Speaker 1: In this episode, we briefly discussed suicide. If you or
Speaker 1: it loved one need help, please call the National Suicide
Speaker 1: Prevention Lifeline at nine eight. Hey y'all, Hey, what's up?
Speaker 1: And welcome to Let's Red Table Bat. I'm Tracy t
Speaker 1: Row and I'll call Rap Pressley and do we have
Speaker 1: an amazing episode plan for you today or what Tracy,
Speaker 1: we truly do? Because today we are recapping the Different
Speaker 1: World Reunion special and we're not doing it alone. We
Speaker 1: have two guests coming to the Virtual Red Table today.
Speaker 1: One of them is a fellow Red Table Talk o
Speaker 1: G and the other is none other than Red Table
Speaker 1: Talk host Jada Pinkett Smith. Yes, this has been a
Speaker 1: long time coming, and what a perfect episode to have
Speaker 1: Jada on. So we have more questions about a Different
Speaker 1: World and we have some questions straight from the community
Speaker 1: for Jada, So stay tuned for all of the answers.
Speaker 1: Let's welcome our first guest, Dr Danita Crawford. Danita is
Speaker 1: a fellow Red Table Talk o G and co organizer
Speaker 1: of the Red Table Talk Discussions Facebook group. Like the
Speaker 1: Characters in a Different World, Danita attendant an hbc U
Speaker 1: and that experience forever impacted her life. She is here
Speaker 1: to tell us all about it today. Welcome, Dr Danita,
Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to talk
Speaker 1: about this. All right, We're happy to have you here.
Speaker 1: Before we reveal our wait what moments, we're gonna take
Speaker 1: a quick break and we'll be right. This is the
Speaker 1: part of the show where we reveal which moments made
Speaker 1: us pause, rewind, and listen again. This week it's all
Speaker 1: about the Different World Reunion. Wait what? Wait? What? Oh
Speaker 1: my gosh, I'm gonna kicking off Debbie revealing what Jada
Speaker 1: said to her the first time they met, which was
Speaker 1: I'm the next Debbie Allen and she already had all
Speaker 1: that and I said, wow, you are wonderful. So I'm
Speaker 1: the next Debbie Aland I'm like and I loved her
Speaker 1: from her now. So can y'all imagine a seventeen year
Speaker 1: old Jada Pinkett saying this That was bold. I totally
Speaker 1: see it. It was bold. Dr, don't need to I
Speaker 1: agree it was bold. And I see little feisty Jada
Speaker 1: Pinkett before she was Jada Pinkett Smith. I see her
Speaker 1: playing this day, going in there saying that just as
Speaker 1: clear yeah, but I see that's how you get places.
Speaker 1: You have to be very bright, you have to claim it.
Speaker 1: So Debbie Allen had to wait what? But then she
Speaker 1: was like, hold on here, now, let's bring her fourth.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, let me meet this girl. Who meet her?
Speaker 1: Because she just feels like she's gonna be next me.
Speaker 1: Let's see. Was definitely a wait what. Another way what
Speaker 1: moment was when Don Lewis reflected on how when she
Speaker 1: was on the show, she couldn't wait to tell the
Speaker 1: guest stars how inspirational they had been for her. Now
Speaker 1: people are sharing with had Don and others on the
Speaker 1: Different World how they're an inspiration. I couldn't wait to
Speaker 1: tell miss Horn how inspirational she was and how what
Speaker 1: she meant to me. So I walked over her and
Speaker 1: she held my face in her hands and said you
Speaker 1: on that show, aren't you? And I said yeah. She says,
Speaker 1: your name is Dawn. You good at Jelisa. She said,
Speaker 1: y'all are doing such a good job. Y'all keep that up.
Speaker 1: I'm so proud of you. And I'm thinking to myself,
Speaker 1: I was waiting to tell you how you inspired me
Speaker 1: and so many others, but it flips me to now
Speaker 1: who we have become two people who walk up to
Speaker 1: us and say, you don't know how you inspired me,
Speaker 1: how you changed my life. Okay, so now, Dr Danita,
Speaker 1: I know how you feel about a different work. How
Speaker 1: have the cast and crew of a Different World inspired you?
Speaker 1: And they've inspired me in many ways throughout my life.
Speaker 1: Like we've discussed before, I did attend the nhbc U,
Speaker 1: and it was all because of a Different World. I
Speaker 1: used to watch that show when I was younger, I
Speaker 1: used to watch while I was in college. It actually
Speaker 1: was my first impression of what and all black environment
Speaker 1: would be. I used to live in an all Hispanic environment,
Speaker 1: and then I moved to a predominantly white community, and
Speaker 1: then after that in a Different World presented another concept
Speaker 1: to me. While my family was very much black, I
Speaker 1: had never lived in a community like that. So it
Speaker 1: just triggered something in me to say, like, you know what,
Speaker 1: I would like to live in that kind of environment.
Speaker 1: I would like to be able to see how it
Speaker 1: feels to live among my people. And my mom was
Speaker 1: a little hesitant, but I kind of convinced her. When
Speaker 1: I got a scholarship, I convinced her to let me
Speaker 1: go and it was like mind blowing, how amazing my
Speaker 1: experience was. It was very similar to a different world
Speaker 1: and many SMEs. Wow. Okay, so now give us one
Speaker 1: little snippet. How was it similar to your HBC you
Speaker 1: experienced compared to Hillman. Okay, let's think of some of
Speaker 1: the fun parts. I would say joining a sorority. I'm
Speaker 1: a part of Data Publate a sorority incorporated, and my
Speaker 1: membership intake was very similar to when Whitley and Kim
Speaker 1: were joining their organization and Ron was joining his organization.
Speaker 1: You know, you just learned and you grow with the sisterhood.
Speaker 1: And I don't think I would have even thought to
Speaker 1: join an organization had I not seen that, and I
Speaker 1: had this perception of what it was supposed to be like.
Speaker 1: It was a very similar presentation to what the show did.
Speaker 1: I was just all in. I was just ready to go.
Speaker 1: I wanted to participate in everything the college had to offer.
Speaker 1: I just knew that watching the show, that oh, this
Speaker 1: is what they did in regards to housing, this is
Speaker 1: what they did in regards to activities. They participated in
Speaker 1: all kinds of activities. I'm going to partist of fate.
