Chicago Speaks August 16th 2026

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Three presents Chicago Speaks with your host Darryl Dinard. This
program is designed to address issues that affect you. Your
opinions matter, toll free at eight three, three, five nine
one v one oh three. The views and opinions expressed
are not necessarily those of the station, it's management, sponsors,
or iHeartMedia in.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hello, and welcome to Chicago Speaks, your communications conduit for
speaking to the issues impacting our community. I'm your host,
Daryl Denard. It is Sunday, August sixteenth, twenty twenty six.
This is a special edition of Chicago Speak. So when
out taking calls. With the summer in its last half,
we're going to provide you with books to bring you
through the seasons. We'll begin our literary journey talking about

(00:42):
life with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Next, we'll
talk about the role political activism played in shaping America
into the country it is today. Then we'll talk to
the award winning singer and actor Melba Moore about her
extraordinary life. That'll be followed by Richard Pryor's daughter's account
of her life with father and staying on a father's steam.

(01:02):
We'll hear from the authors of the book My Dad,
the Man Daughter is in praise of their black fathers.
And we'll close out our discussions preparing for a disaster.
So as is the case every Sunday morning, there is
a lot to speak to and we begin with life
with the King of Pop coming up next on our
literary journey. We it's hard to believe, but it's been

(01:24):
sixteen years since the death of the King of Pop.
Of course, I'm talking about Michael Jackson, who died at
age fifty. Well, there is a person who is instrumental,
literally at the forefront of watching his meteoric rise, and
that is Dan Beck. Dan is a former record executive

(01:46):
and author of the book You've Got Michael, Living Through History.
It is a pleasure this morning to be joined by
Dan Beck. Dan, what was the inspiration for this book
You've Got Michael?

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Well?

Speaker 4 (02:00):
I product managed Michael at Epic Records. I was the
point person for his marketing, and you know, going through
meetings and you know.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Various situations.

Speaker 4 (02:12):
It just struck me how extraordinary these situations were. And
I started writing down and you know, you're in a
meeting with Michael, and it's like, I wish somebody else
could see this, you know, and so I started writing,
writing these things down, and then of course as we
got into the challenges of Michael's career, the really crisis

(02:37):
marketing and crisis management. Uh, you know, the History album
was probably the most challenging album campaign and music history,
and so all of the struggles, the things we did together,
you know, to try to shore up and and deflect

(02:59):
the all the negative media that that inspired me to
write it down. It took me a long time to
finish it. But you know, he had an extraordinary life,
and I always felt that there was never enough detail
about you know, what a challenge it was for him

(03:21):
to have this massive career.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Now speak specifically in terms of what you hope that
readers will receive from this book, I.

Speaker 4 (03:32):
Think first that you know, a consonant professional like Michael Jackson.
You know, you know, people think, well, it's just magical,
but Michael Jackson worked every day, you know, whether it
was his dance, whether it was you know, working with
a choreographer, or speaking to fashion people, or doing photo shoots,

(03:55):
you know, or writing music, or working on arrangements with
producers and you know, editing with engineers. He worked very,
very hard and I hope people really get that out
of the book, you know, and all the extraordinary things
that happened. You know, we did something like sixteen eighteen

(04:17):
music videos in which I commissioned them and while I
hired the video directors. But you know, we did things
you know, scream with Janet and jam with Michael Jordan,
and which we did in Chicago, and just you know,

(04:38):
Michael's extraordinary reach as far as you know, he knew presidents,
he knew.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
You know, he knew he was the top celebrity of
his time. You know, when we're talking about history. And
it's kind of interesting because recently here in Chicago and
Jay the Musical had a run. And in many ways,
what I'm hearing in terms of about the book You've got, Michael,

(05:09):
is that the musical itself kind of deals with the
elements that we're talking about in terms of that period.

Speaker 4 (05:18):
Yes, you know, I saw the show here in New
York and I thought they did it did a wonderful job.
A lot of little nuances that Michael were in there.
You know, he had kind of this sweet little stubbornness
to him.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yes, and they.

Speaker 4 (05:37):
Demonstrated that in the musical. In a few ways, and
I just loved it. They did kind of mix up
the storyline, which I think was a theatrical approach, you know,
where things were a little out of sync in terms
definitely timing, but that was, you know, all for the
purpose of a great musical. So I really enjoyed it.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
And I thought the kids that played the three three Michaels,
they were incredible. They were awesome. And you have to
put on your theatrical license there because they're all different
shapes and sizes. What's that interesting?

Speaker 4 (06:19):
Yeah, And you know, I thought they were all actors,
like professional actors too. They were not trying to be
Michael imitators. They were actors, you know, portraying a role
and you know, which was really really I think a
tribute to to him and to their professionalists and as actors.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
What do you attribute to Michael's staying power the fact
he died at fifty and it was some sixteen years
ago and he's still regarded as the king of pop
and in many ways he is still the reigning king.

Speaker 4 (06:59):
Yes, it's you know, number one. I would attribute that
to the fans. You know that the fans really give him,
you know, and they're they're still out there and they're
still supportive.

Speaker 5 (07:13):
You know.

Speaker 4 (07:14):
I also have to say that that, you know, one
of our concerns during the run up to History was
that that pop radio was going to potentially leave him
because of all the other media nonsense that was going on.
But R and B Radio, Urban radio and and and

(07:38):
the black media were so.

Speaker 2 (07:42):
They had his back.

Speaker 4 (07:43):
You know.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
I have to say that just you know, three years
before I interviewed Michael during the release and premiere of
his Bad Tour, and so I'm one of the few
Oprah Winfrey, Diane Sawyer and I forget the other guy
from Britain, uh, because he was reclusive about that. And
because of that reclusivity. What do you feel is the

(08:08):
is the one thing, one misconception that people have. We
know about the wacko jacko stuff, But what myth do
you try to dispel in the book?

Speaker 4 (08:19):
Well, you know, I think just the fact that Michael was,
you know, as idiosyncratic as you know Michael was, he
was pretty normal, you know, he number one, he was
so competitive, you know that, you know, he really was
an athlete in that sense.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (08:40):
You know, when we put him with Michael Jordan and
the jam video you know, I had people at at
at the label, some of my workmates, who said, you
can't do that, Dan, You're gonna You're gonna hurt him.
And I said, oh, he's he's you know, he can
stand right up to Michael Jordans and you know they're

(09:02):
going to show show each of their their phenomenal abilities.
And they had so much fun. You know, Michael Jordan's
showing Michael Jackson.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
You could tell he didn't have them that much basketball
skills when you go back over the video.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
There and then Mike Michael Jackson laughing trying to teach
Michael Jordan how to dance, you know exactly.

Speaker 2 (09:27):
But the thing I found, and you know, I think
it's a tribute to you, is that that same type
of dedication and opportunity to you know, discover new insights
that can be displayed on those wonderful music videos. You
did it also for some of the other biggest names

(09:50):
in the music industry. I'm talking about Luther Van Draws
and Sydney Lauper. You know, what are you doing now?
And you know, how do you just pull all it
together in your mind?

Speaker 4 (10:04):
The well number one, you know, I love working with
those artists. I love working with the artists that had
a point of view, you know, and you know Cindy
Lauper had a point of view, Luther Vandros had a
point of view, and Shade had a point of view.
You know that that what you want to do is
in support, whether it's Michael or or those other great artists,

(10:28):
is that you want to support who they are and
what their you know, what their mission is.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
Let them be themselves. Well, we want to say this,
that is Dan Beck, author of the new book You've
Got Michael, Dan thank you so much for joining us
this morning. Thank you for having me. Coming up next,
our literary journey continues without activism shaped America. Please stay
with us.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Chicago Speaks with Darryl Dinard. You can voice your opinion
right now, all free at eight three three five nine
one one Alive from.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
The Northwestern Medicine V.

Speaker 6 (11:03):
One O three Studios.

