Speaker 1: So I always ask, now, are you ready? I'm ready.
Speaker 1: I'm ready. I try to stay ready. Sorry, come on,
Speaker 1: that's how you kick it off. Let me get my
Speaker 1: sleeve pulled up. Let me get myself because ready. This
Speaker 1: is gonna be a good, high energy and high obtain conversation,
Speaker 1: and I'm ready for it. Let's kick it off. Hey, y'all, Hey,
Speaker 1: what's up? And welcome to Let's Red Table that. I'm
Speaker 1: Tracy t Brow and I'm Coral Pressley and I'm feeling
Speaker 1: pretty excited about today's episode and conversation. What about you, Tracy,
Speaker 1: how are you feeling about today? In the words of
Speaker 1: our guests, I'm let's Cora, I'm I love it. Hey,
Speaker 1: wait till we bring them on today. Okay, listen, and
Speaker 1: we're gonna have a message straight from the Red Table
Speaker 1: talk host later in today's episode, So anyone listening, please
Speaker 1: do not miss that. And I mean, like for real,
Speaker 1: straight up lit. I cannot wait to hear the message.
Speaker 1: I cannot wear for this conversation. I am super geeked up.
Speaker 1: Super excited would be the nineteen eighties version, but super
Speaker 1: super geeked is the nineties version. I'm geeked all the
Speaker 1: woe geeks. But first we are going to circle back.
Speaker 1: This is a real gift for us. We're gonna go
Speaker 1: back to the Red Table episode about fitting All. It
Speaker 1: aired in May of this year, and we are being
Speaker 1: joined by guests from that very episode. We're making Virtual
Speaker 1: Red Table Talk history today. Car like we should we
Speaker 1: go ahead and introduce them? I I don't know if anymore,
Speaker 1: So come on, come on, introduced, introduce our guest. You
Speaker 1: don't have to wait any longer. Our guest today is
Speaker 1: not new to the Red Table, but this is his
Speaker 1: first time at the Virtual Red Table, so we appreciate
Speaker 1: him for coming. Dominie DuPont is here with us. You
Speaker 1: of course remember him from his appearance on the actual
Speaker 1: Red Table Talk where he shared about his uncle Michael
Speaker 1: Kay Williams and their relationship through both of their ups
Speaker 1: and downs. Don't we have them all? Right? So we
Speaker 1: arevited him on here on our Virtual Red Table to
Speaker 1: dive deeper, talk more in depth about the topic that
Speaker 1: he touched on at the Red Table, as well as
Speaker 1: here about the reception from his uncle's book entitled Scenes
Speaker 1: from My Life. So welcome, welcome, thank you, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for having me how are you doing. I'm good,
Speaker 1: I'm good. Every day above Ground is really an opportunity
Speaker 1: to just on a Michael on his legacy and to
Speaker 1: add something additional to this thing that we call life, right,
Speaker 1: And sometimes life is hard to figure out. Sometimes it
Speaker 1: will throw you some curveballs and you're trying to figure
Speaker 1: this out and trying to figure that out. But it's
Speaker 1: a good place to start at to wake up and
Speaker 1: I have life and have breath and for your bed
Speaker 1: not to be a cooling boy. So thank you so
Speaker 1: much for having me. I'm excited. You just said a
Speaker 1: whole word right there. Absolutely, this is an amazing opportunity.
Speaker 1: So I just want to say thank you as well
Speaker 1: again for just joining us today. I'm excited to jump
Speaker 1: into the episode Old So we're gonna kick it off
Speaker 1: with our weight what segment. Okay, this is a part
Speaker 1: of the show where we reveal which moments made us pause,
Speaker 1: rewind and listen again. So actually we're gonna be dipper
Speaker 1: right into a previous topic and we haven't had the
Speaker 1: opportunity to have wait what with the person we were
Speaker 1: waiting on the scenes. So Dominick, I'm excited because I
Speaker 1: can say Okay, now wait what what? Now? Absolutely? Wait
Speaker 1: what that's it? What happened? Here's what I want to know, Dominic.
Speaker 1: When you shared you were living with Michael's mom, I
Speaker 1: just thought that was beautiful. My understanding is that you're
Speaker 1: actually living with Michael's mother. She's an amazing human being.
Speaker 1: She's ninety four years old, and her grit, her strength.
Speaker 1: You know, I see what Michael got it from. How
Speaker 1: did living together affect both of your grieving journeys. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so unfortunately my grandmother, Michael's mother, passed away July fourteen,
Speaker 1: and so it's sort of like moves into this important
Speaker 1: conversation that we're having about how things can impact people
Speaker 1: and can affect people. And that's why you heard me
Speaker 1: begin this conversation by talking about how grateful I am
Speaker 1: to have life and breath and to have hope, because
Speaker 1: one of the things I realized is when you don't
Speaker 1: have those things, you are hopeless, and that is a
Speaker 1: dark place to be. And I realized that in ways
Speaker 1: that a lot of other people may not have really
Speaker 1: understood the brevity of what that means and how that feels.
