The Black Perspective: May 11, 2025

This week on The Black Perspective, we're talking culture, justice, and iconic voices.

BIN News commentator Mo Kelly catches up with Wunmi Mosaku, co-star of the buzzy new film Sinners, to talk about her powerful performance and the conversations the film is sparking.

2025 Gracie Award-winning anchor Esther Dillard speaks with an author whose latest novel weaves basketball and romance into one unforgettable, and complicated, love story.

Alexandria Ikomoni sits down with legendary R&B group Xscape to reflect on their journey as a group, the importance of family, what life is like on tour, and what’s next.

Vanessa Tyler sheds light on the work of the Prison Policy Initiative and how innocent people are ending up behind bars in a broken system. Plus, we bring you timely commentary from Mo Kelly and James T. Harris.

Listen now!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Sunday, May eleventh, and on today's show, Bin News
commentator Moe Kelly recently caught up with the co star
one Me Mosaku of the hottest movie everyone is talking about,
Centers twenty twenty five. Gracie Award winning anchor Esther Dillar
talks to an author whose new book mixes basketball with
romance in a complicated twist. Alexandria Ikamoni sits down with

(00:21):
legendary R and B group Escape about their history together,
family touring, and more. Vanessa Tyler gives us details about
the Prison Policy Initiative and how innocent people are packing
our nation's jails. These stories and more are coming your
way on today's program, Welcome to the Black Perspective. I'm
your host, Mike Island.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the Black community.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Good Sunday, everyone, and Welcome to the Black Perspective. The
Prison Policy Initiative took a look at who is being
locked up and found the legally and packing our nation's jails.
The Black Information That Works. Vanessa Tyler picks up our story.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
You're under arrest, dude, I got some bodies coming.

Speaker 4 (01:08):
We're gonna go to jail today.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
First the arrest. You are under arrest, and you're adding
charges every second.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
In this case, a man with a knife wouldn't drop it.
After he is handcuffed, he becomes part of the millions
arrested and until their case is heard. If they can't
make bail, their new temporary home is the Gray Bar Hotel.
The NonStop clatter of the inside people locked up, But

(01:38):
why what crimes are they accused of? Millions are arrested, booked,
and placed in the nation's jails. An analysis just released
by the Prison Policy Initiative tells us who gets locked
up in local jails. Communications strategists Wanda Bertram went inside
and joins me with more. You basically did a study

(02:02):
on the local jails. What did you find out about
who is being locked up and picked up and just
thrown in local jails?

Speaker 3 (02:09):
Right right?

Speaker 5 (02:10):
So, to give a little context, several million people go
to local jails every year. And these are facilities that
are run by your local government, local police, prosecutors, and judges.
They're the ones that decide who goes to a local jail,
and there are so many different jails. There's almost three
thousand jails in this country, and that makes it hard

(02:31):
to collect comprehensive data on it. We did this new
analysis to find out what types of charges are responsible
for people going to local jails. You might think that
this would already be information that's out there, but the
government hasn't collected data about it since two thousand and two.
We were able to do our analysis because another organization

(02:53):
called the Jail Data Initiative has spent the last few
years scraping public information off of over a thous local
jail websites, so basically doing the putting in some serious
elbow grease to collect this data that is not has
not been collected by the federal government in over two decades.
What we found was, in my opinion, pretty shocking. We

(03:15):
found that the distinct majority of people in jails on
any given day are being held there for nonviolent offenses.
Two thirds of people in jail today are being held
for things like drug offenses, property crimes, probation and parole violations,
other misdemeanors, so things that are certainly you know, notable

(03:39):
offenses a lot of the time, but still non violent issues, right,
very very minor things in the grand scope of things
that people could be being sent to jails for.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
So you're saying that these are low level offenders that
are being thrown in these jails. So what's the takea there?
Do you think these people should just be given appearance tickets?
How should society handle even the lowest level offenders.

Speaker 5 (04:09):
Local jails For those that don't know, local jails are
almost always holding people who are a pre trial, so
you can if you've been if you've been convicted of
a misdemeanor, you might still serve your sentence in jail.
If you've been convicted of a felony, you're going to
go to prison. But most people who are in local
jails are people who are locked up before their trial.

(04:31):
They haven't been convicted, So we're talking about what we're
really talking about here are millions of people who are
stuck in jails on you know, every single year because
they are haven't been convicted of but are charged with
these very low level crimes. The fact is that most
people who are stuck in jail pre trial are there

(04:52):
because they can't afford to pay money bail, which is
ironic because the purpose of money bail is not to
keep you in jail. The purpose of money bail is
that you can go free, but you have a financial
incentive to come back to court for your hearing.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Wander Bertram of the Prison Policy Initiative says bail is
off its mission.

Speaker 5 (05:13):
The way that bail has basically functioned over the last
couple decades or a few decades is that judges have
deliberately imposed amounts of bail that are higher than they
know people can afford as a way of keeping them
locked up pre trial because they believe that that is
necessary in order to get people to come to their hearings.

(05:34):
We and other organizations have been working for a long
time to show that this is really not the case,
and what your all that you accomplish when you hold
people in jail on unaffordable bail amounts is you make
it more likely that they're going to plead guilty. They
take a guilty plead just so that they can get
out of jail earlier. We have been pushing on local

(05:58):
governments to change how they hold people pre trial, because
even if it's just for a week or two weeks
or four weeks, that's the average amount of time someone
is held in jail. It is really destabilizing to have
to go to jail and to be away from your
you know, your family and your job and not be

(06:19):
able to pay rent and that sort of thing. And
that doesn't actually help public safety at large. It just
destabilizes communities.

Speaker 3 (06:28):
Yeah, I've heard stories.

Speaker 2 (06:30):
Where people have been, like you said, in jail pre
trial for more than four weeks. Have you discovered that
where people are basically just languishing there in jail almost
close to a year.

Speaker 5 (06:43):
I know that recently in Houston, there was a scandal
about hundreds of people being held for you know, for
hundreds of days just pre trial, right, just locked up
a waiting trial. And some of those folks are people who,
you know, just like our analysis says, are charged with
very minor things. So you have to imagine thousands of people,

(07:04):
if not tens of thousands of people locked up in
jails every year awaiting trial for a minor offense. That is,
you know, it's not just destabilizing to those individuals and
their families, it's a huge waste of public funds and resources.
That's part of what we're trying to draw attention to.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
Here, and it's black people held the most.

Speaker 5 (07:25):
We know that if you look at prisons and jails,
the total you know, the rates of incarceration for Latino
people and Black people are considerably higher than the rates
for white people and other racial groups. You know, specifically,
if if you total up the Black and Latino populations
in prisons and jails, it's almost it's actually a little

(07:47):
over sixty percent. So this is hugely, hugely impactful on
black communities in particular.

