Why You Should Go to Africa: The African Focus Trailblazers - Patrice, Terri, Lorrie, Brian and Gail
December 21, 2025 • 42 mins
Nigeria, Tanzania, Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, Gambia, Ethiopia - the African Focus Trailblazers have visited all of those countries and more. It's part of the mission of African Focus, Inc a non-profit dedicated to bringing unity between Africans and African Americans and KBLA Talk 1580. How does your worldview change when you visit the motherland? What stereotypes are you overcoming? Who has the best food? How do we address the tension that does exist? If you're interested in traveling with us, call (310) 676-7300 for more info.
https://www.africanfocus.org/african-home-coming-tours
https://www.instagram.com/diprimaradio/
https://www.africanfocus.org/african-home-coming-tours
https://www.instagram.com/diprimaradio/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Yeah, take us bag miles, take us back to the Motherland.
I am so excited to have my fellow travelers here
with me and the studio this morning. We usually do
it a little closer to the trip, but I guess
we got caught up in all the things that were
going on when we got back. As you know, because
(00:22):
y'all hear me talk about it all the time. I
team up with an organization called African Focus Incorporated. We
do a fundraiser for them every year, doing a trip
home to the Motherland. This is this year is going
to be our eighth trip. We would be on ten
if it wasn't for dog on COVID. But anyway, different
We go to different countries every time. We have different
groups of travelers whoever signs up every time. Although we
(00:45):
have a lot of folks that come a lot, and
we typically try to share that with you. We want
you to virtually travel with us. If you don't come literally,
to come virtually. Patrese is here. Paterresea is one of
those frequent flyer, frequent travelers and just you're just an
afrocentric activist anyway in your own right. Good morning, Paterresa,
(01:07):
Grand Rising Dominique. Right, she's also you've heard her on
Wealth Building Wednesday because she's the owner of the Sun
Goddess Salon, Yes, doing specializing in natural hair. Yes, although
they'll they'll do a blowout for you for really.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well, thank you because the last time I was here,
one of the listeners she's a client now.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
All right, I love that for us always talks about you.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yay.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Well, shout out to your new client. The listener Rita Patresea.
I think you you came on the first trip. You
came on the very first trip, right, yeah, I think
I remember that because it was you and Laurie. I
was like, oh, some people really are going to come
with me to Africa, like it's not my imagination. Yeah,
(01:51):
So you were one of the ones that made it happen.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
That very first trip was so unforgettable.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I made some very lifelong friends I call them sisters,
and that was in twenty sixteen and we went to
Ghana and it was beautiful, beautiful experience. Yeah we are yes,
we're like blood sisters now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Which means that you are one of the people that
made this possible because when me and Channa and I
only first talked about this oh, this will be great,
but it was scary, like, no one's gonna why would
you travel Africa with me? Like, why would you? This
isn't gonna work. I was hoping it would work. But
when I think you were like one of the very
first people to sign up.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
At all, Yes, and I brought along a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
You did, and I said, okay, this this could happen.
Even if it's just me and this lady Patrisa, this
lady Laurie, We're gonna make it happen.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
We had Sybil and Dan Jail and was Karen on
that trip?
Speaker 1 (02:48):
No, Karen, she came later, yes, yeah, but yeah, yes.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
She came on the second trip to Ghana in Nigeria
in twenty nineteen. Yes, yeah, but all the ladies just
enjoy them. And I forget when Sybil performed for us.
Remember in Ghana she performed She's Sang and that was
the first time we had all heard her, saying, we
had no idea that this lady had this beautiful voice.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Well, and what you're really speaking to is this kind
of fellowship that's happened between people beyond the trips, not
just when we're in Africa, but when we travel. One
of the things that I really think is important about
going to Africa, whether you come with us or you
go on your own, is dispelling some of the stereotypes
and some of the fear and terry. You've come with
(03:35):
us three times already, but you when you first came,
that was one of the things you had to overcome
us people in your own family that didn't want you
to come right right.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
They were the fallacy is Africans don't like us, and
I had that in my heart, but I said, I'm
going to go with an open mind. And when I
landed in South Africa and this African woman said, your
(04:06):
ancestors are welcoming you home, and she embraced me like
she knew me, and she said you're home, and I cried.
I felt so overwhelmed, And from that moment on, I
felt like I was home and Africa has. It's something
(04:30):
that I want everybody to experience. It is a feeling
of being home, being welcomed, being loved on. My lady sister,
I was so I was so welcomed and I'm still
(04:51):
feeling it now just talking about it.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Were you surprised by that?
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yes, yeah, because we have so many menth of Africa
in the United States and when you go home and
I feel it's my home. When you go home, you
feel the love. They're proud of us, they feel connected
to us. And you see that you're walking down the
(05:20):
street and people are hey and they're welcoming you. And
I called my boys, well their men, I call them
my first night and said, this is wonderful. This is
going to be a fan.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Because they were like, what is mom do when she
decided to go to Africa? Right, Lord have mercy?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It was the It's an experience of a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I mean, it's funny because you mentioned Sybil. Sybil ended
up getting married to a man she met there and
the Gambia I remember it well. So but when the
things that speaks to and that's not one of the
things that we offer on the trip, like you, we're
not business is not married at first sight, it's not
love island. But it shows you, you know how that
(06:12):
those walls that we think are there aren't necessarily there.
Several couples have emerged from the.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Trips, several relationships.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yeah, bloomed yea and some of my cousin Karen, she
met her husband.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Oh so they actually are married now too, right, So
two marriages.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Three Mary's daughter, oh wow, when we were in Nigeria.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
So three three marriages and some other almost relationship situations.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
One is still in the air.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Maybe I think there's two still in the air. Okay, Okay, yeah,
that's I've been going off and on since twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Okay, So, but I wanted to say Terry being on
the trip. When Terry's first experience, it was just it
brought joy in my heart. She was just so excited,
like a little three year old. She was just so
excited about everything.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
It was. It It's a fascinating experience. It makes you
feel now I know where I come from. I've seen
our land, I've seen our animals. Yes, I was like
on a super high the entire time.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
But but it was nice. Though, It's not that energy
is contagious, that joy is contagious. Miles were you you
You actually had a little bit of a run in
with some folks that actually didn't really care for us.
But generally, I feel like people embraced you. I saw
some girls hitting on you and stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Yeah, I mean, you know, generally it's love. But I mean,
you know, it's just different experience, you running different people.
Certain people aren't that much of a fan, know you.
Certain people don't like certain parts about you or your culture,
what you bring to the environment. Some people are out
for their are acting nice to you for their pockets,
you know what I mean, looking for that that tip
or something like that.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
But some people are mad at us because of Trump.
But you know that's not our fault. But yeah, I mean,
but that that people being nice for a tip. I
mean that happens anytime you're a tourist anywhere in the world,
and that's part of being a tourist.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
I think I feel like especially out there though, because
I've seen the I got to see the It flipped
from being hey, I'm cool in your face, Hey, how
you doing to you know what kata kata kata? You
know what I mean certain words.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
It means cotton picker. We think we hear and Miles
was called that. But at the same time, I mean,
have you traveled in Mexico.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
I'm saying I'm not America.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
You see the same thing. Yeah, that's what people do,
people that are trying to make a living off tourists,
you know, hustle tourists. I mean they do it on
sunset boulevard. I just think it's important to put that
in context because I feel like, if you get caught
up in the tarik now she'd interpretation of the relationship
between Africans and African Americans, you can play. You can
(09:06):
fall into a trap of looking at that somehow differently
than looking at tourist hustles in every other country in
the world, particularly when it comes to people from the US,
because we're seen as wealthy.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Right, right, and that's everywhere. If you are oh yeah, oh,
I'm sorry. If you are a good American, if you're
a good person, when you go to their country, you
have to respect their cultures. I got upset when we
(09:41):
were in Zanzibar and that's a Muslim country, and some
of the women were undressed. I mean they were showing
a lot of skin.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Tourists women Sanzabari women don't do that.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Right, And I said, do what the people do?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Respect their culture, right, And I was.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Kind of upset and I said some things, and you know,
we're in someone else's country. Let's respect their culture.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
But that is the stereotype of the ugly American. We
go and we don't respect people's cultures. So I'm not
mad at you for being upset about that. I mean,
show some love, right, And also they won't call you
out for it because they're a different kind of Muslim.