Speaker 1: I'm going to immerse myself into this entire community so
Speaker 1: that I can get as much as I can out
Speaker 1: of this. What do you think the show did for
Speaker 1: black people in America? It showed them a different way
Speaker 1: of life. It was Oh, wait, I grew up with
Speaker 1: Rudy in college? Wait do I do I have to
Speaker 1: go to college? Wait? What can I do in college? Oh?
Speaker 1: My guards is so fun? And then you see Denise's
Speaker 1: challenges and how she's not managing her finance as well.
Speaker 1: And I'm just one of those people that I see
Speaker 1: something on TV and I learned from other people, and
Speaker 1: I seen how she was just like, oh, she was
Speaker 1: just messing up everywhere she could turn. And I'm like,
Speaker 1: I'm not applying for credit cards because that's gonna mess
Speaker 1: up my finances, much like the person who was like
Speaker 1: this happened in that show. So guess what I learned
Speaker 1: from that mistake? So I'm not You didn't have to
Speaker 1: experience it yourself, So you really allowed the show to
Speaker 1: help give you some direction and guidance on how you
Speaker 1: could navigate through your own journey and what was maybe
Speaker 1: not a standard that you would transition from high school
Speaker 1: to college and made it become like a natural progression
Speaker 1: for you. Exactly. I grew up in the era of
Speaker 1: the after school specials, where you know, they said, don't
Speaker 1: do drugs, and guess what, I'm not doing drugs. This
Speaker 1: is Friday Boy. Yeah, that's so good. That's a that's
Speaker 1: a major weight. What that was a weight? What this
Speaker 1: changed my life? Yes, yes I did. I would not
Speaker 1: have even known about HBCUs I promised you. That's a
Speaker 1: major Wait, what's right? You know? I love that for you,
Speaker 1: And like, I think, we all just have our history
Speaker 1: with a different world, and I remember the beginning, and
Speaker 1: I also remember, like the later season when the beginning
Speaker 1: characters kind of transitioned into the older the senior students
Speaker 1: of course, and then they've graduated and things like that.
Speaker 1: So all the actors sharing their favorite moments and episodes,
Speaker 1: what is your favorite moment or episode from a different world?
Speaker 1: I think it's cliche because we all have that same
Speaker 1: favorite moment where doing runs after that? Please man it,
Speaker 1: please please back number one favorite. And then I do
Speaker 1: like the one where Kim she had to confront some
Speaker 1: issues she had with her complexion. You teared up thinking
Speaker 1: about how much people of color have to go through
Speaker 1: especially when even just the little things could be offensive.
Speaker 1: And some of that stuff you don't even realize just
Speaker 1: saying like, oh, you're like a mom. I forgot how
Speaker 1: they said it in the show, but it was like
Speaker 1: you're a mom, or you're like the aunt Jemima type,
Speaker 1: and you don't realize that you are referencing these characters
Speaker 1: that are very offensive to certain people. And I remember
Speaker 1: being really impacted by that. There's just some sensitive topics
Speaker 1: that you don't realize how you're offending someone until you
Speaker 1: see it, or you see how they've been effective, or
Speaker 1: you've even experienced it yourself so that you can relate. Okay,
Speaker 1: So now we have thirty five years, which I could
Speaker 1: not believe. I could not believe it had been thirty
Speaker 1: five years. And when I think about the reunion, there's
Speaker 1: so many things that I was looking forward to sing
Speaker 1: and some cast members. I was absolutely looking forward to.
Speaker 1: What did you think about this reunion y'all? I felt
Speaker 1: like I got everything I needed. I got to see
Speaker 1: it all of my favorite characters. I was kind of
Speaker 1: shock because initially I was like, oh, I'm surprised that
Speaker 1: everyone didn't get to join. When I first started watching
Speaker 1: the show, And then when I started to see everybody
Speaker 1: presenting themselves, I saw Freddie and I, you know, I
Speaker 1: just saw everyone, even down to the next generation of
Speaker 1: film and students. I was really excited to see them
Speaker 1: as well, because they had a lot of impactful shows
Speaker 1: like they like even the rape episode that was very impactful.
Speaker 1: That episode and oh my gosh, they touched on a
Speaker 1: lot of things that were sensitive and somewhat taboo. What
Speaker 1: were any of the stories that you heard the a
Speaker 1: Cash shared that surprised you. The number one surprise was
Speaker 1: just how they were treated. I think I was surprised
Speaker 1: at how they were treated because you see the show
Speaker 1: and you realize you thought that they were like a family.
Speaker 1: You thought it was just so like they were so
Speaker 1: connected to like the entire project was connected. But to
Speaker 1: hear the struggles that they went through as actors and
Speaker 1: still were able to pull out such a major content,
Speaker 1: it's like, Wow, you really have to be talented. And
Speaker 1: just hearing the stories that they told about their relationships
Speaker 1: with each other and how they had to defend each
Speaker 1: other was something that you know, you strive for in
Speaker 1: relation to just the people in your community, your sisters,
Speaker 1: your brothers, you want to strive to become that where
Speaker 1: you're an advocate for them, and how Jasmine Guy said, no,
Speaker 1: if it's happening to them, its Taxactually shout out to
Speaker 1: Jasmine Guy for that long stance, I can tell y'all.
Speaker 1: One of the things I was surprised about the show
Speaker 1: is right in line with my time frame, right like
Speaker 1: I was sixteen when A Different World came out, very
Speaker 1: much the trajectory of what they did from high school
Speaker 1: and then with Denise being in college at Hillman. It
Speaker 1: was amazing to me to know from behind the scenes
Speaker 1: how much influenced Debbie Allen made on the show and
Speaker 1: how I honestly believe if she hadn't become a part
Speaker 1: of it and been the showrunner, the show probably wouldn't
Speaker 1: have made it because it was not believe that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they didn't have the authenticity. It was okay in the
Speaker 1: beginning because we literally got to see the stage set
Speaker 1: for Denise, right, but when it started getting into those
Speaker 1: real life experiences and dr denied some of the things
Speaker 1: that you were saying, and how it was truly reflective
Speaker 1: of your own experience without Debbie Allen having been a
Speaker 1: Howard graduate and I think we would have seen the
Speaker 1: authenticity of an HBC you reflected in that show. So
Speaker 1: I was grateful. I mean, Debbie Allen is a force.
