November 29, 2022 • 49 mins
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In this conversation filmmakers Avril Speaks & Loria King speak about how they discovered their passion to tell stories and how their journey together has become a lifelong friendship and creative partnership and the obstacles and aha moments they discovered along the way.
Their recent project Black America Is... is a gallery exhibit that highlights the complexity of the Black experience, allowing audiences to engage with the uniqueness that comes with our shared yet individual experience.
Loria King is an independent documentary filmmaker and photographer who focuses on nuanced stories involving race, gender, culture, and ethnicity. She began her filmmaking journey as an intern with Spike Lee’s Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks and her passion for her craft has led her to share her real-world experience with students as a film professor in the classroom. Her project, "Black America Is…," , was selected as part of the 2020 Film Independent/CNN Docuseries.
Executive Producer. Showrunner. Producer. Director. Avril Speaks has been carving out her path as a bold, innovative content creator for years, not only as a Producer and Director but also during her days as a professor at Howard University and as a film educator through Film Independent, the Sundance Institute, and Distribution Advocates. Avril produced the award-winning film Jinn, which premiered at SXSW and won Special Jury Recognition for Writing. She also produced several films including African America, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and is streaming on Netflix. Avril produced the “Black America Is... project”, which premiered at the Afrikana Film Festival a couple of weeks ago in October.
http://www.azuspeak.com/
https://www.instagram.com/azuspeak/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/aboutloria/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/azuspeak/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Lisa Hopkins (00:00):
This is the stop time podcast. I'm your host,
Lisa Hopkins, and I'm here toengage you in thought provoking
motivational conversationsaround practicing the art of
living in the moment. I'm acertified life coach, and I'm
excited to dig deep and offerinsights into embracing who we
are and where we are at. I'mreally looking forward to
(00:26):
getting to know my next guests.
Lauria King is an independentdocumentary filmmaker and
photographer who focuses onnuanced stories involving race,
gender, culture, and ethnicity.
She began her filmmaking journeyas an intern with Spike Lee's 40
acres and a mule Filmworks andher passion for her craft has
(00:46):
led her to share her real worldexperience with students as a
film professor in the classroomand all over the world. Her
latest project black America iswas selected as part of the 2020
film independent CNN Docuseries. Also joining us today is
April speaks, who not only hasthe coolest name but she has
(01:10):
been carving out her path as abold, innovative content creator
for years, not only as aproducer and director but also
during your days as a professorat Howard University, and as a
film educator through filmindependent the Sundance
Institute, and distributionadvocates. April produced the
award winning film gin, whichpremiered at SX SW and one
(01:33):
special jury recognition forwriting. She also produced
several films, including AfricanAmerica, which was nominated for
an NAACP Image Award and isstreaming now on Netflix. Evil
produced the black America isproject which premiered at the
Africana Film Festival a coupleof weeks ago, in October. So
(01:54):
welcome, ladies. I'm superexcited to be chatting with you
today.
Avril Speaks (01:59):
Thank you for having us.
Lisa Hopkins (02:00):
It's my it's my pleasure. So Loria, you're in
Florida right now, is thatright? Yeah. And Avril? You're
calling in from LA? All right.
Perfect. So I'm super curious toknow a little bit. We talked a
little bit about it, maybebefore we got on air, but maybe
April can can begin. I'm curiousto know how long you guys have
(02:21):
known each other and how longyou've been working together?
Avril Speaks (02:26):
Well, we've been we've been working together.
We've known each other for along time going back to our
basic grad school at ColumbiaUniversity. And I don't know if
I don't know if we should dateourselves. But it was a long
time ago. Just say that. But uh,yeah, I think we we've we just
(02:48):
kind of connected literally fromday one. I think Laurie always
tells the story of theorientation, like our first day
of class in the program, and Imust have been running late, or
something. And they call theattendance and they said, my
name is April speaks, and therewas silence. And they said,
Well, I guess she's not speakingtoday. And Loria said, Oh, that
(03:12):
person sounds interesting. Andthen eventually, I got there.
And somehow we connected and weended up being in the, you know,
in that orientation, they put usinto groups to like, make a
little short film to just kindof get us acclimated to the
equipment, and we were in thesame group. And then when
classes started, we were inpractically every single class
(03:33):
together our first year, youknow, as someone who I went into
grad school straight out ofundergrad, and you know, I, I
didn't know anything. I was justlike, what's happening? What's
going on, and it just feltreally good to have someone from
day one that I connected with,and we saw eye to eye and we
(03:57):
also learned a lot from eachother, too. I think from day
one, I think we just kind ofstruck this bond that stayed
throughout the year, she'sprobably one of the maybe one of
the only people from grad schoolthat I said, I'm still quite I
talked to some of the peoplefrom our class, but in terms of
(04:18):
maintaining a meaningfulfriendship that has all that is
also a working relationship aswell, because even throughout
film school, we would work oneach other's projects. You know,
we've just been able to maintainthat friendship even through the
years and you know, both of usleft New York and have gone on
to have have lived in multiplestates. And, you know, it feels
(04:44):
good to say that she's someonethat you know, I've seen her in
many phases of life, like weknow each other's families, and,
you know, our families ask abouteach other. And as How's Loria
when's last time, you talked toLoria I want to see her again.
So, you know, we've just we'veshared a lot in the last few
(05:05):
years. So it's been great. Oh,
Lisa Hopkins (05:07):
that's, that's really that's really rare in a
way right to have stayed thatconnected. Was there ever a time
when, when you guys sort of grewapart for a bit or just got real
busy and
Avril Speaks (05:19):
always been periods where we both got busy.
And like, you know, we may nothave talked for a while, but I
always feel like whenever we doconnect, and she's, she's one of
those friends that like when wedo connect, it's like we pick
up, you know, we just pick pick,pick right back up.
Loria King (05:34):
I agree, we always kind of knew what the other
person was doing, how they weredoing, where they were, you
know, what was on their mind. Soit never felt like we ever
disconnected at all.
Lisa Hopkins (05:50):
I love that. It's just an it radiates out of both
of you. Right? It's just it justis right. I mean, it's just
yeah, it's not going anywhere.
It's beautiful. Tell us a littlebit about each of your origin
stories when filmmaking cameinto your life or when, you
know, can you write is it wasthere sort of a seminal moment?
Or? I don't know, what were yourinfluences. I'm curious, Laurie,
maybe you want to go for
Loria King (06:13):
me, I undergrad I did writing and photography. And
my senior show for photography.
Like I did things like if I werephotographing an artist, I would
have them read their poetry, orI would have them talk about
what they did when they weredrawing, or I would create an
environment where they couldmove in a certain space. So I
(06:35):
would also use like movement andmy photographs, they would be
slightly blurry, I would do itso that you could see the
direction of their movement. SoI would work the aperture so
that you could kind of like seethat motion. So as I started
developing this idea, and I wasso into my professor, he was
(06:57):
very much a purist. He was like,Well, why don't you take a film
class, if you want them to moveand talk and like I would help
this stuff. Take a film class.
And I did. And one of mygirlfriends told me that my
photography reminded her ofDavid Lee. And then I was like,
(07:23):
okay, so I went to see a SpikeLee film. And interestingly
enough there in the credits, hehad interns. So at that moment,
I said, Oh, I'm going to work ona Spike Lee film under David
Lee, in the stills photographydepartment. And that's kind of
what happened for me. And Istarted watching. Like, I think,
(07:48):
one weekend, every weekend incollege, I would choose a
different director. It would beScorsese, or Spike Lee or Woody
Allen. Cassavetes, justdifferent filmmakers. And I
would just watch all of theirfilms. And I thought, Oh, I'm
gonna go to film school. Butbefore I go to film school, I'm
going to be an intern, to see ifthere's really what I want to
(08:10):
do. But that's when I fell inlove with film. And now that I
think back on it, it startedprior to that, because I can
remember my sister's boyfriendsneaking me and to see Spike
Lee's, she's got a habit andjust being amazed at just seeing
(08:30):
black images on film, becauseyou didn't see a whole a whole
lot of black images on film. Sothat was how that was my
progression from photographyinto film. And then I did the
internship and ended up going tofilm school. So that that was
the beginning for me.
Lisa Hopkins (08:49):
That's so cool.
And do you remember yourearliest memory of like, when
you liked photography, like whenyou were a little girl, or like,
Loria King (08:55):
Oh, my goodness, oh, wow. No, I think my parents
bought me a little Polaroidcamera. And from there, I raked
leaves one summer and bought myfirst like the entry level
cannon. And that was it. I wasalways walking down the street
looking for something that wouldlike interests me and I would
(09:17):
take a photograph and that Iwill always say it's my first
love capturing that momentwithin the moment. But then, you
know, my second and passion isthe idea of capturing a person's
story, not just in a moment, butletting it unfold over time. So
that would be felt.
