WEBVTT - Turning Pain into Purpose with Dr. Ni'Cola Mitchell 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:04.160 This episode includes mention of sexual assault and rape. Please 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:05.520 take care while listening. 0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:11.880 Hello Sunshine, Hey fam Today on the bright Side, we're 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:15.480 joined by doctor Nikola Mitchell. She's an award winning entrepreneur 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:18.680 and founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, a nonprofit that's 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.560 inspiring and empowering young women. They're going above and beyond 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:26.200 to make sure the next generation knows their voices are valued. 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:28.080 It's Susey, February eighteenth. 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:31.040 I'm Simone Boyce, I'm Danielle Robe and this is the 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:36.080 bright Side from Hello Sunshine. This episode is brought to 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:40.080 you by Lareel Paris. We have a truly inspiring guest 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:43.160 on the show today. We're talking to doctor Nikola Mitchell. 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:45.559 She's the founder of Girls Who Brunch Tour, which is 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:49.040 an incredible nonprofit making a real difference in low income 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:53.080 communities by sponsoring girls in foster care, sponsoring teen mothers 0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:56.600 and women who have survived the sex trade. Doctor Mitchell 0:00:56.680 --> 0:01:00.279 is also an executive producer, publisher, and writer. Her life 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:04.280 is a really powerful testament to perseverance, and she believes 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.760 that by exposing girls to diverse perspectives and empowering them 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:11.280 with different ways of thinking, they can all achieve success. 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:13.360 And if that weren't impressive enough. 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:17.039 She is a two time Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award winner. 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:20.200 She's earned the title of Forbes Change Maker, plus recognition 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:23.679 from several cities including Atlanta, Charleston, and Houston for the 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:25.880 incredible work that she's doing. We are so excited to 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:27.639 talk with her today, So let's bring. 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:33.800 Her in, doctor Mitchell. Welcome to the bright Side. Hey, hey, 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:35.720 with the hay girl. 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:36.399 Hey, I'm gonna have to. 0:01:36.400 --> 0:01:39.040 Call you Nikola me come on, baby. 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:44.320 Well you founded Girls Who Brunch to her nearly a 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:47.760 decade ago. Yeah, Simone, and I really want to hear 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:50.000 more about the program and the work you're doing. 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:50.680 So. 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:55.200 Girls Who Brunch is an organization that focuses on girls 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:58.160 ages minned through seventeen e bringing girls rest from the 0:01:58.240 --> 0:02:01.120 sex trade, girls in group homes, girls of foster care, 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:03.720 and I've put them with girls from a better circumstance. 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:07.280 I use the format of like sororities, that they all 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:10.000 become sisters as soon as they walk in no matter 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:13.280 what city, what country, that's now their new sister. And 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:16.600 as of date, we've service forty eight thousand girls worldwide. 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:21.120 We focus on stem training, human trafficking awareness. I'm adding 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:25.520 on Healthy Body and Hearts initiative this year come and 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:27.919 going forward, and I just try to like, let them 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:32.040 have fun. I bring in DJs, celebrities, performers, Let them 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:34.440 have fun. They're dancing the whole time and we're sublimely 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:34.959 teaching them. 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:37.720 I love what you have on your Instagram, Nikola. You 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.560 say this is in your bio. On Igu say I 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:43.400 help young girls with a painful past find their purpose 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:47.360 and superpowers to change the world. Yes, ma'am, I know 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:50.680 that you come from a painful past too. How did 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:51.880 you turn that into purpose? 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.640 For a long time, I was super embarrassed of everything 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:58.920 that happened to me, and a secret that I just 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:02.000 start telling people a few years ago that I used 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:05.160 to hate being called pretty. I was raped the first 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:07.919 time at church when I was fourteen. I was raped 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:11.360 multiple times after that by people that were supposed to 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:15.480 protect me, and they told me that the reason why 0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:18.239 this was happening to me was because I was pretty. Right, 0:03:18.760 --> 0:03:22.040 So for a long time I hated for anybody to 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:26.480 call me that. But after therapy forgiving myself or because 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:30.360 I felt that I was the problem, and forgiving them. 