WEBVTT - In The Deep:  Stories That Shape U

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<v Speaker 1>Danielle Moody here. You know, we like to feature exciting

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<v Speaker 1>and interesting podcasts on woke f Daily, so we are

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<v Speaker 1>proud to present an episode from In the Deep Stories

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<v Speaker 1>That Shape Us, all about the importance of telling our

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<v Speaker 1>stories to shape our communities and develop deeper self love.

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<v Speaker 1>In this episode of In the Deep, you'll meet Leon Ford,

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<v Speaker 1>who survived being shot multiple times by police and is

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<v Speaker 1>now on the front lines of police reform in Pittsburgh.

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<v Speaker 1>This is In the Deep Stories That Shape Us. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>my name is Kevis and I was really scared to

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<v Speaker 1>get tested for HIV, but I knew I had to

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<v Speaker 1>do it. So I found out my status and you

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<v Speaker 1>know what, I'll also learn from a doctor that HIV

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<v Speaker 1>is not a death sense, their medications available to treat

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<v Speaker 1>HIV and options to prevent it. So my advice if

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<v Speaker 1>you haven't done so, get tested, know your status. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>glad I do, and press play on What's next. Learn

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<v Speaker 1>more at HIV test now dot com. Learning to love

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves and our messy and complicated truth is hard enough,

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<v Speaker 1>but what happens when you have that feeling of otherness

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<v Speaker 1>just hanging over your head where you don't feel understood

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<v Speaker 1>even within your own tribe. How do you confidently grow

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<v Speaker 1>into your own skin, or maybe even grow out of

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<v Speaker 1>it when the road to acceptance and healing is so

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<v Speaker 1>rough and bumping. Welcome back to in the deep stories

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<v Speaker 1>that shape us. I'm your host, Zach Stafford. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>been following us since day one, you're familiar with the

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<v Speaker 1>stories of hardship. Our guests have shared those struggles of identity, discrimination,

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<v Speaker 1>or health, and how these people have managed to move

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<v Speaker 1>forward despite their circumstances. And if you're new, well check

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<v Speaker 1>those stories out. You won't regret it. We're going to

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<v Speaker 1>continue listening to these stories from black and LATINX people,

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<v Speaker 1>hoping to gain clarity and get closer, even if just

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<v Speaker 1>a little, to a road of healing and understanding. I

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<v Speaker 1>think by now all of us have had some understanding

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<v Speaker 1>that many black people living in America, especially black men,

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<v Speaker 1>have that other type of talk with our family, the

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<v Speaker 1>one that teaches you to keep your hands on the

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<v Speaker 1>wheel or respond with yes sir no sir answers when

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<v Speaker 1>interacting with police. And regardless of how much you prep

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<v Speaker 1>in advance, no matter how many different scenarios you recreate

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<v Speaker 1>in your head, can a person really be fully prepared

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<v Speaker 1>for those human reactions, those feelings of anxiety, or that

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<v Speaker 1>fight or fight feeling that can take over in times

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<v Speaker 1>of danger. As a black man myself, I've had my

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<v Speaker 1>own experiences with the police throughout my life. I've had

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<v Speaker 1>the cops who follow you around town, hoping you miss

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<v Speaker 1>one stop sign, do one thing they can deem suspicious.

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<v Speaker 1>And as a journalist, I've dedicated most of my life

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<v Speaker 1>to exploring how these cops misuse their power towards people

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<v Speaker 1>that look like me all around this country, much of

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<v Speaker 1>which has been inspired by my own personal experiences. But

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<v Speaker 1>through all of these years and countless stories, I have

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<v Speaker 1>yet to ever sit down and have the conversation you're

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<v Speaker 1>about to hear today, a conversation with a man who

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<v Speaker 1>was pulled over, was shot by the police five times,

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<v Speaker 1>and became paralyzed at the age of nineteen, and today

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<v Speaker 1>is working to not defund the police, but rather change

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<v Speaker 1>them from within. Leon Ford's powerful story brings up so

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<v Speaker 1>many questions for me personally and challenges me even more

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<v Speaker 1>because even more than his body of work, Leon's journey

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<v Speaker 1>begs the question can you truly heal and continue to

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<v Speaker 1>help others? All while facing your inner panes and stigmas

