April 15, 2024 • 59 mins
This week on the Black Perspective, Andrea Coleman continues her conversation with the family members of civil rights leader Fred Lee Shuttlesworth; Vanessa Tyler talks with one of the leading voices promoting financial literacy for Black children, Dr. Jatali Bellanton; Mike Stevens talks with TV host Ed Gordon about the life and legacy of O.J. Simpson and news anchor Esther Eillard speaks with the founder of the Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorney's Inc. about the organization's dedication to helping women of color attorneys develop critical skills necessary to become partners and leaders in the legal profession.
Listen now!
Listen now!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It's Sunday, April fourteenth, andtoday, Andrea Coleman continues her conversation with
the family members of civil rights leaderfred Lee Shuttlesworth. Vanessa Tyler talks with
one of the leading voices promoting financialliteracy for black kids. And Mike Stevens
talks with TV host Ed Gordon aboutthe life and legacy of O. J.
Simpson. These stories and more comingyour way next. Welcome to the
(00:24):
Black Perspective. I'm your host,Mike Island. Welcome to the Black Perspective,
a weekly community affairs program on theBlack Information Network featuring interviews and discussions
on issues important to the Black community. Good Sunday to everyone, and welcome
to another edition of The Black Perspective. This week, one of the most
polarizing figures of recent times passed away. Film star, sportscaster, and Heisman
(00:48):
Trophy winning athlete O J. Simpsondied from prostay cancer at the age of
seventy six. News anchor Mike Stevenssat down with TV host Ed Gordon to
reflect on Simpson's life and his lifeasking but controversial impact on American culture.
John I. Guess Now is AfricanAmerican journalist Ed Gordon, former NBC News
and former bet anchor and now newscommentator and podcaster, including on the Black
(01:14):
Information Network. Glad to have youwith us, Ed good to be here.
You covered the OJ Simpson trial andfamously interviewed Oja after the acquittal.
It was a big deal on theoccasion of his passing. What are your
thoughts? My thoughts are as mostpeople are thinking today. It depends on
how old you are. If you'reas old as I, you remember OJ
as a great football star in collegeand the NFL, and then to the
(01:40):
broadcast booth, and then as anactor and then the infamous side of OJ.
I think it ironic that had hepassed away without the cloud that hung
over him, we would still betalking about him today. I also think
that much of what we'll end uptalking about today is so much bigger than
OJ Simpson, so much bigger thanthe murder trial. The simpence trial really
(02:05):
put a magnifying glass once again onrace in this country, and it gave
us a great purview as the differentvisions and insights of blacks versus whites in
this nation. You so right,and there are so many layers to this,
and OJ was not known as somebodywho was like a civil rights advocate,
(02:27):
like Jackie Robinson or Hank Aaron.But yet some black people cheered whether
he was found not guilty of murderinghis wife. And I think it's important,
particularly for African American journalists, tocontinue to do the drum beat when
that's brought up. I think thecheering was not cheering for OJ Simpson per
se. OJ was never, outsideof his football career, someone who Black
(02:52):
America was enamored with by virtue,as you say, someone who tried to
become race neutral, if you will. You know, maybe he had to
do that to be a pitchment inthe seventies, to do his best to
become as Bill Roden said in aninterview I did earlier. You know,
OJ was Michael Jordan before Michael Jordanby means of advertising. And so when
(03:17):
you think about that, I thinkit's incumbent upon us to note that all
of Black America did not share O. J. Simpson's acquittal. Many African
Americans believed him to be guilty.Those that did were really I believe I
can speak in a generality here,cheering for the idea that a black man
(03:38):
finally be the system that historically hasbeen unkind to black people, that has
shown itself not to be equal,not to have the scales balanced, those
scales of justice, and so Ithink that that's what we saw. That
explosion was not for Orenthal James Simpson. It was for the symbolic nature of
(04:01):
him getting off I do recall asI'm watching TV, I'm seeing that slow
speed chase from years ago. Itwas one of those moments in history where
I think everybody remembers where they wereat the time. I was the evening
anchor for the Fox TV station inSacramento when that trial started, and we
expanded our news from thirty minutes toan hour every day starting that particular night
(04:26):
of that slow speed chase, andthere was so much involved in what would
later be called the Trial of theCentury and his lawyers, the Dream Team.
Yeah, you know again, forme, it was far more than
just the touch point of sitting downwith mister Simpson that evening for the interview.
I was in Johnny Cochrane's office theday he received the call to ask
(04:49):
if he would indeed be a partof the Dream Team, and I remember
him getting off the phone and askingme he said, I wouldn't consider OJ
a friend, but we're a acquaintancesand we see each other often in Los
Angeles here and there. And hesays, I just don't necessarily like to
represent friends. What do you thinkI should do? And I said,
(05:10):
I don't know what you should dofor OJ, But if ever you get
a call from me, I wantyou to forget about us being friends,
and you get your butt to thejailhouse and get me out of there.
And so, you know, youthink about Johnny Cochran becoming a household name.
You think about from the time thosemurders happened, because she had been
married to OJ Simpson, to theacquittal and the aftermath. America was transfixed
(05:33):
on this trial. Every day,every single day, millions of people were
watching the court proceedings. It reallybecame reality television in a real sense,
not what we call reality television theBachelor and the Housewives and the like.
This was real life that we followed, and we followed it voyeuristically, and
(05:57):
so it became one of those things. To your point that I remember being
at bet the night he and AlCollings took that white Bronco on that slow
speed chase, and I had tomake the decision before we could reach higher
ups because everybody had gone home,that we would break into our regular programming,
and we followed as all of thenetworks did that chase back to Rockingham.
(06:18):
And so while there's nothing that canbe done that would make the Goldman's
or the Browns feel complete again,I think we also have to think about
the Simpson family, his children,his mom at the time while she was
living. This destroyed not only thetwo people's families who grieved their murders,
(06:39):
but mister Simpson's family, whether youbelieve he did it or not. Bristol,
thankful for your coming on to shareyour reflections at Gordon. Thank you
for joining us. My pleasure.Thanks Mike, and be sure to stay
with the Black Information Network as wecontinue our coverage on the life and times
of OJ Simpson. We continue ourconversation this week with the family of the
(06:59):
late civil rights icons Reverend Fred Leeand Ruby K. Shuttlesworth. In the
second and final report, we arereminded of how the principles and values of
faith, family and unity helped pavethe way to the social advancements one through
the movement. Here's the Black Informationthat works Andrea Coleman, Oh, Mike.
The shuttles Worth family is American historyin a most gracious and noble manner.
(07:23):
They speak of events and people manyof us have only read about,
books are learned of when listening toaccounts of the Civil rights movement, and
woven in between each historical moment theyspeak of is a bond rooted in faith,
love, and a respect for familythat is as inspiring as it is
informative. And they will say,well, like as ole, sweet little
(07:48):
book. The Reverend fred Lee Shuttlesworthspeaks of the near death experiences he survived
in Birmingham, Alabama, as hehelped organize and lead the push for equal
rights in the nineteen fifties and sixties. S I if asked Leo instructor,
he said, mister Lanstimee, thatwas the boom that didn't get them in
(08:11):
the boom. And I tell yougot even down to my truth. The
strains that I was lying on shat. It didn't found O pieces, big
or nothing, but that was God. I wasn't gonna ride the bust of
plans out because they were gonna glowme into heaven that night. Thanks leading
(08:33):
girl. He knows your heart.He knows everything. I hear it,
I could hear it. I knewit was for me. I knew it
had my name hold it. ButI was satisfied because I knew God,
and I know God will never leaveme. Not for sake, that's all.
(08:58):
Thank God. I was troubled inGod's own as I tell the whole
life. These audio clips are fromthe last sermon Reverend Shuttles were delivered on
March nineteenth, two thousand and six, at the Greater New Light Baptist Church
in Cincinnati, Ohio, a churchhe founded after moving to the city in
nineteen sixty six. After leading themovement in Birmingham and elsewhere for many years,
(09:22):
Birmingham was known of being Bombingham becausethey had a habit of bombing.
As soon as you get a littlebit, they just come up in bombing.
Today, his children share insights intothis journey that entelled incredibly dangerous moments
that place theirs and their parents' liveson the line time after time. And
yet it was a commitment to faithand non violence that always prevailed. What
(09:46):
led to your father being so dedicatedto the movement The Love of God Hurst
Minister take care of God's people,not just black of color color, all
the people who yes spread at theL Seed before we meet, we're talking
about end U outlawed and they hadto start the SDLZ the I mean the
(10:13):
keys in Atlanta. We in Birmingham, and so since they had get together
was s c L Seed. That'swhat started Keynes situation. His daddy was
a big zipper leading in Atlanta.But about our organization at the A C.
M h R in Birmingham, it'sa whole different, whole different things.
(10:37):
We started in fifty five when awas outlawed in Alabama, but then
a week he got together the AlabamaChristian Movement and that was June of nineteen
fifty five. And then we werebombed Christmas night of nineteen fifty six because
(11:00):
daddy had had said that he wasgoing to ride the buses the next day.
So we got a christial gift ofsixteen sticks of dynamite. And I
said before Deacon Himitted Robinson were inthe house with us well. When the
house was blown up, Carolyn wentto live with a neighbor, a church
member that had a child her age, and Pat bred and I went to
(11:22):
live with Auntie and Uncle Josh wasan in in West End, near the
hospital where Daddy died. And thenhe proceeded to whatever he saw was wrong,
he challenged with all deliberate speed theintegration of the school. We took
(11:45):
Lord Reverend Piper, and Piper wasthe driver by our car and Nathaniel Lee
was the other student in the carthat was to be integrated. And when
we pulled up, thank god,Howard K. Smith the NewsCap it was
filming and he filmed they being beatenwith chains, sticks, well brass en
(12:07):
up. My mother was stabbed andthe door was closed on my ankle.
We went to try to break thelaw and they filed a Pace Ruby but
Rica Schettleberg versus the Birmingham Board ofEducation. It took us from seventh September
to sixty three to integrate the schoolsthere. Well. In fifty seven they
(12:31):
came together to join the SCLC andReverend Jamison was the first secretary, but
for some reason he didn't last longand Daddy became the secretary of Reverend came
VERER. Napping app in every andthe other gentlemen that were there. But
(12:52):
they worked together. It was CTVivian CGP and yt Over and see case
still out of Florida. But Daddywas stationary because he was a minister doctor
king, had a cathery of menthat traveled with him, and when anything
was going on, different people camefrom different cities. Daddy always took Colonel
(13:18):
Stone Johnson, the barber, misterArmstronge who's children are on that thing,
with him, and then they wouldtake their Birmingham group to go to wherever
the activities were going on. Butthey worked together as a unit, and
together they got a lot of goodthings that but the main thing was believing
in God and being none by.If we hadn't been violent, a lot
(13:43):
of people would have been dead.You know. When Daddy went to get
the students that were under bus andandison that was burning, he had his
people to leave their guns at leavetheir guns and neighbor a neighbor's yard of
the movement because there's nothing we coulddo with fifteen guns. It's all our
(14:07):
ammunition that they had. But peacefuland non violent was always the way.