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:34.360 I learned that me sharing my story and me putting 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:37.280 it out there and letting people see that I've been bruised, 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:40.600 but I'm not broken. It has helped so many people. 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.760 Right Because I'll come in, I'll make sure I'm dressed up, 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.280 makeup done, I'm dancing with the girls. They'll read off 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:51.160 this long bio everything that I've done, and then after that, 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:53.880 I'll say that was raped the first time at church. 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:58.080 I've had my first daughter at fifteen, and it opens 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:01.440 up even the women in the world. There's even speakers 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.320 and whoever that was there that came up to me 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:06.760 and start crying or gone the mic and said what 0:04:06.800 --> 0:04:09.960 they've been through. So I think it's healing and I 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.600 think it's a superpower. Right, once you figure out how 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:16.200 to turn your pain into purpose, nothing can hurt you. 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:19.480 You know, the work you're doing gives young women opportunity 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:24.200 to build business development and financial literacy skills. I thought 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:26.800 it was interesting that those were two of the ones 0:04:26.839 --> 0:04:30.640 that you highlighted. What about those skills in particular do 0:04:30.680 --> 0:04:32.760 you think makes them so crucial for young women? 0:04:33.080 --> 0:04:37.120 A lot of times, girls, we're the forgotten ones. Right, 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:39.800 People put us in a little circle of what we're 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:42.800 expected to be able to do, and especially girls who 0:04:42.839 --> 0:04:46.359 are from low income and disadvantage and situations. There are 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:50.440 sometimes a first generation people, girls who don't even have 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:53.080 parents who can tell them, you know, how to save 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:56.760 a dollar, how to start a business. Even myself, when 0:04:56.800 --> 0:04:58.880 I first started my business, I had nobody I could 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:01.479 go to because I'm the actual, the first one who 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:05.880 started anything in this magnitude. So I felt that it 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:07.920 was important if I can give this to the girls 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.159 now right by the time they're my age, and I 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:12.920 always tell them, you're gonna be better than me because you're 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:15.120 getting all this great stuff. Now, by the time they're 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.960 my age, they'll be rock stars. And I have so 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.400 many girls who have businesses. On one of my babies 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:23.800 a Zobe. She has a doll line and Macy's and 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:28.080 Target Beautiful Curly Me. I have some girls who are actresses. 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:33.240 I have babies who are just cook chiefs. These are 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:37.760 some amazing rock star girls, and it's beautiful when some 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.719 of them started their business through girls who brunch. So 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:44.360 I think I'm just paying it forward and doing something 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:46.000 I think my mom wish she could have done for 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:48.320 me and some of their parents say it to me, 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:50.080 I didn't even know that they were good at this. 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:53.120 I think if we just expose them to these things, 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:54.840 they're become unstoppable. 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:58.200 I'm so glad that you told me about Beautiful Curly 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.440 Me because I need to get a birthday from my 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:01.119 friend's daughter. 0:06:01.200 --> 0:06:03.400 And this is so perfect. I can't wait. 0:06:03.560 --> 0:06:07.559 Yeah, she just started thirteen. She started with you as nine. 0:06:08.040 --> 0:06:09.160 That is wild. 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:11.680 I don't even want to think about the things that 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.000 I was doing at nine, because it was not creating 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:17.400 a business. That is so impressive. I know that being 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:20.720 teenager is just hard wherever you come from. When you 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.920 think about connecting with these teenagers. 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:24.760 What do they need? 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:28.600 Comebody, just to listen to them. A lot of times 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:33.240 they're just so angry, and because it could have been 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:36.680 a physical abuse, it could have been mental abuse, it 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:39.400 could be some type of bullying that's going on. But 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.000 moms and parents in this society are so busy, right, 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.919 they're working, they're going to school, they're doing all these things. 