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Speaker 1: So I just want to say hell yeah to what

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Speaker 1: we just listened to. All right, and like I said,

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Speaker 1: it is about to get even better. So please welcome

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Speaker 1: to the stage again, Propaganda and Dr Natalie Hopkinson, Well,

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Speaker 1: so yeah, I just saw y'all a second ago. You

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Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, have a seat, doctor. Um. When

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Speaker 1: my wife got through her her PhD, I was she

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Speaker 1: was so exhausted and she was like, any want to

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Speaker 1: go to ceremony. I was like, if you're not going,

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Speaker 1: I'm going. Because then and from that point on, I

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Speaker 1: was like, if I meet anybody that has a doctor

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Speaker 1: in front of their name, I will After going through that,

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Speaker 1: and I just did it. Like I just watched her.

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Speaker 1: I was like, call that person bout a prefix. Thank

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Speaker 1: you doctor. How are you? I'm doing great. I'm so

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Speaker 1: happy to be here in Asheville. Hello everyone him. So,

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Speaker 1: introduce yourself a little bit of your work and uh,

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Speaker 1: we'll get into some questions for you. Sure. So, my

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Speaker 1: name is Natalie Hopkinson. I'm an associate professor in the

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Speaker 1: Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies at Howard University. UM.

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Speaker 1: I'm also a thank you any Howard people here familiar

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Speaker 1: with Howard yeah, and uh. I Most recently, I was

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Speaker 1: a co founder of a movement called Don't mut d

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Speaker 1: C around Go Go Music, preserving Go Go music and

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Speaker 1: culture and the life and people of the Chocolate City.

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Speaker 1: Let's go. Yeah. Any y'all been through DC before, you know,

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Speaker 1: you got me, got any d m V sny P

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Speaker 1: GCS anybody. So uh, if you're familiar with me, you

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Speaker 1: know I believe you cut me open. I believe the

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Speaker 1: Pacific Ocean of Los Angeles. Boy. But my mother and

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Speaker 1: I was saving this story for the States. But my

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Speaker 1: mother is five generations Chocolate City, Like, so we go

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Speaker 1: my mom's life and everybody's there. Everybody's born there, they

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Speaker 1: buried there. You know. I was naming some like four

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Speaker 1: League Cemetery on Bladesburg Row. That's where my whole family

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Speaker 1: is at. You know what I'm saying. Um, and I

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Speaker 1: spent every other summer in d C with Grandma and

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Speaker 1: all nine of my mom's siblings, you know, bouncing around

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Speaker 1: Capital Heights, everything which is bounced around the city. So

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Speaker 1: I I have a deep love for anything d C

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Speaker 1: um and including Go Go music. But here's my story.

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Speaker 1: So my cousin, one of the I'm at the tail

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Speaker 1: end of my cousins. You know, there's like two under me,

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Speaker 1: there's a million of them above us, right, because she

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Speaker 1: had nine siblings. Right. So he would bring these tapes

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Speaker 1: back to CALLI, these these gogo it tapes, and I

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Speaker 1: would be like what is this? Like, I just I

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Speaker 1: didn't let taste. I did not get it. I was like,

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Speaker 1: these are bad recordings. You would not understand. Yes, I

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Speaker 1: was like this and he was like, no, okay, now

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Speaker 1: listen to this he brought. He brought chunk Yard dang

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Speaker 1: backyard boys. You know what I'm saying. Was it Chuck

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Speaker 1: Brown that brought them all to the city. And I

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Speaker 1: was just like I don't I. I was like I

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Speaker 1: don't understand. Like I don't understand. Until I was sixteen

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Speaker 1: and it was my turn to go to DC and

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Speaker 1: we went to a go go I was like, now

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Speaker 1: I get it. And that's the whole thing about go

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Speaker 1: go music, which is d C. It's a cousin of

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Speaker 1: hip hop started in d C the same time that

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Speaker 1: hip hop started the seventies. So d C is to

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Speaker 1: the Bronx, you know, sort of like parallel um and

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Speaker 1: but it's live music. It's about twelve people on stage,

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Speaker 1: multi layers of percussion, cow bell, sim bolts, Timbali's conga drums.

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Speaker 1: He's got a lot of Afro Latin rhythms. And when

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Speaker 1: you hear it on a tape, the tape is really

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Speaker 1: just like a memento the experience. Yeah, it does not

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Speaker 1: translate at all. The experience is it's a conversation. So

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Speaker 1: the music is a call and response between the audience,

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Speaker 1: and so the band is actually the audience is part

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Speaker 1: of the band, and so unless you're there in that moment,

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Speaker 1: you're not gonna understand that. Yeah, it's so beautiful. And

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Speaker 1: I grew in such appreciation for that because of like

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Speaker 1: you said, like experiencing any thing, understanding what go go

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Speaker 1: means to d C. It's a native grown born sound um.

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Speaker 1: And then after that I started recognizing it in other

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Speaker 1: groups like so so when you the first time I

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Speaker 1: heard uh crazy and love yes, like Rich Harrison produced

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Speaker 1: that D Yes, that's go And then do you guys

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Speaker 1: remember a Marie yea what thing? Just you know what

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Speaker 1: I'm saying? How the timing is Like I was like,

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Speaker 1: I think that's going you know what I'm saying? Yes,

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Speaker 1: And me being in Cali like nobody knew. I like, why,

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Speaker 1: what what are you talking about? And I was like,

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Speaker 1: it's it's DC, It's Go Go, you know. Yeah. No,

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Speaker 1: So I have a very um special moment for for

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Speaker 1: Go Go. There was one time again one year becausin

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Speaker 1: Jeff took me down. There is a U Street that's

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Speaker 1: got yeah so yeah with the one of the it

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Speaker 1: was one of the one of the one of the clubs.

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Speaker 1: That's a house. That's probably all of them, right, but

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Speaker 1: I don't know whatever. It was like a three story house.

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Speaker 1: The basement was the open mic and bar none maybe

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Speaker 1: it's DC Live. It might have been there. DC Live

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Speaker 1: was downtown, so it wasn't you Street, but anyway, whatever,

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Speaker 1: There's a lot of a a lot of places. But it

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Speaker 1: was like when it was the second time I experienced

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Speaker 1: it and it was an open mic. So I was like, okay,

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Speaker 1: I have to Callie Boy underground hip hop battle rapper.

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Speaker 1: I was like, oh, I'm getting on this, but I

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Speaker 1: don't care what y'all. You know what I'm saying. So

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Speaker 1: so I went up there told the dude like, hey,

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Speaker 1: look from CALLI you know what I'm saying. I do.

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Speaker 1: I do hip hop music. Back there I would love to,

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Speaker 1: like if is there any space on the list, And

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Speaker 1: it was like yeah, yeah, you know you're talking yeah, bamo,

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Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, Like you know saying yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, we we got a little time at the end,

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Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, We'll get you there. So

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Speaker 1: she did the full and then um so then towards

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Speaker 1: the end he was like, oh yeah, now we gotta

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Speaker 1: care CALLI. So like I came in there and I'm like,

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Speaker 1: now my nerves is going and I'm not used to

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Speaker 1: wrapping over a band so so much like sound, I'm

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Speaker 1: used to wrapping over horrible microphones, so like I have

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Speaker 1: to know how to project. So I kind of knew

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Speaker 1: how to project because I'm used to rapping on like

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Speaker 1: karaoke machines. So I was like, I know how to

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Speaker 1: do this, but like that, but I did it. It

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Speaker 1: was like, oh, pat myself on the back slated slay

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Speaker 1: that mug became friends ever since. I'm like, I'm still

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Speaker 1: tapped in with those guys, like ever since. It was

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Speaker 1: just one of those but it was one of those

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Speaker 1: like Yo, I just wish everybody could travel and experience

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Speaker 1: this because I was like I don't know how to

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Speaker 1: tell anyone back home what that's like. Yeah, I mean

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Speaker 1: it's a very Chocolate city experience. You know. It comes

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Speaker 1: out of the segregated history of DC, segregated school systems, um,

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Speaker 1: you know, and and it's as horrible as segregation is,

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Speaker 1: it did allow a space to protect these traditions that

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Speaker 1: really go back to West Africa, you know, our roots.

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Speaker 1: So I started off writing about gog I'm not a

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Speaker 1: DC native. I came to Howard um in the nineties

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Speaker 1: and I was an arts writer at the Washington Post.

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Speaker 1: Then I went to do my dissertation. I didn't want

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Speaker 1: to do my PhD at the University of Maryland, and

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Speaker 1: I did it on Go Go music. And so that's

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Speaker 1: part of what I did was sort of really looking

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Speaker 1: at these roots. And it's so go go. It is

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Speaker 1: not just also the music. It's fashion, you know, it's

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Speaker 1: the sound companies, it's uh people who sell the tapes.