What do you make of the racialand social climate in America today? We
were blessed to know a lot ofpeople from history carry Rellfonte was there the
very first march on Washington And whenI called him about three years ago because
(14:30):
I wanted to write this book,finish this book on my daddy. It's
called eighty nine Years an Inclusive lookat American History of work in progrect And
he said to me, why notyou and why not now? And when
we celebrated, he sent videos andstuff. But what we need to do
is think what have we done.We've done everything in love, and we
(14:54):
must let our victories elevate our minds. We must make sure that our children
know our history. And even thoughpeople are saying we're gonna ban books,
so we're gonna not teach Black histories. For us, the history makers,
the people that walk the way toteach our children our history. That's one
(15:15):
thing that Jewish people do every Friday. Okay, you cannot change history because
you ban a book. History isin the hearts. That's how we told
our stories by stories. So wewill be telling our story and the other
story for the cities that we livedin. We've only lived in two states,
Alabama and Ohio, and in fivecities Mobile, Selma, Montgomery,
(15:41):
Birmingham, and Cincinnati. So we'vebeen hanging tough together for a long time.
But racism is abundant, and wemust teach our children to stay calm,
depend on the Lord, and useyour knowledge to make our world better
for everybody, you know, becauseif we cut ourselves, whether you Indian,
(16:03):
Hispanic, whatever, we're all gonnableed red. And it's important to
teach the children that this land thatyou were born on here in America is
your land. This is your own. They had this book called Freedom's Children,
Levine. All my meetings that wentto in Columbus for the Statelehood of
(16:25):
Education, and everybody wanted to lunch. They came back to this book.
It's a paperback book. Pat wason the front cover and I was on
the back cover. Freedom's Children,Ellen Levine. It said Fred Fred Bresident
and Fred Wood. This is notthis is not me, this is my
people. This is my whole lifeexperience. Everybody knew about my own man.
But then they so well known thatthey're so middle class. But once
(16:49):
again middle class folks were not awareof what was going on for the longest
time. Now they are being madeaware. It's wonderful things. They needed
to be made aware. And goesdown in Florida. They're embursing themselves and
us because they don't know already knownabout everybody else. It's embarrassing should again.
(17:10):
I'm just thankful that Daddy there tosee the airport being named and to
receive that honor, and he's hadgotten so many more since then. In
fact, the John L. Lewisfaith in politics had always been going across
the bridge. Well. Last yeara documentary came out called Shuttlesworth, and
when they saw that documentary, theyinvited the four of us to cross the
(17:33):
bridge with them last year, andthey invited us to come again this year.
It was really moving situation because wehave to remind everybody that Birmingham's story
did not start with the poor littlegirls getting bold sixty three. It started
in nineteen fifty three when Fred Chittleburncame to Bethel Baptist Church and started to
(17:53):
try to right the wrongs that hadbeen done. I honor him, my
mother and the Birmingham movement because theymade a difference and they never really complained,
even though when they came and DoctorKing and President Kennedy wanted to call
off the demonstration, well, Dddywouldn't have it. He got out of
his six pim and came over andsaid, no, we're not going to
(18:17):
change. We are not stopping thedemonstration. And when President Kennedy wrote the
bill, he started the bill bysaying, but for Birmingham, we would
not be here. And that's reallyhow it was. Birmingham started it.
But Daddy never ever said anything negativeabout the fact that he was excluded from
(18:41):
some things. He was always toa cheerer for the people that work with
him. And we stand Paul tosay that we had to work together because
even now they're talking about the interactionof Sophie Carmichael, Miriam mckiba and all
the people. We had to worktogether because we were the same the same
(19:03):
color. We used to say sayit loud, I'm black and I'm proud.
Back in the days bet back gotnobody black. You gotta fight.
But now it's a different thing.In our young people know need to know,
learn your history, stand by yourtruth, and do not let anybody
make you think that you are inferior. God, don't make no junk.
(19:23):
As they say in the commercial,how do America look at the heroes like
your father and your mother, andhow do we honor you? What would
that look like in a meaningful way. I think we honor the principles that
they stood for both. Every timeyou get a chance, organize and work
(19:45):
together to address issues in society andbe open to help those people that fall
between the crack. They just don'tmeasure up one thing as a race.
We always encourage each other in theHouse of the Lord, we encourage each
other. But if we got something, we reached back and pull people up.
We have to continue to share theknowledge, and then we need to
(20:07):
know how to go and get theknowledge because a lot of things that kept
from us. Bethel was made ahistoric site in two thousand and four.
It is now scheduled to become aWorld Historic Site. The vote comes later
on. But what was done inBirmingham was done out of love and trying
to seek a better life for allAmerica. With the scripture say, if
(20:30):
my people who are called by myname would just do what we're supposed to
do, then we would have exampleshere on this earth of what we need
to do. But we are justhonored to have been the children of Fred
and Ruby k huh Tennessee pet FredJunior and I were blessed to go to
(20:51):
Hollando for six weeks. It waslocated in Mount Eagle, Tennessee. Has
moved like three times because of thegrass. But on our way back home
from Highlander, the police got onthe bus and said get up and go
to the back of the bus.Who he said, no, this is
an interstate bus. But they werearrested us and they caught our father,
gave him a ticket at every cornercoming into Gas in Alabama. He lost
(21:15):
his license, Petulia. But thething that they did good was they put
our brother in the women's cell belowour cell, and he sang to us
month of the night, let usknow that he was okay. And I
always tell children I speak. Youdon't want to go together because you don't
have a pity, get out,okay. The toilet was there with no
seacover, thin spring, thin mattress, and breakfast was grits with fried belonging
(21:41):
okay, swimming in Greece. Itwas just not the best thing. But
there was a gentleman that came downto be our lawyer. Then hold from
New York and the people of Gasand put up money so that Daddy could
take us home. People have workedtogether for our good and the good of
the movement, and we can neverforget the people that really saved our lives
(22:03):
so many times by making sure thatwe were okay. And when Daddy moved
to Birmingham in two thousand and eightuntil he died in twenty eleven, we
were on the road quite sometimes threegunds a month to see how he was.
And it just made a difference thatyou go and you need to take
care. And I say to youngpeople all the time, ask your grandmother
(22:23):
your day how it was, becauseit's much different than it was now.
We depended on the Lord and eachother. We didn't loty each other.
We knew that you could depend onsuch and there's nothing new under the sun.
That's how it was with clothing whatever. If you came into our community,
you were welcome. But we've gottenaway from that and we need to
(22:44):
look inward and see to the valuesthat Grandma taught and teased the god children.
The Shuttles were siblings, which includePat who is the oldest, then
Ruby affectionately called Ricky, then FredJunior and Carolyn the youngest, have done
just that. They passed down theserich teachings of family, faith and community
to their children. As attested twoby two of them, Fred's daughter Tracy
(23:07):
Sipple and Carolyn Son Haikimu shuttles WorthDavidson, What does it feel like for
you to be a part of suchan incredible family with such a meaningful and
intricate contribution and legacy to the civilrights movement here in America? You know,
the word that comes to mind ispride. You know, these are
not you know, your red stockof people that I've come from. He's
(23:29):
an intelligent doct provoking change, orientedwhat's right for the people that they love
and outside their walls. Even so, you know, from the first time
I saw Granddaddy as a public figure, you know, I've been in awe
honestly, but I kind of takefrom him is his directness. I think
(23:52):
I am not as in public asGranddaddy is, but I will take a
person under my lay in a secondright. So, you know, I
remember being challenged one It's like,well, how come you don't do this?
And how come you don't like I'mnot. I'm an introverted nerd.
So my way is, you know, to do what you can. And
(24:12):
that's another blessing I think I gotis what can you do? Is it's
not good enough to sit and watchand wait as you you know that God
he's saying, is being changed towant to be had. And you may
not be able to preach like theangers. You may not be able to
preach like power, but you can'tsay I love the Lord. Yes.
(24:32):
Bottom line, even when with mychildren, when they realize my my who
our grandfather was and who his childrenwere and all the things that they went
through, it's just like it almostmeans that you know, I can get
through this. You know, it'stenacity, It's it's understanding that this too
sail pass and what's next and whatdo you owe yourself moving forward? I
(24:57):
you know, I'm someone know therapists. I've been in corporate America. I've
been a Girl Scout leader, andI just you know, I spend my
time with people so that they knowwhat they can do. Right. It's
not if you can do anything youwant to do in life, but how
you how even find out I eventry? So that's like yeah, I
(25:17):
mean, my my auntie Ricky alwaysgave me the you know, well you
know what patience. That's what shetaught me more than the patients patients.
My auntie Pat taught me directness andwhy mess around, you know, and
my daddy taught me that there's athere are a lot of more questions than
(25:38):
you used to before. You sodo some thinking. And my aunt Carol,
I guess I didn't believe Carol.She didn't. I wasn't around her
all that much. But she's justa scholar and she dances. She's just
like a living life. What ifyour grandfather do you remember, and what
if his legacy do you embrace?I certainly remember certain things about them,
(26:02):
but you know, first and foremost, this is a family, and so
the family business might be advocacy andjustice and rights. But you know,
I remember my grandfather as granddaddy,and so my my part of my immediate
family, My mother and father livedoutside of the kind of the close knit
community of Cincinnati, so I sawmy grandfather less than some of my cousins.
(26:26):
But you know, he had anice nickname for me, the Professor,
which I still carry sometimes, andyou know, definitely have a lot
of great memories of him. ButI think my legacy standpoint was probably a
few more parallels in a lot ofways. And I think even sometimes naturally,
sometimes intentionally, you know, I'vespent my parts of my life focused
(26:48):
on justice and caring about it washappening to the larger community, what do
you say, Uncle Fred? Andgoing to the pen relays and that was
a good time there my uncle,and caring about everything's going on there.
But I've spent time with different nonprofitorganizations and different social justice organizations. I
kind of have a long affiliation withthe National Urban League, and I think
(27:11):
one of the things that you know, what, what is important that younger
people today should be thinking about.I think there's always an opportunity to give
back, and if you don't necessarilygive back, but to be involved and
to be trying to move things forwardfor our people. When when you don't
do that, you end up withsituations that we're dealing with now, like
this attack on diversity and this attackon you know, critical race theory,
(27:36):
and these just attacks on anything blackby at least in half the country,
and and kind of trying to pushour stories to the to the back burner.
And I think when you do that, you get you put us in
a position as the people to forgetwhere we came from, to forget what's
important, to forget how to effectivelyorganize. And I think that's one of
the more important things that I gotfor my grandfather, which is, you
(27:59):
know, organizing is great, butit needs to be effective. You have
to move in ways that that thatmatter, and it have to move in
ways that influence the people that you'retrying to influence. A lot of times
I sitting them in their pockets.But you can't just you know, only
care about things when when something isgoing on, you have to be vigilant
and you kind of have to besteadfast and fighting which right and trying to
(28:21):
advance our people. My blood speakingwell, you mean well, like Colon
bo I love you too, UncleFred. One thing you've got proud of
your people. If you're not probablygoing to make him brown, you expect
them then because he's always been asmart brother. But he's brother smart.
