The Black Perspective: August 3, 2025

This week on the Black Perspective, BIN Anchor Andrea Coleman returns with another powerful edition of Saving Black Moms, exploring how poverty directly impacts the health and well-being of young expectant mothers.

BIN’s Misty Jordan catches up with actor and director Michael Jai White and his wife Gillian White to talk about their new film Trouble Man, which stars Michael Jai White, Gillian White, Method Man, Mike Epps, Orlando Jones, and La La Anthony. The couple also opens up about their careers and love for martial arts.

Morgyn Wood speaks with Tarek DeLavallade, Executive Director of the United Golfers Association, about the launch of the Sapphire Golf Tour—an exciting new platform aimed at elevating Black women in professional golf.

Mo Kelly sits down with beloved actresses Wendy Raquel Robinson and Tisha Campbell to discuss their new project Operation Aunties, and the heart behind the film.

And Doug Davis is back with an important conversation about Black masculinity and mental health with Yolo Akili Robinson, founder of BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective).

Listen now!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Sunday, August third, the first Sunday of the month,
and on today's show, bi in anchor Andrea Coleman is
back with another special, saving Black Moms Report, talking with
young moms to be and how the correlation with poverty
will affect them. BION anchor and Misty Jordan sits down
with actor and director Michael J. White and his wife
Gillian White about their new movie Troubleman, starring the two

(00:20):
of them along with method man Mike Epps, Orlando Jones,
and Lalla Anthony. The Black Information Network's Morgan Wood spoke
with Tarik Delavalad, executive director of the United Golfers Association.
He's launching the Sapphire Golf Tour, a groundbreaking new platform
for Black women in professional golf. BIN News commentator Mo
Kelly sits down with actresses Wendy Raquel Robinson and Tisha

(00:41):
Campbell to discuss their latest movie project called Operation Aunties
and dud Davis's Back. He talks to Yolo Achille Robinson,
founder of BEAM, which stands for Black Emotional and Mental
Health Collective, and he talks about black masculinity in twenty
twenty five. These stories and more are coming your way.
On today's program, Welcome to the Black Perspective. I'm your host,

(01:02):
Mike Island.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the Black community.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
Good Sunday, everyone, I'm Mike Island and Welcome to the
Black Perspective. And twenty twenty three, Per every one hundred
thousand live births, twelve point five women under the age
of twenty five died during pregnancy or delivery, or within
forty two weeks after delivering their babies.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Many of these moms were black.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
In the special Saving Black Moms Report, BN anchor Andrea
Coleman explains how this reality looms large for many moms
to be, especially those challenged by the limitations of poverty.

Speaker 4 (01:41):
So how do you feel about this pregnancy?

Speaker 5 (01:45):
Honesly, it's been a roller coaster of emotions. I'm happy, sad, scared.

Speaker 6 (01:50):
Twenty one year old Stella Kirk is expecting her first child.
Her mixed emotions are influenced by her current state of homelessness.

Speaker 5 (01:58):
Honestly, it can be very scared to be pregnant, to
be bringing in another human, a child, another blessing into
this world, and not feeling like you have a leg
to stand on, or not feeling like you know there's
somebody in your corner.

Speaker 6 (02:15):
Sella found shelter in a maternity home in Dallas, Texas
called valol Was House. I spoke with her there in
April of this year when she was three months pregnant.

Speaker 7 (02:22):
What was it like to be homeless?

Speaker 5 (02:24):
Honestly, I was scared. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.
I was really terrified. I didn't know what the next
move was. I didn't know how I was gonna take
her with my baby, knowing that I was its main
nutrition spot or its main source of power or help.
I wasn't even able to provide a meal for myself,
so how I was gonna push through or help the

(02:48):
human being growing inside of me was just scary. I
was sad, I was angry. I felt like it was
my fault because here I am homeless or nowhere to go,
finding out I'm pregnant, not knowing what to expect or
what's to come next. It was just scary.

Speaker 6 (03:03):
How do people's reactions impact the person when they're going
through a difficult moment like that.

Speaker 5 (03:12):
I actually like that question because I me typically I
don't like accepting help from people because it's always been
thrown back in my face or I've always been told, oh,
they're gonna get tired of you. It's just going to
be an amount of time before it all just ends
or you're stuck on your own again. So being here
at Viola's house and being able to accept the help

(03:35):
they are they are providing, and how they don't expect
anything in return, and how their first thing is not
to tell you, oh, well, we already did this for
you or we already did this for you. They are
more so of the encouragement of what is it that
you want to do? What is it that I can
help you do or help you accomplish? What is it
that you want out of life? And not only that,

(03:57):
but me being the first time mother, the parents inc.
They're giving us, Oh, they've helped tremendously. We also have
a program or come and visit us to talk to
us about our financial situations, like what we could do
as far as making it or living off of our means,
and what it is that we're gonna need. Not only that,
but being here of Iola's host they provide diapers, wipe,

(04:21):
they provide the bast and nets, the baby cribs, They
help literally with everything. They give you the resources to
apply for a whig, food stamps, housing, literally the whole
nine yards, whatever you could think of, it's there.

Speaker 6 (04:34):
What might the public not understand of that situation and
the hardship that you have to endure.

Speaker 5 (04:42):
Honestly, it's it's a lot. It's it's hard, especially if
you don't have anyone in your corner or you don't
have a support system, but not having anyone in your corner,
having to face the emotions and the hormone and because
you have so much hormones going on, so many things

(05:04):
racing through your body. Like it's very hard, and there's
times where you feel like you can't do it or
you want to give up, but at the same time,
you know you can't because it's not just you anymore,
Like you have a human life that you're having to
not necessarily sponsor, but help. Like you you have brought
them into the world, so now you're having to you're

(05:26):
having to not necessarily deal with it, but you're having
to make ends meet. You're having to figure out what
it is that you're wanting to do and what you're
going to do and what you need to do to
move forward. And sometimes not everybody has that's where or
that availability. Some I've seen people standing on streets needing money,

(05:48):
and I've always been the person to give people or
give out because not ever knowing when I'm going to
need someone to give me. So I've always believed and
if you put good out into the world to receive
good act, no matter how long it takes, you're going
to receive that good act. So I being being homeless,
being being out, I'm not gonna lie. I prayed. I

(06:13):
prayed and prayed and praid, didn't know what I was
gonna do, didn't know where I'm going. It's scary. It
really is. Not to know where your next meal is
coming from, or if your baby's gonna have diapers or wipes,
or not knowing where you're gonna be sleeping or laying
your head that night. Like it's it's very scary, and

(06:35):
it's a lot that us women have to deal with
because a lot of the time it's us women who
are stuck or doing it alone. So it can be
very hard, very stressful, it could be very overwhelming for me.
It was very overwhelming until I got here. I was
freaking out. I was trying to figure out, what is
it we're gonna do? How am I gonna make this happen?

(06:58):
Who's gonna want to deal with me? Like? It was
so much negativity surrounding me at the time that all
I could think about was negativity. And it was like
Viola's house was that in light that, Hey, you don't
have to go through that. Come here, just grab my hand,
follow me. We're gonna do this together. We're gonna walk
through this together. And that's what we've been doing.