Speaker 1: She's just phenomenal. I've always just adored her and had
Speaker 1: so much respect for because this took it to another
Speaker 1: level for me. That was one of the stories. I
Speaker 1: was like, my god, you know, I remember when she
Speaker 1: came on, but I didn't know what she did for
Speaker 1: the actors, how she empowered them to really be their
Speaker 1: truest best selves in that space and to be honest.
Speaker 1: I just found that out. I just found that out
Speaker 1: watching this episode. So when she said that she came in,
Speaker 1: I believe she said it was like a season later
Speaker 1: where they were all upset about how the direction it
Speaker 1: was taking. It's funny because you noticed the shift you do,
Speaker 1: and then you start to see how the culture starts
Speaker 1: to be presented, even in the language, the language of
Speaker 1: the script. So when she said in the show, how
Speaker 1: the writers were here and the actors were here, like
Speaker 1: still two separate rooms, I felt that and understood it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I hear exactly what you're saying. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1: I love the reunion, And like maybe I was glad
Speaker 1: to see everyone. There was an obvious person missing, but
Speaker 1: the exception of that, it was phenomenal overdoing right on
Speaker 1: time out. At the same time, it sound like a reunion,
Speaker 1: like your own family union, Like I know these people,
Speaker 1: I know you. I don't know, but I do. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I really started to tear up, like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: it's like they're real, Like they're you know, because you've
Speaker 1: seen like some of the reunions that they've attempted, but
Speaker 1: they don't really get to get into the nitty gritty
Speaker 1: or the discussion of what was really going on behind
Speaker 1: the scenes, how do you really feel about each other?
Speaker 1: And this one really dug in. It really dug into
Speaker 1: the part where you felt truly connected to the character
Speaker 1: and the actress or the actor. Yeah, personally and professionally,
Speaker 1: just both exactly. A different world introduced you to HBCUs
Speaker 1: as you shared earlier, and of course you were able
Speaker 1: to Cheney University of Pennsylvania, which is the oldest HBCU
Speaker 1: in America. Going yeah or not? But how did Cheney
Speaker 1: mirror Human College or was it completely different? Let someone know.
Speaker 1: Of course there were some aspects that were different, but
Speaker 1: Greek life was very much the same. The whole bookstore.
Speaker 1: Financial struggle was the same going to try to register
Speaker 1: first classes. I remember seeing one of the episodes. I
Speaker 1: believe it was Lena who was having trouble registering. She
Speaker 1: couldn't find housing. We've all been there. If you went
Speaker 1: to an HBC, we can all connect on that same
Speaker 1: thing about how difficult it is to register, and then
Speaker 1: also the housing aspect of it, Like that's still an
Speaker 1: issue today. I think it is, Yeah, exactly. But even
Speaker 1: with the struggles, you just have the amazing connection with
Speaker 1: the people. And just even as a graduate or an
Speaker 1: alumni of university, I can call on anyone that's went
Speaker 1: to Cheney and we have an instinct connection because we
Speaker 1: just know where we came from. It's I promise you,
Speaker 1: It's just something that is unimaginable. And when I talked
Speaker 1: to some of my friends who went to p w
Speaker 1: i's predominantly white institutions, they struggle with that and they
Speaker 1: struggled keeping a connection. Really, that's me, I swear. When
Speaker 1: you said that, I was, Oh, that must be nice.
Speaker 1: It is. It is. It's amazing. We go to our
Speaker 1: homecomings and it just feels, like I said, like a
Speaker 1: family reunion. You just you remember these people, even if
Speaker 1: you haven't seen them in twenty years. You see their
Speaker 1: face and it's just like, okay, and we I'm gonna
Speaker 1: tell you something that's a p w I kid being
Speaker 1: a Michigander. I went to Kalamazoo and like the closest
Speaker 1: I'm going to come to being connected. I can tell y'all.
Speaker 1: It's Terry Crews, who was who grew up in flat
Speaker 1: and my mom knows his dad there. They worked together.
Speaker 1: And here's the thing, we were at school at the
Speaker 1: same time, we were on campus at the same time.
Speaker 1: I didn't realize that until earlier this year. Really, that's
Speaker 1: how crazy, that's how spread out we are. Because he
Speaker 1: was on the football team and obviously I wasn't, and
Speaker 1: so it was like a totally different experience. Whereas HBCU life,
Speaker 1: you know everyone who went to right there's some larger
Speaker 1: HBCUs where you might not, but you go to a
Speaker 1: chain university where it's very intimate, it's very family oriented.
Speaker 1: The first day at orientation, you have some of the
Speaker 1: coaches and instructors at that orientation telling your parents that
Speaker 1: you're going to be okay, and they basically take the
Speaker 1: reins on how you're going to mature and grow up.
Speaker 1: They go into how you're supposed to interact with society.
Speaker 1: They care about you in a way that I do
Speaker 1: not think I would have been cared for at a
Speaker 1: p W I. I can tell you you're right, possibly
Speaker 1: right to this day, which I had gone to an HBCU. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like I feel like I've been robbed now that you
Speaker 1: know the reunion and hearing you, I'm like dog on it.
Speaker 1: I should have just went ahead and gone well. I
Speaker 1: always feel like there's no limits, So if you want
Speaker 1: to go got We had students that were all ages
Speaker 1: there and they felt just as you know what. That's
Speaker 1: so sweet. Bless your heart, you're doing your level best. No, ma'am,
Speaker 1: no paym no lamb. I'm not going back to school.
Speaker 1: We're done with that. We're done with that. You can
Speaker 1: come with me to homecoming. But now you just finished
Speaker 1: another major milestone, and we know that a different world,
Speaker 1: doctor Danita. We were right there cheering you on and
Speaker 1: so proudly so much. How did the experience that you
Speaker 1: had a changing shape the rest of your life. You
Speaker 1: have so much freedom, even just as a black woman
Speaker 1: like I had so much freedom to be who I was.
Speaker 1: It's just the challenges you deal with when you're at school.
