WEBVTT - "Prison Reform" with Wallo and Tony Lewis Jr. 0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:07.480 Yeah, that's what's up, good people. I'm to make a d. 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:10.360 Mallory and it's your boy my son in general, and 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.000 we are your host of street politicians, the place where 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:20.440 the streets and politics me. What's up? So you got 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:24.360 your little until Freedom swag because we said, hey, we 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:26.320 wear everybody up. Yeah, and then we got to support 0:00:26.320 --> 0:00:28.840 our own. Man. This is our brand, Until Freedom is 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:31.720 our organization is our brand. So you know we're always 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:35.800 supporting everybody else and wearing everybody else's garments. We decided 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:38.519 we're gonna be until Freedom Today. Some of our some 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:41.400 people send us a lot of nice things being gladdened 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:44.239 me and they hook us up every week, but this 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.360 time it was you know important. It's the until Freedom 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:50.160 for me. It's the until Freedom for me too. And 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:54.800 it's the last um week of Black History Month, and 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:59.160 so celebrating your own, supporting your own people who are 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:04.440 watching listening. If you want to support our organization Until Freedom, 0:01:04.480 --> 0:01:08.400 you can go to until freedom dot com purchase a sweatsuit, 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.240 all types of sweat We got what you need. We 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:18.600 definitely do. And this is just two examples of I'm 0:01:18.840 --> 0:01:23.480 I'm wearing the deluscious red today and also good quality sweatsuits. 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:27.720 We pride ourselves and making sure that anything that we 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:32.400 sell we would actually wear. Hopefully you guys will support us. 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:34.800 So what's going on. There's a lot happening. I mean, 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:38.640 it's another episode every week. We've been having some incredible 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.040 individuals on talking about a lot of great things. You know, 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:44.679 there's been a lot of favorites for me, but I 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:49.040 think Hill Harper was definitely one of the you know, 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:52.800 h Hill was. It was. It was. It was a 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:54.920 cumbination of things. It was, you know, it was. It 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.680 was a tear jerker. Then we had a little couple 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.000 of moments where we smiled and laughed, you know, especially 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:04.640 since you know I knew him Lord, I knew him 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:07.760 from his first movie before it was even in the bio. 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:11.960 You all confirmed that. I want to be able to 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:16.600 say that you're you know, fibbing, but I can't. It's true. 0:02:16.919 --> 0:02:19.240 But he was. He was a good guy and you know, 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:24.240 his personality is one that I would see you connecting with, yeah, 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:26.320 because you know it's authentic, Like that's what it is 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:28.919 for us. It's just like I connect with authentic. It's 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:32.520 so many different people that I have relationships and friendships 0:02:32.560 --> 0:02:35.080 with that people don't know. You know, I wouldn't. I 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:37.680 have so many different kind of friends and they the 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:40.480 only common denominating all of them is just that they're 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:43.519 authentic and they comfortable being who they are. So, you know, 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:46.640 Hill is definitely one of those guys. Man so to 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:51.639 him relationships people we have relationships with. You know, one 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:55.560 group of people that I find myself always super duper 0:02:55.639 --> 0:02:59.840 engaged with is elderly folks Like I love my elders. 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:04.240 I love the core Master's berries and the Hazel Dukes 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:07.560 and others. Um. I spend a lot of time talking 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:11.280 to them, and you know, I feel like, especially as 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:15.000 we're celebrating back Black history, there is so much, such 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.360 a wealth of knowledge out there from our elders that 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:22.160 we can gain from learning about our past so that 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.679 we understand one at the moments that what we're experiencing 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.519 right now, it's not new. The only thing that's new 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:32.000 is the approach that we will take to address these issues. 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:34.680 And a lot of times that's a remix of things 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:37.320 that happened in the past. Um. But you know, it 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:40.600 also I think informs us when you have strong relationships 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:44.880 with with elders, it informs our path forward, and it 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:48.480 helps you to sort of ground yourself in a foundation 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:51.440 so you're not feeling like you're creating. I hate to 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:54.320 hear people say, oh, this is the first time that 0:03:54.480 --> 0:03:57.000 you know, we never now it's not what they say, 0:03:57.120 --> 0:04:00.680 nothing new under the sun. And so it's black history. 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:03.600 I would say for this week, as folks, and and 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.240 black history is every month. Black History is every day. 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:08.880 But I would say that don't don't just relegate us 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.120 to know one month now and not the shortest month 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.000 of the year. But I would say to parents, um, 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:17.080 that this is a good time to take your children 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:20.800 around elders, even you learning from people who have been 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:23.240 a part of these struggles and have you know, and 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:26.120 and of course you got your grandparents and your immediate family, 0:04:26.160 --> 0:04:29.679 but I'm talking about staples in the community, other people 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:32.040 that you could talk to them, get education. You gotta 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:34.640 have that, Like that's one of our mantras that we 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:36.720 stand on the shoulders of our elders. We say that 0:04:36.800 --> 0:04:38.800 all the time, we stand on the shoulders of giants, 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.760 and we're just paying our path forward. You know. One 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:44.000 of the things you always say is that it's just 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:47.960 we are responsible for winning our own freedom. Well, Harry, 0:04:48.000 --> 0:04:51.520 I mean not Harriet Um corrector Scott King King said that. 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:53.000 So when you say that all the time, I'm like, 0:04:53.080 --> 0:04:56.280 that's right, and that's what and that's what we did. 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:58.159 We borrowed from our elders, and we just gotta be 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.080 you know, I don't understand a lot of this culture 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:04.000 in this generation. They have a problem with elders, right, 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.200 They have a problem with given credit to the elders. 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:08.680 They want to be like, oh, you're too old, and 0:05:08.839 --> 0:05:11.320 and it's a privilege to be old, you know what 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:14.840 I'm saying, Like, it's a privilege to actually have accomplished 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:18.400 things and you know, grown and have wisdom, you know. 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:20.679 And I always looked at like you said, I always 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.320 have the utmost respect for my elders. I used to 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:25.239 sit at the feet of my elders and just listen, 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:28.279 Like you know, when Bellefonte talks to us, we just 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.279 sit there and just taken. When Corus Masses Barry is 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:33.000 talking to us, and we just sit there and listen 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.960 to what she says, you know. You know. So speaking 0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:42.640 of Harry Belafonte, it's his birthday, birthday and celebration that's 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:47.280 happening shout out Mr Ben years old. I mean, and 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:49.880 it's like, like you said, it's a privilege to get 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:54.800 old because based upon Mr Bee's life and everything that 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:57.440 he has done and how he's been so much so 0:05:57.520 --> 0:06:00.520 engaged in the movement, he could have been gone just 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.760 like Martin Luther, King, Malcolm X and so many others, 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:07.440 and he, you know, has has lasted and also has 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:11.520 been such an inspiration to so many younger activists who 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:13.600 who have come up sort of behind him. And I 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:16.320 always tell people with money, because you know, we are 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:20.200 always talking the folks who have the resources, but they'll say, well, 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.800 you know, I can't necessarily be out there on the 0:06:22.800 --> 0:06:24.760 front lines with you, but I'm trying to figure out 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:27.960 what can I do. And I think you know, for one, 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:32.039 Jay Z certainly is one who is trying to follow 0:06:32.120 --> 0:06:37.159 in Harry Belafonte's footsteps in terms of funding organizers and 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:41.200 organizations that are doing great work. Um And and you know, 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:45.440 that's the suggestion for us all if we want to 0:06:45.480 --> 0:06:49.800 borrow uh some of the wisdom, leadership and some of 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:53.680 the skills of our elders and want to make some 0:06:53.720 --> 0:06:56.479 commitments during Black History Months, it's a good time to 0:06:56.640 --> 0:07:01.080 say that I am going to begin sending ten fifteen 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:06.120 dollars buying until freedom sweat suit. Uh, send another grassroots 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:10.440 organization some resources to help them to be able to 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:13.120 continue to do their work. And so you know, those 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.120 commitments are important. I don't think that Black History months 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:20.239 to just be about us studying things and reading back 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:23.520 over that's that's It's about creating good. But it's yeah, 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.800 it's about like, now, what's your commitment. We've learned, we 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:30.120 understand now how you're gonna jump in, Like, you know, 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:34.120 we have black history, we have Black present, and then 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.800 we got Black future, and we have if you in 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.480 black presents, you supposed to be creating for the future 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:41.680 and creating history. You know, I'm playing it for it 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:43.520 like um. One of the things I want to talk 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:48.000 about is the the originator of We said, you know, 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:54.040 going forward, Someone in your comments was asking about February thirteen, 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:57.680 which is the day before Valentine's Day, and they were 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:02.640 explaining that the thirteen is has been called Black Love 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:06.560 Day and talking about black folks who actually created um 0:08:06.760 --> 0:08:09.440 that day and and sort of a holiday of its own. 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:13.240 And we said, going forward, when we talk about holidays, 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:18.000 we want to get text for how these holidays came exactly. 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:21.720 And Krter G Woodson, who created who started with Black 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:25.080 History Week? You know, he decided to create a Blast 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:29.240 History Week in eighteen sixteen, which carried over and eventually 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:32.320 led to you know, the foundation for Black History Months. 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:34.000 So a lot of people because people in my comments, 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:36.240 I don't want to that pagan holiday, there was a 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:38.280 white man, so to know, a white man didn't start. 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.560 Carter g Woodson started. But I think you were talking 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.920 about I think they were talking about the actual one. 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:47.960 It was actually implement they were talking. They were talking 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:52.400 about you know, I forgot which president was that took 0:08:52.840 --> 0:08:56.319 the Black History Week and then extended it into the month. 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.240 But if the foundation was set by Carter G. Woodson 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:02.800 who created Black History, right, let's get let's know a 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:05.880 little thing before you start talking about stuff that's really 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:08.120 it's really important to note. I mean, there's been so 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:11.200 many contributions, and you know, as we were talking about 0:09:11.480 --> 0:09:15.719 supporting activists and leaders, I was having a conversation um 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:21.640 this week with a loved one who said, after watching 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:24.800 the documentary that was done on My life, which is 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:28.880 currently on Stars, Um, it's not my life it's actually 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.520 a part of my life, a time period in my life. 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:34.520 It's on Stars. It's called This is Personal. Uh, folks 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:38.720 can check it out. And as she was watching it, um, 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:41.960 she said, you know, I realized you have a real, 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.559 real job, and I see what it is that you do. 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:48.400 And I thought to myself, Wow, there's so many people 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.520 who don't really understand what we do. And so it 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:55.760 made me think of my thought of today, because that's 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:57.760 what I do. I think and I come up with 0:09:57.800 --> 0:10:01.120 my thought of the day. And that is why don't 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:07.280 people understand that being an activist and an organizer, it 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:10.960 is a full time job. If not like a lifestyle, 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:14.000 it's a real job. People think that it's just like 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:17.240 what you do. I know, I'm an activist literally have 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:21.400 to apply work all day every day, and it's a life. 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:23.840 Like you said, it's a full time, lifetime job. You 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:26.000 don't get to sleep and say, yo, you know I'm 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.560 working for nine or five. I ain't doing nothing after 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:32.319 five o'clock. You know, because somebody is killed every minute 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:34.480 of the day, you know, some young black man or 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:39.599 some young poor person from you know, um, Compromised communities 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.480 are being abused and the civil rights are being violated 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.800 every day, so we have to be on call all 0:10:45.800 --> 0:10:47.640 the time. We have to get up and go to 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:50.840 somebody else's city or somebody else's state. We have to 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:53.880 go bring attention to these things at all times, so 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.640 our job never stops. And I think people take it 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:00.600 for granted. Even even your own family take sit for granted. 