Kirstin Garriss: Black In America: Generational Healing

In this episode of CAN+DID, Hosts Rikki Harris and Will Voss are back and they’re flipping the tables on one of the most impactful interviewers in broadcast media. Kirstin Garriss is an award-winning journalist whose series Black in America earned her an Emmy Nomination. In the series, Garriss interviews 4 generations of Black men, including Host Will Voss. This impactful interview is sure to give insight to anyone listening on the long lasting, generational effects of racism on mental health. Join us as we get CAN+DID with Kirstin Garriss.

To watch Kirstin Garriss’ Emmy Nominated series Black in America: https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/local/black-america-generational-healing/H6QZWUBVLVEH5B435KSLBBDRCM/

About Kirstin Garriss:

Kirstin Garriss is an Emmy Nominated journalist. She joined the Cox Media Group Washington, D.C Bureau in August 2021. Previously, Kirstin was an investigative reporter at FOX13 Memphis (WHBQ). During her time in Memphis, Kirstin walked miles with protesters following the death of George Floyd, and covered the police reform changes that followed. She won a 2021 Regional Murrow Award for her two-part series, "Black in America: Generational Pain and Healing" highlighting the experiences of four generations of Memphis men about racial inequity. Before coming to Memphis, Kirstin was the Government Reporter for Spectrum News in Charlotte, NC, a statewide hyperlocal cable station. During her time in Charlotte, she covered the 2016 Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention and Charlotte's bid for the 2020 Republican National Convention. Kirstin also worked in Hagerstown, MD at WDVM (formerly WHAG-TV), where she covered the Maryland General Assembly and at NPR and NBC News in Washington, D.C. Kirstin is also a 2021 Gracies Award winner, a nationwide honor from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation recognizing women in the media industry. She’s also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE). Kirstin grew up in Raleigh, NC and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Follow Kirstin Garriss:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReporterGarrissFOX13Memphis

Twitter: @ReporterGarriss

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstin-garriss-71008419/

Instagram:
those who are passionate aboutmental well being. We hope that

(00:27):
by sharing stories, listenersunderstand mental health and
just how important it is in ourday to day lives, and they will
help us reduce stigma. We wantyou to know that so many who
have struggled with mentalhealth can and did overcome
their challenges. And if you arestruggling, you can too. I'm
your host, Ricky Harris, CEO ofTennessee voices, and with me as

(00:51):
my favorite co host will VossCEO of Tennessee voices. Welcome
to our podcast. Let's getcandid.
Welcome to the candid podcast.
We are super excited. My cohosts will last here with me and

(01:14):
we have an interview that Ithink you're gonna love. Will
you got to participate in whatis now an Emmy nominated piece
called black in Americagenerational pain and healing
that aired on Fox 13 in Memphis,in 2020. Yeah, give us your

(01:34):
little quick, down and dirtybehind the scenes. What were you
thinking? What were you feeling?
What's this piece? I want you tohave a chance to talk about the
piece? Yeah,

Will Voss (01:47):
so I will say, you know, first thing that came to
mind was how nervous I was goinginto that piece of it. Yeah, I'm
not even gonna lie. So you know,you mentioned we're going to be
talking with Kiersten here in alittle bit. award winning
journalist reporter. She used toreport down in Memphis with Fox
13. And she's still being ableto have that connection after we

(02:10):
first met during May, I believe,for today's Mental Health
Awareness Month. When shereached out to me regarding this
black in America generationalpain and healing segment two
part two segment that she didnot be able to have a mental
health perspective on it. I wasI was excited and nervous.
That's where I was wanting tomake sure that I was saying the

(02:33):
right things and of course,representing Tennessee voices
and been able to stay true towho I was. Because a lot of it
was around, you know, what is itlike being black in America, and
then to be able to talk about abit the generational pain and
healing with a mental healthperspective. I want to make sure
I say the right things. I wantto make sure that I said

(02:57):
something that I hopefully wouldstick with someone to be able to
get the help that they need andbe able to start processing and
dealing with the trauma inpayments still exists. Yeah. Oh,
so I know we've got a lot to

Rikki Harris (03:13):
unpack that in five minutes or less. First
thing I'll put on packs, yousaid you were nervous going into
it. You told me that before whenit comes to talking on the
subject of race racism. It we'vetalked about it's it's still
sensitive topic. How do you getthrough the nerves? How do you

(03:34):
push past? Getting it even youstill participated? Didn't back
out. So what did the nerves doto you? And how did you get
through it? push past it. Andhow did you reconcile in your
mind?

Will Voss (03:50):
Well, what the nerves do to me, I think a lot of
people who have it feeling youstart, you get butterflies in
your stomach where it's like,oh, boy, okay, am I gonna say
the right thing and not pushpast it? I think I've said that
before. A lot of times before Igo in and do news interviews or
big speeches or presentations,just whisper prayer. It was

(04:12):
something that I learned from mydaddy, you know, x Lord to be
able to, you know, give you theright words to say. It makes
sure that it's something thatcan impact somebody. And it was
so funny. I'll tell you this. Idid a live interview a couple
weeks ago, and he gave me acountdown and I had started

(04:34):
praying late. I was like, Lord,I apologize. I'm not going to
finish this prayer. But I wentin with confidence and hope that
you know what? I may not be ableto reach the whole world but
hope someone watches this thing.
Yes, race is still a sensitivetopic to talk about. And as I
continue to mature and getolder, I'm realizing that, you
know, I've got to use my voice.

(04:58):
I use my voice in the mentalhealth field. To make a
difference and talk about theneed for mental health services
and seeking support, and I'mgoing to be able to use my voice
and my experiences when it comesto race things that I've dealt
with and how we can grow. Youknow, I mentioned to you before,
that we've got to be able tolove better in this world. And

(05:21):
you know what I can, I think Imay have some input at 31 years
old how we can love each otherbetter in this world?

