January 22, 2025 • 40 mins
In this powerful episode,Tamika D. Mallory and Mysonne engage in a heartfelt conversation with Sonya Rogers, a mother who has tragically lost three sons to gun violence. The discussion explores themes of grief, community activism, and the importance of mental health. Sonya shares her journey of loss and healing, emphasizing the need for support and understanding in the face of tragedy. The hosts reflect on the systemic issues contributing to violence in communities and the importance of empowering young people to make positive choices. This episode serves as a poignant reminder of the impact of gun violence and the strength found in community and resilience.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Tamika D.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Mallory and the ship Boy, my Son that general.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
We are your host of t M.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I Tamika and my Son's Information, Truth, Motivation and.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Inspiration name New Energy. What's up, my son, Lennon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
How you doing, Tamika D. Mallory?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
What good today? Doing good today? Glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You can do anything like that, That's anything anything I
can do.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I could be a publicist. I could be an architect.
I could be a what is this here? Veterinarian, an activist,
a pilot, a clerky, member of the clergy. I could
be an astronaut. I could be a physician. I could
be an athlete. I mean you to be a hairstylists.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, it was a it was a crazy mean that
I think who was it was? It? It was Benjamin
Benjamin Crump posted and he was and it was I
forgot who he was. It's somebody that was in Congress,
I believe. And the white man said, it's crazy. Isn't
it funny how a black women with twenty years experience
all kinds of degrees can't be a di higher for
(01:08):
somebody who just worked on Fox News and ain't got
no degrees it's gonna be the Secretary of Defense all that.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, remember last week I was.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Talking about the Secretary of Defense.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Lord have mercy. We in some strange time.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
That we are that we are well.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
We got a good show today, we got a good
intim So sorry that our guest was unable to be
with us in person as some travel stuff. But she's
gonna be coming up a real powerful interview that I
hope that all of you will listen to.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Please listen to this.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
But now I want to let you all hear my
thought of the day. I tape this thought of the
day at a moment when I just felt it, and
now I want you all to hear it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
I'm watching these people, these folks that are in many
ways opposition and in opposition to our success as black folks.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I watch how strategic they are.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I'm like, when we said black Lives matter, they said
that is violent towards white folks, and white people needed
to start White Lives Matter. We said, defund the police.
They said, we don't want police at all, and we
want lawlessness, and that defund the police means we hate
the police. They have turned woke all around. DeSantis has
(02:28):
an anti woke movement going on. They have presented bills
to ban the wokeness.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
How I don't even know what that means.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Every single word, terminology, whatever we use to describe suffering,
to describe what people are fighting for liberation, they have
found a way to turn it around and make even
our own people afraid.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
To use it.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You will never watch or see on mainstream media that
they are you itus in certain terms, or they're saying
like white lives matter or something like that, that it
is it is. It means violence towards black folk.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
So today's guests is Miss Sonia Rogers. She is the
mother of five. She is the CEO and founder of
Through Our Voices and Girls Rock Too. She is a
community activist, she is a leader, she is a mother,
and we are happy to have Missonia. How you doing today, Missonia?
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Thank you so much, and I'm so blessed to be
here with all of y'all. I appreciate you, thank you,
I'm blessed. I'm just trying to stay pushing forward. That's
just about it.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
How mimsths Sonia, how you doing today? Beautiful?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
I love you and how are you? I'm blessing your soul.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Love you too.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
We're happy to have you with us today. I know
it's every time you have to talk about what you've
been through and what your family has endured, it's hard,
and we want to acknowledge that. We know it's not
easy to process and to keep having to relive your
story for people to be inspired, inspired to do better,
(04:09):
inspired to help more young people, inspired to see black
men as humans.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It's a lot.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
That's a lot of pressure for one person to carry,
and so I just want you to know that it's
not lost on us that today, while we are interviewing you,
quote end quote, it's more than interviewing you know, we're
really here to just allow you to continue to use
your story for your healing and for hours.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
And I appreciate that. And I'm gonna tell you something
honestly and truthfully, these tears are our tears are sadness,
honestly and about the grace of God. These tears are
honestly tears of joy because I've sat in depression for
so long and finally I'm learning how to deal with it.
And I appreciate the talk and the things of that nature.
(05:00):
You know, it helps me a lot. So these tears here.
Our tea is a joy. I just had to learn
to cometrol them and they just happen to come out.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
It's all good. I cry all the time.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
So miss Sonya, I mean, there's so many places we
could start, and I guess we will end at what
you do. But it would be great to hear from
you that, you know, just the story of the tragic
loss that you have experienced in your family with your
own children. Why don't you tell us about that?
Speaker 4 (05:32):
Well, I lost three sons to gun violence in the
city of York. My sons were twenty one, twenty one,
and twenty of age. It's hard, you know, I'm not
gonna say that because at the end of the day,
especially in a city where we come from called New
(05:54):
New Jersey, you can't be in deny you about your child.
And I always try to be a peer rent. And
you know, my oldest son not on the hands of himself.
I allowed him to start being around his father, and
you know, his father introduced him into a life of
you know, gang violence or whatever. But my oldest son,
(06:18):
all you know, he got killed. And when my oldest
son got killed, it was hard to justify because you know,
he wasn't an angel, but he was very respectful. And
I can't talk a bad about him because that's my son.
But at the end of the day, I couldn't be
in deny you about who my son was in the streets.
(06:43):
And that's hard, but it's just the reality of it,
because I can't say, oh, my son was an angel.
And I don't think he ever hurt anybody. I don't
think that, you know, it deserved to happen to him
the way that it did. But if it was going
to happen to him, and it's just just coming from
(07:03):
a mother that I think it would have happened to
him through a whole city, you know, not just where
he lived and things of that nature. But overall, that
young man graduated out of high school. You know, he
was respectful. He just had a street life. And when
I talk about my oldest son, I never try to downplay,
(07:27):
you know, because I don't want to be ridiculed. I
was ridiculed so much by some, you know, people in
the new police department. But I really tried to be
the best mother that I could and not to jump
off of subject because it's three of them that I
have to discuss. It's a many of us that lives
(07:50):
in this city, and I'm not the only person that
ever lost a child. And I try not to put
all the I call it shine and stigma on my
self because I'm not the only young woman that's hurting
in my city. But we really tried for our children here.
Some of us work, some of us stay at home.
You know. It's just the reality that our children are
(08:14):
being killed, you know, and in other places children are
being killed by the hands of someone else, but our
kids are being killed by our own.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
And that's I think that's what really touched me when
I when I first met you and I heard your
story and you was and you know, you cried and
you told the story, and I felt really impacted because
I couldn't. I have three sons, right, That's all I
have is three sons, and I couldn't imagine losing all
three of money. And they all were in close proximity age, Like,
(08:46):
how many years apart did this happen? Like like one
was lost one year, like because you said they were
twenty twenty one and twenty one, so how many years
apart did it happen?
