May 30, 2024 • 59 mins
This week on the Black Perspective, Mo Kelly speaks with the cast of a new movie based on the comedic characters of Tyler Perry; Tyrik Wynn interviews T.I and Tiny Harris's youngest child and rising star, Heiress; and more.
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(00:00):
The largest civil rights conference, iscoming to New Orleans this summer, the
National Urban League Conference July twenty fourththrough the twenty seventh at the High Regency,
New Orleans. Register today at Annulconferencedot org. Don't miss the nation's
leading business, political and community leaders, influencers, and celebrities as they all
(00:20):
meet up from the twenty fourth throughthe twenty seventh downtown at the Hyde Regency,
New Orleans. Don't wait. Registertoday at Annuelconference dot org. It's
Memorial Day weekend and today Moe Kellyspeaks with the cast of a new movie
based on the comedic characters of TylerPerry and Tyreek Winn. Brings us a
(00:42):
joyful conversation with the young children ofTi and Tiny Harris. These stories and
more are coming your way next.Welcome to the Black Perspective. I'm your
host, Mike Island. Welcome tothe Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs
program on the Black Information Network featuringinterview and discussions on issues important to the
Black community. Good Sunday to everyone, and welcome to another edition of The
(01:06):
Black Perspective. Many of us haveseen the movie Fruitvale Station, starring actor
Michael B. Jordan which depicts thetragic killing of Oscar Grant by law enforcement
in California. Now there's a newfilm out that takes a closer look at
this event, along with other killingsof black men by police officers, through
the eyes of the mothers who sufferedthe loss of their children. Vin podcast
(01:30):
host Ramsis Jaw has more thanks Mikethe mother of Oscar Grant, Reverend Wanda
Johnson, and award winning Brazilian filmmakerDeborah Susi Silva's new film for Our Children
just had its LA premiere and wasreleased on Netflix May tenth, Written,
directed and produced by Silva, whereOur Children delves into Reverend Johnson's relentless efforts
(01:51):
to immortalize her son by advocating forthe fruit bel Bart station where he was
killed in two thousand and nine,to be renamed in his honor. Her
story Conen's sides with a harrowing policeviolince incident involving Angela Williams and her then
seventeen year old son Ulysses Wilkerson.Though he survives this brutal encounter, ulysses
Is life becomes ensnared in a webof suspicion and reprisal by local law enforcement
(02:14):
that the family continues to fight.Today here to share more about this ongoing
effort, as well as the newNetflix documentary. Our guests Reverend Wanda Johnson
and filmmaker Deborah Susa Silva. ReverendJohnson will start with you. Thank you
so much for having me on yourshow today. I am doing very well.
Thank you, Deborah. Our listenerswould love to hear from you as
(02:35):
well. I'm really I appreciate theopportunity of being your show, and I
am really excited that our film isout there for a wide audience. Sure.
Sure, so let's talk about thatand we'll start with you, Deborah.
Give us a little bit about yourbackground for folks that don't know who
you are, sort of a littlebit about your upbringing and sort of what
(02:58):
led you to the career path thatyou're sure. I am originally from Saint
Paulo, Brazil, and I grewup in Afro Brazilian community, working class
community, and I saw in journalismmy opportunity to tell stories that were important
(03:21):
for my community. As a TVnews reporter, which was my first job
in the field, I documented issuesranging from police violence to my mass incarceration
and anything that were related to wasrouted in systemic racism. So that was
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my focus in journalism in Brazil.I moved to the United States in two
thousand and nine to pursue my graduategraduate studies in journalism, and that's when
I found my love for documentary filmmakingand this is what I've been doing since
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then. And Reverend Johnson, alot of us are a little bit more
familiar with the why your story,but for those that aren't, just give
us a little bit of background.So Oscar was killed January first, two
thousand and nine, at the Fruitvillebark Station and December thirty first is my
(04:27):
birthday, so that is the lastday that we had an opportunity to be
together. I had instructed him totake part and never did I imagine that
he would not return home. Andwhen I received the call that he had
been shot, I could not wrapthat around my head. I didn't at
the time know who had shot himor why he had been shot. And
(04:54):
when I found out that it wasan officer hired to retain and served the
communities, I really couldn't understand it. His friends and the community was saying
that he wasn't resisting that he waslaying on the platform, and yet he
was shot and killed. And hislast picture reveals the picture of an officer,
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the same officer who shot and killedhim, utilizing his point in his
taser at those on the platform.And the officer narrative was that he first
said Oscar was resisting arrests. Thesecond thing he said he thought he was
(05:40):
going for a gun, and weknow that that's not true at all.