Rikki Harris (05:27):
Yeah, yeah, two things that come to mind when
you said, you worry about sayingthe right things. And I just
think about how so much of howwe're trying to get through all
of this together is worryingabout what we're saying. And if
it's the right thing, and thatmeans different things for

(05:49):
different people for differentreasons, for sure. But I think
all of us can relate to findingourselves there. But, but to
touch on the lack of love, or,you know, trying to increase the
love I reference in theinterview with KEARSON that I

(06:09):
had watched, Will Smith do aread table talk with Kevin Hart.
And Kevin kind of alluded tothat too. He was actually
talking about his children whenhe when he said it, but he was
talking about what fatherhoodmeant to him, and how different
his experience as a child wasgoing to be than the experience

(06:32):
that his own children have,because he vowed to change the
way that he was parented, andthe way he would parent. And he
said that the, that his childrenwere little representations of
the love that he gave them. AndI thought that, that's so true,

(06:53):
but it's so true of everyone asa thought about as a leader, as
a CEO. And, and I'm sure you canrelate as a CEO, there's so many
people, looking at you waitingfor how you're going to handle a
situation, how you're going torespond to something, what the
words that come out of yourmouth, my mouth are going to be.

(07:15):
And if my goal is to always tryand say what needs to be said
out of love, that is going to befelt not just heard. And I know
that's something you've talkedabout is how you make people
feel.

Will Voss (07:31):
Oh, yeah. You know, something I think about it. You
mentioned, making sure that Isay the right thing. A lot of
it, Ricky, for me stems from,I've got a platform. Can I use
it for something? And you know,as well as I do, when we're
doing these interviews, thesenews interviews that we've only

(07:53):
got a certain amount of time toget our point across. So can we
take that time to make sure thatwe've said the right thing, as
far as making sure that we'vegot our intent across our point
across and the purpose of whatwe do and why we do it, and how
people can seek help. That'sreally, really the core of why
we want to make sure we say theright things. I'll never forget,

(08:16):
in high school, I had a teacherwho taught me the real meaning
behind why you shouldn't say shewould dock us each time we did a
speech presentation. And we'dget points out if we said I'm in
the midst of a presentation. Aswe're speaking, we don't want to
waste their time saying I wantto make sure we do say the right
thing.

Rikki Harris (08:37):
Yeah, I love that.
And and no matter if oneperson's listening, or 1
million, your words are going tomean something to someone,
they're either going to help orthey're going to hurt. We have a
choice about that. And utilizingthat wisely. I think that really
comes through in the interviewwith with Kiersten is he used
her words to try to move theneedle forward and helping us

(09:03):
understand what the experiencewas of for generations of black
men who really needed some timeto talk about pain and healing
around the time of the GeorgeFloyd incident. And I think it
was an important and timelypiece and you're going to hear
her talk about it. And I thinkit's going to be worth listening

(09:25):
to so yeah,

Will Voss (09:27):
I would say is definitely worthy. She has been
nominated for an Emmy. So Ithink everybody should
definitely tune into it afteryou guys hear her. Is that next
guest?

Rikki Harris (09:37):
Absolutely. All right. Here we go. Awesome.
Welcome. Welcome to the candidpodcast. I'm your host, Ricky
Harris. We have my co hosts theawesome amazing little boss and
our guest today. Super excitedhere. So I mean, we've got a lot

(09:58):
to get packed. into this nextthree minutes because this has
been a big year for you and letme start with a big
congratulations on the Emmynomination for your piece black
in America generational pain inhealing. Wow. So excited. I have
chills just just knowing thatlike, will be part of that. But

(10:18):
what you did with that it's theperfect place to start and tell
us why what what why do thatpiece why was that important to
you? Obviously, we want to hearall about your, your why behind
that piece and what you do as ajournalist?

Kirstin Garriss (10:32):
Yeah, no, that piece was really a man just
taking what we saw last yearwith a different protests. I
mean, from the death of Georgefloored a George Floyd but even
the the deaths of others at thehands of police. And it was
actually a converse of storycame about because it was a
conversation I had with thepastor. And he was just like,

(10:53):
you know, as African Americans,we deal with this generational
pain like this doesn't lead thishas been happening for
generations, we kind of pass itdown. And I was like, Oh, my
gosh, we really do. And it's notintentional. It's not something
that like, you know, families,you know, want to sit down and
have this conversation. Youknow, no, one's parent wants to
say, hey, because of your skincolor, someone may treat you

(11:14):
differently. So when they lookat you differently, society may
view you differently. But ithappens. And so I wanted to, to
have this conversation. I wantedto find four generations of
black men to show people likeyes, this is a generational
conversation. But also, what Ithink is interesting, I
literally asked one question, Isaid, Well, what does healing
look like? And it wasn't part ofmy notes. I was just like, You

(11:36):
know what, let me just ask itturn into another 20 minutes of
these four gentlemen, explainingwhat healing looks like. And I
was like, Okay, this is nolonger one story. This is a two
part series, I knew will havebeen so helpful with just
talking about mental health inthe black community, which is
another stigma that we'reworking to overcome. And with

(11:56):
black men in particular, youknow, black men are taught, they
can't cry, they can't showemotion, a lot of these things,
you have to be strong with thefamily. And it's like, no, it's
okay. Like, last year was roughfor a lot of people emotionally,
mentally. And just, I feel likeI wanted to have that mental
health piece to show people likeit's okay to feel these things.
How do we how do we havegenerational healing? Like how

(12:18):
do one day we are healing fromthis, you know, from all these
different tragedies, all thesedifferent moments, and even just
the microaggressions that wedeal with every day? I think
that's what I want to alsohighlight in the piece. It's not
just these the George Floyd's ofthe of the world, it's like
minor things that a lot ofpeople experience. I've
experienced anything I'venoticed when people have ignored

(12:38):
me in the store, or theopposite. I feel like someone's
following me because, you know,they might think I might take
something like, and that'ssomething that those are the
small things, people don'trealize that really last with
you. So yeah, hope that answeredyour question.

Rikki Harris (12:51):
It did. It did.
And I know Will's got somethings he wants to say in
regards to the peace because Iknow it was such a huge honor
for him. Before he makes thosecomments, let me just say that I
am grateful to you for doingthis story. I learned a lot from
it, I needed to hear what youhad to share through the people
that share. And I'm so gratefulfor well for being courageous

(13:13):
enough to step in that role andpublicly speak and help educate
the community. So well.

