Marvin Bing: From First Arrest to Radical Change — The Vision Behind JustUs Ideas Week + More
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Well up with Angela Yee and excited to have Marvin
being here with me. How you feeling today, I'm good,
a real change maker.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Sometimes no, all the time, all the time.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
We got to own it and we're getting ready for
the just Us Idea Summit. Ideas Week, so tell us
about that first and foremost.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
So Justice Ideas Week is a little platform.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I created, not a little platform, not doing that, Okay.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
After last year's elections, I sort of had like one
of the man in the mirror moments. A lot of
my career has been behind the scenes. A lot of
things you've seen around social movements I've had a hand
in on, you know, over the course of the last
fifteen so.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Years, even an EP you had. Yeah, we'll talk about
that in a second.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
So I wanted to get back to sort of my roots, right,
I mean, a lot of these social issues are near
and dear to my heart, but you know, I'm probably
gonna foster care system. Met my father in jail for
the first time. My mother was killed when I was four.
So I wanted to get back to those communities. And
I felt like, you know, sometimes in social justice and
advocacy you can get so torn away from your roots
(01:08):
to focus on other issues, and they're important, but I've
made a decision in January that this is going to
be my legacy, and it's I won't work on.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Because a lot of times people are advocating for things
that matter the most to them, but there's a lot
of people who aren't represented in that space, and a
lot of people who also feel like they don't have
a voice, no one cares about them, They feel forgotten,
And those are the most important people to advocate for
and to strategize with, because sometimes people feel like even
voting doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
True story.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
I mean, even one of our cornerstones of our platform
is you know, we have a president who is a
convicted feeling what does that mean for all the people
in America who have a felony record that can't run
for office and can't even vote? Right, So, even the
stuff that we're doing, it's like, how does that trin
relate into policy change in states that are still punishing
people who have been in prison when it comes to
(01:58):
voting or again for public office.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
If he can do it, anyone should be able to
do it.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Anybody should be able to write. He's been changing a
lot of the rules when it comes to you know,
because it's interesting to me because we talk about like
laws are created for a reason, there's a system of
checks and balances for a reason, and everything that's been
happening makes it seem like you can just do whatever
you want. It's a free for all. We do see
some things getting challenged, right, but the average person is like,
(02:24):
how do I play a role in anything exactly?
Speaker 4 (02:26):
And that's what Just as Ideas Week is is a
platform for average people who've been through these systems that
are set on paper, help to rehabilitate, support and guide,
but oftentimes we know it causes more trauma, more destruction,
separations from our families. So we're trying to bring everyone
together that's been impacted by the criminal legal system to
really just have a moment of you're not alone, We're
(02:48):
in this together, and really attack and focus our collective
energy and collective power to building something monumental that this
country really hasn't seen in terms of a united front.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Some things that you've seen just from last year, just
some strategic things that you saw implemented after the summit
last year.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Last year, I mean, honestly, there's been minor changes in
certain states. And I get this question a lot in
terms of like, well, what are you actually building toward?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
What is all this for?
Speaker 4 (03:18):
And for me, it's simple. I want to create the
AARP for people who've been in prison. I want to
create like a labor union for people who've been in prison. Right,
Like what's our space? Like, what's a space where if
you've been impacted by any of these systems, really where
you could come and get the same type of advocacy, services, protection,
the defense, legal.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Support that all these other groups always maintain. NRA. Right,
you ever see anyone attack the NRA and what happens
after that attack?
