WEBVTT - Ep 373: Turn Your Voice Into Political Power ft. Will Jawando 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:12.440 Hey, hey, Hey, we're back. We're black. We're but b 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:19.720 bu bu bu bu bu bu bu bu brown ambition, ambition, ambition, ambition, ambition. 0:00:20.360 --> 0:00:23.200 I'm excited because today in the stew we have some 0:00:23.440 --> 0:00:27.560 extra Brown in the studio. Today we have the one 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:34.440 the only civil rights lawyer, Obama White House alum education leader, 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:36.879 running to fight for the village that raise him. He 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.280 currently represents over one point one million neighbors on the 0:00:40.320 --> 0:00:48.080 Montgomery County Council. Will Yemmi Jowanda, It's just real to me. 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:51.479 So if you remember a few weeks back, depending when 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:54.400 you're listening to this, I did a wealth walk in Maryland. 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:58.200 It was awesome. It was like, you know, I want 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.480 to say, over eighty or so people came for the 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:03.680 physical walk and then over one hundred like stayed for 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.400 the talk part. At the end. It was with Will. 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:10.480 It was amazing, you know, Will, just we we know 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:13.720 in our community health is a huge component, but also 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:17.080 wealth as well. So we combined the two and it 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:18.760 was just we walked at this really where was that park? 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:18.960 Will? 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:20.240 What was that park? Will called? 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:21.960 That was Wheaton Regional. 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:25.360 So we walked to this beautiful park called Wheaton regional, 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:29.640 and then afterwards we talked about not just money but 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.360 money as related to like what will specialties, which we'll 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:34.720 get into today. And so that was just so awesome 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.360 and I wanted to have Will back on. He also 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.160 is an author of this awesome book called My Seven 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:41.920 Black Fathers Right or Lessons. 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:42.760 You got it? 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:44.959 No, you got it, you got it right the first time. 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:47.280 Yeah, so you might have seen it in target. I 0:01:47.319 --> 0:01:50.640 know I have many a times. But also obviously oh yes, 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:53.440 brand I see if you watch the YouTube channel, you 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:57.720 could see it right. And so Will is awesome. I've 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:00.960 known him, his amazing wife Michelle. Is it three or 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:01.520 four girls? 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:02.080 You have? Now? 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:03.640 We have three girls and a boy? 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.440 Three girls and a boy, right in that order, in 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:08.720 that order. They kept trying for a boy. That's what 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:13.120 it's giving. And so Will was just an awesome, awesome, 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:14.800 awesome resource. And I can't wait for you guys to 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:16.959 hear from him. So welcome to the studio, Will. 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:20.040 Well, it's great to be here, and thank you, and 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:22.480 that was such an amazing walk and thanks for having 0:02:22.480 --> 0:02:23.080 me on the show. 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:27.600 So well, tell us currently like what do you what 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:29.840 do you currently do for a living now? But then like, 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:31.600 what kind of have you done that has brought you 0:02:31.639 --> 0:02:32.920 to this place, because I want people to get a 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:34.600 context a like who you are as we start to 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:35.560 talk about money. 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:37.679 Absolutely. Absolutely, yeah. 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:41.280 So I'm on the Montgomery County Council. I'm a council 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:43.840 member at large, which all that means is just a 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.760 fancy way of saying I represent. I'm elected county wide, 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:50.600 and as you mentioned in the lead end, I represent 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:55.639 one point one million residents in Montgomery County. There's six 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:59.079 million people in Maryland, and I represent one point one 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:02.160 million of them. I'm in my second term. I chair 0:03:02.240 --> 0:03:05.680 the Education and Culture Committee, which oversees our school system 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:10.959 and our community college and arts and culture programming. And 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:13.680 as I know, you know, I'm also running for the 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:17.600 United States Senate, so to represent all six million people 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.280 in the US Senate. So that's what I'm doing now. 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:23.400 I'm also a lawyer. I do some I'm a civil 0:03:23.520 --> 0:03:25.959 rights lawyer, but I'm full time as a council member 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:30.200 of public servant on the Montgomery County Council, which is 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:32.400 the community I grew up in and where Michelle and 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:33.600 I are raising our kids. 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:36.560 Question about your wife, Michelle, Who's awesome by the way, 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:37.800 is Michelle an attorney as well? 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:38.720 She is. 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:41.040 You know, the kids don't even realize what they got. 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:44.400 They got two black lawyers in the house, and you 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.880 follow well on social media. Their family is just so beautiful, 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:51.000 like Michelle is beautiful, their girls are beautiful, and his 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.240 son is beautiful. It's just like you know when people 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:55.320 like say, back to the day, that's a good black family. 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:55.880 You know. 0:03:58.200 --> 0:04:01.680 Well, I'll tell you one time I saw did Gregory God. 