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<v Speaker 1>that have plagued you in your community for a long time,

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<v Speaker 1>and even more powerful, can you take this healing and

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<v Speaker 1>turn the people that have wronged you, those that have

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<v Speaker 1>hurt you, into a sort of ally for change. So

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<v Speaker 1>I am from the east side of Pittsburgh in a

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<v Speaker 1>neighborhood called Garfield. It's like a small town, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're all one degree of separation away. And so I

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<v Speaker 1>was fortunate enough to build relationships with, you know, all

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<v Speaker 1>of my different relatives all throughout Pittsburgh. I was a

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<v Speaker 1>kid that always wanted to be outside. They used to

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<v Speaker 1>call me professor because I was also I was also

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<v Speaker 1>the kid that could have a full conversation with any adult.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember just being at the table while my grandmother

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<v Speaker 1>and aunts and uncles were playing spades. The games used

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<v Speaker 1>to be rowdy, but there was like a lot of love. Whereas, like,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, towards the corner, my cousins would be shooting

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<v Speaker 1>dice and my grandmother would say, stay away from the

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<v Speaker 1>dice game because you know, you just never know, like

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<v Speaker 1>somebody's gonna fight or something, you know what I mean.

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<v Speaker 1>I played football growing up. I didn't love it as

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<v Speaker 1>much as my son loves it. I have a nine

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<v Speaker 1>year old son and he loves football. I mean, any

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<v Speaker 1>chance that I, like skip football practice, I was definitely

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<v Speaker 1>doing that. What were you doing when you skip football practice?

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<v Speaker 1>Just hanging out with friends, right, and dirt bikes and

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<v Speaker 1>just hanging out. Would you say, this time of your life,

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<v Speaker 1>you're pretty happy with everyone and everything going on? Absolutely happy.

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<v Speaker 1>I was spoiled. So when I was five or six

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<v Speaker 1>years old, my dad he was indicted by the FBI

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<v Speaker 1>for conspiracy to sell drugs and he actually served maybe

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen years in federal prison. Yeah, so that was my

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<v Speaker 1>first huge shift in my life. Where my dad was

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<v Speaker 1>a very active father, you know, supported the little league

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<v Speaker 1>football teams and things, and then you know he was

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<v Speaker 1>snatched away. Something that really stands out in Leon's story,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just this idea of manhood, a fatherhood, because on

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<v Speaker 1>the one hand he has his father, his own personal superhero,

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<v Speaker 1>but on the other he has the world's opinion of

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<v Speaker 1>his character. It's almost like living in between two worlds.

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<v Speaker 1>One where his father is very present, a great man, friend,

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<v Speaker 1>a great leader even, and another where he's getting hurt, stabbed, shot,

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<v Speaker 1>or even arrested. I can relate to that feeling because

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<v Speaker 1>my dad was also hurt like Leon's. He was even

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<v Speaker 1>indicted at one point two, and there's feelings of anxiety,

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<v Speaker 1>that feeling of am I next are incredibly difficult to shake.

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<v Speaker 1>So I felt like I lived in two worlds. In

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<v Speaker 1>one world, I always was like a star student, and

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<v Speaker 1>the teachers treated me really well because they knew that

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<v Speaker 1>my parents were engaged. And then once my dad was indicted,

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<v Speaker 1>they kind of looked at me like differently. Yeah, like

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<v Speaker 1>I was a problem child, you know, like I had

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<v Speaker 1>done something wrong, and my relationships with school changed because

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<v Speaker 1>of that. I instantly felt my blockness, right, I felt

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<v Speaker 1>my privilege kind of be stripped away, because I do

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<v Speaker 1>feel like I was privileged. My father was very well respected,

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<v Speaker 1>and there was like this deep reverence for him as

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<v Speaker 1>a person because he's just a stand up guy. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>he's a person who keeps his word. He took care

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<v Speaker 1>of so many people, from you know, saving homes from foreclosure,

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<v Speaker 1>to paying taxes, to supporting youth sports and just you know,

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<v Speaker 1>being someone that people in the community felt they could

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<v Speaker 1>lean on. But Dad has a huge heart. So one world,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm revered even though my dad went to prison and

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<v Speaker 1>people were like treating me well and trying to look

