1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Media, what up it could happen here? It's your favorite 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: cousin prop. Y'all already know what it is. I'm about 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: to black this mug up because y'all don't be blacking 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: it up enough anyway. All over our country there's this 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: sort of narrative around crime which is verifiably false. But 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: we also understand that a lot of times the feeling 7 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: of crime and safety is a lot of times it's 8 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:33,600 Speaker 1: a vibe like it's kind of how it feels. You 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 1: could tell me the crime rates is down across America, 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: but in my city, if I still feel like you know, 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: I'm saying not safe or safe, you know your perception 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: of that. 13 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 2: Anyway, the point I'm. 14 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: Trying to make is there are truly verifiable, data driven 15 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: ways to actually create safety and reduce harm in a city, 16 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,959 Speaker 1: and a lot of that is around trust and services. 17 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: So what I decided to do, y'all, is to bring 18 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: y'all who I lovingly called the Nipsey Hustle of Saint Louis, 19 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: Ladies and gentleman. Can I introduce you to the homeboy. 20 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 3: Thisle with the red shirt on? 21 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: Well, look, man, you already flamed up. I wasn't gonna 22 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:14,199 Speaker 1: bring up. 23 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 2: The flame of it all. 24 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 4: I'm like, gotta throw the shirt off a problem. Oh Man, 25 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 4: happy to be here. 26 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 2: Man, We happy to have you. 27 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 3: Bro. 28 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: That was the one that's funny because that's the one 29 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: asterisk next to your name with me? Is all that 30 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: red you beware? 31 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 3: Hey man. 32 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 2: I was a little yeah, I know you gotta be 33 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 2: who you are. 34 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: I would not respect you were you to not be 35 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:41,279 Speaker 1: flying your whoop. 36 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:42,040 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. 37 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 5: So I appreciate. He said, Look, that's what I love it. 38 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:49,680 Speaker 5: We're gonna get into it. So we're gonna get into it. 39 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 2: So this is like I said, the Nipsey Hustle of 40 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 2: Saint Louis. 41 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: When we first met, I had no idea people out 42 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: there really actually said yes. I thought that was a joke. 43 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,040 Speaker 1: I thought y'all was doing too much. And then I 44 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 1: met this and he was like, oh, it's over there 45 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: right there. I was like, wait, y'all really say that? 46 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: No joke at all, that's really y'allud. That's really how 47 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: we talk. We really talk. 48 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 4: And the crazy thing is I slowed down talking, you 49 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 4: know what I'm saying. 50 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 3: Sometimes it'd be like here in there, but if I 51 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 3: get to go away and be like her. 52 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 2: He yo, yup, yup, cald switch. 53 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: All right, perfect, So first of all, let's tell him 54 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: what you do now, so kind of give them brief 55 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: introduction who you are, what you're doing, and then we'll 56 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: go to the origin story. 57 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,399 Speaker 4: So like he said, my ain't this Travis Tyler. That's 58 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 4: what my mom and name from Saint Louis, Missouri. And man, 59 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,520 Speaker 4: I'll be trying to figure out what am I sometimes 60 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 4: like for real, even when I was doing music, I 61 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 4: never felt like I was a rapper. Yeah, I felt 62 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 4: like I was an artist, you know. And I still 63 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 4: feel like I'm an artist in the sense of the 64 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 4: word now because I create things from inspiration, you know, alchemy. 65 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 4: I create from the mind. But I'm not what you 66 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 4: would consider an activist. I'm not a politician, but like 67 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 4: I'm always in the middle of something that's happening, and 68 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 4: that's how I've always been. And I have a passion 69 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 4: for the youth of urban community, especially black youth. I 70 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 4: have a passion for black men, especially black men that 71 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 4: are either trying to escape the reality of street life 72 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 4: or black men that are being re entered into society 73 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 4: from prison. I have a passion for the rebuilding of 74 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 4: the black community. So my whole life, that's pretty much 75 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 4: been my thing, no matter what space I've landed in, 76 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 4: it's always been my thing when it comes to community. 77 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 3: And so that's it, man, Like I'm wearing. 78 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 4: The shirt is actually like one hundred from my mentor program, 79 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 4: my mentor inner city youth ages teen to seventeen. 80 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, not just. 81 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 4: Setting up some of the mentor them, but creating the 82 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 4: rights of passage, right, creating a pathway, intentional pathway, like 83 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 4: I think a lot of time with inner city youth, 84 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 4: well I ain't even to say inner city youth, especially 85 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,480 Speaker 4: with fatherless yes young men, whether wherever they're in the world, 86 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 4: whether it's the suburban neighborhood or the inner city or 87 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 4: rural or third world country. With fatherless young men, they 88 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:35,440 Speaker 4: tend to lack, some of us, a passage way of oh, 89 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 4: this is who you can become, this is what you 90 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 4: need to do to become it, because there's no one 91 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 4: to really guide them. So with our mentoring program, that's 92 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:46,320 Speaker 4: my goal, not just with mentor young men and send 93 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:48,800 Speaker 4: them home and try to keep them out of trouble, 94 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 4: but help them identify who they are and who they 95 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 4: were born to be and help them get to their place. 96 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, and you still got that group home joint, right. 97 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:00,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, so the group on it's funny on an interview. 98 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 4: Now, I just stepped down from the Friday Okay, but 99 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 4: it was a good thing. 100 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:05,840 Speaker 3: It wasn't a negative. 101 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,560 Speaker 4: So I ran it for like a year and a half, 102 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 4: helped rebuild the program, brought it up to the modern age. Yeah, 103 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,920 Speaker 4: staffed creating new things for the boys, learned a lot 104 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:20,679 Speaker 4: myself in the process, and now I'm going full throttle 105 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 4: into shaping out my Flight one hundred program. Yeah, because 106 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 4: the end goal, like one of my end goals is 107 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 4: to build a school. Yeah, Flight one hundred Academy all boys, 108 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 4: keep the same boys from kindergarten to twelfth grade. 