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:50.720 And a lot of times girls, especially teenagers, are more 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.920 bussed that to help with the house right and help 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.520 with the family, help watch your sisters and brothers. A 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:58.800 lot of times I just sit down with them. I 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:01.359 picked the quietest one of them, or the meaning is 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:02.880 looking one in the room, and I just sit down 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:05.640 with them and I asked them, hey, what's going on? 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:07.280 How do you feel? And I'll get on their nerves 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:09.320 a little bit, and I'm like, hey, I'm the boss. 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:11.920 You know this is dictatorship here. Once you came through 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:14.120 the door and not a democracy, You're going to do 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:18.800 these things. And the meanest baby by the end of 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.440 the day is hanging on me. Girl. I have so 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:24.120 many pictures of me carrying kids, a teenmate, you just 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:26.880 holding on me throughout the event. And it's just because 0:07:26.880 --> 0:07:30.320 I'm just giving them some attention, the right attention and 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.400 a healthy attention. And parents don't even know because I 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:35.960 knew that's what I was lacking. I just need somebody 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:38.720 to listen to me. So I just try to think 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:40.960 about what did I need when I was a girl 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:42.600 and give it to these babies. 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:46.200 It feels like we overcomplicate things so often it can 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:49.560 be as simple as listening to someone and how do 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:52.760 you think, how do you think these girls are misunderstood 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:57.480 either by their parents, by their classmates, or by the 0:07:57.480 --> 0:07:58.320 world at large. 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:01.360 A lot of the girls at ten girls who branch 0:08:01.360 --> 0:08:04.720 your girls of color, And the sadness of it is 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:08.560 that African American girls, a girl of color period are 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:13.360 usually over sexualized and over criminalized. So their first expectation 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:15.600 of people when they see them is that they're bad. 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:18.760 They're not gonna listen like they're going to fight. And 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:22.760 so if you're being told that's who you are, right, 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:26.160 You're going to start acting out as such. I just 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:29.600 started this movement called Protect Black Girls. I protect all girls, 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.360 but I protect Black girls first because I'm a Black 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:37.280 girl and I'm always kicking indoors and doing things trying 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.600 to save these girls. And I think if people seeing 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:44.480 what they're the girls everyday life this, then they'll have 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:47.000 some form of empathy. I wrote a book called What 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:50.040 Was I Supposed to Do? And it was in the 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.000 day of a life of some of the girls, the 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.560 fictional story of some of the girls who I have helped, 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:57.960 and people cry when book club readings, They're like, this 0:08:58.000 --> 0:08:59.920 is this is so harsh. I'm like, this is this 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:00.840 is their reality? 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:02.000 This is the truth. 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:06.480 Yeah, this is their reality. What were they supposed to do? Now? 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:10.679 And that's just why God brought me here is to 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:12.440 be the voice of the voicelive. 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:16.560 We need to take a quick break, but we'll be 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:26.640 right back. Stay with us and we're back. You mentioned 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:31.920 forty eight thousand girls that you felt like the ripple 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:36.440 effects of that, you're changing generations and families, and I 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.959 know we don't have the opportunity right at this moment 0:09:39.040 --> 0:09:41.560 to talk about all of the success stories. I'm wondering 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:45.080 if there's one in particular that you can share, just 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:49.200 to kind of exemplify what the organization truly does. 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:53.880 I have one. She is eighteen now. I got her 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.719 when she was eleven, and her and her mother had 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:00.640 a very tumultuous relationship. I was speaking in you, Indianapolis 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:03.880 at a library, and her mother brought her to this event. 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.560 It was a whole bunch of girls there, and she 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:10.719 stated that she didn't want her. So we fussed at her, 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:13.240 was like, what's wrong? You know? She was so hard 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:16.400 But that's all she needed again, that attention. So the 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:18.439 next time I was in Indianapolis a couple of weeks 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:22.040 after for an adult literary event, She's in the front 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.240 row and she had by the time we came back 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:28.800 again a month later, for girls to run. She was 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:31.320 there and she had a gift for me, and she 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:34.400 just attached herself to me. She calls me mom, y'all. 