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:02.000 Rest his soul? 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:03.920 Right when I was working in the Obama White House, 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:05.720 and I think we had two kids at the time, 0:04:06.200 --> 0:04:08.520 and our two girls, and he grabbed me and he said, 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:10.120 he looked me dead in the eyes, and he said, 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:14.400 you keep having those beautiful black babies. Yes, And I said, yes, sir, 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:16.880 And then I went and we went and had two more. 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:18.320 So we got to do our part. 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:21.599 Yes, I love that. So one of the things that 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:23.400 came up during the Wealth Walk that I just thought 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.760 was this comes up a lot, is that sometimes especially 0:04:26.760 --> 0:04:28.960 we as black and brown people, we feel like we 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.479 don't we can't play a role in like what happens 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.560 to us externally. You know that, like, yes, I can 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:37.680 do my budget at home and I can save, but 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.080 as far as like what happens federally, what happens in 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:43.720 my state, what even happens in my county is kind 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.520 of out of my hands other than voting. Right, But 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.080 is that really true that like there's nothing that we 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:50.599 can do. We just have we're just we just have 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:53.520 to suffer as a result of whatever choices are made 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:54.359 by the powers that be. 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:57.760 Yeah, that's a that's a great, great question and a 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.479 great point. I mean, no, the answer, or the short 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:02.400 answer is no, it's not true. And let me tell 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.760 you why voting is certainly important. 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:06.000 Right. 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:08.240 People fought and die for that right. There's a reason 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:11.040 that there's people still attacking it and trying to take 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:13.440 it away from whole groups of people, whether they be 0:05:13.520 --> 0:05:16.200 returning citizens who had been in jail or prison, or 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:20.760 whether it's come you know, modern day literacy tests where 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.839 you have to make all these hoops where people have 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:26.320 to jump through and moving their polling stations. All that 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.240 stuff is still happening today. So the vote is important, 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:35.120 but there's so much more than that. It's actually being 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:39.000 engaged with who you vote for, right, you know, going 0:05:39.040 --> 0:05:40.080 to the council hearing. 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:41.360 Right, I often tell people. 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:45.000 My county council, we have a seven billion dollar budget, 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:48.599 and that money comes from you, It comes from the 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.440 people that pay taxes, right, either property taxes or sales 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:55.600 tax or income tax. And so you should absolutely and 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:59.880 we should absolutely be engaged and directing that money. And 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.600 then we set the rules of the of the road too. 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.000 We also do all the laws. Right, how fast you 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:07.159 go on the road? Right, you know you care about 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.160 your kids not getting hit, go fight for a lower 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.720 speed limit. That's what we decide that too. And then 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:17.400 you talk about land use, maybe the biggest of all 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.520 of them. Where are things built, how are they built, 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.279 who is allowed to build, who gets money to help 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.760 them build? You know, if you talk about wealth, you know, 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:31.680 certainly owning property is kind of a bedrock principle. I 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:35.440 know of that, and so so the state, local, and 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:38.520 federal government are involved in all of that. The squeaky 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.279 wheel really does get the oil. And so we have 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:44.120 to show up, We have to be at present, We 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:47.200 have to hold people accountable who we elect and advocate 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:50.520 for things that are going to improve our community. So 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:56.000 I just think absolutely it matters, and you have a 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.520 right to do it, and not just a right to 0:06:58.600 --> 0:07:01.640 engage with elected officials. You have responsibility and it's directly 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:05.159 connected to the health and wealth of yourselves but also 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:06.240 your entire community. 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:08.600 So let's do like a walk through. Because people ask 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:10.360 me this all the time. So you know, I got 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:13.560 the law, aid, well, I didn't get it, but I 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:15.480 helped to introduce a one four to one four the 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:17.760 budget needs to leve absolutely in the state of New Jersey, 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.920 making financial education mandatory for middle school students because New 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:24.000 Jersey already has a law for high school students. So 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:27.360 I'm not gonna lie. It was thankfully thankful to I'm 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:31.040 thankful to my assembly Woman Angelovie McKnight, who came to 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.960 me and said, let's do something together. But I think 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:37.800 the vast majority, even me, I was not really clear 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:39.440 on the process. I had to like literally, I think 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:43.480 I watched The Schoolhouse Rock. I'm just a sitting So 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.160 I think a lot of people don't realize that, like, wait, 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:50.200 you can get like help to get a law passed. 