In this powerful and heartfelt episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, host Kimi Walker welcomes Cassaundra Burks—a civil rights activist, entrepreneur, wife, mother, and the first Black female Republican candidate for Georgia House District 64. Cassaundra shares her incredible journey from overcoming early life adversity and a felony conviction to becoming a federally cleared leader dedicated to service, transparency, and advocacy. With honesty and humility, she opens up about how reevaluating her life daily and surrounding herself with purpose-driven individuals helped her transform her pain into a mission of impact.
Kimi and Cassaundra dive into a wide range of topics, from balancing over 10,000 hours of community service while homeschooling her children, to her experience as a death doula helping families navigate grief and transition with compassion. Cassaundra also reflects on what running for office in a predominantly Democratic district taught her about self-knowledge, community engagement, and the importance of heart-to-heart conversations in politics. Her story is a testament to resilience, self-care, and staying rooted in one’s values—reminding listeners that true transformation begins when we stop running from our circumstances and start showing up with purpose.
Topics Covered in This Episode:
- Cassaundra Burks’ journey from incarceration to community leadership
- Balancing family, homeschooling, and over 10,000 hours of service
- What it’s like to run as a Black Republican in a predominantly Democratic district
- The emotional work of being a death doula and afterlife companion
- Finding peace, purpose, and healing through advocacy
- Lessons learned from running for office and staying rooted in values
About Cassaundra Burks
Cassaundra Burks is the first black female Republican to run for the state house seat in district 64. She is commonly known for supplying GA residents with their business licenses after Covid in an effort to strengthen communities around her. After losing her bid in a predominantly democrat district, Cassaundra Burks is offering new creative services to the funeral home industry. She is an entrepreneur, a wife, a mother, and a God fearing woman.
Connect with Cassaundra Burks
- Instagram: Cassaundra Burks
- Email: support@afterlifecompanions.org
Connect with Kimi Walker:
· Visit: earlyaccountability.com
· LinkedIn: Kimi Walker
· Facebook: Kimi Walker
· Instagram: Kimi Walker
· YouTube: Kimi Walker
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:26):
Kimi Walker here and welcomeback to the next episode of the
Early Accountability Podcast.
Today we welcome a very special guest.
We have Cassandra Burks, who is acivil right activist, an entrepreneur,
the first black female Republicancandidate for Georgia House District 64.
Also a mother and a wife.
(00:48):
Right, and just multi everything she.
We doing some of everythingof multifaceted right.
Yes, but very much known forher extensive community service.
And just giving back in a lot of differentdimensions and domains of wellness.
So Cassandra has a very unique journey,like we said, a wife and a mother, and
(01:09):
she has dedicated herself to advocatingfor her community and enhancing
government transparency and trust.
So Cassandra, thank you somuch for coming to the show.
Why don't you, first, let's just start offby, tell us how you got where you are now.
Tell us a little bit more about you.
I think you have such a phenomenalbio and background and it's now
(01:31):
tell us a little bit more howyou evolved to who you are today.
Oh, absolutely.
I grew up rough, right?
And I know a lot of people like tosay I grew up rough, but I fell victim
to the system, I was at statistic.
I had a father didn't have amother, single family home.
I grew up in the suburbs, sonot really rough, but just
the fam the family structure.
I became a felon and I was facedwith a choice after I became a felon.
(01:56):
Was I going to get my life togetheror was I gonna spiral outta control?
So what I decided to dowas get my life together.
So over 10 years, working on 13, 14 years.
Of just reevaluate myself daily, right?
Reevaluating my mind, my goals,my mission, and my purpose, and
(02:17):
making sure that I'm aligned withthe goals of those around me.
And I center myself around peoplewho are valued in their community,
who see value in their community.
And this is what ledto my activism, right?
And so through my activism I got involvedin healthcare and wanting to just be that
(02:38):
piece and that happiness for other people.
Some people say it could have been,because I didn't have that coming up, and
so I felt some need in my adulthood toovercompensate for other people's sadness.
And maybe that is true, but whatever thatcauses, I find joy in doing it right?
And it's not unmanageable, soto speak, so I give freely now.
I volunteer and theseare the makings of me.
(03:00):
That's my story.
Someone who's come from thatmindset of being a victim of
society, of my environment.
Because mentally you have to bestrong enough to withhold that, right?
And with so many people suffering mentallyat one in three persons from a, from
some sort of emotional crisis, right?
And we all have different backgrounds.
We've all seen things, we could havebeen out in the store just shopping
(03:23):
and bam, we've seen something now.
So we've all experienced thingsas a community, even COVID
alone, having to be alone.
Wear a face mask, those things,these things impact us and we don't
oftentimes talk about them 'causewe have to be bold and bad people.
And so I felt victim to thosedifferent types of emotions at
a young age from things thatwere going on in my environment.
And I didn't know how to get out of those.
(03:44):
But I found a way toreach young ladies, right?
Young ladies who were just likeme, 16 younger, and help them
find meaning in their lives.
And so when I advocate even in politics,I'm specifically thinking about the
future of those young people becauseultimately this is their, this is going
(04:05):
to be their world when we are gone.
And I think about it and especiallydealing with afterlife companions
where, I'm a death doula andI deal with so much death.
I think about the value of lifeand how we can't get it back.
Everything we love, we're gonna lose.
That's something that we don't thinkabout in the day-to-day basis and going
on and trying to just relate to everybodyin society is the fact that, hey, listen
(04:26):
we actually are gonna lose all of this.
And in the big scheme of things,when we're older, when we lose our
beauty and when our limbs start togive out, we are basic down, we're
boiled down to who we are, just towho we are or who this person was.
And so who we are in our character.
Means the most to me.
And so that's why I'm able to,deal with so much death and deal
(04:50):
in politics with so many complaintsand so much dissatisfaction and
still find peace and happiness.
So that's my journey and that's my story.
Wow.