They're a live and let live Muslims. But they don't
like it, right. They don't want to see your butt, No,
(10:35):
they got their heads covered. Why they would they want
to see your butt. I mean, I think it is
a balance for sure. Eight hundred nine two oh, fifteen eighty.
If you want to a way in, we're talking all
things Motherland. We are getting ready to go back in June,
and actually there's still room on the trip, amazingly enough.
If you want to find out more, you can call
(10:56):
three one O six seven six seventy three hundred three
one O six seven six seventy three hundred. I'm Dominique
Deprima for KBLA Talk fifteen eighty. I do, thank you.
And Terry and Patrice are in the studio. They have
careers and lives and kids and all that stuff. But
we're here to talk about Africa, and we were talking
about how things hit different when you've been to a place. Miles,
(11:19):
of course has traveled the last two years out of
our eight. And you know, when Senegal is in the news,
for example, because of you know, now they've discovered oil there,
I find myself worrying about Senegal because as soon as
there's oil, here comes the US trying to bomb your boats,
(11:40):
calling them drug boats or whatever. It is the same
thing with Nigeria where now and I think you've been
to Nigeria a couple times now, they're saying they want
to attack the Nigerian government because they're supposedly persecuting Christians
when it's the terrorist group Pokoharam that's actually you know, terrorizing.
(12:00):
But don't you see those stories differently having been on
the ground in those places.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yes, I do, I do, But I want to say
that I do feel like hope is in Africa.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
They have Ibraham Tory, yeah, and Fossil. Yes, I see
him as the Messiah.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I do.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I know, I do, because he's.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Bringing hope to all of Africa, not just Burkina Fossil,
but to all of Africa and to all of the
Africans across the diaspora.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
I mean, I would hesitate to make any politician into
a messiah because they usually disappoint us.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They called for ad Hampton the Messiah, So.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, I can. I'm not mean, you know, call him
what you will. I have no problem with it, but
I understand what you're saying, because he is I'm taking
a position of taking back the resources of Africa for
Africans and defying the colonizers. Yes, and you know that
is something we know as perilous. We see what has
what happened to so many African leaders Julius Naii, you know,
(13:04):
and other Kwame and Kruma and others who took that position.
They paid for it with their life or had their
governments overthrown. And so it's beautiful to see the way
people of different African countries are stepping up and trying
to protect this man, and the way that people are
really uniting behind Burkina Fasso in this.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
I can't wait till African focus goes to Burkina Fassa.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Well, you know what, I would love to make that
happen too. It you know, West Africa right now. I
mean one of the things we have to do, which
is sad, but we do have to do it. And
you should do this no matter where to travel is
track the geopolitical conditions on the ground. You know, is
it safe to bring thirty forty to fifty people there
as tourists? And there are some places that are good
(13:52):
one year and not good the other year. We were
talking about Tanzania and the troubles that they're having now
right and we were there, you know, recently, and I love.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Chansen beautiful.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
It's on the list of places I wouldn't mind living.
And now they're having problems, you know, they had a
contested election and protesters are being targeted and.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Dominique.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Don't forget we were in Nairobi when those riots broke off.
Yes that I was like, oh my gosh, you know,
I'm living life like I'm living history.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
I'm not just probably were perfectly safe because we didn't
go run down into the middle.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
But I got to talk to some of the vendors
and you know, when we were shopping about what was
going on. And even the lady at the hotel that
gave us some massage, you know, she said, I would
have been down there today, but if you guys, you know,
are here in the hotel, so.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
She was booked up.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Right well, and we and I got to interview some protesters.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
You know some of the students you know so Africa.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I love it. Yeah, I love that. And I we
saw how their influencers. We talked to this one Kenyan
influencer who has very glamorous him in Johnline and has
a lot of promotions, but he was in support of
the marches too. Miles you were you're still talking to
some of those young people that you met in Kenya.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
Yeah, one of the protesters, he he as a filmmaker.
He did his first couple of years of a film
school out there with Calvin, the guy we met young man.
We met Calvin and uh also the young man from
the Key Bear slums. We met him, went to the
school and donated the rent. A little trouble at the school.
That was pretty fun. I liked that part of it.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, you like the hood experience and forgettable.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
And get the real, get the real taste and field
of Africa, the real smell, you know, I mean, get
your your your blood up, get your nervous system up
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Right.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Yeah, So we were talking to Terry about Benen because
recently there was an attempt at coop there and.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
We were just there last year, right, right, And I
thought about that, and I was talking to my son
and I said, your mommy was actually there and I
met some of those people, so I I know the place.
I feel the place. I know what the people are
struggling for. They had a coup and your mother walked
(16:19):
those grounds. That is such an amazing feeling. And these
are stories that I'm going to tell my great grandkids,
you know.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Yeah, And I think I remember, you know, even though
I consider myself afrocentric, and I always say I'll wear
my dashiki on the inside because you don't really see
me in a lot of African clothes that much. But
I consider myself afrocentric. But I remember reading the paper
and when I read about Senegal, what I imagine in
my mind was not at all what Senegal is. Right
when I would read about Benin, I don't know. I
(16:51):
just think of them as remote, or I would think
of them as harsh or eric. And now I'm thinking
about people I saw in places I went right.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
I saw a play rec I'm not gonna name the
name of it, but it.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Was about a hair braiding African braiding salon and the
young lady in the place she was afraid she was
going to be deported back to Senegal. And she was
freaking out about being deported back to Senegal, and I
was like, wait a minute, Senegal is nice.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
I don't know Senegal to be deported back to me somewhere.
Can it be Senegal or Zanzibar?
Speaker 6 (17:27):
Please?
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Z was beautiful. It was beautiful. That's a place where
my husband and I we were looking at apartment builds.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Same. Can I get a call down here? But part
of it is just that, I think for me, it
exposes how even those of us who consider ourselves pro
black or afrocentric, how much we buy into the mainstream
media narrative without realizing it. I thought that Senegal would
be a harsh, arid place full of you know, hungry people,
(17:59):
which I'm sure there are, but it's a beautiful place.
We were a Dakar, a coastal city full of you know,
kindly fishermen and dis delicious French African cuisine of seafood
and beautiful artwork and dance, and I mean, it's just
now I think to myself, oh please, please, please, don't
(18:21):
wreck that beautiful place for their oil. It's a totally
different orientation than I had before traveling.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
And you know, growing up, we always got the images,
you know, with Sally Struthers over there and the keys
with the flies flying all over them and they're running
nooses and this and that, and it's not like that
at all.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
You know, yeah, I you know, it's funny you say
that because when we went to the Masai Mata, right
when we go out to Masai country and they are
cattle herders, yes, they herd cattle. What do cattle do
they poop? What does poop attract flies? And so I
(18:58):
realized how much they hustle us in these commercials because yeah,
they're flies there, they're not flies here. Yeah, but those
I mean the Massaia in particular have the flies, because
have they have? They travel with herds of cows. So
I'm seeing the flies on the kids and the kids
just had a burger. Like the kids ain't hungry because
(19:19):
they might eat a lot of beef, but it's and
so it just goes to show you how if you
take stuff out of contacts and you don't understand culturally
what's happening, you'll draw a totally different conclusion than the reality.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And I had all the food we can eat over
there in Africa, I never ate so much.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Remember we put on way, Yes, we ate.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Especially that South African trip.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Oh my god, that was Zimbabwe too. Oh my gosh.
The food was so good in Zimbabwe.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Yes, yes, I love it.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
That's what I wanted to say, because we got a
trip coming up to Zambia and Boswana. Boswana, Zambia, out
of all the countries that I have been to, that
was the best. The food between Zambia and Zimbabwe because
their season, they're right next door to each other.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yes, it's their right next door. Well, they're on both
sides of so called Victoria Falls Mostuna Falls. The main
you know, tourist side is in Zimbabwe, but the other
side of the falls is in Zambia. And I'm looking forward.
