Street Politics: Reimagining Power, Reengaging the System with Ray Lewis

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Native Lampod is a production of iHeartRadio and partnership with
Recent Choice Media.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome home, all of y'all. This is episode seventy eight
of Native Lampod where we give it to you straight,
with respect for your opinions and that you'll come to
the right conclusion. We talk all things, of course, politics
and culture, and we're your hosts Tiffany Cross, Angela Raie,
and I'm Andrew Gillim. What's up everybody?

Speaker 3 (00:29):
Hello?

Speaker 4 (00:29):
Hi Andrew. I like your Malcolm X glasses.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Oh listen to you. You know what, Thank you friend.
I take it. I'm feeling a little rebellious right now
on some things, but we'll get into that when we
get into some of this rundown. Angela, I know you've
been on the road. It is good to see you
with your traditional background of hay, flowers and trees behind you.

(00:53):
You're doing okay?

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Am ready to get into it right?

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Yeah, we got a great show today, a good conversation
coming up. And actually along those lines, Angela, why don't
you what you tell us first? What we're talking about, Well, what.

Speaker 5 (01:06):
I would like to talk about first is I know
some of you will remember last week we talked about
the tour and I really wanted to find the one,
really hoping that we could find the one.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
And from when did we.

Speaker 5 (01:21):
Record Wednesday to Saturday, when we got to Birmingham, the
one appeared. And his name is Ray Lewis, and Ray
will join us today. He's not the football player, but
he has made the quite quite the impact in his
local community. And I just really think what he shared
is so profound. It pricked the hearts of my brothers, Killer,

(01:44):
Mike and Leonard and Wallow all who I've heard from,
and they've shared Ray's amazing story. And Ray's story is
going viral because Ray speaks for many. There is a
Ray Lewis in every community, every black community, all over
this country.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, yeah, that's real. I'm looking forward to that. And
I did see his express thoughts, at least those that
were captured on video. And y'all, you do not want
to check out, You do not want to tune out,
Stay tuned in. This is going to be a conversation
that you are gonna want to hear. And one of
the things, Tiff, I know you and I also have
been passionate on and hopefully we'll get to it if

(02:22):
we don't have our souls arrested completely during today's interview.
Is what's happening with our historically black colleges and universities
around the country. How is the MAGA movement influencing and
filtrating down to impact the future of our HBCUs. And
I'm open we'll be able to get into that tipping

(02:43):
anything else on your mind?

Speaker 6 (02:44):
Hit, Yes, Actually so, I as a lot of you
saw raise clip and often on this show, I've tried
to talk about what happens in prison, and you know
how many people are in prison. I've had family members
and and so I was able to chat with Ray
a little bit in the green room, in our digital

(03:04):
green room, and that's really something I want to hear
from him about, like how can we support the people
who are behind bars to know that we haven't forgotten
about them the treatment that they're getting there. So as
important as it is to support our people on the outside,
I do want to get his thoughts on what it's

(03:25):
like on the inside, since so many of us are
ensnared in a very punishing and racist criminal justice system
here in America.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
That's real that's real. And then y'all, we're going to
prioritize your questions and comments, which we will filtrate into
the show, and we'll close this thing out with some
calls to action for you. So with that, let's get in.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 5 (03:47):
We're gonna go to this young man right here, and
then we have to wrap your ten minutes by schedule.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
So sorry, but alright, all right, my name Ray lou
Off from Burmahall, straight back Collegeville, and I'm speaking on
behalf of the streets for all my people that ain't
in here. I spent all my life in priv sixteen

(04:12):
years behind penitential wall that state and federal.

Speaker 7 (04:15):
My baby brothers just got off.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
Death row where he spent seventeen years of his nineteen
and almost twenty being gone. We were gone since he
was nineteen. I hear everything, and y'all love babies. I
love y'all. Y'all can't do nothing bad it. But I'm
gonna say what y'all didn say, because this right here,
direcular effect y'all in these streets, the murder rate through
the roof, This is what we're gonna start. It Ain't

(04:38):
nobody said that, but I'm gonna say this here. We
put them gun down. We learned to stop killing each other.
Bo what we started cause were killing each other.

Speaker 7 (04:48):
You see what I'm saying, That's what is it?

Speaker 2 (04:51):
The only way you can get a cure from a
disease and from the disease itself. I come from the streets.
The only thing they're gonna say the streets is something
come from it. I used to be a monster. I
didn't know what a man was because one naw now
by my brother got shot fifty six time with I
aink for this self and they left him out in
the rain for four hours in front of my mama.

(05:16):
Everybody had lost some pain. Lack is what breed kill ERUs.
Lack of resources. Boy, we ain't we ain't.

Speaker 7 (05:24):
We don't know that.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Back going to getting no job and the refrigerator empty
and we're fourteen years old and it can't go get
no job to pay that bill mine. You know what
I'm saying, y'all want to know how.

Speaker 7 (05:33):
To help us?

Speaker 2 (05:33):
Mane you know what, I'm somebody help heal this plain
man because the paint sits so deep and it'll create
a monster mind. And y'all hear us out here saying
we don demon time in the little boy. That's serious
until the devil show up.

Speaker 7 (05:48):
On five to five.

Speaker 2 (05:49):
It phelsical stature, But I'm self fort foe in spirit.

Speaker 7 (05:53):
You know what I'm trying about.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
What's gonna change this invirovment? Man? Is us changing our
mind because we manifest west in our mind, because we've
been given behavioral scripts.

Speaker 7 (06:06):
When I look at y'all, I see me.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
When y'all look at me, y'all see y'all, cause we're
a mirror reflection of each other. And what we have
in coming is the struggle. It struggles every part of
every part of life. Man. You see what I'm saying,
y'all looking at a man that died inside. Y'all want
to see the living dead you looking at it. The
only reason I'm here is called God got me, y'all.

(06:30):
Suposta have been on death row, but he saved me.
You know what I'm telling y'all, this from the perspective
of a real hero. That's what We're gonna stop it
right now, Mike. They say we can't stand together for
net and that's a lie.

Speaker 7 (06:46):
I come from crypt background.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Man. We stand together neck until somebody asks me. Why
would you be willing to die for a stranger who
you don't know because of a blue color we have
in coming, rather than live your life for them babies
that you help. Rated My I'm just not getting in
my ears.

Speaker 7 (07:02):
I'm like you hear me, y'all.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Daddy could be me if he ain't that already. My
daddy wouldn't never do. He told the streets over us
my mama soul her body to put food.

Speaker 7 (07:16):
On the table.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
But I ain't see her as.

Speaker 3 (07:18):
No hope, I saw my mama, that.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
Poet and so angel love him to leave it to
you to uh bring in.

Speaker 5 (07:30):
I want to think Ray before we bring him in,
for his vulnerability, uh, for his transparency, and for his
willingness to go above and beyond to save this next generation.
Ray's remarks resonated across the country, not just in that
theater in Birmingham.

Speaker 3 (07:51):
So Ray, I would love to bring you on.

Speaker 5 (07:52):
Ray Lewis a poet and activist, a disciple, welcome, an
EVANGELI listen to this next generation. Ray, thank you so
much for joining joining Native Lampid today.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Yes, ma'am, thank you.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
It's good to have you here, brother, good to have
you here. Man, you have me a little emotional there
because I saw my cousins, I saw people I grew
up with, I saw I understood just perfectly what you
were explaining. And brother, you didn't have to share and
bear your soul the way that you did, but you

(08:30):
did it anyhow, And I'm just, you know, just to
kick us off, I'm really curious to know to hear
from you. One how did you know about the tour?
And two did you know when you got there that
you might bear your soul in the way that you did.
When I think about Angela having in allowed your question

(08:50):
to come in ten minutes beyond their scheduled time, I
just think about divinity. But God, right, it could have
ended ten minutes before, and I'm just so glad they didn't.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
Right, I honestly, I went one of the sisters with
Offenders Alumni Association, and she brought me along for the ride.

Speaker 7 (09:10):
Down to the car theater, right.

