rewarding career for me. I’ve had the opportunity to shape the news and cover some of the
most pressing issues of our time. During my
time with the Oprah show, I had the opportunity to field produce numerous stories —
stories that were able to transform lives, as
well as empower and inspire the viewers. We
covered, of course, a wide range of topics and
I did everything from interview legends like
Maya Angelou, to rap moguls like Russell Simmons, to Pulitzer Prize winning authors like
Jeffrey Eugenides, and more importantly—real
people who had overcome amazing obstacles
and were thriving and their best life, despite
the challenges. I would not trade the experiences I’ve had at any of the media outlets I’ve
worked for. All of the jobs I’ve had and the
talented people I’ve worked with have all been
a gift from God.
Are you an only child or do you have
siblings?
I have a younger brother, Bernie Hendricks, Jr., who is married with three kids
and is a band director at a high school in the
Orlando, Florida area.
What do you consider to have been
your greatest challenge since you began honing your skills in 7th grade to get to where
you are now?
20 HimPower October 2015
During my senior year in college, my
father died of a heart attack. Four months
later, my mother committed suicide. I had the
responsibility of taking care of my brother and
had to grow up really fast before graduation.
My brother had to mature fast as well because
he had his final years in college without his
parents.
What do you credit most with getting
you through this challenging time?
We had a good support system. My
father was a retired Army Colonel and was an
administrator at Florida A&M University, and
my Mom was a high school teacher, and we
had good footing in the community. We had a
large extended family, maternal grandparents
and a good foundation being in the church –
our faith in God was and still is very strong.
You’ve talked about the different
opportunities you’ve had behind the camera,
do you envision yourself taking on any other
challenges?
Down the road, I can see myself possibly in film or something else—I don’t know
what role. I have a lot of ideas for what I want
to do, and I am in the midst of sorting it all
out. I’ve almost completed a screenwriting
course at Emory University, and I’ll have a finished script once the course is over.
What is the film about?
Social justice issues, and in this case,
the horrors of child-sex trafficking. I want the
film to be a voice for people in the community
that have no voice. I based it on my volunteer
work in different cities. It’s a feature, not a
documentary, so the main character is a compilation of people I’ve met or read abou Ё