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Anthony and his street name was ransom. Anthony was shot
made the thirty first. He had just turned twenty one
that October before. He stayed on a respirator until June
and twenty first and me, with the help of the
(09:21):
now mayor Baraka elected governor, you know, helped me make
a decision as well as my family and friends that
he had no more brain activities. So on June to
twenty first, I took him off the respirator. Six months later,
(09:44):
February the twenty fourth of that next year, my second
son passed away twenty fifteen, two days after three days
after Christmas. December to twent eight, that's when my baby
passed away. And I say my baby because he was
(10:04):
literally the baby, the last of the bunch. So and
you know, last year December was the first year that
I ever sat back, and I literally dealt with that
since twenty fifteen because I kept moving and so much
(10:26):
was happening in twenty twenty four and I said, Sonya,
you have to deal with this. You can't let this
new year come in and this Christmas come in and
act like nothing happened. So I sat by myself and
I endured it about what happened to me on that year,
on that day, and you know, it wasn't as bad
(10:48):
as I really thought it was gonna be. But you know,
I got it together.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I did so three sons all in Newark, right, All
three of them were killed in Newark. Yes, And has
there been any prosecution of those who are responsible for
their deaths?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
All three of my son's cases are cool. Yeah, it's
like I had no fight. I'm not going to say
I didn't have any help, but I really didn't know
what to do. And it was like a wolf cry,
like you crying out for help, but nobody not listening.
(11:36):
And the only person I had to cry out to
already had the city on his already had the city
he had to run, so you can give it all
to him. So I tried. I really did try. I
was fifteen years old when I had those kids.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Let's talk about it.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
I was fifteen years old, you know, And at the
end of the day, I'm not embarrassed about it.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
You know, I.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Talked to Ad a lot, you guys know him New Direction.
I give a big shout out to them and pushing
all the other organizations out here. I was fifteen years
old when I had those kids. It wasn't easy. I struggled,
I strived, but I stayed. And you know, to be
young and to lose children, that's the most hurt in
(12:26):
this detrimental feeling in the world, regardless of how you
lose your child, and to lose three of them, it
hurt pretty bad. But I learned, believe it or not,
I learned that God got me. God got me. It's
(12:47):
no to meka my sign. I'm gonna tell you something.
It's no other way that I can make it through,
no other way. And like I say, I don't only
speak on my health, and that's why I try to
do certain things.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
You know.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
I'm so blessed for Jamilla, doctor, Jamilla Davis. I'm so
blessed for Tybor. I'm so blessed for my son. I'm
so blessed for all these organizations out here because I
know these people, and you know, I could turn to
them and try to talk because that's what helps me
believe it or not talking, I got to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
What I wonder is so you still have two.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Yes, I have two beautiful daughters. One of my daughters
she's here. My other daughter lives down south in North Carolina.
She works she's supervisor at Navy Federal. You know, I
was kind of sad when my oldest daughter left or whatever,
but I don't blame her. That's a lot of hurt
(13:52):
and pain for a person to try to endure when
all you did was try to come up here to
save your little brother and pick him up, HM to
take him back, and to have to get a phone
call like that when you on a highway to come
pick your little brother up, it's that your mental And
(14:12):
my other daughter suffers from depression. But you know, it's
a lot of things that we hide some people. Some
people might know. If you're close to us, you know
you may know. But it's a lot of hurt and
pain in this. And this is why not saying that
I'm the perfect person, not saying that I'm the perfect candidate,
(14:33):
but and not saying if I can do it, but
if I could try to help somebody that's best for me.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Do you have do you have a therapist? Do you
speak to somebody?
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I do have a therapist, and I'm gonna tell you again,
Jamilla got hooked me up with the young lady check
going hard.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
To the therapist.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
The therapists need therapists everybody needs somebody, everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I'm just hoping, you know, when I hear Unfortunately, like
you said, yours is not the only story like this.
This is probably like the fourth or fifth time that
I've had a mother say that they've lost multiple, multiple children.
And I just I'm hoping that somebody is listening. I'm
hoping that somebody who's in these gangs and in these
(15:36):
streets and that's, you know, thinking about taking somebody's life,
just hears this. You know, like to me, the pain
that you're expressing, and just you know, not only the pain,
but just the fact that you want to utilize your
story to try to help somebody else, you know, and
you've created this organization that you have to try to
(15:57):
stop gun violence. You know. I know that it motivates
me to do the work that I do. I know
it motivates me to go out there and say, I
don't want to hear another mother cry. I don't want
to see another mother lose their child. You know, mothers
are not supposed to bury their children. You know, the
children are supposed to bury their mother, you know. So
I know it motivates me. So I'm just I just
(16:19):
want you to know that your bravery and your strength
even in your tears a lot, you know, and they're
gonna touch somebody, you know, I know this. It's gonna
be somebody that hears your story. You know. There's gonna
be a mother that hears your story and pushes and
grabs her son, you know, because he might be in
the street. Like you say, you knew your oldest son
(16:41):
was outside and you aren't blind to it, and she
might do something, to do anything extra to try to
save them because she don't want to see that fate.
A lot of a lot of mothers. And I noticed,
because I speak to a lot of women who have children,
A lot of women fear for their kids, especially their sons.
They really fear for their sons, but they don't know
what to do, you know, and hearing your story is
(17:04):
gonna make them embrace them a little further, a little
more and say, look, I don't know what I'm gonna do,
but I don't want to lose my son like this.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
But I'm gonna tell you one thing. As a single parent,
because it's a lot of us here. You can't give up,
you know, you cannot give up. And it's hard, aw man,
it's so hard, but you can't give up because these
black young men have to know that somebody loves them.
These kids are feeling the pain of losing people too,
(17:39):
and they may not want to talk about it, but
it's here, these kids, these adults and everybody. It's not
only people out here losing their children. Because I'm gonna
take a step back. I lost my mother. I lost
my mother. It's like I'm walking around here no empathy,
no sympathy, but it's like I'm walking around here with
(18:01):
already made up family that I set up Ever since
I grew up. I could tell you about every single
aspect of life, even down to losing a significant other,
which was a brief.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Friend and was your family always from Newark?
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Yes, yes, So how does it feel to see Newark
now making a real hard turn. It's not yet perfect,
long way to go, people still dying, but there is
a significant change, and that is because of the work
that you and so many others have put in, and
(18:40):
of course having a leader like Mayor Baraka who is
very much so invested in helping young black men and
girls and helping any disadvantage under resourced young person. How
do you feel now knowing that Unfortunately your three sons
didn't make it, but somebody son will make it because
(19:02):
the city is really investing in young people.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
You hit the nail on the head. Let me tell
you something I wish. I wish my boys could have
been here to experience all of this. OVPT, the Brick
City Peace Collective, oh Man New Direction, push you my sogn,
(19:29):
Doctor Jamila Davis. It's a one hood. So many organizations
out here that you even have. It's all about the
seniors and children that's trying to teach people how to
cut here. You have so many organizations out here. I
wish I wish. You don't even know how many times
I said, I wish my son would have got locked
(19:52):
up in federal prison for the rest of his life.
I wish, I wish that these organizations were here, But
they were planning on the footwork. They were planning on
the footwork. I remember when Keisha Eurver used to just
beat the street for nothing, my sign. I remember when
(20:12):
you beat the street for nothing tut his home, Shadi.
I'm so proud of him to me give you a blessing.
It's just so many people that I wish could have
just touched my children. I could just see my son now,
you know. And like I said, I can't help but
(20:32):
two cries sometimes, but these are honestly tells the joy,
you know, to talk about three children. Sometimes I get emotional.
Sometimes I don't, but I really want to help impack somebody.