It's a lot.
This is, this is great.
Actually, I didn't evenknow a lot of this.
Let's start with, I have a couple ofdifferent prongs I wanna talk about.
Here,
And I do wanna say I, if it's okaywith you, I do wanna mention, I
do wanna mention the fact that,okay, so I'm no longer a felon,
(05:10):
obviously I have federal clearance.
But I did what I had to do.
I wasn't pardoned.
I waited my years.
I applied, I was able to showthat in my community, I was
doing what I needed to do.
I was able to prove education allthese different things that I needed
to prove and in a state where theydon't typically give second chances.
You may see out of the state somepardons and that's presidential, right?
(05:33):
But you very rarely see instanceswhere there's clemency or not clemency,
where there's set asides or wherethere's expungements from this state.
So I just want to add and throw that in.
'cause some people may havebeen you got easy No, I didn't.
I to the very end, I worked hard andstill am, on just daily reaffirming,
affirming to myself who I am andkeeping the mindset of I'm not gonna
(05:55):
fall victim to my environment again.
How did you get into politics?
I was in college and before that I wasin politics just doing, field organizing,
knocking doors for a private entity andmaking phone calls for an entity and.
A place called Sandy Springs.
It's a city in Georgia.
And I was calling for, I was nonpartisandidn't matter who I was, but I
(06:18):
dealt with them for several years.
And then when I went to college,majored in biology I'd met some this
guy and some other people who were,campaigning outside on grounds.
They were all connected to T-P-U-S-A,all these different organizations.
And so I got involved that way and foryears, I came in, I've become a chairwoman
at a college university of West Georgia.
(06:39):
I become a chairwoman of, I initiateone of the first black programs to the
Republican party called Campaign Cultured.
It was for minority.
It was a minority committee incentiveto bring on minority candidates to
run on the Republican ballot witha central focus of black districts.
I was one of the.
First people, the only people inthe state of Georgia to do that.
(07:00):
And since I've stepped down from thatseat, they've taken that culture away.
But that was something that was very rare.
You don't typically see that out here.
So I just wanna bask in that,that's how far we've come and that's
how far we've yet still to go.
You were so a big thing here onEarly Accountability Podcast too.
We talk a lot about, visibility.
And whether it's our goals or ambitions,whether you're personally personal,
(07:23):
excuse me, personal or professional.
So you are the first blackfemale Republican to run for the
State House seat in District 64.
Now, is it true that district is hasbeen described as predominantly democrat?
Absolutely.
So it's we're talking aboutpredominantly if, like all capital.
Predominantly Democrat area.
(07:43):
And I ran boldly.
And this is one thing I'm dealingwith an organization called
the Veteran Social Circle.
I'm sitting on the board withsome very great veterans, right?
Very great veterans and in societywe often joke about this, that,
when they go to where they comeback and there's benefits for
them, but the people like, us like.
Politicians and people involvedin the political realm, there's no
(08:03):
benefit for the mental wellbeing andthings that we have to go through.
And but yes that's one of the thingsthat I actually, you know endured was
out here running and I ran strong.
And I'm telling you, I gaveit all I had and we lost.
This race.
But I do wanna say that there's someideals and there's some things within the
Republican party that definitely needs tochange in support of the minority culture.
(08:25):
There's a lot of calling outof the black communities.
You guys grow up this, and bringingout the fact that certain federal
initiatives were created to disruptthe black communities and that they
succeeded because now the blackfather is, out of the home and these
statistics and everything you can't just
poke at the bear, right?
So you have to, if we're gonnatalk about the issue, then we
have to bring solutions, otherwisewe're just making fun of, right?
(08:48):
And so I'm one of those Republicanswho, I guess you could call me a
whistleblower because I'm like,these are our minority individuals.
They're still a part of America society.
And we think about the debtthat we've recruited even today.
Our younger people, our futuregenerations are the ones that
are gonna have to pay off.
The majority of the brunt of this debt.
So we think about the debt thatwe are paying off as a minority
citizens in this country.
(09:09):
It accrued from mostly the debt that wedid not have an input on, we're carrying
the brunt from a time where we weren'teven able to input into the workforce.
We were just being allowed to work.
And so these are the thingsthat we have to take in.
Consideration and I'm well aware of withinmy bounds, even within the Republican
party, like we have black Republicans andall of these things, and it's okay to have
(09:31):
black Republicans in that segregation,we talk about the Democrat party.
So there's some things that I'mnoticing and I don't feel like
me leaving is the solution.
I feel like me staying here and workingwith a team of people who are, who say,
okay, this is an issue and how can wegive these people correct representation?
That's what I'm interested.
It in 'cause we can run and keep runningand it's gonna be the same fight, when
(09:52):
my children become adults, or we couldstay here and we could fight it out
and we could get to the bottom of this.
And that's what I'm interested in doing.
Wow.
So a big thing too.
You have consistency is huge.
Just in reading about you and justlearning more about you, I've seen that
you have over 10,000 hours of communityservice and in a span of five years.
This is all while you area mother, a wife, home, and
(10:15):
homeschooling your children.
Okay, this sounds like superwoman.
So what routines tell us, tell theaudience what routines and strategies
have helped you or even your personalphilosophies have helped you, like
balance, being able to contribute tothe community, but also upholding your
home and your family structure too.
I will say my husband is he's a strongforce because without him, I don't
(10:38):
know, he helps me care for the kids.
His mother, my mother-in-lawhis brother, my father.
So there's definitely what I calla support system there, right?
But then on top of that it's just.
Eating a balanced meal making sure Iget exercise and making sure that I'm
one of those statistics, so I needto go to bed at a decent hour, right?
And I need to be at mental peace.
(10:58):
And so I make sure that Iget that on my downtime.
And that's why when you seeme, I'm always smiling, right?
I'm always.
Energetic, because I take thetime to pour into myself just as
much as I pour into other people.
