WEBVTT - No. 45: The Bastardization of Juneteenth + Radical Black Joy + Gratitude Challenge Part TWO. 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:25.320 Tell me I can't see Okay, what's up, y'all? Welcome 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.880 to hand me my purse the podcast. I am Mimi Walker, 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.920 and I will be your forever host, each and every 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:35.480 single time you tune into this podcast. So go ahead 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.040 and get comfortable. Get yourself a glass of your favorite beverage, 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:44.080 whether that's alkaline water, red kool aid, a high cup 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:49.080 of tea with honey, a glass of Cabernet, Sauvignon or Hennessy, 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:52.600 and light yourself a candle, some incense or burn some 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.880 sage and just get ready to chill out and have 0:00:56.000 --> 0:01:08.440 a good time. What's up, friends and ken, It is 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:12.360 none other than Mimi Walker, Resident Auntie Supreme, here hand 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:16.400 me my purse the podcast. And today I am sipping 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:19.280 on a little cocktail I made for myself in honor 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.679 of Juneteenth, which is coming up if you are listening 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.880 to this before Juneteenth. And I made it in honor, 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:29.800 like I said, of Juneteenth and my ancestors. I made 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:34.880 it to honor our ancestors. And in this little cocktail, 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:38.680 I will tell you that first and foremost, it is 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:43.640 red in color, because that holds a very specific significance 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:47.160 when celebrating Juneteenth, which I will get into explain a 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:52.000 little later. And in this cocktail, I have some lemonade, strawberries, 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.360 hibiscus tea that I'm brewed just from a tea bag, 0:01:55.960 --> 0:02:00.800 and some Remy Martin Vsop which is a champagne kognak. 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:06.040 And you know Black people love kognak. Okay Hannessy, Hemmy 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.600 Hennessy and Remy Martin are really the only two konyaks 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:10.960 that I know. Oh do Say, Do Say is a konnyak. 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:15.720 But anyway, I have Remy Martin vs. Op champagne. I 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:19.000 love saying that champagne kognak and it's been sitting in 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.920 my refrigerator and I put a cinnamon stick in it. 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.440 And I learned there from Gina over at the bedroom Bartender. 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:27.839 Shout out to Eugena also for being on my very 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:32.320 first Juneteenth episode back in twenty twenty, and that episode 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:36.120 to this date, it's one of the most listened to 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:40.919 episodes of Hand Me My Purse, So shout out to Eugena. 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.280 I have two genas that are friends to Hand Me 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.840 My Purse. Gina Page, the president and co founder of 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:52.120 African Ancestry dot Com and Gina founder and president creator 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:59.040 and what does she call herself? I can't remember Concoctress 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:02.760 over at the Bedroom and Bartender, but I'm gonna link 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.600 that episode this episode number eight in the show notes. 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:08.040 That was a really good episode. It was extremely informative. 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:11.160 We learned a lot about making cocktails, but we also 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:14.680 learned about Juneteenth and the significance of certain beverages and 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:20.040 foods that are eaten during those celebrations and that have 0:03:20.080 --> 0:03:23.359 been incorporated into June teenth celebrations over the years. I'm 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:25.640 also going to link an article that I read about 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:29.800 the importance of red colored foods and beverages as it 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:33.000 relates to Juneteenth in the show notes as well. There 0:03:33.000 --> 0:03:35.400 are plenty of opportunities here at handing my Purse for 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:37.920 you to learn something new or easily share them with 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.240 someone you love or someone you like. Either way you 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:50.560 can learn something, and who doesn't like to learn friends? 