Lisa Hopkins (09:38):
Why do you think that was important to you? Maybe
it was just instinctual at thatpoint. But now in retrospect, do
you have sort of a sense of
Loria King (09:44):
why Yeah, yeah, I think I have a love affair with
memory. So it's so important tome, whether I'm taking a picture
whether I'm capturing someone onvideo or film Um, I think I have
a passion for memory and apassion for people and their
stories. And what? What is itabout their experiences that
(10:09):
inform who they are like, Whyare you who you are? Why do you
think the way you think, youknow, when I was an intern on
Spike Lee's film, I was thereevery day. And they forced me to
take a day off. So I could have,it was, so I gotta have a
Friday, Saturday and Sunday togo visit my mom in Virginia,
because he said, you talk aboutyour mom all the time, please go
(10:30):
visit her. But I was soconcerned that I was I had the
fear of missing out. So when Icame back, David was like, what
do you do? Do you just go aroundtalking to everybody? And I said
pretty much because he said theentire day, all everyone said
was Where's Loria? Where'sLoria? I haven't seen Loria
Loria doesn't didn't come tovisit me. He's like, how do you
(10:51):
have time as my intern, to makeso many friends, but everybody
was so interesting, I just thinkit's fascinating. I'm that
person, that's gonna strike up aconversation, and I'm not big on
small talk, I want to know, Iwant to get to the depths of who
you are, or what we're talkingabout. And I want to capture
(11:11):
that and honor it, whether it'son film or photography, I've
even in taking pictures I wantto see beneath the surface, I
want to see who you are, like, Iwant to use that moment to
capture something unique andspecial. I want to Earth
something. So I just thinkthat's just a part of my makeup
(11:33):
and where it comes from. I don'tknow. And sometimes, you know, i
i People say I asked as too manyquestions, or I could be kind of
like, too much with thequestions, but I, I'm just
fascinated by people. I reallyam.
Lisa Hopkins (11:49):
Yeah, I feel that it's beautiful. April, I'd love
to hear your response to that,as well as your story about, you
know, where this all came fromfor you.
Avril Speaks (11:58):
You know, just thinking about Loria. That's an
interesting, the remember. And Ialso think that that's really
interesting. You're you say youhave a fascination with memory.
Just you know, as long as I'veknown Loria, that's one of the
things that I've loved about herand have have a kinship, even
even in doing this project. It'sbeen like about memory and where
(12:20):
we come from, and what thatmeans and what that looks like.
But I feel like that's alwaysbeen sort of like a
conversation, you know, withinour friendship, you know, that
fabric that makes makes us whowe are, and how the past informs
that. So I just thought thatthat was really interesting. But
yes, Loria is definitely theextrovert of the two of us. I
(12:43):
think, for me, I've always beenkind of the quiet observer. For
me, my my origin with film, I,you know, I wouldn't say that I
was a late comer to the to filmbecause I didn't know that
that's what I wanted to do untilI was in college, I can
definitely see the traces ofstorytelling early, very early
on. Every phase of my life, Ifeel like there's been something
(13:06):
art related of me trying tocreate something by creating a
play. I remember, in my teenyears, I was always trying to
create a rap group. At a rapgroup, I had a dance group, I
you know, it was like alwayscreating something. By the time
I went to college, you know, Iknew that I that I love to
write, I just didn't know whatto do with writing, you know, I,
(13:29):
I had no clue of what does whatdoes a person who likes to
write, what do they do for aliving, and the only thing I
could come up with was ajournalist. And so I went in as
a journalism major. And I joinedthe newspaper staff, and they
assigned me a story. And youknow, I remember coming back
from my first interview, andthey're like, Well, what about
(13:51):
this one, they've asked me aboutall these facts, and I was like,
Oh, but I just wanted to justlike, write a story. You want
facts? Like, that's like, that'swhat I want to do. And somehow
through that conversation, andthrough that realization, I
started doing graphic design forthe paper. I don't know how that
happened, why that happened, butI did and ended up loving it.
(14:15):
And I just was just floatingaround like, oh, maybe I want to
be a graphic designer for aliving. And I started pursuing
that. And I just went throughmajor after major, like, what do
I do with writing? And I alwayshad an interest in black
studies. So and I literally gotto a point where I was like, I
don't know what else to majorin. I'm just going to major in
(14:38):
Black Studies. And when Iswitched my major, I got an
advisor and I told my advisor, Iwas like, I don't know what I'm
doing. And she said, she said,Well, you like writing. You like
doing this graphic design at thenewspaper. So you there's this
visual aspect that you'reloving. Have you ever thought
about film, and I had never itnever even crossed my mind. But
(15:01):
when I thought about it, I lovegoing to the movies. So when she
said that I it was just like alightbulb, like I never thought
about film. And I went toUniversity of Maryland for
undergrad, and they had justgotten rid of the film program
there. And so she said, Well,they have a film program at
Howard Howe university, youknow, you can take classes
(15:23):
there. And I took I took a filmclass at Howard. And it was
That's all she wrote. Iliterally took that first class
and was like, This is what Iwant to do with my life this is
it, this is the this is the youknow, the bridge the the
marriage between the two, youknow, the writing and the
visual, the storytelling, youknow, this is this is exactly
(15:45):
what I want. And I never lookedback after that first class. I
never looked back and it waskind of you know, full speed
ahead. I started I just wantedto get my hands on anything I
could I did internships, I youknow, I would come home for the
summers and do internships. Itook more classes at Howard. And
and then right after undergrad Iwent to Columbia, which is where
(16:09):
I met Lauria,
Lisa Hopkins (16:10):
what really stands out a couple of things really
stand out. One is one is thatyou? You did no you weren't Yes.
Funny. You say bumbling around,but you weren't really because
you were pretty you pretty clearthe entire time the through line
was that you wanted to write youjust needed to figure out how to
where you know where that wouldbe. And that's, that speaks a
(16:35):
lot to who you are right? Howdriven you are, like you knew
you knew you had the calling towrite? Yeah. And you must have
known you were good at it, or atleast that you really wanted to
pursue it. You weren't afraid ofit. Yeah. And you were looking
looking looking and you know,that tenacity really is you
know, as the antithesis ofbumbling around. Right. You were
(16:56):
you were trying until you foundthe right thing?
Avril Speaks (16:59):
Yeah, yeah. It's pretty much felt like bumbling.
Especially in college, me,especially when you when you and
you know, you make a good point.
And like I said, you know, whenI was thinking about it the
other day about like, you try todo a rap group. And then you did
another rap group, and then yougot another group, and then you
did the other day. But like Iyou know, I was thinking about
that, because I was like, yeah,you've always had this drive to
(17:21):
do something creative. I thinkwhen I got to undergrad, it was
just this thing of like, wheredo people like me go? You know,
like, for a lot of times, weneed role models, and you need
to see people doing what youwant to do. Like I It never
(17:42):
dawned on me that all of thistelevision that I was watching
that there were people behindthe scenes, who were making
television, and who were makingmovies, and I you know, it's
like when it comes to film. Youknow, like I mentioned, et like
I that was one of the moviesthat I remember very early on
watching and being you know, inawe, of watching et, but like, I
(18:04):
knew the name Steven Spielberg.
But this is there's a disconnectthat like Steven Spielberg is a
person that is a film director.
And that is his job is makingmovies like it just didn't
connect much less being, youknow, a black girl, a little
(18:26):
black girl in New Jersey. I'mlike, Who? Who does that? And
you know, of course, you know,then Spike Lee came along, and
it was like, oh, there's thisguy, Spike Lee who's making
movies like he that's a blackfilmmaker who's making films
like, okay, maybe that'ssomething that men can do, that
black men can do. But me as awoman, is that something it
(18:48):
really wasn't until I went tocollege, you know, after
spending a couple of yearsgoing, oh, what I do, and then
literally taking that class, andthen seeing other black women
filmmakers. And that was likethe click. It's like, there was
the artistic click. But therewas also the click of going
like, there's people out there.
(19:12):
This was a whole industry, likethere are people out there who
are doing this, and who aremaking films who are telling
stories. And it's not just thesepeople over here. Like it can be
for me too. And this is likethat. I think that's what was
really exciting is like, this isfor me, like I can tell this
Lisa Hopkins (19:36):
the other through line two with both of you that I
wanted to ask you it sounds likeit sounds like you both kind of
did what you wanted to do. Likeyou kind of had a good sense and
I tried this and I tried thatand nobody was going you need to
go to school you need to ormaybe there was like it sounds
like you both had this sort ofagency that was not you know,
(19:59):
clear outdid by the shoulds andshouldn't sell them I'm sure
that they were there, but Idon't hear it very, you know, in
the way that you're expressingyourself. Now, talk to me about
that. Like, what? What, ifanything stood in your way or
made you? Maybe there wassomething there that made you go
that strong? I don't know whoLaura
Loria King (20:23):
Okay, so for me, I had amazing parents who were
very supportive, but they arealso, I think a lot of times
from in their generation collegewas used to, you know, like we
talked about earlier, it's usedto get a job, like you go to
college, you study this, you getit, you graduate, and you get a
(20:45):
job. So it's really interesting,because they were very
supportive of me. And it couldhave been that I didn't give
them a choice because I havethat type of personality. But I
remember my father's I graduatedfrom undergrad, and then I'm
going to graduate school and I'mstudying film, he's like, Oh,
you're going to get anotherdegree, you can look into paper
(21:06):
and find a job. They didn'treally understand what I was
doing. But they were supportive.
But at the same time, they wereconcerned. They wanted me to be
able to be independent and takecare of myself. But I would hear
from other family members, howproud they were. Sometimes they
were like, okay, you know, whatdo you do? My father was a, an
(21:30):
E. Z method is, and my motherwas a Baptist growing up. And at
some point, when I was younger,I decided I wanted to be
Catholic. And he were like,what? But there they were,
every, every Saturday, we wentto mass and they were standing
and kneeling and standing and myfather's like, Okay, this is
(21:53):
enough. But they were there withme on that journey. And that's
the way it's been like, theyhaven't always understood or
agreed, but they were verysupportive at the same
Lisa Hopkins (22:05):
time. Wow. I mean, that's some serious, amazing
modeling, right? Right there. Imean, just that. We know you and
we know you're gonna do itanyway. So we're gonna support
you. Yeah, they were they werehere for you, you know, but not
like, okay, good luck. Go. Andyou know, we'll go with you.
Yeah, that's amazing. That'syeah. Thank you, for sure. What
(22:27):
about you?
Avril Speaks (22:28):
Was your similar somewhat similar for me, my
parents were very supportive,but they didn't always
understand what was happening.
