June 21, 2024 • 34 mins
Buckle up for the enthusiasm of Tommy McBrayer, the Founder and CEO of aptly named non-profit, Don't Shoot Guns, Shoot Hoops. Living with gun violence in Minneapolis, Tommy, a two-time gun violence survivor turned his trauma into hope for hundereds of young men and boys in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:19):
Alrighty, welcome to theKindness Chronicles, where once
again, we hope to inject theworld with a dose of the
Minnesota nice that itdesperately needs.
Unfortunately, Kevin Gorg is,uh, not here tonight.
He is, uh, working at CanterburyPark, as he usually does.
And, uh, you got to hear fromhim earlier in the week anyway,
(00:41):
so, so Yeah, we got enough ofhim.
We can live without him.
And then he's, all I want to dois talk about, uh Horses and
Culvers drive thrus, so we willwe'll move on but you got a
really cool guest for us todayYes, and my name is Steve Brown.
Welcome to the kindnessChronicles.
You never introduced me John youjust go right to me I think
people listen enough.
(01:01):
They know who you are.
They don't That gentlemanlaughing in the background is
the is our is our guest today.
I want to introduce.
Mr.
Tommy McBriar He's a communityorganizer.
He started a group called don'tshoot guns, shoot hoops.
This is a anti gun, uh, anti gunviolence, anti gun violence, um,
(01:22):
organization, a nonprofit inMinneapolis.
It's a basketball camp foryoung, uh, teens, teen kids in,
uh, in the Metro.
So, uh, and it's dedicated tononviolence, uh, working on work
ethic and compassion andleadership, all kinds of really
good stuff.
Um, welcome to the KindnessChronicles, Tommy McBriar.
(01:43):
Oh man, thank you, guys forhaving me.
I'm glad we made it happen.
Yeah, we want to hear all aboutyou, so we've seen, people have
probably seen the story on you,there's been a bunch of stories
on you and your organization,all the cool stuff you've been
doing, um, but we want to hearall about it, how it started,
and uh, and really dig into whatyou got going and what, how it's
(02:04):
been going since we've heardfrom you.
And can I ask a quick question?
Sure.
Tommy, you've been shot.
Not to sensationalize this, butI don't know many guys that have
been shot, twice.
Shot.
What is that like?
Yeah.
Let's get right to it.
Yeah man.
Get right to it.
Right?
It's part of the story.
(02:25):
Right?
So, yeah.
It fits in with the story.
But, um, yeah.
So I'm Tommy McBrayer.
Born and raised in SouthMinneapolis.
I'm a real Minnesotan.
I say that because I went tohigh school.
Where'd you go to high school?
I went to high school.
I went to Roosevelt High School.
Roosevelt.
Okay.
Yep, and I went to, uh, I wentto college at a community
college in Ely, Minnesotacalled, uh, uh, Lake Vermilion.
(02:48):
Oh, yeah! Yep, Vermilion,Vermilion Community College up
there in Ely, Minnesota.
And then I transferred to aschool in Brandon, Minnesota
called Central Lakes.
Central Lakes, sure.
Yeah, so I've been out therewith the Iron Range and I've
been around, uh, uh, a lot ofplaces.
You've been everywhere.
That's Minnesota, man.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Yeah.
So I'm a real Minnesotan.
(03:09):
When people, when they say,where you from, I'm proud to say
I'm from Minneapolis.
But I'm like, listen, I'm reallya Minnesotan.
Got that tough skin, that thickskin.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, so, yeah, so growing up, youknow, growing up as a kid, um,
Uh, after, after, um, droppingout of college, uh, because I
had a daughter named Samara.
Um, I had her when I was 20years old.
(03:30):
So, um, her mom was pregnant andI found out I had a daughter on
the way, so I dropped out ofcollege.
And in dropping out of college,you know, there's a lot of the
reality check, you know, youback to reality.
Yeah.
A lot of kids, you know,figuring out what's next and,
um, and I would say like, youknow, You know, not having a
father figure around certaintimes in my life, I was just
trying to figure out what wasnext.
(03:52):
Um, without no guidance.
But, you know, a lot of peoplein the urban city, you know,
they smoke weed, you know,everybody, you know, that's just
the typical thing, the quickestthing to get your hands on
sometimes.
So, as a kid, I would just, at20 years old, I started selling
marijuana.
I used to pay my rent.
And, um, and I didn't, uh, at 20years old, I was tied up, shot,
(04:12):
left for dead in a hallway in aduplex hallway at 20 years old.
Oh my god.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, it was a drug deal that wentbad and, um, you know, that was
my first eye opener, you know.
Uh, didn't know, like, didn'teven think I was doing anything
bad, right?
You know, you just, you know.
You're just doing somethingthat's making a living.
Yeah, there you go.
Trying to make a living.
Um, so as I, after, after I gotshot, it was just one of them
(04:36):
things is if you want to livethis lifestyle or you're going
to wake up and smell the coffee.
And so that was my first timewaking up and saying like, you
know what?
I don't want to live thislifestyle cause that's not the
type of person I was.
So no matter what it, no matterhow many times I got shot, I
still wasn't a person that shotpeople.
I never was a person, uh, hungaround people with guns, you
know, things like that.
So.
(04:56):
Have some good mentors in myneighborhood.
Uh, one of the guys was named VJSmith.
Oh wait, I know VJ.
What?
I know VJ.
Mad Dads.
Yeah, there you go, Mad Dads.
I know VJ.
He was a real pillar in theneighborhood.
Awesome dude, small world.
Yeah, so he came up to myhospital, my hospital bed, and
he just basically said likeTommy, you know, people that
(05:18):
usually sell drugs are peoplethat can't get a job.
You know, he said, you know, youjust got out of college, don't
mess up your background, youknow, trying to sell drugs, and
it'll stop you from getting ajob.
So, so that's all.
I was like, it was like thefirst eye opener.
So, after Um, I went like onthis recovery journey, moving
out of town, staying with mygrandparents and stuff like that
for a whole year.
(05:39):
And then when I got back, I justhad a different mindset of just
like, okay, I wanted to dosomething with my life.
I wanted to live with adifferent purpose.
So I started doing theseThanksgiving dinner things where
I'm bringing family together.
And, uh, I started with my ownfamily.
Then I went to my neighborhood,then my extended family, you
know, and I did that for 10years.
You know, I did that for 10years.
I did that all the way from 2012to 2022.
(06:03):
Um, and it got bigger and biggeras it, as we've grown, um, And
then, 10, my 10 year anniversaryof getting shot the first time
when I was 20 years old, I gotshot again at 30 years old.
Most people celebrate 10 yearanniversaries in a different
way.
That's the funnest celebration.
Exactly, right?
And here I am thinking like,okay, it's been 10 years.
(06:25):
And, um, it was an argument thatwent the wrong way with being a
family friend.
Somebody, somebody you callfamily, man.
Like, literally, somebody thatyou call your family.
I've been at family dinnerswith, gatherings.
Uh, uh, uh, conversations go thewrong way.
Pulls out a gun and I get shottwo times in my stomach in July
of 2019.
Holy cow, can I just ask, wasthat person apprehended?
(06:49):
no, they never went to jail forthe crime that they committed,
no.
Oh my god.
Um, it was crazy as I'mlearning, as I'm learning how
the system works.
It's hard.
It's in my, the people thatshould be going to jail don't
never go to jail.
And sometimes it's in my, thepeople that shouldn't go to jail
just get going to jail so fast.
The world's turned upside down.
(07:09):
one of the things about it, Ijust kept my faith high.
You know, I had some good peoplearound me.
Um, but it's crazy.
After I got shot this last time,I just became the community
organizer for my neighborhoodtwo weeks before I got shot.
So, I'm already changing mylife.
I'm already doing time withThanksgiving dinner for nine
years, and I'm rocking androlling.
I changed my whole lifestyle.
(07:29):
I'm not selling drugs no more.
I took the environment, thewhole nine.
And I still get shot two times.
Wow.
Um, just even painting thatpicture, you guys, right?
Like, for the people that'slistening, even you guys.
touch your stomach with both ofyour hands.
Like, you can't even try tolaugh.
Like, try to laugh.
Like, like, you can't even laughwithout using your stomach.
(07:49):
So, that just painted a picture.
At one point in time there was adark, I had a dark phase in my
life where it was hard to, itwas hard to laugh.
and just imagine like being inthat phase, like, you want to be
in a joyful state of mind, butit's killing you literally to
laugh.
some people always say like,Tommy, what does it feel like to
be shot?