Speaker 2 (07:54):
Then there are the number of those who, for a
variety of reasons, lose their lives in jail, turning their
time into a depth sentence.

Speaker 5 (08:03):
One of the things that we try to stress is
that these are facilities that are not built to hold
people for more than a week or two. They're temporary facilities,
kind of like an emergency room, and yet they're holding
people often for a month or several months, and over
that time it's very easy for health issues to build up,

(08:24):
to go unnoticed, and then to lead to someone's death. So,
when you're not on health insurance, when your poor health
issues really build up, so you see more higher rates
of mental illness, higher rates of substance use problems. Also,
other chronic conditions, heart conditions, hypertension, diabetes, all those things

(08:46):
are more present in jails and prisons.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
And again, jails do not have the capacity like a
prison with the health facilities that could help people who
are locked up.

Speaker 5 (08:58):
That's exactly right, Yes, And you know, no one, you know,
no one is, no one is begging to go to
prison to receive the prison healthcare. Prison healthcare is pretty bad,
but jail healthcare in comparison is even worse.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
What should we do and how can we learn more?

Speaker 5 (09:14):
Well, you're always you know, people are always welcome to
come to our website prison policy dot org. That's where
we publish all of our research. But I think what
you're getting at more is you know, what what can
the average person do to change all this? I think
that really it's it's a matter of being aware of
what what the local criminal justice system is doing. Police, prosecutors, judges,

(09:38):
what are they, you know, read the news and notice
what are they prioritizing. Who are they prioritizing locking up?
Because I think what a lot of people don't recognize
is that a huge portion of folks who are locked
up in this country, they're not in state prisons, they're
not in federal prisons. They're in these local facilities run
by people that you elect, you know, so we can

(09:59):
choose to vote in sheriff's prosecutors, das judges who have
criminal justice reform in mind. And that's something that I
think that if more people paid attention to that, and
we're more engaged in that respect, we would probably see
a shift to the better.

Speaker 2 (10:16):
And she adds it also will be a shift towards
justice with the black perspective. I'm Vanessa Tyler on the
Black Information Network. Mike, back to you.

Speaker 1 (10:27):
Thanks Vanessa. Now, Alexandria Icamoni sits down with legendary R
and B group Escape to talk about past group members, family, fame, touring,
and so much more.

Speaker 4 (10:37):
What's up, guys.

Speaker 3 (10:38):
He's a girl.

Speaker 6 (10:38):
Alexandria Ikeamoni in the studio iHeartRadio with the three Ladies
of Escape. We have Tiny Candy and Tamika Scott. How
are you guys today?

Speaker 4 (10:48):
Right, you're good?

Speaker 6 (10:49):
Yeah, so happy to have you guys in studio. By
the way, thank you. Yes, you guys look amazing. I
have to put that out there. Everybody looks fantastic. But
we are here to talk about a lot of fantastic
music you have going on this summertime. Let's start off
with two of your songs, reaching new heights. Tell me
more about it. Little Secret just went platinum soft This

(11:09):
Place on Earth.

Speaker 3 (11:10):
Is now gold.

Speaker 6 (11:11):
How does that feel having that now in twenty twenty
five for those songs, Yes, it.

Speaker 7 (11:17):
Feels great, and it just let us know that the
fans are still listening. Yes, you know, before it was
all about buying albums and just selling albums, so like
our albums were platinum. But now that people can stream
singles or songs individually, and you know, it allows each
song to shine by itself. Yeah, so it's good to
know that people are listening.

Speaker 3 (11:36):
Yes, for sure, they really are. Yeah, so I listened
to it.

Speaker 6 (11:40):
Of course we all listen to those songs, and those
are not just the only hits that we have from
you guys. Is really just adding on top of what
you guys have already been doing for so long. So also,
let's talk about it. You guys have been doing this
for so long. But you have some shows coming up
this spring and summer. What can fans expect to see
this year from Escape?

Speaker 8 (11:59):
Well, I mean I think the tour that we had
last year we kind of we had we co headlined
with HWB, so we went back and forth kind of
like hit for hit type of vibe. So this time
it would be you know, each group is gonna do
their show separately and apart, but for the most part,
you're gonna get you know, the mics are gonna be on.

(12:20):
You know, we're gonna give you a show. You know
what I'm saying. We love to entertain our audience, Like
we don't just sing, we dance, you know, and.

Speaker 9 (12:30):
This is more, this is like a smaller venue is
more for the city. So we'll be very personal, Yeah,
real intimate, face to face because usually the shows we
do we like so far up on stage and so
far back, but here we're like close so we can
reach out and grab fans, which.

Speaker 6 (12:48):
Is really exciting. They cannot wait for that. And this
year we're still toward the beginning.

Speaker 3 (12:53):
Of this year, if you will, a little toward the
middle as well.

Speaker 6 (12:55):
But what can we expect from the group this year?
What would you guys like to accomplish or what is
to come for you guys?

Speaker 8 (13:02):
Well, I think that you know, we we're planning on
doing more shows and just up into Annie. You know
what I'm saying. We want to get better as we go,
better and better, just you know, broaden the horizons I show,
make them. You know, we're trying to get to a
level we can like you know, but we may not
be beyond that level. But you know, we're trying to
get But we need a budget.

Speaker 9 (13:27):
You can play a little bit, yeah, a little bit.
We have a nice now, don't get me wrong. We
have a very nice budget that we play with. Yeah, yeah,
to bring that experience and escape experience. But we need
that Beyonce budget. We want to start flying through the sky.

Speaker 3 (13:41):
I absolutely love it. So let's talk about we're talking.

Speaker 6 (13:44):
About you know, Beyonce. Know she's dropping music now on tour,
but what about you guys, Any music that we can
expect this year from you guys or we're just gonna,
you know, focus on the classics right now.

Speaker 7 (13:54):
We're just focusing on the classics. I mean, we also
were developing other artists, so you know, you will see,
you know, our creativity come out in the people that
we're working with.

Speaker 4 (14:04):
You know, OMG Girls, Young.

Speaker 7 (14:06):
Naya, Siren Girl Group, Sirens. So it's you know, we're
pouring into other people right now.

Speaker 6 (14:13):
That makes a lot of sense. I mean, you guys
have been doing this for so long, been in the
business for a while. It makes sense to really just
give the next generation, you know, a chance of to
get the knowledge from you guys, because your knowledge really
expands so well. So I do want to switch over
a gear. Since you talked about you know, g girls,
I will have to talk start with you over here.
How's everything been since? You know, you've had some of
these nice wins in the past and you're really just

(14:35):
enjoying life. How has it been with the girl group
and what's to come for them?