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:53.280 Can you walk us through the literal? Like, Okay, you 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:55.760 have an idea and you think that maybe there's no 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:59.480 financial education in your in your state and your what like, 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:04.960 So what's the process of creating of change through legislation. 0:08:05.040 --> 0:08:06.040 So what would somebody do? 0:08:07.480 --> 0:08:10.200 Yes, the great question. I actually created a nonprofit to 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.760 help people in low income communities do just that. 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.160 Like we called our Voices Matter. 0:08:15.760 --> 0:08:17.680 And what we did is we went to the sixth 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.560 lowest income census tracks in Montgomery County where I represent, 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:25.680 and we had a community town hall and we said, hey, 0:08:26.160 --> 0:08:28.360 what are issues and we had incentives, you know, we 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:30.440 had like so this is kind of like step one 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:30.960 of the process. 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:32.760 You got to get together. 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:37.680 Either with yourself or community members and talk about what 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:38.960 you want to see change. 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:39.559 Right. 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:41.560 You have to have an idea of what you're trying 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.120 to accomplish, right, And it could be something like I 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:46.800 want to change the law for financial literacy like you did. 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:51.040 Or it could be I want the door at my 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.240 middle school. I want the security door fixed so it's 0:08:54.320 --> 0:08:56.320 not hanging open. That was one issue we helped some 0:08:56.400 --> 0:09:00.000 community members with. So it could be anything. So identify 0:09:00.160 --> 0:09:03.640 those needs and within your community, and that it could 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:05.960 be an individual because the individuals you know, but it 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:08.560 could be I think it's stronger if you can get 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:11.720 with the group that you know on that. Then you 0:09:12.920 --> 0:09:16.240 want to do the research on who is who are 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:17.160 the decision makers? 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:17.440 Right? 0:09:17.679 --> 0:09:22.120 Who are the people that decide that issue. So depending 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:25.679 on what it is, it could be a local estate 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:27.680 or a federal issue, or it could be all three. 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:31.000 And in the case of a school, you know, a 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.760 school door, it's going to probably be the local school board, right, 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:37.280 So we we identified with that group. So so what 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:41.000 you do is you identify the issue, you know, gather with. 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:42.000 People who care about it. 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:44.719 Then look at the research who the decision makers are. 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:47.400 So those are your council people, your city council, your state. 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.240 You know you should already you should just automatically know 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:52.959 if you go into any you know, vote dot org 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:56.800 and to type in your zip code your address, it'll 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.120 tell you who your elected officials are, so you know 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:03.400 at every level, right, so at federal, state, and local level, Okay, 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:05.880 and then reach out to all of them and just 0:10:05.960 --> 0:10:08.240 you know, write a letter or show up or look 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:10.320 better yet or do all three of these things. Write 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.280 them a letter, write them an email, then show up 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:16.200 to a public hearing. A lot of these, like we 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:18.880 have people that come they can you know, testify for 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:22.320 three minutes on a topic. They come and they and 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:25.280 they say why they're here and what they hope to see. 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.480 That's the first step in the process. Bring it to 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:30.199 the attention of the elected officials. 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:33.199 Okay, okay, so that's great. So that's why that's the 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:33.640 first step. 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:36.160 There's more steps, but no, I like that, so then. 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:38.520 So then okay, so let's just say so that happens. 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:41.800 Angela came to me and was like, hey, Tiffany, I 0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:43.160 wanted to do something. I guess she was on the 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:46.640 Education committee, so I didn't have to do any writing. 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.200 I just kind of gave to your point from my 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:52.720 space of expertise, this is what should be appropriate for 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:56.679 middle school students. Then Angela went to her team and 0:10:57.000 --> 0:10:59.920 started to craft, like what a bill, So you don't 0:10:59.920 --> 0:11:01.559 have to do that as the you know, as the 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:05.600 like you I'm saying, like that you listening, yes, you know. 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:07.720 So then you know the you know, you find your 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:10.520 elected official and they you tell them kind of the 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:14.200 components of the bill, of the proposed bill, and they 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.840 will craft something together and oftentimes they'll bring it back 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:19.840 to you where I'm thinking. Because Angela brought it back up. 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.120 She was like, do you mean like this, And I 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.720 was just like yes, like yes, that because for me, 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.199 it was important as a former teacher. Well I'm still 0:11:27.200 --> 0:11:29.960 a teacher, but like a former school teacher, that it 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:35.000 did and I wanted I wanted a law or a 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.400 bill that didn't put undue stress on the teacher. And 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:41.080 so there was language in there that shared that was 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:44.440 like integration into the day versus like you have to 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.240 stop and say money time, you know, and like teach, 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.559 So I knew that language is important. So she might 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:51.880 not have known that because she was not a school teacher. 