October 25, 2023 • 27 mins
JBMV Discussion w/ Raymond Lambert, of Chicago, IL. Documentary filmmaker of the new film PUNCH 9 for Harold Washington. Screening November 2, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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(00:11):
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
I am Joseph Simmons,
the host and also author of the new book,
Just Buy My Vote,
African American voting rights and the Chicago Condition.
Well,
I feel like I hit a home run today.
Mr Raymond Lambert is a social entrepreneur,
a published author and a filmmaker,
founder of all jokes aside
(00:32):
comedy clubs and so much more.
Mr Raymond Lambert.
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
Thank you for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
Absolutely.
Uh I'd like to jump right into this if we could if that's ok with you.
Absolutely.
Please tell us,
sir,
who you are and how you got there.
Ok.
Uh My name is Raymond Lambert and I am a producer on the new documentary Punch Nine for Harold Washington,
(00:59):
um which tells the story.
I'm sure we're gonna be talking about.
I have been in documentary filmmaking for about 12 years now.
Um Sort of just stumbled into it and uh one film led to another to another and this is the latest,
the latest project which uh uh as we'll probably talk a little bit more.
I,
I didn't want to do it.
(01:19):
But anyway,
I,
at the end of the show,
I'm sure we'll get to why I thought it was important.
But anyway,
so II,
I uh I,
I'm a filmmaker and uh yeah,
this is my,
I think,
fifth documentary film.
How did you get into filmmaking?
So,
I,
I was in the comedy stand up comedy business for about a decade.
(01:40):
And after that,
someone asked me if I would be willing to tell that story.
And I had no idea,
I knew nothing about documentary filmmaking.
And I thought,
sure,
I think it was a,
it was an interesting story.
I didn't know it would make a great documentary.
Um And I went on this journey to make that story.
(02:00):
They said,
oh,
it will only take a year,
it took three years to make it.
And that was called Funny Business um that uh aired on Showtime.
And from that documentary did well,
folks that would call me and say,
hey,
would you be interested in working on my documentary?
And so I joined a couple of other teams.
Uh Maya Angelou,
we did really well with that one.
(02:20):
Peabody for that one.
Um And then after this one,
after Maya,
I said,
I'm quitting because it takes too long,
pays too little.
It's uh it's just really,
really difficult.
And uh once I learned more about Harold Washington and what he meant to so many people and what I think he's still relevant to this day,
(02:41):
I thought,
well,
I'll make one more.
Le le let's do one more before I,
before I toss in the towel,
uh you mentioned Maya Angelou.
Um Well,
tell us a little bit about that project.
So that came about with this uh group called Media Process Group,
which is based here in Chicago,
Bob Hercules and Keith Walker.
(03:02):
And they um told the first,
that was the first documentary ever about her life.
She didn't want to do it.
She was reluctant.
She's like,
look,
I wrote,
I don't know,
100 books there,
there's enough about me.
Why do I wanna do this?
And the idea was to convince her that if it's not on video,
it's really hard these days for people to,
(03:25):
to get the story and it's really important,
not just for you,
but for future generations to celebrate all the work that you have done.
So I joined that team um in the middle of it and actually she passed during the making.
So she never got to see the,
the actual film but,
but all the raw footage and material.
So,
so,
(03:45):
so she was done with her part of it.
But um so I got to know her through that process,
which was pretty,
pretty amazing,
interesting,
very interesting uh shift gears just a little bit.
Uh Tell us about the Punch 9 for Harold Washington.
So this came about a gentleman.
The director's name is Joe Winston from Chicago.
(04:06):
I'm not from Chicago.
I moved to Chicago in the early nineties.
So Harold was,
I wasn't here during that period of time.
Um And Joe had an interest in Harold because he went to,
uh he went to Kenwood Academy and in,
in the same neighborhood that Harold's,
they lived actually and he covered Harold as a student at Kenwood.
(04:28):
He didn't have to do an interview of Harold while he was in office.
And he was in a conversation just flippantly with someone who was saying how um difficult and how,
what a shame,
the things that Obama was going through with the Republican Party.
And Joe just flippantly said,
well,
don't you remember Harold Washington?
(04:49):
And the people were like,
no,
we don't.
So he says,
well,
this is not,
this is the same playbook that they used against him and this is not new.
He said,
well,
let me find the documentary and I'll find it and then you can watch it and learn more about him.
And when he went to search for that documentary,
he couldn't find it.
(05:10):
So he's like,
and he's a filmmaker by training,
um he was like,
I gotta make this film.
And then that's when he,
one of the first calls he made was to me to see if I was interested in producing with him on this project.
OK.
And what,
what uh I,
I understand,
I mean,
it caught my attention because you're gonna be here at UNLV.
(05:30):
Uh Tell us a little bit more about that project.
So um Harold in the eighties in the early eighties when he decided to run um for mayor of Chicago,
it was a,
it was considered a pivotal moment in American po uh American politics.
Um not just for Chicago because the idea was that if you could get a black man elected mayor in a city like Chicago,
(05:56):
which by the way,
people like Martin Luther King said it was the most racist segregated city he had been in,
in his life.
And that includes Mississippi,
Alabama and Georgia.
The idea that a little over a decade later from King's time in Chicago that you could actually elect a black man as mayor was just unfathomable.
(06:19):
I it was,
it was just like,
that's impossible.
Nobody's taking it serious.
Um But he was able to uh garner this coalition uh of folks that represented the city.
And for once,
give them the confidence that maybe we can be mayor of this city.
(06:39):
And um he was the right man at the right time um for the job and,
and with that became um Jesse Jackson says it's in the movie um at the time he was elected,
he was the most popular black,
elected,
elected official in the in America.
