Black History Month with Irv Roland

and there's a lot of Black history that happens all year. However, this is an important month that we do get an opportunity to do one thing that I think it's important. I think if you're a parent who is not teaching your children something they don't know about our history during this month, you're not necessarily even if you're a white I'm not to say you're failing. And that's a good point exactly. I think I said parents, sent you did?

You did? But I just wanted to make the clarification because people would think if you're a black parrent, no during Black Black History Month. I think all ethnicities, all races need to educate your children about Black history. And while we love Dr King, and we certainly don't want to educate people on Dr King. Malcolm X. We love Malcolm X. We want to educate people about rosa parte.

We love Rosamart. But there are other leaders and other figures within our culture that also need to be acknowledged, acknowledged, but also there needs to be some deliberation, if you will, about those individuals. So for instance, if I was a you know, a younger parent, my son he knows, I don't know if he tells people that he knows, but he knows, I would teach my kids about Nat Turner. Right now, that's something that a lot of people. Oh

Nat Turner. You know, he was the leader of a rebellion and they actually did kill some of the slave masters, if you will, But you know what, I don't mean to interrupt you, but for me, right, we celebrate all types of generals and soldiers who have killed millions of people, hundreds of people like you thinking about they've killed thousands of millions if you think, well, so when we celebrate a person who fought against injustice, who was being held

against his will, his life and everything, and wrote and chose to rebel against instructure and people who were actually killing slaves. They were killing slaves, they're being they were harmon enslaved people. Okay, well they were killing enslaved people, and he fought in rows up against that. I don't

understand why that's so controversial. People don't want you don't have that conversation unless there is an intent to cover that up because they don't want you to have that safe ideology again because they plan to enforce their type. I think that one, I think one of the issues for us because I'm just for now, let's just focused on why black folks might not do it. It's a lot of things. You know, we still carry a lot

of the behavioral patterns from the plantation. On the plantation, you could talk about God, you could talk about some you know, peaceful loving individual and and pray to and about that type of person. But you were not able to have conversations about revolution, rebellion, fighting back, or any of that unless use the field need even the field even if no one you weren't allowed. I'm not saying

that it didn't happen. I'm saying you weren't allowed. And so oftentimes you're we get a little nervous about even having those conversations on say, our jobs, because if someone comes up to or goes up to different people and you know, in the corporate space and other spaces and says, you know what, what's happening to us isn't right. Even if you're working at a fool a fast food chain,

you say, well, what's happening here isn't right. We need to either establish a union, or we should write a letter, or we should do this. You have people say, don't say that around massive, like don't let Massive find out that that's what we're talking about, because we've been taught that we're not allowed to have certain types of conversations or else there will be consequences. But for me, black people need to stop being so damn scared man, Like, at the end of the day, you know we've overcome

so much. And when you know something doesn't feel right to your core, if something doesn't coexist with your moral fiber and you're scared to say something about it, Are you're scared to stand up? Like all you actually living? Are you actually no? But and and and that's for me,

like that's a problem. We do exist and mainly existing because for me, like at some point we have to be able to man up, woman up, whatever it takes up to say, Yo, this ain't right, and I can say it is ain't right, or this is right and I agree with this and be able to stand in that truth, to stand on what you stand on, Like why are we so scared to stand on we stand a week? We have pretty much literally built this country, especially in this moment. We have seen the power of

black people. We've seen our vote, We've seen our our tenacity, We've seen our resilience. We have done been through everything that the worst had to offer, and we have succeeded and we have survived and we have persevered. It's no more time to be scared. Like I hate hearing people. Well you can't why you can't say that, say you

don't want to say that. If you say you don't want to say some ship or you don't agree with that, cool, But don't tell me what you can't say as a grown adult man or grown adult woman, don't give me that. I agree and and not. And so I think to your point that we have to be willing to teach our children about all the many diverse facets if you will, of the movement and people who came before us. So that's one thing, but I also think we have to

correct history. If you're going to teach your children about Rosa Parks, you also have to talk to them about Claudette Covid. They have to know that there was a woman who came before Rosa Parks that did some of the very similar things. She said at the front and said I will not move. However, as that was happening, um, you know, there was a decision made by the movement that she wasn't the right person for everyone to get behind.

I mean, this is real, This is an actual decision made because there is strategy to these movements, and it's

unfortunate that that's how it has to be. But there are moments when you have situations struggles that were involved in and you already know that trying to fight for a three time convicted murderer who was killed by the police, and you know something, it's gonna be difficult not saying that we should and we should absolutely if it if it's if it's injustice, it's injustice no matter who it is.

But you know that as a strategist, it is going to be more difficult to win over the people's attention and pull the heartstrings during certain things that Cordet Covin wasn't a convicted murderer, but you get my point that there was a decision made that Rosa Parks. She looked different. I would imagine she was a little she was lighter. At that time, there was the paperbag theory that you know, if you were darker than a paper bag, you weren't

necessarily considered to be in proximity to whiteness. Is what you've been talking about. You know, she had her hair, looked different, she had certain attributes, and she was a person. She worked for the n double a CP, she was in the movement, and so they chose her to be the face of the Montgomery Bus boycott um and so there should be And that's okay, it's okay if that,

I mean, it's okay to strategize. I'm not I'm not taking away strategy, right, but there needs to be during this month if we're gonna if we're gonna have the shortest because the thing is, the key is to get It's like this, right, It's like telling people, wait, we just let us get in the door. Right. We got the best chance to get in the door because I understand that. Understand there's a strategy as certain people that

people accept. More like if you accept if I'm trying to get behind that door, and I'm like you, they know me there, I can just let me get in and I'm gonna bring you in because people told us WI fight for Brianna Taylor because she clearly was associated with someone who was you know, was dealing drugs or was was associated with drug dealing. Right, we can't go convicting the man without knowing. But here's the deal. We

love running towards fires. That's what it is. And I think that's I think that's what our people have to do. And that's why when you look at don't worry, but I don't know. I forgot. I forgot too. But you know, when we look at Briana Taylor and we look at our decision to say, you know what, this is who we're gonna stand behind because we know it's wrong. Our hearts says it's wrong. We know right from wrong, and

we're willing to stand behind that. And the fact that we had that fortuited tidness to continue on and understand the people who are already on the ground who were doing it, and we wanted to uplift their voices. The fact that all of us came together and say this is something that we personally believe that whether you believe it or not, we're willing to stand, die, lose our freedom, life, whatever it takes so that this this woman gets justice. You know, it made the world pay attention, and and

that's a lesson. It's a lesson in that. Listen, do not allow anybody to ski you out of your conviction. Do not allow anybody to tell you. Don't let nobody tell you that what you believe, what you believe in is not strong enough to fight for because they don't see it. Your your will. The mind is so powerful man, when you will things that exist, and when you believe something so hard, it becomes true. So do not allow black especially black people. We have shown that, we have proven.