(28:45):
All of them like that. Onceagain, if they're not, we're trying
to make him like that. Alongwith being taught to be smart, the
descendants of Fred Lee and Ruby K. Shuttlesworth will also inherit a family legacy
seeped and a love of God,a relentless will to do good for the
benefit of all mankind, no matterthe cost, and a love and respect
of family, which we witness throughoutour interview with them, as one sibling
(29:07):
would proudly showcase the giftings and talentsof another, and deference to that love.
We close with a poem written byFred Shuttlesworth Junior, titled Mass Meeting
and read by his sister Ruby froma hillside Vulcan mythical symbol saw his city
become a crucible. A nation's conscience, frict and galvanized saw it. Jim
(29:30):
Crow Moulton ethanize. Crowd swirled aroundchurches on Monday nights, willingly joining a
peculiar fight in business suits or USpipe shot grime, determined to rally redeem
the time. Baptist am no rancorbetween freedom their mecca, the movement their
(29:56):
means. Of course, Unbelievers wouldhave their say. They couldn't see a
different brighter day for them. Envisionedchanges seemed distant, abstract, unsure,
hardly expectant. Spears of violence spoiledeach season. They called it Bummingham for
(30:19):
a reason. Those negroes crazy,they say, were the browns. Some
poor white trash. Don't burn hisold town down. Undaunted, the movement
surged on a face, daringly supportingits chosen face. Rebond shuttles were bowlder,
the feet fault bull conors, germinantbeliefs. Deep one had God's justice
(30:47):
as his only hope. One believedin dogs, dynamite and rope. One
had foot soldiers each and average man. One had power. All minted by
the Klan. White men like statuesobserved in silence, a layer of tension
(31:07):
in their presence ignored. They hadthe least impact. As speakers treated the
future as fact. Members reported madegeneral plans. The bur Rabbish Charade performed
again, great work done on aprodigious foam tree. Men, women,
children working to be free. CarltonReech and the cities all star quiet would
(31:34):
oftentimes set the meetings of fire yourjob. The evening skies, with their
sound resound, ain't gonna let segregationturn me around. We've got a job.
Their hand trapping theme song was anexhortation to carry on. Leaders courageous
(31:56):
choir's voices. Golden members would lead, refreshed and embold They bought the magic
back to their city with zealous onthe genius energy pressing on tireless on a
faith laid track their leaders. Adamantnever turned back Grit Shoulder Junior, February
(32:21):
twelfth, two thousand and six.He wrote beautiful poetry about what was going
on at the time. With thedeepest measure of gratitude, we thank the
Shuttlesworth family for speaking with us.We are forever grateful for their steadfast love
and historical leadership. I'm Andrea Colemanon the Black Information Network. Thanks Andrea,
(32:45):
and to the late Reverend Fred Leeand Ruby K. Shuttlesworth, a
word of thanks for all your contributionsin the fight to bring equality and civil
rights to Black Americans. Rest inpeace. The Black Information Network has an
amazing team of commonators who bring theirunique perspectives to stories impacting the Black community.
Today, we check in with MoeKelly for his latest two Minute Warning
(33:07):
report. I'm Moe Kelly on BIin with your two minute Warning. Well,
so much for my optimism. WhenI last spoke of the pending Good
Times animated reboots slated to premiere onNetflix on the twelfth, I recounted my
historical tie to the original and allthe baggage and troubled legacy which came with
it. I played a very briefsnippet of the animated series because there was
(33:28):
no full trailer yet. Well it'snow out. We now find out that
this is the same Evans family,two generations removed, complete with inwards disability
check jokes and a drug dealing babywho plays dice and has an affection for
breasts. Not joking. Let meguess the stakehole and they want to cut
you a disability check for your face. Holda, you can get paid for
(33:49):
that. This is from a foolwho stares at his orange juice every morning.
It says, concentrate on the box. Holda. Domina s me for
not wearing a condom. Shadows follow. It all started with my grandfather,
James Evans. My job as theman at his house is to take care
of his family. Don't matter what. I just want to let you know
I'm gonna take good care of Gray, who is father Girl one. My
(34:15):
boyfriend Daddy Lamb going Juni is receetingthe tenth grade for the third time.
Is there anything you can suggest tohelp him get to the drive? Crew?
Can you do only fast? I'lltake you to the dogs. Dear
Black Heavenly Bomb Carloge Redeemer and youcould just help us. Sorry, it's
(34:37):
for you, I phone who is? At least they ain't got that drug
dealing baby under my roof? Nomore man, my mouth ready for some
milk right now, Dalvin? Whyare you so b restlessss? I'm hurt,
I'm ashamed, and I'm done.I'm mo Kelly at mister mo Kelly
on social media. And that's yourtwo minute warning on the Black Information Network.
(35:01):
Be sure to catch moll Kelly,Roland Martin, and James T.
Harris for their daily commentary on theBlack Information Network. For many parents,
it may be time to have thattalk with your children, not about the
birds and the bees, but thetalk about money. News anchor Vanessa Tyler
sat down with doctor Jitalie Bellaton,a financial empowerment educator specializing in financial literacy
(35:23):
for children. Do you think moneygrows on trees? That's a lot of
parents say to their kids. Forsome Black children, they may not have
any idea about money. Thank goodnessfor doctor Jatally Bellenton, who has made
it a business to teach our kidsabout money. Doctor Bellaton, welcome to
(35:46):
the Black Information Network. Thank youfor having me. I'm looking forward to
having this conversation with you today,what is the result of our kids not
knowing about money? I think thefirst result is overspending, right of you,
who don't understand their powers as consumers. We create a space in an
environment where when we tell them thatwe have to go on the budget,
(36:07):
when we bring them to the supermarket, there's overspending. They do things such
as, you know, hey,mommy, I want three different boxes of
cereal. Meanwhile, they haven't finisheda box of cereal they have at home.
They might want every toy that comesout because it's cool and it's on
TV. But if you include themin the process of becoming successful, well
(36:29):
thought out consumers, what ends uphappening is that they think twice before buying
that toy. They think twice abouta lot of their the mistakes that adults
make on a average basis. Sothat's why it's really important to me,
and that's why it's a major mistakewhen we don't include them in the conversation.
I was just gonna ask you howmuch should they know about the family's
(36:50):
finances. I do think they shouldknow the basics as far as like a
big financial goal. So if thefamily is working towards buying a house,
maybe creating a chot, some kindof a structure which make me a part
of the conversation, creating a piechart where we say, hey, we're
three courts away there to buy ourdream home that has a pool or whatever
cool thing you might have, oreven being able to move from like let's
(37:14):
say, you know, maybe youdon't like living in a house, but
you would have lived to move toa condo that would give them amenities or
some kind of something that would maybemake their lives a little bit better,
making them be a part of thatconversation, even if it's something like buying
a new family car because the onethat everyone day have currently might have a
small space and you need a biggertrunk space because your child is in sports,
(37:37):
So creating some kind of a chartincluding them in the process of saying
we're fifty thousand dollars away, we'reten thousand dollars away from this goal,
we're one hundred thousand dollars away fromthis goal. And so I think that
these little components are ways that youcan share but not overshare, because I
do feel like there is a balance. You know, you don't want your
child to take on the stresses ofbeing an adult. Such let's say,
(38:00):
if you're someone who's living check tocheck, borrow to borrow, and you
can't really pay rent or mortgage,you might not want to tell the child
that they might be homeless by tomorrowif they don't if we don't spend better,
because that terminology would actually scar thechild, maybe even distract them from
their education they're learning. But thebeautiful part is if you can just at
(38:20):
least let them know, like,hey, we need to be tighter with
our funding and our spending because thecost of inflation and the fact that milk
us will cost one dollar an hourit cost seven dollars, you know,
just having that conversation or finding alternativesto even the everyday luxuries that the child
might be used to and giving thema reason why I think that is okay.
(38:45):
Our children have pretty expensive tastes,electronics, sneakers, clothes, so
would seem they are really eager tomake money. Talk about kids who bank
and Brilliant Minds Unite. Kids whobring in brilliant minds Unite are programs out
creative teaching youth and adults financial literacy. Kids who bank starts with ages five
(39:07):
to about seventeen years old in theSOOL systems, and then eighteen and up.
We deal with brilliant minds Unite wherewe're teaching them everything from depreciation to
compound interests and having conversations around thingsthat the vehicles they can invest in,
such as a stock market, understandingbasics like this S and P five hundred
averages about eight percent a year,talking to them about CDs and bonds and
(39:29):
trusts. Also making sure that theyunderstand that different tax structures around the United
States in the world, and socreating these platforms, I came from a
space of investment banking and forensic accountingand having that hands on knowledge. I
noticed a lot of adults who arestruggling with budgeting and even knowing how to
(39:49):
diversify their portfolio. If one sectorwas down, all their money was down.
And so I just wanted to beable to ensure that youth and adults
no longer had this issue, andI put a dent in that problem in
particular, And so those are themain reasons I created it. But it's
been a beautiful space to watch notjust adults but also you how eager they
are to actually learn about money becauseyou know, we say that money doesn't
(40:10):
grow in trees, right, butwe do not have this digital era where
people can kids can even play gameswhere they're making money by designing games and
programming. The list continues, andyou know, even roadblocks world, there
are youth who are actually making moneyfrom designing hobbies right these obstacle courses in
virtual worlds. And there's also peoplewho are making virtual mansions and the metaverse
(40:36):
and getting paid because somebody wants tobuy that virtual mansion. And that's something
that my son has had the experienceof doing. And so or even just
people who youth who are designing tshirts and hats that are then sold in
these metaverse and virtual worlds. Sotechnology just comes so far. This Fourth
Industrial Revolution is not going anywhere,and it actually puts a lot of our
youth in a situation where they becomeinfluencers. They have YouTube pages, they're
(40:59):
making money, and they're capitalizing evenfrom a young age. A lot of
young people, you know, Ibelieve, get their first taste about money
when they get in trouble with thatfirst credit card at college. Is that
what you're finding, that's the start. That's definitely a good start for a
lot of them. I mean,you know, when you most nineteen year
(41:21):
olds i've met already have debt rightRather to some of us, teny twelve
thousand might not be a big debt, but when you're a college student,
that is a very big debt asa college student, twelve thousand dollars of
debt when you didn't know anything right, But we had created a situation where
people don't understand compound interests, andthen they get they don't have a high
credit score when they start. Theaverage person don't have a parent or someone
(41:45):
building their credit for them before theyeven turn eighteen or seventeen. So what
happens is they get their first creditcard, it's a twenty seven percent APR,
and then they make minimum payments becauseno one taught them that minimum payments
can be your enemy. And sothey might have borrowed two thousand dollars and
by the time they're done making minimumpayments is as if they paid four thousand
dollars back, and you know,you almost paid back double what you actually
(42:07):
borrowed. And so we it's justmore having conversations around that, educating how
compoundents just can be your friend.Or your enemy. We are speaking with
doctor Jaitali Bellenton, who is ona mission to bring financial literacy to our
children, and you say, youalso let our children know that they can
(42:29):
make money, like you mentioned allthe different ways you can do it now
and being a multimillionaire as well withintheir reach. When you show them that,
and you show them, hey,within thirty years, that you could
have a value of portfolio that's wortha million dollars or twenty years, it
could be this due to compound interestsand just as well how that particular asset
(42:52):
class is performing. A lot ofthem are like, wow, I want
to start investing now, because weOne thing we don't think about when it
comes to saying is that if we'reonly saving and there's inflation and in the
money, is the value of whatyou're doing. The cost of living is
growing up quicker than you're actually savingmoney. You could save a million dollars
and then the basic comforts that youcould think about that you'd want, like
(43:14):
a home or a car or whatever. We don't really know what that value
is going to be. Like Imentioned earlier, the cost of milk.