Speaker 1: And to just think about some of those things, I mean,
Speaker 1: like you said, I was living with my grandmother, Paula Williams.
Speaker 1: That happened for me about two days after Michael died.
Speaker 1: I immediately left Brooklyn. Took me two days to coordinate
Speaker 1: with the Medical Examiner's office here and officials to have
Speaker 1: his body transferred to Harrisburg, where he was ultimately laid
Speaker 1: to rest. At What happened was two weeks after that,
Speaker 1: Michael's brother, my father, had torn a yota uttery, went
Speaker 1: into the hospital and unfortunately he passed away on the
Speaker 1: second week of November. That impacted my grandmother greatly to
Speaker 1: lose two of her children's, one September six and one
Speaker 1: in mid November. You know, you asked me, I think
Speaker 1: she really passed away from a broken heart. So I
Speaker 1: stayed there from September to July, just taking care of her,
Speaker 1: making sure that she's good. We had other family members
Speaker 1: and support that were there, and like I said, ultimately,
Speaker 1: the same way I went upstairs and found Michael deceased
Speaker 1: is the same way that I went upstairs and found
Speaker 1: my grandmother deceased in July four team. She was suffering, Yeah,
Speaker 1: she was suffering. She was going through a lot of
Speaker 1: Alzheimers in dementia had set in at a rate that
Speaker 1: was unprecettented in my mind, and one she was ready
Speaker 1: to go. She made that clear, and to she just said,
Speaker 1: I want to be with my boys. So we went
Speaker 1: through that. I am still back between New York and
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania where my grandmother was living in where Michael we
Speaker 1: call that michael second home, and that is now where
Speaker 1: he rests that right with his brother and his mother
Speaker 1: in the same place. So this she has been rough,
Speaker 1: but I'm grateful. I'm hopeful. I see Michael winking at
Speaker 1: us often about the work that needs to continue. Well,
Speaker 1: let me say that I offer my sincerest sympathy to
Speaker 1: you and your faith because having been in the position
Speaker 1: where you were to find your uncle and then have
Speaker 1: to suffer through the loss of two others so close
Speaker 1: and near and beloved family members, I just can't even
Speaker 1: imagine your grief. Thank you. At the same time, I
Speaker 1: could tell through just your stories and how you speak
Speaker 1: of them, that Joe family has a strong legacy that
Speaker 1: will be upheld, and I'm grateful that You're able to
Speaker 1: be here and speak it, spread their joy and spread
Speaker 1: their love and everything that they meant to you. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much. Thank you for picking up the mass
Speaker 1: Soper Import Dominic and carrying that torch to have that
Speaker 1: strong family Williams legacy lived through you. Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: Carla and Tracy. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Speaker 1: And I know that God has a reason and a
Speaker 1: purpose for me to just be involved in this process
Speaker 1: the way there I am. And the reality is I
Speaker 1: just walked by faith. Understood. Understood. You speak so holly
Speaker 1: of Michael. We heard you say that he was an
Speaker 1: amazing human being. People are gonna be listening, They're gonna
Speaker 1: be watching, They're gonna be saying to themselves, if this
Speaker 1: can happen to an amazing human being like him, it
Speaker 1: can happen to me. And if we can prevent that,
Speaker 1: then we're doing the right thing. A lot of us
Speaker 1: were entertained and amazed by him, right, But you got
Speaker 1: to get that additional personal insight, like can you share
Speaker 1: a story just behind the scenes, another legacy piece that
Speaker 1: just demonstrates what you saw and your uncle, or what
Speaker 1: you'd like to just share about his legacy that people
Speaker 1: don't know or people need to know. One of the
Speaker 1: things that was incredible about Michael is that he found
Speaker 1: the way to breathe life into his characters, and a
Speaker 1: lot of that was because of his ability to turn
Speaker 1: his pain and his trauma into art. And a lot
Speaker 1: of people don't know that Michael went through a lot
Speaker 1: of challenges. That was one of the purposes that we
Speaker 1: thought it was so important to bring light shed light
Speaker 1: on his new book, Scenes from My Life. Those things
Speaker 1: that you hear about are the catalyst to conversations that
Speaker 1: developed as Michael worked on healing himself and dealing with
Speaker 1: the struggles of life, soro on life's terms and understanding
Speaker 1: that there are points in our life where at times
Speaker 1: we feel worthless and that is a difficult place to
Speaker 1: be at. But through that all, Michael was committed to
Speaker 1: helping people understand that they matter. And one of the
Speaker 1: things that Michael was committed to was just ensuring that
Speaker 1: people know that he was there to support them. And
Speaker 1: one of the stories that I have, personal stories that
Speaker 1: I have, and pretty recent right before he passed away,
Speaker 1: we were shooting a docuseries that Michael had produced called
Speaker 1: black Market. It's this idea that when the system fails you,
Speaker 1: you create your own systems to survive financially and in
Speaker 1: other means. We were leaving a pretty well known seafood
Speaker 1: restaurant called Jimmy's. You know, they make pretty much like
Speaker 1: the best crab cakes in Maryland. They are like in
Speaker 1: the top two, and we could never find ourselves from Baltimore,
Speaker 1: Maryland without stopping there to eat. Of course feed you well,
Speaker 1: they take care of you. So everybody collecting their doggy
Speaker 1: bags and getting them ready, and we had ordered a
Speaker 1: few extra crab cakes to take home with us. We
Speaker 1: saw this individual who didn't have a place to stay,
Speaker 1: and they were looking for food, and it was clear
Speaker 1: that they were suffering. Michael said, everybody pull a car,
Speaker 1: but pull a car when we like, you know, we're
Speaker 1: in Baltimore, Like, what's the matter? What happened? What's going on?