Speaker 6 (07:19):
Statistics show one in ten young adults between the ages
of eighteen to twenty five experience periods of homelessness in
any given year. Gender and racial breakdowns of this segment
of the population are not available, but limited research shows
a large portion of these young adults or black women
who are likely to have at least one child or
is pregnant. Esteria Miller is a mental and spiritual health

(07:39):
professional at Viola's house. She has come to understand the
challenges these young women face. Asteria says, without some kind
of intervention, the outlook for these young mothers and moms.

Speaker 7 (07:49):
To be is often bleak.

Speaker 8 (07:50):
What is key to helping these young ladies who have
experienced such hopelessness and distress? What is key to helping
them find hope and turn their lives around.

Speaker 9 (08:03):
It's simple, but it can be hard. Listening with an
empathetic ear. Intentionally, You've got to listen. You can't think
you can come up with a program or come up
with some type of template and use it, because each

(08:23):
young woman is very unique. Once they understand that you
hear them, then you can start unraveling some of the traumas,
some of the things that they missed or shouldn't have

(08:44):
experienced in their lives. But listening then you can. You know,
they may not open up all the way, but you
can get a little toe holy, you know, and the door.
You've got to let them see not how you feel, well,

(09:07):
how did it is? And how need any They still
didn't no, no, no, no, I need to know that,
you know, Host, you know, Kire, you know I'm doing
this intentionally just for you because you're worth it.

Speaker 10 (09:25):
So you know, there have been around federal funding cuts
that are impacting nonprofits just across the board. What happens
when these residential homes like Biola's house and any others.
That's casting a net to catch our young ladies who
are in a state of distress. What happens if these homes,
these facilities go away? What happens to these young ladies

(09:47):
in particular?

Speaker 11 (09:50):
I just have to be blunt with.

Speaker 9 (09:55):
Did I believe these young women would go off somewhere
and either spiritually die or physically die mentally die? Did?

(10:18):
Because if you are unhealthy mentally, spiritually, physically all three
or just one of the three, there's no way you
can launch that baby to success. No way. These young
women would not be able to manage life, let alone.

(10:42):
If they're having a hard time managing their lives, and
let's just get over the fact that they're where they are.
They're there and there's a need and until we can
do some things to help with that need right now,
we can't make any changes so that things will get

(11:05):
better for the lives in the future. But we are
looking at death for all of these young women. I
don't care what color they are, I don't care what
socioeconomic status they are, I don't care where they come from. Death.

(11:26):
We're looking at death and that did what do we
do when there's no one here, no one here to
care for the ones who are left here, no one
with the knowledge, no one with the skill, no one
with the purpose, no heart.

Speaker 11 (11:47):
This death.

Speaker 6 (11:48):
According to CNN, there are four hundred and fifty maternity
homes in various states in the United States. The care
and services they provide to expecting a new mom's very
Viola's House, which was founded and operated by thonn a
Hickman member of BN's Local Roundtable, houses up to six
pregnant women or new moms at a time. It's a
program that Stella and maternal health advocates say it's part
of the solution to lowering the black maternal mortality rate

(12:11):
in the US, which is currently more than three times
higher than that of white women. As for a new
and expecting moms experiencing physical or emotional hopelessness, another part
of the answer for them is finding a way forward.

Speaker 7 (12:23):
For a young lady who may be in a position
of hardship right now, who is expecting, what words of
encouragement might you give her should she just happen upon
this message.

Speaker 9 (12:36):
If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy alone, no one
knows and you're afraid. You do have the strength, and
you have the strength to get to that one person
that you know. There's always one person that you know

(12:58):
that you can go and talk to and just say
three words, I need help. I guarantee you you will
never regret it. If you want to keep your baby
and be healthy, you can do it. There's troubles all

(13:19):
through life. There are situations that come up and we
didn't anticipate, and some of the best of us, some
of the most knowledgeable of us, find ourselves in.

Speaker 12 (13:32):
Trouble.

Speaker 6 (13:32):
We have to ask for help, sell us as public
compassion and interest is also part of the equations thing.

Speaker 5 (13:39):
And one of the biggest things that we going through
pregnanity or hardships feel is that alone, like there's no
one there to help or theirs. So that extra just
that extra Hey, how are you? Or hey, you're not
smiling today? Or what's going on with you? You want to
talk about anything, how'd you sleep? How'd you feel? Just

(13:59):
so who cares? Someone who's there, whether it's to ask
a question. Half of the time, for me, all I
need is a hug, Like just a good hug just
makes me feel like okay, that's my thie. That's my relief,
Like that's my deep breath, my fresh air, Like it's
gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay.

Speaker 6 (14:17):
And that is the hope for all expecting a new
mom's facing a maternal health crisis. We will have more
on Viola's house and other maternal health stories at Saving
Black Moms. A Maternal Health Crisis continues. I'm Andrea Coleman
for the Black Information Network.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
Saving Black Moms is a special Black Information Network public
awareness campaign. Learn more about it at binnews dot com
and on all bi in social media platforms. Black Information
Network anchor Misty Jordan sits down with actor and director
Michael J. White and his wife Gillian White about their
new independent movie Troubleman, starring the two of them, along

(14:52):
with method man Mike Epps, Orlando Jones, and La La Anthony.

Speaker 4 (14:56):
Welcome to the Black Information Network. I have Michael's and
Gillian White, and we are here to talk about the
movie trouble Man. Yes, and it's actually in theaters now.
So the two of you married couple in the movie,
talk to me about the character Jacks. First of all,
it's just back up for a second. You wrote the movie, produced,

(15:18):
the movie directed, the movie, starred in the movie, and
Keith wet is the executive producer. Oh yeah, So tell
me about just kind of the beginning of how this
all kind of came together.

Speaker 3 (15:29):
Well, I mean, I was inspired by a movie I
saw when I was really young and called trouble Man,
and it starred Robert Hooks, and I thought he was
the most outstanding actor of that time for this type
of role. And it was a badass guy that was
all about his environment in his neighborhood and he did

(15:50):
what was right, you know, and he was like kind
of a fixer, and so I wanted to do that
in the modern day. And so that's what led me
on this path because I had these images of strong,
powerful alpha males like Robert Hooks, like Jim Brown and
Fred Williamson that I looked up to and wanted to emulate.

(16:10):
So that came full circle with the idea and the
chance to do this movie.

Speaker 4 (16:15):
And tell mc gillian, did you did you cast yourself
in the movie or did he say, you know what
you are perfect, you need to be in this movie.

Speaker 13 (16:25):
Yeah, when the script was when he was rewriting the script,
you know, well he always knew he wanted me to
play that part.

Speaker 4 (16:31):
So I love that Holse is working together.

Speaker 3 (16:33):
Yeah, it's kind of like cheating, like if I have
to be you know, it's kind of insider trading, I
have to perform with somebody I have chemistry with. Yeah yeah, yeah,
so that's kind of like, you know, we're cheating and
we have a chemistry that I think is clear, and nobody,

(16:54):
no producer at all, kind of objected to that. In fact,
that's something that's been following us. This is the sixth
movie we've done together. We've done two TV shows, all
our movies.

Speaker 13 (17:09):
It's people cast us together, right, yeah, people.