Speaker 8 (14:39):
Well, it's it's been amazing. It's getting better and better
as it goes. Yes, you know, we we luckily come
into a blessing. We haven't received it yet, but it's
coming its own way. And but the girls have dropped
new music. They're planning on releasing an EP this year.
They've never released the EP. We've had enough songs too,

(15:03):
but you know, just never happened. They kind of like
split or you know, for a while, and so we
never put anything out. So right now we're excited to
you know, put a new body of music out this
time around the girls are writing most of all their songs,
and they're in they're recording, they're recording theirselves. They're doing
everything on their own, like you know. So I love

(15:25):
to see them in their element like they have. At first,
it was kind of like me giving them stuff maybe,
you know. And now they're doing their own things so
and I'm just like, yeah, that's dope's and I just
got to come in and oversee it, like Okay, I
like that change that do this there, And so it's
it's a new it's a new era for me. It's
a new thing because I'm I also kind of have
to listen to their wants and wishes when I'm used

(15:48):
to running everything like we're doing this, we're doing that,
and you know. So it's different, but I'm loving it.
I'm getting used to them being in control of their careers.
And but we just dropped the song called make a Scene.
We got a dope video. We got a lot of people.
I directed it, so yeah, it was my first real
directorial debut. And I have people like uh DC, Young

(16:14):
Fly and my son Messiah and uh jadget pay a
lot of other people in the video. We get like
a small mini movie type of five five minutes type thing.
So you know, that's dope, and we're looking forward to
dropping a summer soon, you know, in a couple of
months or so.

Speaker 3 (16:31):
That's exciting.

Speaker 8 (16:32):
Yeah, and doing some shows and you know, things of
that nature, and collaborating with Candy and Siren and we're
gonna hopefully and young Nya. You know what I'm saying.
We talked about maybe putting something together for the for
the young artists, like but we can put some shows
together and maybe we'll do that. You know, hopefully that'll
come around because it's there. It's their time.

Speaker 6 (16:52):
Now really just to bring them all up, which is
really exciting. And speaking of you know g girls one
obviously your daughter, know that you have a few new
blessings coming into life. As far as grandbabies, how has
it been with the newest addition to your family?

Speaker 8 (17:06):
I mean, I love it. I mean joining having a
you know, we have our first boy, and he's amazing.
I'm just like, you know, all in to him. You
know what I'm saying. I got my my my oldest grandchild.
She's my little monster. She is very headstron She's gonna
be she's gonna be her her uncle. I mean, her uncle.

(17:29):
I'm sorry, her grandpa. He is in love with her
because she's in love with him, so he's taking out
my baby take on.

Speaker 3 (17:38):
I'm just playing.

Speaker 8 (17:39):
But we have and I have two more granddaughters that
we just had, so they are all amazing.

Speaker 6 (17:46):
Yes, absolutely, And you're talking about, you know, the next
generation of artists in this business. I mean, we cannot
continue the conversation without errors. I mean, oh my god,
she is a star within her own right. What I
mean because you're still mom, you still have control over her.
She's a little girl. What can we expect from her?
What would you like to see with her career?

Speaker 8 (18:08):
What airs you know? I've been kind of like taking
my time with Aris, because I mean, she's she she
hasn't recorded a lot of songs, but she has this
song she asking me out of time when we putting
that drama, queen. We ain't putting that druma queen. I'm
just like, we got time. But you know I know that,
you know kids are putting out more music, because that's
kind of waiting until she like.

Speaker 4 (18:27):
Grow up a little bit.

Speaker 8 (18:28):
But I may drop something on her this summer so
she can have her a little moment. But she's she's
acting now, she's doing her more shows, TV shows. She
got Miss pat Show coming out good season, She's on
the NBC show for Gross Point Guarden Society, and you know,
I'm just looking forward to her doing more of that.

(18:50):
But I keep her like, I keep pushing her and
I'm just grooming her like that's my thing. I want
to groom her. I don't just want to throw out there,
you know what I'm saying. I will give her the
opperun because you know, it seems like that's you know,
everybody's pushing me to do more, do more, So I'm
slowly doing it.

Speaker 3 (19:07):
Okay, makes sense. I understand completely.

Speaker 6 (19:09):
And she's young, you know, she has a long time
time so absolutely, you know absolutely, Now, Miss Candy, I mean,
what don't you do? That's really the best way to
put it. From restaurants to shows on Broadway. I mean,
the resume is very long, which is fantastic, But how
are you just managing it all within your day, especially
when you're now doing shows with the group again and

(19:32):
so forth. How is it looking like for you?

Speaker 5 (19:34):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (19:35):
Tiring?

Speaker 7 (19:38):
It's just like a NonStop, you know thing, constantly having
to work on.

Speaker 4 (19:44):
You know how I can make.

Speaker 7 (19:46):
This right or make that better, or you know, put
out a fire here. Yeah, you know this going there
and and sometimes it does feel like a lot, but
you know, I do have a good team around me.

Speaker 10 (19:59):
You know.

Speaker 7 (19:59):
I try to make sure I get that good quality
of time in My goal was to start, you know,
spending more vacations with the family. But sometimes things will
be so crazy. I'll be trying to figure like, Okay,
well when am I going to be able to do
what I gotta do, like you know right now. You know,
because I'm a firm believer, you got work on your

(20:20):
next move while you and your current move. So it's
like right now working on some things behind the scenes,
trying to get those things right.

Speaker 4 (20:27):
But what's coming.

Speaker 7 (20:29):
And it's just like it can be over women. But
it's fun because I'm doing what I love right and.

Speaker 6 (20:34):
You're doing it gracefully. We have to put that out there.
You're doing it very well. So you appreciate that one
thing that you have such success with recently that's been
talked about othello Broadway, Oh my goodness, I mean, how
are your what are your thoughts about the response that
it has gotten so far?

Speaker 3 (20:50):
And where would you like to go with Broadway.

Speaker 7 (20:53):
I'm grateful for the support. You know, the community is
the code it's coming through, like, you know, like everybody
is really coming out and supporting this show.

Speaker 4 (21:06):
We make history.

Speaker 7 (21:09):
Highest grossing Broadway sales week of any play in the
Broadway history.

Speaker 4 (21:16):
So it's you.

Speaker 7 (21:19):
Know, it's like one of those moments, you know, constantly
where I'm like, wow, I can't believe that I'm doing
what I always dreamed that I would be able to do,
but at the highest level, you know, So it feels
good and to say that I'm working with Denzel Washington
and Jake Jill. But this is my fourth show that

(21:44):
I've been a producer on Broadway, so you know, I
always you know, I have to say to people like
it didn't start with this when you know, I've been
going at this for a minute, and I feel like
each time we put up a show, we learn more
and it gets better and we get more support. Yeah,

(22:04):
you know, because I think when people realize, oh, you're
not just doing this for play play, You're doing this
for real.

Speaker 4 (22:10):
I mean, yeah, the respect.

Speaker 7 (22:11):
Is definitely you know, people have been showing a lot
of love.