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Here they come. It should be the same thing for
people who've been in the system. We should have a
structure and some sort of entity that you attack one,
you attack all. And that's exactly what we're trying.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
To build toward.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Oh I love that, And I want to talk more
about you returning back to your roots and to where
this all started. So give us more information about what
life was like for you as well.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
I mean, you know it was tough, like you know,
and I hate that.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
My story is not an anomaly. Plenty of young people
are going through that, right, now, not having a mom around,
you know, not having daddy around, going from one home
to another. I've been in so many foster homes. I
know every religion like the back of my head. I'll
be with a Catholic family, Jewish family, seventy a Venice, Baptist, Muslim,
(04:40):
you know, and I'm blessing and I guess it's always
a blessing in storms, right, So I see the value
of God putting me through those situations to make me
who I am now. But I mean it's tough. I mean.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
The trauma, really anger.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I want to say trauma, the anger that I've carried
most of my life just because I I've never had
that moment where I fall off my bike and I
can say mom, right, or you know, my dad's at
my basketball game when I'm in elementary school, middle school. Sadly,
you learn to live with it, right at a certain point,
you know, And I went through that process. I mean
(05:16):
I had therapists and you know sometimes in the group
homes I was in, because in foster care, you know,
you gotta wait to be placed, right, so you could
be in like a group home for like six months
to a year, right, if no family accepts you. You
could be in a group home for mad long. Group
home is like jail, Like motherfucker is stealing your shit.
You gotta fight for your shit, like your food. You
(05:39):
really go to school and sit you in a room,
just watch TV. Yeah, and you're young dealing with this, right,
And there's so many other people sharing the same story.
So I went through that. I think around you know, twelve,
thirteen years old. It's the first time I was arrested.
So I got arrested in the side of a foster
care placement. So I went right into the system at
that point, did you and I just system straight from
(06:00):
the foster ch system, right, And I did six years
in and out of juvie.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I did one one sentence I had.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I did a year and a half at a juvenile
attention facility called Saint gabrals All I came, I came
back to Philly for like a month, got rearrested for possession,
and I went away for two years. I actually graduated
out of a quarter of judicated juvenile facility. No prim
you know, no, none of that, right, none of that
high school experience, none of that the shit normal people
(06:29):
do during that time. But I mean, the thing about me,
I've always been to go getter. So even in Jewey detention,
I used to write coaches letters. I used to write
basketball coaches letters, and you know, they send a generic
letter back, Like I used to walk around my jaw.
You don't look at the coach and hit me back.
You know, it's just an automated letter. But even in
those moments of like unpredictability, trauma all that, I still
(06:50):
was like, I'm determined to figure out a way out
of this. And thank God, when I got out, and
when I was eighteen, my dad was just coming out
of prison. So he had she came out of prison,
and while he was in prison, and this is the
beauty of it all, this is the beauty and the struggle.
He became an activist while he was in prison.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Wow, Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
He started writing the city council president, John Street at
the time, letters about what to do with returning citizens.
So the council president John Street was actually about to run.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
For mayor, if I remember that, Mayor John Street.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
So he was about to run for mayor. My dad
got out right when he announced his campaign for mayor.
He took my dad under the wing mold him on
the campaign, and then my dad became the first inaugural
executive director of the Philadelphia Office of re Entry for
ex Offenders. It's the first of its kind in the
country at the time. A lot of cities have adopted
that model by opening up city level offices that focus
(07:41):
on returning citizens, but my father was the first one
and John Street was the first mayor.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Wow, you know, I love that story because that really
does show that there are changes that can be made,
sure when you can get active in community, because I
think a lot of times people don't like how the
system works, sure, but they're also not participating in doing
things to help bring about change. And whether that means
advocating for somebody who's running for office or who you
(08:06):
think would be a great leader, or coming.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Up with ideas.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
And that's what's going to happen at Justice Ideas is
to be able to kick it and come up with
the ideas of things that we can do when we
come together. Absolutely, and you know, the fact that bills
can get passed, laws can get made that can be beneficial.
Local politics is so important at a time like now,
we're paying so much attention to everything that Donald Trump
is saying and doing. But what's happening on the local
level matter is a lot to us in our everyday lives, and.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
That's one of the things that we want to definitely
make sure exist in our justice idea space. Is the
average person that's formerly incarcerated in Massachusetts, I mean, barring
their paro approbation, etc. The situation, we want to make
sure they're connected to the folks in Jersey, to the
folks in Pennsylvania, to the folks in Delaware, Virginia, Texas,
wherever they may be, to just build that community amongst
(08:52):
themselves too. I was just talking to my good brother
Nick Turner from Vera, and we talked about how advocacy
and social justice has now become high level, almost like
a luxury, and a point where the people on the
ground don't get connected and they aren't communicating because it's
just I'm the ed of this organization or I'm this person,
and then I'm this influencer that's frightened for the moment.