0:11:52.240 --> 0:11:55.360 And so so it Angela came to me said, here's 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.160 the language of this proposed bill. Then I remember something 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:01.679 distinctly about she had to get like some stakeholders on board, 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:03.800 so she got like a group of superintendents. 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:07.440 Is that part of it too, Yeah, yeah, So you 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:09.880 bring up a really good point. So, yes, your job 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:12.120 is not to necessarily draft the language, obviously if that's 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:14.719 your skill set. You know, there are people that come 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:16.800 to us, you know, that have language and they're like, 0:12:16.840 --> 0:12:19.599 we want this to be drafted. But most people that 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:22.640 just have something they want to see happen. And so 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.160 then we take and work with our lawyers and our 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:27.400 legislative councils and within our offices and we. 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:28.280 Draft the legislation. 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.600 But the part that you're talking about next is really critical, 0:12:31.679 --> 0:12:36.960 the stakeholder engagement, right, you know, getting people behind. That's 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:38.760 why I said if you start out with a group 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:41.120 at the beginning, because that you've already created one of 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.480 your first stakeholder groups, right, and if it can be 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:49.000 you know, the parents and the Teachers Association, the Teachers' 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:52.080 Union and there, the more work you can do throughout 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.760 the beginning and throughout the process to get others to 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:57.760 agree that, hey, we need to do this, that are 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:01.360 not the electeds, right, that is what ultimately will move 0:13:01.480 --> 0:13:03.280 the electeds to do it. But if you have a 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:08.280 broad coalition and so you know, you often heard the 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:09.280 term there's no new. 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:10.640 Ideas under the sun. Right. 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.079 There's a lot of ideas that have been proposed and 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:17.000 are out there, But who can build the coalition of 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:21.520 people that can create the energy behind. You know, when 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:25.120 doctor Martin Luther King was pushing for the Voting Rights 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:28.439 Act in nineteen sixty five, there's famous conversations and it's 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.560 multiple this has happened multiple times throughout our history where 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.679 he's talking to the president and they're like, we need 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:36.120 to do x y Z and and the response back 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:38.840 was from the president to doctor King and others was 0:13:39.080 --> 0:13:41.960 will go make me do it? You know, so you 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:47.160 have to have the stakeholders in the community asking for it. 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:50.240 So that's where the organizing part happens. And the good 0:13:50.240 --> 0:13:52.480 thing about that is when you do that, you improve 0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:55.520 the legislation, You improve the policy because you get feedback. 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:57.640 Just like you said that, she took it to you 0:13:57.679 --> 0:13:59.400 and you're like, well, it has to be integration, so 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:01.080 we don't want to The teachers are going to tell 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:03.040 you this, the superintendents won't say you that, the community 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.320 member will say that, and then through that process you 0:14:05.360 --> 0:14:08.560 get a better product that will also because ultimately you 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.000 want something that will have buy in, right, because there's 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:13.000 been a lot of laws that have been written that 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:15.680 if they don't have buy in, they're not going to 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:18.520 be implemented well, and people aren't going to believe in. 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:20.600 I mean, you're never going to totally avoid that. But 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:22.520 the more work you do on the front end and 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:26.560 through the process to get other people's input that are impacted, 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.640 the better the end product will be and your building 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.720 momentum for passage. 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:34.880 And that was that's exactly what happened to your point 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:37.440 that I think it was like they initially wrote it 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:40.400 and the teachers pushed back and said, ugh, we already 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:42.680 have too much in the educational day. And I said, 0:14:42.680 --> 0:14:45.280 you know what, They're absolutely right. I totally forgot Angela. 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:48.000 I think that integration is better because I already have 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.880 to do story time. But imagine, like I just pick 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.040 one book a week that's a money book. So I'm 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:55.760 not creating a whole new segment. It's like I'm already 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:58.600 reading anyway. I'm already doing art projects. Maybe one of 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:00.880 those art projects is a piggy bank made out of 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:04.320 a shoe box, you know, And so so okay, no, okay, 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:06.040 So I love that part. It's like, okay, so you 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.320 get your buying and there will is half Nigerian, but 0:15:09.360 --> 0:15:12.680 you know we're gonna claim all you. And so this 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:16.600 is Africa, there's a half. There's an African proverb that says, right, 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.240 if you want to go fast, go alone. If you 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.240 want to go far, you go with others, and so 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:24.560 that illustrates that point. So then so we so we 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:26.800 got that buy in with the community. And then I 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.520 remember her saying something like, now it has to go 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:31.600 to committee. So what is that? 