Speaker 4 (17:11):
Because the chemistry is undeniable. I can see exactly.

Speaker 13 (17:14):
Yeah, I mean six movies and two TV shows.

Speaker 4 (17:16):
Yeah, we're in ten years of marriage later.

Speaker 3 (17:18):
Yeah, well we've been married longer than that. We had
a ceremonial although over ten years ago, but celeb Yeah,
we we have. We have the six season of Family
Business coming out, and you know, I was a part
of that show and the powers that be, the creator
wanted went at Gillian to join that that that show,

(17:41):
just like the show and Kingdom Business before. So it's
not you know, it's like the universe, and people want
to see us together in those situations. So this was
a very, very much a natural thing. And I actually
use dialogue and little inspirations from our real life in
the movie. Really because my character Jack's and her character

(18:04):
Gina were once lovers a long time ago and they
reconnect And just like Gillian and I, we met twenty
eight years ago and reconnected and never looked back. But
I had to do some growing to really be receptive
to the relationship that we have now. And so like me,

(18:26):
the character does and says the thing that gets her
on board with him, and I use the actual line
that I use in real life with Gillian.

Speaker 13 (18:37):
It's beautiful. Yeah, the one thing that made me go
back with him was the line he uses in the movie.

Speaker 4 (18:44):
What's the line?

Speaker 13 (18:46):
You want to say it?

Speaker 4 (18:47):
You gotta say it.

Speaker 3 (18:49):
I lost you once and I'd be a fool to
lose you again.

Speaker 13 (18:53):
That was it. That's all I needed to hear.

Speaker 4 (18:57):
So, Gillian, tell me about your role in the movie
trouble Man.

Speaker 13 (19:01):
So Gina's is very artsy kind of she's a party
planner and by chance, one night she uh, like you said,
they used to be together and they lost lost each
other and then by chance one night they meet again
and from that point on she kind of gets drawn
into his his world and uh, you have to see

(19:24):
the rest of see how she how she deals with
his world.

Speaker 4 (19:27):
All right, and this is an action comedy, So just
kind of tell me a little bit about the movie
in general.

Speaker 3 (19:33):
Well, it's kind of in the in the tradition of
those like like Sam Spade, if you if you're familiar
with that type of detective type of drama, or if
you've seen the TV show in Jack Reacher, you can
call this Black Reacher.

Speaker 4 (19:50):
Okay, So you.

Speaker 3 (19:52):
Know it's a it's a man using his capabilities and
sometimes he has to kick behind to you know, get
the job done.

Speaker 14 (20:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (20:03):
So yeah, So my character is a former cop and
turn fixer and he's trying to find this missing diva
who might be on a drug beinge or he finds
out that she might have been kidnapped or whatever. And
and with the help of her man played by a
method man. Yeah, and they combined together in a two

(20:27):
to hard way kind of situation to find out what happened.

Speaker 4 (20:31):
Okay, I'm Misty Jordan with the Black Information Network joining me.
I have Michael John White, and Gillian White. All right,
so in the movie we have big names method Man,
as you just mentioned, Mike Epps, La La Anthony, just
to name a few of the stars gracing the screen.
How was the chemistry between all of you all together?
Oh it was great.

Speaker 13 (20:52):
I mean we have so much fun on set and
method Man, especially because he brings so much comedy and
Orlando Jones, you know, he's a friend of ours and
he's just the energy on set was always so much fun.

Speaker 4 (21:06):
What part do you or is there a part that
you're watching the movie trouble Man and you're like, so,
I'll say this, when I hear myself back on the radio,
sometimes I'm like, oh, I didn't you know watching that
or hearing myself back that kind of makes me gives
me the willies. Is there something in the movie for
trouble Man that you're watching yourself as an artist and

(21:26):
you're like.

Speaker 3 (21:26):
Oh, myself, I'm pretty self critical.

Speaker 13 (21:32):
Me too, So that's like me and every scene.

Speaker 4 (21:36):
Yeah, so there's a lot of crazy how we can
do that.

Speaker 3 (21:38):
Yeah, there's a lot of that, But you know, I
can separate myself and look at it like I don't
know that guy and what do I think of him?
So you know that that's so Yeah. It really the
fact that I'm the director. I get a chance to
like comb through my worst stuff and throw that in
the garbage. Sure. So yeah, so it's a little stacked
in my.

Speaker 4 (21:59):
Favorite Yeah, what about Gillian?

Speaker 11 (22:01):
With me?

Speaker 13 (22:01):
I am the same way. I'm very critical on myself.
I'll look at everything like why do not move that way?
Oh I should have turned this way, or why to
say it that way? You know, And I do that
a lot. But then at the end of the day,
I look at the positive things more and I'm like, oh,
I love the way I did that. Oh that came
across great. So that kind of balances it out. But no,
I was happy with my performance.

Speaker 4 (22:20):
And so overall, what can people expect when they go
see Trouble Man, which is in theaters now, Well, I.

Speaker 3 (22:25):
Think they're going to see They're going to be really entertained.
I think they're going to see a movie that they
haven't seen in a long time, something that celebrates our culture,
celebrates Atlanta, you know, and celebrates how we speak to
each other and how we love each other, you know,
and not just in a romantic way. But just as
people as brothers and sisters, and so I hope they

(22:46):
come away with that because that's what this movie was
written on.

Speaker 4 (22:49):
Are there lakes for part two of Trouble Man?

Speaker 3 (22:52):
Well, that depends on you folks. Go out and support
the movie so we can do it do it again,
because I do have some plans from the sequel.

Speaker 4 (23:00):
Okay, I like to hear that, all right. Okay, So
now I want to ask you guys a little something
more personal. Okay, So first I'd like to ask you,
Michael is Mike do you prefer Michael John or Michael
I don't.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
I don't even notice the difference.

Speaker 4 (23:12):
Okay, all right, So Black Panther, do you see yourself?
Because I see you in Black Panther? Do you do
you see that you could for future references? Like do
you think that there may be a possibility of you
having some role in the Black Panther upcoming Black Panther movies?

Speaker 3 (23:30):
I don't know. I I so don't. My mind doesn't
really work that way. I think about what's what's right
for me or what comes my way personally. You know,
if I were to produce Black Panther, I would have
I would I can't help. But see try to see
interest el in that or Jim and Hunsu like those

(23:50):
to me are my Black Panther, you know, I you
know that as a fan. Yeah, you know, because I
you know, I just I just can see those guys
as eld statesmen. Uh, you know, with black going against
Vladimir Putin and these other people. Myself, I mean, I'm
not really from an egotistical point I of course I

(24:12):
can do it. Yeah, but still I could let them
know I could. I could be the lead in that
movie and think, wow, I think it would have been
better with the addes. Wow. I can still say that,
you know what I mean, because you know, I just
I don't know. To me, he'd be perfect.

Speaker 13 (24:26):
To me, Gillian, what do you think about Michael as
Black Panther. Yes, it's so funny because when the film
first came out, I actually was disappointed. I was like,
oh man, he should have been. But you know, it's
it's the way as businesses. You know, they picked whoever
they want, politics, whoever's you know that. You know, we
all know how they operate. But in terms of bringing

(24:51):
the his acting ability as well as of course the
physicality and the and the action. I mean, I think
that's why so many people said, oh, Michael Jah White
should have been black panther. No disrespect against Chadwick because
we all love him, but yeah, I mean, yeah, or
any character in the film. I think he could have

(25:12):
brought something.