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:56.119 I'm caving for today's jam. The song is entitled I 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.400 Got It and then is by an artist, a young lady. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:02.840 Her name is og which, first of all, that's a 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:06.640 dope ass name I have. But anyway, I'm not gonna 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.440 talk too much about this. I don't have too much 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:11.000 to say about this song other than this shit is hot, 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:14.400 and it's hot like fresh fish grease on a Friday night. 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:19.760 This young sayster og. She did not come to play. 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:21.599 She's not here to play with y'all at all. Do 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.920 you understand me? Her voice is very smoky and not 0:04:24.960 --> 0:04:29.960 like a smoker like, but it's like smokey. Do you 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:32.479 understand that? And I don't know why I'm rubbing my 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:34.680 fingers together like you can see me and understand what 0:04:34.720 --> 0:04:37.880 I'm doing. But her voice has texture. Boom, that's what 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:40.240 it is. Her voice has texture, and it's like the 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:44.719 texture of smoke if you could touch it. And the 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:46.960 really dope part is that the lyrics of this song 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:49.560 could easily be played over like a real like a 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:51.880 dope ass hip hop beat. It kind of is because 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:54.559 the beat is dope. And as I said it before, 0:04:54.720 --> 0:04:58.479 my voice is just phenomenal. It's not like anything I 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:01.520 have actually heard before, and I of it. And I'm 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:05.080 often grumpy because I've told you that I'm a bit 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.039 of a music so now, but I'm often grumpy when 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.520 I think about the state of not necessarily music, but 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:16.320 the state of vocalists and vocal ability and people who 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:19.960 sing or call themselves singers in this current musical climate. 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:24.920 But I love when I find someone awesome. Jasmine Sullivan 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:27.240 cannot carry the young gals on all on her back, 0:05:27.240 --> 0:05:29.800 all by herself. She needs some help in the game, 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.760 you know what I mean, And so I like people 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:36.200 who can sing. Also, please be advised that the production 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:38.960 and the arrangement of this song is Out of this world. 0:05:39.440 --> 0:05:44.359 OG's debut album or debut eb debut EBT. Come on 0:05:44.480 --> 0:05:49.920 food Stamps. OG has her debut EP out now and 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:53.159 that is called Monologues. Go check it out. There's some 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:55.360 other gyms on the EP two, but for me, this 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:58.720 song reigns supreme. It's like it's the one. Go check 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:01.160 it out, go listen to it as usual. You will 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.960 find the direct link to the song in the show notes, 0:06:03.960 --> 0:06:06.520 so you can check it out. You're very welcome and 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:09.359 look at that. It's Black Music Moth. This is my 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:12.760 gift to you guys. It's Black Music Mouth, Happy Black 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:19.200 Music Month, Happy Juneteenth again. You are welcome. Now let's 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:29.120 get into the show. So today, friends and ken, we 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:33.200 are gonna hit on a few things. One Juneteenth is coming. 0:06:34.640 --> 0:06:36.760 If you listen to this on the fifteenth, which you 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:40.560 may or you may not. I don't really know. But 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:45.520 if you do, Juneteenth is coming. If you don't, Juneteenth 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:50.640 has passed. And either when you look at it, that's exciting, 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:55.560 right or is it exciting? I'm curious to know are 0:06:55.560 --> 0:06:58.520 black people still excited about Juneteenth now that it is 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:02.720 a federal all of day. Second, I want to talk 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:09.080 about being intentional, about black joy and about joy period 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:15.280 and how important it is to be intentional, and also 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:21.800 how black joy is like pure fucking magic, like absolutely, 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:26.120 it's just pure magic. Third, I want to talk about 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:29.960 the fact that it is time for the handing my 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:34.880 first gratitude challenge and we are about to get big 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:38.320 things popping. Do you remember when people used to say that, 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:42.760 I don't think they say big things popping no more. Well, 0:07:42.800 --> 0:07:46.000 I wanted to say it, so I did. But just 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:50.200 know that I don't usually say that. I'm not that late, 0:07:51.000 --> 0:07:53.280 but I wanted to say it today. It felt good. 