So I think it took a while forit to kind of sink in and see
the wholeness of the fullness ofthe patient in terms of what I
was doing. But, you know, Ialways remember, remember, my
mom telling me, you know, youcan do anything you set your
(22:51):
mind to? I think Laurie havesaid it? Well, I think, you
know, in their mind, they justwanted me to be well, you know,
and be well taken care
Lisa Hopkins (23:00):
of. Well, it's really funny, because it's not
lost on me that you know, youboth went to the ivy League's
too, right. So that probablykept them coasting for a while.
Yeah, she's at Columbia. Yes.
Yeah. That kind of stops peopleat a cocktail party. Yeah. She's
at Columbia. Oh, wow. It ismatter what you're studying.
Right?
Avril Speaks (23:18):
Exactly. Yeah.
I'll never forget when I firststarted teaching, because I, you
know, I took classes at Howardmoved to Atlanta. And then I
came back to Howard to teach.
And I remember my dad standingup at a family reunion. It was
like, my daughter is a professorat Howard University. Like he
was like, so. So proud. Oh,
Lisa Hopkins (23:40):
what is your definition of living in the
moment?
Avril Speaks (23:45):
Hmm, that's a great question.
Loria King (23:48):
My definition of living in the moment is feeling
connected. Like when I feelincredibly present to whatever's
going on around me and within meat the same time, and they're
both connected, like there's asense of that I am infinite and
(24:09):
that I am connected to all thatis infinite, all at the same
time. And I my awareness isinternal and external, but it
just seems seamless.
Avril Speaks (24:21):
Mm hmm. That's good.
Lisa Hopkins (24:23):
Yeah. I just want to sit on that for a minute.
That's a beautiful definition. Ifeel that it's visceral. Not
surprisingly.
Avril Speaks (24:31):
Yeah. I am a pickup off of that present. I
think being in the moment to meis, is being present. It's being
present and letting go of anypreconceived notions
presuppositions. Yeah. Being inthe moment is being in the
(24:53):
present, being present. Andforgetting about what came
before and what comes after anacting out of what is now? Yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (25:07):
So how often do you guys experience
Loria King (25:09):
this? Living in the moment, I would say, Oh, I
experience being present about80% of the time that I am
conscious. But at very differentlevels, not always at the
highest, most connected level.
But other times, and I would saythe other 20%, I'm in the past
(25:31):
or the future. And then I catchmyself, and I'm like, hold on,
you know, but
Avril Speaks (25:38):
trying to get better at living in the moment.
I'm a big like, Cenarius, likecoming up with scenarios that
aren't even real. And likeliving in the future of like,
what, what if, what if, what if?
So, I'm trying to get better atliving in the moment and living
in what is now because I thinkI'm finding more and more that
(26:02):
many of the things that I worryabout, both past and future
don't really matter. And theydon't. They, they'll fix
themselves. And in their owntime. When I'm President, I also
think of that question in lightof like, who we are as people.
(26:23):
And I think as humans, we'realways evolving. And I think
that now I'm just now becomingaware, and comfortable with who
I am now, accepting who thisApril is, and not being afraid
to live out of that, you know,and it feels so much better, it
(26:44):
feels feels so good. Muchbetter.
Lisa Hopkins (26:52):
Would you share with me like a low light and a
highlight in your career so far?
Avril Speaks (27:00):
Well say I think that one of the lowest moments,
I felt, I guess, more recently,I went to grad school for
directing, and spent years, youknow, pursuing directing, and so
on and so forth. And I was alsoa professor, so I spent like a
good 10 years as a collegeprofessor. And in my mind, this
(27:22):
was always going to be a thingin my life, where I was going to
be able to teach and make film,teaching, make film, teach and
make film. So I was part time, Iwas going back and forth between
a bunch of different schools,not making any money at all
stressed out, because I wasdoing all of these jobs, I
wasn't really activelyfilmmaking at the time, two of
(27:44):
the schools where I was teachingfull time positions had opened
up. And I applied for both jobs.
And I thought this is it, thisis going to be my ticket. You
know, I'm going to be a fulltime professor. I'll it'll be
like, it used to be where, youknow, I'm making, I'm teaching
and I'm creating, being in LA isone thing, but being in LA with
(28:06):
no money, it's like not, it'slike a whole different
experience. It was a really,really low point. And I was so
far away from family. I wasreally at a loss like
financially, emotionally,mentally. And I just knew I was
gonna get these jobs. And thatwas going to be the answer to
(28:28):
everything. Well, lo and behold,I got an email from the chair
saying they decided to go adifferent way, and they weren't
going to hire me. And maybeabout a week later, I got
another email from the otherschool said, you know, we're
gonna go a different direction.
And I just thought everythingwas caving in. That was probably
one of the hardest moments of mylife like I, I Yeah. Which,
(28:55):
which turned into the highestbecause I lived in a tiny
apartment in LA, and I had allof these student projects, they
were all over my apartment, likeI could, you know, could me walk
around, like, and all thisstuff. And I was so convinced I
was gonna get this job. I hadput all of these projects like
in a pile, and I was like, I'mgonna get my office, like when I
(29:17):
get when I get this job when weget my office, and I'll put all
these projects in the office,none of that. So I had them all
like, gathered. And a week wentby where I was just like, really
sat in the dumps, and just like,I don't know what I'm going to
do with my life. You know, my,my parents had moved to Atlanta,
(29:38):
and I was like, Maybe I shouldjust go move in with them.
Because like, I don't even havefood in the house. Like at this
point. I was like, I don't knowwhat I'm gonna do. And then one
day, I was like, you know, I'm afilmmaker. I'm a filmmaker, and
here in LA. I am going to talkabout living in the moment. it,
(30:00):
I was like, I'm going to live inthe now of where I am right now.
And I'm going to hedge my beton, I'm going to bet on myself,
I'm going back into production,and I'm going full throttle, I'm
just gonna, like go for it, Itook all of that stuff that was
in my floor, I packed my car,all the papers, all of the
(30:23):
whatever, I threw them all away.
I threw them all away. And I wasjust like, I'm done. I'm not
looking back. And I went back inthe house, and I started sending
emails to people and said, Youknow, I've been looking for
teaching full time teaching jobsfor the last thing is three
(30:45):
years I had been applying, andnothing's coming up. I think it
might be time for me to payattention to what is going on in
my life now, that is, you know,leading me in positive
directions. And to go in thatdirection, and go there. And
literally two weeks later, I gota job working in television
(31:08):
production. And that's how Iactually shifted to producing so
I, you know, I was directing.
And then I shifted to producing,started working with a
filmmaker, and we, you know,work well together. And then she
was like, I have this featurecalled gin. We made that
feature. And like, everythingblew up. But it all started with
(31:32):
this, like rejection email.
Lisa Hopkins (31:35):
It's amazing, isn't it? Yeah. That's huge.
Thank you for sharing that.
That's really a wonderful,wonderful, sorry, I'm glad I
asked you. And it's interesting,too, because, you know, just
because you're not teachingdoesn't mean you're not a
teacher. I mean, you don'tsuddenly stopped being a
teacher, right? You know, that,obviously. Definitely. Yeah.
Laurie, what about you?
Loria King (31:56):
So there are two times in my life. One was when I
was working in corporateAmerica, I was making really
good money, and I had a high endcar. And I just remember sitting
in that car, at the edge of theparking lot, I drove to the
furthest point in the parkinglot during lunch, and I'm
sitting there, I'm having mylunch. And I'm miserable. You
(32:19):
know, like I'm climbing thecorporate ladder. so fast that I
remember the HR person said, Iwanted to meet you because why?
I wanted to know why I had adirector and an assistant
director in my office trying tojustify why we shouldn't give
you a job ahead of the time inwhich we're technically supposed
(32:41):
to promote someone. So it wasjust like, it was really easy. I
kept getting more money andbetter positions and bigger
titles, and I wasn't happy. Sojuxtapose that with, I've left
corporate America. I'm living inSanta Monica. And it had gotten
(33:03):
so bad for me that I remembergoing to Whole Foods, because I
had made this agreement withmyself that I would never
compromise on foods. So I'mgetting organic kale from Whole
Foods, but I can only have twoleaves a kale a day. And I'm
like stressing out workingduring, you know, driving and
(33:25):
delivering stuff. And, you know,trying to figure out how I'm how
I'm going to pay rent and eat.
And I was just like, man, like,I would have these amazing
opportunities. People wouldcontact me, I would go for the
interview, or my motto, used tobe prior to living in California
was that I can get theinterview, I got the job. I
(33:47):
would always say that. But Inever got the job. I never, I
never got I never got it. Andthere was this one that I really
wanted. It was being a videoproducer. And they were all
excited about me. They werelike, Oh, wow, you know, we
really liked you. You'reamazing. It's unfortunate that
(34:08):
we can only offer you thisamount of money and the money
that they were offering me I waslike, Oh, yes. I didn't even
think it wasn't that much. I wasjust excited. People to like
breathe and then they ghostedme. They completely ghosted me
and I was like, I don't know,what am I not doing? And I just
felt like such a failure. But Ididn't know why. I ended up
(34:32):
leaving LA and coming back ornot coming back kind of coming
back to Florida, and having thefreedom to be able to pursue
whatever I chose to pursue andhaving the support and the most
amazing sister, she's completelysupportive of me. And what I'm
(34:53):
trying to do she she believes init. So that has given me the
freedom to pursue 100% mypassion. And it's been, I would
say, really the first time Ifelt this sense of freedom, like
not having to stress abouthaving a certain amount of money
(35:13):
coming in, or you know, all ofthe other things that come along
with that. So I think that thosewere my lowest moments. But out
of that came the ability to becompletely free. And I had to
embrace the idea that I don'thave to be in New York, and I
(35:34):
don't have to be in LA. To be afilmmaker.