109 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 3: Wow, that's my mission. Yeah. 110 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:42,200 Speaker 1: What I truly enjoyed about what you're doing is at 111 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:44,480 Speaker 1: least with the group on and the mentoring thing is 112 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: the trust factor in the sense that you know, when 113 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:50,680 Speaker 1: you get involved, especially in the juvenile system, like they 114 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: tell you that your record sealed, they say that, Yeah, yeah, 115 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, But like in practice, it's 116 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: not the thing. So, like I think oftentimes if there's 117 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 1: a step between getting into Juvie or into Central. You 118 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, If there's an in between step, 119 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: if somebody could come in the middle of that and 120 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:12,040 Speaker 1: stay look, let. 121 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,000 Speaker 2: Little homie stay with us, you know what I'm saying. 122 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 2: Or you know, let's say you caught a case. 123 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: And then every once in a while, like obviously both 124 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: of us can say this from like personal experience, every 125 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,599 Speaker 1: once in a while, you might score a judge on 126 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: a good day. You know, you score a judge on 127 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:29,279 Speaker 1: a good day, and they say, I tell you what 128 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:31,920 Speaker 1: I heard of this program over on the other side 129 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: of town. You could either do this you have say it, 130 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: or you could go to Camp Rocket you know out here, 131 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: that's what it was like. You can go to Rocky 132 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: or you can go to this program and like ten 133 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: out of ten, I'm gonna be like, let's go to 134 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: this program. But sometimes that program be just as bad, 135 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying. But if it's ran by 136 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: somebody who has been through the system, who understands it 137 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: and knows that like here are the traps, here's are 138 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: the ways for which I know I was taking advantage 139 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:02,920 Speaker 1: of I was abused, And this's what we're not gonna 140 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: do here. 141 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. The goal is for you 142 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 2: to never come back to this. 143 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:08,360 Speaker 3: You make a valid point. 144 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 4: One of the reasons I believe God allowed me to 145 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 4: go back into the space with the group home was 146 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 4: bro Honestly, you will be surprised how I'm trying. 147 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 3: To word this in a good way, but I don't 148 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,040 Speaker 3: think it is one you say. 149 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 2: However, you won't. 150 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 4: You will be surprised how messed up the foster cursistum is. 151 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 3: Yeah. 152 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 2: Yeah. 153 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 3: A lot of these kids get pulled out of their homes. 154 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 4: So the group home that I was at, mostly all 155 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 4: of our boys they came from environments where they have 156 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 4: been taken from their parents. 157 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, And so I was under the transition to living 158 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 3: group home. 159 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 4: So my objective, my daily task was to teach a 160 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 4: group of young men how to transition into manhood, how 161 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 4: to go. 162 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 3: Out on their own, pay their bills, live on their own. 163 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 3: All this. 164 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 4: You'll be surprised, though. These kids get pulled from their 165 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 4: homes and their parents. Yeah, and they're saying to them, oh, 166 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 4: We're going to send you somewhere. 167 00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 2: Better, better, yeah, yeah, yeah. 168 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 4: And the places that they send them to do more 169 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 4: harm to them than their whole Like they're sitting in 170 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 4: there with people that are worse than their parents, and 171 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 4: one they don't have a voice to advocate for them. 172 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,520 Speaker 3: So here I am right now. It's crazy. 173 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 4: A few months back, I was like, I'm gonna talk 174 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 4: about this every chance I get. 175 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 3: Which is crazy. 176 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 4: They don't have nobody to advocate for them, because I'm 177 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 4: sure there are people that have been through the foster 178 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 4: curve system, but for some reason, people see that stigma. 179 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 4: They're probably celebrities that have been through foster curve, but 180 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,800 Speaker 4: they see it as a stigma, like, oh, they didn't 181 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 4: want to talk about that. 182 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 3: Pot all my parent gave me up. I don't know 183 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 3: who my parent is. 184 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 4: I was in you know, whatever the case is, they 185 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 4: don't have nobody to advocate. 186 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, these kids, a lot of these kids. 187 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:54,839 Speaker 4: Are treated so poorly in these places that the loss 188 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 4: should step in. People tend to not understand why they 189 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,599 Speaker 4: act the way they act. Yeah, you got to think ultimately, 190 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 4: you are walking into a child's home and you're kidnapping them. 191 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,120 Speaker 2: That's what you're doing. Really. Yeah? 192 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:08,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, so if I. 193 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 4: Come to your house at eight nine o'clock at night 194 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 4: when I was fourteen, Me, my cousins, my brother, a 195 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 4: bunch of my siblings were taken from my mom and 196 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 4: my aunt. 197 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:20,440 Speaker 3: Right. 198 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 4: I watched it from across the street because I was 199 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 4: over my friend's house. Holy swooped up. Social workers swooped up. 200 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 4: It's nighttime. You go into somebody's house, you take their child. 201 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 4: They don't know where you're taking their child to. Yeah, 202 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,200 Speaker 4: the child doesn't know where they're going. And then they 203 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,600 Speaker 4: get to the residential or the group home and they 204 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 4: acting a fool. And you got a bunch of unqualified, 205 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 4: untrained staff members there. They don't know how to deal 206 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,560 Speaker 4: with them neither. That's just looking for a job. And 207 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 4: when they get there, they talking about why they acting 208 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 4: like this. Come on, man, if somebody just came to 209 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 4: your house and took you from your current you will 210 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:00,440 Speaker 4: be acting the same way. And if you weren't, you 211 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,319 Speaker 4: saw basically, let's just be rial. Yeah, yeah, you just saw. 212 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:05,679 Speaker 4: You're gonna sit there and all night. These kids they 213 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 4: acting out because they've been abducted basically in their mind. 214 00:10:10,280 --> 00:10:12,120 Speaker 3: And even Pat Wade beyond that point. 215 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,079 Speaker 4: I know most people have seen if you having the 216 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 4: movie Dot Sit where they talk about the shackling family 217 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,600 Speaker 4: and how they basically made dose fans out of the 218 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 4: whole West Virginia with oxy coati You know, oxy code 219 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:27,679 Speaker 4: ain't how do you want to pronounce it? And they 220 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 4: showing the movie how these doctors were getting these kickbacks 221 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 4: introducing the drugs to the patients in West Virginia. Bro, 222 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:42,680 Speaker 4: who better to prack them on own with drugs than children? 223 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 2: We ain't got no parents that nobody. 