Speaker 7 (11:04):
A better way to start today.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
Now back to Chicago Speaks with Daryl Dinard, Share what's
on your mind, toll free at eight three three five
nine to one V one O three.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
Welcome back. You're listening to a special edition of Chicago Speak.
So we're not taking calls. As America can celebrate the
two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of its formation, it is
important to look back on how we got to where
we are as a nation, and Idea joining me this
morning to discuss just that particular point in terms of

(11:37):
the role of activism in the creation of this nation,
is one of the co authors of the book We've
Been Here Before, How Rebellion and Activism have Always sustained America.
It is co written by Angela Dotson, who is a
former senior editor for The New York Times and a
former executive editor of Black Issues Book Review. Angela morning

(12:00):
to you. How are you doing.

Speaker 7 (12:01):
Good morning, I'm doing fine.

Speaker 2 (12:03):
You co authored this book with award winning journalist Michael Days,
who recently passed away. What was the inspiration for the
creation of this book?

Speaker 8 (12:15):
Actually, we were asked to write something for the two
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and
we wrestled with the idea for a while.

Speaker 7 (12:28):
And I don't know which of us came up with
the idea of.

Speaker 8 (12:31):
Writing about the various movements that have pushed the country
forward and sometimes factwards, but we did, and we made
lists of various rebellions and movements and activists, and decided
to shape the book around that and persuaded the publisher

(12:54):
to accept that.

Speaker 7 (12:56):
And the publisher looked through our lists and eliminated some
things and.

Speaker 8 (13:01):
Suggested we highlight some other things, and we divided up
the topics and went from.

Speaker 2 (13:08):
There, and doing so have an extraordinary book that compartmentalizes
all of these areas of activism, even you know, indigenous
activism that happened during literally the colonial period. Talk about
how you set up the book in terms of what

(13:30):
kind of journey will the reader experience.

Speaker 8 (13:33):
Well, the book starts with a speech that Kamala Harris
gave after she left office that was to the NAACP,
and she talked about how, you know, we're in a
moment where the country is going through some things, and

(13:57):
that we have been here before.

Speaker 6 (14:01):
We know what to do.

Speaker 7 (14:04):
In terms of organizing and.

Speaker 8 (14:09):
Demonstrating and whatever else we have to do to get
through this. So she sets the tone for it, really
and we go from there.

Speaker 7 (14:21):
The book looks at a lot.

Speaker 8 (14:23):
Of individual people who stood out over time, including people
like Frederick Douglass or Sojourner Truth or David Walker, issued
is appeal for militants See against Slavery. People like that
you meet on almost every page.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
And it's wonderful because while the names so Journal Truth
and Frederick Douglas resonate with so many Black folks, not
as many are familiar with the exploits of David Walker.

Speaker 8 (14:57):
Right right, they're not. And he was a black abolitionist
in Boston. And during what time, oh, I can't remember
the years per se, but leading up to the Civil War,
I would say in the eighteen forties, okay, somewhere around there.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
And what was so earth shattering about his contributions to
the movement.

Speaker 8 (15:29):
Well, nobody had really said on paper some of the
things he said in terms of asking black people themselves
to stand up against slavery.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
Many times when I think about black people standing up
to slavery, and I know his life is chronicled in
the book. Also, I think of Denmark VC or Bessy.

Speaker 7 (15:54):
He's in the book.

Speaker 8 (15:56):
There's a whole section on leaders of rebellions. Denmark V
see led rebellion in South Carolina, but it also talks
about Gabriel Prosser in Virginia and a band named Jimmy
or Cato in South Carolina and of course Nat Turner
in Virginia are among people.

Speaker 7 (16:19):
But there were there were lots of rebellions, but they're they're.

Speaker 8 (16:22):
Among the people who led the biggest ones and the
most remembered rebellions.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
I guess what was it like researching this, because I'm
reminded in terms of some of the little known contributions
of black people in the founding of this country that
were documented in ken Burns American Revolution docuseries. It was

(16:52):
it just blew me away in terms of what role
black folks played in this American Revolution.

Speaker 7 (17:01):
In the revolution itself, not.

Speaker 2 (17:03):
Just the revolution, but and everything that led up to
the revolution and afterwards.

Speaker 8 (17:08):
Yes, you know, we don't necessarily credit black people or
a lot of times black people's roles are not highlighted
in history. And ken Burns has done a fantastic job,
you know, making history come alive and singling people out.

(17:30):
But you know, we have to remember that black people
have always been part part of the fabric of this
country and have played significant roles in various stages of.

Speaker 7 (17:44):
Its development.

Speaker 8 (17:45):
We talk a lot about the underground railroad, for instance,
and the role of Harriet Tubman and people like Frederick
Douglass and a man named David Ruggles who was in
instrumental in New York and helping people get further north
or get into Canada after they got to New York City,

(18:08):
he helped but Frederick Douglas escape among other people.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah, and it's interesting because I attended school in Buffalo,
New York, and literally right across the river is Fort Eerie,
And people don't realize that was like the place where
people that were fleeing the ravages of slavery, Black people
that were fleeing the ravages of slavery, they would end

(18:36):
up right on the other side of.

Speaker 7 (18:37):
The river, right upstate.

Speaker 8 (18:40):
New York was very instrumental in helping people escape because
after the laws were passed that made it mandatory for
people to help.

Speaker 7 (19:00):
To stop escapees or to.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
The future. Slave Act even wanted from that mistaken that
was very where they even wanted to go into Canada
and try to bring people.

Speaker 8 (19:13):
Back exactly exactly that without the Fugitive slave back made
it necessary for people to have to get as far
as Canada to escape could You couldn't just get to
the north and be safe, and people were required to
help recapture the fleeing people.

Speaker 7 (19:40):
So that was very important.

Speaker 2 (19:43):
Now you mentioned or I'm going to mention, that there
is an unabashed assault on truth as well as an
erasure of the formidive, formidable contributions of black Americans and
the founding of this nation. Right, what's the writing of
this book an effort to address those measures?

Speaker 8 (20:05):
Oh, certainly, certainly and try to restore people back to
the record and put uh to play up what roles
people had had.

Speaker 6 (20:18):
Yeah, and so just.

Speaker 2 (20:20):
How arduous a task was this, particularly in light where
you know, people are saying, well, that's in the past,
that doesn't affect me, now.

Speaker 7 (20:30):
M it wasn't. It was arduous.

Speaker 8 (20:34):
It's you know, you had to take each person or
each event, and in some cases, you know, just dig
through very various book books.

Speaker 7 (20:46):
Its like, you know, there would be.

Speaker 8 (20:48):
A partial account here and a partial account there, and
then say what really happened? What happened to them after that?
But you know who helped, who didn't, Who assisted, what,
what speeches did they make, where did they talk? Who
was part of that movement? Who else helped?

Speaker 2 (21:11):
So yeah, speaking of people who helped, the book also
covers the fiery abolitionist John Brown, in terms of his
ill fated raid on Harper's Ferry.

Speaker 8 (21:23):
Yes, I talk about him a lot lot For those
who don't know, John Brown planned a raid against Harper's Ferry,
which was then in Virginia now West Virginia, because there
was a federal arsenal there and most of the weapons
used by the American government were being made there. He

(21:49):
had planned his freight for some say, maybe twenty years.
He didn't initially target Harper's Ferry, but settled settled on
doing that somewhere in the years leading up to that,
and he got He tried to get people like Frederick

(22:13):
Douglass to help him or to come with him, and
he would not not.

Speaker 2 (22:19):
Why do you think that was the case in terms
of Frederick Douglas's reticence about joining John Brown.