Speaker 11 (22:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (22:16):
Absolutely.

Speaker 6 (22:17):
Now, of course I would not be doing my job.
I didn't ask something about Housewives here. We got to
talk about it, ma'am. Let me just start with, if
you had the opportunity to come back anytime soon, would
you be open to it?

Speaker 3 (22:29):
Would you take it.

Speaker 7 (22:31):
I'm just not in the space right now too. I'm
not really thinking about it. Just basically, yeah, it's nothing wrong.

Speaker 4 (22:40):
I don't have.

Speaker 7 (22:40):
Anything negative to say about the newcast because people are like,
what do you think about that? I think it's good.
I feel like it's good that they're switching things up. Yeah,
I haven't had a chance to get fully caught up
on the current season, but I mean, just like everybody
else has see the clips online, and I'm excited for
my friends Shmiah because we friends in real life, and

(23:01):
you know, I'm glad I get to celebrate her. But
I mean, to be honest with you, you know, sometimes
she'd be wanting you know, she wanted me to come
to things she was doing doing during the season, and
I didn't want to come because I was like, my
whole thing was I wanted a full year to be
off of the show. At least now it's now the

(23:23):
whole season past. I still want to be off.

Speaker 4 (23:27):
I still want to be off right now.

Speaker 7 (23:29):
But you know, I'm excited my daughter is going to
be on a show on Bravo coming out June third,
next Gen NYC, And you know I made an appearance
for her because of my daughter.

Speaker 3 (23:40):
Yeah, of course, But right now.

Speaker 7 (23:42):
As far as like housewives, I don't know if I
want to be caught up in the midst of.

Speaker 4 (23:49):
Business.

Speaker 8 (23:50):
It's really her business. Yeah, I'm sure she enjoys that.

Speaker 3 (23:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (23:55):
I like being able to just live my best life
and living it.

Speaker 11 (24:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (24:00):
You've shared a big part of your life with you know,
the audience watching.

Speaker 3 (24:04):
So yeah, for fourteen seasons.

Speaker 7 (24:06):
So it's like, you know, now I can just live
and not have to Well, not that I don't have
to worry about the opinions of other people, because people
still be having opinions, but I just don't have to
even care.

Speaker 6 (24:17):
Right, speaking of caring, I mean Kenya Moore's exit of
the show, what are your thoughts today? I mean, like
you said, you've seen clips. Do you feel like it
was warranted?

Speaker 5 (24:29):
Was it?

Speaker 4 (24:30):
I didn't like it?

Speaker 7 (24:30):
Yeah, And a lot of people, you know, hit me
with that. Well, that's you know, so inappropriate to show
poor on TV. But y'all, it's like, I don't know,
I've seen a lot of craziness happened throughout my years
on the show. Like it's been some crazy stuff and
everybody's acting like this is the worst ever, and I

(24:51):
don't I don't think that's true. I don't think this
is the worst thing that's ever happened on the show.
And even at that, I'm not saying that it's not
a bad thing. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying
that both her and the other young lady, they both
did something that was messed up, not cool, and like,

(25:12):
I just don't understand why one person was punished and
the other one wasn't.

Speaker 4 (25:16):
I didn't get that part.

Speaker 7 (25:18):
And it's like sometimes I feel like they go a
little extra hard on Kenn, you know, and when I
don't understand why, because it's like I personally feel like,
if you know you got craziness out there, man, why.

Speaker 4 (25:33):
Come on the show if you don't think you're ever
going to get exposed?

Speaker 7 (25:36):
Because we know housewives, the Housewives be exposing people, and
the audience that watch you exposed, like it'd be stuff
that once the show comes out, then people start digging
and finding stuff to put out there by So if
you had something like that that was out there in
the atmosphere that people can go online and get, you know,

(25:57):
why would you think that that's not going to ever
come up?

Speaker 5 (26:01):
Right?

Speaker 1 (26:02):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 7 (26:03):
So yeah, I just I wouldn't suggest anybody who had
a lot of secrets that they didn't want to deal
with to come up like to me, I would just
be like, you might own it and just keep it
pushing because you knew it was there, you know, But.

Speaker 3 (26:22):
It makes sense.

Speaker 6 (26:23):
Last question about Housewives, I did want to ask because
you mentioned that was not the worst thing that has
happened on the show in your opinion, what was the
worst thing that has ever happened any season.

Speaker 4 (26:37):
It's been a lot of bad stuff, that's true.

Speaker 11 (26:40):
You know.

Speaker 4 (26:42):
I just leave it at that.

Speaker 3 (26:43):
That's it. That's it.

Speaker 6 (26:44):
That's a valid response. That's a valid response for that.
Now it's to mek A Scott. You have a lot
going on as well. I mean on social media you
are always you know, talking about the products you have
and the businesses you have going on. So tell us
more about you know, every that you do that people
might not even see on social media.

Speaker 3 (27:02):
That you really want the people to know. Well, I
love to cook, Yes you do.

Speaker 9 (27:06):
So I started my own seasoning line called to Me
because Scott Southern fudse eight different fuds, Delicious, low sodium.
I use pink Himalayan salt instead of regular table salt.
And I'm just trying to build my culinary up. So
I just launched some candles there, dessert inspired candles. They

(27:26):
win one massage. Yeah, candles that you can get any
time of Mother's Day. Go to school and you get
your candles. So I'm just I got something else waiting.
I'm waiting on and I should I want to say
in another week.

Speaker 3 (27:42):
It has something to do with.

Speaker 6 (27:43):
Food, So I'm just food too, so I can't wait.
And I saw when you were massaging that candle on
your hand. I mean it looks really the over little
on it, so that yes, yes, okay. So let's also
talk about family. I mean we know there's one person
and who used to be a part of the group
that is not here at the table today, your sister.

Speaker 3 (28:03):
So when she did put out.

Speaker 6 (28:05):
That statement of her you know you're not defending her
during her escape. What was your thoughts on that and
how did you feel just to see that from your
own sister.

Speaker 4 (28:14):
Well, I mean, did I not defend her?

Speaker 3 (28:17):
Ladies?

Speaker 8 (28:18):
Well, you know, you know I don't. I were answered
it earlier. I don't question, but I mean, if I
can speak, because this is not a sister I'm not
in the sisterly.

Speaker 4 (28:30):
It's like business.

Speaker 8 (28:31):
Yeah, but I I feel like Tamika was always defending,
always in her corner. They were always locked, you know
what I'm saying. And we were just talking about being
in a group with two sisters.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
Was hell, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 8 (28:46):
For me and cand it because it was either the
two sisters because we do a majority roots, so it's
either a split thing here or one of us is
on the other side. But they were never separate. Even
though yeah, even though there are a lot of times
that she knew she would should have been on our side,

(29:08):
she was not. And it was because it was because
that's her sister, and that's what she was writing, that's
what she's been out time, she's been brought up, and
that's what she did for so many years. So eventually
I feel like she grew up and she realized that
that is not the best name for Tamika. You see
what I'm saying. So she started, So now you see

(29:30):
her making moves as a different person. She's she's going
her she's moving in her own direction, in her own
lane for Tamika and her family instead of just you know,
going that way because it's my family. And so she's
done that so long, a long time. So right now
I feel good about what she's doing because she has

(29:51):
held it down way, way too long and can suffered.

Speaker 9 (30:01):
But you know, you know, I'm Southern. We were brought
up that families everything. You don't go against family, no
matter what you know, even if your family's wrong, you
you sit there, you hide it, you put it up
on the rug, you know, and you just forget about it. Yeah,
so it carried on into our business. So I didn't
know how to separate the two because it's like, Okay,
you gotta make a decision, but you can't go against

(30:21):
your sister. So a lot of decisions that I made
was because it was what she wanted to do, I understand,
and it affected our business.

Speaker 8 (30:29):
Yeah, don't get me wrong. I was always you know,
touching my girl like me and hug like this, you
know what I'm saying. But I know when it wasn't
working for me and that in a way, and I
knew when I needed to be like, we're trying to
do this, you know what I'm saying, But it was
going nowhere because two against two?

Speaker 3 (30:47):
You know what I'm saying here, you've been quiet? Do
you have?

Speaker 6 (30:50):
I mean, you publicly spoke about you didn't understand where
it came from. What are your car in regards to her?
You know, her sister not defending Tasha?

Speaker 4 (31:00):
Tasha, well defend her? How I'm you say, not knowing
where it came from?

Speaker 6 (31:04):
No, from your perspective, because you you know, you were
saying you never understood what Latasha was saying about not
being defended by her sister.

Speaker 7 (31:13):
Okay, I try not to say much because I feel
like I always get blamed in the situation for everything here.

Speaker 4 (31:22):
But and I honestly I agree with what Tiny was saying.

Speaker 7 (31:27):
I feel like for years to Mika has just basically
supported whatever her sister wanted to do, right or wrong,
even when it wasn't in her best interest.

Speaker 4 (31:41):
And so.

Speaker 7 (31:43):
Now it's like, Okay, there are things that happened, and
there were choices that made What I did not understand
was when she said in the song. She made it
seem as though like we kind of put her up
the group. But for us and people who watched, they
showed it our last show TV show with.

Speaker 4 (32:07):
Escape Man Seviv.

Speaker 7 (32:08):
You could see on there when she was saying she
didn't want to do shows with us after the one
show that we were doing for that day, she didn't
even want.

Speaker 4 (32:17):
To do that on that performance.

Speaker 7 (32:19):
On the TV show, And then you know, there were
opportunities that came up for us to do as a group,
and she didn't want to do them with us, And
it was like her team at the time was just like, Okay, well,
y'all go ahead and do them if they'll do it
with you.

Speaker 4 (32:34):
Like thinking that people wouldn't want to.

Speaker 7 (32:36):
Work with us just because she wasn't a part of
and it's like, Okay, we accepted it, and I feel
like it's nothing wrong with her wanting to do her
own music.

Speaker 4 (32:49):
To be clear, we.

Speaker 7 (32:51):
Accepted it and we started doing our own shows.

Speaker 4 (32:55):
She was when was it she didn't want.

Speaker 11 (32:57):
To do it.

Speaker 7 (32:58):
So that's the part that I don't agree with her
doing the song. And she sounds great, you know, I
feel like she's very talented. Tasha and I always bumped it,
So you know, when people try to make it seem
like I somehow don't want for me, it wouldn't be
no different because we always moved in, whether it was

(33:20):
then or now, So I'm not really I feel like
there's so many family things that need to be worked
out before we even discussed the group. So the same
way it was addressed in the song, dressed her personal life,
she dressed family stuff, and then she addressed the group.

Speaker 4 (33:40):
I think that's how it needs to be fixed.

Speaker 3 (33:43):
I got it.

Speaker 2 (33:44):
I got it.

Speaker 3 (33:44):
And just a couple more questions.

Speaker 6 (33:45):
Since you're talking about family and fixing it, where are
you now with your family?

Speaker 9 (33:49):
Well, you know, I'm good and agree with my family.
I have a wonderful husband, beautiful daughters, wonderful glam babies,
So I'm at peace.

Speaker 6 (33:59):
Yes, absol my core family absolutely, And very last question here,
Mother's Day is coming up for the moms here.

Speaker 3 (34:05):
What would be your perfect and ideal Mother's Day plan?

Speaker 6 (34:10):
If you can pick it, tell your man's or tell
your kids what you want to do?

Speaker 3 (34:14):
What would that look like? We're gonna be on stage seeking.

Speaker 4 (34:20):
Show's day?

Speaker 3 (34:21):
Yeah, appreciate it. I was like, what were you thinking.
I said, it came up.

Speaker 4 (34:31):
You booked a.

Speaker 8 (34:32):
Show on Mother's Day and June I was.

Speaker 3 (34:35):
Like, yes, we did get to the back right.

Speaker 8 (34:40):
I was like, we work on Mother's Day any other time.
He's like, that's just but anyway, I mean, you know
we're gonna We're gonna be with that loved one, that's
for sure. Where we are working, we'll be, they'll be there.

Speaker 4 (34:52):
I'm saying, is that now? You know, I'm always thinking
about the coin.

Speaker 7 (34:56):
Of course, if we fly all our kids and the
whole feeling, we might as well not work because we
don't spend all the money.

Speaker 8 (35:03):
Like true, well you know, I'm only flying one because
all the rest of them they'd be all right.

Speaker 7 (35:12):
I ain't do that because my older daughter Briley and
Kayleb they get mad if we don't include them. But
we only include the smaller kids, though, I gotta take everybody.

Speaker 8 (35:26):
Well, I bring Major too if he wants to come.
But Major, you know, he don't really like do much,
so I don't, you know, you know, but yeah, but
King and Zannique and all the rest of them, they
have their own lives and you know what I'm saying.
So I only got one.

Speaker 3 (35:45):
To two to worry about. I love it.

Speaker 8 (35:48):
I love it well.

Speaker 3 (35:49):
We will say Happy Mother's Day to you all.

Speaker 6 (35:52):
And just in case you don't get the time to
really celebrate, maybe the day before day after you guys
can do something that'd be really fun. All right, Once again,
Alexandra Comoni and the Student with Candy Tiny and Tamika Scott.
Thank you guys so much for coming in, Thank you
for having us.

Speaker 3 (36:06):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (36:07):
Thanks Alexandra and the Ladies of Escape. While many eyes
are on the NBA playoffs, we're moving also closer to
the summer reading season. The Black Information That Works. Ester
Dillard speaks with an author whose new book mixes basketball
with romance in a complicated twist on this week's The
Color Between the Lines.