224 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 3: Cares them out. 225 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:47,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, Bro. 226 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 4: They take these kids and they put them into the 227 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 4: system three four, five years old, and they started doping 228 00:10:55,880 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 4: them from day one, man five dose dop and over 229 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 4: and over, switch them out, put them on something else. Well, 230 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:04,880 Speaker 4: let me see how this don't work. Switch them out 231 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:06,559 Speaker 4: and put them on something else. By the time they 232 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 4: got to me at eighteen years old, they like bro frime, 233 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 4: yeah fried, And then you got you got case workers. 234 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,559 Speaker 4: They don't care about the kids. They don't call, they 235 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 4: don't come see them, they don't pick them up, they 236 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:19,640 Speaker 4: don't do none of these things. 237 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 3: And the kids sitting there feeling like they don't got 238 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 3: nobody in nowhere. 239 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,319 Speaker 4: So my main space that I function in right now, 240 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 4: especially for them, is to be an advocate every chance 241 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 4: that I get, I'm gonna talk about it so people 242 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 4: can put eyes on it. But also that's one of 243 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 4: the reasons that I'm building the things that I'm building, 244 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 4: so that we can have a space where it's like 245 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 4: now you don't have to go to because there are 246 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 4: a lot of people I already have the good ideas 247 00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 4: they have it. There are some good programs. Yeah, Like 248 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 4: there are good programs. Program that I was at, it's 249 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:51,240 Speaker 4: been around four hundred and sixty eight years. It's a 250 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 4: decent program So there are good programs that are out here. 251 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 4: But the whole system as a hall, it needs an overall. 252 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 4: So when I had an opportunity to keep behind the veil, 253 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 4: I was like, you know, you know me, I go 254 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 4: and get the talking. 255 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, I think obviously you talking that talk. But like 256 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: one of the things that you know, in the humanitarian 257 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:11,400 Speaker 1: space that I like I serve in, they have a 258 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: saying that says peace works at the speed of trust, 259 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: you know. So like even with all these good programs 260 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:31,920 Speaker 1: in different places, it's like, if these kids don't trust you, Yeah, 261 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: you brought up being removed from your family's house when 262 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: you was real young. I love to talk a little 263 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 1: bit about about the origin story, because obviously you wasn't 264 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:41,240 Speaker 1: always talking like this. 265 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:42,199 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. 266 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: And I think that that like legitimacy, you know, or 267 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: that realness that I'm sure no matter how doped up 268 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: or how painful them kids are, like, they can look 269 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: behind your eyes and say, okay, but he knows. Yeah, 270 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: So give me a little bit of that, get a 271 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,839 Speaker 1: little bit of the retired whooping all that. 272 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 4: Oh it's funny. I got this video on my page 273 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 4: that I posted. I started off saying, ain't nobody coming 274 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 4: to save you? 275 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:08,679 Speaker 2: Yeah? 276 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 4: And at the end of it, I go through this 277 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 4: story about being in the group home and all of that, 278 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,720 Speaker 4: and I say, have y'all ever seen the Marvel movies 279 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 4: where they like, this is your origin story? 280 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 3: I'm like, that's my origin story. Yeah. So for me, 281 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 3: that part of the group home was significant in my life, real, 282 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:29,760 Speaker 3: real significant. So before I went to the group home, 283 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 3: I was already outside. 284 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,319 Speaker 4: Yeah, like the like, there are a lot of things 285 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,000 Speaker 4: that I've experienced in this world that when I look back, 286 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 4: I just be like, Man, that's crazy. Bro. 287 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 3: When I was fourteen years old, me and my girlfriend 288 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:40,840 Speaker 3: were living together. 289 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 2: Crazy. 290 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:47,600 Speaker 4: Yeah, broh No, I slept in the beg fourteen every night. Yeah, 291 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,679 Speaker 4: with my girlfriend at fourteen, Like we basically lived again, 292 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 4: me and her in a room, her mom in the 293 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 4: next room, and so I was because of my mom's issues. 294 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,719 Speaker 4: Like I've been at this point, I've been my sole provider, 295 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,199 Speaker 4: you know, minus a short period of time her and there. 296 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 4: Whether it's like I went to live with my daddy 297 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:12,560 Speaker 4: and he sent me back orf with my grandma for 298 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,120 Speaker 4: a short period of time my grandfather. All of those 299 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 4: were short periods of time. But since I was like twelve, 300 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 4: I've been taking care of myself. So I was outside early, 301 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 4: like hustling making money so I can provide for myself. Fourteen, 302 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 4: like I said, I was living with my girlfriend. We 303 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,680 Speaker 4: were sleeping in the same bed. When I went to 304 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:34,680 Speaker 4: the group home, my mom, the caseworker, and the police 305 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 4: came and got me from her house and put me 306 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,000 Speaker 4: in a car, drove me two hours out of Saint 307 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:44,640 Speaker 4: Louis to a wrench little house out in the woods 308 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 4: town full of white people. Like I was a hoodie kid. 309 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 4: Like when they got me, true story, I had on 310 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 4: dicky overalls, like the zip up the brown boy. Yeah, 311 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 4: it's some boots like a baby. 312 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 3: Yeah. 313 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,840 Speaker 1: The Saint Louis, Like, I don't like the influence of 314 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: like West Coast culture, and it was very big out there. 315 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 1: So when he was like, yo, I'm zipped up and 316 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,200 Speaker 1: the Beanie and the Dickeys, like you would think you 317 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:09,120 Speaker 1: was in South Central. 318 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. 319 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 4: Yeah, So I had on a Bennie the zip up 320 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,240 Speaker 4: Dickey boy like yeah boo. So they took me out 321 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 4: to the woods and man, I got there, and when 322 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 4: I got there, it was the first time in my 323 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 4: life I think I felt that level of desperation. Yeah, 324 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 4: and hopelessness, huh, because I was supposed to stay there 325 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 4: until I was eighteen or twenty one. Those are their 326 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 4: words based off my behavior. I'm fourteen, so I'm in 327 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 4: my head like I'm from the beer six years like yeah, 328 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 4: So I'm meeting all these kids. They like, I'm been 329 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 4: here since I was this age, and I've been in 330 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 4: the system since I was this and they moved me 331 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 4: here and they so I'm hearing all these different stories 332 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 4: from different people. 333 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 3: And I'm just like, dang, it's crazy, you know. 334 00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 4: And then one day it was right after Christmas, I'm 335 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 4: sitting in her hindsight, I got a different perspective of it. Now. 336 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:59,120 Speaker 3: It's this kid. I never forget him. His name was Roger. 