(09:13):
We got to always remember the people on the ground,
the people that have no public voice, that people don't
maybe afraid or not know how to use their voice
from their lived experience to get active in their own
communities around these issues because it's happening everywhere.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah, right, it's not an anomaly.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So it's interesting because you know, since Philly's on the
table here, I'm just seeing how Meek Mile brought a
lot of attention to somebody like a Michael Rubin who
would have never understood or realized how the justice system
can be against you and how you know, he got
set up by dirty like just things like that that
the white man might never have experienced or have known
(09:49):
anybody that's gone through that, and then something like that
could be a catalyst for people to be like, well, damn,
maybe it's not like because sometimes I think people look
at you know, they could have seen you as a
kid out of He's you know that happens, Yeah, and
it does happen. And how does that make you feel
about yourself too as a kid when other people are
putting this stigma on you when it's really like fighting
(10:11):
for survival and trying to figure it out with that's
the direction that you need or the electionary of having
role models around Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
The good I mean, I guess the sad good thing
about it all is that you know, I've always grew
up as a cultural kid, so I paid attention to
the local drug dealers. You know, I paid attention to
the local hood legends. And you know, my dad was
at the time one of those people. So even in
his absence, it was like I glorified this figure that
I didn't really connect with it growing up, but I
(10:41):
knew he existed, Right, So you know, we pick our
leaders right, for good or for bad. But I want
to go back to one point you just said, because
I don't want to miss it. You know, the stigma
that we carry, like young people that experience false of care,
young people that end up in doing out attention, even
adults who end up in prison. Right, it's a real
thing that people look at them a certain way and
(11:02):
then they treat them and judge them based off of
that experience. And I'm thinking about, like you ask me
how I felt like I even deal with that shit
as an adult in the movement, right, there's people who's like, oh,
he was locked he's and falter care.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
He's locked up.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Well, his dad was locked up, his mom got you
know again, you see these certain characters and people in
organizations that some do a great job, but it's really
judgmental at times too. So even someone like me who's
always been behind the scenes doing this type of shit,
I'm nervous as hell, right, But you don't seem like
you know, yeah, well, I.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Mean you make it comfortable, so think for that.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
But you know there's people who will will hear the
story and then oh, we didn't know that, like you
know what I mean, you know, sadly, but it's feel
for me, like I think again, I'm fighting for something
bigger than all of that. There's people looking at me
to pave the way and kick the door down so
they go walk through it, and that's that's.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
What I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I want to ask you this too, why do you
think celebrity is important? Because some people will be like,
who cares about celebrities? They don't know anything about politics.
Some celebrities will even feel like I don't want to
be involved in the mix of that because I want
everybody to want to support me and buy my music.
So I'm not taking a stance on that because I
don't want to isolate certain groups of people. I want
(12:12):
to know why you think because you did put out
an EP that you put together with some amazing artists
who are, but I do. I understand the importance of
it and the brace that people can have. But I
want to hear from you like what you see when
it comes to celebrities and advocating.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Well, I think if you look at my career and
how I use celebrity, I'm always tapping into the celebrities
I feel are like the streets profits, right, So there's
different layers to celebrity. There's different genres of celebrity. For me,
I feel like a Beanie Segull speaks to more and
to what's going on in the street. Then no respect
(12:50):
John Legend, Right, I'm not taking John Legend into a prison.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I'm just not.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
I don't think they get none out of it. And
I mean I get it, goodwill, your heart, empathy, support,
I get all that. But you think Gucci Man and
beans in in prison one they've been in prison. They
treats heroes. They talking about the everyday life that's happening
for people that's still living in crazy conditions, some intentional,
(13:15):
some unintentional. I think the connection and the relationships is
just more of a connective tissue, right, So I do
think it's important to use those folks.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Even on the EP.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Who would have thought Benity Butcher be on the EP
talking about some positive shit, right, I did it right,
And it's like the amount of people who listened to
that and like oh shit, or like one last time
he heard the electronica, I went and got him out
of wherever he was hiding, like bro, he loves Philly,
loves Philly. But again, like you put him on there
with a freeway with black thought. Who sees that coming?