Lisa Hopkins (35:40):
That's awesome.
Yeah. What do you know will staytrue about you, no matter what
happens, or no matter what youdo?
Loria King (35:49):
Mm hmm. So I will say, what I know will stay true
about me is my desire to alwayselevate and evolve, how
Lisa Hopkins (36:02):
do you want to be remembered?
Loria King (36:07):
Okay, so I think the best way to answer that is I was
in Kenya on a safari with mystudents that I was I was
teaching their teaching film.
And they were like, what if atiger jumped up and you know,
grabbed you and killed you? Isaid, Well, you know, I think
(36:27):
I'd be okay. And they looked atme strange when I said, because
I have loved, I have been loved,I have been hurt, I've hurt
people I've forgiven, I've beenforgiven. And I just felt like,
okay, so I have lived life. AndI don't think it necessarily
means that you have to have doneany particular thing. But I just
(36:47):
feel like for what my life is, Ibreathed life into every corner
of it in the process. So I wouldjust want to be remembered as
someone who, who embraced lifeand lived and like, did what she
wanted to do, and lived it onher own terms, made a lot of
mistakes, fell down a whole lot,but just kept going. You know,
(37:12):
that's, that's the most I couldhope anyone would remember me
by.
Lisa Hopkins (37:20):
Love that. What about what about you overall,
Avril Speaks (37:24):
I think I'm always gonna be telling stories in some
way, shape, or form. It may notalways be in the way of film,
but in some way, shape or form,I think I'm always going to be
telling human stories, it'salways going to be true that I
love my family. And, you know,even want to see that reflected
(37:45):
in stories. And I think that'show I want to be remembered
always thinking about thingsoutside the box. Either creating
something outside of the box ordoing something outside of the
box, or even just thinkingoutside of the box just in terms
of like how we think andprocess. Everyday
Lisa Hopkins (38:00):
thing I know for sure. I have to ask you guys
this because you seem sofearless. Both of you. But I
know that you're not I know thatyou're human. What's What would
you say scares? What scares you?
What are you most afraid ofright now? I mean, that may
change, right? But in thismoment,
Loria King (38:19):
for me, the thing that I fear most, I don't want
to die with my music inside ofme. Like, that is my greatest
fear. That that is my greatestfear. And that is my greatest
motivator. But there's so muchthat's inside of me that I want
to share. Yeah. And I feel likeif I don't, that what I was put
(38:43):
here to do. I have not livedinto that completely.
Lisa Hopkins (38:48):
But what about you ever?
Avril Speaks (38:51):
I think my biggest fear is failure. And to me
failure is not being able to dowhat I feel called to do. Like
not having the freedom to dothat.
Lisa Hopkins (39:04):
What would you do differently if you knew that you
couldn't fail?
Avril Speaks (39:07):
It's interesting you asking that? Because I don't
know what I would dodifferently. And I'm like,
wondering how much fear offailure is a an unreal barrier
for me? You know what I mean?
Lisa Hopkins (39:22):
Yep. For sure. For sure. I mean, basically, we're
talking about a limiting beliefright, or something that had
helped us like it was probably adriver for you. Yeah, probably
achieved a lot of successthrough having that fear. It
accompanies you, because ithelps you but now as I asked you
the question, you kind of goWait, I don't need it. I
wouldn't do anything different.
Clean the house again.
Avril Speaks (39:45):
Yeah, exactly. non existent. That's that's the word
I was looking for. I just didfear and that didn't exist.
Lisa Hopkins (39:52):
It definitely did exist. At some point. It
probably helped you and that'swhy it's still there from the
remnants of it.
Avril Speaks (39:58):
Hmm. Oh, That's powerful. I had to write that
down in therapy
Lisa Hopkins (40:03):
very ago. So as we finish fill in the blank, most
people think, but the truth is,
Loria King (40:10):
wow, I would say most people think that I am an
extrovert. But I'm actually acombination of being an
introvert extrovert.
Avril Speaks (40:21):
You know what immediately paints on my mind. I
think some people think that I'mmeek, shy, quiet, because I am
an introvert. But I'm a bull.
Lisa Hopkins (40:35):
I don't even know you and I meet because this is
the furthest thing I'd say. I'mYeah, in fact, your silence is
so powerful. Like you're you're,you're very intense. It's
beautiful. It's a beautifulenergy. It's like a very, like,
you didn't even need to speakand I you just like you emanate
like strength and focus andability. And thanks for that.
(40:56):
No, it's true. From my point ofview, so we're gonna do rapid
fire. I'm gonna say what makesyou and I'm gonna say it word.
And then you just say what comesto mind. So for those of you are
listening, Laurie is going to bethe first boom. April's gonna be
the second one. All right, guys.
Here we go. So what makes youhungry?
Loria King (41:17):
What makes me hungry is creativity. Whether it's
someone else's creativity or myown, like, I love that, that
makes me hunger to want to putmy stuff out there. And then
working out. Working out hasmade me really hungry. Like my
appetite has really increasedsince I've been working out five
(41:39):
days a week.
Lisa Hopkins (41:42):
Cool. What about GI Bill? What makes you hungry?
Avril Speaks (41:44):
They came to my mind was trumping grids.
Lisa Hopkins (41:49):
I love your honesty. All right, what makes
you sad?
Loria King (41:56):
What makes me sad?
Is it seeing other people's painlike them experiencing pain or
rejection, any type of pain thatmakes me really, really sad.
Avril Speaks (42:06):
The first thing that came to my mind was
distance. I think I'm feelingthat, especially these days of
being so far away from family.
So it's making me sad.
Lisa Hopkins (42:23):
What inspires you?
Loria King (42:26):
For me, I would say connection, like feeling
connected to things.
Avril Speaks (42:31):
I would say heartfelt stories inspire me.
And I would also say sunny daysinspire me.
Lisa Hopkins (42:42):
What frustrates you,
Loria King (42:44):
resistance to anything that I want to do?
Avril Speaks (42:46):
I had to borrow that resistance.
Lisa Hopkins (42:48):
Lauria, what makes you laugh?
Loria King (42:52):
My dog and my sister, me,
Lisa Hopkins (42:57):
that's fair, well makes you angry,
Loria King (42:59):
passive aggressive.
behavior makes me angry.
Avril Speaks (43:04):
I would say ignorance or like willful
ignorance.
Lisa Hopkins (43:07):
Mm hmm. Yeah. And finally, what makes you
grateful,
Loria King (43:14):
I would say I get my sister. And it's really
interesting, my dog, becauseboth of my parents are dead. My
grandparents are dead. And thoseare the two that show me
unconditional acceptance, lovewhen I think about it, and kind
of let it settle into my body.
I'm overwhelmed, completelyoverwhelmed with what a gift.
(43:35):
The idea that I was born intothis lifetime and this world
with my person. She's threeyears older than me. So she was
here when I got here. You know,like, and she's all in for me.
So I would say my sister andthen my dog who doesn't care
(43:56):
what I look like. doesn't care.
He just loves me.
Lisa Hopkins (44:03):
I love that one about you a role? What are you
grateful for?
Avril Speaks (44:08):
I'm grateful for love, love from my family, or my
friends. I will say lovingcommunity. I'm really grateful
for Yeah, I will say community.
I'm really grateful for thecommunity that I've been able to
build over the span of my life.
Jersey, New York, pretty muchevery place that I've lived. I
feel like I have a strongcommunity of people of both
(44:32):
family and friends who arebehind me who love me, who know
me. You know, beyond you know, afilm credit. They know who I
really am and love meregardless.
Lisa Hopkins (44:49):
Amen. And what are the top three things that
happened so far today?
Loria King (44:55):
Working out this podcast interview and how Be it
with a rollin you. And learningsome new things about April that
I didn't know anything aboutyou.
Avril Speaks (45:07):
This podcast on waking up to having had a good
night's sleep and a beautifulsunrise this morning. It'd be
number two, I would say my thirdthing is, I was excited that my
blue is coming in.
Lisa Hopkins (45:29):
And what's just finally, what's something you're
looking forward to?
Loria King (45:35):
Oh, wow, I'm looking forward to the rest of this
journey with this project andother projects with a role to
work with someone who I'm inalignment with. It's so easy.
It's been a wonderful learningexperience for me, but at the
(45:57):
same time, such a sense ofcamaraderie and friendship. And
she spoke with Abraham, youspoke a lot about communities
and just tapping into thecommunity of people that we both
know. And I'm looking forward torepeating that with this project
in other parts of the country,and the world. And also, with
(46:23):
possible other projects
Lisa Hopkins (46:24):
a row, what about you? What are you most looking
forward to?
Avril Speaks (46:28):
Looking forward to the next phase of the journey? I
feel like I'm kind of in asomewhat of a transition period,
like in terms of seasons oflife. And I think I'm still in
the process of thinking throughwhat that is. So I'm looking
forward to the journey of youknow, what's around the corner,
(46:59):
which is, you know,which is me scenario scenario
rising again?
Lisa Hopkins (47:06):
Oh, you're so sweet. You guys, it has been
such a pleasure and an honorspeaking with you and just
feeling your connectedness andjoy and for allowing me into
that. I really, reallyappreciate you both. And just
before we sign off, I wonderedif you wouldn't mind sharing a
little bit about your latestproject. Black America is.
Avril Speaks (47:26):
So yeah, so black America is it's a it's a
traveling exhibition, about whatit means to be black in America.
And it's about black identity,and how the moments of our life
have shaped who we are today tojust get a sense of what it
looks like to identify as blackor as African American, and to
(47:47):
talk about what that means foranyone living in this country.
