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Speaker 1: Welcome back, everybody to another episode of Wide Open with

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Speaker 1: Ashlyn Harris.

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Speaker 2: I cannot wait to introduce you to this week's guest.

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Speaker 3: The one and only President of the Human Rights Campaign,

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Speaker 3: Kelly Robinson.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the.

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Speaker 3: Show, my dear, dear friend, my queer president, the one

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Speaker 3: I turn to for all of this, you know, chaos

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Speaker 3: going in the world that gives me hope and strength

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Speaker 3: and accountability.

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Speaker 2: I adore you. Thank you for coming on. Welcome to

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Speaker 2: the show, Kelly.

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Speaker 4: Well. The adoration is totally mutual. It's good to see you,

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Speaker 4: my friend, and I'm excited to be on the Showry.

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Speaker 4: I hope not cry.

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Speaker 3: Well people do, but I want you to know this

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Speaker 3: is always a safe space and we need to keep

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Speaker 3: those emotions out of level where that baby is not

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Speaker 3: going to pop out, because if for those of you

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Speaker 3: who do not know, Kelly is literally do any day now,

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Speaker 3: which I can't wait to have another baby in this world.

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Speaker 2: The families were growing together, the just the community, just this.

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Speaker 2: It's such a beautiful thing. It gives me and a

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Speaker 2: time that feels so dark, it does give me hope. Absolutely,

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Speaker 2: we keep choosing joy, honey.

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Speaker 4: We do. We have to choose joy.

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Speaker 2: We keep choosing joy.

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Speaker 3: So I wanted to you know, I always talk about

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Speaker 3: you know, everyone thinks that this show always has to

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Speaker 3: be so heavy, it actually doesn't.

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Speaker 2: It's just who you are behind what you do.

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Speaker 3: And honestly, you've checked so many boxes, like you have

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Speaker 3: such a beautiful story of who you were as a

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Speaker 3: child and how you were raised. And it's funny because

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Speaker 3: when I hear you speak, your ability to move people

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Speaker 3: through words and storytelling is so so magnetic and magnificent.

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Speaker 2: And I always say it takes me to church. But

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Speaker 2: your background is that, honey, you are just being you.

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Speaker 3: So I want to talk about who Kelly was as

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Speaker 3: a little kid, because I do think what people don't

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Speaker 3: realize is so much of who you are is based

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Speaker 3: on your experience in the church, growing up being you know,

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Speaker 3: a Catholic woman of faith, and your family run me through.

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Speaker 2: Who Kelly was as a young girl. Where did it start?

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Speaker 4: Yeah?

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Speaker 5: Absolutely, I mean me being a person of faith is

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Speaker 5: kind of core to who I am, and I always

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Speaker 5: think about faith in kind of this larger context. It's

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Speaker 5: about believing in things that you've ever seen, felt, or

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Speaker 5: experienced before, but that they can be manifested in your life,

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Speaker 5: and especially as an organizer and an activist, like that's

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Speaker 5: the whole story. Look, I'm a black queer woman in America.

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Speaker 5: I've never seen what it looks like for us to

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Speaker 5: have full rights, for us to be fully respected in

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Speaker 5: every area of our life. And yet I believe it's

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Speaker 5: possible if we work together, if we fight together, if

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Speaker 5: we believe in it. So when I think about faith,

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Speaker 5: especially in my work, it's bigger than only spirituality or

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Speaker 5: only you know what, what your religious beliefs are. It's

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Speaker 5: about believing that in collection with other people, we can

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Speaker 5: manifest something together.

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Speaker 4: But that definitely comes from how I grew up.

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Speaker 5: You know, my family's historical story is that they are

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Speaker 5: They were the first free black family in a town

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Speaker 5: called Muscatine, Iowa, which.

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Speaker 3: Is a musketeine baby Musketine scute.

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Speaker 4: Yes, I used to spend every summer there.

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Speaker 5: But where I grew up was on the South side

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Speaker 5: of Chicago, and my people, we were church going folks.

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Speaker 4: My mama would say, I don't care what you were

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Speaker 4: up to.

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Speaker 5: On Saturday night, Sunday morning, you about to be up

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Speaker 5: in those pews. And yeah, and I remember growing up,

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Speaker 5: you know, we had a pastor that could preach, let

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Speaker 5: me tell you. And there's one sermon that's always resonated

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Speaker 5: with me when I think about kind of what I

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Speaker 5: learned about being a community organizer and a leader. And

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Speaker 5: we didn't call it that, but we just called it

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Speaker 5: showing up for your community.

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Speaker 4: But now I understand it.

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Speaker 5: You know, he would say a lot that folks come

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Speaker 5: to the space to church he was talking about. But

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Speaker 5: for me, I think about organizing an advocacy for one

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Speaker 5: of two reasons. He would say, it's either to find prosperity,

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Speaker 5: so to do better in your life, to thrive to

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Speaker 5: you know, prey out your lottery tickets, yes, or you know,

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Speaker 5: it's for salvation, for deliverance from harm and loss. And

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Speaker 5: for me growing up on the South Side of Chicago,

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Speaker 5: seeing what it looked like when kids didn't have enough food,

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Speaker 5: what we're trying to learn in school, Seeing what it

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Speaker 5: looked like for kids to have to move out of

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Speaker 5: their homes and find other places to live because they

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Speaker 5: came out and their families didn't accept them right. Seeing

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Speaker 5: even people in my family struggle to find economics success,

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Speaker 5: to find jobs that would keep them employed and allow

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Speaker 5: folks to have food on the table, Like this was

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Speaker 5: really about survival, And it's this idea of survival that's

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Speaker 5: always really resonated with me because especially right now, like

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Speaker 5: I feel like we are in.

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Speaker 4: A fight for our very lives, for the lots of

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Speaker 4: our families and friends.

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Speaker 5: So I think that for me, like growing up in

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Speaker 5: the church has always been just kind of core to

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Speaker 5: to who I am and also creating space for people,

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Speaker 5: for queer people to reclaim, you know, faith and spirituality

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Speaker 5: and not be ashamed of it, but make space for

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Speaker 5: ourselves to design it in ways that support us and

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Speaker 5: our lives and our families.

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Speaker 2: I love that.

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Speaker 3: I love that, and I you know, I know the

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Speaker 3: way you move a room because I'm lucky enough to

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Speaker 3: sit on the board of the HRC, and I get

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Speaker 3: to watch you in your element, not only when you're

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Speaker 3: on stage, but the way you show up in the

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Speaker 3: meetings no one else gets to see. Like every time

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Speaker 3: I'm in your presence, I just feel like it's like

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Speaker 3: my body comes out of me in a way. It

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Speaker 3: is like really a spiritual experience. And I don't know

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Speaker 3: if anyone's ever told you that, but it's almost like

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Speaker 3: just letting the guard down and being like, you don't

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Speaker 3: always have to be the strong one in this moment.

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Speaker 2: And I wonder if.

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Speaker 3: That strength that you get and you exude so much,

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Speaker 3: and this confidence comes from that religion and that faith

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Speaker 3: and that church, and that this legacy of resistance and

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Speaker 3: progress and protests, like you live it, Kelly, like you

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Speaker 3: are it.

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Speaker 5: Oh well, I gotta say ashlyin It's not just me,

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Speaker 5: it's everyone around us, Like I still appreciate being in

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Speaker 5: space with you, having you on the Human Rights Campaign

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Speaker 5: board because you're.

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Speaker 4: That person too.

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Speaker 5: And I think that when we're surrounded by people that

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Speaker 5: are authentically themselves, that aren't afraid of the ugly parts

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Speaker 5: of our lives and our identities, but instead use those

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Speaker 5: as a foundation to grow to where we need to,

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Speaker 5: that show vulnerability but also strength, Like that's what makes

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Speaker 5: this movement great. And I think, you know, finding spaces

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Speaker 5: where we're not afraid of the hard stuff is so important,

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Speaker 5: right because I think that there's this feeling that for

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Speaker 5: especially with some of the issues that we talk about

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Speaker 5: in the LGBTQ plus community, like, ah, you can't talk

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Speaker 5: about trans issues unless you know absolutely everything about trans issues,

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Speaker 5: and that's not the case, like We're all on a

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Speaker 5: journey of learning together, and I think what I've been

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Speaker 5: really privileged to be part of and surrounded by is

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Speaker 5: people that are willing to be on that journey together.