(13:49):
But the people who get it get it and got it.
So maybe it's not for everybody, but it's definitely for
the people who actually tuned in and supported that them.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
What do you think of about artists and celebrities who
feel like I don't want to really be involved in
politics at all.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I think it's scared not being scared, because we oftentimes
forget where we come from. And maybe they're so far
removed that they don't get to go back to the
neighborhoods they come from. But people still there and it's
still struggling, just like at one point they may have.
So we can't get so far removed that we can't
speak up for the shit that we see every day.
I mean, I know celebrities who family members are going
(14:26):
through shit, and they're like, I ain't saying nothing.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Right, all right, Yeah, how do you not?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
How do you not because you're scared to lose a check?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
How much patience do you have to have to deal
with certain people in answering? Like I remember I was
at a bar. This woman was like, this is a
drunk white lady was like, and this is when Black
Lives Matter was at an all time high.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
She was like, I don't understand this Black Lives Matter thing.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
My response has been crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
But you know, and I get that right, because sometimes
it's you could figure, you could go and do some
research yourself if you don't understand it. But sometimes having
a conversation with somebody can also, like you know, change
your mind abouts. But sometimes we don't have the patience
to want to have to like talk.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
To each individual. I mean, I thinks I.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Think social media has contributed to that lack of patience
for our our society in general. But even the beauty
about justice ideas is one of the things that is
such a unifying thing. It's not a race issue, it's
not a socio economic issue, it's not a like cultural
derived religious issue. You got billionaires millionaires, thousands hundred years, motherfuckers,
(15:36):
and poverty, people who are already even in poverty below
poverty that has this issue of being in the prison
system come a home struggling and trying to figure out
a way out right, White, Black, Indigenous, Native American, Hispanic.
But everyone's dealing with the same issue. So even the
beauty of this movement from this struggle, it's one of
those clearing and unifying things that just levitates beyond any
(15:59):
cultural career that exists.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
What can people expect from justice ideas week.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Energy, energy, recommitment to collaboration, an ego less, selfless clarion
call to get active, to do it together, and to
recognize their own power, like we are the power. No
one should be elected in this country without going through
people who experienced the justice system. And if we've been
together as a collective, Ain't no stopping. It was the
(16:26):
song Ain't No Stopping.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So that I remember you had mayor, the former mayor,
Kwame kill Patrick.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
He coming back to my guy, my guy, it's my guy.
I got some Detroit times. My cousin was an elective
of Fisher out there, Okay, so I'm always in Detroit.
Love Detroit Qualm. I've known Qualm since I was a
young and his whole family, Carolyn Kwame.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
It was there.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, but thoughts about running for office, No.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
It ain't my twist.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
I talked to my ship, but but not not only
that though, like you know, I you know, nah, you
sure I'm positive? Okay, I'm positive. I mean I've had
thoughts about it. I mean, my dad used to trying
to hype me. You should be this, you should be that,
and I thought about it. But you know, I think
a lot of people that get elected, they lose their
(17:15):
soul because they have to compromise so much to get crumbs.
And I don't want to ever be a position where
I have to compromise the sake of the people. I'm saying,
I'm committed to loving and fighting for to play.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
That game with them.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
You think you get a lot more done working from
the outside. Absolutely okay. And where can people go to
sign up if they want to.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Adjust usideas dot org. It's free be in the building there, Yes,
you will gotta talk about that. Definitely excited to have
you there, but it's free. Get active finals on social
media just as ideas on Instagram. If you have a relative, friend, family,
You know somebody when your school, live in your block,
(17:54):
your community, it's been incarcerated. They got somebody curly incarcerated
that has a relative and fault to care.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Any women you attention, tap in, this is for us
for real, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, I'm looking forward to it. I will be there.
