The Journey of Erika Alexander

But do you want to revisit? So your first like a list at kill folks for your sp all folks that we dig it. No, you do train, No do what you do? No kiss? Do what I do? Well? Hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good somewhere good. So come to Laugh and Learn. We were supposed to be on another page, but guess who couldn't get it right. Y'all know I'm not technically savvy, So yeah, I was supposed to be on the Laugh and Learned podcast page.

But girl, I don't know what this new tablet is doing because my my girl ain't here to help me out with my stuffy stuff today. Y'all don't like my hair. They said, my week is given disaster. My week is looking this is fly. This is called wind blown. I've been in a wind I was. Let me tell you something. I was distracted this morning because I was watching the news and prayers to the people in Brooklyn, New York

who were on the subway. I would hate to be a short, fat black man in Brooklyn right now, because baby, you know, the police is on high alert looking for whoever the man was, because they did not catch the suspect that released the smoke bomb and then just started shooting in the subway. This is just to show you that people are really, really, really on edge right now. Ladies and gentlemen. You know, that's just showing that people are human. This pandemic had more effect on more people

than we know. I e. Will Smith if you're already to throw Well Smith up under the bus. But Will is human. He's a human being, and it just happened. It happened. I'm glad you guys joined me today. My partner, Long Hogan could not be here today. Her other job has up to a way. She's really really busy, and uh, but I'm here. Y'all don't like my hair, y'all like my hair. It was cute when I put it on. I do know what happened. It's still cute. I felt being blond today. Um, this week, we did get the

appointment of Katagi Brown Jackson. Yea, we got our first black female to be appointed to the Supreme Court as a justice. So I'm proud of that. This was a great week for black women. Uh, it was also a scary week because so many people in Congress and so many people that were there have tested positive for coronavirus. I'm hoping that y'all did not think that Corona was gone. I hope y'all think that Corona was done. She's not done. She's still around. So you still have to take the precautions.

Were your masks, wash your hands, social distance all that they relaxed the rules, But that don't mean that the Corona gut relaxed. Baby, let me tell you something. I go on my my scarecrow hair today. But the conversation today is gonna be so great. Kendall was here, Hey, Kendoll, It is going to be the most magnificent conversation today because not only is my very special guest I'm a fan of, but I met her uh, well via zoom

with UM. When I was working with Karen Hunter doing the Karen Hunter Friday shows, Foolish Fridays with Karen Hunter. And we all know Erica Alexander. We know her from as Maxine Shot attorney at law, from Living Single, we know her from The Cosby Show. But there is a passion project that she's working on. She's a director, she's an actress, she's a lot of things. Um. I mean, I just found out today that her birthday is the same as my dragmother, Sherry Paine's birthday, which is eleven nineteen.

That's my dragmother's birthday. So she's gonna be my very special guest, and she's gonna come on. I want you flame mess to weigh in with questions. I want you all to be respectful. I want you to ask questions that's important. Don't come on here with b s because you know I do not play b S and there's an X at the top. I will block your ask for generations. You know I don't care. You know mother does not care. So yeah, we're gonna have a great

conversation with her. I'm just mortified at what's going on in the world. And that people do not see other people's humanity. Because no, I do not agree with this man shooting up the subway in Brooklyn, but it just goes to show you that everybody who lives in the world who's been affected by the effects of the pandemic, the death, the numbers of death, and also being stuck in the house, the financial crisis, that it has caused, the ostrogization, the loneliness, It is coming out in ways

that we have not would not believe. I think Will Smith. I don't know if the pandemic got to Will Smith, but I think it was a build up of things and now people are exploding. This man went in there and release the smoke bomb, and when people started running, this food started shooting. So before I go any further, ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna talk about some other things.

But I want to get to this because she has other stuff to do, and I really appreciate that she took the time to come on with me, and we spoke months ago. I told I was going to get a chance to interview with her. So I'm glad we had a conflict. We had a conflict scheduling conflict yesterday, but today we don't, and she is here, so I'm

going to bring her own. The Great, the one and only, the beautiful Miss Erica Alexander, the Maverick, Miss Maxine Shall, attorney at Guy used to love when used to say that, lady, and please help me. Welcome my special guests, the beautiful Miss Erica Alexander. Hello, Erica the Great Hello Monroe played the most daring and beautifulest thing. How are you, beautiful? How are you doing? I'm pretty good, I'm good. You know what I gotta I gotta quick quit. I gotta

quick a story for you about that shooting. Okay, I was on our train last night going to the Poor People's campaign over Um, Reverend Barbera was here, and um, I went out to support him and and do the rally in the march, and I took the our trade and that's the our train that I took. Oh my god, I'm so glad that God protected you and keept you off of the train. You know, I would hate to be a short, fat black man in Brooklyn right now.

As you know, the police are on high alert. And I'm not saying that as a joke, but they're not gonna see a face. That description is a five by five, heavy set black man. So all black men in Brooklyn, if you five by five, stay in the house, please, because maybe they're just gonna go crazy. Yes, it's it's it's scary. I am so glad that you. I'm so sorry about the mix up yesterday. We had a schedule in Climflict. She thought I was on the East coast.

I thought she was on the West coast. But we're here today, and I'm telling you, all week and all weekend, I've been catching up on my old Living Single episodes and will you know what I made me fall in love with you? Not only your character on Living Single, but when you got married. You got married in a pair of sneakers. I thought that was the cutest ship ever. I remember seeing your wedding photos. I know you know

what it was, so thank you. I got an addressed and I didn't want to wear white, and everyone said I wanted to wear red. Get the same dress, but beat it and red and people are like, no, you have to wear white, and I vowed to the pressure.

