1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: with Reason Choice Media. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome home. Everyone, 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: it has been a little while I missed you. It's 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: been a lot going on. I have been working diligently 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: with some amazing, amazing partners on the local, state and 6 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: national level on our State of the People Power Tour, 7 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: and that has made it so my travel days of 8 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: interview interfere with this podcast is solo Pod, and I 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 1: just really appea, I appreciate your patience. Today we're talking 10 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,560 Speaker 1: about something that I've learned a lot more about from 11 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: being on the ground and from working with some amazing people. 12 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: One of them is Pastor Mike McBride, who has become 13 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: a fast brother to me. He runs an organization called 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: Live Free USA. He's the executive director, partnering with folks 15 00:00:57,240 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: all over the country on community violence intervention programs, and 16 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: just the other day we were in Detroit, Michigan, at 17 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,759 Speaker 1: a juvenile detention center facility where we got to speak 18 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: to some young folks who have been impacted by programs 19 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: just like Pastor Mike's, and I know that they could 20 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: certainly benefit from access to resources like the ones that 21 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: Pastor Mike and Liftfree provide every single day. So I 22 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: am doing this elongated intro because I am waiting to 23 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: see his face and I'm wondering if there's a technical 24 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: issue there. He is, Hey, Pastor Mike, how are you brother? 25 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 2: You know? Glad to be talking to the Northwest wonder? 26 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: Oh? You guys, just know that I thought that I 27 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: was bad at geography. I really did, and then I 28 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: met Pastor Mike. For some reason, he doesn't believe that 29 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: I get to throw my doves up and I don't 30 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: underd why. And my gums have to be up north. 31 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 2: You gotta put it, you gotta put it. 32 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: I don't know either way. I'm not a y n 33 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: and I'm not gonna wrap the Northwest Coast or the Pacific, 34 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: this West Coast all day, baby. And since he's deal 35 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: in Hope, I know he's not gonna troll me with that. 36 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:25,520 Speaker 2: Today it's to talk to the West Coast wonder w 37 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 2: c W. 38 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: I'll take it. But we have gotten to do so 39 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: much more together, and I just feel like, you know, 40 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,239 Speaker 1: every time I see my good brother, I'm like he 41 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: been all my life, But he's been busy doing the 42 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: work of the Lord in the streets beyond the four 43 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: walls of the sanctuary, and it is it is really, 44 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: really a pleasure to have gotten the journey with you 45 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: thus far. I can I can't wait to see what 46 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: else God has in store. But first we're gonna fight 47 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: for these programs. So this is what I want to 48 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: talk to you about. I saw, as the Bible would say, 49 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: your counting is drop. 50 00:02:59,840 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 2: It. 51 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: I think we were in were we in New Orleans? 52 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,240 Speaker 1: When did you first learn? Okay, so we learned about 53 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: these cuts in New Orleans, and Pastor Mike, I want 54 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: you to help people understand community violence. Intervention work is 55 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: the thing that saves our young people more than any 56 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: law enforcement officer ever could nine point five I say 57 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: nine point nine times out of ten. It is the 58 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: work that puts, you know, the Ray Lewis's and the 59 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: skills and the tefts in front of whatever was going 60 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,239 Speaker 1: to come between one young person and another. It is 61 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: conflict resolution. It is telling people your own heroing stories. 62 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: It is helping people to understand the importance that life does, 63 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: in fact matter. We have young people nowadays, even in 64 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: my own community of Seattle, Sewer Park is we have 65 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 1: the loop. Some kids just got shot at Sewer Park 66 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: the other day, so this work is so important. Can 67 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: you talk about the work that you all have been 68 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: getting funded through the federal government and how you plan 69 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: to pivot now. 70 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 2: Well, it's great to be with you, Angela, and thanks 71 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 2: so much for the opportunity to hang out with you 72 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 2: and the homies as part of your Native Land podcast Family. 73 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 2: I'll just quickly say that the scripture says blessed are 74 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,119 Speaker 2: the peacemakers, where they shall be called the children of God. 75 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:26,000 Speaker 2: And often we think of peace as the absence of 76 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,200 Speaker 2: conflict or violence, but it is also has to be 77 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,400 Speaker 2: considered the presence of justice. Both of them have to 78 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 2: be together. People want safety and they want justice. People 79 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 2: don't want to be criminalized in their own communities as 80 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 2: a price to pay to achieve some false sense of safety, 81 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 2: which has largely been the experience of most black folks 82 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 2: in this country. What has now become known as community 83 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 2: violence intervention. In the past, it may have been known 84 00:04:54,520 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 2: in Shorthand as ceasefire, as focused atturrens, as cure violence. 