WEBVTT - Trump’s Unlawful D.C. Takeover | Angela Rye SoloPod 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.920 Native Land Pod is a production of iHeart Radio in 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:08.720 partnership with Reason Choice Media. Welcome Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:13.440 Welcome HOMEI All. This is a solo pod brought to 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:17.280 you by Angela Rye. That's me. We do these every Tuesday. 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:20.320 They are live on YouTube and of course uploaded later 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:26.320 on our podcast feed. So Native lamdpod is a production 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.880 of Recent Choice Media and iHeart podcasts, and we are 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:33.599 available everywhere you get your favorite shows. Today we are 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:38.960 talking about something very solemn, very somber, very scary, and 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:41.680 very real, and it is so important to me that 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.200 we can textualize this in the moment we're in. Donald 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:51.720 Trump has targeted black elected officials. He's gone after communities 0:00:53.080 --> 0:00:57.120 that are run by people who look like us. He 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:02.120 has targeted Baltimore. Now, he has targeted Los Angeles as 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:06.120 we've seen, He's targeted Chicago. He has very unfriendly things 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:10.080 to say about these cities. And most recently, after many 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:14.480 veiled threats after cutting funding for the District of Columbia, 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:19.759 yesterday he signed an executive action and issued a presidential 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:23.479 memorandum stating that he was going to take over DC. Now, 0:01:23.520 --> 0:01:25.639 what I want to be very clear about in this moment, 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:29.399 is that what Donald Trump is doing with the support 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:34.160 of his administration, with the silence and a blind, a willful, 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:37.119 blind eye turned to it by the United States Congress. Yes, 0:01:37.160 --> 0:01:40.520 they are in recess, but we know that special sessions 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:43.160 can be called, and that may be what needs to 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:47.160 happen after this thirty day window. So Donald Trump issued 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:50.600 a presidential memorandum to the Secretary of Defense and the 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:54.120 subject is restoring law and order in the District of Columbia, 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:59.960 breaking New y'all. The DC area has had as currently 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:06.200 sitting in a thirty year low for crime, a thirty 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:10.720 year low. But Donald Trump sees this as an opportunity 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.440 to send in the National Guard, more than eight hundred 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:17.920 members of the National Guard, and he says in this 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:21.680 memo that it is my solemn duty to protect law 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:26.600 abiding citizens from the destructive forces of criminal activity. That 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:31.040 obligation applies with special force in our nation's capital. Whereas 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:34.280 Commander in chief of the District of Columbia National Guard, 0:02:34.520 --> 0:02:38.320 I must also ensure that all citizens can avail themselves 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.240 of the rights to interact with their elected representatives, and 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.600 that the federal government can properly function without fear of 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:49.440 being subjected to violent menacing street crime, and he goes 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:51.880 on to say a lot of other nonsense. He goes 0:02:51.919 --> 0:02:56.160 on to cite section seven point forty of the Home 0:02:56.240 --> 0:02:59.120 Rule Act for why he is engaging in this at all. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.440 Mayor Bowser, in a press conference yesterday, said that his 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.680 actions are unprecedented. I'm going to go so far as 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:10.520 to say they are unconstitutional, and he is going far 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:14.560 beyond what his executive powers allow. What is the state 0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:17.880 of emergency? Sure, that's subjective, but what we know we 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.280 need to see on every side, from the community to 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.600 elected officials at the local level, at the county level. 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:28.000 When we're talking about beyond DC and the federal level, 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:32.919 this is what happens when DC does not have statehood. 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.280 It is super vulnerable. I'm bringing that all up to 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:39.360 say that all of these arguments that we will make today, 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.880 the conversation that we will have today, will be contextualized 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:45.720 in a framework that has existed for many, many years, 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:49.360 many decades. When the Congressional Black Caucus went to visit 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:54.280 Richard Nixon in nineteen sixty sorry nineteen seventy one with 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:58.760 sixty one recommendations one of the recommendations was for the 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:02.560 District of Columbia to have statehood. When the National Black 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:06.360 Political Convention convened in Gary, Indiana in nineteen seventy two 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:10.280 and they formulated a National Black Political Convention, one