Speaker 1: There were so many different challenges that we had to
Speaker 1: deal with that when you finally graduate, life becomes a
Speaker 1: little easier. Not to say that there aren't challenges when
Speaker 1: you're older, it's just that every time you think about
Speaker 1: a challenge as an adult, you think back to man,
Speaker 1: I had way more issues when I was in college,
Speaker 1: or I had to deal with so many challenges when
Speaker 1: I was a young adult that this is nothing. Let
Speaker 1: me just finish school. Even in those stressful moments, I
Speaker 1: have people that I can call. I know how to
Speaker 1: connect to my support system. I have an amazing support system.
Speaker 1: I don't think they can compare to my support system.
Speaker 1: At the drop of a hat, if I'm having an issue,
Speaker 1: I know who to call. I know exactly who will
Speaker 1: bring me down. I know who will pep me up,
Speaker 1: I know who will set me straight. And that all
Speaker 1: comes from just Chaine University. Everyone that I connect with
Speaker 1: in regards to like just making sure that I'm okay
Speaker 1: has attended Chaine University. Not to say everyone, because there
Speaker 1: are some people that are connected with along the way,
Speaker 1: but my core group, they attend the Chine University and
Speaker 1: they know the Denia that was at Chaine University. It's
Speaker 1: not that that you see before you today. And that
Speaker 1: connected a different world very much because because look at
Speaker 1: how Freddie's transition was. I was tinding like Freddie where
Speaker 1: she was a little lost and she had her moments
Speaker 1: where it was like, what's she talking about? My friends
Speaker 1: used to be like, you're a little goofy, what's going
Speaker 1: on girl? And then all of a sudden you started
Speaker 1: transition into Okay, maybe I do want to be become
Speaker 1: a professional. I'm not a Norman, like, I'm not flake person.
Speaker 1: I want to become a mature adult. And then you
Speaker 1: see that shift in a person. And everyone that I've
Speaker 1: attended Chaining university with has allowed me to have shift.
Speaker 1: They've allowed me to mature. It's not like they're still
Speaker 1: trying to hold me to the same immaturity that I
Speaker 1: have as an undergrad. That is so powerful because you
Speaker 1: want to have those be lifetime relationships that forge because
Speaker 1: it helps you as you go through your evolution to
Speaker 1: know that you have some foundational steadiness and that you
Speaker 1: will be able to pass that on. Like the number
Speaker 1: of people that are having the opportunity to listen to
Speaker 1: us now and say, you know what, A different world
Speaker 1: isn't on? And I can catch it in the reruns,
Speaker 1: and I can go and look at episodes, but I
Speaker 1: can hear firsthand from someone who attended an HBCU, and
Speaker 1: now I can include that in my consideration for my
Speaker 1: choices as a college. That's so powerful because hearing you,
Speaker 1: like I'm telling you, I wish I had gone to
Speaker 1: an HBC you myself, and so I want want to
Speaker 1: thank you for that. But at least we have our experience.
Speaker 1: That's why we need these conversations. That's right. Do I
Speaker 1: need to go back? Should I go back to Oh? No?
Speaker 1: Oh no, Wait a minute. You know you're talking about
Speaker 1: the other people who with the other million people who
Speaker 1: have listened, Yes, because yeah, okay, not me, that ship
Speaker 1: is sealed. But for those who are selling onto college,
Speaker 1: consider it because you hear Dr Juanita, it was definitely
Speaker 1: something that made her life. It's been a different world
Speaker 1: was the catalyst for that. So I'm so grateful to
Speaker 1: be a part of this. And Dr Juanita, we could
Speaker 1: talk to you for for hours. I know so much
Speaker 1: more we could discuss on the impact of HBCUs. But
Speaker 1: we have to go, so we want to say to
Speaker 1: a fellow Red Table talk O g o ge, we
Speaker 1: are so grateful for you being here and coming to
Speaker 1: the birch for Red Table to share your HBCU you
Speaker 1: experience and enjoy be a different world reunion with us.
Speaker 1: Thank you. I do appreciate you allowing me to be here.
Speaker 1: If it can even persuade one person to consider an HBCU,
Speaker 1: don't make it your second choice. Think about it as
Speaker 1: the first option, because it really does change lives. It
Speaker 1: really did. Love that. Alright, y'all, we're taking one more
Speaker 1: break and when we returned, Jada will be joining us,
Speaker 1: So don't go anywhere no more waiting. It is time
Speaker 1: to welcome our very special guests, straight from the Red
Speaker 1: Table herself, Ms. Jada peket Smith, Welcome Lo you successful ladies.
Speaker 1: We are doing every day amazingly. That's how we are doing.
Speaker 1: We are super excited to be here with you and
Speaker 1: so grateful that you're coming fresh from the table to
Speaker 1: our virtual were a table. We have lots to talk about.
Speaker 1: I know y'all have been doing such a beautiful job.
Speaker 1: I have so much fun listening to you guys, thank
Speaker 1: you for what you do, and I'm just happy to
Speaker 1: be here. Absolutely, thank you. We are excited to talk
Speaker 1: about a different world. And at the reunion you said
Speaker 1: that times are hard right now for a lot of people,
Speaker 1: and you hope this episode would bring some joy for people.
Speaker 1: I can tell you it accomplished that for me. The
Speaker 1: topics at the Red Table have been heavy this season.
Speaker 1: How do you take care of yourself in the midst
Speaker 1: of opening yourself up to these tough conversations. Well, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm in therapy that is just learning how to feel
Speaker 1: safe in my vulnerability, because that's the only place to
Speaker 1: really exist in regards to trying to be the most
Speaker 1: loving and giving person that one can be, you really
Speaker 1: have to learn how to feel safe in your vulnerability.