I get stagnated a little bit, I really do. I
get stagnated because I get scared because I know that
I'm not a wonder woman, and I know that I
(20:56):
have my breakdowns in my falls too. But I have
to learn. I have to learn that it's okay not
to be okay. It's okay not to be okay, especially
with and I can only speak for myself what a
person endures. It's okay not to be okay. And in
(21:18):
my case, I think I could get that a little bit.
It's okay not to be okay.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Tell us about your organizations that you run.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
So through our voices again I made through our voices,
believe it or not. Through our voices came up one
of my girlfriends her son passed away, but he didn't
pass away from gun violence. And so you know, it
would be a lot of things that came up in
the city, and it would somewhat be surrounded around gun violence,
(21:49):
and she would always say to me, I'm not going.
I don't think that's for me. And I'm like, you
got a voice regardless of how your child passed away.
That's your kid. You a good mother, I know you
loved him. No, you got a voice too.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
It.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Then I just thought about it. I'm like, through our voices,
everybody has a voice, because yes, I bury my children,
but I have friends that lost their parents and they
suffer from depression. I have friends that lost their significant other,
they suffer from depression. I have friends that just have
(22:27):
lost siblings. They suffer through depression. I have friends that
endure what we all endure, and they suffering from depression.
You get it. So it's fear to think about everybody.
It's not always fear. It's not always good to be
selfish or just oh, this is only about gun violence.
(22:48):
It's no. It's about sexual abuse, it's about domestic violence.
It's about the trauma and depression of all this stuff.
You know, my therapist that I talked to, that doctor
Davis introduced me to, not one time has she said
to me, you know sonya or ms Rogers, I think
(23:12):
we need to talk you know, maybe you need to
come in and get on a prescription or something like that.
Not one time. And I'm here to tell anybody, God
is the drug, Oh my god, it's not. It's not
a prescription out here that can help men anybody's broken heart.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Well, I will say, because I am an advocate for
people getting what they need. So if for some reason
you have been and I don't think people should just
take medicine, because you know, I don't believe it's very
difficult to get me to agree to take even a
cold medicine or you know, fluid colds and whatever. I'm
(23:55):
not into that. My parents were never people who kept
medicine in the house. They didn't take medicine. But through
my own anxiety, my son's father was killed when my
son was two years old. I was eighteen nineteen years
old when he died, you know, and he died because
of gun violence. And I have also gone through a
(24:16):
number of traumas in life. In fact, a book that
I have coming out in just a couple of weeks
really goes into everything that has happened, all that I
endured that led me to a place where I learned.
My problem, of course, was stressed, but it was also
learning how to deal with anxiety and I needed medication.
(24:41):
In fact, it helps me tremendously that I have something
that helps to regulate all of the emotions that I
go through, and I'm grateful for it. And so there
are some people out there, and you probably are not
one of them, Missnia, because you know you have found
a way to handle your stress, your way.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
But there are people out here who.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
Need their prescription and they need to take it.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Take your prescription something. And that's so true. And you know,
my apologies for that because you just schooled me on
something because honestly, maybe that's something that if it was
offer or something like that, maybe it would help my anxiety,
because my anxiety be through the roof. But I'm gonna
(25:29):
tell you something. I go back to say this. Listen
to your story and what you just said, what makes
my story more important than yours because it was my children.
You have a story. Hurt is hurt and pain is pain.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Through our voices voices. Well, we appreciate you for joining
us today. Your story is both heartbreaking and powerful. It's
both sickening and an inspirational story. It seems that your
story just runs on parallel course because on one side,
(26:07):
it's sickening because I know that your sons were not
born in trouble, they weren't born bad kids. But this
society doesn't really provide a lot of opportunities for young
black men to stay on the straight and narrow, And
anybody who tries to argue otherwise with us, we're prepare.
(26:29):
We got the receipts to prove to them that it's
a trap, and some get out, but they are, what
we say, the exception and not the rule. And I
and I don't ever want you to walk away feeling that.
And I appreciate that you said it's not a shame,
because shame why the people or the what should be
(26:53):
ashamed is the system of how this system has been
designed to create stories like yours. There are people out
here who want to see what happened to you and
your sons happen, and they are still perpetuating it every
single day. And we're like fighting, you know, tooth and
nail to try to save our children.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
And I just, I just I want you to leave
us with a word. There's some young kids in the streets,
they young, and they running around and they got guns,
and they got ops and they doing all of this stuff.
And if somebody doesn't have a conversation, some words don't
get into their minds, they're either gonna be in a
(27:36):
graveyard or they're gonna be in a prison cell. So
I want you to give those actors if you speaking
to one of them young boys right now, and just
tell them what you would say to them.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
You know, I speak to them on the streets daily
because I work downtown North and I always say to them.
This is my exact saying to them. You know, if
you don't get yourself together, or you you to get
yourself together, or however it goes, whatever happens to you
in the street, you're not gonna know, You're not gonna
feel it in anything. Your family is gonna be impacted
(28:10):
by it. You don't want to hurt your mother, because
your mother loves you. You don't want to hurt your sister,
your grandmother and stuff like that. You know, and whatever
you do out here in these streets, just remember it's
gonna impact your family. And take a look at me.
You don't want your mother to end up looking like
(28:31):
me or being hurt like myself. And some of them listen,
and you know, I'm gonna say this. They don't give
some of our black young men the alcolades that they should,
especially when they been shot and killed by the hands
of another black man. You know, I never heard one
(28:55):
time that because my last two sons were killed senselessly,
absolutely not a thing. And I'll take that to my
grave with that, because again, you can't be and deny
you about your kid, especially when your child is in
the street. And I have to be honest, you know.
But my last son, my last son went to college.
(29:18):
And you know, through all the podcasts that I did,
I look back and I said, so you never acknowledge
that that's an accomplishment for him and for myself, you know.
And like Tamika said, you have to acknowledge. You gotta
acknowledge sometimes. And I learned, I'm telling you, I learned
(29:42):
how to acknowledge my hurt. I did. I had to
learn how to acknowledge my hurt. Again, I'm not a superwoman,
but I'm really going to try to help these children,
the girls and the boys, because the young ladies out here,
you know, they're going through it because they're angry, they're mad.
Some of you know, some parents not there, but we
(30:05):
want to get all of that together. That's right, Well,
we just want to say all that together.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
We truly appreciate you and you are a superwoman to me,
and that's why I wanted to bring you on this show.
Speaker 4 (30:16):
Love guys, and I'm here anything.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Your strength motivates me. You know, the fact that you
went through what you went through and you still find
the energy and love to go out and still try
to change this world. You know you didn't give up.
So we appreciate you. You know we're here for you
if you need us as usual. Continue to be superwoman.
Don't let nobody tell you not.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
That's right, that's right, You're beautiful. Thank you so much
for coming to be with us today.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Appreciate you anytime. I couldn't let you guys down. I
love y'all. Anytime you need me, I'm always.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Yeah, we gotta have you in the studio next time.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
That part to me. Continue to be the inspiration that
you are. Thank you, thank you, Thank you so much.
And my sign you do the same.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I got you so much.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Shout out to miss Sonia Rogers. You know it's heartbreaking,
but it's also inspirational to hear her story. You know.