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:55.920 I felt it in my bones. But anyway, first, let's 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:59.320 talk to you in tea. And I'm gonna go ahead 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:03.000 and just jump out and say, let's talk Juneteenth, and 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:09.800 let's talk about black folks need for white validation. Yeah, 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.760 I said the ship. I said it, and let's just 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:15.400 be honest. Part of the reason, let's talk about the 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:17.880 reason that this even became a holiday in the first place. 0:08:18.520 --> 0:08:24.120 In twenty twenty, there were some really major cases of 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:28.840 violence against black people that made the news a maud, 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:35.120 excuse me, a very Brianna Taylor, George Floyd. Personally, I 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:40.360 feel like the following year, Juneteenth was like a form 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:45.320 of reconciliation. It was a it was a form of 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:51.640 an apology, signing that holiday into becoming a federal holiday. 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.400 And while it is kind and it is nice, and 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:58.120 thank you Joseph Biden, President Biden for that, so nice, 0:08:58.640 --> 0:09:02.360 so very nice, I just feel like it was like 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:05.520 a band aid. So okay, great, we get a day off, 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:07.720 but it was still a band aid. And the truth 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:09.520 of the matter is that I could have done without it. 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:13.800 I was okay with Juneteenth being like our thing, and 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:17.920 now it's everybody's thing. So I also feel like it 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:21.280 became so I feel like it became a holiday out 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:23.920 of one white guilt, but also I feel like it 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:27.520 became a holiday, in my opinion, as a result of 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:32.040 our desire to be validated by white people in America. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.319 The very people who put laws into place refuting our 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:42.680 value as humans. President Joe Biden last year in the 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:46.960 Proclamation of the Signing of the Observance of Juneteenth, he 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:51.280 said the following, and I quote some thirty proclaims that 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:54.880 weeping mandure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:59.200 Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:02.720 discrimination and the promise of a brighter morning to come. 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:07.040 My administration is committed to building an economy and a 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:11.320 nation that brings everyone along and finally delivers our nation's 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:15.680 founding promise to Black Americans. Together, we will lay the 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.480 roots of real and lasting justice so that we can 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:23.120 become the extraordinary country that was promised to all Americans. 0:10:23.640 --> 0:10:27.040 Juneteenth not only commemorates the past, it calls us to 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:32.280 action today. End quote. That was very nice, and it 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:36.120 was nicely stated, and whoever wrote it, shout out to 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:39.080 you because it sounds good. And I wish that you 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.600 guys could see the side eye that I'm giving in 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:45.359 this moment, because to me, all of this shit sounds really, 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:49.920 really really good on paper. However, we all know, based 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:52.800 on the nightly news in your local city and my city, 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:57.080 that's Baltimore and we are talking major crime over here, buddy. 0:10:58.040 --> 0:10:59.680 Or if you live outside of the US and you 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:01.920 just happen to watch CNN and look at the news 0:11:02.640 --> 0:11:05.400 for the US of A, you'll see exactly what I mean. 