Right?
I had to take too much out of mybody and I said, Traumatized
(08:12):
mentally, paralyzed physically,and emotionally detached.
That's the only word I couldfigure out.
I was really detached fromanything other than what Tommy
was going on because I had toworry about yourself.
Right?
And of course you got the PTSDthat you live with every day
after being, Yeah.
So you're traumatized.
And then when I got shot twotimes in my stomach, it was hard
for me to stand up because Ihad, my stomach was stapled up.
(08:35):
So, I, it was hard, so yeah,like I said, traumatized, I'm
paralyzed, and I'm emotionallydetached from a lot of different
things and that's all I candescribe of what it feels like
to be shot, to be a survivor ofgun violence.
something took you from being,this person that was, violently
violated and you decided to turnthat into something positive To
(08:57):
be honest, yeah, these days arelike good, like, you know, when
you're healing and you, youknow, like one thing about this,
not in life for the kids abouthere in this world that don't
have father, um, it's alwaysthat question that nobody ever
asked is, do you want a fatherthough?
Right.
A lot of it go through thesetraumas and go through these
weird times in life.
(09:17):
And we want a father, but wedon't have one.
Right.
And come before, you, uh,reaching out to people that
don't.
really represent you orrepresent a real man.
And so I was glad that I hadpeople like in my corner like DJ
Smith that really was a real manand gave me a real man response
instead of, you know, wherethese fake men are trying to,
(09:40):
you know, refer to say, well,you should go shoot that person
back.
Or you need to get your girlback.
Or, you know, you need to, ifyou gave, if you shot, if you
shot you, you should go shootsomebody back.
You know, and then that cyclecontinues, right?
But he didn't tell me that.
He told me to go get a job andcontinue to work and, and things
like that.
So, like I said, thank God forDJ again.
I got back his last time ninemonths before George Floyd.
(10:02):
And I told y'all two weeks afterI became a community organizer,
the community organizer's jobwas Central Neighborhood and
George Floyd got killed inCentral Neighborhood.
You bet.
So here I am, not even knowingwhat's passing, about to be, uh,
uh, uh, like in my face in ninemonths.
So I got nine months to getprepared for this next big
(10:22):
event.
How did you or where did youfind the resources to get that
even started?
Before I was a communityorganizer, I was working in
group homes for six years.
Okay.
So working in group homes, Iwould work with people that were
paralyzed for like a couple ofyears.
I worked with people that hadtraumatic brain injury, TBI.
Now, and then I was, I wasdealing with people that were
(10:42):
just born with RS, you know,born with a mental disability.
Yep.
And that just showed me people'sskills right there.
Then I started working withbeing a community organizer
where I learned.
That the biggest thing aboutpartnerships and success is
partnerships and collaborationsand teamwork and, uh, giving
these, uh, communities a voiceand put the people first before
(11:03):
anything and things like that.
So when I started my ownnonprofit, I was working for a
nonprofit for three and a halfyears, and I sat on the board
for a nonprofit two years beforeI started working for a
community organizer, I meanbeing a community organizer.
So it was just a lot of the workthat was already paving the way
and learning how to do my ownevents called Tommy Thanksgiving
(11:24):
Dinner for nine years.
So by the time I got my ownnonprofit, I understand really
how to run a nonprofit.
I understand the concepts andwhat you have to manage and
master to run a nonprofit.
Um, but it's all, all startswith putting people first.
Tommy's Thanksgiving dinner.
(11:44):
what is that?
Being a survivor, gun violence,you realize how many people lose
people from the totally the samething, but they don't have the
same outcome.
So I ended up dying from gunviolence.
And I remember when I thought itwas Thanksgiving dinner, yeah,
I've been shot, but I think itwas like a year right before
Trayvon Martin died.
It just sparked something in me,like, we need to get together at
(12:06):
certain times.
There's not enough familyreunions.
There's not enough, you know,like family reunions are almost
like four years, five years, youknow, you only have one every
four or five years or somethinglike that, it's that.
So I said, what about every yearfor Thanksgiving?
Nobody in my family or nobodythat I'm affiliated with or in
my neighborhood has to worryabout having a hot plate of food
(12:26):
for Thanksgiving.
That's how I started.
Wow.
And then, I started saying,Okay, let's take it as soon.
So now you're getting 300 to 350people, everything is given now.
So now I'm like, okay, let'skeep on growing it.
So, so I kept on growing it.
So I'm like, okay, let's giveaway turkeys.
So for the last five years,we've been giving out a hundred
turkeys.
Everything is given.
The family, so they won't haveto worry about you know, What
(12:49):
they're eating for Thanksgivingbecause we understand that it's
a privilege to enjoy yourholiday without any trauma
involved with it.
It's a privilege.
there's a lot of households thatstruggle.
Everything's good because theirdad's missing now or their mom's
missing now.
Or this is the time where youthink about like, Oh man, your
grandpa's not with us no more.
Grandma's not with us no more.
(13:09):
Things like that.
So it's just important to createthat loving atmosphere where now
you're not even thinking aboutyour loved ones that's missing.
People are replacing that lovein your heart.
By just being together.
so I did that question, Tommy.
How, so how did you round up allthat food?
Was this, you, you, were youproducing, uh, donations from
people you helping find groupsto donate?
(13:31):
Or how did you round, how didyou feed 300 people?
So, so, so, okay.
So how we first do it Popupscene, every family brings,
bring a plate.
So that's how it first started,and then you realize everybody
can't cook, so then you're like,okay.
Well, it sounds to me like youwere a community organizer
before you were officially acommunity organizer.
(13:51):
Holy cow.
That's what my boss told me whenshe interviewed me.
She said, Tommy, I don't evenknow how to interview you
because you've been a communityorganizer before.
Yes! She literally said the sameword.
I swear, I'm like, wow.
Because I'm just doing theauthentic.
that's what makes, you know,don't shoot guns, shoot hoops,
and just me being a leader isdifferent.
We did it before the peoplewanted to do it for likes, and
(14:12):
views, and uh, for streaming,and all.
We did it before Instagram.
We did it before Snapchat wasinvolved.
We did it before anything withFacebook Live was even invented.
Like, we was doing work beforeall of that.
So what even made it even more,right, is, When you're being a
survivor of gun violence, youhave a different, like,
motivation.
And I realized there was a lotof people around me that never
(14:34):
got a reward for doing thethings that they do, right?
You can probably think of rightnow, right now, of people that
have been doing their work, thesame work since you've been a
little kid.
Like, and this person's stillworking at this barbershop, or
still working at this facility,or still working at this church,
or still working at this clinic,right?
So I say, well, as you have yourown business, you realize how
(14:54):
hard it is to keep your doorsopen every day.
Right, so like for 36 years thisperson, this barbershop person
been opening their doors, nomatter what's been going on in
their life, ups, downs,divorces, not divorces.
This person been keeping thatdoor open, right?
So I gave away awards every yearwhen my Thanksgiving dinners.
So since 2012, when I got myfirst, when I did my first event
(15:17):
to 2024, when I gave out 75awards to people in the
community, entrepreneurs, um,just recognition awards.
Your recognition award.
Just a little tap on the back.
Sounds familiar.
moving ahead to don't shootguns, shoot hoops.
(15:37):
Uh, in our little conversationbefore the program, I mentioned
how much I love the name.
It's like, let's just get to theheart of what this is all about.
A lot of organizations try toget cute with their branding You
just went right after it.
It's like, we're gonna tell youwhat we do.
I love it.
So my first question is Tommy,what, um, and I think you
(15:58):
answered it in a couple of thesevideos, but I want to make sure
our audience understands whybasketball, what is it about
basketball?
That is the draw for, is it, isthat something you love to do?
Is it something just tell us whybasketball?
Yeah.
So first basketball, like itwas, was my first love, love for
anything, right?
I feel like it stopped me fromjoining gangs, selling drugs and
things like that.
(16:18):
And it kept me off the streetjust long enough to miss, Some
shootings, drive bys, and thingslike that.
So basketball has always been asafety net for me.
Anytime I'm playing basketball,it's just you're in a good
environment.
And then being a survivor of gunviolence, you know, putting them
two together.
Don't shoot guns, where I work,basically.
Well, my passion for basketballand then being a survivor of gun
(16:39):
violence, when I put themtogether, it's don't shoot guns,
shoot hoops.