Speaker 1: And he said, pulled up, car over, and we pulled
Speaker 1: the car over, and he looked at everyone and said, everybody,
Speaker 1: give me your bag, and he took stuff that was untouched, unopened,
Speaker 1: and we we fed that young lady. But what was
Speaker 1: even really more interesting to me, Michael didn't just like
Speaker 1: throw them a bag and give them some cash. They
Speaker 1: pulled over, he said, Hi, how are you doing? What's
Speaker 1: your name? And I just looked yeah. The person said Janine,
Speaker 1: and he said, Janine, how you doing? My name is Michael.
Speaker 1: How you doing, sister? And she said things are tough,
Speaker 1: but and Mike said I know, I've been there, and
Speaker 1: he said, since, I have this for you, and he
Speaker 1: gave a nice amount of cash and he gave up
Speaker 1: some food and he said, I'm praying for you. And
Speaker 1: that next day, when we went back and we saw
Speaker 1: the same individual, Mike told over again and said hi, Janine,
Speaker 1: and she looked and her eyes lit up, and he said,
Speaker 1: do you remember my name? And she said, of course
Speaker 1: I remember your name. Your name is Michael. And you
Speaker 1: know why I remember that, not because you was on
Speaker 1: a wire, not because you're a TV star. I remember
Speaker 1: that because a lot of people who stopped and make
Speaker 1: thrown me a few quarters or feel sympathy for me.
Speaker 1: I didn't feel that from you. I felt the person
Speaker 1: who cared enough to ask me what my name was.
Speaker 1: It don't matter how I looked, or that I didn't
Speaker 1: brush my teeth for a few days, or that I
Speaker 1: didn't have money or food, or that I didn't look good.
Speaker 1: And I was like, this is amazing, this guy right here.
Speaker 1: It's just amazing and to see his humility and to
Speaker 1: see how much he cared. Most people, like you said,
Speaker 1: they just know him from how he breathed life censer characters,
Speaker 1: and Mike was just such a genuine, amazing human being
Speaker 1: and that really humbled every person that was in the
Speaker 1: cars with us that he thought as much. There's a
Speaker 1: ripple effect that happens from that because you get a
Speaker 1: chance to witness the humanity of human to human connection.
Speaker 1: And he actually saw, affirmed and loved Janine and let
Speaker 1: her know that she mattered to him as a person
Speaker 1: in real life, in real life, not just something to say,
Speaker 1: not just how are you? You know, we rushed through
Speaker 1: the journey so fast, but he was able to slow down,
Speaker 1: like I love that. I appreciate you for sharing that.
Speaker 1: And that's why these conversations are important so we can
Speaker 1: continue this legacy. Right. Yeah, that was definitely a wait
Speaker 1: what because Michael kay Williams said wait what when he
Speaker 1: saw the name, what are we gonna do? Said? And
Speaker 1: then it was like wait, like what, like somebody say something, right,
Speaker 1: we just the true mission that we all have service
Speaker 1: true example of leadership. Yeah that's good, absolutely, all right,
Speaker 1: We're going to take a quick break, but when we
Speaker 1: come back, we'll ask Dominic all our burning questions. Plus
Speaker 1: we'll share that surprise message from the Red Table Talk host.
Speaker 1: So you don't want to miss the rest of today's episode,
Speaker 1: stay tuned. Let's get back into the rest of this episode. Dominic,
Speaker 1: what did you think about this episode of Red Table Talk? Overall,
Speaker 1: and just as a reminder of where the nation is
Speaker 1: at with drug abuse? Provisional Day from cdc s National
Speaker 1: Center for Health Statistics indicates that from April through a
Speaker 1: drug overdose deaths increased by twenty eight point five percent
Speaker 1: as compared to the previous years. So clearly, COVID has
Speaker 1: made an impact on drug abuse. I think just drugs alcohol.