Speaker 8 (22:25):
Because it was a dangerous plan with you know, and
the likelihood of success was not great. But and you know,
some people thought John Brown was crazy. And he did
not succeed, I mean, as we know, but he was
joined by those five black men were with him when

(22:46):
he entered Harper's Ferry and maybe about thirteen white men.
And what he did he basically rented a farm outside
of Harper's Ferry to stage the the raid. And what
a lot of people don't know is that it wasn't
just that he was going to attack Harper's Ferry. What

(23:09):
his ambition was that other enslaved people throughout the South
would hear about it and join him.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
That were majority populations in many locales.

Speaker 8 (23:21):
Yeah, but they were not a majority in Harper's Ferry.
In fact, there weren't that many enslaved people around Harper's Ferry,
and there were a number of free people.

Speaker 7 (23:32):
He did manage to free free some people, but.

Speaker 8 (23:37):
He didn't get hundreds of people to join him as
he had envisioned, and the rebellion was put down fairly
quickly after he entered Harper's Ferry, you know, within.

Speaker 7 (23:52):
A few days.

Speaker 8 (23:53):
So but he you know, he became widely known, and
Black people revered him and held you know, memorials in
his honor and all that kind of faith, and supported
his family.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
Speak about the role of black women and not only
as advocates, but also as leaders of resistance and rebellion.

Speaker 8 (24:20):
Black women have always been been a part of the resistance,
and starting with there, maybe starting with Harriet Tubman and
people like Sojourner Truth in the Black Underground Railroad, and
in rebelling against slavery itself. Sojourner Truth Escaped slavery in

(24:41):
the North, Harriet Tubman in.

Speaker 7 (24:43):
The in the South.

Speaker 8 (24:46):
And then you know, black women were an essential part
of the suffrage movement.

Speaker 2 (24:53):
And we're well to be wells, especially for us here
in Chicago.

Speaker 7 (24:58):
Yes, yes, And I talk about the role.

Speaker 8 (25:03):
That black women had in the suffrage Parade of nineteen
thirteen in.

Speaker 2 (25:09):
One which was a horrible experience because they wouldn't even
let them march in the front of the parade even
though they were some of the leading suffragettes at the time,
right and Otto B.

Speaker 7 (25:21):
Wells was one of them.

Speaker 8 (25:22):
They told her she couldn't march with her group from Chicago,
and she pretended to leave the march and stood on
the on the sidelines, and then when her delegation passed,
she got right back in in the march and was
photographed like one of the Chicago newspapers.

Speaker 7 (25:44):
So that was important.

Speaker 8 (25:45):
And then the other famous participants in that in that
parade were the newly formed Delta Sigma Theta sorority marched
wow in the parade.

Speaker 2 (26:00):
So another little known fact that I was unaware of
is the lawn dresses. In eighteen eighty one, I was just.

Speaker 8 (26:09):
Giving I was just getting ready to say that it's
they were called the Washing Society of Atlanta. Most of
the laundry in Atlanta was done by black women, and
twenty black women started a strike and eventually recruited three

(26:31):
thousand more of them. They went door to door asking people.

Speaker 7 (26:35):
To join the.

Speaker 8 (26:37):
Washing strike, the laundry strike, and including white women.

Speaker 7 (26:42):
They recruited some white women, and.

Speaker 8 (26:46):
They are said to have even threatened some people if
they did not join the strike, and they were ultimately successful.

Speaker 6 (26:54):
Because it's like.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
Almost a half a century before the Pullman Porter strike. A.

Speaker 7 (27:00):
Right, this was eighteen eighty one.

Speaker 2 (27:02):
I had never heard about the Washing Society. This is
the thing that I love about history is that it
brings alive and also creates a sense of place and
contributions that didn't exist before.

Speaker 8 (27:19):
Right, I had never heard of it either until I
started writing about it. And it's part of a chapter
on the labor movement in general.

Speaker 2 (27:28):
And of course doctor Martin Luther King is there, and
you know, and I think about strikes. I think about
the sanitation workers strike, and when he of course, was
in Memphis and unfortunately was assassinated there. But what will
readers glean about Martin Luther King's position with regard to

(27:50):
the telling of this story of rebellion.

Speaker 7 (27:53):
Well, basically, I talk about doctor Martin Luther King, not
so much in the civil rights chapter, but in the
Peace movement, from his famous speech at Riverside Church in
New York and his further.

Speaker 8 (28:09):
Involvement in the peace movement speaking out against the war
in Vietnam, which was controversial at the time but was
also pivotal as far as the movement was con concerned.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
The thing that I see in terms of looking at
these wonderful chapters that exist in the book is I
would love to see this also done as a documentary,
so because people are so visually stimulated now as opposed
to literally stimulate it. Are there any plans in the

(28:46):
making in terms of possibly making this some sort of
a documentary or a docuseries.

Speaker 8 (28:54):
So far now, no one has approached us, and we
have not really approached anyone about doing it. I think
it could be a documentary as well, and maybe that
will be an opportunity that we explore as we talk
about it more in public, maybe some filmmaker will be

(29:15):
interested in it, So I don't know.

Speaker 2 (29:20):
Well, all I want to say is I want to
commend you, as well as the former Michael Days, for
the extraordinary work that you've done. We want to encourage
everyone to pick up the book. We've been here before,
how rebellion and activism have always sustained America. And finally,

(29:42):
what is your hope? As was celebrating this two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary, And I say that because you know,
we're less than two or three weeks out from the
big celebration, right, And I'm going to tell you something.
This is so much different then what America was like

(30:03):
in nineteen seventy six. You know, it was just crazy
in terms of a celebration. I don't see any type
of celebration feeling pervading the country, especially within the black
community that existed in nineteen seventy six.

Speaker 8 (30:20):
Yeah, in nineteen seventy six, I was a reporter in
Washington and covering the bi centennial was part of my beat.
So there were I covered so many things that leading
up to it and the day itself, and I don't

(30:41):
see that either. I don't see a lot of that
kind of.

Speaker 6 (30:46):
Joy.

Speaker 8 (30:46):
I guess that surrounded the Bisonennial. I don't see that
spirit yet. Maybe it's you know, it will be there
by the time with finally celebrate July fourth, but I'm
not seeing it either.

Speaker 2 (31:04):
Yeah, well listen now, Angela, We definitely want to commend
you and thank you for writing this book.

Speaker 6 (31:13):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (31:14):
Up next, we'll talk to Richard Pryor's daughter Elizabeth Pryor,
about growing up with a famous dad and the use
of the N word. Please stay with us.

Speaker 1 (31:23):
Chicago Speaks with Darryl Dinard. You can voice your opinion
right now, toll free at eight three three five nine
one V one O three V one O three presents
Chicago Speaks with your host, Daryl Dinard. This program is
designed to address issues that affect you. Your opinions matter,
toll free at eight three three five nine one v

(31:45):
one oh three. The views and opinions expressed are not
necessarily those of the station, it's management, sponsors, or iHeartMedia.

Speaker 2 (31:51):
In welcome back, it is Sunday, August sixteenth, and you're
listening to a special edition of Chicago's Speaks, so we're
not taking calls. Comedian George Carlin was arrested for his
skit seven words you Can't Say on television. Many would
consider those words inflammatory and unsuitable for regular broadcast airways. Still,

(32:11):
the list of words did not include one of the
most defamatory words in English language today, the N word.
My next guest has a unique relationship with the word.
Elizabeth Storter Pryor is a scholar, author, and professor of
history at Smith College, where she teaches a course on race, slavery,
and the role and history of the N word. She

(32:34):
also teaches a course about her famous father, comic legend
Richard Pryor. Prior is the author of a new book
titled Something We Said Richard Pryor, A notorious word in me.

Speaker 8 (32:46):
It is a.

Speaker 2 (32:46):
Pleasure to welcome Elizabeth Storter Prior to the program. How
are you doing.

Speaker 6 (32:52):
Goodhe thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2 (32:54):
It is my pleasure now. Professor, your book is described
as a hybrid memoir as well as history lesson how
would you categorize it in What was its inspiration?