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Speaker 5: We don't know how far the journey is, we don't

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Speaker 5: know when the next rest stop is going to be,

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Speaker 5: but we're in it together. And I feel like my

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Speaker 5: job is to be a reflection of that, to help

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Speaker 5: people see the hope, to help people see the strength,

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Speaker 5: to help people see the power, because I get the

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Speaker 5: privilege of traveling this country and seeing that that current

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Speaker 5: just emerge every day, whether I'm talking to like teachers

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Speaker 5: that are boldly standing up in states that passed like

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Speaker 5: anti don't say gay or trans bills in their states,

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Speaker 5: but they're saying, we're still going to be inclusive of

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Speaker 5: our students, or talking to you know, ERG leaders in

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Speaker 5: workplaces that are like, I don't care what the Executive

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Speaker 5: Order and DEI said, We're still going to meet We're

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Speaker 5: still going to make sure that our company is held

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Speaker 5: accountable to non discrimination protections. But there's so much happening

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Speaker 5: in so much courage right now that I don't want

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Speaker 5: people to lose that.

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Speaker 4: Even though there's a lot of darkness as well.

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Speaker 5: And I feel like that's my that's why I've been

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Speaker 5: privileged enough to have as my job. But I'm only

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Speaker 5: able to do it because of the people that I'm

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Speaker 5: surrounded by.

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Speaker 3: Like you, Yeah, And I have to think in my

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Speaker 3: heart and the way I see the world and like

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Speaker 3: this invisible string and how the universe is it aligns.

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Speaker 3: I have to be really honest and saying I think

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Speaker 3: you were built for this moment, this moment of darkness,

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Speaker 3: Like there's no coincidence that you are the leader. But

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Speaker 3: what I'll say, in a time that feels so heavy,

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Speaker 3: it feels so hard, it feels like you want to

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Speaker 3: question everything. You were destined for this moment. And I

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Speaker 3: hope you know that too.

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Speaker 4: Oh, thank you. That means the world, but it's true.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, And I just feel like you know, and I

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Speaker 5: think we talk about this a lot, but like our

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Speaker 5: task right now is not to look away from the darkness.

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Speaker 5: Like there is a lot of pain, there's a lot

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Speaker 5: of struggle, a lot of harm that.

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Speaker 4: People are enduring every day.

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Speaker 5: The task is to acknowledge it and still be willing

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Speaker 5: to find the light together because that's there too, and

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Speaker 5: the light's like living within each of us.

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Speaker 4: So I'm really I mean that means a lot.

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Speaker 5: I don't take what you said lightly, and I do

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Speaker 5: feel like also, the people that you meet on this

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Speaker 5: journey you meet for the right reasons. So like something

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Speaker 5: happened with the university when we met.

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Speaker 2: When we met, we were like, we are lifers. I

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Speaker 2: knew you in another lifetime. Thank god we found each other.

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Speaker 5: That's right, that's right, and you are a powerhouse.

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Speaker 2: So I'm just I'm trying to do my part with you.

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Speaker 4: You're trying. You're doing boo.

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Speaker 2: I appreciate that.

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Speaker 3: And what makes me laugh the most is when I

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Speaker 3: got to take a deep dive in who you were

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Speaker 3: growing up.

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Speaker 2: I found out you were an MMA fighter. I was like,

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Speaker 2: not only is she our fearless leader, she can whoop

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Speaker 2: some masks. Are you really wanting to go up against her?

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Speaker 4: Trainy days? I'm all pregnant stuff. But on the other

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Speaker 4: side of this, I'll get back into it.

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Speaker 2: You have to tell me about this, like what.

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Speaker 4: Ah man, Yeah, you know, everybody has their story.

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Speaker 5: I was so my entree to kind of organize they

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Speaker 5: actually started through MMA fighting.

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Speaker 4: I was.

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Speaker 5: I grew up in Chicago, went to school at the

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Speaker 5: University of Missouri. And I don't know if you feel

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Speaker 5: this way, but I feel like if you go one

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Speaker 5: degree south in the United States of America, like the

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Speaker 5: racism is just different.

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Speaker 4: It's just different.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I went to school down at Missoo, that's what

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Speaker 5: we called it. And I'm telling you, like, it was

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Speaker 5: just a different vibe. I mean, you had people putting

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Speaker 5: cotton balls outside the Black Culture Center, people calling people

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Speaker 5: of color like me out of our names. And I

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Speaker 5: had just never experienced the boldness of that sort of

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Speaker 5: racism in Chicago, you know, like there was an era

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Speaker 5: of like.

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Speaker 4: You know, you're not going to say that somebody's face

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Speaker 4: in Chicago.

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Speaker 5: That it was just it was out of hand in Missouri,

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Speaker 5: and the university was not really supportive. They said that,

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Speaker 5: you know, some of us students of color were overreacting.

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Speaker 5: So I knew, for me, for my mental health, for

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Speaker 5: my sanity, I needed to take a little break.

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Speaker 4: So I ended up leaving school.

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Speaker 5: And that's when I got into bartending at the local

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Speaker 5: pool hall, and that I was doing mma, fighting to

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Speaker 5: make some cash and get by, and I loved it.

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Speaker 5: I loved it. I mean, because you know, there's like,

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Speaker 5: you know, this is being being an athlete. There's like

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Speaker 5: an equalizer when you're playing sports, right, And there was

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Speaker 5: something about entering the octagon that like everything was equal,

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Speaker 5: all the kind of like you know, racism, sexism, homophobia

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Speaker 5: that didn't matter for the time that we were in

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Speaker 5: the ring.

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Speaker 4: It just didn't matter. And that's what I loved about it.

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Speaker 5: They gave me that moment of feeling free in a

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Speaker 5: way and feeling unburdened.

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Speaker 4: But I also knew it wasn't quite sustainable.

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Speaker 5: So along that journey, I got a call one day

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Speaker 5: after I really lost around from the Obama campaign asking

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Speaker 5: me if I wanted to be an organizer. I was like,

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Speaker 5: I don't know what that means, but if I don't

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Speaker 5: have to get punched in the face to make my rent,

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Speaker 5: I'm willing to give it a try.

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Speaker 4: So dang.

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Speaker 5: So I got to the Obama campaign and things just

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Speaker 5: started to click for me. It felt like the first

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Speaker 5: time I'd actually seen people that were, you know, pissed

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Speaker 5: off by the things that felt so big, the systems

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Speaker 5: of racism and sexism and homophobia, but they had something

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Speaker 5: to do about it. And it wasn't just about Barack Obama.

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Speaker 5: It was really about what we could achieve together. You know,

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Speaker 5: people entered the door for the candidate, but they stayed

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Speaker 5: because of the community that we were building. And it

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Speaker 5: just helped me to really believe in the power of community,

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Speaker 5: of what we can do when we work together. But

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Speaker 5: I'm telling you, I wouldn't be here today without those

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Speaker 5: experiences in the ring that helped me to also be

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Speaker 5: unburdened in a way.

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Speaker 2: Stay tuned, we'll be right back after this.

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Speaker 3: So when I retired from soccer, I took up boxing.

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Speaker 4: Oh you're kidding.

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Speaker 2: And it was so hard.

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Speaker 3: I was like, yeah, WHOA, Like, I don't think I

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Speaker 3: can do this, Like this is I couldn't go thirty

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Speaker 3: seconds and around without my I'm like He's like, keep

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Speaker 3: your hands up, keep your hands up, and I'm.

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Speaker 2: Like, I got noodles. I can't.

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Speaker 3: Like this is not for me. I mean it was

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Speaker 3: the hardest. The endurance and strength that it takes. I

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Speaker 3: don't think people realize until they go a few rounds.

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Speaker 4: Oh yeah.

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Speaker 5: And I started So when I was a kid, I

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Speaker 5: did karate for you know, years and years and years

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Speaker 5: and years, and then when I started to do mma,

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Speaker 5: I had to pick up the floor part of it, right,

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Speaker 5: So I studied jiu jitsu and.

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Speaker 4: That was like other worldly. It's a mind sport, and

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Speaker 4: I think.

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Speaker 5: That people don't always get that until they get into

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Speaker 5: the practice of it.

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Speaker 2: No, I think that's key in sports in general.