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Speaker 1: It's a whole multi million our industry in d C.

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Speaker 1: And um, you know. As DC has gentrified, it's one

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Speaker 1: of the most intensely gentrified spaces in the country. Uh

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Speaker 1: go Go has been under attack through gentrification, but it

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Speaker 1: also was attacked during the murder capital years of d C,

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Speaker 1: when it really got blamed for it, got scapegoaded for

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Speaker 1: all the murders that took place. Which I always say

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Speaker 1: that the you know, the conquer players were innocent. They

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Speaker 1: were totally innocent. They just happened to be there once

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Speaker 1: uping went down, which a lot of things were going

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Speaker 1: down when you have an epidemic of drug addiction and

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Speaker 1: gun violence, like things go down, and somehow this beautiful

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Speaker 1: music um got blamed for that. And so in the

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Speaker 1: last three years with the Don't U d C movement,

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Speaker 1: you know, we've had an amazing turnaround as far as people,

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Speaker 1: more people coming to the realization that you did, which

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Speaker 1: is that, Okay, maybe I don't understand this, but maybe

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Speaker 1: this is something that has value. Man, man makes no

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Speaker 1: noise for that man that don't ut DC things so dope.

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Speaker 1: I feel a lot of kinds ship to like that

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Speaker 1: in gangster rap, you know what I'm saying, Like the

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Speaker 1: music coming out of the West Coast to you know

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Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of times for you know,

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Speaker 1: the the inner mixing of like like you said, like

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Speaker 1: this can you know guy playing the can guys He's

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Speaker 1: like I just happened to be from this project, you

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Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. Like, so, I'm like, I'm just

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Speaker 1: from South Central, Like you know what I'm saying, I'm

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Speaker 1: running from the same dudes you're running from, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean. So, and and I chose and a

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Speaker 1: lot of times, especially a lot of like the gangster rappers,

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Speaker 1: like a lot of them chose doing music to get

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Speaker 1: away from the violence. You know what I'm saying. It's like, well,

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Speaker 1: this is who we are, is where we're from, it

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Speaker 1: is what it is. I'm not scared, but I'm doing

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Speaker 1: this to avoid that, you know, and even to be

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Speaker 1: successful in because if you think about, like at least

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Speaker 1: how California's played out, and I've learned that it's a

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Speaker 1: little similar to DC. It's like the way that our

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Speaker 1: sections are. If you want to be a successful artist,

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Speaker 1: you can't only do shows in the hoods you're good

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Speaker 1: and like, you gotta you gotta be able to play

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Speaker 1: in areas that have like rival here said, which means

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Speaker 1: that means that I have to learn how to like

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Speaker 1: navigate outside of you know what I'm saying. So you

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Speaker 1: pick up a lot of skills being able to be

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Speaker 1: like first of all, knowing the grid, you know, and

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Speaker 1: where you are when there's no maps for it, you know,

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Speaker 1: kind of knowing where you are and then knowing, Okay,

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Speaker 1: who do I check in with? Who do I tapped

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Speaker 1: in with? Who we make sure is this and how

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Speaker 1: is this? What do you need for me to make

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Speaker 1: sure everything's okay with this? Okay? Because I really just

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Speaker 1: want to do this music. It was it similar or

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Speaker 1: there to absolutely absolutely, and so you know, and the

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Speaker 1: other thing that with the Go goes were also really

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Speaker 1: a place to mediate. You know, this is a place

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Speaker 1: where everybody is celebrating, a lot of people from different

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Speaker 1: communities are coming together. They're also a place to sort

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Speaker 1: of heal from a lot of the trauma that's going on.

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Speaker 1: You know again d C Murder Capital Days uh d

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Speaker 1: C was leading the nation and gun violence and all

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Speaker 1: these other things that we're going out which were because

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Speaker 1: of the violence over the drug drug trade, people competing

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Speaker 1: over profits and there were a lot of people who

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Speaker 1: lost their lives. And much like New Orleans, you know,

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Speaker 1: the second line and sort of like the brass band culture,

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Speaker 1: the go go is that space where you can heal,

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Speaker 1: you know, where you can mourn where you could remember

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Speaker 1: your friends, where you could be recognized. You go take

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Speaker 1: your picture in the you know the spot, and you

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Speaker 1: know a lot of times those are the records of

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Speaker 1: people's lives that have been lost. So it's a really

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Speaker 1: special space. That's beautiful. That's so beautiful, and it's and

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Speaker 1: the more you more you talk about it, the more

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Speaker 1: I feel like it can be. Like the principles of

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Speaker 1: it is like, yeah, this is like any hood, USA,

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Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like we have for California,

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Speaker 1: we have an area in the Crunchhaw district called the

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Speaker 1: murt Park that like was like for some reason, it's

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Speaker 1: in between like a trade cribs and rolling sixty cribs

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Speaker 1: like Nipsey Hustle and him like this is it's in

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Speaker 1: the center, you know what I'm saying. But they do

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Speaker 1: an African drump circle every Sunday, Like it's like this

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Speaker 1: is It's one of the most peaceful of my whole life.

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Speaker 1: I can't think of anything ever. It's along the cruising

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Speaker 1: boys in the hood, the Crenshaw Cruising Crenshaw that's on

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Speaker 1: this that street, you know, But it's just the I

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Speaker 1: remember my father bringing me on Sundays to the flea market,

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Speaker 1: like as a child Lamart Park, you know. And then Saturdays,

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Speaker 1: I bring my my my little nephews, I said earlier,

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Speaker 1: I'm a girl dad, so that my daughters aren't interested,

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Speaker 1: but I bring like my nephews with me and we

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Speaker 1: just kicking on Cranshaw and it's just but that space.

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Speaker 1: We just knew how the space was sacred, and yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's a sacred space. Um. It's a place for art,

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Speaker 1: communication community. Um. And you know, a lot of the

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Speaker 1: questions that my work has been asking the last couple

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Speaker 1: of years is like, well, where are the arts grants

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Speaker 1: for those drummers? Okay, talk you talk, because where are

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Speaker 1: you know? You we recognize opera in ballet as great

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Speaker 1: American art forms, but you know their European art forms,

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Speaker 1: and there are there are many other continents. So I'm

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Speaker 1: not sure why, well I know why. But they all

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Speaker 1: don't have to These art forms don't all have to

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Speaker 1: originate in Europe to be valuable. Some of them came

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Speaker 1: right here on American soil, things like hip hop, things

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Speaker 1: like go go music. But our public policy structures are

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Speaker 1: not built to include them. And so that's a lot

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Speaker 1: of the work that I've been doing the last couple

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Speaker 1: of years, is really trying to really make these arguments

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Speaker 1: and to try to help people understand that this is

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Speaker 1: American art and it deserves the respect and the financial support.

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Speaker 1: It deserves the space we make every American city, major

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Speaker 1: city makes room for sports. They will put their money

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Speaker 1: into these stadiums. They will give tax subsidies to private

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Speaker 1: people who are making money off of it. Because we

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Speaker 1: appreciate that this is a special space. This is not

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Speaker 1: to not sports, right, This is a special space where

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Speaker 1: people come together as and this is something that our

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Speaker 1: society values. And so we have to to get to

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Speaker 1: the hood politics part. We have to be able that

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Speaker 1: has to also extend to the drummers and the drums. Yes, yes,

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Speaker 1: it's like pay us too. Yes, this is perfect. This

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Speaker 1: gets to perfect segue. You know what you're doing, what

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Speaker 1: I'll tell you right. So, my my podcast I Do

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Speaker 1: is called her Politics Will Problem, And what the podcast

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Speaker 1: is essentially like in a lot of ways, like The Doctor,

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Speaker 1: here's an embodiment of this. It's just this idea that

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Speaker 1: like oftentimes we feel if we don't have like formal

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Speaker 1: or like academy education, that we kind of don't know

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Speaker 1: what we're talking about, and what I found was that's

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Speaker 1: just not the case right some of when in getting

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Speaker 1: my formal education, I realized a lot of the ways

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Speaker 1: that I made sense of history, politics, foreign policy, all

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Speaker 1: those things were really just lessons I learned growing up

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Speaker 1: with gangsters, you know what I'm saying, and just learning

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Speaker 1: how to like navigate the city. Like you know. I again,

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Speaker 1: I'm just from South Central. I never gang bang the

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Speaker 1: day in my life, but I knew exactly where they were,

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Speaker 1: what they're doing, how they move, what offending them because

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Speaker 1: I needed I needed to know to survive, like I

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Speaker 1: have to know how y'all work right and in the

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Speaker 1: same way like I'm I've never ran for office, not

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Speaker 1: a politician, neither of you. But for you to survive

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Speaker 1: and thrive, you better know how they work right. You

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Speaker 1: have to know how this stuff and what my encouragement

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Speaker 1: to you is, like you probably already do this is

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Speaker 1: nobody pointed at it. You understand what I'm saying. I

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Speaker 1: think right now, you know, if we were taking the

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Speaker 1: conflict in Ukraine, that's not complicated. You get it. You

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Speaker 1: know you you've had you've had to deal with a bully,

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Speaker 1: you know, saying, you know what the deal and feel

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Speaker 1: like to deal with a bully. You you know what

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Speaker 1: they feel like if you're about to get jumped, Like,

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Speaker 1: let me be real with y'all, let me show you,

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Speaker 1: hi positive you're about to get jumped. You know, somebody's

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Speaker 1: like surrounding you. There's three rules. Three rules is don't

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Speaker 1: let nobody get behind you, right Number one? Number two,

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Speaker 1: I need to go psycho on one of y'all, right,

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Speaker 1: because if I go psycho on one of y'all, the

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Speaker 1: rest of you might think twice right, And if I

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Speaker 1: could just hold on long enough, y'all might gas out right.

