WEBVTT - Conversations About Fathers Day 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:01.640 I'm Tamika D. Mallory and the. 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:03.159 Ship Boy my son in general. 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:04.960 We are your host of t M. 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:09.600 I Tamika and my Son's information, Truth, motivation and inspiration, 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:10.520 New name. 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:11.200 New Energy. 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:17.880 What's going on? My son, Lennon, I'm black blessed? 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:19.759 And how he favored Tamika D. Mallory. 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:22.360 How are you as well? I see you got your 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:23.520 free AT shirt? 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:26.920 Yes, free At. My brother at Mitchell is trying to 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:32.599 get his conviction which what we call e sponge. You 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:34.680 know he was he was falsely convicted. 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:35.960 I can say it all over again. 0:00:36.040 --> 0:00:39.400 Yes, my brother At is trying to get his conviction sponge. 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:44.280 Yes, my brother At, our brother At Mitchell man is 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:47.960 trying to get his conviction sponged. And he started his 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:51.640 whole campaign called free At No More Bars, So I'm 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:52.920 definitely represented for him. 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:55.720 I need to get me a T shirt. Free At. 0:00:55.960 --> 0:01:00.360 This is our brother who is the anti violent Czar 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:01.920 of New York City. 0:01:02.080 --> 0:01:02.920 That's number one. 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:07.160 AT and I started along with Erika Ford many many 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:11.360 years ago, working to get resources in New York City 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:14.680 for anti violence work. You all have heard us talk 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:18.320 about this before. We started out with no money. We 0:01:18.360 --> 0:01:22.600 got to five million, after really pressuring the elected officials 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:26.600 to focus on grassroots efforts that would help us to 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:27.920 curb violence. 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:28.320 In the community. 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:31.679 We went through a whole lot, but we went from 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:34.639 again zero to five million and now over one hundred 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.760 million dollars that is being invested into local grassroots groups 0:01:38.800 --> 0:01:42.160 around the city. And the data is very clear that 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:47.800 where these programs exist, people are absolutely bringing the number 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:52.200 of violent incidents down, giving our youth more opportunities, and 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.960 just also providing holistic approaches to dealing with violence that 0:01:56.040 --> 0:02:01.400 does not lean on police in counter in police intervention. 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:06.480 They're still, of course, you know, issues with in terms 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.799 of policing in these communities. I can't say that it's 0:02:09.800 --> 0:02:12.399 solved the problem, but we know that they're based upon 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.960 the data. We know that there has been some significant change. 0:02:16.000 --> 0:02:19.160 And our brother at is one of the leaders of 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:24.160 that movement. He really keeps the community of anti violence, 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:30.120 the CBI community Violence Intervention movement, and the crisis management 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:34.480 system operating across the city. And as you said, now 0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:37.679 he has a campaign to get his own record expunged 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:41.520 and we support at one hundred percent. We ask that 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:43.919 people who are listening, doesn't matter if you're from New 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:46.600 York City, you can be from anywhere around the country 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:51.000 learn more about At and support his campaign for the 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:52.320 expungement of his records. 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:54.720 So we love you AT, we support you. We're with you. 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:58.920 Free atre At because if free At, if you have 0:02:59.000 --> 0:02:59.600 free AT. 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.560 The next comes me. I like that campaign. I like 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:04.280 the campaign. 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:09.000 So the State of the People Power Tour has really 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.880 been an incredible labor of love. I tell you, while 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:15.760 we have definitely been engaged, we haven't worked nearly as 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:18.680 hard as some of the people who have been twenty 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:20.200 four hours. I have to give a shout out to 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:21.760 our own Victoria. 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:25.239 Panel, who has been VP's. 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:28.640 Right the until Freedom representative, holding us down as we 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:32.760 work on a million projects, book tours, boycott black Murder, 0:03:32.919 --> 0:03:34.840 the work that you all are doing in Newark and 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:39.800 around the country. Of course Angelo building a whole conference 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:43.960 that is you know that is actually in progress right now. 