Speaker 2 (09:12):
So when we got there, you know, I seen how
everything was set up, with everybody who had the individual table,
the individual organizations and their information that they had laid out.
And I never went back to the auditorium part the
whole time I was there. Actually I had left, you know,

(09:32):
after being there for a little while, I left and
I was gone for the day. I wasn't coming back
until my little cousin called me and were like, hey man,
somebody want to talk to you here. Bro, you see
what I'm saying. So I stopped what I was doing
and came back to the theater and stood out there
for many waiting to see who it was he was

(09:53):
referring to this. When we ended up in the auditorium
and I just sat down, I really didn't come to speak,
so I just came looking for that person, right, you know,
cause they were talking about a job.

Speaker 7 (10:03):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (10:04):
Okay, So when I heard the question asked of the Cheersren,
because we were sitting way in the back. So when
she asked the question of those kids, I'm sitting there
like I'm hoping that they was gonna see They said
everything that they said, and I was grateful for that,
you understand what I'm coming from. That why I was
on the edge of my seat, hold in my hand

(10:25):
or actually, if somebody told me not to say something,
you feel me so and I was like, okay, I'm
trying to get one of the cheers, and it said
until that Paul right there. And I was like, man,
some my little cousin. Man, please put your hand back up, bro,
because they need to hear from you. Bro.

Speaker 7 (10:39):
You see what I'm saying. So I raised my hand
and it is right there, and she called on me.

Speaker 4 (10:44):
You know, Ray, Yeah, I gotta love. I love hearing
Race speak.

Speaker 6 (10:48):
If I close my eyes, I swear I'm talking to
my brother right now.

Speaker 4 (10:51):
Like everything about you, it.

Speaker 6 (10:54):
Reminds me of family and just familiarity and authenticity. So
I just echoed Angela's sentiments, thank you for joining us
and having a honest testimony that is familiar to so
many of us, but probably not familiar to a lot
of people who you know, didn't grow up seeing and

(11:14):
experiencing people like you.

Speaker 4 (11:15):
And I think that disconnects.

Speaker 6 (11:17):
In our community is something that Angela, and Andrew and
I have spent a lot of time talking about. So literally,
I don't know if Angela told you this, but she
was literally talking about finding the one and so it
really just echoed andrew sentiments.

Speaker 4 (11:31):
Is divine that you all found each other. Angela. I
feel like I was cutting you off, like you were
about to say.

Speaker 3 (11:36):
Something Oh no, I just I wanted for a moment
ray for.

Speaker 5 (11:40):
You to talk about the work of the Offenders Alumni
Association and what you do to reach out to young people.
I think that folks felt like you stumbled in from
off the streets, which based on you saying you did
come back, there is some element of truth to that,
but there's actually an organization that you're a part of
where you do this work every day.

Speaker 3 (12:01):
So please talk about that.

Speaker 1 (12:03):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (12:03):
Well, you know, the Offellers Alumni Association is based off
of well, you know, formal formerly incarcerated individuals who help
other formerly.

Speaker 7 (12:15):
Incarcerated individuals and their families to.

Speaker 2 (12:17):
Bridge that gap by providing for them resources.

Speaker 7 (12:22):
We the bridge to the resources, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
Social and economical, whether they need a job, you know
what I'm saying, place to stay, things of the nature
like that. Right there, we work with gunshot victims and
on the little h Field piece in UAB Hospital where
some of my brothers and sisters are bedside with gunshot
victims in a in an effort to prevent retaliation and

(12:46):
them from coming back to the hospital suffering from another
gun shot wound. You understand, I deal directly with the
high risk you in the whole city. Because we got
nine to nine neighborhoods here and I'm known that every
last one of us. So the work just easy, Like
we don't call it hard work. It's hard work because
I love my people. I come from this, so that way,

(13:08):
like that right there, I we just like what I do.
I just prevent them. I helped them, like think before
you shoot, like please don't pull that trigger. You understand
why coming from because we really don't have to kill
each other. The murder rate through the roof over nothing.
They be sensely murdered, you know, like a hard look

(13:28):
or get your killed. You see what I'm saying, social media, beefing,
get a murder. You understand what coming from. I'm like, man, no,
we can't keep doing it because, like I said, I
used to be a part of the problem. You understand
out out thirteen years old. I've been out in the
streets out of nine years old.

Speaker 7 (13:44):
I raid bound.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
You understand what I spent twenty years separated from my
own siblings. You understand So that part, Yeah, you.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
Talked to betting your testimony around a little bit of
what you grew up around and a lot of us.
You might be able to help some of us understand
the conditions you talked about a broken heart and uh,
you know, basically we're a product of our experiences, our lives,
our the things we've encountered, and a lot of pain

(14:15):
drives people to make decisions that, over the long term,
are not in service to them. I'm curious if you
could paint the picture of the kind of folks who
you're coming into contact with to try to disrupt them
getting on the bad pathway? What would help us help
shape for our listeners. What kind of experiences lead people
down that road. It's not just object I want to

(14:37):
be bad. There are the things that contribute.

Speaker 2 (14:39):
It ain't like that, man, It is these right here.
Like I said, when you, when you growing up in
the inner city of communities all across America, young black
boys and girls are for it to take on the
responsibilities of adults. Hey, your ages, which forces us to
grow up fast mentally. You see what I'm saying. When you,

(15:00):
when you grow up in a family or in a
community where people are suffering from drug addition, alcohol addition,
you understand why I'm coming from These little girls being
touched on by they you know, daddies and uncles and
things of that nature. In they house. You understand, struggles
are part of every struggle. Struggles are part of every
part of life. Man, it don't matter where you come from.

(15:24):
But in the project, we don't even see that as
the project. We consider that the jungle. When we lack
social and economical resources and all the things that's available
to us, it's that pistol are selling some dope.

Speaker 7 (15:37):
You understand what coming from to provide for high families.

Speaker 2 (15:41):
It because certain sayings and conditions that we feel forced
to go hand live being it the way is either
you gonna do or you gonna die. You see what
I'm saying. So we chose to do instead of die.
You're gonna eat or you're gonna starve. You know what
I'm saying. There's nowhere between like up and down. You
understand why coming from so we just jold not to
do that. Though you heard me, So, I ain't had

(16:03):
nothing but drug dealers and killers, robbers, pimps and all
that around me.

Speaker 7 (16:07):
Like like I told.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
The man the other day, when when I was in
elementary school, when the death program, you know, member the
dog magrol I don't understand.

Speaker 7 (16:16):
I ain't want to be no police officer. I ain't
wanna be no fire fighter on that.

Speaker 2 (16:18):
And I got spending for five days when I was
in the field, grave of telling them I wanted to
be a drug love because they're the one that I
saw getting the real money.

Speaker 7 (16:26):
And those were the people that I saw with real power.
You see what I'm saying, And the way that they
gave back.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
To the community because they took so much from it,
you understand, so it was only right that they put
a little more back into it. But they ain't do
it in the way that I felt that it was
effective enough to produce an effect of change in the community.
You know, a lot of people get money and they'll leave.
Like I grew up with no daddy, You understand what
coming from I grew up with no love. I ain't

(16:53):
get no love and no affection from no woman. So
I ain't even you understand what I'm coming from, Like sure,
jet like that, and a lot of us come from that.
Love and lacker is what really breed killers it depending
on what that lack is. You see what I'm saying,
It breed robbers and breed kidnapples. They breed everything they
just see out there in the street. Because the stars
at home, you understand what coming from. But where it's

(17:13):
home when you ain't got no home to go to
but the streets.

Speaker 3 (17:17):
I want to ask it. I didn't. I didn't mean
to cut you off. You could definitely finish your thought.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
Nah. I was just saying, that's how that's how we
get together out there in the streets, or we become
like brothers and sisters behind that wall, because it's the
struggle to come and struggle that we relates to that
and that brings us together. Like you see it out here.
Now you see all these young brothers and sisters clicked up. Man,
they be deep because they the only one that seemed

(17:44):
to understand each other while everybody else closing their ears
to them side and cries. But it seemed like, don't
nobody want to do nothing until some catastrophic gets done.
Now they want to heal, now, they want to listen.

Speaker 5 (17:57):
That's something that I think we all relate to so
on this podcast and we talk about regularly. I had
a different question, but want to go to what you
were just raising around being clicked up. One of the
things that I know is the issue is a lot
of us talk about politics and policy on air, and

(18:18):
we don't often talk about our experiences, which are diverse
and divergent. Even amongst the three hosts here, everybody done
had the same background. I think mine was very privileged, right,
but my dad kept me immersed in streets, in movement
building and coalition building with a lot of folks. But
you talking about us being clicked up. There has to
be somebody who can speak to those experiences. So Ray,

(18:42):
when I was looking for you and didn't know who
exactly I was looking for, you can speak to folks
I could never reach.