And I hated that. So at the end, the designer of the dress sent me a couple of pair of his shoes if he had just done a line for kids, and they had this sort of golden peacock print on it, And I said, I didn't like any of the shoes they got me for the dress because my assistantt helped me get in shoes. They were back in the day's shoes for wedding dresses. So awful. Anyway, long story short, I put those shoes on and that was my defiant

move and it also made me feel like me. But when I I figured, no one's gonna see my feet anyway. But when I came down the step, I picked up my dress and everyone saw my shoes and started laughing. So it was actually a really good moment for me. That was great. You know, you always had to find you in the in the midst of everything else. A whole lot of chaotic stuff can be going on around you, but you always have to find you. And I love that you found you at that moment. That was great.

Let's get to live. Let me get to living single because let me tell you something. That show was such a popular show and and and older than you a couple of a couple of years. Uh. Look, but that show, that show taught me, Um how to roommate if I had to roommate, because you guys had disagreements. You had, you know you had, but at the end you always sound solid because your friendship was more important than the

disagreement you had. I loved that that show taught that because you know, they love to say that a bunch of black women can be in a room together, it's always gonna become chaotic and and disastrous. But you guys, show love, you guys show support. The show was so much fun. We almost felt like we were a part of the show that we watched it every week. You

that's how engaging you all were to us. And I knew the whole backstory with the whole free and things and all that, because that show you that we ain't changed much in this country. That show that last week when Katagi Brown Jackson got fifty three to forty seven, and in nineteen thirty four thirty five when h third Gradmasha was put on, he was sixty one, plug four and eleven against are we going back with Erica? Sixty years ago? So when that show came to an end,

how did you feel about it? Because the character of Maxine schal Attorney allowed how close to that character is Erica Alexander. Well, you know, we bring yourself to every role you play, even though that is not ideal for someone like me, because I think I'm quite boring. I'm not certainly don't have a law degree. Come home, miss Lam, I don't have a law degree. I'm high school graduate of a very good school, Philadelfinie High School for Girls.

I did get accepted into the like you, but I left after two weeks because I got a role on a in a world tour with the Royal Shakespeare Company and it was to grow around the world. And I asked my mother, uh if that was cool, and she said, you know, that's his own education, you to see the world. So I I left and then um, after that time, my father passed away and my I figured I was working since I was fourteen and and getting some shil

work and TV and stage. So I thought I'd helped my mother continue to work and bringing an inn come and that's what I did. So I'm not like my character in that way. She's highly educated, she's but but everything else definitely, And we were taught expect to mentors with five emism and and all sorts of other people politically. I didn't know how much I'd get in the game. But Max is to me that she's a She's a uh real pastiche of the women I met and the

women who raised me and the people I admired. She's also the house that Fox. The Red Fox was one of my comedy mentors. I didn't know I be such a comedic actress, but Red Fox, Um, Michael J. Fox, I love Fox, I was on Fox Network, and I love Sherman Helmsley. Those are the types of people you see in Max. Those are the people I was watching. Oh when you were Maxine Shall attorney and law and slept with all the men you wanted to. I never

looked at that character as being a thought. I always like, y'all, let men do it. I love that you were so dominant as a woman in that role, and it shows so much male aggression, or not aggression, that's not the right word. It shows so much male dominance because you know me and could sleep with twenty five women and nobody looks at him like he's a whore. But Max Thin was like, I want this one, this one, and I'm I'm good with you. Go home. Girl. That made

me like, oh, I would be like that. I'm sorry, I was like that already. That was And so when the storyline went and you and Kyle hooked up with all the bickering because y'all had the greatest one liners at each other, those one liners that you guys will go back and forth with how much of that was rehearsed and how much of that rolling off the top of your dome because some of that looked just too organic for it to be rehearsed, really or absolutely, you know,

it's chemistry is everything. I'm telling you, we're in comedy that if you have people who you know able to throw you the ball, the point the only thing you have to be aware of that throw that, but don't decide how it has to be tossed back all the way. You have to be stuck in those decisions. And so the key is to remain open to your urges and reactions. So what's true in the moment is how we reacted.

But true in the moment are there's things that we do with our eyes, our hands, and sometimes every now and then addatives that work. I mean, PC and I would go back and forth with that, but he would always seem to get me because he's so nasty. He goes and do all that I you could see when Eric is there and Max is not. But event Lee Bowser, to her credit, not only the commission knew the girl like I'm physical, so they had to play to my physicality.

They had to play to the fact that I was unsentimental. That's very Erica, where I'm there to have a lot of empathy and love, but I'm not the person who's gonna be olverly like girls. You know, you can do it unless that's the joke, you know, because that's not me. What they did was put me from in their character that she created, which by the way, is event Lee Bowser. She is Max. She was the person who was a way to Standford, to be a lawyer and all that

mess not me. She has She married man named Kyle Bowser, not Barker, but that's her. What they what they got right was um allowing me to be free. So all that physicality is all that girl. You brought so much life to that role. Eric, I'm telling you I loved all the characters on the show, but for some reason I resonated with Max. I'm telling you Max to me because you know, my first drag name was Maxine, my very first drag name. That was it was my prostitute name.