So you're gonna love it.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
You love it.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And us Wana the Chobe River and uh yes, you're
gonna have a ball.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Yeah, we're gonna do it.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
If you haven't signed up, you must sign up so
you can get to see Zambia, mosey O, Tuna, Victoria Falls,
go to the Chobe River and Buswana.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Oh my god, that's a trip of a lifetime.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Well everyone's talking about the other countries. I love the
Massai people. I loved seeing their culture. I love seeing
how they lived. They were so friendly, they invited us
into their homes.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That's in East Africa, of course, that was Kenya, Tanzania.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
Oh, I just loved it. Just seeing the Massai people
do their jumping dance. I was. I said, they have
a culture that they're sharing with us, and I almost
started jumping too.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Well, some people were jumping, some people weren't jumping. But
you know, after we got back, me and Miles did
a deep dive into how some of the big fashion
houses have stolen the fashion ideas from the Mussailles. These
African cattle herders who are way out in the country
(21:44):
are being ripped off by big designer houses. Make it
make sense.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
All those symbols on the on.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Their their clothing and the way they wear those blankets. Yes, well,
Terry and Patrice, thank you for coming and sharing. We
got more trailblazers up afternoons Traffic and Sports on KBLA
Talk fifteen eights, ABLA Talk fifteen eighty. Miles has been
on his afrobeats ever since, ever since we went to Kenya,
(22:10):
which was the year before last. But I'm joined in
the studio by three African focused trailblazers, including our og
of all Og Original Griatz Lour Laurie's been on all
of our trips. She's brought two of her granddaughters, and
she started her own nonprofit all coming out of this effort.
Speaker 7 (22:33):
Hi Lourie, Hi Dominie, thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 7 (22:38):
And yes, I did start a nonprofit by first trip
to Ghana in twenty sixteen. That inspired me because I
was invited by a missionary there who had saw my
nonprofits work on social media and asked me to come
to Ghana to do some missionary work there. So since
(23:01):
twenty twenty one, I have been going back to Ghana
and it's all because of that first trip with African focus.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
And you know, I know you. You have taken it
into your spirit, into your whole self. You've got all
kinds of art, you have African, beautiful African garb like
what you're wearing today. Did you ever see that coming
when you decided to take this trip.
Speaker 7 (23:26):
I did not, Dominique. When I first heard you on
the radio in twenty sixteen, I was retiring from the
County of Los Angeles and I thought that would be
a great retirement present for myself. So when I went
to Ghana for the first time and then all the
subsequent trips, I decided I wanted to get jewelry from
(23:48):
every country that I visited. I wanted to get an
outfit from every country that I visited, and artwork from
every country that I visited. So, and you know what
we say, we want to visit.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
All Yeah, that's me and Laurie. Me and Laurie are
on a mission. We want to go to all fifty
four African countries before we leave the building and we
are Shoot, we're gonna have to pick up the pace
a little bit, but we're well on our way. Yes,
and Gail is here. Gil When was was last year
(24:19):
your first trip with us? Yes, yes, that's what I thought. So,
I mean, but you're very afrocentric. You have a whole museum,
you collect artifacts from Afro America Africa, So this wasn't
a new thing for you.
Speaker 6 (24:36):
No, And it wasn't my first trip to the continent either.
I've done been to Africa all parts of Africa several times,
but each time brings about a different experience and so
even this as I think was the fifth time I
had been to Ghana. I walked away this time with
(24:56):
something that I never experienced previously.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
So and what was that that was?
Speaker 6 (25:03):
It was an awakening. It was a spiritual awakening, a
kind of a personal awakening. For Okay, I never well,
I have considered maybe moving, you know, uh to Ghana.
But with everything you know happening, you think, Okay, no,
I won't want to move there, but I definitely want
(25:28):
my uh, I want my soul there. When I close
my eyes, that's where I want my ashes to be.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Wow, that's deep.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Yeah, And were you surprised? Did anything surprise you about
the just the whole way we moved, the way that
we moved. It was fifty some of us now, it
was about fifty of us this last trip, mostly Black Americans.
There's a few other folks sprinkled in here and there.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Well, yes, I'm one. As I said, I do a
lot of traveling and I like to cover as much
ground as I can when I go that far. So
the fact that we attended or were able to go
to the three different countries was right up my alley,
you know. So, Yes, it's a hustle, it's a bustle
to try to, you know, get from one place to
the other. But it's important now for me to be
(26:21):
able to say, hey, I've experienced Benin, I've experienced Nigeria
following my DNA, and that's that's on my bucket list,
really going to those places where my DNA tells me,
you know that I may have some ancestors from and
so that was the prime reason for wanting to go
to Nigeria, and then to be in Beneen and see
(26:46):
and feel the way we were accepted really put a
highlight on the trip.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
And we have one brother who came up this morning, early, early, early,
and Brian, how many trips have you to with us?
Speaker 8 (27:01):
That was my second?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
That was your second. You feel like such a part
of the group. I feel like you've been around longer.
But tell me what you expected and what you got?
Speaker 8 (27:13):
Oh wow, well, you know, the first trip I went
on with African focus was the South African trip South
African Zimbabwe, and it was amazing. It was it was amazing,
more than I have ever dreamed about, and so I
was excited to go on the following trip. I didn't
(27:34):
go in twenty twenty four. I was finishing up my studies.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Yeah, congratulations on that, Oh, thank you.
Speaker 8 (27:42):
And so this trip by my DNA, my African DNA,
was primarily in Nigeria. I was expecting or hopeful, you know,
I had this funny delusion that so the Alex Haley thing,
you know, when Kunta have phoned you and everybody. But
(28:05):
it wasn't like that. But in retrospect, the cultural experience
was out of this world. That walking the trail and
you know, seeing the pools where they washed the feet
of the slaves and culturally it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
When you talk about the trail, you're talking about the trail.
Speaker 8 (28:28):
Of the return.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, the path to the slave ship is really what
we walked and retraced.
Speaker 8 (28:35):
Yeah, and knowing that it's very likely that an ancestor
of mine walked that trail, survived, that part survived the
Middle Passage, and I mean here I am because of
the people that were able to endure that. That was
very moving. So I think that I got everything that
(29:00):
I wanted to get out of it in that respect.
And then there was a lot more too.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah. I think what you reference that I love is
this resilience piece because it is depressing and horrifying and
really enraging to be in those slave dungeons and the
trails and the slave river and all that. But there
is another part of it that says, I endured because
(29:27):
my ancestors were strong enough to survive, and now I'm
back in a capacity where I even have the ability
to help these orphanages, these schools where my ancestor's wildest
dream would be to even survive that ordeal. And we
not only survive, we're back and we're thriving. And for me,
it gave me a sense of purpose, like, Ah, my
(29:49):
ancestors didn't go through all this and survive all this
for me to do nothing. They survived all of this
for me to be a worse for good in the world. Yes, yeah, Laurie.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
Okay, I just want to say, on the flip side
of that, I really wanted to go to Benin because
of the way the Beneen ancestors were able to save
their self from being enslaved by building their homes on
stilts in the water, And so that was the main
attraction for me to go to Benin. And it was
(30:26):
so wonderful riding in the canoes in that and looking
at those homes on stilts, and thinking, my, you are
smarter at them, you know, and then took for us
as African focused trailblazers to donate those beautiful what were they,
red and green and black canoes and that was just amazing.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Yeah, that was amazing. And I thought it was gonna
be a little village like I'm picturing, you know, maybe
fifty or so homes on still. No, it's like sixty
thousand people out there in home homes on stills. I
got a bar, several bars, they got churches. We saw
people up in there get you know, testifying and all this.
The church is on stills, everything is on stall. That
(31:10):
was something I never imagined to be at the scale
or quite as creative as it was.
Speaker 7 (31:17):
Yes, it was. It was a wonderful experience.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
A little itty bitty kids rowing around in canoes and
that was actually an adaptation, right to get to get
away from slavers, to get out of reach and out
of scent. Uh. And they're still living there to this day.
Speaker 7 (31:34):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yeah, Gil, were you about to say something?