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:09.280 I mean, don't girl. I appreciate the effort. I do, 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:12.760 I really do. I'm not even you know, bullshit, nor 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:20.240 you know, trying to like fake it. But I do 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:22.640 think that the gesture is nice. I think that what 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:26.120 he said was nice. I really appreciate the effort, and 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.319 it's so very kind of the government to do this 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:31.680 for us. It's so very very nice of the government. 0:11:31.880 --> 0:11:34.040 But the truth of the matter is we didn't really 0:11:34.080 --> 0:11:38.720 need this holiday. And that's real shit, because the question 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:40.719 for me is what is the motivation behind it? To 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:46.080 a piece who like, realistically, Juneteenth was like our little 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.320 black secret. To tell the truth, it was a secret 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:50.280 to some black people too, because some black people didn't 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:55.839 even know about it, but it was ours. I oftentimes 0:11:56.280 --> 0:12:00.480 get so frustrated when I see things that are hours 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:05.720 like giving out to the world for them to partake of. 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:11.199 Case in point, videos on YouTube on how to corn 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:15.080 row or how to braid hair. Granted, I'm sure they 0:12:15.160 --> 0:12:18.320 help black people. I'm sure, I'm sure they do. But 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.959 like some stuff, we just need to keep. Some stuff 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:24.280 just needs to be ours, you know what I mean. 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.520 Some things just belong to us and we should just 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:31.680 hold them dear and near and close and tight to 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:34.560 our bosom, because there are things that our ancestors gave 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.640 us and gifted to us, and we don't need to 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:41.599 share them with everyone else. I don't think anything is 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:45.319 wrong with that. So June teenth, like I said, was 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:50.239 our little secret. It belonged to us, and now it's everybody's, 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:55.120 and let the record reflect everybody doesn't deserve our June teenth. 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:57.559 Don't get me wrong. It is amazing that my people 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:01.880 are being acknowledge for our own hidden stay, our own 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:06.680 day that is documented as a day of freedom for 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:12.120 enslaved Africans and descendants of Africans that were brought to 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:16.600 this country by way of kidnapping against their own will, 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:24.240 enforced into labor, and that now the nation will be 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:28.000 forced to acknowledge that there should be a celebration regarding 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:32.560 that document that documented, excuse me, and of the enslavement 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:35.640 of black people in this country. It's amazing. I think 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:38.720 it's great. I didn't say that they will accept it, 0:13:38.720 --> 0:13:40.880 but they at least have to acknowledge it. As it 0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:43.880 is now a federal holiday, they have to acknowledge that 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:51.840 it exists. Exists. Excuse me, it's so very nice. However, personally, 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:54.679 this means nothing in the grand scheme of our success 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:57.800 as a people. Having this holiday is not going to 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:04.480 stop white supremacists from going into supermarkets, predominantly black supermarkets 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:09.520 in Buffalo and shooting up black people. It's not going 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.120 to stop white supremacists from going into churches and shooting 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:17.800 up black people. It's not going to stop the violent 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:21.680 attacks of racism against black people. It's not going to 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:28.360 stop injustice. It's not gonna stop discrimination in the workplace. 