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Speaker 3: It is like, yeah, it's a ninety percent is mentality

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Speaker 3: up here in your brain. It's like, how can you

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Speaker 3: see plays or scenarios or situations before they happen. Like

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Speaker 3: I will give you an example. I woke up the

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Speaker 3: other day feeling anxious. Woke me up right out of

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Speaker 3: my sleep. And the way my brain works is I

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Speaker 3: don't sit in that anxious discomfort.

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Speaker 2: I rethink it.

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Speaker 3: And that is purely based on my sport that I

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Speaker 3: am able to adapt to put a finger on it

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Speaker 3: and say, oh, I see you.

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Speaker 2: I've felt you before, and you're not going to take

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Speaker 2: me down, but I'm going to have.

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Speaker 3: To restructure, reframe the way I see it, and make

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Speaker 3: it fuel me.

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Speaker 2: Into what I'm doing today.

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Speaker 3: Yes, And the mindset and mentality that sport has given

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Speaker 3: me had life is just easier for me having those tools.

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Speaker 3: And I assume that's the same for you and your experience.

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Speaker 4: Absolutely, And I think that there's a connection.

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Speaker 5: I mean for me kind of coming back to my

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Speaker 5: background the church, like there's a connection between the mind

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Speaker 5: and the body and the spirit. But even if you

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Speaker 5: think about that connection between the mind and the body,

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Speaker 5: that plays out in everything that we do, especially when

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Speaker 5: you think.

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Speaker 4: About policy and politics.

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Speaker 5: That's connecting some very heavy stuff about you know, legally

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Speaker 5: policy and litigation and courts with direct.

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Speaker 4: Impact on our bodies.

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Speaker 5: Yes, we've got to be able to see where those

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Speaker 5: connections are and to actually strategize our way out of it.

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Speaker 5: Whether you're in sport or advocacy, means that you have

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Speaker 5: to have an awareness of both and how they show

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Speaker 5: up in the world and be able to navigate that,

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Speaker 5: create strategies, understand the stress points.

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Speaker 3: I love that and I have never told you this,

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Speaker 3: but you clearly know. I like sitting on the board

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Speaker 3: now I get the privilege to speak a lot in

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Speaker 3: front of big crowds, like when we have events or

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Speaker 3: when we're doing things, and the amount of anxiety and

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Speaker 3: stress I get by like doing public speaking. What I

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Speaker 3: love is now it's pushing me, Like you push me

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Speaker 3: every event, Like everyone's like, you're so good at this,

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Speaker 3: You've got this. But inside, I'm like, h, this is

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Speaker 3: not my normal playing field, and I'm so nervous, and

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Speaker 3: I love that I still get that adrenaline spike, I

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Speaker 3: still get that feeling of that pressure.

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Speaker 2: Moment that really makes or breaks us.

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Speaker 3: And I get to do it now and search for

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Speaker 3: that feeling in a different way, which is so freaking cool.

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Speaker 4: Ah, that's beautiful and unlocking it.

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Speaker 3: What a gift this is to feel this uncomfortable because.

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Speaker 2: It matters this much to me, Like it matters. Like

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Speaker 2: when I would walk out to like to play, I

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Speaker 2: didn't feel pressure and I didn't feel performance anxiety because

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Speaker 2: I was like always put life in perspective.

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Speaker 3: I'm out here, I'm entertaining. I'm entertaining the masses. I'm

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Speaker 3: not curing cancer. But when I get on that stage

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Speaker 3: for the human rights campaign and I need to deliver

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Speaker 3: and show up for a community that is really really

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Speaker 3: getting knocked down, it's a whole different pressure and it's

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Speaker 3: a whole different feeling that does matter. That's maybe someone

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Speaker 3: in that room and move enough to choose joy, to

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Speaker 3: choose to stay, to choose themself Like that fucking matters.

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Speaker 4: Yes, that's huge.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, And I think that when you're willing to go

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Speaker 5: on that journey, right, especially to embrace things that make

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Speaker 5: you feel vulnerable or uncomfortable. There are people in the

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Speaker 5: room that feel that same way. And whether or not

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Speaker 5: you say it out loud, that energy transfer is happening.

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Speaker 5: And when you're able to kind of break through, other

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Speaker 5: people are with you.

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Speaker 4: Yes, Like, I don't know if you.

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Speaker 5: Saw Corey Booker, he did that twenty five hour speech right,

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Speaker 5: and that I think again kind of bridges this sort

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Speaker 5: of like head, head and body kind kind of topic

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Speaker 5: that we're talking about.

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Speaker 4: So to stand up for twenty five hours.

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Speaker 5: I mean that takes a level of endurance, right, just

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Speaker 5: to be able to do it, let alone speaking and

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Speaker 5: preach and like he was doing. And at the beginning

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Speaker 5: of it, you know, a lot of people were like, oh,

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Speaker 5: we don't quite understand why he's doing this, Like what's happening,

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Speaker 5: what's going on? But as that twenty four hours twenty

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Speaker 5: five hours progressed, he got clearer and clearer about what

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Speaker 5: he was doing. The messages that he was sharing with

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Speaker 5: people were so dynamic and so moving and so urgent

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Speaker 5: about the call of the charge that we have right

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Speaker 5: now to not accept business as usual, and then by

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Speaker 5: the end of that twenty five hours, he actually broke

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Speaker 5: strom Thurman's record, who.

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Speaker 4: Was the.

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Speaker 5: Anti civil rights activist who held the largest who held

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Speaker 5: the previous record for the longest Senate speech. He was

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Speaker 5: able to beat that racist record through this action. And

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Speaker 5: even if you didn't understand it, he made a physical

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Speaker 5: sacrifice that made people feel differently about their own power.

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Speaker 4: That's incredible, and it happens.

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Speaker 5: In different ways. It happens in sport, it happens in activism.

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Speaker 5: Apparently it can happen at the United States Senate. But

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Speaker 5: it's such a powerful thing when we're able to break

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Speaker 5: through in that way that we can feel it in

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Speaker 5: our bodies and our souls. And once you feel and

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Speaker 5: this is the thing that I think is dangerous, right,

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Speaker 5: once you feel what liberation feels.

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Speaker 4: Like, you're not willing to go back. You are not

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Speaker 4: willing to go back. Nope.

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Speaker 2: And I am with you on that.

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Speaker 3: And I want more people on that train to see

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Speaker 3: that power, to tap in and access that inside because

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Speaker 3: I do. I do. I went to an event for

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Speaker 3: International Women's Day and it was dvf's event, and Diane

408
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Speaker 3: said she had a bunch of women come sit for

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Speaker 3: a luncheon, and she said, we will not choose anger

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Speaker 3: for the hate that is being placed on us as people.

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Speaker 3: We will not choose anger. They want us to be

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Speaker 3: angry women, but we will not choose anger.

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Speaker 2: We will choose joy.

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Speaker 3: We will be the resistance of choosing joy will be

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Speaker 3: the key to show that in a time that feels

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Speaker 3: so hard, the opposite of.

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Speaker 2: Fear is love. Yes, love, We have to show up

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Speaker 2: with love.

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Speaker 3: And that is really so much more powerful than just

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Speaker 3: being angry.

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Speaker 4: That's so powerful.

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Speaker 3: That's so powerful, And I really like was humbled because

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Speaker 3: I've been angry. It's hard not to be angry. And

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Speaker 3: I'm curious, what do you feel about that with a

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Speaker 3: community right now that you know, with all of the

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Speaker 3: rhetoric going on and the attacks on the trans community, Like,

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Speaker 3: what do we choose right now?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, Look, I think there's room for every emotion, right Like,

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Speaker 5: I think that anger does have a place. Look, when

430
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Speaker 5: you see what's happening to trans kids, you should be

431
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Speaker 5: pissed off. When you see people being disappear who have

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Speaker 5: legal status in the United States being disappeared from the streets,

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Speaker 5: you should.

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Speaker 4: Be pissed off.

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Speaker 5: But the problem is that if you only sit in

436
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Speaker 5: that anger, it can tear you apart. It doesn't necessarily

437
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,840
Speaker 5: destroy the opposition, but it can destroy you first. So

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Speaker 5: I appreciate what she said around the choices that we

439
00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:13,199
Speaker 5: have to make of what emotion you choose to live in,

440
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Speaker 5: what you choose.