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:36.720 She even do TikTok saying I'm a real parent. And 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:40.400 I gave her a fad and she has been through 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:48.240 hell okay and again exposure showing her the right way 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:50.679 of how she's supposed to care for herself, why it 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:53.280 is important to go to school. And when she does 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:57.120 mess up, I was like, okay, because I'm so important 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.520 to you, right, I have to use me as weapon. 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.400 Oh are you safe? You're good? Okay, did you change 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:06.760 your attitude? Are you still doing the same thing? Okay? 0:11:06.760 --> 0:11:10.080 All right, bye, hang up. She'll she talks about this 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:12.200 to this day. She's like, oh call it. She just 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.760 hang up over me, Like, okay, we'll get it together. Man, 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:18.080 it is a privilege to talk to me. But now 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:22.280 at eighteen, she's modeling full time. She graduated from school early. 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:26.800 She is the epitome of my success story because she 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:29.880 has been through hell and back and that baby is 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:34.720 still here and I am trying to teach her how 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:38.800 to now same thing as myself. Turn with the devil 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:41.439 memory bad and making it good because she has survived 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:44.640 so many things. She is my success story. She's amazing. 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:47.440 You're not afraid to show them tough love. It sounds like, 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:52.280 oh no, ma'am, she says with a smile. 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:54.960 It sounds like the more that they've been through, the 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:56.480 more help you want to give them. I know a 0:11:56.480 --> 0:11:59.200 lot of organizations do the opposite because they're like, oh, 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:00.760 this person's just too far gone. 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:07.040 Yeah, that was me. I was too far gone. I 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:11.000 was too angry. I was everything. I had two kids 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:14.080 at nineteen, I first started at fifteen. I was far gone. 0:12:14.400 --> 0:12:17.080 And my mentor didn't give up on me. So because 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.840 he never gave up on me, I never gonna give 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:21.840 up on any of these girls. Did you ever ask 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:26.280 him why? I always did because I know I was 0:12:26.320 --> 0:12:29.439 a mess. I was Oh my goodness. He used to 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.839 fuss at me, cuss at me everything right, and I'm like, 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:36.760 why are you leave me alone? Sir? But he's seeing 0:12:36.800 --> 0:12:39.319 something in me. He put me an oratory classes at 0:12:39.320 --> 0:12:42.800 a young age. So now I'm being paid to speak 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:47.040 full time now right. He invested in me in so 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:50.160 many ways I did not know was going to still 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:53.560 unpack me at my big age. So I feel like 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.520 every time one of these jokers do something, I'm like, okay, 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:01.240 II Lord, what is the lesson I'm supposed to get 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:04.400 out of this? And again, they just need some attention, 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:08.200 They need somebody to hear them and then also help 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:11.160 them get through it. On just because this happened to 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:12.800 you, you can't stay in it. So we got to go 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.120 to therapy and we got to do all these things. 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:16.920 We're going to get it so you could be a 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:18.280 functional adult. 0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:22.920 How do you talk to these girls about anger? Because 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.520 you have every right to be angry over what happened 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.400 to you, And I believe that anger can serve a purpose, 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.719 and I believe that anger can be righteous. So how 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:34.560 do you talk to them about that emotion? 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.480 So everybody calls me mother Teresa because I have like 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:43.200 a soothing voice, I guess, and I'm always so nice 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.320 and so quiet, and even when I'm angry, this is 0:13:46.320 --> 0:13:50.640 my tone. And I just show them a different way 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:55.280 to display your anger. I show them that it is 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:58.480 easy for people to tune you out if you're yelling, 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:03.320 if you're aggressive, right, But they can't tune you out 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:07.320 if you're matching them with the same energy, right, or 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:10.679 even if they're if they're in a high angry situation. 