A Guide to Online Misinformation

This is what Charlemagne's been talking about, is what we've been talking about. So it's so dope, you know. Shout out to my heart for giving Charlemagne the opportunity to partner with them, and then of course our dope family and our Women TV for bringing us to you in living color. Uh. There is so much happening coming out of this presidential action. I think the internet has I don't know, I'm sort of turned off from the Internet because it's just been so much drama and it's been

so um just I don't know. It's like a lot of the troll and the I don't even know if it's trolling. It's the hate that you receive. It's um you just gotta think about it when you when you think about who Donald Trump is, what he represents, and you know him being the president of the United States, it just started going downhill. Just brings out the worst in everybody. My ded listened to me. My page, it's

like a war zone. It is your comments. Sometimes I go in, but I gotta it's like double Dutch, Like when I go in, I gotta be like you're going in, you gotta be ready for real. Like I remember men the sales posted something on my page and she wrote one comment and it was like a thousand comments, but

she damned me, like it are relentless. Look, it's like a jungle with this is World War three of you a second tone for that by the way in which you um represent yourself sometimes on your page, first of all, you get yourself into the most controversial topics ever, which what you like to do, because it does help you to be able to bring attention to some of the other issues, like the deeper issues involved in all these

different scenarios. But it's just be some stuff like you know what Mike is, just just miss it, like missing for if I miss it, I would miss it. If somebody else is gonna catch it. Yeah, but well but you know nobody else. The reality is the rest of our lives and not danger. But you make us tired because then we gotta go in there. Then people be tagging me like, yo, do you see what he's said? And I gotta go in there and fight with people. And sometimes I got to go in there and fight

with you. It's a lot your comments is it's really serious in my comments. If you go on and say any it's like that on your page to did you say something bad about me? Some days I don't have to say anything because people just tear folks. But I just think during this election and all of the things, I think it was just way. I just think that the level of the Russian boots and trolls that came out of nowhere, that just coming. But they're not. But yo,

these people are not all just bots. That they may be trolls, but they're not all just bots. Because I know for sure you know and you've done it too. I pressed the little request thing and let people in to get their perspective, and a lot of times, even somebody that called me a bed wench one time, I let him into my page and let him tell me his feelings. He was a real, live person, and unfortunately for me, Yes, there are women who come on my

page who disagree with me a lot of times. It's the same Hayte and broad as far as I'm concerned, it's somebody I know that created a fake page and they say and things that they would never say to my face as their real self, right, so they what they want to make a page so that they can say it. But it's cute, you know, you're paying attention

to me. I get it. But you know it was a lot of black men, like I'm just I gotta tell you, of course, And you know, maybe listen, I'm sure white people and white men also trolled me, right, And I see that, But it doesn't bother me in the same way when I see a brother challenging me, asking you know, or why we've in my head and you know, you know you ain't a real black woman. If you were, we've mind you as people that have natural here that don't do what we do every day.

So I don't think that you can determine people's authenticity based upon what they were or whether they want a strip of pole at night. And you know, everybody has the right to care about their community. So I had that. I told you I had the bed winch comment. I get called a bitch on a regular basis. Throughout this election process. The level of division that has been aired out on social media among people in our community has been really painful. And so today's topic is social media.

Is it a friend or folk? Because you know, we love it, but then it loves to hate us sometimes as well. And social media causes young people sometimes to commit suicide. It causes breakups and families, It causes a lot of stuff. I was just watching um, you know, just not long ago, where Safari and Eric Amner was like having they were fighting on the internet and telling he was talking about he was a bachelor, and he

had to come back and say he apologized. I don't even understand why y'all's personal business was on the internet to begin with, that you even needed to apologize to the inside. What happens is, I think the internet it's too easy of access, right. I think back in the days, all of our ancestors and civil rights activists and actors, they had something to say, they was thinking ship they'd be in the room and they'd been cussing, right, and they like, you ain't gonna go off, and they got

ten minutes to think about it. When you're in your room and you piste off and somebody that says something about you on Instagram and you can immediately respond to that, and you probably got a couple of drinks in you, it's a very it's a very dangerous situation. Like you gotta talk you you know what many times that I gotta talk myself off. I'll be right this. My new thing is I just write full comments. I say that's him, this and that f you and this and that, and

then I just deleted because I wrote that. I said, I wrote it, even though I don't send it. I mean, I'll tell you to shud a bit. But I'm so the respectfulness. See. The thing is when I was the old used to be like SMD. You know, no, you used to say the full word. The new my son, right, that's MD, I invite you to the frank stand No, I was gonna ask you the eggplant. That's what I tell you, the egg I say you can. You're welcome to go to the frankstance. You know what I'm saying.