Yeah.
how many, uh, young people areparticipating in your program
right now?
Um, within the last two and ahalf years, we have tested 750
youth.
Holy cow.
750, like, which has beenaggressive, like, like, and like
going back to like the title,right, when you said all you
(17:01):
guys are being very blunt withit.
It's like, when you understandthe root causes of gun violence
and how many things are in placeof why there is gun violence,
you realize you're really goingagainst a virus.
So, when you're going versus avirus, you have to kill it with
a virus, right?
You have to kill, like, youcan't kill it with just
kindness.
Like, this is something that'staking people, 214 people get
(17:23):
shot a day.
Yeah.
So, like, you gotta be, and likeyou said, You don't even
understand what these people arerepresenting until you look at
their mission, their vision, andtheir business plan.
Like, oh, you do do by theprofession.
Oh, okay, didn't know that.
Yeah, no, like, we're beingstraight forward with it, we
want these kids to know as soonas you put this jersey on or you
want to play even in thistournament, we're here to
represent you.
(17:52):
The, uh, the level of ability isprobably from very, very good to
probably like me last guy on thebench.
So look, so I mean, when I tellyou, we, it's a, it's a perfect
fit for urban city because it'sexactly what it needs.
It speaks to our target audienceis kids that are affected by gun
(18:14):
bombings.
And that's way more kids thanpeople are mad.
Yeah.
So when I said, so our firsttournament will be just I'd say,
okay, so in 2021, November, thatwas our first tournament for
don't shoot guns, shoot hoops.
And it was just, I just wantedto do a, it was like almost a
charity game.
It wasn't for, I didn't have anorganization.
It was just called Tommy.
Thanks.
Give him a dinner.
And I just do a game calleddon't shoot guns, shoot hoops.
(18:36):
Because.
The violence in the city haserupted because of George Floyd,
you have police officers layingoff because of PTSD, so me being
a community organizer, I know Ihad to do something about it, so
I said, okay, let's be boldabout it, and let's make this
for 18 plus, because I know ourkids are the future, but the 18
plus right now are struggling onSo, yeah.
(18:56):
What to do next.
You bet.
And it's that midlife crisis.
That 18 to 18 to, I say 18 to 30years old is real still trying
to figure out what's next.
So I hosted this basketballgame.
I had four different teams andit was 40 players.
When I tell you a year later,that four teams turned 160
players.
(19:16):
I'm a hundred.
I mean that four teams turned to16 teams and that 40 players
turned to 160 players.
Wow.
Oh.
Hmm.
And one year, and then we did ittwo years in a row.
So last year, 2023 did the samething.
16 teams, kind of 60 players.
So already just with those tworight there, that's 320 people,
18 plus, and then like probablynine.
(19:39):
And probably 90 percent of themare African American that live
in the inner city of Southside,South and North and St.
Paul, uh, Twin Cities.
And zero violence, zeroshooting, zero argument, zero
scruffles, just basketball.
Now wait a minute.
That's awesome.
Now, basketball lends itself toscuffles.
(19:59):
Zero scuffles?
Come on.
Zero.
Like, like I said, it's adifferent, it's a different
environment.
Vibe.
Like, like, like one thing aboutit, like.
Living, we all, okay, I, I, Ithought took a, uh, anti racism
training, right?
They said, Tommy, you can't sayblack on black crime.
That's, that's a raciststatement right there, right?
(20:21):
So I had to learn how to talk toinner city youth about being
prejudiced.
So you'll see me in a spacewhere just 90 percent of these
kids.
And I can, and I can tell you, Ican literally say, start off
with a statement, how many ofyou guys hate black people?
And when I tell you that is themost powerful statement to
(20:43):
create a space of just welcomingright then and there.
Because if you, if you agreewith yourself, because like you
said, one thing we're dealingwith inner city is we, there's a
lot of African American orAfrican American crime.
There is.
But why is that?
So that's what we talk about.
We try to think about, okay, youmust hate somebody that looks
(21:05):
just like you.
You might not even know it, butthe action that you're doing
every day shows it.
Yeah.
So when you create that, whenyou create that energy and say,
how many of y'all guys hate eachother?
And none of them say that.
They say, Oh, I don't, I don't,I don't, I don't hate none of
these guys.
I don't know none of these guys.
Oh yeah, you're right.
Okay.
So now the energy is differentthroughout the world.
My God.
(21:25):
Smart.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You got, uh, you got a couple ofwhite guys looking at each other
going, Holy shit.
That'll get your attention.
Yeah.
That's incredible.
Actually, the fact that youacknowledge you, you understand
you have to approach thatdifferently is, it speaks to
your character, your, yourintelligence and your, your
(21:47):
point.
Your, your appointment to this,your, how you were rising to
this occasion.
It's pretty amazing.
I'd also say, Tommy, that you,um, you're meant to be a
speaker.
Like I've been sitting here andI looked at Steve and I'm like,
this is the easiest interviewthat we've ever done.
I do it, man.
I've been doing it for a while,man.
I really have.
(22:08):
I mean, I talk from the heart,but I have a lot of experience.
I have a lot of experience.
So I, so aside from.
Being shot so you've been shottwo different times it kind of
it kind of woke you up the firstone woke you up the second one
Solidified your your thing Butwhat I'm I'm also kind of
looking for what is what drivesyou because you're still going
(22:28):
you're still Pushing and youhave all this energy for this Is
it your family?
Is it your is it just whatyou're seeing turn around like
is a store Is there are theresome stories you can tell us
about what you've seen in someof these kids?
Yeah, man.
Um, it's a whole, it's a littlebit of everything, right?
It's one being a survivor of gunviolence.
(22:49):
And when I say a survivor, it'slike not just getting shot and
going about your day.
Like no getting shot.
Like both of the times I'mtelling you guys are being tied
up, shot, left the day in thehallway.
That could have ended my liferight there.
Getting shot two times in thestomach.
That could have ended my liferight there.
So, it's a different thing whereI feel like I really think the
other side of life.
Like, I understand that you candie today and nothing else
(23:11):
matters.
Right?
And, it's just like, that's why,so it's, so it's, so I'm hungry.
It's like, I, like, the PTSD inme is still thinking every day,
I can die today.
no matter what, like, it's not,it's not even a thought.
Sometimes it's a reality becauseyou have been shot before.
I'm saying is that like, that'swhat is on my back of my mind,
that's what drives me to keepthem going in.
(23:32):
And I just need to do a biggerand bigger and bigger and bigger
and try to reach as many kids aspossible as fast as possible.
And that's where I've been doingit with groups of people.
Like I said, so I'm shooting formy first tournament, 160
players, like that, you know,just, Just being bold about
things like that Tommy, wheredoes the money come from?
You're not getting this spacefor free or are you getting the
(23:53):
space for free?
so there's, there's multipleways.
when I first started, don'tshoot, gun, shoot hoops.
All I did was when I host thetournament, they let me use the
gym for free the first year.
what gym?
Uh, urban venture, uh, Cole andPowell center.
Sure.
One of the greatest, one of thebiggest and nicest and newest
(24:13):
gyms in South Minneapolis.
Yeah, that's like right, isn'tthat attached to Crystal Ray?
Yup.
My daughter's done gymnasticsmeets there.
Yup, so I mean like just like anon profit.
Yup.
You know, the one thing aboutowning a business, you know,
they say you gotta show twoyears of revenue, but then like
with your non profit, how can,how is there ways for you to
make money?
So, People feel like there'ssome time when you got a
(24:35):
nonprofit, you can't chargeanything.
Well, no, there's limitations tohow you go about things.
So how I did things was being acommunity organizer to
understand the value of vendors.
People are paid to be at yourevent.
People are paid to be on yourflyer, right?
So now you're offering like abase level sponsorship of, you
want to be on this flyer that'scoming out?
And they said, okay, and yourealize it's 100 to get on the
(24:57):
flyer.
So all these businesses, causethey love what you got going on.
What do you want to be part ofthe way?
So if I got 36 vendors, I mean,36 sponsors that want to be on
my flyer, that's 3, 600 rightthere that you just raised by
just people that want to be partof the way of what you got going
on.
So then you try to get a fullvendor, then you pay for people
to get tickets, you know, um,to, to watch the game and things
(25:20):
like that.
Cause there is a game, fourgames going on at the same time.
That's a, that's a great thingabout the Colvin palace.
And there's like, that's bigcourt.
So.
Yeah, very huge.