We'll talk about what's capacity, but I'm definitely going to
be there. And I'm excited. I'm excited and thank you
and I appreciate you and the work that you do.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
This well
Well up with Angela Yee and excited to have Marvin
being here with me. How you feeling today, I'm good,
a real change maker.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Sometimes no, all the time, all the time.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
We got to own it and we're getting ready for
the just Us Idea Summit. Ideas Week, so tell us
about that first and foremost.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
So Justice Ideas Week is a little platform.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
I created, not a little platform, not doing that, Okay.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
After last year's elections, I sort of had like one
of the man in the mirror moments. A lot of
my career has been behind the scenes. A lot of
things you've seen around social movements I've had a hand
in on, you know, over the course of the last
fifteen so.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Years, even an EP you had. Yeah, we'll talk about
that in a second.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
So I wanted to get back to sort of my roots, right,
I mean, a lot of these social issues are near
and dear to my heart, but you know, I'm probably
gonna foster care system. Met my father in jail for
the first time. My mother was killed when I was four.
So I wanted to get back to those communities. And
I felt like, you know, sometimes in social justice and
advocacy you can get so torn away from your roots
(01:08):
to focus on other issues, and they're important, but I've
made a decision in January that this is going to
be my legacy, and it's I won't work on.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Because a lot of times people are advocating for things
that matter the most to them, but there's a lot
of people who aren't represented in that space, and a
lot of people who also feel like they don't have
a voice, no one cares about them, They feel forgotten,
And those are the most important people to advocate for
and to strategize with, because sometimes people feel like even
voting doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
True story.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
I mean, even one of our cornerstones of our platform
is you know, we have a president who is a
convicted feeling what does that mean for all the people
in America who have a felony record that can't run
for office and can't even vote? Right, So, even the
stuff that we're doing, it's like, how does that trin
relate into policy change in states that are still punishing
people who have been in prison when it comes to
(01:58):
voting or again for public office.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
If he can do it, anyone should be able to
do it.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Anybody should be able to write. He's been changing a
lot of the rules when it comes to you know,
because it's interesting to me because we talk about like
laws are created for a reason, there's a system of
checks and balances for a reason, and everything that's been
happening makes it seem like you can just do whatever
you want. It's a free for all. We do see
some things getting challenged, right, but the average person is like,
(02:24):
how do I play a role in anything exactly?
Speaker 4 (02:26):
And that's what Just as Ideas Week is is a
platform for average people who've been through these systems that
are set on paper, help to rehabilitate, support and guide,
but oftentimes we know it causes more trauma, more destruction,
separations from our families. So we're trying to bring everyone
together that's been impacted by the criminal legal system to
really just have a moment of you're not alone, We're
(02:48):
in this together, and really attack and focus our collective
energy and collective power to building something monumental that this
country really hasn't seen in terms of a united front.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Some things that you've seen just from last year, just
some strategic things that you saw implemented after the summit
last year.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Last year, I mean, honestly, there's been minor changes in
certain states. And I get this question a lot in
terms of like, well, what are you actually building toward?
Speaker 3 (03:16):
What is all this for?
Speaker 4 (03:18):
And for me, it's simple. I want to create the
AARP for people who've been in prison. I want to
create like a labor union for people who've been in prison. Right,
Like what's our space? Like, what's a space where if
you've been impacted by any of these systems, really where
you could come and get the same type of advocacy, services, protection,
the defense, legal.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Support that all these other groups always maintain. NRA. Right,
you ever see anyone attack the NRA and what happens
after that attack?
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Here they come. It should be the same thing for
people who've been in the system. We should have a
structure and some sort of entity that you attack one,
you attack all. And that's exactly what we're trying.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
To build toward.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Oh I love that, And I want to talk more
about you returning back to your roots and to where
this all started. So give us more information about what
life was like for you as well.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
I mean, you know it was tough, like you know,
and I hate that.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
My story is not an anomaly. Plenty of young people
are going through that, right, now, not having a mom around,
you know, not having daddy around, going from one home
to another. I've been in so many foster homes. I
know every religion like the back of my head. I'll
be with a Catholic family, Jewish family, seventy a Venice, Baptist, Muslim,
(04:40):
you know, and I'm blessing and I guess it's always
a blessing in storms, right, So I see the value
of God putting me through those situations to make me
who I am now. But I mean it's tough. I mean.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
The trauma, really anger.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I want to say trauma, the anger that I've carried
most of my life just because I I've never had
that moment where I fall off my bike and I
can say mom, right, or you know, my dad's at
my basketball game when I'm in elementary school, middle school. Sadly,
you learn to live with it, right at a certain point,
you know, And I went through that process. I mean
(05:16):
I had therapists and you know sometimes in the group
homes I was in, because in foster care, you know,
you gotta wait to be placed, right, so you could
be in like a group home for like six months
to a year, right, if no family accepts you. You
could be in a group home for mad long. Group
home is like jail, Like motherfucker is stealing your shit.