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Speaker 4: To give to the haters and to our opposition.

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Speaker 5: But right now, and I think the other choice that

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Speaker 5: we can really make is around choosing hope, around believing

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Speaker 5: that something else is possible, and with what I feel

445
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Speaker 5: like is happening right now, because we have just seen

446
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,800
Speaker 5: I mean, it's been a hell of a year. We've

447
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,560
Speaker 5: seen all these executive orders right attacking our community, from

448
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,600
Speaker 5: banning gender affirming care to kicking trans people out the military,

449
00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:43,800
Speaker 5: to trying to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion as though

450
00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,840
Speaker 5: somehow being diverse and having merit are at odds. We've

451
00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,760
Speaker 5: seen all of these attacks in our community and our people,

452
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,200
Speaker 5: and what they want us to feel is overwhelmed. They

453
00:22:54,200 --> 00:22:55,879
Speaker 5: want us to feel like there's nothing you can do

454
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,840
Speaker 5: about it. We're moving ahead without you, good luck. You

455
00:22:58,840 --> 00:22:59,800
Speaker 5: should just give up.

456
00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:00,679
Speaker 4: And that's a.

457
00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,439
Speaker 5: Choice point for me that we have to choose to

458
00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,720
Speaker 5: believe that we can win together if we fight back,

459
00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,800
Speaker 5: and then we've got to give ourselves proof, positive details

460
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:12,600
Speaker 5: of how to make it happen. But I think that

461
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,000
Speaker 5: a lot of people are sitting in that choice point

462
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 5: of do I hide right, do I try to protect myself,

463
00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:20,640
Speaker 5: or do I show up for the movement?

464
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:22,200
Speaker 4: Do I fight back collectively?

465
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,600
Speaker 5: And the answer has to be choosing to fight, choosing

466
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 5: to hold on to our joy and, like you said,

467
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,719
Speaker 5: choosing love in the face of all this fear and

468
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:32,520
Speaker 5: anger and hate.

469
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,440
Speaker 3: I just want to tell all of these young kids

470
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 3: who are experiencing so much at school, and that's the

471
00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,440
Speaker 3: hard part. Kelly is like, yeah, the numbers don't lie,

472
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,320
Speaker 3: and you know the statistics more than I do. But

473
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,920
Speaker 3: right now, more than ever, like our queer community, our

474
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:57,560
Speaker 3: children are being affected at an alarming rate, with suicide rates,

475
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:04,000
Speaker 3: with harassment meant with abuse, with neglect, being kicked out

476
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,679
Speaker 3: of homes. So you know, I do hope that this

477
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:11,479
Speaker 3: podcast is a safe space for a lot of our queer.

478
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:12,640
Speaker 2: Listeners and followers.

479
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,760
Speaker 3: What advice are you giving the younger generation who are

480
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:22,520
Speaker 3: quite scared, who do feel fear, who do feel they

481
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:28,719
Speaker 3: can't live their full true, authentic self in fear of

482
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,360
Speaker 3: what might come in any type of retaliation in school

483
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,800
Speaker 3: or by their parents, Like, what are we doing about

484
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:40,080
Speaker 3: it to let them know we got them?

485
00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:40,800
Speaker 4: Yeah?

486
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,480
Speaker 5: I mean we have to affirm for every kid, especially

487
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 5: our trands and non binary youth, especially our youth of color,

488
00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,879
Speaker 5: that they are enough just as they are. They are enough,

489
00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:54,760
Speaker 5: and they are loved. And I think that what they

490
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,880
Speaker 5: actually need to see are more examples of adults like us.

491
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,760
Speaker 5: They're showing up to say that un equivocally in public,

492
00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 5: out loud and everywhere that we can because it's not

493
00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:07,800
Speaker 5: their job to deal with all this nonsense.

494
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:08,720
Speaker 4: We created it.

495
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,480
Speaker 5: It's our job to fix it for them. And if

496
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:13,919
Speaker 5: I look at the future, there's such an opportunity in

497
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,119
Speaker 5: front of us. You know, thirty percent of Generation Z

498
00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:21,800
Speaker 5: identify as LGBTQ, many of them identifying as trans and

499
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 5: non binary.

500
00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:24,440
Speaker 4: That is huge, huge.

501
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,320
Speaker 5: I think the greatest threat to our progress is if

502
00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:29,640
Speaker 5: they don't feel like they can be fully who they

503
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:33,400
Speaker 5: are and retreat back into the closet, or worse yet,

504
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,919
Speaker 5: don't even make it to be adults right because they

505
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,040
Speaker 5: don't feel like there's enough love and support for them

506
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,800
Speaker 5: to exist in this world. That's our job to make

507
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:44,679
Speaker 5: sure that they can survive and that they can thrive,

508
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:46,959
Speaker 5: and that means that we've got to fight back and

509
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,400
Speaker 5: show them examples of what it looks like to do

510
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,639
Speaker 5: that and make sure that they've got the resources now

511
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:54,639
Speaker 5: to survive. You know, a lot of the work that

512
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,560
Speaker 5: we're doing with the Human Rights Campaign, especially since the election,

513
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,800
Speaker 5: has been about separating fact and fiction for folks, helping

514
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,040
Speaker 5: to clarify what our rights truly are, and then giving

515
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:10,920
Speaker 5: parents and teachers and families and everyone resources on how

516
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,840
Speaker 5: to survive the moment that we're in because it is challenging,

517
00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:17,840
Speaker 5: you know, from trying to get access to your healthcare

518
00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:22,680
Speaker 5: and medication, to making sure that you've got the right

519
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:27,040
Speaker 5: parentage documents in place for your kids, to you know,

520
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:29,639
Speaker 5: the challenges that folks that are experiencing with IDs and

521
00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,720
Speaker 5: passports and things like that. There are things that we

522
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,680
Speaker 5: have to do right now to reduce the harm, increase

523
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,280
Speaker 5: safety for folks, and at the same time fight back

524
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:39,240
Speaker 5: against the systems.

525
00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 3: Absolutely, we have to get out there and continue to

526
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,520
Speaker 3: fight back. We have to keep showing up, which you

527
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:49,879
Speaker 3: talk about so often, and I would love everyone who

528
00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:53,119
Speaker 3: whether you identify as queer or you're an ally, that

529
00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:55,800
Speaker 3: is the greatest gift when we walk into those rooms.

530
00:26:56,160 --> 00:26:59,720
Speaker 3: I sat in a board meeting with a sixty plus

531
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:03,120
Speaker 3: old gentleman I will not name his name in confidence,

532
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,399
Speaker 3: and he literally was like me and my wife just

533
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,280
Speaker 3: didn't think it was right for what was going on

534
00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:13,760
Speaker 3: in the queer community. So we've dedicated our lives to

535
00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:15,440
Speaker 3: be activists.

536
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:19,959
Speaker 2: Like that is it was. It was really hard for

537
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:21,959
Speaker 2: me not to sob in that moment.

538
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,840
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I was just like, oh my god, there's

539
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,560
Speaker 3: so many great allies out there who we need.

540
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:30,680
Speaker 2: Yes, we need.

541
00:27:30,359 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 3: That, And it was just such a beautiful moment that

542
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,400
Speaker 3: I'm so lucky and I want everyone to be able

543
00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:42,320
Speaker 3: to be able to experience the feelings in those rooms

544
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:43,640
Speaker 3: because they're magic.

545
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:49,040
Speaker 5: Wow, that's so powerful. And the thing that really sticks

546
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:53,240
Speaker 5: with me, Ashlen, is as hard as these times are

547
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 5: that we're in, with all the darkness that we're experiencing,

548
00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,480
Speaker 5: everything that we're facing, it is a privilege to be

549
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,439
Speaker 5: the one who were called to fight back. Yes, and

550
00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,920
Speaker 5: especially when I think about the legacy that we are inheriting, right,

551
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,879
Speaker 5: I mean, look, we have ancestors that fought back in

552
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,840
Speaker 5: this fight when fighting back meant you know, losing your job,

553
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,680
Speaker 5: losing your family, and sometimes losing your life, and yet

554
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,879
Speaker 5: they fought. I mean, we are the descendants of Marsha P.