So that's the way you raisemoney, but that's, but when it
comes to the kids, so that was18 plus, that's an 18 plus
event.
And that's every year that'sNovember madness.
But when you want to do stufffor the kids, like my boys, the
man camp that I do every year,you do that, you do that for
(25:43):
free.
So that way everything balances.
So now you do stuff for free,but at the same time you do
stuff that you need to raisesome money.
But then the biggest thing isgrants.
Right.
So, um, Governor Walsh came tomy first, my, my, my first three
on three basketball tournament,it was outside of the community
center parking lot.
And, um, I remember he was like,dang Tommy, this is, this is
(26:03):
awesome.
And you got like 400 kids inthis parking lot.
I'm like, he said, man, this iswhat we need to be funding I
said, I said, yeah, I said, butI had a pause for a second.
I said, look around, it's alittle bit harder.
And he looked around, I said,realize there's no police here.
He was really, he was like,there's 400 plus kids in this
parking lot with no police.
(26:24):
You are kidding me.
And we are five blocks away fromGeorge Floyd Square.
You are kidding me.
He wrote me a personal letter.
He wrote me a personal letterfrom his office that said, thank
you for what you're doing tocurb gun violence.
It's working.
Clearly it's working.
You must have some people thatare helping, right?
Are there a volunteer teams thatyou have that help organize all
these kids or is it all you?
(26:45):
Yeah.
So when it comes to the event,yes, I get advanced.
I got like staff that does like,um, they're called like
independent contractors.
So if I do a midnightbasketball, right, we do a
midnight basketball.
We partnered up with, um, theboys and girls club and midnight
basketball is, you guessed it.
These kids are playingbasketball at nine o'clock at
night to six o'clock in themorning.
(27:06):
we got, we got, so we got themto help us out.
Uh, uh, but yeah, I gotindependent contractors that
help us out.
Um, I got a nice team of people,a nice team of eight, ten
people.
You know, having a non profit,you got a board.
So, I got a board that helps me,keep the energy right and keep,
make sure we head in the rightdirection.
Yeah.
Things like that.
Um, How did you choose yourboard?
Just curiously.
(27:27):
Um, first, you know, you justrealize when you got a first
people that's not your friends,right?
You know, it's not really yourfriends more like people that
like coaches mentors.
Yeah.
Yeah So my old basketballcoaches on my board, you know
people that was already beenmentored in my life That just
always been important to me Iasked them there's always some
type of high level or directoror CEO of some other
(27:50):
organizations because You know,boards are voluntarily, and a
lot of people don't have a lotof volunteer time.
So you try to, try to aim forpeople that at least, like,
either retire, so my coach isretired, and people that do got,
like, some type of level attheir business so they can, you
know, they, they understand,like, the value of being on
boards and stuff like that.
I know you have some cool stuffin the works.
Tell us about, um, your actualbuilding you got cooking, like
(28:13):
your actual place, right?
Yeah.
I won a pitch competition, threeweeks ago.
I won a pitch competition, uh,through the Doe Foundation, and
it was, It's programmed throughthe Wyzetta Community Church in
Wyzetta, Minnesota.
they do a pitch competition.
You pitch your business in fiveminutes and just tell us, you
know, uh, what you're about, whyyou, and basically like, you
know, what you're asking for.
(28:34):
And I won.
You know, out of 86 contestants,I was one of the five, five
finalists that won.
And what I asked for is 45, 000to help me get a physical
location and hire Additionalstaff.
So, with the 45, 000 that wewant, I have a physical
location.
It's a back in the communitycenter in South Minneapolis.
(28:56):
it's a nice, nice welcomingspace that has an auditorium in
the building, has a gym thatwe're going to have access to
full access to.
And, um, it's just the perfectfit, so we named it Don't Shoot,
Gun Shoot, Hoops in it forExcellence, and that's just
another, just a pivotal momentof just another level where
we're headed, man, yeah.
And I saw on your website thatOctober 26th you're having your
(29:19):
first gala listen, I, yeah,yeah, I know it's a lot, I know,
hey, callers, I know, I knowit's a lot right now.
But.
Kind of hold on.
You know, is this a potluck galaor is this a different kind of
gala?
Everybody brings stuff.
No, this is, this is, no, thisis, you know, you grab your
business friends and you comeand, um, one thing we we're
just, it's like our ribbon cutto the city.
That's what we'll call it.
(29:40):
Um, there's a lot of people thatknow about us, but just enough
people that don't know about it.
We're just, we're just below theradar of.
When you get to these bigpeople, like, even when y'all
just heard about thisorganization, it's like, why
haven't we heard about thisorganization?
Or, and what have we did tosupport this organization?
So we wanted, the theme isbringing hope to the city.
What we're doing at Don't Shoot,Go Shoot, we have, that we are
(30:01):
almost guaranteed that we'rebringing hope To Minneapolis, to
these kids, to these parents, tothese schools, to these parks.
That we're like trying to figureout what's next.
And how to keep up with thewave.
And how to teach these kids theright things.
That's really going to teachthem life lessons.
So, we uh, took that money andwe opened up our first Don't
Shoot, Don't Shoot Center forExcellence.
(30:22):
We just want to get thatcollective group of people that
want to be part of this wave ofbringing hope to the city, you
know?
We owe it to ourselves, with allthis Joyous Boys stuff that
happened that really got ourCity not the same, you know,
like it really ain't the sameand it's hard to try to vision
our city bouncing back, but, youknow, that's why I just, we
(30:42):
gotta keep on stout and hopin tothe civilians that we see every
day and program the don't shoot,gun, shoot and lead the way.
So, so Tommy, um, let's talkabout your trip to DC just
briefly.
I got to know you through myfriend, uh, my good old partner
at Target, uh, Michelle Hanson,who's just a great person and
(31:03):
she's an activist and getsinvolved in stuff.
And she told me about you andshe said that you guys took a
trip to DC.
And, and did some, you visited abunch of people there and, and
tell me about what that was allabout.
Man, so, yeah, I was, uh, well,Mom is in Manhattan, man.
Thank you to Mom in Manhattan.
And every town is like theumbrella they're under.
Every town, like, they, they inevery town talk about gun
(31:25):
violence.
So Mom, you know, so God, if I,to a national conference, our
first business trip, man.
Um, you know, these guys, Ican't even talk about the
hospitality that they reallyshowed me not knowing anybody
from there.
Nobody else is from Minnesotabesides don't you go and shoot
and a couple volunteers on mom'sa man that's from Minnesota.
But the only organization atthis nationwide conference It
(31:50):
was just, it was, it was, it wasawesome, man.
Like they, the hospitality, theypaid for me plus one, uh, for a
fully full trip, you know,flight, hotel, food while you're
there, breakfast, lunch, anddinner every day, um, it was, we
met, I mean, we got to be in thesame building as president
Biden.
Um, the, the event is calledGSU, uh, Gun Sense University.
(32:12):
So it's a lot of, uh, violentprevention, um, uh,
organizations throughout theUnited States that are just in
the same fight to end gunviolence.
So it was awesome to networkwith so many different people
from all over the world.
Um, it was good to see, like,being around, uh, other
survivors of gun violence andjust hearing their testimonies
(32:32):
and what they've been doing withtheir, uh, trauma, you know, and
it's It was just great to behere.
It was like something, you know,when I said, I'll tell me, you
know, you ain't the first personI said, you're a good speaker,
but they're like, tell me, youknow, are you planning on
running some time?
But I believe Washington DC iswhere the most powerful people
(32:53):
in the United States live at.
So if you see yourself being aseparate, you know, uh, whatever
it is, you gotta, you gotta goto D.
C.
and leave with that, with thatatmosphere of life.
So it was good to go to theCapitol, the U.
S.
Capitol and see the offices andtalk to, um, you know, the, the
representative of Minnesota andthings like that.
And it was, it was really great.
(33:14):
Cool.
I think it was teaching me morethan I thought, for sure.
Well, I am inspired.
You are doing the Lord's work.
I just want to say thank you somuch, Tommy.
It's it is.
It's amazing work you're doing.
It's remarkable.
You're a pretty inspiring guyand I love your attitude.
I love that you're out making adifference.
This is what this show is allabout.
Trying to find people that aremaking a difference.
(33:34):
We're trying to highlight them,spread them around, and get this
kind of stuff in front of morepeople.
Thank you.
Man, it's a privilege to be onthe show, man.
man, you guys.