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:37.280 It's not gonna stop passive aggressive microaggressions at work. It's 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.360 not going to stop those videos from popping up on 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:47.000 social media where white women are zapping out in stores 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.520 and accusing black men of doing things like. Those things 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:53.840 aren't going to stop because we have this holiday. So 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:55.600 just let us keep the holiday. We don't need a 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.360 day off, And to be really honest, if we want 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.320 to take the day off, we take the goddamn y'all, 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:06.240 and here here's the here's the kicker, here's the real 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:11.960 Funky cole Medina. What why did I say that? You know, 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.960 first of all, do not laugh at me, laugh with me, 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:25.840 because Funky Comadina was a good fucking song. Some of 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:27.720 you may not even know what the hell funky cole 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:30.560 Medina is. Funky Comadina was a song that came out 0:15:30.600 --> 0:15:33.440 in the nineties and it was fucking amazing. Shout out 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:35.800 the tone, look Shout out to the West coast, Shout 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:39.120 out to LA. If you don't know funky Comadina, go 0:15:39.360 --> 0:15:42.640 listen to it. I still, to this day don't really 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:46.040 know what funky cold Medina is. Why didn't the world 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:49.000 is that? I digress people? But like I was saying, 0:15:49.360 --> 0:15:55.640 if you haven't heard already, there are a few white 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:59.520 owned organizations that are already trying to capitalize on black 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:03.360 dollars as usual. It's the history of this nation, for 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:07.680 God's sake, by getting Juneteenth trademarks for products that of 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:10.520 course will be bought up and purchased by black people 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:17.680 for shame, for shame people. But realistically, who is shocked 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:23.120 by this behavior? Not me, not ever, I do understand 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:27.760 the desire to want our people's documented freedom. Notice how 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.720 it keeps saying documented documented freedom to be acknowledged and 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:35.400 celebrated by the entire country. But really, why do we 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:39.160 want everyone to celebrate when they aren't even really happy 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:42.040 about it in the first place. You know, we've been fighting, 0:16:42.640 --> 0:16:45.280 steel fighting to this day. Let me keep it real clear. 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.760 I don't really want anybody celebrating with me that doesn't 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:50.960 really want my people to be free, and I mean 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:55.640 fully free. And what do I mean by that? Let 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.160 your imagination run whatever being fully free is to you. 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.440 If there's anybody who doesn't want me to be fully 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:05.640 free based on what my imagination takes me to when 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:08.400 it comes to freedom for black people, I don't want 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.560 you fucking celebrating with me. Specifically, I don't want you 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:15.399 fucking celebrating with me on the day in which my 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:21.639 ancestors celebrate and commemorate the fact that they were given 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:30.760 gifted if you will documented freedom, Okay? You know, sometimes 0:17:30.760 --> 0:17:34.800 I wonder, like, what would a world be like for 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.040 black people? What would it look like if we didn't 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.960 seek out the validation of other people. We would have 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:44.080 secrets that we keep tucked in our bosom. We wouldn't 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:47.760 feel the need to showcase our excellence and our wondrousness 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:52.120 and our gifts, our God given gifts, just for approval 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:56.960 from outsiders. We wouldn't feel the need to shuck and jive. 0:17:57.119 --> 0:17:59.399 And I've been seeing shock and drive a lot lately, 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.639 the stuff and go all out in so many different 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:07.360 ways just to show that we are just as good, 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:12.720 or that we are equal, or that we are worthy 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:20.840 of great things, or you know, in some people's eyes, 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:25.960 the same things that other people have, other people being 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:32.359 the people who have fundamentally oppressed Black people in this country, 