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:47.560 I mean, there's so much happening, and we've been so busy. 0:03:47.600 --> 0:03:50.000 And it was my birthday, which was a major production 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.400 that landed in the middle of it. Your birthday also 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:56.520 landed in the middle of the tour, so we had 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:59.480 a lot going on. We were present often, we led 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.800 at least two particular cities. And when I say led, 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.800 you know, yes, we picked those cities. We supported the 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:11.200 infrastructure and worked alongside our people in Newark, New Jersey, 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:15.200 and of course in Louisville, Kentucky, as much as possible 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:19.680 in other cities where we support it. But the team members, 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:23.400 the many team members with Angela Raie and a number 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:25.440 of people I don't want to get myself in trouble, 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.520 have worked, like you. I don't even know how to 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:32.000 explain the type of effort that has been put into 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:35.839 this tour. And you know, I think that the main 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.520 thing that people need to know is that rather than 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:41.480 sitting around with our lips poked out, complaining about what 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:43.960 isn't and who didn't do this, and who hurt our 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:47.840 feelings and all of that, and you know, and definitely 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:51.640 in this political climate, rather than sitting around and just 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:54.560 kind of looking hopeless, we said, no, we actually have 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:56.279 a lot of power, and we're going to do what 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.360 we always do, which is to go into our local 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:04.480 community and spend the type of time necessary learning, loving 0:05:04.560 --> 0:05:08.000 up on our people, collaborating with our people, dealing with 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.240 some of the backstories and the issues that we have 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.159 that need to be massaged and work through in order 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:16.760 for us to be able to stand together and to 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:22.520 get through this turbulent time in our society. And we said, 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:26.640 there's so many people who have skills already, they have resources, 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.560 they're doing major work in their local communities, and their 0:05:29.640 --> 0:05:32.800 voices just need to be uplifted. Their programs need to 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:36.920 be exposed to the world, their ideas need to be supported. 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:40.719 And when I think about what the tour has done 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:43.960 and the different tour stops in terms of the mutual aid, 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:49.400 doing things like helping people with groceries and with gas 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:54.120 and electricity bills, doing things like bringing out services of 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:58.320 all sorts, and also uplifting local services as well as 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:01.960 rallies and town hall meetings and listening sessions and local 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:05.080 led activities. I mean, this has been a true not 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:08.480 just labor of love, but labor and all of it, 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:12.520 all of it with the exception of security, because you know, 0:06:12.560 --> 0:06:15.280 we gotta pick make sure we pay security. And of 0:06:15.320 --> 0:06:19.640 course I don't want to say technical av audio visual 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:21.840 team there you go, look ahead to me, could get 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:25.600 your words together. The audio visual team. Everyone else has 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.680 been a volunteer unless you are a staff person like 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:32.200 Victoria who works for one of the major organizations, the 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:36.320 Coalition and the partners, and you were assigned to support 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:41.480 this project, to work on this project. But overall, everybody engaged, 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:45.440 and some of the most critical people in this entire project, 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:49.240 they are volunteers. Every dime that was raised has been 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:54.000 poured into the communities and these local engagements. And I'm 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:56.479 talking about when I say people spending their own money, 0:06:56.480 --> 0:07:01.440 I'm talking about travel, everything, hotels. I'm saying that there 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:03.359 is and I'm not saying that that's a model that 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:07.520 we want to replicate and that it needs to continue. 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.480 There has to be another way because people can't necessarily 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.320 afford it. But people believed in this tour so much 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:16.680 and have been home feeling frustrated, you know, and feeling 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:19.560 like we can't just I can't sit around. And they said, 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:21.400 we're not gonna wait for the money. We're gonna go 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.160 and the money will meet us and things will get done. 