Speaker 6 (31:37):
Yeah that I thought that was an experience as well,
especially when we met the chief and they embraced us
and said, you know, you're home now, and and we
don't know scientifically, but it felt good to know that,
you know, they were open. It also educated me on
(31:58):
you know, what we were taught or what we were
believing about voodoo and the whole religious part of it,
to say, you know what, it's not that, and we
have to embrace the truth of what our culture really
has been and not believe everything that we're told.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
So of course you're referencing when we went to the
Vodoun temple and they were singing and dancing and the
Vodon king was there, that this is in Benin. It
was not the stereotype of what we've been taught. Brian,
did you want to speak to that?
Speaker 8 (32:36):
Well, yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
I was.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
I was shocked at how much he understood about our culture,
you know through the interpreter, and we had a really
great interpreter.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Because they speak French there and Creole, and.
Speaker 8 (32:54):
How much he understood about you know, Black Americans and
you know, the culture in general, as also the other
king that we met in Nigeria as well, but of
course he spoke English. But that whole experience was I
never in my life dreamed that I would put a
(33:16):
live python around my neck.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
But you have the pictures to prove it. You got
the receipts. Yeah, the African Focus Trailblazers are here. We
call ourselves that because we're blazing a trail for others
to go to Africa too, and you can come with us.
This year we're going south. We're headed south to Zambia
and Boswana. If you want to get more info, three
one O six seven six seventy three hundred. This is
(33:41):
KBLA teaming up with African Focus Incorporated. Saturday, we're having
an informational zoom. If you want to call, ask questions,
meet the founders of African Focus and you know, see
who you might be traveling with. You can get the zoom,
but you're gonna have to call three one O six
seven six seventy three hundred. We'll continue this conversation when
we come forward on KBLA Talk fifteen. Our African Focused
(34:02):
Trailblazers are in the studio. You know, if you can
travel to the Motherland, you can also take advantage of
some of the stuff they do. If you're here in La.
The Goodwill Awards is coming up in April, and there's
lots of things that they do, so go to Africanfocus
dot org. If you're thinking of coming to Boswana and
Zambia with us, you can call three one oh six
(34:23):
seven six seventy three hundred and get the zoom link
for the information meeting that we are having on Saturday. Gail,
Brian and Lorie are here and let's go to Willie
calling us from Palmdale. Good morning, Willie, Dominy, and good
mone to you again.
Speaker 9 (34:40):
I wanted to apologize to Mouth because he asked me,
what was my question pertaining to what's going on?
Speaker 8 (34:45):
Now?
Speaker 9 (34:45):
I'm looking at a different I'm looking at a different station,
so I'm looking at you on a different topic. You're
talking about hip hop. Well, we want to what saw
we want to leave in?
Speaker 4 (34:56):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Well you you know, if you want to say real quick,
you can say that you you got a song, your
theme song for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Willy, No, I don't okay the whole different question, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Okay, go ahead, go where you were going. We'll follow you.
Go ahead, Willie.
Speaker 9 (35:12):
Okay, I was just saying that I would listen to
maybe said that tiny listing, Tiny listen, I want to
play devoy.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Okay, oh body, yeah, I don't have anything to say
about that right now, But did you have a point
about it?
Speaker 9 (35:31):
Well, they want They got permission from his family to
use his voice in Utopia two.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Okay, all right, Well that sounds like you can call
me back tomorrow or call back another day. That's yeah,
we're definitely not on that topic. But thank you for calling.
I appreciate you listening. And it sounds like you were
listening to last hour. Maybe you were because we were
talking about twenty twenty five, what we want to keep
(35:57):
from twenty twenty five going into the new year, and
what we want to leave behind, And I said, Africa
is one of the things I'm keeping. We're going back
in twenty twenty six and all of the eight well
seven years of trips and all of the memories and
all the things we've learned, you know, the tough stuff
that Miles is bringing up and the more enjoyable stuff
(36:22):
that you know, I tend to focus on. I'm taking
all of that into twenty six How about you, guys? Yeah,
do you think that it's getting better? Well, this is
for Lri because you went with us in twenty sixteen,
and I remember in twenty sixteen I felt like people
were more scared. It seems like the Year of the
(36:43):
Return and all these celebrities going and stuff, it's almost
starting to become trendy to go to Africa.
Speaker 7 (36:49):
I think it is, absolutely, I think it is. And
just like in twenty sixteen, like you said, there was
a lot of fear. I've had people say to me,
I don't want to go to that dirty, dusty place,
and I'm like, how could you? How could you say
that about the motherland? Your home? And once you go there,
you will feel totally different. And I have made it
(37:11):
a point that every time after that first time in
twenty sixteen, I bought someone with me. I bought a friend,
I bought my husband, I bought my grandchildren.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
And you know, so and your husband, since you brought
it up, did not want to go. He did not,
But then when he came, he was the most gung
ho of all of them.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Absolutely, and then he went the following year.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Yeah, so hilarious, Brian, you look like you had something
to say about that. You know, a lot of us
have gotten pushedback. Why do you want to do that?
Why do you want to go? How many shots do
I have to get? Is what people always say the
same amount you have to get if you go to
Mexico and spend your money in Cancun. But Brian, what
were you responding to there?
Speaker 8 (37:54):
Reacting to well, ohs as funny because that's what we're
taught here. We're never shown any or rarely, I won't
say never. But growing up, it was never for me
anything positive about Africa. We weren't taught that there was
civilization there. They're walking around in in you know, in
(38:17):
their underwear with no clothes and huts and rings in
their nose, and we never saw a modern side of
Africa growing up. I didn't see that until I was.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
An adult, right, and then you and then your first
trip was a Cape Town, which is a big, gleaming city.
Oh my goodness, with the white sandy beaches, you know, and.
Speaker 8 (38:39):
And everything was it was amazing. So yeah, I mean,
how can you when you're programmed so long and here
in America, how they you know, I don't have to
tell you how we're portrayed run throughout the world, you know,
and you see the truth. Oh man, It's it's not
only eye opening, it's empowering. And then you get a
(39:01):
little ticked off because y'all have been lying.
Speaker 4 (39:04):
To me all these years.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Yeah. The thing that makes me upset is that the Europeans,
the Asians, they haven't been fooled. They're vacationing on the
beautiful African beaches. We're the ones that have been tricked. Yeah,
I'm gonna give you the last word here. What do
you want to share about you know, like you said,
this is your eighth trip. I'm glad you enjoyed your
travel with us. What do you want to share about
(39:27):
the Motherland.
Speaker 6 (39:28):
I think it's important for us to, as Miles said,
he said, Brian said, to actually see for ourselves. I
tell everybody, if well, I don't have the money or
I don't have the time. It's like I used to
save my lunch money when I was in corporate America
just to be able to get enough money to go
and to spend some quality time. You can't do it
(39:50):
in a week, you know. You have to be able
to go there and be able to see as much
as you can. My first experience was to South Africa,
and this was back in the seventies, and it was
like you can't go there. Part I was there and
you can't, you know, do this and I was just
dead on wanting to see and experience for myself how
(40:11):
our people were actually treated and from there the learning
experience from that, that's what triggered my whole travel you know,
bug in terms of wanting to go to different places
in all parts of Africa to see how people of
color are actually being you know, treated, and so from
(40:32):
there it's about educating others. As founder of the African
American Memorabilia and Cultural Center AMKAK, it's important for us
to teach, it's important for us to share that information,
and so the traveling is just full circle for me
to be able to share that information. Never wanted to
(40:55):
be a teacher, but wanting to share that information to
bring others greater awareness of what our true ancestors had
to experience, what they had to endure, and how we
can embrace and recognize them for it.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Well said Well, Gail, Brian and Laurie, thank you for
traveling with us, for supporting African focus, and for sharing
your experience here today means a lot.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Yeah, you guys are awesome. And Laurie, I need that
dress and I need that jacket. Here, I have that
tea shirt. Tavis Smiley's up next. He's got an incredible
show on tap for you as usual. You do not
want to miss that. Don't forget. You can talk to
me on social media. I'm at the Premia Radio d
ip ri I m A. I have a YouTube channel.
(41:40):
I'm on Instagram all the time. So yeah, holler, you know, follow,
subscribe or give me a hard time. It's all good.
