>> I'm Dr.

Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., and this is "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> We're building an entire neighborhood, and it's gonna be waterfront.

And overall, it's about a $650-million project over three phases.

But the impact that we have to be in charge of that kind of budget and how many other, you know, CBEs or NBEs that we can empower and provide opportunities, employment opportunities, from construction to operations -- I mean, we can really be generation-changing and super impactful.

>> Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we continue to look for ways to empower our customers.

We seek broad impact in our communities, and we're proud of the role we play for our customers and the U.S.

economy.

As a company, we are focused on supporting our customers and communities through housing access, small-business growth, financial health, and other community needs.

Together, we want to make a tangible difference in people's lives.

Wells Fargo -- the bank of doing.

American Petroleum Institute -- our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental, and sustainability progress throughout the natural gas and oil industry.

Learn more -- api.org/apienergyexcellence.

The Reynolds American organization -- on a mission to grow a better tomorrow by building a smokeless world.

Reynolds American -- investing in innovation, people, and manufacturing to grow tomorrow right here in America.

♪♪ >> We're very honored on this edition of "The Chavis Chronicles" to have Evens Charles, who's the president and CEO of the Frontier Development & Hospitality Group.

Welcome to "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Thank you so much, Dr.

Chavis.

>> So, DC native.

>> Yes.

>> And now you own one of the major hotels in DC.

>> Yes, yes.

Very excited.

you been in the hospitality industry?

>> I've been in hospitality since, let's say, around 2010?

2009, 2010.

And prior to that, I was investing in some small residential real estate in Philadelphia.

And I tell people I play Monopoly in real life, like, literally trading in my four small houses for my first hotel.

And from there, we've built a portfolio across seven states.

But it's been super challenging to get here into DC, my hometown, because of the high barriers of entry to get into a market like DC.

But to be here now, blocks from where I grew up, is extremely exciting.

>> There's an old axiom that says, "If you own the land, you own the future."

>> That's right.

>> So, your real estate experience before owning the hotel -- >> Mm-hmm.

>> Tell me what your journey has been from focus on real estate, I guess commercial real estate... >> Mm-hmm.

>> ...to now being a hotel owner.

>> I started off, you know, with me walking onto the football team at Temple and obtaining a scholarship.

And within those five years of me playing football, getting a master's degree -- so, undergraduate in psychology, graduate in education -- but not knowing what I wanted to do once I came out of school.

>> Okay.

>> So, it wasn't till I was a tenant and my landlord started speaking to me about residual income and creating wealth -- And I wasn't trained that way in college.

I was trained to go out and have a great résumé and how to become the best employee that I could become, work a job for 30, 40 years, and retire and live happily ever after.

So, from that lesson that he taught me about residual income and creating wealth, I started buying books and educating myself.

And then the light bulb went off in my head, and I said, "You know what?

Real estate is what I want to do."

I grew up single mom, I grew up humble beginnings, so I know what it's like to be broke and, you know, to some degree, poor.

So, that was the introduction as far as the mentality.

>> So, you taught yourself real estate?

>> I did.

It was all self-taught.

I did find someone who I shadowed, a mentor that started, you know, walking me through properties, investment properties, and kind of educating me on how to invest in what I would call value-add real estate or so, real estate that had -- typically that were coming out of a foreclosure or something of that nature.

So, my first deal, it was a $32,000 row home in West Philadelphia that I had 97% financing.

I put up $1,000.

I used my credit card.

I went to Home Depot.

I bought a bunch of materials.

And then I recruited cheap labor from the neighborhood.

And I managed everybody, and I fixed it up.

And then I sold it, and I saw $25,000 in one check.

I was literally making $25,000 a year at that time.

So to see one check that reflected what I made in the entire year was just -- you know, it was a sense of euphoria, but I didn't take that -- >> It was proof of concept.

>> Proof of concept.

Proof of concept.

But I was so disciplined that I didn't take $1 of it.

I didn't tell anybody.

I reinvested the entire $25,000 back into my next deal.

>> That's great.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> What is the name of your hotel?

>> The one that I just opened?

>> Yes.

>> It's called the Hyatt House.

>> The Hyatt house.

>> Right, right there on 9th and O, two blocks from the convention center.

>> That's very close to the convention center.

>> Yeah, close to where we are here.

Closest hotel to Howard University.

Yeah.

>> That's prime location.

>> Yes.

Location, location, location.

That's what it's all about.

But I've partnered with all the -- many of the major brands.

So, this is my first partnership with Hyatt.

So, I've done the most with Hilton.

I've partnered with Marriott.

And I have several brands throughout the different franchisors that I just referenced or so.