Speaker 4 (25:13):
I agree. Yeah, so if even that black panther, I
think certainly a role and as Yeah.

Speaker 3 (25:18):
I didn't even think about the action part of it.
Yeah forgot.

Speaker 13 (25:22):
I think that's why so many people think of you
because it's the action. Yeah, you know.

Speaker 3 (25:29):
It earlier and my way, you know, my take on
it would have been I would have been, uh, the
Barack Obama who kicks ass. That would have been my
take on.

Speaker 4 (25:42):
Yeah, okay, Dancing with the Stars. Could you see yourself
on the cast of Dancing with the Stars.

Speaker 3 (25:48):
I was invited at one point.

Speaker 4 (25:50):
What happened?

Speaker 3 (25:51):
I was busy. I just I just I don't know
if there's a certain there's a certain I don't know,
kind of attitude along with that that I don't really Yeah,
I think you gotta all of the movie.

Speaker 13 (26:10):
And he's a great dancer. That's how we met. We
met dancing. We both love to dance. So he's a
great dancer. But I think I agree with you.

Speaker 4 (26:17):
This is the whole like yeah, dancing, okay, a personality
thing of selling yourself, which I'm not.

Speaker 3 (26:26):
Willing to do.

Speaker 13 (26:27):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (26:27):
So speaking of which, what's your who's your spirit animal?
What's your spirit animal?

Speaker 3 (26:30):
I don't know what that means.

Speaker 4 (26:32):
So like if you were to say, you know, like
so for my spirit animal, probably would be like some
crazy monkey. I was not going to answer that.

Speaker 13 (26:40):
If you didn't answer it, you.

Speaker 4 (26:44):
Michael John White's spirit animal is a penguin.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
Why he loves I love penguins. They're devoted, they have fun,
they have organized fun. They line up, slide into into
the water and get back in line and do it.

Speaker 13 (27:00):
And they made for life.

Speaker 3 (27:01):
They made for life. And they are some of the
fastest sea creatures there are and they move like bullets
in the world.

Speaker 13 (27:09):
Do you know kill he loves penguins. We actually were
in Dubai and got to go behind the scenes in
this uh was like an aquarium with penguins. We hugged
them and we kissed them, we played with them.

Speaker 4 (27:21):
It was great. That's awesome. Yeah, Gilly and your spirit
animal dolphin.

Speaker 13 (27:26):
Why they're intelligent, they're beautiful, they save people, like they're
just connected. And I just I love every time I
see a dolphin just going diving into the ocean. I
just I get so excited every I've seen it a
million times, and I still get excited when I see
dolphins doing that, and I love how they work together.
I just I don't know, it's just something about dolphins

(27:48):
like that would.

Speaker 3 (27:48):
Be my spirit now. And we visited some dolphins we have.

Speaker 13 (27:51):
I love dolphins.

Speaker 3 (27:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (27:52):
With the celebrity date night, if you guys are going
to go out with another couple that's in Hollywood, who
do you go out.

Speaker 3 (27:59):
With, I'm probably the cole That's what we normally do.

Speaker 13 (28:02):
Yeah, I was trying to think it's myke. We didn't
know though, that we didn't know.

Speaker 4 (28:06):
No, no, no that yeah. Yeah, if it's a celebrity
couple that you guys will go out with.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
To go drink, Barack and Michelle, no.

Speaker 13 (28:13):
Somebody that you go with now that we hang with,
now okay, well yeah that's what you said.

Speaker 3 (28:18):
Yeah, Boris and uh Nicole and we've we've tried to
make make dinner nights with with Jonathan and Meghan.

Speaker 4 (28:30):
Oh yeah, we schedules connected off. Yeah, that's wonderful. I
love that black love of the show. Yeah, just a
couples together and yeah, I love that. All right, a
little this or that before we wrap up. Okay, so
you have to either pick this one or that one
is the game. Okay. So would you rather host a

(28:50):
dinner or dine out as a couple?

Speaker 13 (28:54):
I like hosting.

Speaker 3 (28:57):
I like dining, all.

Speaker 4 (28:59):
Right, Ski vacation or an island vacation. Vacation like the thanks.

Speaker 3 (29:06):
Sliding down the hill hill on purpose, slipping on purpose?

Speaker 4 (29:11):
Okay, Thanksgiving for Christmas?

Speaker 3 (29:13):
Christmas?

Speaker 13 (29:14):
Why it's something about I don't know. It's just like
the lights and then the and the cheer and the
presence and just the things that go with Christmas. Like
I don't know, I just think of fireplaces and just
cozy and I.

Speaker 3 (29:27):
Got to forget what happened in Thanksgiving. You know, there's
a there's a there's a BS to Thanksgiving.

Speaker 13 (29:33):
That's just like, oh, you're talking about the history of Okay,
well I'm still Christmas.

Speaker 3 (29:39):
Christmas is a slaughter of them, you know, Thanksgiving.

Speaker 4 (29:46):
Okay, So would you rather this is going to be
interesting in laws at your house or would you rather
have your family at your house? Which one. Would you
rather have your in laws over or your family?

Speaker 3 (30:00):
Oh that's super easy.

Speaker 13 (30:01):
Family.

Speaker 3 (30:02):
Yeah, like ask me as my family ever been in
my house?

Speaker 13 (30:07):
What that's actually an easy one.

Speaker 3 (30:11):
Oh, that's super easier. I'm closer to her family than
my family.

Speaker 4 (30:15):
Where's you're saying, no, you can't come in?

Speaker 3 (30:18):
They just they don't want either. But unfortunately, I'm an
orphan now. You know my mom and dad fast. But
I've been on my own since I was fourteen. I
never grew up close to my family. And you know,
my mother family or my you know, we've never been

(30:39):
that tight net. But her family is the family I
always dreamed of. You know, her family, the cousins, the
aunts and uncles, all of them just loving people, just
some of the most. And her mom and dad are
the mom and dad I always dreamed wanted.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
Yes, there you're Bill and Cliff. I mean you're Cliff, and.

Speaker 3 (31:01):
I would have I would have been close to her
mother and father had I not known her. Those are
the type of people I gravitated to. I always wanted
to bask in the glory of couples like that because
that's what I wanted from my life. And so to
have them you know in my life as my my

(31:23):
actual in laws is they.

Speaker 13 (31:26):
Don't look at him like and they look at him
like that's our son like that. Yeah, so that's beautiful.

Speaker 4 (31:31):
All right, last one line dance or slow dance, slow dance,
no boots on the ground for y'all boots fans.

Speaker 13 (31:39):
I want to be close to my man.

Speaker 3 (31:42):
And you don't know when the end of the song
is you gotta do the same thing over.

Speaker 4 (31:48):
Time.

Speaker 3 (31:50):
That's cool for like, you know.

Speaker 4 (31:52):
It's a couple of minutes.

Speaker 13 (31:53):
Then if you's on going, you're like, okay, I'm the exit.