You gotta fight for your shit, like your food. You
(05:39):
really go to school and sit you in a room,
just watch TV. Yeah, and you're young dealing with this, right,
And there's so many other people sharing the same story.
So I went through that. I think around you know, twelve,
thirteen years old. It's the first time I was arrested.
So I got arrested in the side of a foster
care placement. So I went right into the system at
that point, did you and I just system straight from
(06:00):
the foster ch system, right, And I did six years
in and out of juvie.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
I did one one sentence I had.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I did a year and a half at a juvenile
attention facility called Saint gabrals All I came, I came
back to Philly for like a month, got rearrested for possession,
and I went away for two years. I actually graduated
out of a quarter of judicated juvenile facility. No prim
you know, no, none of that, right, none of that
high school experience, none of that the shit normal people
(06:29):
do during that time. But I mean, the thing about me,
I've always been to go getter. So even in Jewey detention,
I used to write coaches letters. I used to write
basketball coaches letters, and you know, they send a generic
letter back, Like I used to walk around my jaw.
You don't look at the coach and hit me back.
You know, it's just an automated letter. But even in
those moments of like unpredictability, trauma all that, I still
(06:50):
was like, I'm determined to figure out a way out
of this. And thank God, when I got out, and
when I was eighteen, my dad was just coming out
of prison. So he had she came out of prison,
and while he was in prison, and this is the
beauty of it all, this is the beauty and the struggle.
He became an activist while he was in prison.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Wow, Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
He started writing the city council president, John Street at
the time, letters about what to do with returning citizens.
So the council president John Street was actually about to run.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
For mayor, if I remember that, Mayor John Street.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
So he was about to run for mayor. My dad
got out right when he announced his campaign for mayor.
He took my dad under the wing mold him on
the campaign, and then my dad became the first inaugural
executive director of the Philadelphia Office of re Entry for
ex Offenders. It's the first of its kind in the
country at the time. A lot of cities have adopted
that model by opening up city level offices that focus
(07:41):
on returning citizens, but my father was the first one
and John Street was the first mayor.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Wow, you know, I love that story because that really
does show that there are changes that can be made,
sure when you can get active in community, because I
think a lot of times people don't like how the
system works, sure, but they're also not participating in doing
things to help bring about change. And whether that means
advocating for somebody who's running for office or who you
(08:06):
think would be a great leader, or coming.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Up with ideas.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
And that's what's going to happen at Justice Ideas is
to be able to kick it and come up with
the ideas of things that we can do when we
come together. Absolutely, and you know, the fact that bills
can get passed, laws can get made that can be beneficial.
Local politics is so important at a time like now,
we're paying so much attention to everything that Donald Trump
is saying and doing. But what's happening on the local
level matter is a lot to us in our everyday lives, and.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
That's one of the things that we want to definitely
make sure exist in our justice idea space. Is the
average person that's formerly incarcerated in Massachusetts, I mean, barring
their paro approbation, etc. The situation, we want to make
sure they're connected to the folks in Jersey, to the
folks in Pennsylvania, to the folks in Delaware, Virginia, Texas,
wherever they may be, to just build that community amongst
(08:52):
themselves too. I was just talking to my good brother
Nick Turner from Vera, and we talked about how advocacy
and social justice has now become high level, almost like
a luxury, and a point where the people on the
ground don't get connected and they aren't communicating because it's
just I'm the ed of this organization or I'm this person,
and then I'm this influencer that's frightened for the moment.