I believe millions of dollars millions. I'm gonna have billions, billions, billion. Listen, I already know I'm I'm a billionaire already. That's that's shame about. Now I'm a billionaire, I'm a multi billionaire. You're looking at a billionaire and making someone's gonna change the trajectory of this country and do it with honor and be a billionaire and give most of that money to my people so they could continue to have intergenerational wealth.

That's who I am. Who what's his name, Bernie Sanders. Yeah, that's what it says there should be no billionaires. But that's what I'm saying. I'm gonna be a billionaire and didn't give it to my people. So ultimately, if you make a billion dollars, you've hurt a lot of people along the way. Well, listen, everybody, you don't. I don't agree with nobody on everything. You know what I'm saying, Like, maybe that was good you you got to I don't

because I believe that. I believe in the theory that some people got to go out and get it and bring it back home. You know. See, I'm saying the bottom line is everybody does not have the wherewithal, the talent, the skill, that everything that is going to take to accumulate massive amount of money. That's not everybody's for ta. So it's like, well, um, Mason told you, oh right, so so our my mentee, I become your mentee. Mary

Patt she's but she's been on the show before. She runs the Until Freedom Division in Georgia and she's an incredible leader. She's been at it since she was eleven. She's now graduated from Trailman. She's us a law student, so she's obviously much older. And her brother, Mason is he owns he's only like twelve years old, and he owns a hot dog business. He actually has a facility, so it's not like he's selling hot dogs out of

his house. He literally has a restaurant where he sells hot dogs and he has all different types of products and services around food and once a second location. And mother Cathy was mentioning to be the other day that he's looking for a second location. And Mason thing, which is your point, was that you know what, I've watched my sister. She's out here fighting a good fight. I love that. I'm happy and I'm and I'm a part of the movement too. I'm I'm I'm centered in that word.

But I need to make some money so that my sister is not struggling. And it's so so real, it's so real that he was able his level of discernment at his young age. He's been this is now since he's been about ten nine or ten years old that he's been thinking of ways to make money to support his system. His discernment is so clear that there was a point between her graduating from Spellman, getting in law school and trying to find jobs because she is one

over qualified and she's worked within the movement. And sometimes when people don't realize the challenges of when you work for someone who was high profile in the movement, you may not always be able one to get another job in the movement, but beyond that, to go out and work for a corporation or some other entity, because there's a lot of baggage that goes along with the sacrifices. And so she needed a job and she was able to work with Mason on college campuses. She went out

with him the more House. They sold hot throgs once a week or every few days there. And now she supports him in his business, but she's willing to work. That's right, And that's my point exactly. Like you know, we understand there's so many this entry points into this movement. Especially Black people need everything. We need everything. So this is Black History money. If anything I want to tell you in Black History Month is no time to be divided.

There's no time to say that your methodology or your strategy is better than somebody else's and exile that because we need every everybody. If we're all trying to get to the same place, in the same destination, then it doesn't matter how you get there. We all need to be working together. You know, I hear so many different dialogues and I've I've actually been a part of them where people are arguing me about strategy and why are

you doing this? And why aren't you doing that? And I just say to them, like, why don't you do what I'm not doing? Because I can't do everything. I never told you I could do everything. I'm I'm capable to do. Of doing what I do, I don't believe that I think it is cancer is to tell people not to vote, because that, for me is very problematic, and I know I need to problem I just think that you know what it is for me, I think

it is, but you know what you know? What I say is this, if you can come up with a strategy or ideology in which not voting and makes sense to you, and you're doing something behind not voting, and that whatever you're doing as a result of not voting is pushing us forward. Then that's something that you have to do as a person. That's what you have to do as an individual. I cannot make you believe in

what I believe in me. I believe that it makes no sense to be a part of a system where you don't have any say so over the people actually running system. You're gonna pay all the bills, You're gonna pay your taxes, You're gonna follow every law and every rule, every legislation is that's put into order, you have to follow on. Unless you've decided that you're gonna rogue outside

the government, then it makes sense. Don't vote because I'm not participating nothing the government has And that makes sense to me. But if you're going to participate and be a Sitton of America, of the United States, and you don't have any say over the people who govern the state,

how does that make sense to you? Well? And but but so you said I, and you said if you, because I don't believe and if you, and if you, and if I and the view which is I get your point, but at the heart of that is individualism. That person, you're not just voting for yourself. When you choose to uh, not to participate in this system, you're leaving Ray, Ray and Kesha and those people who come

from our communities behind. Because those that live in public housing, they need to ensure that there are people in office who want to actually help them in public housing that don't want holes and rats and heat or no heat cold in the winter and hot in the summer, because that's what happens in public housing. Those people they need public how hospitals. Now, maybe you have doctors that work, you know, that's your family members that got trail, is somewhere that you can go to and get fixed up,