So this is I don't really engage. And I say it very politely. I said, yes, brother, thank you, You're welcome to go to the franksta and if you want to get a couple of franks as many as post. That's what I'm talking about. It's just that then you know what they do. They don't from my pain dude from over there, because he's telling people, you know, people like this, to sit there, go to the room and they get their fake gun and they put the boar paint on and put their sneaks. You get a knife

and i'ma kill you. I'm gonna kill you. And they don't even go having. These people they don't go outside. We never see them anywhere. I've got so many beef with people and I'm everywhere and everybody i've seen just give me hugs and kids, and I love. What you're doing with the internet will make you think there's a

million people just trying to It really to me. One thing I will say though, during this election cycle, it was super important that people went to early vote, and it's so many people that didn't even know early voting was a thing. And I think we did a really good job alongside all of our allies like that towards that tour was instrumental in in ellection, right, and I don't.

I don't think nobody because when we look at the states that we visited, you know, people turned out and people turned out, and you seen how it reflected in the election. Very instrumental. And it was a nonpartisan election, I mean a nonpartisan get out the vote tour called state of Emergency. We are slogan was if y'all don't vote, they will kill us. And that's real and wow. But fearmongering happens every single day. And I think the Democrats

and Republicans, it doesn't matter, they all use fearmongering. Sometimes fearmongering is called truth telling, right. It's just it's really forecasting for folks what could happen if we don't take action. But what I will say is that based upon the campaign that we use. So this is when social media was a friend to us. We were able to get

over a hundred million people. And I'm not saying just us, but the collective effort of everyone who was out there to Roland Martin's the Angel Rise and just all the people Linda and an Angelo and by the way, we have to give a shout out to wote vote our partner and italire crew everybody and vote and you got

to go follow woll vote. But the collective work of all of us telling people to go vote early had me a little shook because on election day when we were in Michigan and other places and we were like traveling around going to the polls, we were like, why is there no one online? But come to find out people had already shown up and guess what, Michigan not

only showed up out for sure. So you know, it is definitely a friend at friend anafo at times, but that faux period can be really really dark, and you have to really you said something like social media is not real. It's really because it has power. No, But the thing is, it only has the power that you give to right. You understand what I'm saying. What what I know right is that every time somebody says negative things about me, it doesn't affect me. It doesn't stop

me from thinking. It doesn't. We'll talk about that enough. You can listen to me. Do you ever see me stop talking? I see you. You don't know you know what I see you do? I don't see you stopped talking to uh. In other words, I don't see you get to a point where you don't use your platform. But what I do see you do is stop talking to all the humans around you and spend too much time focused on that phone and having your energy into responding to messages and going back and forth with people.

And if it's not bothering you, if it's not as important, then the human interaction would not be impacted so much by your relationship to your cell phone. Well, I don't think it's I don't think it's the human interaction is effective by it. I think it's I think it's a time and place, right. I think social media has become a way that we have gas our voice. As you know, we're on the front lines and we do the work

in the streets, but I think social media has amplified it. Right, So I think when we in periods that I know that our voice needs to be amplified, or I know they are specific subject matters that need to be talking about regardless, and I'm gonna get and I know I want to people were too follows just going in. But what I do appreciate, I appreciate to give that even

if it's a troll, even if it's a body. They say things that provokes conversation, and your response exactly is there as well, So somebody who's reading it, who may be misinformed by the first comment will therefore see a follow up. Still, I think we have to be careful how far we go down into the rabbit hole. And that brings me to my thought of the day, because this is something that I am literally really just trying to understand. Why do people follow folks that they don't like.