of 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:14.440 the recommendations was for DC to have statehood. When Tavis 0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:17.719 Smiley convened folks around the Covenant for the State of 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:21.039 the Black Union, the State of Black America, one of 0:04:21.040 --> 0:04:24.880 the recommendations was for DC to have statehood. And here 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.280 in twenty twenty five, as I sit before you all today, 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:31.360 d C still does not have statehood. It has one 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:34.479 representative that can vote in committee but cannot vote on 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:38.320 the House floor. That is Delegate Noe Delegate not Representative 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:43.680 Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. And now then there's there're still 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:47.799 not two sitting senators. And now as the population continues 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.400 to shift, as they clean house, as they'll do, they'll 0:04:51.440 --> 0:04:54.919 probably be a little bit more amenable to DC statehood 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:57.520 because the demographics will have changed. So it is my 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:01.000 honor to bring to you all today for an amazing 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.560 conversation rooted in community. First, Yes we want to talk 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:06.360 to our elected officials. Yes we want to know where 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:08.920 they stand. But I think it's so important for us 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:12.320 to understand the history of DC, how we got here, 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:15.400 where we go from here, and what is required from 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:17.760 all of us, whether we live in d C. We 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:20.520 have family members or friends who live in DC, but 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:24.760 because we are citizens who demand that this president followed 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:28.239 the Constitution, that he be law abiding. Somehow we haven't 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:30.599 seen it yet, but he find a way to find 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:33.159 the law and follow it. I got some great folks 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:35.320 for y'all today, So bringing We're going to bring up 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:39.760 now Cora Masters Barry, who is a living legend in DC. 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:43.760 She has been behind so many amazing movements in DC. 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.479 You also may know her as the widow of the 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:50.400 forever mayor in DC, Mary and Barry, and she has 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:52.920 become a dear mentor and I just am so grateful 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:56.760 to share time with her today. Welcome, Ms Cora. I'm 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:59.320 also going to bring up Tony Lewis, who is an 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:02.360 author and activists in the DC area, a heroing story 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:05.080 to tell, but cares deeply about the young people who 0:06:05.120 --> 0:06:08.600 will be impacted by what's happening at the hands of 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:12.520 this administration. And also Dionne Bussy Reader who is the 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:16.880 CEO of Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative. So thank you 0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:18.839 all so much for being here today. It is my 0:06:18.920 --> 0:06:21.560 highest honor to have you and to be in conversation 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:22.160 with you all. 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:24.400 Well, thank you so much. 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.000 Okay, so I want to ask you all first, just 0:06:29.080 --> 0:06:32.760 given where we are, how are you feeling? What are 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:34.520 you seeing and what are you hearing? 0:06:34.600 --> 0:06:34.760 Well? 0:06:34.760 --> 0:06:38.120 Can I start by thanking you for the work that 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:40.800 you do? Angela. I've watched you for many many years. 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:48.560 You my sister's mentee, friends, Tamika, you guys are you know, 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:50.919 you all are on the front line and I'm so 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:53.760 proud of your power of the people tour that you 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:59.840 all did over the summer. So yeah, I'm I'm in. 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:02.000 I'm up in the age, but I don't even worry 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:03.919 about it anymore. I used to worry about what was 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:06.159 going to happen to our people. But if you guys 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:08.920 is in good hands. That's one thing I want to say. 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:11.200 Another thing, you know, I'm always starting with, I'm a 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:14.800 political scientist and a historian, and so you did my 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:17.480 job for me. You look at you knowing the history, 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.800 doing the research. I'm giving you an a for that paper. 0:07:21.360 --> 0:07:23.360 So then that just makes me just come to the 0:07:23.400 --> 0:07:25.760 here and now we know the history of what we 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:28.840 struggle with down through the years. And I always feel 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:30.400 that if you're going to talk about a topic, you 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.480 have to have a conceptual framework for it, and you 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:35.960 set that. So at the end of the day, we 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:38.480 have a city that is run very well by black 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:42.280 woman and her third term and many many other black 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:44.960 marrors have done the city well. We have a chiefer police. 