But most people need the public hospital. The public hospital is controlled by the local politics. So perhaps you can say, I don't vote for president, right, I don't I don't believe in any of these presidents. I don't want to participate in that. I don't remember with that either, Because if you don't show up to the polls at the time when there is a presidential race, there are many other seats down the ballot, right, there are other people running for other offices that you need to be there

to ensure that your voice is counted. And while you're there, you might as well make sure you try to pick the right president for the time as well. So I totally don't agree with any period. But if that's what you say, fine, you definitely should not. And that's the problem with how we raise up our young people, because when we start saying I don't vote, I don't believe in the system, what happens is that young people say, okay, well,

we don't have to do it. They turn it off, and it's difficult to turn them back on when it comes to the local d A, who might arrest them, okay, and depending on what that DA believes their ideologies, you can have hell on your hands if you don't have the right type of person in office. When it comes to city council members that have to do with streets and you know what the street lights and things that's going on in your local community, state senators and otherwise,

it's difficult to turn people off and on. So I think it's cancers for us to say don't vote because most of our people I'm not talking about the few that are living outside the system. They got their own

money that you know all of that. Most people are trapped in the system and they need to be able to walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, we're gonna vote, We're gonna ensure we put these people in office and that we can hold them accountable and build systems that are out side of what we know as America and the American government. It's my opinion. Well, there you have it. Hopefully you've changed their minds of some of the people who say they're not gonna go

talking about thinking. I was thinking, because you know, every uh time we sit down for street politicians, I always think, and there's a lot to think about it. And our guest today made me think about this um and that is what happened to Kanye. Like I know, everybody thinking, you just that's the left field. But it's true though, because we're talking about black history more used to history. Because Kim Kardashian, who you know, I could take girly,

you know what I'm saying. She cool some days, I think Kim's doing something. She looks cute at times. I loved her kids, and you know the whole thing, and I actually appreciate the story of their family and the way that their mother really is a boss chick that is, you know, making it, making it happen for all of them. So sometimes I like them, but I also see a lot of cultural appropriation. UM and you know, I'm not always excited about the Kardashians, but Kim has really been

involved and engaged with cultural appropriation. For me, that they stole ship from black people, maybe stealing ship from black people, steal some ship. Cultural appropriation, especially for the Kardashians, would be to see her in what corn rows and then for her to not quickly let it be known that this I didn't make this. Because people started blogs and UM and other media entities started saying that, oh, you know, look at Kim, she created corn rolls or she's making

corn rolls cool, and she was not quick enough. I don't even know if I ever saw a response from her to say, no, I didn't create this. I took this look from black folks. I was influenced by black women. And you know, tell the story. Use your platform to tell the story about how our corn rolls were actually used to stuff food, rice and other things inside of our hair when we were enslaved. Okay, just you and I believe this, You should use your platform to do that. Well, no,

you know whatever, let's put that to the side. One thing she is doing, it's being very engaged in trying to get pardons for people who she feels has been locked up for too long for crimes, small crimes, or just crimes they committed long time ago. UM And she's

really been a champion for a number of individuals. She used her influence to go to the White House to meet with someone who the rest of us don't get with, but she was able to go navigate that space and a few people have been pardoned as a result of her work, and she's really been engaged. I'm trying. I ain't seen Kanye going with her about none of that. I think you know what it is. I think, first

of all, it's mental health. It's definitely mental health. And I hear that they're working on a divorce at this point, it's not I don't I can't confirm nor deny whether they get intivorce, but that's what I here. But when you look at Kanye, I think what happened was his own cultural appropriation. I think you know what I'm saying. I think he tried to cope UM appropriate their culture right, and he started to believe that he was bigger than

what it is that he came from. You know, there was a point where he had such a message and he had such a grip on understanding, and he was so common. He was just the underdog. He was the college dropout. He represented just the average black man, you know. And it was times when he spoke like that, and I think maybe through mental health, maybe through just success, you know, and and just losing yourself man, that he actually just got so discu nected with the culture and

his own self. And it's so it's so visible because sometimes he comes back, he does Sunday Service and you look okay, maybe, and then he just says and does So I'm praying for Kanye, ma'am. I'm really hoping that whatever he's dealing with that he overcomes, because you realize we're dealing with mental health and people commit suicide. He

does Sunday service. But they are evangelical Christians who who believe in a different type of God, and we we saw them and with this insurrection that just happened last month, we saw them singing and praising their God right outside of the building prior to them going in to literally kill and and and capture individuals right so, and I don't believe that we will go as far as to say that that's Kanye's God, but I know that the god that made him say George Bush doesn't care about

black people. Somewhere along the line, he lost touch with that individual of that that that that spiritual influence. And I hope he gets it back because we see what sister is trying to do. Some people say, well, she's cloud chasing. I don't care. She got some people. If you can cloud chase, you can actually get something done while you cloud. There's people that's cloud chasing, they ain't getting So if she getting done stuff done like that

and chasing chase away. So that's my thought. That's what I was thinking. If I just want to know what happened to my brother, because I felt like the two of them together doing the type could have been man and that and that brings me to what the streets, the streets are wondering right now, if representation is really going to equate to some level of change. We look at Joe Biden and he's just put Jamie Harrison as

the DNC chair. Black man from South Carolina, a Southern black man, Kesha Lands Bottoms is the VP of the check I mean of the Democratic and around they've just been. There have been some other important, important appointments where black people are represented, and a lot of people are saying, yo, well, just because we represented, don't mean they're gonna do anything that has never equated to change people. Are they wrong when we look at this cabinet and say that, I

guess a lot of black representatives. They are black and brown representatives. This is a diverse cabin This is something that we've never seen. Are they wrong in saying that nothing's gonna change? Or should we be hopeful? The streets want to know, should we be hopeful in thinking that this representation is actually going to represent some level change for us? You know, I think that hope is the foundation of our existence, and I don't think we should

ever get to a place where we're not hopeful. I believe we should have hope every day because the God I serve I have seen do amazing things, right um, And so I believe that this is what they say, the same God that got us through the last thing will take us through this time. And I um, I believe our hope is so important. I also don't know, right like everything remains to be seen, whether or not having people like Keisha I call it Keisha because I

know her, but Mayor Bottoms, she's actually the mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. UM. And also Jamie Harrison, who we raised money for. UM. We gave him UM. I know, I did give him money during the election cycle. This year. You started giving money to people during the election, you know, because I realized, man, you know, UM a lot of people that we want

to represent us. That's one of the things that I ever knew, Like, you have to raise money for a campaign to be able to show that you're a viable candidate. So I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna put my coins. I can't disrespect people to get an office. But we give some We give some money. We give a couple of hundreds, and a couple of people got a couple