I'm like my dad, the late Great A. Mary Baraka
used to say, a man is either free or he
is not free. There can be no apprenticeship for freedom
until tomorrow. Safe, be strong, one Love
Yeah, take us bag miles, take us back to the Motherland.
I am so excited to have my fellow travelers here
with me and the studio this morning. We usually do
it a little closer to the trip, but I guess
we got caught up in all the things that were
going on when we got back. As you know, because
(00:22):
y'all hear me talk about it all the time. I
team up with an organization called African Focus Incorporated. We
do a fundraiser for them every year, doing a trip
home to the Motherland. This is this year is going
to be our eighth trip. We would be on ten
if it wasn't for dog on COVID. But anyway, different
We go to different countries every time. We have different
groups of travelers whoever signs up every time. Although we
(00:45):
have a lot of folks that come a lot, and
we typically try to share that with you. We want
you to virtually travel with us. If you don't come literally,
to come virtually. Patrese is here. Paterresea is one of
those frequent flyer, frequent travelers and just you're just an
afrocentric activist anyway in your own right. Good morning, Paterresa,
(01:07):
Grand Rising Dominique. Right, she's also you've heard her on
Wealth Building Wednesday because she's the owner of the Sun
Goddess Salon, Yes, doing specializing in natural hair. Yes, although
they'll they'll do a blowout for you for really.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well, thank you because the last time I was here,
one of the listeners she's a client now.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
All right, I love that for us always talks about you.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yay.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Well, shout out to your new client. The listener Rita Patresea.
I think you you came on the first trip. You
came on the very first trip, right, yeah, I think
I remember that because it was you and Laurie. I
was like, oh, some people really are going to come
with me to Africa, like it's not my imagination. Yeah,
(01:51):
So you were one of the ones that made it happen.
Speaker 3 (01:53):
That very first trip was so unforgettable.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
I made some very lifelong friends I call them sisters,
and that was in twenty sixteen and we went to
Ghana and it was beautiful, beautiful experience. Yeah we are yes,
we're like blood sisters now.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Which means that you are one of the people that
made this possible because when me and Channa and I
only first talked about this oh, this will be great,
but it was scary, like, no one's gonna why would
you travel Africa with me? Like, why would you? This
isn't gonna work. I was hoping it would work. But
when I think you were like one of the very
first people to sign up.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
At all, Yes, and I brought along a lot of people.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
You did, and I said, okay, this this could happen.
Even if it's just me and this lady Patrisa, this
lady Laurie, We're gonna make it happen.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
We had Sybil and Dan Jail and was Karen on
that trip?
Speaker 1 (02:48):
No, Karen, she came later, yes, yeah, but yeah, yes.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
She came on the second trip to Ghana in Nigeria
in twenty nineteen. Yes, yeah, but all the ladies just
enjoy them. And I forget when Sybil performed for us.
Remember in Ghana she performed She's Sang and that was
the first time we had all heard her, saying, we
had no idea that this lady had this beautiful voice.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Well, and what you're really speaking to is this kind
of fellowship that's happened between people beyond the trips, not
just when we're in Africa, but when we travel. One
of the things that I really think is important about
going to Africa, whether you come with us or you
go on your own, is dispelling some of the stereotypes
and some of the fear and terry. You've come with
(03:35):
us three times already, but you when you first came,
that was one of the things you had to overcome
us people in your own family that didn't want you
to come right right.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
They were the fallacy is Africans don't like us, and
I had that in my heart, but I said, I'm
going to go with an open mind. And when I
landed in South Africa and this African woman said, your
(04:06):
ancestors are welcoming you home, and she embraced me like
she knew me, and she said you're home, and I cried.
I felt so overwhelmed, And from that moment on, I
felt like I was home and Africa has. It's something
(04:30):
that I want everybody to experience. It is a feeling
of being home, being welcomed, being loved on. My lady sister,
I was so I was so welcomed and I'm still
(04:51):
feeling it now just talking about it.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Were you surprised by that?
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yes, yeah, because we have so many menth of Africa
in the United States and when you go home and
I feel it's my home. When you go home, you
feel the love. They're proud of us, they feel connected
to us. And you see that you're walking down the
(05:20):
street and people are hey and they're welcoming you. And
I called my boys, well their men, I call them
my first night and said, this is wonderful. This is
going to be a fan.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Because they were like, what is mom do when she
decided to go to Africa? Right, Lord have mercy?
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It was the It's an experience of a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
I mean, it's funny because you mentioned Sybil. Sybil ended
up getting married to a man she met there and
the Gambia I remember it well. So but when the
things that speaks to and that's not one of the
things that we offer on the trip, like you, we're
not business is not married at first sight, it's not
love island. But it shows you, you know how that
(06:12):
those walls that we think are there aren't necessarily there.
Several couples have emerged from the.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Trips, several relationships.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yeah, bloomed yea and some of my cousin Karen, she
met her husband.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
Oh so they actually are married now too, right, So
two marriages.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Three Mary's daughter, oh wow, when we were in Nigeria.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
So three three marriages and some other almost relationship situations.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
One is still in the air.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Maybe I think there's two still in the air. Okay, Okay, yeah,
that's I've been going off and on since twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Okay, So, but I wanted to say Terry being on
the trip. When Terry's first experience, it was just it
brought joy in my heart. She was just so excited,
like a little three year old. She was just so
excited about everything.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
It was. It It's a fascinating experience. It makes you
feel now I know where I come from. I've seen
our land, I've seen our animals. Yes, I was like
on a super high the entire time.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
But but it was nice. Though, It's not that energy
is contagious, that joy is contagious. Miles were you you
You actually had a little bit of a run in
with some folks that actually didn't really care for us.
But generally, I feel like people embraced you. I saw
some girls hitting on you and stuff like that.
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Yeah, I mean, you know, generally it's love. But I mean,
you know, it's just different experience, you running different people.
Certain people aren't that much of a fan, know you.
Certain people don't like certain parts about you or your culture,
what you bring to the environment. Some people are out
for their are acting nice to you for their pockets,
you know what I mean, looking for that that tip
or something like that.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
But some people are mad at us because of Trump.
But you know that's not our fault. But yeah, I mean,
but that that people being nice for a tip. I
mean that happens anytime you're a tourist anywhere in the world,
and that's part of being a tourist.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
I think I feel like especially out there though, because
I've seen the I got to see the It flipped
from being hey, I'm cool in your face, Hey, how
you doing to you know what kata kata kata? You
know what I mean certain words.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
It means cotton picker. We think we hear and Miles
was called that. But at the same time, I mean,
have you traveled in Mexico.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
I'm saying I'm not America.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
You see the same thing. Yeah, that's what people do,
people that are trying to make a living off tourists,
you know, hustle tourists. I mean they do it on
sunset boulevard. I just think it's important to put that
in context because I feel like, if you get caught
up in the tarik now she'd interpretation of the relationship
between Africans and African Americans, you can play. You can
(09:06):
fall into a trap of looking at that somehow differently
than looking at tourist hustles in every other country in
the world, particularly when it comes to people from the US,
because we're seen as wealthy.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Right, right, and that's everywhere. If you are oh yeah, oh,
I'm sorry. If you are a good American, if you're
a good person, when you go to their country, you
have to respect their cultures. I got upset when we
(09:41):
were in Zanzibar and that's a Muslim country, and some
of the women were undressed. I mean they were showing
a lot of skin.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Tourists women Sanzabari women don't do that.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Right, And I said, do what the people do?
Speaker 3 (10:02):
Respect their culture, right, And I was.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
Kind of upset and I said some things, and you know,
we're in someone else's country. Let's respect their culture.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
But that is the stereotype of the ugly American. We
go and we don't respect people's cultures. So I'm not
mad at you for being upset about that. I mean,
show some love, right, And also they won't call you
out for it because they're a different kind of Muslim.
They're a live and let live Muslims. But they don't
like it, right. They don't want to see your butt, No,
(10:35):
they got their heads covered. Why they would they want
to see your butt. I mean, I think it is
a balance for sure. Eight hundred nine two oh, fifteen eighty.
If you want to a way in, we're talking all
things Motherland. We are getting ready to go back in June,
and actually there's still room on the trip, amazingly enough.