337 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 4: When I first met him the very first day that 338 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,360 Speaker 4: I came, he sat down beside me and he said, Man, 339 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 4: if my granddaddy was here, he wouldn't want me talking 340 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:08,120 Speaker 4: to you. And I was like, wow. He said because 341 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 4: he don't like black people. So I turned right to 342 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 4: him and said, why did you feel the need to 343 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 4: tell me that? 344 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 3: Right? 345 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 2: Why you tell me that? Yeah? 346 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 4: Like, I was like, you could have kept that to yourself. 347 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:18,800 Speaker 4: He like, I don't got nothing against black people. I'm 348 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 4: just saying my grandfather don't like black people. So I'm like, whatever, okay, cool. 349 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 2: Yeah. 350 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 4: It's like right after Christmas. Christmas Day, I was sitting 351 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 4: in the group home. Nobody called, Like, I was watching 352 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:32,640 Speaker 4: all the other kids. They getting gifts, they opening their 353 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 4: presents and yeah, depending on their program, some of them 354 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,520 Speaker 4: they get to go home. Like, so I'm sitting I 355 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 4: ain't nobody called me on, got no gifts, I don't 356 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 4: got nothing, And I'm just sitting in the chart like. 357 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 3: Just pissed all day basically. 358 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 4: Yeah, and uh, one of my workers came in later 359 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 4: that day. I seen her. She was talking to the lady. 360 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 4: The other lady was about to get off. They was 361 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,160 Speaker 4: behind me and I heard her talk and she say, 362 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 4: he just sitting there all day. 363 00:16:56,600 --> 00:16:57,240 Speaker 3: She was like yeah. 364 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 4: She like, did anybody call him or anything? She was like, 365 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,800 Speaker 4: She's like nobody. So I'm and it's crazy now that 366 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 4: I've been back in that space more than once. Yeah, 367 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 4: I've experienced that with kids, seeing them none and I 368 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 4: know what to dude, Like, I got you you know 369 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:15,680 Speaker 4: what I'm saying, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. And so I'm 370 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 4: sitting there at that point, She's like, Noah, you're just 371 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 4: sitting there all day. And so she went came out. 372 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:22,920 Speaker 4: She's like, hey, oh, what you doing. This lady played 373 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,399 Speaker 4: a significant role in my life. I wish I could 374 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 4: remember her name. Bro. 375 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:27,160 Speaker 2: Yeah. 376 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 3: Like so she was like what you're doing. 377 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,399 Speaker 4: I'm like nothing. She's like, you want to go to 378 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,120 Speaker 4: the store. I'm like to do what She like her, 379 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 4: I've got something for you. So the state gave each 380 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:41,120 Speaker 4: kid one hundred dollars Walmart gift card. Wow. 381 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,160 Speaker 3: So she like, you got a gift card the Walmart four. 382 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:46,120 Speaker 4: Hundred dollars bore. I had never been to Walmart before. 383 00:17:46,119 --> 00:17:48,600 Speaker 4: I ain't know what Walmart was. So I'm like, all right, man, 384 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:51,119 Speaker 4: let's go. We go to Walmart. I'm walking around. 385 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 2: He ain't never been to Walmart. 386 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,480 Speaker 4: I had never been to Walmart. Bro, walking around, I'm 387 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 4: looking around the store. I got this hundred bull Guess 388 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,880 Speaker 4: what I buy? No, lie, true story, white T shirt 389 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:07,560 Speaker 4: and some Dickies Yes, yes, yes, white T shirt and 390 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,240 Speaker 4: some Dickies out of waltmore than the Country. You're I 391 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 4: love it. So I grabbed the Dickys white tea. Go 392 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 4: back to the group home. I'm still mad because ain't 393 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:19,439 Speaker 4: nobody called me, Nobody came to see me, you know, 394 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,440 Speaker 4: none of that. And so the next few days, man, 395 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 4: me and dude, we always ended up in the living 396 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 4: room at the same time. And I'm I'm I'm mad. Yeah, 397 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 4: So fourteen. You gotta think when I was fourteen, Bro, 398 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 4: I was like probably six six foot six one. Yeah, 399 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 4: like one hundred and eighty two hundred pounds when I 400 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 4: was fourteen. 401 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:41,159 Speaker 3: Yeah. 402 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 4: And so while I'm married, they had some little weights. 403 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 4: I had started lifting weights everything. 404 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:46,760 Speaker 2: Oh man, so I'm programming. 405 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 3: I'm a big old kid. Yeah. 406 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:51,400 Speaker 4: So dude gets to talking crazy to me. We shit 407 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 4: in the living room. He like, man, what you doing boy? 408 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 4: So my conversation goes back to the first. 409 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 2: Time, like god. He races yeah, yeah, now and. 410 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 3: Now I know. I'm like what you mean boy? He like, 411 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 3: you heard me? 412 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:03,359 Speaker 4: Boy? 413 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 3: I'm like boy as in kid or boy as in racist. Yeah. 414 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 3: He like, boy, you heard me. 415 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 2: Now we're fighting. 416 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 4: I said, hey, bro, I'm gonna tell you this one 417 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 4: more time. Don't call me a boy again. 418 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,640 Speaker 3: Yeah. He said, what you gonna do? Boy? 419 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 2: Let that fool up? Yup, yup. 420 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:23,640 Speaker 4: I'm talking about right style, locked in, big night night, yup, 421 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 4: talk about it. 422 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 3: By the time they come in, I got him by 423 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 3: the back of the neck. Yeah, and I'm rubbing his 424 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 3: face across the carpet. 425 00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 2: Yeah. 426 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 3: I'm like, what you call me again? 427 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 4: He stayed. He say, you know, he's like boy, you 428 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:41,560 Speaker 4: hurt so now hindsight, though, when I look back, I 429 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 4: had to think and say, yeah, damn, me and him 430 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 4: were sitting there at the same time. I thought back 431 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,400 Speaker 4: and said, oh, he ain't had no visitors on Christmas steeven. Yeah, 432 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:53,639 Speaker 4: Oh he's man like me. 433 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:54,880 Speaker 2: He just as hurt as you. 434 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:57,440 Speaker 3: He was hurt. He ain't even know how the process. 435 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:00,159 Speaker 5: You the craziest storyteller ever like, cause I'm like, you 436 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 5: can get to the point, and I see. 437 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 3: It right now. I know, like, ain't know the process. 438 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:06,919 Speaker 3: So I rushed him up forever. 439 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 4: So when the people come in and they see me, 440 00:20:09,359 --> 00:20:12,200 Speaker 4: you know, they like, grab me up cause I'm six 441 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 4: foot yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's on your kid from the city. Yeah, 442 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 4: you know everybody record and story. They're coming to her. 443 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 4: So they know, like here gang member, he. 444 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,879 Speaker 3: Did he did? Yeah yeah, yeah, So I'm no bressing. 445 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,640 Speaker 4: They snatched me up, throw me in the room. They 446 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 4: took me in this room called an isolation room. This 447 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,959 Speaker 4: room is like an eight my chin. All the walls 448 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:31,520 Speaker 4: were metal. 