WEBVTT - The Fight Continues 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:07.320 What's up, family, I'm your girl to meeke A D. 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:11.959 Mallory's your general. We are host of street politicians, the 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:16.360 place for the streets and politics meet. We have such 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:21.319 a such a show today with so many, so many 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:25.079 powerful individuals and things we have to talk about, um 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.960 and so I do not want to have a long 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:30.920 introduction today. If that's okay with you, you know, I listen, man, 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:32.920 we got we got a long show. We've got a 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:35.440 lot of people who you need to hear from, some 0:00:35.520 --> 0:00:39.360 good topics, our friends, some people that we just respect. 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:41.760 So we got to talk. We have to talk long. 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:44.000 So you're okay with because you said I tell you 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:47.839 what to do and then they said, yes, bullying, Yeah, 0:00:47.920 --> 0:00:50.280 y'all just be bullying me to hold Look, you don't 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:54.120 understand this whole Thing's a bunch of women in here, 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:58.320 and that's men. There are men in the room today today. 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.280 We have an out number. But for the most part, 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:05.840 I'm bullied. Are you trying to get your message across 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:11.480 to the world? Do you see their laughing because they 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:13.560 know what's going on? You know what? And I'd be 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:16.600 like yo in the street, like I'm like ge like 0:01:16.640 --> 0:01:19.640 you y'all can't treat me like this. We'll just make 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:23.760 you better. People crazy, whatever, we just make you better. 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:28.280 So I think we can just jump right into my 0:01:28.400 --> 0:01:39.040 father to death says. My thought of the day is 0:01:39.440 --> 0:01:42.080 that when you know you're gonna talk too much, don't 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:44.480 talk too much in the beginning. Talk later. So I 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.760 already thought about it, and I think we should go 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:51.920 right into our That's so we're gonna go straight into 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:59.240 the guests. Y'all make sure that you're tune in. Twenty 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:03.080 one years ago, Uh, gentleman that is coming to the 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:07.600 show today put out an album called Shine Um that 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.359 was his historic I mean, I don't know how many 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:16.200 millions of downloads now at that time and in the 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:21.440 record sales right millions that that Shine was able to 0:02:21.480 --> 0:02:26.400 accomplish here in America. Um someone that we love and respect. 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.040 And I don't know too many Black people that don't 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:32.840 say Shine was the absolute, absolute man and he still is. 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:37.520 He is the tenth opposition leader for the House of 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:42.680 Representatives in Belieze. After completing a ten year sentence for 0:02:42.720 --> 0:02:45.359 an incident that happened in the New York City club 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:49.080 he was deported to believe Um. People thought he would 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:51.840 never make it back to the state side, but he 0:02:52.040 --> 0:02:55.720 is here. He's been coming back to America and working 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:59.360 with government officials and community leaders to try to bridge 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.360 a gap between his country and this country. And we 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:06.079 are super, super super super excited to have Shine with 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:10.760 us today. Also, today we're talking to uh Dr Lilia 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:15.520 Celano from Columbia, who does piece work and fights for 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.959 justice in Colombia, working specifically with young people. She has 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.480 been acknowledged by the United States for her peace work 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.560 in Columbia, and we're gonna have a conversation with her today, 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.760 this humanitarian, this activist. We're gonna be talking to her 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.320 about the issues in Colombia and how it relates to 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:34.840 what we deal with and what we fight for right 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.080 here in the United States. So we have two really 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:41.400 really powerful guests coming up today, and we decided to 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:45.080 cut down some of the pieces of our regularly scheduled 0:03:45.120 --> 0:03:47.840 programming because we really don't want to rush these interviews. 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:49.960 We want to get really, really into it, and I 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:52.360 certainly want to hear what Brother Sean has to say, 0:03:52.600 --> 0:04:00.120 So stay tuned. It's gonna be a good one. So 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.760 once again we are joined by another one of our friends, 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:07.040 um someone who respect. You know, we came through the 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:10.480 ranks together through hip hop, and just to watch his 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:13.720 evolution from a hip hop artist is just phenomenal. He 0:04:13.920 --> 0:04:18.080 is the tenth opposition leader of the House of Representatives 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:21.839 in Belize, the former whip He sits on so many 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:27.120 different stages and levels of government in Belies, and he's 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:32.440 a dope rapper. My brother, my friend Jamal Shine Barrow. 