85 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 2: It has now kind of largely been described as community 86 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 2: violence intervention, and it is a menu if you will, 87 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 2: a rising sector, a rising labor force and workforce of 88 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 2: trained individuals who are skilled in public health interventions that 89 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 2: interrupt lethal conflicts that are a result of interpersonal violence, 90 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 2: largely with guns. And this has become now in our 91 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 2: say third or fourth decade of or working and organizing, 92 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:38,120 Speaker 2: one of the best, if not the best evaluated public 93 00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 2: safety community safety set of interventions. And thankfully in the 94 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 2: last four or five six years, they started to scale 95 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 2: all across the country. It is our life's work when 96 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:52,760 Speaker 2: I say, I'm talking about all of the peacemakers, all 97 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 2: the violence interrupters, all of the community based organization senior executives, 98 00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 2: folks who've been doing this work for decades large without 99 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 2: renunration or public appreciation. Community vised intervention is here to 100 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 2: stay if we can organize to keep it so. And 101 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 2: it's righteous work for sure. 102 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: I want to ask you this because I think so 103 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 1: often on the policy making side, and I think you've 104 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: heard me talk about this on the tour. I feel 105 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: like there's something that happens where your advocacy could be fierce. 106 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: You can be so intentional about you know, what you're 107 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 1: doing every single day, but there's a disconnect that happens 108 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: along the road of strategy between strategy and like the 109 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: folks on the ground, And this tour has brought me 110 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: a lot closer to that. I'm like, oh, I did 111 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: have some gaps, I did have some blind spots. I 112 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,440 Speaker 1: know these programs need to be funded, but there's something 113 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: I think that happens when a policy maker or a 114 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: strategist or even like a bill author has to come 115 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: face to face with some of the victims or the 116 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:03,359 Speaker 1: victim's family member. So can you talk about how you 117 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: got into this work and why it's so important to 118 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: you now? Like what keeps you rooted and grounded in 119 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: this work? 120 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 2: Pastor Mike two quick stories. I was a youth pastor 121 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 2: in San Jose, California, in the ninety nine two thousand era. 122 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 2: I got beat up by some cops while I was 123 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 2: a youth pastor down there, physically sexually assaulted in the 124 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 2: course of an arrest. A number of my young people 125 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 2: said to me, you know, Pastor Mike, this happens to 126 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 2: us all the time. I said, why you never said 127 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 2: anything to me? They said, because we didn't expect the 128 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 2: church to respond to this. And I heard God speak 129 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,120 Speaker 2: to me and say, what is it about the ministry 130 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 2: you're creating where these children and their families will trust 131 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,440 Speaker 2: you with the salvation of their souls but not the 132 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:49,520 Speaker 2: safety of their bodies. These children were experiencing violence at 133 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,160 Speaker 2: the hands of police and in their own communities, and 134 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 2: the church was not being responsive. I went to Douke, 135 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 2: came home, started to do more community work, particularly around 136 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 2: this I was introduced to this work by you, Jean Rivers, 137 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 2: Reverend Jeff Brown, Tenny Gross, folks who came out of 138 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 2: the Boston experience of this work and began to do 139 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 2: some of this work here in Berkeley, Oakland, and had 140 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 2: to bury a teenager. Over five hundred young people attended 141 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 2: the funeral. I asked, how many if you've been to 142 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 2: more than one funeral? All of the young people raise 143 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 2: their hands. These are teenagers. Five funerals. All the young 144 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 2: people still had their hands up. I got as high 145 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 2: as ten, asking how many have been to ten funerals? 146 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 2: Half of their children had their hands lifted while they 147 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 2: were weeping, and I was reminded that whatever work I'm 148 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 2: doing is not adequate. If the young people in my 149 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 2: community are teenagers and they've been to more than ten funerals. 150 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 2: Whatever I'm doing, whether it's preaching, whether it's volunteering in 151 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,960 Speaker 2: the schools, whether it's getting people jobs, is not adequate 152 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 2: because our children are not safe. Either they're dying or 153 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 2: they're dealing with perpetual grief. And I found myself being 154 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,680 Speaker 2: challenged to not only be a proclaimer of peace, but 155 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 2: also as much as I can, a maker, a creator 156 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,520 Speaker 2: of peace. And these strategies were the best way to 157 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,400 Speaker 2: do so in a structured manner. And it forced us 158 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 2: to organize people like the Larry's and the others all 159 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,800 Speaker 2: across the country, in my own neighborhood, to be face 160 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:24,679 Speaker 2: to face with elected officials, law enforcement leaders, preachers, and 161 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 2: respectable black people in every city across the country where 162 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 2: we work, and declare that our story of violence and 163 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 2: trauma is not something that can be solved by arrest alone, 164 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:41,280 Speaker 2: that we need a radical intervention that is public health driven, 165 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:46,559 Speaker 2: that is people centered, and more importantly, that is results based. 166 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 2: And this is the strategy. There is no strategy that 167 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 2: comes close to these menu of strategies. We have found 168 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 2: a lot of elected officials and a lot of law 169 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 2: enforcement leaders at the time were not familiar with these strategies, 170 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 2: and we had to do organizing filling community centers, churches, 171 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 2: mayor's offices, and congressional representatives offices. We had to build 172 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 2: organizing power to push our leaders to champion resource scale 173 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 2: these strategies, and that work is still ongoing quite frankly, 174 00:10:20,120 --> 00:10:22,559 Speaker 2: but we're in a good place historically. Now we just 175 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 2: got to keep it cooking. 