We know that he wasn't resisting.And then the third thing that he tried
to say is that he had tasergun confusion, so he didn't know his
gun from his taser. And sowe went to court. The officer was
(06:01):
sentenced for eleven months in a countyjail, and he was also charged with
the gun and has been charged withThe judge removed because he said he gave
the jury the wrong instructions. Andso Oscar that night that he was on
the platform with his friend, wastrying to de escalate the situation. He
(06:28):
told the officer he wanted to talkto somebody who was in charge. Not
only did he tell the officer that, he told us friends, Hey,
you guys followed their directions. Bequiet, we're going home. And yet
he did not have an opportunity tocome home. And so since then my
life has been filled with wanting toget justice for Oscar and seeing others killed
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and wanting to get justice for them. And it was really to the community
that helped us to secure that justicefor my son. And it takes all
of us to work to ensure whenwe see injustices, to help the other
families fight for justice so that theycan get some kind of measure of justice.
(07:21):
That's fantastic work. Let's talk abit about the film. You're pursued
to have brute Vale Stationary named inyour son's honor is part of what these
film documents, So let's talk abit about why that's important. So oftentimes
(07:42):
when we see young men or youngwomen killed, in the beginning, the
crowd is there, people are protesting, and then as time goes on,
people go back to normal lives.And so what I don't want and didn't
want for Oscar, is that usto really go back to normal. See.
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I want a memorial set there thathis name will always ring in the
atmosphere. And you know, let'slook at this. When we have police
killed, we have freeways, andwe have different things named after them.
(08:26):
Why not a citizen? Why notsomeone who was in compliance? Why not
someone who was following the directions butlost their lives? Why not name the
station after him? And so thatis one of our goals. We have
not obtained that yet, but weare still working to try to obtain that.
(08:50):
We have gotten the street name,we have gotten the mural name.
So we're working towards getting the truths. Veil State named after Oscar and it's
a process, it takes time.Well, let's let's go with that a
bit, because I know that inthe film you're inspiring others to advocate for
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their children. You mentioned Angela Williams, and you know, for folks that
are unfamiliar with kind of how thatstory began, why don't you give a
little bit about that story, justso that people know what they can expect
to see. So Deborah had beenfollowing me for about seven years and she
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met Angela, who is from Alabama, and she heard about Angela's story and
she began to follow Angela. Andupon following Angela, she received the vision
to kind of began to intertwine thestories, and she did that. Angela's
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son was again coming home from aparty or a birthday party, I believe,
and it was dark and he wason his way. The police stopped
him. You will see in thefilm where they really beat him up,
abuse their powers. During that time, he was hospitalized and then a lawsuit
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was fouled. During that process ofthat lawsuit being foul, he was then
charged with capital murder, so theytook him to jail, only to end
up releasing him. I think it'simportant for us to understand that that happens
so commonly with families who are tryingto fight against the judicial system, where
(10:48):
that person or the family members willbe followed and just different things will happen.
I've heard many different styles worries,and so in Angela's story, we
end up meeting and we begin totalk. I begin to a culture on
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what justice looks like. It maynot happen overnight, but having the perseverance
and enduring is what is going tobe required. And it becomes, you
know, a movement there, it'son the news, it's talked about,
(11:31):
and she continues to pursue justice forhim. Add Yeah, I think what
is really interesting and important in Ulysses'scase, and this is one of the
reasons why I decided to follow thatstory as well is because I feel like,
(11:52):
as you know, mainstream media isso focused on case where the victims
die by police violence, and Ithink it's important to cover those case.