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:47.640 There's nothing but the truth and all of those things 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.640 that you're speaking about have taken place. The clime has 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:54.200 gone down, the cyndic thrives. But like any other jurisdiction, 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:58.960 especially and in this country with the proliferation of guns, 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:01.480 we have some problem with our youth as they have 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:05.240 all over the country. But if you notice that our 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:09.520 dear president has has targeted cities that have been led 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:13.920 by blacks and in this case black women first you 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.160 know Los Angeles, then then Muriel and we know what's next. 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.720 So yesterday I'm in Marcus Vineyard by the way for 0:08:20.840 --> 0:08:23.080 the public. I don't walk around looking like this all 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.840 the time, but she called me on vacation. I had 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:27.960 two hours to give, so I stopped to do it. 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:31.920 But yesterday I was a fundraiser for Angela Ulsobrooks and 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:38.320 for Lisa Rochester and so, and in the in the 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.840 MC for the program was the former mayor Sharon Pratt. 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.800 So as it turned out, that fundraiser for them turned 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.760 into a whole thing about Washington, d C. And the 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:51.040 point that she made that I think everybody should just 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:56.120 hear her perception. And she's right that this is not 0:08:56.480 --> 0:09:01.400 just targeting us, but it is the begin of taking 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.400 over cities and we are the start. And I said, 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:08.840 I know we had problems with black people not stepping 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:11.120 up when they had the immigrants when they're doing immigration 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:14.600 because of all the anti blackness that we always say 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:16.920 that the brown community has. But we don't have the 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:21.000 luxury of not standing up and fighting for anything like that, 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:23.360 because when they finish with them, they'll come from us. 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:29.640 And here we are. Here we are. So I'm heading 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:33.920 back home early to organize, and I've talked to several people. 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:38.840 A call to my community to bring the parents under 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:44.720 one roof. I need our children to get out the streets. 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:47.680 This is supposed to be a thirty day thing, but 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:50.040 we'll have pull our children off the street because I'm 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:53.840 telling you, the arbitrariness of this is very, very and 0:09:53.880 --> 0:09:57.440 I explained to people, people will die. Let's you know. 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.520 I know about home rule and all that, but at 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:01.280 the end of of the day, I just saw a 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:05.080 picture of a young black man shackled or on a curve. 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:11.080 Bye bye. People who don't are not supposed to be 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.959 police in our streets. So I'm just I've got a 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:18.520 clarion call. I'm on, let's talk to our communities. 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.839 And I want to act sorry, Miss Cora. I want 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:24.640 to ask you. An Toni and Diana promise them to 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:26.440 get to you y'all too, But I want to ask 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.320 you because you did talk about the history. I know 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:33.120 about the history from reading about it, right. I know 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.520 about it because I believe kind of intuitively that it's 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:38.600 the right thing to do. And I know and have seen, 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:41.040 just like you all have known and seen what it 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:43.480 means for black folks to be disenfranchised and to do 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.760 it in a way that is strategic. But I really 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.400 want you to also talk to us about how this 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:52.840 is something that has been seen before, not just in DC, 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.760 but even globally. Right, like the first thing that came 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:57.840 to mind and Tony and I talked for too long 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:01.319 earlier today I kept him on the phone. I said, Tony, 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:06.559 you know, my dad was an activist around anti apartheype movements. 0:11:06.800 --> 0:11:09.120 And what we're seeing even when these cars are being 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:13.640 stopped by Howard University, not by Georgetown, not by GW, 0:11:13.800 --> 0:11:17.160 not by American as Tony brought up earlier, when they're 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:20.240 being stopped, I'm thinking about pass laws. You know, is 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:22.480 you're having to prove yourself, You're having to prove that 0:11:22.520 --> 0:11:24.800 you belong. Some of these students are just moving to 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:29.160 campus at Howard yesterday, that's their first day on campus. 