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Speaker 1: And I'm like, if that's Crane right, Like, okay, you

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Speaker 1: don't surround him. You didn't surround it our nation, all right,

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Speaker 1: We just gotta hold out, you have we have to

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Speaker 1: show them that we got hard right and and and

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Speaker 1: ain't nobody jumping in if you notice, ain't nobody helping right,

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Speaker 1: everybody's standing outside like I'll throw you a batter two

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Speaker 1: you feel me? But Yo, this is your fight, bro,

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Speaker 1: Like you gonna have to hand over and you Crane like, Yo,

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Speaker 1: y'all gonna jump in. It's like, no, we because we

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Speaker 1: don't want to smoke with Russia also, so both the

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Speaker 1: point is you already understand this stuff, right, and it's

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Speaker 1: just using what you already knew to understand what's happening

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Speaker 1: right now, and then this is then and then and

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Speaker 1: in your role in again building a better world. So

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Speaker 1: you're already abodying this. I want to ask you a

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Speaker 1: specific question around that idea, Like, so you have your

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Speaker 1: your school training and what you knew about your like

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Speaker 1: formal training, and how to turn that into things that

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Speaker 1: affect the community around us. What I would argue is,

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Speaker 1: like that's real power. There's a thing with politicians called astroturfing.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if you ever heard this, but it's

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Speaker 1: this idea of like, if you're about to do this rally,

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Speaker 1: you know, you kind of hit hit the craigslist, you know,

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Speaker 1: hit the d M. You start saying, y'all, here's fifty bucks,

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Speaker 1: pull up out here, what draw some signs for you?

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Speaker 1: You pull up so they pay people to come out

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Speaker 1: for the for the for the rally to look big, right,

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Speaker 1: That's called astroturfing. But I know, dudes, right now, and

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Speaker 1: I bet you you since you're so plugged into the community,

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Speaker 1: you can send out three texts and be like, Hey,

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Speaker 1: we're pulling up at this part y'all. Y'all pull up

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Speaker 1: hunted people on the street. You know what I'm saying,

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Speaker 1: Hounty people outside. You're like, Hey, we're gonna do a

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Speaker 1: barbecue at the Carter Park in the whole city. Come out.

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Speaker 1: That's real political power. Politicians pay for that. So what

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Speaker 1: I'm saying is like somebody like yourself. Ultimately, my hope

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Speaker 1: for this show is to onboard people like us into policy.

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Speaker 1: You understand what I'm saying, So that now we at

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Speaker 1: gotta hate our politicians if it's a real one like this. Well,

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Speaker 1: and I want to say exactly what you just described

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Speaker 1: is really what the don't d C movement came about.

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Speaker 1: So there was an issue where there was somebody who

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Speaker 1: was playing music on a corner for twenty five years,

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Speaker 1: playing go go music. The neighborhood was gentrified. Gentrifiers came

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Speaker 1: in demanded the music be shut off. Everybody rolled up.

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Speaker 1: Everyone there was not I mean, you had people who

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Speaker 1: came on the corner of fourteenth in New Street to

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Speaker 1: watch Backyard band perform. So like the go go bands

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Speaker 1: have that type of Natalie Hopkinson not so much right,

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Speaker 1: but the go go, the go go bads. If you

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Speaker 1: say Big g is gonna be at the quarter four,

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Speaker 1: you you gonna have They're coming. And so what we've

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Speaker 1: been doing able to do with the don't U d

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Speaker 1: C movement, we were able to rally people to come

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Speaker 1: to defend that corner and to be able to say, okay,

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Speaker 1: every everybody backed off. They're like, okay, never mind, We're

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Speaker 1: gonna let him play his music. But then we're like,

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Speaker 1: you know what, we got other things that we want

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Speaker 1: to say. So we talked about how they were going

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Speaker 1: to shut down a hospital in Wards seven and eight,

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Speaker 1: the blackest, poorest part of the city, separated by a bridge.

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Speaker 1: These are genocidal policy decisions. We did a go go

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Speaker 1: in the hospital parking lot, and every one of those

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Speaker 1: council people they flipped the vote. It was twelve eleven

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Speaker 1: one against it. It was the opposite, you know, when

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Speaker 1: they finally came to the final vote. We applied it

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Speaker 1: to issues like school funding. They were going to take

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Speaker 1: away um a new building of his black high school.

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Speaker 1: Put that on our list of demands. We talked about

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Speaker 1: UM return citizens. There was in a place for people

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Speaker 1: who after having served their time in the district, they

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Speaker 1: had no place for them to come back to the district.

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Speaker 1: And so we did a rally on New York Avenue

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Speaker 1: the middle of the work day. We had a thousand

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Speaker 1: people come out um to see these bands perform. And

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Speaker 1: so that's what I'm saying is the power of these

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Speaker 1: So again, Dr Hopkinson does not have that power, but

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Speaker 1: I've read. What I do know is that the Go

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Speaker 1: Go musicians have the power. And so once you pair

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Speaker 1: them with people who are interested in different policy issues,

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Speaker 1: there's nothing that we can't do. And so we've been

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Speaker 1: on a role for the last um last few years

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Speaker 1: and really winning a lot of arguments, including making Go

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Speaker 1: Go name the official music of Washington, d C. That

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Speaker 1: was a law that was pfial, so they got remember,

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Speaker 1: everybody's gonna remember what Go Go is, right, And and

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Speaker 1: then now we're in the process of just figuring out

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Speaker 1: how we institutionalize this, how do we do this? So

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Speaker 1: and I was really like hearing you talk about that

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Speaker 1: traditional knowledge. So I tell with my kids so books,

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Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of books. Yeah, I've written a

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Speaker 1: few of them, I read a lot of them. It's

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Speaker 1: a very efficient way to learn because you can learn,

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Speaker 1: You could cross time and space learn about people's experience.

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Speaker 1: Wonderfully efficient way to learn. But the other way to

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Speaker 1: learn is by sitting down and talking to people, observing

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Speaker 1: and having experiences. Those are like two ways that you

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Speaker 1: become smart and knowledgeable. And in our community we have

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Speaker 1: a lot of talking about in the black community, you

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Speaker 1: could just sit with elders. Yes, you know, you could

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Speaker 1: sit with people who've been around and so you know,

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Speaker 1: some of the work we're doing is around how do

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Speaker 1: we make sure that that traditional knowledge gets passed on?

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Speaker 1: How do we make these power structures respect the fact

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Speaker 1: that there is a thing called traditional knowledge and there's

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Speaker 1: a thing called book knowledge and they're not. There shouldn't

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Speaker 1: be such a great hierarchy between them. Yeah, you again,

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Speaker 1: it makes a noise for that right there. You know

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Speaker 1: what I'm saying, give give the doc or flowers. I like,

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Speaker 1: I think you're right. I think about in my own life,

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Speaker 1: like if I were to go back home and tell

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Speaker 1: my grandma, like when she was around, like you know

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Speaker 1: what we learned it, you know, blah blah blah, all

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Speaker 1: they said, yeah this and is Grandma would say, they

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Speaker 1: don't know what they're talking about. Let me tell you

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Speaker 1: what happened, you know. And when I tell you and

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Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure you're the same, I would dismiss anything

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Speaker 1: anybody else said, you don't. I don't care what the

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Speaker 1: books say. When my grandma say they don't know what

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Speaker 1: they're talking about, let me tell you, I'm like, I

425
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,960
Speaker 1: immediately believe her. You know what I'm saying. And I'm like,

426
00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:24,960
Speaker 1: and I'm pretty sure it's the same for you. We

427
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,480
Speaker 1: just don't have a name for it. What she's calling

428
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,080
Speaker 1: it is, that's the name of it. It's called traditional knowledge,

429
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,760
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. It's why you know what

430
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,680
Speaker 1: we say, don't cross railroad tracks. It's why you know, hey,

431
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:37,560
Speaker 1: don't go to that liquor store because it is this

432
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:39,360
Speaker 1: and is hey when you go to the store, make

433
00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:41,520
Speaker 1: sure you buy this version and not that version. That's

434
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:46,800
Speaker 1: traditional knowledge. And Grandma is the traditional PhD. She's the

435
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:51,480
Speaker 1: p o G. She's the one teaching things like even

436
00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:53,720
Speaker 1: the food that we eat, you know, like these are

437
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,959
Speaker 1: the these are our cultural traditions, and that those are

438
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,200
Speaker 1: passed on often by women, you know, sitting around tables,

439
00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:01,600
Speaker 1: and they just get the respect that they deserve. So

440
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:03,919
Speaker 1: thank you for giving her respect. Oh man, come on,

441
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,520
Speaker 1: get grandma or flowers. It's the thing she already It's

442
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,159
Speaker 1: the crazy part to me. Again, it's like, but we

443
00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,520
Speaker 1: we already do it, you know, we just don't name it.