But there's been a mean challenge wherepeople talk about the cost of eggs,
right, and just even having thatconversation of like a box of eggs are
so expensive now and you know,we could get a dozen eggs for like
a dollar and change before and nowit's on average seven to nine dollars depending
(43:36):
what brand you're bought purchasing, areyou doing organic? And all these different
components. And so if you're onlysaving, you might think you're going to
be retiring luxurious lifestyle and then bythe time you're done, honestly, you
can't even afford the luxury that youwould have been if it was twenty thirty
years prior to. And so weteach people that components just going to be
a friend in that mannerism, andalso just as a class, there is
(44:00):
and items that appreciate in value.So we also push what we're talking about
compound interest appreciation as well. Areyou investing in items that are going to
go up in value over time?Yeah? What will knowing about money mean
for our young people? You knowmany of them who feel helpless about their
futures. I think that part rightthere, they feel helpless, but we
(44:21):
also know that the helplessness comes fromthe fact that it's stemming from the fact
that no one has set them downand discussed it with them. And so
I think if we actually were tosit them down and say, hey,
don't be concerned. This is howyou can ensure that you are doing your
best to have a comfortable life.This is how you can ensure that you
don't go homeless. Is how youcan ensure that you can feed your family
(44:43):
or create generational wealth and legacy.I think it's just education, you know,
the same way a lot of ouryouth know how to most adults know
how to read and write, andno basic maths. It's because they were
taught that it becomes second nature.And anything that we do repetitive becomes can
become second nature. And so Ithink that's a big part of the conversation
(45:05):
is how do we have this conversationto the point that you become comfortable with
it. The same way, thereare a lot of women who are uncomfortable
in the finance space or tech spacebecause they don't normally feel like they see
enough representation of themselves in that space. And so now we're seeing this split
of a switch where more of themare jumping into the space, you know,
and part of that is representation.They saw a few women who are
(45:29):
speaking at conferences and said, hey, I could be in finance. This
person was successful in that space.There's not only a male dominated world.
I can learn about math and bea math lover. It doesn't matter if
I'm a female or male. Andso I think and every which way that
is what it is and comes downto, is representation. Are we ensuring
that they see the examples that wewant them to say? How can we
(45:51):
find you and how can young peoplelearn more about money? You can find
me on social media Instagram and LinkedInunder my name Jatali Bellentin, l I
b as in boy E l lA n as a Nanceto and as a
nanc doctor. Jtali Bellenton. Fillingthe minds of our children and soon filling
(46:12):
their pockets. Thank you for joiningus the Black Information Network. Thank you
so much for having me. ThanksVanessa. If you've never heard of the
Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys, Incorporated, then you are in for
a special treat. News anchor EstherDillard recently spoke with the founder of this
(46:35):
amazing organization dedicated to helping women ofcolor attorneys develop the critical skills necessary to
become partners and leaders in the legalprofession through scholarships, mentoring, and so
much more. Joining me as AttorneyMarion Dockery, who leads the Leadership Institute
for Women of Color Attorneys, Incorporated, also known as l I WOCA.
(46:58):
Welcome Ms Dockery to the BI.Well, thank you for having me.
Esther. I know that you havea big event coming up for your organization,
but before we talk about that,please tell us a little bit about
your institute and what prompted you tostart it. I heard there is a
story behind that, Yes, thereis. The Leadership Institute for Women of
(47:19):
Color Attorneys was incorporated nineteen years ago. At that time, the American Bar
Association held an annual meeting in Chicagoand the Commission on Women in the Profession
were giving a seminar on a detailed, devastating report about women of color in
(47:45):
law firms, and I joined thatseminar and a colleague of mine from Atlanta,
Julia Dulan, was also present.We heard from the Commissional Women in
the Profession of interviews they had taken. They had extensive statistics documenting and chronicling
(48:13):
the discrimination, sexual harassment, ofracial discrimination devaluation disrespect of women of color
in law firms across the nation.And when I say woman of color,
I am talking about African American women, Native American women, South Asian women,
(48:40):
Southeast Asian women, and LATINX.So we looked at each other and
said, you know, I thinkwe can do something about things. Let's
talk when we get back to Atlanta. So when we got back to Atlanta,
we discussed, you know, justdifferent ways we could address these problems
(49:04):
and hopefully help women who were startingout, not just starting out in the
field, but who were practicing evenyou know, as partners. And we
decided to have a conference, andthat is what that and we incorporated the
(49:25):
organization as the five O one Cthree. No one gets paid, we're
all volunteers. So here we aretoday and the mission of the organization is
to elevate, motivate, and inspirewomen of color attorneys to be leaders in
their profession. And we achieve thisgoal using our annual conferences as a platform
(49:52):
to help women of color attorneys developthe critical skills necessary to become leaders in
their profession. We also assist lawfirms and legal departments retain and promote women
of color lawyers by providing them trainingto help them succeed in their law offices.
(50:15):
You don't learn everything in law school, and you don't learn everything in
a law office relative to practicing lawand strategies to become successful. We also
continue to fuel the pipeline by awardingscholarships to women of color law students every
year, and we have done soeighteen of our nineteen years and today we've
(50:39):
re ward over three hundred thousand dollarsin scholarships with our scholarship partners. Well,
I wanted to get your take onthis because many women in the corporate
world were exiting and starting their ownthing during the pandemic, and are you
seeing that trend among black women inyour field? I think I'm not sure
(51:02):
what happened during the pandemic. Ithink because we were also isolated during that
time, that may in fact bethe case. Now. The retention of
women of color has increased since thisorganization was started, There's no question about
(51:27):
it. And the environment in manylaw firms is much more welcoming, but
there are still problems. And letme also say that everyone who enters a
law firm is a first year associate. Whether they are a woman of color
(51:47):
or they are white males are notgoing to make partner and they're not going
to stay there eight, nine orten years to reach partnership. So that's
an important point. And a lotof lawyers work in law firms and have
no desire to become partners. Somewant to become judges, some want to
(52:08):
go in house. I never workedat a law firm because when I graduated
from law school, they law firmsweren't accepting very few women lawyers into their
rights. I wonder if you justcould briefly talk about you know, you
(52:28):
were talking about how black women andminorities, minority women have been getting into
law for quite some time, andit appears that black women are really taking
center stage in the field of law, such as a New York Attorney General
Letitia James, even former Chicago mayorlawyer Lightfoot. It appears black women attorneys
and lawyers were always there, butperhaps not taking such a prominent role in
(52:51):
the spotlight. What do you makeof this and how do you think it's
making an impact on what you doas an organization. Well, interesting,
we actually had Lori Lightfoot years agoas one of our speakers. I think
what you're saying. I mean nowas opposed to nineteen years ago, there
are many women of color who aregeneral counsels in corporations. And we are
(53:17):
going to feature two of our keynotespeakers, our general counsels in major corporations.
We will have Nicole Lamb hail andwith Cummings think she's vice president and
she is a vice president and legalcounsel and corporate secretary for Cummings and our
(53:45):
scholarship lunch of keynote speakers Monica HowardDouglass, who is the executive vice president
and global general counsel for the CocaCola Company. We have featured general councils
every year as keynote speakers, womenof color, and what I am seeing
(54:05):
is that, yes, there's absolutelybeen an increase of women in law firms.
It's not the way it used tobe. I remember when I came
out of law school, I didn'tknow of any African American women partners at
law firms. Now they do exist, and they're not necessarily all starting their
own firms, even though many have, but there are some who are majority
(54:30):
firms who make partner Do you feelthat these folks are encouraging the young blood
to join the fold or how doyou think in some cases, yes,
I think if you have an example, if there's someone there who looks like
you, who's in that position,you think, yeah, maybe I can
do this too. And it alsoraises your level of comfort being in a
(54:53):
firm where there are other women ofcolor. Now I want to be in
the large white firms. There aren'ta lot, but if there is only
one that is motivating, I thinkI think it would be motivating for me
(55:14):
if I were a young associate andthere was a person of color, a
woman of color in the partnership ranks. Please tell us what's happening with your
organization on April twenty fourth and twentyfifth. Well, on the twenty fifth,
we're going to have our welcome receptionat Nelson Mollins. We will have
(55:38):
a fireside chat with Nicole lamb Hale, who I just mentioned, who's with
Cummins Corporate Secretary, Vice President andchief Leagal Council Council at Cummins, and
she is going to be interviewed byone of our board members who is also
a general counsel. She's a generalcounselor with carters. Following that reception,
(56:02):
we're going to have Dina Rams andour attendees can sign up to go to
five or six different restaurants in Atlanta, and this will give them an opportunity
in a smaller and more relaxed settingto network and meet some of the other
people who are attending the conference.So this is your nineteenth annual c l
(56:23):
E Conference in Atlanta, Georgia,and hopefully people will take away a lot
from this year's event. Where canthey find more information about it? Our
website is leading Women of Color dotorg, but we are actually sold out.
We have the event is going tobe at the State Bar of Georgia
(56:45):
building. The host hotel is theRitz Carlton in downtown Atlanta. Just to
say a few more words about theconference itself and the afternoon noon and I
think this is really important, We'regoing to have a conversation with Alison R.
Nelson, who is a member ofour board. She's a retired Ford
(57:07):
Motor Company. She was the inauguraldirector of D and I Strategies and Inclusion
and she also is former in houseCouncil and she's now doing I think she's
working as an executive consultant in dI. But she's going to discuss ways
for in house council to foster diversityamong outside council and the importance of mentors
(57:31):
to her career. Probably some otherthings, but I think it's she led
innovative diversity work at Ford and shewas she recruited or hired a lot of
women of color outside council, whichis really important. And that will the
(57:51):
next session will Associate General Council panel, and that panel is going to talk
about, you know, best practicesfor multiple corporations. They'll discuss best practices
when working and for in house counsel, including you know, pitfalls to avoid
and strategies to build successful partnerships.And at the end to cap the conference
(58:19):
will have an Associated General Counsel roundtableand there will be multiple corporations including South
Wire Home Depot, West Rock,Cox Communications, Delta, Starbucks, Trusts,
Rollins, Equifax, Green Sky whowill meet and pre assign small group
(58:39):
discussions and share strategies with these attendeesand developing business with their companies. This
sounds very exciting for those who maybe interested in law and pursuing a career
in law. Thank you so much, attorney Marion Doctory for joining us on
the BION Well, thank you forhaving me esther, And that's our program
(58:59):
for this week on behalf of theentire team at the Black Information Network.
I'm Mike Island, wishing everyone awonderful Sunday and thanks for listening, and
be sure to join us next weekat this time for another edition of the
Black Perspective right here on the BlackInformation Network. The Black Information Network and
six time Emmy nominated news anchor VanessaTyler welcome you to black Land, a
(59:22):
podcast about the ground on which theBlack community stands right now. Some stories
about salvation and loss. I lovethe person who had an a Chrevy diagnosis,
the dreams achieved or yet unfulfilled frompeople who have made it. I
sat down with a therapist and Ibegin my journey to those left behind.