You guys are using your platformto spread my platform, so that's
all I can ask of all.
Well, with that, uh, Tommy, weneed more Tommies in the world,
(33:55):
so thank you for all you'redoing and off we go.
Alrighty, welcome to theKindness Chronicles, where once
again, we hope to inject theworld with a dose of the
Minnesota nice that itdesperately needs.
Unfortunately, Kevin Gorg is,uh, not here tonight.
He is, uh, working at CanterburyPark, as he usually does.
And, uh, you got to hear fromhim earlier in the week anyway,
(00:41):
so, so Yeah, we got enough ofhim.
We can live without him.
And then he's, all I want to dois talk about, uh Horses and
Culvers drive thrus, so we willwe'll move on but you got a
really cool guest for us todayYes, and my name is Steve Brown.
Welcome to the kindnessChronicles.
You never introduced me John youjust go right to me I think
people listen enough.
(01:01):
They know who you are.
They don't That gentlemanlaughing in the background is
the is our is our guest today.
I want to introduce.
Mr.
Tommy McBriar He's a communityorganizer.
He started a group called don'tshoot guns, shoot hoops.
This is a anti gun, uh, anti gunviolence, anti gun violence, um,
(01:22):
organization, a nonprofit inMinneapolis.
It's a basketball camp foryoung, uh, teens, teen kids in,
uh, in the Metro.
So, uh, and it's dedicated tononviolence, uh, working on work
ethic and compassion andleadership, all kinds of really
good stuff.
Um, welcome to the KindnessChronicles, Tommy McBriar.
(01:43):
Oh man, thank you, guys forhaving me.
I'm glad we made it happen.
Yeah, we want to hear all aboutyou, so we've seen, people have
probably seen the story on you,there's been a bunch of stories
on you and your organization,all the cool stuff you've been
doing, um, but we want to hearall about it, how it started,
and uh, and really dig into whatyou got going and what, how it's
(02:04):
been going since we've heardfrom you.
And can I ask a quick question?
Sure.
Tommy, you've been shot.
Not to sensationalize this, butI don't know many guys that have
been shot, twice.
Shot.
What is that like?
Yeah.
Let's get right to it.
Yeah man.
Get right to it.
Right?
It's part of the story.
(02:25):
Right?
So, yeah.
It fits in with the story.
But, um, yeah.
So I'm Tommy McBrayer.
Born and raised in SouthMinneapolis.
I'm a real Minnesotan.
I say that because I went tohigh school.
Where'd you go to high school?
I went to high school.
I went to Roosevelt High School.
Roosevelt.
Okay.
Yep, and I went to, uh, I wentto college at a community
college in Ely, Minnesotacalled, uh, uh, Lake Vermilion.
(02:48):
Oh, yeah! Yep, Vermilion,Vermilion Community College up
there in Ely, Minnesota.
And then I transferred to aschool in Brandon, Minnesota
called Central Lakes.
Central Lakes, sure.
Yeah, so I've been out therewith the Iron Range and I've
been around, uh, uh, a lot ofplaces.
You've been everywhere.
That's Minnesota, man.
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Yeah.
So I'm a real Minnesotan.
(03:09):
When people, when they say,where you from, I'm proud to say
I'm from Minneapolis.
But I'm like, listen, I'm reallya Minnesotan.
Got that tough skin, that thickskin.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, so, yeah, so growing up, youknow, growing up as a kid, um,
Uh, after, after, um, droppingout of college, uh, because I
had a daughter named Samara.
Um, I had her when I was 20years old.
(03:30):
So, um, her mom was pregnant andI found out I had a daughter on
the way, so I dropped out ofcollege.
And in dropping out of college,you know, there's a lot of the
reality check, you know, youback to reality.
Yeah.
A lot of kids, you know,figuring out what's next and,
um, and I would say like, youknow, You know, not having a
father figure around certaintimes in my life, I was just
trying to figure out what wasnext.
(03:52):
Um, without no guidance.
But, you know, a lot of peoplein the urban city, you know,
they smoke weed, you know,everybody, you know, that's just
the typical thing, the quickestthing to get your hands on
sometimes.
So, as a kid, I would just, at20 years old, I started selling
marijuana.
I used to pay my rent.
And, um, and I didn't, uh, at 20years old, I was tied up, shot,
(04:12):
left for dead in a hallway in aduplex hallway at 20 years old.
Oh my god.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, it was a drug deal that wentbad and, um, you know, that was
my first eye opener, you know.
Uh, didn't know, like, didn'teven think I was doing anything
bad, right?
You know, you just, you know.
You're just doing somethingthat's making a living.
Yeah, there you go.
Trying to make a living.
Um, so as I, after, after I gotshot, it was just one of them
(04:36):
things is if you want to livethis lifestyle or you're going
to wake up and smell the coffee.
And so that was my first timewaking up and saying like, you
know what?
I don't want to live thislifestyle cause that's not the
type of person I was.
So no matter what it, no matterhow many times I got shot, I
still wasn't a person that shotpeople.
I never was a person, uh, hungaround people with guns, you
know, things like that.
So.
(04:56):
Have some good mentors in myneighborhood.
Uh, one of the guys was named VJSmith.
Oh wait, I know VJ.
What?
I know VJ.
Mad Dads.
Yeah, there you go, Mad Dads.
I know VJ.
He was a real pillar in theneighborhood.
Awesome dude, small world.
Yeah, so he came up to myhospital, my hospital bed, and
he just basically said likeTommy, you know, people that
(05:18):
usually sell drugs are peoplethat can't get a job.
You know, he said, you know, youjust got out of college, don't
mess up your background, youknow, trying to sell drugs, and
it'll stop you from getting ajob.
So, so that's all.
I was like, it was like thefirst eye opener.
So, after Um, I went like onthis recovery journey, moving
out of town, staying with mygrandparents and stuff like that
for a whole year.
(05:39):
And then when I got back, I justhad a different mindset of just
like, okay, I wanted to dosomething with my life.
I wanted to live with adifferent purpose.
So I started doing theseThanksgiving dinner things where
I'm bringing family together.
And, uh, I started with my ownfamily.
Then I went to my neighborhood,then my extended family, you
know, and I did that for 10years.
You know, I did that for 10years.
I did that all the way from 2012to 2022.
(06:03):
Um, and it got bigger and biggeras it, as we've grown, um, And
then, 10, my 10 year anniversaryof getting shot the first time
when I was 20 years old, I gotshot again at 30 years old.
Most people celebrate 10 yearanniversaries in a different
way.
That's the funnest celebration.
Exactly, right?
And here I am thinking like,okay, it's been 10 years.
(06:25):
And, um, it was an argument thatwent the wrong way with being a
family friend.
Somebody, somebody you callfamily, man.
Like, literally, somebody thatyou call your family.
I've been at family dinnerswith, gatherings.
Uh, uh, uh, conversations go thewrong way.
Pulls out a gun and I get shottwo times in my stomach in July
of 2019.
Holy cow, can I just ask, wasthat person apprehended?
(06:49):
no, they never went to jail forthe crime that they committed,
no.
Oh my god.
Um, it was crazy as I'mlearning, as I'm learning how
the system works.
It's hard.
It's in my, the people thatshould be going to jail don't
never go to jail.
And sometimes it's in my, thepeople that shouldn't go to jail
just get going to jail so fast.
The world's turned upside down.
(07:09):
one of the things about it, Ijust kept my faith high.
You know, I had some good peoplearound me.
Um, but it's crazy.
After I got shot this last time,I just became the community
organizer for my neighborhoodtwo weeks before I got shot.
So, I'm already changing mylife.
I'm already doing time withThanksgiving dinner for nine
years, and I'm rocking androlling.
I changed my whole lifestyle.
(07:29):
I'm not selling drugs no more.
I took the environment, thewhole nine.
And I still get shot two times.
Wow.
Um, just even painting thatpicture, you guys, right?
Like, for the people that'slistening, even you guys.
touch your stomach with both ofyour hands.
Like, you can't even try tolaugh.
Like, try to laugh.
Like, like, you can't even laughwithout using your stomach.
(07:49):
So, that just painted a picture.
At one point in time there was adark, I had a dark phase in my
life where it was hard to, itwas hard to laugh.
and just imagine like being inthat phase, like, you want to be
in a joyful state of mind, butit's killing you literally to
laugh.
some people always say like,Tommy, what does it feel like to
be shot?
Right?