Will Voss (13:24):
Appreciate that. I really do. It was very, very
exciting to be able to be a partof that piece. And here's just
forever grateful for you foreven thinking of me for doing
it. When you present me withopportunity, all I could say was
yes, yes. Yes. And when and, youknow, there was so much that
came out of that piece and youtalked about the why behind why

(13:45):
you chose it. But for those whodon't know, who cares, who cares
is why journalism what you know,tell us tell us how would you
describe Houston Gary's theperson who's got into journalism
and covering such importantstories and impacting the world.

Kirstin Garriss (14:02):
It's funny, I really wanted to be a vet when I
was growing up, like literallylike kindergarten everyone in
kindergarten wouldn't be Oh,yeah. It was like Dr. Singer,
gymnasts, whatever here said, Iwant to be a veterinarian, save
animals. Like that was me atfive years

Will Voss (14:15):
old. And we love the animals, you know. So but no,
it's

Kirstin Garriss (14:19):
really interesting because I was
actually really quiet kid didnot really talk much in school.
But I was really curious andalso have to credit just
influences in my life. My latefather was really just into just
consuming news. For ratiosreader, I mean, he his library
is still massive in our house.
And just my grandmother also wasbig on watching Oprah everyday

(14:40):
like when I got home fromschool, four o'clock on the.we.
Were watching Oprah. So I feltlike I had these different
influences that were part of mylife. And then in high school, I
took the class broadcast one onone, I was like, You know what?
This is pretty cool. But Ialways liked talking to people.
I've always liked getting toPeople stories. And as I've
progressed in my careerprogressed in my career, there

(15:03):
we go, I can talk, I promise.
Sometimes words are hard,though. But I will say, as I
progressed, this is actually my10th year in journalism. And
it's really, it's amazing to seejust have grown, but also just
my love for journalism has grownas well. But also even my, I
would say, my willingness tostand up for stories that I feel

(15:25):
like are important, like when Ipitched that story about talking
to for black men forgenerations, I wasn't sure what
my boss was gonna say, I waslike, Hey, here's the story, I
want to do it. I want it to beraw, I want it to be, you know,
impactful. And it was great tohave, you know, a manager and
said, Oh, let's take it to thenext level. And let's film it
inside the National Civil RightsMuseum. Like if we're gonna do a

(15:47):
story of this magnitude, let'sdo it at a place with magnitude
as well. So it was really niceto have that sense of like,
okay, I'm, I'm, I'm suggestingthis big story that's important
to me. It's personal to me. And,you know, my team really
supported it. And it was greatthat when we were trying to cut
down the story, it was like,holy, I bet it's like, and
you're like, Okay, this is, youknow, it really was helpful. And

(16:08):
I even when I was trying to putthe story together, I reached
out to other black men I admirein my circle, who are
journalists and leaned on them,because I will always admit, you
know, I'm not a black man. I'm ablack woman. So my experiences
are similar, but also different.
So I'm always big on wanting tomake sure any story I do, I can
represent it as best aspossible. And if I can't do it,
I find voices that can. So I'mbig on trying to find voices

(16:32):
that are diverse, that representthe people impacted by the story
directly.

Rikki Harris (16:39):
Wow. That's awesome. There's so many,
there's so many questions I havefor you. The first, the first
one I want to ask you is whatwas it like, being a journalist
through the last 20 months inthis world,

Kirstin Garriss (16:55):
you will need some more time in this podcast.
It was it was interesting,because I think like a lot of
people, I definitely thought Iwas going back to the newsroom
in like, two months, I was like,Alright, let me check a few
things. I'm gonna see my deskback. And like I had files,
there, open records request, Iwas like, I'll get to it in two
weeks, maybe a month. Um, whatwas interesting was seeing, we

(17:18):
were covering something thateverybody was trying to figure
out, including scientists. Andthat was very unique at times,
because you know, we do storiesabout how to stay, you know, how
to stay calm during a pandemic,or what can you do to kind of
relieve stress, and one of themwas like, Don't watch as much
news. And you're like, whathappens? If you are the news?
How can I? How do I not do myjob and also relieve stress? And

(17:42):
then also have a loved one inhealthcare. So I had personal
things going on where like thatloved one is sending me photos
of them and their, you know,protective equipment, which I'm
glad they were in it. But it wasweird being like, Well, I'm glad
you're fighting the good fight.
But also, can you not, can yougo, can you please stay home.
But of course, I didn't saythat, because you know, they're
doing their job. My job was to,you know, talk about what we

(18:04):
were learning. And then thingstook another turn when we saw
again, the protests, and just adifferent
I'll say this actually, justbeing a journalist, in general,
covering any kind of policeinvolved incident, it is
something that can be longlasting, because there are
incidents that I've covered thatyou may not know about, you may

(18:24):
not know, Keith Lamont Scott,you may not know Wayne Jones,
those are all stories I'vecovered in their incidents, the
police footage, all that stillengraved in my head. So when it
came to this one, it was like,it was different, cuz I've never
seen protests explode like thatacross the country and across
the world, quite frankly.
Because normally, when we seethese incidents happen, it's

(18:46):
very much localized to thatcity. But it was for me as a
journalist, it was it wasdifferent seeing my friends who
covered who are also journalistscovering similar things in their
cities. And so for me, when Iwas off the clock, I had to do a
really big job of tuning outeverything, because it was, you
know, check Twitter and it'd belike, my friends tweeting about

(19:06):
this protest and other friendstweeting about that protest, and
they're doing their jobs. ThenI'll go to Instagram, same
thing. So I know, one weekendafter covering I think it was I
think I did five or six daysstraight of protests in Memphis.
I had to delete Twitter fromboth phones. I was like, look,
it's getting deleted this theapp, you know, I didn't delete
Twitter forever. But I was like,You know what, delete, work

(19:27):
phone, went into the bag, wentto the closet and closed the
closet up. I just had to do mybest to kind of just reset and
really just protect my peace.
That's something that's come outof the last 20 months. I've told
people protect your feasts. Youknow, find a way to find moments
to turn things off, quiteliterally and figuratively. And