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:27.920 And so I'm excited that we have captured some of 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:32.600 the Louisville content specifically. And you go ahead and talk 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:35.600 about what your experience was being there in Louisville for 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:37.920 the State of the People Power Tour. And so you 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:40.680 go ahead and you know, talk about what your experience 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:44.000 was in Louisville, Kentucky, and also what the tour has 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:44.800 really meant to you. 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:50.080 Yes, Louisville was definitely an eye opening. It just it was, 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:52.640 like you said, a label of love. You know, Louisville 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:54.800 is like I was second home. You know, we have 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:56.880 been there a while. But when you see those familiar 0:07:56.880 --> 0:07:59.600 faces and we go down and we're in those familiar 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:03.640 places to Meeka Palmer with with the Katura Haran who 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:05.960 will be coming up the next room, we're talking about 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.720 all of the government officials and just the Freeway family, 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:14.240 you know. And we opened up with our party in 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:16.440 which we met with the people and we danced and 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.400 we talked and just feeling that camaraderie and that love. 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.240 You know, based on what happened with Breonna Taylor, we've 0:08:22.240 --> 0:08:25.000 built a family in Louisville, Kentucky. And that's why we 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.240 were very adamant, you know, even like you said, they 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:29.840 didn't give pushback, we were very adamant that we wanted 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:31.800 to make sure that that was one of the tour 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:35.360 stops and that we galvanized the energy and brought some 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:40.120 resources back to Louisville and they're always very appreciative, you know, 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:43.480 and just watching the growth from the people in Louisville, 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.319 just understanding how you know, we we seen people grow 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:50.600 from regular protesters to being elected officials. That we watched 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:52.920 Nicole Hayden, who who was one of the on the 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:56.240 ground people, just build her own organization and just watched 0:08:56.280 --> 0:08:59.479 her become this leader and it's just it's always beautiful 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:00.360 to see that. 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:02.000 But just along with the. 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:05.080 Tour, you know, the our Boycott Black Murder shout out 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:10.440 to Angelo, you know, we do a training and course 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.400 about boycott Black Murder, and we teach people what boycott 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:16.280 Black Murder is and what it came from. And we 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:21.040 get engaged with community people who have gun violence issues. 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:24.400 Some of them have actually lost family members to gun violence. 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:27.120 Some of them have family members who are in prison 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.160 based off gun violence. And the stories and the tears 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:34.959 is always like very emotional. So that's something I love 0:09:35.000 --> 0:09:36.960 to do in East City that we go to. But 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:38.800 you know, this thought was, like I said, it's a 0:09:38.840 --> 0:09:41.520 lot more personal for me, you know, as we still 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:45.600 fight for justice for Breonna Taylor. You know, seeing Tamika 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:48.920 Palm is always something that gives me joy and pain 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.160 at the same time because I love her so much 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:54.600 and to see her still fighting for Breonna Taylor, you know, 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.440 it's just invigorating to me. So Louisville was nothing short 0:09:58.440 --> 0:09:59.000 of amazing. 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:02.640 I think everyone felt that, and you know, as you said, 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:05.559 the whole Breway family included. And we have to make 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:07.480 sure we give a lot of love to Nicole Hayden 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:11.400 and Nicol Yates, who were the co chairs, if you will, 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:14.400 of that tour stop, and I can tell you it's 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.520 not easy because, as we know, in every single city, 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:20.880 there's always the difference of ideas and opinions and that 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:26.559 energy that we all experience. And you know, the two 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:30.280 of them coming together working together was quite funny to me. 