And so we just wanted to hearvoices, let people speak for
themselves and define forthemselves what that means, and
have a conversation about it. Soit's an ongoing conversation
about what it means to be blackin America.
Lisa Hopkins (48:06):
Amazing. Thank you so much, ladies. I've been
speaking today with Lauria Kingand Avril speaks. I'm Lisa
Hopkins. Stay safe and healthyeveryone and remember to live in
the moment. In music, stop timeis that beautiful moment where
the band is suspended inrhythmic unison, supporting the
(48:27):
soloist to express theirindividuality. In the moment, I
encourage you to take that timeand create your own rhythm.
Until next time, I'm LisaHopkins. Thanks for listening
This is the stop time podcast. I'm your host,
Lisa Hopkins, and I'm here toengage you in thought provoking
motivational conversationsaround practicing the art of
living in the moment. I'm acertified life coach, and I'm
excited to dig deep and offerinsights into embracing who we
are and where we are at. I'mreally looking forward to
(00:26):
getting to know my next guests.
Lauria King is an independentdocumentary filmmaker and
photographer who focuses onnuanced stories involving race,
gender, culture, and ethnicity.
She began her filmmaking journeyas an intern with Spike Lee's 40
acres and a mule Filmworks andher passion for her craft has
(00:46):
led her to share her real worldexperience with students as a
film professor in the classroomand all over the world. Her
latest project black America iswas selected as part of the 2020
film independent CNN Docuseries. Also joining us today is
April speaks, who not only hasthe coolest name but she has
(01:10):
been carving out her path as abold, innovative content creator
for years, not only as aproducer and director but also
during your days as a professorat Howard University, and as a
film educator through filmindependent the Sundance
Institute, and distributionadvocates. April produced the
award winning film gin, whichpremiered at SX SW and one
(01:33):
special jury recognition forwriting. She also produced
several films, including AfricanAmerica, which was nominated for
an NAACP Image Award and isstreaming now on Netflix. Evil
produced the black America isproject which premiered at the
Africana Film Festival a coupleof weeks ago, in October. So
(01:54):
welcome, ladies. I'm superexcited to be chatting with you
today.
Avril Speaks (01:59):
Thank you for having us.
Lisa Hopkins (02:00):
It's my it's my pleasure. So Loria, you're in
Florida right now, is thatright? Yeah. And Avril? You're
calling in from LA? All right.
Perfect. So I'm super curious toknow a little bit. We talked a
little bit about it, maybebefore we got on air, but maybe
April can can begin. I'm curiousto know how long you guys have
(02:21):
known each other and how longyou've been working together?
Avril Speaks (02:26):
Well, we've been we've been working together.
We've known each other for along time going back to our
basic grad school at ColumbiaUniversity. And I don't know if
I don't know if we should dateourselves. But it was a long
time ago. Just say that. But uh,yeah, I think we we've we just
(02:48):
kind of connected literally fromday one. I think Laurie always
tells the story of theorientation, like our first day
of class in the program, and Imust have been running late, or
something. And they call theattendance and they said, my
name is April speaks, and therewas silence. And they said,
Well, I guess she's not speakingtoday. And Loria said, Oh, that
(03:12):
person sounds interesting. Andthen eventually, I got there.
And somehow we connected and weended up being in the, you know,
in that orientation, they put usinto groups to like, make a
little short film to just kindof get us acclimated to the
equipment, and we were in thesame group. And then when
classes started, we were inpractically every single class
(03:33):
together our first year, youknow, as someone who I went into
grad school straight out ofundergrad, and you know, I, I
didn't know anything. I was justlike, what's happening? What's
going on, and it just feltreally good to have someone from
day one that I connected with,and we saw eye to eye and we
(03:57):
also learned a lot from eachother, too. I think from day
one, I think we just kind ofstruck this bond that stayed
throughout the year, she'sprobably one of the maybe one of
the only people from grad schoolthat I said, I'm still quite I
talked to some of the peoplefrom our class, but in terms of
(04:18):
maintaining a meaningfulfriendship that has all that is
also a working relationship aswell, because even throughout
film school, we would work oneach other's projects. You know,
we've just been able to maintainthat friendship even through the
years and you know, both of usleft New York and have gone on
to have have lived in multiplestates. And, you know, it feels
(04:44):
good to say that she's someonethat you know, I've seen her in
many phases of life, like weknow each other's families, and,
you know, our families ask abouteach other. And as How's Loria
when's last time, you talked toLoria I want to see her again.
So, you know, we've just we'veshared a lot in the last few
(05:05):
years. So it's been great. Oh,
Lisa Hopkins (05:07):
that's, that's really that's really rare in a
way right to have stayed thatconnected. Was there ever a time
when, when you guys sort of grewapart for a bit or just got real
busy and
Avril Speaks (05:19):
always been periods where we both got busy.
And like, you know, we may nothave talked for a while, but I
always feel like whenever we doconnect, and she's, she's one of
those friends that like when wedo connect, it's like we pick
up, you know, we just pick pick,pick right back up.
Loria King (05:34):
I agree, we always kind of knew what the other
person was doing, how they weredoing, where they were, you
know, what was on their mind. Soit never felt like we ever
disconnected at all.
Lisa Hopkins (05:50):
I love that. It's just an it radiates out of both
of you. Right? It's just it justis right. I mean, it's just
yeah, it's not going anywhere.
It's beautiful. Tell us a littlebit about each of your origin
stories when filmmaking cameinto your life or when, you
know, can you write is it wasthere sort of a seminal moment?
Or? I don't know, what were yourinfluences. I'm curious, Laurie,
maybe you want to go for
Loria King (06:13):
me, I undergrad I did writing and photography. And
my senior show for photography.
Like I did things like if I werephotographing an artist, I would
have them read their poetry, orI would have them talk about
what they did when they weredrawing, or I would create an
environment where they couldmove in a certain space. So I
(06:35):
would also use like movement andmy photographs, they would be
slightly blurry, I would do itso that you could see the
direction of their movement. SoI would work the aperture so
that you could kind of like seethat motion. So as I started
developing this idea, and I wasso into my professor, he was
(06:57):
very much a purist. He was like,Well, why don't you take a film
class, if you want them to moveand talk and like I would help
this stuff. Take a film class.
And I did. And one of mygirlfriends told me that my
photography reminded her ofDavid Lee. And then I was like,
(07:23):
okay, so I went to see a SpikeLee film. And interestingly
enough there in the credits, hehad interns. So at that moment,
I said, Oh, I'm going to work ona Spike Lee film under David
Lee, in the stills photographydepartment. And that's kind of
what happened for me. And Istarted watching. Like, I think,
(07:48):
one weekend, every weekend incollege, I would choose a
different director. It would beScorsese, or Spike Lee or Woody
Allen. Cassavetes, justdifferent filmmakers. And I
would just watch all of theirfilms. And I thought, Oh, I'm
gonna go to film school. Butbefore I go to film school, I'm
going to be an intern, to see ifthere's really what I want to
(08:10):
do. But that's when I fell inlove with film. And now that I
think back on it, it startedprior to that, because I can
remember my sister's boyfriendsneaking me and to see Spike
Lee's, she's got a habit andjust being amazed at just seeing
(08:30):
black images on film, becauseyou didn't see a whole a whole
lot of black images on film. Sothat was how that was my
progression from photographyinto film. And then I did the
internship and ended up going tofilm school. So that that was
the beginning for me.
Lisa Hopkins (08:49):
That's so cool.
And do you remember yourearliest memory of like, when
you liked photography, like whenyou were a little girl, or like,
Loria King (08:55):
Oh, my goodness, oh, wow. No, I think my parents
bought me a little Polaroidcamera. And from there, I raked
leaves one summer and bought myfirst like the entry level
cannon. And that was it. I wasalways walking down the street
looking for something that wouldlike interests me and I would
(09:17):
take a photograph and that Iwill always say it's my first
love capturing that momentwithin the moment. But then, you
know, my second and passion isthe idea of capturing a person's
story, not just in a moment, butletting it unfold over time. So
that would be felt.
Lisa Hopkins (09:38):
Why do you think that was important to you? Maybe
it was just instinctual at thatpoint. But now in retrospect, do
you have sort of a sense of
Loria King (09:44):
why Yeah, yeah, I think I have a love affair with
memory. So it's so important tome, whether I'm taking a picture
whether I'm capturing someone onvideo or film Um, I think I have
a passion for memory and apassion for people and their
stories. And what? What is itabout their experiences that
(10:09):
inform who they are like, Whyare you who you are? Why do you
think the way you think, youknow, when I was an intern on
Spike Lee's film, I was thereevery day. And they forced me to
take a day off. So I could have,it was, so I gotta have a
Friday, Saturday and Sunday togo visit my mom in Virginia,
because he said, you talk aboutyour mom all the time, please go
(10:30):
visit her. But I was soconcerned that I was I had the
fear of missing out. So when Icame back, David was like, what
do you do? Do you just go aroundtalking to everybody? And I said
pretty much because he said theentire day, all everyone said
was Where's Loria? Where'sLoria? I haven't seen Loria
Loria doesn't didn't come tovisit me. He's like, how do you
(10:51):
have time as my intern, to makeso many friends, but everybody
was so interesting, I just thinkit's fascinating. I'm that
person, that's gonna strike up aconversation, and I'm not big on
small talk, I want to know, Iwant to get to the depths of who
you are, or what we're talkingabout. And I want to capture
(11:11):
that and honor it, whether it'son film or photography, I've
even in taking pictures I wantto see beneath the surface, I
want to see who you are, like, Iwant to use that moment to
capture something unique andspecial. I want to Earth
something. So I just thinkthat's just a part of my makeup
(11:33):
and where it comes from. I don'tknow. And sometimes, you know, i
i People say I asked as too manyquestions, or I could be kind of
like, too much with thequestions, but I, I'm just
fascinated by people. I reallyam.