555
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,879
Speaker 5: Johnson and Sylvia Rivera who fought at Stonewall. We're the

556
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,199
Speaker 5: descendants of Harvey milk Right, who showed us what it

557
00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,400
Speaker 5: looked like for queer people to be in seats of power.

558
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,119
Speaker 5: We're the descendants of Judy Shepherd and John Lewis, people

559
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,360
Speaker 5: that put their bodies and their lives on the line.

560
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:40,320
Speaker 4: And now it's our turn.

561
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 5: And I think, you know, one of the things I

562
00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,040
Speaker 5: feel like a lot of us are grappling with now,

563
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:47,320
Speaker 5: especially people of our generation, where you know, there was

564
00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,120
Speaker 5: a moment where equality kind of felt inevitable. You know,

565
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:54,120
Speaker 5: we were complaining about companies pink washing coe parades, and

566
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:55,800
Speaker 5: now you know what, I wouldn't give for a good

567
00:28:55,800 --> 00:29:01,040
Speaker 5: pink wash. But I think that we're coming to terms

568
00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:05,160
Speaker 5: with the reality that any time you challenge institutions of power,

569
00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 5: it's not going to be safe. We're dealing with the

570
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:13,120
Speaker 5: backlash of the progress that we've made. That's just requiring

571
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:18,040
Speaker 5: us to confront the systems differently. But I'm so confident

572
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:19,520
Speaker 5: that we have the tools. I mean, if I think

573
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:22,760
Speaker 5: about everything that folks did to survive the AIDS crisis

574
00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:26,000
Speaker 5: in the eighties, we have the tools in our community.

575
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:28,880
Speaker 5: It's just we have to rebuild that muscle memory and

576
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:31,200
Speaker 5: get ready for the fight. And I think that we

577
00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,640
Speaker 5: are ready for it because we have the hope in

578
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,080
Speaker 5: our hearts and we know what's possible. Like I said before,

579
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:41,880
Speaker 5: we've tasted and felt equality and liberation. Yes, it's lane

580
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:43,200
Speaker 5: to take that away from us.

581
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,880
Speaker 2: This is wide open and I'm your host, Ashlyn Harris.

582
00:29:51,000 --> 00:30:01,600
Speaker 2: We'll be right back. You bring up a.

583
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:05,600
Speaker 3: Really interesting point, and it's something I've you know, I'm

584
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 3: always worried about. Is you've now opened your life, you

585
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,600
Speaker 3: and Becky, Because Honey, Becky g is the She is

586
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,440
Speaker 3: it and you I love her, the first lady of

587
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,200
Speaker 3: the queers. She does not She shows up and she

588
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:21,880
Speaker 3: shows out.

589
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:23,360
Speaker 4: That's my heart right there.

590
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:25,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, trust me, I adore her.

591
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:29,080
Speaker 3: But I'm gonna say this, like you now have opened

592
00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:34,000
Speaker 3: your life up to hate. You've opened your life up

593
00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:39,479
Speaker 3: to access for everyone, both on both sides of the scale.

594
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:41,840
Speaker 2: Do you worry about your safety?

595
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:46,200
Speaker 3: Are are you you know you're do any day now

596
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,760
Speaker 3: with your second child, Like you're a mama bear through and.

597
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:53,680
Speaker 2: Through, Like, how how are you moving in a world.

598
00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:56,480
Speaker 3: And a time where there are so many threats out

599
00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,240
Speaker 3: there and that there are so many people who are

600
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,480
Speaker 3: very extreme when it comes to how they feel about

601
00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:04,280
Speaker 3: our community.

602
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:05,920
Speaker 2: Are you worried?

603
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:07,960
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's not easy. You know.

604
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,000
Speaker 5: When I took this job at the Human Rights Campaign,

605
00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:14,000
Speaker 5: Becky and I had a conversation and we said, because

606
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,640
Speaker 5: really we were taking the job. Yeah, I mean it's

607
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,480
Speaker 5: a family commitment to put yourself into this work, and

608
00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:22,640
Speaker 5: there's a lot of sacrifices my family makes to make

609
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:23,280
Speaker 5: it possible.

610
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:25,360
Speaker 4: But the environment has really changed.

611
00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:27,800
Speaker 5: I talk to some of our folks that've been around

612
00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,440
Speaker 5: for twenty and thirty years at the Human Rights Campaign,

613
00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:33,200
Speaker 5: and you know, we've always gotten calls to the office

614
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:36,160
Speaker 5: from people that disagree with our mission, our mission of

615
00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:40,320
Speaker 5: equality right. And they used to call saying, you know,

616
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,080
Speaker 5: we're praying for you, we're praying for you. And now

617
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,720
Speaker 5: they call and say we're going to kill you. And

618
00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,240
Speaker 5: the question is is it a valid threat that we

619
00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:52,800
Speaker 5: can verify or not. But that's kind of the extremism

620
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,840
Speaker 5: that exists in our world. That's what we're fighting back against,

621
00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,520
Speaker 5: and sometimes it is scary. But again, I kind of

622
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,040
Speaker 5: come back to this point that you know, we're dealing

623
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:05,240
Speaker 5: in a moment where we have had an incredible dramatic

624
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:08,000
Speaker 5: increase in our rights, particularly over the last you know,

625
00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:12,320
Speaker 5: forty or so years, and the backlash to those rights

626
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:18,360
Speaker 5: is violence, sometimes particularly political violence, and unfortunately that has

627
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 5: always been the story of America if you look at

628
00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,280
Speaker 5: it over time. So it's our job, you know, one

629
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,720
Speaker 5: to do all that we can to increase safety, reduce risk,

630
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:30,560
Speaker 5: especially for me and my family, but to also acknowledge

631
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:32,840
Speaker 5: that this is part of the struggle. We've got to

632
00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:34,760
Speaker 5: stamp that out, we got to name it for what

633
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:36,760
Speaker 5: it is, and we got to defeat it to get

634
00:32:36,760 --> 00:32:39,280
Speaker 5: to the other side, because we know that there are

635
00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:42,640
Speaker 5: more good, reasonable people, even people that disagree with us,

636
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,280
Speaker 5: than those extremists that want to promote.

637
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,000
Speaker 4: Hate and violence. Yes, so that's kind of also.

638
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,800
Speaker 5: I think part of what we've been doing at HRC

639
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:55,200
Speaker 5: is really driving that accountability, right, But it is, I mean,

640
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:55,880
Speaker 5: it's not easy.

641
00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:58,560
Speaker 4: I'm sure you experienced a lot of the same same stuff.

642
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,920
Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's the hard you know, you open yourself

643
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,600
Speaker 3: up to a lot of scrutiny. You open yourself up

644
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:08,440
Speaker 3: to the media and the tabloids and the news and

645
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:12,880
Speaker 3: the harassment and the stalkers, like it's no joke out there,

646
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:18,400
Speaker 3: like it's it's it's scary. It's scary. And when you

647
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,320
Speaker 3: are raising young black and brown children, as you and

648
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,800
Speaker 3: I both are, we move differently because of it. And

649
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,160
Speaker 3: every I mean last night, I'm not even kidding last night,

650
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:34,600
Speaker 3: I had a dinner and you know, high profile people

651
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:40,040
Speaker 3: have a trans child and they're looking to leave, and

652
00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:45,040
Speaker 3: it's just like, we're willing to do anything for the

653
00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:48,040
Speaker 3: safety of our children, and we should never be even

654
00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:49,240
Speaker 3: put in this position.

655
00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,480
Speaker 5: No, absolutely, and even the conversations that we have to

656
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:55,280
Speaker 5: have with our kids, like, you know, my kid does

657
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:56,400
Speaker 5: not check that mailbox.

658
00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,120
Speaker 4: I don't know what people are sending in the mail.

659
00:33:58,160 --> 00:33:59,080
Speaker 4: You're not gonna check that.

660
00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:01,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's scary.

661
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:02,760
Speaker 4: I know it is scary.

662
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,600
Speaker 3: So you know, cause you and Becky are both you

663
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:09,520
Speaker 3: both have been in activism, you both met at planned parenthood.

664
00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:15,279
Speaker 3: How like, what is it like behind closed doors? How

665
00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,440
Speaker 3: because you are working twenty four to seven, you're literally

666
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,680
Speaker 3: at work right now, and you please don't go into labor,

667
00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,120
Speaker 3: but at this moment you could go any second. Now

668
00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:28,840
Speaker 3: you are, so you're dedicating your life to this mission

669
00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:29,480
Speaker 3: and work.