Speaker 3 (18:49):
Can you talk about why that is so important? Right now?

Speaker 5 (18:52):
This part of the reason why I know you're doing
this work every day. But if you can reach a
different audience, why is it important to use a voice
like Ray Lewis to reach other folks who you want
to prevent from killing, who you want to prevent from
drug dealing, who you want to prevent from engaging in
cycles of violence?

Speaker 2 (19:10):
Well, I said, like this, God allow us to experience
the experiences of our lives in order to help us
grow and develop into both the men and women He
already for us to be lives experiences. This voice. God
gave me his voice. I'm five five, You see what
I'm saying. But my voice is from my soul. Like
I say, I'm self for a folk and spirit is

(19:32):
my lived experience. The truth, the truth gonna reach. The
truth don't need no support. It supports itself. And what
comes from the soul, it's gonna reach the soul. It
ain't no lie. You see what I'm saying, the lived experiences.
They can look in my eyes and see where it
came from. I ain't gotta have on no suiting ho towel.
I could throw one on because the eyes are truly
the window to the soul. It's important for them babies

(19:53):
to hear and see live and unsensible.

Speaker 7 (19:57):
Coming from a real life gins them.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
You know what I mean, background because it's immin and
not only You understand why I'm coming from.

Speaker 7 (20:05):
Yeah, they gonna flock, they gonna calm.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
You understand, like a lot of people are in all
positions of leadership and power that don't even belong there.

Speaker 7 (20:15):
You understand why' coming wrong?

Speaker 2 (20:19):
This? So this is so real like that, that's all
I got to say. That lived experiences these people can
relate to that you understand. I am the image of
the real struggle. I am the image of the streets.
I am the voice of the voice that's out there.
You understand what I give voice to the streets because
I'm letting these babies know like mamas and daddy is

(20:40):
out there who ain't then mamas and daddys if you
don't want the streets to take your child, only to
return your child back to you in a body bag
or a sentence so long your mama will forget about
where you at. You understand, cau penitential ain't nothing but
to living dead.

Speaker 7 (20:56):
You understand what.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
Coming from like strictly for real, for real, it's it's
a grade yard.

Speaker 7 (21:02):
For the living.

Speaker 2 (21:03):
When you physically removed from society and placed in the
institutional prison, they then took away your fatherhood. You can't
be that to your cheersun if you're a husband, you
can't be that to your wife, not no more. You
understand where I'm coming from, And man, is it real?

Speaker 7 (21:20):
Is it real? Real? Bro?

Speaker 1 (21:22):
All right?

Speaker 6 (21:22):
I actually I have a question for you, Ray, But
we got to pay some bills right quick, so y'all
stick around.

Speaker 8 (21:26):
We'll get to it on the other side.

Speaker 7 (21:35):
M h.

Speaker 6 (21:40):
I'm happy you brought that up because that that's something
that I cared. I was telling you a little bit
before backstage that that's something I care deeply about. And
right now, there are one point one million black men
in prison across the country. That's according to Florida Atlantic
University School of Social Work. Five hundred thousand of those

(22:01):
men are fathers. And so something that I would like
our audience to know is, even if you may not
know someone in prison, what is something that we can
do to reduce recidivism, you know, to stop this cycle
of men getting out and going back to prison. And
what is something that we can do to support people

(22:23):
who are inside right now to let them know we
stand with them. They are not forgotten about. They've lost
their liberty but not their life, and we want to
be helpful to them and honor their humanity.

Speaker 4 (22:33):
What's something that you could have.

Speaker 2 (22:34):
Used, I mean having people like myself going back into
the penitentiary to talk to those individuals and letting them
know that these resources are available to them when they
get out because a lot of us the reason the
recipive is rated so high, and they say, well, eighty

(22:54):
five percent return back because a lot of them don't
have homes to go to no more. We've been gone
so long, Mama dead, daddy gone. You understand why, coming
from a lot of people that lost people. You understand,
so it's easier for one to resort back to what
they know. Is easy for them to put some money
in their pocket to feed their families, to feed their children.

(23:15):
So y'all social and economical resources need to be available
for them, for them babies when they come up out
of there.

Speaker 7 (23:21):
You hear me, you understand, because if.

Speaker 2 (23:23):
They feel like they lost, and they feel like it
ain't no other way.

Speaker 7 (23:29):
It's just human nature. You know what.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
You understand what coming from to do self preservation, it's
lower man.

Speaker 7 (23:39):
Bro. I don't want to starve, Bro, I don't want
to die. Bro. It's better you than me. You see
what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
I got to have this. You understand why, coming from
and a lot of people they turn they they turn
they know down. They turn their head down to us
because of what we've been to prison for. Like myself,
I went to the state for kajacking on Ryber first kajak,
I went to the FASE for a temptaclemitt murder over
a federal agent, a police officer in marijuana position.

Speaker 7 (24:06):
You see what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (24:07):
Yeah, my baby brother just spent seventeen years on death row.
We've been gone almost tuning that. They sent it to
the DED in nineteen. He been teaching lot for fifteen
and got itself out of all you understand. Wow, But
I'm just like, look at that. It's serious. So going back,
going back when it right in their face and let

(24:27):
them know that these are you care. That's the only way,
that's the only way it's gonna help. You Gotta go
back in and reach them.

Speaker 1 (24:35):
I'm curious, rad I almost feel embarrassed about this. But
we spend a lot of time here talking about people
voting post step in our communities very specifically, and we
also spend a good deal of time, you know, talking
about why did people make the choice to stay out
of the process. And when I listened to and I

(24:56):
know this intuitively, and I know this from my I
know it from my relationships, from my brothers to my cousins,
to family people who I'm close to what it is
you're talking about. But I can't help but wonder, based
off your relationships, your own experience, folks, no, penitrentaries aren't

(25:16):
created by themselves, right, They didn't grow out of the
ground by themselves. A government, a set of institutions. Put
that together, the laws that they charge you with, either
breaking or not breaking, are not mysteries. They are written
in books and people are you know, their jobs are
to go after you and then to prosecute you, and
then to keep you in the industrial complex of prisons

(25:37):
as long as they possibly can. Right. So, if we
know that about the systems, meaning we know that there
are people who pull the triggers and I don't mean
the literal ones, but make the decisions that create the
conditions that many of us live in, then why is
in it sort of automatic that my brain go to, well,
what do I do to sort of shake that up?
Stop that break that silly question when you put that

(26:02):
next to some of the conditions that you described, right,
when you think about folks are trying to put food
in their mouth to live another day, or a roof
over their head, or finding love and acceptance and a gang,
or in a criminal enterprise because you don't have it
where you live. I am still I am still challenging

(26:24):
myself to still say that it's still our job, our
obligation to try to reach people, educate them, and involve
them in a process that can disrupt the cycle in
a real meaningful way, not just for one person, but
for that pipeline that what do you call that, that
assembly line that keeps feeding them into the chipper? Right?

(26:44):
What advice would you give us? What advice would you
give the listeners who are who want to affect change
there in a meaningful way? But at the end of
the day, say well, if folks don't want it, if
folks won't vote, if folks won't get out there and
do it, then why do I keep doing it?

Speaker 7 (27:00):
Right?

Speaker 2 (27:01):
So that well as okay, as it relates to the
voting thing, don't don't nobody in the street kept at it.
You know why, because everybody that be voted for and
put in office don't do nothing but talk.

Speaker 7 (27:16):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (27:17):
The way we view politicians, you understand, why come run?
They don't do it down do nothing but a whole
lot of talking in the streets. We do a whole
lot of moving and shaking. When I was in when
I was in prison, all oh year I've been going
to jails. I was eleven years old bro. You know,
I man, Well, when I stood in the Federal pentitention
and I looked around, you understand, me and my men
and the brothers DEVI was there younger because they in
the feed. They from all over the world, I understand.