I don't understand you follow me and you come to my page every day to complain, to talk about me, to say that I'm gonna sell out. I'm I'm paid by the Democratic Party. By the way, the Democratic Party, they were staying as far away from me as possible um during the election process because we too radical, you know. Towards the end, when I think people begin to realize that they needed voices like mine, yours and others, they came around. But the establishment, if you will, of the

Democratic Party that's not like, that's not my crew. Those people don't you know, I'm too radical. Matter of fact, we got kicked out of a debate and they put us and they put us on they kicked us out and put us in a block because we screamed fire pinout dragged us out a little bit. Pant Leo got fired and the Blasio got his ass or for that, President, you're here, you need to fire the cop in your own city before you go try to be the leader of the cops across the country. But anyway, that's a

whole different conversation. But I just don't understand why people be on my path. Let me tell you what it is. It's a guy that was all types of crazy stuff the videos. Brother, what your issue with me? He's like, you don't have it. You just called me, So I kind a phone with him. He was like, oh my god, I can't believe it. Really on the phone, he said, I can't believe you, like you're really here? Oh my bro,

what what are you talking about? Swim? I'm never gonna say anything about you, but sometimes, But what I'm just trying to tell you is that is the original premise.

This is the premence. We've seen other situations which we won't talk about on air, as when you've seen people that were in different positions that were talking about how they was fans and they've seen you at VT Awards and and you were supposed to be doing this with me and all this people have, they would coome fanatics, you know, they really they really want to be fans

and friends of you. They want you to just engage them, so they get on your page just looking for any It was a guy that's come my page every post and I didn't understand him, and then I went to his page. He actually was We've repostings that was positive about me, and I'm like, this is the weirdest stuff. I think. I think a big part of it is that people don't have anything else to do with their time in their lives. They're sitting in their homes, they lonely,

they have no friends that tempt to tell them. Like you know how when you go to an Instagram post and you see the comments, like the preview of comments, you can see your friend, the person you following made

a comment. There's a girlfriend that I have that she's on everybody's comments, and because she's my friend, I contacted her to say, I just want you to know that you were in everybody's comments talking and I keep saying it, and you know what, she stopped because she was like dang, I didn't realize, yes you on this one comment trying to you and what she was doing was trying to get noticed by celebrities, right, so she going into celebrity pages and just be talking all the time. And it's

really it's a sickness. The Internet can turn into a sickness. And if you're not careful, even a person who is stable in terms of you know, you got fan when you got income, you got all of that, you can get sucked into it in a way that it actually damages. You have to decompress you. It can damage, but it can actually damage your brand, which brings us to the

branding expert that we have coming up. I'm so so super super duper excited to be talking to a queen somebody who is a trailblazer and just the leader in the branding and social media influencers space. Um, you know, a marketing strategist and all those good things. You say, she's czar in the hip hop world from a business perspective. Yeah, So we're gonna be talking to our dasis, the Karen Cibol today. We're gonna get some jews from the CEO CEO.

I just you know, I just in all of Karen tool like she didn't probably remember the first time that I've seen From the first time I've seen her, I just watched her continue to just elevate and connect to herself. It's different, you know, like our being the gen I would brand experts, the way she bonds, it's not just the same thing. And that's especial bonds. Bond bonds with you know what I'm saying. She call you and make

sure you are right. She you know, she got an idea for you to take your ideas and she takes it to the next level. So that's what the brand experts is supposed to do. So we got we got our own Karen sil I don't I have to give some love to the bond in the family is actually the man, the James Bond. His name is Look, you listen to the names my guy man. I don't like a lot of people with James my guy. So yeah, but was gonna be here with us and we're gonna

get some jewels from her. We're gonna listen to her and understand what does she think about the climate of what's going on in the Internet and these trolls and these cloud chasers and kappers, and then in our activist second then we're gonna be talking to the teacher Wideman who is the sister of Jacob Blake. Every single episode we're gonna try to talk to an activists that's on the ground and somebody even a family remember, and just

continue to elevate voices. Black media is super important so that our stories can be told properly in our people can get the right narrative from the right places that street politicians. And if we don't tell it before we go to the next segment and have our special guests joint, we're gonna take a quick break for our sponsors. That's so. I am just super honored to be joined today by a colleague, a home girl, and someone who I am

definitely so inspired by. Um. You know, she may not know it, but I look up to and admire Karen Sybil. I'm so happy to see you here, says thank you so much for joining us, thank you so much for

having me, congratulations on the show. Thank you, and were like, she's a fan, but I've always admired you, you know, being in the industry and just seeing how you know, what you've done, you know how there's knowing newing the story the better story, to seeing you grind and the way you just pretty much like you say that you are a creator and a CEO, but I think you actually create CEO. Thank you, thank you. Yeah. A medium,