So it was much bigger than the city of Chicago.
(07:00):
It was,
it was actually um an international story the way it was covered and people recognize we've,
we've screened for folks all over the country.
As a matter of fact,
a couple of weeks ago,
some folks from London screened it for,
uh,
uh,
a possible screening over there sometime we,
we expect sometime next spring and they go,
(07:21):
we remember this story and I'm like,
what?
But,
but,
but that's how,
that's how extensive it was covered.
So that's why ultimately,
I said I gotta be a part of this cause this,
this is uh this is important and we're facing many of those same issues again.
Nice.
Yeah,
absolutely.
I know that um uh many of us that,
(07:42):
you know,
study that period of time,
we kind of romanticize about that movement in Chicago and how it came about.
Uh question I have for you is,
is,
you know,
you're in Chicago now,
is that very different from the coalition that Mayor Brandon Johnson brought about?
It's very,
very similar.
It,
it's very,
it's very progressive,
(08:04):
it's very diverse.
Um I think,
I think Harold makes those kinds of things possible,
you know what I mean?
So,
so,
so his shadow was still and I say deservingly.
So it,
it's still there for people to say,
well,
remember when we all came together and we sat around the table and,
and nobody's gonna win everything.
(08:25):
But we,
we sort of came together to make the city a better place.
And I think some of that is still carried over into,
I think probably Lori Lightfoot's uh campaign,
I think,
and carried over to Brandon,
I think even more so for Brandon,
this is Raymond Lambert talking,
um because he's born and raised in Chicago.
I think there's something to be said about that.
(08:48):
Um um That idea that,
you know,
th this is,
uh this is uh a Chicagoan,
as they say.
Um Absolutely.
And he's got a lot of work to do.
Oh,
yeah,
he's got,
I don't,
it's a,
you know,
it's a difficult job and it's a difficult time um to do it.
(09:10):
I think,
um,
one of the things I think is overlooked about Harold is how prepared he was for that job.
And I mean,
he was 60 years old when he was and 60 was 60 in 1983.
You know what I mean?
It wasn't the new 40 or all that stuff.
He was a,
he was a very experienced um uh person,
(09:31):
not to mention how intelligent and smart he was,
but he had,
he had been in the game for,
for years.
Um Not to mention he grew up in the machine with his father.
So I,
I think,
I think that's,
I think often that's under underappreciated about how much work is necessary to be ready for some,
some uh an opportunity like that.
(09:52):
So,
but yeah,
he's got a big job.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And,
and my study about Harold was that,
you know,
it wasn't the first time he had run.
And uh you know,
the second time around,
he said to,
to the citizens that were supporters.
He said,
hey,
you all get out in front and show me what you got before,
before I jump on this bandwagon here,
(10:14):
right.
That story.
It's so,
it's so,
um we only are limited to 100 minutes.
And in Hollywood and said,
they think it's too long.
So we couldn't even get into the 1977 election,
which we really wanted to because most people don't know,
he ran in 77.
They,
they don't have a clue.
Um And I think that's an important part.
What you just said is this is why he wanted to do it the way he did it and insisted on it.
(10:40):
Oh,
yeah,
I mean,
and Harold,
of course,
he maintains that,
you know,
the,
the,
the mayor's the people's mayor,
you know,
because he could walk into the room and light people up.
He was a jolly fellow,
right?
Which may have contributed to uh what happened in the end.
We don't,
I don't know if you talk at all about his death or what happened or any of that in the documentary.
(11:03):
We do,
we,
we,
we take it head on because um we know that,
you know,
if you know who you talk to and including me going into making this film,
if somebody were to say,
just drop dead at his desk one day,
my my mind immediately goes to,
that sounds a little shaky and we,
and we have reason to believe that it's not,
(11:24):
it's not like that would be unusual.
Um,
and I'm not being cynical,
I'm just saying,
you know,
these things happen and,
and this is a person who's,
you know,
taking power from a group of folks who've been running this thing for like a half century or more.
Um,
but I don't,
I don't,
(11:44):
I don't think so but I,
but I,
but I think,
I think um i it's a little more complicated than that and,
and again,
we deal with it though,
we definitely go head on and deal with it.
Doctors are in their dot uh his friends and constituents,
I mean,
his friends and some of his um his uh staff members contrib,
(12:06):
you know,
contributed to it.
And um so,
so we deal with it for sure.
Nice.
Nice.
Well,
I'm definitely looking forward to uh witnessing that,
that documentary when it comes here to UN LV.
I'm really looking forward to that.
Good because we,
we really do,
we do touch on that.
OK.
Good.
Uh Explain the all jokes aside,
(12:26):
collective.
So the collective is,
I started out,
I've had this weird roller coaster of a career.
I call it,
well,
actually not a career.
I call it a series of jobs.
So I,
I was in investments.
Uh at one point when I first moved to Chicago,
I came here for,
to work in the investment community.
My boss was Chris Gardner,
(12:47):
the guy who plays,
uh Will Smith played him in the movie,
The Pursuit of Happyness.
And one day I,
I had met a group of comedians that,
um had befriended them and started to hang out with them and go to shows with them.
And one day they asked me,
would I be interested in helping them promote a show while I'm sales and marketing was my background.
I thought,
why not?
(13:07):
You know,
I'll help you out.
I'm happy to do that when I turned into a full time gig where I had to quit my day job.
I call it join in the circus.
And I went out on the road and started promoting,
end up opening clubs and um did that for about a decade.
And at that time,
we always had a social conscience about how can we leverage entertainment to affect social change.
(13:32):
And the collective is actually sort of picking the ball back up again saying,
ok,
we need this more than we've ever needed it before.