If you want to find out more, you can call
(10:56):
three one O six seven six seventy three hundred three
one O six seven six seventy three hundred. I'm Dominique
Deprima for KBLA Talk fifteen eighty. I do, thank you.
And Terry and Patrice are in the studio. They have
careers and lives and kids and all that stuff. But
we're here to talk about Africa, and we were talking
about how things hit different when you've been to a place. Miles,
(11:19):
of course has traveled the last two years out of
our eight. And you know, when Senegal is in the news,
for example, because of you know, now they've discovered oil there,
I find myself worrying about Senegal because as soon as
there's oil, here comes the US trying to bomb your boats,
(11:40):
calling them drug boats or whatever. It is the same
thing with Nigeria where now and I think you've been
to Nigeria a couple times now, they're saying they want
to attack the Nigerian government because they're supposedly persecuting Christians
when it's the terrorist group Pokoharam that's actually you know, terrorizing.
(12:00):
But don't you see those stories differently having been on
the ground in those places.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Yes, I do, I do, But I want to say
that I do feel like hope is in Africa.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
They have Ibraham Tory, yeah, and Fossil. Yes, I see
him as the Messiah.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
I do.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I know, I do, because he's.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Bringing hope to all of Africa, not just Burkina Fossil,
but to all of Africa and to all of the
Africans across the diaspora.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
I mean, I would hesitate to make any politician into
a messiah because they usually disappoint us.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
They called for ad Hampton the Messiah, So.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Yeah, I can. I'm not mean, you know, call him
what you will. I have no problem with it, but
I understand what you're saying, because he is I'm taking
a position of taking back the resources of Africa for
Africans and defying the colonizers. Yes, and you know that
is something we know as perilous. We see what has
what happened to so many African leaders Julius Naii, you know,
(13:04):
and other Kwame and Kruma and others who took that position.
They paid for it with their life or had their
governments overthrown. And so it's beautiful to see the way
people of different African countries are stepping up and trying
to protect this man, and the way that people are
really uniting behind Burkina Fasso in this.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
I can't wait till African focus goes to Burkina Fassa.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Well, you know what, I would love to make that
happen too. It you know, West Africa right now. I
mean one of the things we have to do, which
is sad, but we do have to do it. And
you should do this no matter where to travel is
track the geopolitical conditions on the ground. You know, is
it safe to bring thirty forty to fifty people there
as tourists? And there are some places that are good
(13:52):
one year and not good the other year. We were
talking about Tanzania and the troubles that they're having now
right and we were there, you know, recently, and I love.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Chansen beautiful.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
It's on the list of places I wouldn't mind living.
And now they're having problems, you know, they had a
contested election and protesters are being targeted and.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Dominique.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Don't forget we were in Nairobi when those riots broke off.
Yes that I was like, oh my gosh, you know,
I'm living life like I'm living history.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
I'm not just probably were perfectly safe because we didn't
go run down into the middle.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
But I got to talk to some of the vendors
and you know, when we were shopping about what was
going on. And even the lady at the hotel that
gave us some massage, you know, she said, I would
have been down there today, but if you guys, you know,
are here in the hotel, so.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
She was booked up.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Right well, and we and I got to interview some protesters.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
You know some of the students you know so Africa.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I love it. Yeah, I love that. And I we
saw how their influencers. We talked to this one Kenyan
influencer who has very glamorous him in Johnline and has
a lot of promotions, but he was in support of
the marches too. Miles you were you're still talking to
some of those young people that you met in Kenya.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
Yeah, one of the protesters, he he as a filmmaker.
He did his first couple of years of a film
school out there with Calvin, the guy we met young man.
We met Calvin and uh also the young man from
the Key Bear slums. We met him, went to the
school and donated the rent. A little trouble at the school.
That was pretty fun. I liked that part of it.
Speaker 1 (15:36):
Yeah, you like the hood experience and forgettable.
Speaker 5 (15:39):
And get the real, get the real taste and field
of Africa, the real smell, you know, I mean, get
your your your blood up, get your nervous system up
a little bit.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
Right.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Yeah, So we were talking to Terry about Benen because
recently there was an attempt at coop there and.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
We were just there last year, right, right, And I
thought about that, and I was talking to my son
and I said, your mommy was actually there and I
met some of those people, so I I know the place.
I feel the place. I know what the people are
struggling for. They had a coup and your mother walked
(16:19):
those grounds. That is such an amazing feeling. And these
are stories that I'm going to tell my great grandkids,
you know.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Yeah, And I think I remember, you know, even though
I consider myself afrocentric, and I always say I'll wear
my dashiki on the inside because you don't really see
me in a lot of African clothes that much. But
I consider myself afrocentric. But I remember reading the paper
and when I read about Senegal, what I imagine in
my mind was not at all what Senegal is. Right
when I would read about Benin, I don't know. I
(16:51):
just think of them as remote, or I would think
of them as harsh or eric. And now I'm thinking
about people I saw in places I went right.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
I saw a play rec I'm not gonna name the
name of it, but it.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Was about a hair braiding African braiding salon and the
young lady in the place she was afraid she was
going to be deported back to Senegal. And she was
freaking out about being deported back to Senegal, and I
was like, wait a minute, Senegal is nice.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
I don't know Senegal to be deported back to me somewhere.
Can it be Senegal or Zanzibar?
Speaker 6 (17:27):
Please?
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Z was beautiful. It was beautiful. That's a place where
my husband and I we were looking at apartment builds.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Same. Can I get a call down here? But part
of it is just that, I think for me, it
exposes how even those of us who consider ourselves pro
black or afrocentric, how much we buy into the mainstream
media narrative without realizing it. I thought that Senegal would
be a harsh, arid place full of you know, hungry people,
(17:59):
which I'm sure there are, but it's a beautiful place.
We were a Dakar, a coastal city full of you know,
kindly fishermen and dis delicious French African cuisine of seafood
and beautiful artwork and dance, and I mean, it's just
now I think to myself, oh please, please, please, don't
(18:21):
wreck that beautiful place for their oil. It's a totally
different orientation than I had before traveling.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
And you know, growing up, we always got the images,
you know, with Sally Struthers over there and the keys
with the flies flying all over them and they're running
nooses and this and that, and it's not like that
at all.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
You know, yeah, I you know, it's funny you say
that because when we went to the Masai Mata, right
when we go out to Masai country and they are
cattle herders, yes, they herd cattle. What do cattle do
they poop? What does poop attract flies? And so I
(18:58):
realized how much they hustle us in these commercials because yeah,
they're flies there, they're not flies here. Yeah, but those
I mean the Massaia in particular have the flies, because
have they have? They travel with herds of cows. So
I'm seeing the flies on the kids and the kids
just had a burger. Like the kids ain't hungry because
(19:19):
they might eat a lot of beef, but it's and
so it just goes to show you how if you
take stuff out of contacts and you don't understand culturally
what's happening, you'll draw a totally different conclusion than the reality.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
And I had all the food we can eat over
there in Africa, I never ate so much.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Remember we put on way, Yes, we ate.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Especially that South African trip.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Oh my god, that was Zimbabwe too. Oh my gosh.
The food was so good in Zimbabwe.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Yes, yes, I love it.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
That's what I wanted to say, because we got a
trip coming up to Zambia and Boswana. Boswana, Zambia, out
of all the countries that I have been to, that
was the best. The food between Zambia and Zimbabwe because
their season, they're right next door to each other.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yes, it's their right next door. Well, they're on both
sides of so called Victoria Falls Mostuna Falls. The main
you know, tourist side is in Zimbabwe, but the other
side of the falls is in Zambia. And I'm looking forward.