Speaker 12 (36:28):
In this edition of The Color Between the Lines.

Speaker 11 (36:30):
And as soon as they meet, there's like this automatic chemistry.
But the only thing is that she just recently lost
her husband seven months ago.

Speaker 12 (36:39):
We speak with best selling author Shanorra Williams about her
book Beautiful Broken Love. It's a deeply emotional story about
love lost and second chances. I'm Ester Dillard chatting with writers,
authors and experts who offer an added perspective for listeners.

(36:59):
This is the color between the lines on this edition
of the color between the lines. We're speaking with an
author who has written it at least forty books and
is a New York Times and USA Today best selling author.

(37:21):
Her name is Shanora Williams, and she is an author
who likes to write suspense novels full of romance, but.

Speaker 11 (37:28):
This one is a little different.

Speaker 12 (37:31):
It's a sexy sports romance and it's called Beautiful Broken Love.
Thank you, Shanora Williams. Thank you for joining us on
the Bion.

Speaker 11 (37:40):
Of course, I'm excited to be here.

Speaker 12 (37:42):
Well, first, congratulations on your book.

Speaker 11 (37:44):
You know, a book.

Speaker 12 (37:44):
People don't realize that it takes time and effort. It's
like a birthing process.

Speaker 11 (37:50):
What book is? What book number is this? Now? You
know what? I've lost track of how many? Like I
think after like that twentieth book, I was like, you
know what, I can't count anymore out of Yeah, it's
just I'm not sure which number this is. I have
to go back and count because there are also books
that I had published but unpublished them. So yeah, yeah,

(38:12):
it's forty. It's gotta be forty somethings.

Speaker 12 (38:16):
You're like a mom of three kids, three boys, and
you're sibling with eleven kids and a blended family. Just
those two facts alone made me stop and go, you know,
how do you find time to write all these books,
especially with jugging juggling being a mom, family person.

Speaker 3 (38:34):
How you do that?

Speaker 11 (38:37):
I don't know, Honestly, I do not know. I ask
myself that all the time, like how are you doing this?
Like I don't understand how doing it? But I think,
like I'm one of those people who likes to find
ways to do things, even if it means I need
to cut out maybe ten minutes here from scrolling on
my phone, because that's a bad habit. It is just
me scrolling. Like just I'm like, okay, let's not do this,

(38:58):
let's actually write a chapter or at least a couple
of words, you know. But also I had to create
like a routine for myself. And so like my husband,
he works during the day, he goes to like five,
he's off at like maybe three but three at the latest.
And my boys go to school, so those hours where
they're not here, really when I'm like, okay, let's let's work.

(39:20):
And if you don't work, you're out of luck because
once they're home, it's done.

Speaker 3 (39:24):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love the book.

Speaker 12 (39:26):
The book deals directly with grief and not superficially. It
takes a deep dive. And how were you, I guess
inspired to use grief in this story with the main character, Divino,
who loses her husband who dies suddenly.

Speaker 11 (39:45):
So I was inspired to write the story because of
my on loss, Like I lost my brother in twenty sixteen,
and it was like the summer of twenty sixteen, and
he had just come back from traveling because he was
a professional basketball player, and so he came home for
the summer. And I'm glad he did because other countries
are thickle about how they passed the bodies to a

(40:06):
certain things. So he passed away. It was just very
sudden and very out of the blue. And I just
remember that at the time, his fiance, she was pregnant
with his kid, and you know, they had plans for
a future. And I was like, wow, I cannot imagine
if I was in that situation, like what I would
do with the person that I thought I was going

(40:27):
to spend forever with, Like that is shattering, Like it
hurts to think about. And so I just took my
own hain and grief and all of that and tossed
it into the novel. And it was really hard to
do because you have to like face that again. But
I didn't write it for I took about maybe a

(40:48):
year or two to really get back to get into
it because that that process of like it talks a
lot about healing. So that process of healing is you know,
something that I think you have to do before you
try to go and like fit this head on.

Speaker 12 (41:01):
So and with loss like that, especially something so close,
it takes time. I mean it may not be one year,
it may not be two years. It ebbs and flows,
it comes back and forth. So it's not something that's like, oh,
I'm over it, let's move on. It's not for those
who may not know what this story is about because
this is brand new. This is out maybe a week

(41:23):
or so. Can you just talk about what the story
is without revealing too much.

Speaker 11 (41:29):
So the story is about Divina. She is the CEO
of a skincare company, and you know, she's like, you know,
big boss, big moves type lady, and she ends up
getting the opportunity to have a famous NBA player NBA
player endorse her company, and but it's like as soon
as she meets him, and as soon as they meet,
there's like this automatic chemistry. But the only thing is

(41:53):
that she just recently lost her husband seven months ago,
so it's like in her mind, she's like, how am
I feeling this for somebody else? So soon, you know,
like it's very shocking to her. But the guy, you know,
he's like, WHOA, Like I need her, you know, immediately,
like I need her so and it sort of forms
a bomb. Like at first they become friends and then
it slowly morphs into romantic relationship, but it happens very gradually.

(42:19):
And what I loved about it is that it was
just a natural relationship in my opinion, Like it was
very He was very patient with her, and it was
because he was dealing with his own grief too and
he understood her. So I thought that was nice to
touch on for that.

Speaker 12 (42:36):
Yeah, you talked a little bit about processing emotions just
a little while ago, and I think that this is
a very big part of the book because and probably
a big part for you writing, because you had to
process your own emotions while.

Speaker 11 (42:50):
Writing this book.

Speaker 12 (42:51):
And was that a challenge and how was it a
challenge and what did you hope that people who would
read the book and firs as far as the characters,
what they would get from those challenges and how they
handle them.

Speaker 11 (43:09):
So one thing I did learn while after that loss
was that everyone grieves differently, and my so like, the
way that I was grieving was completely different from how
my other siblings were grieving. Some could just shut down
and didn't want to speak of it at all, and
some were like speaking about it all the time to
the point where you're like, I don't want to cry

(43:30):
and stop talking about it, you know. And then there
were those who were just just in it, I guess,
like in it and they couldn't get out of it.
And I wanted to take that and put that into
the story because I thought that was important because I
think people are going through certain stages of it and
not like maybe you'll see someone and they seem happy,
but they may be like completely shattered inside. And I

(43:52):
think that was what was happening for the hero in
the book, for Deeck, is that he you know, you
see this guy think wow, he's got it made you know,
like he's wow, but you don't really know what that
person is going through inside, and I think that is
a big part of grief. And yeah, I don't know.
It's very tricky to try and like put that into words,

(44:14):
and I tried my best to put it into words
as much as I could, but it is very tricky
to do, especially when you have to relive it.