a medium, mobil and branding expert. UM. I think that anybody who does not know Karen Cibil needs to do some work and also follow the tips of the day to learn how to uh, you know, strategize on your own career. And again, I think what my son says, it is so true that you, Karen, have been able to sort of charge your own course. Like you know, I don't know many people like Karen, Sybil. You definitely stand out in your own state. So that's why we

wanted to talk to you today. Election was crazy, presidential elections. Still dealing with the remnants of this election. UM. And you know, one of the things I think we recognize the most is how much social media plays a role in everything that we do. Was certainly in the presidential election. UM. And you know, we just recently had a conversation with the young sister kJ which she went viral. While speaking before a police council. She was kind of like you know,

she was giving it to him. I don't know if you saw the video. She was all over the internet of course, and um, but now you know she's dealing with intimidation from the police force and threats and other things. Uh, you know, and that also comes along with going viral. So it's such a you know, it's a situation where it can be good, but it's a catch twenty two because you always find yourself on the other end of

the sword sometimes. Uh. And so I just wanted to kind of talk about thinking about this election, like what is what what should be or should we not be doing on social media with a situation like kJ. I loved her utilizing her platform. Unfortunately, the backlash of you know, police and officials, they're they're embarrassed, and you know, I don't I don't think they thought, you know, a lot of the times that our voice is gonna be so loud, and they didn't think that that was gonna be so

social and prominent. But I'm glad that she was able to utilize her platform like that because that's how we find out what's happening in certain communities, and that's what I love about, you know, social justice and people who are utilizing their platforms in these ways because unfortunately CNN and Fox aren't telling us about our community. It has to be us telling each other. You know, how you vote and your organization utilize and tell us what's going on,

how we can help, what we can do. And it's great that there are people on the ground. So with that situation, I wouldn't tell her to do anything different. It's it's unfortunately when you use that your platform in that way where you know they you you eventually have a target on your back. But use your platform, and that's what it's there for to do that. And if it's something that you really love and it's something you really want your tomdiity to know about. You know, I'm

a big believer in the power of the tongue. So when I saw on Twitter and she was like, you know, they're trying to kill me, I'm like, listen, let's figure out a way. Hope you know, she gets with her team to figure out a way too, to help with that situation, to make sure that she is protected. But let's not speak this into fruition that something's gonna happen to you. Um, you know, you've been so successful that using utilize the social media. Have an artist utilize social media?

You know, there's there's such things as tolling right there, you know. And I see so many artists and just different individuals who just utilize social media and I don't think they even think about what they say. I just think they just tried to give reaction and it actually works. You know, what do you what do you say about that patrolling versus actually really utilizing social media for something that's you're building a brand or what is the difference

between trolling and just building a brain? Building? Building a brand is you're trying to create, You're trying to create a platform and a resource to help other people. Trolling is somebody who is for self, who wants who's ego driven, who wants popularity, and who's trying to make a moment about themselves. So when I see somebody like Little Pump, you're trolling. You want to to care about your music,

you want to make the selection about you. I don't give a funk about you because it's not about you. Especially when children on cages, people l g B, t q I A plus are having their rights taken away. You are the government and officials are trying to are trying to tell us how how we're supposed to utilize

our ovaries. These are the conversations that matter, not you you trying to get back onto iTunes, because the last time we cared about you was when you did a video with Kanye So those type of trolling is that is that's self serving, that's ego driven, and that has nothing to do with trying to create a community, trying to have purpose or anything else. That's just a moment.

If I was a young person talking to you, I would say, well, I try to do the right thing on social media, and I have two hundred followers, but the trolls seem to have thousands of people who follow them and want to see that content. So how am I going to be able to create the same interest but using things that are not even just socially conscious, but just not being an idiot on the on the ground,

you know. But it's like it's with those type of situations, how long those followers aren't engaged with you because they really like you or like they're really interested. It's just your entertainment for the moment. They don't care what happens to you after this there's no real substance there. And I always utilize this quote where I say, never step over a dollar to pick up a nickel, and that dollars your your integrity and just your moral compass and

things that are your values. You know. It's just like that's more important than a million followers. I'd rather have a thousand authentic followers who will engage with me, who will actually, you know, um, if I dropped something, purchase it, you know, really support me. We see it now there are people who got millions of followers and they can't even crack the top ten on the Billboard charts. And I think that's what one of the things I've been

warned about. You just watching how you were able to see, like, you know, our pity, just seeing that he was one of those artists who was taking along run that wasn't gonna compromise, and you utilize your skills it and you took what he had in the way I watch y'all build. You know, I sit and watch people don't really realize. When I watched y'all considered build from step by step, the same thing you deal with you built. It's it's longevity is the conversation and things people should strive for.