176 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: So CBI funding was cut by this administration one hundred 177 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,240 Speaker 1: and fifty million dollars in federal grants right through the 178 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:38,319 Speaker 1: Department of Justice. What was the grant program program I 179 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: can't remember the name of the. 180 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:41,920 Speaker 2: Grand well, it was all in the Office of Justice 181 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 2: programs and a lot of those were the Burns, the 182 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 2: Burns Justice grants, you know, things that we were able 183 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 2: to through lots of organizing advocacy our whole field get 184 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 2: resources that were put into the Safer Communities Act, which 185 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:05,120 Speaker 2: the Biden administration champion and signed. That those dollars were 186 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,880 Speaker 2: cut and it's been devastating, and it's it's important to 187 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 2: acknowledge that that was just our little part of the cuts, 188 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 2: but all the other kind of resources in the Department 189 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 2: of Justice that deal with victims services and juvenile justice, 190 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 2: and child protection and substance abuse. That all comes to 191 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 2: evaluation of almost eight hundred and twenty million dollars were cut, 192 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 2: and it's devastating. It's devastating to all those who care 193 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 2: about safety and justice. 194 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 1: Well, I want to bring in Wesley Moore, who runs 195 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: an organization called Our Brothers Keepers and High West. 196 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 3: How are you pretty good by yourself? 197 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:49,720 Speaker 1: Very good? Thank you. You look like you're ready for 198 00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 1: customer service. That's good. That's the field y'all are in. 199 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: Let's go. So I want to I want to ask 200 00:11:55,679 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 1: you what the impacts of these federal cuts have meant 201 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,839 Speaker 1: to your program? Because so often we talk about this, 202 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:05,040 Speaker 1: at least for me, let me own my stuff. I 203 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: talk about this in numbers and data and the names 204 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: of the programs, but we don't necessarily see the direct impact. 205 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: What did these cuts mean to your programs like yours, 206 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: Our Brothers Keepers? 207 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 3: It affected our program tremendously, from US housing over fifty 208 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 3: to sixty homeless use. I was a victim of homeless 209 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 3: use that got me into drugs and violence, and so 210 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 3: I know that the direction that it can take you, 211 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,480 Speaker 3: and also it affects us by every summer that we 212 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 3: are if ages fourteen to seventeen years old jobs opportunity 213 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 3: and teach them some type of job work skill that 214 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 3: they can grab on and still grabbing a gun, grabbing drugs, 215 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 3: stay in survival mode. So this year we're not able 216 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 3: to give out that type of service. We just paying 217 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 3: on fifteen dollars an hour to keep them away from 218 00:12:56,679 --> 00:12:59,960 Speaker 3: the street. We all know that if these kids came 219 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 3: get into a program to give them a better outcome 220 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 3: in life, they gonna tend to go to the left 221 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 3: side to where somebody else can put something in their 222 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,840 Speaker 3: hands to help feed their family, help take care of bills. 223 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,880 Speaker 3: We noticed last year a lot of our students have 224 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 3: not committed a crime in eighteen months. They had the 225 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 3: group down here called Kia Boys on christ shores around 226 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 3: the whole United States, but we had seven in our 227 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 3: program have not stole a car in eighteen months because 228 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 3: we gave them an outlook in life to point their 229 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 3: directions towards something that can help make them a productive 230 00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 3: person into life. 231 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:43,079 Speaker 1: How did you get into involved in this work was 232 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: what was your story attached to this. 233 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 3: I've been homeless all my life started at the age 234 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,400 Speaker 3: of twelve thirteen years old. My mom was on drugs, 235 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 3: my father was in and out my life. And I'm 236 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,720 Speaker 3: the oldest of my brothers and sister forty nine years old. 237 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 3: So I was forced to be a father at thirteen 238 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 3: years old, taking care of my brothers and sisters and stuff. 239 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 3: And I tended to the streets and stuff to be 240 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 3: able to keep our lives on. Give some food onto 241 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 3: my brothers and sisters and stuff, and my young My 242 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,720 Speaker 3: other brother underneath me, who helped me, also started this program. 243 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 3: He's assistant director, Mark Moore. We hit the streets and 244 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 3: next thing you know, I was able to take care 245 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,360 Speaker 3: of my family. But I also was hurting my family 246 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 3: because at age eighteen years old, I was sentenced to 247 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 3: twenty years. I was sentenced to twenty years and then 248 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 3: I came back home when I was thirty three years old, 249 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 3: did fifteen years and stuff. So when I got out, 250 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 3: I vowed to come back to my community to give 251 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,840 Speaker 3: them an opportunity to don't go down the road I 252 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:45,520 Speaker 3: went to, and I'm doing that. Of course, I learned 253 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 3: how to start remodeling homes, doing electric plummies and stuff 254 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 3: like that. And me and my brother had bought this 255 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 3: property and we was rehaving it. Our whole goal was 256 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 3: to rehab it and put it back on to the 257 00:14:57,760 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 3: market and sell it. But we know we had a 258 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,080 Speaker 3: lot of at risk use. And I don't like to 259 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 3: call him at risk us. I like to say we 260 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 3: don't want this at risk and not loving them and 261 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:09,720 Speaker 3: showing them the right direction. But we noticed they was 262 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 3: homeless and stuff, so we start teaching them the type 263 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 3: of trade and start paying them. They were the age fourteen, fifteen, 264 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 3: sixteen years old. So as that went, we end up 265 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 3: start opening up the program which became Our Brother's Keeper, 266 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 3: the Game of Outlook and life to take a different direction. 