So you're gonna love it.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
You love it.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And us Wana the Chobe River and uh yes, you're
gonna have a ball.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
Yeah, we're gonna do it.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
If you haven't signed up, you must sign up so
you can get to see Zambia, mosey O, Tuna, Victoria Falls,
go to the Chobe River and Buswana.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
Oh my god, that's a trip of a lifetime.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Well everyone's talking about the other countries. I love the
Massai people. I loved seeing their culture. I love seeing
how they lived. They were so friendly, they invited us
into their homes.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That's in East Africa, of course, that was Kenya, Tanzania.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
Oh, I just loved it. Just seeing the Massai people
do their jumping dance. I was. I said, they have
a culture that they're sharing with us, and I almost
started jumping too.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Well, some people were jumping, some people weren't jumping. But
you know, after we got back, me and Miles did
a deep dive into how some of the big fashion
houses have stolen the fashion ideas from the Mussailles. These
African cattle herders who are way out in the country
(21:44):
are being ripped off by big designer houses. Make it
make sense.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
All those symbols on the on.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Their their clothing and the way they wear those blankets. Yes, well,
Terry and Patrice, thank you for coming and sharing. We
got more trailblazers up afternoons Traffic and Sports on KBLA
Talk fifteen eights, ABLA Talk fifteen eighty. Miles has been
on his afrobeats ever since, ever since we went to Kenya,
(22:10):
which was the year before last. But I'm joined in
the studio by three African focused trailblazers, including our og
of all Og Original Griatz Lour Laurie's been on all
of our trips. She's brought two of her granddaughters, and
she started her own nonprofit all coming out of this effort.
Speaker 7 (22:33):
Hi Lourie, Hi Dominie, thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (22:36):
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 7 (22:38):
And yes, I did start a nonprofit by first trip
to Ghana in twenty sixteen. That inspired me because I
was invited by a missionary there who had saw my
nonprofits work on social media and asked me to come
to Ghana to do some missionary work there. So since
(23:01):
twenty twenty one, I have been going back to Ghana
and it's all because of that first trip with African focus.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
And you know, I know you. You have taken it
into your spirit, into your whole self. You've got all
kinds of art, you have African, beautiful African garb like
what you're wearing today. Did you ever see that coming
when you decided to take this trip.
Speaker 7 (23:26):
I did not, Dominique. When I first heard you on
the radio in twenty sixteen, I was retiring from the
County of Los Angeles and I thought that would be
a great retirement present for myself. So when I went
to Ghana for the first time and then all the
subsequent trips, I decided I wanted to get jewelry from
(23:48):
every country that I visited. I wanted to get an
outfit from every country that I visited, and artwork from
every country that I visited. So, and you know what
we say, we want to visit.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
All Yeah, that's me and Laurie. Me and Laurie are
on a mission. We want to go to all fifty
four African countries before we leave the building and we
are Shoot, we're gonna have to pick up the pace
a little bit, but we're well on our way. Yes,
and Gail is here. Gil When was was last year
(24:19):
your first trip with us? Yes, yes, that's what I thought. So,
I mean, but you're very afrocentric. You have a whole museum,
you collect artifacts from Afro America Africa, So this wasn't
a new thing for you.
Speaker 6 (24:36):
No, And it wasn't my first trip to the continent either.
I've done been to Africa all parts of Africa several times,
but each time brings about a different experience and so
even this as I think was the fifth time I
had been to Ghana. I walked away this time with
(24:56):
something that I never experienced previously.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
So and what was that that was?
Speaker 6 (25:03):
It was an awakening. It was a spiritual awakening, a
kind of a personal awakening. For Okay, I never well,
I have considered maybe moving, you know, uh to Ghana.
But with everything you know happening, you think, Okay, no,
I won't want to move there, but I definitely want
(25:28):
my uh, I want my soul there. When I close
my eyes, that's where I want my ashes to be.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Wow, that's deep.
Speaker 4 (25:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
Yeah, And were you surprised? Did anything surprise you about
the just the whole way we moved, the way that
we moved. It was fifty some of us now, it
was about fifty of us this last trip, mostly Black Americans.
There's a few other folks sprinkled in here and there.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Well, yes, I'm one. As I said, I do a
lot of traveling and I like to cover as much
ground as I can when I go that far. So
the fact that we attended or were able to go
to the three different countries was right up my alley,
you know. So, Yes, it's a hustle, it's a bustle
to try to, you know, get from one place to
the other. But it's important now for me to be
(26:21):
able to say, hey, I've experienced Benin, I've experienced Nigeria
following my DNA, and that's that's on my bucket list,
really going to those places where my DNA tells me,
you know that I may have some ancestors from and
so that was the prime reason for wanting to go
to Nigeria, and then to be in Beneen and see
(26:46):
and feel the way we were accepted really put a
highlight on the trip.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
And we have one brother who came up this morning, early, early, early,
and Brian, how many trips have you to with us?
Speaker 8 (27:01):
That was my second?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
That was your second. You feel like such a part
of the group. I feel like you've been around longer.
But tell me what you expected and what you got?
Speaker 8 (27:13):
Oh wow, well, you know, the first trip I went
on with African focus was the South African trip South
African Zimbabwe, and it was amazing. It was it was amazing,
more than I have ever dreamed about, and so I
was excited to go on the following trip. I didn't
(27:34):
go in twenty twenty four. I was finishing up my studies.
Speaker 1 (27:39):
Yeah, congratulations on that, Oh, thank you.
Speaker 8 (27:42):
And so this trip by my DNA, my African DNA,
was primarily in Nigeria. I was expecting or hopeful, you know,
I had this funny delusion that so the Alex Haley thing,
you know, when Kunta have phoned you and everybody. But
(28:05):
it wasn't like that. But in retrospect, the cultural experience
was out of this world. That walking the trail and
you know, seeing the pools where they washed the feet
of the slaves and culturally it was amazing.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
When you talk about the trail, you're talking about the trail.
Speaker 8 (28:28):
Of the return.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Yeah, the path to the slave ship is really what
we walked and retraced.
Speaker 8 (28:35):
Yeah, and knowing that it's very likely that an ancestor
of mine walked that trail, survived, that part survived the
Middle Passage, and I mean here I am because of
the people that were able to endure that. That was
very moving. So I think that I got everything that
(29:00):
I wanted to get out of it in that respect.
And then there was a lot more too.
Speaker 1 (29:06):
Yeah. I think what you reference that I love is
this resilience piece because it is depressing and horrifying and
really enraging to be in those slave dungeons and the
trails and the slave river and all that. But there
is another part of it that says, I endured because
(29:27):
my ancestors were strong enough to survive, and now I'm
back in a capacity where I even have the ability
to help these orphanages, these schools where my ancestor's wildest
dream would be to even survive that ordeal. And we
not only survive, we're back and we're thriving. And for me,
it gave me a sense of purpose, like, Ah, my
(29:49):
ancestors didn't go through all this and survive all this
for me to do nothing. They survived all of this
for me to be a worse for good in the world. Yes, yeah, Laurie.
Speaker 7 (30:04):
Okay, I just want to say, on the flip side
of that, I really wanted to go to Benin because
of the way the Beneen ancestors were able to save
their self from being enslaved by building their homes on
stilts in the water, And so that was the main
attraction for me to go to Benin. And it was
(30:26):
so wonderful riding in the canoes in that and looking
at those homes on stilts, and thinking, my, you are
smarter at them, you know, and then took for us
as African focused trailblazers to donate those beautiful what were they,
red and green and black canoes and that was just amazing.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Yeah, that was amazing. And I thought it was gonna
be a little village like I'm picturing, you know, maybe
fifty or so homes on still. No, it's like sixty
thousand people out there in home homes on stills. I
got a bar, several bars, they got churches. We saw
people up in there get you know, testifying and all this.
The church is on stills, everything is on stall. That
(31:10):
was something I never imagined to be at the scale
or quite as creative as it was.
Speaker 7 (31:17):
Yes, it was. It was a wonderful experience.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
A little itty bitty kids rowing around in canoes and
that was actually an adaptation, right to get to get
away from slavers, to get out of reach and out
of scent. Uh. And they're still living there to this day.
Speaker 7 (31:34):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yeah, Gil, were you about to say something?
Speaker 6 (31:37):
Yeah that I thought that was an experience as well,
especially when we met the chief and they embraced us
and said, you know, you're home now, and and we
don't know scientifically, but it felt good to know that,
you know, they were open. It also educated me on
(31:58):
you know, what we were taught or what we were
believing about voodoo and the whole religious part of it,
to say, you know what, it's not that, and we
have to embrace the truth of what our culture really
has been and not believe everything that we're told.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
So of course you're referencing when we went to the
Vodoun temple and they were singing and dancing and the
Vodon king was there, that this is in Benin. It
was not the stereotype of what we've been taught. Brian,
did you want to speak to that?