And so that's why, I'ma very Dany P person.
You might see me with makeupor something like that.
I take care of myself, but I stillunderstand that my being here,
my existence is to give back.
And that's what I feel like,my destiny or my cause or my
(11:21):
purpose for life is to give back.
And I believe that's the reason whyI was able to go through so much.
I always say that we live.
Several lives, right?
We live the life of a younger adult andthen from that period where we could have
messed up or could have got it right, wehave the time of adulthood where we could
learn from that, get it right, get ourfinances back in order even after having,
a messed up credit score or whatever.
(11:41):
And then we have that period wherewe get to just admire all the
work that we've done, and justsit back and think like I did that
these are, the fruits of my labor.
And so right now, just being in thisera or position that I'm in, self-care,
self-love mental stability, and I tryto pour that into not just myself, but
my children, my husband, and anyonethat I come in contact with, right?
(12:01):
Because that's what keeps us going.
Energy.
Okay.
So I wanna talk I guessI have a different angle.
'Cause I think you can provide a lotof insight you've done and accomplished
so much we talk here a lot on theshow about starting new endeavors.
Doing the goal.
What is it?
Learn a new language, lose weight, right?
Travel more, spend more timewith family, things like that.
(12:22):
You ran, you did political,you ran for a house seat.
Sometimes we have goals and we try to dothings and we may not, the results may
not be what we want or expect, right?
I want you to talk to us fromaccountability standpoint of what you
learned from running for office andlike the biggest takeaways you have
(12:43):
from that and what you would give theaudience who have similar aspirations.
I will say that knowing yourself whenyou go into politics is important because
if you don't know yourself and what you.
Stand for and what you'rewilling to stand for.
It's easy to be manipulated and becomea pawn in a bigger game of chess, right?
So that's number one.
For me, I think that having thoseheart to heart conversations, right?
(13:06):
I was I was more focusedduring my campaign on trying
to reach key points, right?
So I'm fighting for this, and this, versushaving those heart to heart conversations.
I wish I would've had more heartto heart conversations with
my community members because.
There, and just the every day on a basisof dealing with organizations, I talk
to them and we have so much in common.
I have a daughter withautism special needs.
(13:27):
I'm a mother, I'm someone who hasdealt with postpartum depression and
has been, so afraid to tell peoplethat it ate me up until I just had to
get help for it, so I've dealt withthe, because my daughter was in the
nicu, she was born early prematurely.
And so that was one of the thingsthat I had to deal with, and I had
to realize that was what I was goingthrough, and I dealt with it more on
a public scale, with people lookingin on me and critiquing my every move.
(13:49):
But, I was suffering inside.
So I think that taking care of yourself,no matter what it is, whether it's
politics or whatever, whether it'sspiritually, physically, mentally,
taking care of yourself has to be theultimate goal because you cannot pour
into anyone else what you don't have.
If your cup is empty, you can'tpour into someone else's who's.
Thirst quench for thirst, and so thoseare the things that I would just say.
(14:13):
And then as far as me and what I'velearned, I believe that it's to have
more heart to heart conversations becauseultimately, I'm not a policy pusher.
I'm not here to push policy.
I'm not here to push agendas.
I'm here to help.
In any way that I can because Irealize that there are not a lot
of people who care enough too.
And if there, and sometimes, especiallywith the suicide rates going up, if
there's just at least one to threepeople in a community per city, per
(14:37):
district, who just care enough to say,I'm here for what you need, as long
as you're not taking advantage of me,then the world could really become a
better place, one nation at a time.
And I know it sounds corny, but it's true.
Ultimately.
Talk to us about how, what brought youinto like afterlife, like you said, you're
a you say you're a doula, so you said it'sa, is it considered afterlife, doula, or,
(15:01):
they, it is called a deaf doctor.
It's a deaf doctor.
And another, I guess a more sensitivekind of term of usage derived
years later with a deaf doula.
But we're still attachingthe name deaf on there.
I was working in hospice careand I had one of my patients
pass while holding my hand.
And it was just one of thosethings where I said, I was
with her up until the very end.
I basically just switched fields, right?
(15:22):
So aside from working and dealingwith the hospice care and these things
where I still have to deal with thedoctor more interpersonally, and
there's all these different rules andregulations and licensure and stuff
like that, I could deal in this area as.
Where I can get more personal, Ican be more personal, and there's
less prohibitions regarding,how I can listen to them or,
the things that we can discuss.
(15:43):
So I just like that that, kind offreedom to be able to accompany them
to the funerals and things like that.
'cause I felt that's where theyneeded me the most, if they're
passing away or something like that.
So I've poured into afterlifecompanions, like I said.
And you asked in the beginning of thisinterview, which gives you the most,
I would say afterlife, companions.
I get $4 and 99 cents per minute for just.
(16:05):
Just speaking with these personspaper cough or just speaking with
these persons and helping them, andthey're willing to do this because
they understand that there's people outhere who care and who want to be here.
And then they also understand thatyes, it, it takes us away from,
like you said, our children andour families and things like this.
I just love it.
I love it.
It's something I've grown toenjoy just as well as activism,
(16:26):
so you do talk a lot about, sinceyou talked about like afterlife,
companions you speak a lot tooabout people being too early.
I really proactive about preppingfor the day when we won't be here.
How do you help teach people who,this may be like a taboo subject or
people don't want to talk about that.
(16:47):
How do you like coach familiesinto having those uncomfortable
conversations about transitioning?
The good thing about it is from thisspectrum, versus dealing in ICU or hospice
or something like that, where they'rehoping, that the family member or loved
one may come back or get better, right?
There's that hope.
And a lot of times it'sa false sense of hope.
A lot of times when people contact me,they already know, what we're in for.
(17:10):
There's is death, and so thathelps break that barrier.
And so just in intake and gatheringbits and pieces of information from
them, I'm able to spark conversation.
What's something memorable, from atime that you had with this loved one?
