WEBVTT - State of Emergency 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:09.119 Family. What's happening. I'm to meet A D. Mallory and 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:14.880 we are your host of street politicians, the place where 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:20.680 the streets and politics meet. So exciting times. My book 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:27.120 State of Emergency is out. It's live my side. I 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:30.640 had a moment when folks started calling me yesterday saying 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:34.160 that they received their books, and I got really, really, 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:38.400 really emotional because it took a lot. This process really 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.560 humbled me. I'll talk a little bit later about what 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:45.239 it did and how it humbled me, but you know, 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:49.280 I um have always known that a book was in 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:51.880 me and there were people who told me to write 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:55.240 one a long time ago, but it wasn't the right time. 0:00:55.520 --> 0:00:57.880 So State of Emergency is out. This book has been 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:04.160 dedicated to my child, so that's a whole another thing. Congratulations, 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.000 the book is dope. You know, I've got a little 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.120 sneak peek and you know it's it's a celebration man. 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:12.880 You know, State of emergency man, and what the state 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:16.000 of emergency? Whatever way to start our show off is 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:18.240 just like talk about things that are going on in 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:22.200 this world that that contribute to being the state of emergency. 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.560 You know, Um, I was looking in the news the 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:28.960 other day as young girl for the Cows daughter has 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:34.520 been missing. Wow, it's just crazy when we think about it. Man, 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:38.959 so many things, so much death is happening. We've student 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.840 in Buffalo just disappeared. You know, nobody has seen, you know, 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.119 for they Cow somebody I know from the hip hop industry, 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:50.040 you know, and it's it's I just can only imagine 0:01:50.880 --> 0:01:53.200 what he must be going through. We just want to 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:56.920 if you see her, if you have any information, please 0:01:56.960 --> 0:02:00.280 reach out, you know, and and I would regard and 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:05.400 our love and our prayers go out to the m 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:08.960 for sure. For sure. That's that. It's very touching. As 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:12.000 a young girl who used to be a runaway. Um. 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:16.120 You know, I now understand how traumatizing that was for 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:19.320 my parents. Um. And you know, I don't wish it 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:22.000 on anyone. And my mom would say my dad that 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:24.840 they don't wish it on anyone for their child to 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:29.320 just disappear, you know. And I did that several times 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:31.880 to them. I was a terrible kid. I just you know. 0:02:31.960 --> 0:02:35.119 So I called my parents now and I just apologized 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:39.080 for everything. Every week I called him and I started 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:41.799 from a and go to ze saying I'm sorry, mom, Dad, 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:43.960 I'm so Sorry, I'm sorry I did this. Sorry I 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.120 did that because I put them through a lot before 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:51.359 we get into the rest of the show. I'm trying 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:59.160 to understand in my thought of the day, I don't 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:02.920 even know all what Kevin Samuels has said because I 0:03:02.960 --> 0:03:05.520 don't listen to him. I think maybe one day I 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:09.240 actually listened to something that he said, and I felt, um, 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:12.399 the way in which he was speaking. Um. While there 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.720 may have been a truthful line here or there, it 0:03:15.840 --> 0:03:20.800 really was very disrespectful and condescending, particularly to black women, 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.399 and so I just turned him off. I tuned him out. 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:29.520 And that's it. Why are people listening to, sharing content 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:34.560 of and critiquing Kevin Samuels. If we don't like him, 0:03:34.840 --> 0:03:38.800 or if many women feel disgusted with the things that 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:43.160 he says, why not just turn him off? Because that's 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.080 what I've done. I've just I tuned it out. When 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.480 I see him on my timeline, I scroll fast. I 0:03:49.520 --> 0:03:54.200 don't give him more attention than he actually deserves. I 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:56.600 gotta answer for you. It might not be one that 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.720 you like, right, It's like asking the same question, why 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.800 do women date men that treat him like ship? Why 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:06.480 do women could constantly date the same type of dude 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:09.640 that they say, Oh, he's disrespectful to me. He says 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:12.360 this to me. But you you constantly see a lot 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:15.440 of women, not all women, So this is not all women. 