(09:13):
We got to always remember the people on the ground,
the people that have no public voice, that people don't
maybe afraid or not know how to use their voice
from their lived experience to get active in their own
communities around these issues because it's happening everywhere.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah, right, it's not an anomaly.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So it's interesting because you know, since Philly's on the
table here, I'm just seeing how Meek Mile brought a
lot of attention to somebody like a Michael Rubin who
would have never understood or realized how the justice system
can be against you and how you know, he got
set up by dirty like just things like that that
the white man might never have experienced or have known
(09:49):
anybody that's gone through that, and then something like that
could be a catalyst for people to be like, well, damn,
maybe it's not like because sometimes I think people look
at you know, they could have seen you as a
kid out of He's you know that happens, Yeah, and
it does happen. And how does that make you feel
about yourself too as a kid when other people are
putting this stigma on you when it's really like fighting
(10:11):
for survival and trying to figure it out with that's
the direction that you need or the electionary of having
role models around Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
The good I mean, I guess the sad good thing
about it all is that you know, I've always grew
up as a cultural kid, so I paid attention to
the local drug dealers. You know, I paid attention to
the local hood legends. And you know, my dad was
at the time one of those people. So even in
his absence, it was like I glorified this figure that
I didn't really connect with it growing up, but I
(10:41):
knew he existed, Right, So you know, we pick our
leaders right, for good or for bad. But I want
to go back to one point you just said, because
I don't want to miss it. You know, the stigma
that we carry, like young people that experience false of care,
young people that end up in doing out attention, even
adults who end up in prison. Right, it's a real
thing that people look at them a certain way and
(11:02):
then they treat them and judge them based off of
that experience. And I'm thinking about, like you ask me
how I felt like I even deal with that shit
as an adult in the movement, right, there's people who's like, oh,
he was locked he's and falter care.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
He's locked up.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Well, his dad was locked up, his mom got you
know again, you see these certain characters and people in
organizations that some do a great job, but it's really
judgmental at times too. So even someone like me who's
always been behind the scenes doing this type of shit,
I'm nervous as hell, right, But you don't seem like
you know, yeah, well, I.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Mean you make it comfortable, so think for that.
Speaker 4 (11:35):
But you know there's people who will will hear the
story and then oh, we didn't know that, like you
know what I mean, you know, sadly, but it's feel
for me, like I think again, I'm fighting for something
bigger than all of that. There's people looking at me
to pave the way and kick the door down so
they go walk through it, and that's that's.
Speaker 3 (11:51):
What I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
I want to ask you this too, why do you
think celebrity is important? Because some people will be like,
who cares about celebrities? They don't know anything about politics.
Some celebrities will even feel like I don't want to
be involved in the mix of that because I want
everybody to want to support me and buy my music.
So I'm not taking a stance on that because I
don't want to isolate certain groups of people. I want
(12:12):
to know why you think because you did put out
an EP that you put together with some amazing artists
who are, but I do. I understand the importance of
it and the brace that people can have. But I
want to hear from you like what you see when
it comes to celebrities and advocating.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Well, I think if you look at my career and
how I use celebrity, I'm always tapping into the celebrities
I feel are like the streets profits, right, So there's
different layers to celebrity. There's different genres of celebrity. For me,
I feel like a Beanie Segull speaks to more and
to what's going on in the street. Then no respect
(12:50):
John Legend, Right, I'm not taking John Legend into a prison.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I'm just not.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
I don't think they get none out of it. And
I mean I get it, goodwill, your heart, empathy, support,
I get all that. But you think Gucci Man and
beans in in prison one they've been in prison. They
treats heroes. They talking about the everyday life that's happening
for people that's still living in crazy conditions, some intentional,
(13:15):
some unintentional. I think the connection and the relationships is
just more of a connective tissue, right, So I do
think it's important to use those folks.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Even on the EP.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
Who would have thought Benity Butcher be on the EP
talking about some positive shit, right, I did it right,
And it's like the amount of people who listened to
that and like oh shit, or like one last time
he heard the electronica, I went and got him out
of wherever he was hiding, like bro, he loves Philly,
loves Philly. But again, like you put him on there
with a freeway with black thought. Who sees that coming?