I had to take too much out of mybody and I said, Traumatized
(08:12):
mentally, paralyzed physically,and emotionally detached.
That's the only word I couldfigure out.
I was really detached fromanything other than what Tommy
was going on because I had toworry about yourself.
Right?
And of course you got the PTSDthat you live with every day
after being, Yeah.
So you're traumatized.
And then when I got shot twotimes in my stomach, it was hard
for me to stand up because Ihad, my stomach was stapled up.
(08:35):
So, I, it was hard, so yeah,like I said, traumatized, I'm
paralyzed, and I'm emotionallydetached from a lot of different
things and that's all I candescribe of what it feels like
to be shot, to be a survivor ofgun violence.
something took you from being,this person that was, violently
violated and you decided to turnthat into something positive To
(08:57):
be honest, yeah, these days arelike good, like, you know, when
you're healing and you, youknow, like one thing about this,
not in life for the kids abouthere in this world that don't
have father, um, it's alwaysthat question that nobody ever
asked is, do you want a fatherthough?
Right.
A lot of it go through thesetraumas and go through these
weird times in life.
(09:17):
And we want a father, but wedon't have one.
Right.
And come before, you, uh,reaching out to people that
don't.
really represent you orrepresent a real man.
And so I was glad that I hadpeople like in my corner like DJ
Smith that really was a real manand gave me a real man response
instead of, you know, wherethese fake men are trying to,
(09:40):
you know, refer to say, well,you should go shoot that person
back.
Or you need to get your girlback.
Or, you know, you need to, ifyou gave, if you shot, if you
shot you, you should go shootsomebody back.
You know, and then that cyclecontinues, right?
But he didn't tell me that.
He told me to go get a job andcontinue to work and, and things
like that.
So, like I said, thank God forDJ again.
I got back his last time ninemonths before George Floyd.
(10:02):
And I told y'all two weeks afterI became a community organizer,
the community organizer's jobwas Central Neighborhood and
George Floyd got killed inCentral Neighborhood.
You bet.
So here I am, not even knowingwhat's passing, about to be, uh,
uh, uh, like in my face in ninemonths.
So I got nine months to getprepared for this next big
(10:22):
event.
How did you or where did youfind the resources to get that
even started?
Before I was a communityorganizer, I was working in
group homes for six years.
Okay.
So working in group homes, Iwould work with people that were
paralyzed for like a couple ofyears.
I worked with people that hadtraumatic brain injury, TBI.
Now, and then I was, I wasdealing with people that were
(10:42):
just born with RS, you know,born with a mental disability.
Yep.
And that just showed me people'sskills right there.
Then I started working withbeing a community organizer
where I learned.
That the biggest thing aboutpartnerships and success is
partnerships and collaborationsand teamwork and, uh, giving
these, uh, communities a voiceand put the people first before
(11:03):
anything and things like that.
So when I started my ownnonprofit, I was working for a
nonprofit for three and a halfyears, and I sat on the board
for a nonprofit two years beforeI started working for a
community organizer, I meanbeing a community organizer.
So it was just a lot of the workthat was already paving the way
and learning how to do my ownevents called Tommy Thanksgiving
(11:24):
Dinner for nine years.
So by the time I got my ownnonprofit, I understand really
how to run a nonprofit.
I understand the concepts andwhat you have to manage and
master to run a nonprofit.
Um, but it's all, all startswith putting people first.
Tommy's Thanksgiving dinner.
(11:44):
what is that?
Being a survivor, gun violence,you realize how many people lose
people from the totally the samething, but they don't have the
same outcome.
So I ended up dying from gunviolence.
And I remember when I thought itwas Thanksgiving dinner, yeah,
I've been shot, but I think itwas like a year right before
Trayvon Martin died.
It just sparked something in me,like, we need to get together at
(12:06):
certain times.
There's not enough familyreunions.
There's not enough, you know,like family reunions are almost
like four years, five years, youknow, you only have one every
four or five years or somethinglike that, it's that.
So I said, what about every yearfor Thanksgiving?
Nobody in my family or nobodythat I'm affiliated with or in
my neighborhood has to worryabout having a hot plate of food
(12:26):
for Thanksgiving.
That's how I started.
Wow.
And then, I started saying,Okay, let's take it as soon.
So now you're getting 300 to 350people, everything is given now.
So now I'm like, okay, let'skeep on growing it.
So, so I kept on growing it.
So I'm like, okay, let's giveaway turkeys.
So for the last five years,we've been giving out a hundred
turkeys.
Everything is given.
The family, so they won't haveto worry about you know, What
(12:49):
they're eating for Thanksgivingbecause we understand that it's
a privilege to enjoy yourholiday without any trauma
involved with it.
It's a privilege.
there's a lot of households thatstruggle.
Everything's good because theirdad's missing now or their mom's
missing now.
Or this is the time where youthink about like, Oh man, your
grandpa's not with us no more.
Grandma's not with us no more.
(13:09):
Things like that.
So it's just important to createthat loving atmosphere where now
you're not even thinking aboutyour loved ones that's missing.
People are replacing that lovein your heart.
By just being together.
so I did that question, Tommy.
How, so how did you round up allthat food?
Was this, you, you, were youproducing, uh, donations from
people you helping find groupsto donate?
(13:31):
Or how did you round, how didyou feed 300 people?
So, so, so, okay.
So how we first do it Popupscene, every family brings,
bring a plate.
So that's how it first started,and then you realize everybody
can't cook, so then you're like,okay.
Well, it sounds to me like youwere a community organizer
before you were officially acommunity organizer.
(13:51):
Holy cow.
That's what my boss told me whenshe interviewed me.
She said, Tommy, I don't evenknow how to interview you
because you've been a communityorganizer before.
Yes! She literally said the sameword.
I swear, I'm like, wow.
Because I'm just doing theauthentic.
that's what makes, you know,don't shoot guns, shoot hoops,
and just me being a leader isdifferent.
We did it before the peoplewanted to do it for likes, and
(14:12):
views, and uh, for streaming,and all.
We did it before Instagram.
We did it before Snapchat wasinvolved.
We did it before anything withFacebook Live was even invented.
Like, we was doing work beforeall of that.
So what even made it even more,right, is, When you're being a
survivor of gun violence, youhave a different, like,
motivation.
And I realized there was a lotof people around me that never
(14:34):
got a reward for doing thethings that they do, right?
You can probably think of rightnow, right now, of people that
have been doing their work, thesame work since you've been a
little kid.
Like, and this person's stillworking at this barbershop, or
still working at this facility,or still working at this church,
or still working at this clinic,right?
So I say, well, as you have yourown business, you realize how
(14:54):
hard it is to keep your doorsopen every day.
Right, so like for 36 years thisperson, this barbershop person
been opening their doors, nomatter what's been going on in
their life, ups, downs,divorces, not divorces.
This person been keeping thatdoor open, right?
So I gave away awards every yearwhen my Thanksgiving dinners.
So since 2012, when I got myfirst, when I did my first event
(15:17):
to 2024, when I gave out 75awards to people in the
community, entrepreneurs, um,just recognition awards.
Your recognition award.
Just a little tap on the back.
Sounds familiar.
moving ahead to don't shootguns, shoot hoops.
(15:37):
Uh, in our little conversationbefore the program, I mentioned
how much I love the name.
It's like, let's just get to theheart of what this is all about.
A lot of organizations try toget cute with their branding You
just went right after it.
It's like, we're gonna tell youwhat we do.
I love it.
So my first question is Tommy,what, um, and I think you
(15:58):
answered it in a couple of thesevideos, but I want to make sure
our audience understands whybasketball, what is it about
basketball?
That is the draw for, is it, isthat something you love to do?
Is it something just tell us whybasketball?
Yeah.
So first basketball, like itwas, was my first love, love for
anything, right?
I feel like it stopped me fromjoining gangs, selling drugs and
things like that.
(16:18):
And it kept me off the streetjust long enough to miss, Some
shootings, drive bys, and thingslike that.
So basketball has always been asafety net for me.
Anytime I'm playing basketball,it's just you're in a good
environment.
And then being a survivor of gunviolence, you know, putting them
two together.
Don't shoot guns, where I work,basically.
Well, my passion for basketballand then being a survivor of gun
(16:39):
violence, when I put themtogether, it's don't shoot guns,
shoot hoops.
Yeah.
how many, uh, young people areparticipating in your program
right now?
Um, within the last two and ahalf years, we have tested 750
youth.
Holy cow.