449 00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. 450 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 4: The door was like this thick wood with a little 451 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 4: bitty wondering the thing on it. 452 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,720 Speaker 3: No way out unless they let you out in carpet 453 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,600 Speaker 3: on the floor. Bro. When they shut that door, I 454 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,120 Speaker 3: just lost it. Yeah. My brain said, you finna died 455 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 3: in her, ain't no way out. 456 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 4: Yeah, And I got to kick in the door. I 457 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 4: got to yelling, and I'm talking about Bro just was 458 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 4: wilding in that. But they just they paid me no mind. 459 00:20:57,119 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 4: They didn't even come to the door. 460 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 2: It don't make no difference until you down. 461 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 3: They like he can't get out. 462 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 4: And so this girl that I knew to her, she 463 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,560 Speaker 4: came and sat down by the bottom of the door 464 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 4: and talked under the thing, and she was like, hey, 465 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 4: you gotta come down. She's like, come down here. So 466 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 4: I laid down on the floor. I'm breathing through the 467 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:18,080 Speaker 4: crack like I'm breathing under the door. She like, you 468 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:20,680 Speaker 4: gotta calm down, like they never gonna let you out 469 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 4: of her they scared. She like, I'm out here, like 470 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 4: you gotta. So I'm just laying there regulating and I 471 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 4: go to sleep. Wow, and I wake up in the 472 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 4: middle of the night. I knock on the door. They 473 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,280 Speaker 4: let me out to use the bath on the dude 474 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:34,440 Speaker 4: like it was a big white dude used to be overnight. 475 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:36,479 Speaker 4: He was like, if I let you out or you're 476 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 4: gonna get the trip. And I said, nah, man, I 477 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:39,880 Speaker 4: just got to use the bathroom. I already then used 478 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 4: it there once. I'm like, I just want to go 479 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:42,119 Speaker 4: to the tarlet. 480 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah. 481 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:44,960 Speaker 3: So he's like, all right, come on, he let me out. 482 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 3: I went back in and he locked the door. 483 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 4: When I went back in there, bro, I said to myself, 484 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 4: this was my one of my origins, I said to myself, 485 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,240 Speaker 4: I said, when they let me out of her fourteen 486 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 4: years old, I said, I'm gonna be different. Yeah, I'm 487 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:01,919 Speaker 4: be in controlled, show the world who I am. Yeah, 488 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,720 Speaker 4: when they let me out, I played the game after 489 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 4: that every since. Yah. So I went to another group home. 490 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 4: I stayed there. I was supposed to be there for 491 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 4: a while. And I got to that group home and 492 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 4: I asked the people. I said, how does the program work? 493 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,439 Speaker 4: As soon as I got there, Yeah, they said, well, 494 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:18,159 Speaker 4: if you do this shit and then you go to 495 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 4: level this, and you go to this level, you go. 496 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:21,440 Speaker 3: To that left. I said, how long do it take? 497 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 3: They said probably like ninety days. I said, I'm gonna 498 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:24,760 Speaker 3: do it a sixty. 499 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,160 Speaker 2: I love it. They said okay and showed up. 500 00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 3: Sixty days later. Bro leics than sixty I was done. Yeah. 501 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:33,640 Speaker 4: They called my mama. My case had been dropped because 502 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 4: my mama was doing what she's supposed to do, and 503 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 4: they like, you can go home. Yeah, So now I 504 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 4: go home. Two days before I'm turning fifteen. I get 505 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 4: back home, though my mama was on the same mission, 506 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 4: and I've been outside ever since. Beautiful man, and I 507 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:49,399 Speaker 4: think one thing after another to just shape me into 508 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 4: who I am, but a hero. 509 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was gonna say that that authenticity 510 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 1: of like even having the awhereithal to know that like, 511 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: you know, at the end of the day, love homie 512 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: was scared right, like he was just hurting. So when 513 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: you have that sort of like level of empathy and 514 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 1: you know when you were outside, like the reasons for 515 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 1: which you were outside, you know what I'm saying, and 516 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,880 Speaker 1: having those connections, it's so clear to me how that 517 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: fuels the direction you're in and it proves to me 518 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:26,520 Speaker 1: the cornerstone premise of my whole movement here, which is like, Yo, 519 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: if you understand the hood, you understand politics, you walked 520 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: in there and say, what's the game? 521 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,200 Speaker 2: What's the play? Okay, what's the play? How does this work? 522 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:33,639 Speaker 3: This? 523 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 2: Okay? 524 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:35,359 Speaker 1: Now, know how to work it. Here's a way to 525 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: make it better. I know how it, I know how 526 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:38,919 Speaker 1: I felt in it. So if somebody else has to 527 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: be in there just the way it needs to be done, 528 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,200 Speaker 1: because I know I would have succeeded had this this. 529 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:45,880 Speaker 2: And this happened. 530 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: So let me let me let me push you forward 531 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: to now and then to more like sort of the 532 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,200 Speaker 1: bigger like national conversation. Now, so like the national conversation 533 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: all of us we lived through, you know, in the 534 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:00,359 Speaker 1: time that you were there, in the time going on 535 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:05,720 Speaker 1: in La too, like just this hyper policing where you know, 536 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:08,120 Speaker 1: for us, probably the saying for y'all, the copts were 537 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:09,879 Speaker 1: just another gang us, you know what I'm saying, Like 538 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,680 Speaker 1: y'all just as violent, as bad and as dangerous as 539 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:16,679 Speaker 1: everybody else in these streets, Like you ain't make no 540 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,120 Speaker 1: difference to us. And sure, yeah, like in the same 541 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: way that you know, if you were having a rodent 542 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:29,280 Speaker 1: infestation at your house, I mean, sure you could bomb 543 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: the house, right, and yes, the rodents are gone. You're 544 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 1: see what I'm saying, But you've killed everything, you know 545 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:37,439 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. But then you get to say, like 546 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:39,320 Speaker 1: you know, as a metaphor, it's like, oh, look, we 547 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: were tough on crime, we ended crime, you know what 548 00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: I'm saying. It's like, well, yeah, but that's what you 549 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:46,000 Speaker 1: locked us all up. Like it didn't This didn't really 550 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:50,160 Speaker 1: help us. But you know, we're seeing sort of across 551 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: the country, despite all of these efforts and proof that 552 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:58,000 Speaker 1: like the streets are different and it's not because of 553 00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: any invading forts. It's because of people like you, people 554 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:05,280 Speaker 1: like JB and okc let are like truly from the 555 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: city who really care and move at the speed of trust. 