(27:39):
And I looked around and we had we had a
little dialogue. And this this the question, This one question
right here would shake a lot of things to this core.
This one question as it relates to the men that's
in concentrated right, What greater power for one to have
over any race of people? Then the power will over

(28:03):
their ability to reproduce. If we keep dying and they
keep locking us up, you see that power and over
their ability for us to reproduce. Well, you know, if
we stop reproducing, we gonna die off. You understand what
come from you remove a man? How these women gonna

(28:23):
get pre You understand what I'm coming from. And the
babies out here killing each other and things of that
nature like that. They was like, man, that that way
right there, we could start jail right there. We ask
the right questions, We're gonna give real answers. You understand,
a lot of people like the sugar coat. It ain't
no sugarcoat not here. Life is real for everybody, like

(28:45):
how we believe there is no such thing in a
middle class you got you know, like that class syism
they want to class by everything, upper class, middle class,
little class in our man. You either got it or
you don't. You understand you can't be had weight there
you know what I like? You almost there, but you ain't.
Now you the real or you faith the life going

(29:08):
through Going through prison was like a cocoon, like Jonah
and the bill of the beast. That's the bill of
the beast, that's the furnace. Change is only for those
who want it for themselves. You can't make change. You
can't make nobody change real abilitation is only for those
who seek it for themselves. And consertration starts in the

(29:31):
man before itever becomes physical. What you conceive in your
man and you believe in your heart through the physical
demonstrations of your physical actions, do you manifest all of
that into a physical reality. So the condition of your mind,
the condition of your life, is gonna reflect it. You
can't get a million dollars with a food stemp me talents.
You understand where I'm coming from. You understand you can't produce.

(29:54):
Change is constant, whether it's negative or positive. It's all
about energy. Baby, Whatever you put out there, that's what
you're gonna get back. If this is what you want,
if you really want to live, you're gonna act like
you want to live. And if you really want to die,
you're gonna act like you wanna die. It ain't no
in between, you understand. And a lot of these babies

(30:15):
are out here commit society to suicide. Yeah, yeah, they
for for lack of knowledge of self. You you you
heard it for for lack of knowledge people perish.

Speaker 7 (30:28):
You understand what coming from? But this, this is more dick.

Speaker 2 (30:32):
The most deadliest, most effective killer known to man is ignorance.

Speaker 7 (30:38):
M then stand welcome.

Speaker 4 (30:41):
I want to ask you because you're saying that politicians
don't do anything.

Speaker 7 (30:45):
Nothing we don't see.

Speaker 6 (30:47):
Okay, well that is a part of my question because
you're you're on this podcast with a public servant, with
someone who worked in politics, with someone who covered politics,
and so I want to hear from you, what does
doing something look like to you?

Speaker 7 (31:04):
Providing really for real, for real.

Speaker 2 (31:10):
Like what we at. I'm just speaking about what we
get and what we see. We only see them talt.
We only see them do that make promises that they
don't keep to us. We just see it for them
as just being a money thing. And I ain't speaking
for our alarm, just speaking for the ones that we see. Yeah,

(31:34):
like we don't even care about that, like this real
life man, No, folks don't care about that. Them folks
is not ain't nobody but Grandma and auntieing them watching
the news and talking about going stand in the line
to vote for something. You know, when people out here
going through some real, some real struggles. The problem, the problem,
you fad, The problem is there. The solution is there too,

(31:59):
providing the resources and being for real about it. They
took everything away from these babies, all of the community,
Like every project here that got community center, they had
closed them down. They took away all of these type
of activities that these babies can go and do this
and that right there, you understand. So now they playing
GTA out in the streets, They playing you know, a

(32:21):
call of duty out in the streets because they don't
they like we We feel like, don't nobody care, don't
nobody care about us? But us, Ain't nobody gonna do
that for us? But us. You understand why we gonna
sit here and wait around for somebody else to keep
a promise to us that they made. You understand what
you're gonna do for the city. You understand what coming

(32:42):
from like the police, the police man, I'm trying to
tell you, it's real, bro, this real life.

Speaker 7 (32:46):
You understand.

Speaker 2 (32:48):
We police our own. Don't nobody stop no violence in
th streets.

Speaker 7 (32:53):
But the streets.

Speaker 2 (32:55):
You see what I'm talking about. We see drug dealers
make more change. You understand what coming from from our
It's sinna be like that.

Speaker 7 (33:05):
That's why they think being gangster is cool.

Speaker 2 (33:08):
That why they around here walking around with thirty round
magazines expose You understand they we come from chasing death
trying to live life because we didn't even know that
we didn't know.

Speaker 7 (33:22):
You understand.

Speaker 2 (33:24):
So politicians, for the politicians that really care about the people,
they'll understand that the people are the people.

Speaker 7 (33:34):
With the people is where the real power act.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
You understand, and if you show them people that you
really love them, you can start by keeping promises that
you may and do exactly what you say you're gonna do,
instead of leaving it to them and them being left
to their own devices, because y'all know the street. It's
all over America, just keeping it local to the United
States of America. People so medicate.

Speaker 1 (34:01):
Using drugs.

Speaker 2 (34:02):
Yeah, you understand, they drink alcohol just to know them
that pain on the inside, bro, because this be dead
for real. You understand. They making minimum wage around here,
and that ain't even enough, you understand. So everybody pushing
for entrepreneurship just so they can have enough capital. It's
all about providing the basing their systens of life because

(34:23):
the money is on a little tool that provide those things,
which is food, shelter, and clothes, you understand. But they
keep taking so much away from us what you wouldspect
somebody gonna do. Every dog has its day, you understand that.
Why these girls out there doing the girls doing the
same thing that the boys do. Now you got what
you so called woman head a household because they making

(34:47):
rules in the projects and things of that nature like
that right there. Well, it's just for the woman in child.
They got so much going on for the women and children.
They left us out. So we gotta do what we
gotta do. Ass black men in this country just to
stay in rise aboard the condition of the struggle and
stay though. You see what I'm saying. It's all about winning,

(35:09):
you know. But like I say, y'all got it. All
they got to do is just really just stole it.

Speaker 7 (35:13):
Uph be real.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
I just want to say this to you, Ray.

Speaker 5 (35:18):
I don't know if you need to run for office
or consult for some elected officials, but what you're saying is,
you know, kitchen table politics is what we call that.
How people make ends meet, how they're closed, what programs
exist for kids. All of those are policy based decisions,
and whether or not they're funded or those opportunities are

(35:40):
closed are absolutely political. So I hope you will consider
running or advising I think you know Randall wood find
the mayor of Birmingham, was at the event on Saturday,
so I hope that you will advise Randall. I know
he takes violence prevention very serious. He lost family members

(36:00):
in the streets, and I know that he wants to
get right and keep getting tight, so I hope you
will consider consulting him. Definitely, stay in our kitchen cabinet
and get us right and what we're saying and how
we're showing up. That's important to us because we don't
want to just be talking for or at the community.

Speaker 3 (36:16):
We want to serve it as well.

Speaker 1 (36:19):
Yeah, if I could add to that, Ray, I've been
a mayor myself, and I have been elected to office
since I was twenty three years old in an official capacity,
and I'm in my forties now, I'm ad forties, And
I will just say every mayor needs somebody like you
if you're not the mayor yourself. So when you think

(36:41):
about the system and how to disrupt it, how to
change it, it does sometimes feel like people running for
office run and they make promises and then when they
get there, they seem incapable of delivering. And I will
just tell you real quick that one of the reasons
why the delivery gets stalled is that the mayor isn't
government him or herself. There are there are this is

(37:03):
these are institutions. And I know you know enough about
institutions to know that not one person can turn that
thing around by itself. Not one person can create a
new by themselves. But or by the way, do they
know where to make the disruptions, where to create the wrinkles.
And so, folks like you in Cahoo's Coalition Partnership whatever

(37:28):
you want to call it with the people who are
deciders and helping to direct their actions, like, hey, you
put that center up, thank you for funding it, but
it's in the wrong place. Don't let it be in
the wrong place. Make sure you're in the conversations about
where a center is going to go that you and
the crew that you're raising up under you. Because I
can tell by your voice, your presidence here today, what

(37:50):
you did at that at the forum, a state of
the people when you were there. You are a leader.
You're a lion. You people follow you. Your voice, whether
you have a title of position or not, is one
that commands the attention of the room, of the space.
Maybe you've manifested and not. Maybe you've manifested that in
your head before it's manifested physically, so you're aware that

(38:13):
you're a leader. But I would go further and say
you are a leader amongst leaders. That's a powerful calling. Man.
You said, God gave you back your life and took
you off death row and gave you back to a
community because He has a higher work for you. I
believe that because it's been evident just in the few
minutes of knowing you right now. And so my call
to you is simply to say, don't write them all

(38:34):
up and throw them all out. That sometimes it's not
that they have bad intention or ill intention or none whatsoever.
Sometimes they're just not sure where to start or the
right way to do it. And it's folks like you
who speak truth to power, unapologetically showing up and saying, no, man,
this is what we need, and we need it yesterday.
That's the urgency behind it. Because they're not all bad.