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:34.920 How are you doing today, King, I'm doing great. Thank 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:40.120 you for that drum roll, A wonderful introduction. Yes, thank 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.640 you so much for being with us today. How are 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:46.280 you feeling, man? You know, it's you know, it's always 0:04:46.360 --> 0:04:48.360 it's always great to be in New York City. Um, 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:52.040 it's my second trip, you know, I'm here. It's only 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:57.599 a second trip. Yeah. Yeah. I came in August. I 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:00.960 went back to Belize to get back to work, and 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:04.520 then I came back to the United States on Friday, 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.880 and I came to New York City on Sunday night, 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:11.599 and I was, you know, to meet with Lieutenant Governor 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:17.080 Brian Benjamin and uh Congressman Series, who is the Chairman 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:21.839 of the House of Representatives Western Hemisphere. I have a 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:25.520 few other meetings schedule, so you you out here to 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:30.000 do a big on behalf of beliefs. You know. You know, 0:05:30.360 --> 0:05:33.680 certainly I commend you and Mice for the work that 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:38.080 you guys do, are serving your country and your communities. 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:42.320 And there's no difference in what I'm doing. You know, 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:45.440 I really think it's all about service. So whether or 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:50.080 not you are a politician or a street politician, you 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:53.840 know the purposes service and helping people and making the 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.920 society be living better. So you know, Mice and I 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:01.640 used to do that in our raps and it's really 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:04.840 no difference. When I first got into politics, I used 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:08.560 to go to every rally and you know, watch the 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:12.119 speakers speak. And I used to laugh to myself because 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:14.080 I said, you know, I used to perform in front 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.039 of tens of thousands of people, and you know, because 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:20.320 it's a it's an art. You know, there's a method, 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:24.880 is a rhythm. Um. But the difference is for them, 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:27.680 maybe I don't know what their purposes, because you know, 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:32.480 politicians can be scurvy and lack ethics and morals and honor. 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.440 But for me, there was always purpose. When I was rapid. 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:40.760 If you listen to my first album, you know the intro, 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:43.960 the first thing I said was, you know, day, America, 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:47.960 please save me. I'm only what you made me young 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:52.000 and crazy. Bill schools instead of prison, and I'll stop 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.960 living the way I'm living. Um, teach me a craft 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:58.279 or trade and I wouldn't be on the block every 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:02.080 day serving that. Yeah, the reason I mentioned that stands 0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:07.560 a right, you know that. So I'm just saying that 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:12.000 is the I'm the embodiment of that. As a member 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:15.760 of the House of Representatives, that's my platform. That's what 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:19.240 I fight for every day to create a better reality 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:24.560 for the disenfranchise and the disinherited. So the transition is 0:07:24.600 --> 0:07:28.200 seamless because basically what I was rapping about I was 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.480 giving a voice to the voiceless. Now, as a member 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.520 of the House of Representatives, I am responding to that 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:39.120 voice because I still hear that voice because I was 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:42.840 that voice. And so I'm very in tune and pay 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:45.640 keen attention to those voices, and I want to change 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:48.960 the reality so those voices don't have to make those complaints. 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:53.160 So this is dope, you know what I'm saying, Watching 0:07:53.200 --> 0:07:55.800 you evolved, coming from where we come from, both of 0:07:55.880 --> 0:08:00.640 us changing our perspectives and understanding our calling, and our 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.840 purpose is to do something higher. You know. Music is 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:08.760 the foundation. You know, it was our way of voicing 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.480 our struggles. It was our way of describing the pain 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:15.520 in our community. So watching you seeing that and and 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:18.520 just understanding what it is for me, you know, it's commendable. 