444
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,760
Speaker 1: And I and I appreciate you naming it. And and

445
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:16,480
Speaker 1: again like once you do name it, now you can

446
00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,680
Speaker 1: institutionalize it and give it its flowers. That's great. Um.

447
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,440
Speaker 1: And I think one thing you said, just going back

448
00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:23,560
Speaker 1: to something you said where you were like, I don't

449
00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:28,760
Speaker 1: have the official powers the go go players that do.

450
00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,320
Speaker 1: What that translates to me is like, this is what

451
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,920
Speaker 1: she described is what lobbying should be like. Right now,

452
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,919
Speaker 1: we see lobbying as like as a bad word, but

453
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,840
Speaker 1: it's just a bit. It depends on who you're working for,

454
00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,359
Speaker 1: Like when you're lobbying, and like if you're working for

455
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,200
Speaker 1: you know, Lex Corp. You know what I'm saying, then yeah,

456
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,479
Speaker 1: you're lobbying is evil, you know what I'm saying. If

457
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:53,720
Speaker 1: you're trying to bend somebody's will for something that's just

458
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,840
Speaker 1: for a selfish game, and that's evil lobbying. What she

459
00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,040
Speaker 1: said was this, Okay, we have an issue. I know

460
00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:01,000
Speaker 1: who got the Jews who got the cloud in the

461
00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:03,800
Speaker 1: in the city. I'm tapped in with them. You're good

462
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,160
Speaker 1: with these people, you feel me, which is something again

463
00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:08,679
Speaker 1: people pay for that to be good with somebody that

464
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,360
Speaker 1: knows how to get people, and say, if you're good

465
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,639
Speaker 1: with them, then do you know what I mean when

466
00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:17,000
Speaker 1: I say you good with them? Am I going too far? Okay? Yeah,

467
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,320
Speaker 1: if you're good with them, then now you what you do?

468
00:24:20,359 --> 00:24:23,840
Speaker 1: Exactly what you said. You just pair them with the policymaker.

469
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,400
Speaker 1: That's called lobbying, you know. So rather than these big

470
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,919
Speaker 1: lobbying corporations you know what I'm saying, in firms that

471
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,640
Speaker 1: are just hiring kids out of college and just being like, yo,

472
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 1: this is the project. Like what if we saw a

473
00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,920
Speaker 1: world that had more like this, where it's like we're indigenous,

474
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,200
Speaker 1: we're grown from here, We're I'm good in the streets,

475
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 1: I'm good in the academy, you know what I'm saying.

476
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,480
Speaker 1: And I'm good with the council people. And I understand

477
00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:53,400
Speaker 1: how all these things work. And this is again this

478
00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,200
Speaker 1: is hood politics. Well, and I swe it was the

479
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,240
Speaker 1: Other thing I will start to add is with um

480
00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 1: when this this businessman who would sell ago tapes in

481
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,879
Speaker 1: addition to selling cell phones. MS. Donald Campbell. When he

482
00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,439
Speaker 1: was under attack, the first person who came to his

483
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:10,680
Speaker 1: defense very publicly was a student at Howard named Julien Broomfield.

484
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,240
Speaker 1: And she created this hashtag don't mu DC and she said,

485
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 1: you know, what's happening is disgusting. Gentrification is horrible. And

486
00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:20,880
Speaker 1: she said, maybe this won't change anything, but let's when

487
00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,199
Speaker 1: we talk about it. Let's talk about this using the

488
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,479
Speaker 1: hashtag don't mut d C. And so I and my

489
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,560
Speaker 1: partner Ronald Molton, who's my he's an activist, so he's

490
00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:33,040
Speaker 1: been in the street activists, um, you know for for years.

491
00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,000
Speaker 1: We created a petition on change dot org. We were

492
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,600
Speaker 1: able using this don't mut d C language, we were

493
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,280
Speaker 1: able to get eighty thousand people to sign our petition

494
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,600
Speaker 1: from every state in the Union, in ninety four different

495
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,840
Speaker 1: countries around the world. People rallied on behalf of the

496
00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:51,800
Speaker 1: specific street corners. So, you know, so it's like you

497
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:54,280
Speaker 1: can use these tools. You know, you don't have to

498
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 1: be just tweeting in the void. You know, if you

499
00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,160
Speaker 1: sort of pair it with people who are ready with

500
00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:01,879
Speaker 1: plans and need to have a conversation and you know

501
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,919
Speaker 1: the other thing with my um with Ronald Molton, who's

502
00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:07,680
Speaker 1: he's creating the Go Go Museum, cafe and d C. Now,

503
00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:10,320
Speaker 1: which is another thing that's come out of this is

504
00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:14,800
Speaker 1: that um, he's taught me a lot about lobbying. We

505
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,960
Speaker 1: were able to get three million dollars just directly for

506
00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:20,840
Speaker 1: Go Go because we said, look, it's not enough for

507
00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:24,320
Speaker 1: you to just say we're official. We've always been official, right,

508
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: So what what you gotta do is you gotta put

509
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,520
Speaker 1: some investments. And especially when the community was really reeling

510
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:33,280
Speaker 1: from the COVID pandemic, and so we were able to

511
00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,359
Speaker 1: get direct relief to artists, direct relief, direct support for

512
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,359
Speaker 1: Go Go related archiving. And we're just getting started because

513
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:45,359
Speaker 1: d C is rich and so you know, DC has

514
00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,119
Speaker 1: a seventeen point five billion dollar budget. You know, like

515
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:50,320
Speaker 1: they gave us a couple of crops. So we're gonna

516
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,199
Speaker 1: go back for like really institutionalize in making sure that

517
00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,000
Speaker 1: there's never a case that you know, DC Go Go

518
00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:02,880
Speaker 1: music will be forgotten or muted again. Man, if there's

519
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:04,920
Speaker 1: one thing I learned about one thing I learned about

520
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,480
Speaker 1: government is oh they got the money, they said, like,

521
00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,480
Speaker 1: don't let nobody don't let these people lie to you.

522
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,400
Speaker 1: They got it. They got it on them right. One

523
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:14,679
Speaker 1: thing I've learned, um, and then I'm gonna end with

524
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,200
Speaker 1: this last question, you know. But one thing I've learned

525
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:19,400
Speaker 1: was like, and I'll be honest with you. I learned

526
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,040
Speaker 1: this from my white friends. Be real with you. It's

527
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,440
Speaker 1: and maybe maybe it's true for you, but it's let

528
00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:30,160
Speaker 1: them tell you no. Like in the sense of this,

529
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:35,200
Speaker 1: if you don't ask right or just start doing, then

530
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:37,159
Speaker 1: you never know. Again, remember I talked about it in

531
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:38,800
Speaker 1: the terraforming thing. There was a lot of ways that

532
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,600
Speaker 1: I had to rethink what's actually possible. The thought would

533
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,639
Speaker 1: have never crossed my mind that asked for three million

534
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,479
Speaker 1: dollars to go into the thing and asked like, Yo, hey,

535
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:48,760
Speaker 1: y'all got money for arts, we need it, We'll run it,

536
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:50,840
Speaker 1: like I would never ask. And if you say no,

537
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:53,879
Speaker 1: then some of my other again, another one of my

538
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,479
Speaker 1: white friends was like, Noah's a starting point. It's just

539
00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:00,439
Speaker 1: like there's there's a way to get to yes. I

540
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,720
Speaker 1: had yeah, and you cannot. I mean the thing is

541
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:05,520
Speaker 1: is with the art, like it sort of goes back

542
00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,880
Speaker 1: to the drummers in the circle, Like if if we've

543
00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:11,919
Speaker 1: gotten it in our minds and the public narrative is

544
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,400
Speaker 1: around art is a certain thing. Art aren't people who

545
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:19,119
Speaker 1: look like you or look like me? Right, then you

546
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,679
Speaker 1: don't even think like, okay, we're entitled to this money.