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<v Speaker 1>out for me since my dad was gone. On the

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<v Speaker 1>other side, you know, these predominantly white teachers were treated

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<v Speaker 1>me like I was a criminal. So that was very confusing,

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<v Speaker 1>and I was struggling with why. You know, five and

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<v Speaker 1>six years old, I didn't have the language to say,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe because I'm blocking and they think my dad's a criminal,

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<v Speaker 1>and so they think I'm going to become a criminal,

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<v Speaker 1>or you know, I don't know the reason, but I

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<v Speaker 1>certainly felt it. I felt the shift. I still have

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<v Speaker 1>the first letter that my dad wrote me when he

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<v Speaker 1>went to prison. He basically said that I'm not to

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<v Speaker 1>blame for him going to prison. My mom wasn't to blame.

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<v Speaker 1>It was his fault, the choices that he made. He

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<v Speaker 1>broke down the importance of rules, how rules and laws

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<v Speaker 1>are similar, how all laws and rules aren't right, but

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<v Speaker 1>until we change them, we have to follow them right

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<v Speaker 1>in a way, and he said, you know, wrote about

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<v Speaker 1>how he wanted me to, you know, listen to my

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<v Speaker 1>mom follow her rules, and he wanted me to become

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<v Speaker 1>the best part of him, not the worst part. And

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<v Speaker 1>you know, in reading this letter and being so close

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<v Speaker 1>to my father, I thought about the possibilities of me

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<v Speaker 1>being incarcerated one day, and that certainly frightened me. So

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<v Speaker 1>even now I go to therapy and I'm a huge

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<v Speaker 1>mental health advocate. There's certain things that I experienced from

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<v Speaker 1>my father that made me who I am. But I

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<v Speaker 1>won't necessarily do it to my son or say those

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<v Speaker 1>things to my son, right, So I appreciate them, and

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<v Speaker 1>I appreciate my father for him doing his best. Just

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<v Speaker 1>because I've been exposed to a different way of engaging

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<v Speaker 1>with trauma and healing doesn't negate the lessons that he

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<v Speaker 1>learned throughout his life. And so I'm like moving forward,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm also acknowledging the past, and you know, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledging the lessons from my father and my grandfather, even

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<v Speaker 1>those lessons that society today may say are very harsh,

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<v Speaker 1>which is complicated. You know, what you're saying takes me

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<v Speaker 1>back to something my dad said to me. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to be better than me, and what

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<v Speaker 1>that requires of you is to be different than me

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<v Speaker 1>and to deal with things different than me. So I'm

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<v Speaker 1>still be me and treat you how I know how

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<v Speaker 1>to treat you, but do not be me. Be different,

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<v Speaker 1>because you will be better. So here's Leon existing, living

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<v Speaker 1>his life, listening to his father's advice be different. But

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<v Speaker 1>then on a regular Sunday morning, he gets a call

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<v Speaker 1>from one of his cousins to hang out. Something tells

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<v Speaker 1>him to stay, but he decides to go anyway. Leon

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<v Speaker 1>and his cousins are really into fitness. They work out

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<v Speaker 1>all the time. They're so close. They boxed together and

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<v Speaker 1>even have a pact not to do drugs. But on

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<v Speaker 1>this day, his cousin is hanging out with a girl

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<v Speaker 1>and Leon gets a whiff of weed. His cousin has

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<v Speaker 1>broken the pact. They all decide to go to their

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<v Speaker 1>grandma's house, but Leon goes alone in his car. I

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<v Speaker 1>got in my car and drove off. I drove to

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<v Speaker 1>the corner to stop saying made a laugh. And so

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<v Speaker 1>I was driving the correct way down on one way street.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I saw a police cruiser coming toward me

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<v Speaker 1>the wrong way with no lights on, just illegally driving

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<v Speaker 1>down the street. And so when we passed each other,

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<v Speaker 1>I had to like move over a little bit, and

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<v Speaker 1>I locked eyes with those police officers and instantly knew

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<v Speaker 1>that they were going to pull me over. I get

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<v Speaker 1>asked this question often, like how did you know? It's

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<v Speaker 1>just an instinct. It's just hard to explain to people

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<v Speaker 1>who have never had that experience what that is like.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I get to the next stop. Sound, made

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<v Speaker 1>a left, drove about a block, made a right over

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<v Speaker 1>a bridge. As I'm driving over the bridge, guys, so

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<v Speaker 1>I see behind me police cruiser and they are speeding.