0:08:19.040 --> 0:08:21.240 But there are a lot of kids, right that's probably 0:08:21.240 --> 0:08:24.920 sixteen and seventeen. It's like, who shine? I heard? But 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:27.200 who is he? I want you to give like a 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:32.480 brief synopsis of from your time getting signed until now 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:35.160 so people can kind of understand this briefly. I don't 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:36.880 want you to go through the whole thing, but just 0:08:37.040 --> 0:08:39.360 give a synopsis, a little bit of a story, a 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:42.920 little bit of history, so that they can understand exactly 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:45.120 who you are. Because I know the full show. We 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.520 was in studio, it was everything, so I know the 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:49.480 full shine. But just give them a little you know, 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.920 usually on our show we get upset because our segments 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:55.600 are so short with our guests. You would be the 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:58.839 first guests that we actually are like, let's get deep 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:04.640 into I'm honored. I'm honored and it's a privilege. You know, 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.480 I'm a kid from Belize. You know, my mom immigrated 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:14.680 from Belize, which is in Central America, Paradise UM, back 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:17.920 in the eighties. And you know, I was just an 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:21.560 immigrant kids, single mother that was fortunate enough to sign 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:26.040 to bad Boy Records back in UM. You know, after 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:31.240 b I g passed away and Mace became religious and 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:34.720 the Locks went to rough Riders. Uh. You know, basically 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.240 it was you know shine. You know, I was like, uh, 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:41.520 I would say maybe Kobe Bryant, you know, Uh, I 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.480 don't know who who to really rookie to really describe it. 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.880 But everything was really on my back, and um, there 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.760 were a lot of expectations. UM. But I was very 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:54.559 fortunate to get it togevernment had some great friends such 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:58.640 as Mice gave me some great learning lessons. I never forget, 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.079 you know, being for Brooklyn. I think it's just a 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:03.439 New York thing was certainly Brooklyn. We got a lot 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:08.280 of confidence, overconfident, super confident, and I had one of 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:12.080 the most humbling experiences. And uh, PUFF used to have 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:15.160 a restaurant called Justine's. And you know, I was young, 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:19.360 nineteen years old, you know, new millionaire, UM, you know, 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:22.880 driving six hundreds and you know Rolli's and you know 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:26.240 that era of living and you know. So we were 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.880 in the parking lot of Justine's and it was like, listen, 0:10:30.360 --> 0:10:33.520 you know, Mice is better than you, and I'm like, 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.640 and so we started rapping and he smoked me. And 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:43.319 I say all that to say that humbling experience allowed 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:46.400 me to work harder and to dig in and to 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:49.880 realize that it wasn't about the material things. It was 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:52.559 really about the purpose, and the purpose was being a 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:54.640 voice for all my friends that were still in Brooklyn, 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.520 still struggling, still having a difficult life, and really giving 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:01.240 them a platform and giving us story a platform. That 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:04.199 was when rap was wrapped. That's when you had to battle, 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:07.040 like you know, like shot like he says, he's he's 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.320 being honest. He was the top person. Like everybody in 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:12.000 the hood was here, and Sean just got this million 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:14.440 out the record. He's the man, you know, He's the 0:11:14.440 --> 0:11:17.360 next biggie. Everybody. So I'm hungry. I'm coming from the block. 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.560 I ain't got nothing, I got holes in my shoes, 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:22.280 you know. My man tone picked me up off the block. 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:24.920 And you see Sean, he outed him, and don't real's 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.360 just wrapping. You don't think you got a deal after that, 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:31.320 Like I literally got some because that's what it was like. 