670
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 2: But what is who's Kelly outside.

671
00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:36,759
Speaker 3: Of being you know, the Human Rights Campaign president who

672
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:41,040
Speaker 3: shows up twenty three hours a day for our people? Like,

673
00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:44,200
Speaker 3: what what are you doing outside? What are you doing

674
00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:46,480
Speaker 3: with the family? How are you showing up for Becky?

675
00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:47,560
Speaker 3: Like what's going on?

676
00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:49,120
Speaker 4: Uh?

677
00:34:49,120 --> 00:34:51,400
Speaker 5: Absolutely well, I will say. You know, we fell in

678
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:53,799
Speaker 5: love through the movement. So part of what drew us

679
00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:58,680
Speaker 5: together is our passion for social change. I mean, I

680
00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:00,560
Speaker 5: think that one of the things that used to do.

681
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:03,080
Speaker 5: I remember one of the first what was the day,

682
00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,800
Speaker 5: it's the first trip that we took. We went across

683
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,240
Speaker 5: the world and we were sitting on a beach reading

684
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:09,920
Speaker 5: each other like Audre.

685
00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:12,680
Speaker 4: Lord and Rich called my back and we were just

686
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:13,960
Speaker 4: in it, you know.

687
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:16,839
Speaker 5: But it's been a real piece of what brings us

688
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:20,120
Speaker 5: together is this aspiration to create a bigger, broader and

689
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:24,040
Speaker 5: better world, to build a bigger weed. And I think

690
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,759
Speaker 5: building our family has always been a part of that too.

691
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:29,759
Speaker 5: But at home, Look, I'm Kelly from the block. I

692
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 5: love that I we like to watch reality television. There's

693
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:37,279
Speaker 5: a real emphasis and you probably feel this too, but

694
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,800
Speaker 5: like a real emphasis on being present in the moment,

695
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:43,839
Speaker 5: like doing the little stuff, taking the kid to the

696
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:48,960
Speaker 5: park and not looking at the phone. Yes, making like

697
00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:53,239
Speaker 5: pancakes at home, but those little moments like because if

698
00:35:53,239 --> 00:35:55,160
Speaker 5: I think about why I do this work to fight

699
00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:57,880
Speaker 5: for equality, it's not so I can march on the

700
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:01,160
Speaker 5: hill and make speeches at rallies and all that. It's

701
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,839
Speaker 5: so that I can have those little moments, right, those

702
00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:07,040
Speaker 5: little moments of joy and presence with the family. So

703
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,640
Speaker 5: any chance that we get, we're just spending that time

704
00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:12,319
Speaker 5: and embracing it and enjoying it because you know, it

705
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,920
Speaker 5: literally wasn't possible a couple of generations ago. And yet

706
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,080
Speaker 5: we're here, two queer women of color with one and

707
00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,200
Speaker 5: a half almost two kids, enjoying our little life in

708
00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:22,960
Speaker 5: the suburbs.

709
00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:24,040
Speaker 2: Yeah.

710
00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:25,560
Speaker 4: But because people thought for that.

711
00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:30,080
Speaker 3: Exactly we and it is our job now to stand

712
00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:32,960
Speaker 3: on the backs of the people who came before us,

713
00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:37,120
Speaker 3: that's right, And this new administration is trying to stand

714
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,839
Speaker 3: on our necks. So we have to show up. This

715
00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:44,520
Speaker 3: is our time to show up. And I'm telling you,

716
00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,920
Speaker 3: you fire me up. Like even now I'm getting so

717
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:47,960
Speaker 3: fired up, I'm like.

718
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:48,520
Speaker 4: Let's go.

719
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,400
Speaker 3: But I want to know because this is important and

720
00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,360
Speaker 3: I asked this all the time to all of our guests.

721
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:02,560
Speaker 3: Wide Open is clearly, you know, being a very authentic

722
00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 3: and just peeling back the layers and talking about the

723
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,520
Speaker 3: things no one else is willing to talk about.

724
00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,640
Speaker 2: With your life and where you've gone and.

725
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:14,880
Speaker 3: The missions you've just been doing over and over and over.

726
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:18,640
Speaker 3: What was the moment in your life that split you

727
00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:22,920
Speaker 3: wide open? Like, what was the breaking point that made it,

728
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:24,400
Speaker 3: that changed it all.

729
00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:27,600
Speaker 2: For you where you were like mm hmm, this is it?

730
00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:29,720
Speaker 4: M man.

731
00:37:30,160 --> 00:37:36,799
Speaker 5: Yeah, Wow, that's such a profound question because you can

732
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,640
Speaker 5: think of like the little things over time, but what's

733
00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:42,560
Speaker 5: the big the big thing that kind of changed the trajectory.

734
00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:46,360
Speaker 5: My mom got really sick in twenty fourteen, and it

735
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:51,240
Speaker 5: was like unclear why or what happened. And at that time,

736
00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:53,560
Speaker 5: I was I was working at Plant Parented. I mean

737
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,440
Speaker 5: I was, I was busting my tail, I was working hard.

738
00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:00,040
Speaker 5: I was all over yeah, the world, doing all a

739
00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:04,000
Speaker 5: little sorts of things to fight for justice. And when

740
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:07,200
Speaker 5: she got sick, of course, I went home to take

741
00:38:07,239 --> 00:38:09,920
Speaker 5: care of her. In the hospital, and I remember I

742
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:11,360
Speaker 5: was trying to do it all. I was trying to

743
00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:14,040
Speaker 5: still kind of like be as attentive as possible to

744
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,640
Speaker 5: the movement work and then taking care of her too.

745
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,040
Speaker 5: And I remember that there was one night where she

746
00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:21,959
Speaker 5: had to be on kind of twenty four hour care

747
00:38:22,080 --> 00:38:26,120
Speaker 5: because you know, she was a little bit delirious, and

748
00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:28,839
Speaker 5: in order for them to not kind of restrain her

749
00:38:29,239 --> 00:38:31,440
Speaker 5: in the bed, you had to have somebody watch her

750
00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:34,800
Speaker 5: at all time. So I was doing an overnight shift

751
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,080
Speaker 5: of watching her, and she had had she you know,

752
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:38,880
Speaker 5: you have to have kind of an ivy or whatever,

753
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:41,280
Speaker 5: and she had one in her neck at that point.

754
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:41,920
Speaker 2: Oh wow.

755
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:44,960
Speaker 5: And you know, I had worked all day, was staying

756
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:49,400
Speaker 5: up all night, and I.

757
00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:50,759
Speaker 4: I must have I felt like I blinked.

758
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:54,640
Speaker 5: And when I woke up, there was a whole team

759
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 5: of people in the room because she had pulled that

760
00:38:57,239 --> 00:38:59,719
Speaker 5: ivy out of her neck and was very susceptible to

761
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:05,680
Speaker 5: And I was like, what am I doing? How did

762
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:10,239
Speaker 5: I allow myself not to prioritize the thing that matters

763
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 5: most right now.

764
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,640
Speaker 4: Trying to be too much to too many people.

765
00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:16,080
Speaker 5: And after that, I was like, I'm not gonna you know,

766
00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:19,239
Speaker 5: I gotta I have my I gotta have my priorities clear.

767
00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:23,760
Speaker 5: My priorities are my family. My priorities are protecting my joy.

768
00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:27,000
Speaker 5: My priorities are my peace. But it just changed the

769
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:28,680
Speaker 5: way I looked at the world, like I'm not trying

770
00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:31,440
Speaker 5: to be everything for everyone.

771
00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:32,120
Speaker 4: I'm trying to.

772
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:35,120
Speaker 5: Make sure that I that even in this fight for justice,

773
00:39:35,480 --> 00:39:39,359
Speaker 5: that I protect my family, right, because that's ultimately what

774
00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:42,719
Speaker 5: this fight is about. Yes, And so you know, that

775
00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:45,440
Speaker 5: was one of those moments that was really clarifying for me.

776
00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,400
Speaker 4: But it's also been like, I think a gift.

777
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,480
Speaker 5: You know, my mom survived and she's doing great now,

778
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,200
Speaker 5: and it really helped me to kind of recalibrate the

779
00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:57,200
Speaker 5: way I think about the work. But it's actually not

780
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:00,759
Speaker 5: when you do movement work, you're not helping anybody by

781
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:04,000
Speaker 5: sacrificing all of yourself to the movement, right.