Speaker 1: We were struggling. We still are struggling, Okay, sitting all another.
Speaker 1: Synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths.
Speaker 1: Even in small doses, it can be deadly. Over one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty people die every day from overdoses related
Speaker 1: to synthetic opioids like fitting all according to the CDC.
Speaker 1: How do you feel overall about continuing to spread the word?
Speaker 1: How are you feeling, Dominic? Yeah, thank you, thank you
Speaker 1: for asking that that is so important. I think it's
Speaker 1: really important that we make sure that people are aware
Speaker 1: that they're conscious of the decisions that they're making, how
Speaker 1: it can impact them, impact the people who love them
Speaker 1: that are closest to them, and impact the overall community.
Speaker 1: You know, we all suffer when we lose someone, but
Speaker 1: if it just things just a little bit more when
Speaker 1: it's preventable. We know that overdoses can be prevented. We
Speaker 1: know that test kits and some of the other things
Speaker 1: that people like in groups like a SAP Foundation are
Speaker 1: working on where they provide pentlone test strips and communities
Speaker 1: to ensure that people, if they are going to engage
Speaker 1: in that type of behavior, that they do it safely.
Speaker 1: How did I feel about the overall episode? I loved it.
Speaker 1: I love the fact that I was able to connect
Speaker 1: with people who had similar experiences, that we could tap
Speaker 1: into that for each other and with each other. And
Speaker 1: it was also really just humbling to meet other people
Speaker 1: who had what I identify survivor's remorse and some aspects
Speaker 1: felt guilty was hoping that they could do more, but
Speaker 1: also people who just acknowledge the importance of this issue
Speaker 1: and are using their platforms to tell these stories about
Speaker 1: how not to be in situations like us and our
Speaker 1: families have been. It's preventable. We can do better, we
Speaker 1: should do better, right. I love that the transparency of
Speaker 1: your story through your uncle's story is going to help
Speaker 1: someone not have to relive what you're living through. Now,
Speaker 1: that part that's a that's big though, Tracy that you said,
Speaker 1: because I think a lot of times people think of
Speaker 1: the person who has the addiction, and I mean, that's
Speaker 1: always something to work on, but the people closest to them,
Speaker 1: family members, are directly impacted as well, and how can
Speaker 1: we continue to share it and give them the support
Speaker 1: that they need? Or absolutely absolutely one of the things
Speaker 1: that is on top of mind for me from the book,
Speaker 1: which I absolutely love and encourage anyone who can hear
Speaker 1: me to get this book because it is a amazing.
Speaker 1: I have notes throughout that I've made that we're just
Speaker 1: absolutely resonating with me, and one of them was about
Speaker 1: addiction and how he said that his mother told him,
Speaker 1: you know, you gotta be careful because we got alcoholics
Speaker 1: running through our family, and the part that he said
Speaker 1: that before he even smoked crack, he was an addict,
Speaker 1: that addiction was just as much a part of him
Speaker 1: as the sound of his voice as the color of
Speaker 1: his skin. When you hear that and read that, how
Speaker 1: does that impact you as a family member? Are you
Speaker 1: super conscious and careful now to say? Now, hold on
Speaker 1: a second, not only do I have this legacy, but
Speaker 1: I gotta really be careful about what it is I
Speaker 1: indulge in and make sure that I'm careful about any
Speaker 1: kind of anything that I've exposed in myself to Yeah. No,
Speaker 1: that's a great question, Tracy, And the answer is that
Speaker 1: I don't indulge in drinking or drugs at all at all.
Speaker 1: I never have. And the reason why I never have
Speaker 1: is because of a come a ssation that I had
Speaker 1: with Michael and an elevator as he was coming down
Speaker 1: from being high and in an argument ensued at our
Speaker 1: apartment in the Vanderver States now currently known as Flatbush Gardens,
Speaker 1: and he Michael looked in my eyes and said, don't
Speaker 1: you ever use drugs? Dominant? And I think a huge
Speaker 1: part of that conversation that he had with me when
Speaker 1: I was seven years old and a project elevator was
Speaker 1: because he never wanted me to be experiencing the things
Speaker 1: that he was experiencing. How control substances, how it will handcuffy.
Speaker 1: It will take you farther than you want to go,
Speaker 1: it will keep you longer than you want to be kept.
Speaker 1: And that's how it works. So I was always conscious
Speaker 1: of that, and that is the reason why to this day,
Speaker 1: I am hyper sensitive to making sure that I do
Speaker 1: what's necessary to stay away from control substances, and I
Speaker 1: encourage other people who are deal with this sickness to
Speaker 1: to get the help that they need. I know it's difficult.