But I know, not only asa journalist, but as a black woman,
that police violence happens in many differentways. It's like, you know,
(12:16):
from the daily interactions with black communitiesin you know, in my case,
like just growing up in Brazil andmy father, my father, for
instance, the fact that you know, I remember when I was a seven
year old girl and I would bein the car with my father. He
loved cars and he worked so hardto you know, have the car of
(12:37):
the year, and I remember likehe was stopped by the police on a
daily basis. And the fact thatI recall that as a grown woman,
I think that is you know,upsetting. So police violence happens in different
ways. And I felt like,you know, when I learned about Ulyssa's
(12:58):
case, and then Angela was youknow, had posted that his picture on
on the internet, and that's howyou know, I learned about the case,
and that became viral, and andthen I felt like, oh,
this is a case of a survivor. How many stories, how many of
those cases do you know get coverishedon the media. Oftentimes we will,
(13:22):
you know, we will only shinea light when victims die. And I
felt like it was very important toinclude that case as well. It made
me think about, like, howmany more are out there, how many
more ulysses are out there that survivebrutal attack, but it goes under it
goes unreported because you know, howhow you're going to report to the police
(13:46):
that you were brutally beaten. Soit's really it's it's really an important portion
of the story that we need toshine a light on and I felt like
that should be on the documentary aswell. Well. With that in mind,
I would like to thank you bothvery much for your work that you're
(14:09):
doing, of course above all else, but again for your time today to
come on and share more about whatit is that you're doing. Once again,
today's guests are the talent behind thenew Netflix documentary For Our Children,
Reverend Wanda Johnson and filmmaker Debra SuzaSilver Mike Back to You, Thanks.
(14:30):
Ramses, rapper Ti and singer songwriterTiny Harris are well known in the music
industry. And now their school agedchildren are trying to follow in their footsteps.
News anchor Tyreek Wynn caught up withthe adorable girls of the Harris music
family and shares his conversation with them. What to do, guys, It's
Tyreek w Winn. You're tuning inon your home for twenty four to seven
(14:52):
News the Black Information Network. Wegot some amazing, adorable guests in the
building today. We have Harris,Harris and Van Van. How y'all doing
good? Good? So, y'allgot this new single out called be You.
I listened to this song. Itwas amazing. It was real catchy.
I was over there vibing and stuff. I was like, okay,
(15:15):
it was awesome. So how doyou guys like the song? I like
it because that Eras on my songand EMC like directed it and yeah,
okay nice. So how was itworking with MC? Like? It was
fun? It was really fun.It was something new. It was fun.
It was something new, Okay cool? So who came up with the
(15:39):
idea which one y'all came up withthe idea for this song? My dad,
me and my daughter just heard abeat that was lit and we were
like, oh, y'all why don'twe do this beat? Then we just
made up this song basically Okay,all right, y'all, y'all lit,
Okay, I love it. Sowhen did you realize is that you wanted
(16:00):
to that y'all wanted to do music. So when I was a kid,
I just my dad just put onthe beat and I was like, Vivin,
I'm gonna stop you right there.You're still a kid. I am
way older than you. You're stilla kid. I'm three years older than
you. You are still a kid. No, I'm talking about when I
(16:22):
was a baby. So when Iwas a baby, when I was two,
when I was two, I mydad just put on the beat and
I was like, oh, Ilike this beat, and I just made
up my name is Van Van Iain't complaint. Okay, nice. How
you come up with that nick Soyou came up with that nickname for yourself?
Yeah, okay. When y'all weredoing the song, y'all were doing
(16:45):
it, and I saw the musicvideo, it was great. Y'all were
doing it in the classroom. Whatwas the most fun exciting part. The
most fun exciting part for me wasthat when she was performing in the classroom.
I don't know if they put itin the music video. But I
got to stand up, well,the whole class got to stand up on
(17:08):
the chair on the desk and dance. Okay, yeah, because I don't
really get we don't get to dothat in real school. So how long
did it take y'all to do thedo the actual video, put the song
together? It took us like aweek and a half, I think,
(17:29):
okay, kind of not a week, not like two weeks. Maybe not
a week. It just took usa day. No, it took us
a week. It's either a whichone is it? It took us a
week? No, we're talking aboutman, after the second day of recording.