Speaker 3 (31:56):
It's kind of like kind of like singing this Stevie
Wonder's Happy Birthday to you all going and then it's
like you don't know how to stab it.

Speaker 13 (32:02):
It just dies.

Speaker 3 (32:05):
Let's all I agree to stab it right here. That's awesome.

Speaker 4 (32:09):
Troubleman is in theaters now. Michael, Joi White, Gillian White,
co star and wife, thank you so much for sitting
down to talk to me. I'm excited for what's next
for you guys. I'm excited to see the movie. And
thank you guys for top of by to talk, thank
you for having us.

Speaker 13 (32:25):
And thank you to see it.

Speaker 1 (32:27):
Thanks Misty Michael and Gillian trouble Man is out now
and select the theatre's nationwide and all streaming platforms, the
Black Information Networks. Morgan would spoke with Tarik Delavalat, Executive
director of the United Golfers Association. He's at the forefront
of launching the Sapphire Golf Tour, a groundbreaking new platform
created specifically to uplift and elevate Black women in professional golf.

Speaker 15 (32:49):
Joining me now on the Black Information Network is a
visionary leader who's helping to change the face of professional golf.
Tarique delave a Lot, Executive director of the United Golfers Association,
is at the forefront of launching the Sapphire Golf Tour,
a groundbreaking new platform created specifically to uplift and elevate
Black women in professional golf. Backed by the UGA century

(33:11):
long legacy, the Sapphire Tour isn't just about competition, It's
about access, equity and visibility. With the tour's debut at
the Country Club at Woodmore in Maryland, and new era
in golf is being written, one that ensures Black women
are no longer on the sidelines, but centered in the story. Tarik,
thank you for being hearing. Congratulations on your launch of

(33:32):
the Sapphire Golf Tour.

Speaker 4 (33:35):
How are you today?

Speaker 14 (33:36):
I'm doing fantastic. Thank you so much again for inviting
and I appreciate.

Speaker 4 (33:39):
It absolutely so.

Speaker 15 (33:41):
In the press release you said we're not just launching
a tour, We're launching futures. Can you talk to me
about that statement and walk us through the vision that
sparked the Sapphire Golf Tour and how it went from
an idea, a concept to reality.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
That's a big question.

Speaker 11 (33:56):
I'll do my best to keep it tight.

Speaker 14 (33:58):
So what United Golfers Association was the first organization to
provide amateur and professional opportunities for black women to play golf,
going all the way back to the fifties, So starting
with ALTHEA. Gibson named Powell and Gregory, they started their
careers with the United Golfers Association all the way through
the sixties and then what ended up happening from there.

(34:21):
There was a gap with UGA and then I brought
the organization back in twenty twenty, and with bringing it back,
I realized that there was a significant gap between what
the men and the young men were doing as far
as professional golf and amateurs and juniors versus what the
young women had access to. And so over those three
to four years, we realized that women, were Black women specifically,

(34:43):
were visually less, had had more or less opportunities to
be able to do things professionally as the men did,
meaning they didn't have professional golf events that were specifically
for minority women, specifically African America women, and so they
were finished college and then there was nothing for them afterwards.

(35:05):
And so we kept seeing this and seeing the disappointment
in their faces with dream deferred being a continued, continued
conversation and what was shared with us, So we figured
why not these last two years start focusing primarily on
them and providing an opportunity for black women to have
their own event at our event which is in February

(35:25):
at Innisbruck Resort in Tampa. And then now we took
it from one event to now being six or five.

Speaker 15 (35:32):
Yes, that's amazing. Congratulations to you on that. Now, the
United Golfers Association, as you mentioned, does have quite a legacy.
How do you see the Sapphire Tour contributing to that
legacy or continuing the history while also redefining it for
today's generation and the genre or at least the gender
per se yes.

Speaker 14 (35:53):
For that category, if you want to put it in that.
For women, I believe it is a it's a staple.
It will be the staple event for our organization. Not
because it's just one weekend, which we normally have just
had one robust weekend in February with juniors, collegiate players,
and pros. This is something that is beyond just the weekend.

(36:16):
It's now it's five weekends of experiential opportunities for black
folks to come together as a charity fundraiser, but also
create this unique experience for black women, families and multi
generational opportunities for people to come and watch black women

(36:36):
play over and over again tea time to tea time.
And that is what we're looking for, is to create
this visual experience and the optics of twenty to twenty
four black women teeing.

Speaker 11 (36:49):
Off back to back for an hour and a half
and two.

Speaker 14 (36:53):
Hundred to three hundred black folks wrapped around them on
the tea box, screaming hollerings, you know, and the goal
is to have them doing this. They can do this
at the Beyonce concert, you know, e record, we month
them doing the same thing on the tea box, following
these black women from Tita Green throughout the day and
out the weekend, so it'll be exciting.

Speaker 4 (37:11):
I love to hear that.

Speaker 15 (37:12):
You're saying that you want to hear people actually screaming,
because that's very I want to say, not to be stereotypical,
but that's very black of us to do when we
cheering each other on, which is not necessarily what you
usually hear about what's supposed to be taking place on
the golf course, right.

Speaker 14 (37:27):
It depends. There are two different versions of professional golf.
Now there's the very calm version and then there's this loud,
robust experience which is like the live tour.

Speaker 11 (37:38):
But when you look at the women's.

Speaker 14 (37:39):
Tours from the LPGA to EPSEN to the WAPT, it's
pretty quiet. There are not a lot of people following
them from Tita Green. Some events have more than others,
depending on where it's located. However, some of the other
lower tier ones, these women are pretty much playing by

(37:59):
the themselves and they're caddy and there's not many people
at all following them, so it's like they're just playing
a regular round of golf.

Speaker 13 (38:06):
But that is we're changing that absolutely.

Speaker 15 (38:09):
What kind of impact do you hope the tour will
have on junior and collegiate players, particularly those from HBCUs.

Speaker 14 (38:18):
That's the HPC is important. Obviously, you know we're Morganites.

Speaker 3 (38:23):
That's right.

Speaker 14 (38:24):
We don't have a golf team yet, but we're working
on it.

Speaker 3 (38:26):
It's being worked on. It's being worked on.

Speaker 14 (38:30):
But we are seeing a lot of so and.

Speaker 11 (38:33):
Let me go back.

Speaker 14 (38:34):
I believe the intergenerational opportunity is really where we have
a big light bulb to be able to see our
grandmothers and mothers and the children and then their children
being able to walk the fairways and support these women.
But the greater opportunity here is what I'm seeing is

(38:56):
for these women now who are pros, they now influence
collegiate players to know that there's a place for them.
Those collegiate players now are an influence and beacon of
light for a high school elite golfers, and then those
juniors between ages of eight to sixteen in eighteen, they
now have someone to look up to because I want

(39:18):
to be like her. Right now, black women don't have
a face in golf, like if you can I can
talk to fifty people and say how many Black women
do you know who are currently professional troop players? Forty
eight might know to and the rest probably couldn't give
you a name. And that really is what we are

(39:39):
trying to do here, not trying to. What we will
be doing and are doing is giving a face and
name to these black women so that now they can
be seen, heard and not just viewed. But it's something
that they can actually have a brand behind them themselves,
but also brands see the value in them as professional athletes.