556 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: Like I said, moving at the speed of trust and 557 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: like and are saying, Look, it's one kid at a time, 558 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:16,400 Speaker 1: it's one program at a time. It's it's one advocate 559 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,359 Speaker 1: at a time that like says incremental slow door knock, 560 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,920 Speaker 1: build trust, one kid. 561 00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. That's like, it's not fun, 562 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 2: it's not a movie. 563 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:27,439 Speaker 3: It ain't sexy. 564 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,560 Speaker 1: It ain't sexy. Bro, you gotta be outside. You know, 565 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: I'm gonna breeze through when you caught one to the leg. 566 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: But like, even in the process of doing the good 567 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:39,960 Speaker 1: you were doing, there was a moment where like I 568 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:43,000 Speaker 1: knew of like you're like you were neighborhoods, like you know, 569 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: doing backpack drives and back to school things, you know 570 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. 571 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,360 Speaker 2: But these are like in these are in active areas. 572 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 1: Like you you know, everybody can just walk in to 573 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,960 Speaker 1: this park and be like I'm gonna do a fundraiser. 574 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:01,400 Speaker 2: It's like like, yeah, we rob at all of you. 575 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying. So like after years. 576 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:06,800 Speaker 1: Of doing this, you know, one little Waiian didn't know 577 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:07,680 Speaker 1: who he was dealing with. 578 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying, caught you slipping. 579 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:11,439 Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, you had to rebuild and 580 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: I've seen even health journey from that moment sort of change. Yeah, 581 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:20,280 Speaker 1: to bring you into the position you're in sort of now, 582 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,480 Speaker 1: which is like, obviously it's somebody we could deeply admire. 583 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: Can you talk a little bit about obviously without getting personal, 584 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 1: without sharing anybody's like personal information, but some of the 585 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: sort of like things that you've seen with some of 586 00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: the young homies who've been able to maybe like calm 587 00:26:46,359 --> 00:26:48,240 Speaker 1: some stuff down, you know what I'm saying, like maybe 588 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: actually like this working, you know what i mean. 589 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:56,359 Speaker 4: Yeah, Yeah, So I think you nailed it as a whole. 590 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,440 Speaker 4: It takes a person that people trust to bring a 591 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 4: level of com So even when I got shot. 592 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 3: When I got shot, Bryan had dudes in my inbox where. 593 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah that be outside ready to slide, Oh ready 594 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: to they ready to slide? 595 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:15,359 Speaker 2: Yeah Yeah, that's like, hey, who got you? 596 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 3: You know it? 597 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:16,239 Speaker 2: Let's go. 598 00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:18,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, And I'm like, nah, I'm cool. 599 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,920 Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, yeah, you know, And so sometimes when things 600 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 4: like that happen, people take things into. 601 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:27,480 Speaker 3: Their own hands. Yeah, that you don't know nothing about. 602 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:30,400 Speaker 4: And so after that they were like, do you want 603 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,000 Speaker 4: to do this news interview? I was still broke up. 604 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 4: I couldn't get out the bell yet. I'm like, yeah, 605 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 4: you know, but my reason for doing the news interview 606 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 4: was so people could hear my heart. Yeah, and you 607 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 4: have a thistle in every neighborhood around America. 608 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:49,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. 609 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,000 Speaker 3: So here's the thing about police. Police are reactive. 610 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 4: Yeah when by the time police on a word of things, 611 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 4: a client has happened, Yeah, the murder has already taken place, 612 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 4: the shooting has already happened, the robbery has already happened. 613 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:09,359 Speaker 4: The person that's stopping the crime is miss Kathy that 614 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,879 Speaker 4: live on the block. Yes, that say hey, commerd, Yeah, 615 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 4: where you going? I could tell you frustrate uh huh. 616 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 4: We had this lady in our neighborhood. The name was 617 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:20,920 Speaker 4: miss a Miss Alexander. How many times as a kid 618 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 4: I would be walking past her house on my way 619 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 4: to do something stupid, Yeah, and she'll say commerd yep, 620 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:29,800 Speaker 4: And you go sit there on the porch with her 621 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:31,280 Speaker 4: and talk for like fifteen minutes. 622 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:34,640 Speaker 2: Respects. You have to respect her. Yeah, and you done. 623 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,600 Speaker 3: Or the dude that used to be in the street. 624 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 3: It's a dude her in Saint Louis. 625 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 4: I don't really know him, like personally personally, but his saying, 626 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 4: uh he goes by the name Yo bangor uh huh. 627 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 3: You know what I'm saying. 628 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, Ed street dude. 629 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 3: Everybody love him. 630 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 4: You're me yeah, yeah, bro be outside like politicket, Yeah, 631 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:02,840 Speaker 4: running programs, you know, doing stuff like that. So those 632 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:05,840 Speaker 4: are the people that calls change in every community. 633 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:06,920 Speaker 3: Let me tell you a place. 634 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 4: Oh, while we're on this subject, I think we fail it, 635 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:14,080 Speaker 4: especially with organizations. Organizations that typically come into our neighborhood. 636 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 4: They come for agenda and politics, and what they don't 637 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,280 Speaker 4: understand is what you're saying, if you understand the hood, 638 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 4: you understand politics. So when they pull up on us 639 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,160 Speaker 4: in the hood and they got this big organization with 640 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 4: all this money and they're like, this is what we 641 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 4: want to do. Now you're telling me that because you're 642 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,920 Speaker 4: trying to build an army of people to fight for 643 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 4: your calls. And what they do is they come into 644 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,680 Speaker 4: our spaces and they don't empower those people, right, there. 645 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 3: I've said this to people one hundred times. 646 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 4: If you really, really really want to see impact and 647 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 4: see change, you need to go to the community and 648 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:52,680 Speaker 4: see the people that are already leading it. There you 649 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 4: go the people that you're talking about. The reason I'm 650 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,920 Speaker 4: able to go into park in that neighborhood is because 651 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 4: over there, at one point I was one of the 652 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:04,920 Speaker 4: leaders actively. 653 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 3: So people that aren't know me, they respect me. 654 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 4: They understand my journey and my transition, and that rapport 655 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:13,920 Speaker 4: is what get the work done. 656 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 3: Police a reactor. Bro by the said police get on 657 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:17,000 Speaker 3: somebody dead. 658 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 2: It's already done. 659 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 3: Yeah. 660 00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:22,200 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's people like me on the phone When Bro call, like, man, Bro, 661 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 4: I'm about the snap, It's like, nah, Bro, where you at? 662 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:25,960 Speaker 3: Like you know what we're doing? 