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:12.959 Some of these parents are cussing, yelling, whatever now is 0:14:13.000 --> 0:14:15.160 the first thing you want to fight back? Right, No, 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:18.120 you gonna mess them up if you stay calm. And 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:24.120 I show them through myself how being calm have changed situations. 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:29.760 And I think sometimes leading by example is the best teacher, 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.320 because I show them all the time I'm angry. I'm 0:14:32.400 --> 0:14:37.600 still angry my mother. I was angry at her for 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:39.240 a long time, but I had to learn how to 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:42.920 forgive her. And when you learn how to forgive people, 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:48.520 then the anger goes away and you'll have a sense 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:51.360 of peace. I teach them that allowing somebody to keep 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:53.760 you angry allows them to have the power over you. 0:14:55.240 --> 0:14:58.640 So showing them that you are peaceful and that you 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:01.720 are amazing, Like I the what's the song called He's 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:04.160 a fan. He's a fan. They're not like us. I 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:06.880 go into the jails to girls who are sentence as 0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.920 adults and there's a video of me krip walking right, 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:12.720 and I'm like, Okay, the people who got you here, 0:15:12.800 --> 0:15:15.000 they're a fan. They're a fan. They want you to 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:18.000 stay here. They're watching you. So what's the best way 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:20.680 to revenge, showing them that you are better than they 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.040 show them. When you get out of here, what you do, 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.440 You're gonna get your GD you're gonna graduate, You're gonna 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:27.240 go to college, You're gonna do all these things right 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.960 because they're a fan. And so I have the girls 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:31.840 screaming at the top of their lungs. They're a fan. 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:34.240 They're a fan. All your hairs are fans, right, But 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:36.440 you just have to show them a different way how 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:37.440 to display the anger. 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:40.840 I think what you said about showing them a different 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:45.160 way to fight is such a good lesson. There is 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:48.520 a twenty twenty three Lifetime movie that is based on 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:51.840 your life. Yes, it is called Giving Hope, The Nikola 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:56.400 Mitchell Story. Tatiana Lee plays you in the film. How 0:15:56.480 --> 0:16:00.720 surreal was it to see this film come together? Child? 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.640 Is still surreal because I'm alive. I'm young enough to 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:08.520 understand it, to see it, and I'm still living it. 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:14.280 It came from Laurel Paris, Woman of Worth. They did 0:16:14.560 --> 0:16:18.480 media for us, right, and one of the outlets was 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.920 Reader's Digests, And as I was telling the story, like 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:25.600 I'm telling you guys, they stuck to the story of 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:29.240 my mentor so they did another interview about me and 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:33.560 my mentor, and so like any outlet, they'll take it 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:37.080 down and they'll refresh it. So when they refreshed it, 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.680 the producer from Lifetime found it like it was brand new, 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:45.440 and she loved the article. So she found me on 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:50.640 social media and stop me with no icon, y'all. So 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.240 if somebody reaches out to you with no icon, it's okay, 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:56.960 just you know, check it out. And she asked me, 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:59.000 can she make a movie about my life? And I 0:16:59.040 --> 0:17:02.960 didn't believe it. I was so in shock. I did 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.320 not believe it. So one of my literary mentors, because 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:08.680 I'm a writer in real life, it's so funny when 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:13.120 I have to say that, Zane, she verified that production 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:16.520 company was Rial, and she was like no. So she 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:20.800 walked me through everything and obtaining my entertainment lawyer everything 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:22.720 to get the movie go to go to production. 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.560 What was the aspect of your story that you were like, man, 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:27.960 they got to get this right. 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:31.959 The brunch the premises of the story is why I 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:35.359 started Girls Wrough Branch and so we had nine scripts 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:37.800 that I vetoed that I was like, no, I don't 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:39.960 like this version. I don't like this version. But when 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:43.240 we finally agreed, and I'm also the executive producer on 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:46.240 the film, the only time thing I cared about to 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:49.040 be in Canada when they were filming was the brunch scenes. 