It wasn't my show girl name. It was my whole name when I was the other girl, but that was that's the name of my car. My name of my new car is Maxine because that name that's so I was like, oh my god, I thought I was the only Maxine. But so many of those episodes, the leaching when you were just walking the house and just take

what you wanted. And the episode that I watched this week in that really just took me over the edge was the one with you and the girl who played Kim on a Different World when she was Cadian's best friend and she was freeloading. You kept trying to tell Kadiji because I've been in that instant so many times we're trying to tell another friend that another friend was girl,

that she's not the one. But when I watched the episode this weekend, I was like, yea, it was just the greatest chemistry of all of you ladies on the show and the guys. Because I've never met the other comedian what's his name, um, John Hinton. I never met John Hinton on the road doing stand up at not not as of yet, because I met him. Yeah. I worked with Kim Fields actually before with Sherry Shepard at the Comedy Union a few years ago. Kim is just

a bubbly I'm like, girl, do you turn off? Because baby, she was all over the place. I'm like, do you turn off? But that show was so popular, and I hate that the country that we live in would put two of the same at almost the same identical twin shows with one black, one white, and the one white went catapulted to the at stratosphere and the one black

kept stay black famous. Even though y'all crossed over some y'all, that show should have been still on TV to this day because the rules that you all taught and the love that y'all have for each other in the show resonates with so many of the audience members. That's why we stayed tuned to that damn show every week. It wasn't because it was Queen Latifa and Kim Fields and Eric Elizon. It was because we knew these I know this bitch, I felt like, I know this, that's my sister.

I know. That's what made it so genuine for us as audience members. And I hate that show in a way. I want to ask you, Eric because I know you won't never been on TV. It's well, yeah, it had to end, yeah yeah, And we cast those episodes, We cast those reruns every chan. Let me Chell you something. It ain't nothing for me to take an edible and have a bowl of popcorn and watch Living Single all day. But you know, well, I wish somebody would call me and put me in one. You know what my problem

is with acting, Erica. They always want me to play me. I don't know how to play me. I just know how to beat me. When you tell me go and say be flame, I'm like, what do I do? You know, I don't know what to do. I just be flame. I don't know how to be somebody. But it's coming. Just because you said it is coming, we got we got we in talks for some stuff, so we shall see. But I want to ask you, because I know you were on The Cosby Show. How many seasons were you

on the Cosby Show? Just too when they when they when they scandal came out about Bill Cosby. Because I don't think I've ever heard you comment about I don't think that you would ever put in that space because you were so young. How did you feel about that? Because you know a very different deal Cosby than what

we know. We know Bill Cosby the America's dad and what we've seen, but then when we hear about this other side you've worked with him, did you ever get any inclination about that or how did you feel about that whole situation. I don't think anyone could have never imagine that the types of allegations and um uh stories that came out could ever exist, not about anybody I knew,

let all about um, Mr Cosby. What I always say, because I have been asked, is that do I'm a woman's advocate um UM My mother was molested when she was younger, and my sister who was raped. UM. I speak an advocacy of women and believing them UM, and so I believed that the women who came out UM needed to have their stories told, and it needs to be told from their mouth. I did not experience that type of behavior, and I'm grateful for that. It doesn't mean that, UM, I have nothing more word to tell

the stories within selfie did and things like that. I'm since these women weren't always in the position to be not only heard but believe, and things have changed. They were things that they didn't believe when children told them. And there's laws that changed because people broke through. But people think who are always living in this world and that they don't even know what a feminist is FEMINESSI feminist is a person who believe that females should have

the same rights as men. That's simply it. But that wasn't always the case. We didn't even have right to our own credit people black black people, but women had to be signed a credit and a man had to sign with you. And Nate Holden was a young counselman in l A was one of the people who changed it and then became all of the land. So yeah, we need to learn our history to understand that things change,

change change because people helped change them. That what you need to know is that before you cast the stone, look at the atmosphere and look at how far we had to come for even those things go forward. So I wish my best to all the people who are advocating for those types of changes in the world. That is great information, Erica, thank you for that. I didn't even know that. But I am a woman. I'm an advocate for women as well because I'm a female impersonator.

Let me say that one more time. I am a female impersonator. I impersonate women because I admire and adore and love women, and I'm much more comfortable working as a woman than i would be dressed up as a man. I get a lot of backlash from my own community because of that. To Erica, because I see women for the role that they positioned that they are in our lives as female impersonators, I would not know how to be a girl if I had to watch a guy to learn how to be a girl, That is crazy

to me. Women are givers of life. Women bring everybody to the earth. At my joke on stages, if straight people stop sucking, won't be the more l G B t Q. I'm just saying, because you can't get pregnant in the booby. That's a horrible joke to say publically, but I see it right now. You know, I don't care as a female person that I didn't realize that

I was studying women as a kid. You don't realize that you you watch your mother, your sisters, your Auntie, your cousins, you're best friend because you're learning how to be a girl. But you didn't know this. Subsequently, I'm studying how to be feminine without knowing that I was actually in class. So I always admire women and uphold

women to a higher standard than I would. You know, one of us, Plus my difference is a female impersonator, and a trans woman is a trans woman, and a woman is a woman, and the only differences between them besides the sexual organ is a heart and mind. Because a man does not think like a woman, he does not have a hard man of a woman a heart. A woman's hard mind is so different from a man's. But you have to understand women to know that, and a lot of a lot of people don't understand women.

I don't always understand. You're crazy help us all the tame me, But but I deal with it because I like it. Yes, of course, as an observe a woman, what do you feel that you see that's consistent? And I know that we're all the things consistent about women because you're talking about that. I'm just fascinated. It's a fact to be an observe a woman. And then also translated and filtered through your own experience? What that what is consistent? When you feel the strength and the loyalty

of women. Men don't have that. Men don't have a strength. And I'm not talking about a physical strength. I'm talking about an emotional strength that women have. Women will stay in a fight way longer than they should. Their loyalty and dedication to somebody, especially when they have children or a certain statue that they want to keep. Women will tolerate way more than a man. A man will I'm going to get a loaf for bred, and they'll never come back, you know, And when demanding me, when I'm

done with it, I will walk away from it. But women will stay in it to a fault almost to me. And I love the dedication and loyalty that women give to their families, to their husbands, to their to their children, you know. And I've always wanted to be able to do that. I always want to be able to say my kids drive me crazy, Erica, especially my daughters. I got two teenage daughters. I'd like to throw both of