(38:55):
Many run with the good intention, and they want to
deliver what they said they deliver. The cogs in the
wheel catch them up every time, so much so that
they want them to get to the place where they
forget what their intention was in the first place. You're
there to keep it and remind them of it, man,
and I do hope that you'll consider an even larger role.
God may be leading you toward a larger role and

(39:17):
disrupting that not just in Alabama, not just but around
the around the globe.

Speaker 9 (39:22):
Ro Ray laughing?

Speaker 4 (39:23):
What'd you laughing?

Speaker 1 (39:24):
Ray?

Speaker 7 (39:24):
No, I was just thinking about what he was saying.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
Now. I just want you try to think about this right. Well,
if you take the red neighborhood, and if you take
neighbor from neighborhood. Hood stands alone. Hood is equivalent to
a war zone. That's what the hood is. So now
we're working toward.

Speaker 7 (39:43):
Putting neighbor back in the neighborhood like community. You know what.

Speaker 2 (39:47):
In order to unify, there has to be communication, the
right kind of communication. Unity is power where the vision
is not you understand, right. So as a relation to that,
that's my whole mission and my whole life with every
fight but of my being and to God called me home.

(40:07):
I'm just really just living in my purpose. I prayed
for this honestly, bro, you understand, And I didn't know
where was gonna come from. Like as I told you,
I was, I wasn't going to go I wasn't gonna
go back till I got that call and I just
stopped everything. Right then it came on back and now
I'm here. So I give all glory to God for
allowing me to be able to embrace this opportunity because

(40:31):
he awesome. You know that. No word to describe the
awesomeness of God. But I want him to use me,
you understand. And I know I can reach some baby
you already had you like you said that by myself.
I can't do it by myself saying.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
Brother, you've been You've been at delight, You've been more
than that. You just issue a calling and you've been
shooting many of them in your time just being with us,
and I want to thank you again from the bottom
of my heart. I know that up is the direction.
There's no other there's no other option. UP is the
direction for you. And I think the movement that you're
beginning to, that you've been leading, and that you're continuing

(41:07):
to lead. And I just want to thank you for
offering our listeners and us just a little bit of
time to pull back back the layers. There. Angela, you
introduced us to God's angels, so I'll let you give
your part work.

Speaker 6 (41:22):
I just wanted to to thank Gray for his testimony,
but I also would invite you to tune in to
Native Land Podcast if you can, because we definitely go
out of our way and try to make politics and
policy digestible. And if there is something going on, if
there's a question that you have, or or if you
see in your community, like yeah, this school is getting

(41:44):
closed down or they lack funding, to come back and
tell us about that, and maybe we can walk you
through the problem and the solution and how policy impacts
that to give more folks like you a sense of
agency over how you can impact everything and how you
are impacting everything around you. And I don't think you
know how many people will hear this and be so

(42:07):
illuminated by what you had to share.

Speaker 1 (42:09):
Today, so hopefully inspired to do something as well.

Speaker 3 (42:13):
They definitely will. Ray's not gonna have it any other way.

Speaker 5 (42:15):
Ray, I got to tell you, I thank you for
answering the call of your cousin. I thank you for
being in divine order. I thank you for living in
your purpose in your call, and I pray.

Speaker 3 (42:25):
We gonna see you in New Orleans.

Speaker 5 (42:27):
I know we're trying to make that happen, so I
am really grateful. I know you also mentioned to me,
and I hope I'm not putting your business all the
way out there.

Speaker 3 (42:34):
Folks, you have heard Ray. You hear how compelling he is.

Speaker 5 (42:38):
Ray told me the other day he was interviewing for
a job so Birmingham Randall woodfin in particular, I'm gonna
call you because Ray, I don't know, I feel like
you should have an advisory role in the administration of Birmingham,
but it is paid. So if there's anything we can do,
we got some people who got their eyes on you

(42:58):
from all over the country and if we can help
facilitate that, we got your back yard brother for life
now too.

Speaker 7 (43:04):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (43:05):
Those are just words for twenty years plus, that's real.
Well y'all you've heard it. Ray, Thank you. Brother. If
you've got parton words, give them to us. Beyond that, Brother,
thank you, and again, Hire, thank you.

Speaker 7 (43:19):
I love yeah, I can't.

Speaker 3 (43:23):
We love you, Ray, Thank you so much.

Speaker 9 (43:26):
Welcome Nade Lampard.

Speaker 10 (43:40):
I gotta be quick. So you guys were talking about
how you ought to have guests.

Speaker 2 (43:44):
I don't think so.

Speaker 9 (43:45):
I think that the three of you brings.

Speaker 10 (43:48):
Such a phenomenal level of conversation that you don't need it.

Speaker 2 (43:51):
Uh.

Speaker 10 (43:51):
This most recent episode where you were talking about voter engagement,
you represent three diverse opinions that our community all engaged with,
but you bring them to the table and you allow
those three opinions to engage Tiffany, who many relates to,
who is just kind of frustrated, Andrew, who understands the
frustration but also knows that if you're going to direct funding,

(44:12):
it can't necessarily go into apathy. But then Angela, who
is just so powerfully engaged in striving to get that
demographic who is not engaged engaged it's listening to that conversation.
Those are the kitchen table talks that we need more
than anything. So No, I don't think you need anybody
on your show other than you all. You have three
diverse opinions that I think resonate with this audience in

(44:35):
a tremendous way.

Speaker 9 (44:36):
Keep up the great work, y'all, and welcome home.

Speaker 1 (44:39):
Oh I love it. It's powerful.

Speaker 6 (44:40):
Welcome, and I think we all disagree with you, brother Ali.

Speaker 1 (44:45):
No, I think two things can be true. I think
two things can be true at one time. What he's
saying is is that these are conversations right in our
own community, which you say a lot in. I mean,
when you're talking about how diverse even our panel amongst
the three of us are background lived experience, and how
lived experience has shaped our oar, then opinions. I validate
what he said as relates to the richness of the

(45:07):
conversation that we're having, And the only place where I
differ is imagine, brother, how much more rich the conversation
will be when we're engaging with people who may offer
a fourth or a fifth and certainly beyond perspective that
we can engage with. I just I hear him, and
I think two things can be true at once.

Speaker 6 (45:29):
Well, I, you know, I definitely appreciate that level of
interest and confidence and to what the three of us
have to say. And then there will be times where
you know, the audience will obviously hear just from the
three of us. There are times where they just hear
from Angela on her solo pod and you from on
your solo pod, Andrew. But I do think the conversations
are richer with different voices that we invite on.

Speaker 4 (45:52):
And I thought.

Speaker 6 (45:53):
Raised perspective was just touching to me because, like, I
don't know, I feel like we.

Speaker 4 (46:01):
All know Ray, you know, like I know you.

Speaker 6 (46:04):
I if my brother was like that, Ray is my
brother or my brother's best friend, you know, like I
know that person.

Speaker 4 (46:11):
But even more importantly, I want.

Speaker 6 (46:14):
For elected officials to know that that's right, you know,
because when he said politicians don't do anything, I think
that's such the dangerous disconnect that happens. And I'm so happy,
Andrew that you were able to walk him through that
as a mayor, because, like I always say, people don't
always understand the difference between state, federal, local.

Speaker 4 (46:37):
They don't understand the funding structure.

Speaker 6 (46:40):
You know that the Republican governor who was a travesy
in Alabama, k Ivy can get a you know, a
bucket of funding and only distribute it to white neighborhoods
or to Republican neighborhoods, who can cause quite ruckus for
Randall wood Bean a morehouse man who's the mayor there?
Alpha man who's the mayor there? So I just I

(47:00):
like being able to make that connection. And I'm gonna
tell you all that is a dangerous thing to do.
It's a dangerous thing to give people like Ray a
sense of agency. It's a dangerous thing to tap into
folks who are on the underbelly of society, people who
are returning citizens formally incarcerated. It's a dangerous thing to

(47:22):
do that because they kill that person. You know, that's
the one thing that you can when you start giving
people empowerment, agency and voice, they will come and kill
the person giving them the microphone. They've done it every time,
and I just feel like, then let's be dangerous. You know,
let's be dangerous and tap into this. The thing is

(47:44):
we're dying anyway, you know, We're dying in this land.