(13:49):
But the people who get it get it and got it.
So maybe it's not for everybody, but it's definitely for
the people who actually tuned in and supported that them.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
What do you think of about artists and celebrities who
feel like I don't want to really be involved in
politics at all.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I think it's scared not being scared, because we oftentimes
forget where we come from. And maybe they're so far
removed that they don't get to go back to the
neighborhoods they come from. But people still there and it's
still struggling, just like at one point they may have.
So we can't get so far removed that we can't
speak up for the shit that we see every day.
I mean, I know celebrities who family members are going
(14:26):
through shit, and they're like, I ain't saying nothing.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Right, all right, Yeah, how do you not?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
How do you not because you're scared to lose a check?
Speaker 1 (14:33):
How much patience do you have to have to deal
with certain people in answering? Like I remember I was
at a bar. This woman was like, this is a
drunk white lady was like, and this is when Black
Lives Matter was at an all time high.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
She was like, I don't understand this Black Lives Matter thing.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
My response has been crazy.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
But you know, and I get that right, because sometimes
it's you could figure, you could go and do some
research yourself if you don't understand it. But sometimes having
a conversation with somebody can also, like you know, change
your mind abouts. But sometimes we don't have the patience
to want to have to like talk.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
To each individual. I mean, I thinks I.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
Think social media has contributed to that lack of patience
for our our society in general. But even the beauty
about justice ideas is one of the things that is
such a unifying thing. It's not a race issue, it's
not a socio economic issue, it's not a like cultural
derived religious issue. You got billionaires millionaires, thousands hundred years, motherfuckers,
(15:36):
and poverty, people who are already even in poverty below
poverty that has this issue of being in the prison
system come a home struggling and trying to figure out
a way out right, White, Black, Indigenous, Native American, Hispanic.
But everyone's dealing with the same issue. So even the
beauty of this movement from this struggle, it's one of
those clearing and unifying things that just levitates beyond any
(15:59):
cultural career that exists.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
What can people expect from justice ideas week.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
Energy, energy, recommitment to collaboration, an ego less, selfless clarion
call to get active, to do it together, and to
recognize their own power, like we are the power. No
one should be elected in this country without going through
people who experienced the justice system. And if we've been
together as a collective, Ain't no stopping. It was the
(16:26):
song Ain't No Stopping.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So that I remember you had mayor, the former mayor,
Kwame kill Patrick.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
He coming back to my guy, my guy, it's my guy.
I got some Detroit times. My cousin was an elective
of Fisher out there, Okay, so I'm always in Detroit.
Love Detroit Qualm. I've known Qualm since I was a
young and his whole family, Carolyn Kwame.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
It was there.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, but thoughts about running for office, No.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
It ain't my twist.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
I talked to my ship, but but not not only
that though, like you know, I you know, nah, you
sure I'm positive? Okay, I'm positive. I mean I've had
thoughts about it. I mean, my dad used to trying
to hype me. You should be this, you should be that,
and I thought about it. But you know, I think
a lot of people that get elected, they lose their
(17:15):
soul because they have to compromise so much to get crumbs.
And I don't want to ever be a position where
I have to compromise the sake of the people. I'm saying,
I'm committed to loving and fighting for to play.
Speaker 3 (17:27):
That game with them.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
You think you get a lot more done working from
the outside. Absolutely okay. And where can people go to
sign up if they want to.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Adjust usideas dot org. It's free be in the building there, Yes,
you will gotta talk about that. Definitely excited to have
you there, but it's free. Get active finals on social
media just as ideas on Instagram. If you have a relative, friend, family,
You know somebody when your school, live in your block,
(17:54):
your community, it's been incarcerated. They got somebody curly incarcerated
that has a relative and fault to care.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Any women you attention, tap in, this is for us
for real, all right.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
Well, I'm looking forward to it. I will be there.
We'll talk about what's capacity, but I'm definitely going to
be there. And I'm excited. I'm excited and thank you
and I appreciate you and the work that you do.
Speaker 4 (18:13):
This well
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