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.880 But I love to see how whether they were fighting 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:39.640 about who was going to present particular again ideas and strategies, 0:10:40.000 --> 0:10:44.560 or if they were organizing other people and really trying 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.840 to make sure that everybody in the community felt involved, 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.760 whatever the issues, whatever the things were, they ended up 0:10:51.800 --> 0:10:56.960 producing an incredible, incredible, incredible tour stop. And so just 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:00.400 thankful to both of them, and also thankful to our 0:11:00.440 --> 0:11:03.960 baby sister Jania, who is and she was there. Jania 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:06.559 is the sister of Brionna Taylor who lived in there, 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:08.400 and she's with child, and. 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:10.920 She is with child, she's about to have a baby. Yes, 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:11.959 so having. 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:15.160 Her around carrying a little Brionna and her stomach is 0:11:15.760 --> 0:11:18.720 so special. I'm not sure of the gender of the baby, 0:11:18.720 --> 0:11:21.679 but I will say that we know Brianna lives through 0:11:22.440 --> 0:11:25.640 Jania's belly, and so it just was exciting and I 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.280 want for to know that, Yes, we did have some 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:29.160 good moments. 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:31.000 And so first of all, it was super high, as it. 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:34.400 Always is and Louisville always and we did have some 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:38.720 powerful moments of you know, dancing, like you said, camaraderie 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:43.720 and planting, and they sent families home with things that 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:45.400 they need to start their gardens. 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:46.920 I mean, you know, great things. 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:50.480 But at the same time, there was some very serious discussions, 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:55.920 very serious panel discussions, town halls and listening sessions. 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:56.280 With the community. 0:11:56.640 --> 0:11:59.600 And so we've got a little bit of you know, 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.320 some of the discussions and the interviews that we did 0:12:02.400 --> 0:12:07.959 for the TMI podcast, the TMI Show to meet getting 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:10.679 my Son's information to who are our guests this week? 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:14.200 Yes, like I already stated, Katoa Heron is going to 0:12:14.200 --> 0:12:17.400 be one of our guests along with Nicole Hayden that 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:20.560 we just finished speaking of. And to end it off, 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:24.880 we have our co founder of Until Freedom, attorney Angelo Pinto, 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:26.840 is also one of our guests today. 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:29.800 Check it out, Check it out. 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:36.400 The TMI podcast, The TMI Show with my brother my 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:39.520 son who is not here because he's actually in a 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:44.160 workshop here in Louisville leading a workshop on gun violence prevention. 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.200 That we are live and we're talking directly with people 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:53.200 who have many, many, many layers and levels of solutions 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:57.400 and brilliant and strategy for our community. And it's two 0:12:57.679 --> 0:13:01.200 super bad, super bad individual rules who are here in 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:03.040 front of us. I want to read their bios so 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.280 that I give you the proper acknowledgment, but then I 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:07.959 want to talk about why the two of you are 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:11.680 so important to us on this show. So Nicole Hayden, 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:15.520 who was one of the city leads here in Louisville 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:19.480 to make this incredible two days of focus on our 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:22.560 people and our community happen. The Cole Hayden is a 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:26.800 Louisville based community strategist and founder of the Friends of 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:30.080 Nicole Network, which until Freedom has had the privilege of 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:36.080 supporting and collaborating with for the last five years. And also, 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.040 oh we excuse me, at the Friends of Nicole network, 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:43.480 she leads initiatives that empower young women of color through 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:47.920 mentorship and advocacy. And the wake of Brionna Taylor is Killing. 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:52.200 She served as a community laison for Until Freedom That's true, 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:57.800 helping organize protests and connect national activists to local grassroots efforts. 0:13:58.000 --> 0:14:02.600 And then my dear sister, Senate Katura Heron. Now, before 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:04.720 I even say anything else, let me just say that 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:08.520 she was not Senator Katura Heron when we first met her. 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.920 She was an organizer for ACLU Louisville. And this is 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:19.520 not even her first elected position. So from an organizer 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:23.920 when we first got here to now two times elected, 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.000 maybe three times elected, I don't know how many you'll 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:30.080 tell us that part, but elected to different levels, moving 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:33.359 on up the scale on her way to national leadership. 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:34.240 For sure. 