Speaker 1: I acknowledge that it can be with you, it can
Speaker 1: draw you in, and I want to be sensitive to that.
Speaker 1: I want to be there to help people who are
Speaker 1: dealing with trauma and pain and trying to find effective
Speaker 1: ways to do that without putting themselves in a position
Speaker 1: where they can accidentally kill themselves because of it, because
Speaker 1: they're trying to cope. You said at the Red Table
Speaker 1: you were still processing what happened and what you saw
Speaker 1: in September when Michael died. Where are you now on
Speaker 1: your journey of healing and grief. I will forever be
Speaker 1: affected by that. Those dates means something, that your means
Speaker 1: something to think that Labor Day is a day where
Speaker 1: someone will feel free and feel joyous and just celebrating.
Speaker 1: Those are things that I think about. So, yeah, those
Speaker 1: things stay with me and on the journey of healing,
Speaker 1: I just have to be mindful of of the important
Speaker 1: things that I need to do to maintain my sanity
Speaker 1: and not allow insanity to creep in on me. And
Speaker 1: a huge part of that is staying connected to the
Speaker 1: work that Michael was doing scenes for my life, honoring
Speaker 1: his legacy, and knowing that Michael is winking at me
Speaker 1: when we are doing this work to help save people.
Speaker 1: I love that you said he winks at you. How
Speaker 1: do you identify when you know that he's giving you
Speaker 1: a wink? Yeah, so a lot of how I identify
Speaker 1: when I feel like Michael is present in the room.
Speaker 1: It's almost hard to put into language. It almost escapes
Speaker 1: language for me. And one of the things is when
Speaker 1: I connect with people in my space, there is something
Speaker 1: I feel like a sort of like a tug at
Speaker 1: my heart when there are things that are happening in
Speaker 1: a room, when their connections being made on so many
Speaker 1: different levels that has absolutely nothing to do with me.
Speaker 1: Oftentimes absolutely nothing to do with the people who are
Speaker 1: in the room. It is something beyond that has aligned
Speaker 1: us and brought us two together, and everyone who was
Speaker 1: involved in that process is an AWE is saying, wait
Speaker 1: a minute, what just happened here? And more importantly, why
Speaker 1: is it happening? And I see Mike winking, and I
Speaker 1: hear his voice saying, because I am present and I
Speaker 1: am involved in, how do we help make the world
Speaker 1: a better place? Even though I am not in the
Speaker 1: world right now, even though I'm not present here, I
Speaker 1: am in a place where I am watching over things
Speaker 1: and doing the best that I can to look out
Speaker 1: for people to help people. Where I am, the spirit
Speaker 1: is still present. And what I often like to say
Speaker 1: is God was short on a few angels and said
Speaker 1: this day I will see you in paradise. This day
Speaker 1: I will bring another one. He gives life, he takes
Speaker 1: it away. But there are things that we are involved in.
Speaker 1: And I believe as a believer that God uses us
Speaker 1: and sends angels to encamp around us and protect us,
Speaker 1: and that humbles me. And those are things that correlate
Speaker 1: with how I feel when I sense Michael's presence and
Speaker 1: when he's winking and saying I'm here, I'm still making moves.
Speaker 1: Say what right? As you continue to navigate this journey
Speaker 1: and go day to day and, like you say, encounter
Speaker 1: other people personally and professionally. How has the release of
Speaker 1: your uncle's memoir, even just months after his death affected
Speaker 1: your actual journey? Has it helped you to power forward?
Speaker 1: Tell us how you feel unequivocally absolutely, yes, I have
Speaker 1: been empowered. I've been made more aware, more sensitive to
Speaker 1: the core, alling all my life and how I can
Speaker 1: serve be of service. Michael was about all of those
Speaker 1: things his book. Scenes from My Life are true. Scenes
Speaker 1: from his life are true experiences, They are true things,
Speaker 1: real things, transparent things. Mike went deep, he pulled the
Speaker 1: layers back, and he did the same thing with his characters,
Speaker 1: and the reality is those things, doing those things. Being
Speaker 1: that transparent, being that vulnerable helps people because they say,
Speaker 1: if Michael Kay Williams can do it, if he can
Speaker 1: be that vulnerable, if he can be that transparent, he
Speaker 1: can talk about his struggles, then so can I. And
Speaker 1: that is the first start to healing, communicating, talking about it,
Speaker 1: getting it out, addressing whatever those issues are so that
Speaker 1: you can move forward and do that in a way
Speaker 1: that's consistent with your vision and your purpose for your life,
Speaker 1: and no one should know that better than that individual. Yeah,
Speaker 1: now that's true. We're going to take a short birth
Speaker 1: right now, and when we returned, we'll be back to
Speaker 1: continue our conversation with our amazing guest, Dominant. Dunt Okay,
Speaker 1: I have to ask you a question here because as
Speaker 1: we're all nieces and nephews of somebody, right, yes, ma'am
Speaker 1: your uncle, you're right. He was vulnerable. He pulled the
Speaker 1: layers back, he gave us all the t all the milk.