Given these crazy times we're living in right now.
So why don't we re um look at this and,
and come together once again to uh address some of these entrenched problems we find ourselves in or entrenched challenges,
(13:55):
I should say.
So that's what the collective is.
And then so tell us,
you know,
I mean,
a little bit more about how you get into that through the collective.
So,
so we,
and it's really,
we really are just kicking it off now.
So I actually had a good fortune of going to the Dave Chappelle show.
What day was this Friday?
Several comedians that I had started with,
(14:16):
I had booked Dave when he was 18 years old.
So it was like,
you know,
how long ago that was.
Um,
um,
so,
so we're just starting to have conversations around.
What is this gonna look like?
And how can you,
how can we best leverage uh all of our,
given our time,
given our uh uh uh ability to participate and we,
so it's really like a start up right now.
(14:38):
So there is a website all joke society collective dot co dot org and you can sort of follow what we're up to,
but 2024 is gonna be the big year where we launch a series of activities around.
Um,
the idea of using comedy as a,
a vehicle for change.
Nice.
Yeah.
And comedy is something that everybody is kinda open to,
(14:59):
right?
For sure.
It's,
I like to say way of bringing everybody in next to preachers.
I think com comedians are where people look to for,
you know,
unvarnished truth.
Um You know,
that's what they,
they,
they believe in and because they know it,
they coming at them truthfully and honestly,
uh a few of the few folks left that folks really believe in and and trust in their words.
(15:24):
So we,
we,
we wanna use that for,
for good.
Nice.
You mentioned the websites for the collective.
Uh What about the uh the documentary?
It's Punch 9 movie dot com.
And that's where you can see where we're screening.
And we've been really selective.
We're in conversations right now with a few uh major distributors.
(15:47):
We think it'll be released around June,
widely released around June of 2024.
Um But we're selectively doing screenings throughout the country and we've been um from east to west,
we screened,
we've developed a wonderful relationship organically,
excuse me,
with mayors.
(16:09):
So especially um there's been a prominent number of black mayors.
We've been uh uh let's see,
where have we been?
44 largest cities are now run by black mayors,
which is historical,
right?
Um But we've also been other cities like Montgomery and uh Austin Texas.
And um we participated in the US conference of mayors.
(16:33):
They wanna be helpful and that's mayors of all stripes.
Um So,
so we,
we think it's gonna be um we think it's gonna be a really special time in 2024 to get the word out just ahead of this important election that we have coming up.
Oh boy,
you had to mention that,
right?
How,
how are I would imagine you're being received?
(16:55):
Well,
in Chicago.
Yes,
we are.
And that was the scary part for us because um everybody has a Harold Washington story.
He was that type of person and um everybody has a way in which they think the story should be told,
which is why I think it took 30 years to get it made.
(17:15):
Um Because you just couldn't,
you know,
the right,
right group of people and being able to navigate all those land mines uh with his story um is difficult and we were able to do that fortunately.
Um And I think a lot of that has to do with like I'm not from Chicago.
So I'm gonna tell the story where I see it.
(17:36):
Um Joe is of course,
but um it is,
it is,
we,
we've got nothing but a s which which we didn't,
we didn't,
we were,
we were concerned initially,
but we've got great voices in the film that were there,
the people who were actually there close to him.
So it's hard to argue with uh with those folks.
(17:56):
But Harold was one of those people who everybody thinks he's their best friend,
he's that person,
you know what I mean?
Uh So they,
they,
they have their way in which we should tell it and,
and then you bump into,
you have to say to people,
well,
you have to,
the movie has to be sold,
you can't make it for free and it ultimately has to find a home.
(18:19):
So you have to give some concessions to um the Hollywood powers that be to a certain extent.
But we don't feel like we had to make many sacrifices at all.
Or the only thing we had to do is cut it down to 100 minutes,
which is like,
virgin imposs.
Uh,
I understand.
Well,
it's a difficult subject to,
from the,
(18:40):
from the sense that,
you know,
Chicago is a little bit different and I'm from Chicago and,
yeah,
born and raised.
And,
um,
what's interesting is,
is that,
you know,
when people from outside of Chicago think,
ok,
it's a democratic stronghold,
you know,
and,
and it really is more complicated than that.
More complicated.
Yeah,
even though Harold,
(19:00):
of course,
came up in the democratic machine.
So the beauty about him was,
is that he played the game,
he knew how to play the game.
Absolutely.
Did.
He was a master at it.
Um,
that's a,
and I've become friends actually with,
um,
Jeff Epton, who's Bernie Epton's son and,
um,
you know,
(19:20):
and,
and when I think,
yeah,
I,
I mean,
there are some democrats that are as conservative as Bernie Epton was a Republican and we saw that in this particular election you saw which way that could go.
Um So,
yeah,
it's,
it's Democratic,
but it's way more complicated than that.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Where did you say you're from?
(19:41):
Uh Wilmington,
Delaware.
Nice.
Yeah.
So I had a,
well,
I got East Coast disposition about it.
I understand.
I understand Delaware is where the president's from.
I'm from the same city.
But two different sides of town.
Oh,
interesting.
Interesting.
You got anything you want to share with us on that one?
(20:02):
Well,
he's from,
you know,
if you think about Chicago he would be from,
uh Lincoln Park and I'm from,
um,
I don't know,
west side Austin somewhere.
Ok.
You see the difference.
It's,
it's,
I know the difference.
Yes,
sir.
So it's,
it's a little bit of a difference in the location.
Same city,
(20:22):
different location.
Ok.
All right.
Very good.