Listen to black Land on the iHeartRadioapp or wherever you get your podcast
It's Sunday, April fourteenth, andtoday, Andrea Coleman continues her conversation with
the family members of civil rights leaderfred Lee Shuttlesworth. Vanessa Tyler talks with
one of the leading voices promoting financialliteracy for black kids. And Mike Stevens
talks with TV host Ed Gordon aboutthe life and legacy of O. J.
Simpson. These stories and more comingyour way next. Welcome to the
(00:24):
Black Perspective. I'm your host,Mike Island. Welcome to the Black Perspective,
a weekly community affairs program on theBlack Information Network featuring interviews and discussions
on issues important to the Black community. Good Sunday to everyone, and welcome
to another edition of The Black Perspective. This week, one of the most
polarizing figures of recent times passed away. Film star, sportscaster, and Heisman
(00:48):
Trophy winning athlete O J. Simpsondied from prostay cancer at the age of
seventy six. News anchor Mike Stevenssat down with TV host Ed Gordon to
reflect on Simpson's life and his lifeasking but controversial impact on American culture.
John I. Guess Now is AfricanAmerican journalist Ed Gordon, former NBC News
and former bet anchor and now newscommentator and podcaster, including on the Black
(01:14):
Information Network. Glad to have youwith us, Ed good to be here.
You covered the OJ Simpson trial andfamously interviewed Oja after the acquittal.
It was a big deal on theoccasion of his passing. What are your
thoughts? My thoughts are as mostpeople are thinking today. It depends on
how old you are. If you'reas old as I, you remember OJ
as a great football star in collegeand the NFL, and then to the
(01:40):
broadcast booth, and then as anactor and then the infamous side of OJ.
I think it ironic that had hepassed away without the cloud that hung
over him, we would still betalking about him today. I also think
that much of what we'll end uptalking about today is so much bigger than
OJ Simpson, so much bigger thanthe murder trial. The simpence trial really
(02:05):
put a magnifying glass once again onrace in this country, and it gave
us a great purview as the differentvisions and insights of blacks versus whites in
this nation. You so right,and there are so many layers to this,
and OJ was not known as somebodywho was like a civil rights advocate,
(02:27):
like Jackie Robinson or Hank Aaron.But yet some black people cheered whether
he was found not guilty of murderinghis wife. And I think it's important,
particularly for African American journalists, tocontinue to do the drum beat when
that's brought up. I think thecheering was not cheering for OJ Simpson per
se. OJ was never, outsideof his football career, someone who Black
(02:52):
America was enamored with by virtue,as you say, someone who tried to
become race neutral, if you will. You know, maybe he had to
do that to be a pitchment inthe seventies, to do his best to
become as Bill Roden said in aninterview I did earlier. You know,
OJ was Michael Jordan before Michael Jordanby means of advertising. And so when
(03:17):
you think about that, I thinkit's incumbent upon us to note that all
of Black America did not share O. J. Simpson's acquittal. Many African
Americans believed him to be guilty.Those that did were really I believe I
can speak in a generality here,cheering for the idea that a black man
(03:38):
finally be the system that historically hasbeen unkind to black people, that has
shown itself not to be equal,not to have the scales balanced, those
scales of justice, and so Ithink that that's what we saw. That
explosion was not for Orenthal James Simpson. It was for the symbolic nature of
(04:01):
him getting off I do recall asI'm watching TV, I'm seeing that slow
speed chase from years ago. Itwas one of those moments in history where
I think everybody remembers where they wereat the time. I was the evening
anchor for the Fox TV station inSacramento when that trial started, and we
expanded our news from thirty minutes toan hour every day starting that particular night
(04:26):
of that slow speed chase, andthere was so much involved in what would
later be called the Trial of theCentury and his lawyers, the Dream Team.
Yeah, you know again, forme, it was far more than
just the touch point of sitting downwith mister Simpson that evening for the interview.
I was in Johnny Cochrane's office theday he received the call to ask
(04:49):
if he would indeed be a partof the Dream Team, and I remember
him getting off the phone and askingme he said, I wouldn't consider OJ
a friend, but we're a acquaintancesand we see each other often in Los
Angeles here and there. And hesays, I just don't necessarily like to
represent friends. What do you thinkI should do? And I said,
(05:10):
I don't know what you should dofor OJ, But if ever you get
a call from me, I wantyou to forget about us being friends,
and you get your butt to thejailhouse and get me out of there.
And so, you know, youthink about Johnny Cochran becoming a household name.
You think about from the time thosemurders happened, because she had been
married to OJ Simpson, to theacquittal and the aftermath. America was transfixed
(05:33):
on this trial. Every day,every single day, millions of people were
watching the court proceedings. It reallybecame reality television in a real sense,
not what we call reality television theBachelor and the Housewives and the like.
This was real life that we followed, and we followed it voyeuristically, and
(05:57):
so it became one of those things. To your point that I remember being
at bet the night he and AlCollings took that white Bronco on that slow
speed chase, and I had tomake the decision before we could reach higher
ups because everybody had gone home,that we would break into our regular programming,
and we followed as all of thenetworks did that chase back to Rockingham.
(06:18):
And so while there's nothing that canbe done that would make the Goldman's
or the Browns feel complete again,I think we also have to think about
the Simpson family, his children,his mom at the time while she was
living. This destroyed not only thetwo people's families who grieved their murders,
(06:39):
but mister Simpson's family, whether youbelieve he did it or not. Bristol,
thankful for your coming on to shareyour reflections at Gordon. Thank you
for joining us. My pleasure.Thanks Mike, and be sure to stay
with the Black Information Network as wecontinue our coverage on the life and times
of OJ Simpson. We continue ourconversation this week with the family of the
(06:59):
late civil rights icons Reverend Fred Leeand Ruby K. Shuttlesworth. In the
second and final report, we arereminded of how the principles and values of
faith, family and unity helped pavethe way to the social advancements one through
the movement. Here's the Black Informationthat works Andrea Coleman, Oh, Mike.
The shuttles Worth family is American historyin a most gracious and noble manner.
(07:23):
They speak of events and people manyof us have only read about,
books are learned of when listening toaccounts of the Civil rights movement, and
woven in between each historical moment theyspeak of is a bond rooted in faith,
love, and a respect for familythat is as inspiring as it is
informative. And they will say,well, like as ole, sweet little
(07:48):
book. The Reverend fred Lee Shuttlesworthspeaks of the near death experiences he survived
in Birmingham, Alabama, as hehelped organize and lead the push for equal
rights in the nineteen fifties and sixties. S I if asked Leo instructor,
he said, mister Lanstimee, thatwas the boom that didn't get them in
(08:11):
the boom. And I tell yougot even down to my truth. The
strains that I was lying on shat. It didn't found O pieces, big
or nothing, but that was God. I wasn't gonna ride the bust of
plans out because they were gonna glowme into heaven that night. Thanks leading
(08:33):
girl. He knows your heart.He knows everything. I hear it,
I could hear it. I knewit was for me. I knew it
had my name hold it. ButI was satisfied because I knew God,
and I know God will never leaveme. Not for sake, that's all.
(08:58):
Thank God. I was troubled inGod's own as I tell the whole
life. These audio clips are fromthe last sermon Reverend Shuttles were delivered on
March nineteenth, two thousand and six, at the Greater New Light Baptist Church
in Cincinnati, Ohio, a churchhe founded after moving to the city in
nineteen sixty six. After leading themovement in Birmingham and elsewhere for many years,
(09:22):
Birmingham was known of being Bombingham becausethey had a habit of bombing.
As soon as you get a littlebit, they just come up in bombing.
Today, his children share insights intothis journey that entelled incredibly dangerous moments
that place theirs and their parents' liveson the line time after time. And
yet it was a commitment to faithand non violence that always prevailed. What
(09:46):
led to your father being so dedicatedto the movement The Love of God Hurst
Minister take care of God's people,not just black of color color, all
the people who yes spread at theL Seed before we meet, we're talking
about end U outlawed and they hadto start the SDLZ the I mean the
(10:13):
keys in Atlanta. We in Birmingham, and so since they had get together
was s c L Seed. That'swhat started Keynes situation. His daddy was
a big zipper leading in Atlanta.But about our organization at the A C.
M h R in Birmingham, it'sa whole different, whole different things.
(10:37):
We started in fifty five when awas outlawed in Alabama, but then
a week he got together the AlabamaChristian Movement and that was June of nineteen
fifty five. And then we werebombed Christmas night of nineteen fifty six because
(11:00):
daddy had had said that he wasgoing to ride the buses the next day.
So we got a christial gift ofsixteen sticks of dynamite. And I
said before Deacon Himitted Robinson were inthe house with us well. When the
house was blown up, Carolyn wentto live with a neighbor, a church
member that had a child her age, and Pat bred and I went to
(11:22):
live with Auntie and Uncle Josh wasan in in West End, near the
hospital where Daddy died. And thenhe proceeded to whatever he saw was wrong,
he challenged with all deliberate speed theintegration of the school. We took
(11:45):
Lord Reverend Piper, and Piper wasthe driver by our car and Nathaniel Lee
was the other student in the carthat was to be integrated. And when
we pulled up, thank god,Howard K. Smith the NewsCap it was
filming and he filmed they being beatenwith chains, sticks, well brass en
(12:07):
up. My mother was stabbed andthe door was closed on my ankle.
We went to try to break thelaw and they filed a Pace Ruby but
Rica Schettleberg versus the Birmingham Board ofEducation. It took us from seventh September
to sixty three to integrate the schoolsthere. Well. In fifty seven they
(12:31):
came together to join the SCLC andReverend Jamison was the first secretary, but
for some reason he didn't last longand Daddy became the secretary of Reverend came
VERER. Napping app in every andthe other gentlemen that were there. But
(12:52):
they worked together. It was CTVivian CGP and yt Over and see case
still out of Florida. But Daddywas stationary because he was a minister doctor
king, had a cathery of menthat traveled with him, and when anything
was going on, different people camefrom different cities. Daddy always took Colonel
(13:18):
Stone Johnson, the barber, misterArmstronge who's children are on that thing,
with him, and then they wouldtake their Birmingham group to go to wherever
the activities were going on. Butthey worked together as a unit, and
together they got a lot of goodthings that but the main thing was believing
in God and being none by.If we hadn't been violent, a lot
(13:43):
of people would have been dead.You know. When Daddy went to get
the students that were under bus andandison that was burning, he had his
people to leave their guns at leavetheir guns and neighbor a neighbor's yard of
the movement because there's nothing we coulddo with fifteen guns. It's all our
(14:07):
ammunition that they had. But peacefuland non violent was always the way.