Speaker 1: He didn't hold back a single piece of fruit. Everything
Speaker 1: is out. Okay, when you read this book, Dominant, were
Speaker 1: you like, oh, wait a minute, I didn't want to
Speaker 1: know that. Hold on, I'm feeling some kind of way
Speaker 1: about knowniced by my uncle at or were you like
Speaker 1: I already knew that. So there's a few things. I think.
Speaker 1: One of the main things was how Michael struggled with
Speaker 1: his idea who he was, how comfortable he was with
Speaker 1: his masculinity, what that meant to pee bull, some of
Speaker 1: the challenges that he had being identified as blackie or fagged,
Speaker 1: some of those derogatory things that helped thrust him into
Speaker 1: trying to identify who he is. Those challenges are present
Speaker 1: in the world of addiction. Those things impacted me because
Speaker 1: we have been together a very long time. He supported
Speaker 1: me throughout my incarceration. The reality is is, you know,
Speaker 1: I was aware of some of the challenges that Michael
Speaker 1: expressed about being molested and some of those other things
Speaker 1: that he talked about. You know, we talked later on
Speaker 1: about how that happened and who some of those individuals was,
Speaker 1: but those things really shocked you did get an opportunity
Speaker 1: to talk to him about that. Absolutely. Me and Michael
Speaker 1: very close if you'll read the book. But there's one thing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: we were like brothers. I mean, he is my uncle,
Speaker 1: but you know, he speaks to that in a book
Speaker 1: or whatever about his support and that, which in a
Speaker 1: lot of ways, that's that's very accurate. Me and Michael
Speaker 1: were like even though I spent twenty close to twenty
Speaker 1: one years in prison, he was like a brother to me.
Speaker 1: And I have a twin brother, Mike. Mike's like my
Speaker 1: third you know, He's like my third ground. Oh wow,
Speaker 1: we didn't know you were a twin. I did not
Speaker 1: know that, right. Shout out to thank you and shout out,
Speaker 1: shout out, Nolan. And there's a whole another conversation we
Speaker 1: could have about one years from carceration, because that experience
Speaker 1: also brought you here and knowing that you had your
Speaker 1: support with your family and from your uncle too. But
Speaker 1: we'll have to have you back for a conversation about that. Okay,
Speaker 1: when you do your own memoir, we'll have you back. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Let me ask you about some of these roles, because
Speaker 1: I personally loved on my little role and I'm about
Speaker 1: the way he used to walk down the street. I
Speaker 1: want to ask you, say, what chocolate man with that sweat,
Speaker 1: come on in the trench? I just come on now.
Speaker 1: The roles are so powerful, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: I can I'm just I just want to say thank
Speaker 1: you to the honor again. It just talked to you
Speaker 1: as I think about that role is just where we are.
Speaker 1: Everything he brought to these roles, the power and just
Speaker 1: what you remember. I mean, you don't have to remember
Speaker 1: the story of the actual wire episode. Do you know
Speaker 1: what admits when you heard that little everything from oh
Speaker 1: my little in the Wire, the chalky white Boardwalk Empire
Speaker 1: and which he couldn't escape his own reality. Do you
Speaker 1: think those things and the power you had to bring
Speaker 1: to these roles it encouraged his off and on drug use.
Speaker 1: Do you think it impacted it or are you aware
Speaker 1: in any way based on conversations and just your relationship.
Speaker 1: You know, I think certain roles kick up trauma. And
Speaker 1: one of Michael's last roles in Lovecraft Country the Tulsa massacre.
Speaker 1: You know, I think the reality is when you are
Speaker 1: involved in this line of work, you know, you sacrifice
Speaker 1: a part of who you are. Michael had concerns about
Speaker 1: killing Edris Albert and the wire. You know, he's vocal
Speaker 1: about that right, talked to Davis Signment about it. And
Speaker 1: you know, the reality is is that you know, it's
Speaker 1: a sacrifice. When you go to the places that Michael
Speaker 1: went to breathe life into these characters, it's a wonder
Speaker 1: terrible things that happened earlier. Yes, it takes a lot
Speaker 1: of therapy, a lot of conversations and support from loved
Speaker 1: ones and family members to get through this process. And
Speaker 1: you know, but Michael also loved art, and he also
Speaker 1: loved helping people, and his roles the space that he
Speaker 1: created a black, openly gay mail to still have strength
Speaker 1: and power and not be weak or not be soft.