Well,
with,
uh,
the,
what time we have left Raymond Lambert,
what's one piece of advice you'd offer to your 20 year old self,
I'd say,
and I'm actually working on a book actually about my experiences and one of them,
(20:44):
um,
the idea of listening and,
and listening more than I'm than you're talking,
um embrace,
um,
I think patience,
the idea that it's gonna take a while.
You know,
I,
I tell the story about a gentleman that came to speak to our class and told us when we were graduating,
(21:06):
I went to Morehouse College in Atlanta.
And he said to us,
it takes 10 years to be good at something.
When you,
once you find what that thing is,
you want to be good at,
it takes 10 years and it takes 20 years to be great at it.
And I can remember thinking what we already good and what we do,
we're gonna be great in about two or three years.
(21:28):
What are you talking about?
And,
and it's very true.
So it's like be patient.
Um,
and take your time.
It's gonna get there.
Just keep working and,
and,
and listen.
Um,
and that's,
that's a constant conversation I have with my daughters who I have a 17 and a 20 year old and,
and that's,
that's the big gratulation.
(21:49):
Thank you is just be patient.
Don't,
you don't need to know by tomorrow.
Just be patient.
Listen and keep working.
Absolutely.
What was one of the first jobs you took out of college?
I started out with Coca Cola company in,
in the foods division which a lot of people say Coca Cola has foods.
It's like,
yes,
(22:09):
all the minute made products are,
are Coca Cola products.
And I was in sales uh for Coke right after,
right after undergrad,
which is a great way to learn and I was based in Omaha,
Nebraska.
So,
so you can imagine coming from Philadelphia area to Georgia then to the middle of the country in Nebraska.
(22:33):
It was,
it took some adjusting.
But it was,
it was great though because people are people and um I found with mutual respect and,
and uh and hard work and,
and listening as much as possible.
Um It all kind of worked out.
It was,
I had a great time in Omaha that,
that's how you got your start in marketing.
(22:53):
That's where I started.
I,
what was your next step?
So then I left.
Um So I left Coke to go back to grad school at University of Virginia to get an MBA in uh marketing and general management.
Um and I got there and then I got interested in finance and that's when I moved to New York to do that.
(23:15):
Got you.
Yeah.
Uh and,
and in your investments,
you mentioned that I was in uh investment banking,
spent about five years including Chris and that's when Chris recruited me to Chicago um for his firm,
which was just starting up at that time.
So I was right there at the ground floor.
I don't know if I made the right decision or not,
if I should have stuck with him once that join the circus.
(23:39):
But you know,
when you're young,
you think um and I'm glad I made the right decision,
I think for sure.
But you,
you,
you think you got all the time in the world.
Um And uh but it worked out and you're comfortable in Chicago,
you see any other cities in your future?
What do you think?
I think it's hard to beat this town.
(24:00):
You know,
I always think like,
man,
maybe I'll go back east,
you know,
at some point cause I mean,
literally in,
in this business,
New York and L A is where a lot is getting done.
Uh or the majority of this business happens in those two cities.
Atlanta is coming up really strong behind it.
But I think Chicago is still very busy.
Very,
um,
very,
(24:20):
very strong and getting stronger in,
in the arts.
Um,
so it's hard to beat it.
I,
I just,
people complain about the weather.
Um,
but at this point I'm used to it so it's not like it's that big a deal,
you know?
But,
um,
just suck it up.
Huh?
I do.
So,
but I get it because I know when I visit Vegas it's gonna be sunny every day.
(24:41):
I'm thinking,
man,
it might be something to this sunny every day,
you know.
But anyway,
we'll see,
I can't foresee it in the f in the near future.
Anyway,
it's,
it's,
I always have something going on here in this town.
It's just my adopted hometown.
Understood.
Well,
I,
I'm super excited about uh seeing your documentary Punch Nine for Harold Washington and uh wish you the,
(25:05):
the greatest success on.
Thank you so much.
We're,
we're really excited and we think in this time and I'll just leave it at this with you.
The idea that um every generation has its responsibility for this democracy and we're seeing that i it's like it,
it's not a given.
I i it's,
it's a constant battle.
(25:26):
Um It's a constant,
it requires constant effort and dedication.
It's not,
it's not just something that just is gonna happen and we think this film will stimulate some conversation around what that responsibility looks like.
That's what's the exciting part for me.
Yeah.
And that kinda,
uh,
cause everybody to think about what,
(25:46):
uh,
can be their role or responsibility.
Huh?
And we do,
we can't,
we can't, even with people like Harold Washington,
it's like you can't do everything,
you know what I mean?
It's one person,
it requires a coalition,
it requires all of us who believe in these democratic principles that we say we believe in to stand up and,
(26:06):
and demand that these things take place.
But that takes effort,
that takes time and,
and that takes work.
And um we all have a role to play.
Absolutely.
Well,
that's a perfect place to end.
This has been amazing for me,
Raymond Lambert.
Thank you so much and thank you for sharing with our listeners today.
Thank you so much.
And do I need to talk about where? UNLV
(26:29):
What is it?
Uh November the second.
Ok.
All right.
Go right.
No,
go right ahead.
Play November 2nd at UNLV,
Student Union Center.
Um The,
the event is up on Eventbrite,
uh November 2nd 6 p.m. walk ups if space allows,
but you can register for the event,
it's free.
Um So hopefully,
(26:49):
uh we can get some folks out there and,
and see this film.
Absolutely.
I'm registered.
I'll be there.
Great.
I'm looking forward to meeting you.
Likewise.
Thank you,
sir.
Thank you very much.
Well,
well,
we hope you enjoyed that episode of the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
We're looking forward to the next episodes.
(27:10):
You can find the book at Just Buy My Vote dot com and feel free to follow us at Just Buy My Vote podcast dot com for notification on upcoming podcasts and events.