663 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:29,000 Speaker 4: And so I think those people need to be empower 664 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 4: more for any organization that's listening or the possibly here. 665 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 2: It is. 666 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:35,920 Speaker 4: We don't need you to come out our community and 667 00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 4: build a hub. We don't need you to put an 668 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:41,160 Speaker 4: office there, and I'm gonna be candid and bring a 669 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,200 Speaker 4: whole lot of white people facts and gentrify a program. 670 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 3: We don't need that. 671 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:51,479 Speaker 4: What is needed is if you have resources, you have money, 672 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,440 Speaker 4: you have things you could bring structure, you could bring system, 673 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 4: but bring it to empower the person that's already in 674 00:30:59,320 --> 00:30:59,800 Speaker 4: that space. 675 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 3: It's don't take you thirty years to get to kind 676 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 3: of respect that person. Get over there already. 677 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,240 Speaker 4: Gems and you know why they can't be fully involved 678 00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 4: because they still gotta work, They still gotta do things. 679 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 2: You still yes, you still yes, yeah. Man. 680 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,880 Speaker 4: So if you want to really empower the community, take 681 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,720 Speaker 4: that forty fifty sixty seventy thousand, one hundred thousand that 682 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 4: you about to run on this slur campaign against whoever 683 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 4: else you don't like, Yeah, and take some of that money, 684 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:28,640 Speaker 4: take about seventy five k that and give it to 685 00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 4: somebody like Yo bang Yo. 686 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: Bang a missa. Yeah, but I say it was Alex Carrasco. Yeah, 687 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,360 Speaker 1: give it to people like that, yup. Because we lived 688 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 1: in the Mexican hoods. You know, he had his theres bontos, 689 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: Like we already knew. He was like what what the. 690 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:41,560 Speaker 3: People like that? 691 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 2: Give it to him? You know what I'm saying, He 692 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 2: looked that man. 693 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: Took me camping for the first time with with Alex Carrasco. 694 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:49,640 Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying, Like. 695 00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,000 Speaker 3: Believe it or not. Believe it or not. 696 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,840 Speaker 4: Part of the reason that you turned out the way 697 00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 4: you did is because of seedge that people like him 698 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 4: playing it. Yep, no facts, it's the difference between you 699 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 4: and the other dudes on the block that didn't go. 700 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 4: It's exactly like exposure, bro is key what you're exposed 701 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 4: to right now. One of my missions I'm working on 702 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:11,239 Speaker 4: over the next couple of years were I'm gonna take 703 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:12,160 Speaker 4: a group of kids from the. 704 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 3: Hood to Africa. They have to see it, bro, that's 705 00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 3: one of my missions. 706 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 4: They have to Yes, Yeah, I'm gonna take a bunch 707 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,920 Speaker 4: of kids from the Hood to Africa, like so they 708 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 4: can get over there and see what it really looked like. 709 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 3: Yeah, but also just taking them other places. 710 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 2: They could also go to, like Denver, Like. 711 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,400 Speaker 4: Yeah, I took a group of kids to Kaa a 712 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,600 Speaker 4: few years that, like in the city kids, Yeah, and 713 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:35,920 Speaker 4: they were blown away. 714 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 2: Yeah. 715 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 4: Like like you said, going camping, you get to see 716 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:41,120 Speaker 4: water and boats. 717 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,520 Speaker 1: When I used to teach, I taught in the city 718 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: called Pomona. It's in the Inland Empire. It's kids from 719 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: La I's never seen the beach like you've never seen 720 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,680 Speaker 1: the ocean and you're from Los Angeles, you know what 721 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 1: I'm saying, So, like, yeah, that exposure changes everything. Have 722 00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:58,600 Speaker 1: you set up some sort of like fundraising things so 723 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:00,520 Speaker 1: we can see if we can get our listeners to 724 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 1: maybe like fund this Africa trip. 725 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:04,400 Speaker 3: So if you go to my page, just like one 726 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:05,880 Speaker 3: hundred foundation dot org. 727 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 2: Like one hundred foundation dot org. 728 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,760 Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, it's a donation tab. It'll go to the 729 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 4: give but a page. 730 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,520 Speaker 2: Okay, we will link to that. Yes see, that's all 731 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:16,000 Speaker 2: I needed. 732 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, listen, bro, I want to thank you for your time. 733 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:19,240 Speaker 2: Man. 734 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:21,760 Speaker 1: Some of y'all know, like I've known this man for 735 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:25,360 Speaker 1: a long time. We've we've ran ran into many A 736 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 1: cities and many A shows. 737 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 2: And always appreciated you too. 738 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,120 Speaker 1: Yes, sir man, I think there was a little bit 739 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:36,320 Speaker 1: of like we've been sitting in green rooms that both 740 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 1: of us know good and well that we just why 741 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:42,160 Speaker 1: are we here, Like we have no reason to be 742 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: in this room, but we are. It just has very 743 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 1: much a very much like a real, recognized real with 744 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: somebody like this man. And like you said, Bro, like 745 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:53,800 Speaker 1: there's thistles in every city man, and I appreciate the 746 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 1: fact that like and that's part of what makes you 747 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,800 Speaker 1: what you are, is that like it's the things that 748 00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:03,600 Speaker 1: happened that when there's no cameras on that for us 749 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,240 Speaker 1: that we're mostly proud of is not the stuff that. 750 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:07,800 Speaker 2: Like everybody sees. 751 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:10,080 Speaker 1: It's what's happened, like you said, is when it's the 752 00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:13,520 Speaker 1: phone calls you have to have, you know, the meetings 753 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:15,080 Speaker 1: you have to set up, you know what I'm saying, 754 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:18,520 Speaker 1: and like the like those things are are are the 755 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:20,479 Speaker 1: things that really keep a city safe. 756 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:22,799 Speaker 3: I want to say this before we go. We talked 757 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 3: about something before you start recording. 758 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:27,160 Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I want to point it 759 00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:31,040 Speaker 4: out because I think it's important too. We were talking 760 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:37,040 Speaker 4: about how resources prevent violence. Yeah, so everybody know, where 761 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 4: there's no hope, there's violence, there is desperate right yes. 762 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 3: So yeah, right now with Saint. 763 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:48,560 Speaker 4: Louis, we have been informed that the senator who's a 764 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 4: Republican center, Yeah, he's linked up with pjt Okay, okay, 765 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:57,799 Speaker 4: and there you are. They're building an FBI base here 766 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:03,400 Speaker 4: and they're bringing in more FBI agents to divert violence. 767 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:05,880 Speaker 2: Yeah right, yeah, one. 768 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:09,839 Speaker 4: Again, law enforcement is a reaction to crime. Yeah, they 769 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:13,840 Speaker 4: don't prevent it. Yeah, here's the reality that everybody that 770 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:16,719 Speaker 4: has a brain to think should be aware of. I 771 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:19,640 Speaker 4: don't care how many FBI you bring, how many police 772 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 4: you hire. There are not enough law enforcement to govern 773 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:26,040 Speaker 4: the earth. 