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:35.159 because truthfully, the need for approval is really rooted in 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:39.800 issues of self worth, which would make sense seeing as 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.639 though we have been socially conditioned to believe that we 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:47.440 are less than and that we are inferior. And truthfully, 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:49.960 all of the hard work and all of the focused 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:53.400 determination that has been put into oppressed in black people 0:18:53.440 --> 0:18:58.000 in America results oftentimes in US attempting to show others, Hey, 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:01.600 look at this amazing thing I can do. Remember Mad TV, 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:07.399 Look what I can do. Stuhurt. Remember Stewart. Some of 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:09.840 y'all may never remember stuartbt. I know some of y'all do. 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:12.840 Stewart shout out to Stewart and shout out to Miss Swan, 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:15.480 I miss her. But whatever, look at this amazing thing 0:19:15.560 --> 0:19:18.920 I can do. Look at how wonderful we are. We're great, 0:19:19.080 --> 0:19:22.240 We're black, We're awesome. Look at we are phenomenal. See 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:25.520 look at us, look at us when really what we 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:27.400 really need to do is look inward and say these 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:34.480 things to ourselves, pray, give thanks to our ancestors and 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:37.439 say them to them, share them with our children, and 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:41.000 teach them to do the same things for themselves. To 0:19:41.119 --> 0:19:48.560 see the wonder and the beauty and the greatness that excellence, 0:19:48.680 --> 0:19:58.399 the fucking amazing, the absolute amazingness that exists in being black. 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:03.080 We don't need to seek validation from anybody. We could 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.080 have kept Juneteenth of us thing and kept it close 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:08.520 to our bosom. We could have kept it. Ain't that 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:14.080 wrong with keeping it because now something that our ancestors 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:23.880 created to celebrate their emancipation or their not being under 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:32.360 the hold of forced slavery, forced enslavement, now it will 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:36.400 be subject to being devoured by the need for capital gain, 0:20:37.119 --> 0:20:39.359 and not even by us. That's that's the real fucked 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:43.480 up part. I'm gonna go ahead and stop because what's 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:45.280 done is done. However, just keep that in the back 0:20:45.320 --> 0:20:48.680 of your mind. Okay, I want Black people to stop 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:52.520 seeking validation from an outside source. I want Black people 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:56.040 to look inside and look inward and figure out what 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:58.159 it is that you need to fill yourself with that 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:02.040 sense of approval and be well with you, be well 0:21:02.080 --> 0:21:04.960 with us, with who we are, where we come from, 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.760 what we have endured, who we are now, what we 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:11.280 are now, have hope and feel promised for our future 0:21:12.200 --> 0:21:13.879 because we are who we are. It's gonna be what 0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:15.960 it's gonna be. And then the words of the good 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:20.360 young prophet Kendrick Lamar, We're gonna be all right at 0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:23.720 the end of the day. Like you know, I said 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:32.240 this before. We are the descendants of the Africans that 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:39.360 were forced, kidnapped and forced and let's be clear, okay, 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:47.560 that we're offered up for money by other Africans and 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:54.119 forced to come here and endure the oppression and justice 0:21:54.320 --> 0:22:01.080 and enslavement at the hands of Europeans. But we are 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:05.000 the descendants of the people who lived through that. I 0:22:05.040 --> 0:22:09.280 said this before on a previous episode. We are the 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:15.040 fucking descendants of the people who made it through the 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:18.560 Middle passage. I don't think you really get that when 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:21.560 you sit in that ship, like when you sit in it, 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:30.400 we are the byproduct of the people that lived through it. 0:22:30.680 --> 0:22:33.919 Do you understand what is in our bones? Do you 0:22:34.000 --> 0:22:38.640 understand what it is in our dna? Man? Please? What 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:43.840 