Speaker 12 (44:21):
Yeah, yeah, I it's you know, right now, it's the
holiday season and the people there's a lot of people
even let's say if we're not in the holiday season
and it's a birthday time where it's different parts of
the year. People a lot of times associate different things
with the holidays as being happy and go wonderful. But

(44:45):
for some people, this is dealing. They're dealing with this
kind of real talk, and it's not an easy thing
to kind of overcome.

Speaker 11 (44:54):
It's not quick.

Speaker 12 (44:55):
And you make that very very clear in the book
how Lavina is dealing with that.

Speaker 11 (45:00):
Yeah, that's true because the holidays, especially the holidays, you know,
you expect those people to be there. Like I know,
I have a lot of friends who are like, dang,
I really wish like their mom was here, or their
dad was here, or their grandparent was here. And it's
it's kind of I think if you're healed. It is
a bittersweet thing if you're in that good process of healing,
But if it is recent and it's fresh, it's just, honestly,

(45:22):
it's pain that you feel. And I think, I don't know,
trying to navigate that is very hard. I don't know,
it's just very hard to navigate that for people. And
I think that's why a lot of people were kind
of iffy about, you know, reading this book right now,
because they're like, no, girl, this is too close. This
is you know, this is the holidays. I'm supposed to
be happy and cheerful. So I did get a lot

(45:45):
of people said that they were gonna wait to read
it after the fact. But I can understand that because
I personally don't think I would want to read anything
this heavy this close to the holidays, because I would
probably be sobbing and ruining the mood for everybody. So
we don't need that.

Speaker 12 (46:03):
I know, I read I've read from your bio that
you have eleven siblings from a blended family, and your
characters have siblings. You know, I grew up in a
household where my mom and dad they adopted children and
took in more than thirty foster children into their home.
So it was a house that was a lot of activity,

(46:24):
and there were different relationships and everything. So with some
of the characters, their relationships and things reflected from your family,
And why did you choose to make those I guess
so many of those relationships evident in the story because
you didn't have to.

Speaker 11 (46:41):
Yeah. So Divina is her sister is literally just like
my sister, one of my sisters. She's the closest in
age to me on my mother's side, and she's literally
like down like her to the tea, minus the baking
and the cooking part, but she's very like similar to
her and attitude and personality, and she's someone who likes
to keep a smile and try to stay positive even

(47:02):
when it's, you know, everything feels low. And there are
moments in the book where she does try to lift
Divina up, like come on, let's you know, let's move,
let's get up, you know. And there were moments where
I was like, no, I don't want to move, I
don't want to get up, and my sister was like,
let's go right, yeah, like we're not going to sit
here in this punk, you know. So I appreciately that
appreciated that about her, And with Deck and his sisters,

(47:22):
he had a good I think he had a good
relationship with them. And it reminded me a lot of
my relationship with my brothers, because they are always doing
something that doesn't make sense, and you're like, why, why
are we doing this? We're on the phone and they're
just like, so I did this and I need help,
and I'm like, of course she do, you know. And
I feel like that's how the sisters were, Like his
big sisters were like, what are you in too? Now?
You know? And I thought I did take that from
real life. Yeah.

Speaker 12 (47:44):
Now, although the story is about love and it's about loss,
and it's about sports and all these wonderful things, what's
their overarching message that you hope that people will get
when they, you know, they pick up this book.

Speaker 11 (47:57):
I I would say that I hope people just feel
some kind of hope. I think that is the main thing.
Is like there is light somewhere, like it's not always dark.
And that was something that I did not believe in.
I thought, like, this is just going to be forever.
This is bleak, you know, I don't what's the point
of living like this is weird you know that somebody
is gone, you know that was so close to you.

(48:20):
But I think it kind of shows like there are
different ways to heal and there are ways to get
through it. And I think it also is important to
have a support system to get through these if you can,
because it is hard to deal with grief by yourself,
especially if you're someone who's prone to mental health. It's
like if you have a mental health problem, like for me,

(48:40):
I do suffer depression and anxiety. That is a thing
for me, so I can't be in my feelings for
too long or it leads just to a darker, darker place.
And I think the main thing, yes, is just to heal,
to hope. I hope people feel a little bit of
hope here. Maybe they'll feel like that bittersweet feeling, but
they'll know like, wow, this is still this is life

(49:01):
and it sucks sometimes but it's also beautiful. So I
hope that is what they take from it.

Speaker 10 (49:07):
Well.

Speaker 12 (49:08):
You know, it's interesting that I could draw parallels with
personal things and then political things too, because there's a
lot of people that are feeling loss from the loss
of election. So yes, use some of that that those
lessons in there as well, because people are you know,
dealing with what is going to happen next, you know,

(49:30):
where are we going? So it's interesting you can take
personal and different.

Speaker 11 (49:36):
Ways of looking at it.

Speaker 12 (49:37):
Great wonderful story.

Speaker 11 (49:39):
Thanks to Noor Williams for joining us on the en.
Thank you.

Speaker 12 (49:43):
That's it for this edition of The Color Between the Lines.
If this conversation actually moved you, make sure that you
subscribe to The Color Between the Lines on the iHeartRadio
app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 3 (49:54):
I'm Ester Dylan.

Speaker 1 (49:56):
The horror movie Sinners is turning out big numbers and
crowds at the box office. Bin News commentator Mo Kelly
recently caught up with one of the main stars from
the movie and shares his discussion with her about the
film's success and her character.

Speaker 13 (50:12):
I'm Mo Kelly for the Black Information Network. In theaters nationwide.
The new supernatural thriller Sinners, trying to leave their troubled
lives behind. Twin brothers and World War One veterans, both
played by Michael B. Jordan, nonetheless returned to their hometown
to start again, only to discover that an even greater
evil is waiting to welcome them back. Joining me right

(50:33):
now on the show is one of the co stars
of Sinners, actress One Mimesaku, who you know from siries
such as Lovecraft, Country, Loki and of course her TVA
ties from Loki carried over to the movie Deadpool and Wolverine.
One Mimasaku, A pleasure to meet you. How are you.

Speaker 10 (50:48):
I'm good, Thank you? How are you?

Speaker 13 (50:50):
I'm actually tickled because right now I've known you from
your best works such as Lovecraft, Country, Loki and of
course the movie Deadpool and Wolverine. But I don't think
i've heard your natural voice until now. You grew up
in Manchester, England, and I'm always so curious about how
English actors may hear the so called American accent. What
do we sound like to you and how do you

(51:11):
go about mastering it?