Speaker 1 (39:59):
Thanks more and Tarique. For more information about the Sapphire
Golf Tour, go to United goolf Association dot org and
we will hear part two of her interview next week.
When it comes to black cinema, actress Wendy Raquel Robinson
and actress Tisha Campbell are household names. The two ladies
have a new film out called Operation Aunties, and BIN
News commentator Moe Kelly had a chance to talk to

(40:21):
them about it. Here's Moe's report.

Speaker 16 (40:32):
I'm Mo Kelly for the Black Information Network. Operation Aunties
now available on AMC streaming channel All Black. It's an
action packed dramedy which tells the story of a longtime
friendship that is tested when a risk averse cryptocurrency expert
and her retired detective best friend become vigilantes after discovering
a cyber crime syndicate in their city.

Speaker 2 (40:53):
It's about your niece Amina's assault case. Oh my god, Okay,
we trace him to this larger opera.

Speaker 17 (41:02):
There are guys who are use a new rash share
app to traffic women for crypto coin.

Speaker 13 (41:07):
I want you think we go after and everyone else
in this network.

Speaker 17 (41:10):
Okay, vigilanteas there are some dangerous people that are part
of this.

Speaker 13 (41:16):
You owe me a spot day.

Speaker 4 (41:18):
All we need is some sexy outfits.

Speaker 5 (41:20):
I know that's right.

Speaker 10 (41:22):
By specializing in computer technology, you can identify everyone involved
in this Detective Oha, got your service.

Speaker 16 (41:30):
Badass directed by Wendy Raquel Robinson, who you know from
her time on the TV show The Game and also
opposite Steve Harvey on The Steve Harvey Show as principal greer.

Speaker 2 (41:39):
MS.

Speaker 18 (41:39):
Robinson A pleasure to speak to you again. How are you?

Speaker 12 (41:42):
Oh? I am fantastic, Thank you for that wonderful.

Speaker 16 (41:45):
Under dudg Absolutely and I'm also joined by venerable comedic
actress and co star Tsha Campbell, who you know from
the House Party movie franchise, television classic Martin and opposite
Eddie Murphy in another forty eight hours.

Speaker 11 (41:56):
Ms.

Speaker 18 (41:57):
Campbell is good to have you back on as well.
Thank you didju let me start with you.

Speaker 16 (42:01):
I get great joy by watching the evolution and growth
of your career over the years. What's it like to
branch out into action with Operation Aunties.

Speaker 19 (42:10):
I just love that Wendy saw me for this role
and that I get a chance to do any and
everything that I've ever wanted to do. Like during COVID isolation,
I made a pack to myself because you know, you're
by yourself and all you have is yourself to me,
I didn't have anybody in my ear telling me what
I could or could not do, and so I made
a pack to myself that I was going to try

(42:31):
everything and make choices for myself.

Speaker 12 (42:33):
And this was one of them.

Speaker 16 (42:34):
Wendy, my mother, my late father, and my sister are
all Howard University graduates such as yourself, and I would
be cussed out something awful if I didn't shout out Hu.
You know, did you have any idea? While walking down
Georgia Avenue next to the wonderbread factory in Washington, DC,
that you'd be one day in the director's chair.

Speaker 12 (42:55):
Wow, thank you for that.

Speaker 17 (42:56):
You know what one thing that I love about Howard
and that theater department. We had to rotate and do
everything and that goes from lights to sound to you
here make a wardrobe.

Speaker 12 (43:07):
We had to do.

Speaker 17 (43:08):
All of the practicums and sit in every single chair
as it came to not only theater but all of
the fundamentals from even the admin side of running a theater.
So I do want to say that my days at
Howard prepared me for a little bit of everything. So
as I smell the wonderbread that I now hear is
a whole food store and the evolution of it all

(43:30):
it was. It was a wonderful time in my life,
and I'm just so grateful for the opportunity to have
worked alongside such amazing talents as I walk those halls
and Georgia Avenue as well.

Speaker 16 (43:41):
All right, let me stay right there with you. Let's
get into operation Aunties and the Mayhem included. What are
these aunties in for?

Speaker 8 (43:49):
Ooh?

Speaker 17 (43:49):
Because Aunties in for everything, just like you said, the mayhem,
the chaos, the comedy, but I also want to say
it's an edutaining experience because we are dealing with some
serious content, you know, in terms of the sex trafficking,
which is very very real. So we had to do
a balancing act. And it's like, well, what do you
do when the FBI or you know, those forces that

(44:12):
are supposed to be handling things are not doing it
in a timely manner. You take things into your own
hand and you become vigilant. And that's where we got
the vigilantes for Operation Aunties. And I think the audience
is in for a ride. You know, it's not often
when you can get the tech world needs a little
bit of comedy, a little bit of action, a little

(44:33):
bit of you know, we got a little bit of everything.
But it's a wonderful, delicate balancing act that is educating
and entertaining for everyone. So I'm really really proud of it.

Speaker 12 (44:46):
And it was a ride.

Speaker 17 (44:47):
It was a ride for me as a director and
just pulling it all together so seamlessly. But I was
surrounded by incredible talents of Tisha Campbell and Melissa de
Sosa and it just really.

Speaker 12 (44:58):
Made it admitted it a wonderful experience for me. That
I'm going to.

Speaker 16 (45:02):
Cherish, Tishi, let me talk more about that balancing act
with you. And I'm always curious to know how much
leeway actors have to improvise on projects like this. Yes
there's a serious undertone, Yes there's comedy. As they said
at the top, it's a dramedy. So I'm going to
ask you, in front of your director, Wendy Raquel Robinson,
how free were you, Tisha Campbell to improvise or have

(45:22):
fun with your character?

Speaker 19 (45:24):
Well, you know what, we only had ten days to
this what and so yeah, we had ten days to
film this and tj Ali the writer and Wendy carved
out on wonderful story. So I kind of tried as
much as I could to stick to that. There were

(45:44):
ad lib moments, but for the most part, I didn't
want to stray too far because this was an intricate
story to tell, and I wanted to make sure that
my contribution wasn't over the top and not going to
take away from the story.

Speaker 16 (46:00):
Wendy that I think that leads me right into my
next question, Because if you're under a tight schedule, what
you are with ten days, there are limitations and what
you can do as far as shoots and reshoots, how
did that figure into your calculus? As far as directing a.

Speaker 17 (46:14):
Piece like this, well, you know what, It all starts
in the planning. If you listen, If you don't plan,
you're gonna fail. Because there were no opportunities to do
a reshoot, that's out of the question.

Speaker 12 (46:26):
We had to make our days. So I worked very
closely with the DP.

Speaker 17 (46:31):
And Wow, we worked for hours just getting a solid
shot list and just going play by play.

Speaker 12 (46:36):
I had a wonderful production and.

Speaker 17 (46:38):
Producing team, Letitia Fortune and Sheena Carter. They came through
and just made sure that every tea was crossed, every
eye was dotted.

Speaker 12 (46:47):
We had back to back zooms with every department and
just ensuring that the move the look.