mamfa train. Let me just be honest right now, but watch I watched my grandmother with my mother and her and her sisters, and they took my grandmother over the river and through the woods, and I listened to so many life lessons from my grandmother. When she said there will be some years that you will hate your children, I said, you never hate your kids, And she didn't me hate when like you would really hate them, although

it's it's real close. But she meant there would be some trying times that you will have to remember that these are your kids and you love these people, so you have to stay in it. That is what women are to me. And the prime example of that was I hate that they put black people in the pigeonhole. All black people act the same because two black men recently were in the same instident, Will Smith and Chris Rock, they handled it very differently. That shows you that we

are not a monolith. Just and black women, black women, black black woman. Becautani Brown said for four days in front of her mom and dad, her children, her her husband, and the world, and was humiliated, disrespected, picked apart. Made if they asked this woman, what does being a woman mean to you? I thought that was the most preponderous shit I have heard in my life. But she sat with her temperament, with her mind, with her heart, her spirit.

She remembered her ancestors, She breathed, She answered the question, she gave them what they need, and when it was something that was unimportant to her, she said, I don't even understand that question. To me, that spoke volumes as being a woman, a black woman, but a fucking woman. So I will always uphold women in a higher regard. So, my sisters that don't like that I hold women in high regard, you know how I feel about it, don't you don't make me take my wig off and show you.

So I know that you are women's advocate, and I know I want to talk about your passion project Erica, because I talked about this on the panel recently, because I think it was like sixty four trans women came up dead last year, and any death is a death. But there's ninety four thousand black and brown women in this country missing and it goes unreported and disregarded. But Becky's still go missing for an hour and she just in the playground. Y'all, stop the world. I want to

hear about your project. I want to hear about what you're doing, because this was when I heard you speak about it on I think on the Breakfast Club. I was like, damn, you know, it hit me like a ton of break That could be my sister or my mom or my auntie. Uh, girl, you got the floor. We want to know, we want to know what you know. I want your brain. Oh well, you know, thank you so much for bringing that up, because the truth is um and we need to start talking about fans, women

and all sorts of things that are going on. Because they had a conversation with miss Freda, Big Frieda and um about just violence overall in the in the trans community and how disagree one will elive and anathering I'll never hear from. And it's Gwen Iford called business and white when women syndrome. The fact that we will go as you say, two damned undistress blonde the wide usually um um person who by the way, if they go missing, they deserve the activity to be found. That's not what

the problem is. The problem is that we do it to the exclusion black and brown and indigenous women, people who are differently able. Any of these people just go missing and it's just what it is. And so um Tamika Houston is the young woman that we do the uh the Uh. It's an audible series, an audible original. Sharomagne to God as a one of the producers, and Kevin Hart I love Schadowmagne I know you know and

and loves him. He's done so much to uplift and support and produce these types of things give people down. He produced the podcast, the Reparations Podcast. But what we did is we did the story about Tomka Houston, not physically just about her death which people could look up on Google and find out. She but missing in two thousand five, just short of her twenty fifth birthday and eventually was found fifteen months later in a clearing in

the in in the forest. She had been mutilated, her half, her head cut off, and um Um the man had gone back that killed her and took off things that he thought would identify people identify her, and through the rest of that those pieces in the in the dumpster, so not even the full piece of her was there.

But the point about Tomika's story was um telling the story to Miko, who became a poster child, or the change that happened when people started to start decided to say, why are we accepting that there's anything like a called missing white women's syndrome and why doesn't national media pay attention. Why does Gabby Petito bless her who goes missing suddenly get all the air time? And we haven't heard of any of these women that she was kind of the

opposed to child for the change. Her auntie, Rebecca Howard is the person that I um that David person met, the person I met when I was doing a women's event in Alabama, remembered me and said, Hey, are you interested in this story? And I said, of course I'm interested. What can we make something a podcast or audio thing about it? We went around and we started asking about it, and long story short, m Charlemagne was like, Yo, I just got a new deal with Kevin at All a

goal and I think we can do it there. And we ended up doing that there. James T. Green was our executive producer. He co wrote with me. He brought the Sonic team there. Ben are non Color Farm is my UM co founder, and we had our producers with Rebecca Houston and David Persons and s pH which is Charlemagne and Kevin's company and all the and we did it, and it took all of us in it to do it. We had to do interviews. I had to do the interviews, had to do the co wrote the thing, UM had

to call. The skills I didn't even have, but I learned. We tried to do our best to tell the story, but also there was a ghost story there playing when we got there. Sneka was showing up as a ghost in her family's life and in stranger's life and still communicating.

So we did it as in the war story, a neo no war story, because I think the things have to be entertaining beyond the value of just the tragedy or the thing, you know, the the thing that makes you look, which is a lot of scandal, and that kinde of stuff. We needed to tell her story and also lifted up out of that into what you might do if you had to spoiling your hands and missed it.

You tell a full restory who that person was. How can we or you as a woman and me as a trans woman, black trim, how can we get more young women involved in this project? And this because young women are the ones that get snatched up the most, honestly, because they seem like they're invincible, they seem like they don't pay attention and I got a flame at Her name is t J. And we call it perfectionately, we call it t t J. And she always says, keep

your head on the swivel. We need to get more young sisters involved in the missing of black and brown women in this country because they always think that it can happen to them until it happens to them or somebody they know. So that's my question, how can we get more sisters involved in this education and awareness of

danger and evil out there. The truth is people don't want to say those words, but we know it to be true and what we do and part of what Tamika learns and I think one of her downfall was she thought she was a hustler. She thought she could hang. And often we think we can hear, we put ourselves the positions where we shouldn't that we think, oh, we can work this out, and you don't know what realized that these people have different intentions. They're not just gonna