Speaker 1: One of the things that I love most about the
Speaker 1: Red Tables just kind of creating space for other people
Speaker 1: to feel safe in their vulnerability. Fortunately, in this world today,
Speaker 1: we just don't have a lot of that, especially for
Speaker 1: people in general, I might say specially just for people
Speaker 1: in general, just creating safe space where we can't just
Speaker 1: be in our hearts, honestly, be in our experiences. Honestly,
Speaker 1: it's a process. I've been in this process for many, many,
Speaker 1: many years. It's not like it just you know, happened
Speaker 1: one day. Over the years of just me learning how
Speaker 1: to be with myself and be with my experiences, embracing
Speaker 1: my journey, and creating the Red Table to help others
Speaker 1: embrace their journey. Because this is life. You know. We
Speaker 1: are all trying to figure out how to do this
Speaker 1: thing that's absolutely true, and to do it in the
Speaker 1: most authentic way, to do it in an authentic way,
Speaker 1: because we do ourselves your disservice. And the thing is,
Speaker 1: life isn't created in a way of like, Okay, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna be my authentic self and I'm gonna feel safe.
Speaker 1: If the world creates that for me to do, it's like, no, no,
Speaker 1: that's not happening. So you have to really learn how
Speaker 1: to create that in yourself. And if you're really blessed,
Speaker 1: if you find any space, if that offers that to you,
Speaker 1: you gotta really really be grateful for that. Don't take
Speaker 1: that for granted. It's a safe spaces for me. I
Speaker 1: love a safe space. Red Table is one of my
Speaker 1: favorite safe spaces. We have been a part of this
Speaker 1: journey for years now. I'm so blessed to say that, Oh,
Speaker 1: geez y'all day one. That's right, that's right, that's right.
Speaker 1: And just with the variety of people you've had come
Speaker 1: to the table, come even to you just your home,
Speaker 1: how do you go about conversations at the table with
Speaker 1: people who are close with you, maybe even personal friends,
Speaker 1: versus those you're just meeting for the first time. You know,
Speaker 1: it's interesting. It's hard for me to have conversations with
Speaker 1: people that I actually am close with at the table.
Speaker 1: It's so hard because that protective mode comes out. It's
Speaker 1: so interesting, isn't it. I'm like, no, no, no, we're
Speaker 1: not gonna talk about that next, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: It's like that, I don't want you to feel all that,
Speaker 1: you know, it's so funny. With that, I have such
Speaker 1: a level of discomfort. It's very hard for me to
Speaker 1: transition sometimes my personal relationships with certain people onto the
Speaker 1: table in front of cameras. And sometimes it's not, but
Speaker 1: most of the time it is. I remember when Queen
Speaker 1: came to the table, because I know how Queen, as
Speaker 1: strong as she is, she's such a gentle like soul,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. And I know how to
Speaker 1: arrive and she is just got such a warm heart,
Speaker 1: Like I just I was like, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: don't don't talk about that. We're not going to talk
Speaker 1: about We're not talk about want you to know. I
Speaker 1: don't want to. I don't want you to hurt. I
Speaker 1: don't want to. I don't want to see you feel
Speaker 1: that right now, because then I can't jump over the
Speaker 1: table and just hold you. And I'm used to that,
Speaker 1: you know. I don't want to have to be in
Speaker 1: my professional like you know, we're at the table, we're talking.
Speaker 1: I can't just be my myself with my friends. I
Speaker 1: have to be in this different state. So that's hard.
Speaker 1: But when when you're doing well, thank you you really do.
Speaker 1: I appreciate that, and I really like when I don't know,
Speaker 1: it's a good balance. Yes, yeah, it's a good balance
Speaker 1: because you really can't tell, aside from the fact that
Speaker 1: you share with us that you have a relationship with
Speaker 1: people you you can't tell in the way that you
Speaker 1: are engaged with them that you know them or your
Speaker 1: safeguarding yourself from that. So you do a wonderful job
Speaker 1: of those interviews with the people that you care about.
Speaker 1: Thank you for that. I really appreciate that. And then
Speaker 1: you know, there've been people that have come to the
Speaker 1: table that I didn't know and I didn't think I
Speaker 1: was going to have a fantastic connection with you. I
Speaker 1: made so many new friends, and that is so awesome
Speaker 1: to me when I have the opportunity to like connect
Speaker 1: with people that I never thought I would and we
Speaker 1: get to vibe together and we get to like share
Speaker 1: that kind of space together. So it's almost like you
Speaker 1: gain a home girl, you know what I'm saying. It's
Speaker 1: so neat because this show is a show where you
Speaker 1: do open up about your personal life. How do you
Speaker 1: maintain the balance of transparency while still keeping some aspects private. Well,
Speaker 1: you'd be shocked to know that people think that I
Speaker 1: have opened on the table and they have no idea
Speaker 1: how much I don't. And I know it seems like
Speaker 1: from many kinds of episodes that we've had that I
Speaker 1: have poured my life onto the table and people have
Speaker 1: absolutely no idea. You know, I think once my book
Speaker 1: comes out, people have an understanding because there's but so
Speaker 1: much that you can really say in an hour. I
Speaker 1: definitely have shared some intense moments of my life, for sure,
Speaker 1: but helpen here like and I'm laughing because it's just funny.
Speaker 1: But like people say, man, you're so open, you say
Speaker 1: so much, And I'm thinking to myself in my mind,
Speaker 1: that's not even scratching the surface, you know, Right, it's
Speaker 1: because it's so fresh and new for them to hear
Speaker 1: someone speak their truth. That is a celebrity. That is
Speaker 1: probably what makes it seem like you're giving so much
Speaker 1: because you are open with what you do give. Yeah,
Speaker 1: because that's you know, I don't know how to do
Speaker 1: that any other way. It's like there is transparency, but
Speaker 1: there's a lot of privacy. Each person has to decide
Speaker 1: what that looks like for them, right. I've heard you
Speaker 1: talk about the book a couple of other times. Is
Speaker 1: the book in the works, Like should we be on
Speaker 1: standby waiting or you just teasing us with it? What's
Speaker 1: going on with the book? Focus coming up and the fall?
Speaker 1: You know? The book is a journey, a deeper journey.
Speaker 1: It's a healing book and even in writing it has
Speaker 1: been a deeply cathartic healing journey that will be out
Speaker 1: in I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited the countdown
Speaker 1: for me just knowing all that we've seen in terms
Speaker 1: of growth and how you've connected us to other professionals
Speaker 1: that have given us the ability to learn and look
Speaker 1: at our own truths and say, okay, wait a second,
Speaker 1: I need to get this together or I'm doing okay
Speaker 1: in this area. And you can identify this season alone
Speaker 1: has been so unbelievably educational. So how do you decide
Speaker 1: which topics to shine a light on at the Red Table?