we're gonna be okay? We don't already went through the 0:22:43.880 --> 0:22:48.639 worst part. I fully believe that it can. And I 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:51.399 think that if collective we really looked at it like this, 0:22:52.280 --> 0:22:55.119 it can only be up from here because we have 0:22:55.200 --> 0:23:01.560 already been literally into the belly of hell. We've already 0:23:01.920 --> 0:23:04.720 been in the belly of hell, and we came out 0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:08.280 that motherfucker. Excuse my French, and you know I use 0:23:08.359 --> 0:23:11.640 a lot of French words on here, but we made 0:23:11.680 --> 0:23:15.720 we made it out. We are the descendants of the 0:23:15.720 --> 0:23:18.960 people who made it out of the belly of the beasts. Literally, 0:23:19.720 --> 0:23:23.200 we're gonna be okay. Does that mean it's gonna be perfect? Hell? Now? 0:23:25.000 --> 0:23:28.080 But we're gonna be okay. And and that's it. I'm 0:23:28.119 --> 0:23:32.240 gonna get off this soapbox, man, because I feel like 0:23:32.240 --> 0:23:36.280 I'm about to preach a word. The one thing that 0:23:36.359 --> 0:23:41.760 I am really excited about with this Juneteenth Surge and 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:45.560 this whole federal holiday thing is that so many more 0:23:45.600 --> 0:23:49.879 black folks are getting into celebrating the day. Who amongst us, 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:52.320 friends and Kim will be doing something for Juneteenth this year. 0:23:52.960 --> 0:23:55.160 I am very excited to say that my family will 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:58.480 be celebrating big this year. It's gonna be a whole 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:02.920 literation over here. Red foods will be everywhere, Black joy 0:24:02.960 --> 0:24:07.360 will be everywhere, gratitude will be everywhere. Oh yeah, speaking 0:24:07.359 --> 0:24:11.520 of black joy, what does that look like for you? Like? 0:24:11.600 --> 0:24:16.440 What does that mean to you? What is black joy? 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:21.960 For you? Joy by definition is a feeling of great 0:24:22.000 --> 0:24:26.359 pleasure or happiness. For me, joy is something I am 0:24:26.400 --> 0:24:30.359 extremely intentional about. Why Because with the way the world 0:24:30.400 --> 0:24:33.280 is set up, if we are not intentional about our joy, 0:24:33.400 --> 0:24:36.760 we will end up with lived experiences wherein we are 0:24:36.840 --> 0:24:41.000 cloaked in the opposite of joy. There's a poem that 0:24:41.119 --> 0:24:43.560 I came across. It is written by black woman and 0:24:43.640 --> 0:24:49.480 it's entitled joy is an Act of Resistance. I would 0:24:49.520 --> 0:24:52.320 add on to that that black joy is an intentional 0:24:52.359 --> 0:24:56.960 act of resistance. Inside note, let me digress for one second. 0:24:57.000 --> 0:25:00.439 Good friends, I recognize that I didn't talk about the 0:25:00.440 --> 0:25:04.440 significance of red foods for Juneteenth, But I did as 0:25:04.440 --> 0:25:06.159 I stated that I would put the link to the 0:25:06.320 --> 0:25:10.119 very interesting and informative article that I read in the 0:25:10.160 --> 0:25:14.840 show notes. Go read it. My apologies, but my spirit 0:25:14.880 --> 0:25:19.960 took me in a different direction. Sometimes something that I'm 0:25:20.040 --> 0:25:22.639 learning is that we have to be like water and 0:25:22.760 --> 0:25:29.439 just flow back to our regularly scheduled program. As I 0:25:29.520 --> 0:25:34.040 was saying black joy, I would say that black joy 0:25:34.880 --> 0:25:41.040 is an intentional act of resistance, a radical, intentional act 0:25:41.080 --> 0:25:46.840 of resistance. Sometimes I wonder how in the hell is 0:25:46.840 --> 0:25:49.280 it that black people manage to stay so full of joy? 0:25:49.640 --> 0:25:53.480 And we are joyfull? Do you understand me? For all 0:25:53.520 --> 0:25:56.240 of the sadness, to anger, the rage, of the disappointment, 0:25:56.280 --> 0:26:00.600 the violence and the downright evil that we encounter every 0:26:00.680 --> 0:26:04.080 day and that we live through every day and that 0:26:04.160 --> 0:26:08.320 we have to navigate through every day, we still find 0:26:08.359 --> 0:26:11.919 ways to feel and share our joy, not just with 0:26:11.960 --> 0:26:15.840 one another but with the world. And that, my friends, 0:26:15.960 --> 0:26:19.880 an Ken, is fucking phenomenal to me. I don't get it, 0:26:21.760 --> 0:26:23.880 But guess what, I don't even care. I'm just glad 0:26:23.880 --> 0:26:26.440 that I'm a part of it. And I know that 0:26:26.480 --> 0:26:30.840 other people are wondering how the fuck do they do that. 0:26:32.640 --> 0:26:36.080 Let me tell you something, under no circumstances do I 0:26:36.200 --> 0:26:41.520 not believe that there is a correlation between us being 0:26:41.600 --> 0:26:44.359 the descendants of the people who made it out of 0:26:45.000 --> 0:26:48.080 the Middle Passage and us having so much joy. I'm 0:26:48.119 --> 0:26:50.520 telling you it's in our bones. I'm telling you, in 0:26:50.560 --> 0:26:54.159 the marrow of our bones. There is that special sauce 0:26:54.880 --> 0:26:58.840 that everybody tries to replicate but you can't because you 0:26:58.920 --> 0:27:01.040 didn't your ancestor that living a belly at the beast, 0:27:02.359 --> 0:27:04.760 And it just says so much about our bones to me, 0:27:05.400 --> 0:27:09.880 our resilience are innate warrior spirits. We are warriors, man. 0:27:11.600 --> 0:27:15.600 Speaking of which, Warriors come out to play a I 0:27:15.600 --> 0:27:18.360 don't really follow basketball that much. Yes, I am doing 0:27:18.400 --> 0:27:24.160 another side note, but out the Warriors when the series. 0:27:24.400 --> 0:27:26.359 I used to be a big time Celtics fan, but 0:27:27.119 --> 0:27:31.160