Written By JR Robinson

"Negativity is funded... it is a multi-billion dollar industry. So what happens when we spend dollars promoting positivity?"

That is the question posed by LaDell Beamon, CEO and Founder of Heal the Hood Foundation of Memphis, in the premiere episode of Erika Sugarmon Unfiltered. In a raw and emotional conversation with Shelby County Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, Beamon laid bare the realities facing Memphis youth—and his audacious plan to change their future.

A Vision Born from Tragedy

Beamon’s journey didn't start in a boardroom; it started on the streets of South Memphis. A creative force from a young age, Beamon found his escape through the arts, mastering martial arts under Elvis Presley’s instructor, Master Kang Rhee, and learning multiple instruments. This artistic passport took him "across the tracks" to East Memphis and the Creative and Performing Arts school.

But the catalyst for Heal the Hood was born out of profound loss. At just 19 years old, Beamon was running an after-school program at Carver High School.

"There was a young man who ended up losing his life," Beamon recalled. "His body was found in an abandoned house on Farrell Street in South Memphis. That did it for me."

The realization that a young man he was mentoring was leading a double life as a Crip shattered him. It also ignited a fire. Beamon realized he had a unique ability to speak both to "the gang side and the corporate side," a skill that would become the cornerstone of his organization's success in pulling youth out of gangs.

The "Why": When Survival is the Only Option

The conversation took a deeply emotional turn as Beamon shared stories from his organization’s "12 Days of Christmas" initiative. He described walking into an apartment where a family with a chronically ill mother had nothing.

"The kids were eating Roman noodles on the floor," Beamon said, his voice thick with emotion. "We bought them a dining room set... put the table together. The kids said, 'What? We can eat at the table?' They got so excited because they had been eating off the floor for a year on paper plates."

For Commissioner Sugarmon, these stories are all too familiar. As an educator, she sees the microcosm of society in her classroom every day. "We have so many unhoused children and families," Sugarmon noted. "You are a spark for these kids... you give them hope."

A "Disneyland" for Memphis

But Beamon isn't just focused on survival; he’s focused on imagination. His latest project, the Hero Empowerment Center, is an ambitious "arts-based micro-city" planned for District 12.

"What if we had a Walt Disney in the city of Memphis?" Beamon asked.

The center, planned for a 7-acre site near the old Hickory Ridge Mall, envisions 4D attractions, anti-gravity rides, and museums dedicated to music and heroes. It’s a direct answer to the cry Beamon hears from teenagers across the city: "There is nothing for us to do."

"We’ll go and build another adult facility," Beamon criticized. "And the kids keep saying it... An idle mind really is the devil's workshop."

Education as a Weapon

The episode also highlighted a shared passion between Sugarmon and Beamon: literacy. Sugarmon shared the powerful story of her great-grandfather, an enslaved man who learned to read in secret—a skill that later allowed him to save his own land from being stolen.

This generational legacy connects directly to Beamon’s work with "Hood Fables," culturally relevant comic books that are now being distributed in vending machines across Memphis schools.

"If you don't have that spark to pull you into it, you won't read," Beamon explained. "Kids couldn't relate to the material."

Civics 101: The Power of the Mayor

True to the "Unfiltered" mission, the episode concluded with a vital civics lesson from Commissioner Sugarmon. Breaking down the role of the County Mayor, she reminded viewers that local government isn't just about politics—it's about survival.

She dropped a stunning history fact: Memphis once lost its charter during the Yellow Fever epidemic and was only saved by Robert Church, a Black man who bought it back. "If you're not fiscally responsible, a city can go bankrupt," she warned.

Erika Sugarmon Unfiltered isn't just a podcast; it's a call to action. As Beamon put it, "There is a difference between a treatment and a cure. We need more people who are cure-related."