of thousands. So we want to act like, you know, a couple of people got, you know, and it pays off, you know, So this you know, we I think, like you said, I'm kind of hopeful, you know, I'm kind of hopeful. I want to believe that people who have fought this loan to get in these positions, who have understand the struggle that we have daily every day that get into the actually get into the room and get an opportunity to make and dictate change or going to

you know, to utilize to do something. I want to. I want to believe. That's why I say the world hopeful. I believe I'm hopeful. But the bottom line is we're gonna I'm on your ass. Snell think that both Mayor Bottoms and also Jamie Harrison have been through enough over the last few him running. He just ran for office, and although he lost, I think this is a real good position for him now. Um, I think both of

them have seen enough. And certainly Mayor Bottoms has seen a lot and she actually has received some of my critiques about her leadership and others, and I think that they have developed in a way that will hopefully inform more radical decision making. Because the Democratic Party, now, this thing that the Republicans just did has really really messed up their part. I mean, I don't see how they make it out of this, right, but the Democrats are

just this close. It's it's it's really the whole system is crashing, it's falling apart, and um, and therefore some type of leadership is going to be necessary, and it's gonna take some radical shifting and some real strong changing of the guard and changing of ideas and the ways in which we operate in order to get people interested

again and to get them back to the table. Because no one that I know, and I'm not saying that most people can't do it, but no one that I know ran to the polls in Georgia and door across the country because they were excited about the Democratic Party. They were excited, they were not even excited. They knew there was an imminent threat. They saw the insurrection coming before the insurrection, and so in a lot of ways, people knew that they had to go out and do

what they had to do. But if they had to make a decision based upon the two party system that we have at this time, both parties would we wouldn't have people voting, not not many. But we have a guest, Yes, we have a guest, somebody who's been on the ground, that's always done doing the work, or always invites us, that stands with us, even as crazy as politicians. We really can fill up our shows. My bro. That's that's about bro right there, And he balled. You know what,

he don't look. We bring that's where is the street politicians like the streets like you gotta bring the people. This is one of those brothers man. You know, he's one of the uh NBA train that he trained some of the best players in the NBA. And he utilizes his platform, utilizes influence to speak truth to power, to stand on the front lines with us to fight, you know, and he's become instantly become a brother of mine, like really a brother of mine that I stand by any day.

So listen, before we go to the next segment and have our special guests joint, we're gonna take a quick break for our sponsors further Ado, we have my brother or rolling in the What's going on Earth? I got going on? Man, we get we getting ready to get a bus and we're gonna go down, you know, to about Oklahoma somewhere be the You're gonna look, you're coming with us. Look, he always wouldn't look. That's what I'm

trying to say, always on cold whenever it's time to go. Man, that's the last time I think I saw you, you about three rows ahead of me, sleeping on a bus for nine days, eleven days then, yeah, state of emergency. I saw y'all was in Louisville for Travis. Oh yeah, was at the funerals. Yeah. So you just walked a mighty long way and we laughed at you. I just want you to know, um, we laughed because we know what you want to know all about that. Walked in

the bottom of your feet every night. That's so c neat. Yeah, yeah, that's so. I know your your eggs. You boy, you play ball, but you know that it's a different when you just walking on that pavement. Did you get some mold skin and all that that you're to put it in? I had everything. I had some stuff to keep your feet from blistering. Um. Then I had some stuff for um, you know, keep them shaping or whatever. And then I had stuff because I got a bad hip. I got

I'm hooping. I got a towny achilles broken leg on the other side. So from all this running bad and jumping bad, I got a bad hip. So man, I was all messed up. Now what was happening that you would do that type of put that type of strain on your body knowing that first of all, you're not

a young chicken anymore because we didn't got older. And then you you talk about these injuries from playing sports and to still go and walk that long because we know, we did two hundred plus miles from New York City to Washington, d C. When Eric Garner was killed, UM to bring criminal justice perform packages to UH, to Congress and and and you know, we were fighting for three bills. Shout out to our Justice League family led by Assister Carmen Perez. It was rough. I mean, I had to

get shots in my knees. I've been through a lot, so it had to be a good reason why you hit the pavement in that way. So my brother Julius Jones man, UM. You know, we always talked about how you know, you guys do it more than me obviously, but you know we're always on the front line for people that we didn't know. You know what, it's Brianna Taylor, whoever. Julius Jones is someone that I grew up playing basketball with and against. UM. He was a year older than me.

He was on academic scholarship at the University of Oklahoma engineering major and UH he was framed for a murder in so for the last twenty plus years he's been facing the death penalty in the state of Oklahoma. So I have a friend J. B. Williams, who was a rapper and activists in Oklahoma City, and he had the idea of like, man, look we've been doing marches, we've been going rallies. It's not enough. Let's just walk to

the prison. So we started at the state capital, Okama City, and we walked a hundred and thirty one miles from Oklahoma City, state capital all the way to the prison um State President in Kalistar, Oklahama. That's amazing, man, that's like, you know, we wish that we had people fighting like that for us in all situations. You know. I remember I was incarcerated and I was in there for a crime I didn't commit, and it was days. I used

to write to certain people, you know. I remember I wrote a letter to my judge and she actually replied to me, you know, and she and she said, she said some good things, and she was like, you know, I really I remember your case vividly. I remember she said, I remember a case vividly, and you know, I was just I was bound by my job too. You know, the jury found you guilty, but you know, I believe that you're gonna come home and be uh productive member of society. And I used to always wish that was

people just fighting for me. So I know, regardless of his situation, just seeing that people put that type of energy into fighting for him, I know that gives him some level of energy. Man. I just want to commend you, you know, as it was wild, because it would be time like that first day we hit the gates running like we were a little too ambitious. We out here like were running a sprint and uh, you know it's raining and snowing. My ankles is cooked. I'm out of there.