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.360 I can't imagine what these parents might be feeling. So 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:34.800 ms Corey, if you can talk to us about how 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:37.280 this has been seen before and are there things that 0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:40.320 we can rely on in terms of best practices to 0:11:40.559 --> 0:11:44.320 survive and navigate in this moment, because that's what's most important. 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:47.360 It's gonna take Congress at least thirty days or now 0:11:47.400 --> 0:11:49.000 twenty nine to do anything about this. 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:50.720 If they are going to do anything about it, well, 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:53.679 this is why I tend not to get on these 0:11:53.720 --> 0:11:59.240 shows because I get in trouble. But if everybody know 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.720 this han or in this country. Have you seen the 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:06.640 movie Origin? Did you see the more or Origin? When 0:12:06.640 --> 0:12:09.040 that movie was over, I said to Abe Duberne, it's 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:12.600 a great movie, but you stopped at the movie didn't 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:14.520 end if it should have been it. If you're going 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:16.960 to talk about seeing these kinds of things, then you 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:20.439 have to go back to India how they did their untouchables. 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.760 You have to go to Germany, how they did the Jews, 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:25.280 and how you have to go to Palestine to see 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:27.840 what the Jews are doing to them. Then you have 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:29.920 to come all the way back and work your way 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.680 back to the United States of America. And let's not 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:36.080 forget slavery. So we have seen it over and over again, 0:12:36.120 --> 0:12:43.080 and then that was replaced by Jim Crow and so suppression, oppression, segregation, 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.080 all of that. None of that is new. It's just 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:51.959 the most recent version of it. And anyway, I can't 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:56.400 talk about it a lot because I'll get upset. But 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:02.920 I've seen by people treated like they were doing the 0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.160 brown people that they were doing the so called immigrants. 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:09.400 I've seen that, So I'm saying they did us like that. 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.400 And then I said, where are the Jews' voice? Because 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.360 that's what happened to them in Germany. We've all been 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:17.199 a victim of this, so we can't act as if 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:20.520 it's not us. So the first thing I thought when 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.760 I read this, well, really, actually they kept it from me. 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:25.960 They didn't tell me about it yesterday because I knew 0:13:25.960 --> 0:13:28.400 what I've said me, so I, you know, I just 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:30.200 started getting just to go over to the sun Raison. 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:33.000 Then my phone started ringing and everything started blowing up, 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:35.200 and the only thing I could think about is, let's 0:13:35.200 --> 0:13:40.480 protect the children. You know, democracy big deal, but our 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:44.199 kids are going to die. And so we've seen it, 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:46.600 and we've seen it in the South, We've seen it 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:49.040 in Germany, We've seen it in India, we've seen it 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:52.280 in Palestine. We've done it over and over again. But 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:56.200 what has to happen is in this strategy, we need 0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.520 to protect our kids. We need to stay home and 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:00.880 let the activists for demor for to be in those 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:05.480 streets because they won't kill them. They already suffled around 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:06.920 the White House. You know, a C. 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:07.640 L U. 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:11.080 I love them all. You know, all the white people 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:15.400 who are demanding not to be suppressed by the national government. 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.360 They're in the streets and they should be in the streets. 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.560 They should be defending democracy while we defend our babies. 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:25.000 M You know, I want to come to you, Tony, 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:27.920 because this was a point that we talked about earlier, 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:32.280 the deep concern you and Dion have for the children. 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:35.320 What are what is the message to send to parents, 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:40.080 regardless of income level, economic status at this point, what 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:43.440 we know is that these officers don't see whether or 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.200 not you have a Jack and Jail membership, right They don't. 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.800 They don't know what income level you have, whether you 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:51.440 at to school, don't care. All they see is the 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:54.240 color of their skin. What are you What is your 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.560 recommendation right now? What message are you sending to young 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:57.240 people in DC? 