You know what's that memory?
Sometimes I may have them drawa photo if they're creative
or artistic and send it to me.
Let me see a photo and what we could dovirtually or in person given, mile radius.
(17:33):
And sometimes they'll fly me out.
But those things help spark thatconversation, and a lot of times they're
willing because see people when they'rehurting and they know that people
care, they're willing to speak more.
Even the most quietest person, if they,if I know that you care, if they know
that you care, they're gonna talk.
When they contact me, theyknow that I care automatically
off that it's what I do.
And a lot of them are referrals, nowadayssince I've gone on so long doing this.
(17:55):
And it's just that conversation is always.
Readily available and accessible.
Now, there are times where I feel like aperson is being a little bit, apprehensive
and maybe, afraid and holding back.
But then as we speak, as theyloosen up, as they get to know me
as a person, no judgment, all love.
I've gone through whatyou've gone through.
I'm probably gonna go throughwhat you've gone through because
(18:15):
I have a husband, I have childrenand who knows if I don't pass away
first, who I'm gonna have to lose.
So let's be here for eachother in this moment.
How do you feel?
It's okay to cry.
And sometimes, and this iswhat I like about this aspect,
sometimes I cry with them, right?
And we cry together.
And we cry together.
Not just for, their past loved onebut also for who else, may pass away.
And it's a good feeling.
(18:36):
It's joyful, right?
And it leaves us all tingly inside.
And so the conversation is readilyavailable when they reach out, typically.
Okay.
So it's like a different it'sa different dimension or kind
of mindset you would say.
Absolutely.
It's more welcoming and invitingand it's less offensive.
You know what I mean?
It's less, I'm afraid of you.
(18:57):
What are you thinking?
I can't say this.
No, I said you need to cuss.
Cuss, let's cuss.
I had one time where you know, alady after a funeral, she was hurt.
She found out, her husband.
Cheated on her.
And so we, we did some middlefinger she called it therapy.
I called it yoga, where, I had her putup her middle finger and she just flipped
flipped, flipped until she felt better.
She flipped and cried and flippedand cried, and I flipped and
(19:18):
cried at who I was thinking.
And we just flipped and cried and we felt.
And we hugged I told her I love her.
She told me she loved me and she'llkeep in contact, even after that,
I hadn't heard from her recently.
I don't wanna initiate the reachout, we don't want to harass
our customers, but, our clients.
But yeah, so these are the thingsthat we do, and it ultimately,
it leaves a sensation of joy.
(19:39):
But it is different.
It is a little bit weird to those whohave never experienced these feelings
and just let them go in the moment.
Just let 'em go.
And so there's stages to acceptance ofthe things that are happening to you.
We go through the denial and all thesedifferent things, but imagine being able
to go through that, so fast and you don'teven know you're going through it, and
then bam, now you're able to just livelife and you're living life and you're
(20:03):
moving on every day, and you don't evenknow how you're doing it, but you're just.
Doing it right, and sothat's what we provide.
Awesome.
You do a lot., I don't know howyou keep track of all of it.
You seem like such a busy person.
It's it is a lot.
Now, how do you make time just to pause?
It's 24 hours in a day.
So I plan very strategically.
(20:23):
I don't make myself available duringtimes where, I need to be with my family.
I have intake, I have peoplewho help me, and so that's
how I create a balance, right?
So everything needs to be balanced.
You could eat the junk, butthere needs to be balance.
You could drink, the pop, butthere needs to be balance.
Typically for most persons, now, if youhave health issues, that's different.
So don't go saying that, CassandraBurks told you to go and drink, pop
(20:44):
in, you're diabetic and all that.
No, I'm not telling you to do that.
I'm just saying there needs to be balance.
And so I create that balanceand facilitate that for
myself and for my children.
When it's time for them togo to bed, they're in bed.
It's time for me, now to be adult, I couldwork on bylaws, I could work on helping
establish these things, and so that'swhy I'm really effective in those areas.
Just strategically planning and thenalso making sure that I get sleep.
(21:06):
'cause I'm a statistic, I need good sleep.
Like I said, I need a well-balancedmeal and I need healthy relationships.
I can't do foolishness
oh, that's great.
Yeah, I understand that completely.
Cassandra how can the audiencelike, find out more about you?
How can they stay, tuned into yourjourney and see what you're working on?
You know what you have going for yourself.
Okay.
They can always find me on the veteransocial circle Instagram, social
(21:29):
media, all across the platformsas the veteran Social Circle.
Cassandra Burks.
Usually there's a hashtag CassandraBurks somewhere attached to me, so it
should bring up my face and my voice.
If nothing else, you hear myvoice and say, oh, that's her.
It's a little bit different.
And afterlife Companionsafterlifecompanions.org.
Also with Up Given Village,upgivenvillage.com is another
great nonprofit based outof Douglasville, Georgia.
(21:51):
They worked well with disabilityand children and veterans with
disabilities and helping, themget acclimated to the weather in
their own homes and communities.
Just Google.
You can Google and find out differentcool facts, fun facts about me and
if you can, DM me and tell me somecool, fun facts about you and leave
your social media handles becausethis isn't just a one way streak.
(22:12):
I'm a big supporter of people,so if you do something cool, you
got a cool craft, let me know.
I'll feature you on my pages.
No, I'm not chargingbecause that's crazy for me.
I don't mind sharing, so just Google me.
That's awesome.
Okay, Cassandra, tell us whatare some words that you live by?
Do you have a daily mantra?
Yes.
My daily mantra is justpeace in all things.
I try to find peace even wherethere's situations where people
(22:35):
could say, oh, this is really bad.
I try to find that balance there.
What's good, what's bad?
Let's create more good out of this.
And so that way, this isoverall a great experience.
So that's my mantra.
Just happiness and peace.
That's awesome.
Cassandra, thank you so much forcoming to the show and Grace.