That's why I wanted to have her on, and I've
been trying to get her on. You know, she's motivational,
she's she still has a fight in her and she
still has, you know, a lot of good energy. So
I just, you know, hopefully somebody hears her story, you know,
and understands how serious it is when we're dealing with
(31:27):
this gun violence in the streets. I daily deal with
these young kids and have these conversations with them, but
I want them to see that a mother lose lost
their children. You know, when you take somebody's life, that
person's mother has to deal with them. Somebody takes your life,
your mother has to deal with it. You know, if
you don't care about yourself, you know, especially us as
(31:48):
young men and men period, we always supposed to think
about our mothers and the women around us. So let's
let's try to do better for them.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I know that's right, Let's try to do better.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
I'm glad she wasn't here because I think, you know,
she was supposed to be in studio with us.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
But I think that if she was here, I probably.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Would have been a watershed over here, because it's touching
you know, and while she said it's happy tears because
I know that a part of her just feels like
she's just grateful to God that people care enough to
have her on shows and talk to her and allow
her to tell her story. And that's really all that
(32:25):
some of these mothers want. They just want someone else
to be inspired so that there doesn't have to continue
to be these like bricks falling. Excuse me, these bricks
falling from the foundation of our communities. You know, where
do you know of white folks that say three of
their children were killed in one family?
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Three?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
That's it. I don't think I've ever.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Heard it within a two to three year period and
one within six months or the other one.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Maybe maybe, maybe maybe.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
It has happened, but I doubt it.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
And it doesn't mean that there are not families with
multiple children where they're they have sons and or daughters
who are in the street. It doesn't mean that, it
doesn't mean that there is not a because you're not
gonna tell me that white kids are perfect. It's a
community design, and we just have to say it and
name it so that no one will, you know, think
(33:27):
that this is okay. And that is just her fault.
You know, I appreciate that she's being honest about the
conditions of the community and what her oldest son was into,
you know, at least acknowledging that he wasn't a perfect kid.
But I'm sorry, I know a lot of other people
who don't have perfect kids either, and their children are
(33:49):
not being killed like there. So there's got to be
something in the community as well.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
It's definitely something in the community. So once again, shout
out tomsths Sonya. You know, she's in our prayers and
we hope she's in yours. And that brings me to
my I don't get it now. We're talking about people
losing their lives. We're talking about tragedy. We're talking about
all these things. Everyone knows about the fires inside LA
(34:13):
it's been, you know, the biggest tragedy. A lot of
our friends live in LA. They've lost houses, a kind
of people, family members, you know, you know, by the
grace of God, that hasn't been as many fatalities as well.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
It's growing every day.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
So the other day it was twenty five fatalities. I
haven't checked today, but anyway, you know, it's it's a
global problem. Everybody is you know, doing what they can
to help. You know, I've seen shout out to trade
the truth, shout out to the game, shout out to
all the other people people. You know, they abandon together
as a community. They setting up shop, They have you know, tents,
(34:52):
they got food, they got water, they got resources, trying
to give to the families. But what I don't get
is that I heard that there are people out there
actually setting fires, Like why what kind of sick person
that you have to be to go out while thousands
of homes are on fire already, Like they got every
(35:17):
firefighter in the world, people coming from around the world
to help put out this fire, and you in the
middle of the street trying to set fires, Like what
the hell is going on? Like who are the people?
I just want to know what is going through the
mind of a person that sees that type of destruction
around them and wants to contribute to that. I don't
(35:38):
even understand the mind state that comes with some shit
like that.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Well, you said that there must be sick people, or
they must be sick people, and they are. I mean,
there are people who have serious mental health issues, right,
And I just want to provide two perspectives.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
The first one is that some people are.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Motivated by money or what they think can happen if
a community, their entire community burns down. Perhaps they think
that there's more insurance benefits for their community to be inhabitable,
because you know, some of the insurance companies are like, well,
as long as there's five walls standing up in your home,
(36:18):
then it can be fixed. It can be remodeled and
not just completely demolished. Like crazy stuff is going on
with the insurance companies. And there are some people who
probably have set fires to just kind of demolish and
or harm other people. Maybe they didn't like the enable
all the time. Then there are people who are arsonists,
(36:39):
who are, like you said, have mental health. They're sick.
It's something wrong with them. That's what they do. They
set fires since they were kids. They always wanted to
be the one setting fires. Some of these people set
fires to their parents' house, their grandmother's house a long
time ago.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
So that is another issue.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Then you have people, okay, this is my unpopular opinion.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
You have people who.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Are watching the destruction of folks who, even if they
weren't super rich, they had some kind of means to
be able to get a house and own it a
little bit, and they have nothing, and so they are
willing to destroy any and everything around in order to
hurt other people because the system that we live in
(37:26):
does not provide people with equal opportunity, It does not
provide people with mental health services, it does not take
care of all the citizens of America, all the people.
And so what you have is some people that just
like somebody might look at you and you be saying,
why did you rob that older lady, like an elderly lady,
(37:46):
why did you do that? But you got people out
here that's like, oh, y'all not gonna be out here
walking back and forth drinking your Latti latte and having
good life. And we homeless and we ain't got nothing.
So since is burning ship, let's burn it all down.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
It's really it's really disheartening. It is that that there
are people that hate that bad right. There are people
that don't want to see someone ahead of them or
think that somebody has more. So they are that, you know,
envious in their heart, you know. And it's it's really said.
When I heard I was watching news and it was like, yeah,
they're setting you know, their arsonists and then people setting
(38:23):
fires and they're being charged, and I'm like, people will
be saying, like, you would think this is the time
to band together. You would think that the whole city's
on fire. You think everybody should be coming on trying
to figure out how do we help and actually know
that there are people out there that are contributing and
sating fires. It just blew my mind. So you know,
I guess I'm naive to that because I don't even
(38:44):
have an inkling of what it would feel like to
want to contribute to that. I don't have There's nothing
in me that can rationalize or even understand how a
person would want to do that. So, you know, but
it's a special place in hell for those type of people.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Absolutely I agree with that on her.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
And with that being said, we come to the end
of another episode. Shout out to miss Sonia Rodgers. Please
pray for Miss Sonia Rogers. You see her, you know,
give her. I hope y'all listen to her have this
conversation with these young boys when you're trying to change
the mind state and the trajectory of what's going on
in these communities. Let them hear her story. Three sons.
(39:23):
Three of your son's gone within two to three years.
You know that it's painful. But just to see her
continue to move and continue her her thrive and her
wants to create an organization to combat that's just the superwoman.
And that's what I said. She's a superwoman. So shout
(39:44):
out to you, miss Sonna, and to me. Could you
have anything you.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
Want to No, no, no, no, sir, thank you, nothing
at all. It was a heartbreaking yet powerful interview.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Sure was well. That brings us to the end of
another episode. Make sure you follow us and subscribe to
our channel on YouTube at Tami Show PC and leave
a comment. We want to hear all the comments. We
want to hear all of the love. We want to
hear even the hate. Make sure that you tell us
what you feel because we're still the number one show
in the world, and that's because we're the best show
(40:16):
in the world. Right, come on, come on, come.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
On, come on, good night.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
I'm not gonna always be right, Tamika d marriage is
not gonna always be wrong, but we will both always
and I mean always be authentic.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
That's how we own it.