(19:49):
I remember even that weekend, Isent out a corrective note to
the newsroom and I'll say lookrespectfully. I'm off this
weekend. Here's who'sprotesting. Here's a number.
Don't call me. I need to justTake a break. And I've never
done that before. I neverexplicitly said please don't
call me. Because I'm usually I'mstill a team player. I'm big on
hey, if you need anything, letme know. Like, even today, one

(20:10):
of my co workers was finishingup a story I started, I was
like, Hey, here's some moreinformation we would like. I'm
off the clock. And I'm like,still sending stuff in. And I'm,
I've always been that way. But Iremember that story distinctly.
Last year, I was like, Guys, Ijust need 48 hours to just not
to literally binge watch themost ridiculous fun thing on
Netflix like I just needed thattime. And then even last year,

(20:31):
covering more COVID things, Iwas more honest with managers
about needing a day off formental health. And that's
something I tell people, youhave to be very comfortable with
how much you want to share.
Because obviously, when you callout sick, you don't have to
explain why you're calling outsick. That's your, you know, if
your we have sick days for areason. But I know there were a
couple of times, I was straightup and honest and said, Look,

(20:51):
this story was a lot. I neededit. And one story was I got a
chance to tour a COVID wing inDecember. So it's at the height
of a lot of cases hitting theMidSouth. Seeing people that
looked like me seeing people tolook like, you know, my
grandparents like that was toughto see those individuals on
ventilators. And I was like, Youknow what? Yeah, this was a lot.

(21:15):
And that was new for me to speakup and say this story. While I'm
glad I covered it, I'm glad Iwas able to write it, I'm glad
that I was able to producesomething. But I can also
recognize that story took a lotout of me mentally, I needed a
break. And ironically, I had atherapy session that day. But it
was more I just I needed to stepback because that was a big,

(21:36):
that was a lot to take on. Sothat's kind of was covering 2020
was learning how to just speakup for my mental health and also
learning how to put up barriersthat I needed to put up either
at work or just personallybecause again, no one at work
said you must delete Twitter. Iwas like, No, I mean, delete
Twitter immediately for at leasttwo days, you know, just take a
break. And that's tough as ajournalist, like we're used to

(21:57):
just being on all the time.
Like, I'm like shaving offnotifications as we do this
podcast, like stop popping up.
I'm like, that's part of ourlife. So little things like
that. I just, that's, that's howI managed covering. Point
2020 21.8. Now we got Omicron.
So you know, what's gonna happennext? So I think yeah, I think

(22:21):
that's kind of protect yourpeace. That's like, my hashtag.
That's my mantra that's come outof this pandemic, that I've been
definitely gonna preach to thejournalists and just other
people, but really, otherjournalists, because we're often
putting our mental health on thebackburner.
And not intentionally, I feellike it's just something that
has happened and somewhere tolike the stigma of mental health

(22:44):
in the black community, there'salmost a stigma of like mental
health and journalism in asense, and that we don't, we're
up Morocco was told, Hey, it'sokay to take a break. You know,
burnout is real. I think we sawthat a lot last year, like, I
purposely took staycations.
Like, we couldn't go anywherelast year, I was still at home.
But you know, for four days,again, I didn't leave the house,
I just, you know, played withthe dog, I watch whatever I

(23:05):
wanted, I ate food, you know,like, but like, staycations.
I've never really done thatbefore. So I think that's the
kind of thing I feel like 2020did give us in terms of like,
being a journalist was like,where do we put boundaries?
Where do we put just places torest? And being honest about we
need a break? I think that'ssomething that for me
personally, I'm big on saying,Look, yeah, this story was a

(23:27):
lot. And it's okay to say that,like, it's not, I'm no less of a
journalist by saying, this storyreally took a lot out of me
mentally.

Will Voss (23:38):
I will tell you this as it's powerful, what we were
able to learn through these past1820 months. And I really
appreciate you for sharing thatwith us, especially being
vulnerable and open, letting usknow, there are moments where
you had to yourself say, I needa mental health day, because
mental health affects us all.
That's what we continue to tellpeople time after time again,

(23:59):
and there are so many people whodon't understand the importance
because of the stigma around it.
You mentioned something as faras you know, the stigma with
mental health and journalism,you are able to utilize your
voice today and tell people whatyou've done and give those tips
and tools. And that's exactlywhat we want listeners to be

(24:21):
able to hear and understandsomething to take away and say,
You know what, this is someone Ican relate to have been there. I
feel that how would youencourage others to access
mental health resources orunderstand the importance of
utilizing their voice to say,You know what, I'm not okay.
Especially in the journalismfield, because it is so go go go

(24:44):
beyond it. How would youencourage other journalists,

Kirstin Garriss (24:47):
I would say, first, find ways just to rest. I
feel like that's the biggestthing, and rest looks different.
Everybody. Rest, like I said canbe deleting the social media
apps. For a little bit ordeleted them off your personal
phone, a lot of us in journalismhave two phones, like the work
phone, the personal phone, youknow, delete some stuff off your

(25:07):
personal phone. Another thing,run, not walk to therapy and not
because something's wrong. Ithink that's the big stigma is
that people think, Oh, you're intherapy. Something's wrong with
you. No, I'm, I'm okay. But Ialso have days where I'm not
okay. And I think that's, to me,therapy is proactive. And I
heard someone say, actually,Jasmine Soloway. Um, I've been

(25:29):
loving her new album. But that'sanother story. That's another
podcast one other day.