When I look at like Nipsey and y G, you know, they're built from a different clause. They understand street codes and they have ethics, and then they come from you know, these are real upstanding black men who just understand and have morals. And it's just like, I'm not about to be on this internet and be goofy. You know. It's like with even with nip there would be times where like website shold him and he's like, Yo, I'm a smack the ships out of you when I see you.

You would find the writer and be like, I'm gonna smack ship out of you and they'd like, yo, it's just the post and he'd be like, no, that's not how it works. I don't like, I'm a man. I am a man on this Internet and off this Internet, So you're not gonna play with me in that manner. So that's a lot that a lot of the time is allowed. Now. You know, certain people don't have guidance and they're so driven by fame. But it's like once you have it, what keeps you there? What what continues

to make you stay in that place? Is just like Okay, you troll to get your way here, but what's the substance behind it? Why are these people following you? Why should they engage with you? Nothing comes from it, and eventually it's gonna joins the law. The thing is, people think followers are fans. Know, followers are not your fans, and they're not your consumers. Yet they follow you because it's free, right, and sometimes their trolls too on your page,

like you've got a bunch of trolls exactly. So it's like you have to figure out a way to turn those followers into um to people who are engaging, turn turn that engagement into your fans, your fans into consumers. So those steps a lot of a lot of people don't take. They just be like, I want to be a troll, I want a certain amount of followers, and they feel like that's all that's needed. But that's not going to keep you to that. That's not gonna keep

you in in the kingdom. It's gonna have you right back in the valley. Let me ask you this question. And by the way, you dropping gems that I hope a lot of young folks listen to because they are caught up in the numbers, and the numbers, as you said,

are not always real. But I had a situation during the election cycle where an elderly person who I'm friends with with sharing fake news, And I'm wondering, what are you saying to your artists and other people that you're closely aligned with about how they should go about research and information before sharing and posting stuff, because everybody's just sharing anything. Meanwhile, some of it is coming from snopes

dot com and Paul's mama did it dot net? You know, and and it's it's it's misinformation that's getting out there that actually influences things like an election. It's honestly having conversations with people, and it's just like listener's information you're spreading is inaccurate. On Facebook, it got to a point on my personal Facebook, I had to delete and remove people that I was friends with from high school, who I engage with, and a lot of the propaganda they

were sharing, I'm like, listen, this is inaccurate. First I would tell them, you know, this is a bit inaccurate. Um, then they still continue to share it and I have to remove myself from that situation because I don't want to keep seeing it, and it's like you can engage and have the conversation and tell them and presented to them. But sometimes people now are in this space of a

conspiracy theory sounds better than the truth. It's okay to, you know, check your ego and say, you know what, I'm not an expert in this in this space, let me go to an expert and ask is this true? Does this makes sense? Can I borrow your ear and get an understanding. It's okay to to to be humble or to ask for advice and and to understand that.

But I just really hope people understand that the same way we respect the doctors and the loyals, lawyer respect you know, people in this political climate who are fighting for us, who are doing certain things. I'm happy, you know, I didn't protest. I made a sign, but again it doesn't put me to the same level as you, and people gotta understand and respect that too. I want to ask you this last thing and then let you go.

This idea of cloud chasing, because I hear people tell me I'm cloud chasing chasing sometimes and I'm like, okay, I am the cloud. But whatever you know and the chase, you know, so I'm just trying to figure out what

is the balance with this idea of cloud chasing. Isn't that something that everybody has a little bit of it or is it just something that people throw around to be able to avoid dealing with whatever the real issue is that's being discussed, because that's what I usually hear is that if I come out and speak against um, you know, a product, a brand, then they're like, oh, you just cloud chasing and trying to get trying to

get acknowledge. Okay, so I'm gonna I'm gonna use this as a reference when it comes to both of you. There's no cloud chasing. You've been doing this for so long and setting examples, whether people understand it or not, whether you were making a million dollars or or not, or whatever the case may be. You're doing this because you care about our people, and this is a known fact.

You're really in the streets handling stuff, literally moved, you know, to an area to make sure that I need to protest and be there because I don't want to be getting off a bus a plane. I need the people to know I am on the ground and I'm here for you, and this is not even you telling me this, it's me witnessing it and seeing all the stuff you're doing on social media with your team. Beyonce acknowledges you. You know why, because she sees the work you're doing.