And then he called, Julius called on the phone and you know he you know, like you said, man, to know that you're behind the walls and people out here giving up, you know, their time, their energy to do this for you. Like his energy woke us up and gave us some strength, man. And so like that kept happening every day and I'm just like, man, it's it's easy for me to sit back and do whatever I'm doing and be comfortable and you know, just be like

hashtag free. Julius gotta be front and center. We gotta do something that's right. Tell me about the other individuals that walked with you. Yeah, So my friend j B. He's a rapper activist and I'm from a city very uh tapped in the community in Oklama City. And then his girlfriend Francy, who's a lawyer, criminal justice lawyer in Oklahoma City. And then two white guys that are close with j B. One Jess Eddie, he's um has a law degree and does a lot of stuffies out there

on the front lines every day with our people. A great ally and m Cody Bass, whom I mean, this dude is just ride or dive. When we had our rally, man he broke down crying because he just every day it just each at him that the situations that we have to endure because the five of us, man, we hit the ground. We didn't want a lot of people because because you all know you you we can't trust everybody. We got COVID still is a thing. So just the five of us hitting the ground, that's like we wanted

to be there, you know. It just we was in Atlanta. We're working on this center race, but we sent all our love man, and we and we just was like IRV is one of us was in the streets. We would just say out of nowhere, you know, Linda Saser and Angelo Attorney Angelo penol Our co found this. We were all in the same are and be Airbnb and we would turn around and be like, how the hell is erv Man? Like anybody check on Earth to day

because we know how hard this. So his family, like, does he have support and what's the goals at this point? Right now, we're trying to get back in front of the Partner pole board and fighters Clintency. Um, There's been a number of celebrities that have come forth and try to fight for him. By Alla Davis did the show, UM The Last Defense on ABC A special. Uh. Kim Kardashian has been in Oklahoma several times to me with our governor. Um Baker Mayfield, quarterback of the Cleveland Browns.

Every Sunday he wears justice for Julius on the back of his helmet, even though the NFL, you know, if they choose not to speak on it, but um, he does that. And so you know our brother Kenny steals Man. Everybody been fighting for him. So we're ho been that once he gets back in front of Partning broad board. UM, we can show them what he can do once he gets out, and how he's been affecting change even though he's inside the walls, and how he can be a

productive member of society. Boy, So are there like petitions or anything that we need to be signed? What do we need to do? Justice for Julius dot com? You can go on there. It has my friend c C. I'll be crazy not can mentioned. R c C is c C. Johnes. She's uh a wife of an NBA trainer on the medical side. He worked with the Oakland City Thunder for years. That's how she got tapped in with it um. But now they're in Washington with the Wizards. But c C took this whole thing to another level, uh,

with the with the social media stuff. So if you go to Justice for Julius dot Com, that's the page she put together and has a whole story, all the documentaries, you can sign a petition and all that stuff. So we've been sharing that like crazy. Well, we're definitely gonna share it, We're gonna sign it, We're gonna do all we can. Man. We I just appreciate you, brother, man. You know, like I tell you about I think one thing about Earth man. From the minute I met him.

His energy is always up. He's always just like a spark in the room. You know. He comes to you, good, bro, he checks on me, just just checking in on you, man, like you need people like good brothers like yourself. And I'm just I'm just happy to be somebody that that I can have the access that I have to a brother like you, man. So I really appreciate you can. I think one of the things that I really appreciate about you is how much you work. Like you know.

I remember there was a moment when we were on the State of Emergency tour. You know, I think people feel it's fun to just be out on the road and that you know, we're like hanging out and we do make it look good, right, you guys work out. Y'all are well trained and um and you know, you look good and we look like we're having great experiences and we make it feel fun and we make it cool. But that bus ride after a while, when you trying to figure out a position for seven or eight hours

riding from state to state. When we made it to um Pittsburgh, we almost died under that awning whatever we it was literally flying up again shout out to our one hood family, just Sirian Celeste x Um. We went. We went through a lot on that role. We went. It was cold, it was hot. It was so many things that we experienced and moments that were really difficult and challenging. And I remember when we were outside of a college in North Carolina. It was after actually I fell.

I hurt myself and so I showed up late. And when I got there, you were like giving out T shirts and and and helping people and really in the mix. And there are people who are around us who hang with us and they they they're good people, but they don't really really get their hands dirty. But that's something that you do. Do you think that you're experiences, um, you know working within the NBA, Like what made you this guy that is willing to put the real grind

into the work? Man? Um? I think you know my father, my grandfather that both ministers. Um My aad is actually an elementary school principal and a Baptist minister. So I think it comes from them obviously in the you know, working in the NBA. For me, I wasn't an NBA player, so I had to grind to get where I am. I haven't. I don't know if I've told job, but like to start in the NBA, I had to work for free, forty fifty hours a week for the Austin Celtics, just to give my foot in the door, you know

what I'm saying. And so if I had to do that for my professional career, I mean it's unlimited. My sign here joking about are we're gonna get on the bus to do this. You know, I'm with whatever. I feel like it's gonna take for us to get whatever we want. I'm with whatever. And so you know that's really my mindset. And you know, when we got arrested with the Louisville Lady seven, I would tell people the group of men and I was in jail with that's what America should be like, should be uh and women.

Obviously it was more of them, but in myself there should be people that don't look alike, to come from different backgrounds, that are willing to sacrifice whatever to, you know, to get our liberation. And so you know that's really my mindset. Being around you guys, being around the rest of the group is always therapeutic for me. Kenny Steals, our brother uh, we have to have him on the show. Yeah, but y'all his season, hopefully they get a couple more

dubs and he can get a ring. But hopefully the Buffalo Bills go all the way. But um, you know, we talked about it all the time in our space, um and I even hit up trade of truth about it invent to him in our space and sports and entertainment. It's it's it's a struggle sometimes to be around these guys that are so far removed from reality, you know what I mean. And I spent more time with them than I do with my family around y'all, it's therapeutic, man,

because it's it's here that you get around people like that. Well, it's it's it's a blessing for us to and it's rare to have people who are authentic as we are, man. And you're definitely one of the real ones they say, real, recognized, real, and you look familiar, Kings. So we're just want to preciate never never, already, well, we appreciate you Earth. You know,

you know we're gonna be on the road soon. We're gonna be doing something, man, so you already know alright, peace peace, see listen man, like, that's what it is. That's what it's about for me. Man Like brothers like Earth, you know that really live a life of service, you know, because that's how I live my life. Like when I it don't be no reason like people, oh you out here, you cloud chasing, don't care. It's like, what does that mean?