Speaker 17 (46:53):
So when we got to set, everything was just as
we had planned it to be.

Speaker 12 (46:58):
Yes, there were few glitches, you know. There were weather.
Oh my god, it was almost a hurricane. You remember
that night we were finale.

Speaker 17 (47:06):
We were shooting the finale and it was a huge
hurricane in Florida, all of the backlash of the brain
and everything in Atlanta.

Speaker 12 (47:16):
But the crew, we all came together.

Speaker 17 (47:18):
Nobody wanted to lead, and you know, we all stayed
and we made it happen.

Speaker 12 (47:23):
So teamwork can make a dream work.

Speaker 17 (47:25):
And I really want to say that, not just because
it sounds flowery, but everyone was so invested and it
just all came together because there was no room for error.

Speaker 12 (47:37):
There was only room for adjustments.

Speaker 17 (47:39):
And I said, for every problem, there's going to be a.

Speaker 12 (47:41):
Solution, and we made it happen.

Speaker 17 (47:43):
One of the funniest things was how do we create
the brain of this massive computer? Because Melissa Dessa's character
is like a Steve Jobs. How do you show the
expansive world of this woman who has this crypto and
you know, blockchain, and how do we show her world?
And basically where we were shooting it was just a

(48:05):
home that we used every single bedroom to create the
world of this movie. And I got to give a
shout out to our DP. He came up with the
concept of creating the brain of this incredible computer. He
frosted two glass doors, and the brain existed behind these

(48:26):
two basically two French doors that were just glass doors.
But you know, we became very creative and we tapped
into resources that we didn't have and we made it work.

Speaker 12 (48:36):
And that's the one thing I walk away with you.

Speaker 16 (48:38):
Know most proud of Operation Auntie is now streaming on
the AMC streaming portion All Black.

Speaker 18 (48:44):
It is available right now.

Speaker 16 (48:45):
I want to thank my guests right now, Winnie Raquel
Robinson and Tishi Campbell.

Speaker 18 (48:49):
I enjoy you both.

Speaker 16 (48:51):
I loved you both over so many years, and I
hope to speak to you again soon.

Speaker 12 (48:54):
Thank you, Hi, thank you for.

Speaker 18 (48:57):
The Black Information Network. I'm Kelly, Thanks.

Speaker 1 (49:01):
Moe, and special thanks to actress Tisha Campbell and actress
director Wendy Ruquel Robinson for joining us today on the
Black Information Network. Operationaltis is available on All Black and
other streaming platforms. Black Masculinity, when will black men start
to release the weight put on us? And how barriers
are keeping us back from truly reaching our potential, not

(49:22):
just through financial success, but by releasing the mental stress
we continue to carry. Doug Davis is back and speaks
to Yolo Achille Robinson, founder of BEAM, which stands for
Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective, and why black men
need support to overcome the pain many of us carry.

Speaker 3 (49:38):
Doug.

Speaker 2 (49:39):
Thanks Mike. This is Doug Davis again with our segment
title Your Black Business, where we highlight success stories of
black entrepreneurs and business owners. Yep, it's been a long time.
Happy to be back. Black communities have long faced barriers
to mental health care, and Yolo Achille Robinson, founder of Beam,
is working to change that by providing training, funding, and
resources to transform Black wellness Beams. Black Man Sculinity Reimagine

(50:01):
program helps black masculine folks unlearn harmful norms and build
healthier ways to show up for themselves and communities. Welcome
to the bi in brother, Yolo. What are some of
the key misconceptions about black mental health in our communities
that your organization is currently working to correct. What barriers
does Beam specifically address and how does it it'll kind
of reshape the narrative around therapy and wellness.

Speaker 20 (50:23):
Yeah, that's a great question, and there are a lot
of myths and misconceptions out there. I think the first
misconception that we hear all the time is that you
can just push through. You know, as black people, as
descendants of slave Africans in this country we have lived
in during periods of our life, but we just had
to push through. There was no other option, right, And
so I understand where that comes from. But the reality

(50:43):
is we are at a different time, and there are cognitive, emotional,
spiritual impact to ourselves that we cannot just push through
that we have to stop to attend to.

Speaker 11 (50:54):
But we have to stop to.

Speaker 20 (50:55):
Reorient around, to reshift how we actually are planted in
the world, so that we and support how our body are,
our mental shows up. Now, you're gonna come times in
which the anxiety and pressure to do do do is
not going to be sustainable on you anymore. Right when
ignoring how you're feeling, your bodying, your spirit's going to
be like, hey, we've been doing this for thirty years, bro,
we can't do this no more. Not all the weight

(51:16):
of what you have denied and repressed is sitting on
your back, you know. And so we have to recognize
that we can't push through through everything, and that taking
time to stop to reorient is not a failure.

Speaker 11 (51:27):
It is sacred. It is honest.

Speaker 2 (51:29):
This conversation is so important to me as a black man,
because all I know is you know what I grew
up with, you know, and experiencing my dad's mental trauma
and how that has moved onto my life. So when
you said, hey, man, you know I've been doing this
for thirty years. Man, you know that's that's me, and
I know I can't be alone. There's an article that

(51:50):
I kind of skim through, didn't go too deep into it,
but what it said was that the trauma of our
forefathers and mothers are carried on through our DNA. And
that really struck me hard because I think about the
trauma again that my dad put upon myself, you know,
and how I have fought against it ever since I
really realized what was happening with me. And then after

(52:14):
reading the article, I said, well, dang man, Like, one,
is there any way that I can get rid of this?
And then two, man, if I'm carrying this trauma for
my father and that he's most likely carrying trauma from
his father, what ceremedy for Black America? Because all we
do is carry trauma.

Speaker 20 (52:31):
You know, I appreciate you sharing that. That's something I
hear constantly in community, that we know the reality that
trauma can be passed on to the genes. And I
think that an important thing to hold in that context
as well, is that so can healing, and that just
as we have inherited, yes collective generations of distress, we
have also inherited the genius and the wisdom and the

(52:53):
brilliance of our folks who have come to this land
forceably were brought to this land. Excuse me and who
I've come to be able to cultivate beautiful art, healing
strategies with herbs and with food and all these different pieces.
We have that wisdom within us too, and so it's
important that we hold that both of those exist. Otherwise
we would not be here if our folks hadn't of

(53:13):
healing strategies passed down. We don't understand that even prayer
is a spiritual practice, we have healing practices as black
people is the sinus of Africans, right, So yes we
got that trauma, and yes we have that healing, and
we have to call on that heal.

Speaker 3 (53:26):
Now.

Speaker 20 (53:27):
I want to speak to the piece of you said
specifically about the ways.

Speaker 11 (53:30):
In what you saw.

Speaker 20 (53:30):
You say like you've been carrying these things from your father.
I know I carry stuff from my father and my mother.
And there's an important piece that we have to hold this. See,
to do our healing work as black people, we have
to become alchemists. To become an alchemist is to transmute,
to change a substance that is considered worthless into gold.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
Right.

Speaker 20 (53:47):
And so a part of our work is to take
this pain, this hurt, this grief and find ways to
feel it, to not deny it, because we've been denying
it for generations and that's why the consequence comes up
in other unhealthy ways. But to sit and say like,
I'm going to own this grief. I'm gonna be present
with it. I'm going to be friended to see what
it can teach me. And when we do that, when

(54:09):
we engage it, whether it's with therapy, whether it's with
whatever practices wellness practice we engage, we would befriended and
own it. Then it becomes something that can be transformed
into something that's powerful for us.

Speaker 11 (54:20):
It can heal us.

Speaker 20 (54:21):
We have to start by engaging in it, confronting. We
have to confront right, the hard things in our communities, hard ourselves.

Speaker 3 (54:28):
That's right.

Speaker 2 (54:28):
I mean, if you're an alcoholic and you don't confront alcoholism,
it's a rap. But if you confront it, at least
you have a chance, right, right.

Speaker 20 (54:35):
And also when we talk about alcoholism or any other
channel we're talking about many any alcoholic will tell you
it wasn't about the bottle. It was about the pain
that I was using the bottle to escape away from.

Speaker 2 (54:45):
Right, So how do we unleash that pain? I mean,
how can Beam help us release that pain?

Speaker 17 (54:50):
Man?

Speaker 2 (54:51):
That a lot of us we know it's in the
back of our hearts and our minds and our spirits.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
But well, a part of.

Speaker 11 (54:56):
What we do is we hold collective spaces, Dougy.

Speaker 20 (54:59):
And you talked about this with man literally doing spaces
in barbershops, doing spaces in community with brothers and saying,
let's get together and talk about our experiences. Let's get
together and engage in practices like meditation. We're going to
do some journaling, We're gonna do some process sing together
to move through an air out some of these things
we've been holding. And you know, a beautiful thing happens

(55:20):
when you get brothers in a circle, Doug, and you
get them to.

Speaker 11 (55:22):
Reframe and reimagine how they think.

Speaker 20 (55:24):
Is that one they're realizing our loan and then now
having experience of like, it's not just me, they have
someone else that can talk to to support them through
that process and also get skills to reframe, because let
me tell you, we have to reframe. We have internalized
some narratives as black men and masking the folks that
keep us hostage. Most recently, there was a brother who
came to me and says, you know, I can't be
vulnerable anywhere. It's not safe for me to be vulnerable,

(55:45):
and I can't be vulnerable with my wife. And I said, brother,
I want to offer you a reframe. I want to
invite you to just to practice with me, and instead
of I can't, in that sentence, say I choose to.
And he was like what they say? He said, I
choose not to be vulnerable with my wife. And you
can feel on shit when he's said that. Oh, And
I said, because why Because I'm scared because I've been
hurt before.

Speaker 11 (56:04):
Because my last girlfriend, my last.

Speaker 20 (56:06):
Wife, when I was only sharing with her how vulnerbat was,
she said something really mean to me and hurtful to me,
and I ain't gonna cover from it. And when we
started naming that way, we can say, okay, that fear
is legitimate. What do we need to do to support
you so that you're not hell a hostage? But I
can't because.

Speaker 3 (56:21):
It's a choice, right.

Speaker 2 (56:22):
But let me ask you this, how do you get
black men in the room. So let me share an example.
Right's a couple of years ago I started a just
a small group. It wasn't anything organized. It was just
a group of my brothers, right that I came up
with from day one, as well as some you know,
new friends that made along the way. And I created
a little group called Black Men Wear Hats. It was
a mental health group. I still have it, but it

(56:43):
kind of disbanded because I couldn't get black men to
stay consistent with.

Speaker 18 (56:47):
Being in the meeting.

Speaker 2 (56:48):
And one of my biggest challenges was trying to get
black men to open up. I had to start the
engagement with the group and I had to let my
hair down. And then after that, folks just started to
open up a little bit. And next thing, when you know,
we're all being transparent folks who may not know about
Beam Again, how do you get them in the door?

Speaker 13 (57:05):
Man?

Speaker 11 (57:05):
Yeah, it's a great.

Speaker 12 (57:06):
Well.

Speaker 20 (57:07):
First of all, kudos to you because you've done exactly
what we have to do to be able to create
space and invite people into space. You model the vulnerability
and that's the piece, Doug. When we show up and say,
you know what I learned a way to be in
the world, but I'm desided to do something different. Let
me show you a different way. You open up the
door for other people to heal. And so that's one strategy.
And also want to name that you might bring brothers

(57:28):
together and the group may ebb and flow. Right, you
know what I mean, Like there might be moments and
which is everybody's showing up and people not showing up.
This is the natural course of things, in the course
of just human relationships and nature.

Speaker 3 (57:38):
Right.

Speaker 20 (57:38):
We have hell groups in all across the country, and sometimes,
to be honest with you, what we did. I remember
one group. I'm here in Lamurk Park in Los Angeles.
We were a hot and cool cafe which is no
longer there. We just put a sign out in the front,
rote it on marker. Hey, we having a conversation about
masculinity and black men's healing. And when I tell you,
we got thirty brothers just off the street, like yo,
I just saw the sign.

Speaker 11 (57:56):
What y'all talking about in here?

Speaker 3 (57:57):
Right?

Speaker 20 (57:58):
You know, we've done barbershop conversations and we literally have
brought barbera said we're gonna have it in the barbershops.
There's a lot of strategies, But the biggest strategy for
me is modeling the behavior we want to see in
the world. Modeling that vulnerability, modeling that reimagining of masculine
that you did, Doug.

Speaker 11 (58:13):
That is a critical component of it.

Speaker 20 (58:15):
So we keep modeling the old stuff, denying our feelings,
using substances or alcohol or whatever to avoid our feelings.

Speaker 11 (58:21):
We're gonna get what we've always got.

Speaker 20 (58:22):
But if we decide, oh, I'm gonna do something different,
I'm gonna lean into naming that I'm scared sometimes, naming
that I don't have the answers sometimes, And as.

Speaker 11 (58:30):
I tell Black men all the time, crying is what
humans do.

Speaker 20 (58:33):
White people taught us that as black men, we were
brutes and savages, and brutes and savages don't have emotions,
don't have feelings.

Speaker 11 (58:40):
And so now we're running around believing that that is
the truth. And if we're not doing that, there's something's
wrong with us.

Speaker 20 (58:45):
We gonna have to fight against that racist line and say,
I'm not gonna sit here and believe in that.

Speaker 2 (58:49):
Bro, brother Yolo, We're gonna have to bring you back.

Speaker 13 (58:51):
Man.

Speaker 2 (58:51):
All right, I'm running out of time, But this conversation
is too important. To just let go. We're gonna continue
the conversation with Yolo Achille Robinson, founder of BEAM, which
is a group to support blackmail mental health. I'm Doug Davis.
This is the Black Information.

Speaker 1 (59:05):
Network, Thanks Doug and Yolo. For more information on Beam,
go to Yoloachille dot com. And that's our program for
this week. For more on these stories, listen to the
Black Information Network on the free iHeartRadio app or log
onto binnews dot com for all of the latest news
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(59:27):
and blue sky at black Info neet, and make the
Black Information Network first on your car radio or iHeartRadio
app presets. I'm Mike Island, wishing everyone for a great
Sunday and start to the month. Be sure to tune
in next week at this time for another edition of
the Black Perspective right here on the Black