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:19.640 There are women who like unlike yourself. You say, you 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:22.279 he don't say things that make you feel, right, you 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:24.640 don't like what he says, so you tune them out. 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:29.160 The woman who are constantly watching him, although they say 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.520 they don't like what he's saying, they they actually have, 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:36.480 they actually have something that they're attracted to, and what 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.200 he's saying right, And when you listen to Kevin Samuels, 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.440 I don't like the delivery. You know, they are you know, 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:46.200 and and sometimes people laugh at it because he's condescending, 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.000 and you know he's um. He says things in the 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:53.279 manner and he's like he's um trying to scold the 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:57.360 woman or trying to do do things that degrade them. 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:00.400 And I agree with that, But when you listen to 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:03.839 what he's actually saying, there are a lot of facts 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:06.400 inside what he's saying. I just think he has to 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:09.800 change his delivery. So I think it's a multitude of things. 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:12.000 I think a lot of women, although they say they 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.440 don't like to be treated a certain way. A lot 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:17.640 of women do. And they can constantly date the same 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:20.560 man and they constantly seek the same information and the 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.680 same content that they say they don't like. And we've 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:26.840 seen that throughout history. And then there is the truthful 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:28.760 part of it, the parts of it that he says 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.600 that actually makes sense that they're actually trying to get 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:34.800 information from. Because women are still trying to figure men out. 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:37.200 They don't listen to their own man. A lot of women, 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.920 not all women. There are women who be in a 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.720 house with a man all day and he could be saying, hey, 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:44.279 I want you to do this, so I don't like 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:46.479 this and that, and they ignore what he says. But 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.880 Kevin Samuels is saying the exact same thing that the 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:53.120 man you've been living with for four for ten years, 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:55.480 and you were like, oh, I'm starting to get it now, 0:05:55.520 --> 0:05:57.560 but you didn't listen to the man who said it. 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:00.520 So it's it's it's it's a combination of things. Well, 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:05.080 but my thing is now I'm I'm recalling the one time. 0:06:05.920 --> 0:06:08.000 First of all, I don't even know where Kevin Samuels 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:11.760 came from, but I'm recalling the one time that I 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:16.680 did actually listen to him, and it was where he 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:20.520 was telling a woman that she like wasn't good enough 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:24.039 or it wasn't attractive enough to get the type of 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.240 man that she wanted. I'm trying to figure out from 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:31.839 you what is so truthful about that? Because when you 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:36.480 say not attractive enough, who gets to determine that only 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:40.239 the man who actually is either interested in the woman 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.760 or not, and the and and and and being attractive 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:46.480 means more than just how you look on the outside. 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:49.800 So maybe I didn't listen to it deeply enough because 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.039 as soon as I heard that, I turned it off. 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:55.159 But I'm just trying to understand where is it that 0:06:55.240 --> 0:06:59.160 he's saying things that's truthful. We need our brother Angelo 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:05.640 and this conversation Asian because he got plenty to say 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:08.719 about this topic. But I'm just trying to understand what 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:12.880 is he saying that is so truthful. You know, in 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.720 those instances that you know, beauties in the eyes to beholder, right, 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.840 So he made his own personal decision based on what 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:22.120 he's seen as beauty, and that's and that's you know, subjective. 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:24.520 He's not if she's not trying to get with him, 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:29.239 then his opinion on how she looks physically doesn't even matter. Right, 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.360 he gave her an assessment based on his personal preference. Right. 0:07:33.640 --> 0:07:38.680 But in totality, what happens is women have a criteria 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:42.040 for men. Right, we're women. There are not old women, 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.560 because we're not gonna look all women into anything. But 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:47.840 there are a particular category of women. Right. There is 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:51.600 the hot girl summer category. There is what we're hearing 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:54.480 the music. There's what Megan the stallion and talkers, what Cardi? 