And like I mentioned, we're in several states or so.

>> Your development in real estate and then hotel, hospitality industry -- was there somebody that you looked up to as a mentor, somebody that had a success record?

>> Absolutely.

I tell this story.

I was literally heavy into the residential real estate.

And I guess my mentality was -- At one point, I had a goal -- I wanted to own 100 properties or so and be a landlord.

And I was getting a haircut, and my barber started talking to me about an African-American guy from DC that owned a hotel in Miami, and I didn't -- I couldn't imagine anybody that looked like me owning hotels.

>> Yes.

guy?"

He mentioned his name.

And then I go to the doctor later that day and I pick up Black Enterprise and he was on a cover of Black Enterprise promoting his new book.

And this was Don Peebles, so -- >> I was gonna say, it must be Peebles.

>> Yes!

So, I never met him.

But the example he set was what gave me the inspiration.

I went and bought his book, and I never read a book so fast.

I probably read it in hours, right, 'cause it was so relevant to me transitioning from residential to commercial.

And he was speaking about how he started without a lot of money when he got into the business and how he leveraged some of his political relationships to get to where he is.

And he was the chairman of this organization called NABHOOD, the National Alliance of Hotel Owners and Developers -- Owners, Operators & Developers.

And they were having a meeting in two weeks in Atlanta.

I jumped on a plane, I went down to that meeting, and I saw all these people that looked like me that owned hotels.

And I said, "This is what I want to do."

And I said, "I'm not coming back to the next meeting unless I have a hotel."

And lo and behold, I bought my first one before that year was up.

>> Where did you buy your first one?

>> It was a small town called Martinsville, Virginia.

>> I know Martinsville.

>> Yeah, yeah, a little bit north of Greensboro.

>> Very famous race car driver came from Martinsville.

>> That's right.

NASCAR has their two -- well, at least at that time when I owned the hotel, they had two major races there a year.

But that was just, you know, kind of the level of entry point that I needed.

It was probably the least expensive hotel that I've ever done, but that's how I got my feet wet.

>> What would you recommend to someone who's contemplating getting into the hospitality industry?

Is the opportunity widening or is it narrowing?

>> Well, today is a tough environment for just real estate in general.

I mean, it's just -- And DC is a tough market today, you know, based on just what's happening, just, you know, here in the nation's capital and around the country or so.

But what would I recommend?

Education.

And I know that's cliché or so, but that's gonna be really key.

And at the end of the day, this is hospitality, but it's a real-estate play, you know?

And it's a 24-hour business within a piece of real estate.

And it's not like the franchises, like the fast-food franchises, where you just own the business.

Here, you really own the real estate, so educating yourself from a finance, from a real-estate perspective or so.

And you have to partner.

You can't jump into something like this 'cause it's too much complexity.

You need to partner with people that really understand operations.

And what we do is we hire third-party operators to operate the hotel, and we just asset-manage them or so.

You can get into this business by being just an investor.

I have many people that just invest, but at the same time, I give them a seat where they can actually watch me and learn.

And at some point, if they're inspired enough to go and do their own hotel, they have that opportunity.

Attending workshops, going to conferences, networking.

I mean, there's a whole host of things that I would recommend if you really have an interest in this industry.

>> Well, what is your kind of future projection in terms of getting more hotels, expanding the market?

Give us a sense of where you think the future is.

>> Well, we -- One of the things that I want to speak about that's in our pipeline that I think is going to be pretty impactful is a deal that we were awarded by the District of Columbia about 3 1/2 years ago, Hill East, which is right there where the old St.

E's Hospital used to be... >> Right.

>> ...right across from where the new stadium is going to be, where the Commanders are building their $3.7-billion new stadium.

So, we're building an entire community, a mixed-use community with affordable housing, market-rate housing.

>> You say you're the developer?

>> I am the developer, yes.

And I have partners, mainly my partner out of out of New York, BRP.

Meredith Marshall and Geoff Flournoy are my main partners or so.

But it's going to be affordable, market-rate residential, retail.

We're building a hotel.

We're gonna have condominiums, townhomes.

We're building an entire neighborhood, and it's gonna be waterfront.

And overall, it's about a $650-million project over three phases, but the impact that we have to be in charge of that kind of budget and how many other, you know, CBEs or NBEs that we can empower and provide opportunities, employment opportunities from construction to operations -- I mean, we can really be generation-changing and super impactful.

So, to take a neighborhood like that, that has -- you know, Reservation 13, that has not had a lot of activity, and to completely activate this waterfront land is something that's super inspiring.

And at some point, I want to give back.

I want to do seminars.

I want to provide education.