774 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 2: Yes, yes, period, there's too many of Yeah. 775 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:30,279 Speaker 3: There's not there's too many of us. 776 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can't. 777 00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:36,359 Speaker 3: Govern the earth. Yeah, like that's that's that's a no go. Right. 778 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:39,520 Speaker 4: Yeah, most cases, when I see people make these arguments 779 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,600 Speaker 4: about this, I'm a person I like to use facts. 780 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 3: I get straight to the facts, like we get the points. 781 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:48,719 Speaker 4: So in Saint Lewis, right, from twenty twenty to twenty 782 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,720 Speaker 4: twenty four, the murder rate in Saint Louis. 783 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 3: Has dropped by one hundred and thirteen. 784 00:35:57,040 --> 00:36:00,839 Speaker 2: Come on, man, yeah, one hundred and thirteen. That's a 785 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:02,040 Speaker 2: lot of lives. Yeah. 786 00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:06,200 Speaker 4: So in twenty twenty, the number of homicides at Saint 787 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:10,160 Speaker 4: Louis was two hundred and sixty three. The number in 788 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:13,560 Speaker 4: twenty twenty four were one hundred and fifty. See, there 789 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:16,799 Speaker 4: are certain things that I'm not gonna say they are 790 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:20,560 Speaker 4: the exclusive reason, but there are certain things that I 791 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:23,360 Speaker 4: know have contributed to that. And it's not law enforcement. 792 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:26,399 Speaker 4: Because our police force is short right now, they gone. 793 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:27,160 Speaker 4: They don't do too. 794 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:27,680 Speaker 3: Much and nothing. 795 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:29,680 Speaker 4: Yeah, there are a few things I know they have 796 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 4: contributed to that. The main thing is resources, yeah, and compassion. 797 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:37,840 Speaker 4: But they are few. Through a certain few things that 798 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:39,480 Speaker 4: I want to shout out. One of them is an 799 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:44,920 Speaker 4: organization called Fccy Freedom Center Saint Louis Mahomie Mike Milton. 800 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:49,319 Speaker 4: The other one is Actual Saint Louis. The other one 801 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:52,960 Speaker 4: is Mission Saint Louis. The other one is we Power 802 00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:58,640 Speaker 4: Saint Louis. We power SCL. They fund early childhood development. 803 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:04,840 Speaker 4: Word like crucially important for our community. Wow, you got FCC, 804 00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 4: actually Saint Louis, Missus Saint Louis, Black Men, Bill, we 805 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:10,360 Speaker 4: Power stl. 806 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,040 Speaker 3: Just to name a few people like your banger. 807 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:18,279 Speaker 4: These are the people that have been actively in the 808 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:23,440 Speaker 4: community for the past four years. The past mayor to 809 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:26,840 Speaker 4: Charlotte Jones, she probably got a lot of things wrong 810 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:31,319 Speaker 4: in people asked, but she was directing certain things and 811 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:36,800 Speaker 4: empowering people in a certain way. These organizations have thrived 812 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:40,319 Speaker 4: over the past four years, and as a result, you 813 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,960 Speaker 4: see the number of homicides in the city. 814 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:46,279 Speaker 3: D Chris, So why do we need to bring more 815 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,640 Speaker 3: FBI agents. What is that for? Show? 816 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:52,319 Speaker 4: Shouldn't we be throwing more money into these organizations if 817 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:55,960 Speaker 4: they are out here the turn crime they got the 818 00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:03,120 Speaker 4: FCC has data, Yeah, they have data of reconciliation. I'm 819 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:07,719 Speaker 4: talking about my boy Mike Milton. He's stepping into roles. 820 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,880 Speaker 4: With one case in particular, a young man was driving 821 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:12,200 Speaker 4: in the court with another young man. 822 00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:14,040 Speaker 3: He was drunk. The young man died. 823 00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 4: He reconciled him with the mother. The mother in return, 824 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:20,440 Speaker 4: went to the judge and was like, he don't. 825 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,680 Speaker 3: Need to go to jail. You're either gonna treat me. Wow, 826 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:25,280 Speaker 3: Like why is he going to prison? Wow? 827 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:26,680 Speaker 2: Damn man. 828 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 4: And then when they get when they get risdored justice, Yeah. 829 00:38:30,360 --> 00:38:31,399 Speaker 3: Restorative justice. 830 00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:34,600 Speaker 4: When they get released from prison, they go to SCC 831 00:38:35,120 --> 00:38:40,040 Speaker 4: and they spend time with them and they learn restorative justice. 832 00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:43,319 Speaker 3: They take accountability. Wow. Wow. 833 00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:48,239 Speaker 4: So if we go if we need anything in Saint Louis, 834 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:53,160 Speaker 4: in DC, in uh Chicago, if we need anything in 835 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:57,080 Speaker 4: these cities, what we need or people to be realistic 836 00:38:57,160 --> 00:39:00,319 Speaker 4: about what's happening, and if you want to do something saying, 837 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:02,040 Speaker 4: say some of the funds you're gonna use to have 838 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:05,919 Speaker 4: more law enforcement into these places where you know people 839 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:08,120 Speaker 4: are already doing things because let me tell you something else. 840 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:11,040 Speaker 4: It's twenty twenty six almost, it's twenty twenty five. Ain't 841 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:12,920 Speaker 4: nobody scared of the police like they used to be. 842 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:14,680 Speaker 4: This ain't nineteen sixty two. 843 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:15,200 Speaker 3: Bro, sir. 844 00:39:15,280 --> 00:39:17,600 Speaker 4: Don't nobody's seen the police and be like, oh my gosh, 845 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:20,480 Speaker 4: you'll go to the police. These are grown men, just 846 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:23,719 Speaker 4: like another grown man. Ain't nobody scared of police? 847 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:24,960 Speaker 3: No more. That ain't a thing. 848 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:26,200 Speaker 2: Lead like the rest of us. 849 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:27,160 Speaker 3: That's not a thing. 850 00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:28,600 Speaker 2: Yeah you bleed like the rest of us. 851 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:32,239 Speaker 4: Mumbles yeah with the police, Bro, they dangerous right now? 852 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:33,560 Speaker 3: Straight spinn up. 853 00:39:33,719 --> 00:39:34,680 Speaker 2: That's what I'm trying to say. 854 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:38,480 Speaker 1: Look, we can talk about this back because that's the 855 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:39,840 Speaker 1: way we are with these ice agents. 856 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:41,800 Speaker 2: It's like, you think I'm scared of you, bro, You 857 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:42,719 Speaker 2: think I'm scared of you? 858 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:43,000 Speaker 4: Ami. 859 00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:47,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, anyway, thank you this, Thank you for it for 860 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:49,800 Speaker 1: like bringing it back to the data and shining the 861 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,759 Speaker 1: light on like people actually doing the work. You can 862 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 1: follow you on Instagram. It's I am thiszle right, it's 863 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:58,800 Speaker 1: th ChIL this yeah Thhi. 864 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:04,400 Speaker 4: SL one hundred foundation dot org is the website social 865 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:05,880 Speaker 4: Media's you'll be founding on all of this stuff. 866 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:09,120 Speaker 1: There, you'll find all that. All right, it can happen here. 867 00:40:09,200 --> 00:40:12,520 Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media, we appreciate you, all appreciate you. 868 00:40:13,239 --> 00:40:19,960 Speaker 6: Yes, sir, it could happen here is a production of 869 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,120 Speaker 6: cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, 870 00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 6: visit our website Coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out 871 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:30,000 Speaker 6: on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 872 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:32,680 Speaker 6: to podcasts, you can now find sources for it could 873 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:33,080 Speaker 6: Happen here. 874 00:40:33,120 --> 00:40:36,120 Speaker 3: Listen directly in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening.