March 31, 2025 • 59 mins
This week on the Black Perspective, Mimi Brown shares a preview of her powerful new podcast, To Altadena With Love, which tells the real-life stories of Black victims affected by the Altadena wildfires.
Morgyn Wood sits down with legendary comedian and D.C. native Earthquake to discuss the state of comedy, his hometown influence, advice for rising comedians, and more. Katie Gray speaks with Rici De’ Forest, curator and creative director of WERD Atlanta and the Madam C.J. Walker Museum, about the rich Black history of Atlanta’s Historic Auburn Avenue.
Esther Dillard talks with National Education Association Vice President Princess Moss about President Trump’s executive order to shut down the Department of Education. And Doug Davis returns with another Black Business segment, featuring fashion designer Miguel Wilson.
Listen now!
Morgyn Wood sits down with legendary comedian and D.C. native Earthquake to discuss the state of comedy, his hometown influence, advice for rising comedians, and more. Katie Gray speaks with Rici De’ Forest, curator and creative director of WERD Atlanta and the Madam C.J. Walker Museum, about the rich Black history of Atlanta’s Historic Auburn Avenue.
Esther Dillard talks with National Education Association Vice President Princess Moss about President Trump’s executive order to shut down the Department of Education. And Doug Davis returns with another Black Business segment, featuring fashion designer Miguel Wilson.
Listen now!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 5 (01:01):
It's Sunday, March twenty third, and on today's show, Mimi
Brown gives us a preview of her new podcast, To
Altadena with Love, as she retells real stories from black
victims of the Altadena wildfires. Morgan Wood talks to legendary
comedian and DC native Earthquake about the state of comedy,
his DC influence, advice for upcoming comedians, and more. Katie
(01:25):
Gray talks to rec DeForest, the curator and creative director
of werd or Word Atlanta and the Madam C. J.
Walker Museum, about the rich black history on Atlanta's historic
Auburn Avenue. Esther Dillard speaks with National Education Association Vice
President Princess Moss about President Trump's executive order to close
(01:46):
the Department of Education. And Doug Davis spotlights black fashion
designer Miguel Wilson on another edition of Your Black Business.
These stories and more are coming your way next. Welcome
to the Black Perspective. I'm your host, Mike Aila.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
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 5 (02:12):
Good Sunday, everyone, and welcome to the Black Perspective. We
start today's show with Mimi Brown as she takes us
inside the heart of a California community forever change by
the Eaton Fire. In her new five part docu series,
To Altadena with Love, she tells the story of Altadena,
a historic black neighborhood devastated by disaster but determined to
(02:34):
rise again.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
The podcast series.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Is told through the powerful voices of the people who
lived in Here's a preview from episode one.
Speaker 7 (02:42):
I've lived in Los Angeles for over fifteen years, and
in all that time, I've never seen anything like what
unfolded in just a few days. Los Angeles is a
place of beauty, glamour, and endless possibility. But what transformed
before my eyes looked like a war zone for me.
(03:04):
It began on a Wednesday night. The sunset fire was
all over the news, raging dangerously close. I was glued
to the updates, but then I heard the news another
fire had sparked in Studio City, the place where I
call home. My heart sank. Minutes later, my phone buzzed
(03:25):
A friend, her voice, shaky, told me there was a
fire at the end of my block. In that moment,
panic set in. How do you decide what to take
when you may never return? Of course I remembered the
three p's people, paperwork and passports, But what about my
(03:46):
son's kindergarten cap and gown, photo albums, things I'd stuck
on the fridge. I couldn't think clearly my hands they
moved on autopilot. We left without the sentimental thing, Tears
stinging my eyes as I forced a brave face for
my son. He's only eleven and he was terrified. I
(04:08):
mean beyond terrified. He cried, clinging to me, asking me
over and over will we be okay? I wanted to
promise him we would, but I wasn't even sure. That night,
we evacuated to a friend's home, thinking we'd be safe,
but by dawn, the Kenneth fire had sparked near her neighborhood.
(04:30):
Once again, we were forced to pack up and leave. Exhausted, frightened,
and out of options, we roamed around trying to stay
ahead of the flames. It felt like the city itself
was on fire. Eventually, the Sunset fire was contained and
the fires and studio city were out, But it wasn't
(04:51):
as simple as relief washing over me. The drive back
home was filled with dread, and yet we were among
the lucky one. Our house was still standing, but others
weren't so lucky. Twenty minutes away in Altadena, devastation painted
an entirely different picture. The Eton Fire, one of several
(05:14):
wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County, ripped through Altadena and Pasadena,
fueled by unrelenting Santa Anta winds. In just two days,
it had consumed over ten thousand acres, destroyed nearly one
thousand structures, and left.
Speaker 8 (05:30):
Several people dead.
Speaker 7 (05:33):
But what it left behind wasn't just ash and rubble.
It was the destruction of a thriving, historic black community.
Altadena isn't just a place, It's a living, breathing legacy.
I've walked through those streets countless times. My sorority once
held their chapter meetings there, and just a few months ago,
(05:54):
my best friend gave me a personal tour of her
childhood neighborhood. I remember her pride pointing out landmarks, stories
attached to every corner of every street. But little did
we know it would be her last tour of the city,
as she knew it. Altadena is a sanctuary that dates
(06:15):
back to the Great Migration, a haven for black families
escaping the oppression of the Jim Crow South. By the
nineteen twenties and thirties, it had become a thriving center
for black professionals and creatives. People like Octavia Butler, the
science fiction icon, and Sydney Poitier, the first black actor
(06:36):
to win an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Speaker 8 (06:40):
These were the roots of Altadena.
Speaker 7 (06:43):
Generations built their lives there, carving out a space for
pride and resilience, and now much of that history is gone.
The Eden fire didn't just destroy buildings. It took homes, churches, businesses,
and pieces of cultural tapestry that can't be replaced. Families
(07:05):
who had already fought systemic racism and housing discrimination now
face the monumental task of rebuilding with fewer resources than
their wealthier neighbors in Malibu and the Palisades. This isn't
a story of celebrity laws. This is a story of
working families, Black families who built something out of nothing,
(07:27):
only to watch it burn. Yet, even in the face
of tragedy, the spirit of Altadena hasn't been extinguished. Local
churches have opened their doors to provide shelter and supplies.
Neighbors are rallying to support one another, offering what little
they have left. Leaders are documenting the damage, ensuring the
(07:47):
stories of this community are preserved for future generations. Altadena
has weather storms before, storms of racism, inequality, and now
nature's fury.
Speaker 8 (08:00):
It's people have.
Speaker 7 (08:01):
Always fought back, and as I sit in my home,
untouched by the flames, I think of those families and
their unyielding spirit. This is not a story of loss.
It's a story of resilience, of community determination to rise again,
to rebuild, and to hold on to its legacy because
(08:21):
Alta Dina is not just a place on a map.
It's a testament to the strength of its people. I'm
Mimi Brown, and in this series you'll hear stories told firsthand.
Speaker 8 (08:34):
By the people who live them.
Speaker 7 (08:36):
These are their voices, their memories, and their truth to
Alta Dina.
Speaker 8 (08:43):
With love.
Speaker 7 (08:44):
Meet Edgar Johnson.
Speaker 9 (08:51):
I just got a call an alert about seven o'clock
that night, and my neighbor says, hey, Edgar, there's an alert.
There's a fast move fire. We're leaving now. And I
was in shock. I was waiting Fontana. I'm like, what
you know? So I didn't believe that it would move
that fast. Within hours from Eaton Canyon it was all
(09:12):
the way out to dinner, and from Mount to the Den,
it went across the out to then and drive from
Mount to Dent, drive across the lake and it's just
fast moving. I stayed. I went back that Fontaine came back,
and I stayed till almost four in the mornings. I
was hoping that the wind would die down for just
a minute and I'll take a water holes and just
water everything down, keep watering until I saved the house.
(09:34):
But the winds were going like one hundred miles an hour,
and then the houses around me started to explode. Boom,
then hear another boom. I said, Okay, I know I
take a risk, but this might be the time I
need to pull out. Because you couldn't see it. You'd look,
you put your hand about four feet in front of
you came see. So I was like I couldn't see.
(09:56):
And just to see all my neighbor's houses going, it
was like somebody took a bomb now to Dina and
dropped it. All the houses were cleared out.
Speaker 8 (10:03):
When you when you left.
Speaker 10 (10:05):
Yes, what did you take?
Speaker 9 (10:07):
Nothing?
Speaker 10 (10:08):
I couldn't.
Speaker 9 (10:08):
I you know, I got I got a few things
outs when I first went in, I said I'll come
right back. When I got back that I couldn't get nothing, nothing, nothing,
just to close on my back. That's it. In my car,
all four four vehicles that are all burnt. Work van burned,
two work vans burned. Everything burned, a little hundred burnt
every Most of the people were sitting in their driveway
hoping help was on the way. So they were. They
(10:30):
had packed what they could in the car, and I'd
seen when I drove up. So they were sitting in
the car with the stuff packed, lights on, engine on,
just people. We were holding on. We were holding on
for a fire truck to show up, something, a plane
or drop some water something. Then come the fire hydrants
were dry. You know when when some of the firemen
(10:51):
were show up and hooked to a fire, no water
came out. And then the fire engines we had if
you had a little fire over there that they could
put it out. They couldn't put it out. They just
watched the house burner. You could take a bucket of
water and put some of these fires out. The help
wasn't there. I don't know what's going on. And I
don't think it's their far think that's above them, because uh,
(11:13):
how do we not have fire, hydrants, water, How do
we have one fire truck for a whole community just
going up and down the street. I do I don't
understand that that that's baffling to me. Somebody dropped the ball.
People were I've seen one guy he was on top
of that brother on.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
One roof here on the other side of.
Speaker 9 (11:33):
The rough, sweating bricks, trying to put the the house out.
And they they saved the house, but there was a
fire on one side of the house, or another fire
on the other side of fire in the front of them,
fire in the back, and they were they they were
up there saving the house. I mean, we put everything
into a home. What's the American dream on the home?
White pig of fence. I mean, people were trying to
save their properties, you know.
Speaker 7 (11:53):
And there's another aspect of that because these were this
is the black community, and how hard it is for
black people to own homes and to get homes and
to keep.
Speaker 9 (12:02):
Homes or good to get alan and so we're trying
to save our community and not to have that backup
from the folks in charge that we pay not to
have water, not have our bases filled with water, all
the rain that came down here a year ago, and
they let it go to those.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Thank you, Mimi.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
That was just a glimpse of to Alsidenta with Love,
a powerful new podcast from Bion anchor Mimi Brown. Episode
one is available now, with new episodes available every Monday. Listen, download,
and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. President Trump has
signed an executive order to dissolve the US Department of Education.
(12:48):
What does that mean for you? If you're a parent
or teacher, it could mean a lot. The Black Information
that Works, Uster Dillard spoke to the largest teachers union
and National Education Association Vice President Princes Moss to get
their response.
Speaker 11 (13:02):
For weeks many expected it, President Trump promised to sign
an executive order to dissolve the US Department of Education.
The White House says test scores for kids have been
in decline for years, and it's time to see education
authority be returned to individual states.
Speaker 12 (13:17):
The teachers unions, unfortunately, have not been standing up for
America's students, and that's what's most important at the end
of the day, and our great teachers deserve great guidance
from again, those closest to them in their states.
Speaker 11 (13:29):
That's White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt. So I reached
out to America's largest teachers union, the National Education Association,
to get their take on this announcement. But before we
hear from them, here are a few takeaways from this
executive order. Reports are, the White House says they won't
end financial support for low income students called Title I,
(13:50):
they won't end support for IDEA that's federal financial support
to states for children with disabilities, and finally, they won't
end the distribution and management of student loan payments. So far, however,
the Department of Education website shows Education Secretary Linda McMahon
celebrating the removal of more than two thousand employees who
(14:10):
work for the department at the beginning of the year.
She's been told by President Trump to take all necessary
steps to facilitate the closure of the department. I spoke
to any AVP Princess Moss to get her response to
the executive order.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Do you have.
Speaker 11 (14:25):
Confidence in this promise and what does anticipate with this
new executive order.
Speaker 13 (14:33):
I have absolutely no confidence in the promise. What I
can tell you is that as an elementary music teacher,
and as someone who grew up.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
In rural America and who taught in rural.
Speaker 13 (14:51):
America, the programs that the Department of Education administers are very,
very important. For example, free and reduced price launch comes
under the programs that the Department and ministers. And as
(15:13):
someone who was a recipient growing up in public education,
the recipient of free lunch program, I know the importance
of those programs.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
To our students.
Speaker 13 (15:28):
It's a hot meal and may be the only hot
meal a student gets per day. We can't afford to play,
we can't afford to do.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Ifs or what ifs.
Speaker 13 (15:38):
What we have is it is working. So we should
not dismantle the Department of Education. It's deplorable that the
administration is doing this. It hurts kids, it hurts the
future of our country. The kids are a future.
Speaker 11 (15:57):
The NAA had said that they thought that this was
going to come, but when it did, what was the
response when you first heard about this.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
We immediately went into action.
Speaker 13 (16:11):
We have been informing our allies, our educators all along, and.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
We immediately went into action.
Speaker 13 (16:21):
We've been having walk ins all across the country in
which parents, community members, students, allies were walking into schools
as a show of solidarity and.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
To say we do not stand for this.
Speaker 11 (16:42):
Some people are saying that a lot of the states
do have still a lot of control in terms of
what will happen if the Department of Education is dismantled. However,
some are concerned that there'll be things like the Office
of Civil Rights to address discrimination and disability rights violations
in schools. Is that one of the main concerns that
(17:05):
your organization has or are there other concerns as well?
Speaker 4 (17:10):
That is a major concern.
Speaker 13 (17:12):
We're already seeing rights and attacks already at sake, for example,
attacks on our LGBTQ plus community.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Folks are scared.
Speaker 13 (17:27):
They don't know if they what recourse they have with
the impact of dismantling the Department of Education.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
So, yes, the.
Speaker 13 (17:39):
Civil rights piece is a huge piece in all of this,
as well as.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Access to the PEL grants.
Speaker 13 (17:50):
You know, I went to school on a PEL grant
and I wouldn't have been able to lead my college
education if it were not for that.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
So there's that concern as well.
Speaker 13 (18:04):
Of America's students attend a public school. Ninety five percent
of our students with disabilities attend a public school. So
there's a concern about the programs that impact all students,
students with disabilities and students without. The individuals with disabilities.
(18:26):
Education comes under the Department of Education.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
Huge concerns.
Speaker 11 (18:34):
What is the NEA doing in response to Trump's actions
as far as to protect public education and what steps
are they taking in the near future.
Speaker 13 (18:43):
So again, one of the steps are the walkins that
we're doing. In fact, I am I was in a
walkin in Maryland, Upper Marlboro, Maryland at Wise High School yesterday.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
I'm in Kentucky today and I'll be.
Speaker 13 (18:59):
Doing a walk and with them, the Kentucky educators here
tomorrow morning. And we are spreading the word that it
is important that everyone contact their congress person to.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Let them know that they do not support the dismantling
of public education.
Speaker 13 (19:23):
In fact, we have If listeners would text the word
action to four eight seven four four, you can get
infor more information on us about actions you can take
in order to support efforts to stop this madness.
Speaker 11 (19:45):
And you mentioned that you want parents to do these
walk ins. Can you perhaps explain a little bit more
about these walk ins and what they're all about. Are
they bringing in signs, are they signing petitions? What are
they doing?
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Yes, we are.
Speaker 13 (20:01):
We are making the sign Students made signs yesterday at
the walk in at Henry Wise High School in Maryland,
and it was a huge show of unity with signs,
with the community coming together the community, with educating the
(20:23):
community so that they know what's at say and so
that they're able to reach out and do actions as well,
such as contact their congress person and to spread the.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Word at the impact.
Speaker 13 (20:40):
Of what the dismantling of public of the Department of
Education will do.
Speaker 11 (20:46):
And on the legal front, are there any specific actions
that are being taken to handle this situation as well?
Speaker 13 (20:54):
Yes, there is much litigation going on. Any is also
a part of a filing of.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
A lawsuit to address.
Speaker 13 (21:08):
The administration's actions towards diversity, equity.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
And inclusion, final work ahead and and the impact that
it will have on our public schools.
Speaker 11 (21:26):
So can you give me a final word? I guess
that you would have for parents and those who are
concerned about really taking action, because some may feel that,
you know, going and standing with a sign may not
really do all that much, But what can they possibly
do that will, in your opinion, help with this whole
entire situation.
Speaker 13 (21:47):
It is important for parents and community members to speak
out and to let their elected officials know that the
dismantling of the Department of Education impacts their communities and
they will not stand for it again. As an elementary
(22:12):
music teacher who taught in rural America and who also
grew up in rural America, I know the importance of
the programs that the Department of Education administers. I know
the importance of the guidance.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
And distribution of resources.
Speaker 13 (22:35):
In an equitable, in fair manner, and so I would
say to parents.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Please speak up and speak out.
Speaker 13 (22:44):
This involves the future of America, and the future of
America is our students.
Speaker 11 (22:52):
One thing to remember is that the President can't completely
dismantle the Department of Education without congressional approval. However, many
critics saye even making the DOE smaller could make things
difficult in keeping education running smoothly in states across America.
I'm Esther Dillard.
Speaker 5 (23:10):
Thanks Esther anchor Katie Gray sits down with Rec DeForest,
the curator and creative director for the Madam C. J.
Walker and werd or Word Studio Museum to talk about
the history being both made and preserved in Atlanta's historical
Auburn Avenue.
Speaker 14 (23:27):
So I really want to start out with this. Tell
me about the museum. Ooh key, you know, I think
what's really important is I love going almost in chronological order.
So I was really touched and would love to share
for you and your own words on talking about how
you came across this space, Okay, And I usually do.
Speaker 15 (23:45):
That through the tour. So what I'll do is give
you and the listeners the tour as if you walked
into the museum.
Speaker 8 (23:51):
Okay, yes, yes, greetings.
Speaker 15 (23:54):
My name is reci I'm the curator and artistic director
of the Madam CJ. Walker Museum. The space actually was
an original Madam CJ. Walker beauty shop from the nineteen forties.
I stumbled onto it purely by accident, but my clients
say I was guided there. Nevertheless, thirty years ago, I
had the privilege of traveling as an international makeup artist
(24:16):
and hairstylist. Oh there's a beauty publication that is still
around called Essence Magazine. I had the pleasure of doing
some of the makeup in the hair for the cover
of Essence when they first started, and then Fashion Fair
Cosmetics launch, which was Johnson Publishing. They plucked me to
travel as an international makeup artist for Fashion Fair. So
at that time I had a salon in Atlanta. Back
(24:38):
from one of my trips, I had a little convertible
at the time, I'm riding around. I'm on Auburn Avenue.
I make a right turn on Hilliod. I looked to
my left and I see unbelievably Madam CJ. Walker Beauty
shop on the window. Slam on my brakes, get out
of the car, walked over to that window and just
start touching it out of respect. I watched that window
(24:59):
for ten years, never interested in the area or the space.
My clientele was upscale over An Avenue. As much as
I love, it was not an upscale area, so I
was never interested in moving in there until eleven years
later I needed a new location for my hair salon
and I thought about that window. I came back to
check no one was there, so I asked the barber
(25:20):
next door who owns the space. He said, the Mason's
owned the whole building. In their office is upstairs. I
go upstairs check with the Masons. They say the space
is available. I signed the lease right away. I come
down excited to clean up, not expecting to find vintage
beauty tools left from the last living agent because they
(25:41):
weren't called stylists at that time to work in the salon,
and her name was Mother Dot. Her proper name was
Dorothy Smart. So I begged the family to bring her
over so I could chat and learn a little more
about the space. Mother Dot comes in and tells me
that when she started doing hair with those two that
I found in the nineteen forties that a shampoo service
(26:03):
for a Negro woman was twenty five cents. She also
mentioned in that conversation that Junior King used to get
his haircut at the barbershop. She saw doctor King as
a kid and he got his hair next door. It
was Matthew's barbershop before mister Burton bought it, and now
Junior Burden's son operates the barbershop. I'm excited, I'm preserving
(26:29):
the legacy. Two years into the least black woman from
the neighborhood sticks her head in the door and says,
mister REESI did you know that the first black owned
radio station in America operated directly about this beauty shop,
and that I could hear the music as a little
girl coming out of the window on my way to school.
I'm completely floored. It was word radio, the origin of
(26:52):
the expression word.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
How do you?
Speaker 14 (26:55):
I mean, how does that not just stop you in
your track?
Speaker 6 (26:59):
It does?
Speaker 15 (27:00):
I mean? I feel like I'm cheating the system. Every
day I get to preserve and promote a legacy so
rich it's beyond my ability to explain it. This is
the gift that keeps on giving.
Speaker 8 (27:18):
Well and too.
Speaker 14 (27:20):
It's so fascinating how you know obviously their legacy and
their history, and how much of a personal tie that
you have to that. I mean, it's amazing the career
that you had and getting to be in a space where,
in many ways in the country, that's where it started.
Speaker 15 (27:38):
It's because of them that I was able to do
what I was doing. There's more history in that building
per square inch than any other structure in the South.
Will start with the fact that it's an original Madam C. J.
Walker beauty shop. Doctor King got his hair cut at
(27:58):
the barbershop next door above. The beauty shop was the
first black owned and operated radio station in North America.
On the other side of the wall was Doctor King
as an adult, his original headquarters for SELC. But information
that the Masons didn't even know that above Doctor King's
(28:18):
office was a beauty school operated by a Negro beauty pioneer.
There was a millionaire that was not in the movie.
Annie Malone was in the movie. Madam C. J. Walker
was in the movie. But above Doctor King's office was
Apex Beauty School owned by Sarah Spencer Washington out of
New Jersey. Two Negro millionaire beauty pioneers in one building.
(28:44):
These are the origins of the black hair care industry.
Annie Malone, Madam CJ. Sarah Spencer Washington. And even though
we are aware of the million dollar status that these
Negro women had, what's unfortunate is that no one talks
about the other Negro women who were making five to
(29:07):
eight hundred thousand dollars in nineteen thirty, forty and fifty.
That is insane. So I do not focus on Walker's wealth.
I focus on what she did with her wealth. They
called themselves race women, women for the race. They had
a business model that is long lost. One third for themselves,
(29:29):
whether it was a dollar or a million, one third
for the cost Negro women with a cause and one
third to the business and they still became millionaires.
Speaker 10 (29:41):
That is.
Speaker 14 (29:43):
Something special and there is something to be said too
about part of their legacy that, at least in my
exposure to it, doesn't get talked enough about. You what
you just mentioned. It's like, you know, oh, not MCJ. Walkers,
who's the first female black solf a millionaire. But you're right,
even what you mentioned, just how much she used that platform.
Speaker 15 (30:06):
Legacy a discredit because most of the time when people
spilled that information out, that's where it stops. That is
a complete discredit to everything that she was and did
with her wealth.
Speaker 14 (30:23):
And you coming across that space in many ways, in
many ways communicates to me how much of a focus
isn't on that piece of the legacy. Absolutely because the
actual space where all that was happening, I mean so
much happening under one roof, and the way that you
described your story when you came across the space was
completely empty. Yeah, it was just sitting there, vacant.
Speaker 15 (30:45):
No one was ever there when I came by. I
don't know how long it had been vacant, but fortunately
for me, I remember that window, came by, got the space,
and this is where we are today. For twenty six years,
we've been preserving and promoting these rich legacies.
Speaker 14 (31:02):
Well, a piece that I want to ask you and
give you an opportunity to say, because I don't want
to miss this piece. Is you communicating to me about
your mission and when it comes to preserving this piece
of legacy and being able to pass this on to
further generations.
Speaker 15 (31:20):
The fact that I did not know we're going to
go from Walker to WRD, the fact that I didn't
know anything about the first black radio station in North America,
to me was shocking within the African American community. And
I'm not going to pull any punches in saying this,
but beauty and music, it's on par with oxygen and
(31:47):
food within the black community. They are so significant to
not know about WRD, the station that provided a platform
for Negro artists that wouldn't be played on white stations
because their music was called race music music by negroes
(32:07):
for negroes not to be played. WRD played these artists
and doctor King was able to use that station as
a platform to coordinate logistics for the civil rights movement
and to deliver his sermons. That station is as crucial
to the movement as King hisself.
Speaker 14 (32:26):
Well, and it's just remarkable because so much happening under
that one roof, in so many ways created arguably created
spaces across different platforms, whether it was the beauty industry,
the music industry, the arts having creating a space that especially,
I mean, if we're talking you know the nineteen forties
(32:46):
and the fifties and sixties, black people didn't have exactly.
Speaker 15 (32:50):
They provided the Walker Turnbow and Sarah Spencer Washington provided
a skill set Negro women to become independent. That is
the legacy, not how much each one made, but what
they did with their wealth.
Speaker 14 (33:09):
Well, speaking about what they did with their legacy and
what they used their platform and their position to do,
let's talk about what you're doing now.
Speaker 15 (33:18):
Walker Turnbu and Malone were very much race women. In
other words, they found ways to empower other Negro women.
So in that spirit, I partner with black female businesses
with the museum, letting them use the space as long
as it's in par with a positive message. So in
(33:42):
the room with us, we have my sister in law
Nika and Fatima that have what's called the Blues and
what is.
Speaker 16 (33:50):
It called blends, blends and blues, Blends and blues, So
they bring their blends and then while they're doing that,
I get the.
Speaker 15 (34:00):
Opportunity to introduce a room full of young people the
music from nineteen twenty to nineteen eighty on vinyl. So
it's a complete immersive experience and it's done in an
original Madam C. J. Walker Beauty shop, directly under the
first black radio station in North America and sandwiched in
(34:20):
between the original headquarters for SELC, which was Doctor King
on the right and Burdens Barbershop where Doctor King got
his haircut on the left.
Speaker 14 (34:30):
So basically what's amazing is that this space is continuously
over going into a century around the century still being
able to benefit the Black community absolutely.
Speaker 15 (34:42):
The two hundred and fiftieth year Celebration of America is
in July twenty twenty six, so we're gearing up to
celebrate that with the expansion of the museum with a
nineteen thirty tea room that will be connected to the museum,
as well as a nineteen thirties speak Easy.
Speaker 14 (35:04):
Oh, I'll definitely be popping by the members only. Members only, well,
hopefully since you're telling me about it beforehand. I get
I get VIP right, Yeah, okay, good. I just want
to make sure my name is already on the list.
I don't want to get turned away at the door.
It's very very exclusive. Actually, I was going to say
it was like so our friends because you mentioned the blooms, Yes,
(35:24):
blends and blues, which is nice. It is thank you
Tell me about.
Speaker 8 (35:30):
What does that really look like?
Speaker 14 (35:31):
What is that? What is it really the catering to
the part of the community.
Speaker 16 (35:37):
So the blends and blues, what blends are is I
am a four twenty scientist and I particularly specialize in
and I'm certified. My degree is in bio and kim
and then I'm actually a certified dispensary technician, so I
heal with plants.
Speaker 8 (35:53):
I also use herbs.
Speaker 16 (35:55):
It's a holistic experience from the physical product level. So
that's the blends, right, we incorporate all kinds of different plants.
We all came together, right, three black women, and said, no,
we need to do more. We need to bring this
product into an experience that really hits all the senses
to really help people understand the commitment to healing, the
(36:19):
commitment to what we're putting in our body. And so
the bud Bar the social aspect of how it brings
people together and with the history of the space, the
music aspect, the richness of it, and the commitment to healing.
The Madam CJ. Walker Museum, in partnership with the bud
(36:40):
Bar Experience, which is my home my parent company, is
called Pure Path. Right, thinking about walking the Pure Path
that allow us all under twenty to thirty on average age,
create a platform for us to be able to heal,
bring the community together and learn. Right, there's so many
things that I didn't know. I'm learning on this right now.
Speaker 4 (37:01):
You know, there's so.
Speaker 16 (37:01):
Many things that I didn't know as a twenty seven
year old young woman. I've heard the name Madam C. J.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
Walker.
Speaker 16 (37:07):
I knew the significance, but not the impact. Right besides
her money, so Reesi has taught me the power of
It's not about the dollar, it's about the impact, it's
about the richness, it's about the history, it's about the people,
and so going into that space, it's a commitment to
healing mind, body, and spirit, ancestral healing as well.
Speaker 15 (37:29):
So when I sit back at the bud Bar Experience
in the museum and watch Shanika and Fatima and her
her crowd of unique personalities. They don't realize that I'm
observing from a completely different perspective because their whole other generation.
(37:50):
And what I noticed is there is a renaissance taking
place that is parallel to the Harlem renaisson in New York.
Auburn Avenue was going through that same renaissance, But Atlanta,
Georgia doesn't have the same what is the term I
(38:12):
need clout that New York would have, so no one
really talks about it. The same thing that was taking
place in Harlem musically, culturally, politically was taking place on
Auburn Avenue. So as I watched their group in my space,
I'm recognizing and I can feel the presence of a
(38:35):
modern day nineteen twenties Renaissance taking place on Auburn Avenue.
But it is actually happening. Black professionals on every level
are killing it.
Speaker 5 (38:47):
Thanks Katie. That was part one about the Madam C. J.
Walker and Word Studio. Listen next week for part two
of this interview with three C.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
De Forest.
Speaker 5 (38:56):
To learn more, visit the museum, located off Suite Auburn
Avenue in downtown Atlanta at fifty four Hilliard Street or
follow them on Facebook. You're listening to The Black Perspective,
heard each and every Sunday at this time on the
Black Information Network. I'm your host, Mike Island and up next.
Comedian and DC native Earthquake talked exclusively with The Black
(39:17):
Information Network about the current state of comedy and how
growing up in DC influenced his comedic style and what
advice he would share with the next.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Generation of comedians.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
News anchor Morgan Wood has more.
Speaker 8 (39:29):
The old adage says that laughter is the best medicine,
and with all the doom and gloom in the world,
it would appear that many of us are off our meds.
I'm hoping that my next guest can help us refill
that prescription. Welcome comedian Earthquake to the Black Information Network.
Thank you for being here.
Speaker 10 (39:46):
Oh good girlfriend, that was.
Speaker 8 (39:50):
That.
Speaker 10 (39:50):
I like that. How are you doing to day?
Speaker 8 (39:52):
I'm doing great. That I'm seeking with you. I'm going
to go ahead and start this off with a disclaimer
that you know, we have not met personally, but we
have a lot of mutuals and I am a little biased,
so you know, as we get into this interview because
I'm from the DMV, born and raised, and of course
the city considers you a legend who has gone the distance,
and I just want to take a moment to give
(40:13):
you your flowers.
Speaker 6 (40:14):
My guy, Oh, thank you.
Speaker 10 (40:17):
You know, once you get accepted from our hometel you
have made it because they very give you that crowd.
So I'm appreciative and you.
Speaker 8 (40:27):
Ain't lying about that. The d C d V area
is a hard audience. Okay, speaking of which, how did
growing up in DC influence your comedian your comedic style?
Speaker 10 (40:42):
Growing up in DC allows you and gives you the
mentality to keep it real, and I hope that don't
come so cliche. But DC takes nothing take I mean,
I think nothing. Knockoffs don't make it, so you have to.
(41:04):
If you can make it in DC, you can make
it anywhere. They say New York, but really in DC
it's the key. So it really helped me with the
standard of what my comedy had to be because you know,
DC will call you a bad man a minute, so
they mean no for real.
Speaker 8 (41:22):
So talk to me about the state of comedy. Now,
you know, yesterday's lasts or not today's last, So what
do you make of that and how have you been
able to navigate and adapt to the ever evolving changes
in the industry.
Speaker 10 (41:35):
But the standard is the standard. I think comedy now
is more important than it ever has been because it's
really it speaks truth to power. Comedians always gave you
the climate of what the society is going through and
the flaws of what's going on and the hypocrisy that
(41:55):
power has when it shows it. So I think comedy
for true art itself always display and tells you exactly
where we're the state of the state of the situation
that we're in. So I love it right now as
(42:16):
a comedian, tell.
Speaker 8 (42:18):
The power absolutely. What advice would you give to your
younger self or the next generation of comedians.
Speaker 10 (42:26):
Younger, I'll say, just stay consistent as you have and
younger comedians, no matter what form that you use to
introduce yourself to your audience, you still have to do
the hard work and that's getting those stage, coming up
with new material and stay relevant.
Speaker 8 (42:48):
All right, Speaking of getting on stage, I'm speaking with
comedian Earthquake for the Black Information Network, and so you
have a few shows coming up. Tell me more about
what fans can expect you shows coming up in the
next few weeks in Miami, Florida, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Atlantic City,
New Jersey, and Charles down West, Virginia. What can fans
expect from your upcoming shows and do you have any
(43:10):
surprises and new material that the audience should be ready for?
Speaker 13 (43:14):
Oh?
Speaker 10 (43:15):
Yes, uh, this ship right now. I'm preparing to shoot
our next next flick special with Dave Chapelle and I
had one that was very successful called Legendary. They can
check it out right now. I've been doing this over
thirty years. The consistency of what earthquake is NonStop laughter, no,
Paul's relevant, maturity and one hundred percent no byproduct, totally
(43:41):
ignorant period this period, period, period.
Speaker 8 (43:52):
So I'm like, we're running right through this pretty fast,
and I almost don't want to let you go. And
I know you're a busy person. But before I'll let
you go, I do want to ask you. You've done
stand up, You've done TV, You've done radio, what's you've
done film? You know, what is something that you haven't
done that you still want to do?
Speaker 10 (44:13):
I want to start my own TV show. Yeah, I'm
looking forward to my own sitcom and.
Speaker 8 (44:23):
It would be around you, based around your life, or
are we talking completely fictional?
Speaker 10 (44:29):
A combination of both, you know what I mean, A
combination of both. A great lie, a great line.
Speaker 8 (44:37):
That sounds that sounds like an amazing title I would
watch for sure.
Speaker 10 (44:42):
A great line.
Speaker 8 (44:44):
Okay, all right, I like that. I like that for you.
Is there anything else that you want to speak about
or lay out on the table that you're working on
that you would like to share with the audience.
Speaker 10 (44:55):
My radio show is coming back on Kevin Hants. We've
been in the high eight. We'll be back this Wednesday.
I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to
shooting my next next trip specially will be one of
my best piece of work. The materials together, I just
want to line it up and Regard's help, and I
know he will. I look forward to seeing myself on
(45:18):
another national television show, I mean national platform for my
television show.
Speaker 8 (45:26):
I know that's right. We're going to manifest that right
into fruition for you. And before they said please please,
but I think I would be remiss if I didn't
ask you about the state of the district right now.
Any thoughts on what's going on in Washington? DC, being
that you are from the area.
Speaker 10 (45:49):
Yes, it's the point of the balance of our young
of our young kids, and someone must tell them the
most valuable thing you have now is your life and
your time. The materialistic aspect of it is easy replaced.
And what my father always told me was no reason
(46:11):
meta food was speaker. Never die for a car that
they're gonna make a mowwent next year. So never strive
to get a twenty twenty five bends and willing to
sacrifice your life for twenty five twenty twenty five bns
when they're going to make a twenty thirty six. So
(46:31):
just someone to tell them that, you know, despite what
they're going through, the trials and try relations, that they
have to make better decisions. And it's based upon your
value and whatever you need in your life. If you
will to look to God, you will come. So that's
sort of thing I was telling from a person from
Southeast These be that had that mentality. My mother always
(46:53):
told me, you know those things, and I just came
to the conclusion that these are things that I'm not
gonna do. I'm not going to jail, I'm not going
to do this. I'm not gonna do this I'm not,
and then everything else is being played right.
Speaker 4 (47:10):
I like that.
Speaker 8 (47:11):
I like that. And as you said, you are from
Southeast DC. Have you been to the new Go Go Museum?
Speaker 10 (47:14):
Lyt No, no, no, no, you know, I grew up
with rare essen. Shout out to my boy Dave Restling Peace,
Little Benny DC white Boy, the bag fack funk everybody else.
So rare essence is I went to blue and we
(47:37):
all went to high school together. So Go Go is
in my in, my bone is in my DNNA. So no,
I haven't, but I look forward to see it when
I come to the home at the MGM in August.
I do that every year.
Speaker 8 (47:53):
Nice, so you know, I already know those city is
going to welcome you with open arms, welcome home. And
if that's just you know pretty much it. I just
want to say thank you so much for speaking with
me today.
Speaker 10 (48:04):
Oh girl, it's for pleasure. We stay blessed.
Speaker 4 (48:06):
Well.
Speaker 10 (48:07):
I love you, good girl.
Speaker 8 (48:09):
All right? Likewise, and how can we continue to stay
in touch with you and the work that you're doing.
Speaker 10 (48:14):
Just following me on all platforms. The real earthquake, it's
the grand Facebook. It has my date and everything that's
popping and keep laughing. Your face something to give your.
Speaker 8 (48:27):
Face something to do. Keep laughing and make sure you
check out an earthquake show at a city near you.
Thank you so much Earthquake. I'm Morgan Wood on the
Black Information Network.
Speaker 10 (48:35):
Thank you Love.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Thanks Morgan.
Speaker 5 (48:37):
And now Doug Davis is back with another Your Black
Business segment, and this week's special guest is a luxury
fashion designer who provides tuxedos to male high school seniors
that need support during prom season.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
The conversation continues.
Speaker 5 (48:52):
As Doug explores how Miguel Wilson got his start and
how you can turn your business dreams into a reality
just like he.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
Doug.
Speaker 6 (49:01):
Hey, thanks Mike. This is Doug Davis with another segment
of Your Black Business, where we share inspiring stories of
Black entrepreneurs, black business owners, and those that support the
mission of Black business and wealth development. We continue our
conversation with the incredible Miguel Wilson, a renowned celebrity men'swear
designer making ways not only with his luxury fashion line,
(49:21):
but also through his transformative impact on young black high
school students. In its second year, Wilson's one hundred prom
tuxedo giveaway ensures that one hundred prom goers in need
receive free tuxedos, allowing them to celebrate this significant milestone
without any financial barriers. Through the Miguel Wilson Collection, which
has styled high profile clients, he not only sets the
(49:44):
standard for luxury but also champions black entrepreneurship. Welcome back
to the bi N Brother Wilson.
Speaker 3 (49:50):
Man, Thank you homeboy.
Speaker 6 (49:51):
What's going on, brother man? It's always good to have
a DC brother in the house. Oh yes, sir, you
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (49:58):
Northwest.
Speaker 6 (49:58):
We left off discussing that you are actually open to
providing more than one hundred tuxes to our seniors and
are looking for more support. So I think that's great.
Speaker 11 (50:09):
Man.
Speaker 6 (50:09):
We have a lot to unpack, but let's start with
how you got started. It's important for our younger audience
to know, and even our older audience to know that
dreams can still come true. You just have to work
really hard and sometimes, you know, with a little bit
of luck or blessings as I like to call it,
and you can find success by doing something that you
really love, that you're passionate about, that you feel God
(50:30):
has called you to do. So how did you get
your start? I mean, you're a DC homeboy, DC, very
fashionable city.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
How did it all unfold for you?
Speaker 3 (50:38):
You know, my grandfather and both my father both were
very snazzy dressers growing up. I mean these guys, but
their tire was a big part of their personality and
dressing will meant a lot to them. So that's what
they were known for. Two So they both instilled that
in me. And as far now, my pasona that you know,
(51:00):
people expect me to matter of fact, it's crazy people
when they see me not in a suit, It's like, wow,
I didn't know you even had something not in the
suit at any other splos.
Speaker 6 (51:09):
The wow wow.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
So I mean, did you go to college?
Speaker 6 (51:12):
What kind of education did you, you know, go through
to get yourself in the position to you know, really
thrive in this industry.
Speaker 3 (51:20):
Funny thing is I studied business. I've never studied fashion.
I've never taken a fashion course, but I have a
I went to BOOLI stay for four years, but I
ended up going to Clark Atlanta University for my fifth
year college and I graduated from there. I also went
to Campbell University in North Carolina to obtain my NBA
(51:44):
from there and recently received an honorary doctorate Harvest Christian University.
Speaker 6 (51:51):
Congratulations, brother, congratulations. So here's another burning question that young
entrepreneurs and founders always ask.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
How did you get your startup capital? You know, how
did it go?
Speaker 6 (52:01):
Did you invest in yourself? Did you get a loan?
Did you go through you know, an investor?
Speaker 1 (52:06):
How'd that start?
Speaker 3 (52:08):
So? When I first went to business, I had did
the clothing part time for seven years, and you know,
I had saved and invested throughout my years, so I
had money to do, you know, step out and do
my own thing. And I initially came out. I bought
a building when I when I decided to go full time,
I bought a building, had a showroom, and just made
(52:30):
a lot of investments from my own finances. And later
on though, ultimately I ended up filing bankruptcy after being
in businesses full time for about ten years. I ran
too a lot of issues and problems trying to do
too much, and at that point I lost everything. Had
to start all over again.
Speaker 1 (52:50):
That had to be tough.
Speaker 3 (52:52):
Oh, it was really tough because I remember, you know,
I didn't have any money. I went to a friend
older gentleman by the name of John Jacob. John used
to be the president of the Urban League, but at
this time he had retired from anaheires a bush and
I called and asked could I brought fifteen thousand dollars
from and he led me to fifteen thousand. I took
(53:14):
the money and I had a guy. At this time.
God gave me a vision of, you know, really focusing
on wedding attire for men. And I think this is
an important nugget for fashion people as well as business people. Period.
When you go in business, and particularly in fashion, you
have to have a niche market or some area of
(53:38):
fashion in which you are fixing a problem or bringing
something new, because outside of that, you just become a
me too brand and there's nothing to separate you from
everyone else. So when I found bankruptcy and I was
looking to really get back into fashion and find my
place in fashion, I thought about what areas are fashion?
(54:00):
Where's the opportunity to enter into this game and to
make a name for myself. And no one at that
time was really doing anything special for weddings for men,
grooms attire. No one's doing anything special for young men
doing proms. So I decided to enter into fashion again,
(54:21):
focus one hundred on formal attire, primarily weddings. I created
the Miguel Wilson Wedding collection for men. So you gotta
have a target market, you gotta have a niche, you
gotta have something in business that's going to make you different.
So you're just not, you know, operating in a big
(54:42):
bubble with everyone else.
Speaker 6 (54:44):
And by the way, you're listening to your black business
on the Black perspective. My name is Doug Davis. We're
speaking to Miguel Wilson regarding as one hundred prompt tucks giveaway,
but we're going a little bit deeper into the conversation
of how he got to start. One question, I want
to ask.
Speaker 1 (54:58):
You real quick that you're a luxury brand.
Speaker 6 (55:01):
How do you feel about so many of our young
people attaching themselves to European brands and not supporting black
owned luxury brands.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
Your thoughts.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
We give too much of our money away to luxury brands,
you know, And we're fine. We're given other black businesses
five dollars for a T shirt, but when it comes
to the three hundred, four hundred dollars T shirts, you're
going to give it to, you know, the Gucci's or
the Louis Vuitton's and so forth. We need to elevate
black brands on a luxury level so that more of
(55:31):
us retain more of our dollars in that area.
Speaker 6 (55:34):
Miguel, I know you have a long list of celebrity
clients that you've worked with. Can you share a few
with us?
Speaker 3 (55:41):
So you know, I did Two Chang's wedding and he
actually put my name in a verse. I got the
suit from Miguel. I know I fit me well. I
did Will Packer's wedding. I've just I did Stephen Jackson,
I've just Little Baby.
Speaker 17 (55:59):
I did Kim the singer.
Speaker 3 (56:01):
I did his wedding. I did pretty much all of
the housewives from.
Speaker 17 (56:06):
Peter and Cynthia, did Tarny Candy's wedding. I did Eva
and Mark Sterling Sterling's wedding. I did Beato's wedding. You
know Omar Dorsey the actor did his, did his wedding.
Jamaal O'Bryant TV Jake's.
Speaker 6 (56:28):
Any final words man that you would like to give
our listeners and uh Ben, if you could shoot us
where we can follow you on social media and if
you you know your website as well.
Speaker 3 (56:40):
So I wrote a book called Piece over Everything, and
the book is about my experience of having foul bankruptcy.
I talk about the things that led to me having
to foul bankruptcy, but also talk about how I was
able to rebuild a new company from scratch, utilizing the
things I learned from the problems. And you know, one
(57:03):
of the things I had to acknowledge first and foremost
was that, you know, ninety percent of the issues I
was having were my own doing that I created most
of the problems myself and taking responsibility. But peace over
Everything also deals with, you know, not being the problem
moving forward, So not creating new problems and issues for yourself.
(57:29):
Peace comes from creating an environment where you're making decisions
not always around short term enjoyment, short term pleasure, or
even short term profits. You're making decisions based off of
stuff that lasts, making good decisions that won't require you
(57:51):
to have to look over your shoulders and worry about,
you know, someone coming after you, or worrying about some
problem popping up later. So I want to be honest
with my clients because when I look at them doing
business with them, I want I look at it long term.
So I want to create an environment where people can
always do business with me, even if it means, you know,
(58:13):
short losses, and I think that's about keeping your piece
as well. You know, we too often prioritize money over things,
but money can cost you your piece. So you reach
me on social media Instagragram, Miguel Wilson Collection, and same
thing with Facebook. I'm on LinkedIn Miguel Wilson, and you
(58:38):
can always I have showrooms in DC, New York, Miami
and Atlanta, So those the best ways reach which you
can shoot me a DM or you can always look
at me online at Miguel Wilson dot com.
Speaker 6 (58:51):
Miguel Wilson. It's been a pleasure having you on the show. Wow,
such an inspiring story. We appreciate your one hundred I'm
Tuxedo giveaway. I know a lot of young black men
in high school are really looking forward to your generosity. Man,
keep up the good work. You're welcome back to the
BI IN and your Black business Whenever. This is Doug Davis,
(59:14):
and you're listening to the Black Perspective on the Black
Information Network.
Speaker 5 (59:18):
Thanks Doug, 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 bionnews dot
com for all of.
Speaker 1 (59:29):
The latest news impacting the black community.
Speaker 5 (59:32):
Also be sure to follow us on social media at
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I'm Mike Island, wishing everyone a great Sunday and thanks
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I go by the name of Charlamagne of God, and
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That's right. Yeah, number three.
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Baby Black called Black Rose, More Black Ceyo.
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Speaker 5 (01:01):
It's Sunday, March twenty third, and on today's show, Mimi
Brown gives us a preview of her new podcast, To
Altadena with Love, as she retells real stories from black
victims of the Altadena wildfires. Morgan Wood talks to legendary
comedian and DC native Earthquake about the state of comedy,
his DC influence, advice for upcoming comedians, and more. Katie
(01:25):
Gray talks to rec DeForest, the curator and creative director
of werd or Word Atlanta and the Madam C. J.
Walker Museum, about the rich black history on Atlanta's historic
Auburn Avenue. Esther Dillard speaks with National Education Association Vice
President Princess Moss about President Trump's executive order to close
(01:46):
the Department of Education. And Doug Davis spotlights black fashion
designer Miguel Wilson on another edition of Your Black Business.
These stories and more are coming your way next. Welcome
to the Black Perspective. I'm your host, Mike Aila.
Speaker 6 (02:02):
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 5 (02:12):
Good Sunday, everyone, and welcome to the Black Perspective. We
start today's show with Mimi Brown as she takes us
inside the heart of a California community forever change by
the Eaton Fire. In her new five part docu series,
To Altadena with Love, she tells the story of Altadena,
a historic black neighborhood devastated by disaster but determined to
(02:34):
rise again.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
The podcast series.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
Is told through the powerful voices of the people who
lived in Here's a preview from episode one.
Speaker 7 (02:42):
I've lived in Los Angeles for over fifteen years, and
in all that time, I've never seen anything like what
unfolded in just a few days. Los Angeles is a
place of beauty, glamour, and endless possibility. But what transformed
before my eyes looked like a war zone for me.
(03:04):
It began on a Wednesday night. The sunset fire was
all over the news, raging dangerously close. I was glued
to the updates, but then I heard the news another
fire had sparked in Studio City, the place where I
call home. My heart sank. Minutes later, my phone buzzed
(03:25):
A friend, her voice, shaky, told me there was a
fire at the end of my block. In that moment,
panic set in. How do you decide what to take
when you may never return? Of course I remembered the
three p's people, paperwork and passports, But what about my
(03:46):
son's kindergarten cap and gown, photo albums, things I'd stuck
on the fridge. I couldn't think clearly my hands they
moved on autopilot. We left without the sentimental thing, Tears
stinging my eyes as I forced a brave face for
my son. He's only eleven and he was terrified. I
(04:08):
mean beyond terrified. He cried, clinging to me, asking me
over and over will we be okay? I wanted to
promise him we would, but I wasn't even sure. That night,
we evacuated to a friend's home, thinking we'd be safe,
but by dawn, the Kenneth fire had sparked near her neighborhood.
(04:30):
Once again, we were forced to pack up and leave. Exhausted, frightened,
and out of options, we roamed around trying to stay
ahead of the flames. It felt like the city itself
was on fire. Eventually, the Sunset fire was contained and
the fires and studio city were out, But it wasn't
(04:51):
as simple as relief washing over me. The drive back
home was filled with dread, and yet we were among
the lucky one. Our house was still standing, but others
weren't so lucky. Twenty minutes away in Altadena, devastation painted
an entirely different picture. The Eton Fire, one of several
(05:14):
wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County, ripped through Altadena and Pasadena,
fueled by unrelenting Santa Anta winds. In just two days,
it had consumed over ten thousand acres, destroyed nearly one
thousand structures, and left.
Speaker 8 (05:30):
Several people dead.
Speaker 7 (05:33):
But what it left behind wasn't just ash and rubble.
It was the destruction of a thriving, historic black community.
Altadena isn't just a place, It's a living, breathing legacy.
I've walked through those streets countless times. My sorority once
held their chapter meetings there, and just a few months ago,
(05:54):
my best friend gave me a personal tour of her
childhood neighborhood. I remember her pride pointing out landmarks, stories
attached to every corner of every street. But little did
we know it would be her last tour of the city,
as she knew it. Altadena is a sanctuary that dates
(06:15):
back to the Great Migration, a haven for black families
escaping the oppression of the Jim Crow South. By the
nineteen twenties and thirties, it had become a thriving center
for black professionals and creatives. People like Octavia Butler, the
science fiction icon, and Sydney Poitier, the first black actor
(06:36):
to win an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Speaker 8 (06:40):
These were the roots of Altadena.
Speaker 7 (06:43):
Generations built their lives there, carving out a space for
pride and resilience, and now much of that history is gone.
The Eden fire didn't just destroy buildings. It took homes, churches, businesses,
and pieces of cultural tapestry that can't be replaced. Families
(07:05):
who had already fought systemic racism and housing discrimination now
face the monumental task of rebuilding with fewer resources than
their wealthier neighbors in Malibu and the Palisades. This isn't
a story of celebrity laws. This is a story of
working families, Black families who built something out of nothing,
(07:27):
only to watch it burn. Yet, even in the face
of tragedy, the spirit of Altadena hasn't been extinguished. Local
churches have opened their doors to provide shelter and supplies.
Neighbors are rallying to support one another, offering what little
they have left. Leaders are documenting the damage, ensuring the
(07:47):
stories of this community are preserved for future generations. Altadena
has weather storms before, storms of racism, inequality, and now
nature's fury.
Speaker 8 (08:00):
It's people have.
Speaker 7 (08:01):
Always fought back, and as I sit in my home,
untouched by the flames, I think of those families and
their unyielding spirit. This is not a story of loss.
It's a story of resilience, of community determination to rise again,
to rebuild, and to hold on to its legacy because
(08:21):
Alta Dina is not just a place on a map.
It's a testament to the strength of its people. I'm
Mimi Brown, and in this series you'll hear stories told firsthand.
Speaker 8 (08:34):
By the people who live them.
Speaker 7 (08:36):
These are their voices, their memories, and their truth to
Alta Dina.
Speaker 8 (08:43):
With love.
Speaker 7 (08:44):
Meet Edgar Johnson.
Speaker 9 (08:51):
I just got a call an alert about seven o'clock
that night, and my neighbor says, hey, Edgar, there's an alert.
There's a fast move fire. We're leaving now. And I
was in shock. I was waiting Fontana. I'm like, what
you know? So I didn't believe that it would move
that fast. Within hours from Eaton Canyon it was all
(09:12):
the way out to dinner, and from Mount to the Den,
it went across the out to then and drive from
Mount to Dent, drive across the lake and it's just
fast moving. I stayed. I went back that Fontaine came back,
and I stayed till almost four in the mornings. I
was hoping that the wind would die down for just
a minute and I'll take a water holes and just
water everything down, keep watering until I saved the house.
(09:34):
But the winds were going like one hundred miles an hour,
and then the houses around me started to explode. Boom,
then hear another boom. I said, Okay, I know I
take a risk, but this might be the time I
need to pull out. Because you couldn't see it. You'd look,
you put your hand about four feet in front of
you came see. So I was like I couldn't see.
(09:56):
And just to see all my neighbor's houses going, it
was like somebody took a bomb now to Dina and
dropped it. All the houses were cleared out.
Speaker 8 (10:03):
When you when you left.
Speaker 10 (10:05):
Yes, what did you take?
Speaker 9 (10:07):
Nothing?
Speaker 10 (10:08):
I couldn't.
Speaker 9 (10:08):
I you know, I got I got a few things
outs when I first went in, I said I'll come
right back. When I got back that I couldn't get nothing, nothing, nothing,
just to close on my back. That's it. In my car,
all four four vehicles that are all burnt. Work van burned,
two work vans burned. Everything burned, a little hundred burnt
every Most of the people were sitting in their driveway
hoping help was on the way. So they were. They
(10:30):
had packed what they could in the car, and I'd
seen when I drove up. So they were sitting in
the car with the stuff packed, lights on, engine on,
just people. We were holding on. We were holding on
for a fire truck to show up, something, a plane
or drop some water something. Then come the fire hydrants
were dry. You know when when some of the firemen
(10:51):
were show up and hooked to a fire, no water
came out. And then the fire engines we had if
you had a little fire over there that they could
put it out. They couldn't put it out. They just
watched the house burner. You could take a bucket of
water and put some of these fires out. The help
wasn't there. I don't know what's going on. And I
don't think it's their far think that's above them, because uh,
(11:13):
how do we not have fire, hydrants, water, How do
we have one fire truck for a whole community just
going up and down the street. I do I don't
understand that that that's baffling to me. Somebody dropped the ball.
People were I've seen one guy he was on top
of that brother on.
Speaker 4 (11:32):
One roof here on the other side of.
Speaker 9 (11:33):
The rough, sweating bricks, trying to put the the house out.
And they they saved the house, but there was a
fire on one side of the house, or another fire
on the other side of fire in the front of them,
fire in the back, and they were they they were
up there saving the house. I mean, we put everything
into a home. What's the American dream on the home?
White pig of fence. I mean, people were trying to
save their properties, you know.
Speaker 7 (11:53):
And there's another aspect of that because these were this
is the black community, and how hard it is for
black people to own homes and to get homes and
to keep.
Speaker 9 (12:02):
Homes or good to get alan and so we're trying
to save our community and not to have that backup
from the folks in charge that we pay not to
have water, not have our bases filled with water, all
the rain that came down here a year ago, and
they let it go to those.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Thank you, Mimi.
Speaker 5 (12:25):
That was just a glimpse of to Alsidenta with Love,
a powerful new podcast from Bion anchor Mimi Brown. Episode
one is available now, with new episodes available every Monday. Listen, download,
and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. President Trump has
signed an executive order to dissolve the US Department of Education.
(12:48):
What does that mean for you? If you're a parent
or teacher, it could mean a lot. The Black Information
that Works, Uster Dillard spoke to the largest teachers union
and National Education Association Vice President Princes Moss to get
their response.
Speaker 11 (13:02):
For weeks many expected it, President Trump promised to sign
an executive order to dissolve the US Department of Education.
The White House says test scores for kids have been
in decline for years, and it's time to see education
authority be returned to individual states.
Speaker 12 (13:17):
The teachers unions, unfortunately, have not been standing up for
America's students, and that's what's most important at the end
of the day, and our great teachers deserve great guidance
from again, those closest to them in their states.
Speaker 11 (13:29):
That's White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt. So I reached
out to America's largest teachers union, the National Education Association,
to get their take on this announcement. But before we
hear from them, here are a few takeaways from this
executive order. Reports are, the White House says they won't
end financial support for low income students called Title I,
(13:50):
they won't end support for IDEA that's federal financial support
to states for children with disabilities, and finally, they won't
end the distribution and management of student loan payments. So far, however,
the Department of Education website shows Education Secretary Linda McMahon
celebrating the removal of more than two thousand employees who
(14:10):
work for the department at the beginning of the year.
She's been told by President Trump to take all necessary
steps to facilitate the closure of the department. I spoke
to any AVP Princess Moss to get her response to
the executive order.
Speaker 4 (14:24):
Do you have.
Speaker 11 (14:25):
Confidence in this promise and what does anticipate with this
new executive order.
Speaker 13 (14:33):
I have absolutely no confidence in the promise. What I
can tell you is that as an elementary music teacher,
and as someone who grew up.
Speaker 4 (14:47):
In rural America and who taught in rural.
Speaker 13 (14:51):
America, the programs that the Department of Education administers are very,
very important. For example, free and reduced price launch comes
under the programs that the Department and ministers. And as
(15:13):
someone who was a recipient growing up in public education,
the recipient of free lunch program, I know the importance
of those programs.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
To our students.
Speaker 13 (15:28):
It's a hot meal and may be the only hot
meal a student gets per day. We can't afford to play,
we can't afford to do.
Speaker 4 (15:36):
Ifs or what ifs.
Speaker 13 (15:38):
What we have is it is working. So we should
not dismantle the Department of Education. It's deplorable that the
administration is doing this. It hurts kids, it hurts the
future of our country. The kids are a future.
Speaker 11 (15:57):
The NAA had said that they thought that this was
going to come, but when it did, what was the
response when you first heard about this.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
We immediately went into action.
Speaker 13 (16:11):
We have been informing our allies, our educators all along, and.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
We immediately went into action.
Speaker 13 (16:21):
We've been having walk ins all across the country in
which parents, community members, students, allies were walking into schools
as a show of solidarity and.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
To say we do not stand for this.
Speaker 11 (16:42):
Some people are saying that a lot of the states
do have still a lot of control in terms of
what will happen if the Department of Education is dismantled. However,
some are concerned that there'll be things like the Office
of Civil Rights to address discrimination and disability rights violations
in schools. Is that one of the main concerns that
(17:05):
your organization has or are there other concerns as well?
Speaker 4 (17:10):
That is a major concern.
Speaker 13 (17:12):
We're already seeing rights and attacks already at sake, for example,
attacks on our LGBTQ plus community.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
Folks are scared.
Speaker 13 (17:27):
They don't know if they what recourse they have with
the impact of dismantling the Department of Education.
Speaker 4 (17:37):
So, yes, the.
Speaker 13 (17:39):
Civil rights piece is a huge piece in all of this,
as well as.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Access to the PEL grants.
Speaker 13 (17:50):
You know, I went to school on a PEL grant
and I wouldn't have been able to lead my college
education if it were not for that.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
So there's that concern as well.
Speaker 13 (18:04):
Of America's students attend a public school. Ninety five percent
of our students with disabilities attend a public school. So
there's a concern about the programs that impact all students,
students with disabilities and students without. The individuals with disabilities.
(18:26):
Education comes under the Department of Education.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
Huge concerns.
Speaker 11 (18:34):
What is the NEA doing in response to Trump's actions
as far as to protect public education and what steps
are they taking in the near future.
Speaker 13 (18:43):
So again, one of the steps are the walkins that
we're doing. In fact, I am I was in a
walkin in Maryland, Upper Marlboro, Maryland at Wise High School yesterday.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
I'm in Kentucky today and I'll be.
Speaker 13 (18:59):
Doing a walk and with them, the Kentucky educators here
tomorrow morning. And we are spreading the word that it
is important that everyone contact their congress person to.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Let them know that they do not support the dismantling
of public education.
Speaker 13 (19:23):
In fact, we have If listeners would text the word
action to four eight seven four four, you can get
infor more information on us about actions you can take
in order to support efforts to stop this madness.
Speaker 11 (19:45):
And you mentioned that you want parents to do these
walk ins. Can you perhaps explain a little bit more
about these walk ins and what they're all about. Are
they bringing in signs, are they signing petitions? What are
they doing?
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Yes, we are.
Speaker 13 (20:01):
We are making the sign Students made signs yesterday at
the walk in at Henry Wise High School in Maryland,
and it was a huge show of unity with signs,
with the community coming together the community, with educating the
(20:23):
community so that they know what's at say and so
that they're able to reach out and do actions as well,
such as contact their congress person and to spread the.
Speaker 4 (20:38):
Word at the impact.
Speaker 13 (20:40):
Of what the dismantling of public of the Department of
Education will do.
Speaker 11 (20:46):
And on the legal front, are there any specific actions
that are being taken to handle this situation as well?
Speaker 13 (20:54):
Yes, there is much litigation going on. Any is also
a part of a filing of.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
A lawsuit to address.
Speaker 13 (21:08):
The administration's actions towards diversity, equity.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
And inclusion, final work ahead and and the impact that
it will have on our public schools.
Speaker 11 (21:26):
So can you give me a final word? I guess
that you would have for parents and those who are
concerned about really taking action, because some may feel that,
you know, going and standing with a sign may not
really do all that much, But what can they possibly
do that will, in your opinion, help with this whole
entire situation.
Speaker 13 (21:47):
It is important for parents and community members to speak
out and to let their elected officials know that the
dismantling of the Department of Education impacts their communities and
they will not stand for it again. As an elementary
(22:12):
music teacher who taught in rural America and who also
grew up in rural America, I know the importance of
the programs that the Department of Education administers. I know
the importance of the guidance.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
And distribution of resources.
Speaker 13 (22:35):
In an equitable, in fair manner, and so I would
say to parents.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Please speak up and speak out.
Speaker 13 (22:44):
This involves the future of America, and the future of
America is our students.
Speaker 11 (22:52):
One thing to remember is that the President can't completely
dismantle the Department of Education without congressional approval. However, many
critics saye even making the DOE smaller could make things
difficult in keeping education running smoothly in states across America.
I'm Esther Dillard.
Speaker 5 (23:10):
Thanks Esther anchor Katie Gray sits down with Rec DeForest,
the curator and creative director for the Madam C. J.
Walker and werd or Word Studio Museum to talk about
the history being both made and preserved in Atlanta's historical
Auburn Avenue.
Speaker 14 (23:27):
So I really want to start out with this. Tell
me about the museum. Ooh key, you know, I think
what's really important is I love going almost in chronological order.
So I was really touched and would love to share
for you and your own words on talking about how
you came across this space, Okay, And I usually do.
Speaker 15 (23:45):
That through the tour. So what I'll do is give
you and the listeners the tour as if you walked
into the museum.
Speaker 8 (23:51):
Okay, yes, yes, greetings.
Speaker 15 (23:54):
My name is reci I'm the curator and artistic director
of the Madam CJ. Walker Museum. The space actually was
an original Madam CJ. Walker beauty shop from the nineteen forties.
I stumbled onto it purely by accident, but my clients
say I was guided there. Nevertheless, thirty years ago, I
had the privilege of traveling as an international makeup artist
(24:16):
and hairstylist. Oh there's a beauty publication that is still
around called Essence Magazine. I had the pleasure of doing
some of the makeup in the hair for the cover
of Essence when they first started, and then Fashion Fair
Cosmetics launch, which was Johnson Publishing. They plucked me to
travel as an international makeup artist for Fashion Fair. So
at that time I had a salon in Atlanta. Back
(24:38):
from one of my trips, I had a little convertible
at the time, I'm riding around. I'm on Auburn Avenue.
I make a right turn on Hilliod. I looked to
my left and I see unbelievably Madam CJ. Walker Beauty
shop on the window. Slam on my brakes, get out
of the car, walked over to that window and just
start touching it out of respect. I watched that window
(24:59):
for ten years, never interested in the area or the space.
My clientele was upscale over An Avenue. As much as
I love, it was not an upscale area, so I
was never interested in moving in there until eleven years
later I needed a new location for my hair salon
and I thought about that window. I came back to
check no one was there, so I asked the barber
(25:20):
next door who owns the space. He said, the Mason's
owned the whole building. In their office is upstairs. I
go upstairs check with the Masons. They say the space
is available. I signed the lease right away. I come
down excited to clean up, not expecting to find vintage
beauty tools left from the last living agent because they
(25:41):
weren't called stylists at that time to work in the salon,
and her name was Mother Dot. Her proper name was
Dorothy Smart. So I begged the family to bring her
over so I could chat and learn a little more
about the space. Mother Dot comes in and tells me
that when she started doing hair with those two that
I found in the nineteen forties that a shampoo service
(26:03):
for a Negro woman was twenty five cents. She also
mentioned in that conversation that Junior King used to get
his haircut at the barbershop. She saw doctor King as
a kid and he got his hair next door. It
was Matthew's barbershop before mister Burton bought it, and now
Junior Burden's son operates the barbershop. I'm excited, I'm preserving
(26:29):
the legacy. Two years into the least black woman from
the neighborhood sticks her head in the door and says,
mister REESI did you know that the first black owned
radio station in America operated directly about this beauty shop,
and that I could hear the music as a little
girl coming out of the window on my way to school.
I'm completely floored. It was word radio, the origin of
(26:52):
the expression word.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
How do you?
Speaker 14 (26:55):
I mean, how does that not just stop you in
your track?
Speaker 6 (26:59):
It does?
Speaker 15 (27:00):
I mean? I feel like I'm cheating the system. Every
day I get to preserve and promote a legacy so
rich it's beyond my ability to explain it. This is
the gift that keeps on giving.
Speaker 8 (27:18):
Well and too.
Speaker 14 (27:20):
It's so fascinating how you know obviously their legacy and
their history, and how much of a personal tie that
you have to that. I mean, it's amazing the career
that you had and getting to be in a space where,
in many ways in the country, that's where it started.
Speaker 15 (27:38):
It's because of them that I was able to do
what I was doing. There's more history in that building
per square inch than any other structure in the South.
Will start with the fact that it's an original Madam C. J.
Walker beauty shop. Doctor King got his hair cut at
(27:58):
the barbershop next door above. The beauty shop was the
first black owned and operated radio station in North America.
On the other side of the wall was Doctor King
as an adult, his original headquarters for SELC. But information
that the Masons didn't even know that above Doctor King's
(28:18):
office was a beauty school operated by a Negro beauty pioneer.
There was a millionaire that was not in the movie.
Annie Malone was in the movie. Madam C. J. Walker
was in the movie. But above Doctor King's office was
Apex Beauty School owned by Sarah Spencer Washington out of
New Jersey. Two Negro millionaire beauty pioneers in one building.
(28:44):
These are the origins of the black hair care industry.
Annie Malone, Madam CJ. Sarah Spencer Washington. And even though
we are aware of the million dollar status that these
Negro women had, what's unfortunate is that no one talks
about the other Negro women who were making five to
(29:07):
eight hundred thousand dollars in nineteen thirty, forty and fifty.
That is insane. So I do not focus on Walker's wealth.
I focus on what she did with her wealth. They
called themselves race women, women for the race. They had
a business model that is long lost. One third for themselves,
(29:29):
whether it was a dollar or a million, one third
for the cost Negro women with a cause and one
third to the business and they still became millionaires.
Speaker 10 (29:41):
That is.
Speaker 14 (29:43):
Something special and there is something to be said too
about part of their legacy that, at least in my
exposure to it, doesn't get talked enough about. You what
you just mentioned. It's like, you know, oh, not MCJ. Walkers,
who's the first female black solf a millionaire. But you're right,
even what you mentioned, just how much she used that platform.
Speaker 15 (30:06):
Legacy a discredit because most of the time when people
spilled that information out, that's where it stops. That is
a complete discredit to everything that she was and did
with her wealth.
Speaker 14 (30:23):
And you coming across that space in many ways, in
many ways communicates to me how much of a focus
isn't on that piece of the legacy. Absolutely because the
actual space where all that was happening, I mean so
much happening under one roof, and the way that you
described your story when you came across the space was
completely empty. Yeah, it was just sitting there, vacant.
Speaker 15 (30:45):
No one was ever there when I came by. I
don't know how long it had been vacant, but fortunately
for me, I remember that window, came by, got the space,
and this is where we are today. For twenty six years,
we've been preserving and promoting these rich legacies.
Speaker 14 (31:02):
Well, a piece that I want to ask you and
give you an opportunity to say, because I don't want
to miss this piece. Is you communicating to me about
your mission and when it comes to preserving this piece
of legacy and being able to pass this on to
further generations.
Speaker 15 (31:20):
The fact that I did not know we're going to
go from Walker to WRD, the fact that I didn't
know anything about the first black radio station in North America,
to me was shocking within the African American community. And
I'm not going to pull any punches in saying this,
but beauty and music, it's on par with oxygen and
(31:47):
food within the black community. They are so significant to
not know about WRD, the station that provided a platform
for Negro artists that wouldn't be played on white stations
because their music was called race music music by negroes
(32:07):
for negroes not to be played. WRD played these artists
and doctor King was able to use that station as
a platform to coordinate logistics for the civil rights movement
and to deliver his sermons. That station is as crucial
to the movement as King hisself.
Speaker 14 (32:26):
Well, and it's just remarkable because so much happening under
that one roof, in so many ways created arguably created
spaces across different platforms, whether it was the beauty industry,
the music industry, the arts having creating a space that especially,
I mean, if we're talking you know the nineteen forties
(32:46):
and the fifties and sixties, black people didn't have exactly.
Speaker 15 (32:50):
They provided the Walker Turnbow and Sarah Spencer Washington provided
a skill set Negro women to become independent. That is
the legacy, not how much each one made, but what
they did with their wealth.
Speaker 14 (33:09):
Well, speaking about what they did with their legacy and
what they used their platform and their position to do,
let's talk about what you're doing now.
Speaker 15 (33:18):
Walker Turnbu and Malone were very much race women. In
other words, they found ways to empower other Negro women.
So in that spirit, I partner with black female businesses
with the museum, letting them use the space as long
as it's in par with a positive message. So in
(33:42):
the room with us, we have my sister in law
Nika and Fatima that have what's called the Blues and
what is.
Speaker 16 (33:50):
It called blends, blends and blues, Blends and blues, So
they bring their blends and then while they're doing that,
I get the.
Speaker 15 (34:00):
Opportunity to introduce a room full of young people the
music from nineteen twenty to nineteen eighty on vinyl. So
it's a complete immersive experience and it's done in an
original Madam C. J. Walker Beauty shop, directly under the
first black radio station in North America and sandwiched in
(34:20):
between the original headquarters for SELC, which was Doctor King
on the right and Burdens Barbershop where Doctor King got
his haircut on the left.
Speaker 14 (34:30):
So basically what's amazing is that this space is continuously
over going into a century around the century still being
able to benefit the Black community absolutely.
Speaker 15 (34:42):
The two hundred and fiftieth year Celebration of America is
in July twenty twenty six, so we're gearing up to
celebrate that with the expansion of the museum with a
nineteen thirty tea room that will be connected to the museum,
as well as a nineteen thirties speak Easy.
Speaker 14 (35:04):
Oh, I'll definitely be popping by the members only. Members only, well,
hopefully since you're telling me about it beforehand. I get
I get VIP right, Yeah, okay, good. I just want
to make sure my name is already on the list.
I don't want to get turned away at the door.
It's very very exclusive. Actually, I was going to say
it was like so our friends because you mentioned the blooms, Yes,
(35:24):
blends and blues, which is nice. It is thank you
Tell me about.
Speaker 8 (35:30):
What does that really look like?
Speaker 14 (35:31):
What is that? What is it really the catering to
the part of the community.
Speaker 16 (35:37):
So the blends and blues, what blends are is I
am a four twenty scientist and I particularly specialize in
and I'm certified. My degree is in bio and kim
and then I'm actually a certified dispensary technician, so I
heal with plants.
Speaker 8 (35:53):
I also use herbs.
Speaker 16 (35:55):
It's a holistic experience from the physical product level. So
that's the blends, right, we incorporate all kinds of different plants.
We all came together, right, three black women, and said, no,
we need to do more. We need to bring this
product into an experience that really hits all the senses
to really help people understand the commitment to healing, the
(36:19):
commitment to what we're putting in our body. And so
the bud Bar the social aspect of how it brings
people together and with the history of the space, the
music aspect, the richness of it, and the commitment to healing.
The Madam CJ. Walker Museum, in partnership with the bud
(36:40):
Bar Experience, which is my home my parent company, is
called Pure Path. Right, thinking about walking the Pure Path
that allow us all under twenty to thirty on average age,
create a platform for us to be able to heal,
bring the community together and learn. Right, there's so many
things that I didn't know. I'm learning on this right now.
Speaker 4 (37:01):
You know, there's so.
Speaker 16 (37:01):
Many things that I didn't know as a twenty seven
year old young woman. I've heard the name Madam C. J.
Speaker 4 (37:06):
Walker.
Speaker 16 (37:07):
I knew the significance, but not the impact. Right besides
her money, so Reesi has taught me the power of
It's not about the dollar, it's about the impact, it's
about the richness, it's about the history, it's about the people,
and so going into that space, it's a commitment to
healing mind, body, and spirit, ancestral healing as well.
Speaker 15 (37:29):
So when I sit back at the bud Bar Experience
in the museum and watch Shanika and Fatima and her
her crowd of unique personalities. They don't realize that I'm
observing from a completely different perspective because their whole other generation.
(37:50):
And what I noticed is there is a renaissance taking
place that is parallel to the Harlem renaisson in New York.
Auburn Avenue was going through that same renaissance, But Atlanta,
Georgia doesn't have the same what is the term I
(38:12):
need clout that New York would have, so no one
really talks about it. The same thing that was taking
place in Harlem musically, culturally, politically was taking place on
Auburn Avenue. So as I watched their group in my space,
I'm recognizing and I can feel the presence of a
(38:35):
modern day nineteen twenties Renaissance taking place on Auburn Avenue.
But it is actually happening. Black professionals on every level
are killing it.
Speaker 5 (38:47):
Thanks Katie. That was part one about the Madam C. J.
Walker and Word Studio. Listen next week for part two
of this interview with three C.
Speaker 1 (38:55):
De Forest.
Speaker 5 (38:56):
To learn more, visit the museum, located off Suite Auburn
Avenue in downtown Atlanta at fifty four Hilliard Street or
follow them on Facebook. You're listening to The Black Perspective,
heard each and every Sunday at this time on the
Black Information Network. I'm your host, Mike Island and up next.
Comedian and DC native Earthquake talked exclusively with The Black
(39:17):
Information Network about the current state of comedy and how
growing up in DC influenced his comedic style and what
advice he would share with the next.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Generation of comedians.
Speaker 5 (39:27):
News anchor Morgan Wood has more.
Speaker 8 (39:29):
The old adage says that laughter is the best medicine,
and with all the doom and gloom in the world,
it would appear that many of us are off our meds.
I'm hoping that my next guest can help us refill
that prescription. Welcome comedian Earthquake to the Black Information Network.
Thank you for being here.
Speaker 10 (39:46):
Oh good girlfriend, that was.
Speaker 8 (39:50):
That.
Speaker 10 (39:50):
I like that. How are you doing to day?
Speaker 8 (39:52):
I'm doing great. That I'm seeking with you. I'm going
to go ahead and start this off with a disclaimer
that you know, we have not met personally, but we
have a lot of mutuals and I am a little biased,
so you know, as we get into this interview because
I'm from the DMV, born and raised, and of course
the city considers you a legend who has gone the distance,
and I just want to take a moment to give
(40:13):
you your flowers.
Speaker 6 (40:14):
My guy, Oh, thank you.
Speaker 10 (40:17):
You know, once you get accepted from our hometel you
have made it because they very give you that crowd.
So I'm appreciative and you.
Speaker 8 (40:27):
Ain't lying about that. The d C d V area
is a hard audience. Okay, speaking of which, how did
growing up in DC influence your comedian your comedic style?
Speaker 10 (40:42):
Growing up in DC allows you and gives you the
mentality to keep it real, and I hope that don't
come so cliche. But DC takes nothing take I mean,
I think nothing. Knockoffs don't make it, so you have to.
(41:04):
If you can make it in DC, you can make
it anywhere. They say New York, but really in DC
it's the key. So it really helped me with the
standard of what my comedy had to be because you know,
DC will call you a bad man a minute, so
they mean no for real.
Speaker 8 (41:22):
So talk to me about the state of comedy. Now,
you know, yesterday's lasts or not today's last, So what
do you make of that and how have you been
able to navigate and adapt to the ever evolving changes
in the industry.
Speaker 10 (41:35):
But the standard is the standard. I think comedy now
is more important than it ever has been because it's
really it speaks truth to power. Comedians always gave you
the climate of what the society is going through and
the flaws of what's going on and the hypocrisy that
(41:55):
power has when it shows it. So I think comedy
for true art itself always display and tells you exactly
where we're the state of the state of the situation
that we're in. So I love it right now as
(42:16):
a comedian, tell.
Speaker 8 (42:18):
The power absolutely. What advice would you give to your
younger self or the next generation of comedians.
Speaker 10 (42:26):
Younger, I'll say, just stay consistent as you have and
younger comedians, no matter what form that you use to
introduce yourself to your audience, you still have to do
the hard work and that's getting those stage, coming up
with new material and stay relevant.
Speaker 8 (42:48):
All right, Speaking of getting on stage, I'm speaking with
comedian Earthquake for the Black Information Network, and so you
have a few shows coming up. Tell me more about
what fans can expect you shows coming up in the
next few weeks in Miami, Florida, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Atlantic City,
New Jersey, and Charles down West, Virginia. What can fans
expect from your upcoming shows and do you have any
(43:10):
surprises and new material that the audience should be ready for?
Speaker 13 (43:14):
Oh?
Speaker 10 (43:15):
Yes, uh, this ship right now. I'm preparing to shoot
our next next flick special with Dave Chapelle and I
had one that was very successful called Legendary. They can
check it out right now. I've been doing this over
thirty years. The consistency of what earthquake is NonStop laughter, no,
Paul's relevant, maturity and one hundred percent no byproduct, totally
(43:41):
ignorant period this period, period, period.
Speaker 8 (43:52):
So I'm like, we're running right through this pretty fast,
and I almost don't want to let you go. And
I know you're a busy person. But before I'll let
you go, I do want to ask you. You've done
stand up, You've done TV, You've done radio, what's you've
done film? You know, what is something that you haven't
done that you still want to do?
Speaker 10 (44:13):
I want to start my own TV show. Yeah, I'm
looking forward to my own sitcom and.
Speaker 8 (44:23):
It would be around you, based around your life, or
are we talking completely fictional?
Speaker 10 (44:29):
A combination of both, you know what I mean, A
combination of both. A great lie, a great line.
Speaker 8 (44:37):
That sounds that sounds like an amazing title I would
watch for sure.
Speaker 10 (44:42):
A great line.
Speaker 8 (44:44):
Okay, all right, I like that. I like that for you.
Is there anything else that you want to speak about
or lay out on the table that you're working on
that you would like to share with the audience.
Speaker 10 (44:55):
My radio show is coming back on Kevin Hants. We've
been in the high eight. We'll be back this Wednesday.
I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to
shooting my next next trip specially will be one of
my best piece of work. The materials together, I just
want to line it up and Regard's help, and I
know he will. I look forward to seeing myself on
(45:18):
another national television show, I mean national platform for my
television show.
Speaker 8 (45:26):
I know that's right. We're going to manifest that right
into fruition for you. And before they said please please,
but I think I would be remiss if I didn't
ask you about the state of the district right now.
Any thoughts on what's going on in Washington? DC, being
that you are from the area.
Speaker 10 (45:49):
Yes, it's the point of the balance of our young
of our young kids, and someone must tell them the
most valuable thing you have now is your life and
your time. The materialistic aspect of it is easy replaced.