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.639 And that's it because I wanted when any of my 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:58.120 girls from any country watched the movie, I wanted them 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:02.200 to say, that's a girl blatch and so they flew 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:06.480 my signs in that's all my signage. Everything rent was 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.760 authentic girls who brunch and they recreated the feel and 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.320 even the girls that they had as the extras who 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.920 attended the brunch, we made them feel like it was 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:17.640 a real girls who brunch because they didn't know who 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:19.720 I was at first. So when they were in their 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.280 dressing room, I went back there and I was like, hey, y'all, 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.760 I'm like, listen, we need to have energy. Da da 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:27.840 da da da. I was like period baby. When I 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:30.760 said it came out, it felt like a real brunch. 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.400 Tatana was dancing, and that was one thing I cared about. 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:36.199 After that, I can go home, So that's one thing 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:36.879 I cared about. 0:18:37.760 --> 0:18:41.359 It must have really been a wild experience to see 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:44.280 your life portrayed on screen. Was there a part of 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:47.359 the film that was particularly exciting to see. 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:51.800 Oh all of it was particularly exciting, but it was 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:55.880 sad watching it. Oh wow, I really felt bad at 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:59.600 some points for her. Tatiana did such a good job 0:18:59.800 --> 0:19:04.240 for trained me. We would be on zoone talking. We 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.520 actually look alike. We saw us sound alike. We have 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:15.679 the same family background. And seeing her become Nikola was beautiful. 0:19:15.760 --> 0:19:18.080 And even Kiera the little girl played me as a 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.399 little girl. They did such an amazing job being me. 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:27.240 So it was more sad saying it. Proud of her 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:30.679 that she overcame a lot of things. And I was 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:35.520 embarrassed at first, why because I didn't know how people 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:38.280 were going to receive it. You know a lot of 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:42.399 times they blame you for being raped, they blame you 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:46.399 for things happening to you. You had a baby at 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:49.520 a young age. I was nervous about it. There was 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:52.480 one scene that I wasn't there for, but it was 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:55.879 beautiful that Tatsiana called me on the phone because she 0:19:55.960 --> 0:20:00.320 did not like the way the producer that were still 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:02.600 there was trying to the direction they wanted her to 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:05.080 deliver it, and she didn't like the words that was 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:07.360 that were on the paper. So she was like, if 0:20:07.359 --> 0:20:11.040 this happened, what would you say? And we were on 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:14.360 the phone, I'm leaving my godfather's funeral, And she rewrote 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:16.880 it and she delivered it the way that I would 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:19.920 have said that well, And that was the beautiful thing 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:24.399 about that movie, that whole experience. Everybody from the sound 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:27.879 everybody took me to the side at some point and 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:31.359 told me how the movie made them feel. But even 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:33.480 meeting me in person and seeing that I'm really that 0:20:33.680 --> 0:20:37.800 person made them feel And it just made me feel 0:20:37.800 --> 0:20:39.720 comfortable to leave when it was time to go. 0:20:40.040 --> 0:20:42.840 I'm so glad you didn't feel betrayed by the story 0:20:42.880 --> 0:20:44.760 that was told, because that happens sometimes too. 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.040 I think that's why you need to become an executive producer. 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:51.520 I didn't know the power of it until I was 0:20:51.560 --> 0:20:54.440 put into that position, even to the point of Tatiana 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:57.160 wearing braids for the first time in her life on TV. 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:01.000 You know, the integrity of me and the integrity of 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:06.720 the brunch was everybody's biggest focus, and I appreciate that experience. 0:21:07.080 --> 0:21:10.960 You're a loreal Women of Worth alumni, YESA and Danielle 0:21:11.000 --> 0:21:13.359 and I had the chance to attend the Women of 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:17.040 Worth Awards last year, and it was an incredibly inspiring evening. 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:20.280 We were blown away by all of the nominees and 0:21:20.359 --> 0:21:22.919 we also got to speak to the president of Lorel 0:21:22.920 --> 0:21:26.240 Paris USA, Ali Goldstein, about the power of this program. 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:28.399 We want to hear about your experience. How did it 0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:31.520 becoming a Woman of Worth Honore in twenty nineteen impact 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:31.960 your work. 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:34.960 It was a beautiful experience when we got it, They 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:37.360 flew us into New York, they did all these things 0:21:37.440 --> 0:21:39.159