2025 Hall of History Maker
Honored at the Indaba African Ball for work improving quality of life for caregivers and people living with ADRD.
FOUNDER · MELANIN MINDED LLC
Our story
Dr. Bashir Raheem Easter
PhD · Educator · Dementia care advocate
A deeply personal mission built from lived experience, advocacy, and a commitment to families navigating dementia.
Melanin Minded LLC was created from Dr. Easter's personal experience after his mother was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 55.
Through that journey, he recognized the need for culturally responsive information, services, and support for people of color living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
His family spent six years caring for his mother, Deloris Pitts, at home. That experience, and the lack of clear guidance and resources they faced, became the foundation of Melanin Minded's vision and mission.
Credentials
Scholar, educator, advocate.
- PhD, Multidisciplinary Human Services / Counseling — Capella University
- Associate Dean of Graduate Programs & Assistant Professor of Management, School of Business — Wayland Baptist University
- Adjunct Instructor — Milwaukee Area Technical College
- Former adjunct faculty — Marquette University, Cardinal Stritch University, Marian University
- Serving people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias since 2007
Research & writing
Closing the research gap.
African American Adolescents' Experiences Providing Care for a Family Member with Dementia
Issues in Mental Health Nursing · 2026
A time for me: A virtual program to engage African American caregivers
Journal of Women & Aging · 2022
When the Personal Becomes Professional
ASA Generations · 2025
Recognition
TODAY Show feature
The youth caregiving crisis his research addresses took center stage on TODAY with Maria Shriver.
Milwaukee Times coverage
Her Life & Music galas honoring his mother, Deloris Pitts, and celebrating community resilience in caregiving.
Our purpose
The Family Support Model
Our Family Support Model connects families to information, services, and practical support. Navigator coaching uses a five-point system to help caregivers understand and move through a complex health and long-term care system.
Youth caregivers are often invisible caregivers. We work to recognize their contribution and create pathways that support both them and the people they care for.
Moving forward
Navigator Transportation
Navigator Transportation is a dementia-capable rideshare pilot created to help people who can no longer drive stay connected to resources, activities, and their community.
Initiative
The Invisible Caregivers & Bridge Youth
Born from his doctoral research on African American adolescents caring for relatives with ADRD — culturally and age-appropriate support for youth caregivers.
Initiative
Dementia Villages
A vision for dementia-centered communities in underserved neighborhoods.