We thank you for the privilege of your time and until next time Just Buy My Vote.
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
I am Joseph Simmons,
the host and also author of the new book,
Just Buy My Vote,
African American voting rights and the Chicago Condition.
Well,
I feel like I hit a home run today.
Mr Raymond Lambert is a social entrepreneur,
a published author and a filmmaker,
founder of all jokes aside
(00:32):
comedy clubs and so much more.
Mr Raymond Lambert.
Welcome to the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
Thank you for having me.
I'm excited to be here.
Absolutely.
Uh I'd like to jump right into this if we could if that's ok with you.
Absolutely.
Please tell us,
sir,
who you are and how you got there.
Ok.
Uh My name is Raymond Lambert and I am a producer on the new documentary Punch Nine for Harold Washington,
(00:59):
um which tells the story.
I'm sure we're gonna be talking about.
I have been in documentary filmmaking for about 12 years now.
Um Sort of just stumbled into it and uh one film led to another to another and this is the latest,
the latest project which uh uh as we'll probably talk a little bit more.
I,
I didn't want to do it.
(01:19):
But anyway,
I,
at the end of the show,
I'm sure we'll get to why I thought it was important.
But anyway,
so II,
I uh I,
I'm a filmmaker and uh yeah,
this is my,
I think,
fifth documentary film.
How did you get into filmmaking?
So,
I,
I was in the comedy stand up comedy business for about a decade.
(01:40):
And after that,
someone asked me if I would be willing to tell that story.
And I had no idea,
I knew nothing about documentary filmmaking.
And I thought,
sure,
I think it was a,
it was an interesting story.
I didn't know it would make a great documentary.
Um And I went on this journey to make that story.
(02:00):
They said,
oh,
it will only take a year,
it took three years to make it.
And that was called Funny Business um that uh aired on Showtime.
And from that documentary did well,
folks that would call me and say,
hey,
would you be interested in working on my documentary?
And so I joined a couple of other teams.
Uh Maya Angelou,
we did really well with that one.
(02:20):
Peabody for that one.
Um And then after this one,
after Maya,
I said,
I'm quitting because it takes too long,
pays too little.
It's uh it's just really,
really difficult.
And uh once I learned more about Harold Washington and what he meant to so many people and what I think he's still relevant to this day,
(02:41):
I thought,
well,
I'll make one more.
Le le let's do one more before I,
before I toss in the towel,
uh you mentioned Maya Angelou.
Um Well,
tell us a little bit about that project.
So that came about with this uh group called Media Process Group,
which is based here in Chicago,
Bob Hercules and Keith Walker.
(03:02):
And they um told the first,
that was the first documentary ever about her life.
She didn't want to do it.
She was reluctant.
She's like,
look,
I wrote,
I don't know,
100 books there,
there's enough about me.
Why do I wanna do this?
And the idea was to convince her that if it's not on video,
it's really hard these days for people to,
(03:25):
to get the story and it's really important,
not just for you,
but for future generations to celebrate all the work that you have done.
So I joined that team um in the middle of it and actually she passed during the making.
So she never got to see the,
the actual film but,
but all the raw footage and material.
So,
so,
(03:45):
so she was done with her part of it.
But um so I got to know her through that process,
which was pretty,
pretty amazing,
interesting,
very interesting uh shift gears just a little bit.
Uh Tell us about the Punch 9 for Harold Washington.
So this came about a gentleman.
The director's name is Joe Winston from Chicago.
(04:06):
I'm not from Chicago.
I moved to Chicago in the early nineties.
So Harold was,
I wasn't here during that period of time.
Um And Joe had an interest in Harold because he went to,
uh he went to Kenwood Academy and in,
in the same neighborhood that Harold's,
they lived actually and he covered Harold as a student at Kenwood.
(04:28):
He didn't have to do an interview of Harold while he was in office.
And he was in a conversation just flippantly with someone who was saying how um difficult and how,
what a shame,
the things that Obama was going through with the Republican Party.
And Joe just flippantly said,
well,
don't you remember Harold Washington?
(04:49):
And the people were like,
no,
we don't.
So he says,
well,
this is not,
this is the same playbook that they used against him and this is not new.
He said,
well,
let me find the documentary and I'll find it and then you can watch it and learn more about him.
And when he went to search for that documentary,
he couldn't find it.
(05:10):
So he's like,
and he's a filmmaker by training,
um he was like,
I gotta make this film.
And then that's when he,
one of the first calls he made was to me to see if I was interested in producing with him on this project.
OK.
And what,
what uh I,
I understand,
I mean,
it caught my attention because you're gonna be here at UNLV.
(05:30):
Uh Tell us a little bit more about that project.
So um Harold in the eighties in the early eighties when he decided to run um for mayor of Chicago,
it was a,
it was considered a pivotal moment in American po uh American politics.
Um not just for Chicago because the idea was that if you could get a black man elected mayor in a city like Chicago,
(05:56):
which by the way,
people like Martin Luther King said it was the most racist segregated city he had been in,
in his life.
And that includes Mississippi,
Alabama and Georgia.
The idea that a little over a decade later from King's time in Chicago that you could actually elect a black man as mayor was just unfathomable.
(06:19):
I it was,
it was just like,
that's impossible.
Nobody's taking it serious.
Um But he was able to uh garner this coalition uh of folks that represented the city.
And for once,
give them the confidence that maybe we can be mayor of this city.
(06:39):
And um he was the right man at the right time um for the job and,
and with that became um Jesse Jackson says it's in the movie um at the time he was elected,
he was the most popular black,
elected,
elected official in the in America.
So it was much bigger than the city of Chicago.