I want to put this information in books.

I want to do speaking engagements.

I want to be impactful and really touch the future.

>> You're living a success story.

How well do you take time out to share the success of your narrative?

>> Almost 100% of the time when I'm asked to come and do this.

'Cause I know what it would have meant for me to have someone that looked like me, grew up like me, that's speaking to me with, you know, where I can be inspired and I can get educated and I could be a mentee or so.

And I just -- If I'm not touching the next generation and being impactful in that way, then -- It's just not all about me and how much success can I acquire.

So, to me, that's what's fulfilling.

So, being a mentor.

I have a scholarship that's endowed in my name, and I'm super excited that I just learned that a kid from Archbishop Carroll, my alma mater here in DC... >> Yes.

>> ...applied for and is going to be an awardee of my scholarship at Temple University to the Fox Business School or the School of Tourism, Hospitality, and Management or so.

So, I'm super excited about that.

But, yes, all -- As many opportunities that I can fit into my schedule, I'm always trying to give my time back to the kids.

>> What gives you your greatest hope?

>> I have a 3 1/2-year old daughter, and I'm a first-time parent.

And -- And interacting with her on a day-to-day basis is the most touching thing that I can ever, ever, ever imagine.

I never knew love would -- would -- would feel like this.

>> Being a good father.

>> Yes, yes, yes.

I'm all-in in being a dad.

And so just thinking about the future, what this world's gonna look like when she's, you know, an adult, and what it's gonna be like.

I mean, she's where all my energy, effort is going into right now.

So, my hope is in the inspiration that I get from being a father and interacting with my daughter, but also her peers and, you know, all these kids that were born in the 2022-2023 range or so.

Like, what is the world gonna look like 30 years from today?

And what can we do to play our part, to just contribute to trying to make this world a better place?

And it's difficult in today's environment, but there's opportunity for us to all contribute and do our part.

>> Evens Charles, thank you for joining "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> My pleasure.

>> We're at the intersection of discrimination based on race and gender.

We are also unfortunately looked at from the eyes of stereotypes that are rooted from slavery, that continue on into our society, that actually enter into the workforce.

♪♪ >> We're very honored to have "The Chavis Chronicles" Professor Tiffany Williams Brewer from the famous Howard University Law School.

Professor, welcome.

>> Thank you for having me.

I'm very excited to be in conversation with you today.

>> So, from Alabama to New Jersey to Maryland.

>> Yes.

And even a few stops in between.

Lived in Boston and LA.

What led you to pursue a law career?

>> Well, when I was, I think about 7 or 8 years old, it just occurred to me one day that I should be a judge.

I'm also a faith leader, very spiritual.

So I feel that that was the Lord really speaking to me as a child.

And I had to learn as I grew up that, in order to be a judge, you have to be a lawyer first.

And that's what really led me to study the law.

But I was definitely someone who loved to listen, resolve disputes in my peer circle, and someone that people tended to come to for advice and counsel.

So it was a real natural sort of skill set for me to want to develop once I got older and more intentional.

>> So, which law school did you attend?

>> I attended Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

I was very attracted to Northeastern because it had a strong reputation in public-interest law.

And while I wanted to keep my options open, whether I was going to go to a firm or do something public-interest-oriented, I knew that I wanted to study and learn in an environment that emphasized public interest, public service.

And they had a co-op program, one of the only law schools in the country that requires their students -- In the same three years that you have to finish law school as every other law student, you have to also do four three-month full-time internships.

And so I knew that that emphasis on practical experience would make me more competitive and also just more learned in what it was that I really wanted to do post graduate.

>> You know, research has shown that a number -- there's an increase of African-American women becoming lawyers.

So, congratulations.

>> Thank you.

>> Also, as a distinguished professor at Howard University Law School, incidentally one of the best law schools in the country... >> That's right.

>> ...tell me what it is you do at the law school.

>> Well, I'm an associate professor of law, and I teach four core classes.

Three are required in our curriculum, and one is a seminar that I developed.

In our first-year curriculum, I teach all the first-year law students Legislation Regulation, which is a really important class, I think, being in law school in the nation's capital.

I also teach upper-level students in two required courses, Evidence, which you have to know whether you are gonna be a transactional lawyer or a trial lawyer, and Professional Responsibility, which is our ethics required course in law school.

And the seminar that I developed is called Black Women & the Law.

It was really important to me in coming to Howard in particular to engage students in a semester-long study on the issues that systemically impact Black women disproportionately in society and give them education around it, tools, and an avenue of discussion.

And I bring experts in to help them to navigate those conversations.

And they write papers, and they're developing scholars also in the area.