I'm Tamika D.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Mallory and the ship Boy, my Son that general.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
We are your host of t M.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I Tamika and my Son's Information, Truth, Motivation and.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Inspiration name New Energy. What's up, my son, Lennon.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
How you doing, Tamika D. Mallory?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
What good today? Doing good today? Glad to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
You can do anything like that, That's anything anything I
can do.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
I could be a publicist. I could be an architect.
I could be a what is this here? Veterinarian, an activist,
a pilot, a clerky, member of the clergy. I could
be an astronaut. I could be a physician. I could
be an athlete. I mean you to be a hairstylists.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yeah, it was a it was a crazy mean that
I think who was it was? It? It was Benjamin
Benjamin Crump posted and he was and it was I
forgot who he was. It's somebody that was in Congress,
I believe. And the white man said, it's crazy. Isn't
it funny how a black women with twenty years experience
all kinds of degrees can't be a di higher for
(01:08):
somebody who just worked on Fox News and ain't got
no degrees it's gonna be the Secretary of Defense all that.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Yeah, remember last week I was.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Talking about the Secretary of Defense.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Lord have mercy. We in some strange time.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
That we are that we are well.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
We got a good show today, we got a good
intim So sorry that our guest was unable to be
with us in person as some travel stuff. But she's
gonna be coming up a real powerful interview that I
hope that all of you will listen to.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Please listen to this.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
But now I want to let you all hear my
thought of the day. I tape this thought of the
day at a moment when I just felt it, and
now I want you all to hear it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let's go.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
I'm watching these people, these folks that are in many
ways opposition and in opposition to our success as black folks.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
I watch how strategic they are.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I'm like, when we said black Lives matter, they said
that is violent towards white folks, and white people needed
to start White Lives Matter. We said, defund the police.
They said, we don't want police at all, and we
want lawlessness, and that defund the police means we hate
the police. They have turned woke all around. DeSantis has
(02:28):
an anti woke movement going on. They have presented bills
to ban the wokeness.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
How I don't even know what that means.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Every single word, terminology, whatever we use to describe suffering,
to describe what people are fighting for liberation, they have
found a way to turn it around and make even
our own people afraid.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
To use it.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
You will never watch or see on mainstream media that
they are you itus in certain terms, or they're saying
like white lives matter or something like that, that it
is it is. It means violence towards black folk.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
So today's guests is Miss Sonia Rogers. She is the
mother of five. She is the CEO and founder of
Through Our Voices and Girls Rock Too. She is a
community activist, she is a leader, she is a mother,
and we are happy to have Missonia. How you doing today, Missonia?
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Thank you so much, and I'm so blessed to be
here with all of y'all. I appreciate you, thank you,
I'm blessed. I'm just trying to stay pushing forward. That's
just about it.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
How mimsths Sonia, how you doing today? Beautiful?
Speaker 4 (03:42):
I love you and how are you? I'm blessing your soul.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Love you too.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
We're happy to have you with us today. I know
it's every time you have to talk about what you've
been through and what your family has endured, it's hard,
and we want to acknowledge that. We know it's not
easy to process and to keep having to relive your
story for people to be inspired, inspired to do better,
(04:09):
inspired to help more young people, inspired to see black
men as humans.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It's a lot.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
That's a lot of pressure for one person to carry,
and so I just want you to know that it's
not lost on us that today, while we are interviewing you,
quote end quote, it's more than interviewing you know, we're
really here to just allow you to continue to use
your story for your healing and for hours.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
And I appreciate that. And I'm gonna tell you something
honestly and truthfully, these tears are our tears are sadness,
honestly and about the grace of God. These tears are
honestly tears of joy because I've sat in depression for
so long and finally I'm learning how to deal with it.
And I appreciate the talk and the things of that nature.
(05:00):
You know, it helps me a lot. So these tears here.
Our tea is a joy. I just had to learn
to cometrol them and they just happen to come out.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
It's all good. I cry all the time.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
So miss Sonya, I mean, there's so many places we
could start, and I guess we will end at what
you do. But it would be great to hear from
you that, you know, just the story of the tragic
loss that you have experienced in your family with your
own children. Why don't you tell us about that?
Speaker 4 (05:32):
Well, I lost three sons to gun violence in the
city of York. My sons were twenty one, twenty one,
and twenty of age. It's hard, you know, I'm not
gonna say that because at the end of the day,
especially in a city where we come from called New
(05:54):
New Jersey, you can't be in deny you about your child.
And I always try to be a peer rent. And
you know, my oldest son not on the hands of himself.
I allowed him to start being around his father, and
you know, his father introduced him into a life of
you know, gang violence or whatever. But my oldest son,
(06:18):
all you know, he got killed. And when my oldest
son got killed, it was hard to justify because you know,
he wasn't an angel, but he was very respectful. And
I can't talk a bad about him because that's my son.
But at the end of the day, I couldn't be
in deny you about who my son was in the streets.
(06:43):
And that's hard, but it's just the reality of it,
because I can't say, oh, my son was an angel.
And I don't think he ever hurt anybody. I don't
think that, you know, it deserved to happen to him
the way that it did. But if it was going
to happen to him, and it's just just coming from
(07:03):
a mother that I think it would have happened to
him through a whole city, you know, not just where
he lived and things of that nature. But overall, that
young man graduated out of high school. You know, he
was respectful. He just had a street life. And when
I talk about my oldest son, I never try to downplay,
(07:27):
you know, because I don't want to be ridiculed. I
was ridiculed so much by some, you know, people in
the new police department. But I really tried to be
the best mother that I could and not to jump
off of subject because it's three of them that I
have to discuss. It's a many of us that lives
(07:50):
in this city, and I'm not the only person that
ever lost a child. And I try not to put
all the I call it shine and stigma on my
self because I'm not the only young woman that's hurting
in my city. But we really tried for our children here.
Some of us work, some of us stay at home.
You know. It's just the reality that our children are
(08:14):
being killed, you know, and in other places children are
being killed by the hands of someone else, but our
kids are being killed by our own.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
And that's I think that's what really touched me when
I when I first met you and I heard your
story and you was and you know, you cried and
you told the story, and I felt really impacted because
I couldn't. I have three sons, right, That's all I
have is three sons, and I couldn't imagine losing all
three of money. And they all were in close proximity age, Like,
(08:46):
how many years apart did this happen? Like like one
was lost one year, like because you said they were
twenty twenty one and twenty one, so how many years
apart did it happen?
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Anthony and his street name was ransom. Anthony was shot
made the thirty first. He had just turned twenty one
that October before. He stayed on a respirator until June
and twenty first and me, with the help of the
(09:21):
now mayor Baraka elected governor, you know, helped me make
a decision as well as my family and friends that
he had no more brain activities. So on June to
twenty first, I took him off the respirator. Six months later,
(09:44):
February the twenty fourth of that next year, my second
son passed away twenty fifteen, two days after three days
after Christmas. December to twent eight, that's when my baby
passed away. And I say my baby because he was
(10:04):
literally the baby, the last of the bunch. So and
you know, last year December was the first year that
I ever sat back, and I literally dealt with that
since twenty fifteen because I kept moving and so much
(10:26):
was happening in twenty twenty four and I said, Sonya,
you have to deal with this. You can't let this
new year come in and this Christmas come in and
act like nothing happened. So I sat by myself and
I endured it about what happened to me on that year,
on that day, and you know, it wasn't as bad
(10:48):
as I really thought it was gonna be. But you know,
I got it together.