You didn't go to the You didn't go to the booth and say, Yo, drop me in this six team quick. You didn't ask for that because you have people engaged and who want to hit you, and it's just like, Yo, what's going on. I want to be a part of what you're doing. The thing that works for you is you're not running to people. They're coming to you because they see the work that you're doing is very authentic

and it's you. That's what separates you from other people who are out here cloud chasing because all of that is very self serving that it's driven by ego. You are driven by love and purpose and change and progression for the community. Those two don't add up. So whoever is doing that, you might want to send them back to school because obviously they don't know how to add we appreciate you school. Yeah, that was a whole That was a whole lecture, right, Yes, y'all get the messages

y'all can send them my way. We want to appreciate. Yeah, the work that you do is phenomenon. I've just I've been a signing just watching you. Any artists that works with you can attest to where you career. I busily see that. So I just want to celebrate you. And I was right now, thank you you're no longer behind the scenes. You are they want to make something of its. Appreciate, right, we said, thank you for taking the time with us. Appreciate anytime we're gonna need you, We're gonna need you

to help us without strategy. I'm here. I'm here. You know we're talking yesterday, so I'm here when you guys are right. All right, that was pretty cool. I mean, obviously Karen has a wealth of knowledge. You know, she's a legend in her own right. We know what she's done. But it's, you know, conversation we always sort of come back to this idea that black women. It's like, you know, what do you do? Are you really qualified for the

job that you had? But we know that you know, she's really an incredible voice, that she also has a lot of character. Because you know, when you meet Karen, if you don't really know her She's not going to just be super duper friendly, which I understand because there is so much negative energy out here. But as you get to know her, you know that she's willing to help im and she's been supportive about organization until freedom, uh you know, steps right in and it's always super

strategic in her thinking. And so I love her Definitely. She's a dope personality when she's when she's done the contributions that she has to hip hop, it's not even known, but you know she's been behind the scenes. But now, like you said, she is the scene. So that was definitely that we could have talked to her about. Because branding in itself is something that she does. And how she's able to align brands with social good with artists and entertainers and athletes, that's such a it's a skill

like everyone doesn't have it. And how she is able to do it while allowing the personality, if you will, to be authentic is a whole other conversation. So we've got to invite her to come back. How is she gonna do it for us and talk to our sistem but of course our super branding expert, LaToya LaToya Bond who who is that LaToya Bond? Who is lat my manager. Toya Bond is the manager extraordinaire. She's the mama, she's the big sister. She runs the show. LaToya Bond Is,

She's a queen and we love her to death. I'm so, you know, happy that we continue to do this segment dealing with activists in our community, people who are on the ground across this country. And today we're being joined by a young woman who is she saw to serve as dual roles. She became an activist with First of all, we're gonna talk about it, but I'm sure it was already in her spirit, so she wasn't on the ground. She should have been, because you know, you can hear

it in the passion that she speaks with. But she certainly got thrust into the limelight, unfortunately as a victim of a family member of a victim of police brutality, and that is Jacob Blake who was shot in the back by police officers just a few months ago. He thank god, he lives. Um he was paralyzed, but he is, he is not um deceased. And unfortunately, too many times the hashtag is that this person is no longer with us,

and that didn't happen in this situation. UH. And so it's really good to be joined by this young woman who is now using her voice not just to talk about her brother, but also to shed light on other families and other situations that have happened across the country and things that are happening in her local community. So I'm so excited to have the teacher Widman to join us again, the sister of Jacob Blake, who had lots to say. And I know because I talked on her

on a regular basis. The teacher, thank you so much for being with us on street politicians doing today. Hey, hey my son, Hey Tamika, thanks for having me. UM. I do want to get any opportunity I can to UM make my voice heard. But I definitely was into activism way before my brother was shot. UM. Actually my family caused me a teacher X or my next junior. UM, I've been protesting for a long time. I did a black uh a Black Lives Matter of protests in Evanston

some years back. I had my free double Dutch class at Falls Park District in North Chicago. UM. I was doing gardens with the kids on my block, we would do community clean up where we would just go and take all the trash. And I live in a neighbor hood that we can call, I guess the hood. I just was doing my own little projects. Anything I could do to get my hands and something to benefit my community and the children, the youth in my community. That's whatever.