Speaker 6 (33:05):
Well, I think that's exactly right. I didn't plan on
writing a memoir, but as I got deeper into the
history of the N word, that's just what came out
of me, and I was inspired by an incident that
happened in my classroom. I was a new professor, my
second semester teaching, and I was teaching about the Fugitive
slave law, and a student who wanted to connect with

(33:25):
me asked me a question. Did I see Blazing Saddles?
And I was like, Oh, she's going to tell everybody
my father's Richard Pryor. But in fact, what she was
trying to do was connect to the lecture by quoting
a line from the film. And that line had the
actual N word in it, and I have no doubt
that it was written by my father, because he co
wrote that movie, and so it sent me on a journey.

(33:49):
My reaction surprised me. I froze, I kind of flipped out,
and I looked at the way the word worked in
my own life. I started to reevaluate how I taught
it I needed to do to do that, And in
that process, I asked myself, do I even know what
this word means? And got deeper into the research in
the history.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
Yeah, I just want to ask you, and we'll talk
about your background, But have you ever been called the
N word?

Speaker 6 (34:16):
I most certainly have many times, many of the times
are in the book, and many of the times aren't
even in the book. So I ended up kind of
tracing my own geography, my GPS of my life, if
you will, by my run ins with the N word. Yeah,
And the first incident is it kind of prompts the

(34:39):
first meaningful conversation I ever have with my father when
I'm about six or seven years old, and I tell
him when two boys call me the word on the
playground at school.

Speaker 2 (34:48):
Yeah, that had to be explain to me. You're biracial,
your mother is Jewish, and I'm just trying to understand
the dichotomy that exists with regard to America's fascination with it,
with even black folks fascination with it, but to be

(35:11):
called did and yet half of you is on when
they use it in a derogatory or deflammatory since, as
you know, white people may tend to do. How do
you deal with that conundrum of saying, well, you know,
half of me is white, so so why are you hating? What?

(35:31):
Why why are you why are you only hating on
one side of me?

Speaker 6 (35:35):
Well, I mean, to be honest, as a biracial woman
in the United States, I've never had that thought in
my life. I've always thought about myself as as black,
and I think that's just because of I mean, the
truth is, I guess biologically my you know, my mother
is white. But my social experience and you know, political

(35:56):
experience as an American is that I'm African American.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
Yeah, very much so. So here it is talk about
in terms of what you hope readers will we'll get
out of this. Let's start first in terms of just
your relationship with your father. You didn't meet your father
until I believe it was in a hotel room at
six years old in Jersey.

Speaker 6 (36:21):
That's right. My mother wrote him a letter and said,
how can I love a child so much? And you've
just not shown up at all? And the next thing
we knew, we were on a plane to New Jersey
watching him perform. And it's the first time I met
him and I was six years old. And from that
point forward, my father was committed to being part of

(36:44):
my life the best that he could. You know, he
wanted to be a great father. He did his best,
and he couldn't always do it, but he yeah, I mean,
you know, meeting him was Meeting him was amazing. And
he was an amazing As soon as I met him,
I was head over heels in love and he's like,

(37:05):
I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Speaker 2 (37:08):
You talked about him being so handsome, and did you
have some you know, kind of dual feelings in saying hey,
And I'm sure he probably called you beautiful and lovely also.
But at the same time, children have troubles sometimes dealing
with the fact that if you if you find me beautiful,

(37:30):
where have you been? Did you ever have to go
through that period?

Speaker 6 (37:34):
You know, with all her foibles. My mother did everything
she could to foster the relationship with my father, and
so she, I think kind of held him up in
this way, and I just only ever saw him. I mean,
I think it was unfortunate because for my mom, because

(37:54):
any feelings that you describe of, you know, mixed feelings
or resentment or unsureness, I kind of took out all
my mother and all like my dad was all sparkle
to me. He could do no wrong.

Speaker 2 (38:09):
Yeah, And I know that as most loving parents, they
just deal with it, the fact that that unbalanced type
of perception that children may have because they only want
the best for their children.

Speaker 6 (38:21):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2 (38:22):
That's right. So in terms of your father, I grew
up watching him on TV and then when I look
back on his famous skits and things of that nature,
you know, the enemy.

Speaker 6 (38:36):
Well, I mean, to be honest, as a biracial woman
in the United States, I've never had that thought in
my life. I've always thought about myself as as black,
and I think that's just because of I mean, the
truth is, I guess biologically, you know, my mother is white,
but my ex social experience and you know, political experience

(38:57):
as an American is that I'm African American.

Speaker 2 (39:00):
Yeah, very much so. So here it is talk about
in terms of what you hope readers will we'll get
out of this. Let's start first in terms of just
your relationship with your father. You didn't meet your father
until I believe it was in a hotel room at
six years old in Jersey.

Speaker 6 (39:22):
That's right. My mother wrote him a letter and said,
how can I love a child so much? And you've
just not shown up at all? And the next thing
we knew, we were on a plane to New Jersey
watching him perform and it's the first time I met
him and I was six years old, and from that
point forward, my father was committed to being part of

(39:45):
my life the best that he could. You know, he
wanted to be a great father. He did his best,
and he couldn't always do it, but he yeah, I mean,
you know, meeting him was Meeting him was an amazing
and he was an amazing As soon as I met him,
I was head over heels in love and He's like,

(40:06):
I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

Speaker 2 (40:08):
You talked about him being so handsome and did you
have some you know, kind of dual feelings and saying hey,
and I'm sure he probably called you beautiful and lovely also.
But at the same time, children have troubles sometimes dealing
with the fact that if you if you find me beautiful,

(40:31):
where have you been? Did you ever have to go
through that period?

Speaker 6 (40:35):
You know, with all her foibles. My mother did everything
she could to foster the relationship with my father, and
so she, I think kind of held him up in
this way and I just only ever saw him. I mean,
I think it was unfortunate because for my mom, because

(40:55):
any feelings that you describe of you know, mixed feelings
or resentment or unsureness, I kind of took out on
my mother and all like my dad was all sparkle
to me, so that he could do no wrong.

Speaker 2 (41:09):
Yeah, and I know that as most loving parents, they
just deal with it, the fact that that unbalanced type
of perception that children may have because they only want
the best for their children.

Speaker 6 (41:21):
Yeah, exactly, that's right.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
So in terms of your father, I grew up watching
him on TV, and then when I look back on
his famous skits and things of that nature, you know,
the N word played such a big, big part of
his comedy. And yet, and the thing about it is
that we'll talk about this, but talk about in terms

(41:47):
of his use of the in word, definitely during the
earlier part, in the middle part of his career.

Speaker 6 (41:54):
Well, you know, a lot of listeners may not know
who Richard Pryor is. He's a groundbreaking comedian, Black comedian
from the nineteen seventies who really changed the face of
stand up comedy by showing authenticity on stage and being
honest and vulnerable and making that universal one funny. And
part of that for him was kind of revealing the

(42:17):
black community that he grew up in, and that black
community used the N word in these multiple ways, and
he didn't shy away from you know, putting that on stage,
and it was it was a subversion of the white
races version. Right, This was a kind of protest, it
was a resistance. It was a way of kind of

(42:38):
emphasizing the community that people shared. And so he started
using that word on stage, put it on put it
on the cover of two of his Grammy Award winning.

Speaker 2 (42:49):
Albums, and we can't use the title in terms of
those albums.

Speaker 6 (42:55):
But right and he and it was his way of
making Americans reckon with their own racism. He was like, yeah,
I'm calling myself this and what of it? And he
really flipped the script. And then at the end of
the decade, he went to Africa. He kind of joined

(43:18):
a lot of African Americans on this Roots Alex Haley
inspired journey back to Africa. And when he was there,
at the end of the trip, he said he had
an epiphany that black people were doing all kinds of
things there and in the absence of you know, basically
white surveillance, he didn't see any N words, you know,

(43:44):
without that gaze. He didn't need to see it. And
he realized he had not only not said the word,
but hadn't even thought about the word.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
Yeah, and you described that epiphany experience in terms of
his trip to Kenya there, and I just thought about
it as you were speaking about it, is that it
parallels in many respects. I think Malcolm X's experience when
he went to Africa in terms of having a different
view in terms of his experiences as a Black American

(44:18):
as opposed to a black world resident.

