“Yusef embodies the unrelenting spirit of Ancestral Freedom Fighters who laid foundation bricks on the road to Black liberation. His work is a combination of lived experience, revolutionary love for Black people and visionary action to build Black power. Yusef serves with strength, humility and masterful understanding of the Black experience.”

Victoria Burton-Harris, Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney of Washtenaw County, 2021

Leadership & Transformation Design:

YBS Consulting, LLC, engages community-neighborhood organizations to develop socially responsible servant-leadership capacity rooted in personal and community-neighborhood transformation amongst participants including staff, students, community members, teachers, faculty, and administrators. Our design training focuses on grassroots strategies, community engagement, and organizing.

Curriculum & Program Design:

Community-Neighborhood organizations, Non-Profits, Churches, Universities, Businesses, & School Districts trust YBS Consulting, LLC, to provide comprehensive services to educate, empower, and enhance their communities and staff through a transformational experience. His expertise is rooted in his in-depth overstanding of social and historical complexities that intersects the personal and society. His brand of educating is reflective of a racial and social justice framework related to the current issues that We are facing, which intersects across social and economic backgrounds.

YBS Consulting, LLC, will conduct a needs assessment to design a curriculum and program that meets the needs of your community and staff.

Gang Intervention & Prevention
Social Entrepreneurship
Single Parenting & Fatherhood
Black Male/Men Healing & Transformation
Black Liberation & Self Determination
Youth & Mass Incarceration
Education
Community-Neighborhood Organizing
Black Organic Intellectualism & Unorthodox Leadership

Speaking Engagements & Panels:

By any measure, author, educator, social entrepreneur, activist, or organizer, Yusef Bunchy Shakur’s life is an epic narrative of redemption, transformation, and hope. Through considerable study of history, sociology and activism intersected with the ability to infuse his personal narrative, Yusef is a powerful and impactful addition to community roundtables, panels, and keynote addresses. He has a keen ability to connect and captivate with any kind of audience because of his willingness to be authentic through his vulnerability.

Speaking Subjects:

Doing Time: Freeing Yourself from the Prison Within
A Mother’s Love: The Challenges of a Single Mother Raising Her Son
Like Father, Like Son: My Father Rehabilitated Me, Not Prison
Why I Gang Banged: Hurt People, Hurt People
Fatherhood: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Community Movement Building: Black Self Determination
Redemption: Healed People, Heal People
Transformation: Transforming the Human in You
The Paradigm Shift: From Community Predator to Community Protector
The Child of an Incarcerated Parent: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration
Educate to Inspire: Educating Youth in the 21st Century & Helping Them Grow Socially to Achieve Academically

My name is Arthur, my comrades call me “Tha,” and I was/am a member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Black Panther Party. When I joined in 1968, the leader of our chapter was Bunchy Carter. The was/am relates to the fact that we still have members from that period who are still locked down. I can’t get out until they get out. I got to know Bunchy (Yusef) when I came to Detroit for the US Social Forum in 2010. At the conference, I asked around about who in Detroit worked with former prisoners; Yusef’s name always came up – Yusef Bunchy. I must say the “Bunchy” stood out. I found Yusef and my first question was where did the name Bunchy come from? He told me the story about my former leader, Apprentice “Bunchy” Carter — Yusef knew about his life and death. To understand how important this is in history, go online and look Bunchy Carter up and read his poem, “Black Mother.” If you ever had any questions about the Panthers, I think you will find your answer.

Over the years, I have watched and kept up with the work Yusef has been doing in Detroit for the youth and the community. When he was given an abandoned property, he worked his ass off to turn it into a community center. Yearly, he helped to organize and collect donations to pass out backpacks to the youth for back-to-school and hosted a neighborhood festival. Not only is he an excellent organizer but he is also an excellent writer who has written books about his life, which shows how we are the change we have to look for. I ask anyone who reads this to get copies of his books and give the books to young people. They might see what the LA Panthers see in Yusef. Yusef came to L.A. and was able to meet members of our Chapter. We are proud of his work and are proud that he chose to carry the name Bunchy; it’s in good hands. All power to the people.

One Love,
Tha, 2021