Lisa Hopkins (11:49):
Yeah, I feel that it's beautiful. April, I'd love
to hear your response to that,as well as your story about, you
know, where this all came fromfor you.
Avril Speaks (11:58):
You know, just thinking about Loria. That's an
interesting, the remember. And Ialso think that that's really
interesting. You're you say youhave a fascination with memory.
Just you know, as long as I'veknown Loria, that's one of the
things that I've loved about herand have have a kinship, even
even in doing this project. It'sbeen like about memory and where
(12:20):
we come from, and what thatmeans and what that looks like.
But I feel like that's alwaysbeen sort of like a
conversation, you know, withinour friendship, you know, that
fabric that makes makes us whowe are, and how the past informs
that. So I just thought thatthat was really interesting. But
yes, Loria is definitely theextrovert of the two of us. I
(12:43):
think, for me, I've always beenkind of the quiet observer. For
me, my my origin with film, I,you know, I wouldn't say that I
was a late comer to the to filmbecause I didn't know that
that's what I wanted to do untilI was in college, I can
definitely see the traces ofstorytelling early, very early
on. Every phase of my life, Ifeel like there's been something
(13:06):
art related of me trying tocreate something by creating a
play. I remember, in my teenyears, I was always trying to
create a rap group. At a rapgroup, I had a dance group, I
you know, it was like alwayscreating something. By the time
I went to college, you know, Iknew that I that I love to
write, I just didn't know whatto do with writing, you know, I,
(13:29):
I had no clue of what does whatdoes a person who likes to
write, what do they do for aliving, and the only thing I
could come up with was ajournalist. And so I went in as
a journalism major. And I joinedthe newspaper staff, and they
assigned me a story. And youknow, I remember coming back
from my first interview, andthey're like, Well, what about
(13:51):
this one, they've asked me aboutall these facts, and I was like,
Oh, but I just wanted to justlike, write a story. You want
facts? Like, that's like, that'swhat I want to do. And somehow
through that conversation, andthrough that realization, I
started doing graphic design forthe paper. I don't know how that
happened, why that happened, butI did and ended up loving it.
(14:15):
And I just was just floatingaround like, oh, maybe I want to
be a graphic designer for aliving. And I started pursuing
that. And I just went throughmajor after major, like, what do
I do with writing? And I alwayshad an interest in black
studies. So and I literally gotto a point where I was like, I
don't know what else to majorin. I'm just going to major in
(14:38):
Black Studies. And when Iswitched my major, I got an
advisor and I told my advisor, Iwas like, I don't know what I'm
doing. And she said, she said,Well, you like writing. You like
doing this graphic design at thenewspaper. So you there's this
visual aspect that you'reloving. Have you ever thought
about film, and I had never itnever even crossed my mind. But
(15:01):
when I thought about it, I lovegoing to the movies. So when she
said that I it was just like alightbulb, like I never thought
about film. And I went toUniversity of Maryland for
undergrad, and they had justgotten rid of the film program
there. And so she said, Well,they have a film program at
Howard Howe university, youknow, you can take classes
(15:23):
there. And I took I took a filmclass at Howard. And it was
That's all she wrote. Iliterally took that first class
and was like, This is what Iwant to do with my life this is
it, this is the this is the youknow, the bridge the the
marriage between the two, youknow, the writing and the
visual, the storytelling, youknow, this is this is exactly
(15:45):
what I want. And I never lookedback after that first class. I
never looked back and it waskind of you know, full speed
ahead. I started I just wantedto get my hands on anything I
could I did internships, I youknow, I would come home for the
summers and do internships. Itook more classes at Howard. And
and then right after undergrad Iwent to Columbia, which is where
(16:09):
I met Lauria,
Lisa Hopkins (16:10):
what really stands out a couple of things really
stand out. One is one is thatyou? You did no you weren't Yes.
Funny. You say bumbling around,but you weren't really because
you were pretty you pretty clearthe entire time the through line
was that you wanted to write youjust needed to figure out how to
where you know where that wouldbe. And that's, that speaks a
(16:35):
lot to who you are right? Howdriven you are, like you knew
you knew you had the calling towrite? Yeah. And you must have
known you were good at it, or atleast that you really wanted to
pursue it. You weren't afraid ofit. Yeah. And you were looking
looking looking and you know,that tenacity really is you
know, as the antithesis ofbumbling around. Right. You were
(16:56):
you were trying until you foundthe right thing?
Avril Speaks (16:59):
Yeah, yeah. It's pretty much felt like bumbling.
Especially in college, me,especially when you when you and
you know, you make a good point.
And like I said, you know, whenI was thinking about it the
other day about like, you try todo a rap group. And then you did
another rap group, and then yougot another group, and then you
did the other day. But like Iyou know, I was thinking about
that, because I was like, yeah,you've always had this drive to
(17:21):
do something creative. I thinkwhen I got to undergrad, it was
just this thing of like, wheredo people like me go? You know,
like, for a lot of times, weneed role models, and you need
to see people doing what youwant to do. Like I It never
(17:42):
dawned on me that all of thistelevision that I was watching
that there were people behindthe scenes, who were making
television, and who were makingmovies, and I you know, it's
like when it comes to film. Youknow, like I mentioned, et like
I that was one of the moviesthat I remember very early on
watching and being you know, inawe, of watching et, but like, I
(18:04):
knew the name Steven Spielberg.
But this is there's a disconnectthat like Steven Spielberg is a
person that is a film director.
And that is his job is makingmovies like it just didn't
connect much less being, youknow, a black girl, a little
(18:26):
black girl in New Jersey. I'mlike, Who? Who does that? And
you know, of course, you know,then Spike Lee came along, and
it was like, oh, there's thisguy, Spike Lee who's making
movies like he that's a blackfilmmaker who's making films
like, okay, maybe that'ssomething that men can do, that
black men can do. But me as awoman, is that something it
(18:48):
really wasn't until I went tocollege, you know, after
spending a couple of yearsgoing, oh, what I do, and then
literally taking that class, andthen seeing other black women
filmmakers. And that was likethe click. It's like, there was
the artistic click. But therewas also the click of going
like, there's people out there.
(19:12):
This was a whole industry, likethere are people out there who
are doing this, and who aremaking films who are telling
stories. And it's not just thesepeople over here. Like it can be
for me too. And this is likethat. I think that's what was
really exciting is like, this isfor me, like I can tell this
Lisa Hopkins (19:36):
the other through line two with both of you that I
wanted to ask you it sounds likeit sounds like you both kind of
did what you wanted to do. Likeyou kind of had a good sense and
I tried this and I tried thatand nobody was going you need to
go to school you need to ormaybe there was like it sounds
like you both had this sort ofagency that was not you know,
(19:59):
clear outdid by the shoulds andshouldn't sell them I'm sure
that they were there, but Idon't hear it very, you know, in
the way that you're expressingyourself. Now, talk to me about
that. Like, what? What, ifanything stood in your way or
made you? Maybe there wassomething there that made you go
that strong? I don't know whoLaura
Loria King (20:23):
Okay, so for me, I had amazing parents who were
very supportive, but they arealso, I think a lot of times
from in their generation collegewas used to, you know, like we
talked about earlier, it's usedto get a job, like you go to
college, you study this, you getit, you graduate, and you get a
(20:45):
job. So it's really interesting,because they were very
supportive of me. And it couldhave been that I didn't give
them a choice because I havethat type of personality. But I
remember my father's I graduatedfrom undergrad, and then I'm
going to graduate school and I'mstudying film, he's like, Oh,
you're going to get anotherdegree, you can look into paper
(21:06):
and find a job. They didn'treally understand what I was
doing. But they were supportive.
But at the same time, they wereconcerned. They wanted me to be
able to be independent and takecare of myself. But I would hear
from other family members, howproud they were. Sometimes they
were like, okay, you know, whatdo you do? My father was a, an
(21:30):
E. Z method is, and my motherwas a Baptist growing up. And at
some point, when I was younger,I decided I wanted to be
Catholic. And he were like,what? But there they were,
every, every Saturday, we wentto mass and they were standing
and kneeling and standing and myfather's like, Okay, this is
(21:53):
enough. But they were there withme on that journey. And that's
the way it's been like, theyhaven't always understood or
agreed, but they were verysupportive at the same
Lisa Hopkins (22:05):
time. Wow. I mean, that's some serious, amazing
modeling, right? Right there. Imean, just that. We know you and
we know you're gonna do itanyway. So we're gonna support
you. Yeah, they were they werehere for you, you know, but not
like, okay, good luck. Go. Andyou know, we'll go with you.
Yeah, that's amazing. That'syeah. Thank you, for sure. What
(22:27):
about you?
Avril Speaks (22:28):
Was your similar somewhat similar for me, my
parents were very supportive,but they didn't always
understand what was happening.
So I think it took a while forit to kind of sink in and see
the wholeness of the fullness ofthe patient in terms of what I
was doing. But, you know, Ialways remember, remember, my
mom telling me, you know, youcan do anything you set your
(22:51):
mind to? I think Laurie havesaid it? Well, I think, you
know, in their mind, they justwanted me to be well, you know,
and be well taken care
Lisa Hopkins (23:00):
of. Well, it's really funny, because it's not
lost on me that you know, youboth went to the ivy League's
too, right. So that probablykept them coasting for a while.
Yeah, she's at Columbia. Yes.
Yeah. That kind of stops peopleat a cocktail party. Yeah. She's
at Columbia. Oh, wow. It ismatter what you're studying.