Speaker 6 (44:22):
I mean, I think that's right, like getting to I
kind of think about it as a diasporic epiphany that
he has. He gets to be have a whole new
perspective on his life in the United States and realizes
like that a lot of the ways that he was
using this word as protests don't exist in a world

(44:43):
where you don't have to protest against that thing. You know,
you don't have to You don't have to be speaking
out against racism when race isn't the kind of prevailing issue.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
As your father made a commitment to never use the
in word again, how are you able to write about
to teach courses about it in terms of using or
describing and teaching on it but not using the word.

Speaker 6 (45:09):
I love not using the word. I think the phrase
the N word is wonderful, a wonderful intervention into the conversation,
because I think what it does is requires everybody around
it to give pause. Why does this particular word deserve
its own surrogate phrase? Like why are we coordinating it off?
But not so many other words? And so I think

(45:30):
it does really good work, better than even saying the word,
because it just makes us take a pause. And that's
what I do. I have my students say the phrase
the N word and not use the actual word at all,
and it works really well. I've been doing it for
about fifteen sixteen years now and it's worked great.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
What do you think should be Black America's association with
the use of the word What do you mean? Well,
what I mean is that it's embedded in our culture.
The reality is is that still today we hear songs
created about it, we use it in our everyday language.

(46:16):
And so when you say that we should substitute it
for the N word as opposed to saying the other word,
how do you anticipate or expect people to adopt it
when it's still being used so many times in today's
black culture.

Speaker 6 (46:37):
Well, to be fair, I was talking about using the
phrase the N word in the classroom, and that's in
mixed race environments and when you're trying to have a
conversation about you know, its history, the way it impacts people,
and what's underneath it. But for me, the real question
is why does the N word the actual word for

(47:00):
African Americans? And if that word is still resonating for
African Americans, to me, it means that there's a lot
of systems in place that make it have meaning. And
if we solve the problem of those systems of inequality
and social injustice, the word's not going to have any
meaning anyway. There will be no hip hop songs with

(47:23):
the N word if there you know, there's you know,
equal justice for for all.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
You know, you have an impressive education background, having earned
of course, your bachelor's, master's, and PhD. What is it
about history, particularly Black American history, that fascinates and compels
you to do what you do?

Speaker 6 (47:43):
I mean, I think history is the most important, especially
because you know, very often in nations like our own,
it can be under assault, right, so people want to
go back and change what we're going to look at
and you know, redefine the meanings of what happened, and
so history historians are a really important part of making

(48:07):
sure not only that people don't forget, but that people
understand why things happen the way they did. Arkavists are
are important to this mission, and so for me it's
ever fascinating not just what you find, like the particular documents,
but how they are interpreted and understood in our society.

(48:29):
And I think that's what will always keep me fascinated
about the study of history.

Speaker 2 (48:34):
You've written so much about the history of the Civil
War and the emancipation societies, and of course and word.
I am a lover of history, and I just wish
that we could compel our children and grandchildren for that matter,
and even our contemporaries to be an adopter of this

(48:58):
fascination with history, because it teaches us lessons, hopefully that
the good parts will repeat and the bad parts we won't.

Speaker 6 (49:09):
I mean, I agree, and that's part of why I
want people to read my book. And I think what
my book can bring to people, which is like, it's
about a real relationship between me and my father, and
so it's got that kind of draw and you know,
compelling element to it. But at the same time, it
does dig deeply into the history of the N word

(49:30):
and shows how those things aren't separate but are intertwined.
And I think a book like mine will give people
who might take pause about reading a straight up history.
I think they'll find it exciting in engaging, and that's
what I hope, and I hope too that it will
be a kind of a jumping off place for people
to have difficult conversations, because I use my own story

(49:53):
around the N word as kind of like a kind
of like a meta story so that people can understand
that the ndword isn't just part of a national trauma,
but it's part of a really personal and intimate one,
as it was with me.

Speaker 2 (50:08):
You know, I have to say you were rather prescient
because you wrote an article in terms of colored travelers,
mobility and fight for citizenship before the Civil War. But yet,
you know, you go almost one hundred years later and
you had the Green Book that gains an Academy Award,

(50:30):
But yet you were writing about black travel that took
place one hundred years before that.

Speaker 6 (50:36):
I mean, it was fascinating to me. I was studying
black people. I was really interested in black people activists
and abolitionists who went to like London and England, and
I was like, how did they get there? And then
my history advisor was like, did they get passports? And
I started asking myself these questions and I realized nobody
had really written about it before, and so that's so
I said, Oh, I guess it's going to be me.

(50:57):
That's I dug in, And it was, you know, you
just see that transportation is a really powerful element of
civil rights and social rights, because if you don't have
access to transportation, you know, you can't do networks, you
can't do politics, you can't do organizing, you can't do
I mean, on and on and on and so yeah,
it was really they knew that back in the eighteen

(51:17):
thirties and forties.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
Now we want people, of course, to go out and
buy the book wherever it's sold, to get the audiobook.
I hope there's an audiobook on it.

Speaker 6 (51:26):
Oh yeah, and I do the audiobook excellent.

Speaker 2 (51:28):
Well, I think you sound great. Something we said, Richard
Pryor a notorious word in me, just how cathartic has
this been for you in terms of writing this book.

Speaker 6 (51:42):
I mean, it's been the most healing thing I could
ever imagine, because I feel so close to my father.
Even an interview like yours in mind. I feel closer
to him now than I did ten minutes ago. So
it's been incredible.

Speaker 2 (51:55):
And what do you hope is that madeor takeaway when
people end up reading this.

Speaker 6 (52:02):
That racism hurts and we should talk about it.

Speaker 2 (52:06):
Yeah, well, we appreciate you not only talking about it,
but also writing about it, offering Ted talks about it,
and also living it. I would encourage everybody to pick
up the book Something We Said, Richard Pryor, A Notorious
Word in Me, written by Professor Doctor Professor Elizabeth stort

(52:27):
Or Pryor. It has been a distinct pleasure and honor
to speak to you this morning.

Speaker 6 (52:32):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (52:32):
Up next daughters with stories of praise of their black fathers,
please stay with us.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
Chicago speaks with Daryl Dinard. You can voice your opinion
right now toll free at eight three three five nine
to one V one O three. Now back to Chicago
speaks with Daryl Dinard, Share what's on your mind toll
free at eight three three five nine one V one
O three.

Speaker 2 (52:59):
As a father, both a daughter and son, I am
truly blessed. But there is a unique relationship fathers have
with their daughters. Those relationships are chronicled in a new
book edited by doctor Carold Adams called My Dad the Man.
Black Daughters and Praise of their fathers and joining us
this morning are doctor Adams as well as several other

(53:22):
daughters who pen tributes to their fathers. Charmaine Rickett Or
is the daughter of Gus Rickett, who turns one hundred
in August. We also have joining us Yvonne Or, whose
father was Delbert or Africa, who was a move member,
as well as Deborah Farmer, who writes about her father
Conrad Brown. Pleasure to have all of you join us

(53:43):
this morning, Doctor Adams. What was the inspiration for you
penning this book?