267 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 3: And I noticed by looking at them saying kids, it 268 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 3: was a reflection of myself, and I seen that they 269 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 3: had no parents inside the house. One had a child 270 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 3: when he was fourteen old, which I had my first 271 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,360 Speaker 3: son when I was fourteen years old. So I seen 272 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 3: the reflection of where they head into. And now it's 273 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 3: five years later and with this funding's being cut. I 274 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 3: just noticed over the weekend we have our city was 275 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 3: praising how the violence is down. Within this month we 276 00:16:02,120 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 3: done had ten to twelve homicides. Over the weekend, we 277 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 3: just had some more homicide last night we just had 278 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 3: another homicide. But these is now the schools is getting out, 279 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 3: so now we really about to see the risks of homicide, robberies, 280 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:17,600 Speaker 3: breaking in cars, still in cars, and stuff like that 281 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 3: because they cutting so many of these programs funding, these 282 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 3: kids don't have nowhere to go. 283 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:37,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm curious to know. And we actually got a 284 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,360 Speaker 1: question in from Adrian Jordan. Pastor mac, I want to 285 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: come to you on this first. You know, when this 286 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 1: we first heard about this, my natural default is like, Okay, 287 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: how do we fix this? And so we talked about 288 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,880 Speaker 1: city funding and state funding, but someone named Adrian Jordan 289 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,840 Speaker 1: asked if these can be privately funded, if you all 290 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: could raise your own resources to be able to make 291 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: an impact, to have the similar impact that you've been having, 292 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: and then the type of impact I know you want 293 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 1: to see, Pastor right, you talked about all those hands 294 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 1: going up at a funeral. I know you wish that 295 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: there were no hands that could go up and hopefully 296 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,959 Speaker 1: not even be at the funeral. So what types of 297 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: resources can you raise privately? What do you need to 298 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 1: see from the state and local government to be able 299 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:22,479 Speaker 1: to make up for this huge gap? 300 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,719 Speaker 2: Yeah, let me let me just try to contextualize it, 301 00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:28,439 Speaker 2: like it's super important for people to understand that in 302 00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 2: your city, all the data research has shown us that 303 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,400 Speaker 2: less than one percent some cities numbers are less than 304 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 2: half of one percent of your whole city's population is 305 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 2: driving or caught up in about sixty to seventy percent 306 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 2: of the lethal gun violence conflicts. Which just is to say, 307 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 2: if you have one hundred shootings in your city, it's 308 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 2: not because of one hundred people shooting each other. It's 309 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,240 Speaker 2: likely a small number of individuals who are caught in 310 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 2: lethal conflicts and they are repeat their volume of fits. 311 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,800 Speaker 2: Those individuals are the individuals the lion's share of these 312 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 2: resources from the federal, state and local should be targeting 313 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 2: when we're talking about reducing gun violence. These strategies CBI 314 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 2: aren't necessarily attempting to reduce everything else. Although you will 315 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,360 Speaker 2: find that a number of folks who are engaged in robberies, 316 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 2: who are engaged in other kind of violent offenses are 317 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,600 Speaker 2: also some of these individuals. Why is that important. It's 318 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 2: important to say that because these are targeted resources that 319 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 2: should impact targeted individuals or networks in our communities. And 320 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 2: I often find that we think the problem is much 321 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 2: bigger than it is, so our brains can't get wrapped 322 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 2: around how vitally important this kind of investment is. Now, 323 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 2: there's several things that we have to acknowledge. First of all, 324 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:55,399 Speaker 2: the federal dollars were so important to us because many 325 00:18:55,600 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 2: local mayor city council members, county boards of of supervisors, 326 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:06,640 Speaker 2: or governors, their state legislatures would not fund these strategies 327 00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 2: with the tax base of the local or the state, 328 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 2: and so we had to go to the federal to 329 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 2: almost be an innovation like catalyst for these strategies. Now, 330 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 2: we've always depended on philanthropy to kind of bridge some 331 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 2: of our gaps. But just like a police department would 332 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 2: never ask philanthropy to fund their police budgets, we're trying 333 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,199 Speaker 2: to get to a place in a moment where no 334 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 2: philanthropy is being expected to fund public safety and community safety. 335 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,159 Speaker 2: This should be a bill a cost that the local 336 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:47,359 Speaker 2: municipality and the state legislatures should fund themselves. And so 337 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 2: yes to your person's question, we got to organize locally 338 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:54,560 Speaker 2: now that we know for well over a decade, particularly 339 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 2: with the federal dollars that were infused into this post COVID. 