Dia” is a Hip Hop scholar who holds a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology. She has a lifelong relationship with the Hip Hop culture and is fascinated with its ability to not only express emotion, but heal and ultimately transform lives. Growing up in a racially mixed town outside of Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Dia “received messages from all sides that rap was BAD.

“This always hurt me, because I loved the culture so much, and I wanted the rest of America to recognize the genius of it. I made a vow early on in my high school career, to speak out about the positive aspects of rap music, which I did in the classroom, and at the church I grew up in, Gilt Edge Baptist Church,” she said.

Today, Dr. Dia has granted G360 an exclusive interview about her program HYPE (Healing Young People through Empowerment) and why she believes the hallmark program will be key to transforming and healing the lives of African-American males and hip-hop lovers.

G360: Dr. Dia, thank you taking time to join us and sharing your story with our audience.

Dr. Dia: Thanks for having me.

G360: Let’s talk about HYPE and why you believe it is so important for teens and young men of this generation.

Dr. Dia: Well, HYPE is a program formed out of my understanding of Hip-Hop as a form of art and therapy. It is a workshop formatted in a group setting using Hip Hop lyrics to create dialogue and discussion between the facilitator and participants.

G360: Do you find it hard for kids to open up in therapy sessions?
Dr. Dia:  You would be surprised to learn that the kids are open in almost every session. In some of the sessions, some kids have opened up and immediately talked about thoughts of suicide, their family life, their feelings about gangs and more. We primarily work on them being able to see beyond (the immediate gratification of) today. We talk about where ideas come from, how we process our thoughts and what their perceptions of the world are.

G360: How long have you worked on this project?

Dr. Dia: I have grown with the process for more than 6 years now. The project has drawn a lot on my determination. I can say that this experience has been a blessing all the way. I started the program in grad school and got a lot of positive feedback from my professors, peers and clients. Nearly everyone embraced the project and supported my effort to do it. The most challenging experience I had came in doing my clinical research at a local juvenile detention center. There were staff members and naysayer’s who stereotyped me, the program and the kids to be their vision of what society crafted. Black men are stereotyped to be angry, rappers, violent drug dealers and athletes. Society has further stereotyped rap music as an identifying genre of what black men represent holistically – and it’s not the truth.

I remember one instance where a staff member insinuated I was producing gang material and gang signs by having the picture of Tupac and other well known rappers on the cover of my workshop book. My first thought was, “how do you create gang signs with eyes? It was just a collection of pictures of rappers.” I upgraded the book cover by integrating pictures of well known African-American leaders like Malcom-X and Martin Luther King just to see what her response would be this time. I heard nothing else from her.

G360: I bet! What does the future of HYPE look like?

Dr. Dia: I am looking forward to working and connecting with (socially conscious) artists and poets who believe in helping to restore our youths. We all have a part to play in this process. My primary goal right now is to work with underground/unsigned artist who haven’t made that big breakthrough so they will be able to work with the kids at a grassroots level. The partnership could be a learning process that’s beneficial for everyone involved.

G360: Now you love Hip-Hop and is are using it to empower young men through HYPE. At any time does it make you uncomfortable to be a woman teaching this type of curriculum?

Dr. Dia: Hip-Hop grew up with me, so many of the kids are surprised that I know so much about the art. Using Hip-Hop as a tool to educate, train and coach would seem most natural for me because it is a part of who I am – even as a woman.

G360: In your brochure, you emphasized the importance of mentoring. Why is this component so important to you?

Dr. Dia: In the midst of my research, I found parent involvement of any kind improved how the child responded to the program. I also found that after kids are motivated to change their life or realize they have the potential to do so, they don’t have a mentor to walk them through the “how” process. This transition process was especially important to me in undergraduate school. A Psychology professor of mine walked me through the process of graduate school nearly a year before I was graduating with my bachelors degree. If she were not there to help me understand the ropes, I may not be where I am today. The same applies for HYPE participants. Our kids will be trained for a year by our staff and then connected with a mentoring program in their community that will help them grow to the next level.

G360: Mentoring is very key in the growth and development process. How do you see HYPE as a tool for healing young men?

Dr. Dia: It is hard to do the right thing in general, not to mention added social pressure to be strong, intelligent and good natured. Healing is a layering process, so we need people around our clients who are both personable and professional. We need the balance. Our kids are hardwired and they are looking for a reason to live. We are always on the search for mentors who will take them to the next level. We are not interested in putting a band-aid on their scars – we want them to open up – heal and become stronger men. More teens are becoming fathers, and even worse –  fathers without a father figure. We want black men to find their place, be mentally/physically healthy and fluid. We can not talk about the behavior of a people without looking at their past and question why are they angry and fighting.

G360: Dr. Dia we can hear your passion and want to thank you for sharing this information with our audience.

Dr. Dia: You’re welcome. Thank you for having me.

H.Y.P.E. was born out of Dr. Dia’s lifelong love of Hip Hop, and desire to uplift Black youth. “It has been an honor and a blessing to talk to professionals about H.Y.P.E., and even more so to work with youth using the H.Y.P.E. curriculum. The overwhelmingly positive feedback I have received has been so encouraging, and it is my ultimate goal that H.Y.P.E. will be implemented everywhere there are Black youth whose voices need to be heard. ”

HYPE is currently being offered in the Greater Atlanta, Georgia area and by special request in other locations. The HYPE curriculum can be purchased at http://www.africanamericanimages.com/AAI/New%20Releases.htm. For more information on HYPE or Dr. Dia visit www.letsgethype.com!