What do you make of the racialand social climate in America today? We
were blessed to know a lot ofpeople from history carry Rellfonte was there the
very first march on Washington And whenI called him about three years ago because
(14:30):
I wanted to write this book,finish this book on my daddy. It's
called eighty nine Years an Inclusive lookat American History of work in progrect And
he said to me, why notyou and why not now? And when
we celebrated, he sent videos andstuff. But what we need to do
is think what have we done.We've done everything in love, and we
(14:54):
must let our victories elevate our minds. We must make sure that our children
know our history. And even thoughpeople are saying we're gonna ban books,
so we're gonna not teach Black histories. For us, the history makers,
the people that walk the way toteach our children our history. That's one
(15:15):
thing that Jewish people do every Friday. Okay, you cannot change history because
you ban a book. History isin the hearts. That's how we told
our stories by stories. So wewill be telling our story and the other
story for the cities that we livedin. We've only lived in two states,
Alabama and Ohio, and in fivecities Mobile, Selma, Montgomery,
(15:41):
Birmingham, and Cincinnati. So we'vebeen hanging tough together for a long time.
But racism is abundant, and wemust teach our children to stay calm,
depend on the Lord, and useyour knowledge to make our world better
for everybody, you know, becauseif we cut ourselves, whether you Indian,
(16:03):
Hispanic, whatever, we're all gonnableed red. And it's important to
teach the children that this land thatyou were born on here in America is
your land. This is your own. They had this book called Freedom's Children,
Levine. All my meetings that wentto in Columbus for the Statelehood of
(16:25):
Education, and everybody wanted to lunch. They came back to this book.
It's a paperback book. Pat wason the front cover and I was on
the back cover. Freedom's Children,Ellen Levine. It said Fred Fred Bresident
and Fred Wood. This is notthis is not me, this is my
people. This is my whole lifeexperience. Everybody knew about my own man.
But then they so well known thatthey're so middle class. But once
(16:49):
again middle class folks were not awareof what was going on for the longest
time. Now they are being madeaware. It's wonderful things. They needed
to be made aware. And goesdown in Florida. They're embursing themselves and
us because they don't know already knownabout everybody else. It's embarrassing should again.
(17:10):
I'm just thankful that Daddy there tosee the airport being named and to
receive that honor, and he's hadgotten so many more since then. In
fact, the John L. Lewisfaith in politics had always been going across
the bridge. Well. Last yeara documentary came out called Shuttlesworth, and
when they saw that documentary, theyinvited the four of us to cross the
(17:33):
bridge with them last year, andthey invited us to come again this year.
It was really moving situation because wehave to remind everybody that Birmingham's story
did not start with the poor littlegirls getting bold sixty three. It started
in nineteen fifty three when Fred Chittleburncame to Bethel Baptist Church and started to
(17:53):
try to right the wrongs that hadbeen done. I honor him, my
mother and the Birmingham movement because theymade a difference and they never really complained,
even though when they came and DoctorKing and President Kennedy wanted to call
off the demonstration, well, Dddywouldn't have it. He got out of
his six pim and came over andsaid, no, we're not going to
(18:17):
change. We are not stopping thedemonstration. And when President Kennedy wrote the
bill, he started the bill bysaying, but for Birmingham, we would
not be here. And that's reallyhow it was. Birmingham started it.
But Daddy never ever said anything negativeabout the fact that he was excluded from
(18:41):
some things. He was always toa cheerer for the people that work with
him. And we stand Paul tosay that we had to work together because
even now they're talking about the interactionof Sophie Carmichael, Miriam mckiba and all
the people. We had to worktogether because we were the same the same
(19:03):
color. We used to say sayit loud, I'm black and I'm proud.
Back in the days bet back gotnobody black. You gotta fight.
But now it's a different thing.In our young people know need to know,
learn your history, stand by yourtruth, and do not let anybody
make you think that you are inferior. God, don't make no junk.
(19:23):
As they say in the commercial,how do America look at the heroes like
your father and your mother, andhow do we honor you? What would
that look like in a meaningful way. I think we honor the principles that
they stood for both. Every timeyou get a chance, organize and work
(19:45):
together to address issues in society andbe open to help those people that fall
between the crack. They just don'tmeasure up one thing as a race.
We always encourage each other in theHouse of the Lord, we encourage each
other. But if we got something, we reached back and pull people up.
We have to continue to share theknowledge, and then we need to
(20:07):
know how to go and get theknowledge because a lot of things that kept
from us. Bethel was made ahistoric site in two thousand and four.
It is now scheduled to become aWorld Historic Site. The vote comes later
on. But what was done inBirmingham was done out of love and trying
to seek a better life for allAmerica. With the scripture say, if
(20:30):
my people who are called by myname would just do what we're supposed to
do, then we would have exampleshere on this earth of what we need
to do. But we are justhonored to have been the children of Fred
and Ruby k huh Tennessee pet FredJunior and I were blessed to go to
(20:51):
Hollando for six weeks. It waslocated in Mount Eagle, Tennessee. Has
moved like three times because of thegrass. But on our way back home
from Highlander, the police got onthe bus and said get up and go
to the back of the bus.Who he said, no, this is
an interstate bus. But they werearrested us and they caught our father,
gave him a ticket at every cornercoming into Gas in Alabama. He lost
(21:15):
his license, Petulia. But thething that they did good was they put
our brother in the women's cell belowour cell, and he sang to us
month of the night, let usknow that he was okay. And I
always tell children I speak. Youdon't want to go together because you don't
have a pity, get out,okay. The toilet was there with no
seacover, thin spring, thin mattress, and breakfast was grits with fried belonging
(21:41):
okay, swimming in Greece. Itwas just not the best thing. But
there was a gentleman that came downto be our lawyer. Then hold from
New York and the people of Gasand put up money so that Daddy could
take us home. People have workedtogether for our good and the good of
the movement, and we can neverforget the people that really saved our lives
(22:03):
so many times by making sure thatwe were okay. And when Daddy moved
to Birmingham in two thousand and eightuntil he died in twenty eleven, we
were on the road quite sometimes threegunds a month to see how he was.
And it just made a difference thatyou go and you need to take
care. And I say to youngpeople all the time, ask your grandmother
(22:23):
your day how it was, becauseit's much different than it was now.
We depended on the Lord and eachother. We didn't loty each other.
We knew that you could depend onsuch and there's nothing new under the sun.
That's how it was with clothing whatever. If you came into our community,
you were welcome. But we've gottenaway from that and we need to
(22:44):
look inward and see to the valuesthat Grandma taught and teased the god children.
The Shuttles were siblings, which includePat who is the oldest, then
Ruby affectionately called Ricky, then FredJunior and Carolyn the youngest, have done
just that. They passed down theserich teachings of family, faith and community
to their children. As attested twoby two of them, Fred's daughter Tracy
(23:07):
Sipple and Carolyn Son Haikimu shuttles WorthDavidson, What does it feel like for
you to be a part of suchan incredible family with such a meaningful and
intricate contribution and legacy to the civilrights movement here in America? You know,
the word that comes to mind ispride. You know, these are
not you know, your red stockof people that I've come from. He's
(23:29):
an intelligent doct provoking change, orientedwhat's right for the people that they love
and outside their walls. Even so, you know, from the first time
I saw Granddaddy as a public figure, you know, I've been in awe
honestly, but I kind of takefrom him is his directness. I think
(23:52):
I am not as in public asGranddaddy is, but I will take a
person under my lay in a secondright. So, you know, I
remember being challenged one It's like,well, how come you don't do this?
And how come you don't like I'mnot. I'm an introverted nerd.
So my way is, you know, to do what you can. And
(24:12):
that's another blessing I think I gotis what can you do? Is it's
not good enough to sit and watchand wait as you you know that God
he's saying, is being changed towant to be had. And you may
not be able to preach like theangers. You may not be able to
preach like power, but you can'tsay I love the Lord. Yes.
(24:32):
Bottom line, even when with mychildren, when they realize my my who
our grandfather was and who his childrenwere and all the things that they went
through, it's just like it almostmeans that you know, I can get
through this. You know, it'stenacity, It's it's understanding that this too
sail pass and what's next and whatdo you owe yourself moving forward? I
(24:57):
you know, I'm someone know therapists. I've been in corporate America. I've
been a Girl Scout leader, andI just you know, I spend my
time with people so that they knowwhat they can do. Right. It's
not if you can do anything youwant to do in life, but how
you how even find out I eventry? So that's like yeah, I
(25:17):
mean, my my auntie Ricky alwaysgave me the you know, well you
know what patience. That's what shetaught me more than the patients patients.
My auntie Pat taught me directness andwhy mess around, you know, and
my daddy taught me that there's athere are a lot of more questions than
(25:38):
you used to before. You sodo some thinking. And my aunt Carol,
I guess I didn't believe Carol.She didn't. I wasn't around her
all that much. But she's justa scholar and she dances. She's just
like a living life. What ifyour grandfather do you remember, and what
if his legacy do you embrace?I certainly remember certain things about them,
(26:02):
but you know, first and foremost, this is a family, and so
the family business might be advocacy andjustice and rights. But you know,
I remember my grandfather as granddaddy,and so my my part of my immediate
family, My mother and father livedoutside of the kind of the close knit
community of Cincinnati, so I sawmy grandfather less than some of my cousins.
(26:26):
But you know, he had anice nickname for me, the Professor,
which I still carry sometimes, andyou know, definitely have a lot
of great memories of him. ButI think my legacy standpoint was probably a
few more parallels in a lot ofways. And I think even sometimes naturally,
sometimes intentionally, you know, I'vespent my parts of my life focused
(26:48):
on justice and caring about it washappening to the larger community, what do
you say, Uncle Fred? Andgoing to the pen relays and that was
a good time there my uncle,and caring about everything's going on there.
But I've spent time with different nonprofitorganizations and different social justice organizations. I
kind of have a long affiliation withthe National Urban League, and I think
(27:11):
one of the things that you know, what, what is important that younger
people today should be thinking about.I think there's always an opportunity to give
back, and if you don't necessarilygive back, but to be involved and
to be trying to move things forwardfor our people. When when you don't
do that, you end up withsituations that we're dealing with now, like
this attack on diversity and this attackon you know, critical race theory,
(27:36):
and these just attacks on anything blackby at least in half the country,
and and kind of trying to pushour stories to the to the back burner.
And I think when you do that, you get you put us in
a position as the people to forgetwhere we came from, to forget what's
important, to forget how to effectivelyorganize. And I think that's one of
the more important things that I gotfor my grandfather, which is, you
(27:59):
know, organizing is great, butit needs to be effective. You have
to move in ways that that thatmatter, and it have to move in
ways that influence the people that you'retrying to influence. A lot of times
I sitting them in their pockets.But you can't just you know, only
care about things when when something isgoing on, you have to be vigilant
and you kind of have to besteadfast and fighting which right and trying to
(28:21):
advance our people. My blood speakingwell, you mean well, like Colon
bo I love you too, UncleFred. One thing you've got proud of
your people. If you're not probablygoing to make him brown, you expect
them then because he's always been asmart brother. But he's brother smart.
(28:45):
All of them like that. Onceagain, if they're not, we're trying
to make him like that. Alongwith being taught to be smart, the
descendants of Fred Lee and Ruby K. Shuttlesworth will also inherit a family legacy
seeped and a love of God,a relentless will to do good for the
benefit of all mankind, no matterthe cost, and a love and respect
of family, which we witness throughoutour interview with them, as one sibling
(29:07):
would proudly showcase the giftings and talentsof another, and deference to that love.