Speaker 4 (47:48):
That's what it feels like.

Speaker 5 (47:49):
Well, yeah, I just really quick. I do think there
are a lot of people. I'm thinking about Shaka sing
Or from the anti Recidivism Collision when he was there.
I'm thinking about Latasha and Cliff with Black Voters, or
d who's their organizer on the ground in Birmingham, do
Wanna and Emil who do stuff with Woke. Well, there
are a lot of people who do this work, who

(48:09):
earned it, and they are still They tried and they
are still they are still living there, still with us.
And I don't want to suggest to people that if
you go and do this work it is a death sentence.
I think that there is there's hope, there is there's
covering for those folks.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
I also just want I also didn't hear you as
a literal death. I almost thought of it as you know.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
Like they s.

Speaker 5 (48:35):
Yeahularly, you're just talking to somebody talking about killing.

Speaker 3 (48:38):
So I just I wanted to make sure they were clear.

Speaker 6 (48:40):
But but I will say, Angela, even for life, like
I mean, they have threatened Latasha's life.

Speaker 3 (48:46):
They have like.

Speaker 5 (48:48):
Their experiences, but they are still living and fighting on right.
So I just am saying I don't want people to
feel like it is an automatic death sentence and thereby
we're discouraging them from doing the work.

Speaker 6 (48:59):
No, definitely, definitely don't mean to be discouraged a target.
But the thing my point is we're targets anyway, like
they are coming after us anyway. So I don't know,
I just feel like it right now is the time
for radical thought, radical action because and this is where

(49:19):
you and I have talked about Angela's like, I don't
know that I want to uphold the system that exists,
and so many people have asked me, okay, but what
does that look like? And I can't always answer those questions,
but I know, like just hearing from Ray, And that's
another thing. It's like Ray is the voice we need
in Congress, Like we always talk about, oh, this is
the most diverse Congress, and every Congress it has grown

(49:41):
more diverse. The Tricaucus, which is the Black Caucus, the
AAPI Caucus I'm very small, Indigenous Caucus, and the Latino Caucus.
They've grown in number. But you know, I kind of
say the same thing to my friends. My friends are
very privileged people, and you know, they talk about their
kids going to diverse schools, and I'm like, you're a
kid just go to schools with a bunch of other

(50:01):
wealthy kids of color. You know, they go to wealthy
white kids, wealthy Black kids, wealthy Latino kids. But when
you talk about diversity of circumstance, diversity of background, diversity
of thought, diversity of socioeconomic status, like that, you want
your kid to be able to go to the hood
and play basketball with everybody and feel just as comfortable
as he is, you know, at the private school basketball court.

Speaker 4 (50:26):
And it's just I think, I don't know.

Speaker 6 (50:27):
Sometimes there's a disconnect that happens and we get so
like thankful because there is a black face, which is
not always a black voice and not always somebody you know,
who understands different circumstances. I think, so, yeah, I don't
mean that today. Don't do it because y'all gonna die.
But I hear your point, Angela with yeah.

Speaker 5 (50:47):
And then moving on to the I think the first
part of what you said, I think the latter part
of what you're saying, I think actually is kind of
in alignment with what Ray said. And I think with
a lot of us who have family members and friends,
you know, from.

Speaker 3 (50:59):
The hood, grew up in it.

Speaker 5 (51:01):
Whatever the politicians talking don't do, and that is their experience.
And I think that it's really important for us to
not say or to say, like you said to Andrew,
like well, I'm so glad you were here, but to
help him understand like he doesn't understand X, Y or Z.
What he does understand is his experience. What he can

(51:23):
feel is his experience. What he does know is what
they're all sharing amongst each other.

Speaker 3 (51:28):
And I wrestle with this a lot. I'm gonna tell
y'all straight up.

Speaker 5 (51:31):
We did the solo pot yesterday and had someone on
who didn't want to, who didn't vote in the last
two elections, and I found myself trying to hear but
also arguing, also.

Speaker 3 (51:42):
Convincing, right tipics we would say.

Speaker 5 (51:44):
And it's hard for me because my experience is so
remarkably different than the gentleman I was speaking to yesterday,
and raise I have felt moments that feel identical to Ray.
These people right now, I don't know who they serve
it they talk and not doing they taking away all
of our stuff. But there are people in Congress who
I've worked for, who I love, who I text, who

(52:06):
are fighting against that. But when you're you know, fifty
layers removed, what you see is that the powers that
be are harming you. That is their experience. So even
if there is one or two or seven who are
doing the right thing, there's still two hundred who.

Speaker 3 (52:24):
Are, especially in damn Alabama, who are doing the wrong thing.

Speaker 5 (52:28):
They are trying to erase you with anti DEI measures,
They trying to force women to have babies they can't carry,
They're prosecuting people right. It is crazy. So I want
us and I'm saying this because I need help with
this too. Let's please find the balance between giving space
and holding space for the unique experiences of some of

(52:51):
our brothers and sisters who are different than ours, and
also encouraging them to engage because their voices need to
be to be heard, and also trying to correct where
there is mis or disinformation. I think mis or disinformation
is one thing, but if you ain't felt what we're
telling you, that's another thing. And there's it's a fine

(53:12):
fine line. I am doing a terrible job. I need help.
But I am watching myself vacillate between what Joe Biden
gave such a such amount of money to HBC, Like
I'm like, it don't matter if they didn't feel it,
if the kids didn't feel it, they still couldn't get
their financial aid and their pilgrams was still cut.

Speaker 3 (53:30):
Like that's their.

Speaker 1 (53:31):
Experience, ANGELA motive. Motive to me matters. And I hope
and I know you're I know I agree with both
of you all are saying. And I just want to
say my intention and I know you're not talking about me.
It's not you're saying that I exhibited this the intention
with saying from my perspective as a person who I
think has been molded both in the streets through my

(53:52):
lived experience, but also who has been in the halls
where these decisions get made, that everybody is in moving
with the intention of trying to make their statements become
a lie. In fact, a lot of folks are moving
with intention to make real the promises that they made.
It was their vision and it's their aim as well.

(54:14):
So my only point is to all of us is
not to conclude just because it's said a lot and
experienced a lot doesn't make the conclusion you draw the
accurate one, and I'm not saying that his is wrong
or right. There may be people there with intention to
do harm, and in fact, I know that's the case,
but there are also people who are there, who are

(54:34):
in positions where they can make moves, who are being
stopped at every track rod bumps are being erected after
bump after bump, because the institution is there to uphold
that divide, not the individual, but the institution is there
to ensure that that road doesn't get built. I've been
on the cybe where stat says, unfortunately, if we do that, sir,

(54:56):
we will be approaching a environmentally sensitive area and we
cannot put a road through.

Speaker 2 (55:01):
Right.

Speaker 1 (55:01):
Okay, well guess what build the stilts that go over
the environmentally sensitive area and will raise the road. Right.
But but all that to say that there just as
much as there is an energy to see change happen,
there is an energy to maintain the status quo. Yeah,
And that's the tension that I think we want to

(55:22):
at least call out, not to say your issue, your
perspective is wrong, or mine's right, to say that there
is another way to observe what is happening that you
may not know, but it is happening.

Speaker 6 (55:34):
But I guess to Angelo's point, I hear you because
I think that it and both. I hear both you, guys.
I think there is a nuance of balance to strike.
So you know, when we say you know Ray, maybe
you don't understand how you know. Maybe your mayor is
doing everything he can for you, but you don't understand.
It's k I Governor. I got an issue with Governor

(55:54):
K Republican woman. She is allocating a billion dollars to
build a massive prison there. She is horrible when it
comes to criminal justice issue, She's awful. But I also,
because I think Angelo, a part of your point is
so when Ray shows up and speaks, it can't be well,

(56:16):
let's dismiss Ray's experience because you don't understand it can
be both and it can be. Yes, to honor your experience.
But let me also, especially as a public servant, let
me walk you through what I'm dealing with and let
me bring you into the process. And I think that's
why I try to be so intentional about making sure

(56:38):
people understand like it ain't not the wrong of y'all
know what the CBO is.