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:36.040 So the bills introduced, like you said, a bill, a bill, 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.200 just a bill, you know, like schoolhouse. Right, the bill 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:42.200 is introduced by a council member or assembly person, whatever 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.440 the vehicle the level of level of government is, or 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:49.920 a congress person or center, and then it goes to Normally, 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.280 what happens is there's a public hearing at the local level, 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:55.880 and that's what we have. So two weeks after we 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:57.640 introduced the bill, and this is common for a lot 0:15:57.640 --> 0:16:01.240 of local and state legislation, there's a there's a hearing 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:05.040 on it, and it goes to committee. And in this case, 0:16:05.080 --> 0:16:06.720 if we're talking about this, it would be probably an 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:11.840 education committee, and and I chair that committee for my counsel, 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:13.360 So go to it would go to us and then 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.960 we would review it, right, and we would have we 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.480 would call witnesses and have people there like the school, 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.720 the school system, maybe some of the teachers, the advocates, 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.720 people who have advocated on this bill, uh, and then 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:28.120 try to start working through the legislation and maybe there's 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.280 amendments offered and you know, like well let's change this 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.760 language to this or let's do it this way, and 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:38.320 and so it could be one or two committee sessions 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.880 or more, depending on how complicated the issue is. Then 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:45.320 it would be voted out of committee and so it 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:49.360 would hopefully receive a you know, positive vote. In our case, 0:16:49.400 --> 0:16:51.480 we have three person committees because we have an eleven 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:53.400 member council, so you have to have two people agree 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:56.080 to move it forward. So say it comes out, then 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:58.200 it goes to the full body. So in our case, 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:00.640 eleven member council it could be. Or if it's the 0:17:00.640 --> 0:17:03.360 full you know, state legislature of New Jersey or whatever, 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:06.040 it would go to hundreds of people. But then it's 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:09.239 it's reported at a committee favorably or unfavorably, and then 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:12.440 it's voted on by the full council and then. 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:15.520 It would be passed. Uh, it would. 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:17.919 And now if it's a state legislature, it has to 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:18.480 go through the House. 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:20.919 And she was telling me, yeah, so tell us about that. 0:17:20.920 --> 0:17:22.560 I remember she was like, it had to go to 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:24.680 the House and then it had to have the Senate. 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:25.560 So what does that look like? 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.480 So yeah, So every at the state and federal level, 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:32.919 you have you have an executive. At every level of government, 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.359 you have an executive, a legislative and the judicial. The 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:40.280 executive signs the laws and implements them. The legislative passes 0:17:40.320 --> 0:17:43.320 the laws and it in most and then the judicial 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:46.679 reviews and says what's constitutional, you know, kind of reviews 0:17:46.720 --> 0:17:49.119 the laws to see if they're in line with the Constitution. 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:52.840 And that the legislative branch, which we're talking about now, 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:56.600 in at the state and federal level, it's comprised the 0:17:56.640 --> 0:17:59.560 two houses, usually a House and a Senate. And and 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:02.560 so you have the House of Representatives. At the federal 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:04.679 you have the US Senate. At the state level you 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:07.960 have some people call it assembly, some people call it delegates, 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:10.560 but there's a House and then there's a Senate. At 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:13.879 the local level, at the county or municipal level, often 0:18:14.040 --> 0:18:18.080 there's one body that's everything. So there's eleven council members, 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.200 we have committees, but the body of the whole. 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:21.159 There's no Senate. 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.720 It's just if the council passes it, they send it 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:26.160 to the mayor or the county executive and they sign 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:28.560 it or be to it okay. And so at the 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.399 state level you have a House and Senate, and in 0:18:30.440 --> 0:18:33.560 those cases you have to get it through one chamber, 0:18:33.640 --> 0:18:35.800 and then the bill goes over to the other chamber 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:38.080 of the Senate in this past, and then it goes 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.639 to the executive, which would be either the president at 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.199 the federal level, the governor at the state level, or 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:45.399 the mayor or count executive at the local level, and 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:47.120 they would sign it and then it becomes law. 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:50.400 Well, even just to I hope y'all getting like, I mean, 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:53.600 it's the whole history lesson or whatever. You're welcome. Oh 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:56.560 my goodness, honestly, Will, I am learning so much. I 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:59.320 feel like I'm back in history class. But give us 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:00.840 a moment. We need to pay some bills, and we'll 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:09.960