782
00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:05,799
Speaker 4: What you actually want to do is.

783
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,560
Speaker 5: Give the movement the best of you and then also

784
00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:12,360
Speaker 5: be prepared to embrace the joy that you are fighting for.

785
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:14,919
Speaker 5: Because the joy isn't just the outcome that we hope

786
00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,160
Speaker 5: to get like after we die. Right now, it's a

787
00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:21,960
Speaker 5: strategy and how we continue to build towards getting there. Yes,

788
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:24,520
Speaker 5: So it was a real life lesson in learning for

789
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,160
Speaker 5: me that you know, I really hold on to.

790
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,160
Speaker 2: I love that. Thank you for sharing that so so powerful.

791
00:40:31,239 --> 00:40:36,400
Speaker 3: And you know with life right now, and you're about

792
00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:41,040
Speaker 3: to have little girl, right or bringing a girl, that's good.

793
00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:43,920
Speaker 2: What's what's next for you?

794
00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:47,000
Speaker 3: Like, what's what's coming up besides a little rest because

795
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:48,560
Speaker 3: I know, damn well, you're not going to rest that

796
00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:50,520
Speaker 3: long because I know you better than that.

797
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, what what's coming up? What's what's on the radar?

798
00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:55,719
Speaker 2: What's next for us?

799
00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:57,040
Speaker 4: Absolutely?

800
00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,000
Speaker 5: Well, I am excited about, you know, all the development

801
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:02,640
Speaker 5: with my family, which I'm just thrilled about. And it's

802
00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:06,000
Speaker 5: all about again, like not letting this world take away

803
00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:10,200
Speaker 5: our joy and not letting it stop us from continuing

804
00:41:10,239 --> 00:41:13,040
Speaker 5: what we've done for generations of building our families and

805
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:15,920
Speaker 5: building our communities. And then you know, on the front

806
00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,359
Speaker 5: of protecting our people. You know, there's a few things

807
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:19,840
Speaker 5: we got to do. I think that we all have

808
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:22,440
Speaker 5: to be the truth tellers right now. There are so

809
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:26,880
Speaker 5: much misinformation and lies that are spreading. We have to

810
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,600
Speaker 5: be the truth tellers. I think that means helping to

811
00:41:29,680 --> 00:41:33,280
Speaker 5: separate fact from fiction and people to understand their rights

812
00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:35,759
Speaker 5: and the resources they have to protect their rights. But

813
00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:39,400
Speaker 5: it also means refusing to be silent. You know, you

814
00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:41,839
Speaker 5: don't have to know it all to know that discrimination

815
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:43,960
Speaker 5: is wrong. You don't have to know it all to

816
00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:46,840
Speaker 5: know that if a kid's getting bullied because they're queer,

817
00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,400
Speaker 5: trends and it's not right. But we have to be

818
00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,440
Speaker 5: the people that are not willing to be silent bystanders,

819
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:54,759
Speaker 5: but are going to show up and speak out, whether

820
00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,239
Speaker 5: it's at school or at work or wherever you are.

821
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:02,040
Speaker 5: And we've got to show up. I mean, look, Pride

822
00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:04,960
Speaker 5: this year I think is going to be really important.

823
00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,520
Speaker 5: We need to make sure that people aren't staying home

824
00:42:07,719 --> 00:42:11,279
Speaker 5: out of fear, but they are showing up because we

825
00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:15,799
Speaker 5: have We have power in our presence, our visibility and

826
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:18,880
Speaker 5: seeing numbers are bigger than ever they ever have been before.

827
00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:21,439
Speaker 5: Will help a queer kid in Kansas it's not out yet,

828
00:42:21,560 --> 00:42:23,400
Speaker 5: know that there are people that will accept them when

829
00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:26,359
Speaker 5: they are. That's what we have to do. And then

830
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:28,160
Speaker 5: I think, you know, the last thing is kind of

831
00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:31,600
Speaker 5: more of a soul thing, but we've got to believe

832
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,200
Speaker 5: that we can get to the other side of this,

833
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:36,560
Speaker 5: But there are more good people in this world than

834
00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:39,359
Speaker 5: the extremists that you see that are attacking us. I mean,

835
00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:43,200
Speaker 5: in this last election, thirty six per thirty six percent.

836
00:42:42,840 --> 00:42:45,160
Speaker 4: Of people did not vote.

837
00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:49,040
Speaker 5: If we get a fraction of them to feel inspired

838
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:50,280
Speaker 5: and engaged right.

839
00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:52,400
Speaker 4: Now, we win. You know.

840
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:57,120
Speaker 5: So this is not a situation where we're like dramatically

841
00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:00,680
Speaker 5: in the wrong. Well, we're dramatically out of power and

842
00:43:00,719 --> 00:43:04,360
Speaker 5: without hope. No, we have hope, and we certainly have power,

843
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:06,000
Speaker 5: but we've got to use that and we've got to.

844
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:06,600
Speaker 4: Believe in it.

845
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,800
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I am a very firm believer in speaking

846
00:43:10,880 --> 00:43:14,520
Speaker 3: truth into existence. And the thing that keeps me up

847
00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:21,360
Speaker 3: every night is, you know, the conversation around letting trans

848
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:25,040
Speaker 3: kids participate in sports, like I lose too much damn

849
00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:28,440
Speaker 3: sleep over this. And for a child who was so

850
00:43:28,920 --> 00:43:35,000
Speaker 3: troubled in their home, I am telling you that the

851
00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:38,880
Speaker 3: single handed thing that saved my damn life was my

852
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:43,160
Speaker 3: team because I felt a type of belonging I did

853
00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:46,520
Speaker 3: not feel at home. I felt a safety that I

854
00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:49,239
Speaker 3: did not feel at home, and it was a good

855
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:56,080
Speaker 3: outlet for me to understand life's fucking lessons like I

856
00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:59,880
Speaker 3: am who I am because of the sports I played,

857
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:04,759
Speaker 3: and what I learned about leadership, what I'd learned about adapting,

858
00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:08,960
Speaker 3: the tools I gained to show up in groups and

859
00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:13,560
Speaker 3: different like holding each other accountable and fighting as a collective.

860
00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:17,640
Speaker 3: There's so many great things I learned, But the biggest

861
00:44:17,680 --> 00:44:18,160
Speaker 3: thing it.

862
00:44:18,239 --> 00:44:21,719
Speaker 2: Saved my life. And how how are we because it

863
00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:22,880
Speaker 2: kept me off the streets.

864
00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:23,759
Speaker 4: Yeah.

865
00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:26,000
Speaker 3: And I'm a person who started doing drugs in sixth

866
00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:29,160
Speaker 3: grade and my coach was like, what are we doing here?

867
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:33,200
Speaker 3: Like it was my support system and it held me

868
00:44:33,280 --> 00:44:36,120
Speaker 3: accountable in the way I showed up for the group.

869
00:44:36,719 --> 00:44:38,920
Speaker 3: And how are we going to take that away from kids?

870
00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:42,239
Speaker 3: How are we going to take that experience away from

871
00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:46,960
Speaker 3: these young children just wanting a place to play, to belong.

872
00:44:47,520 --> 00:44:50,359
Speaker 5: Yeah, And that's that's what people need to be hearing, right.

873
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:54,520
Speaker 5: I Mean, we all want sports to be fair, we

874
00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:56,960
Speaker 5: want students to be safe, We want young people to

875
00:44:56,960 --> 00:44:59,399
Speaker 5: have all the opportunities that you just talked about.

876
00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:00,560
Speaker 4: It's critical important.

877
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,600
Speaker 5: It's not only life changing, it's life saving, like you said.

878
00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:07,960
Speaker 5: And I can even make space for people that don't

879
00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:12,799
Speaker 5: understand everything right, Like some people have legitimate questions about well,

880
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,000
Speaker 5: what does participation look like, what does it mean? Maybe

881
00:45:16,040 --> 00:45:19,560
Speaker 5: they don't know a transgender, non binary person, right, and

882
00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:22,399
Speaker 5: they want those questions answered. But what I am clear

883
00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:25,279
Speaker 5: about is that the answer cannot be that we are

884
00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:27,800
Speaker 5: going to exclude kids from.