Yeah, it took us a week. You're talking, ma'am. It
(17:51):
took us a week. No,a week and a half. Okay,
let's just start so so, yeah, it seems like y'all have to make
this. So y'all, y'all don'tknow how long. You definitely know she
doesn't, Okay, pretty sure theaudience already knows. But you have some
amazing parents, you know, whohave poured so much into you, and
(18:14):
I'm sure they are an inspiration toyou. So can you talk about some
of the things that they may havetaught you going along this journey. My
mom taught me how to do likesome runs, like easy runs because I
was like six. I'm eight now, but yeah, so yeah, she
(18:37):
taught me like some runs and riffs. Yeah, and my dad taught me.
I don't know he taught you somestuff. I'm sure he definitely taught
me something I just forgot. Butwho taught you to sing? Myself?
(18:59):
Me and myself and I yourself?So you just had that talent like you
was just born with that. Yeah, okay, say that you better old
that. Okay, that's what's up. So, like, I know,
being in the studio has to belike something really cool because you're in the
booth and you got the mic andyou're recording your song. How cool is
that? How do y'all like that? It is really cool because if you
(19:21):
love singing or rapping or wherever youlove today, you get you If you
mess up, you get to doit over again. And that's what I
like because I like singing like alot a lot. If I go to
the studio, my favorite part ismessing up and having to do it over
because I get to sing, Likethat's my favorite part too. Oh,
(19:44):
and then after you get to listento it. Yeah, okay, yeah,
y'all like the way it comes throughwhen they play it back. Nice.
So we're about to close it outin just a sec. But I
want to talk about y'all's I sawit. Y'all have a big social media
follow and a lot of people arelooking at y'all. How does how does
it feel to have like a lotof fans? It feels good because I
(20:10):
like my fans, and I liketo go alive and say heyism every every
time I go somewhere where I goto New York, when I go to
South Carolina, when I go toTennessee, when I go to Atlanta,
I like to talk to my fans. Well that's why. Yeah, I
love that worldwide. Okay, whatabout you? Me? Uh? I
(20:36):
like communicating with me fans like likeshe said on Live, I don't really
be on Live still. Okay,now, look, I got one question
for y'all. I want y'all tobe honest. Who has more fans me?
How many fans? Do? You? Got? Too many to count?
(20:59):
I don't, but I've been doingthis more than you have. I
three years. Think I will saythis has been great. So I want
to talk, and just before weclose it out, I do want to
I want to ask you, guysthis. The name of the song is
be You, So can y'all telleverybody exactly? I want you to tell
everybody what you think be You means. And I also want you to tell
(21:22):
everybody what you think be you.Okay, So what I think be means
is be more confident and mean yourself. Don't let anyone say not be you,
because if you're not being you,who are you? Don't let nobody
stop what you're doing and be yourselfnice. I love that. That was
(21:45):
some great advice. I appreciate y'allso much for coming in. Guys,
makes you you go ahead and checkout be You. It is released on
all major streaming platforms and it servesas a vibrant anthem for children a teachers.
Y'all can play it in the classroom. Get the students up dancing and
viving. I'm sure that they willlove it. Appreciate y'all so much for
(22:07):
coming in. Hope y'all had agreat time. Y'all have a good time.
Yeah, okay. Appreciate y'all somuch, and thank you guys.
Thank you for having us, Thankyou for having us. Yeah it was
great. Yeah, y'all y'all werefantastic. Y'all are awesome. Y'all have
me laughing over it too. Ialways need a good laugh man. Appreciate
y'all so much for listening and tuningin on your home for twenty four seven
news the Black Information Network. I'mTyreek w winn catch y'all next time.
(22:32):
Thanks Tyreek. Keeping in line withsome lighter news this more Memorial Day weekend
is news commentator Mo Kelly's conversation withthe cast members of a new film that
spooks some of the iconic movie characterscreated by Tyler Perry. I'm O'Kelly,
(22:57):
and this is the Black Information Work, featuring an all star cast including Jamie
Fox, Mickey Rourke, Vivica AFox, Tisha Campbell, Jasmine Guy,
My next two guests. Not AnotherChurch Movie is a new parody comedy film
that playfully yet blatantly fire shots directlyat the films of Tyler Perry. Now
(23:17):
in theaters. This is usually mydearrest, but uh, I'm feeling like
something pasttag Holy Days, Holy Daylisten, feeling very blessed to day?