With your presence and just allof your life experiences, your
(22:56):
wisdom you really are a gift to thecommunity and everybody who you serve.
Can I interrupt you really quickly?
of course.
I feel the same way about you, soI know you're gonna say, hold on.
I know you're gonna say a lot of greatthings about me, but I have to please
for a second, for the people that'slistening on my end Ms. Kimi is.
She's a, like a, an angel almost.
And I'm not even hyping her up, I'mjust telling the truth because she
(23:17):
does so much for children, right?
Psychology for children.
And she gives back so much.
She's poured into myself, poured into thepeople that I know and selflessly, right?
And so I wanna thank you.
Before, I didn't mean to cut you off, I.
Value what you have to say,but I just, I love you.
You're amazing woman.
You know what I'm saying?
And we need to big each other up.
I believe more in ourcommunities in this way.
(23:38):
I believe if we do this we'llcreate, this euphoric feeling within
ourselves and that energy willpass on to the people around us.
So thank you.
Thank you for what you do.
Thank you.
End up making me cry.
I appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Those are very sweet words.
Until next time.
Kimi Walker here and welcomeback to the next episode of the
Early Accountability Podcast.
Today we welcome a very special guest.
We have Cassandra Burks, who is acivil right activist, an entrepreneur,
the first black female Republicancandidate for Georgia House District 64.
Also a mother and a wife.
(00:48):
Right, and just multi everything she.
We doing some of everythingof multifaceted right.
Yes, but very much known forher extensive community service.
And just giving back in a lot of differentdimensions and domains of wellness.
So Cassandra has a very unique journey,like we said, a wife and a mother, and
(01:09):
she has dedicated herself to advocatingfor her community and enhancing
government transparency and trust.
So Cassandra, thank you somuch for coming to the show.
Why don't you, first, let's just start offby, tell us how you got where you are now.
Tell us a little bit more about you.
I think you have such a phenomenalbio and background and it's now
(01:31):
tell us a little bit more howyou evolved to who you are today.
Oh, absolutely.
I grew up rough, right?
And I know a lot of people like tosay I grew up rough, but I fell victim
to the system, I was at statistic.
I had a father didn't have amother, single family home.
I grew up in the suburbs, sonot really rough, but just
the fam the family structure.
I became a felon and I was facedwith a choice after I became a felon.
(01:56):
Was I going to get my life togetheror was I gonna spiral outta control?
So what I decided to dowas get my life together.
So over 10 years, working on 13, 14 years.
Of just reevaluate myself daily, right?
Reevaluating my mind, my goals,my mission, and my purpose, and
(02:17):
making sure that I'm aligned withthe goals of those around me.
And I center myself around peoplewho are valued in their community,
who see value in their community.
And this is what ledto my activism, right?
And so through my activism I got involvedin healthcare and wanting to just be that
(02:38):
piece and that happiness for other people.
Some people say it could have been,because I didn't have that coming up, and
so I felt some need in my adulthood toovercompensate for other people's sadness.
And maybe that is true, but whatever thatcauses, I find joy in doing it right?
And it's not unmanageable, soto speak, so I give freely now.
I volunteer and theseare the makings of me.
(03:00):
That's my story.
Someone who's come from thatmindset of being a victim of
society, of my environment.
Because mentally you have to bestrong enough to withhold that, right?
And with so many people suffering mentallyat one in three persons from a, from
some sort of emotional crisis, right?
And we all have different backgrounds.
We've all seen things, we could havebeen out in the store just shopping
(03:23):
and bam, we've seen something now.
So we've all experienced thingsas a community, even COVID
alone, having to be alone.
Wear a face mask, those things,these things impact us and we don't
oftentimes talk about them 'causewe have to be bold and bad people.
And so I felt victim to thosedifferent types of emotions at
a young age from things thatwere going on in my environment.
And I didn't know how to get out of those.
(03:44):
But I found a way toreach young ladies, right?
Young ladies who were just likeme, 16 younger, and help them
find meaning in their lives.
And so when I advocate even in politics,I'm specifically thinking about the
future of those young people becauseultimately this is their, this is going
(04:05):
to be their world when we are gone.
And I think about it and especiallydealing with afterlife companions
where, I'm a death doula andI deal with so much death.
I think about the value of lifeand how we can't get it back.
Everything we love, we're gonna lose.
That's something that we don't thinkabout in the day-to-day basis and going
on and trying to just relate to everybodyin society is the fact that, hey, listen
(04:26):
we actually are gonna lose all of this.
And in the big scheme of things,when we're older, when we lose our
beauty and when our limbs start togive out, we are basic down, we're
boiled down to who we are, just towho we are or who this person was.
And so who we are in our character.
Means the most to me.
And so that's why I'm able to,deal with so much death and deal
(04:50):
in politics with so many complaintsand so much dissatisfaction and
still find peace and happiness.
So that's my journey and that's my story.
Wow.
It's a lot.
This is, this is great.
Actually, I didn't evenknow a lot of this.
Let's start with, I have a couple ofdifferent prongs I wanna talk about.
Here,
And I do wanna say I, if it's okaywith you, I do wanna mention, I
do wanna mention the fact that,okay, so I'm no longer a felon,
(05:10):
obviously I have federal clearance.
But I did what I had to do.
I wasn't pardoned.
I waited my years.
I applied, I was able to showthat in my community, I was
doing what I needed to do.
I was able to prove education allthese different things that I needed
to prove and in a state where theydon't typically give second chances.
You may see out of the state somepardons and that's presidential, right?
(05:33):
But you very rarely see instanceswhere there's clemency or not clemency,
where there's set asides or wherethere's expungements from this state.
So I just want to add and throw that in.
'cause some people may havebeen you got easy No, I didn't.
I to the very end, I worked hard andstill am, on just daily reaffirming,
affirming to myself who I am andkeeping the mindset of I'm not gonna
(05:55):
fall victim to my environment again.
How did you get into politics?