That's what I was doing. But that's so important, right because some people think that being an activist or being an organizer means that you have to be on the front line marching and protesting and you know, being arrested or or or committing acts of simple disobedience in order to get your voice heard. We don't often consider what it looks like to take care of your community, and how activism also lies in the idea that we have to be internal about our fight just as much as

we are external. Yeah, definitely, And a lot of people forget about that part. Um. They show up to the protests and they you know, or they're writing, they're doing whatever they're doing, and then whatever, whenever they get back home and everything settles down, they kind of like forgetting. They go back to their regular life. And before my brother was shot, it was always something on the forefront of my mind, and I felt very compelled to do something.

I just didn't know what exactly I could do or I should be doing, and so UM, I just you know, put myself in different positions to serve. Actually, how I started doing the Double Dust program, I was serving the elderly people at a park opening in North Chicago, and Um, the treasurer of North Chicago walked up to me and he was like, who are you? And I was like, I'm just so a ticture. Um. He's like, what do you do. I'm like, I'm I'm a barber. He was like, I need somebody to do a free program at my

park district. I was like, well, I'll do it, but if I do it, I need a favor from you too. And he was like, what said? I said, I need funds to do a free Black history class in North Chicago for the kids. I'm all with, you know, activities, physical activities, but these kids need to learn their educate their history. Um and he and he was like Okay, we gotta deal. So that's how I ended up starting the Double Dutch class at Frost Park. And I thought Double Dutch was a great idea because we used to

back in the day. You ride around in a black neighborhood in the nineties and the eighties, everybody was playing double dutch. You know, these kids nowadays, they're they're on their cell phones, uh sending pictures to boys and stuff. They're so hooked up in that stuff. They don't even go outside and really enjoy being a kid anymore. So I was like, we gotta bring that old school stuff back, and you know, and I think double Dutch was a

great way to do that. It sounds to me what I'm hearing, and after meeting your father, Jacob Blake Senior or I think it's an incredible voice, strong, passionate group of people you are. And I hear you talking about your community work, cleaning up the community, working with young people, double dutch, being an activist in your own right, And then I see what your brother was doing that day, going to deescalate a situation that took place in our community.

That's exactly what we ask our men, uh and just people in the community in general to do. Here there's a problem, step in and try your best to to to stop it from becoming a bigger problem. And and in turn, the way he was thanked, if you will, by the police and the authorities was not only to shoot him and almost kill him, but then to try to criminalize and afterwards. Yeah, and we definitely are calling for black people to hold their self accountable for our communities.

We have to police our own communities. We have to run for UM a seat in our own cities and UM and states. We have to get out and vote for these people that run. We have to represent ourselves. We have to look out for our own children. We have to look out for our own dollars. We have to spend our money in our communities, and we have to stop letting our money leave our community for its circles even one time in our community. So we definitely we can sit and talk to you all day. We're

gonna have you to come back. Thank you so much for being with us today. We appreciate your voice. You know what you're doing, and you have a home at Street Politicians, anytime you want to come back to give us an upding on what you're doing in the local community and nationally. Because you said you're going on the robot until freedoms. Yes, I'm waiting for you to call me to do my internship or whatever. I gotta back getting started. Did I see my love that's my guy. Yeah,

And you know, our prayers and everything is yours. So we appreciate. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Love you guys. Start, thank you, thank you. Before we go to the next segment, we're gonna take a quick break for our sponsors. I love her. I mean, you know, she's super. Listen, she was getting ready to fight me in New York. I don't think she was the other you know, but even she like and I don't mean in a negative way. I think of a teacher is amazing.

But she had a real passive, passionate speech and if you listen to her, she's deep, like super deep. But she was, you know, gonna give her I have a dream speech during the march where we only a rallied, we only had a little bit of time. So glad that we were able to give her an opportunity. It makes sense now to learn that she's actually a poet.