get mad at you, They're gonna take your life. And we talk in a good game in the music and in the culture about getting the bag and all this stuff. That is a wrong message because what it does is it makes women, especially feel like they have to put themselves out there and leverage their position to attract our status. Are you really you have to talking hold? And then they go missing because I I often say, do we see black? Black girl does not have to go missing

for us not to see her. These people, they're walking down the street every day. We need to have neighborhood watches and people say I saw her she You know, people can step out and say I see the children, I clark who's supposed to come in, you know around the twelve blah blah blah. And maybe people who are coming home late. In sports and that's let it, athletes are tutoring who's watching them and then have some kind of we have phones and acts. We can build things

to me like your children. We can build things to monitor um college students and people going to party, tell people where they're at, check in things like that. We need to take advantage of this stuff. We have to. We also need awareness and education and we need to also be honest to say, sometimes we put ourselves in a position and we do not realize that it is out. It has outranked us in terms of danger and UM, you cannot learn that you don't play with these people

out there, then it's not a game. No it's not. And you you could lose your life. And and the moren look like that guy had the ladies in the basement in that house in Ohio. He had them there for ten years and did whatever he wanted to do with them. And they're so something to do. The way they get you is they they they grab you and they tie you up and then they'll give you a little bit here and there. They make you feel like

they love you or they care about you. You're the only person who will and they just use you and make a fool out of you. Times have changed so much, Erica from when I was a kid, because, like you said, the neighborhood did watch Ms. Jones gonna look out how window and say, Marcus, don't you do that. I'm gonna call your mom because we did that. You know they did that when we were young, and you knew Ms. Johnson was watching Miss Jackson on the third floor. All

the way was always was in the window. We had somebody to treat. We had Dad's in the neighborhood or me and in the neighborhood that would grab you and say, hey, don't talk to those ladies like that, watch your mouth. We don't have that anymore. Social media. To me, the internet has made all of that go away. These kids feel so entitled now and so powerful because they think they know everything because of Google. First of all, Google is a liar. Let me just say that Google said

I'm worth eight hundred thousand. Somebody got about three hundred thousands of my money. Let me just because of the world. That's all that back. And and people just said, suck it up. It is what it is. Don't tell nobody. We've been um lifted and done in by neighbors at um, aunt uncles, brothers, fathers, all sorts of people. And that doesn't seem to be a need to movement for black women. That sort of gives infermission to tell the truth about how how devious and scandalous it is just to live

a basic life. And and and I'm not talking about someone who's going out and doing all sorts of things that people deem um dangerous and can make you vulnerable. Just live in your life. And so I like to say, I'm glad that you're talking about this subject. I'm glad we can have awareness, but we need to go in high schools, middle schools and everywhere, and people like you and me going there and talk about what it is to um to um be vulnerable, and how we can

be much more helpful to each other. Yeah, you know, you made a very valid point. And I always say this when I talk about when they tell me somebody get killed or something happened to somebody, I always say, well, what part did you play in your demise? And what you said is very true. Sometimes you could just be walking home from the store or walking home from school. But a lot of times we put ourselves in precarious positions.

That's anybody, not just women, just you each other. And then you you You see what happened with the outcome unpacked the suitcase. Had I not been there, had I not been putting myself in that situation, that possibly could not have happened to me. Now, something, your life is already blueprinted. God is an architect. Your life is already blueprint. You have to go through the motions. Hopefully you have a fate and a strength where you will survive it and come through it and be able to help and

teach somebody else. But a lot of times people don't pay attention because we feel like we're invincible as especially when you're young or I can do anything. Ain't nothing gonna happen to me, but something can happen to you. And sometimes something does happen to you, and it's scary. I got two daughters. I tell them all the time, don't rab with these people, don't be put in situation. And they're black, and I remind them all the time, and they bunch. You got a bunch of white girlfriends.

If you're in a car and some ship go down, you are the suspect. Just because you wear your badge of honor on your arm, you are the suspect. And the helps will throw you up under the bus. We get into it all time. They love me, they do love you, but they will throw you up under the bus. Understand that you have to remember that you are black woman in this country. I teach my daughters that all the time. You Minister Lewis fair Con, because I'm aware of what has happened in this country to my people

and to me. Because I watched I listened to Minister fair Coon. I like that, man. Thank you. I might become a I might become a Muslim. Can I wat this weak? Please lets that happen. Now, that's that's not a sitcom, that right there is. It's a whole achology, a Muslim training, you know. That would be some ship right there is? Erica, Oh my god, please do it not Lord please? So what what's next? What's the next

project for you? Because when I met you through Karen Hunter, Thank you Karen Hunter, you were in Chicago family project. What were you? What's your next big project? That's right, you got a good memory. Okay, So I was in Chicago filming Shining Girls. It's out in like unless in a few weeks. That's the Elizabeth mar and um and Wagner More. That's going be great. It's a it's a series and eight part series about women to go missing and it's funny. But there's a whole piece to it.

So there's a twist on this. Yeah, that's gonna be good. Go check out seed. I love to see you, um no, no serious. I can see them the age progression, you know, because young since it was a beautiful black woman when she was young. But I can see them making you all the way through. I can see them doing the age. I can see you doing the Sincily Tyson life story. I see that. I really, I'm looking at you right now with your hair pulled back and you I see I can see that. My my, yeah, Well, thank you.