Speaker 9 (53:49):
The impetus for this book was, of course my relationship
with my own dad that was very pivotal for me
and for the things that I thought that I could
do and become. Further, I did a study sometime ago
on a black women politicians, and one of the unexpected
things that came out constantly was this theme of their

(54:10):
dads and how inspired they were by them and what
they did to make them feel that they could be
and do anything. My title comes from a song from
my father Herra Silver and sung by Leon Thomas and
it gave me just inspiration the all the time I

(54:31):
was working on this. And the opening standard is if
there was ever a man who was generous, gracious and good,
it was my dad the man.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
And that, of course is one of my favorite albums.
I could see the picture of his dad from Cape
Verd sitting on a rock there just the album is
just chock full of jazz standards. What have become jazz standards?
I want to commend you on on penning this because
so many times fathers, particularly black fathers, are always described

(55:08):
in the negative fashion or missing in action. Exactly in
many cases they are missing.

Speaker 9 (55:13):
But guess what, nothing is further from the truth because
the data shows that black dad spend more time with
their children than any other demographic. So you have to
wonder why constantly this anti this negative theme is what
is repeated over and over. One of the first things
I wrote, before I ever thought about putting together this

(55:37):
anthology was a piece for my dad that was called
Papa was not a rolling stone, no rolling stone, he
was a rock.

Speaker 2 (55:47):
And speaking about rocks, let's start with you, Deborah, in
terms of what did you say in your essay in
your chapter about your father that you want the world
to know.

Speaker 10 (55:59):
I think when you look at the context of my
dad's story being an immigrant from Barbados, just the resilience
that he had to withstand all the you know, challenges
of where he you know, resided, which was you know,
at that point he moved to New York and then
to Chicago.

Speaker 5 (56:17):
I just want people to know that, you know, the
strength of the man to be.

Speaker 10 (56:23):
Able to move from a move into a foreign land
and be able to you know, build wealth, build a family,
build a legacy is attainable. You know, with my dad,
all things were possible. There was nothing.

Speaker 5 (56:37):
That you know, he would tell me that I could
not do. And so just in the sense.

Speaker 10 (56:42):
Of being able to beat the odds, you know, one
thing that he would oftentimes say, and we quote this
from Sheryl lyn Chisholm, is you know, don't sit on
the sidelines and complain, you know, be.

Speaker 5 (56:52):
A part of the solution. What can you do to
make a difference.

Speaker 10 (56:56):
I just was so excited when doctor Carroll reached out
about this opportunity to be able to talk about my
dad in this way and then gratefully my dad's still living,
and to be able to provide him his roses while
he's still alive.

Speaker 2 (57:09):
What do you think is unique to the Barbadian experience
that you received from your father.

Speaker 5 (57:16):
One thing was really clear was education. You know, Barbados
has a free.

Speaker 10 (57:22):
Education system, probably one of the highest literacy rates in
the world, and for him, it was making certain that
you got a good education. Another thing that I think
that really was that stood out was business.

Speaker 5 (57:39):
You know, being in a position to.

Speaker 10 (57:41):
Work for yourself, as he would say, you know, don't
work for mister Charlie, right, And.

Speaker 5 (57:46):
So that really stands out for me from my dad.

Speaker 10 (57:48):
My dad came again from Barbados with you know, not much,
and you know, started working and then you know, built
a business. And so when I went to college, you know,
I had a radio and television background, my dad was
not happy about that. He wanted me to get an
accountant degree, you know, and so he would oftentimes say,
you know, a fast penny can outrun a slow.

Speaker 5 (58:09):
Dollar any day.

Speaker 10 (58:11):
And so being in a position to make your own
money and not be reliant on mister Charlie was something
that echoed through all of our conversations.

Speaker 9 (58:20):
Relying on mister Charlie was something that I heard often
as well, that you should always have your own business.
That my father had a quote regular job and it
was a good one, but he always had businesses because
he said, you cannot put yourself where you are totally
relying on demand to get He was a Teskee guy,

(58:43):
and that was part of their messaging, you better have
your own I have never just had a job. I've
always had a business something side.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
Well, one person who's an author in the book knows
something about business because it was her father as well
as her mother that created one of the best places
to go for fried chicken. And I'm talking about Uncle Remus.
Fried chicken is Charmagne. Charmaine talked to me about what

(59:13):
did you learn not only from a business aspect, but
other worldly ideas and traditions from your father.

Speaker 4 (59:21):
You know.

Speaker 11 (59:21):
I want to first go back to something doctor Adams
said about the myth that fathers are absent. Most people
will look and see my dad was not present, you know,
a lot physically in my life, you know, because he
was out working and providing.

Speaker 12 (59:36):
You know, by the time I was born, it was
twelve of us, so I was the last of twelve.

Speaker 11 (59:39):
So you know, my dad, you know, did not really
have time to you know, take me to school or
if I was in a sport or you know, whatever
activities I did. But I never felt you know, I
never grew up feeling like, oh, my dad is not there,
or my dad you.

Speaker 12 (59:54):
Know, didn't love me. So you know, I did grow up.

Speaker 11 (59:59):
I had the the greatest privilege of growing up watching
my dad be an entrepreneur, watching my dad, you know,
develop a work ethic that is in me, and you know,
watching my dad, you know.

Speaker 12 (01:00:09):
Just extend to the community and you know be.

Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
That you know that that that go.

Speaker 12 (01:00:15):
To for everyone. So you know, I I he too,
you know, grew up working.

Speaker 11 (01:00:20):
You know, when he first came to Chicago, you know,
homeless a couple of times, but finally, you know, he
had a week, as we call quote unquote a good job.

Speaker 12 (01:00:27):
You know, he worked for the city.

Speaker 11 (01:00:28):
Imagine you know, in the forties and the fifties working
for the city of Chicago as a janitor.

Speaker 12 (01:00:33):
So that was a good job.

Speaker 11 (01:00:34):
However, he also you know, remembered the struggles here my mom,
you know, back in you know Mississippi, of of of
not having and you know that that need for him
to be a.

Speaker 12 (01:00:49):
Change in the community.

Speaker 11 (01:00:50):
That's what led him, you know, during the the unrest
and during the movement, and he said, I was just
watching TV and whoever the president was, Lendon Johnson said,
if you.

Speaker 12 (01:01:00):
Want to create a job, you know, be a job,
an entrepreneur. He didn't know it was star for that.

Speaker 11 (01:01:05):
He was just like, oh, I can help my other
you know, fellow people that came from Mississippi get you know,
become an entrepreneur. So he became entrepreneur, knowing nothing about
it except that it's what I need to do to
provide to have more so I would not have to
depend on Ms.

Speaker 6 (01:01:21):
Charlie.

Speaker 2 (01:01:22):
We talked about passing on in terms of a business legacy,
but there's also a political legacy here and Avonne, he
talked about the passing on of a business tradition or legacy,
but there's also the passing on in terms of a
political commitment. And that is indicative of Yvonne or, whose father,

(01:01:44):
Delbert or Africa, was a member of the move movement
in Philadelphia. Yvonn, what would you say you learned most
from your father?

Speaker 3 (01:01:54):
What I learned most from my data's resiliency through forty
two years of being a politic prisoner.

Speaker 6 (01:02:00):
My dad still figured out a way to.

Speaker 3 (01:02:03):
Parents, to champion me, to raise me, and to support me,
and as a member of the move organization first and
foremost social justice. And it is ironic hearing from the
other authors about mister Charlie because my dad was also
honorably discharged from the Air Force, so he had firsthand

(01:02:27):
knowledge of mister Jolly and came out letting us know
that you have to have your own So I actually
come from five generations of entrepreneurship and that resiliency stay
true to the end of his days after he gained
his freedom in twenty twenty.

Speaker 2 (01:02:42):
But the reality is is that he gained his freedom
in twenty twenty, but he only ended up living a
really short time after that.

Speaker 3 (01:02:50):
So a lot of how we live in our family
is to thrive. We're beyond surviving.

Speaker 6 (01:02:58):
We like to thrive.

Speaker 3 (01:03:00):
So though he had a short six months of freedom,
he died from prostate cancer that had spread, unfortunately to
other parts of his body. Never have I ever seen
a more vibrant, thriving seventy four year old man taking
on so much of the newness of the world versus
when he became incarcerated in nineteen seventy nine, mastering the

(01:03:24):
iPhone and the apps like no other and constantly facetiming
me doing interviews across the globe until he was just
too ill to travel. And so those six months were
they were golden to us.