Will Voss (25:34):
But she'll be coming here next year in concert in
March is when I heard

Kirstin Garriss (25:37):
listen, I'm trying to get tickets. So you
got the hook up. But that'sanother story again. Um, but no,
it was interesting. She had aninterview recently, for another
podcast I listened to and shesaid, someone asked her, like,
how do you celebrate yourself?
She said, I celebrate myself, Igo into therapy. And I was like,
gentlemen, if you don't stopwith this gym, I mean, I

(25:58):
literally pause the podcast, andI was just like, wow, she really
just says she celebrates herselfby going to therapy. And to me,
that's my new, like, take on itis that, you know, me going to
therapy is celebrating myself,but also investing in myself and
saying, Hey, self, like, youneed a break. It's okay to like,
take a look. And also, you know,talking to someone who isn't,

(26:20):
who isn't in journalism, whoisn't a family member who isn't
a bestie, someone who can reallykind of help you unpack, you
know, was it a story that maybemade you feel a certain way? Was
it, you know, working 10 daysstraight, that made you feel a
certain way? I mean, those arethings that I've done, I've
worked like 12 days straight injournalism. You know, I've
worked 1215 16 hour days. Andagain, in was happy to do it,

(26:43):
but like, looking at how didthat affect me? You know, do I
need to take breaks and justputting up barriers that work
for you, you know, again, is itspeaking up and saying, hey, you
know, what, I need help withassignment or, you know, what I,
you know, I can I get a breakbefore I do this other, you
know, assignment here, like, Iknow, thing was last year, too,
I got the chance to fill inanchor, which was great. I was

(27:06):
like, super excited. But thatmeant working a six day and
having one day off. And again,totally didn't mind doing it.
But I know there are a couple ofweeks where it's like, man,
there's a few times in a row, Ineed a break. And I just
literally spoke up and said,Hey, can I just have a day off
randomly? Like, I don't carewhat day it is. It can be
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,Addison another day to kind of,
you know, reset, you know,regroup. I need two days off

(27:27):
somewhere in the week. Mymanager was like, oh, yeah,
sure. You know, like, I thinksometimes people just forget to
ask you sometimes, because it'sjust like, oh, yeah, you're,
you're going going going? No onehas spoken up. And you know, at
the time, it was like overtime.
So like, it's like, oh, yeah, gofor it. Like, I was like, No,
I'm good with overtime, like,just give me a day off. I don't
need extra OT. But again, if youdon't speak up, sometimes people

(27:49):
don't realize you need a breakor want a break. So I think for
me, I would just say learn whatrest looks like for you. Speak
up for breaks. Again, whateverthat looks like, is it a break
in the league? Is it you know,taking that staycation? Or like,
asking for the break slashasking for, you know, speaking
up about burnout, and thentherapy, I guess those are like

(28:11):
my Three Things for fellowjournalists. And doing it
earlier. Like I literally hitlike 910 years in business, and
I'm just now getting therapy Iwish I'd done this years ago.
And I feel like the younger youare one it feels like access to
therapy is just impossible. Butto you just feel like you can't
afford to take a break. And Idefinitely want younger

(28:32):
journalists to know you can takea break. Because if you don't
take a break, he may not be inthe business, you know, 1015
years because you're burnt outby your two. So I definitely
want younger journalists to likefind breaks find time to like
address burnout, because theyhave more pressure than I did.
When I was first getting startedin the business. Twitter was
like, was a tweet. You know,like, we were not really using

(28:54):
it to break news. We weren'tthere was no live, there was no
threads. There was no Twitterlive, there was no Facebook
Live, like there was none ofthis extra stuff that younger
journalists are expected to knowand to do. And so I just really
want everyone to just, you know,protect your piece. And I think
part of that was just with risk.
So yeah, like rest speakingabout burnout in therapy,
therapy, therapy therapy. like Iam, I was late to the team. I

(29:17):
had a lot of good friends whowere really instrumental in like
helping me get to that finalstep. Because something was on
my list. I never was like notherapy. It was like, I'll get
there and some were just on thelist and just never got checked
off. And then one day it was oneday in 2020 I was like you know
what? Again, it was like theCOVID news was like hitting a
lot the personal. I had somepersonal things I was going

(29:40):
dealing with and one of myfriends was like so about a
therapy though. Did you get it?
I was like about that. So thatday I called and made an
appointment. me putting wasn'tfor another month later but it
was like I needed someone topush me to say okay, like,
because I made the call. I hadlike a list of their I was like,

(30:01):
oh, okay, I did my job. Got alist. I figured it out. And she
was like, okay, but that list isno good. If you don't call,
like, if you don't make anappointment with somebody, you
know, and just start theprocess. So that's that was
like, again, therapy. It takestime. You know, I'm not gonna
rush anyone's journey, but it'slike, if it's on your list, go
ahead and like, get it done insome way.

Rikki Harris (30:22):
That is, I think that is so common, that little
piece of your story aboutgetting the list of therapists
but not making the appointment.
That is a very common momentwhere the pursuit of therapy
stops, I got the list. I intendto call. I know who I want to
see. But that next step doesn'thappen. So thank you for that

(30:45):
encouragement. First of all, Ithink that's a really important
thing. It also reminded me ofsomething that Will Smith said,
so I want I wanted to bring thisup today, because I watched the
red table talk interview betweenWill Smith and Kevin Hart. And
it so it had such a flavor ofyour story, black in America,

(31:07):
generational pain and healing,the I mean, they should have
been in your story. Because,

Kirstin Garriss (31:16):
you know, for like, people, I got you.

Rikki Harris (31:19):
Like, there was a little on the website, there was
a little page at the front,like, if you want to be on the
red table talk, I'm like, maybe,maybe KEARSON should be like on
the red. But, um, no, he WillSmith said something, he was
identifying that black mensometimes, in his opinion, and

(31:39):
Kevin agreed, they have a hardtime getting to the space of
finding the importance inaddressing your feelings. And he
said, I couldn't find the spacewhere feelings were more
important than accomplishments.
And you were kind of saying thatwhen you were talking about
young journalists, they're, youknow, they're afraid to stop,
they've got to get it done, youknow, there's too much and they

(32:00):
want to be in the mix. Where'sthe space where their feelings,
their own needs, their ownthoughts, their own struggles
are more important than theaccomplishments because that's
not what society tells them,especially as young people, and
layer on top of that people ofcolor, what a society tell them
that needs to be important, andwhat they need to look like and

(32:23):
how they need to act in order tobe accomplished. And that just
that resonated with me. And thenKevin said, in regards to having
children, for particularlygirls, he said, I had to learn
to be okay with softening,because I was softening. My
daughter softened me. And thatdidn't feel manly, to be

(32:48):
softened. But I had to learn tobe okay with it. Because it was
important to be to be a goodfather. It so much of the things
that came out of that really amhearing just the the interviews
back that the two part seriesthat you did, I was hearing it
back and thinking, you know,what Kiersten did there, and

(33:09):
that story in Memphis thatresonated with a lot of people.
And now you have two hugecelebrities that are saying the
same things. And they're sayingthis is how hard it is for us to
let go and be okay. With failingsomething. Because that's not
what we were taught to do. Yeah.