547
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:23,560
Speaker 1: Like I'm like, not only do they need to do

548
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,160
Speaker 1: three million, they gotta do reparations for the last forty

549
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,919
Speaker 1: years that they hadn't had anybody involved in this, you know,

550
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:30,600
Speaker 1: like it's a whole lot of checks that need to

551
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:31,840
Speaker 1: be and you know, and we do it in a

552
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,679
Speaker 1: very systematic way. Um, you know, I do. I did charts.

553
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 1: I did an analysis of arts funding in d C.

554
00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:40,600
Speaker 1: I found that seventy eight percent of the funding went

555
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 1: to white neighborhoods in d C, where where black people

556
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,120
Speaker 1: are the are the largest ethnic group. Like, how does

557
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:50,520
Speaker 1: that make? Make that make sense? You know, the math

558
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,640
Speaker 1: wasn't mapping, and they tried to throw us off the

559
00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:55,080
Speaker 1: Arts Commission for that. But then you know, my friends

560
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,000
Speaker 1: in the go go community really came to our rescue.

561
00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,000
Speaker 1: They did another alley, you know, and they were like, yeah, don't, don't,

562
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,080
Speaker 1: don't try this with that, and they didn't. So it's

563
00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:40,840
Speaker 1: it's our superpower, you know, our music is our superpower. Wow, man,

564
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,000
Speaker 1: that's actually that's actually a better place to stop. You know,

565
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:47,560
Speaker 1: our music is our superpower. You You, you have embodied

566
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:49,800
Speaker 1: what I hope for, what I hope to see in

567
00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:52,600
Speaker 1: the future where somebody who's in you know, born and

568
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 1: bread from the soil, you know, learned, never left the roots,

569
00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:01,400
Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying, got into a position of access,

570
00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 1: brought people with you, and learned how to leverage and

571
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:09,320
Speaker 1: even like even deflect some of the Even in this conversation,

572
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,240
Speaker 1: you've deflected some of the like you know, some of

573
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,560
Speaker 1: the flowers and glory and was like, nah, it's a tine,

574
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,960
Speaker 1: Like we come from this and that's and that's again

575
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,080
Speaker 1: that's another thing that I am going to assume this

576
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:24,240
Speaker 1: of you, like this just comes from growing up in

577
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,040
Speaker 1: a black and brown community. You just yeah, you know,

578
00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:31,080
Speaker 1: you're not only we, it's we. It's always we. You

579
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,320
Speaker 1: want to go fast, go alone, if you want to

580
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:36,520
Speaker 1: go far, go together, that's the pros. That's how we

581
00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:38,760
Speaker 1: have to do it. Yeah. So when you when you

582
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,400
Speaker 1: don't deny that part of you. I know, for so long,

583
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,480
Speaker 1: when I was getting into the academy, I thought I

584
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,240
Speaker 1: had to shut off all of those lessons I learned

585
00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:49,520
Speaker 1: from there and learn something new and I realized like,

586
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:53,400
Speaker 1: oh no, this is this is actually it's actually better

587
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:57,520
Speaker 1: to bring this to the table. Yeah. Anyway, doctor, thank

588
00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:02,040
Speaker 1: you so much, Thank you y'all. This was incredible. I'm

589
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:07,400
Speaker 1: so honored your books outside. Yes, I have two books outside.

590
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,360
Speaker 1: She got two books outside. I got one book outside

591
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:13,800
Speaker 1: called Terraform. She got two books outside. Again, if you

592
00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,960
Speaker 1: want to read Work of Dogs versus Wolf of Work

593
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:23,160
Speaker 1: of Wolves, you know there it is. Thank you again, appreciate,

594
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:28,040
Speaker 1: thank you. Do you guys want to take some audience

595
00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,360
Speaker 1: questions or you just want to oh yeah, oh, I'm sorry.

596
00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:35,600
Speaker 1: We were supposed to open for Q and A. Any

597
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,800
Speaker 1: I mean, do we got any Hey everybody, if you're

598
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:40,920
Speaker 1: interested in asking some questions right now, I'm glad to

599
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:43,040
Speaker 1: come around with the microphones. Just put your hand up

600
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:51,520
Speaker 1: and thanks for bringing the house lights up. Thank you darling. Well, first,

601
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:53,360
Speaker 1: I want to thank you so much. This has been

602
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:57,080
Speaker 1: an incredible inspiration. Um and I just thank the festival

603
00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,880
Speaker 1: for doing this and bringing you guys here. And my

604
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,280
Speaker 1: question is I'm working in Ashville with a lot of

605
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,520
Speaker 1: people trying to save trying to make sure that ashvill

606
00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:09,560
Speaker 1: doesn't become Charlotte or Austin, Texas, or Bend, Oregon and

607
00:32:09,600 --> 00:32:11,840
Speaker 1: all these other cities that have just grown really fast

608
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,720
Speaker 1: and lost a lot of affordable housing and a lot

609
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,280
Speaker 1: of culture, a lot of the culture built in culture,

610
00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:21,560
Speaker 1: and UM, it is it's rare. It's it's like to

611
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: know that you did it by music is great. And

612
00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:25,320
Speaker 1: I think that one of the things that I've gotten

613
00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:28,479
Speaker 1: out of this is like the positivity thinking of it.

614
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,200
Speaker 1: As you know, we have to become more inclusive and

615
00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:34,240
Speaker 1: sometimes I get really angry and I expose that in

616
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:38,080
Speaker 1: my in my writings and in my standing up against

617
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:40,720
Speaker 1: you know, the powers that be. But um, any any

618
00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:43,440
Speaker 1: words of advice on how to keep that, how to

619
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,200
Speaker 1: build I mean I'm getting this, but any further thing

620
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,560
Speaker 1: that you can offer is great help. Yeah, thank you

621
00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:52,720
Speaker 1: for the question. Actually, right now as we speak, UM,

622
00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,280
Speaker 1: I mentioned the the co author of the Don't U

623
00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:59,520
Speaker 1: d C petition, Ronald Moulton, right now is doing a

624
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:03,280
Speaker 1: tour of Anacostia that's in d C's It's a black

625
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,000
Speaker 1: neighborhood in d C um where he was able to

626
00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:09,120
Speaker 1: acquire his business UM with the support of the city,

627
00:33:09,720 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 1: he was acquire to acquire the property um and that

628
00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:17,360
Speaker 1: also inspired some really innovative legislation in DC that allowed

629
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:22,200
Speaker 1: legacy uh cultural business owners like him, uh, like a

630
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,960
Speaker 1: bookstore owner, like the several cultural businesses were able to

631
00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:28,960
Speaker 1: get there um to to get ownership. And that's really

632
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:31,040
Speaker 1: the only way that you can assure that people won't

633
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,240
Speaker 1: get displaced is if they have ownership. And so that's

634
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:36,640
Speaker 1: one of the I think one of the policy innovations

635
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:38,240
Speaker 1: that sort of come out of it is that, yeah,

636
00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:40,120
Speaker 1: you can, just like you give a tax break to

637
00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:44,600
Speaker 1: uh sports stadium, you can give a tax break to

638
00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:47,640
Speaker 1: a mom and pop cultural you know, cultural organization. You know.

639
00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:50,440
Speaker 1: So we've were able to make those arguments, and we

640
00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:55,200
Speaker 1: hope that other people um do the same. All Right,

641
00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,800
Speaker 1: we got another question around here. Oh yeah, so I

642
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,200
Speaker 1: actually have more of a common First off, shout out

643
00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,040
Speaker 1: the problem man. I've been following you since Humble Best Days,

644
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:07,880
Speaker 1: So shout out to you man. Uh doc, thank you

645
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,279
Speaker 1: so much for being here. Appreciate you just coming through.

646
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,040
Speaker 1: My name's best b E S. Thank you all once again,

647
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:16,799
Speaker 1: and uh just for sharing the light man, just for

648
00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:19,960
Speaker 1: bringing this to everybody's attention. Go go such a strong movement.