Speaker 10 (51:14):
Oh? Well, I love hearing American accents. I love hearing
how different they are from from east to west, north
to south. It's it's a challenge, but we we hear
so much. We get so many of your TV programs
when we're growing up, so we hear it a lot.
And then, you know, then getting to the specificity of

(51:35):
different accents like my character and Sinners, I play someone
from Louisiana, and you know, I had a dialect coach
in Beth Maguire, who is amazing, and it's it's it's yeah.
I love doing accent work. And it's interesting because it
doesn't actually come naturally to me. But with a good teacher,

(51:56):
I can get it. I can't just listen and repeat,
but I can someone can break it down the hows
and the whys and what people are doing with their
tongue and their mouth and the back of and their
soft palette. I find it like an a really fun challenge.

Speaker 13 (52:12):
Sinners is, of course, a supernatural horror film, is directed
by Ryan Coogler. And as I said my introduction starring
Michael B. Jordan, tell me more about this story in
how You as Annie come in.

Speaker 10 (52:25):
So I play Annie, who is who do priestess, a
conjure woman, a healer. She is powerful and full of
love and understanding, and she has such a groundedness and
connectedness with her ancestry in the spirit world. She is

(52:45):
smokes other other half. So Smoke is played by Michael B. Jordan.
He plays Smoke and Stack, identical twins, and she is
smokes person. Soul Tide his safe place and sanctuary. Yeah,
she's someone who has the intuition and the foresight and
knows what's going on before most people know what's going on.

Speaker 11 (53:08):
What y'all doing?

Speaker 8 (53:09):
Just step aside and let me ha in. Now why
you need him to do that?

Speaker 2 (53:13):
You begining strong enough to push passes what.

Speaker 13 (53:16):
I wouldn't be too polite?

Speaker 7 (53:17):
And now would it?

Speaker 13 (53:17):
Miss any I don't know why I'm talking.

Speaker 3 (53:20):
To you anyway.

Speaker 11 (53:21):
Admit to it.

Speaker 8 (53:22):
Admit to what that you did?

Speaker 11 (53:27):
So you listening to this? Now?

Speaker 9 (53:30):
Now we out here playing games telling ghost stories in
place of doing what we ought to.

Speaker 13 (53:35):
Do, and what is it we're supposed to be doing
being kind to one another, being polite.

Speaker 9 (53:41):
Now we is one peoples and we shouldn't go in
barging into other folks places uninvited.

Speaker 3 (53:48):
So you've been in and out of hell all day.

Speaker 12 (53:51):
He ain't never need an invite them.

Speaker 13 (53:53):
Yeah, someone ain't had nother in working with someone like
Michael B. Jordan and how you are in timately tied.
There's a level of intimacy with your characters. Tell me
about that production process. How much rehearsal time might you
have with him prior to doing scenes?

Speaker 10 (54:10):
And we had two weeks rehearsal. Everyone got spent this
time kind of getting to know their characters, getting figuring
out their costume and spending time with Ryan and Michael
and understanding their history. We had we had their history
kind of written out like beat by beat, when they met,
you know, when she moved from Louisiana, when they when

(54:33):
he went to war, and we spent this time just
like trying to flesh out their past so that when
they're reunited after seven years of being apart, all that
history walks into the room with them and whether or
not you see it as an audience, you feel it. Yeah.
So the rehearsal period was really about getting to know

(54:55):
each other, building that history between us, and building trust
so that we could we can move freely with each
other and safely and know where our strengths and weaknesses
are and where we need the support and the space.

Speaker 13 (55:13):
You know, Sinners is a powerful, powerful horror movie, and
the horror genre I would say has evolved over the
years where it was less psychological, less thriller, and more
bumps and jumps and screens, and then this seems a
return to that. When you were reading the script, I'm
quite sure it impressed you one way, but after seeing

(55:34):
the final movie had probably impacted another way. Talk to
me about the powerful nature of the movie.

Speaker 10 (55:39):
I feel like horror has such a I want to
say modern horror, but I don't. I don't watch a
lot of horror, but since like for me get Out,
horror has been such a powerful tool for empathy, for
building empathy with audiences. Whether it's you know, someone who
looks so different from you, what experiences the world in

(56:02):
a different way from you, the horror, I don't know,
it triggers all those instinctive like adrenaline and anxiety and
your sweat glands, and now you feel an iota of
what it might feel like to be that person in
that situation. And whether it's an asylum seeker in his

(56:22):
house or Daniel Callua in Get Out, I feel like
horror has a powerful way of connecting people who otherwise
may not understand the horrors of humanity, that part of humanity.
So yeah, I think it's a really powerful tool.

Speaker 13 (56:44):
You said something right there. I want to go back
and get you said you didn't necessarily watch a lot
of horror, But if I look at your career, you've
been able to do extensive work in either fantasy, this
being horror or science fiction. Is that, by chance or
choice that you've been in a world of of make believes?
Let me put it that way.

Speaker 10 (57:02):
I mean, for me, the story, the story, the messages
that are told in these in these projects, whether it's Sinners,
Lovecraft Country, even in Loki, the story of like a
crisis of faith, the vampires, a vampire spiritual or actual

(57:22):
or uh or energetically, that taking trying to take what
you have, your gift, your you know, it's the story
that matters. It's the character journey for me that matters.
I feel very lucky that I've been in part of
projects that really the story has moved me. The stories

(57:46):
have changed me the way I look at the world,
the way I interact with the world. And so yeah,
it horror is to me, it's for me, it's it
always boils down to the story and lessons that I
learn and with the way I'm challenged in my way
of thinking. And it just happens to be that some

(58:07):
of the most creative ways of storytelling have been through
horror in the last few years.

Speaker 13 (58:13):
For me, are you someone who is there the first
night to watch audience reaction to a movie like Sinners
to see you on the big screen. Are you someone
who doesn't ever want to see yourself on the screen
and doesn't want to critique your own work?

Speaker 10 (58:29):
That's really interesting. I've never done that. I've never gone
to the cinema on opening night to see the audience response.
But my husband was thinking, saying the other day, maybe
we should do.

Speaker 3 (58:39):
That, and maybe I will.

Speaker 10 (58:41):
I think maybe I will, but it's not I don't
usually I've never done that before, but with this one,
it feels like it might be cool to do that.

Speaker 13 (58:50):
I have a feeling you might be right. Sinners in
theaters nationwide. Much success for you and the movie. Thank
you so much for the Black Information Network. I'm Mooke,
Thanks Moe and one me. Be sure to catch Centers
starring Michael B. Jordan, directed by Ryan Coogler, and theaters nationwide.
Now that's our program for this week. For more on

(59:11):
these stories, listen to the Black Information Network on the
free iHeartRadio app or log onto binnews dot com for
all of the latest news impacting the black community. Also
be sure to follow us on social media at Black
Information Network and on X and Blue Sky at Black
Info Net and make this Black Information Network station number
one on your car radio and iHeartRadio app presets. I'm

(59:34):
Mike Island, wishing everyone a great Sunday and happy Mother's
Day to our moms out there. Be sure to tune
in next week at this time for another edition of
the Black Perspective right here on the Black Information Network