Speaker 3 (56:41):
You know.

Speaker 6 (56:42):
I remember coming to DC and people was throughout these names.
They're like, oh, go to the ellipse, and I'm like,
what's the ellipse? Where's the ellipse? Like I just wouldn't know,
and just how it made me feel. And so it's like,
once you start to learn and understand things, that does
give you a sense of agency, and it also can't
be I don't vote, and this is why. And then
my immediate response is, well, you should vote. No, let's

(57:06):
understand you, let me hear you, let me so I
take your point in about just don't deny people their experience.

Speaker 1 (57:14):
That's it, which is why I would never say I
hear you, but right, because that but it negates what
came but everything and everything before. I simply want to say,
there's another there's another experience to be to be seen here,
and guess what. That's not to say that experience is
the right one, but I do I don't want us to.
I don't. What I don't want Ray or anybody else

(57:35):
to conclude is that elected officials all lie and then
they get there and they don't do anything to fulfill
the truth they told us. When they were running. My
experience has been that you do make promises when you're aspiring.
But a lot of us have those promises that are
well intentioned, hard felt, and we mean to do the

(57:57):
thing that we say we mean to do. And then
there's the people who also have intention to do what
they mean to do, and that is to stop you
at every way along the tracks. I bet Mayor with
Finan out there saying, let me tell you who stood
in my way today, and let me tell you who
stop this. That's not what he's saying, because he's the mayor,
so he takes responsibility. But I gotta say I can

(58:18):
imagine it would not surprise me if his experience is
that at every turn, my job is to disrupt and
to discard and to keep you from doing what it
is that you told those folks you were going to do,
because that's how the institutions survive, by allowing folks out
there to believe that it is never going to work

(58:39):
for them. And if a thing is never going to
work for me, you goddamn right, I'm not participating. That's
a fool's Errand if I know a thing is never
going to work for me, I'm never going to get
in incentive to now.

Speaker 6 (58:52):
My incentivized to participate in this system that harms me everything.
And you're telling me yet again, voting is going to
change it. Well, one mama voted, my grandmama voted, and
I've still been in the same circumstances for decades. Like that,
That is kind of my point about we have to
give people something to believe in. And I think when
we talk about the diversity of Congress, like that's also

(59:12):
something that we have to think about, like a voice
like Rays actually does.

Speaker 4 (59:15):
Belonging to it does. Congress is supposed to be representative
of the people.

Speaker 6 (59:19):
Then we need a Ray who is in elected office,
who is representing a demographic of people that deserve representation,
and right now we do not.

Speaker 4 (59:28):
They keep saying it, we do not have a diverse Congress.

Speaker 5 (59:30):
And better than I say that Ray don't belong because
he is a convicted feeling because the man sitting in
the highest office of the land, in the Oval office,
not only had convictions, he got some pendy. So I
don't want to hear another thing. And there's a difference
between being a crook who continues to steal and take

(59:51):
from all of the American taxpayers, all of the people
that contribute to society, and another one who has gone
in and is redeemed and understands what time it is
so right down.

Speaker 1 (01:00:02):
Well, guess what, y'all we got so into the conversation.
I'm gonna kick down the road the university.

Speaker 4 (01:00:10):
It's only we can do.

Speaker 1 (01:00:12):
What I wanted to do is to get that next
viewer questioning so that uh we can we can respond
to that. That's your that's your perch by which.

Speaker 6 (01:00:20):
You literally she go kill Anthony's question, you don't die.

Speaker 1 (01:00:30):
I was like, they still living.

Speaker 3 (01:00:34):
To get your hand out my bucket, like.

Speaker 4 (01:00:37):
I'm glad corrected me.

Speaker 5 (01:00:39):
It was almost like, well those timeus with Andrew production
time out.

Speaker 3 (01:00:44):
You're not you're not doing what you think you're doing. Andrew.
It's not it's not doing what you think you're doing.
That not today, but that time.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
Into the video. Thank you, Nick.

Speaker 7 (01:00:58):
Greetings that lampard.

Speaker 1 (01:01:00):
My name is Luclator.

Speaker 11 (01:01:01):
I hail from Shaker Heights, Ohio, where I currently serve
on the City Council. Longtime listener and fan, First time
submitting a video and a question, and I want to
ask you all if you could take some time to
talk to listeners about the elections that are on the
ballot this year. As we talk about Welcome Home FAU,
we want to make sure that people understand close to home,

(01:01:22):
there are a lot of elections going on this year,
and how we can have our voices heard, what issues
those offices are responsible for, so we know we can
work on the changes that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:31):
We want to see in our communities.

Speaker 2 (01:01:34):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
On his shirt was no, I couldn't read those Greek letters.
I think there's a pie in there.

Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
It wrong.

Speaker 1 (01:01:49):
No, no, no, there's a pie at the end.

Speaker 7 (01:01:52):
But we do for.

Speaker 3 (01:01:57):
Maybe to ask Greek for shakers.

Speaker 1 (01:02:00):
I guess, let's not guess, let's not guess. There's a
whole there's probably a constituency of folks who know exactly
what exactly Well, when you know, you know, and if
you don't, just keep it. I don't know, Tiffany, y'all
just corrected because I was, of course a little nervous
about the Greek lettering that I didn't know and google

(01:02:23):
them and Angela, but that was.

Speaker 6 (01:02:25):
My new pie. That was fine, new pie on his sweatshirt.
So sorry if you Tiff is.

Speaker 3 (01:02:31):
An unofficial Kappa Sweetheart and she's corrected.

Speaker 6 (01:02:34):
Lord, you know I'm gonna hear from Albert and all
my so my apology.

Speaker 1 (01:02:39):
You should have trusted your gut if you knew that
was my new PI. You should have said you.

Speaker 2 (01:02:44):
Want to.

Speaker 3 (01:02:46):
A cap of bow tie?

Speaker 1 (01:02:48):
Get that man like that nice.

Speaker 3 (01:02:52):
A nice lots is all nicely pixelated.

Speaker 1 (01:02:56):
Clearly that unaffiliated people to a Greek letter, which is
why we don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:03:07):
So, yes, what I wanted to local election?

Speaker 3 (01:03:12):
Yeah, I'm sorry, and targeting.

Speaker 1 (01:03:17):
I was targeting. All I was saying. All I was
saying was this last This, this podcast and our conversation
just now with Ray should be really instructive for those
at the local level who are running for public office
and around. I think how we should be talking about
these issues and who we ought to be trying to
reach an advance of an election. That it is extremely

(01:03:39):
challenging to convince people to take an action and pforative
and support of a system that they don't feel seen,
heard supported by, and in fact the exact opposite, feel
demonized by, made small and quite frankly, uh see it
as an enemy, a thing that works against them, that
works against their needs. And so my recommendation would be one.

(01:04:02):
Take good listen at what we just what we just
heard again from from our good brother Ray, and let
that dictate how you move and campaigning and talking to
folks in and trying to recruit people to participate in
a local election that right now they may not very
much believe in.

Speaker 6 (01:04:19):
Yeah, and I think even just an understanding of a
lot of the ballot initiatives. You know, we've said on
this show before, that's where a lot of this shitty
policy bubbles up from at the state and local level.
State legislatures often introduce bills that land in the United
States Congress, and they create narratives and storylines and fake
culture wars. And certainly I didn't I was born not

(01:04:42):
too far from Shaker Heights. Our good brother Wes Lowry
is from Shaker Heights. And so there are a lot
of challenges in Cleveland. I mean that is just Ohio
as a state. This is a space where the population
is declining, the steel industry left, and a lot of
people are struggling. There a lot of rays in even
so Yeah, maybe we can I don't know how to

(01:05:04):
highlight this, but maybe we can start highlighting some of
some local things every week. Maybe one of us can
highlight something locally that's happening that hasn't happened already. That's
like maybe on the ballot or somebody trying rather it's
school board, city count If.

Speaker 4 (01:05:17):
Y'all want to do that, Yeah, people, we don't want to.

Speaker 3 (01:05:21):
Do it here.

Speaker 4 (01:05:21):
We can always do it on our on our instagram.

Speaker 1 (01:05:23):
Many individuals or individual social But I do think it
is important to illuminate that good things can happen. Good
good policy has come out of some places and start
to highlight the fact that there are there are a
lot of places where the government that you hired, that
you elected is working toward your good and because it's true,

(01:05:46):
a lot of people are not if they're not experiencing it,
is it really true? If that's not my experience, did
it really happen?