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<v Speaker 1>Through investigations, we know that they were driving about ninety

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<v Speaker 1>miles an hour trying to catch up to me. They

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<v Speaker 1>call it fishing. That's the term that they use. Say

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<v Speaker 1>they were definitely fishing. And so this police cruiser speeding

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<v Speaker 1>behind me, I knew they were going to pull me over,

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<v Speaker 1>and so you know, I began to prepare. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't have my seatbelt on, so I put my

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<v Speaker 1>seatbelt on, you know those types of things, right, I want.

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<v Speaker 1>They put their lights on and out immediately pulled over.

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<v Speaker 1>I used to keep my driver's license and registration in

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<v Speaker 1>a little zip block bag, so I got that for them,

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<v Speaker 1>and the officer immediately like just came to the window

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<v Speaker 1>and just snatched my license and he's you know where

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<v Speaker 1>you going? Up talking I just going to my grandmother's

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<v Speaker 1>house and eggs him that I do anything wrong, and

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<v Speaker 1>he said, I ran to stop sign. He went back

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<v Speaker 1>to the cruiser to run my name. Everything came back Claire.

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<v Speaker 1>The car was registered to me. But then he decided

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<v Speaker 1>to type in l Ford. So you can imagine on

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<v Speaker 1>their system typing l Ford every name from Linda, Larry,

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<v Speaker 1>any name or social to al that's going to pop up.

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<v Speaker 1>And so he just basically decided to pick lamont Ford.

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<v Speaker 1>I get frustrated a lot with this because the media,

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<v Speaker 1>they would say, oh, they thought he was a gang member,

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<v Speaker 1>or they thought he was a criminal, and he wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>this criminal he was. He wasn't this game. He wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>this bad person who they thought he was. The reality

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<v Speaker 1>is that lamont Ford didn't even have an active warrant

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<v Speaker 1>that I was shot. Yeah, and so like for the record,

0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:07.920
<v Speaker 1>he didn't have an active war it. So even if

0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:12.400
<v Speaker 1>it was even if I was lamont Ford, lamont Ford

0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:19.480
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't have deserved what happened to me. The idea of

0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:23.880
<v Speaker 1>justice in Leon's story is so complicated because even if

0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.080
<v Speaker 1>you think, well, damn, he shouldn't have driven off and

0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.560
<v Speaker 1>stayed and complied. This idea of being punished for having

0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:34.680
<v Speaker 1>a human reaction feeling scared, feeling worried, feeling defenseless, isn't

0:15:34.760 --> 0:15:38.120
<v Speaker 1>usually a means for such a drastic punishment. I've seen

0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:40.720
<v Speaker 1>this time and time again in my own career, especially

0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:43.800
<v Speaker 1>when I covered police in these incidents. At times, cops

0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:47.480
<v Speaker 1>play the parts of both juror and prosecutor, tipping the

0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.240
<v Speaker 1>scales to their favor and hopes of gaining a couple

0:15:50.280 --> 0:15:53.560
<v Speaker 1>more informants for their needs. Going back to Leon for

0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:56.920
<v Speaker 1>a second, think about it. He's nineteen. The police are

0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:01.080
<v Speaker 1>confusing him for another person, lamont Ford. He's scared, and

0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:03.720
<v Speaker 1>no matter how much he pleads, they are not taking

0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:09.520
<v Speaker 1>no for an answer. It's his word against authorities. At

0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:14.320
<v Speaker 1>that point, I was terrified. You know, nineteen years old,

0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:21.920
<v Speaker 1>gave my driver's license, registration and car insurance. These officers

0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:25.520
<v Speaker 1>now we're telling me, well, how about you get out

0:16:25.560 --> 0:16:27.400
<v Speaker 1>of your car and come to our car. I look

0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:31.120
<v Speaker 1>at this photo of lamart Ford. I never heard anything

0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:35.960
<v Speaker 1>like that before, So I told Sam, I don't need

0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.560
<v Speaker 1>to know what lamant for looks like as saying, we'll

0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.200
<v Speaker 1>get your block ass out of the car before we

0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.520
<v Speaker 1>pull you out. It was that moment where I kind

0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:51.360
<v Speaker 1>of thought, well, I'm not getting out of this carca.