That's a great compliment. It's one of the greatest. It's one of the things I was told when I first started acting that people said you were mind as a specially Tyson. I was like, really, And if we actually played in Mama Floor's family, she was the older version. I was the younger version of her. And the last Route A series I played young Floor, she was older Floor. So I did him. I did a whole mini series

with with with Sethie Tyson. We played each Oh. I can definitely see you doing her life story and going through all the change. I want to see you do a woman called Moses. They should first of all, they should remake that. You should be the one they remake that with. That should be that should be remade to this day. Oh oh, I love I love everything about her. But thank you. That's a great, a great thing. So

I want to ask you a question. But let me tell you also a couple of things that I'm getting ready to do my reparations documentary that we've been feeling for the past three years. Okay, I remember you talking about that on camera Hunter. Yeah, yeah, it's been except um, it's going to be out soon and um, everybody should pay attention for a big uh you know, announcement and so um that's going out. And then also Swimming with Sharks, which is on Roal Coup. That's on real Coup. So

check that out. Well, you know it's safe for about you know, it's safe for black people to swim with sharks. They don't like us. Sharks are racist, they don't bite us. Will last time you heard about a black person getting back shark. Okay, I'm just gonna let you marry it on there for ASA. Sharks and aliens don't like us. Funny, you know. I want to ask you though, Erica. You um in the movie The Long Walk Home. I remember you play Whoopy's daughter in that. I wanted to come

through that movie. You were so good in that movie. I wanted to come through that TV screen and wring your neck. But being old, hard headed as black girl and your mama told you not to get your black ass on that bus when you were doing that and they were doing that scene when they beat your brother and all of that that had to real emotions had to come through you watching that, even though you were part of you knew it was an acting scene or whatever.

How did you feel at that moment when they were kicking him and stumping him and it was it was your fault. You did know. It's awful. Um, it was awful. And by the way, during that time, and all my first acting gigs, because I think it was nineteen at the time, were either foster children, uh, civil um slaves process it was. They were all heavy rolls and they picked you because you could play the drama and so

you had to be in it. I didn't know at the time that I didn't have to bring my own experience to it because I hadn't experienced anything like But I had experienced um uh somebody um holding you back and beating on you and you can't do anything about it. Everyone knows what that feeling is and um and so uh, when you're there, you don't have to fake it. There's real people in front of you. Afterwards, they when they turn on you and you're doing your close up, they're

beating a pillow, you know what I mean. And and the the young man. We were you know, we played, we played together outside. I was a kid and I was a teenager, and so there's nothing, no imagination. You just gotta get out of um up in triangle with my mother, um every after. I didn't need Erica being influenced by Whoopee and then the Max character showing that influence.

And that's just how we come through life. That we read you flame Monroe, and the next thing, you know, it gives us courage to things we wouldn't normally do. And you know, and you have given permission, and so I would give a permission to change my hair and

do whatever I want. But in that thing, yes, you you you're there and it's dramatic, but you just try to remain Yeah see, I would think that me after the fact, I would be like, well, I need to drink and I don't even drink because seeing that and knowing what people went through, you know what I mean, would be like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, Erica, I just and I love Whoopie. Thank you for acknowledging will be I fucking love Whoopi Goberg as a as a comedian, as an actress. I don't

always agree with what she said on the view. When I get on that one day, IM gonna let her know, girl, I don't agree with that, but it's gonna be in a good way because I admire and love with me some Whoopie Goberg. I want to bring on a flame man to speak with you, Erica, because I got the greatest God Damn, I got the greatest fans you've ever met in your life. My they my people, like the old bed if the bee had was old, those are my fans. We won't fight you, but we're still your medication. Jane,

where you at. I want to bring on the young Lady day t t J and who I told you who said keep your head on sweep. But she's very worldly, she's smart. All my things. All my people love you, Erica. First of all because they were they were listening to Karen Hunter when I was working with Karen Hunter and you were on, so they were all listening. So when I told them that you were coming on, they was like, oh my god, we love Maxine. Show Attorney at Law.

You know that's your name, Mexicine Show Attorney a Law. I don't see you, Jane, you gotta sit where you at the Maverick that she is right there. Somebody said they're gonna follow you. Now you're gonna get all they they're real crazy too, but they love you for real. Hello Jane, Hello, Hello queen, and thank you for everything

you do. Everything you do, because there was a topic of our conversation in the past where we were talking about Indigenous women um go and missing alarming numbers as well, and so that made me kind of delved into my sisters because if they're not being sought out or um

about their they're missing. I know that they weren't seeking out black women as well, but I wanted to ask you, have you, um in your experience are you getting that these women um have been sold to like sex trafficking or for their organs um If they're missing, then we don't know, But have you gotten any kind of film that that's is greatly what has happened to them? Um?

Thank you first of all for your beautiful compliment. I appreciate that, and thank you for all that you're doing, and that the fact that aware and you're asking these questions is a great thing. You know, don Darling, I really don't know what's happening overall with these women. There are huge sex trafficking networks that are real in America. They got geraped very heavily in the Atlanta area d C. That is true. What they're doing with them or their

bodies afterwards is anyone's guest. I can imagine that the abuse and the mutilations may be very real. What the problem is, it's, like I say, the data analysis of people, they're not looking for them, so they already answers for what's happening with the one Amrath another. There's no uh Liam Neeson to come and like taken and suddenly burst in and saved them or do any of these things. That's why it's unacceptable. And I did think about that question.

If they're missing, we don't know. It was always body Cool, you know, saw that as a good job to bring them whoever to you know, it was just and you know, some people thought it was a scare tactor. But you you're talking about people who have money on top of money on top of money, you know, So I am like, you know, I've always thought about that. It has to

make some national news. This has to be like brought to the forefront of an attention, like often because like now, we're talking about it now, but then you might not hear about it again for three or four or five months until somebody comes up missing. This needs to be talked about regularly, Erica, I love that you got that new movie coming out where you're talking about missing when you said you're talking abou missing girls. Because they make

a little documentaries about it all the time. But to me, it's never genuine. They never give you the whole story, like you said about the one you were doing earlier about Tamika. You have to get the entire story. They only give you the tragic part. They don't never tell you about the part about this was a wonderful person. She was somebody's mom or sister. She had a job, she had dreams, she had goals, she had a life to live. Y'all talk about that, y'all. Just but she

was at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not always that. It is not always that. This is it's scary looking. I want to be a woman, But if you're right about me, I'm stronger than some of these other women. I'm telling you, if I grab you to give you back much trouble blames. Let's be like, let's go, we would we would come get you too. That I appreciate that my sisters coming like power warries. Eric.

