Today we’d like to introduce you to Cordney “MAC Woods” McClain.
Cordney “MAC Woods”, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I, Cordney McClain otherwise known as “MAC Woods”, was raised by a handful of strong Black-Cherokee women. I grew up in Oklahoma on the southside and eastside of Oklahoma City but most of my family is from Muskogee, Oklahoma. As a child, I frequented Muskogee very often and many people not familiar with the area would not know of the high drug dealing, drug abuse, and violence as a bi-product of drugs in the area in the 90s was heavily prevalent. I was a young and observant child with nothing but influences of male role models such as pimps, pastors, or drug dealers. These male role models along with the strong women in my life shaped how I looked at manhood, being family-oriented, and my infatuation with success and monetary gain.
I excelled through high school but not because I was highly intelligent but because I had a stronghold on self-motivation which I believe I inherited from my Grandmother and mother, Ms. Velma Jean McClain and my mother Juliette McClain whom both worked multiple jobs since before I could remember. I am honored to currently, as of November 2019, be the Director of Diversity and Inclusion within the University of Oklahoma Price College of Business. Aside from my undergraduate and master’s degrees in business, I hold multiple certifications in areas such as financial literacy, diversity and inclusion, and project management but my passion is primarily community outreach. With little to no guidance or experience dealing with the stresses of life, it is not uncommon to succumb to environmental pressures. I have over a decade of mentorship and professional development experience, held diversity education chairs in the corporate arena, and sits on the board for the Black Male Initiative at the University of Central Oklahoma. A member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., an Oklahoma Army National Guard veteran, the official spoken word artist for the OKCPD’s juvenile outreach program, founder of non-profit organization Brother 4 Progress Inc, and also co-operator of the annual Youth Boys Life Camp hosted by Give a Lil Foundation and Demarco Robinson.
Professional accolades aside, since the time of my adolescence has studied the art of rhyming and fell in love with Hip-Hop and its spoken word origin. Author of Blacker Than Shakespeare’s Ink and performance spoken word artist, my mission is by way of zealous yet eloquent messages pursue to inspire, evoke emotion, and present visions while giving a front row view of his personal narratives on race relations, class, religion, and personal evolution. I have newly dived into another passion within acting that has lead me to be a major feature actor in Oklahoma film producers, Notis Studios’ film, Black Wallstreet Burning that has been in over six Harkin locations in five states.
I am married to a beautiful woman named Carrie McClain and we are blessed with two daughters, Kimora and Camílla. Coming from a single parent household and some violent environments, my mentality on rising from hard times is that, “we are not our environments but of it and they are components that if used correctly will be the powerful weapons to build our evolution.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I evolved to be a semi-successful Black man in America and though life can be not so equal in opportunity and privilege, I never thought I had it rough. It was not until I became a working adult is where I saw underlying racist institutions that halt career progress. The “good ol’ boy system” within the aerospace industry, oil field, and the military explicitly showed me that to be a successful Black man in these arenas, I will need to either perfect code switching in which I could possible lose the authenticity of my true self or simply be extraordinary above the rest in productivity.
In the same breath of this realization, I had to make the decision that if I enjoyed any of this to commit myself to it to that extent. The answer was that I did not and I had no passion in any of the fields that I had occupied but helping others was a staple in every endeavor that I served in outside of office spaces.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the MAC Woods Ink story. Tell us more about the business.
MAC Woods Ink is my personal DBA focused on my spokenword, printed work, and any other efforts with the primary emphasis surrounding art. An entity umbrellaed under is my nonprofit Brothers 4 Progress with a special niche, and—throughout the Oklahoma City urban areas—meets a critical need. According to federal data, the median wealth for white families in 2013 was around $141,900, compared to Hispanics at about $13,700 and blacks at about $11,000. “Everyone is pushing a boulder up a steep hill, but for African-American and Latino families it’s a much steeper climb”. Many of the issues of wealth surround itself around race but many facets are the lack of knowledge of financial literacy, money management, and the workings of investments and retirement programs. Issues plaguing our minority communities, mainly Blacks and Hispanics.
The mission and what we are known for is providing guidance mainly to the inner Oklahoma City youth currently between the ages of 8 – 18 to discover their endless amount of possibilities through life skills. When young people lack guidance or experience severe life stress, it is not uncommon to succumb to the negative pressures of their environment. We are a nonprofit organization represented in many of the boy’s and young men’s summits and conferences in the surrounding areas executing sessions in such areas of financial literacy, college readiness, dress for success, career strategies, healthy living practices, and an improved self-awareness and self-image through workshops and mentorship.
Brothers 4 Progress believes that through these efforts such as individual self-development, the supply of adequate resources, and an improved self-awareness, our youth, from Oklahoma through Texas, can become successful, self-reliant, dream chasing, professional-oriented, self-aware, and compassionate people.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I do not believe in luck. From losing loved ones, peers, and close friends, I understand that I have to be here for a particular person because I could have loss my life just like the beloved that was standing right next to me in those critical moments. I believe in a higher power. I grew up Baptist but have fell out of my religious mindset and have went into a more spiritual one that focuses on being righteous to others and living for self-less service. I speak often about wishing that I could get a peak at the Lord’s playbook so I wish I could know how much time I have left but since that is not possible, I just strive to live with an intentional tenacity to be purposeful. I believe with all of my heart that this intentionality and the desire to make my family proud of me has had the most pertinent and instrumental part in my success.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4600 SE 77th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73135
- Website: www.macwoodsink.com
- Phone: 4058183896
- Email: cordney.mc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mac_since1985/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mr.Cordney.McClain
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cordney-mcclain-mba-49a33123/
Image Credit:
Bernard Addo – bvamedia, Sunee Rice – rice photography, James Cooper – pixtures4words, Steven Ike – sike images, Brandon Clemoens – itsbcdesigns.com, Ryan Terrell – Lionheart Images
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