Speaker 8 (32:36):
Well, yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
I was.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
I was shocked at how much he understood about our culture,
you know through the interpreter, and we had a really
great interpreter.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Because they speak French there and Creole, and.
Speaker 8 (32:54):
How much he understood about you know, Black Americans and
you know, the culture in general, as also the other
king that we met in Nigeria as well, but of
course he spoke English. But that whole experience was I
never in my life dreamed that I would put a
(33:16):
live python around my neck.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
But you have the pictures to prove it. You got
the receipts. Yeah, the African Focus Trailblazers are here. We
call ourselves that because we're blazing a trail for others
to go to Africa too, and you can come with us.
This year we're going south. We're headed south to Zambia
and Boswana. If you want to get more info, three
one O six seven six seventy three hundred. This is
(33:41):
KBLA teaming up with African Focus Incorporated. Saturday, we're having
an informational zoom. If you want to call, ask questions,
meet the founders of African Focus and you know, see
who you might be traveling with. You can get the zoom,
but you're gonna have to call three one O six
seven six seventy three hundred. We'll continue this conversation when
we come forward on KBLA Talk fifteen. Our African Focused
(34:02):
Trailblazers are in the studio. You know, if you can
travel to the Motherland, you can also take advantage of
some of the stuff they do. If you're here in La.
The Goodwill Awards is coming up in April, and there's
lots of things that they do, so go to Africanfocus
dot org. If you're thinking of coming to Boswana and
Zambia with us, you can call three one oh six
(34:23):
seven six seventy three hundred and get the zoom link
for the information meeting that we are having on Saturday. Gail,
Brian and Lorie are here and let's go to Willie
calling us from Palmdale. Good morning, Willie, Dominy, and good
mone to you again.
Speaker 9 (34:40):
I wanted to apologize to Mouth because he asked me,
what was my question pertaining to what's going on?
Speaker 8 (34:45):
Now?
Speaker 9 (34:45):
I'm looking at a different I'm looking at a different station,
so I'm looking at you on a different topic. You're
talking about hip hop. Well, we want to what saw
we want to leave in?
Speaker 4 (34:56):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Well you you know, if you want to say real quick,
you can say that you you got a song, your
theme song for twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Willy, No, I don't okay the whole different question, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
Okay, go ahead, go where you were going. We'll follow you.
Go ahead, Willie.
Speaker 9 (35:12):
Okay, I was just saying that I would listen to
maybe said that tiny listing, Tiny listen, I want to
play devoy.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Okay, oh body, yeah, I don't have anything to say
about that right now, But did you have a point
about it?
Speaker 9 (35:31):
Well, they want They got permission from his family to
use his voice in Utopia two.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
Okay, all right, Well that sounds like you can call
me back tomorrow or call back another day. That's yeah,
we're definitely not on that topic. But thank you for calling.
I appreciate you listening. And it sounds like you were
listening to last hour. Maybe you were because we were
talking about twenty twenty five, what we want to keep
(35:57):
from twenty twenty five going into the new year, and
what we want to leave behind, And I said, Africa
is one of the things I'm keeping. We're going back
in twenty twenty six and all of the eight well
seven years of trips and all of the memories and
all the things we've learned, you know, the tough stuff
that Miles is bringing up and the more enjoyable stuff
(36:22):
that you know, I tend to focus on. I'm taking
all of that into twenty six How about you, guys? Yeah,
do you think that it's getting better? Well, this is
for Lri because you went with us in twenty sixteen,
and I remember in twenty sixteen I felt like people
were more scared. It seems like the Year of the
(36:43):
Return and all these celebrities going and stuff, it's almost
starting to become trendy to go to Africa.
Speaker 7 (36:49):
I think it is, absolutely, I think it is. And
just like in twenty sixteen, like you said, there was
a lot of fear. I've had people say to me,
I don't want to go to that dirty, dusty place,
and I'm like, how could you? How could you say
that about the motherland? Your home? And once you go there,
you will feel totally different. And I have made it
(37:11):
a point that every time after that first time in
twenty sixteen, I bought someone with me. I bought a friend,
I bought my husband, I bought my grandchildren.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
And you know, so and your husband, since you brought
it up, did not want to go. He did not,
But then when he came, he was the most gung
ho of all of them.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Absolutely, and then he went the following year.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Yeah, so hilarious, Brian, you look like you had something
to say about that. You know, a lot of us
have gotten pushedback. Why do you want to do that?
Why do you want to go? How many shots do
I have to get? Is what people always say the
same amount you have to get if you go to
Mexico and spend your money in Cancun. But Brian, what
were you responding to there?
Speaker 8 (37:54):
Reacting to well, ohs as funny because that's what we're
taught here. We're never shown any or rarely, I won't
say never. But growing up, it was never for me
anything positive about Africa. We weren't taught that there was
civilization there. They're walking around in in you know, in
(38:17):
their underwear with no clothes and huts and rings in
their nose, and we never saw a modern side of
Africa growing up. I didn't see that until I was.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
An adult, right, and then you and then your first
trip was a Cape Town, which is a big, gleaming city.
Oh my goodness, with the white sandy beaches, you know, and.
Speaker 8 (38:39):
And everything was it was amazing. So yeah, I mean,
how can you when you're programmed so long and here
in America, how they you know, I don't have to
tell you how we're portrayed run throughout the world, you know,
and you see the truth. Oh man, It's it's not
only eye opening, it's empowering. And then you get a
(39:01):
little ticked off because y'all have been lying.
Speaker 4 (39:04):
To me all these years.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
Yeah. The thing that makes me upset is that the Europeans,
the Asians, they haven't been fooled. They're vacationing on the
beautiful African beaches. We're the ones that have been tricked. Yeah,
I'm gonna give you the last word here. What do
you want to share about you know, like you said,
this is your eighth trip. I'm glad you enjoyed your
travel with us. What do you want to share about
(39:27):
the Motherland.
Speaker 6 (39:28):
I think it's important for us to, as Miles said,
he said, Brian said, to actually see for ourselves. I
tell everybody, if well, I don't have the money or
I don't have the time. It's like I used to
save my lunch money when I was in corporate America
just to be able to get enough money to go
and to spend some quality time. You can't do it
(39:50):
in a week, you know. You have to be able
to go there and be able to see as much
as you can. My first experience was to South Africa,
and this was back in the seventies, and it was
like you can't go there. Part I was there and
you can't, you know, do this and I was just
dead on wanting to see and experience for myself how
(40:11):
our people were actually treated and from there the learning
experience from that, that's what triggered my whole travel you know,
bug in terms of wanting to go to different places
in all parts of Africa to see how people of
color are actually being you know, treated, and so from
(40:32):
there it's about educating others. As founder of the African
American Memorabilia and Cultural Center AMKAK, it's important for us
to teach, it's important for us to share that information,
and so the traveling is just full circle for me
to be able to share that information. Never wanted to
(40:55):
be a teacher, but wanting to share that information to
bring others greater awareness of what our true ancestors had
to experience, what they had to endure, and how we
can embrace and recognize them for it.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Well said Well, Gail, Brian and Laurie, thank you for
traveling with us, for supporting African focus, and for sharing
your experience here today means a lot.
Speaker 3 (41:18):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Yeah, you guys are awesome. And Laurie, I need that
dress and I need that jacket. Here, I have that
tea shirt. Tavis Smiley's up next. He's got an incredible
show on tap for you as usual. You do not
want to miss that. Don't forget. You can talk to
me on social media. I'm at the Premia Radio d
ip ri I m A. I have a YouTube channel.
(41:40):
I'm on Instagram all the time. So yeah, holler, you know, follow,
subscribe or give me a hard time. It's all good.
I'm like my dad, the late Great A. Mary Baraka
used to say, a man is either free or he
is not free. There can be no apprenticeship for freedom
until tomorrow. Safe, be strong, one Love
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Dateline NBC
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The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.