Erika Lathon (33:33):
We'll be right back after this short break. Tn
voices is now hiring qualifiedapplicants to build positions
all across the state, you can bepart of a growing team that puts

(33:53):
the mental health of Tennesseansfirst and thrive in a
compassionate work environmentto apply to join our team log on
to tn voices.org/employment.
Welcome back,

Kirstin Garriss (34:19):
yeah, no another. I feel like belief
that's out there is having to belike strong like there's the
strong black woman like we'vetalked a lot about black men.
But being a black woman, there'sa sense of having to be like the
strong one. And one of myfriends who's actually a
therapist in Charlotte, he hasshirts that say check on your
strong friend but strongestcrossed out. So just check on

(34:40):
your friend. And I love thatconcept. Because again, I feel
like the same way Kevin Hart wastalking about wow, you know,
it's not manly to be soft. Youknow, it's okay to say like
today I'm not strong today. Ijust want to, I just need to, to
melt you know, but I know that'ssomething else that I've I've
talked to others about to myother friends, like, you know,

(35:01):
it's okay to feel like today, Ijust need to feel my feelings.
But there is this sense ofhaving to having to push
sometimes, you know, even whenyou don't feel like it pushing
way beyond. So that's anotherthing, just you know, it's
crossing out the strong and justchecking on your friend. And
just also it's okay just to youdon't have to be strong every
day. I think that's somethingelse I would say for journalists

(35:24):
or any profession, honestly,like, some days, you got to feel
your feelings. So I'm glad thatyeah, Kevin Hart. And Will Smith
had that conversation. But Iknew that's another dynamic too,
that a lot of people, you know,try to balances. Being a strong
person, strong for others, butalso being strong for yourself.
And sometimes that looks likeacknowledging, okay, I need to

(35:44):
break any take a moment formyself. That's the other thing
like saying you need restsaying, Hey, I'm dealing with
burnout that's helping you. Atthe end of the day, and I think
being journalists, a lot of usare you so used to we do
stories, they sometimes do helppeople, but a big part of our
we're just used to being a partof the community and giving a

(36:05):
lot. So I think sometimes it'shard for us take a step back and
say, Oh, let me get to myselfand take a moment. And recognize
when I need the break, and Ineed, you know, to ask for help.
That's the other thing I know, Ididn't ask for help a lot.
Sometimes it helps to step backand say, You know what, I do
need help with this, like thetherapy thing, looking at the
list, like, I needed help fromfriends to, to push me to that
next step. And so I think it'sokay to ask for help and say,

(36:27):
okay, you know, what, why am Iwhat is holding me back. And for
me, I was holding back like, Iwas like, I don't like any of
these people, I don't like theirbio data. And then one of my
friends was like, well, therapyis like dating, like, you got to
go on a first date. So firstappointment to figure out. But
she was like, you can't even getthe therapy if you don't make
the first date. And I was like,Okay, let's go. I'll do it. But

(36:52):
you know, that's the kind ofthing is like, having friends in
your corner you can be honestwith. And that helped for me.
And these matches to two of mygood friends who had been in
therapy for years before Istarted, who were saying these
things like, hey, like, I'm onmy second therapist, you know,
like, it's okay to switch thingsup. You know, sometimes you work
with someone for a few years,and then you need to switch to
someone else, because your needshave changed, your growth has

(37:13):
changed, like, that's okay. AndI'm recognizing that point in
myself, I don't have I'm lookingfor a new therapist now. Because
I realized when I had a mentor,she helped me through what I
needed, help with and 2020 andthen to 2021. But now I'm
looking for someone new, becauseI also want someone in my city
so that when it is safer to, youknow, do things in person,
again, I want to be able to showup because for me that tells

(37:34):
with my accountability, I wantto be accountable for Okay, I
have an hour with this person,if I have to meet them
somewhere. That's going to addmore emphasis to me to make that
appointment. And as a personalthing, I know myself enough to
say, Okay, this helps I need tohave a physical appointment.

Will Voss (37:52):
Just in black in America, generational pain and
healing. What stood out so muchto me was the generational
piece. Because I coming from mybackground, you know, Cargill is
home right outside of Memphis.
But it hasn't always been thatsmall, beautiful town that it is
now. You know, my greatgrandfather was a sharecropper.
So there's land out there thatused to be cotton that was

(38:14):
picked and a little shack. It'storn down now. And we think
about what he went through, youknow, someone who didn't get a
chance to go to school and hearmy mother talk often about how
he pushed education. You know,he was so proud of them to be
able to graduate high school atthat time and going to college.
And to be someone who was calledon in that interview with a

(38:36):
master's degree. It wassomething that I was so proud
about, like there's so much painthat have been carried all these
years. And I stand proud on hisshoulders, you know, of what has
been built, because I can't evenimagine what he may have went
through during that time. And wehave to be aware of you know

(38:57):
what, in this day and age, whenwe talk about race, a lot of
what younger generations areexperiencing on is that history
that they learned, things thatthey have heard, you know,
secondary trauma, you know, evengrowing up and thinking about
what we've seen on TV. So it'simportant for, you know,
listeners to understand thatwhen we are trying to educate

(39:19):
ourselves or be educated onrace, there's a lot that that
person may be holding on to. Soyou you, we appreciate every
interview that you call thewholeness to include us and I
will tell you that curiousbecause to be able to tap mental
health back into a lot of thingsthat we don't normally tie it
into is so crucial, soimportant, especially within the

(39:41):
African American community. Youknow, we talk a lot about how
mental health doesn'tdiscriminate. There is still a
great stigma in the AfricanAmerican community. And we have
to talk about it. You know,Ricky and I both come from faith
based backgrounds, and we've hadthose conversations as far as
you can Pray and go to therapy.

(40:01):
It is possible it is.

Kirstin Garriss (40:03):
God made therapists. All right. He did
it.