Right?
Avril Speaks (23:18):
Exactly. Yeah.
I'll never forget when I firststarted teaching, because I, you
know, I took classes at Howardmoved to Atlanta. And then I
came back to Howard to teach.
And I remember my dad standingup at a family reunion. It was
like, my daughter is a professorat Howard University. Like he
was like, so. So proud. Oh,
Lisa Hopkins (23:40):
what is your definition of living in the
moment?
Avril Speaks (23:45):
Hmm, that's a great question.
Loria King (23:48):
My definition of living in the moment is feeling
connected. Like when I feelincredibly present to whatever's
going on around me and within meat the same time, and they're
both connected, like there's asense of that I am infinite and
(24:09):
that I am connected to all thatis infinite, all at the same
time. And I my awareness isinternal and external, but it
just seems seamless.
Avril Speaks (24:21):
Mm hmm. That's good.
Lisa Hopkins (24:23):
Yeah. I just want to sit on that for a minute.
That's a beautiful definition. Ifeel that it's visceral. Not
surprisingly.
Avril Speaks (24:31):
Yeah. I am a pickup off of that present. I
think being in the moment to meis, is being present. It's being
present and letting go of anypreconceived notions
presuppositions. Yeah. Being inthe moment is being in the
(24:53):
present, being present. Andforgetting about what came
before and what comes after anacting out of what is now? Yeah.
Lisa Hopkins (25:07):
So how often do you guys experience
Loria King (25:09):
this? Living in the moment, I would say, Oh, I
experience being present about80% of the time that I am
conscious. But at very differentlevels, not always at the
highest, most connected level.
But other times, and I would saythe other 20%, I'm in the past
(25:31):
or the future. And then I catchmyself, and I'm like, hold on,
you know, but
Avril Speaks (25:38):
trying to get better at living in the moment.
I'm a big like, Cenarius, likecoming up with scenarios that
aren't even real. And likeliving in the future of like,
what, what if, what if, what if?
So, I'm trying to get better atliving in the moment and living
in what is now because I thinkI'm finding more and more that
(26:02):
many of the things that I worryabout, both past and future
don't really matter. And theydon't. They, they'll fix
themselves. And in their owntime. When I'm President, I also
think of that question in lightof like, who we are as people.
(26:23):
And I think as humans, we'realways evolving. And I think
that now I'm just now becomingaware, and comfortable with who
I am now, accepting who thisApril is, and not being afraid
to live out of that, you know,and it feels so much better, it
(26:44):
feels feels so good. Muchbetter.
Lisa Hopkins (26:52):
Would you share with me like a low light and a
highlight in your career so far?
Avril Speaks (27:00):
Well say I think that one of the lowest moments,
I felt, I guess, more recently,I went to grad school for
directing, and spent years, youknow, pursuing directing, and so
on and so forth. And I was alsoa professor, so I spent like a
good 10 years as a collegeprofessor. And in my mind, this
(27:22):
was always going to be a thingin my life, where I was going to
be able to teach and make film,teaching, make film, teach and
make film. So I was part time, Iwas going back and forth between
a bunch of different schools,not making any money at all
stressed out, because I wasdoing all of these jobs, I
wasn't really activelyfilmmaking at the time, two of
(27:44):
the schools where I was teachingfull time positions had opened
up. And I applied for both jobs.
And I thought this is it, thisis going to be my ticket. You
know, I'm going to be a fulltime professor. I'll it'll be
like, it used to be where, youknow, I'm making, I'm teaching
and I'm creating, being in LA isone thing, but being in LA with
(28:06):
no money, it's like not, it'slike a whole different
experience. It was a really,really low point. And I was so
far away from family. I wasreally at a loss like
financially, emotionally,mentally. And I just knew I was
gonna get these jobs. And thatwas going to be the answer to
(28:28):
everything. Well, lo and behold,I got an email from the chair
saying they decided to go adifferent way, and they weren't
going to hire me. And maybeabout a week later, I got
another email from the otherschool said, you know, we're
gonna go a different direction.
And I just thought everythingwas caving in. That was probably
one of the hardest moments of mylife like I, I Yeah. Which,
(28:55):
which turned into the highestbecause I lived in a tiny
apartment in LA, and I had allof these student projects, they
were all over my apartment, likeI could, you know, could me walk
around, like, and all thisstuff. And I was so convinced I
was gonna get this job. I hadput all of these projects like
in a pile, and I was like, I'mgonna get my office, like when I
(29:17):
get when I get this job when weget my office, and I'll put all
these projects in the office,none of that. So I had them all
like, gathered. And a week wentby where I was just like, really
sat in the dumps, and just like,I don't know what I'm going to
do with my life. You know, my,my parents had moved to Atlanta,
(29:38):
and I was like, Maybe I shouldjust go move in with them.
Because like, I don't even havefood in the house. Like at this
point. I was like, I don't knowwhat I'm gonna do. And then one
day, I was like, you know, I'm afilmmaker. I'm a filmmaker, and
here in LA. I am going to talkabout living in the moment. it,
(30:00):
I was like, I'm going to live inthe now of where I am right now.
And I'm going to hedge my beton, I'm going to bet on myself,
I'm going back into production,and I'm going full throttle, I'm
just gonna, like go for it, Itook all of that stuff that was
in my floor, I packed my car,all the papers, all of the
(30:23):
whatever, I threw them all away.
I threw them all away. And I wasjust like, I'm done. I'm not
looking back. And I went back inthe house, and I started sending
emails to people and said, Youknow, I've been looking for
teaching full time teaching jobsfor the last thing is three
(30:45):
years I had been applying, andnothing's coming up. I think it
might be time for me to payattention to what is going on in
my life now, that is, you know,leading me in positive
directions. And to go in thatdirection, and go there. And
literally two weeks later, I gota job working in television
(31:08):
production. And that's how Iactually shifted to producing so
I, you know, I was directing.
And then I shifted to producing,started working with a
filmmaker, and we, you know,work well together. And then she
was like, I have this featurecalled gin. We made that
feature. And like, everythingblew up. But it all started with
(31:32):
this, like rejection email.
Lisa Hopkins (31:35):
It's amazing, isn't it? Yeah. That's huge.
Thank you for sharing that.
That's really a wonderful,wonderful, sorry, I'm glad I
asked you. And it's interesting,too, because, you know, just
because you're not teachingdoesn't mean you're not a
teacher. I mean, you don'tsuddenly stopped being a
teacher, right? You know, that,obviously. Definitely. Yeah.
Laurie, what about you?
Loria King (31:56):
So there are two times in my life. One was when I
was working in corporateAmerica, I was making really
good money, and I had a high endcar. And I just remember sitting
in that car, at the edge of theparking lot, I drove to the
furthest point in the parkinglot during lunch, and I'm
sitting there, I'm having mylunch. And I'm miserable. You
(32:19):
know, like I'm climbing thecorporate ladder. so fast that I
remember the HR person said, Iwanted to meet you because why?
I wanted to know why I had adirector and an assistant
director in my office trying tojustify why we shouldn't give
you a job ahead of the time inwhich we're technically supposed
(32:41):
to promote someone. So it wasjust like, it was really easy. I
kept getting more money andbetter positions and bigger
titles, and I wasn't happy. Sojuxtapose that with, I've left
corporate America. I'm living inSanta Monica. And it had gotten
(33:03):
so bad for me that I remembergoing to Whole Foods, because I
had made this agreement withmyself that I would never
compromise on foods. So I'mgetting organic kale from Whole
Foods, but I can only have twoleaves a kale a day. And I'm
like stressing out workingduring, you know, driving and
(33:25):
delivering stuff. And, you know,trying to figure out how I'm how
I'm going to pay rent and eat.
And I was just like, man, like,I would have these amazing
opportunities. People wouldcontact me, I would go for the
interview, or my motto, used tobe prior to living in California
was that I can get theinterview, I got the job. I
(33:47):
would always say that. But Inever got the job. I never, I
never got I never got it. Andthere was this one that I really
wanted. It was being a videoproducer. And they were all
excited about me. They werelike, Oh, wow, you know, we
really liked you. You'reamazing. It's unfortunate that
(34:08):
we can only offer you thisamount of money and the money
that they were offering me I waslike, Oh, yes. I didn't even
think it wasn't that much. I wasjust excited. People to like
breathe and then they ghostedme. They completely ghosted me
and I was like, I don't know,what am I not doing? And I just
felt like such a failure. But Ididn't know why. I ended up
(34:32):
leaving LA and coming back ornot coming back kind of coming
back to Florida, and having thefreedom to be able to pursue
whatever I chose to pursue andhaving the support and the most
amazing sister, she's completelysupportive of me. And what I'm
(34:53):
trying to do she she believes init. So that has given me the
freedom to pursue 100% mypassion. And it's been, I would
say, really the first time Ifelt this sense of freedom, like
not having to stress abouthaving a certain amount of money
(35:13):
coming in, or you know, all ofthe other things that come along
with that. So I think that thosewere my lowest moments. But out
of that came the ability to becompletely free. And I had to
embrace the idea that I don'thave to be in New York, and I
(35:34):
don't have to be in LA. To be afilmmaker.
Lisa Hopkins (35:40):
That's awesome.
Yeah. What do you know will staytrue about you, no matter what
happens, or no matter what youdo?
Loria King (35:49):
Mm hmm. So I will say, what I know will stay true
about me is my desire to alwayselevate and evolve, how
Lisa Hopkins (36:02):
do you want to be remembered?
Loria King (36:07):
Okay, so I think the best way to answer that is I was
in Kenya on a safari with mystudents that I was I was
teaching their teaching film.