I was in college and before that I wasin politics just doing, field organizing,
knocking doors for a private entity andmaking phone calls for an entity and.
A place called Sandy Springs.
It's a city in Georgia.
And I was calling for, I was nonpartisandidn't matter who I was, but I
(06:18):
dealt with them for several years.
And then when I went to college,majored in biology I'd met some this
guy and some other people who were,campaigning outside on grounds.
They were all connected to T-P-U-S-A,all these different organizations.
And so I got involved that way and foryears, I came in, I've become a chairwoman
at a college university of West Georgia.
(06:39):
I become a chairwoman of, I initiateone of the first black programs to the
Republican party called Campaign Cultured.
It was for minority.
It was a minority committee incentiveto bring on minority candidates to
run on the Republican ballot witha central focus of black districts.
I was one of the.
First people, the only people inthe state of Georgia to do that.
(07:00):
And since I've stepped down from thatseat, they've taken that culture away.
But that was something that was very rare.
You don't typically see that out here.
So I just wanna bask in that,that's how far we've come and that's
how far we've yet still to go.
You were so a big thing here onEarly Accountability Podcast too.
We talk a lot about, visibility.
And whether it's our goals or ambitions,whether you're personally personal,
(07:23):
excuse me, personal or professional.
So you are the first blackfemale Republican to run for the
State House seat in District 64.
Now, is it true that district is hasbeen described as predominantly democrat?
Absolutely.
So it's we're talking aboutpredominantly if, like all capital.
Predominantly Democrat area.
(07:43):
And I ran boldly.
And this is one thing I'm dealingwith an organization called
the Veteran Social Circle.
I'm sitting on the board withsome very great veterans, right?
Very great veterans and in societywe often joke about this, that,
when they go to where they comeback and there's benefits for
them, but the people like, us like.
Politicians and people involvedin the political realm, there's no
(08:03):
benefit for the mental wellbeing andthings that we have to go through.
And but yes that's one of the thingsthat I actually, you know endured was
out here running and I ran strong.
And I'm telling you, I gaveit all I had and we lost.
This race.
But I do wanna say that there's someideals and there's some things within the
Republican party that definitely needs tochange in support of the minority culture.
(08:25):
There's a lot of calling outof the black communities.
You guys grow up this, and bringingout the fact that certain federal
initiatives were created to disruptthe black communities and that they
succeeded because now the blackfather is, out of the home and these
statistics and everything you can't just
poke at the bear, right?
So you have to, if we're gonnatalk about the issue, then we
have to bring solutions, otherwisewe're just making fun of, right?
(08:48):
And so I'm one of those Republicanswho, I guess you could call me a
whistleblower because I'm like,these are our minority individuals.
They're still a part of America society.
And we think about the debtthat we've recruited even today.
Our younger people, our futuregenerations are the ones that
are gonna have to pay off.
The majority of the brunt of this debt.
So we think about the debt thatwe are paying off as a minority
citizens in this country.
(09:09):
It accrued from mostly the debt that wedid not have an input on, we're carrying
the brunt from a time where we weren'teven able to input into the workforce.
We were just being allowed to work.
And so these are the thingsthat we have to take in.
Consideration and I'm well aware of withinmy bounds, even within the Republican
party, like we have black Republicans andall of these things, and it's okay to have
(09:31):
black Republicans in that segregation,we talk about the Democrat party.
So there's some things that I'mnoticing and I don't feel like
me leaving is the solution.
I feel like me staying here and workingwith a team of people who are, who say,
okay, this is an issue and how can wegive these people correct representation?
That's what I'm interested.
It in 'cause we can run and keep runningand it's gonna be the same fight, when
(09:52):
my children become adults, or we couldstay here and we could fight it out
and we could get to the bottom of this.
And that's what I'm interested in doing.
Wow.
So a big thing too.
You have consistency is huge.
Just in reading about you and justlearning more about you, I've seen that
you have over 10,000 hours of communityservice and in a span of five years.
This is all while you area mother, a wife, home, and
(10:15):
homeschooling your children.
Okay, this sounds like superwoman.
So what routines tell us, tell theaudience what routines and strategies
have helped you or even your personalphilosophies have helped you, like
balance, being able to contribute tothe community, but also upholding your
home and your family structure too.
I will say my husband is he's a strongforce because without him, I don't
(10:38):
know, he helps me care for the kids.
His mother, my mother-in-lawhis brother, my father.
So there's definitely what I calla support system there, right?
But then on top of that it's just.
Eating a balanced meal making sure Iget exercise and making sure that I'm
one of those statistics, so I needto go to bed at a decent hour, right?
And I need to be at mental peace.
(10:58):
And so I make sure that Iget that on my downtime.
And that's why when you seeme, I'm always smiling, right?
I'm always.
Energetic, because I take thetime to pour into myself just as
much as I pour into other people.
And so that's why, I'ma very Dany P person.
You might see me with makeupor something like that.
I take care of myself, but I stillunderstand that my being here,
my existence is to give back.
And that's what I feel like,my destiny or my cause or my
(11:21):
purpose for life is to give back.
And I believe that's the reason whyI was able to go through so much.
I always say that we live.
Several lives, right?
We live the life of a younger adult andthen from that period where we could have
messed up or could have got it right, wehave the time of adulthood where we could
learn from that, get it right, get ourfinances back in order even after having,
a messed up credit score or whatever.
(11:41):
And then we have that period wherewe get to just admire all the
work that we've done, and justsit back and think like I did that
these are, the fruits of my labor.
And so right now, just being in thisera or position that I'm in, self-care,
self-love mental stability, and I tryto pour that into not just myself, but
my children, my husband, and anyonethat I come in contact with, right?
(12:01):
Because that's what keeps us going.
Energy.
Okay.
So I wanna talk I guessI have a different angle.
'Cause I think you can provide a lotof insight you've done and accomplished
so much we talk here a lot on theshow about starting new endeavors.