Will Voss (40:07):
So so for you. Yes, yes. So for you to tie that into
those segments and offer ourresources that we're able to
provide now will forever begreatly greatly appreciated.
Appreciate to have you with it.

Kirstin Garriss (40:21):
Well, it's interesting, because when you
were touching on thegenerational aspect of my piece,
I was struck by the connectionsthe men were making, as we were
having the conversation becausethe oldest gentleman he talked
about seeing a picture ofimmaterial, it was one photo.
Versus he said, I can't imaginebeing the younger, the teenager

(40:44):
we had on the panel who sawGeorge Floyd on repeat, because
it was on our phones, it was,you know, just, you'd watch it
over and over again if you wantit to. And then another, like,
just connection was, again,Roby. That was the same Robbie
Williams, he talked about howagain, because until he never

(41:06):
thought about datinginterracially because he was
like, and I remember distinctly,he was like, I don't want my
mother to be burying me, becauseI'd love someone who look
different. And then one of theother Patrick, who was also on
part of my story, he is aproduct of a biracial
relationship, in love, like hismother is white, and his dad is

(41:27):
black. And he is proud of that.
And he talked about how hewalked in this space being both
but also how to, sometimes hehad to choose. And in the part
of the story that I thought wasjust it blew my mind was a
standardized test. Like, that'show he found not not found out
about race. But really, he hadto choose a racial race on a
standardized test and fifthgrade. Because the test said,
you have to choose white orblack, and he was like one vote,

(41:51):
and the teacher was like, butthe test says you have to choose
one. So it's just interestinghow there were so many
generational connections. Andagain, all these men were
actually basically strangersbefore the interview. Two had
known each other a little bitthrough other organizations. But
for the most part, all four menwere didn't know each other's
backstory. So to me that wasalso powerful is that you could

(42:11):
see the connections that waspart of the reason why I wanted
the story to show forgenerations for strangers,
because I wanted to highlighthow these four men have so much
in common, even though they'venever met before this moment.
And so that was a big part ofwanting to make sure we had
those connections. But then thefact that we do see things on
repeat, and knowing that, youknow, the youngest of them,

(42:34):
everyone agreed we don't wanthim 50 years later, to be having
this conversation with anotherreporter, you know, talking
about how things have, you know,haven't changed, but hopefully
how things have changed. Somaybe, you know, who knows,
3040 50 years from now, it's itis only generational healing, we
aren't talking about pain, or ifwe talk about pain, it's okay,

(42:56):
this pain spurred this healing.
Because as you said, Well, youknow, you're walking in your you
are your ancestors, you know,wildest dreams, you are now
living proof that what they werefighting for? You're living it.
And same thing with me. Youknow, I'm grateful that barriers
my parents, grandparents facedare not barriers I face. I think

(43:17):
that's, you know, that's part ofour story, too. I think it's
powerful. It's like, with eachgeneration, how can we continue
to grow? How can we continue to,you know, advance in different
ways, and that looks differentfor every family to like, for
you is like having that master'sbeing able to represent your
family in this way. For me, it'sthe fact that I am no reporter

(43:37):
for me. That's a whole nothertrade. But I feel like I'm
touching on everything myparents did, I'm touching on you
know, I get to touch on allthese different things that my,
my family my ancestors havedone, because with journalism,
we are talking about somedifferent topics. So for me,
that's that's big to merepresentation. I mean, just so
many levels, but that's anotherTED talk. Let me I get

(43:58):
termination on MTV. Gonna belike it is 630 Why are we still?
So but no, I think there's justyeah, there's there's a lot of
levels to that. And it isinteresting, I didn't dissect it
my piece like this, but it's itis I'm grateful that it meant so
much to different people, andthat it left people with
different things. And it'sheartwarming. I mean, the day we

(44:20):
found out about the nomination,I was like, crying tears of joy,
happiness saddened, like thatsadness, but it was just like,
Oh, my God, like this reallyhappened. Like it was just like,
oh, like, what? Um, so it's justbecause it meant so much to me.
And it was like, you're putting,like your firstborn out to the
world? And you're like, will youlike them? I don't know. And so

(44:41):
that's what it is when you workon a piece so much, because
there was, I mean, several weeksof preparation for the
interviews, and then trying toput it together hours writing
hours from I mean, there's a lotof people a lot of there's a lot
of things people didn't see. Andit's not to like this is not to
To my own horn, I think it'sjust to show people like you see

(45:03):
the full finished piece. Butthere's so much behind the
scenes that people don't see.
That literally is like blood,sweat and tears trying to get
something together. And itstarts with just, you know,
hoping that again, your teamsays, okay, yes, we want to move
forward with this project. Soyeah, that was definitely so
many things.

Will Voss (45:27):
I will say this, I know we're getting close to
wrapping up. I want to tell youthat she you said something
earlier or asked you this. Yousaid something earlier about,
you know, celebrating,celebrating yourself. You got a
lot to celebrate in this moment.
You have been nominated for anEmmy. And yes, I'm going to keep
doing a shameless plug black inAmerica, generational pain and
healing, because I wantlisteners and viewers to go out

(45:50):
there and watch it in really,really understanding, you know,
the impact that it has, and thatit had on a lot of us,
especially those of us that wereparticipants in it.

Kirstin Garriss (46:03):
I am definitely truly blessed. I mean, we just
don't face a little bit and youknow, down the south, I'm in
like the south ish. We considerDC like some southern ask. But
no, I mean, it's definitely, Iam just truly blessed because
it's ironic, one of my old coworkers last year, she was like,
you were like walking in yourpurpose, like you are really
doing this. And then this year,I pick a word of the year each

(46:26):
year to kind of like define myyear. And I picked purpose. And
it really has been a blessing tojust see a story that meant so
much to me that again, was fromfrom beginning to end was all
Kiersten and not to say, thestories I do every day aren't.
It's more. This was truly likemy brainchild. It was like,
Okay, I want to put thistogether, I wouldn't want this

(46:49):
story to be told, I haven't seenit in these be told, and you
know, I'm going to try and makethis happen. And then the
reaction to it has been justoverwhelming. Because again, I
think it shows that black voicesare important in stories that
black male voices are important.
I mean, I was very kind of goingback to wanting to represent
something as authentically aspossible. To me, we have black