(07:00):
It was,
it was actually um an international story the way it was covered and people recognize we've,
we've screened for folks all over the country.
As a matter of fact,
a couple of weeks ago,
some folks from London screened it for,
uh,
uh,
a possible screening over there sometime we,
we expect sometime next spring and they go,
(07:21):
we remember this story and I'm like,
what?
But,
but,
but that's how,
that's how extensive it was covered.
So that's why ultimately,
I said I gotta be a part of this cause this,
this is uh this is important and we're facing many of those same issues again.
Nice.
Yeah,
absolutely.
I know that um uh many of us that,
(07:42):
you know,
study that period of time,
we kind of romanticize about that movement in Chicago and how it came about.
Uh question I have for you is,
is,
you know,
you're in Chicago now,
is that very different from the coalition that Mayor Brandon Johnson brought about?
It's very,
very similar.
It,
it's very,
it's very progressive,
(08:04):
it's very diverse.
Um I think,
I think Harold makes those kinds of things possible,
you know what I mean?
So,
so,
so his shadow was still and I say deservingly.
So it,
it's still there for people to say,
well,
remember when we all came together and we sat around the table and,
and nobody's gonna win everything.
(08:25):
But we,
we sort of came together to make the city a better place.
And I think some of that is still carried over into,
I think probably Lori Lightfoot's uh campaign,
I think,
and carried over to Brandon,
I think even more so for Brandon,
this is Raymond Lambert talking,
um because he's born and raised in Chicago.
I think there's something to be said about that.
(08:48):
Um um That idea that,
you know,
th this is,
uh this is uh a Chicagoan,
as they say.
Um Absolutely.
And he's got a lot of work to do.
Oh,
yeah,
he's got,
I don't,
it's a,
you know,
it's a difficult job and it's a difficult time um to do it.
(09:10):
I think,
um,
one of the things I think is overlooked about Harold is how prepared he was for that job.
And I mean,
he was 60 years old when he was and 60 was 60 in 1983.
You know what I mean?
It wasn't the new 40 or all that stuff.
He was a,
he was a very experienced um uh person,
(09:31):
not to mention how intelligent and smart he was,
but he had,
he had been in the game for,
for years.
Um Not to mention he grew up in the machine with his father.
So I,
I think,
I think that's,
I think often that's under underappreciated about how much work is necessary to be ready for some,
some uh an opportunity like that.
(09:52):
So,
but yeah,
he's got a big job.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And,
and my study about Harold was that,
you know,
it wasn't the first time he had run.
And uh you know,
the second time around,
he said to,
to the citizens that were supporters.
He said,
hey,
you all get out in front and show me what you got before,
before I jump on this bandwagon here,
(10:14):
right.
That story.
It's so,
it's so,
um we only are limited to 100 minutes.
And in Hollywood and said,
they think it's too long.
So we couldn't even get into the 1977 election,
which we really wanted to because most people don't know,
he ran in 77.
They,
they don't have a clue.
Um And I think that's an important part.
What you just said is this is why he wanted to do it the way he did it and insisted on it.
(10:40):
Oh,
yeah,
I mean,
and Harold,
of course,
he maintains that,
you know,
the,
the,
the mayor's the people's mayor,
you know,
because he could walk into the room and light people up.
He was a jolly fellow,
right?
Which may have contributed to uh what happened in the end.
We don't,
I don't know if you talk at all about his death or what happened or any of that in the documentary.
(11:03):
We do,
we,
we,
we take it head on because um we know that,
you know,
if you know who you talk to and including me going into making this film,
if somebody were to say,
just drop dead at his desk one day,
my my mind immediately goes to,
that sounds a little shaky and we,
and we have reason to believe that it's not,
(11:24):
it's not like that would be unusual.
Um,
and I'm not being cynical,
I'm just saying,
you know,
these things happen and,
and this is a person who's,
you know,
taking power from a group of folks who've been running this thing for like a half century or more.
Um,
but I don't,
I don't,
(11:44):
I don't think so but I,
but I,
but I think,
I think um i it's a little more complicated than that and,
and again,
we deal with it though,
we definitely go head on and deal with it.
Doctors are in their dot uh his friends and constituents,
I mean,
his friends and some of his um his uh staff members contrib,
(12:06):
you know,
contributed to it.
And um so,
so we deal with it for sure.
Nice.
Nice.
Well,
I'm definitely looking forward to uh witnessing that,
that documentary when it comes here to UN LV.
I'm really looking forward to that.
Good because we,
we really do,
we do touch on that.
OK.
Good.
Uh Explain the all jokes aside,
(12:26):
collective.
So the collective is,
I started out,
I've had this weird roller coaster of a career.
I call it,
well,
actually not a career.
I call it a series of jobs.
So I,
I was in investments.
Uh at one point when I first moved to Chicago,
I came here for,
to work in the investment community.
My boss was Chris Gardner,
(12:47):
the guy who plays,
uh Will Smith played him in the movie,
The Pursuit of Happyness.
And one day I,
I had met a group of comedians that,
um had befriended them and started to hang out with them and go to shows with them.
And one day they asked me,
would I be interested in helping them promote a show while I'm sales and marketing was my background.
I thought,
why not?
(13:07):
You know,
I'll help you out.
I'm happy to do that when I turned into a full time gig where I had to quit my day job.
I call it join in the circus.
And I went out on the road and started promoting,
end up opening clubs and um did that for about a decade.
And at that time,
we always had a social conscience about how can we leverage entertainment to affect social change.
(13:32):
And the collective is actually sort of picking the ball back up again saying,
ok,
we need this more than we've ever needed it before.
Given these crazy times we're living in right now.
So why don't we re um look at this and,
and come together once again to uh address some of these entrenched problems we find ourselves in or entrenched challenges,
(13:55):
I should say.