Doing the goal.
What is it?
Learn a new language, lose weight, right?
Travel more, spend more timewith family, things like that.
(12:22):
You ran, you did political,you ran for a house seat.
Sometimes we have goals and we try to dothings and we may not, the results may
not be what we want or expect, right?
I want you to talk to us fromaccountability standpoint of what you
learned from running for office andlike the biggest takeaways you have
(12:43):
from that and what you would give theaudience who have similar aspirations.
I will say that knowing yourself whenyou go into politics is important because
if you don't know yourself and what you.
Stand for and what you'rewilling to stand for.
It's easy to be manipulated and becomea pawn in a bigger game of chess, right?
So that's number one.
For me, I think that having thoseheart to heart conversations, right?
(13:06):
I was I was more focusedduring my campaign on trying
to reach key points, right?
So I'm fighting for this, and this, versushaving those heart to heart conversations.
I wish I would've had more heartto heart conversations with
my community members because.
There, and just the every day on a basisof dealing with organizations, I talk
to them and we have so much in common.
I have a daughter withautism special needs.
(13:27):
I'm a mother, I'm someone who hasdealt with postpartum depression and
has been, so afraid to tell peoplethat it ate me up until I just had to
get help for it, so I've dealt withthe, because my daughter was in the
nicu, she was born early prematurely.
And so that was one of the thingsthat I had to deal with, and I had
to realize that was what I was goingthrough, and I dealt with it more on
a public scale, with people lookingin on me and critiquing my every move.
(13:49):
But, I was suffering inside.
So I think that taking care of yourself,no matter what it is, whether it's
politics or whatever, whether it'sspiritually, physically, mentally,
taking care of yourself has to be theultimate goal because you cannot pour
into anyone else what you don't have.
If your cup is empty, you can'tpour into someone else's who's.
Thirst quench for thirst, and so thoseare the things that I would just say.
(14:13):
And then as far as me and what I'velearned, I believe that it's to have
more heart to heart conversations becauseultimately, I'm not a policy pusher.
I'm not here to push policy.
I'm not here to push agendas.
I'm here to help.
In any way that I can because Irealize that there are not a lot
of people who care enough too.
And if there, and sometimes, especiallywith the suicide rates going up, if
there's just at least one to threepeople in a community per city, per
(14:37):
district, who just care enough to say,I'm here for what you need, as long
as you're not taking advantage of me,then the world could really become a
better place, one nation at a time.
And I know it sounds corny, but it's true.
Ultimately.
Talk to us about how, what brought youinto like afterlife, like you said, you're
a you say you're a doula, so you said it'sa, is it considered afterlife, doula, or,
(15:01):
they, it is called a deaf doctor.
It's a deaf doctor.
And another, I guess a more sensitivekind of term of usage derived
years later with a deaf doula.
But we're still attachingthe name deaf on there.
I was working in hospice careand I had one of my patients
pass while holding my hand.
And it was just one of thosethings where I said, I was
with her up until the very end.
I basically just switched fields, right?
(15:22):
So aside from working and dealingwith the hospice care and these things
where I still have to deal with thedoctor more interpersonally, and
there's all these different rules andregulations and licensure and stuff
like that, I could deal in this area as.
Where I can get more personal, Ican be more personal, and there's
less prohibitions regarding,how I can listen to them or,
the things that we can discuss.
(15:43):
So I just like that that, kind offreedom to be able to accompany them
to the funerals and things like that.
'cause I felt that's where theyneeded me the most, if they're
passing away or something like that.
So I've poured into afterlifecompanions, like I said.
And you asked in the beginning of thisinterview, which gives you the most,
I would say afterlife, companions.
I get $4 and 99 cents per minute for just.
(16:05):
Just speaking with these personspaper cough or just speaking with
these persons and helping them, andthey're willing to do this because
they understand that there's people outhere who care and who want to be here.
And then they also understand thatyes, it, it takes us away from,
like you said, our children andour families and things like this.
I just love it.
I love it.
It's something I've grown toenjoy just as well as activism,
(16:26):
so you do talk a lot about, sinceyou talked about like afterlife,
companions you speak a lot tooabout people being too early.
I really proactive about preppingfor the day when we won't be here.
How do you help teach people who,this may be like a taboo subject or
people don't want to talk about that.
(16:47):
How do you like coach familiesinto having those uncomfortable
conversations about transitioning?
The good thing about it is from thisspectrum, versus dealing in ICU or hospice
or something like that, where they'rehoping, that the family member or loved
one may come back or get better, right?
There's that hope.
And a lot of times it'sa false sense of hope.
A lot of times when people contact me,they already know, what we're in for.
(17:10):
There's is death, and so thathelps break that barrier.
And so just in intake and gatheringbits and pieces of information from
them, I'm able to spark conversation.
What's something memorable, from atime that you had with this loved one?
You know what's that memory?
Sometimes I may have them drawa photo if they're creative
or artistic and send it to me.
Let me see a photo and what we could dovirtually or in person given, mile radius.
(17:33):
And sometimes they'll fly me out.
But those things help spark thatconversation, and a lot of times they're
willing because see people when they'rehurting and they know that people
care, they're willing to speak more.
Even the most quietest person, if they,if I know that you care, if they know
that you care, they're gonna talk.
When they contact me, theyknow that I care automatically
off that it's what I do.
And a lot of them are referrals, nowadayssince I've gone on so long doing this.
(17:55):
And it's just that conversation is always.
Readily available and accessible.
Now, there are times where I feel like aperson is being a little bit, apprehensive
and maybe, afraid and holding back.
But then as we speak, as theyloosen up, as they get to know me
as a person, no judgment, all love.
I've gone through whatyou've gone through.
I'm probably gonna go throughwhat you've gone through because
(18:15):
I have a husband, I have childrenand who knows if I don't pass away
first, who I'm gonna have to lose.