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:33.679 You actually had to compete, you know what I'm saying, 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:37.040 and don't have the shooting. You had to wrap and 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:38.880 everybody in the industry. And then I was like, this 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:41.200 is my time. It's now know but never so like 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:43.959 how does that work? Like so then because now if 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:47.040 you have a battle and one person wins another, then 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:51.400 the teams kill each other. So real like that, I think, 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:54.600 not bad. No battle rappings, no battle rap right now 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.160 is one of the biggest form of hipper Like shout 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:00.880 out to my brother Goods. You're told on this year, 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:03.360 now that you told what you're talking about real beef, 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:09.200 Like now beef has transferred. Yeah, it's battle rapping. Son 0:12:09.320 --> 0:12:12.160 people again signed based off beef. You're getting beef. You 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:14.000 put it on the record. You talk about how you 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:16.240 shot at somebody and they give you a million hollars. No, 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:19.360 before it was actually the scale level of battle and 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:23.120 who came over, the real punch lines and who came 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:25.680 up and we was gladiators, man, you know, And it 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:27.880 was just like and we grew with respect, we became 0:12:28.000 --> 0:12:31.120 really good friends. Definitely studio with respect to tone and 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.440 to Nagel and too you know the guys that we 0:12:33.520 --> 0:12:36.160 know from back in that era. So twenty one years 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:41.040 ago on September six, for all of you young uh 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:47.800 young bucks out there, um, young ripper snappers. Uh one 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.280 years ago, on September twenty six, I put out my 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:55.959 first album, Shine cons debut albums Shine and sold over 0:12:55.960 --> 0:12:59.280 a million records. Um was number two on the Rap 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:05.000 Billboard R and B Billboard. Um and yeah one I 0:13:05.040 --> 0:13:10.080 think um Nellie oh man that Nelly was a night man. 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:12.720 I don't know what they was doing. Like every week 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.960 they were selling two hundred thousand records for like for 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.960 like a year straight. I've never seen anything like that 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:22.959 in my life. Um yeah, so so yeah, that's who 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:26.600 I am. I put out another album, also, Godfather, Bury 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:29.680 the Live UM that was the number one R and 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:33.760 B rap album in two thousand four. You know. And 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:37.040 why was it called Godfather Because I was buried alive, 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:40.800 you know, again for you for the younger generation. You know, 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:45.520 I had spent about ten years in prison because of 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:50.040 an unfortunate incident in the club where you know, someone 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:53.520 was trying to kill my friends, kill me, and I 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:59.000 defended my friends, and unlike some of the young rappers, 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:03.120 today who have no morals and no ethics and absolutely 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.680 no integrity for me, you know, and for mice and 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.319 for the generation that we come from. That's that's everything, 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:13.120 you know. If you don't have integrity, you have nothing. Um. 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:16.600 So I refused to cooperate and try to get my 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:20.400 friends in trouble to get myself out of trouble. Um, 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:22.680 you know. And and so I had to. I had 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:24.920 to pay my debt to society, you know, because I 0:14:25.120 --> 0:14:28.240 did have an unlicensed gun. But I was defending myself, 0:14:28.280 --> 0:14:31.280 you know, I wasn't causing any trouble. Um. And I 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:33.200 put out another album. I was fortunate to do a 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:38.880 distribution deal with UH def Jam during that time, and 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.520 we put out Godfather Bury Alive one number one. Only 0:14:41.560 --> 0:14:45.720 Tupac was the only other person to do that. Um. Yeah, 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:50.160 and here I am now over forty million records sold 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:55.160 as a writer, UH publisher and performer. You know, I 0:14:55.200 --> 0:14:57.920 did usher. We want to grant me for that album 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:00.840 of confessions. They called me while I was at Clinton 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:05.640 Dennymore in the same place Tupac was. Um was there 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.120 at the same time. I was about to say, you 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:13.080 might be you might be from that young generation before 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:14.520 you yeah, because I was about to say when you 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:16.840 said that, it just no, no, no, yeah, I'm sorry. 