I want to ask you a question. I want to because you've said you've been working since you were fourteen? What is your what is your goal of success? What is success to you? Because everybody's a measure of success is different, So what is success to you? Happiness? Um, having a good sense of humor about life. Everything is difficult. How need to tell you that the industry is difficult, no more difficult than any corporate structure. UM. That the

hand part is that you're you're the instrument. You're putting yourself out there. And there's so many systemic race and gender and all these problems that we deal with when we tell stories and storytelling. But I believe it's the most noble um Um mission you could be on because storytelling is how we tell the history of the world, and the fact that it's been filtered through a white male, um mostly UH point of view is one of the

reasons why things are so fucked up. That police officer, when he was kneeling and putting his knee on George Flord's neck, has been told the story that only he could do it, he could do it with impunity, that no one was holding accountable, that he wouldn't be responsible for anything. But if we start showing those stories where they are held accountable, people think twice, they start showing that you can't do what that woman did in the till they're more than things. Twice, they won't do these

things as much because there's always to be issues. But I believe the storytelling and who we tell stories through, like Hugh Monroe, is important because somethingly we're expanding Fullman once sitting, we've done more to expand not only the history of the world, but to tell how we can

be human. And So when I'm when I'm thinking about what I've learned the Four Teams, um, what I've learned is to just remain in my own body and try not to let my ambitions drag me um um in a mental space where I can't enjoy what I do because it's so difficult to do any of the things. It's so it's so I have to teach myself in new skill sets, writing and directing and producing all these things just to do the one thing I was good at, or I thought I was good at which was was acting.

But it turns out I'm good at a lot of things. I'm a good entertainer and I can tell stories. So there you go. Thank you for that, Thank you for saying what you said. Stay in your own body. Everybody's level of success is different because I don't want to be this the most famous training or the I just want to be happy being Flame Monroe and I want to continuously work now. I don't have to have an Oscar Emmy or not. I just I want to be to Sam Jackson, Sam always mess success to. I just

need that. Thank you for that. You know, Erica, that whole situation us being black in Hollywood, and woo I sell. I see that Will Will showed us that he was human. Thirty five years. Will has been the good house Negro. He has played by every rule they asked him. He made one minor infraction, nobody died, nobody lost the limb, nobody went to jail. And I'm telling you we, as a people I'm talking about black people, are ready to just discard this man. I don't like that. I don't

like that, but it's ingrained in our DNA. Just like you said back from the slavery days. The only reason they caught us, let me go right way back. The only reason we got caught was because they caught one of us that told on all of us. Because we are such an ingenious people. We were hitting in the woods. The dogs couldn't even send us, couldn't smell us. We

were smart people. But you caught chicken, George, and gave that nigga a piece of chicken, and say wait, they at he brought you to us, y'all gave y'all took the chicken back, took us and took that nigger. I'm just telling you we do each other in more than

they do us in real talk ship. But the point of the black and brown women missing Erica, thank you for caring, Thank you forward speaking, Thank you for using your platform to make a bring awareness because a lot of people don't know and a lot of young black sisters need to understand that because you think that they're

you're free, and they will set you up. They had a van here riding around and Long Beach a couple of years ago, a white van, and they will have a one white girl coming to ask you questions why the van was close so then she would grab you and pull you to the van. The van will come up as nasty girls up. Oh. I walked around with my hand jewelry all day long with my daughters because hear me when I tell you, I will go to prison for man, I've been there before anyway. Plus they

kick me out anyway. But it was such a scary situation, and more people need to You need to enstave of fear in your children. Not fear that something can happen, but not fear that something will happen. Did but something can happen to them. So I scared the ship out of my I did. I scared the hell out of my daughters. But like Jane says, they keep their head on the swivel. Now they're very aware of what's going on around them because it's not right in front of you.

Sometimes it's behind you, it's on the side of you. Oh that's boom, there it is. I'm gonna put that on. I'm gonna put that tattoo right on my titty. Things can be closer. This is laughing, Leert. We still gotta laugh, y'all. Ship, we still gotta laugh. Erica, do you have any children, I don't. I've got children, don't not of my own? No, did you ever want children? I did. I did at some point, and I had issues, you know, five ways and all sorts of other issues. But you know what

I got. My friends gave me their children. So well, wait a minute, since you're taking is wait wait a minute, since you're taking kids. I got a fifty year old I'm just she partty trained and everything. You who don't

be girl? If I showed you all this gray up under this blonde, good god, this this was This was so important for people to hear and understand that just because you're an actress, just because you're a celebrity, things that that resonate with their farm a celebrity before they are here from their own parents, because they will trust it more because you're your star, your celebrity. So I love the fact that you are transferred this information, which

is what laugh and learning is about. We transfer information on this page, and you gave us so much information and so much inside Erica, and I just I just love you. Let me just say that, I just love you. I loved you from the day we interview. Don't care a hunter though, what I love you too? Quote I love you, but actually, you know what, I'm not even kidding. I've seen all your breakfast club I've been Um, I'm saying for real. I know you won't believe me what

I hope you do. And I and I look forward to not only success, but I just I just love you. But I think that you are absolutely one of a kind energy, just so smart, so smart, you know, and um, amazing just power. But also there's such a beautiful gentleness about you that I just adore. So I just think that you're gorgeous in every way. And thank you so much for introducing laying to the world. Girls. Stop talking, keep going, girl, keep going to order. You're with a

doctor order. You're like to me, You're like to me this centuries new sort of like, um, you know, if somebody's not a bad signal, flame to the rescue with you. Thank you, Erica, and I hope that one day we can work on a project together, because I would love to be like Maxine Shaw's the big brother. I could be the big adopted brother. Your mama gave me up and then you came to a club and saw me, and I realized, girl, that's my mama. Wait a minute, Oh,

that would be a dope. Eric could because of beautiful women like yourself, Beautiful Black women like yourself inspires me, It up lifts me to be a better and I'm a suit did they always want if you take the time, you have a joining me too. You just because he's antipa spay here that they eat there for it today, a little wherever you can for the poor People's campaign.