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:40.880 In government, she is Senator Heron represents. Senator Heron represents 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:45.640 Kentucky's thirty fifth Senate district and has dedicated her life 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.880 to advocacy and reform. In twenty twenty, she worked with 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:53.680 community and elected leaders to pass Brianna's law at the 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:58.960 local and state level, which without law no knock warrants 0:14:59.280 --> 0:15:02.880 in the state of Kentucky. Some of it passed more 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:05.600 work to be done. But these are two super bad 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:09.720 individuals who are doing work within the community and also 0:15:09.920 --> 0:15:12.280 just growing in your leadership. And let me say that 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:17.520 for us at until Freedom, to watch the growth of 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:21.080 this city and the individuals in the city has been 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:24.200 incredible because we know we had our little hands in 0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:28.440 different parts of how that happened. We promised Nicole Hayden 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.440 when we first met the first weekend we were here, 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:34.880 the first night we sat down and had a conversation, 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:39.760 we promised that not only would we not exploit the community, 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.480 but that we would continue to be here and we 0:15:42.480 --> 0:15:45.280 would never leave. And that's a commitment that I've made 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:48.080 to every single family and community that I've been in 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:51.680 since I started over twenty years ago, because I was 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.200 told by my mentors that the most important thing you 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.360 can do is not the work when everybody is there, 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:00.160 but it's the work when nobody is there, right, And 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:03.080 we have continued that until Freedom to come back here 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:05.280 and to work with the two of you. So I'm 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:09.480 so excited to have both of you sitting here today 0:16:09.560 --> 0:16:11.880 our show when we talk about the one hundred years, 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:15.520 excuse me, when we talk about the hundred days of 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:20.680 Trump's presidency. We have been trying to pair boots on 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:27.320 the ground with legislators and media representatives and strategists so 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:30.120 that we have a feeling of what comes out. What 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.520 people get to see is that those two things have 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:33.160 to work together. 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:33.440 Yeah. 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:36.000 It's no way for us to do work with just 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:40.040 an elected just the boots on the ground individual They have. 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:40.720 To come together. 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.800 So the first thing I want to talk about for 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:47.720 both of you is how you see that working together. 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:53.920 That you are an elected leader, how important is it 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:58.360 for you to have the Nicole Hayden's and everybody the 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:01.440 people of your city, right, Melvin and. 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:07.200 Brother big Baby and you name it, everybody. 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:08.879 An yeah, yeah. 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:12.080 Right, pushing to help you get things done. Because I 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.800 think some folks, some elected officials, don't think they need 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:18.280 the people until this election time, and then the people 0:17:18.320 --> 0:17:19.480 boots on the ground. 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.639 Don't always see the need for elected officials. 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:23.720 So I want you all to talk about that dynamic 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:24.840 and how important it is. 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.440 I mean, first, thanks for having us on and always 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:31.600 coming back and showing love as you promised, and coming 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:37.639 from an organizer to now elected, I'm actually talking to 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:40.760 Angelo and I need to write these things down to 0:17:40.840 --> 0:17:44.160 come back and teach the community. Because what I realized 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:46.520 is it the work that we were able to do 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:50.960 in twenty twenty. It was organizing an organizing strategy and 0:17:51.000 --> 0:17:54.760 an the legislative strategy. And I think oftentimes where we 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.840 fought is that either legislators just want to do it 0:17:57.880 --> 0:17:59.680 their way or the community just wants to do what 0:17:59.720 --> 0:18:03.240 they're way, and until both of those things is working together, 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.200 then you're not gonna get policy passed. That was how 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:09.080 we were able to get Brianna's Law passed as quickly 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:11.600 as we did obviously in the moment, but there was 0:18:11.640 --> 0:18:15.560 a community organizing strategy, and then the legislators the electeds 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.119 had to be working behind the scenes and figuring out 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:21.720 what that is because the dynamics are different and community 0:18:21.760 --> 0:18:24.919 may not be able to always move that elected, but 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:28.760 there's other people in this other body, whether it's lobbyists, 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:30.480 whether there's other business leaders. 