Speaker 3 (10:52):
I did so three sons all in Newark, right, All
three of them were killed in Newark. Yes, And has
there been any prosecution of those who are responsible for
their deaths?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
All three of my son's cases are cool. Yeah, it's
like I had no fight. I'm not going to say
I didn't have any help, but I really didn't know
what to do. And it was like a wolf cry,
like you crying out for help, but nobody not listening.
(11:36):
And the only person I had to cry out to
already had the city on his already had the city
he had to run, so you can give it all
to him. So I tried. I really did try. I
was fifteen years old when I had those kids.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Let's talk about it.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
I was fifteen years old, you know, And at the
end of the day, I'm not embarrassed about it.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
You know, I.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Talked to Ad a lot, you guys know him New Direction.
I give a big shout out to them and pushing
all the other organizations out here. I was fifteen years
old when I had those kids. It wasn't easy. I struggled,
I strived, but I stayed. And you know, to be
young and to lose children, that's the most hurt in
(12:26):
this detrimental feeling in the world, regardless of how you
lose your child, and to lose three of them, it
hurt pretty bad. But I learned, believe it or not,
I learned that God got me. God got me. It's
(12:47):
no to meka my sign. I'm gonna tell you something.
It's no other way that I can make it through,
no other way. And like I say, I don't only
speak on my health, and that's why I try to
do certain things.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
You know.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
I'm so blessed for Jamilla, doctor, Jamilla Davis. I'm so
blessed for Tybor. I'm so blessed for my son. I'm
so blessed for all these organizations out here because I
know these people, and you know, I could turn to
them and try to talk because that's what helps me
believe it or not talking, I got to talk about it.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
What I wonder is so you still have two.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Yes, I have two beautiful daughters. One of my daughters
she's here. My other daughter lives down south in North Carolina.
She works she's supervisor at Navy Federal. You know, I
was kind of sad when my oldest daughter left or whatever,
but I don't blame her. That's a lot of hurt
(13:52):
and pain for a person to try to endure when
all you did was try to come up here to
save your little brother and pick him up, HM to
take him back, and to have to get a phone
call like that when you on a highway to come
pick your little brother up, it's that your mental And
(14:12):
my other daughter suffers from depression. But you know, it's
a lot of things that we hide some people. Some
people might know. If you're close to us, you know
you may know. But it's a lot of hurt and
pain in this. And this is why not saying that
I'm the perfect person, not saying that I'm the perfect candidate,
(14:33):
but and not saying if I can do it, but
if I could try to help somebody that's best for me.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Do you have do you have a therapist? Do you
speak to somebody?
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I do have a therapist, and I'm gonna tell you again,
Jamilla got hooked me up with the young lady check
going hard.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
To the therapist.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
The therapists need therapists everybody needs somebody, everybody.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
I'm just hoping, you know, when I hear Unfortunately, like
you said, yours is not the only story like this.
This is probably like the fourth or fifth time that
I've had a mother say that they've lost multiple, multiple children.
And I just I'm hoping that somebody is listening. I'm
hoping that somebody who's in these gangs and in these
(15:36):
streets and that's, you know, thinking about taking somebody's life,
just hears this. You know, like to me, the pain
that you're expressing, and just you know, not only the pain,
but just the fact that you want to utilize your
story to try to help somebody else, you know, and
you've created this organization that you have to try to
(15:57):
stop gun violence. You know. I know that it motivates
me to do the work that I do. I know
it motivates me to go out there and say, I
don't want to hear another mother cry. I don't want
to see another mother lose their child. You know, mothers
are not supposed to bury their children. You know, the
children are supposed to bury their mother, you know. So
I know it motivates me. So I'm just I just
(16:19):
want you to know that your bravery and your strength
even in your tears a lot, you know, and they're
gonna touch somebody, you know, I know this. It's gonna
be somebody that hears your story. You know. There's gonna
be a mother that hears your story and pushes and
grabs her son, you know, because he might be in
the street. Like you say, you knew your oldest son
(16:41):
was outside and you aren't blind to it, and she
might do something, to do anything extra to try to
save them because she don't want to see that fate.
A lot of a lot of mothers. And I noticed,
because I speak to a lot of women who have children,
A lot of women fear for their kids, especially their sons.
They really fear for their sons, but they don't know
what to do, you know, and hearing your story is
(17:04):
gonna make them embrace them a little further, a little
more and say, look, I don't know what I'm gonna do,
but I don't want to lose my son like this.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
But I'm gonna tell you one thing. As a single parent,
because it's a lot of us here. You can't give up,
you know, you cannot give up. And it's hard, aw man,
it's so hard, but you can't give up because these
black young men have to know that somebody loves them.
These kids are feeling the pain of losing people too,
(17:39):
and they may not want to talk about it, but
it's here, these kids, these adults and everybody. It's not
only people out here losing their children. Because I'm gonna
take a step back. I lost my mother. I lost
my mother. It's like I'm walking around here no empathy,
no sympathy, but it's like I'm walking around here with
(18:01):
already made up family that I set up Ever since
I grew up. I could tell you about every single
aspect of life, even down to losing a significant other,
which was a brief.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Friend and was your family always from Newark?
Speaker 3 (18:19):
Yes, yes, So how does it feel to see Newark
now making a real hard turn. It's not yet perfect,
long way to go, people still dying, but there is
a significant change, and that is because of the work
that you and so many others have put in, and
(18:40):
of course having a leader like Mayor Baraka who is
very much so invested in helping young black men and
girls and helping any disadvantage under resourced young person. How
do you feel now knowing that Unfortunately your three sons
didn't make it, but somebody son will make it because
(19:02):
the city is really investing in young people.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
You hit the nail on the head. Let me tell
you something I wish. I wish my boys could have
been here to experience all of this. OVPT, the Brick
City Peace Collective, oh Man New Direction, push you my sogn,
(19:29):
Doctor Jamila Davis. It's a one hood. So many organizations
out here that you even have. It's all about the
seniors and children that's trying to teach people how to
cut here. You have so many organizations out here. I
wish I wish. You don't even know how many times
I said, I wish my son would have got locked
(19:52):
up in federal prison for the rest of his life.
I wish, I wish that these organizations were here, But
they were planning on the footwork. They were planning on
the footwork. I remember when Keisha Eurver used to just
beat the street for nothing, my sign. I remember when
(20:12):
you beat the street for nothing tut his home, Shadi.
I'm so proud of him to me give you a blessing.
It's just so many people that I wish could have
just touched my children. I could just see my son now,
you know. And like I said, I can't help but
(20:32):
two cries sometimes, but these are honestly tells the joy,
you know, to talk about three children. Sometimes I get emotional.
Sometimes I don't, but I really want to help impack somebody.
I get stagnated a little bit, I really do. I
get stagnated because I get scared because I know that
I'm not a wonder woman, and I know that I
(20:56):
have my breakdowns in my falls too. But I have
to learn. I have to learn that it's okay not
to be okay. It's okay not to be okay, especially
with and I can only speak for myself what a
person endures. It's okay not to be okay. And in
(21:18):
my case, I think I could get that a little bit.