Reverend Barber joined that they're gonna be June eight. Can I say this please, superposition of black, brown, white, every color in the world to change the politics on the ground. Let's not just dog our politics it's supports them. Let's get out there and do something about it. Because we can't just look and then just be critical. We have to make sure we put ourselves out there in order to change things. Together, we can do it. I appreciate

the time yere also the opportunity. Before you leave, I want to ask you, because now you just open up my man to ask you a question. Have you ever considered jumping into the world of politics. We need more black sisters. We need more black people period, but we definitely need more black sisters. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it. You know, a couple of people have asked me and honestly about it, and expect one of my mentors, Hillary Clinton. She said, I love Hillary politics.

I love her. I love her. People don't even understand. They'd be like, you don't know, I said, know, you don't know because you can never back. Don't debate me about Hillary. I'm like, I'll be like, I'm one of her most travel surrogates. And I even um I designed her campaign poster that she used in both cycles, the Hillary poster. But what I have, what I love about her, and what I love about anybody like her, is the fact that people don't think the strong women need support.

And I say strong women need most support. That they take it all on themselves, and they make it seem like it's all like what it's like what they're doing. I think, you know, I don't possibly do it. Show what I've loved out because a lot of people need. You. Tell my girl Hillary that I said she would have want if she had showed her a little more cleavage.

All she had do with show a little bit of cleavage, hey, and tell her I know that she think that she was the strongest white woman in the strongest woman the world. But tell her she learned the great value of lesson about how to stand by her man from from Corretta. Cause Corretta knew all Martin's bull bs and she's still about her man quietly. That's what Hillary learned. I see

it to tell her. I see it yourself now, you know I would love that, Eric, Eric, Ladies and your mix the noise for my wonderful guest today, Miss Erica Alexander, Erica the Great Alexander Maxine Shaw Attorney. Girl, Let me tell yourself. Was that your booty on the show or did you stick your booty out because that booty used to be high and stuck out. Was that your booty? It was at your walk? That was my booty. That wasn't good. Don't be over here testing turning on my chime.

You know I'm a boy up under here. You better stop. I'm gonna take this week off with her to a player. You better not get off. Erica, thank you so much. You are wonderful. You are a wonderful woman. You are an inspiring woman, and we appreciate you. Thank you so much for me and my flame match, We appreciate you. Thank you for joining me for laughing. We'll talk. I love you, appreciate you. Bye, lady Jim. Y'all makes a noise for my very special guest, Erica Alexander. She was

so wonderful. I missed my Lauren today, but she will be back next week. I want you guys to follow Erica the Great Alexander on her page on Instagram and listen to all her projects. I hope you guys took in all that she was sharing with us, especially as far as young black and brown sisters missing in this country and black and brown women period. Because everybody is somebody's mom or sister or cousin or somebody that was wonderful. I appreciate you Flame Mess for being and thank you Jane.

You guys know I could not do the show without you. Thank you my boy Kenda. Y'all, y'all send up some hards for Kendall. I appreciate you. I will see you all on Love Lounge tonight. Thank you for joining us for laughing, learned. The tickets for d C for my birthday Laugh the Live, Laugh and Learn are still on sale.

Go to the DC Comedy Level website, which is July fourteenth. Also, we're doing four comedy shows on the fifteenth to sixty Jamaica Joy and hopefully will be joining me on the fourteenth, So I appreciate you. Shout out to Charlemagne for giving Erica and and Kevin Hartford giving her a space and a platform to get out this information to teach, to show the world what's missing because we don't make the public, we don't always make the news, but we can make

the news with each other. Lady, this is laugh and learn and the well this show. We are not here to change get you to change your man. We are simply trying to get you to use your man, because in order to use your man, you have to have a mind. Independent and critical thinking falls on you. You cannot let nobody else make a decision that is going to impact your life on you. It has to be your decision. So thank you so much for joining me today.

My name is Slaymon Bro. My co host Lauren Hogan is not here today, but she will be back next week. Please follow her on Lauren Hogan on YouTube or on Our Money h on Instagram and I am at Monroe Flame on Instagram and Flame mon Role on YouTube. But download the audio on Under the Black Effect Network on I Heart Apple, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you listen to your podcast. This is what we want you to do. We want you to listen to the audio because that's

where we get our money at. But we do the video because we want you to see who we're talking to and see the voices that's coming out the faces. So thank you guys so much. I appreciate you here at Laugh and Learn. I will see you out next week. I'm going to fix my glen Close head. Don't look like I get on the glen Close hair from uh fatal attraction at the Michael, what's the name? Beat our ASSU tell I'll call your wife? And then he snatched? Oh I got the snatch. Look. Thank you flame, Matt.

I love you guys. Peace. Don't miss an episode of Laugh and Learn. Listen and subscribe on the Black Effect Podcast Network, I Heart Radio, app or wherever you get your podcasts. Laugh and Learned podcast is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. Our ejecutive producer, It's Tiffany Hattish. Our theme music is by the one and only Christie Payne. Thank you guys. This is Flaming Roe. Don't forget to laugh, listen and learn