Speaker 1: Was something that had never been accomplished in the history
Speaker 1: of and that's what I'm just calling it. What it is,
Speaker 1: that it had not been accomplished, that's anything I've ever seen.
Speaker 1: It was necessary, something I can tell you. Let me
Speaker 1: say this. I'm representing what we laughingly call the gay
Speaker 1: community here, the leg booty community, and as a member
Speaker 1: of the community, I appreciate and respect and honor that
Speaker 1: it is unparamount, okay, because there are so many people
Speaker 1: who are people of color, who are in the gay community,
Speaker 1: who are queer, who are quiet and never acknowledge, whether
Speaker 1: personally or professionally, in any character ever. And so for him,
Speaker 1: for him, it takes a lot of strength and grit
Speaker 1: to be able to do that and stand firm and that. So, no,
Speaker 1: that is absolutely something to celebrate, and I applaud it,
Speaker 1: no doubt. It is not lost on us. And so
Speaker 1: now I'm gonna tell you this some other stuff that's
Speaker 1: not lost on me, because there's so much from scenes
Speaker 1: from my life. Oh my gosh, like this book. I'm
Speaker 1: telling you, I felt like I was having a conversation
Speaker 1: with him. It was so good He emphasized the belief
Speaker 1: in pursuing dreams and callings and that it includes breaking
Speaker 1: free from the labels and the limits of to put
Speaker 1: on you. Have you had to break out of the
Speaker 1: boxes other try to put on you so that you
Speaker 1: can live your life your way. We talked a little
Speaker 1: bit earlier about some of my challenges being formally incarcerated
Speaker 1: in a place where I had to get permission to
Speaker 1: use the bathroom, being told when they eat, when I
Speaker 1: can't eat, how much time I can have on the phone,
Speaker 1: being told when I can walk somewhere, and how I
Speaker 1: can walk somewhere, how fast I did would be back
Speaker 1: from that place I walked to. Are all things that
Speaker 1: can impact you. And you can feel like you're in
Speaker 1: a situation where you are in a box even when
Speaker 1: you get out of that box. So there are some
Speaker 1: emotional psychological and you heard me earlier talk about it
Speaker 1: when I talked about not allowing insanity to creep in
Speaker 1: on me, figuring out a new way to do things
Speaker 1: in my life and to live my life in a
Speaker 1: way that makes me happy. And so yeah, I've had
Speaker 1: several times where I've had to work really hard to
Speaker 1: pursue my dreams and my calling, and to ensure that
Speaker 1: I don't subscribe to labels. I don't subscribe to an
Speaker 1: inmate or a prisoner, identify myself as someone who made
Speaker 1: a bad decision, was held accountable and responsible for that decision,
Speaker 1: and understands that there's not a perfect person on this planet.
Speaker 1: We learn from those decisions and choices, and we move forward,
Speaker 1: and we work really hard honor people, our victims, people
Speaker 1: that we have hurt. We use that to elevate an
Speaker 1: important conversation about awareness and how do we help people heal.
Speaker 1: And that is my life's work. So I'm happy about that.
Speaker 1: I'm happy to be broken out of that box sensors,
Speaker 1: to be in that place where I'm able to do
Speaker 1: that now it's a blessing to lift as that is
Speaker 1: so powerful. And then I want to believe that your uncle,
Speaker 1: because he knew what it was like to be in
Speaker 1: a box of sorts, right, he knew how hard it
Speaker 1: was for him to try to live kind of the
Speaker 1: best of both worlds. He'd be in Vandevere and then
Speaker 1: he'd be with Robin, and he was kind of living
Speaker 1: that double life. At no point that I ever feel
Speaker 1: while reading the book that he felt like he had
Speaker 1: to choose and that he had an opportunity to still
Speaker 1: pursue his dream. And the one thing that I wrote,
Speaker 1: and this is a note that I took from the
Speaker 1: book as a quote from him, is the permission to
Speaker 1: dream is so important that even if you are in
Speaker 1: a place where you literally are incarcerated, you still have
Speaker 1: the permission to dream. And so I'm so grateful that
Speaker 1: even though you had to overcome some obstacles, and like
Speaker 1: you said, you paid your restitution and now you're having
Speaker 1: an opportunity to fulfill your purpose. And I'm grateful for that.
Speaker 1: So thank you. Yeah, no, I appreciate that, and thank you.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Look, like said, the reality is,
Speaker 1: I know certain people I've experienced that you can just
Speaker 1: walk in the streets of New York City and you
Speaker 1: can see people prison as a place where you're at
Speaker 1: in your mind and your space. If you're on bondage,
Speaker 1: even if you free, you're really not free. But what
Speaker 1: I also learned is freedom is not free. You gotta
Speaker 1: be responsible, and you gotta do the right thing. And
Speaker 1: having permission to dream and having the things that you
Speaker 1: need gives you some space to breathe. It gives you
Speaker 1: some time to think about things that may seem impossible.