We close with a poem written byFred Shuttlesworth Junior, titled Mass Meeting
and read by his sister Ruby froma hillside Vulcan mythical symbol saw his city
become a crucible. A nation's conscience, frict and galvanized saw it. Jim
(29:30):
Crow Moulton ethanize. Crowd swirled aroundchurches on Monday nights, willingly joining a
peculiar fight in business suits or USpipe shot grime, determined to rally redeem
the time. Baptist am no rancorbetween freedom their mecca, the movement their
(29:56):
means. Of course, Unbelievers wouldhave their say. They couldn't see a
different brighter day for them. Envisionedchanges seemed distant, abstract, unsure,
hardly expectant. Spears of violence spoiledeach season. They called it Bummingham for
(30:19):
a reason. Those negroes crazy,they say, were the browns. Some
poor white trash. Don't burn hisold town down. Undaunted, the movement
surged on a face, daringly supportingits chosen face. Rebond shuttles were bowlder,
the feet fault bull conors, germinantbeliefs. Deep one had God's justice
(30:47):
as his only hope. One believedin dogs, dynamite and rope. One
had foot soldiers each and average man. One had power. All minted by
the Klan. White men like statuesobserved in silence, a layer of tension
(31:07):
in their presence ignored. They hadthe least impact. As speakers treated the
future as fact. Members reported madegeneral plans. The bur Rabbish Charade performed
again, great work done on aprodigious foam tree. Men, women,
children working to be free. CarltonReech and the cities all star quiet would
(31:34):
oftentimes set the meetings of fire yourjob. The evening skies, with their
sound resound, ain't gonna let segregationturn me around. We've got a job.
Their hand trapping theme song was anexhortation to carry on. Leaders courageous
(31:56):
choir's voices. Golden members would lead, refreshed and embold They bought the magic
back to their city with zealous onthe genius energy pressing on tireless on a
faith laid track their leaders. Adamantnever turned back Grit Shoulder Junior, February
(32:21):
twelfth, two thousand and six.He wrote beautiful poetry about what was going
on at the time. With thedeepest measure of gratitude, we thank the
Shuttlesworth family for speaking with us.We are forever grateful for their steadfast love
and historical leadership. I'm Andrea Colemanon the Black Information Network. Thanks Andrea,
(32:45):
and to the late Reverend Fred Leeand Ruby K. Shuttlesworth, a
word of thanks for all your contributionsin the fight to bring equality and civil
rights to Black Americans. Rest inpeace. The Black Information Network has an
amazing team of commonators who bring theirunique perspectives to stories impacting the Black community.
Today, we check in with MoeKelly for his latest two Minute Warning
(33:07):
report. I'm Moe Kelly on BIin with your two minute Warning. Well,
so much for my optimism. WhenI last spoke of the pending Good
Times animated reboots slated to premiere onNetflix on the twelfth, I recounted my
historical tie to the original and allthe baggage and troubled legacy which came with
it. I played a very briefsnippet of the animated series because there was
(33:28):
no full trailer yet. Well it'snow out. We now find out that
this is the same Evans family,two generations removed, complete with inwards disability
check jokes and a drug dealing babywho plays dice and has an affection for
breasts. Not joking. Let meguess the stakehole and they want to cut
you a disability check for your face. Holda, you can get paid for
(33:49):
that. This is from a foolwho stares at his orange juice every morning.
It says, concentrate on the box. Holda. Domina s me for
not wearing a condom. Shadows follow. It all started with my grandfather,
James Evans. My job as theman at his house is to take care
of his family. Don't matter what. I just want to let you know
I'm gonna take good care of Gray, who is father Girl one. My
(34:15):
boyfriend Daddy Lamb going Juni is receetingthe tenth grade for the third time.
Is there anything you can suggest tohelp him get to the drive? Crew?
Can you do only fast? I'lltake you to the dogs. Dear
Black Heavenly Bomb Carloge Redeemer and youcould just help us. Sorry, it's
(34:37):
for you, I phone who is? At least they ain't got that drug
dealing baby under my roof? Nomore man, my mouth ready for some
milk right now, Dalvin? Whyare you so b restlessss? I'm hurt,
I'm ashamed, and I'm done.I'm mo Kelly at mister mo Kelly
on social media. And that's yourtwo minute warning on the Black Information Network.
(35:01):
Be sure to catch moll Kelly,Roland Martin, and James T.
Harris for their daily commentary on theBlack Information Network. For many parents,
it may be time to have thattalk with your children, not about the
birds and the bees, but thetalk about money. News anchor Vanessa Tyler
sat down with doctor Jitalie Bellaton,a financial empowerment educator specializing in financial literacy
(35:23):
for children. Do you think moneygrows on trees? That's a lot of
parents say to their kids. Forsome Black children, they may not have
any idea about money. Thank goodnessfor doctor Jatally Bellenton, who has made
it a business to teach our kidsabout money. Doctor Bellaton, welcome to
(35:46):
the Black Information Network. Thank youfor having me. I'm looking forward to
having this conversation with you today,what is the result of our kids not
knowing about money? I think thefirst result is overspending, right of you,
who don't understand their powers as consumers. We create a space in an
environment where when we tell them thatwe have to go on the budget,
(36:07):
when we bring them to the supermarket, there's overspending. They do things such
as, you know, hey,mommy, I want three different boxes of
cereal. Meanwhile, they haven't finisheda box of cereal they have at home.
They might want every toy that comesout because it's cool and it's on
TV. But if you include themin the process of becoming successful, well
(36:29):
thought out consumers, what ends uphappening is that they think twice before buying
that toy. They think twice abouta lot of their the mistakes that adults
make on a average basis. Sothat's why it's really important to me,
and that's why it's a major mistakewhen we don't include them in the conversation.
I was just gonna ask you howmuch should they know about the family's
(36:50):
finances. I do think they shouldknow the basics as far as like a
big financial goal. So if thefamily is working towards buying a house,
maybe creating a chot, some kindof a structure which make me a part
of the conversation, creating a piechart where we say, hey, we're
three courts away there to buy ourdream home that has a pool or whatever
cool thing you might have, oreven being able to move from like let's
(37:14):
say, you know, maybe youdon't like living in a house, but
you would have lived to move toa condo that would give them amenities or
some kind of something that would maybemake their lives a little bit better,
making them be a part of thatconversation, even if it's something like buying
a new family car because the onethat everyone day have currently might have a
small space and you need a biggertrunk space because your child is in sports,
(37:37):
So creating some kind of a chartincluding them in the process of saying
we're fifty thousand dollars away, we'reten thousand dollars away from this goal,
we're one hundred thousand dollars away fromthis goal. And so I think that
these little components are ways that youcan share but not overshare, because I
do feel like there is a balance. You know, you don't want your
child to take on the stresses ofbeing an adult. Such let's say,
(38:00):
if you're someone who's living check tocheck, borrow to borrow, and you
can't really pay rent or mortgage,you might not want to tell the child
that they might be homeless by tomorrowif they don't if we don't spend better,
because that terminology would actually scar thechild, maybe even distract them from
their education they're learning. But thebeautiful part is if you can just at
(38:20):
least let them know, like,hey, we need to be tighter with
our funding and our spending because thecost of inflation and the fact that milk
us will cost one dollar an hourit cost seven dollars, you know,
just having that conversation or finding alternativesto even the everyday luxuries that the child
might be used to and giving thema reason why I think that is okay.
(38:45):
Our children have pretty expensive tastes,electronics, sneakers, clothes, so
would seem they are really eager tomake money. Talk about kids who bank
and Brilliant Minds Unite. Kids whobring in brilliant minds Unite are programs out
creative teaching youth and adults financial literacy. Kids who bank starts with ages five
(39:07):
to about seventeen years old in theSOOL systems, and then eighteen and up.
We deal with brilliant minds Unite wherewe're teaching them everything from depreciation to
compound interests and having conversations around thingsthat the vehicles they can invest in,
such as a stock market, understandingbasics like this S and P five hundred
averages about eight percent a year,talking to them about CDs and bonds and
(39:29):
trusts. Also making sure that theyunderstand that different tax structures around the United
States in the world, and socreating these platforms, I came from a
space of investment banking and forensic accountingand having that hands on knowledge. I
noticed a lot of adults who arestruggling with budgeting and even knowing how to
(39:49):
diversify their portfolio. If one sectorwas down, all their money was down.
And so I just wanted to beable to ensure that youth and adults
no longer had this issue, andI put a dent in that problem in
particular, And so those are themain reasons I created it. But it's
been a beautiful space to watch notjust adults but also you how eager they
are to actually learn about money becauseyou know, we say that money doesn't
(40:10):
grow in trees, right, butwe do not have this digital era where
people can kids can even play gameswhere they're making money by designing games and
programming. The list continues, andyou know, even roadblocks world, there
are youth who are actually making moneyfrom designing hobbies right these obstacle courses in
virtual worlds. And there's also peoplewho are making virtual mansions and the metaverse
(40:36):
and getting paid because somebody wants tobuy that virtual mansion. And that's something
that my son has had the experienceof doing. And so or even just
people who youth who are designing tshirts and hats that are then sold in
these metaverse and virtual worlds. Sotechnology just comes so far. This Fourth
Industrial Revolution is not going anywhere,and it actually puts a lot of our
youth in a situation where they becomeinfluencers. They have YouTube pages, they're
(40:59):
making money, and they're capitalizing evenfrom a young age. A lot of
young people, you know, Ibelieve, get their first taste about money
when they get in trouble with thatfirst credit card at college. Is that
what you're finding, that's the start. That's definitely a good start for a
lot of them. I mean,you know, when you most nineteen year
(41:21):
olds i've met already have debt rightRather to some of us, teny twelve
thousand might not be a big debt, but when you're a college student,
that is a very big debt asa college student, twelve thousand dollars of
debt when you didn't know anything right, But we had created a situation where
people don't understand compound interests, andthen they get they don't have a high
credit score when they start. Theaverage person don't have a parent or someone
(41:45):
building their credit for them before theyeven turn eighteen or seventeen. So what
happens is they get their first creditcard, it's a twenty seven percent APR,
and then they make minimum payments becauseno one taught them that minimum payments
can be your enemy. And sothey might have borrowed two thousand dollars and
by the time they're done making minimumpayments is as if they paid four thousand
dollars back, and you know,you almost paid back double what you actually
(42:07):
borrowed. And so we it's justmore having conversations around that, educating how
compoundents just can be your friend.Or your enemy. We are speaking with
doctor Jaitali Bellenton, who is ona mission to bring financial literacy to our
children, and you say, youalso let our children know that they can
(42:29):
make money, like you mentioned allthe different ways you can do it now
and being a multimillionaire as well withintheir reach. When you show them that,
and you show them, hey,within thirty years, that you could
have a value of portfolio that's wortha million dollars or twenty years, it
could be this due to compound interestsand just as well how that particular asset
(42:52):
class is performing. A lot ofthem are like, wow, I want
to start investing now, because weOne thing we don't think about when it
comes to saying is that if we'reonly saving and there's inflation and in the
money, is the value of whatyou're doing. The cost of living is
growing up quicker than you're actually savingmoney. You could save a million dollars
and then the basic comforts that youcould think about that you'd want, like
(43:14):
a home or a car or whatever. We don't really know what that value
is going to be. Like Imentioned earlier, the cost of milk.