885
00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:30,120
Speaker 4: All the benefits of sport. We just can't do it.

886
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:32,680
Speaker 4: And especially when you look towards this future generation.

887
00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:35,400
Speaker 5: I think I said earlier, thirty percent of Generation Z

888
00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:39,080
Speaker 5: identify as LGBTQ, A lot of them.

889
00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:40,400
Speaker 4: Identify as non binary.

890
00:45:40,719 --> 00:45:43,359
Speaker 5: It's not a viable solution to only say, well, we're

891
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:46,319
Speaker 5: just going to exclude, and in fact, even more so

892
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:50,600
Speaker 5: than non viable, it's actually dangerous. I mean, how many

893
00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:52,799
Speaker 5: times have we also seen, just over the course of

894
00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:56,480
Speaker 5: history that if you don't fit into somebody's idea or

895
00:45:56,600 --> 00:46:00,520
Speaker 5: box about what gender should look like, especially for for women,

896
00:46:00,760 --> 00:46:03,040
Speaker 5: you are policed, they.

897
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:05,920
Speaker 4: Come after you. I mean, I just think about.

898
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:07,799
Speaker 5: The way the you know, the sojournal truth of it

899
00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:10,160
Speaker 5: all for black women, right, Ain't I a woman We

900
00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:12,480
Speaker 5: had to go through so much to prove our womanhood

901
00:46:12,480 --> 00:46:15,360
Speaker 5: as cist gender women. Or I think about the athletes

902
00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:19,040
Speaker 5: like the Algerian boxer right, who was a cisgender woman

903
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:23,080
Speaker 5: who is targeted by anti trans attacks or Britney Griner

904
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:26,040
Speaker 5: is another example. So let's also be clear that the

905
00:46:26,080 --> 00:46:29,000
Speaker 5: ways that these bills are moving are not only dangerous

906
00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:32,640
Speaker 5: to the fundamental just truth that kids should be able

907
00:46:32,640 --> 00:46:35,240
Speaker 5: to play sports and get all the benefits from those sports.

908
00:46:35,560 --> 00:46:37,320
Speaker 5: I mean, either're targeting kids as young as four and

909
00:46:37,440 --> 00:46:41,319
Speaker 5: five years old, but also that the ways that these

910
00:46:41,360 --> 00:46:46,880
Speaker 5: bills are created, they actually expose cisgender women to high

911
00:46:46,960 --> 00:46:52,040
Speaker 5: levels of scrutiny, interrogation, possible examinations that look, I don't

912
00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:55,520
Speaker 5: we don't need to have any of that happening. So

913
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:57,960
Speaker 5: I think that this is one of those spaces where

914
00:46:58,120 --> 00:47:02,279
Speaker 5: authentic conversations are needed, Yes, where we need to be

915
00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:06,080
Speaker 5: bringing folks into the conversation discussion. We don't have to

916
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:08,359
Speaker 5: leave with a solution, but we do have to know

917
00:47:08,440 --> 00:47:12,640
Speaker 5: that excluding kids and using kids as political chips like

918
00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:14,839
Speaker 5: they are right now, hmm, that's not.

919
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:17,279
Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, it's not, and it's not.

920
00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:19,960
Speaker 3: And we need to envision and pave the way for

921
00:47:20,080 --> 00:47:24,600
Speaker 3: a world in which we're all treated equal, the freedom

922
00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:28,960
Speaker 3: to live our life and our truth without fear, without judgment,

923
00:47:29,080 --> 00:47:33,839
Speaker 3: without harassment under the law. Like we have to keep

924
00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:36,840
Speaker 3: doing this, and that's what you're doing as the president.

925
00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:40,439
Speaker 3: You are showing up in a way that is so impactful.

926
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:46,520
Speaker 3: You are going to leave an incredible legacy behind based

927
00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:49,799
Speaker 3: on your life's work and choosing it because it is

928
00:47:49,880 --> 00:47:54,360
Speaker 3: a choice, and you choose it every single day, every moment.

929
00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:58,440
Speaker 3: And I am so grateful for those choices because to

930
00:47:58,520 --> 00:48:01,560
Speaker 3: call you our pre I have to keep calling it's

931
00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:04,080
Speaker 3: you are my president. I'm not seeing the world any

932
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:08,560
Speaker 3: other way. But I'm so grateful that you made these

933
00:48:08,680 --> 00:48:11,760
Speaker 3: choices to show up in this way for the human

934
00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:15,160
Speaker 3: Rights campaign, because I do think this is the moment.

935
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:19,000
Speaker 3: It is a define It's a defining moment in our life,

936
00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:21,960
Speaker 3: and for us to be a part of it, to

937
00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:26,399
Speaker 3: be pivotal, to be important characters in this story, I'm

938
00:48:26,719 --> 00:48:29,600
Speaker 3: I'm humbled by it and I'm ready for the opportunity

939
00:48:29,680 --> 00:48:32,839
Speaker 3: every single day. And I'm grateful for our friendship and

940
00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:35,759
Speaker 3: for you coming on and being a part of my

941
00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:38,560
Speaker 3: show Wide Open. But I know I have you as

942
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:41,480
Speaker 3: a sister in my life, and that to me is

943
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:42,120
Speaker 3: what it's about.

944
00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:45,640
Speaker 4: Ah. I love you, Ashlyn Harris. I know I'm not

945
00:48:45,719 --> 00:48:46,359
Speaker 4: alone in this.

946
00:48:46,440 --> 00:48:49,160
Speaker 5: We are doing this together, and I'm reminded that Cornell

947
00:48:49,200 --> 00:48:52,160
Speaker 5: West quote, justice is what love looks like in public.

948
00:48:52,280 --> 00:48:54,880
Speaker 5: I love you and I love that your commitment to

949
00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:56,920
Speaker 5: justice shows up in these ways.

950
00:48:57,360 --> 00:49:01,560
Speaker 3: Thanks Kelly, thanks for being on our show, and can

951
00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:04,120
Speaker 3: you tell everyone where they can find you and if

952
00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:07,200
Speaker 3: they want to sign up to be volunteers for the HRC.

953
00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:09,520
Speaker 3: I want everyone to hear that again because it is

954
00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:12,560
Speaker 3: so important and we need everyone right now. We are

955
00:49:12,560 --> 00:49:14,799
Speaker 3: in the fight of our lives for our generation and

956
00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:17,560
Speaker 3: we have to keep showing up absolutely.

957
00:49:17,600 --> 00:49:19,520
Speaker 5: Look, if folks want to get involved, you can text

958
00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:22,839
Speaker 5: action to four seven two four seven two. You can

959
00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:25,560
Speaker 5: visit us at HRC dot org, or find us on

960
00:49:25,600 --> 00:49:28,680
Speaker 5: the internets. I'm at Kelly J. Robinson on Instagram and

961
00:49:28,719 --> 00:49:31,520
Speaker 5: all across the webs, and we're at HRC and at

962
00:49:31,600 --> 00:49:32,680
Speaker 5: Human Rights Campaign.

963
00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:34,200
Speaker 4: But join us.

964
00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:36,200
Speaker 5: We need you in this movement, We need you in

965
00:49:36,239 --> 00:49:38,800
Speaker 5: this fight, and together we are going to get free.

966
00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:40,280
Speaker 2: Yes that part.

967
00:49:40,880 --> 00:49:44,279
Speaker 3: Thank you again for everyone tuning in to another episode

968
00:49:44,440 --> 00:49:50,440
Speaker 3: of Wide Open. We'll see you next week. Wide Open

969
00:49:50,480 --> 00:49:54,680
Speaker 3: with Ashland Harris is an iheartwomen's sports production. You can

970
00:49:54,719 --> 00:49:58,680
Speaker 3: find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

971
00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:03,160
Speaker 3: you get your podcasts. Our producers are Carmen Borca Correo,

972
00:50:03,719 --> 00:50:10,080
Speaker 3: Emily Maronoff, and Lucy Jones. Production assistants from Malia Aguidello.

973
00:50:10,120 --> 00:50:15,120
Speaker 3: Our executive producers are Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder.

974
00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:19,120
Speaker 3: Our editors are Jenny Kaplan and Emily Rudder and I'm

975
00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:20,960
Speaker 3: Your Host Ashlyn Harris