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:57.680 What they're talking about. They wanted a man broke. Niggers 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:00.480 don't deserve No, I don't, that's right, right, So there's 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:02.960 a concept that a man does not have a certain 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:05.840 amount of money, right, doesn't have a certain amount of possessions, 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:09.560 doesn't possess certain things, doesn't look a certain way or whatever. 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:13.200 Then they're not interested in that said man, and women 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:16.520 applaud that all the time. They repeat those same parts 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.840 of the song because that's what they feel. And a 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:22.400 man might say, well, who gives her the right to 0:08:22.440 --> 0:08:24.720 say the amount of money I got is not good 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:28.200 enough for who? Is not good enough for that individual woman? 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:30.520 Just like the man is able to look at a 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:33.600 woman to say she's not physically attractive enough for me, 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:35.560 or if I'm saying, if I was a man who 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:38.680 had all those things, would I'd be interested in in 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:43.079 giving those things to this woman? So it's subjective. So 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:46.640 he's able to give his opinion based on if if 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:48.839 he is I don't know what his financial situation, I 0:08:48.840 --> 0:08:51.120 don't know any of those things. But he's able to 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.880 give his assessment coming from a person that if I 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:57.600 was in that position, would you be someone that would 0:08:57.640 --> 0:09:00.480 be a candidate to receive those things, just like women 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:03.560 are able to make those same assessments about a man 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.319 that they would deal with based on what he looks 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:09.480 like or what he has. M H, I mean, I 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:12.720 guess I hear what you're saying. I'm just I'm just 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:16.640 not sure that any of this is really that helpful. 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:21.160 That's just my opinion. I understand everything you said, and 0:09:21.200 --> 0:09:24.120 I do think that there is going to like Like 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:28.559 I I spend most of my time debating politics and 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:33.559 talking about the political aspect and the social justice aspect 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:36.760 of the world, and so sometimes you kind of like 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:42.439 you miss out on the other conversations things Because now 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.920 him and Dr Umar Johnson right a beef and dr 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:49.199 Umar is saying that I call it a beef. But 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:55.240 they've been having back and forth, but they're having, you know, 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:59.120 a disagreement to where Umar is saying that Kevin Samuels 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:06.360 it's can money off, you know, diminishing, demeaning black women. 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:10.880 And there's definitely an argument for that, you know. And 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:16.400 what I what I say is this right. Everybody has 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:22.080 something a way that they communicate, right, some people don't 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:24.920 get a message certain ways. I don't. I don't need 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.640 Kevin Sanduels to deliver that. You don't need Kevin Samuels 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.120 to deliver a message. And man, if you probably having 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.679 a conversation with him, it probably went last two seconds 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:36.360 because the minute he says to you, like what mom, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.320 won't he be donna cut you off? The women that 0:10:38.440 --> 0:10:44.000 he is right, they actually are. If you go to 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:48.439 Kevin Samuels Instagram Live, it's like ten fifteen thousand people 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:52.120 on it at any given time because they're entertained. You know, 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:55.560 they're actually getting something from him. So maybe it's just entertainment. 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:58.520 The Internet, like I said, the Internet has become accesspool 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:02.280 as it is in out of these things are you know, 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:05.440 just a result of where we are in society. So, 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:09.760 you know, Kevin Samuels is entertainment to some people. Some 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:14.080 people don't enjoy his particular form of entertainment. Drumar Johnson 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:16.920 feels like it's demeaning woman, And I could definitely see 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.400 where that point of view come from. Like you said, 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:21.760 if it's somebody saying something that you don't agree with 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:25.560 just to now, Yeah, and I think it is. I 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:30.880 think it is definitely entertainment for too many people. But 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:35.160 there are also some women who have been unable to 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:39.600 find the love of their lives, um, the you know, 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:43.200 someone who's always had low self esteem, who's never really 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:48.160 truly believed in herself, um. And some men who are 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:51.360 who are inflated in a way by the things that 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:55.280 he's saying. And I think it seeps into the mentality 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:59.360 and it may have a negative impact. So you know, 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:02.960 I'm I'm to know for Kevin Samuels not saying again 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:07.360 that I don't believe there should be healthy sarcastic funny, 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:11.320 um whatever debate, But I do feel like the level 0:12:11.520 --> 0:12:14.640 of the tone and some of the ways in which 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:19.600 he delivers his messaging is pretty damaging. So that's just 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:22.600 my opinion. I agree I can, you know, I can 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.280 definitely see that. But I just also want women to 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:30.800 understand that when we hear music, you know, we hear 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:33.520 a lot of artists and women talking about a man 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:35.480 has to have this, and if he ain't got that, 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:38.720 and he ain't doing this, and our women repeat those things. 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:41.840 They also heard a man self esteem right, and a 0:12:41.880 --> 0:12:44.200 man man are trying to live up to a certain 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:47.600 caliber in which they think women want. You know, they 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:49.800 don't feel like they fit into a category because they 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:51.960 don't have all this jury and all this money, and 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.800 they don't look a certain way and in certain things. 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:58.319 So men are dealing with those same insecurities. I ain't rich, 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:00.200 what I wasn'tbody to love me for what I am. 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:03.400 You got to be able to get the hotel, honey, 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.640 you got to be able to you know what I mean, 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.080 take me out to dinner. At least you know what 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:11.520 I'm saying. But you know, it's all in the eyes 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:17.120 of the beholder, as you said. And with that said, 0:13:17.600 --> 0:13:20.400 that brings us to one of my favorite segments. The 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:23.959 streets is talking this dope book that my sister has dropped. 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.480 It is out now, state of emergency. If you do 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:30.199 not have it. If you have not ordered it, make 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:33.679 sure you go get it right right now. Congratulations to 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:37.080 Meeka again on this dope book. You know, I know 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.240 what you put into this. You know, it is compelling. 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:43.440 So many different things in this book that's gonna keep 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:46.560 you in tune, It's gonna educate you, it's gonna bring 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:49.840 you do different emotions. I'm in there, you know, so 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:52.080 many different things. And I'm in there, you know, And 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:54.120 there's so many and I'm in there and I'm this plan. 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.320 But the book is dope. And to talk about the 0:13:57.360 --> 0:13:59.520 state of emergency. We have a lot of our friends 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.719 here today, people who are on the front lines of 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:05.520 this movement, who've been doing this work for years. You know, 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:08.760 we always have friends, you know. Unfortunately, our friends are 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.400 the ones doing the work. So we're gonna get into 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:15.480 this panel, this esteemed panel we have today with the 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:20.080 front line, essential workers, the ones who are on the ground. Yes, 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.800 our friends, and I'm so excited to have this group 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:27.800 of individuals to celebrate with me that my book has 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:32.600 just been released. If anyone hasn't gotten your copy yet, 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:36.000 you can click links and bios and get all the 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:40.120 information right here for where you can get your copy 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.040 a State of Emergency. Today, we're being joined by UM, 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:48.160 a group of individuals who know so well that this 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:51.200 country is in trouble and have been doing a lot 0:14:51.280 --> 0:14:55.840 of work to ensure that all of our people are held. 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.920 Let's introduced really quickly, because you know, street politicians are 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:03.000 Segments sometimes can be short, but we're gonna bring each 0:15:03.000 --> 0:15:05.960 and every one of these individuals back to give them 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.200 their own segments to talk about the issues. UM. We 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:15.120 have Eddie Baccanegra who is with Heartland Alliance in Chicago. 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:19.360 Carmen Perez, our dear sister. Uh she's she is an 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:24.000 honorary co chair of Until Freedom, and we're honorary co 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:28.320 chairs of Justice League and the Gathering for Justice. Thank you, Carmen, 0:15:28.720 --> 0:15:32.520 Erica Ford of Life Camp and pastor Mike of Live Free. 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:36.360 Let me just start by saying that in State of Emergency, 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:40.440 I did something that is controversial to some but well 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:44.240 understood to others, which is to have Cardi b and 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:48.040 Angela Davis right the forward of my book by being 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.800 in conversation with one another. There are a lot of 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.520 people who said they didn't understand that there are other 0:15:53.520 --> 0:15:57.760 people who get it. Quickly that Cardi. First of all, 0:15:57.800 --> 0:16:01.200 I am a mix between Cardi B and Angela Davis 0:16:01.240 --> 0:16:04.200 on any given day. That's my reality, that's my truth, 0:16:04.640 --> 0:16:07.080 right and I lived by that. I believe you can 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:09.640 work and work at the same time, and it's as 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:13.280 long as you do the work. Um. But the conversation 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.520 that happens is where Cardi is basically asking Angela Davis, 0:16:17.880 --> 0:16:20.040 because I am not buttoned up, I don't have it 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:23.920 all together. Is there space at the table in this 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:27.400 fight for justice next to you, someone who we respect 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:32.760 so much? And Angela Davis replies to Cardi Um in 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:36.200 a way that is so powerful and intriguing, where she's 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:39.720 basically saying, not only are you welcome, but it is 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:43.800 your duty to be involved. Um, that it matters not 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:48.240 how we entertain. It matters though, what we do to 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:52.400 fight for the protection of our rights and for generations 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:56.000 to come. And she tells this powerful story about a 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.880 conversation that she had while sitting in a jail cell 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:02.680 with Nina's Simon. Now, I didn't know you could visit 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:05.840 people in their jail cell at one time, but clearly 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:09.600 Angela Davis could have visits in her jail cell and 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.440 Nina Simone was there. And I'm not gonna tell you much. 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:15.480 I'm not gonna tell you about the conversation because I 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:17.240 need you to get the book and read it. But 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:19.800 it's something that is so impactful, and I think this 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:24.960 group of individuals really um You all exemplify that we 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:28.400 bring the streets and the sweets together every single day. 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.440 Just recently passed the Mike, there was some real powerful 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:34.520 stuff that happened in Washington, d C. You and Erica 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.560 have been a part of the efforts to get this 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:41.800 administration to focus on gun violence and not to wait 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:46.000 until we have twenty thirty forty more incidents, whether they 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.800 be mass shootings or the shootings that we see happening 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:52.119 in our communities every day. Tell us about it and 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.439 what do we need to be doing as a community 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:57.080 to be involved in this new work that we are 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:02.960 really really celebrating because it is truly transformative and historic 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:06.679 what the administration has done. Well. First, it's great to 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:10.280 be with you both, uh y'all the comrades and homies, legends, 0:18:10.320 --> 0:18:13.040 living legends, making sure we organize in the streets and 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:16.000 activating the streets the people closest to the pain and 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:20.320 so UM, all of us come from the communities that 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.159 we know, we love, and we care about, and ATEN, 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:27.080 that's not the conversation. UM. We have indeed embarked and 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:31.960 seeing a historic movement by this administration. Folks who have 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:36.560 understood that, UM, if we did indeed put all of 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:40.120 our reputations are hard work on the line to get 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:44.280 this administration in office. UM. This administration owes the streets, 0:18:44.320 --> 0:18:46.360 they owe the hood that old black people, they owe 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:52.160 brown people, unequivocally, unapologetically, full stop. And we realized that 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:55.680 for many of the communities where we come from, gun violence, 0:18:55.760 --> 0:19:00.200 intra communal violence, interpersonal violence that rises to the lethality 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:04.600 of using weapons that take lives, it's often only met 0:19:04.640 --> 0:19:08.679 with one singular response, and that's policing. UM, that's incarceration, 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:11.960 that's more violence. UM. And we figured what would it 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:14.800 look like for us to make sure that the Biden 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:18.480 administration lived into the commitment that they made UM during 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:22.360 their own campaigning along with many others in the Democratic Party. UH, 0:19:22.400 --> 0:19:25.960 in the early part of this year, UH, the team 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:28.960 had to sit down with Susan Rice and Cedric Richmond 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:32.520 and put on the table a five billion dollar apps 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:37.880 to invest community UM violence initiatives to invest community VIACE initiatives, 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:40.040 and over the course of a couple of months they 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:43.200 were able to not only say yes to that investment, 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:47.440 but also changed about twenty five programs inside five agencies 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:51.240 to open up about ten billion more dollars. So this 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:54.760 is a historic moment, it's historic movement. Um. We certainly 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:56.960 have to get the resources down to the streets and 0:19:57.000 --> 0:19:59.240 to the communities on the front lines and make sure, 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:03.360 you know, big white groups or uh you know, uh 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:06.480 poverty pimps don't come and raid that money. Um. But 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:09.800 you know, the journey of a thousand miles started one step, 0:20:09.800 --> 0:20:11.919 and it is one huge, big step, and it's a 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:15.200 testament to the power of the people organized and working together. Eddie, 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.119 listening to what passed the Mike just said, and you 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:22.360 were a part of this cohort, if you will fighting 0:20:22.480 --> 0:20:26.800 to ensure that their resources getting to the ground, what 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:29.439 does this mean for the work that you're doing in 0:20:29.480 --> 0:20:33.399 a place like Chicago. I think, first and foremost, we 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:35.720 have to understand right that for two, for too long, 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:38.600 rite the issue of gun violence has been plaguing in 0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:40.959 our communities for way too long. So if you think 0:20:41.000 --> 0:20:43.360 about the West Side of Chicago the South Side of Chicago, 0:20:43.480 --> 0:20:47.280 two areas, right that are typically known for high increase 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:50.119 of violence. Um uh. And if I think about the 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:52.760 West Side as example, in the nineties sixties, when we 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:54.920 had the civil rights movement with Marthon the King marching 0:20:54.960 --> 0:20:57.240 the streets, there was a lot of protesting, a lot 0:20:57.240 --> 0:21:01.479 of rioting, a lot of looting. Those communities fifties six 0:21:01.560 --> 0:21:05.600 years later are still um recovering from that. So that 0:21:05.720 --> 0:21:09.119 to me demonstrates, right, fifties sixty years of this investment 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:12.080 in these communities, Like the reason why we see so 0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:15.480 much high prevalence violence and specific areas across the country, 0:21:15.880 --> 0:21:18.560 and we're not surprised our black and brown communities. It's 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:21.480 because of the same reasons, right, that we see systemic 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:24.560 oppressions that we're grappling with today, Like we are literally 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:29.280 reaping right the collaoribal consequences of bad policies from the 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:31.679 nineteen eighties and the nineteen nineties, whether it's war on 0:21:31.720 --> 0:21:34.840 drugs or whether it's the child predator lass that under 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:38.479 Clinson administration also put out there. Right. So, so again 0:21:38.760 --> 0:21:41.840 this is my my no coincidence. I think the fact 0:21:41.960 --> 0:21:45.920 that we're able to encourage the Biden administration, the first 0:21:45.920 --> 0:21:49.200 president to actually commit five billion dollars to gun violence. 0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:52.920 Speaks to the testament, right, what a small group of individuals, 0:21:53.080 --> 0:21:57.160 very grassroots individuals, are able to actually continue to advocate 0:21:57.240 --> 0:22:01.560 and push forward for these communities. Those dollars benefit programs 0:22:01.600 --> 0:22:04.840 like where to Chicago, benefit programs that are taking place 0:22:04.840 --> 0:22:08.200 in Oakland, California, in Richmond, they are taking place in 0:22:08.240 --> 0:22:12.080 East Louis, New York, and so on. And the bottom 0:22:12.080 --> 0:22:13.800 line at the end of the day, right, is that 0:22:14.720 --> 0:22:16.879 we have to continue to invest in these communities in 0:22:16.880 --> 0:22:19.840 the way that makes since in terms of addressing the 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:23.240 trauma that many of the individuals that were serving actually need. 0:22:24.280 --> 0:22:27.680 In terms of addressing the economic instability that exists in 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:32.720 our communities, it's also eradicating poverty. Thank you, so, one 0:22:32.760 --> 0:22:37.640 more question for you, um so. Recently, a reality star 0:22:37.840 --> 0:22:43.320 and artists named Safari tweeted when the seven year old 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:48.240 baby was killed there in Chicago just recently, young Lady 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:52.919 um He tweeted that he wanted to know why people 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:56.679 were not so upset about the death of a little 0:22:56.760 --> 0:23:01.400 girl and and in comparison to how we protests against 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:06.000 police um, and I tweeted back at him and said, 0:23:06.400 --> 0:23:10.760 there are a number of organizations in Chicago that actually 0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:14.159 needs support and have been doing the work. And I 0:23:14.200 --> 0:23:18.760 think that it is uh, it is it's a disingenuous narrative, 0:23:18.920 --> 0:23:21.920 if you will, it could seem as though people are 0:23:22.000 --> 0:23:26.760 not out there trying to decrease gun violence who also 0:23:27.000 --> 0:23:30.200 understand that we have to stop the violence from police 0:23:30.280 --> 0:23:33.760 in our communities as well. Um, I think it's false 0:23:33.880 --> 0:23:36.480 narratives and I don't think that they should be put 0:23:36.520 --> 0:23:39.320 in the same context because do we need people to 0:23:39.440 --> 0:23:42.880