Why that counselor fair. It's actuallypronounced Harry Taylor, Harry the Penius Silent.
Got that, Mary, Yes,you're honored his panal work, My
(23:41):
favorite nephew. Look this morning,right, God told me I'm supposed to
empower all the women of the world. God wants a new pivven uh haveing
my bea, and I'm going toneed you to commit to I'll do anything
for you, guy. I needyou to become a brider. I don't
know nothing about Ryden. Do youknow what a part point is? No
storyline? Kevin Daniels co stars asTaylor. Harry the p is Silent,
(24:08):
and he joins me now on theshow, Kevin, good to talk to
you. Good to talk to you, Mo. How you doing, I'm
doing well. Can't wait to dothis, and also joining me as comedian
Luke Ashley, who plays hopra Winfall. Luke, what's going on? What's
up? MO? Let me justsay this, Luke. As I look
at the film history of Tyler Perry, much of it is both intentionally funny
(24:32):
and unintentionally funny, from the questionablefrom the questionable whig choices to dialogue to
what I would call predictable story acts. When you watch a Tyler Perry film,
which is immensely popular, when youwatch, what comes to mind,
Oh man, you know the firstthing that comes to mind is I recognize
that Tyler was telling personal stories thathe had seen growing up. The media
(24:56):
character. He watched that Auntie andthat big Mama around him, and he
was able to take something because Tylerhas some stories that are sad, He's
been through some things, but hewas able to really spin it and make
fun of it exactly what we're doing, yep, and bring us some joy.
And we all got those family membersand we can all relate to the
family reunions and seeing those you know, female characters in our lives. But
(25:19):
the media character, which is ArmaDude played by Kevin you know, we
really just we really just wrap itup with a nice bow and bring the
essence of what we always saw Tylerdo. So, you know, and
I grew up watching them with mymom and like so to see her to
bring her to the premiere and haveher life and have her get the joke
and enjoyed lit the whole world tome, you know what I mean.
(25:41):
I was like, Oh, that'sgreat, because it really is about celebrating
this body of work this man isdone, but also like celebrating our culture
and celebrating like you say, thewith choices, the like with the actors,
like the script of their lives andstuff. It's like we were just
shed a light on, Like youknow, we can make fun of ourselves
too, Kevin. Let me stayright there, Kevin, Because Tyler Perry
(26:03):
has been parodied over the years byother individuals. How do you know where
that line is between parody and vindictiveness? Right? You know? And that's
that's a great question. Man.I feel like this, this movie is
more about celebrating the work of itand like it's like a roast, you
know what I mean. You getup there and you tell some some great
(26:26):
jokes, and some of them surecan be a little like, oh oh,
what joke was that joke? Wasthat? Yeah? But I think
that like overall, it's the joyof like, look at what this man
has done, accomplished from nothing andcreated himself a billion dollar empire. And
it's like, and I love theidea that in our movie it's because it
was God's playing all along. Youknow. That's great it Luke, you
(26:52):
play Oprah Windfall and obviously a playon the name of Oprah Winfrey recently talk
about contemporary issues. Both Perry andWinfrey were back in the news as part
of a comedy routine air quotes performedby comedian Monique. What is it about
Oprah which people sometimes take issue withor find worthy of parody? You know,
(27:15):
Oprah's been in the game for soso long, and one thing I
appreciate about Oprah is that she doesn'tpunch down at all. She gives back
a lot, never punches down.In fact, she's been a blessing to
help Tyler, you know, she'sblessed Kevin with a job. I mean,
she's done so much. And atthe end of the day, I
(27:37):
mean, god, the Monique.We can go all day on the Monique
stuff, right, and I hadto kind of do my own research.
I love Monique. I recognize thatas a comedian giant. I recognize her
work and her and what she's beenthrough. And these are people that hurt
her, you know. But I'ma quote Oprah here. You know.