Speaker 2 (01:03:41):
Carol, what do you hope readers get from this? And
all of the stories are exceptional, but some of the
others that you want to highlight, I think there's.

Speaker 9 (01:03:49):
Messaging for different segments. I think I want the world
to know about the magic of black fathers, what they
had to endure and still did so and protected us okay,
And I think the protective factor is so significant here
because it's rarely discussed. I want young fathers to be

(01:04:11):
to see examples and to see what it means. I
want us to recognize and honor all the things that
they had to overcome to be the kind of dad
as they were. The fact that people need these lessons
even now, and really part of the back of my
mind as a teacher, I want to do a curriculum
and say, listen, these are things you should be aware of,

(01:04:34):
these are things you should do. Here are some things
that will make your daughter feel a certain way. And
I'm very encouraged because I've been studying lyrics and because
I put together a Black Dad's playlist that's very positive
that we're going to be giving out and this mention
at the back.

Speaker 6 (01:04:50):
Of the book.

Speaker 9 (01:04:51):
But some of the newer artists, the young rappers and everything,
have done songs about their daughters and about how daughters
change them lives made them think differently about who they
should be and how they should act, and how they
should treat women in general once they have their own daughter.
You know, it's very interesting. They say it right out

(01:05:13):
loud and lives. Look, don't go out with guys that
I like I used to be because I'm different now
because of you.

Speaker 2 (01:05:20):
Well, we know that when it comes to mothers and
praise of black mothers, there are so many songs that
instantly come to mind, but exactly it comes to black fathers.
Of course, we have the jazz standard, and most people
know the instrumental version of song for My Father. They

(01:05:41):
don't hear the.

Speaker 9 (01:05:41):
Beautiful And I want to hasten to say Darryl that
we all have great moms. But people brag about the
moms all the time. You hear about the moms all
the time. The dads are unsung, and we want to
make sure that their voices are heard and appreciated and
that they hear us appreciate them.

Speaker 2 (01:06:02):
On the other song, I could think of that comes
immediately to mind as patches. In terms of patches, I'm
depending on you, son. I tried to do my bestiness
up to you to do the rest. Go to Deborah first,
and then we're going to hear from Charmain and then Yvonne.
What do you feel should be the major takeaway from

(01:06:23):
the unique story of your father, Deborah?

Speaker 5 (01:06:27):
I think can of like what Charmain said.

Speaker 10 (01:06:29):
I think most men are in a position to serve, protect, provide,
and you assume that they're doing those things absent of
being present. And my dad did all those things, but
he was still very present, you know. I say my
heels are as high as.

Speaker 5 (01:06:47):
My standards because of my dad, you know.

Speaker 10 (01:06:50):
And so when any move that I make, you know,
relation wise or with you know, business or work, I
think of my dad and to the end of him
and providing and being you know, present. He wasn't oftentimes
in the home, actually wasn't for the majority of the time,
but it still did not make me believe that he
was absent, he was very present because he was providing,

(01:07:13):
and I think, you know, to the end of being
in a position to just share that we need to,
as doctor Carroll's mentioning, reverse the narrative. You know, I'm
currently in the in the South, I'm in Georgia, and
I will tell you, you know, the majority of these
guys out here, they have full custody of their kids.
I don't know what's happening with the moms, you know,

(01:07:35):
these days, but these brothers are totally stepping up. And
so I think we, you know, we find ourselves in
a great position here to change the narrative.

Speaker 5 (01:07:44):
And I'm excited to be a part of this. I
think it's fantastic.

Speaker 10 (01:07:47):
I think we need to continue to for those fathers
that I think one thing that stands out that doctor
just mentioned is putting together a handbook or tool kid,
because I remember my mom would say, you know, I
didn't get a hand but you know, when we would
have our issues, you know, I didn't get, you know,
someone to sit down and talk to me. And so
to be able to provide those that are even interested

(01:08:08):
in learning how they can be better and do better,
this is magnificent.

Speaker 9 (01:08:11):
I'm excited communication with some of these projects where they
are working with young fathers about this and about making
books available to them and so forth. So you're right,
We're right on track.

Speaker 2 (01:08:25):
There, Charmaine, What do you hope is the big takeaway
from your section?

Speaker 11 (01:08:29):
The big takeaway for me for my section was for
those who you know, have the time you know, with
their their fathers who maybe didn't you know, when they
were younger, and your father is still here. I think
what it was so important, you know when I wrote
that part about my father not being physically present, but

(01:08:51):
the impact that he has made, the spiritual impact, the
economic impact, just the support of impact he has made
from him building is not something that I take lightly
and I am forever grateful because I am sensitive to
some people are scarred you know, oh my dad wasn't around.

Speaker 12 (01:09:12):
Oh my dad didn't you know, take me to lunch
or anything like that.

Speaker 11 (01:09:16):
However, if if they're leaving and building a legacy, that's
so much more powerful, that lasts.

Speaker 12 (01:09:24):
So much longer in me than the moment of you know,
you know.

Speaker 11 (01:09:28):
My dad wasn't a guy. You know, he didn't remember
my birthday. You know, it wasn't like he's like, I
don't remember, you know, he didn't you know, I didn't
have birthday parties. You know, I didn't have what I
think people value and they think that it's the impact
of them growing up. And I don't take that away,
you know, if that's what it takes for you, I

(01:09:51):
just appreciate my father showing me from Afar what it
is like to have a spirit of excellence, what is
like to be resilient, what it's like to fall down
and get up and keep trying again. So my biggest
takeaway is, if your father was not there physically, don't
beat him up. Take the take the impact of the

(01:10:12):
spiritual what he left, and the impact of the Uh.
My father loved me from Afar, and now I get
to give it all back to him, you know.

Speaker 6 (01:10:21):
And he's still good.

Speaker 12 (01:10:22):
You know, he's still doing his push ups, you know,
but at one hundred.

Speaker 11 (01:10:24):
You know, sometimes he works our nerves more than we
work his Nervesonne, if your father was.

Speaker 3 (01:10:30):
Here for me, for me, it is the importance of
the commitment of holding on to your beliefs and having values.
It's resilience, and you know, it's also the human cost
of what happens when you're having political conflict and state power.
A lot of times we see social justice from a

(01:10:52):
different lens since the murder of George Floyd, but it
puts it front and center what the consequences of systemic
conflict are to the Black family as an institution, and
most importantly, it is the human dignity under pressure. You know,
he persevered through extraordinary pressure. And when I say I'm strong,

(01:11:18):
I'm strong because of that. And so I am hopeful
that people, as they read the story, they can see
that my dad was still able to be a dad
despite our circumstances with that political conflict, that I still
felt protected and safe and also disciplined. You know, you've

(01:11:39):
got to be a real creative to discipline a child
from behind bars. And when I tell you I was
a little rambunctious, I mean it in the most diplomatic sense.
And so if I was in trouble because my father
and my mother didn't communicate during those years, I think
there was a part of her that was just simply
so hard broken. And her being a high ranking political

(01:12:05):
I mean officer of the Black Panther Party, you know,
they just had two different dichotomies if you will. And
so my father would stop writing me if I got
in trouble. And I don't know how he did it,
but he had a ways and a means. Because I
was home school for the first part of my life
until he was incarcerated, so I didn't even start school

(01:12:27):
until I was ten years old, I didn't have a
sense of what that was like to stand in line,
I ask people to go.

Speaker 6 (01:12:34):
To the bathroom.

Speaker 3 (01:12:35):
So if I got in trouble, you know, weeks and
weeks later would go by and I wouldn't receive a letter,
and then I'd be like, what's going on? And then
finally he would right and asked me if I learned
my lesson, you know, And he felt that from solitude
the difference he could make in the world through standing
by his conviction.