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:02.240 Yeah? Again, thanks for being here. And we're trying to 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:04.720 explain not only to parents and young people, but also 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:09.440 people that UH community viles interrupters, H credible messages to 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:14.040 let young people know to minimize UH interaction with law enforcement, 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:19.120 minimize verbal altercations with law enforcement. Clearly UH cease or 0:15:19.160 --> 0:15:22.960 if you are involved in any criminal activity, UH cease 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.840 any criminal activity, and do not indulge. And I'm not 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:28.240 talking about just youth, but even young adults. Don't indulge 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:32.320 in any public use of alcohol or drugs, you know, 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:34.200 So so we can try to sort of keep them 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:38.520 any interaction with law enforcement because to Mama masters Bury's point, 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:42.680 we know our young people in this city and and 0:15:42.800 --> 0:15:45.840 those interactions can take a left turn really quickly, and 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.920 I think they law enforcement has sold in some ways 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.720 been licensed to do whatever they deem necessary, and that's 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:53.640 a very dangerous place for our young people to be. 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.360 And so we want to continue to push that message 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:00.440 of you know, engaging a lot of the city activities, 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.720 you know, utilize our Department of Parks and Repregation, neighborhood 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:09.040 Safety and Engagement offices, the Southeast Tennis Center and all 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:11.720 of the sorts, and stay out of stay out of 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:12.280 home's way. 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:16.480 Thank you, and Dion, same question for you. I know 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:20.880 that this is also something literally when Ms. Coral was talking, 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:23.560 you said like that was something that really resonated with 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:26.600 you around their children. So what's the message that you're 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:30.600 sending to parents, two kids, to communities of young folks 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.400 who may be impacted. It's still the summertime, it is 0:16:33.560 --> 0:16:36.440 they should never feel this type of restriction in a democracy, 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.080 but especially not now when there's already so much impression 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.160 of our people no again. 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:44.560 Thank you Angela for the opportunity to be here. I 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:47.920 am also one of those mentees of Missus Barry when 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:49.600 she's not mad at me, because she does put me 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.680 in my check. She checks me quite frankly. It keeps 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:56.400 me aligned and I need her so I like everyone else, 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:59.680 this has just devastated me. And I live in a 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:02.480 city like everyone else, I live in Ward seven, which 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.400 is also a part of Southeast And last night, after 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:07.800 we got off the call with you, the very first 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:11.000 thing I did is sent a very direct email. I 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:14.800 have over sixty employees that service at least ten percent 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:18.679 of the population that's struggling in Ward eight specifically, and 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:20.480 I have a lot of my staff that are activists 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:23.480 that are angry, that are heard, that have children that 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:26.119 live in these communities. And the very first thing I 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.440 did I thought about them. And I'm very prayerful about 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:30.360 what I say to people because they have to take 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:33.000 this message and they have to move forward to the 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:35.440 families that we serve. That I was very direct. I said, 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:41.160 avoid confrontation with the National Guard and FBI, remain calm 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.840 and do not engage in adversarial discussions. Do not drive 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:49.119 your car with marijuana and smoking marijuana. These are I was, 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:51.840 I'm very direct. I said, these are the messages we 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.800 have to send to our families. Pay close attention to 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:57.960 your surroundings and where where you are, and support each 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:01.600 other and stay connected and identify by our organization as 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.800 a hub and a spot for people to come as 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.400 a refuge. We're going to be opening up our doors. 0:18:07.600 --> 0:18:09.520 So if we have young people that we see on 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.919 the block of MLK and Marion Berry Avenue, We're going 0:18:13.000 --> 0:18:15.960 to galvanize them and push them inside my building. I'm 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:18.280 going to be that direct and that deliverate because if 0:18:18.280 --> 0:18:21.359 we don't, our children will die. And my fear for 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.439 our families is that at fourteen, I don't know if 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:28.840 I always listened. Right at fifteen, I don't know if 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:32.680 I always listen. So children who think it's funny to 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:36.440 put up their camera phones and take things, we had them. 