It's about gratitude, it's about evengoing forward, you know, And I
(28:02):
think that's the message of Oprah.I'm sorry that what happened to Monique was
so painful. But we're in sucha season right now. We're only hearing
some of the dark things, thehard things, the harsh things. We're
watching the news. The news isalways going to be there. Playing Oprah
is really about still mirroring the samethings that Oprah does. It's about gratitude,
(28:22):
it's about giving people those gems ofjust like keep going, keep pushing,
don't give up. And the Moniquething. You know, I hate
to say it, but Prectice cameout fifteen years ago. We got to
get going. We got to getgoing. So you know, I'm just
saying. And Oprah is one ofthose great people that I think has done
so much for the community, somuch for women. I don't want to
(28:44):
spend any time putting her name downbecause she's really just been celebrating things.
I mean, we've seen Color Purple, We've seen her in this season of
you know, loving her Body.It's been a really beautiful thing to watch
Oprah seventy. This is not youknow, She's really giving us a lot
over the years, and I wasso grateful to play her and just channeling
who she truly is. It wasgreat, It really was. Hey,
(29:06):
Kevin, this is a great jobat it, Kevin, Let's get into
sir, not another church movie.You have a fantastic cast, a great
recipe for laughs. Uh but howmuch how much improvisation were you allowed in
these scenes? I gotta say wewe We were given a wide berth and
we did a lot off a lotof improv There's actually this is a scene
(29:29):
that made the movie that was completelyimprovising, was not in the script.
A dude and and Kyler Pratt's character, she is playing Angelabata's character for Mick
the Browns, and I just thought, if she's gonna be here on this
set here in Savannah, I wantto work with her. So we and
Johnny let us go and we getin sorttle funny little scene about inheriting the
(29:51):
house, and it was great andit landed into the movie, so we
were we had funny. Yeah,we had a great time with that.
It was really like we had,you know, we had a script really
like guidelines, but he really letus play and it was just smart because
you get all these comedians together,there's no ego. If everyone was just
trying to make you laugh, andwe got the crew laughing. The camera
(30:12):
is shaking and all that kind ofstuff. It's a lot of fun.
Well. I wondered then, Luke, because I wondered how many times folks
might have broken character. And there'ssome folks in here which I don't think
in a classically comedic sense. Youknow, who do you have playing the
devil other than Mickey Rourke. Ididn't see that. Yes, exactly exactly.
(30:34):
Nicky's great. I mean, Jamieis God. I mean, whoa.
There was some outtakes. I mean, oh my gosh, there were
some things that Jamie did as guythat was so funny. He really really
you could tell he really really tooksome time to find some of those those
quotes about God, the things aboutGod, the inner, they's just things
that have happened in the world.He took some topical things and spun it
around. It was great. HishaCampbell, Oh my, Gosha Campbell started
(30:57):
shouting in one of the church andwe it was so hard not to laugh.
We had to really maintain character.But she does her thing. Everyone
really does a great, great jobof leading into all the comedy and the
timing, and so it's been It'sa great film. Y'all gotta go out
and see it. It's worth it. If you've seen Tyler Perry, you
know the characters. If you haven't, it's still worth going out to laugh
(31:18):
it. Is there a gag reel, a blooper reel that we might get
to see somewhere along the way,I lose you. I promise you there
is with the butter. It's theButter on Top. And if everybody gets
out this weekend and go see thatmovie, like we know they should,
(31:40):
you'll see it a lot serter thanyou think. Oh oh, all right,
then let me ask you this.So yeah, if Kevin, if
people get out there and go seethis, how likely or possible might we
expect a sequel to something like this? Because it lends itself to that.
I got to ask the question.I gotta say that they are already talking
about it, everybody out there thisweekend. You know, May tenth.
(32:07):
It's a good Mother's Day weekend.I think it's it's in some theater's Thursday
night. But uh, but Friday, I go in and go see the
movies, and you know, andwe'll we'll know soon not absolutely not.