0:16:51.360 --> 0:16:55.680
<v Speaker 1>I felt safe inside of the car, and one of

0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:59.840
<v Speaker 1>the officers reached in through the window and unlocked the door.

0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:03.960
<v Speaker 1>With the door two officers both grabbed me and tried

0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.600
<v Speaker 1>to yank me out the car. So when I put

0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:10.240
<v Speaker 1>the car and drive, the officer on the passenger side

0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:14.800
<v Speaker 1>immediately jumped inside of the vehicle and within a half

0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:22.000
<v Speaker 1>a second begin firing shots point blank range. And I

0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:25.359
<v Speaker 1>was shot once in my neck, twice in my chest,

0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.800
<v Speaker 1>once in my arm, and once in my hip. One

0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:32.200
<v Speaker 1>of the bullets that went through my chest is the

0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:38.240
<v Speaker 1>bullet that paralyzed me. Wow, you said that you felt

0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.199
<v Speaker 1>safer in your car, you know, and I'm sure you

0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:43.679
<v Speaker 1>grew up knowing that police were the s aggressive in

0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:47.119
<v Speaker 1>your neighborhoods. What do you think was in you that

0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.240
<v Speaker 1>day that said I better hit the gas to the pedal,

0:17:50.359 --> 0:17:52.920
<v Speaker 1>Because you know that something When I talk to white people,

0:17:52.960 --> 0:17:56.200
<v Speaker 1>especially and they look at these reports, they'll say, well,

0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.280
<v Speaker 1>you shouldn't have driven off, you should have stayed, you

0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:00.720
<v Speaker 1>should have just listened. But it sounds like everything in

0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:02.640
<v Speaker 1>your body was saying, get out as fast as you can.

0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:04.879
<v Speaker 1>And the fact here is that you were right, you

0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:08.679
<v Speaker 1>were in danger. You did get shot. But why do

0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:11.000
<v Speaker 1>you think your body said try to get out? In

0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:14.800
<v Speaker 1>that moment? I did not feel safe around these police

0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:19.800
<v Speaker 1>officers and they weren't taking no for an answer, and

0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:23.320
<v Speaker 1>I felt like they were going to harm me. And so,

0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.880
<v Speaker 1>you know, I thought my best bet was to drive off.

0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:34.680
<v Speaker 1>My parents told me, you know, don't drive with your

0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:38.960
<v Speaker 1>hood on, don't have friends in the back seat, don't

0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:45.040
<v Speaker 1>blast music. Right, So my parents gave me information. However,

0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:48.760
<v Speaker 1>I didn't have the language to say, hey, I don't

0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:54.240
<v Speaker 1>feel safe. I would like for a supervisor to come

0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:59.359
<v Speaker 1>to the sea. Now. I don't know if that would

0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:04.720
<v Speaker 1>have changed anything. However, I feel like it's a duty

0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:10.200
<v Speaker 1>of mine to equip young people and people in community

0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:17.040
<v Speaker 1>in general with the language to protect them, to potentially

0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:25.560
<v Speaker 1>prevent them from experiencing what I experienced. And even with

0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:28.440
<v Speaker 1>those words of caution in his head from his parents,

0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:32.040
<v Speaker 1>Leon woke up in the ICU. He wakes up to

0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.640
<v Speaker 1>a police officer in the room without his family. Confused.

0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:41.480
<v Speaker 1>I remember there was a suction tube that I would

0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:44.280
<v Speaker 1>use to get out of the saliva out of my

0:19:44.359 --> 0:19:49.000
<v Speaker 1>mouth because of the tubes, and I was hooked up

0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:51.760
<v Speaker 1>to all these you know, i VS and things, and

0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:56.520
<v Speaker 1>I accidentally dropped the suction my mouth. You know, it

0:19:56.600 --> 0:19:58.800
<v Speaker 1>was full of saliva and I'm like trying to spit

0:19:58.840 --> 0:20:02.639
<v Speaker 1>it out, but I began to choke. And as I

0:20:02.760 --> 0:20:07.120
<v Speaker 1>was choking, you know, I was banging the bed to

0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:13.560
<v Speaker 1>get the police officers attention, and he turned the TV up. Wow.