Like I don't even know what that means. I see a need like I don't want to see brothers in jail. I don't want to see brothers dying. I don't want to see people sisters being abused. I don't want justice

is to continue to just discard us. And in the spirit of Black History Month, you know, we want to talk about what black kids really means to black people and four black people, like I joked at the beginning by like, we need to have a whole year, but it is significant that we have this month and just understanding that we all have some level of responsibility in

this month. And you know, and I just thought it made sense to talk about that after showing his responsibility, because we know what that moskin, We know what the feet feel like one and thirty eight miles of walking. And there's some people that say, what is that gonna do well doing nothing absolutely and just gonna do nothing. So, you know, I appreciate r. I see Earth's character and I know that he really is a leader. There's so

many UM athletes and others who he may not. You know, IRV is not on the floor every night every game, he's not sung hero of the NBA. But yet the work that he's doing with NBA and NFL players behind the scenes, it's so important because we're always like, who do you talk to? Like when we hear players say the craziest thing you're talking about? Yeah you need you? Like? What since it is black history? Like what should people be doing? What should we be united? Like? What should

we be telling people? Well? I already said, you know earlier that I think it's an important month to really really talk to our kids because so many of our young people do not know history. They don't know anything about it. And that's also because adults don't know it. So one thing that I think people should do is by your book, right, Oh yeah, get my book. I know my rights, that's right, I know my rights, and definitely go pre order to make a Malory's book State

of Emergency. But but something they can actually get this month. My book comes out May eleventh, and I definitely support are Absolutely you should buy a lot of people's books during Smith Absolutely bevelations, Mark Lamont Hill has a new book out. There are a lot of people who we should purchase and and by black, as they say, and also not just by black, but by black intellectualism right trying to learn you something. So I think that's one

thing I think again, educating yourself and your kids. And the reason why I said by your book is because one of the things that I noticed, which you know, it's really amazing to see how well your book is doing, is um it really is. It's and I mean really really doing well. And one of the things we see is that a lot of parents have purchased the book,

especially during COVID while they're home with their kids. They're trying to give their kids a little bit of extra oo and you don't give them things to read, probably to keep them out the way a little bit because there's a lot being in the house with everybody all the time. But they're learning also, and you see parents writing in the comments. I bought the book my kids, we read it together and I learned as they were learning, So I think that's important. I also think you know,

something is simple. It's simple. It might seem a little like okay, yeah to Amica. Fix some things with people that you know that you work with, or other organizations that you might have. You know, people who you know you might not be working with that you know. You should try to see whether or not this is a good time that there's some relationships you just can't restore. Some people you just got to leave them alone and

it's best for you and them. But there are some relationships, and I'm speaking of professional relationship, but this applies to all relationships that this is a good time to have a kind word um to make sure that black people in general, that we we have some level of peace among us, whatever that means. Relationships take on different things. You may have left the job, you may not nest to severely be working with the particular group of people.

You may have had to exit a movement, but it doesn't mean that the relationship has to be so bad that you're now out speaking negatively against one another, you know, publicly doing things that harms other people and the movement. So I know that might you know, be something that's

kind of like as corny, but it's actually important. We were going through too much like when we look at the insurrection and we look at how that transpired, right, and most most of us realized that that wasn't our situation. You know, stand back, stand by, let them deal with their own issues like we had to deal with ours

and you know, chickens coming home and ruce. But in this moment, right, we should be unifying under something else because even though we know that particular situation doesn't have anything to do us, the fallouts from these situations will definitely affect us as black because we look at you know, how the white suprema to see it's now waging war, right, even though it's waging war on its own government that created it, and it's coming, you know, and they have

to deal with that. But we know ultimately when when they get a cold, we get pneumonia. Right, So we have to be uniuniting right now. We have to say what is our strategy because effectively these things that you know, the ramifications of what happened there, will come to our communities, will come to our homes, will come to our doors, or come in our taxes, whatever it is, it's gonna

come to us. So we have to be figuring out how do we unify, how do we strategize, how do we build, how we building black empowerment, how we building black businesses, entrepreneurship, how we educating our own, how we creating a structure within this structure that we are self sustainable because because Romans followed, Because when we look at this, you know, empires fall all the time, and this is

what we're seeing right now. We're seeing the fall of an empire, and there's going to be a new structure, and we have to be able to make sure that we've created instructure OVID. We've been saying it will the country, the world will never be the same, right, so there is going to be some difference, right that it will come out of all that we have seen happening over these last too. I don't know it's been so long

at this point. I don't know it's been forever, but it really has been this four year period where we have learned about the vulnerabilities of this country. We also have learned how much hatred is really out there, because there were a lot of people who up until about George Floyd, maybe a little bit before that, they just really acted like they didn't know. And I'm talking my

folks who look like us. I don't really think they were acting because, you know what, prior to me getting into this movement, to me, like probably eight years ago, like I didn't understand, like I didn't know what was going on. I was in my own silo. It was in my own in the hood, trying to figure out how I was gonna do this, how it's gonna wrap, how it's gonna do things, and how it was going to Uh. You know, I always knew I wanted the

right thing. I would see people dying, but I don't think until Trade Lawnmartin it actually made me pay attention, you know. So there are a lot of people that really just don't don't know. They don't know. And you know, one of the things that happened, I posted that we as black folks need to stand back and stand by

during that. I obviously we got that from the guy, and so I said, we need to do that and not get involved in these people's business because I believe that white folks were having a throw in a tantrum and we need to not be We don't need to always handle the burden of everybody else's fight. We just can't do it every time. But people, some folks took it the wrong way and said, oh no, we can't just you know, ignore it. We still have to deal

