Coffee with a Black Guy guest James Joyce III

Change The Narrative with JD Fuller

James Joyce III is Founder and Chief Visionary Ocer of Coee With A Black Guy, an innovative movement in which he provides consultation and coaching that is rooted in facilitating conversations about race and perspective for community groups and organizations. Joyce is an educator, a former award-winning journalist, and runner up in the 2021 Santa Barbara mayoral election.

James Joyce III is an educator, public servant—civil rights activist and social entrepreneur that founded Coffee with a Black Guy. At its foundation, CWABG serves as a safe place for interactive, community conversations about a variety of issues from the perspective of a Black man. It's been a growing, grassroots effort hosted by Joyce and his team to help put an end to racism.

For these efforts and more, several organizations have recognized Joyce and his innovation, including the Ventura County (CA) branch of the NAACP who awarded Joyce with their 2018 Distinguished Citizen Award. It's bestowed upon an individual whose groundbreaking work increases understanding and awareness of racial and social issues. Forbes also featured Joyce and his work with CWABG in a piece published during the Covid-19 outbreak. In that, Joyce was recognized for his outstanding leadership in aiding anti-racist conversations even during a worldwide pandemic. He's also served as keynote speaker for the University of British Columbia’s 2021 Social Enterprise Conference, among more.

Currently serving as adjunct faculty for the Santa Barbara City College Career Skills Institute, for much of the past decade Joyce has served as District Director for California State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (Ret.), who represented nearly 1 million constituents within Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, until terming out in Dec. 2020. In that role, Joyce was responsible for the day-to-day operations representing the Senator and her work. Known as a sturdy leader and champion for justice, Joyce has served on various advisory boards in the area including Impact Hub Santa Barbara (now Kiva Cowork), the Ventura County Leadership Academy (Joyce was awarded the 2021 Alumnus of the Year), and the Santa Barbara Young Black Professionals.

Joyce is also on the board for the Common Table Foundation (formerly the Lois and Walter Capps Project), Sanctuary Centers of Santa Barbara, TV Santa Barbara, formerly the California Association of Marriage & Family Therapist Education Foundation, as well as the national board for Student African American Brotherhood (SAAB), where he helped found the collegiate chapter while a student-athlete at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

An award-winning journalist, Joyce, a Maryland-native is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., currently active with Xi Iota Lambda Alumni Chapter, seated in Camarillo, CA. Joyce was runner up in the 2021 Santa Barbara mayoral election, securing 27 percent of the votes cast among 6 candidates. Now, Joyce leverages more than two decades of public service and journalism experience to provide impactful insight for groups an individuals seeking to gain better cross-cultural understanding