750, like, which has beenaggressive, like, like, and like
going back to like the title,right, when you said all you
(17:01):
guys are being very blunt withit.
It's like, when you understandthe root causes of gun violence
and how many things are in placeof why there is gun violence,
you realize you're really goingagainst a virus.
So, when you're going versus avirus, you have to kill it with
a virus, right?
You have to kill, like, youcan't kill it with just
kindness.
Like, this is something that'staking people, 214 people get
(17:23):
shot a day.
Yeah.
So, like, you gotta be, and likeyou said, You don't even
understand what these people arerepresenting until you look at
their mission, their vision, andtheir business plan.
Like, oh, you do do by theprofession.
Oh, okay, didn't know that.
Yeah, no, like, we're beingstraight forward with it, we
want these kids to know as soonas you put this jersey on or you
want to play even in thistournament, we're here to
represent you.
(17:52):
The, uh, the level of ability isprobably from very, very good to
probably like me last guy on thebench.
So look, so I mean, when I tellyou, we, it's a, it's a perfect
fit for urban city because it'sexactly what it needs.
It speaks to our target audienceis kids that are affected by gun
(18:14):
bombings.
And that's way more kids thanpeople are mad.
Yeah.
So when I said, so our firsttournament will be just I'd say,
okay, so in 2021, November, thatwas our first tournament for
don't shoot guns, shoot hoops.
And it was just, I just wantedto do a, it was like almost a
charity game.
It wasn't for, I didn't have anorganization.
It was just called Tommy.
Thanks.
Give him a dinner.
And I just do a game calleddon't shoot guns, shoot hoops.
(18:36):
Because.
The violence in the city haserupted because of George Floyd,
you have police officers layingoff because of PTSD, so me being
a community organizer, I know Ihad to do something about it, so
I said, okay, let's be boldabout it, and let's make this
for 18 plus, because I know ourkids are the future, but the 18
plus right now are struggling onSo, yeah.
(18:56):
What to do next.
You bet.
And it's that midlife crisis.
That 18 to 18 to, I say 18 to 30years old is real still trying
to figure out what's next.
So I hosted this basketballgame.
I had four different teams andit was 40 players.
When I tell you a year later,that four teams turned 160
players.
(19:16):
I'm a hundred.
I mean that four teams turned to16 teams and that 40 players
turned to 160 players.
Wow.
Oh.
Hmm.
And one year, and then we did ittwo years in a row.
So last year, 2023 did the samething.
16 teams, kind of 60 players.
So already just with those tworight there, that's 320 people,
18 plus, and then like probablynine.
(19:39):
And probably 90 percent of themare African American that live
in the inner city of Southside,South and North and St.
Paul, uh, Twin Cities.
And zero violence, zeroshooting, zero argument, zero
scruffles, just basketball.
Now wait a minute.
That's awesome.
Now, basketball lends itself toscuffles.
(19:59):
Zero scuffles?
Come on.
Zero.
Like, like I said, it's adifferent, it's a different
environment.
Vibe.
Like, like, like one thing aboutit, like.
Living, we all, okay, I, I, Ithought took a, uh, anti racism
training, right?
They said, Tommy, you can't sayblack on black crime.
That's, that's a raciststatement right there, right?
(20:21):
So I had to learn how to talk toinner city youth about being
prejudiced.
So you'll see me in a spacewhere just 90 percent of these
kids.
And I can, and I can tell you, Ican literally say, start off
with a statement, how many ofyou guys hate black people?
And when I tell you that is themost powerful statement to
(20:43):
create a space of just welcomingright then and there.
Because if you, if you agreewith yourself, because like you
said, one thing we're dealingwith inner city is we, there's a
lot of African American orAfrican American crime.
There is.
But why is that?
So that's what we talk about.
We try to think about, okay, youmust hate somebody that looks
(21:05):
just like you.
You might not even know it, butthe action that you're doing
every day shows it.
Yeah.
So when you create that, whenyou create that energy and say,
how many of y'all guys hate eachother?
And none of them say that.
They say, Oh, I don't, I don't,I don't, I don't hate none of
these guys.
I don't know none of these guys.
Oh yeah, you're right.
Okay.
So now the energy is differentthroughout the world.
My God.
(21:25):
Smart.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You got, uh, you got a couple ofwhite guys looking at each other
going, Holy shit.
That'll get your attention.
Yeah.
That's incredible.
Actually, the fact that youacknowledge you, you understand
you have to approach thatdifferently is, it speaks to
your character, your, yourintelligence and your, your
(21:47):
point.
Your, your appointment to this,your, how you were rising to
this occasion.
It's pretty amazing.
I'd also say, Tommy, that you,um, you're meant to be a
speaker.
Like I've been sitting here andI looked at Steve and I'm like,
this is the easiest interviewthat we've ever done.
I do it, man.
I've been doing it for a while,man.
I really have.
(22:08):
I mean, I talk from the heart,but I have a lot of experience.
I have a lot of experience.
So I, so aside from.
Being shot so you've been shottwo different times it kind of
it kind of woke you up the firstone woke you up the second one
Solidified your your thing Butwhat I'm I'm also kind of
looking for what is what drivesyou because you're still going
(22:28):
you're still Pushing and youhave all this energy for this Is
it your family?
Is it your is it just whatyou're seeing turn around like
is a store Is there are theresome stories you can tell us
about what you've seen in someof these kids?
Yeah, man.
Um, it's a whole, it's a littlebit of everything, right?
It's one being a survivor of gunviolence.
(22:49):
And when I say a survivor, it'slike not just getting shot and
going about your day.
Like no getting shot.
Like both of the times I'mtelling you guys are being tied
up, shot, left the day in thehallway.
That could have ended my liferight there.
Getting shot two times in thestomach.
That could have ended my liferight there.
So, it's a different thing whereI feel like I really think the
other side of life.
Like, I understand that you candie today and nothing else
(23:11):
matters.
Right?
And, it's just like, that's why,so it's, so it's, so I'm hungry.
It's like, I, like, the PTSD inme is still thinking every day,
I can die today.
no matter what, like, it's not,it's not even a thought.
Sometimes it's a reality becauseyou have been shot before.
I'm saying is that like, that'swhat is on my back of my mind,
that's what drives me to keepthem going in.
(23:32):
And I just need to do a biggerand bigger and bigger and bigger
and try to reach as many kids aspossible as fast as possible.
And that's where I've been doingit with groups of people.
Like I said, so I'm shooting formy first tournament, 160
players, like that, you know,just, Just being bold about
things like that Tommy, wheredoes the money come from?
You're not getting this spacefor free or are you getting the
(23:53):
space for free?
so there's, there's multipleways.
when I first started, don'tshoot, gun, shoot hoops.
All I did was when I host thetournament, they let me use the
gym for free the first year.
what gym?
Uh, urban venture, uh, Cole andPowell center.
Sure.
One of the greatest, one of thebiggest and nicest and newest
(24:13):
gyms in South Minneapolis.
Yeah, that's like right, isn'tthat attached to Crystal Ray?
Yup.
My daughter's done gymnasticsmeets there.
Yup, so I mean like just like anon profit.
Yup.
You know, the one thing aboutowning a business, you know,
they say you gotta show twoyears of revenue, but then like
with your non profit, how can,how is there ways for you to
make money?
So, People feel like there'ssome time when you got a
(24:35):
nonprofit, you can't chargeanything.
Well, no, there's limitations tohow you go about things.
So how I did things was being acommunity organizer to
understand the value of vendors.
People are paid to be at yourevent.
People are paid to be on yourflyer, right?
So now you're offering like abase level sponsorship of, you
want to be on this flyer that'scoming out?
And they said, okay, and yourealize it's 100 to get on the
(24:57):
flyer.
So all these businesses, causethey love what you got going on.
What do you want to be part ofthe way?
So if I got 36 vendors, I mean,36 sponsors that want to be on
my flyer, that's 3, 600 rightthere that you just raised by
just people that want to be partof the way of what you got going
on.
So then you try to get a fullvendor, then you pay for people
to get tickets, you know, um,to, to watch the game and things
(25:20):
like that.
Cause there is a game, fourgames going on at the same time.
That's a, that's a great thingabout the Colvin palace.
And there's like, that's bigcourt.
So.
Yeah, very huge.
So that's the way you raisemoney, but that's, but when it
comes to the kids, so that was18 plus, that's an 18 plus
event.
And that's every year that'sNovember madness.