So that's what the collective is.
And then so tell us,
you know,
I mean,
a little bit more about how you get into that through the collective.
So,
so we,
and it's really,
we really are just kicking it off now.
So I actually had a good fortune of going to the Dave Chappelle show.
What day was this Friday?
Several comedians that I had started with,
(14:16):
I had booked Dave when he was 18 years old.
So it was like,
you know,
how long ago that was.
Um,
um,
so,
so we're just starting to have conversations around.
What is this gonna look like?
And how can you,
how can we best leverage uh all of our,
given our time,
given our uh uh uh ability to participate and we,
so it's really like a start up right now.
(14:38):
So there is a website all joke society collective dot co dot org and you can sort of follow what we're up to,
but 2024 is gonna be the big year where we launch a series of activities around.
Um,
the idea of using comedy as a,
a vehicle for change.
Nice.
Yeah.
And comedy is something that everybody is kinda open to,
(14:59):
right?
For sure.
It's,
I like to say way of bringing everybody in next to preachers.
I think com comedians are where people look to for,
you know,
unvarnished truth.
Um You know,
that's what they,
they,
they believe in and because they know it,
they coming at them truthfully and honestly,
uh a few of the few folks left that folks really believe in and and trust in their words.
(15:24):
So we,
we,
we wanna use that for,
for good.
Nice.
You mentioned the websites for the collective.
Uh What about the uh the documentary?
It's Punch 9 movie dot com.
And that's where you can see where we're screening.
And we've been really selective.
We're in conversations right now with a few uh major distributors.
(15:47):
We think it'll be released around June,
widely released around June of 2024.
Um But we're selectively doing screenings throughout the country and we've been um from east to west,
we screened,
we've developed a wonderful relationship organically,
excuse me,
with mayors.
(16:09):
So especially um there's been a prominent number of black mayors.
We've been uh uh let's see,
where have we been?
44 largest cities are now run by black mayors,
which is historical,
right?
Um But we've also been other cities like Montgomery and uh Austin Texas.
And um we participated in the US conference of mayors.
(16:33):
They wanna be helpful and that's mayors of all stripes.
Um So,
so we,
we think it's gonna be um we think it's gonna be a really special time in 2024 to get the word out just ahead of this important election that we have coming up.
Oh boy,
you had to mention that,
right?
How,
how are I would imagine you're being received?
(16:55):
Well,
in Chicago.
Yes,
we are.
And that was the scary part for us because um everybody has a Harold Washington story.
He was that type of person and um everybody has a way in which they think the story should be told,
which is why I think it took 30 years to get it made.
(17:15):
Um Because you just couldn't,
you know,
the right,
right group of people and being able to navigate all those land mines uh with his story um is difficult and we were able to do that fortunately.
Um And I think a lot of that has to do with like I'm not from Chicago.
So I'm gonna tell the story where I see it.
(17:36):
Um Joe is of course,
but um it is,
it is,
we,
we've got nothing but a s which which we didn't,
we didn't,
we were,
we were concerned initially,
but we've got great voices in the film that were there,
the people who were actually there close to him.
So it's hard to argue with uh with those folks.
(17:56):
But Harold was one of those people who everybody thinks he's their best friend,
he's that person,
you know what I mean?
Uh So they,
they,
they have their way in which we should tell it and,
and then you bump into,
you have to say to people,
well,
you have to,
the movie has to be sold,
you can't make it for free and it ultimately has to find a home.
(18:19):
So you have to give some concessions to um the Hollywood powers that be to a certain extent.
But we don't feel like we had to make many sacrifices at all.
Or the only thing we had to do is cut it down to 100 minutes,
which is like,
virgin imposs.
Uh,
I understand.
Well,
it's a difficult subject to,
from the,
(18:40):
from the sense that,
you know,
Chicago is a little bit different and I'm from Chicago and,
yeah,
born and raised.
And,
um,
what's interesting is,
is that,
you know,
when people from outside of Chicago think,
ok,
it's a democratic stronghold,
you know,
and,
and it really is more complicated than that.
More complicated.
Yeah,
even though Harold,
(19:00):
of course,
came up in the democratic machine.
So the beauty about him was,
is that he played the game,
he knew how to play the game.
Absolutely.
Did.
He was a master at it.
Um,
that's a,
and I've become friends actually with,
um,
Jeff Epton, who's Bernie Epton's son and,
um,
you know,
(19:20):
and,
and when I think,
yeah,
I,
I mean,
there are some democrats that are as conservative as Bernie Epton was a Republican and we saw that in this particular election you saw which way that could go.
Um So,
yeah,
it's,
it's Democratic,
but it's way more complicated than that.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Where did you say you're from?
(19:41):
Uh Wilmington,
Delaware.
Nice.
Yeah.
So I had a,
well,
I got East Coast disposition about it.
I understand.
I understand Delaware is where the president's from.
I'm from the same city.
But two different sides of town.
Oh,
interesting.
Interesting.
You got anything you want to share with us on that one?
(20:02):
Well,
he's from,
you know,
if you think about Chicago he would be from,
uh Lincoln Park and I'm from,
um,
I don't know,
west side Austin somewhere.
Ok.
You see the difference.
It's,
it's,
I know the difference.
Yes,
sir.
So it's,
it's a little bit of a difference in the location.
Same city,
(20:22):
different location.
Ok.
All right.
Very good.
Well,
with,
uh,
the,
what time we have left Raymond Lambert,
what's one piece of advice you'd offer to your 20 year old self,
I'd say,
and I'm actually working on a book actually about my experiences and one of them,
(20:44):
um,
the idea of listening and,
and listening more than I'm than you're talking,
um embrace,
um,
I think patience,
the idea that it's gonna take a while.