We know, absolutely we have to deal with the issues. Absolutely, there will be a fallout. And it's not even a fallout, it's a front end, right. And what the reason why I said it is because when I think about the men, the red men responsible for killing Ahmad are very they are the insurrectionists, the patriots, those because they believe that

they are the right to kill him. They believe that he, this black man, should not be going through our community unchecked, and I should be able to have a citizen's arrest. And he's supposed to listen to me. He supposed to do what I say, and he's not supposed to give any resistance. And if he gives resistance to what I say, I have the right to kill him, because that's what white supremacy teaches. I don't know, I feel like, yes, we have to pay attention, but I actually think it's

a different moment. I think this is a moment that we need to like slide under the radar, and focus on our own plane exactly that plans, because they're not really paying attention that much to us at this moment, and they're more they're caught up in what's on news and with what's gonna happen with impeachments and this and that and all of those things. Is the is the

the mainline focus. And while they're focusing on those things, we need to be focusing on some of the plans, the brilliant plans that are out there about building our own structures, as you said, creating a structure within a structure, um figuring out ways to ensure that our children have the knowledge that they need not just to be a good and successful but also to be black, like black

and black. And that that's why we developed like until Freedom Right, because we've seen a need, We've seen a need in this movement where people like myself didn't feel included. We didn't feel that, you know, we represented what the movement looked like. We didn't come from Ivy League, you know, we didn't have this. See I've been in the movement for so long that I never really agree with you

about this, But for now, that's what I see. But that's what we see or or or you have a church background or everything that you you're done is is quoted. You look at our leaders, Dr King. You know, Malcolm X had a religious back if you don't come from any of these kind of backgrounds. But when he was in we didn't know that. Most of us just thought Marcolm Mix was this this intelligent black man who represented the nation Islam, you know, and he was a brilliant speaker,

the brilliant man. And some of us were just regular dudes from the hood that we knew a couple of words, We can wrap a little bit, play a little ball, and we had passion in us and we wanted to do things. We just didn't feel like we was embrace And that's what I think. Until freedom was for me, it wasn't. I don't but you sign this excuse, but I'm telling you that it was a real It's a

real concern. Now I got dudes, rappers and everything that hit me up and say, yo, I'll be wanting to be out there, but I know I'll be doing this and I don't want to look like a hypocrite. I'm like, what does that mean? What did you do? What you wrap? You talk about with your reality that you've been through, so you can you can't wrap and not want to see if people die. At the same time, again, I

been in the movement longer than you. I have a twenty five year track record of being able to see and understand the movement, but I have more years, thirty plus years of just being around. The movement has always been made up of people who are just as broken as the next person. People who are alcoholics, drug abuses, people who have broken marriages, people who didn't finish school, um, you know, people who came out of prison. All those

things have always been in the movement. The difference between then and now is that we're social Media Number one allows you to show more of yourself in your life, and if you go on there and you're trying to hide certain things about yourself, people can see through it. So authenticity has become much more of a front and center piece for organizing and galvanizing people. So I think what until Freedom is wing that is different from me

movements of the past. It's not that we're different as individuals as those who came you know, as I said, Red was red right, So it's not that weird different. What we are is being more authentic about who we really are and our failures and our and and the things like I always talk about. I like to twork, I'm not perfect. I drink, I do things, you know, And those were things that that was hidden in the movement in the PA. They did it behind closed doors, and we want to do it. I don't want to

do it behind clues. You know, you know I don't. I want to be I want to be accepted. I want to be able to go from a strip club to the march. And I have somebody called me hyocrits. I hope you don't go from this strip club from I don't want to be between the strip club and the march. There needs to be some showering sometimes the times sometimes the marches. You need to leave after all

of that. But the bottom line is, you know, that's what that's what the stripple wants your march sweaties thinking self from the street on her Yeah, yeah, she doesn't. She don't want it, and we don't want to see you when you come from her and her sweaties. Thinking. Bottom line is, man, we want to have a good

time and still be at the fight for freedom. And I think until freedom represents the least of these, those who have been casted out from those who from the streets to the sweets, as we like to say, man. And that's what and so what does the future What do you think the future goal should be for black people?

I think that we have to have a real clear and broad understanding of reparations what that means um for our communities, because people say reparations, and many people as soon as we hear reparations, we think dollars and cents, the forty acres in the mile, and we should we should have land. We should have land. We should have a check. And because we still haven't cash to check. Dr King says to check with say it was coming forward, and he said the check was insufficient, had insufficient funds.

So the check is important. And by the way, Joe Biden needs to write them two thousand dollar checks. Okay, you know right there, two thousand dollars, and don't send fourteen hundred more, send the whole two. I try to check the six hundred thousand. I'm really concerned about whether or not I'm supposed to get that all the ppe you know, I ain't got nothing. Well anyway, I got me a check the six dollars, and I'm really happy to have I needed it. People telling me I could

get it at you good? You know, you go the hood everything. Like listen, I'm telling you get you about twenty rap right now. I'm telling you. What you gotta do is go fill out the phone a business so you could do that. I when I got my six hundred checked, I was like, WHOA. But if I would have received that little two thousand, that's good. So they need to just go on scratch that. Don't worry about that,

just send another two thousand. I'll check out anyway. Most people when they hear reparations, they think about cash money um, and they obviously think about you know, land and ownership and and really basically paying us back for what we've been through and being held back and held down and in this country. But reparations to me means other things. It also means ensuring that the laws are set up

in a way that provides equity to our communities. It means things like retroactively looking at sentencing laws and guidelines and going back and allowing people especially we talked about Gloria Taylor, a woman who's in prison for nine and ninety nine years for selling a handful of cocaine. These are things that we want to see changes made and people allowed to be free to go back to the allives,

back to their families. No elder should be imprisoned if they didn't commit a heinous crime fact, especially for drug dealing or drug abuse, because there are still people in prison not for selling drugs, but for an act that they may have committed that did not include murder or rape or anything like that when they were using drugs, which is now considered to be a sickness because white people are on opioid absolutely, and so we want to

see that, you know, our people are letting our people go. Um. That should be a part of the reparations plan um and you know, and reparations let let our people go. Joe Biden's black, black and voice, now you know what I'm saying, he should definitely want to contribute to let my people. Will you have a lot of people we talked about that exactly, So listen to me. I want you to understand I am not blind or ignorant to the fact of the harm that was caused to black