649
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:21,839
Speaker 1: You know, I got a bunch of family in DC

650
00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,920
Speaker 1: as well, and just wanted to invite you guys, if

651
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,239
Speaker 1: you guys have time to try and go park. For

652
00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:29,520
Speaker 1: those of you who don't know about Triangle Park, it

653
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:32,160
Speaker 1: is the last or one of the last remaining black

654
00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:36,279
Speaker 1: cultural artifacts here in Asheville. And so we actually, me

655
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,759
Speaker 1: and my brother next here. Right before we came through,

656
00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:41,600
Speaker 1: we actually just finished having our monthly meeting, just figuring

657
00:34:41,640 --> 00:34:43,239
Speaker 1: out what we were gonna do this summer. For those

658
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:45,120
Speaker 1: of you who don't know, we kick stuff off at

659
00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:48,960
Speaker 1: the park. We do live jams, DJ sets, band sets,

660
00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:51,400
Speaker 1: set up their play chests, all the stuff that should

661
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:54,520
Speaker 1: go on, so don't neglect what's already going on right

662
00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,279
Speaker 1: here in the city. For those of you who don't know,

663
00:34:58,000 --> 00:34:59,799
Speaker 1: right it's good to see you all up here. It's

664
00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:01,480
Speaker 1: up to see that y'all came out to support them

665
00:35:01,520 --> 00:35:03,960
Speaker 1: as we should. Shout out to Jessica for bringing them through,

666
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:05,799
Speaker 1: but I had to take a minute to shout out

667
00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,120
Speaker 1: just folks and Triangle Parks because we're trying to keep

668
00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:10,920
Speaker 1: it alive. And if y'all have time, I would love

669
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,200
Speaker 1: to show you the park just to point out the artifacts.

670
00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:15,360
Speaker 1: I know you're busy, I know y'll here for different reasons,

671
00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:17,120
Speaker 1: but I had to point that out problem. I didn't

672
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:18,680
Speaker 1: know we aligned so much. Man, Like I said, I've

673
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:20,839
Speaker 1: been fooling you for a long time. But girl dad

674
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:22,600
Speaker 1: got a cat for the exact same reason. So I

675
00:35:22,719 --> 00:35:25,120
Speaker 1: felt you completely. I was like, man, if I love

676
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:29,640
Speaker 1: this little girl, that thing would be somewhere else, man, yo,

677
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:31,560
Speaker 1: and I got shot out one more thing. Man, if

678
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:33,440
Speaker 1: you ever need a DJ for your said, howl at me,

679
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:41,560
Speaker 1: howl at me anybody else and thanks. I'm gonna get

680
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:46,839
Speaker 1: my exercise doing this today. Al Right. First off, I'm

681
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,759
Speaker 1: gonna be really dense and ask you to spell out

682
00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:55,160
Speaker 1: that hashtag because I'm don't mute DC. Yes, don't mute

683
00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,239
Speaker 1: d C, d O N D O N T m

684
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 1: U T E. There is e C And there's a

685
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:04,560
Speaker 1: website don't mute DC dot com that has a lot

686
00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:11,520
Speaker 1: of information that I shared. DC statehood is hugely important,

687
00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:16,560
Speaker 1: like nationally, yes it is. What can we do? What

688
00:36:16,640 --> 00:36:20,399
Speaker 1: can we do here in North Carolina to support that?

689
00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:26,239
Speaker 1: So that's a really strong movement and definitely I think yes,

690
00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:30,040
Speaker 1: very strong movement. Really important DC gets statehood. That changes

691
00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:33,080
Speaker 1: the whole political game in the United States, which is

692
00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:36,160
Speaker 1: why there's so much resistance in places like North Carolina

693
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,480
Speaker 1: because it it mutes the power people who are already states.

694
00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:44,359
Speaker 1: It mutes their power. UM. So I would say, I mean,

695
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:48,120
Speaker 1: there's I could probably send you some resources of the

696
00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:51,240
Speaker 1: d C statehood. There's many organizers who's been doing working

697
00:36:51,239 --> 00:36:54,640
Speaker 1: on this for decades, UM. And I really think that

698
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:56,440
Speaker 1: now is the time. I don't know why people wait.

699
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,600
Speaker 1: Like the minute Biden got in, he should have that

700
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:00,200
Speaker 1: should have been the first thing he did so that

701
00:37:00,239 --> 00:37:02,600
Speaker 1: we could you know that, so that we they can't

702
00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:04,640
Speaker 1: just take away people's voting rights and all the rest

703
00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:06,359
Speaker 1: of the stuff that they're doing. They can only do

704
00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:10,400
Speaker 1: that and you know without um, without DC being a state.

705
00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:12,760
Speaker 1: So I think it's very important. And thank you for

706
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:22,759
Speaker 1: for asking the question. Anybody else, Yeah, thanks UM, Thank you.

707
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:27,400
Speaker 1: First off, great conversations. UM. I was sitting here reflecting

708
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:30,160
Speaker 1: a lot on what you were discussing about lobbying and

709
00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:34,480
Speaker 1: lobbyists and just sitting here thinking that what we consider

710
00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:37,839
Speaker 1: lobbyists is like the power is the money, Like those

711
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:41,480
Speaker 1: are the ones that are lobbyists. Um and just sitting

712
00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:44,200
Speaker 1: here kind of trying to consider whether the issue is

713
00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:48,239
Speaker 1: that right now the money actually has more power than

714
00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,920
Speaker 1: people power or is that a mentality like what you

715
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,920
Speaker 1: were talking about in the beginning, Like our idea of

716
00:37:54,960 --> 00:38:00,200
Speaker 1: what has power is wrong. So this idea that like

717
00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:03,440
Speaker 1: and don't mute d C like, actually people are remembering

718
00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:07,160
Speaker 1: that they have power. Um. So I'm just I don't know,

719
00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:09,759
Speaker 1: I'm rambling, but just kind of thinking. That got me

720
00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:13,399
Speaker 1: thinking about like where is the power? No, You're you're

721
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:16,440
Speaker 1: actually nailing it. What what I have found? And I

722
00:38:16,480 --> 00:38:18,560
Speaker 1: mean obviously you're actually doing the work, you know, but

723
00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:20,799
Speaker 1: what I have found is like, No, the power is

724
00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:23,960
Speaker 1: the access to the people. The fact that like that's

725
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:28,960
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, Like they politicians, the money is to

726
00:38:29,200 --> 00:38:32,640
Speaker 1: pay for access to the people. You know what I'm saying,

727
00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 1: it's it's it's getting people to the You know, why

728
00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:37,799
Speaker 1: why in the world if you're looking at like a

729
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:41,960
Speaker 1: rally on on television, why are there people behind the stage?

730
00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:45,960
Speaker 1: Like it's absurd, what type there's nobody behind us? Right? Like,

731
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:51,120
Speaker 1: why would you sit behind at an event? It's for

732
00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,400
Speaker 1: the perception of power. It's to look like there's a

733
00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:57,480
Speaker 1: lot of people here. Most of the time, ain't nobody

734
00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:00,279
Speaker 1: in front of them, everybody's actually behind, you know, saying

735
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,839
Speaker 1: because they need to look like they have access to

736
00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:08,600
Speaker 1: the people. Right, So, so the power has always been again,

737
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:11,400
Speaker 1: can I send out an email? Can I send out

738
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:13,000
Speaker 1: a text? Can I make one phone call and get

739
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:17,480
Speaker 1: a hundred people outside? That's that's what they need. So

740
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:20,920
Speaker 1: then that's why you partner with activists with, why you

741
00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:23,960
Speaker 1: hire street teams, why you do all that because they

742
00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:26,239
Speaker 1: actually get you. But if that street team, if that

743
00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:29,320
Speaker 1: person like like their team is like no, no, no, no,

744
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:33,520
Speaker 1: I'm not making this call unless you cut the check

745
00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:36,799
Speaker 1: for this, for this, for this, and for this, and

746
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,920
Speaker 1: if you don't, we're going outside against you. You know

747
00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:41,960
Speaker 1: what I'm saying. So that's what I found. Yeah, and

748
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,960
Speaker 1: I think power is also so the part of what

749
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,239
Speaker 1: money is paying for is just access to eyeballs. Right,

750
00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:50,080
Speaker 1: So if you have a viral tweet or if you

751
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:53,120
Speaker 1: have something, if you've got you're able to command attention

752
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:55,879
Speaker 1: and bring a platform to issues, that's just as good

753
00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:59,279
Speaker 1: as money. And then so so the social media part

754
00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:03,680
Speaker 1: is really important, but also just the spectacle of people

755
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:06,520
Speaker 1: on the middle of a day, be it in the streets,

756
00:40:06,520 --> 00:40:10,480
Speaker 1: shutting down traffic. That is a real signal to people,

757
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:13,000
Speaker 1: and that's really we've been operating off of that for

758
00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:16,480
Speaker 1: a while time. It makes people very uncomfortable, you know,

759
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:20,320
Speaker 1: to see that people could be rallied and engaged because

760
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,719
Speaker 1: you know, they really makes them see how like they're

761
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:26,000
Speaker 1: not seeing those people on a daily basis. So it

762
00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:29,080
Speaker 1: sort of reminds them that you exist and that, you know,

763
00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:31,399
Speaker 1: the threat is implicit. Is that, yeah, and you can

764
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:33,279
Speaker 1: go to the polls too, you know, and that's when

765
00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:35,600
Speaker 1: you're really threatening. So the last thing I'll just say

766
00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:38,080
Speaker 1: really quickly is about you know, Stacy Abrams, I think

767
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:42,120
Speaker 1: has shown more than anybody how your street and she

768
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:45,440
Speaker 1: played a long game, her street game. You know, people

769
00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:48,319
Speaker 1: conventional wisdom said that, you know, you you have to

770
00:40:48,360 --> 00:40:50,920
Speaker 1: go for the you have to convince white people of this,

771
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:54,080
Speaker 1: and her thing was like, no, we have to include

772
00:40:54,080 --> 00:40:56,680
Speaker 1: everybody who lives in our state. How about we start

773
00:40:56,719 --> 00:40:58,520
Speaker 1: with that. You know, why don't we go to the

774
00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:01,840
Speaker 1: people who have not we you haven't been campaigning these areas.