You know,
I,
I tell the story about a gentleman that came to speak to our class and told us when we were graduating,
(21:06):
I went to Morehouse College in Atlanta.
And he said to us,
it takes 10 years to be good at something.
When you,
once you find what that thing is,
you want to be good at,
it takes 10 years and it takes 20 years to be great at it.
And I can remember thinking what we already good and what we do,
we're gonna be great in about two or three years.
(21:28):
What are you talking about?
And,
and it's very true.
So it's like be patient.
Um,
and take your time.
It's gonna get there.
Just keep working and,
and,
and listen.
Um,
and that's,
that's a constant conversation I have with my daughters who I have a 17 and a 20 year old and,
and that's,
that's the big gratulation.
(21:49):
Thank you is just be patient.
Don't,
you don't need to know by tomorrow.
Just be patient.
Listen and keep working.
Absolutely.
What was one of the first jobs you took out of college?
I started out with Coca Cola company in,
in the foods division which a lot of people say Coca Cola has foods.
It's like,
yes,
(22:09):
all the minute made products are,
are Coca Cola products.
And I was in sales uh for Coke right after,
right after undergrad,
which is a great way to learn and I was based in Omaha,
Nebraska.
So,
so you can imagine coming from Philadelphia area to Georgia then to the middle of the country in Nebraska.
(22:33):
It was,
it took some adjusting.
But it was,
it was great though because people are people and um I found with mutual respect and,
and uh and hard work and,
and listening as much as possible.
Um It all kind of worked out.
It was,
I had a great time in Omaha that,
that's how you got your start in marketing.
(22:53):
That's where I started.
I,
what was your next step?
So then I left.
Um So I left Coke to go back to grad school at University of Virginia to get an MBA in uh marketing and general management.
Um and I got there and then I got interested in finance and that's when I moved to New York to do that.
(23:15):
Got you.
Yeah.
Uh and,
and in your investments,
you mentioned that I was in uh investment banking,
spent about five years including Chris and that's when Chris recruited me to Chicago um for his firm,
which was just starting up at that time.
So I was right there at the ground floor.
I don't know if I made the right decision or not,
if I should have stuck with him once that join the circus.
(23:39):
But you know,
when you're young,
you think um and I'm glad I made the right decision,
I think for sure.
But you,
you,
you think you got all the time in the world.
Um And uh but it worked out and you're comfortable in Chicago,
you see any other cities in your future?
What do you think?
I think it's hard to beat this town.
(24:00):
You know,
I always think like,
man,
maybe I'll go back east,
you know,
at some point cause I mean,
literally in,
in this business,
New York and L A is where a lot is getting done.
Uh or the majority of this business happens in those two cities.
Atlanta is coming up really strong behind it.
But I think Chicago is still very busy.
Very,
um,
very,
(24:20):
very strong and getting stronger in,
in the arts.
Um,
so it's hard to beat it.
I,
I just,
people complain about the weather.
Um,
but at this point I'm used to it so it's not like it's that big a deal,
you know?
But,
um,
just suck it up.
Huh?
I do.
So,
but I get it because I know when I visit Vegas it's gonna be sunny every day.
(24:41):
I'm thinking,
man,
it might be something to this sunny every day,
you know.
But anyway,
we'll see,
I can't foresee it in the f in the near future.
Anyway,
it's,
it's,
I always have something going on here in this town.
It's just my adopted hometown.
Understood.
Well,
I,
I'm super excited about uh seeing your documentary Punch Nine for Harold Washington and uh wish you the,
(25:05):
the greatest success on.
Thank you so much.
We're,
we're really excited and we think in this time and I'll just leave it at this with you.
The idea that um every generation has its responsibility for this democracy and we're seeing that i it's like it,
it's not a given.
I i it's,
it's a constant battle.
(25:26):
Um It's a constant,
it requires constant effort and dedication.
It's not,
it's not just something that just is gonna happen and we think this film will stimulate some conversation around what that responsibility looks like.
That's what's the exciting part for me.
Yeah.
And that kinda,
uh,
cause everybody to think about what,
(25:46):
uh,
can be their role or responsibility.
Huh?
And we do,
we can't,
we can't, even with people like Harold Washington,
it's like you can't do everything,
you know what I mean?
It's one person,
it requires a coalition,
it requires all of us who believe in these democratic principles that we say we believe in to stand up and,
(26:06):
and demand that these things take place.
But that takes effort,
that takes time and,
and that takes work.
And um we all have a role to play.
Absolutely.
Well,
that's a perfect place to end.
This has been amazing for me,
Raymond Lambert.
Thank you so much and thank you for sharing with our listeners today.
Thank you so much.
And do I need to talk about where? UNLV
(26:29):
What is it?
Uh November the second.
Ok.
All right.
Go right.
No,
go right ahead.
Play November 2nd at UNLV,
Student Union Center.
Um The,
the event is up on Eventbrite,
uh November 2nd 6 p.m. walk ups if space allows,
but you can register for the event,
it's free.
Um So hopefully,
(26:49):
uh we can get some folks out there and,
and see this film.
Absolutely.
I'm registered.
I'll be there.
Great.
I'm looking forward to meeting you.
Likewise.
Thank you,
sir.
Thank you very much.
Well,
well,
we hope you enjoyed that episode of the Just Buy My Vote podcast.
We're looking forward to the next episodes.
(27:10):
You can find the book at Just Buy My Vote dot com and feel free to follow us at Just Buy My Vote podcast dot com for notification on upcoming podcasts and events.
We thank you for the privilege of your time and until next time Just Buy My Vote.
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