people by this administration. You know, So when when i'm individuals within the well individuals, when I'm well the administration, individuals, the president, the head of present president, and vice president, they have contributed to the locking up of black bodies. That is a fact. I don't there's nowhere around it. But I believe that they have more in store and more of a forward path for black people then peach Man. And that's what I said, And I said that we

were going to push them, for we were. He had say that, you know, people were piste off with us because we were, like, you know, to the preachers right that went to go meet with Trump many many years back, or to some of them, some of the singers, you know that we're we're out there flirting with Trump, and I don't mean that in a sexual way, but you know, trying to be his friend, performing at his events. And

and we challenged them every time it came up. We challenged them, and people said, you can meet with anybody now that we see what happened with the insurrection and the way that he actually led slaughter because they were out there slaughtering, that's what they were doing, beating people with flags, dragging them, crushing people, all of those things, now that you see that, do you think you should have given that man your time? You think you should

have sat down to meet with that man. We knew that was he, someone said on my page the other day, which I thought was absolutely hilarious because I was like, we already knew this. You know, this is after the insurrection um and I said, I said, I said, we knew this. I was on Live. I was like, you know, he's been racist, he's been sexists, he was always harmful. We knew it. And the person wrote, he came down the escalator, grabbing Coody and speaking and speaking violently. And

that's a fact. The escalator For people who don't remember, when he was running for president, after announcing that he was running for president, there was a moment where Donald Trump and Milania Trump were coming down the escalator at the Trump Towers in Manhattan, and he at that moment was talking about the Mexicans. He was being divisive off the back. He was saying the nastiest things that day. I don't remember the exact words, he said. I'm sure we can find it and play the clip from him

coming down the escalator. But to the person on my pages point, he was grabbing coody and talking crazy from

that moment all the way through his campaign. So once he became president, he didn't just change, and in fact, for the last four years he literally has been working on and planning and being very intentional about organizing a cult of individuals and being able to use their vulnerabilities, weaknesses and their dumbass, ignorant cells to challenge this country for his benefit because he does not care about them. How do you care about people that you allow to

go get themselves now locked up? People don't lost their jobs, CEOs have been fired by their boards. You don't care about anybody that you allowed to go do that in your honor? You can't because the bottom line is Trump has always been about Trump, you know, and not not only white supremacy, but narcissism is one of his biggest attributes in his mind, like his not caring about what you think and how it affects people, you know, has got him to a place that he feels is successful.

In the same thing that got him there is the same thing that has taken it away to destroy him. And I thought blue lives matter to happen. Where's the blue lives matter? People? Man? People don't kill the people killed the officers. Yeah, we're like, where's the blue lives matter?

When black people was out there and they said that somebody did anything that closely remotely looked like standing in front of me hurting it was blue lives matter, they stood up, they turned their backs on governors and mays and said this and that we we can't take this. Where are the blue lives matter? And I thought Trump was a Blue Lives Matter person, so he really should be out there condemning Blue lives only matter when it's black lives you kill, kill And that brings me to

what I don't get. What don't you get, sir? You know? And in the spirit of Black history moth, what I really don't get right is how you can be a black person with any level of influence, any level of notoriety, financials, you know, surplus, and not see the need to do something to help our culture and help out people like it's it's so strange to me when I see brothers like Earth, you know, brothers like trade, brothers that's on the front line, that's willing to sacrifice something all the time.

They don't have as much, don't have as much reach don't have as much influence, don't have as much finances, anything willing to really put their lives on the front line for our people. And it's people who have surplus that don't want to risk anything. How do you sit how do they don't even want to contribute to they're scared,

like they just don't care. But I don't understand how as somebody who's been through it, who understands the struggle that black people are, who knows who probably went through the exact struggle, who come from the same humble beginnings as most of us come from, how do you not see the need in this moment to utilize everything you have to ensure that we don't go back to that that we evolved past, that we actually get equity, actually get equality. How do you sleep at night knowing that

you ain't this ship? Like, how do you do? I get that? I get it? And it's a simple answer

for me. They know that there are some of us that are going to fight on their behalf because everything they have came from someone else's blood, and so they don't really see a need to step in and do anything because they are leaning on the backs of Big Mama and Big Papa, who have been carrying them through that everything they ever have, every type of uh, every bit of their success is based upon the sweat equity of those who came before them, and therefore they don't

see a need. They don't understand the importance of getting involved, because why do that when somebody's gonna feed somebody's gonna feed your empire with the bottom line is you can push, you can can you can feed your own empire and

create a legacy, you can change. You actually have. You are your ancestors, wildest dreams, your ancestors, and when you look at history, people actually when because people say this, you know it's cliche, people died for you to get with you, but this is they literally died for you to get opportunities that to be able to be financially stable and have excess amount of money and have access and have people pay attention and listen to what you're saying.

Like I'm not saying, dedicate your whole life to this movement or civil rights or just to you know, the elevation of black people. But take some part of your life, take some part of what you have, your voice, your finance is something, and give to the elevation of the people.

This especially in Black history money. I think if you are a black person in Black history money and you and you have the ability to elevate this culture, to push your people, to give them more access, more resources, more anything, and you don't do it, then you like, what are you what are you doing? What are you really doing? I absolutely agree, you know, I don't. I don't respect anyone who's not engaged in some way, shape or form. And you don't have to be on the

front line, but you certainly need. You need to be on the line. You need to be in line, line in line. Well, listen, the number one show in the world, the number one. We had another dope show, another dope number one podcast to existence number one. Make sure you tune in top top. We better than everybody in the world. There's no podcast ever better than us. Listen, I'm happy that we had this this Black History Month. It's been good.

And you know, street Politicians is the thing people are starting to You don't hit me up and say, yo, I've been watching the shows. You guys are talking about good topics and they have been giving us critical feedback. My sister Sharon is the number one, but it's all good. But you know when she liked and she like, I like you, and she likes it, but she don't like it, She's like, no, they gotta gotta fix this, fix this.

The lights need to be here. I'm wrong, but when y'all didn't have good energy, shon, we got we got it. So listen once again, I'm not gonna always be right. Tamika is not gonna always be wrong, not always, but we will both always I mean always. I promise you always be authentic. Thanks for joining street politicians Black History Month. You don't have the right to do nothing. Peace