It's okay not to be okay.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Tell us about your organizations that you run.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
So through our voices again I made through our voices,
believe it or not. Through our voices came up one
of my girlfriends her son passed away, but he didn't
pass away from gun violence. And so you know, it
would be a lot of things that came up in
the city, and it would somewhat be surrounded around gun violence,
(21:49):
and she would always say to me, I'm not going.
I don't think that's for me. And I'm like, you
got a voice regardless of how your child passed away.
That's your kid. You a good mother, I know you
loved him. No, you got a voice too.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
It.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
Then I just thought about it. I'm like, through our voices,
everybody has a voice, because yes, I bury my children,
but I have friends that lost their parents and they
suffer from depression. I have friends that lost their significant other,
they suffer from depression. I have friends that just have
(22:27):
lost siblings. They suffer through depression. I have friends that
endure what we all endure, and they suffering from depression.
You get it. So it's fear to think about everybody.
It's not always fear. It's not always good to be
selfish or just oh, this is only about gun violence.
(22:48):
It's no. It's about sexual abuse, it's about domestic violence.
It's about the trauma and depression of all this stuff.
You know, my therapist that I talked to, that doctor
Davis introduced me to, not one time has she said
to me, you know sonya or ms Rogers, I think
(23:12):
we need to talk you know, maybe you need to
come in and get on a prescription or something like that.
Not one time. And I'm here to tell anybody, God
is the drug, Oh my god, it's not. It's not
a prescription out here that can help men anybody's broken heart.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Well, I will say, because I am an advocate for
people getting what they need. So if for some reason
you have been and I don't think people should just
take medicine, because you know, I don't believe it's very
difficult to get me to agree to take even a
cold medicine or you know, fluid colds and whatever. I'm
(23:55):
not into that. My parents were never people who kept
medicine in the house. They didn't take medicine. But through
my own anxiety, my son's father was killed when my
son was two years old. I was eighteen nineteen years
old when he died, you know, and he died because
of gun violence. And I have also gone through a
(24:16):
number of traumas in life. In fact, a book that
I have coming out in just a couple of weeks
really goes into everything that has happened, all that I
endured that led me to a place where I learned.
My problem, of course, was stressed, but it was also
learning how to deal with anxiety and I needed medication.
(24:41):
In fact, it helps me tremendously that I have something
that helps to regulate all of the emotions that I
go through, and I'm grateful for it. And so there
are some people out there, and you probably are not
one of them, Missnia, because you know you have found
a way to handle your stress, your way.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
But there are people out here who.
Speaker 3 (25:03):
Need their prescription and they need to take it.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Take your prescription something. And that's so true. And you know,
my apologies for that because you just schooled me on
something because honestly, maybe that's something that if it was
offer or something like that, maybe it would help my anxiety,
because my anxiety be through the roof. But I'm gonna
(25:29):
tell you something. I go back to say this. Listen
to your story and what you just said, what makes
my story more important than yours because it was my children.
You have a story. Hurt is hurt and pain is pain.
Speaker 3 (25:46):
Through our voices voices. Well, we appreciate you for joining
us today. Your story is both heartbreaking and powerful. It's
both sickening and an inspirational story. It seems that your
story just runs on parallel course because on one side,
(26:07):
it's sickening because I know that your sons were not
born in trouble, they weren't born bad kids. But this
society doesn't really provide a lot of opportunities for young
black men to stay on the straight and narrow, And
anybody who tries to argue otherwise with us, we're prepare.
(26:29):
We got the receipts to prove to them that it's
a trap, and some get out, but they are, what
we say, the exception and not the rule. And I
and I don't ever want you to walk away feeling that.
And I appreciate that you said it's not a shame,
because shame why the people or the what should be
(26:53):
ashamed is the system of how this system has been
designed to create stories like yours. There are people out
here who want to see what happened to you and
your sons happen, and they are still perpetuating it every
single day. And we're like fighting, you know, tooth and
nail to try to save our children.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
And I just, I just I want you to leave
us with a word. There's some young kids in the streets,
they young, and they running around and they got guns,
and they got ops and they doing all of this stuff.
And if somebody doesn't have a conversation, some words don't
get into their minds, they're either gonna be in a
(27:36):
graveyard or they're gonna be in a prison cell. So
I want you to give those actors if you speaking
to one of them young boys right now, and just
tell them what you would say to them.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
You know, I speak to them on the streets daily
because I work downtown North and I always say to them.
This is my exact saying to them. You know, if
you don't get yourself together, or you you to get
yourself together, or however it goes, whatever happens to you
in the street, you're not gonna know, You're not gonna
feel it in anything. Your family is gonna be impacted
(28:10):
by it. You don't want to hurt your mother, because
your mother loves you. You don't want to hurt your sister,
your grandmother and stuff like that. You know, and whatever
you do out here in these streets, just remember it's
gonna impact your family. And take a look at me.
You don't want your mother to end up looking like
(28:31):
me or being hurt like myself. And some of them listen,
and you know, I'm gonna say this. They don't give
some of our black young men the alcolades that they should,
especially when they been shot and killed by the hands
of another black man. You know, I never heard one
(28:55):
time that because my last two sons were killed senselessly,
absolutely not a thing. And I'll take that to my
grave with that, because again, you can't be and deny
you about your kid, especially when your child is in
the street. And I have to be honest, you know.
But my last son, my last son went to college.
(29:18):
And you know, through all the podcasts that I did,
I look back and I said, so you never acknowledge
that that's an accomplishment for him and for myself, you know.
And like Tamika said, you have to acknowledge. You gotta
acknowledge sometimes. And I learned, I'm telling you, I learned
(29:42):
how to acknowledge my hurt. I did. I had to
learn how to acknowledge my hurt. Again, I'm not a superwoman,
but I'm really going to try to help these children,
the girls and the boys, because the young ladies out here,
you know, they're going through it because they're angry, they're mad.
Some of you know, some parents not there, but we
(30:05):
want to get all of that together. That's right, Well,
we just want to say all that together.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
We truly appreciate you and you are a superwoman to me,
and that's why I wanted to bring you on this show.
Speaker 4 (30:16):
Love guys, and I'm here anything.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Your strength motivates me. You know, the fact that you
went through what you went through and you still find
the energy and love to go out and still try
to change this world. You know you didn't give up.
So we appreciate you. You know we're here for you
if you need us as usual. Continue to be superwoman.
Don't let nobody tell you not.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
That's right, that's right, You're beautiful. Thank you so much
for coming to be with us today.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Appreciate you anytime. I couldn't let you guys down. I
love y'all. Anytime you need me, I'm always.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
Yeah, we gotta have you in the studio next time.
Speaker 4 (30:52):
That part to me. Continue to be the inspiration that
you are. Thank you, thank you, Thank you so much.
And my sign you do the same.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I got you so much.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Shout out to miss Sonia Rogers. You know it's heartbreaking,
but it's also inspirational to hear her story. You know.