And they were like, what if atiger jumped up and you know,
grabbed you and killed you? Isaid, Well, you know, I think
(36:27):
I'd be okay. And they looked atme strange when I said, because
I have loved, I have been loved,I have been hurt, I've hurt
people I've forgiven, I've beenforgiven. And I just felt like,
okay, so I have lived life. AndI don't think it necessarily
means that you have to have doneany particular thing. But I just
(36:47):
feel like for what my life is, Ibreathed life into every corner
of it in the process. So I wouldjust want to be remembered as
someone who, who embraced lifeand lived and like, did what she
wanted to do, and lived it onher own terms, made a lot of
mistakes, fell down a whole lot,but just kept going. You know,
(37:12):
that's, that's the most I couldhope anyone would remember me
by.
Lisa Hopkins (37:20):
Love that. What about what about you overall,
Avril Speaks (37:24):
I think I'm always gonna be telling stories in some
way, shape, or form. It may notalways be in the way of film,
but in some way, shape or form,I think I'm always going to be
telling human stories, it'salways going to be true that I
love my family. And, you know,even want to see that reflected
(37:45):
in stories. And I think that'show I want to be remembered
always thinking about thingsoutside the box. Either creating
something outside of the box ordoing something outside of the
box, or even just thinkingoutside of the box just in terms
of like how we think andprocess. Everyday
Lisa Hopkins (38:00):
thing I know for sure. I have to ask you guys
this because you seem sofearless. Both of you. But I
know that you're not I know thatyou're human. What's What would
you say scares? What scares you?
What are you most afraid ofright now? I mean, that may
change, right? But in thismoment,
Loria King (38:19):
for me, the thing that I fear most, I don't want
to die with my music inside ofme. Like, that is my greatest
fear. That that is my greatestfear. And that is my greatest
motivator. But there's so muchthat's inside of me that I want
to share. Yeah. And I feel likeif I don't, that what I was put
(38:43):
here to do. I have not livedinto that completely.
Lisa Hopkins (38:48):
But what about you ever?
Avril Speaks (38:51):
I think my biggest fear is failure. And to me
failure is not being able to dowhat I feel called to do. Like
not having the freedom to dothat.
Lisa Hopkins (39:04):
What would you do differently if you knew that you
couldn't fail?
Avril Speaks (39:07):
It's interesting you asking that? Because I don't
know what I would dodifferently. And I'm like,
wondering how much fear offailure is a an unreal barrier
for me? You know what I mean?
Lisa Hopkins (39:22):
Yep. For sure. For sure. I mean, basically, we're
talking about a limiting beliefright, or something that had
helped us like it was probably adriver for you. Yeah, probably
achieved a lot of successthrough having that fear. It
accompanies you, because ithelps you but now as I asked you
the question, you kind of goWait, I don't need it. I
wouldn't do anything different.
Clean the house again.
Avril Speaks (39:45):
Yeah, exactly. non existent. That's that's the word
I was looking for. I just didfear and that didn't exist.
Lisa Hopkins (39:52):
It definitely did exist. At some point. It
probably helped you and that'swhy it's still there from the
remnants of it.
Avril Speaks (39:58):
Hmm. Oh, That's powerful. I had to write that
down in therapy
Lisa Hopkins (40:03):
very ago. So as we finish fill in the blank, most
people think, but the truth is,
Loria King (40:10):
wow, I would say most people think that I am an
extrovert. But I'm actually acombination of being an
introvert extrovert.
Avril Speaks (40:21):
You know what immediately paints on my mind. I
think some people think that I'mmeek, shy, quiet, because I am
an introvert. But I'm a bull.
Lisa Hopkins (40:35):
I don't even know you and I meet because this is
the furthest thing I'd say. I'mYeah, in fact, your silence is
so powerful. Like you're you're,you're very intense. It's
beautiful. It's a beautifulenergy. It's like a very, like,
you didn't even need to speakand I you just like you emanate
like strength and focus andability. And thanks for that.
(40:56):
No, it's true. From my point ofview, so we're gonna do rapid
fire. I'm gonna say what makesyou and I'm gonna say it word.
And then you just say what comesto mind. So for those of you are
listening, Laurie is going to bethe first boom. April's gonna be
the second one. All right, guys.
Here we go. So what makes youhungry?
Loria King (41:17):
What makes me hungry is creativity. Whether it's
someone else's creativity or myown, like, I love that, that
makes me hunger to want to putmy stuff out there. And then
working out. Working out hasmade me really hungry. Like my
appetite has really increasedsince I've been working out five
(41:39):
days a week.
Lisa Hopkins (41:42):
Cool. What about GI Bill? What makes you hungry?
Avril Speaks (41:44):
They came to my mind was trumping grids.
Lisa Hopkins (41:49):
I love your honesty. All right, what makes
you sad?
Loria King (41:56):
What makes me sad?
Is it seeing other people's painlike them experiencing pain or
rejection, any type of pain thatmakes me really, really sad.
Avril Speaks (42:06):
The first thing that came to my mind was
distance. I think I'm feelingthat, especially these days of
being so far away from family.
So it's making me sad.
Lisa Hopkins (42:23):
What inspires you?
Loria King (42:26):
For me, I would say connection, like feeling
connected to things.
Avril Speaks (42:31):
I would say heartfelt stories inspire me.
And I would also say sunny daysinspire me.
Lisa Hopkins (42:42):
What frustrates you,
Loria King (42:44):
resistance to anything that I want to do?
Avril Speaks (42:46):
I had to borrow that resistance.
Lisa Hopkins (42:48):
Lauria, what makes you laugh?
Loria King (42:52):
My dog and my sister, me,
Lisa Hopkins (42:57):
that's fair, well makes you angry,
Loria King (42:59):
passive aggressive.
behavior makes me angry.
Avril Speaks (43:04):
I would say ignorance or like willful
ignorance.
Lisa Hopkins (43:07):
Mm hmm. Yeah. And finally, what makes you
grateful,
Loria King (43:14):
I would say I get my sister. And it's really
interesting, my dog, becauseboth of my parents are dead. My
grandparents are dead. And thoseare the two that show me
unconditional acceptance, lovewhen I think about it, and kind
of let it settle into my body.
I'm overwhelmed, completelyoverwhelmed with what a gift.
(43:35):
The idea that I was born intothis lifetime and this world
with my person. She's threeyears older than me. So she was
here when I got here. You know,like, and she's all in for me.
So I would say my sister andthen my dog who doesn't care
(43:56):
what I look like. doesn't care.
He just loves me.
Lisa Hopkins (44:03):
I love that one about you a role? What are you
grateful for?
Avril Speaks (44:08):
I'm grateful for love, love from my family, or my
friends. I will say lovingcommunity. I'm really grateful
for Yeah, I will say community.
I'm really grateful for thecommunity that I've been able to
build over the span of my life.
Jersey, New York, pretty muchevery place that I've lived. I
feel like I have a strongcommunity of people of both
(44:32):
family and friends who arebehind me who love me, who know
me. You know, beyond you know, afilm credit. They know who I
really am and love meregardless.
Lisa Hopkins (44:49):
Amen. And what are the top three things that
happened so far today?
Loria King (44:55):
Working out this podcast interview and how Be it
with a rollin you. And learningsome new things about April that
I didn't know anything aboutyou.
Avril Speaks (45:07):
This podcast on waking up to having had a good
night's sleep and a beautifulsunrise this morning. It'd be
number two, I would say my thirdthing is, I was excited that my
blue is coming in.
Lisa Hopkins (45:29):
And what's just finally, what's something you're
looking forward to?
Loria King (45:35):
Oh, wow, I'm looking forward to the rest of this
journey with this project andother projects with a role to
work with someone who I'm inalignment with. It's so easy.
It's been a wonderful learningexperience for me, but at the
(45:57):
same time, such a sense ofcamaraderie and friendship. And
she spoke with Abraham, youspoke a lot about communities
and just tapping into thecommunity of people that we both
know. And I'm looking forward torepeating that with this project
in other parts of the country,and the world. And also, with
(46:23):
possible other projects
Lisa Hopkins (46:24):
a row, what about you? What are you most looking
forward to?
Avril Speaks (46:28):
Looking forward to the next phase of the journey? I
feel like I'm kind of in asomewhat of a transition period,
like in terms of seasons oflife. And I think I'm still in
the process of thinking throughwhat that is. So I'm looking
forward to the journey of youknow, what's around the corner,
(46:59):
which is, you know,which is me scenario scenario
rising again?
Lisa Hopkins (47:06):
Oh, you're so sweet. You guys, it has been
such a pleasure and an honorspeaking with you and just
feeling your connectedness andjoy and for allowing me into
that. I really, reallyappreciate you both. And just
before we sign off, I wonderedif you wouldn't mind sharing a
little bit about your latestproject. Black America is.
Avril Speaks (47:26):
So yeah, so black America is it's a it's a
traveling exhibition, about whatit means to be black in America.
And it's about black identity,and how the moments of our life
have shaped who we are today tojust get a sense of what it
looks like to identify as blackor as African American, and to
(47:47):
talk about what that means foranyone living in this country.
And so we just wanted to hearvoices, let people speak for
themselves and define forthemselves what that means, and
have a conversation about it. Soit's an ongoing conversation
about what it means to be blackin America.
Lisa Hopkins (48:06):
Amazing. Thank you so much, ladies. I've been
speaking today with Lauria Kingand Avril speaks. I'm Lisa
Hopkins. Stay safe and healthyeveryone and remember to live in
the moment. In music, stop timeis that beautiful moment where
the band is suspended inrhythmic unison, supporting the
(48:27):
soloist to express theirindividuality. In the moment, I
encourage you to take that timeand create your own rhythm.
Until next time, I'm LisaHopkins. Thanks for listening
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