Speaker 2 (01:12:53):
Well, if you want to hear great stories in terms
of daughter's reflections on their father, please pick up the
book My Dad, the Man Black Daughters in Praise of
their Fathers, available where all books are sold. I want
to thank doctor Carol Adams as well as Charmain Rickett
and de vaughn Or and Deborah Farmer for joining us

(01:13:15):
this morning.

Speaker 12 (01:13:15):
Thank you for having us.

Speaker 9 (01:13:17):
Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about
these marvelous stories.

Speaker 2 (01:13:21):
Up next day. Step by step guide on how to
prepare for a disaster, Please stay with us.

Speaker 1 (01:13:26):
Chicago speaks with Darryl Dinard. You can voice your opinion
right now toll free at eight three three five nine
to one V one O three. Now back to Chicago
speaks with Daryl Dinard. Share what's on your mind toll
free at eight three three five nine one V one
O three.

Speaker 2 (01:13:46):
Disasters, both man made and natural, are occurring with alarming frequency.
What can you do to safeguard you and your family
when disaster strikes without becoming a doomsday fanatic is something
we all need to consider. Join us this morning. Is
the person who knows something about the matter. He is
a survivalist and anthropologist, Chris Begley, and he's co author

(01:14:07):
of the book The Emergency Playbook, A Bunker Free Guy
to Disaster Preparation. Chris, Welcome to the program. Thank you, Dar.
It is a pleasure to have you. If ever there
was a timely playbook, it is this one. What prompted
you to write this book and how does it differ
from others in the marketplace.

Speaker 13 (01:14:27):
Well, one of the prompts certainly was what you just mentioned,
you know, the ever increasing number of disasters that we
seem to be facing, So that that was one impetus.
But you know another one was that in this we'll
get into this next part. What makes this difference than
other books. You know, one of the things that me

(01:14:49):
and my co author Amy Edelman saw while we were
preparing this book was that, you know a lot of
people were turned off by some of the approaches that
were taken to to preparing for a disaster. And I'm
talking about, you know, creating your bunker and defending your
stash of you know, whatever you've got stashed in there.

(01:15:10):
And that's that's the first of all. Not only does
does that turn some people off and keep them from
really thinking about how you might reasonably prepare, it also
just flies in the face of how people have ever
made it through tough times in the past. And that's
something that I've seen as an archaeologist.

Speaker 2 (01:15:32):
And that is through community. It's not through isolation, that's right.
That's right.

Speaker 13 (01:15:37):
The you know, anw there could be time for a
day or two or a week at the beginning of
some disaster where things are different, but ultimately coming through
any kind of crisis is going to be something that
we do as a community.

Speaker 2 (01:15:53):
The interesting thing is that you cover the aspect of preparedness.
I was a former Boy Scout out, and the Boy
Scout motto is be prepared. While you may be the
lead person for caring for your family, talk about the
importance of making preparedness a family affair.

Speaker 13 (01:16:11):
Yeah, I mean, I think all we need to do
is think about a situation where suddenly things are different.
You have to evacuate because of a hurricane or a
wildfire or something else has happened that really changes, you know,
changes your situation. And it's not just going to be

(01:16:34):
you grabbing you know, some stuff you need in heading out.
You've got to think about your children, your pets, maybe
your elderly parents, maybe your neighbors. All of this is
going to come in to play. And so part of
this preparedness is to think about where you fit in
your community. And the first step really would be, you know,

(01:16:55):
acquiring this knowledge, which means going to meet your neighbors.
And for some of us that's really easy and for
others of us that's uh, that's going to take you
know that takes some effort.

Speaker 2 (01:17:09):
Also, what takes effort is learning to navigate in a
very natural sense. And I say that because during a disaster,
especially right here in Illinois, we've had more hurricanes on
record and tornadoes than ever. And what happens is that
the power goes out. That means that you know, your

(01:17:29):
phone isn't going to be or have the ability to recharge,
Your dependence on AI is going to be just totally disheveled.
But one thing that isn't taken away from you, and
that will be an asset during this time, is understanding
your natural surroundings. And I go back to my Scout
thing in terms of something as simple as a compass

(01:17:50):
you talk about.

Speaker 13 (01:17:52):
Yeah, yeah, I mean imagine, well just navigating. Imagine you
needed to get out of Chicago. Now you know it's
a grid, so that's not very difficult. But but uh,
how how often now do we rely on the you know,
GPS's I mean I use GPS to go to places
I go to all the time.

Speaker 2 (01:18:12):
You know, and it sometimes takes longer than the shortcut
you normally use.

Speaker 13 (01:18:17):
Yeah, because you know, you turn it on because they
give you information about traffic or something's you know, something's up,
and so you know, we've become really dependent on that,
and you know, we've many of us been in a
situation where you're in a place where you don't have
access to that, and suddenly you're like, well, well, I
wish I had a paper map, you know, but yeah,

(01:18:37):
who has those anymore?

Speaker 2 (01:18:38):
The old triple A maps for you had to flip
and fold, Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 13 (01:18:43):
And so you know there's gonna be this this importance
of you know, understanding an analog reality that that has
largely uh that that's largely disappeared, and some of that
stuff is you know, takes a while to acquire those skills,
but often it's just having the things that we used

(01:19:04):
to use that now you don't need, like a paper map,
you know, if you just had one of those handy
then you can get by with that your GPS.

Speaker 2 (01:19:12):
I don't want to give away too much because you
give a very comprehensive, step by step approach of the
items that are needed, but also you deal with the
mindset that is needed and how to deal with mental
health issues during this crisis. Talk about that.

Speaker 13 (01:19:28):
Well, you know, one of the things about preparation is
not only does it prepare you to overcome some crisis,
but it also helps leave anxiety and makes you feel
and function better, and all of that's important. And so
one of the things we talk about is attitude and

(01:19:51):
sort of keeping a positive attitude or an optimistic attitude.

Speaker 2 (01:19:56):
And this is not a sort of.

Speaker 13 (01:19:57):
Polyannious, you know, a failure to address the grim realities
that may be out there, but it's you know, sort
of keeping your chin up and moving forward because you know,
one thing I think it's important to remember is as
grim as the future might look in some senses, we

(01:20:19):
don't know what it's going to look like. And you
have to keep you have to keep moving. And part
of what you need to do in order to keep
your energy up, keep this enthusiasm up to do these
hard things that we have to do, you know, is
look in some ways for that silver lining and think

(01:20:41):
about the things that are worth persevering for.

Speaker 2 (01:20:46):
As they say, every great cloud has the silver lining.
And finally talk about in terms of how did people
use this book, is it a checklist approach?

Speaker 13 (01:20:58):
We tried to make this something that you could in
fact grab in the moment of an emergency, and in
the book we start out with a lot about our
philosophy and some general things, and then we go through
a variety of specific scenarios, and in those scenarios we
sort of do a before, during, and after approach, and

(01:21:19):
sometimes it is a little check listy, and certainly can
function like that, but it's also something that I'm hoping
people will look at before all of this happens, and
that will enable people to think about, how do we prepare,
what are the important aspects of this, and how can

(01:21:39):
I do that given the realities of where I live,
the budget I have to work with, and the realities
of me and my family.

Speaker 2 (01:21:48):
And all of this is outlined in the book The
Emergency Playbook, A Bunker Free Guide to Disaster Preparation. Chris Begley,
we thank you so much for joining us this morning.
Well thanks for talking with me. Well that wraps up
this edition of Chicago Speaks. As always, I want to
thank my guests, but most importantly you the listeners to
this program. If you desire news on a twenty four

(01:22:09):
to seven basis, it's always available with our sister station
with the Black Information Network at AM six point forty
right now, and get ready to get your praise on.
I'm Darryl Denart. We'll see you back here next Sunday,
beginning at six am for another edition of Chicago Speaks.
Please be sure to take care of yourself.