Speaker 4 (01:05:54):
That was Angelo's point.

Speaker 5 (01:05:56):
Yeah, all right, everybody. We have CTA's coming up right
after at this break.

Speaker 2 (01:06:08):
Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome.

Speaker 4 (01:06:13):
Okay, I think we can do CTAs.

Speaker 1 (01:06:15):
Yeah, although and we got a mini file coming up
which we're going.

Speaker 4 (01:06:18):
Oh yeah, which I want to talk about on me.

Speaker 3 (01:06:20):
You want to do HPC.

Speaker 4 (01:06:21):
Where does everybody seen centers?

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (01:06:23):
Yes, Andrew, Hey, I'm involved in a very time sensitive.

Speaker 5 (01:06:31):
Andrew, go to the movies for two hours and twenty
five minutes.

Speaker 3 (01:06:35):
Leave.

Speaker 1 (01:06:35):
I haven't seen a movie theater, and who knows when.

Speaker 5 (01:06:37):
You go see this movie it is, but it's all
talking about it's gonna be old.

Speaker 1 (01:06:42):
Go today, y'all start, let's go.

Speaker 3 (01:06:44):
Let's do it for me and give you ten dollars
for your movies.

Speaker 6 (01:06:48):
You need a babysitter, I need the time two tickets
of center.

Speaker 1 (01:06:53):
Baby, I'm with you right now, and when I hang up,
I will be going to get them and take them
to math, tutoring and the other.

Speaker 3 (01:06:59):
Baby me like airline, he trum, like my child.

Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
Okay, sure, I'll go now. I'm gonna go now. So yeah,
y'all can talk about it in the mini.

Speaker 12 (01:07:10):
All right, well we can talk about HBCUs and yeah,
what's your CT But what about wait before we get
it at what about hbc Oh, because fam you is
trying to put.

Speaker 1 (01:07:23):
In the middle of a presidential search. Angela has served,
you know, serves on the board of an HBCU. I've
served on the board before. There you also attended along,
you know, as long as I you the threats are real,
and I just want to dig in a little bit
to what what's the what shape they're.

Speaker 4 (01:07:37):
Taking in particular because you're president.

Speaker 1 (01:07:42):
And we've got you know, a Republican you know, a
board that has been shaped by Republicans for the last
twenty plus years, and the tactics that we're seeing at
the national level, fear retribution, those kinds of things are
rearing their heads in some ways. And and I just
want folks to know that how that attitude of if

(01:08:03):
you're not with me, you're against me, there is no
side but one side or the other is it's filtrating
down through the system that even something as pure as
our educational system and finding good people to lead them
is now you know, out the window in sake of
trying to move a political agenda and a political aim,
not the aim of an HBC, you know, the rich

(01:08:26):
legacy they have toward you know, greater outcomes. And I
think that's real dangerous.

Speaker 6 (01:08:31):
Okay, well we'll talk about that on the mini pot
co coch I have a CTA please, it's really like
a testimony. So my friend Jackie Reid, who y'all may
remember from BT News, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:08:45):
She called me.

Speaker 6 (01:08:45):
She had a little puppy pit bull that needed rescuing,
and our esteem colleague Michael Harriet and his wife took
in that baby, and my CTA is, please adopt, don't
shop there or somebody was keeping this poor dog tied
up outside all day and she literally went over there
and just got the dog and had the dog in

(01:09:07):
her house and.

Speaker 1 (01:09:08):
Was trying to find it.

Speaker 4 (01:09:09):
Yes, but she was removing a dog from harm.

Speaker 6 (01:09:12):
And she has seven fosters in her house right now,
So please adopt.

Speaker 1 (01:09:18):
Don't you have to call right she told the one.

Speaker 6 (01:09:21):
The woman didn't even care. She ended up telling the woman,
I'm just checking, but she didn't kidnap. I just appreciate
Jackie for getting that dog out of a bad situation
and loving animals enough that she has seven fosters in
her house right now. And if I know somebody's kind
to an animal and loves an animal like, I know
they're a good person.

Speaker 3 (01:09:39):
Did you guys just hear my stomach?

Speaker 4 (01:09:42):
Nope, because I was doing my CPA.

Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
It's very hard.

Speaker 6 (01:09:46):
So anyway, my whole cta adopt, don't shop, Please donate
to your local shelter, ASPCA, Human Humane Society.

Speaker 4 (01:09:53):
All of that, please do.

Speaker 1 (01:09:54):
That all right, Angela, you got one.

Speaker 3 (01:09:58):
My stomach got one.

Speaker 5 (01:09:59):
Apparently, if you hungry eat, make sure that you are
spiritually fed, you are emotionally fed.

Speaker 3 (01:10:06):
You are fed.

Speaker 5 (01:10:08):
And one of the places where I plan to eat
well and participate this weekend is in New Orleans, Southern Louisiana.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
I got family, Ay, you a douche. I'm gonna go
down there. I'm gonna eat real good.

Speaker 5 (01:10:20):
I'm gonna see morrows in New Orleans, and I'm looking
forward to that. If you guys have not paid attention,
please follow State of THEPPO dot com register, sign up, participate,
get involved.

Speaker 3 (01:10:32):
The black Papers are out doctor David John's.

Speaker 5 (01:10:35):
Under his direction, we have twenty five, no i think
now twenty eight policy papers that will be released under
the Black Papers banner. Make sure you check them out.
That will become our agenda. So I invite you all
in to be spiritually fed and actually fed, just like
I'm about to eat.

Speaker 6 (01:10:54):
For Also, all the people who leave comments who are
like Angela, please drink tea.

Speaker 4 (01:10:59):
Angela, please just get rest.

Speaker 6 (01:11:00):
Show up in New Orleans and lay eyes on the
antelo yourself and bring her bring her some yeah, bringing some.

Speaker 4 (01:11:07):
Tea, bringing some beignets. Don't touch her, but bring her.

Speaker 3 (01:11:12):
You won't mute?

Speaker 2 (01:11:13):
Answer what you want?

Speaker 1 (01:11:14):
Mute?

Speaker 4 (01:11:15):
Why is she onna mute?

Speaker 1 (01:11:16):
Oh lord, she don't want her stomach?

Speaker 5 (01:11:19):
No, I was, I didn't. I didn't realize it was.
I think I muted it instead the mudia. But I
was gonna say definitely, please don't touch me. You don't
have to bring me no beignets, because I have sanitary
issues too. I'd be worried about the chain of how
many people touch the food.

Speaker 3 (01:11:33):
I apologize y'all just hugged though for the most part.

Speaker 5 (01:11:38):
Just don't put all your underarm juice on top of them.

Speaker 6 (01:11:42):
I don't like shaking us today.

Speaker 1 (01:11:45):
For a Native Lampire. You guys are fist bumps.

Speaker 4 (01:11:49):
But I'm hugging.

Speaker 3 (01:11:50):
Is it is mine too? I meant bump.

Speaker 7 (01:11:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:11:54):
As always, we want to remind everyone to leave us.
So Review is subscribed to Native Lampi. We're available on
all platforms and YouTube. New episodes drop every Thursday Friday,
with solo pods in Monday and Tuesday. As a matter
of fact, thang, we got our cover for the whole week.
If you want more, check out Politics and Off the Cup,

(01:12:16):
the other shows on Reason Choice Media, and don't forget
to follow us on social media and subscribe to our
text or email lists on our website Native lampod dot com.
We are They are Angela, Rye, Tiffany Crossing. I'm Andrew Gillen.
Welcome home, y'all. There are five hundred and fiveifhole days
until midterm elections.

Speaker 4 (01:12:35):
Welcome home, y'all. Send us a video.

Speaker 13 (01:12:39):
Thank you for joining the natives. Attention to what the
info and all of the latest Roy Gillam and cross
connected to the statements that you leave on our socials.
Thank you sincerely for the faces reason for your choices clear,
so grateful to the to execute roles for serve, defend
and protect the truth. You've been in paint well, walk
home to all of the natives wait.

Speaker 2 (01:13:00):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:13:12):
Native Lampard is the production of iHeartRadio in partnership with
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Hosts And Creators

Tiffany Cross

Andrew Gillum

Angela Rye

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