But when you want to do stufffor the kids, like my boys, the
man camp that I do every year,you do that, you do that for
(25:43):
free.
So that way everything balances.
So now you do stuff for free,but at the same time you do
stuff that you need to raisesome money.
But then the biggest thing isgrants.
Right.
So, um, Governor Walsh came tomy first, my, my, my first three
on three basketball tournament,it was outside of the community
center parking lot.
And, um, I remember he was like,dang Tommy, this is, this is
(26:03):
awesome.
And you got like 400 kids inthis parking lot.
I'm like, he said, man, this iswhat we need to be funding I
said, I said, yeah, I said, butI had a pause for a second.
I said, look around, it's alittle bit harder.
And he looked around, I said,realize there's no police here.
He was really, he was like,there's 400 plus kids in this
parking lot with no police.
(26:24):
You are kidding me.
And we are five blocks away fromGeorge Floyd Square.
You are kidding me.
He wrote me a personal letter.
He wrote me a personal letterfrom his office that said, thank
you for what you're doing tocurb gun violence.
It's working.
Clearly it's working.
You must have some people thatare helping, right?
Are there a volunteer teams thatyou have that help organize all
these kids or is it all you?
(26:45):
Yeah.
So when it comes to the event,yes, I get advanced.
I got like staff that does like,um, they're called like
independent contractors.
So if I do a midnightbasketball, right, we do a
midnight basketball.
We partnered up with, um, theboys and girls club and midnight
basketball is, you guessed it.
These kids are playingbasketball at nine o'clock at
night to six o'clock in themorning.
(27:06):
we got, we got, so we got themto help us out.
Uh, uh, but yeah, I gotindependent contractors that
help us out.
Um, I got a nice team of people,a nice team of eight, ten
people.
You know, having a non profit,you got a board.
So, I got a board that helps me,keep the energy right and keep,
make sure we head in the rightdirection.
Yeah.
Things like that.
Um, How did you choose yourboard?
Just curiously.
(27:27):
Um, first, you know, you justrealize when you got a first
people that's not your friends,right?
You know, it's not really yourfriends more like people that
like coaches mentors.
Yeah.
Yeah So my old basketballcoaches on my board, you know
people that was already beenmentored in my life That just
always been important to me Iasked them there's always some
type of high level or directoror CEO of some other
(27:50):
organizations because You know,boards are voluntarily, and a
lot of people don't have a lotof volunteer time.
So you try to, try to aim forpeople that at least, like,
either retire, so my coach isretired, and people that do got,
like, some type of level attheir business so they can, you
know, they, they understand,like, the value of being on
boards and stuff like that.
I know you have some cool stuffin the works.
Tell us about, um, your actualbuilding you got cooking, like
(28:13):
your actual place, right?
Yeah.
I won a pitch competition, threeweeks ago.
I won a pitch competition, uh,through the Doe Foundation, and
it was, It's programmed throughthe Wyzetta Community Church in
Wyzetta, Minnesota.
they do a pitch competition.
You pitch your business in fiveminutes and just tell us, you
know, uh, what you're about, whyyou, and basically like, you
know, what you're asking for.
(28:34):
And I won.
You know, out of 86 contestants,I was one of the five, five
finalists that won.
And what I asked for is 45, 000to help me get a physical
location and hire Additionalstaff.
So, with the 45, 000 that wewant, I have a physical
location.
It's a back in the communitycenter in South Minneapolis.
(28:56):
it's a nice, nice welcomingspace that has an auditorium in
the building, has a gym thatwe're going to have access to
full access to.
And, um, it's just the perfectfit, so we named it Don't Shoot,
Gun Shoot, Hoops in it forExcellence, and that's just
another, just a pivotal momentof just another level where
we're headed, man, yeah.
And I saw on your website thatOctober 26th you're having your
(29:19):
first gala listen, I, yeah,yeah, I know it's a lot, I know,
hey, callers, I know, I knowit's a lot right now.
But.
Kind of hold on.
You know, is this a potluck galaor is this a different kind of
gala?
Everybody brings stuff.
No, this is, this is, no, thisis, you know, you grab your
business friends and you comeand, um, one thing we we're
just, it's like our ribbon cutto the city.
That's what we'll call it.
(29:40):
Um, there's a lot of people thatknow about us, but just enough
people that don't know about it.
We're just, we're just below theradar of.
When you get to these bigpeople, like, even when y'all
just heard about thisorganization, it's like, why
haven't we heard about thisorganization?
Or, and what have we did tosupport this organization?
So we wanted, the theme isbringing hope to the city.
What we're doing at Don't Shoot,Go Shoot, we have, that we are
(30:01):
almost guaranteed that we'rebringing hope To Minneapolis, to
these kids, to these parents, tothese schools, to these parks.
That we're like trying to figureout what's next.
And how to keep up with thewave.
And how to teach these kids theright things.
That's really going to teachthem life lessons.
So, we uh, took that money andwe opened up our first Don't
Shoot, Don't Shoot Center forExcellence.
(30:22):
We just want to get thatcollective group of people that
want to be part of this wave ofbringing hope to the city, you
know?
We owe it to ourselves, with allthis Joyous Boys stuff that
happened that really got ourCity not the same, you know,
like it really ain't the sameand it's hard to try to vision
our city bouncing back, but, youknow, that's why I just, we
(30:42):
gotta keep on stout and hopin tothe civilians that we see every
day and program the don't shoot,gun, shoot and lead the way.
So, so Tommy, um, let's talkabout your trip to DC just
briefly.
I got to know you through myfriend, uh, my good old partner
at Target, uh, Michelle Hanson,who's just a great person and
(31:03):
she's an activist and getsinvolved in stuff.
And she told me about you andshe said that you guys took a
trip to DC.
And, and did some, you visited abunch of people there and, and
tell me about what that was allabout.
Man, so, yeah, I was, uh, well,Mom is in Manhattan, man.
Thank you to Mom in Manhattan.
And every town is like theumbrella they're under.
Every town, like, they, they inevery town talk about gun
(31:25):
violence.
So Mom, you know, so God, if I,to a national conference, our
first business trip, man.
Um, you know, these guys, Ican't even talk about the
hospitality that they reallyshowed me not knowing anybody
from there.
Nobody else is from Minnesotabesides don't you go and shoot
and a couple volunteers on mom'sa man that's from Minnesota.
But the only organization atthis nationwide conference It
(31:50):
was just, it was, it was, it wasawesome, man.
Like they, the hospitality, theypaid for me plus one, uh, for a
fully full trip, you know,flight, hotel, food while you're
there, breakfast, lunch, anddinner every day, um, it was, we
met, I mean, we got to be in thesame building as president
Biden.
Um, the, the event is calledGSU, uh, Gun Sense University.
(32:12):
So it's a lot of, uh, violentprevention, um, uh,
organizations throughout theUnited States that are just in
the same fight to end gunviolence.
So it was awesome to networkwith so many different people
from all over the world.
Um, it was good to see, like,being around, uh, other
survivors of gun violence andjust hearing their testimonies
(32:32):
and what they've been doing withtheir, uh, trauma, you know, and
it's It was just great to behere.
It was like something, you know,when I said, I'll tell me, you
know, you ain't the first personI said, you're a good speaker,
but they're like, tell me, youknow, are you planning on
running some time?
But I believe Washington DC iswhere the most powerful people
(32:53):
in the United States live at.
So if you see yourself being aseparate, you know, uh, whatever
it is, you gotta, you gotta goto D.
C.
and leave with that, with thatatmosphere of life.
So it was good to go to theCapitol, the U.
S.
Capitol and see the offices andtalk to, um, you know, the, the
representative of Minnesota andthings like that.
And it was, it was really great.
(33:14):
Cool.
I think it was teaching me morethan I thought, for sure.
Well, I am inspired.
You are doing the Lord's work.
I just want to say thank you somuch, Tommy.
It's it is.
It's amazing work you're doing.
It's remarkable.
You're a pretty inspiring guyand I love your attitude.
I love that you're out making adifference.
This is what this show is allabout.
Trying to find people that aremaking a difference.
(33:34):
We're trying to highlight them,spread them around, and get this
kind of stuff in front of morepeople.
Thank you.
Man, it's a privilege to be onthe show, man.
man, you guys.
You guys are using your platformto spread my platform, so that's
all I can ask of all.
Well, with that, uh, Tommy, weneed more Tommies in the world,
(33:55):
so thank you for all you'redoing and off we go.
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