Speaker 1: And can you walk us through that decision process? So
Speaker 1: it really depends. It depends on what's going on and
Speaker 1: everybody's life on board, you know, whether it's produced series,
Speaker 1: whether it's Willow. You know, Willow be like, Mom, I
Speaker 1: really want to talk about this subject, like okay, you know,
Speaker 1: she's really passionate about something, or gam no, we don't
Speaker 1: have to talk about this because I know. It really
Speaker 1: just depends. And then there's some people who call us
Speaker 1: and then like I really need a safe space, and
Speaker 1: we get a lot of those calls and it's very
Speaker 1: difficult to decide. You know, we only do but so
Speaker 1: many a year, and it's painful because I wish we
Speaker 1: had the ability to do more. But it's intense stuff,
Speaker 1: and we do a bundle and then we got to
Speaker 1: rest up and rejuvenate and take care that it seems
Speaker 1: easy to do. People come to the table. That's usually
Speaker 1: a three hour conversation. You guys know that because you
Speaker 1: got that part right. They're long, you know what I mean,
Speaker 1: long time, you know, with some heavy stuff, you know,
Speaker 1: and so fee we have to take some time off.
Speaker 1: We just have to see what's happening. We have to
Speaker 1: see what's what's just happening in the world as far
Speaker 1: as like, okay, what are the issues and what are
Speaker 1: the things that people are looking to talk about hell
Speaker 1: around We definitely take that into account and stay relevant
Speaker 1: with it because I remember when COVID, right at the
Speaker 1: beginning of it, we were at the precipitous of it,
Speaker 1: and we had an opportunity to have a conversation. You
Speaker 1: all gave us the opportunity to say pure our thoughts
Speaker 1: and yes, it's so important for you to talk about this,
Speaker 1: and so there's some flexibility that you factor in that's
Speaker 1: so appreciated to stay current with what's happening. You know.
Speaker 1: We were lucky to be able to do that, which
Speaker 1: is one of the reasons why I wanted to go
Speaker 1: to a platform like Facebook to have that kind of flexibility,
Speaker 1: you just don't have that everywhere. That was an interesting
Speaker 1: time during that time. Thankfully, Yeah, thank you for my
Speaker 1: table talking. Yeah, getting back to a different world. On
Speaker 1: the show, you were playing a character who was about
Speaker 1: the same age as Willow now and you didn't mention
Speaker 1: that in the episode looking back that you see Willow.
Speaker 1: How does that impact the way you view a different
Speaker 1: world today? Because I see Willow two. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: it's a different world. Is still so supremely relevant when
Speaker 1: we're looking back at all these topics, as far as
Speaker 1: the topics we did around race, the topics that we
Speaker 1: did around domestic violence, the topics we did around politics. Man,
Speaker 1: pretty much the state of what we were dealing with
Speaker 1: at that time is the same in many ways, and
Speaker 1: so it's still deeply relevant. The clothes might be a
Speaker 1: little outdated, but even that's coming back, so you know
Speaker 1: those are bad because you were totally rocking the cold
Speaker 1: shoulder rhere. It's still really relevant. And Willows, she's so
Speaker 1: vocal and fiery and opinionated. You know, she's like a
Speaker 1: college student to me, and how she stays on top
Speaker 1: of her reading and she's always on me like you can't.
Speaker 1: That's you can't say it like that. You can't say
Speaker 1: that anymore. And it's like, well, what do you mean.
Speaker 1: She's like, no, that you can't say that. You know.
Speaker 1: She's always schooling me, you know, and that reminds me
Speaker 1: of Lena. Always politically correct, get it together, just do that,
Speaker 1: do better, right, you will, just do better. So that
Speaker 1: spirit just reminds me of Lena and just kind of
Speaker 1: in that stage of self actualizing and that's where Willow is,
Speaker 1: you know, and being open and like exploring and just
Speaker 1: in awe of all the possibilities of life. And so
Speaker 1: she she reminds me so much of Lena in that way.
Speaker 1: A force complete for yes, she is and sage and
Speaker 1: she's far more wise than Lena at that age. But
Speaker 1: I do believe that young people today because they have
Speaker 1: so much access with the Internet that we didn't have
Speaker 1: at that age, you know what I mean. We had
Speaker 1: to go all the way to the library to get
Speaker 1: the Britannica talk look up stuff and pull up the books.
Speaker 1: Whereas they could just type something on their phone and
Speaker 1: they got the answer right there. They can get in
Speaker 1: contact with somebody in the other part of the world
Speaker 1: somewhere and get the full one one on what's happening
Speaker 1: exactly right, exactly right. You mentioned at the reunion that
Speaker 1: your favorite episode Homie Don't You Know Me with Tupac,
Speaker 1: that episode had some powerful statements about personal growth, cultural codes,
Speaker 1: and pure expectations and relationships. Which of those most resonated
Speaker 1: with you then and which hit home today? I mean,
Speaker 1: I think the peer expectations is still really relevant, and
Speaker 1: it hit that probably hit the most. I think it
Speaker 1: was really so interesting that you asked that, because at
Speaker 1: that particular time, Pock and I were really trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how to deal with our new lifestyles in
Speaker 1: regards to coming into a certain amount of notoriety and
Speaker 1: all the opportunity that was coming our way. It was
Speaker 1: kind of, in a lot of ways, creating this chasm
Speaker 1: between this new life we were coming into in an
Speaker 1: old life that we were not trying to leave behind,
Speaker 1: and really trying to figure out the balance. That was
Speaker 1: a really interesting time for us. That particular peer expectation
Speaker 1: shin of like even us having friends feeling like, oh,
Speaker 1: so y'all can't come here no more? You know, It's like,
Speaker 1: you know, no, no, we can't, and I'm not acting right,
Speaker 1: I'm not trying to be, you know, but it's like
Speaker 1: I can't anymore. It's different. I don't think I'm too
Speaker 1: good for you. Yeah, and you get all of that.
Speaker 1: And I had to learn fast that nobody can really
Speaker 1: understand where you sit if they haven't been there, and
Speaker 1: so I had to learn quick how not to take
Speaker 1: offense to them not understanding. Did having Tupac experiencing what
Speaker 1: you were experiencing in the same time frame help you? Absolutely?