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:40.160 The actual group, FBI and the National Guard jumped out 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:43.800 yesterday on Minnesota Avenue, or across the street from Boom 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:47.879 Elementary School where we currently have an office. My staff 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:50.760 was deficit. They didn't even know what to do or 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:52.600 what to say, but call me and this is a 0:18:52.640 --> 0:18:56.639 young group of young people, so instantly, I have to 0:18:56.640 --> 0:19:00.240 put in place a calming mechanism, one to eliminate yere. 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:03.159 I just told someone, I can't let fear talk me 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.639 out of what faith talked me into. I have to 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:09.520 create a very safety net of resources for the families 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:11.760 that we serve. We have to yell at the top 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:14.359 of our lungs to get our babies to stay home 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:17.600 or be in those safe places where they feel love, 0:19:17.680 --> 0:19:21.240 they feel nurtured, and find activities to keep them engaged. 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:24.480 I eat the parents as well, because we know that 0:19:24.560 --> 0:19:27.439 this is not the type of government that we're dealing 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:30.240 with federally that's going to protect our children. 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:30.600 They're not. 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:34.520 They're looking at them as as the actual perpetrators of 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:35.800 crime and not victims. 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:39.480 And you and Tony both work in the like the 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:44.360 violence prevention space, and I just want to call this out. 0:19:45.200 --> 0:19:51.040 I'm yes, ma'am, but you do everything, and I deal 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:54.640 with these kids. I know, Okay, Well, then all three 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:56.679 of you that I want to call out this particular 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:12.679 this particular point. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, homicides 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:16.800 dropped by thirty two percent between twenty twenty three and 0:20:16.880 --> 0:20:19.880 twenty twenty four. And this says that there's been another 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:23.680 substantial drop this year of twelve percent, so additional twelve 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:27.440 percent this according to data, This would not have happened 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:29.480 without some of the work you all are doing. And 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:31.760 I think even in this moment, the reason why you 0:20:31.800 --> 0:20:35.040 all could send these kinds of messages and be effective 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:37.720 and be persuasive and convince people to do the things 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:40.359 you're advising is because of this work that y'all have 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:42.720 been doing. So if you can for a moment talk 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:46.000 about that and how you will utilize some of those 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:48.920 same skills, some of those same tactics to get people 0:20:48.960 --> 0:20:50.919 to be responsive and do the right thing in this 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:53.000 moment where they're being challenged on every side. 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:58.200 Yeah, I think, just real quick, you know, non law 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:03.520 enforcement public safety measures have contributed to the downward tick 0:21:03.760 --> 0:21:06.240 and and all of our numbers. It doesn't always get 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:10.720 the credit, but it has, and it's gonna take more 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:14.199 than just in constantration to make uh community safer. We 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:16.520 need people to thrive, we need people to address their trauma, 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.480 we need people to become more economically stable, and a 0:21:19.480 --> 0:21:22.240 lot of these efforts has contributed to that, and we're 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:25.880 we're seeing the success Unfortunately, we even seeing you know, 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:27.600 some of the grants that came out of the Justice 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:32.400 Department around that focused in on supporting community violence interruption 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:36.080 has went away, but DC has continued to support the 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:39.920 efforts and it's barred fruit and I hope that it continues. 0:21:39.960 --> 0:21:43.320 And that's what we need as we take these steps 0:21:43.359 --> 0:21:46.600 on the law enforcement side. We really need to understand 0:21:46.640 --> 0:21:49.600 that a holistic approach is needed, a public health approach 0:21:49.640 --> 0:21:53.600 that we've been doing, is proven to have impact, needs 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:57.240 to continue to be supported because if what happens, like 0:21:57.280 --> 0:21:59.719 if people and you know, we're making an assumption that 0:21:59.760 --> 0:22:02.199 even having more officers or the National Guard is going 0:22:02.280 --> 0:22:06.040 to make the community safer, Like that's a big assumption 0:22:06.119 --> 0:22:09.320 people are making when we know that's not just the answer. 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:11.600 So it's so much more that can be done. And 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:14.720 I wish that this administration will open up lines of 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:18.280 communication with folks like us on this call and others 0:22:18.480 --> 0:22:21.119 to really make a real plan to make our city 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:25.359 the safest place that it could be. You know, I 0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:28.919 echo Tony Cinnamon, and I have to say, Angela, how 0:22:28.920 --> 0:22:30.960