It's so much about these families that we come into contact with as a result of um, you know, some tragedy, and then you find out about the greatness of black folks all over the place, and and it's sad that that's how we're being connected and our family just continues to grow. You think about Sabrina Fulton, you think about Constance Malcolm, the mother of Ramley Graham. To make a Palmer, it's just too many days when car's too many names, Shawn Bell's family and now the Blake family mean Jacob

Blake srs. As you said, he's such a dope guy. Um And I'm happy that we're able to provide a teacher with the platform and we got to do more with her. Definitely, definitely she's going. So you don't get it. I don't get it. You never get anything. That's why I wait, That's why I have a segment called I don't get I don't get it. So I just want to know this. What I don't get is why do dudes that really don't have money flash money on instant? Dudes that really don't have How do you know they

don't have money? Because give you example, we have Adrian Brouna. Adrian, I mean, well, listen, Adrian Brouna has a lawsuit, right he doesn't pay the lawsuit, the lawyer access him. What happened to the money that you had on Instagram. I've seen all the money, he said, my friends, some of my friends sent it to me, somebody linked to him. Now, if you have all this money, paid lawsuit. Yeah. But if you don't have the money, don't pay the lawsuit.

They don't flows like it's not even common sense because you put you put Instagram. This is what I'm trying to say. The Instagram is so dangerous. You put yourself in so much jeopardy with the law, with the thieves, with the stick up kids. Everybody is coming for you. Now you got you don't put money on Instagram that even if you do got it, you're target just money

as in cash. Are you talking about people? Because there's there's a lot of flaunting that goes on on the internet in general, cars, clothes, all that, and then you find out people don't even own the house that they're it's called capping, or as Karen Sibyl says, it is cloud chasing self servant. It's about Yeah, man, I just

really don't get it. I don't think that people are taking the time to even think, like, if you if people are hungry, you show you got Instagram and people most people don't got money and you're putting wads of money. Ten you count on dollars, you make yourself a talking Now. I guess some people see it as motivations. Some people see it as something else. But when somebody don't got nothing, they're gonna try to take it from you. You're saying, you put yourself in home's way. I just I really

don't get it. And I've never been a person to do It's people that do it, and not saying everybody's bad to do it, but I personally don't get it because I've never seen how it really benefited anybody. Everybody that I've seen do it have got theselves in situations, somebody trying to rob them, somebody trying to extort. You know, dudes is doing it. They're selling drugs and and and

the fans. It's not going only dog because they didn't see you put you don't mean times, dudes, I knew it was in the streets hustling, because you know, I'm still privy to knowledge in the streets. You know, dudes, I knew it was in the streets doing wrong. And I see them, I'm saying I knew I was. You know, I just even though you're not in the streets. You still got your into the streets. You know what I'm saying. So well, I'm trying to talk them out the streets.

I know they're still in the streets, so I go to the Instagram page. I mean, listen, listen, listen, the gangster will woke it. It is so at the end of the day, I know you in the street, you know you in the streets doing and you're putting a hundred thousand hours on instant I got the nerves. Ain't got the nerve to say, why comes? That's actually who told on you? You told on you people wearing this

stuff that they purchased in through a scam. And then when you ask them like, well how did you get that? I can't talk about that. You told everybody on the internet about it, so obviously you can talk about it because everybody knows it, and the people you scamp they know it too. But I don't get that one either.

But I will say that unfortunately, you know, I have to bring it to a social justice sort of conversation that poverty has created this sense of um just it's like it's like a drought, like people are hungry people and they want to experience. They want to be seen in a sexy, swab positive light. So they go on the Graham, which is the only place that most people even pay attention to. The Gram is not real life.

It's not your real life. People. People are trying to live their whole life based on the best sixty seconds and somebody else. Just imagine that they're looking at sixty seconds of somebody's life and they said, you know what, that's how I need my whole life to be their life. Ain't even like that. Don't get caught up in the Graham. Don't get caught up in the cloud chase, and don't get caught up in the fake money and the money that they do involved in their friends because it's so oversatural.

But that's what is it? What is it faking? That's what it's called. That's the old. Well it's good, you know,

I don't know this. This conversation today is really good because and I want to like clip pieces of it and make sure that some of the young people, and I live, some of the young people that I know, get an opportunity to hear from somebody like Karen said, who was really breaking down the difference between being a troll self serving and being an actual brand and what it takes to be able to different or else you'll

be running around be a one hit wonder. And I thought it was a real, real good episode of Street Politicians with black effect also being carried by I Woman TV. You know cat Trick, our heart, uh and soul of the Street Politicians brand. Yes, and we appreciate everybody for tuning in once again, thank you for tuning into Street Politicians. We don't always agree. We haven't. We didn't do too bad. I might not. We might not always be right. You might not always right. I might. That's what I said,

we because I'm usually what I using. You might not always be right. We might not always be wrong, but we always are going to be authentic. That's not we own it.