Speaker 1: That's how Michael thought about his life. Who would think
Speaker 1: someone like me would reach the place that they've reached
Speaker 1: in their life, not just because TV actor that is
Speaker 1: a job, but to be in a place where he
Speaker 1: can help people and use his platform where his voice
Speaker 1: mattered is something that he was really happy about. So
Speaker 1: so thank you. And he said, at the core of
Speaker 1: his work is served. Yes, ma'am, and I was your
Speaker 1: no voice still matters, you know what I mean? Like
Speaker 1: to have his legacy continue the way it is, And
Speaker 1: I'm grateful that you are here to continue carrying that
Speaker 1: torch for him, for us, for your family. Again, I'm
Speaker 1: just honest. Let me ask you, was there anything else
Speaker 1: that you wanted to share or any other point that
Speaker 1: you wanted to make at the Red Table that you
Speaker 1: couldn't because now you can make it right table. Well, no,
Speaker 1: thank you so much. I appreciate that the team Jada,
Speaker 1: her mom, her daughter, everyone was just amazing her staff there,
Speaker 1: and thankfully they gave me an opportunity to, you know,
Speaker 1: such an important conversation. So I was really honored and
Speaker 1: blessed to be there and to just see the work
Speaker 1: that's happening there. Um, I'm honored and blessed to be
Speaker 1: able to have this platform now, and I just want
Speaker 1: to say thank you to Jada, thank you to her
Speaker 1: staff the rest of the host there for giving us
Speaker 1: an opportunity to highlight such an important issue. I said
Speaker 1: that there, but I think it's worth restating and just
Speaker 1: so privileged to be able to connect with you guys,
Speaker 1: and thankful and humble. So even though I said that there,
Speaker 1: I think it's worth restating here. I just want to
Speaker 1: thank you, Tracy and Carla. The Red Table has given
Speaker 1: us such a gift of awareness and healing and growth,
Speaker 1: and having you there and then at this virtual Red
Speaker 1: Table has been a gift for us as well. I
Speaker 1: would like to wrap our conversation with you up by
Speaker 1: quoting from the book that I encourage everyone to get.
Speaker 1: Scenes from my life from memo are from Michael kay
Speaker 1: william book, and this is what it says. I don't
Speaker 1: want to be in the spotlight. I want to be
Speaker 1: the spotlight itself shine on others. I love powerful. I
Speaker 1: love that indeed powerful. Okay, So, now speaking to Sharon Dominic,
Speaker 1: are you ready, okay, because we actually received a message
Speaker 1: from someone who was especially grateful you came to the
Speaker 1: Red Table and we finally get to share it with
Speaker 1: you now here it is. Hey, Dominic, just wanted to
Speaker 1: take a moment out to thank you so much for
Speaker 1: joining us at the Red Table to share your journey
Speaker 1: with your uncle Michael Kay Williams. And I'm excited that
Speaker 1: you're continuing to share that journey on Let's Red Table,
Speaker 1: that it's so important for so many people, and I
Speaker 1: can't wait to hear what else you share at the
Speaker 1: Virtual Red Table. Thank you, Thank you. Gam Yeah, that
Speaker 1: was a message right from Gammy. We love our gam
Speaker 1: and details it like it is so you know, she
Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that you got a special acknowledgment
Speaker 1: from her from the Red Table to the Virtual Red Table.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being here with us today.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, guys, it's really a president appreciate
Speaker 1: you guys so much. Keep up the great work. Thank
Speaker 1: you so much. We want to know how you're feeling
Speaker 1: about this new season a Red Table talk. We are
Speaker 1: open to talk about anything with you all, so please
Speaker 1: send in your questions at Let's Red Table. That's at
Speaker 1: red Table talk dot com or don't forget. You can
Speaker 1: also leave us a voicemail at speak pipe dot com
Speaker 1: slash Let's Red Table that Yes, we can't wait to
Speaker 1: hear your voices. Go to speak pipe dot com. Just
Speaker 1: talking out and why are you talking? We want to
Speaker 1: talk to you one more time and say thank you,
Speaker 1: yes you, thank you so much for listening. Make sure
Speaker 1: you subscribe on I Heart Radio app and please rate
Speaker 1: this podcast on Apple podcast. Y'all know we want to
Speaker 1: find We'll be back next week for another episode of
Speaker 1: Let's Red Table Back Special. Thanks to executive producers j
Speaker 1: Pett Smith, Valon Jethro and Ellen Racketon. Thank you to
Speaker 1: our producer Kyleague Canehru and our associate producer your land
Speaker 1: to Chow. And finally, thanks to our sound engineer Stephanie Aguilar.
Speaker 1: Let's Red Table. Hey, that's table, that's tables. Hey,