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:32.119 That can move some of those people. 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:35.280 And so there has to be the legislative strategy and 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:37.040 the community organizer strategy. 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:37.680 And I think. 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:39.920 That that's one of the things that I've been trying 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:44.560 to wrap my head around for so long, is how 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:47.520 how do I display and show that we've got a 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:49.520 lot of great people in the City of Mobile. But 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.080 I do think that, you know, one of the downfalls 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:54.200 that we have is we have not done a great 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:57.040 job of us all coming together and making this thing 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:57.879 work together. 0:18:58.560 --> 0:19:00.440 Work strategy of of all. 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:04.080 You know, time that you've been even organizer and or 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.520 and elected, where have you seen the power of the 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.159 people and the legislative process come together. 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:13.560 I mean, honestly, Brianna's Law when we look at that 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:17.960 during twenty twenty, when we went to get a Brianna's 0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:22.000 Law passed, when you called the City of Louisville, the 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:27.800 voicemail said press one for Breonna Taylor related issues, two 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:28.680 for everything else. 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:29.000 Wow. 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:31.600 And what we were able to do, and what people. 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:33.600 Don't know is that the first piece of policy that 0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:37.040 we gave the Metro Council, it wasn't a complete full band. 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:41.359 And what we actually was fighting against was language that 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:43.040 we first originally gave them. 0:19:43.640 --> 0:19:46.080 Right and so like we made the call and said 0:19:46.119 --> 0:19:46.880 we wanted. 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:52.879 We so legislators without your involvement, gave them language that 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:55.280 you had to go fight or was it right? 0:19:55.359 --> 0:19:59.640 So there was community folks, myself and a dude named 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:02.639 Terrence Sullivan. We are the ones who actually wrote that first, 0:20:03.000 --> 0:20:06.439 the first the first copy, and then it evolved. We 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:09.400 gave it to Metro Council. They ran with the language 0:20:09.400 --> 0:20:12.480 that we had. The goal was to get coalition to 0:20:12.560 --> 0:20:15.159 work together, but they said they wanted to move fast, 0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:18.239 so they took our first draft of the language and 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:20.760 they ran with it. But after we had some days 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:22.760 to read it, we were like, no, we needed a 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:26.000 complete band and we can do that and so and 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:29.440 so that's what we actually ended up fighting. And what 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:31.679 we did was we had like I think originally like 0:20:31.720 --> 0:20:34.520 four or five council people this said that we support 0:20:34.560 --> 0:20:37.200 a complete band. So what we did was we put 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:39.440 on social media and we said we want to thank 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:42.440 these five council people for supporting a complete band. 0:20:42.720 --> 0:20:44.440 So then other council members was like. 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:46.720 Well we supported, were like, yeah, but you don't support 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:47.440 a complete band. 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:49.679 If you want us to thank you, you got to support 0:20:49.680 --> 0:20:50.480 a complete band. 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:52.720 And that's how we was able to eventually get the 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:56.439 four twenty six to get behind the complete band, because 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:58.720 at first people was like, we can never do a 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:02.360 complete band. But if there's an emergency situation, what if 0:21:02.359 --> 0:21:05.159 my daughter's kid? Now, what if this is happening? And 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:08.920 it's like, no, we know, and in real time, if 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:12.560 it is that emergency situation, law enforcement can go in. 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:14.800 If you hear shooting in a building, you can go 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:18.159 in and and respond. But let's be very clear that 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:21.560 we need to do a complete ban and and and 0:21:21.720 --> 0:21:24.280 common sense and in the moment less you know when 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:27.240 you can't go in if it's an emergency. 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:29.200 Talk about your. 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:31.959 Not so much the role in this, but your understanding 0:21:32.000 --> 0:21:35.200 of the importance of community and what the legislators are doing. 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:38.720