(47:09):
men have a very differentexperience in this society. And
I wanted to highlight theirvoices for that piece for that
moment, and I think that wasjust, that was my way of
connecting with what we saw withthe George Floyd. Tragedy. Just
I wanted to, to bring thatforward. So you know, I will be

(47:30):
celebrating for sure. But Ithink to me that the celebration
is just people embracing thestory. And I tell people all the
time, I did not get intojournalism to be famous. I did
not get into journalism to winawards. Those are the furthest
things ever. And as I mentioned,I'm now 10 years in the business
and I'm getting my first awards.
Like it's not something you tome, this is like, it is

(47:53):
definitely full circle. It'slike okay, you know, I've
definitely been putting in thework. And I feel like yeah,
these are pieces I'm truly proudof. And ironically, one of my
mentors. He saw the piece lastyear, and I remember his email
response back was like, this isyour me, and I was like, What's
he talking about? I was like, Idon't know. We'll see. And this
is someone who's known me sinceI was like, literally job shadow

(48:13):
event in high school. So liketruly, as seen my growth through
it all. So for him to say like,this is your Emmy. I was like,
is he sure? Did he watch theright story? Because I think
that's the thing, it's whenyou're, when you have something
you're just truly proud of, Idon't know, you're just kind of
like I did my best. I'm proud ofthe work whatever happens

(48:34):
happens. So it's been a blessingthat it's it's gotten some
awards, and that it's up foranother big one. And for me, I'm
just again, I'm just lattice.
The big thing. It's touchingpeople and that's, that's why I
do this job. I hope that if mystory touches one person, I have
accomplished something today.
That's really always been mymission with getting into this

(48:55):
business is help one persontouch one person. Okay, now that
one person multiplies the two,hey, even better, but that's
always been my thing. But youknow, I celebrate myself. I
don't know. It's like, I'm avery low key person. You know,
it's like, again, I'm working onthis. But that's I think that's,
that's, that's totally to saylike, you know, it's new to once
you celebrate myself to say,okay, yes, this is my moment.

(49:18):
Because again, I'm very big onlook what this other person did
look at this, you know, overhere. It's not to say I'm not
proud of myself. I think it'sjust, that's I'm big on
highlighting everything else,other people what they're doing.
Because with this job, I'm justso blessed. I meet so many
amazing people. I mean, you guysare just two of like the 1000s
if not more people I've met inmy journey. And to me, that's

(49:41):
why I think this job is soamazing. It's like I meet people
every day. And some of thepeople I've met are just doing
incredible things and I'm justlike, I get five minutes with
you. This is great, you know,like this, this is your life.
I'm just like taking 510minutes, but there probably will
be, you know, a splurging ofsome kind of meal. I don't know
carbs, I'm on this like healthjourney to sound like, you know,

(50:02):
my scores on the carbs. We'llsee IV Parkins. You know,
Beyonce is dropping some morestuff, trying to take more of my
money. So we'll see if I'm notgonna get Beyonce anymore my
coins but you know what? Cameback with me in the next week
and we'll find out?

Will Voss (50:19):
Well, I will, I will tell you this, when I, when I
became CEO, I was ready to hitthe ground running. And Ricky
called me one day and she said,hey, don't forget to celebrate
yourself, this is a bigaccomplishment. And I tell you
that you are definitely walkingin your purpose. You have,

(50:41):
you've impacted so many people,but you're in DC now. You no
longer Memphis when we first metyou, and you're giving so many
girls and so many black girlshope by seeing someone on TV
like, you know, that can be meone day, I can use my voice and
help others and, you know, likereally make an impact across the

(51:02):
world. So we definitelyappreciate you. You know, we're
giving hope from the mentalhealth side, and you're
definitely giving hope, as faras journalism goes. So thank
you, thank you for everythingthat you are doing.

Rikki Harris (51:13):
Absolutely. And we're going to link the story in
our description of this podcastso that people after they listen
to it, they just have to knowwhat the story is. So they're
going to be able to just clickright in and see it. But I feel
like today, it's almost like asongwriter talking about the
song. Like we got the behind thescenes the songwriters view the

(51:34):
journalist, what was on yourmind what was in your heart and
your friend was right. Yeah, itis. I mean, I can feel it, I can
sense that you are walking yourpurpose. And congratulations to
you for doing that. I know thatyour family must be very proud
of you. And you, you should beproud of yourself. So thanks for
taking the time for us. Andhopefully those who listen will,

(51:57):
will be able to sense how Idon't know. I mean, I feel it I
don't know about you will. Butif they can't feel this
interview, then I don't knowwhat to do, how to help anybody.
But I hope they can sense justhow awesome it can feel to do
the work that you feel like youwere called to do. And that that
gives you a very, very big senseof purpose and meaning in your

(52:21):
life. And hopefully, when theseget out on video, they can see
your smile about all this too,because right now they'll just
hear it in your voice. But I cansee your your satisfaction, your
happiness and what you'veaccomplished. So kudos to you
for that.

Kirstin Garriss (52:36):
Thank you, man whose cut that means on my
balcony, bro. Man who's doingthat, but no, no, thank you
guys. I'm just honored thatagain, you guys wanted to talk
to me again. It's weird to be onthe other end of things. Because
we're used to asking thequestion, so it's always weird
for me to answer questions. Soyes, I apologize if I rambled at

(52:57):
all. But no, thank you guys.
Really? Yeah, if I leave anyonewith anything, just protect your
peace. And that applies toanyone any career just protect
your peace, whatever that lookslike. Because I think that's
just that's just so important.
That's great. If you have aCOVID todos anything you know
time is limited. And yeah,protect your peace so that

(53:18):
you're you're here for you canbe your best self to the people
that matter to you most perfectway to wrap

Rikki Harris (53:25):
Yeah,

Will Voss (53:26):
I would say that's a wrap. Thank you so much,

Erika Lathon (53:32):
yes. Thank you for joining us. If you enjoy today's

(53:55):
program, like subscribe andreview this podcast. If you or
someone you know is in need ofmental health support services,
log on to tn voices.org or callone 806 70988 to join us next
time as we get candid