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.120 Well yeah yeah, so um yeah, so so we want 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.200 to grab me for for us your Confessions remix which 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:26.640 I recorded in the yard and Clinton Denimore. I had 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:28.200 to go to the box for that because you know, 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.040 I was pulling a lot of fast ones on governing 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:33.680 up attacking he was a governor back then. Um yeah, 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:36.000 so so that's who I am. You know, I'm considered 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.120 hip hop legend for you young guys. That sound better 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:43.320 if Mike said he's a hip hop legend. Man, He's 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:46.640 somebody who turned his passion in his pain and his 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:50.720 trauma and then came out even after being honorable. And 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:52.400 I say this all the time, like he said, it's 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:54.560 about integrity and morals, and this is what we stood 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:57.760 on and rather than involved with somebody else and get 0:15:57.760 --> 0:15:59.800 somebody else in trouble for things that we then we 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:04.200 responsibility for our own situations and we handled that, We 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:06.960 paid our death society, and we came out and that's 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.360 legendary for me. And and the skill level that you possess, 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:14.400 you know, and then seeing that you came home right, 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:16.960 and it's so and I know it's hard because it's 0:16:17.280 --> 0:16:19.720 you come home and people have this expectation for you 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.960 to stay the same person. I want you to be 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:25.040 your Sean bust is gone. He just in that and 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:29.160 to come home evolved and say nah, it's you know, 0:16:29.400 --> 0:16:32.200 and change that, knowing that you can grab onto that 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:36.880 whole energy and live all for that. We're saying to yourself. Now, 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.520 I'm gonna change that, and I'm gonna utilize what y'all 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:42.479 celebrate me for, and I'm gonna change the perspective. I'm 0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:45.200 gonna make sure their kids this nineteen and twenty don't 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:47.640 do the same thing that I'm gonna lead into a 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:50.560 different direction. And that's legendary. You know that, And the 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:55.160 self is legendary. So right now, what's your position to gain? 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:58.600 You are the temph Well, I I was an opposition 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:01.120 leader of the House of Representative the tenth You know, 0:17:01.160 --> 0:17:04.920 I've been succeeded recently by another member of the House 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:07.360 of Representatives, but I'm still a member of the House 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.760 of Representatives. You know, I sit on the Foreign Affairs 0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:15.160 and National Security, and Education House committees, to name a few. 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:21.040 Um you know, I represented great people from Mesopotamia constituency. 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:26.760 And you know, my constituency is filled with young shines 0:17:27.600 --> 0:17:31.600 who you know, due to a lack of financial resources, 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:36.000 a lack of you know, family structure, um, you know, 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:40.560 just disinherited, disenfranchised. So for me, every time I go 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:42.760 to the House of Representatives and I stand up in 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:48.800 the House, I'm fighting uh for you know, uh, eradicate poverty, 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:52.199 you know, to bridge the gap between the rich and 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:57.200 the poor, to create a system of the ability to ascend. Uh. 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:01.840 You know right now is rich or poor, snow working class, 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:05.680 no middle class, no upper middle class. And so those 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:09.040 are the things that I'm fighting for uh in Belize. 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:12.520 And so certainly when I come to the States, it's 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:15.879 to meet with my counterparts in Congress and Senate, in 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:19.760 the Governor's House, um, so that we could build a 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:23.119 strong relationship with beliefes and we could get more investment 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:26.679 in Belize and more of a recognition of beliefes, so 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:31.600 that those young uh you know, girls and boys can 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:35.240 have the opportunity that I had in the States, you know, 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:37.720 because I came to believe. I came from Belize to 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:40.679 the States when I was about eight years old, and 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.560 I always feel guilty that the opportunities that I had 0:18:44.160 --> 0:18:48.200 growing up as a Belieze in American Um, my people 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:50.840 in Belizes don't have, or at least not enough of 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:54.240 them had. So my my purpose and commitment is to 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:59.760 create opportunities so that girls and boys from those impoverished communities, 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:02.440 you know, can be able to thrive. Yeah. So, first 0:19:02.480 --> 0:19:05.119 of all, it sounds a lot like America because we're 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:08.280 quickly approaching a place where it is the rich and 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:11.320 the poor, right like, the middle classes is really being 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:15.320 gutted by all of what I'm sure you watch happening 0:19:15.960 --> 0:19:19.159 from from there to here. Uh. We just and of 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.040 course the pandemic has done nothing but made it worse, 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:26.000 you know. Um, But I want to go backwards a 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:29.439 little bit so that we can come back to what 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.600 your purpose is there in Belize. But I want to 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:34.199 just because I know there are so many people that 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:37.560 want to understand what happens. So it's time for you 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:42.160 to be released from prison. And do you know already 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:45.000 as you're getting to the point of release that you're 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:48.040 going to be deported or well, you know the way 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:51.800 I got deported, They actually had me down as an 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:56.600 American citizen, you know, but being corocerated as a nightmare. 