340 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:02,639 Speaker 2: Now we know these strategies, we now need local mayors 341 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,439 Speaker 2: and local city council members to take local dollars and 342 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 2: fund the local ecosystems of these strategies. It would be 343 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,879 Speaker 2: great to continue to have federal funding, and we're gonna 344 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 2: keep working to have federal funding, but every municipality is 345 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 2: the richest institution in every city. More than philanthropy, more 346 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,920 Speaker 2: than a fortune five hundred company. Every local municipality can 347 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 2: support these strategies. What we have to do is organize people, 348 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 2: organize the stories, the ideas, and we have to push 349 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 2: in their local municipal budgets to fund it. In the meantime, 350 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 2: if you're a philanthropic partner, if you are an individually 351 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,679 Speaker 2: wealthy person, someone with high resources, and you're trying to 352 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 2: put dollars on the ground now to make our summers 353 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:53,680 Speaker 2: less bloody and less lethal, then yes, you should find 354 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,760 Speaker 2: an organization like our good brother here on the call, 355 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 2: or you can visit us and live for USA. We 356 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 2: can plug you into all kinds of organizations locally that 357 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,640 Speaker 2: you can support in every city we're talking about all 358 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 2: across the country. But resources are needed, and they're needed now. 359 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: What is the number. And I'm going to come to 360 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: you too, Wes, But like, what is the number? You're like, 361 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,640 Speaker 1: in order to get through this summer, this is what 362 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: we need, whether it's from you know, well, let's wait 363 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:25,440 Speaker 1: on city and state, but let's say that, like if 364 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: people could donate, Like, what's the number that you're like, 365 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 1: this is what I know we need. 366 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 2: Oh man, I mean I think you have to go 367 00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 2: city by city. If you imagine that half of five 368 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 2: hundred million dollars were cut, you know, I think that 369 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 2: that number is a real number. 370 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:43,320 Speaker 3: I mean, man, and. 371 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:46,840 Speaker 2: That's over forty fifty cities. We're talking about two hundred 372 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 2: and twenty organizations we're receiving those dollars. Let me just 373 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:52,720 Speaker 2: use Oakland as an example, because I know I have 374 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 2: my hands wrapped around that number. We're serving well over 375 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 2: two hundred individuals in Oakland who are at the highest 376 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,960 Speaker 2: risk of shooting or being shot, extending to them about 377 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,600 Speaker 2: forty to fifty thousand dollars worth of services for mental 378 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,360 Speaker 2: health support. They all have a case manager, an individual 379 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 2: person who literally case manages them so they do not 380 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 2: fall back into lethal conflicts. They get some resources on 381 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:22,400 Speaker 2: the side to help them with some job training and reintegration. 382 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,399 Speaker 2: And so in Oakland, if your times that by two hundred, 383 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 2: that's about four to five six million dollars just for 384 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 2: a quarter, right, And so it's just really important to 385 00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 2: appreciate that the tax base has to fund this individually. 386 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:42,800 Speaker 2: Wealthy people can help provide gaps and bridges for individual organizations. 387 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,359 Speaker 2: But if you really care about this work, and you 388 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,160 Speaker 2: care about anchoring this work, then we need everybody I'm 389 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 2: talking about from the pastor to the CEO, to the teacher, 390 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 2: to the nurse, to the parent, to the elected official 391 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 2: to the police. Everybody has to get on one accord 392 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,920 Speaker 2: and and insistent. We will invest in peace making in 393 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 2: our communities. We will fund peace We will make sure 394 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:11,080 Speaker 2: that the resources needed for brothers programs, but also case 395 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:15,680 Speaker 2: managers and intervention specialists and violence interruptors that work will 396 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 2: not be shortened because of an administration change at the local, 397 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 2: state and federal level. 398 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's good, Wes. I want to ask you for 399 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 1: your organization and the network of organizations that you're connected 400 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,959 Speaker 1: to in Columbus, Ohio, what do you see as the 401 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,520 Speaker 1: most immediate need. You talked about twelve homicides just over 402 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: the weekend over a Memorial Day weekend. 403 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 3: I want to touch back what the pastor said, and 404 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 3: I truly agree one hundred percent Withding. It is a 405 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 3: city by city base, but I know, speaking for our organization, 406 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 3: we've predominantly been getting three hundred thousand dollars throughout the 407 00:23:54,520 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 3: summer and that's what intervention prevention, mental health, housing, wrap 408 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 3: around service for the parents, jobs, training skills and everything. 409 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 3: And it seemed like it might be a lot of money, 410 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:10,120 Speaker 3: but it goes so fast when you're putting kids through 411 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:15,520 Speaker 3: job training service and then they working for twelve weeks 412 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 3: throughout the summer program making fifteen dollars an hour, so 413 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,879 Speaker 3: the money adds up pretty quick. And then the professionals 414 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,360 Speaker 3: that you got around them to keep them stable mentally 415 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 3: more than anything, to be able to understand their job 416 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 3: training skills that they're about to get ready to learn, 417 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,480 Speaker 3: or just to note that they're in the safe environment 418 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:34,480 Speaker 3: to where they don't got to wear by toting a 419 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 3: gun or anything else and stuff, as well as the 420 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 3: staff and let them know that they okay. But we 421 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 3: are getting support now because we partner up with one 422 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:52,120 Speaker 3: of our church's City of Grace down here in Columbus 423 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,320 Speaker 3: seeing the good work that we've been doing. And Pastor 424 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 3: Mike Young, a great man, he seeing what he was 425 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 3: doing and he unders stay what the outcome would be 426 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,679 Speaker 3: by us not being evolved around the summertime with these youths. 