775
00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:04,080
Speaker 1: Let's get their turn out to be right. And she's

776
00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:06,440
Speaker 1: turned out to be right, so so far, and that's

777
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:08,880
Speaker 1: why she's probably one of the most dangerous threats to

778
00:41:08,920 --> 00:41:11,239
Speaker 1: the to the powers that be right now, because she's

779
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:15,319
Speaker 1: smarter than them, Yes, exactly. And she's because she's good

780
00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:19,200
Speaker 1: in the streets saying she's good out there, they're like, okay,

781
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:21,759
Speaker 1: when when she pulls up, you don't want to see

782
00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:23,680
Speaker 1: her pull up. Yeah, if she pulls up, it's very

783
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:25,880
Speaker 1: different when they pull up. And and even to piggyback

784
00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:28,200
Speaker 1: on what she's saying, like what that when those forty

785
00:41:28,239 --> 00:41:30,480
Speaker 1: five people come out, then that then that person in

786
00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:34,720
Speaker 1: power realizes like I don't have access to none of them.

787
00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,600
Speaker 1: They didn't and you're just like, oh, I don't have

788
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:39,799
Speaker 1: as much pull as I thought, and you just showed me.

789
00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:42,319
Speaker 1: And you can control the need the media narrative that

790
00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,640
Speaker 1: way too. You can point you know, so you have

791
00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:47,160
Speaker 1: what the mainstream media is talking about. You actually have

792
00:41:47,280 --> 00:41:50,000
Speaker 1: a platform to be able to tell people like, this

793
00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,919
Speaker 1: is what we need to be talking about right now.

794
00:41:52,200 --> 00:41:55,080
Speaker 1: So that's also very powerful and that's a currency as well.

795
00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:11,040
Speaker 1: Anybody else, do you have one more question? Well, we

796
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:14,280
Speaker 1: are going to send them out to sign some books. Well,

797
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:17,239
Speaker 1: I mean, I hear what you're saying here, we tried

798
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:19,720
Speaker 1: to save a group of us. We had three fifty people.

799
00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:24,440
Speaker 1: We wrapped a big um for blocks to keep these

800
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:28,560
Speaker 1: houses that held affordable housing, true affordable housing from being

801
00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:31,759
Speaker 1: displaced and those houses from being destroyed. We had four

802
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:35,480
Speaker 1: thousand signatures. We thought for sure this happened in downtown

803
00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,359
Speaker 1: Nashville at twelve city blocks, and we wrapped it in

804
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:42,520
Speaker 1: in in sheets and those all those buildings are still there.

805
00:42:42,920 --> 00:42:46,120
Speaker 1: It feels today like there's a real different tenor it's like, um,

806
00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:48,319
Speaker 1: it's not. It's like we did all of that and

807
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:50,359
Speaker 1: it fell on deaf ears, and it continues to fall

808
00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:53,319
Speaker 1: on deaf ears, and you know, it's Urban renewal has

809
00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:55,040
Speaker 1: been a horrible thing for Ashville. We used to have

810
00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:59,480
Speaker 1: a thriving African American community downtown. It's great, and we

811
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:02,560
Speaker 1: just keep shoving them further and further. Everything gets further

812
00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:05,040
Speaker 1: and further out, and it doesn't and I and I

813
00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:07,560
Speaker 1: hear what you're saying. And we haven't done the music part,

814
00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:10,480
Speaker 1: but I hear what you're saying. But even the media

815
00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:14,239
Speaker 1: paints those of us who are really about equity and

816
00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:19,880
Speaker 1: affordability and climate change in the truest sense are being

817
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:22,880
Speaker 1: are being looked at like we are the you know,

818
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:26,520
Speaker 1: the pariahs. So how it's it's hard to stay the

819
00:43:26,640 --> 00:43:30,680
Speaker 1: course when it feels very much like it's not we're

820
00:43:30,719 --> 00:43:35,319
Speaker 1: not gaining and they're gel like YouTube, y'all just need

821
00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:39,960
Speaker 1: to talk, you know. Yeah, yeah, I agree with that.

822
00:43:40,080 --> 00:43:44,239
Speaker 1: And I would say also um Conservative has invested a

823
00:43:44,239 --> 00:43:47,840
Speaker 1: lot of money in framing and how to frame issues,

824
00:43:47,960 --> 00:43:50,520
Speaker 1: and they've just and they're they're so excellent at it

825
00:43:51,520 --> 00:43:53,759
Speaker 1: instead of they're able to like spin you off of

826
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:56,799
Speaker 1: what you know, like Kelly Uh Kelly and Conway, she

827
00:43:56,840 --> 00:43:59,279
Speaker 1: was like she was the embodiment of that. You could

828
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:02,120
Speaker 1: ask her a direct question that she's like dancing and pure,

829
00:44:02,200 --> 00:44:04,480
Speaker 1: you know, and it's like and they'll never give you

830
00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:06,600
Speaker 1: a straight ant. They'll they'll put you off the scent

831
00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:09,080
Speaker 1: and then sort of point the finger at something else.

832
00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:11,680
Speaker 1: And so what you have to do is just be

833
00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:15,040
Speaker 1: stronger and be smarter and keep changing it and coming

834
00:44:15,040 --> 00:44:17,520
Speaker 1: out of a different way and you know, partner with

835
00:44:17,560 --> 00:44:19,880
Speaker 1: new people. Give this. I love this idea that I

836
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:22,759
Speaker 1: thought about that like right here, you know, get a

837
00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:25,160
Speaker 1: hot DJ, you know, put it. That's so what we

838
00:44:25,239 --> 00:44:28,760
Speaker 1: do in d C, we do uh conversation and crank.

839
00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:31,319
Speaker 1: That's what we do. We don't have it. We just

840
00:44:31,360 --> 00:44:33,200
Speaker 1: did event at the Kennedy Center a couple of weeks ago.

841
00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,440
Speaker 1: We have no illusion that people want to hear our

842
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:40,439
Speaker 1: policy broccoli, but we they do want to come see

843
00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:42,560
Speaker 1: Backyard Band, and so they don't have to hear a

844
00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:45,880
Speaker 1: little bit of our policy, our conversation, and then they

845
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:48,000
Speaker 1: get to hear Backyard Band, and so it really like

846
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:50,640
Speaker 1: it elevates the issues. And so you know, and I

847
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:52,880
Speaker 1: think once you really work with gosh, you work with

848
00:44:52,880 --> 00:44:56,640
Speaker 1: the artists, they're the most creative people you know, in

849
00:44:56,640 --> 00:45:01,360
Speaker 1: in in being able to um express themselves, reach audiences

850
00:45:01,440 --> 00:45:04,799
Speaker 1: and just keep switching up the playbook. And I think

851
00:45:04,800 --> 00:45:06,799
Speaker 1: that's the big thing is just and don't don't give up.