Another Church movie is now in theaters. Kevin Daniels, Luke Ashley Thank you
so much for coming on the BlackInformation Network. I wish you nothing but
(32:27):
success and congratulations. Thank you much, MO, for sure you. Thanks
Mo. Welcome back to the MemorialDay weekend edition of The Black Perspective.
How I'm your host, Mike Island. Let's check in now with Gracie Award
(32:51):
winning news anchor Esther Dillard for thisweek's installment of The Color Between the Lines.
I'm mister Dillard on the Black InformationNetwork, chatting with writers and authors
who offer an added perspective for ourlisteners. This is the Color between the
(33:13):
Lines. On this edition of TheColor Between the Lines, we're talking about
business advice and what are some ofthe things that you could adopt to make
yourself more of a success. Joiningme is Kelvin g Abrams. He is
an entrepreneur and business owner who sharesome pearls of wisdom in his latest book
(33:38):
called Get Uncomfortable or Change Course.Welcome Kelvin g Abrams to the bin.
Thank you for having me. Iappreciate it well, Kelvin. I took
a look at your website and Isee that you're in your business right now.
I look at your website, yourFacebook page and you run a really
unique business called Tiki's Playhouse and somethingcalled Canine Coffee. It's kind of a
(34:02):
combined thing, and I thought itwas a unique concept. Can you talk
about this business and what inspired youto open it? Absolutely? So.
Tiki's Playhouse has been here for fifteenyears. And what inspired me was the
loss of my dog. I hada wye Mariner who was a boy,
what was it, eleven months,three weeks and three days old, and
(34:24):
I had to put him down.So he was very much a puppy,
and his name was Tiki. I'ma New York Giants football fan, so
all my dogs are related to Giantsplayer. So his name was Tiki,
named after Tiki Barbara, and soI decided at that point in time,
back in December twenty I'm sorry,December two thousand and seven, to start
(34:45):
a business and name it after Tiki. So I called it a Tiki's Playhouse.
We incorporated January two thousand and eight, and fifteen years later, here
I am. And during the processI pivoted a little bit. I had
a grooming area which was my coffeeshop that I'm in right now and dealing
with groomors after you know, eightnine, ten, years kind of got
(35:07):
to be a headache, and soI kind of said, what else could
I do down here? And thenat that point I kind of looked at
the stock market and you kind ofjust saw that the number two traded commodity
was coffee. First was oil,second was coffee. So it's a no
brainer. Dogs in coffee kind ofmerge them together. So that's kind of
where the concept came from. It'ssimple and playing money, money, money,
(35:29):
money. Well, it's really interestingbecause I thought though that the way
you talked about your business starting inyour book, it was kind of emotional,
and maybe you could talk a littlebit about how that emotion kind of
kind of drove you to make thisbusiness change and to start the business.
(35:52):
Yeah, so it was very emotional. I lost my dog. I was
going through a rough time at mycareer at that point, and I thought
about doing this. The funny thingis is when I was in college,
you know, I thought of bydoing a business, and I've been an
entrepreneur thinking in my mind my entirelife. I just didn't know what it
was. And then in college Ikind of started working on this doggy daycare
(36:14):
concept, and so that's kind ofwhere it came about, and so I
had a lot of struggles in thevery beginning, of course, like most
businesses, had a lot of struggle. But what kept me determined the first
five years was my dog Tiki.I had lost him at a very young
age. It was my very firstown personal dog that I had lost.
I excuse me, I kept thehiccups. I took it very personal.
(36:36):
You know. I cried a lot, and I told myself, and I
told Tiki, and I prayed toGod that if he ever gave me the
opportunity to start my business, thatI would give everything I have and devote
every time and every energy and breathto Tiki. And so here I am
fifteen years later, still devoting mybusiness and myself to Tiki. Wow,
(37:00):
you write, uh, you're writinga book how hard it was, and
how hard it is for entrepreneurs,especially black entrepreneurs, to go from really
an idea to actually making it happen. And you can correct me if I'm
wrong, But it appeared that thatmay be the reason why you named the
book the book title get Uncomfortable orchange course? Was getting uncomfortable one of
(37:25):
the biggest obstacles that kind of heldyou back from making this decision. You
know, I got to be honestwith you. I've been uncomfortable my entire
life. Growing up. We've hadyou know, I had a good childhood
like most people. You know,I had a decent childhood. Towards the
end, it got a little hairy. Towards the end of maybe the last
five years or so, it gota little hairy. But I've been uncomfortable
(37:47):
my entire life. My parents raisedus to work hard and to you know,
to to succeed and to never giveup and then never quit. We
were not allowed to quit. Weweren't allowed to quit jobs. We weren't
just allowed to quit. We hadto deal with it and struggle through it.