427 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:08,639 Speaker 3: You can have a program, but if you if you 428 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,639 Speaker 3: don't have the staff to understand what they are about 429 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:17,800 Speaker 3: to receive, it's just gonna be a program. But if 430 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 3: you have a staff to understand what they're about to receive, 431 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,720 Speaker 3: and they see this every day and they living in this, 432 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,399 Speaker 3: and they know the aunties, the grandma's and stuff that 433 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:29,520 Speaker 3: to prevent, and if we start preventing, we won't have 434 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:35,120 Speaker 3: to be doing an intervention. So right then, doing all 435 00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 3: these cuts, now we gotta do the intervention of what's 436 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,320 Speaker 3: about to get ready happen. You know it's already happening summertime, 437 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 3: having any start already, and because of the budgets being cut, 438 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 3: we know the homicide because we also work inside the schools, 439 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,160 Speaker 3: we know what's about to get ready happened. Within these 440 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 3: next couple of weeks. My team is working at three schools, 441 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,720 Speaker 3: the most violent schools to be honest, with the gangs 442 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 3: and stuff. So we got an opportunity to understand this 443 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 3: is going to happen to this day when they had 444 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 3: this event over the weekend. They just had the talk 445 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 3: ovent but were working inside the school. We already reading 446 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 3: the text message the social media. They meeting at this 447 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,440 Speaker 3: time to go do fight and stuff. They actually met 448 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 3: up at that time. When I made phone calls, hey 449 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:24,920 Speaker 3: make sure you try to get this prevented. Though two 450 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 3: people end up getting shot, it was already on social media. 451 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,720 Speaker 3: What they're gonna do. So programs like myself and other 452 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:37,040 Speaker 3: programs around the city. Revenue it's gonna go up and down. 453 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 3: But I know personally for our program, which is really low, 454 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 3: that have sixty kids come in every day from nine 455 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,159 Speaker 3: to five o'clock, and have we got ten staffs on 456 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 3: their LSI w's mental health specialists and our ns. It's 457 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,199 Speaker 3: really not no money, but you're saving a life and 458 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 3: that's meaning more to us. It's some money, absolutely, Wes. 459 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 1: I really appreciate you coming on. We're gonna finish up 460 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: with pastor Mike, but I thank you so much for 461 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: being here today, and I'm definitely sending prayers, love and 462 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,920 Speaker 1: urging people to support the work you're doing. In Columbus. 463 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:17,080 Speaker 1: So thank you so much for doing this. 464 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 2: Strong my friend you too as well. 465 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:21,200 Speaker 3: Thank you. 466 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,040 Speaker 1: So Pastor Mike. There are a couple of questions that 467 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: came in. One was about the church, and I thought 468 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: this was particularly important for you given the role that 469 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:41,880 Speaker 1: you play. The question for Marina Taylor is how much 470 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:47,040 Speaker 1: churches are investing in city programs like are they Are 471 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,639 Speaker 1: you seeing a shift? I know you talked about feeling 472 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:53,600 Speaker 1: particularly called are you seeing that same type of urgency 473 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: and shift from clergy from the church folks. 474 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,320 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. So the Live Free USA 475 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 2: network is a largely faith based network of thousands of 476 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 2: faith leaders who are working at the intersection of gun 477 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 2: virus prevention, criminal justice reform, and civic engagement. We also 478 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,400 Speaker 2: have an extended network called the Black Church Freedom Fund, 479 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,320 Speaker 2: Black Church Pack Again, Pastors, faith leaders, people of faith 480 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 2: who are working to leverage our political infrastructure and influence 481 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 2: to scale up the support for these strategies. And so 482 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 2: what I will say is that yes, you have. And 483 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:33,600 Speaker 2: this is our fifteenth year. Live for USA is our 484 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:38,680 Speaker 2: fifteenth year of training pastors and congregation members to either 485 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 2: provide programs to influence policies or to use their voices 486 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:48,560 Speaker 2: through prophetic proclamations to raise up peacemaking congregations. Of course, 487 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:51,920 Speaker 2: we could always use more, but we have as many 488 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 2: pastors and faith leaders working on this as the number 489 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:58,760 Speaker 2: of pastors and faith leaders supporting Martin Luther King Junior 490 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 2: at the height of SELC. I don't know if that's 491 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 2: a condemnation or something to celebrate, but it is worth 492 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 2: saying that. 493 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: I'm condemn it. Where are y'all at Church of today? 