So let's be here for eachother in this moment.
How do you feel?
It's okay to cry.
And sometimes, and this iswhat I like about this aspect,
sometimes I cry with them, right?
And we cry together.
And we cry together.
Not just for, their past loved onebut also for who else, may pass away.
And it's a good feeling.
(18:36):
It's joyful, right?
And it leaves us all tingly inside.
And so the conversation is readilyavailable when they reach out, typically.
Okay.
So it's like a different it'sa different dimension or kind
of mindset you would say.
Absolutely.
It's more welcoming and invitingand it's less offensive.
You know what I mean?
It's less, I'm afraid of you.
(18:57):
What are you thinking?
I can't say this.
No, I said you need to cuss.
Cuss, let's cuss.
I had one time where you know, alady after a funeral, she was hurt.
She found out, her husband.
Cheated on her.
And so we, we did some middlefinger she called it therapy.
I called it yoga, where, I had her putup her middle finger and she just flipped
flipped, flipped until she felt better.
She flipped and cried and flippedand cried, and I flipped and
(19:18):
cried at who I was thinking.
And we just flipped and cried and we felt.
And we hugged I told her I love her.
She told me she loved me and she'llkeep in contact, even after that,
I hadn't heard from her recently.
I don't wanna initiate the reachout, we don't want to harass
our customers, but, our clients.
But yeah, so these are the thingsthat we do, and it ultimately,
it leaves a sensation of joy.
(19:39):
But it is different.
It is a little bit weird to those whohave never experienced these feelings
and just let them go in the moment.
Just let 'em go.
And so there's stages to acceptance ofthe things that are happening to you.
We go through the denial and all thesedifferent things, but imagine being able
to go through that, so fast and you don'teven know you're going through it, and
then bam, now you're able to just livelife and you're living life and you're
(20:03):
moving on every day, and you don't evenknow how you're doing it, but you're just.
Doing it right, and sothat's what we provide.
Awesome.
You do a lot., I don't know howyou keep track of all of it.
You seem like such a busy person.
It's it is a lot.
Now, how do you make time just to pause?
It's 24 hours in a day.
So I plan very strategically.
(20:23):
I don't make myself available duringtimes where, I need to be with my family.
I have intake, I have peoplewho help me, and so that's
how I create a balance, right?
So everything needs to be balanced.
You could eat the junk, butthere needs to be balance.
You could drink, the pop, butthere needs to be balance.
Typically for most persons, now, if youhave health issues, that's different.
So don't go saying that, CassandraBurks told you to go and drink, pop
(20:44):
in, you're diabetic and all that.
No, I'm not telling you to do that.
I'm just saying there needs to be balance.
And so I create that balanceand facilitate that for
myself and for my children.
When it's time for them togo to bed, they're in bed.
It's time for me, now to be adult, I couldwork on bylaws, I could work on helping
establish these things, and so that'swhy I'm really effective in those areas.
Just strategically planning and thenalso making sure that I get sleep.
(21:06):
'cause I'm a statistic, I need good sleep.
Like I said, I need a well-balancedmeal and I need healthy relationships.
I can't do foolishness
oh, that's great.
Yeah, I understand that completely.
Cassandra how can the audiencelike, find out more about you?
How can they stay, tuned into yourjourney and see what you're working on?
You know what you have going for yourself.
Okay.
They can always find me on the veteransocial circle Instagram, social
(21:29):
media, all across the platformsas the veteran Social Circle.
Cassandra Burks.
Usually there's a hashtag CassandraBurks somewhere attached to me, so it
should bring up my face and my voice.
If nothing else, you hear myvoice and say, oh, that's her.
It's a little bit different.
And afterlife Companionsafterlifecompanions.org.
Also with Up Given Village,upgivenvillage.com is another
great nonprofit based outof Douglasville, Georgia.
(21:51):
They worked well with disabilityand children and veterans with
disabilities and helping, themget acclimated to the weather in
their own homes and communities.
Just Google.
You can Google and find out differentcool facts, fun facts about me and
if you can, DM me and tell me somecool, fun facts about you and leave
your social media handles becausethis isn't just a one way streak.
(22:12):
I'm a big supporter of people,so if you do something cool, you
got a cool craft, let me know.
I'll feature you on my pages.
No, I'm not chargingbecause that's crazy for me.
I don't mind sharing, so just Google me.
That's awesome.
Okay, Cassandra, tell us whatare some words that you live by?
Do you have a daily mantra?
Yes.
My daily mantra is justpeace in all things.
I try to find peace even wherethere's situations where people
(22:35):
could say, oh, this is really bad.
I try to find that balance there.
What's good, what's bad?
Let's create more good out of this.
And so that way, this isoverall a great experience.
So that's my mantra.
Just happiness and peace.
That's awesome.
Cassandra, thank you so much forcoming to the show and Grace.
With your presence and just allof your life experiences, your
(22:56):
wisdom you really are a gift to thecommunity and everybody who you serve.
Can I interrupt you really quickly?
of course.
I feel the same way about you, soI know you're gonna say, hold on.
I know you're gonna say a lot of greatthings about me, but I have to please
for a second, for the people that'slistening on my end Ms. Kimi is.
She's a, like a, an angel almost.
And I'm not even hyping her up, I'mjust telling the truth because she
(23:17):
does so much for children, right?
Psychology for children.
And she gives back so much.
She's poured into myself, poured into thepeople that I know and selflessly, right?
And so I wanna thank you.
Before, I didn't mean to cut you off, I.
Value what you have to say,but I just, I love you.
You're amazing woman.
You know what I'm saying?
And we need to big each other up.
I believe more in ourcommunities in this way.
(23:38):
I believe if we do this we'llcreate, this euphoric feeling within
ourselves and that energy willpass on to the people around us.
So thank you.
Thank you for what you do.
Thank you.
End up making me cry.
I appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Those are very sweet words.
Until next time.
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