Speaker 1: It helped us both, for sure. That's reminiscent. I mean
Speaker 1: it just has me thinking. I mean, we actually talked
Speaker 1: the game again and she said she still loves you
Speaker 1: as Peaches, and I love seeing you up on a
Speaker 1: different world. So I'm just thinking, is there any acting
Speaker 1: coming up? I mean, is there anything any new projects
Speaker 1: ex that you're working on. I love seeing you in
Speaker 1: the equalizes that we're gonna bring about bring that up. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's definitely some stuff that I'm thinking about diving back into.
Speaker 1: I definitely have two projects that I'm thinking about. I'm
Speaker 1: older now, you know. For me, it's gotta be about
Speaker 1: some real joy in regards to how I spend my time.
Speaker 1: But I definitely have two projects. And I'm looking at like,
Speaker 1: all right, let's see, you know, so I think I
Speaker 1: might be it just hits different, so different. I'm like,
Speaker 1: I did, I've been there, done all that. I've been
Speaker 1: in this damn game for three decades plus, Like I'm
Speaker 1: an o G. So it's gotta be it's gotta be
Speaker 1: an alignment. Yeah, it's gotta be fun. But I love
Speaker 1: Red Table Talk. I want to see you at the table.
Speaker 1: But I mean I also love Stony too, and it's
Speaker 1: a couple of things we'll see. Okay. See, we know
Speaker 1: there can't be a satd Off reunion, so we know
Speaker 1: there's no point. You know, we can't have a sequel
Speaker 1: to No No, No, No. I don't even want to
Speaker 1: no no no, because she's gone. But all of them?
Speaker 1: What about up? What about a podcast or any other
Speaker 1: avenues like that? I mean, of course, thank you for
Speaker 1: coming to Let's Red Table. That the official fan rewatch
Speaker 1: podcast for Red Table Talk, But what about you any
Speaker 1: other podcast vibes? You know, I feel like I talk
Speaker 1: enough on Red Table. I can hear myself on there. Honestly,
Speaker 1: I know people ain't trying to hear me talk no more.
Speaker 1: I can't even at that. No, I love it. We've
Speaker 1: asked our questions, but we have some questions directly from
Speaker 1: the fans. Are you ready to give some answers change? Well,
Speaker 1: here's ports your flowers with her question. The different World
Speaker 1: was pretty progressive for its time, but has changed since then.
Speaker 1: If a different world we're done today, what topics do
Speaker 1: you think it would cover? I don't know. If we
Speaker 1: did a show around suicide, solevant what we today? Given
Speaker 1: what we know today, our precious twitches no longer with us.
Speaker 1: I think suicide is more prevalent in the black community
Speaker 1: now than it's ever been. We would have definitely dealt
Speaker 1: with suicide for sure. You know, I was talking to
Speaker 1: well many friends today because we were just all just
Speaker 1: you know, one of the things haven't gone through my
Speaker 1: own struggles with suicide and tendencies and what have you.
Speaker 1: You know, I said, one of the things specifically for
Speaker 1: the black community is that we don't have the language
Speaker 1: when we're in trouble, because it's like for a lot
Speaker 1: of the environments that we come out of, right, it's
Speaker 1: like everybody's having a hard time when you're trying to
Speaker 1: figure out the language of how to express No, this
Speaker 1: is a different kind of hard time, the pressure of life.
Speaker 1: It feels different. I don't want to be here anymore.
Speaker 1: How do you express that? And when you're not a knight,
Speaker 1: and when you're not an anomaly, that's it. That's what
Speaker 1: I was trying to explain to my friends today. Also,
Speaker 1: just the shame, because when you're black and you're like, well,
Speaker 1: my ancestors survived being whooped, rapes, kids getting stone, they
Speaker 1: survived slavery. Why am I having such a difficult time?
Speaker 1: Especially if you've had the opportunity to experience a piece
Speaker 1: of your dream right, and then other people around you
Speaker 1: are looking at you like, well, what's wrong? They think
Speaker 1: that is the be all, end all, And so then
Speaker 1: that compacts the shame. It limits the language of like
Speaker 1: I'm having a hard time. It's like, well, what does
Speaker 1: that mean? We're all having Like what do you mean?
Speaker 1: So I was telling a friend of money today, we
Speaker 1: talked so much about hey, check on your strong friends,
Speaker 1: check on your people. It's like, yes, we need to
Speaker 1: do that for sure, but we also need to talk
Speaker 1: to people who are having a hard time. We need
Speaker 1: to give them a language. How do you express that?
Speaker 1: You can't do this sentence, you know, or just that
Speaker 1: I can't do this anymore and I'm not playing right.
Speaker 1: How do you have the space to say that? How
Speaker 1: do you have the space and the courage? Some people
Speaker 1: can't even get that out of their mouths because of
Speaker 1: the shame, and so it's so much shame for sure.
Speaker 1: Before we go to the next question on behalf of
Speaker 1: the Let's Read table, that family, we would like to
Speaker 1: extend our sincere sympathy to the family of Twitch, his fans,
Speaker 1: and all who knew and loved him. Taylor Round has
Speaker 1: a question that I am also really curious to know
Speaker 1: the answer to. Here's Taylor. Growing up, my mom and
Speaker 1: I would watch three Runs together, and now I watch
Speaker 1: three Runs with my kids. So I want to know,
Speaker 1: do you watch three runs with your kids? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: could already say your head, you're like, uh, I don't
Speaker 1: think I've watched too much of anything I've done with
Speaker 1: my kids. If we're not like at a event like
Speaker 1: a premiere or anything like that. Okay, So tell us
Speaker 1: more about that. Is that because they don't want to
Speaker 1: see it or you don't want to see it with them,
Speaker 1: it's just not something we do. It's like mommy. They
Speaker 1: don't care, you know what I mean. It's different with
Speaker 1: their dad. But something about that mommy relationship. They like,
Speaker 1: you can do everything on the sun, but at the
Speaker 1: end of the day. And what they did like to
Speaker 1: do that they saw me do a lot was when
Speaker 1: I was out on the road. They used to love
Speaker 1: to watch me perform. Specifically, well okay, oh yeah, well
Speaker 1: loved it. That makes sense. Have to sneaker and that
Speaker 1: makes total sense. She was watching you because she was
Speaker 1: at your feet learning. So it was a stage. Yeah,
Speaker 1: she was saying, okay, the I'm taking notes. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: she I mean, I sneak her into the club on
Speaker 1: the security shoulders for like ten minutes so she can watch,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. Yeah, so they did that.