>> Why are African-American women still marginalized in the workplace?

>> You know, Black women are at the intersection, as Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw so astutely coined the term "intersectionality" -- We are at the intersection of discrimination based on race and gender.

We are also, unfortunately, looked at from the eyes of stereotypes that are rooted from slavery, that continue on into our society that actually enter into the workforce.

So, while we are the most educated, often most overqualified, even, for positions, we see right now that there are over 300,000 Black women that have been displaced from the workforce just in the past few months.

You cannot tell me that these women are all unqualified for the jobs that they were in.

So, discrimination and the failure of companies, organizations, society, and leaders to really directly grapple with discrimination, call it what it is, and hold others accountable for it.

So, that's what I think is really at the root of Black women's lack of advancement.

And if I could just add quickly, that is impacting Black women's economic advancement, as well.

And that's why it's a crisis for Black women in particular.

>> At Howard University Law School, you're preparing the next generation of lawyers.

>> Yes.

>> How is the breakdown between men and women in the law school?

>> Well, it's majority women.

You know, being someone that is about women's empowerment, on the one hand, I get to really interface with the largest amount of Black women entering the profession.

I am really shaping the profession in a way that I never thought was imaginable.

But we would like to see more gender balance at the law school.

Our Black men are definitely lagging behind in admission rates, in application, as well.

I certainly -- I also do some teaching on the undergraduate level, too, in political science at Howard, and I see some of the same trends in my political science classes, as well.

So, you know, I am very happy that Black women are taking their rightful place in law school and in the profession.

I am definitely concerned to make sure that their male counterparts are also at the table doing the same.

>> From your perspective, what are the three most important values to have a successful legal career?

>> I think integrity, number one.

Number two, having a high standard of professional competence.

And three, I think you have to have a heart of service.

As a lawyer, all three of those are required.

We have such a special calling, such a special, you know, relationship with our clients.

The attorney-client privilege -- that's a sacred privilege.

You can't get those communications, you know, out of that bubble of that relationship because in society, that lawyers play to their clients.

So we also -- Our Model Code of Professional Conduct, in its preamble, also talks about our role as public citizens and that we are really to work to enhance also society.

To further the rule of law -- that's our responsibility during this time, as well.

So I think that those values of integrity, of having incredible competence are all -- and having a heart of public service are all critical for any lawyer today.

>> Based on your own career and based on what you see now at Howard Law School, what gives you your greatest hope today?

>> You know, I think the greatest hope that I see is that students are resilient.

I had to have class the day after the election in November.

And I had to hold whole class while -- and stop class while Vice President at the time Harris was on our campus speaking and giving her concession speech.

And to hear just the agony in the voices of the students and how they felt really dejected and disillusioned with the law and having to really rally them and to just see them bounce back and be able to still find, you know, the hope in the journey that we're all on right now -- that brings me joy.

And having them with me -- You know, I'm actually serving as the chair this year of the American Bar Association's Litigation Section, which is one of the largest sections in the ABA, over 30,000 lawyer members.

And I bring them with me into my work.

>> Congratulations.

That's great.

>> Thank you.

Thank you.

Second African-American ever in history to do that.

But I bring them to the table.

I bring -- I put one of them on our council as our law-student rep, a recent graduate.

I put him in leadership.

I bring them with me, and I have them.

So I'm very proud.

And whenever they're -- They turn it out.

We just had a fall leadership meeting, and everyone talked about the Howard students.

So it brings me great joy to see them live in a time that can be so discouraging to them, yet see them be resilient, know that their voice matters, and what they're learning as social engineers at Howard University School of Law uniquely is equipping them to be successful in the legal profession and in society.

So, that brings me joy.

>> Professor Williams Brewer, "The Chavis Chronicles."

>> Thank you.

>> For more information about "The Chavis Chronicles" and our guests, visit our website at TheChavisChronicles.com.

Also, follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

Major funding for "The Chavis Chronicles" is provided by the following.

At Wells Fargo, we continue to look for ways to empower our customers.

We seek broad impact in our communities, and we're proud of the role we play for our customers and the U.S.

economy.

As a company, we are focused on supporting our customers and communities through housing access, small-business growth, financial health, and other community needs.

Together, we want to make a tangible difference in people's lives.

Wells Fargo -- the bank of doing.

American Petroleum Institute -- our members are committed to accelerating safety, environmental, and sustainability progress throughout the natural gas and oil industry.

Learn more -- api.org/apienergyexcellence.

The Reynolds American organization -- on a mission to grow a better tomorrow by building a smokeless world.

Reynolds American is investing manufacturing to grow tomorrow right here in America.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