494 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:13,440 Speaker 2: Church could go to live FORUSA dot org and just 495 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:19,400 Speaker 2: sign up your church, right Bishop, Yeah, yeah, And we 496 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,479 Speaker 2: worked with Kojikup in our earliest years. All the all 497 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 2: the pentalcost nominations is cooking with us on this now. 498 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 2: It's important to say a couple of things though. A 499 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 2: lot of our pastors youth pastors, but whether they be 500 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 2: our brothers or sisters, et cetera, their role is not 501 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,560 Speaker 2: necessarily to be on the front lines, because in every 502 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:44,000 Speaker 2: city there are already frontline workers, all right, So some 503 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 2: of this work is the work of individuals like our 504 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,600 Speaker 2: dear brother from Columbus who was just on the church 505 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 2: should not be replicating any new programs we ought to 506 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 2: be supplementing through advocacy and organizing. A pastor would do more, 507 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 2: helped to organize his congregation and the surrounding neighborhoods and 508 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 2: show up at a city council meeting, a county board 509 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 2: of supervisors meeting, or the state legislature and demand that 510 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 2: the local and state tax base be leveraged and invested 511 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:16,640 Speaker 2: in these strategies. I would have say, we got to 512 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,520 Speaker 2: bring organizing back because a lot of our work has 513 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 2: walked away from organizing and power building and moved into 514 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,920 Speaker 2: a lot of services. And while services are important, the 515 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 2: systems have to be restructured. The powers have to be challenged. 516 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 2: And that's what I would put the challenge out to 517 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 2: every pastor and faith leader. Let's organize our congregations to 518 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 2: be peacemakers through our voices, through the programmatic supports of 519 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 2: these CBI efforts, and through the ways in which we 520 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 2: challenge the systems. 521 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: I want to know if you have a recent example 522 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 1: of why this work matters. And I think I keep 523 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,880 Speaker 1: getting into this because again, I think my challenge point 524 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:09,040 Speaker 1: was like, for me, the data is enough, Right for me, 525 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 1: the cuts are enough, But that's not true for everybody. Brother, right, 526 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:15,320 Speaker 1: we know there are some folks who need to know, Like, 527 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: if I contribute my one hundred dollars that I have 528 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:22,120 Speaker 1: for this month to this entity, even if it's not 529 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 1: the four to five million it takes quarterly, but if 530 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,080 Speaker 1: I can make a little bit of a difference, this 531 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,840 Speaker 1: is how I know this work is making a difference. 532 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 2: No, that's a great question. So I'll my plug is 533 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:37,080 Speaker 2: going to be to let's support the organizing work that 534 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:43,000 Speaker 2: makes the power building in each city, leverage and get 535 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 2: the local mayors and cities to release those dollars. So 536 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,920 Speaker 2: I'll use Oakland and Indianapolis as two great examples. We've 537 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:53,320 Speaker 2: been able, through the local funding of an organizers seventy 538 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:57,920 Speaker 2: five thousand dollars a year round about to unlock tens 539 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:01,600 Speaker 2: of millions tens of millions of dollars in both Oakland 540 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,240 Speaker 2: and Indianapolis, just two examples of many that literally fund 541 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 2: dozens of organizations to do this work. And what does 542 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,000 Speaker 2: it require. It requires us to have a person on 543 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 2: the ground who is able to connect both the individuals 544 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:22,400 Speaker 2: directly impacted by this work, help them develop their stories, 545 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 2: help them to kind of get in touch with the 546 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 2: healing they need, but also be prepared to show up publicly, 547 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:33,040 Speaker 2: to speak out to elected officials in public meetings, to 548 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:35,560 Speaker 2: get hundreds of individuals to show up at a city 549 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 2: council meeting, to get a hundreds of individuals to show 550 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 2: up in perhaps on a prayer vigil or a peace vigil, 551 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:45,160 Speaker 2: to get hundreds of individuals to support the programs that 552 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,560 Speaker 2: we've just heard from, like the one in Columbus. That 553 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:52,400 Speaker 2: kind of work is an investment of one hundred dollars 554 00:32:52,480 --> 00:32:56,600 Speaker 2: a month. By seventy five folks could literally get us 555 00:32:56,880 --> 00:33:00,400 Speaker 2: an organizer in each city, which then unlocks tens of 556 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:05,360 Speaker 2: millions of dollars in that city's municipal budget. Indianapolis has 557 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 2: done an amazing work of getting that kind of stuff 558 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:13,480 Speaker 2: funded across multiple mayoral administrations. Oakland has done the same thing. 559 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 2: Orlando has gone six seven eight months without a homicide 560 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,760 Speaker 2: in their city because of this kind of work. It's 561 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:26,640 Speaker 2: no accident that when the organizing and advocacy of this stuff, 562 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:33,680 Speaker 2: spite the federal and some local state dollars, infused resources 563 00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:36,560 Speaker 2: into our city and we saw historic drop in the 564 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 2: last three years. So I want to say, if we 565 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 2: fund organizing, if we support advocacy, then that pushes the 566 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 2: systems to reimagine the way they use their local tax dollars, 567 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 2: and that in turn puts a battery pack in the 568 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 2: local peacemaking organizations so they can wake up every day, 569 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:59,800 Speaker 2: just like law enforcement wakes up every day to do 570 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 2: this the police fighting and crime fighting work. Now we 571 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 2: have individuals, some of whom are directly impacted, some of 572 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:12,960 Speaker 2: whom who've been trained in conflict resolution behavioral cognitive therapy, 573 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 2: Folks who are being coached at our CVII Leadership Academy 574 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:20,560 Speaker 2: at the University of Chicago that doctor Chico and doctor 575 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:24,359 Speaker 2: Marcus are leading, David Muhammad, de Vone Bogan, Erica Ford. 576 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 2: I can just keep naming names of individual who are 577 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:30,399 Speaker 2: training folks every day to execute the strategies. We need 578 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:34,000 Speaker 2: the dollars at the local level to fund the strategies, 579 00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,319 Speaker 2: and that happens through organizing and pushing people to do so. 580 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:41,560 Speaker 1: I love this and I love you. I'm so grateful 581 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 1: that you're doing this work. I want to say to 582 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:48,600 Speaker 1: y'all again from getting to know Pastor Mike just a 583 00:34:48,640 --> 00:34:53,280 Speaker 1: little bit during this tour, his heart is for our people, y'all, 584 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:57,720 Speaker 1: Like in real, real ways, I've seen how these cuts 585 00:34:57,719 --> 00:35:03,000 Speaker 1: have impacted him personally, and I'm probably gonna tell all 586 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:07,640 Speaker 1: your business. I'm sorry, but just like watching how it's 587 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:11,480 Speaker 1: impacted him, his spirit and the pain from this, I 588 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:15,239 Speaker 1: just really want us to surround him. He is a shepherd, right, 589 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 1: He's got a congregation and the flock he leads, and 590 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,000 Speaker 1: he's leading this work too. But it takes a toll 591 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:23,080 Speaker 1: on you when your life's work and the thing that 592 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:25,879 Speaker 1: you know you feel called to do has been hit. 593 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,640 Speaker 1: It feels like, you know, a failure, even when you 594 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,279 Speaker 1: didn't facilitate set failure. You know there are a lot 595 00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:36,600 Speaker 1: of young people whose lives are going to be lost 596 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:40,799 Speaker 1: because of this very selfish, sick cut. And so I 597 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:45,120 Speaker 1: want us selfishly to surround my brother. For the mayors, 598 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:50,319 Speaker 1: state elected officials, county elected officials, those of you who 599 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:53,080 Speaker 1: know you can help to impact this work. 600 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:53,440 Speaker 3: Do this. 601 00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:55,960 Speaker 1: For those of you who have one hundred dollars to 602 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,000 Speaker 1: give every month towards this. He talked about if seventy 603 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:02,320 Speaker 1: five of us just give one hundred dollars a month, 604 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:05,200 Speaker 1: we help to put someone who's boots on the ground 605 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:08,799 Speaker 1: and helps to organize and convene and facilitate millions of 606 00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:11,759 Speaker 1: dollars of impact in this work. We've got to do it, y'all, 607 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: because one thing we're learning on this tour, we all 608 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,800 Speaker 1: we got so when they listen, So when the people 609 00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:22,120 Speaker 1: forget about how to protect the lease of these, that's 610 00:36:22,160 --> 00:36:24,040 Speaker 1: where the pastor mics of the world come in. And 611 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:27,439 Speaker 1: so I just want to publicly thank you for all 612 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:30,680 Speaker 1: you do above and beyond this, but certainly in this work, 613 00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:35,880 Speaker 1: I'm so grateful that you use something so traumatic, several traumas, 614 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,120 Speaker 1: to utilize it for good so that other young people 615 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:41,760 Speaker 1: don't have to have to have the same experience you had, 616 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 1: or all of those young folks who raise their hands 617 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,480 Speaker 1: in that funeral. I am praying that you can continue 618 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:50,440 Speaker 1: to work to do the work to prevent funerals like 619 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:52,800 Speaker 1: these from going forward. And most of all, I pray 620 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:55,360 Speaker 1: that in this work that you take care of yourself 621 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:57,880 Speaker 1: and know that here at Native Lampid you are always 622 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:00,239 Speaker 1: welcome home. But we're going to help welcome some of 623 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:04,200 Speaker 1: these dollars. Y'all. We didn't put out the buckets. The 624 00:37:04,239 --> 00:37:07,160 Speaker 1: buckets we have the offering. We need the love offering 625 00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:09,960 Speaker 1: to be These young people got to survive. Make sure 626 00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:13,160 Speaker 1: y'all follow Pastor Mike McBride on socials. Where can they 627 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:13,440 Speaker 1: find you? 628 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:18,280 Speaker 2: Pastor mic I am Pastor Mike Underscore. I'm Pastor Mike Underscore. 629 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 2: I'm on let's see Instagram and Facebook and Twitter. Haven't 630 00:37:23,600 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 2: made it to the other ones yet. I'm on Blue 631 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:26,920 Speaker 2: Scott too. I think that's the new one. 632 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:31,879 Speaker 1: Everybody's own. So yeah, right now, yes, I gotta figure 633 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:33,959 Speaker 1: out way and are to account. 634 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:38,280 Speaker 2: Appreciate there are local people who you could literally connect 635 00:37:38,320 --> 00:37:41,040 Speaker 2: with today. They're not hiding. If you need any help, 636 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:43,520 Speaker 2: can it connected with a local person. This is not 637 00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 2: a one man show. This is not a you know, 638 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,480 Speaker 2: a savior complex. There's hundreds of us working every day 639 00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,719 Speaker 2: doing this and we love to have more supporters and 640 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 2: more people just to ask us questions, learn about how 641 00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:57,759 Speaker 2: violence shows up in your own city. Just like me 642 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 2: and Angela were at the UH the Juvenile Hall with 643 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:05,560 Speaker 2: Jalen and a whole host Michael Eric Dyson last week. 644 00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:08,960 Speaker 2: Everybody should be connected to these young people. What did 645 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,520 Speaker 2: they say, Angela? They all wanted two things. They wanted 646 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:14,600 Speaker 2: guidance and support. We asked them, what are the two 647 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:17,560 Speaker 2: things you want? They didn't say more money? They didn't 648 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:21,239 Speaker 2: say a house or car. These young people in juvenile 649 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:24,280 Speaker 2: Hall told us the two things they wanted was guidance 650 00:38:24,719 --> 00:38:29,040 Speaker 2: and support. That is free, right, that's just availability. Let's 651 00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 2: show up for our young people. Let's save their lives. 652 00:38:31,120 --> 00:38:33,719 Speaker 2: Let's make sure they can live free from violence and incarceration. 653 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:36,160 Speaker 2: And thanks again, Angel for having me. 654 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 1: I love you, I appreciate it. Thank you so much, y'all. 655 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:42,400 Speaker 1: Make sure you support I know he said it's not 656 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:45,240 Speaker 1: a savior complex, but he is one of my greatest teachers. 657 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:48,840 Speaker 1: I hope y'all follow Pastor Mike and definitely let's live free. 658 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:51,799 Speaker 1: So I'm pledging my support. Y'all joined me. I'm about 659 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:53,560 Speaker 1: to spend all my money trying to help the people 660 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,759 Speaker 1: right now. But that's what we gotta do, all right, 661 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:15,120 Speaker 1: Love you, brother, Thank you, Welcome y'all. Native Lampard is 662 00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:19,400 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with Reason Choice Media. 663 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:23,600 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 664 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:26,080 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.