852
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:08,960
Speaker 1: So I think with us, like with d C, d

853
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:11,560
Speaker 1: C people have said that Chocolate City is dead. That's

854
00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:14,319
Speaker 1: been the narrative for for many years now, and so

855
00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:16,080
Speaker 1: it's got us to the point where we believe that

856
00:45:16,120 --> 00:45:18,560
Speaker 1: we don't even exist in DC anymore, when we're literally

857
00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:21,160
Speaker 1: forty something percent of the population. Still we are the

858
00:45:21,239 --> 00:45:24,200
Speaker 1: largest ethnic group in d C. And the narrative is

859
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:26,520
Speaker 1: that we don't exist anymore. People don't even try for

860
00:45:26,560 --> 00:45:31,000
Speaker 1: our votes anymore. And what this movement has done, um,

861
00:45:31,120 --> 00:45:33,200
Speaker 1: is that it just reminded us that okay, maybe it

862
00:45:33,280 --> 00:45:35,440
Speaker 1: started with a little street corner, but we could win

863
00:45:35,480 --> 00:45:37,560
Speaker 1: a battle. And then once you start winning, you want

864
00:45:37,600 --> 00:45:39,480
Speaker 1: to win all the time, you know, and so you

865
00:45:39,600 --> 00:45:41,879
Speaker 1: just coming up with new ideas, more people come into

866
00:45:41,960 --> 00:45:44,520
Speaker 1: the fold, and just keep working at it, and don't

867
00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:48,400
Speaker 1: let them give up. Because we're progressives outnumber the people

868
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,680
Speaker 1: who want to maintain the status quo, and so we

869
00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:54,640
Speaker 1: we we we are going to win. I do think too,

870
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:56,640
Speaker 1: I want to hear what you have to obviously want

871
00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:59,520
Speaker 1: you have to say. I think in in in addition

872
00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:04,360
Speaker 1: to what what y'all have done well in me, listening

873
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:08,960
Speaker 1: is like is not allowing the person to build a

874
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,320
Speaker 1: strong man to define your terms where you tell it

875
00:46:12,440 --> 00:46:14,960
Speaker 1: orm What happens a lot of times and progressive movements

876
00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:17,480
Speaker 1: is we come up with a word, a term, and

877
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:20,279
Speaker 1: idea and then it's told back to us in a

878
00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:25,239
Speaker 1: very different definition and then weaponized like critical race theory,

879
00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,799
Speaker 1: like oh oh yeah, this seventy year old concept that

880
00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:31,320
Speaker 1: you just discovered. You know what I'm saying don't understand

881
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:33,600
Speaker 1: and still and still don't know to means you know

882
00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:35,880
Speaker 1: what I'm saying, Yeah, you know. But but if we

883
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:39,040
Speaker 1: let you go, well we're defending. It's like, I'm not

884
00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:42,480
Speaker 1: defending what you're saying because that's not critical race theory.

885
00:46:42,560 --> 00:46:44,200
Speaker 1: I don't know what you're talking about. You know what

886
00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:47,120
Speaker 1: I'm saying. So if you like, I would even encourage

887
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,160
Speaker 1: you to be like, not even let someone redefine your terms. No,

888
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:52,000
Speaker 1: this is this is no, I said what I meant,

889
00:46:52,239 --> 00:46:54,399
Speaker 1: I said what I said. You know what I'm saying,

890
00:46:54,640 --> 00:46:56,520
Speaker 1: and this is what it means. I don't know what

891
00:46:56,600 --> 00:46:59,839
Speaker 1: you're talking about. We are saying this, and I think

892
00:46:59,840 --> 00:47:02,160
Speaker 1: that that's something your movement has done. Well, it's like no,

893
00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:07,440
Speaker 1: go goes in art. No, it's an art, an American

894
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:09,560
Speaker 1: born art. Okay, what you do. But for thirty years

895
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:12,279
Speaker 1: they got to say, but but it's violent, yea, And

896
00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:14,399
Speaker 1: they got away with it right to the point where

897
00:47:14,480 --> 00:47:16,359
Speaker 1: I was doing my dissertation, people were like, why would

898
00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:18,279
Speaker 1: you want to do that? That those criminals that you

899
00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:20,600
Speaker 1: know what I'm saying, And like every it used to

900
00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:22,480
Speaker 1: be every talk I gave, I would every time I

901
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:25,280
Speaker 1: got a question about violence, and I would very calmly

902
00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:28,560
Speaker 1: say that the ConA player is innocent. The conga player

903
00:47:28,680 --> 00:47:31,279
Speaker 1: was just playing his congda. What does that have to

904
00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:33,560
Speaker 1: do with that? You know, the gun laws and drug

905
00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:36,680
Speaker 1: epidemics and blah blah blah. These are two different conversations.

906
00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:39,880
Speaker 1: So yeah, so that that I would say, don't let them,

907
00:47:39,880 --> 00:47:43,120
Speaker 1: don't let nobody. Take your time and redefine it like

908
00:47:43,600 --> 00:47:46,719
Speaker 1: it's your words. Thank you so very much. I just

909
00:47:46,719 --> 00:47:48,799
Speaker 1: want to thank you both for coming here. And my

910
00:47:48,960 --> 00:47:52,319
Speaker 1: response is actually to the audience and not y'all um,

911
00:47:52,360 --> 00:47:56,160
Speaker 1: as a black Indigenous person who lives in Asheville and

912
00:47:56,200 --> 00:47:59,160
Speaker 1: who's watched how things go mostly talking to the white

913
00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:03,000
Speaker 1: colonize people, like we had someone talk about Triangle Park

914
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:06,080
Speaker 1: like we're not gone. These neighborhoods that you've pushed us

915
00:48:06,120 --> 00:48:09,000
Speaker 1: out of doesn't mean that we don't exist. We're still here.

916
00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:11,919
Speaker 1: We're sitting in indigenous land. The problem with the most

917
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:14,400
Speaker 1: of these movements in Asheville is that they're run by

918
00:48:14,400 --> 00:48:17,719
Speaker 1: white people that are not resourcing the neighborhood. They're not

919
00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:21,560
Speaker 1: going and building true deep relationships the black and indigenous

920
00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:26,280
Speaker 1: you know, individuals and uplifting them instead, it's your faces everywhere,

921
00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:28,720
Speaker 1: and of course nobody gonna come out and listen, because

922
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:32,640
Speaker 1: if you're speaking towards the inequities, you need the people

923
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:37,280
Speaker 1: that are affected by the inequities. You can't keep doing

924
00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:41,439
Speaker 1: things the same way. Ashville like acts like they're doing

925
00:48:41,480 --> 00:48:44,000
Speaker 1: all of these things. We keep talking about reparations, we're

926
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:46,680
Speaker 1: talking about all of this stuff. But there is a

927
00:48:46,840 --> 00:48:53,080
Speaker 1: multitude of beautiful black indigenous fire humans that live here

928
00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:56,400
Speaker 1: that are doing these things. But our voices get stifled

929
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:59,759
Speaker 1: by your money, by your power, by what it is

930
00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:02,080
Speaker 1: you all think you're doing. If you just plug in,

931
00:49:03,560 --> 00:49:07,880
Speaker 1: step back and resource tap in like you're talking about

932
00:49:07,880 --> 00:49:12,760
Speaker 1: doing all this tapping in like we're here, how about

933
00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:15,279
Speaker 1: you pay some respect to those of us that are here.

934
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:18,759
Speaker 1: Talk to our elders, go to Cherokee, talk to the

935
00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:20,960
Speaker 1: people who own this land. We can't even be talking

936
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:23,880
Speaker 1: about reparation and talking about housing if we're not talking

937
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:27,000
Speaker 1: about land back like, that's why this stuff keeps failing.

938
00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:32,319
Speaker 1: Let's figure it out without white supremacy leading, because then

939
00:49:32,360 --> 00:49:34,439
Speaker 1: we're just doing the same ship over and over again

940
00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:39,960
Speaker 1: with a different toilet, and it doesn't work. Straight up

941
00:49:41,200 --> 00:49:49,880
Speaker 1: tap in alright, questions, comments, anybody else? All right, look y'all,

942
00:49:50,800 --> 00:50:10,080
Speaker 1: thank you so much. Please give them another round of applause. Yeah,

943
00:50:10,160 --> 00:50:12,719
Speaker 1: this is here. Thing was recorded by ME Propaganda and

944
00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:18,719
Speaker 1: East Low Spoil Heights, Los Angeles, California. This smug was mixed, edited, mastered,

945
00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:23,840
Speaker 1: and scored by Matt Osowski. I can totally say his name, guys,

946
00:50:23,880 --> 00:50:26,279
Speaker 1: it was it was just stick. He's going by Matt

947
00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:29,200
Speaker 1: now again because he got into some legal situations with

948
00:50:29,239 --> 00:50:31,600
Speaker 1: the name Headlights. You know, common used to be called

949
00:50:31,640 --> 00:50:34,880
Speaker 1: common sense. You know, tip t I was tipped sometimes

950
00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:38,120
Speaker 1: it happened. Executive produced by the one and only Sophie

951
00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:43,800
Speaker 1: Lecterman for a Cool Zone Media and the theme music

952
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,160
Speaker 1: by the one and only Gold Tips Gold Tips d

953
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:49,560
Speaker 1: J Shawn p. So y'all just remember listen every time

954
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:54,160
Speaker 1: you check in. If you understand city living, you understand politics.

955
00:50:54,640 --> 00:51:19,160
Speaker 1: We'll see how next week. Talking talking it