But there's been a mean challenge wherepeople talk about the cost of eggs,
right, and just even having thatconversation of like a box of eggs are
so expensive now and you know,we could get a dozen eggs for like
a dollar and change before and nowit's on average seven to nine dollars depending
(43:36):
what brand you're bought purchasing, areyou doing organic? And all these different
components. And so if you're onlysaving, you might think you're going to
be retiring luxurious lifestyle and then bythe time you're done, honestly, you
can't even afford the luxury that youwould have been if it was twenty thirty
years prior to. And so weteach people that components just going to be
a friend in that mannerism, andalso just as a class, there is
(44:00):
and items that appreciate in value.So we also push what we're talking about
compound interest appreciation as well. Areyou investing in items that are going to
go up in value over time?Yeah? What will knowing about money mean
for our young people? You knowmany of them who feel helpless about their
futures. I think that part rightthere, they feel helpless, but we
(44:21):
also know that the helplessness comes fromthe fact that it's stemming from the fact
that no one has set them downand discussed it with them. And so
I think if we actually were tosit them down and say, hey,
don't be concerned. This is howyou can ensure that you are doing your
best to have a comfortable life.This is how you can ensure that you
don't go homeless. Is how youcan ensure that you can feed your family
(44:43):
or create generational wealth and legacy.I think it's just education, you know,
the same way a lot of ouryouth know how to most adults know
how to read and write, andno basic maths. It's because they were
taught that it becomes second nature.And anything that we do repetitive becomes can
become second nature. And so Ithink that's a big part of the conversation
(45:05):
is how do we have this conversationto the point that you become comfortable with
it. The same way, thereare a lot of women who are uncomfortable
in the finance space or tech spacebecause they don't normally feel like they see
enough representation of themselves in that space. And so now we're seeing this split
of a switch where more of themare jumping into the space, you know,
and part of that is representation.They saw a few women who are
(45:29):
speaking at conferences and said, hey, I could be in finance. This
person was successful in that space.There's not only a male dominated world.
I can learn about math and bea math lover. It doesn't matter if
I'm a female or male. Andso I think and every which way that
is what it is and comes downto, is representation. Are we ensuring
that they see the examples that wewant them to say? How can we
(45:51):
find you and how can young peoplelearn more about money? You can find
me on social media Instagram and LinkedInunder my name Jatali Bellentin, l I
b as in boy E l lA n as a Nanceto and as a
nanc doctor. Jtali Bellenton. Fillingthe minds of our children and soon filling
(46:12):
their pockets. Thank you for joiningus the Black Information Network. Thank you
so much for having me. ThanksVanessa. If you've never heard of the
Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys, Incorporated, then you are in for
a special treat. News anchor EstherDillard recently spoke with the founder of this
(46:35):
amazing organization dedicated to helping women ofcolor attorneys develop the critical skills necessary to
become partners and leaders in the legalprofession through scholarships, mentoring, and so
much more. Joining me as AttorneyMarion Dockery, who leads the Leadership Institute
for Women of Color Attorneys, Incorporated, also known as l I WOCA.
(46:58):
Welcome Ms Dockery to the BI.Well, thank you for having me.
Esther. I know that you havea big event coming up for your organization,
but before we talk about that,please tell us a little bit about
your institute and what prompted you tostart it. I heard there is a
story behind that, Yes, thereis. The Leadership Institute for Women of
(47:19):
Color Attorneys was incorporated nineteen years ago. At that time, the American Bar
Association held an annual meeting in Chicagoand the Commission on Women in the Profession
were giving a seminar on a detailed, devastating report about women of color in
(47:45):
law firms, and I joined thatseminar and a colleague of mine from Atlanta,
Julia Dulan, was also present.We heard from the Commissional Women in
the Profession of interviews they had taken. They had extensive statistics documenting and chronicling
(48:13):
the discrimination, sexual harassment, ofracial discrimination devaluation disrespect of women of color
in law firms across the nation.And when I say woman of color,
I am talking about African American women, Native American women, South Asian women,
(48:40):
Southeast Asian women, and LATINX.So we looked at each other and
said, you know, I thinkwe can do something about things. Let's
talk when we get back to Atlanta. So when we got back to Atlanta,
we discussed, you know, justdifferent ways we could address these problems
(49:04):
and hopefully help women who were startingout, not just starting out in the
field, but who were practicing evenyou know, as partners. And we
decided to have a conference, andthat is what that and we incorporated the
(49:25):
organization as the five O one Cthree. No one gets paid, we're
all volunteers. So here we aretoday and the mission of the organization is
to elevate, motivate, and inspirewomen of color attorneys to be leaders in
their profession. And we achieve thisgoal using our annual conferences as a platform
(49:52):
to help women of color attorneys developthe critical skills necessary to become leaders in
their profession. We also assist lawfirms and legal departments retain and promote women
of color lawyers by providing them trainingto help them succeed in their law offices.
(50:15):
You don't learn everything in law school, and you don't learn everything in
a law office relative to practicing lawand strategies to become successful. We also
continue to fuel the pipeline by awardingscholarships to women of color law students every
year, and we have done soeighteen of our nineteen years and today we've
(50:39):
re ward over three hundred thousand dollarsin scholarships with our scholarship partners. Well,
I wanted to get your take onthis because many women in the corporate
world were exiting and starting their ownthing during the pandemic, and are you
seeing that trend among black women inyour field? I think I'm not sure
(51:02):
what happened during the pandemic. Ithink because we were also isolated during that
time, that may in fact bethe case. Now. The retention of
women of color has increased since thisorganization was started, There's no question about
(51:27):
it. And the environment in manylaw firms is much more welcoming, but
there are still problems. And letme also say that everyone who enters a
law firm is a first year associate. Whether they are a woman of color
(51:47):
or they are white males are notgoing to make partner and they're not going
to stay there eight, nine orten years to reach partnership. So that's
an important point. And a lotof lawyers work in law firms and have
no desire to become partners. Somewant to become judges, some want to
(52:08):
go in house. I never workedat a law firm because when I graduated
from law school, they law firmsweren't accepting very few women lawyers into their
rights. I wonder if you justcould briefly talk about you know, you
(52:28):
were talking about how black women andminorities, minority women have been getting into
law for quite some time, andit appears that black women are really taking
center stage in the field of law, such as a New York Attorney General
Letitia James, even former Chicago mayorlawyer Lightfoot. It appears black women attorneys
and lawyers were always there, butperhaps not taking such a prominent role in
(52:51):
the spotlight. What do you makeof this and how do you think it's
making an impact on what you doas an organization. Well, interesting,
we actually had Lori Lightfoot years agoas one of our speakers. I think
what you're saying. I mean nowas opposed to nineteen years ago, there
are many women of color who aregeneral counsels in corporations. And we are
(53:17):
going to feature two of our keynotespeakers, our general counsels in major corporations.
We will have Nicole Lamb hail andwith Cummings think she's vice president and
she is a vice president and legalcounsel and corporate secretary for Cummings and our
(53:45):
scholarship lunch of keynote speakers Monica HowardDouglass, who is the executive vice president
and global general counsel for the CocaCola Company. We have featured general councils
every year as keynote speakers, womenof color, and what I am seeing
(54:05):
is that, yes, there's absolutelybeen an increase of women in law firms.
It's not the way it used tobe. I remember when I came
out of law school, I didn'tknow of any African American women partners at
law firms. Now they do exist, and they're not necessarily all starting their
own firms, even though many have, but there are some who are majority
(54:30):
firms who make partner Do you feelthat these folks are encouraging the young blood
to join the fold or how doyou think in some cases, yes,
I think if you have an example, if there's someone there who looks like
you, who's in that position,you think, yeah, maybe I can
do this too. And it alsoraises your level of comfort being in a
(54:53):
firm where there are other women ofcolor. Now I want to be in
the large white firms. There aren'ta lot, but if there is only
one that is motivating, I thinkI think it would be motivating for me
(55:14):
if I were a young associate andthere was a person of color, a
woman of color in the partnership ranks. Please tell us what's happening with your
organization on April twenty fourth and twentyfifth. Well, on the twenty fifth,
we're going to have our welcome receptionat Nelson Mollins. We will have
(55:38):
a fireside chat with Nicole lamb Hale, who I just mentioned, who's with
Cummins Corporate Secretary, Vice President andchief Leagal Council Council at Cummins, and
she is going to be interviewed byone of our board members who is also
a general counsel. She's a generalcounselor with carters. Following that reception,
(56:02):
we're going to have Dina Rams andour attendees can sign up to go to
five or six different restaurants in Atlanta, and this will give them an opportunity
in a smaller and more relaxed settingto network and meet some of the other
people who are attending the conference.So this is your nineteenth annual c l
(56:23):
E Conference in Atlanta, Georgia,and hopefully people will take away a lot
from this year's event. Where canthey find more information about it? Our
website is leading Women of Color dotorg, but we are actually sold out.
We have the event is going tobe at the State Bar of Georgia
(56:45):
building. The host hotel is theRitz Carlton in downtown Atlanta. Just to
say a few more words about theconference itself and the afternoon noon and I
think this is really important, We'regoing to have a conversation with Alison R.
Nelson, who is a member ofour board. She's a retired Ford
(57:07):
Motor Company. She was the inauguraldirector of D and I Strategies and Inclusion
and she also is former in houseCouncil and she's now doing I think she's
working as an executive consultant in dI. But she's going to discuss ways
for in house council to foster diversityamong outside council and the importance of mentors
(57:31):
to her career. Probably some otherthings, but I think it's she led
innovative diversity work at Ford and shewas she recruited or hired a lot of
women of color outside council, whichis really important. And that will the
(57:51):
next session will Associate General Council panel, and that panel is going to talk
about, you know, best practicesfor multiple corporations. They'll discuss best practices
when working and for in house counsel, including you know, pitfalls to avoid
and strategies to build successful partnerships.And at the end to cap the conference
(58:19):
will have an Associated General Counsel roundtableand there will be multiple corporations including South
Wire Home Depot, West Rock,Cox Communications, Delta, Starbucks, Trusts,
Rollins, Equifax, Green Sky whowill meet and pre assign small group
(58:39):
discussions and share strategies with these attendeesand developing business with their companies. This
sounds very exciting for those who maybe interested in law and pursuing a career
in law. Thank you so much, attorney Marion Doctory for joining us on
the BION Well, thank you forhaving me esther, And that's our program
(58:59):
for this week on behalf of theentire team at the Black Information Network.
I'm Mike Island, wishing everyone awonderful Sunday and thanks for listening, and
be sure to join us next weekat this time for another edition of the
Black Perspective right here on the BlackInformation Network. The Black Information Network and
six time Emmy nominated news anchor VanessaTyler welcome you to black Land, a
(59:22):
podcast about the ground on which theBlack community stands right now. Some stories
about salvation and loss. I lovethe person who had an a Chrevy diagnosis,
the dreams achieved or yet unfulfilled frompeople who have made it. I
sat down with a therapist and Ibegin my journey to those left behind.
Listen to black Land on the iHeartRadioapp or wherever you get your podcast
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com