And what my father always told me was no reason
(46:11):
meta food was speaker. Never die for a car that
they're gonna make a mowwent next year. So never strive
to get a twenty twenty five bends and willing to
sacrifice your life for twenty five twenty twenty five bns
when they're going to make a twenty thirty six. So
(46:31):
just someone to tell them that, you know, despite what
they're going through, the trials and try relations, that they
have to make better decisions. And it's based upon your
value and whatever you need in your life. If you
will to look to God, you will come. So that's
sort of thing I was telling from a person from
Southeast These be that had that mentality. My mother always
(46:53):
told me, you know those things, and I just came
to the conclusion that these are things that I'm not
gonna do. I'm not going to jail, I'm not going
to do this. I'm not gonna do this I'm not,
and then everything else is being played right.
Speaker 4 (47:10):
I like that.
Speaker 8 (47:11):
I like that. And as you said, you are from
Southeast DC. Have you been to the new Go Go Museum?
Speaker 10 (47:14):
Lyt No, no, no, no, you know, I grew up
with rare essen. Shout out to my boy Dave Restling Peace,
Little Benny DC white Boy, the bag fack funk everybody else.
So rare essence is I went to blue and we
(47:37):
all went to high school together. So Go Go is
in my in, my bone is in my DNNA. So no,
I haven't, but I look forward to see it when
I come to the home at the MGM in August.
I do that every year.
Speaker 8 (47:53):
Nice, so you know, I already know those city is
going to welcome you with open arms, welcome home. And
if that's just you know pretty much it. I just
want to say thank you so much for speaking with
me today.
Speaker 10 (48:04):
Oh girl, it's for pleasure. We stay blessed.
Speaker 4 (48:06):
Well.
Speaker 10 (48:07):
I love you, good girl.
Speaker 8 (48:09):
All right? Likewise, and how can we continue to stay
in touch with you and the work that you're doing.
Speaker 10 (48:14):
Just following me on all platforms. The real earthquake, it's
the grand Facebook. It has my date and everything that's
popping and keep laughing. Your face something to give your.
Speaker 8 (48:27):
Face something to do. Keep laughing and make sure you
check out an earthquake show at a city near you.
Thank you so much Earthquake. I'm Morgan Wood on the
Black Information Network.
Speaker 10 (48:35):
Thank you Love.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
Thanks Morgan.
Speaker 5 (48:37):
And now Doug Davis is back with another Your Black
Business segment, and this week's special guest is a luxury
fashion designer who provides tuxedos to male high school seniors
that need support during prom season.
Speaker 1 (48:50):
The conversation continues.
Speaker 5 (48:52):
As Doug explores how Miguel Wilson got his start and
how you can turn your business dreams into a reality
just like he.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
Doug.
Speaker 6 (49:01):
Hey, thanks Mike. This is Doug Davis with another segment
of Your Black Business, where we share inspiring stories of
Black entrepreneurs, black business owners, and those that support the
mission of Black business and wealth development. We continue our
conversation with the incredible Miguel Wilson, a renowned celebrity men'swear
designer making ways not only with his luxury fashion line,
(49:21):
but also through his transformative impact on young black high
school students. In its second year, Wilson's one hundred prom
tuxedo giveaway ensures that one hundred prom goers in need
receive free tuxedos, allowing them to celebrate this significant milestone
without any financial barriers. Through the Miguel Wilson Collection, which
has styled high profile clients, he not only sets the
(49:44):
standard for luxury but also champions black entrepreneurship. Welcome back
to the bi N Brother Wilson.
Speaker 3 (49:50):
Man, Thank you homeboy.
Speaker 6 (49:51):
What's going on, brother man? It's always good to have
a DC brother in the house. Oh yes, sir, you
know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1 (49:58):
Northwest.
Speaker 6 (49:58):
We left off discussing that you are actually open to
providing more than one hundred tuxes to our seniors and
are looking for more support. So I think that's great.
Speaker 11 (50:09):
Man.
Speaker 6 (50:09):
We have a lot to unpack, but let's start with
how you got started. It's important for our younger audience
to know, and even our older audience to know that
dreams can still come true. You just have to work
really hard and sometimes, you know, with a little bit
of luck or blessings as I like to call it,
and you can find success by doing something that you
really love, that you're passionate about, that you feel God
(50:30):
has called you to do. So how did you get
your start? I mean, you're a DC homeboy, DC, very
fashionable city.
Speaker 1 (50:37):
How did it all unfold for you?
Speaker 3 (50:38):
You know, my grandfather and both my father both were
very snazzy dressers growing up. I mean these guys, but
their tire was a big part of their personality and
dressing will meant a lot to them. So that's what
they were known for. Two So they both instilled that
in me. And as far now, my pasona that you know,
(51:00):
people expect me to matter of fact, it's crazy people
when they see me not in a suit, It's like, wow,
I didn't know you even had something not in the
suit at any other splos.
Speaker 6 (51:09):
The wow wow.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
So I mean, did you go to college?
Speaker 6 (51:12):
What kind of education did you, you know, go through
to get yourself in the position to you know, really
thrive in this industry.
Speaker 3 (51:20):
Funny thing is I studied business. I've never studied fashion.
I've never taken a fashion course, but I have a
I went to BOOLI stay for four years, but I
ended up going to Clark Atlanta University for my fifth
year college and I graduated from there. I also went
to Campbell University in North Carolina to obtain my NBA
(51:44):
from there and recently received an honorary doctorate Harvest Christian University.
Speaker 6 (51:51):
Congratulations, brother, congratulations. So here's another burning question that young
entrepreneurs and founders always ask.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
How did you get your startup capital? You know, how
did it go?
Speaker 6 (52:01):
Did you invest in yourself? Did you get a loan?
Did you go through you know, an investor?
Speaker 1 (52:06):
How'd that start?
Speaker 3 (52:08):
So? When I first went to business, I had did
the clothing part time for seven years, and you know,
I had saved and invested throughout my years, so I
had money to do, you know, step out and do
my own thing. And I initially came out. I bought
a building when I when I decided to go full time,
I bought a building, had a showroom, and just made
(52:30):
a lot of investments from my own finances. And later
on though, ultimately I ended up filing bankruptcy after being
in businesses full time for about ten years. I ran
too a lot of issues and problems trying to do
too much, and at that point I lost everything. Had
to start all over again.
Speaker 1 (52:50):
That had to be tough.
Speaker 3 (52:52):
Oh, it was really tough because I remember, you know,
I didn't have any money. I went to a friend
older gentleman by the name of John Jacob. John used
to be the president of the Urban League, but at
this time he had retired from anaheires a bush and
I called and asked could I brought fifteen thousand dollars
from and he led me to fifteen thousand. I took
(53:14):
the money and I had a guy. At this time.
God gave me a vision of, you know, really focusing
on wedding attire for men. And I think this is
an important nugget for fashion people as well as business people. Period.
When you go in business, and particularly in fashion, you
have to have a niche market or some area of
(53:38):
fashion in which you are fixing a problem or bringing
something new, because outside of that, you just become a
me too brand and there's nothing to separate you from
everyone else. So when I found bankruptcy and I was
looking to really get back into fashion and find my
place in fashion, I thought about what areas are fashion?
(54:00):
Where's the opportunity to enter into this game and to
make a name for myself. And no one at that
time was really doing anything special for weddings for men,
grooms attire. No one's doing anything special for young men
doing proms. So I decided to enter into fashion again,
(54:21):
focus one hundred on formal attire, primarily weddings. I created
the Miguel Wilson Wedding collection for men. So you gotta
have a target market, you gotta have a niche, you
gotta have something in business that's going to make you different.
So you're just not, you know, operating in a big
(54:42):
bubble with everyone else.
Speaker 6 (54:44):
And by the way, you're listening to your black business
on the Black perspective. My name is Doug Davis. We're
speaking to Miguel Wilson regarding as one hundred prompt tucks giveaway,
but we're going a little bit deeper into the conversation
of how he got to start. One question, I want
to ask.
Speaker 1 (54:58):
You real quick that you're a luxury brand.
Speaker 6 (55:01):
How do you feel about so many of our young
people attaching themselves to European brands and not supporting black
owned luxury brands.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
Your thoughts.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
We give too much of our money away to luxury brands,
you know, And we're fine. We're given other black businesses
five dollars for a T shirt, but when it comes
to the three hundred, four hundred dollars T shirts, you're
going to give it to, you know, the Gucci's or
the Louis Vuitton's and so forth. We need to elevate
black brands on a luxury level so that more of
(55:31):
us retain more of our dollars in that area.
Speaker 6 (55:34):
Miguel, I know you have a long list of celebrity
clients that you've worked with. Can you share a few
with us?
Speaker 3 (55:41):
So you know, I did Two Chang's wedding and he
actually put my name in a verse. I got the
suit from Miguel. I know I fit me well. I
did Will Packer's wedding. I've just I did Stephen Jackson,
I've just Little Baby.
Speaker 17 (55:59):
I did Kim the singer.
Speaker 3 (56:01):
I did his wedding. I did pretty much all of
the housewives from.
Speaker 17 (56:06):
Peter and Cynthia, did Tarny Candy's wedding. I did Eva
and Mark Sterling Sterling's wedding. I did Beato's wedding. You
know Omar Dorsey the actor did his, did his wedding.
Jamaal O'Bryant TV Jake's.
Speaker 6 (56:28):
Any final words man that you would like to give
our listeners and uh Ben, if you could shoot us
where we can follow you on social media and if
you you know your website as well.
Speaker 3 (56:40):
So I wrote a book called Piece over Everything, and
the book is about my experience of having foul bankruptcy.
I talk about the things that led to me having
to foul bankruptcy, but also talk about how I was
able to rebuild a new company from scratch, utilizing the
things I learned from the problems. And you know, one
(57:03):
of the things I had to acknowledge first and foremost
was that, you know, ninety percent of the issues I
was having were my own doing that I created most
of the problems myself and taking responsibility. But peace over
Everything also deals with, you know, not being the problem
moving forward, So not creating new problems and issues for yourself.
(57:29):
Peace comes from creating an environment where you're making decisions
not always around short term enjoyment, short term pleasure, or
even short term profits. You're making decisions based off of
stuff that lasts, making good decisions that won't require you
(57:51):
to have to look over your shoulders and worry about,
you know, someone coming after you, or worrying about some
problem popping up later. So I want to be honest
with my clients because when I look at them doing
business with them, I want I look at it long term.
So I want to create an environment where people can
always do business with me, even if it means, you know,
(58:13):
short losses, and I think that's about keeping your piece
as well. You know, we too often prioritize money over things,
but money can cost you your piece. So you reach
me on social media Instagragram, Miguel Wilson Collection, and same
thing with Facebook. I'm on LinkedIn Miguel Wilson, and you
(58:38):
can always I have showrooms in DC, New York, Miami
and Atlanta, So those the best ways reach which you
can shoot me a DM or you can always look
at me online at Miguel Wilson dot com.
Speaker 6 (58:51):
Miguel Wilson. It's been a pleasure having you on the show. Wow,
such an inspiring story. We appreciate your one hundred I'm
Tuxedo giveaway. I know a lot of young black men
in high school are really looking forward to your generosity. Man,
keep up the good work. You're welcome back to the
BI IN and your Black business Whenever. This is Doug Davis,
(59:14):
and you're listening to the Black Perspective on the Black
Information Network.
Speaker 5 (59:18):
Thanks Doug, 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 bionnews dot
com for all of.
Speaker 1 (59:29):
The latest news impacting the black community.
Speaker 5 (59:32):
Also be sure to follow us on social media at
Black Information Network and on x at black Info Net.
I'm Mike Island, wishing everyone a great Sunday and thanks
for listening, and be sure to tune in next week
at this
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!