0:19:57.200 --> 0:20:00.879 No matter how, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Um. 0:20:00.920 --> 0:20:07.200 You know, so enduring that nightmare becomes unbearable at times. 0:20:07.840 --> 0:20:12.359 And so I wanted to just go back to Belize um. 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:17.680 And there was uh exchange that they had on on 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.400 the books where you know, they would send you back 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:25.360 to your country um, based on certain criterias um before 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:29.720 your time, so you could serve your time there um. 0:20:29.800 --> 0:20:33.440 And so once I did that, that's when they realized 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:35.760 that how it was a Beliezing citizen, right, I was 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:38.640 a permanent resident, you know, but when I went into 0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:41.080 the system, I went into the system as an American citizen. 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:44.880 So so I knew I would have been deported. When 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:48.280 time came for me to be deported, um, you know, 0:20:48.359 --> 0:20:50.919 I had a bunch of people telling me, no, you know, 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:55.160 let's get a lawyer, let's fight it, and I refused. 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:57.600 I just wanted to be free, you know. I didn't 0:20:57.600 --> 0:21:04.160 want to sit in an immigration out for another day 0:21:03.800 --> 0:21:07.480 two years, forget about. I just wanted to be free. Um. 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:11.359 So when the time came out, willingly said, please, you know, 0:21:11.480 --> 0:21:13.880 let me go. Let me go to my home. That's 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:16.440 where I was born. I'm okay with that, and if 0:21:16.560 --> 0:21:19.680 if it's God's will, then I returned to the United States. 0:21:20.000 --> 0:21:21.840 That happened. When it happens, I just want to be 0:21:21.880 --> 0:21:29.200 free ago, okay. So now when you're in Believe, how 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:34.240 does politics become your passion? Well, you know, when I 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:38.360 first went back to Belize, I wasn't interested in politics. 0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:43.280 I was just interested in being free. But interestingly enough, 0:21:44.280 --> 0:21:47.840 everything that I did then it is consistent with what 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:51.760 I'm doing now. When I landed after you know, my 0:21:51.800 --> 0:21:54.520 mom and my dad and family met me at the airport. 0:21:55.600 --> 0:21:58.840 Um the first thing I said was take me to 0:21:59.080 --> 0:22:02.360 the children's home, take me to the Forester Home, take 0:22:02.400 --> 0:22:05.240 me to wherever the trouble kids are. I want to 0:22:05.240 --> 0:22:08.320 go speak to them. Now they're like now, I'm like yeah, Now, 0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:11.120 So I didn't. I didn't go get anything to eat. 0:22:11.160 --> 0:22:14.240 I didn't go check into my hotel. Nothing. I went 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:17.440 from the airport to the children's home and to the 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:21.439 to the troubles youth home. So that's so service was 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:24.600 always on my mind. Giving back was always on my mind, 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:29.040 using myself as an example as a deterrent as to 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:30.919 what not to do. So you don't get yourself in 0:22:30.920 --> 0:22:33.840 trouble as a young uh you know, boy or girl, 0:22:34.400 --> 0:22:37.680 and as an inspiration, asked to how you could overcome 0:22:37.680 --> 0:22:41.119 and endure and have integrity and character, um, once you 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:44.960 do face an obstacle. So that's what I was doing. 0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:46.800 You know, I would go to the prisons and I 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:50.840 would try to speak to uh the incarcerated, you know, 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:54.080 women and men and boys and girls, uh to stop 0:22:54.359 --> 0:22:57.320 recidivism and you know, to try to encourage them to 0:22:57.359 --> 0:23:01.400 transition when they get out to be product the citizens. Um. 0:23:01.480 --> 0:23:02.800 So that's what I was doing, was doing a lot 0:23:02.840 --> 0:23:06.000 of charity work. But I wasn't doing it for politics. 0:23:06.040 --> 0:23:08.280 I was just doing it to be a humanitarian. And 0:23:08.600 --> 0:23:10.879 that's just the way I grew up. That's just what 0:23:10.920 --> 0:23:12.800 you do. You know, once you get there, you help 0:23:12.840 --> 0:23:18.719 everybody else. And so I was traveling. I was in 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:25.879 North Africa, Egypt, Israel, Paris, all over the world, and 0:23:25.920 --> 0:23:29.960 I came to believe for my mother's sixtieth birthday. And 0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:32.879 you were traveling as a humanitarian. I was trying. I 0:23:32.880 --> 0:23:36.960 was just trying. I want to be free. It's part 0:23:37.000 --> 0:23:41.960 of freedom process. So so you know what when I 0:23:41.720 --> 0:23:45.600 wasn't believed, I did those things. But you know, my 0:23:45.680 --> 0:23:48.520 life wasn't to be mother Teresa. I wanted to be free, 0:23:48.600 --> 0:23:51.479 So yeah, do that when I come home, But I 0:23:51.520 --> 0:23:53.800 need to travel the world. I want to just get 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:56.359 on the plane and just go. I just want to 0:23:56.359 --> 0:24:00.639