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:03.280 They don't see. They see, they see the moments, right, 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:06.360 they see the news clip, they see the video, they 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:09.440 see the people reposting the thing, and they say, that's 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:12.040 something that happened for thirty seconds one. But they don't 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:14.840 realize the work that's going in to this clip that 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:18.280 you've seen and realized, the planning and organizing and how 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:20.360 you have this and you and put in your life 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:22.320 on the line. A lot of people just don't really 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.280 see it that way. You know, Yes they don't, and 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:26.760 you know, and I and I act. She was speaking 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.120 to me. I was reflecting on how often I have 0:11:29.200 --> 0:11:31.880 heard from people, wow, you know, what you do looks 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.280 fun or you know, and we make it fun because 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:39.280 you have to. If you're on the road for six days, 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.600 seven days. No one wants to be in a situation 0:11:42.679 --> 0:11:45.679 where every moment of it is traumatizing, so you have 0:11:45.760 --> 0:11:49.120 to actually build in it's living in your purpose. When 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:52.400 your purpose, you know, you when you live in your purpose, 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:55.920 you never work one day. So I think, because this 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:58.199 is what we ordained to do, this is our purpose, 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:01.520 we make it seem like it's fun. Right. We're able 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.000 to smile when we should be crying. You know, we're 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:08.560 able to see the glasses have full and continue to 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:11.800 persevere and move through times. Even after we don't cry 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.440 for six hours. The seventh hour, we might say, yo, 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:17.839 let's hug and laugh about something, and onebody, somebody tells 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:20.840 a joke. You know, we're sitting around eating together and 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:23.480 and just live in family and community. So we figure 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:26.600 out a way because it's our purpose. But it's definitely 0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:29.120 a job, and it's a lot and and and you know, 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:33.320 building relationships with people who are traumatized as well, that 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:35.760 takes a lot of work. You know, when we are 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:41.200 in places like Louisville, Kentucky, it takes us awhile days 0:12:41.280 --> 0:12:46.840 to re kindle and ignite the fire among the groups 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.440 that we're working with. Doesn't mean that they're not doing 0:12:49.440 --> 0:12:51.839 their own thing all the time, but each time that 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:53.920 we come back, it's kind of like, Okay, where do 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:57.080 we start again? How do we continue to work together? 0:12:57.120 --> 0:13:00.280 And we have to actually put time and effort into 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:04.000 building those relationships and making sure that there is trust 0:13:04.080 --> 0:13:06.480 and that's it, and that takes work on both sides, 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:08.800 on you know, from from our side and from the 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.400 individuals that we're working with. We also support families. I 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:14.680 can't tell you the amount of families that we talked 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:19.559 to all day every day, supporting them financially, supporting their 0:13:19.600 --> 0:13:22.880 fundraises and events and other things that they're doing. It 0:13:23.240 --> 0:13:26.200 takes a lot of work to accomplish what we do 0:13:26.320 --> 0:13:30.160 and knowing and understanding because I guess the next criticism 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:32.560 from people is like, yeah, well, how you know we're 0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:35.280 not what are we getting done? And I say all 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.560 the time, none of us have actually been able to 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:42.080 get us free, Like not what you're doing, not what 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:45.360 what I'm doing. We're all working towards a goal and 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:49.120 we're fighting and standing alongside one another. And just because 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:52.440 you don't see me in a you know, in scrubs 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:55.520 going into a hospital, doesn't mean that I'm not working 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:58.600 on the sickness that is happening within our communities and 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.600 my scrubs may not look like, you know, my sister's 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:04.480 uniform as a nurse, but my scrubs look like and 0:14:04.600 --> 0:14:08.080 Until Freedom sweatsuits. So that for me, um is you know, 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:10.040 my thought of the day. As I said, it was 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:13.560 deeply um not so much troubling. But when when she 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.439 said it to me, I realized that this is someone 0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:18.679 who's known me my whole life, and she's saying, wow, 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:22.080 like you really have a real serious job. So imagine 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:25.080 what other people are thinking that are not really around, 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:28.080 and all they do is listen to people telling us, 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:30.240 or you know, the folks on the in the media. 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.560 Let God bless if you watch Fox News where they 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.800 tell you that every we're all poverty pampers and oh ye, 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.280 Swiss suits. We're not suppo to sell Swiss suits. We're 0:14:40.280 --> 0:14:43.520 not supposed to get contributes. We're not supposed to have nothing. 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.320 We're supposed to just go outside on the front lines, 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:49.720 risk your life, can't take care of your family, just 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.920 be starving and hungry. I was listening to somebody say 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:56.080 last night that um, Martin Luther King died with so 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:59.040 much money and he was taking money from people, and 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:03.240 I'm just watching I've had I've had people tell me, 0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:06.600 you know, I worked forever now for a long time, 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:09.160 fourteen years and and and was a part of National 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:14.800 Action Network since before that. And I would hear people say, oh, 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:18.720 you know, he takes money from the families, and he's 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:21.040 you know, and and and and that's how he, you know, 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:24.360 wears his suits or whatever the families and their settlement checks. 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:27.840 I literally was there, right, like, come up with another 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.480 criticism about all of us, and you can find one, 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.400 but that is a bow faced lie. I was there, 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:37.240 And if anything, he literally worked that nan during the 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:39.720 week and then on the weekends he would go out 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:41.920 and preach so he can make money, so that to 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.920 help us make payroll and also to be able to 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:48.800 give families resources because most of the time the families 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:52.040 that we we are dealing with, these are individuals who 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:56.480 are who come from really impoverished circumstances. Right, That's why 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:58.680 it happens to them because they live in certain hoods, 0:15:58.800 --> 0:16:01.960 they're dealing with certain things. And these individuals, now that 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:04.840 you're working with them, they might need a suit to 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:07.320 be able to go to court. They may need that. 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:11.840 People people are in regular life, right, So you meet 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:16.360 a family and their loved one was killed Tuesday Saturday, 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:17.960 they still trying to figure out how to get the 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.480 rent because the rent was already due. And the rent 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:23.120 man doesn't say, well, now that your loved one has 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:25.360 been killed and you're in the middle of a big 0:16:25.640 --> 0:16:29.320 you know, uh situation, They don't say, well, you don't 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.320 gotta pay me. You still have to come up with 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.240 that money. And sometimes you got to help to do that. 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:37.640 If you claim to be a leader, you're working with people, 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:40.600 you have to be able to find solutions. How many funerals, 0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:45.880 How many funerals? How many funerals have we paid for 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.080 or help to pay for for individuals, people that folks 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:53.000 don't even know, people it locked up in prisons, who've died, 0:16:53.160 --> 0:17:00.400 people children. Absolutely, So anyway, that bottom line is it's 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:05.159 a full time and a lifestyle. And the lifestyle so 0:17:05.200 --> 0:17:08.680 the streets is talking. Streets are always talking. The streets 0:17:08.720 --> 0:17:11.560 is talking, And what the streets are talking about today 0:17:11.800 --> 0:17:15.520 is Russia. Limba, he died. He died, you know, and 0:17:16.280 --> 0:17:20.640 people don't a lot of people don't care. No, I'm 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:24.400 just being honest. I think I think you know. There 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:31.720 was a tweet, Yeah, he put out a tweet right 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:36.359 the gist of it was Rus died. So for those 0:17:36.400 --> 0:17:39.440 of you who don't know who Russia Limbaugh is, he's 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:47.240 a conservative pundit and you know he's radio host and racist. 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.720 Well he's not racist now because he's deceased. But and 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:55.320 a lot of people feel like so yeah, well you 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:58.840 know I think that um Shaun King wrote this tweet, 0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:03.919 and this is important, right, he says, Russia Limbaugh attacked 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:06.840 me on air for years, did the same too many 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:09.919 people I care about. We never mentioned his name, but 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:13.800 he was obsessed with us and abused us for profit. 