0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:18.280
<v Speaker 1>As I was choking in the machines are going off,

0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:22.240
<v Speaker 1>and then you know, nurses ran into the room and they,

0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:25.000
<v Speaker 1>you know, they got the saliva out of my mouth.

0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:29.960
<v Speaker 1>They were so upset with this police officer, but they

0:20:30.000 --> 0:20:34.720
<v Speaker 1>too felt powerless. But it was just like man, I

0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:42.800
<v Speaker 1>had so much fear and anger that began to crystallize

0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:47.200
<v Speaker 1>into hatred. I was shockled to the bed even though

0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:50.600
<v Speaker 1>they knew I was paralyzed. I was arraigned from my

0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:55.920
<v Speaker 1>hospital bed. Wow, because I was charged, and I couldn't

0:20:55.920 --> 0:21:00.720
<v Speaker 1>see my family for almost two weeks and I didn't

0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:05.840
<v Speaker 1>even know why. They actually had to hire an attorney

0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:11.119
<v Speaker 1>to figure out a way to see me. I was devastated.

0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:15.879
<v Speaker 1>When my family came to visit me, I was I

0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:21.080
<v Speaker 1>was so happy man, and I would just remember their sadness.

0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:24.680
<v Speaker 1>They're worried, and just like my dad when he was shot.

0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:28.520
<v Speaker 1>You know, I was in the hospital bed saying I'm okay,

0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:36.440
<v Speaker 1>I'm good, even though on the inside I wasn't. The mental, emotional,

0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:42.600
<v Speaker 1>and even physical pain it was unbearable, you know. I

0:21:42.600 --> 0:21:47.320
<v Speaker 1>remember hitting the button repeatedly to take morphing, to get

0:21:47.320 --> 0:21:50.160
<v Speaker 1>them to come just knock me out. I just wanted

0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:52.919
<v Speaker 1>to sleep, and so when I would wake up, I

0:21:52.960 --> 0:21:55.359
<v Speaker 1>would be out for a while and it felt like

0:21:55.400 --> 0:21:58.640
<v Speaker 1>a dream, and then I would soon be knocked out

0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:05.280
<v Speaker 1>again by the morphine. I think most people would have

0:22:05.320 --> 0:22:08.480
<v Speaker 1>grown resentful or maybe just given up on life after

0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:12.399
<v Speaker 1>something so traumatizing, But Leon's journey never ended with this

0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.960
<v Speaker 1>tragic day, and though he was left with conflicting emotions

0:22:16.000 --> 0:22:19.080
<v Speaker 1>at times, he quickly realized that if he wanted to heal,

0:22:19.400 --> 0:22:22.440
<v Speaker 1>truly heal, he'd have to open himself up to things

0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:25.520
<v Speaker 1>he never even imagined, and with people he never thought

0:22:25.600 --> 0:22:31.080
<v Speaker 1>would be willing to lend a hand. And this is

0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:34.600
<v Speaker 1>something we will cover in Part two. Because Leon's journey

0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:37.840
<v Speaker 1>is as complex and beautiful as it is powerful, and

0:22:37.960 --> 0:22:41.520
<v Speaker 1>proves how healing yourself can sometimes come by lifting others

0:22:41.560 --> 0:22:55.840
<v Speaker 1>up along the way. Hi, my name is Ramon and

0:22:56.000 --> 0:22:58.879
<v Speaker 1>I was really scared to get tested for HIV, but

0:22:59.200 --> 0:23:01.760
<v Speaker 1>I knew I had to do it. So I've found

0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:04.760
<v Speaker 1>out my status and you know what, I also learned

0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:07.680
<v Speaker 1>from a doctor that HIV is not a death sentence.

0:23:08.040 --> 0:23:12.080
<v Speaker 1>There are medications available to treat HIV and options to

0:23:12.119 --> 0:23:15.560
<v Speaker 1>prevent it. So my advice if you haven't done so,

0:23:16.040 --> 0:23:20.200
<v Speaker 1>get tested, know your status, and press play on what's next.

0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:23.199
<v Speaker 1>Learn more at HIV test now dot com