That's why I wanted to have her on, and I've
been trying to get her on. You know, she's motivational,
she's she still has a fight in her and she
still has, you know, a lot of good energy. So
I just, you know, hopefully somebody hears her story, you know,
and understands how serious it is when we're dealing with
(31:27):
this gun violence in the streets. I daily deal with
these young kids and have these conversations with them, but
I want them to see that a mother lose lost
their children. You know, when you take somebody's life, that
person's mother has to deal with them. Somebody takes your life,
your mother has to deal with it. You know, if
you don't care about yourself, you know, especially us as
(31:48):
young men and men period, we always supposed to think
about our mothers and the women around us. So let's
let's try to do better for them.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
I know that's right, Let's try to do better.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
I'm glad she wasn't here because I think, you know,
she was supposed to be in studio with us.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
But I think that if she was here, I probably.
Speaker 3 (32:04):
Would have been a watershed over here, because it's touching
you know, and while she said it's happy tears because
I know that a part of her just feels like
she's just grateful to God that people care enough to
have her on shows and talk to her and allow
her to tell her story. And that's really all that
(32:25):
some of these mothers want. They just want someone else
to be inspired so that there doesn't have to continue
to be these like bricks falling. Excuse me, these bricks
falling from the foundation of our communities. You know, where
do you know of white folks that say three of
their children were killed in one family?
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Three?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
That's it. I don't think I've ever.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Heard it within a two to three year period and
one within six months or the other one.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
Maybe maybe, maybe maybe.
Speaker 1 (33:01):
It has happened, but I doubt it.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
And it doesn't mean that there are not families with
multiple children where they're they have sons and or daughters
who are in the street. It doesn't mean that, it
doesn't mean that there is not a because you're not
gonna tell me that white kids are perfect. It's a
community design, and we just have to say it and
name it so that no one will, you know, think
(33:27):
that this is okay. And that is just her fault.
You know, I appreciate that she's being honest about the
conditions of the community and what her oldest son was into,
you know, at least acknowledging that he wasn't a perfect kid.
But I'm sorry, I know a lot of other people
who don't have perfect kids either, and their children are
(33:49):
not being killed like there. So there's got to be
something in the community as well.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
It's definitely something in the community. So once again, shout
out tomsths Sonya. You know, she's in our prayers and
we hope she's in yours. And that brings me to
my I don't get it now. We're talking about people
losing their lives. We're talking about tragedy. We're talking about
all these things. Everyone knows about the fires inside LA
(34:13):
it's been, you know, the biggest tragedy. A lot of
our friends live in LA. They've lost houses, a kind
of people, family members, you know, you know, by the
grace of God, that hasn't been as many fatalities as well.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
It's growing every day.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
So the other day it was twenty five fatalities. I
haven't checked today, but anyway, you know, it's it's a
global problem. Everybody is you know, doing what they can
to help. You know, I've seen shout out to trade
the truth, shout out to the game, shout out to
all the other people people. You know, they abandon together
as a community. They setting up shop, They have you know, tents,
(34:52):
they got food, they got water, they got resources, trying
to give to the families. But what I don't get
is that I heard that there are people out there
actually setting fires, Like why what kind of sick person
that you have to be to go out while thousands
of homes are on fire already, Like they got every
(35:17):
firefighter in the world, people coming from around the world
to help put out this fire, and you in the
middle of the street trying to set fires, Like what
the hell is going on? Like who are the people?
I just want to know what is going through the
mind of a person that sees that type of destruction
around them and wants to contribute to that. I don't
(35:38):
even understand the mind state that comes with some shit
like that.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Well, you said that there must be sick people, or
they must be sick people, and they are. I mean,
there are people who have serious mental health issues, right,
And I just want to provide two perspectives.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
The first one is that some people are.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Motivated by money or what they think can happen if
a community, their entire community burns down. Perhaps they think
that there's more insurance benefits for their community to be inhabitable,
because you know, some of the insurance companies are like, well,
as long as there's five walls standing up in your home,
(36:18):
then it can be fixed. It can be remodeled and
not just completely demolished. Like crazy stuff is going on
with the insurance companies. And there are some people who
probably have set fires to just kind of demolish and
or harm other people. Maybe they didn't like the enable
all the time. Then there are people who are arsonists,
(36:39):
who are, like you said, have mental health. They're sick.
It's something wrong with them. That's what they do. They
set fires since they were kids. They always wanted to
be the one setting fires. Some of these people set
fires to their parents' house, their grandmother's house a long
time ago.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
So that is another issue.
Speaker 3 (36:55):
Then you have people, okay, this is my unpopular opinion.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
You have people who.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
Are watching the destruction of folks who, even if they
weren't super rich, they had some kind of means to
be able to get a house and own it a
little bit, and they have nothing, and so they are
willing to destroy any and everything around in order to
hurt other people because the system that we live in
(37:26):
does not provide people with equal opportunity, It does not
provide people with mental health services, it does not take
care of all the citizens of America, all the people.
And so what you have is some people that just
like somebody might look at you and you be saying,
why did you rob that older lady, like an elderly lady,
(37:46):
why did you do that? But you got people out
here that's like, oh, y'all not gonna be out here
walking back and forth drinking your Latti latte and having
good life. And we homeless and we ain't got nothing.
So since is burning ship, let's burn it all down.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
It's really it's really disheartening. It is that that there
are people that hate that bad right. There are people
that don't want to see someone ahead of them or
think that somebody has more. So they are that, you know,
envious in their heart, you know. And it's it's really said.
When I heard I was watching news and it was like, yeah,
they're setting you know, their arsonists and then people setting
(38:23):
fires and they're being charged, and I'm like, people will
be saying, like, you would think this is the time
to band together. You would think that the whole city's
on fire. You think everybody should be coming on trying
to figure out how do we help and actually know
that there are people out there that are contributing and
sating fires. It just blew my mind. So you know,
I guess I'm naive to that because I don't even
(38:44):
have an inkling of what it would feel like to
want to contribute to that. I don't have There's nothing
in me that can rationalize or even understand how a
person would want to do that. So, you know, but
it's a special place in hell for those type of people.
Speaker 1 (38:58):
Absolutely I agree with that on her.
Speaker 2 (39:01):
And with that being said, we come to the end
of another episode. Shout out to miss Sonia Rodgers. Please
pray for Miss Sonia Rogers. You see her, you know,
give her. I hope y'all listen to her have this
conversation with these young boys when you're trying to change
the mind state and the trajectory of what's going on
in these communities. Let them hear her story. Three sons.
(39:23):
Three of your son's gone within two to three years.
You know that it's painful. But just to see her
continue to move and continue her her thrive and her
wants to create an organization to combat that's just the superwoman.
And that's what I said. She's a superwoman. So shout
(39:44):
out to you, miss Sonna, and to me. Could you
have anything you.
Speaker 3 (39:48):
Want to No, no, no, no, sir, thank you, nothing
at all. It was a heartbreaking yet powerful interview.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Sure was well. That brings us to the end of
another episode. Make sure you follow us and subscribe to
our channel on YouTube at Tami Show PC and leave
a comment. We want to hear all the comments. We
want to hear all of the love. We want to
hear even the hate. Make sure that you tell us
what you feel because we're still the number one show
in the world, and that's because we're the best show
(40:16):
in the world. Right, come on, come on, come.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
On, come on, good night.
Speaker 2 (40:22):
I'm not gonna always be right, Tamika d marriage is
not gonna always be wrong, but we will both always
and I mean always be authentic.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
That's how we own it.
Hosts And Creators
Mysonne
Tamika Mallory
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