Mar 12, 2026 · 42 min · 10 segments
Frederick Riley grew up in Saginaw, Michigan surrounded by eviction notices, food insecurity, and the constant feeling that something might go wrong at any moment. Yet his story is ultimately one of…
Frederick RileyGuestJamie GrennyHostWhen you were in that state as a child, did you think that things would break right eventually? Did you think that this is an adversity that you might have to endure through? How did you think about that?
The way that I grew up and some of the things that we experienced, I always thought they were a little weird and dysfunctional.
And I remember making a vow to myself throughout my childhood that if I could change things for myself and for the people around me, that I would work hard to do that.
But I also feel like grace and God and the universe have helped to propel me to this place.
Why do you think that you and your brother thrived instead of becoming just another data point?
My mother, although we were in the middle of a lot of dysfunction, my mother raised us way differently than a lot of my peers.
I distinctly remember my mother telling my brother and I that she would kill us before she would allow the streets to have us.
I do believe that that respect or the reverence we had for her was the respect that we felt like she was due for her sacrifices that she made for us.
And so while all my friends were outside in the morning playing and riding their bikes in the summertime, my brother and I did homework from nine until 11 or nine until noon.
She made us learn all the math, all the science, all the reading and language arts that we would need for the next grade.
And this impression that we could learn new things and see new things is something that I do every day.
When you were in that state as a child, did you think that things would break right eventually? Did you think that this is an adversity that you might have to endure through? How did you think about that?
The way that I grew up and some of the things that we experienced, I always thought they were a little weird and dysfunctional.
And I remember making a vow to myself throughout my childhood that if I could change things for myself and for the people around me, that I would work hard to do that.
But I also feel like grace and God and the universe have helped to propel me to this place.
Why do you think that you and your brother thrived instead of becoming just another data point?
My mother, although we were in the middle of a lot of dysfunction, my mother raised us way differently than a lot of my peers.
I distinctly remember my mother telling my brother and I that she would kill us before she would allow the streets to have us.
I do believe that that respect or the reverence we had for her was the respect that we felt like she was due for her sacrifices that she made for us.
And so while all my friends were outside in the morning playing and riding their bikes in the summertime, my brother and I did homework from nine until 11 or nine until noon.
She made us learn all the math, all the science, all the reading and language arts that we would need for the next grade.
And this impression that we could learn new things and see new things is something that I do every day.
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