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:18.320 He was a lifelong racist, sexist, bigot. And now he's dead, 0:18:18.640 --> 0:18:22.560 that's all right. And you know, when I saw that tweet, 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:25.240 I was really like, Okay, that's everything I want to 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:29.920 say summed up in one I My um experience and 0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:34.159 and understanding of Russia Limball extends far right, even beyond 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:40.159 this current movement, this current momentum. I know how much 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:46.359 of his rhetoric and his political stance has been detrimental, 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:50.639 dangerous for communities of color. Um, of course for the 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:54.560 black community, but certainly, like sometimes I think Russia Limbaugh 0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:57.399 was was a little bit too racist even for Fox 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.480 News and that's hard to That's hard because he you know, 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.760 had to go on satellite radio so he could really 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:07.800 kick it. And the previous president, who we shall not name, 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:10.480 I try. I'm working so hard on not saying his name. 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:15.120 Just gave him right before leaving office a medal of honor. Uh. 0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:19.000 And this is a man who was divisive, as Sean said, 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:24.520 he attacked leaders, activists, organizes every day. Um, you know, 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:29.720 he just was was not a good person. And I think, 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:34.199 very similar to when John McCain died, that we have 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:36.800 to tell the truth about people when they die. We 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:41.760 can't recreate, like you know, history in order to honor 0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:44.080 folks just because they died. And I know that in 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:46.840 birth and death those are two times when we try 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:50.320 to see the positive. But if someone lives their life 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:55.120 raising hell and and and actually causing harm to communities, 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:57.600 we need to tell that truth. And I think that 0:19:57.720 --> 0:20:00.280 was the point of what Sean was saying. It's like, 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:03.000 let's not sit here and start talking about Oh, he 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.240 was an American radio host and you know he broke 0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:08.800 this record and he did. You can talk about those things, 0:20:08.840 --> 0:20:11.800 but make sure that it's not an isolation of saying that. 0:20:11.840 --> 0:20:14.960 He also was a racist and a bigot, and again 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:19.119 that his rhetoric and his own organizing was harmful to 0:20:19.200 --> 0:20:23.320 a lot of people, uh, individually and collectively. I mean 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:28.280 he literally was the sounding board for forty five and 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:31.840 his racism. Yeah, he's somebody that I didn't really pay 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:34.200 a lot of attention to write. But when I did 0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:36.960 hear him, it was always something negative. You know, there 0:20:37.000 --> 0:20:39.919 was never anything positive that you know, had to do 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:44.359 with us, especially as organizers in communities of color, you know, 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:48.120 in despair. He never said anything that was like okay. 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:50.399 You know, there are some people on Foxes that might 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:53.840 have an opinion that I kind of understand. Sometimes I 0:20:53.880 --> 0:21:00.439 don't think Russia Limbo Limbo ever said anything that you know, 0:21:00.480 --> 0:21:02.280 that I agree with. So when we look at these tweets, 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:04.880 is it okay? Is it okay that we say, yo, 0:21:05.600 --> 0:21:08.840 you're dead and we don't care, you know, Is it okay? 0:21:08.960 --> 0:21:13.440 Is that is that crash l I don't think it's 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:16.840 a lack of that. I don't think it's a lack 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:21.280 of class. I think that we as black people are 0:21:21.440 --> 0:21:25.760 so loving and caring and that's something that I don't 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:28.600 want us to lose, right, you know, our our Big 0:21:28.640 --> 0:21:32.600 Mama's um and Big Papas taught us that we are 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:37.680 always to show grace even when someone has done something harmful, 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.520 that it's our job to be the to take the 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:43.240 higher road. And so I guess it's one of those 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:45.719 things where they say, if you're not gonna say anything 0:21:45.840 --> 0:21:47.960 positive or if you're not gonna put it in the 0:21:48.040 --> 0:21:51.440 proper context, the way I feel, Sean has don't say 0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:55.400 anything at all, because sometimes your silence is also uh 0:21:55.480 --> 0:22:00.119 it is your silence is deafening, right, people can hear it. 0:22:00.359 --> 0:22:02.960 So I think that's that's one part. But as I said, 0:22:03.040 --> 0:22:05.280 the same thing happened with John McCain. I mean, this 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:08.520 is an individual who, um, you know, towards the end 0:22:08.560 --> 0:22:12.560 of his life he obviously began to understand the importance 0:22:12.560 --> 0:22:15.280 of his legacy and started trying to do things to 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:19.520 be more progressive as a Republican UM. But prior to 0:22:19.760 --> 0:22:22.640 for many many years, like he didn't support Dr King 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:27.680 having a special holiday, he stood against all the progressive 0:22:28.480 --> 0:22:32.240 policies that were that that people were working really hard 0:22:32.320 --> 0:22:35.320 to get done during you know, civil rights error. At 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:39.640 least after that once he became a legislator, and you 0:22:39.720 --> 0:22:42.040 can't just ignore that. And you can't say that just 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:46.160 because he served the country that now once he passes away, 0:22:46.400 --> 0:22:50.159 we're going to glorify and just forget about all the 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:53.400