Speaker 1: They enjoyed being with me on tour. They enjoyed watching
Speaker 1: me perform music. But for some reason, movies and TV,
Speaker 1: well it's so much more structure. I also think it's
Speaker 1: like that's the work, Like that's my mom's job. For them,
Speaker 1: that's my mom's job. I want to be with mom
Speaker 1: when it's so. I think the performance was like something different, right,
Speaker 1: just a different aspect of you. Yeah, it was like
Speaker 1: an experience it was like, oh, we get do this
Speaker 1: to set, you know, and watching me like that and
Speaker 1: being with me like that. They loved being on the set,
Speaker 1: but like sitting and we didn't watch something mommy did
Speaker 1: and it's like yeah, okay, Yeah, it's time for the
Speaker 1: final fan question, and this one is from Kiana Robinson.
Speaker 1: Which characteristics, moments, or decisions for your character felt most
Speaker 1: aligned with who you were in your own identity at
Speaker 1: the time, and which moments, characteristics, or decisions were a
Speaker 1: little harder to lean into. So maybe they made a
Speaker 1: decision that you yourself wouldn't have made. Yeah, no, because
Speaker 1: you know, Debbie created that character Lena James off of me.
Speaker 1: Yes you and your bold blessing. And it's so funny
Speaker 1: because I looked at it as a compliment because I
Speaker 1: was just like she was always had she was it,
Speaker 1: you know, And so I was like, I'm a ju
Speaker 1: I'm a i'm a dan, I'm a direct, I'm an act,
Speaker 1: I'm a sing like Debbie did it all and so
Speaker 1: I wanted to be a black female talent like that.
Speaker 1: So when I got to meet her, it was the
Speaker 1: I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna be the next you.
Speaker 1: You Oh, I love it. That's like the ultimate compliment.
Speaker 1: Had you ever talked to her about that prior to
Speaker 1: sitting at the table and talking at the renunion about
Speaker 1: you saying all the time, you know, she's doing that
Speaker 1: up all the time. She took me under her wing.
Speaker 1: From that moment on. She told me in the room,
Speaker 1: she said, I'm not gonna hire you for this, but
Speaker 1: you you're gonna come on this show as a series regular.
Speaker 1: We're gonna create this role around you. She said, tell
Speaker 1: me about you. So I told her my whole story
Speaker 1: and she was like, that's what we're gonna do. We're
Speaker 1: gonna create a carecter around you. Was you. I have
Speaker 1: never had experience like that in Hollywood ever. Again, you
Speaker 1: know when somebody you walk into a room and they
Speaker 1: just see you so much so that they take you
Speaker 1: under their wing. Only Debbie, that's the best affirmation I
Speaker 1: could ever have. And I was nineteen years old, I'd
Speaker 1: only been in l A for a year and a half.
Speaker 1: That was the bindly order me. I'm so clear about that.
Speaker 1: I'm so about that. Yeah, she gave me the wings
Speaker 1: that I needed and my career took off. It took
Speaker 1: off from there. I remember being on the show. I
Speaker 1: got menace to society and they didn't want to let
Speaker 1: me out of my not out of my contract, but
Speaker 1: like a justust my schedule because I was willing to
Speaker 1: do both things, which I ended up doing. Debbie went
Speaker 1: in there, she went in there, she was like, oh no,
Speaker 1: She went to the principal's office and she said, no,
Speaker 1: we don't let this baby do this this movie, that's
Speaker 1: what we are gonna do. So she literally the course
Speaker 1: of a different world. She absolutely did, really created a
Speaker 1: staple in my opinion and black culture in such a
Speaker 1: beautiful way. Different world is just it's just its own thing.
Speaker 1: I feel so blessed to have been a part of
Speaker 1: of that legacy for sure. Timeless, Priceless found the right
Speaker 1: person to have your be my beacon, as my angel,
Speaker 1: as my Hollywood mom as just to this day, Debbie
Speaker 1: is like one of my greatest supporters no matter what's
Speaker 1: going on. I love that. I love that. I appreciate
Speaker 1: that you also support us. You have taken Tracy now
Speaker 1: into your wing and we were able to host this
Speaker 1: podcast be here with you and just have so many
Speaker 1: amazing moments, and of course we could keep you for
Speaker 1: hours and hours, but I'm sure that you have some
Speaker 1: places to be, so we're gonna let you go for now,
Speaker 1: for now, but thank you so much that we'll see
Speaker 1: you again. Absolutely, absolutely, thank you so much, ladies. I
Speaker 1: appreciate you so much. You guys have just been just
Speaker 1: such great supporters I need from day one. I love
Speaker 1: you both so much. And yeah, you guys are just fantastic.
Speaker 1: You really are. You guys are just beautiful, beautiful, beautiful,
Speaker 1: So thank you for having me. We want to know
Speaker 1: what you're feeling about this new season a Red Table Talk,
Speaker 1: and we are open to talk about anything with you.
Speaker 1: Also sending your questions at Let's Red Table That at
Speaker 1: red table talk dot com or leave us a voicemail
Speaker 1: at speak pipe dot com slash Let's Red Table That.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening. We are so so
Speaker 1: so grateful for you. We have me a download and
Speaker 1: we want to make sure they keep coming, so make
Speaker 1: sure you subscribe on I Heart Radio app and please
Speaker 1: rate this podcast on Apple Podcast. This is our season
Speaker 1: one finally, but we hope to be back soon for
Speaker 1: season two of Let's Red Table That Special. Thanks to
Speaker 1: executive producers Jada Pinkett Smith Valan Jethro and Ellen Rackitton.
Speaker 1: Thank you to our producer Kylie Candiru and our associate
Speaker 1: producer Yolanda Chow, and finally thanks to our sound engineer,
Speaker 1: Stephanie Aguilar. Let's read table that, let's red table that