So I've been uncomfortable my entire life, and the business get uncomfortable to
(38:08):
change course. I've been writing thatbook since I was eighteen years of age,
and so again it's something that I'vedealt with my entire life, and
I just didn't know when or howto put it on paper and talk about
being uncomfortable. But yes, beingin business is very uncomfortable. There's a
lot of good days, bad days, ups and downs, and there's a
(38:30):
lot of learning lessons that you haveto be ready for and some you're not
going to be ready for. Butevery day's a learning lesson. Well for
those of you who are just joiningus. I'm aster dealer with the Black
Information Network. Speaking with the entrepreneur, business owner, and author Calvin g
(38:51):
Abrams about his book book, GetUncomfortable or Change Course. You wrote about
knowing your worth. I thought thiswas a very interesting chapter, very good
chapter, because it's something that alot of people have a problem with,
especially with the art of negotiation,something something that I struggle with as well
as for myself. What do youthink that made you stronger in this area
(39:16):
and how did you determine your worthand use it in the art of negotiation.
So that's probably the biggest point inmy book is starting out with basically
minimal business knowledge, you are takenadvantage of, and I was taken advantage
(39:37):
of, and so I lost alot of money. But through my losses
I've learned. So my thing isis sure I may lose a lot of
money, or sure I may losea deal, but as long as I
learned from that deal, and Ihave learned from that deal, and over
the years it has strengthened me soit's not something that has come from within.
(40:00):
It's just I've learned from my mistakesand I'm not going to go back
to making those mistakes. So that'sthe only answer I can really honestly say,
is just learn from your mistakes.And boy, had a lot of
financial mistakes that once or twice Ithought I was going to go into bankruptcy
and just end it all. ButI figured it out. And that's also
(40:22):
about being a business owner is pivotingand figuring things out. And that's what
I just learned to do over theyears is anytime I have an issue or
a problem or struggles, I learnedto figure it out. I just put
two and two together and just kindof learned to figure it out. So
I'm always pivoting. That's what alot of people do you and many business
(40:43):
entrepreneurs they advise that you get acoach, but you know, not all
coaches are equal. And how didyou find your coach or coaches and what
did they teach you. I havea couple of people I refer to as
coaches, and they came about fromfriends who noticed that I was struggling emotionally
(41:07):
mentally and just struggling and there isone I talk about in my book an
awful Lot. His name is UncleWilly. He's a great guy. He's
not related to me, but myfriend, my dear friend, Sarah,
introduced me to Uncle Willy and he'sbecome a friend first and foremost. But
he's also a business owner himself,and him and I have gone through a
(41:29):
lot of the struggles early on,so I lean on Uncle Willy a lot
to support me, help me foradvice. I actually went out and sought
a business coach to help me outas well too. For a while,
so I've worked with a business coach. I now have a publicist slash marketing
person that I work with as well, and I consider her a mentor and
(41:52):
a coach. So the people thatI like to try to bring into my
network and bring into my family,if you will, I consider all of
them coaches because I like to hirepeople that are professionals and experts in their
field and in their craft. Andso that's who I have working around around
(42:12):
me. And it started with UncleWillie. I'm sorry, it started with
Ed Knox. Back at SCORE,you know small business administration. They have
an organization called SCORE of Retired BusinessOwners that come and help people. And
Ed Knox, I remember him,and he started me on this long journey
of mine here and he was verytough on me. He was extremely tough.
(42:34):
But I'm here today fifteen years laterbecause I saw a coach from SCORE
and most people think that it's goingto cost you, but it's absolutely free.
And that's what they're there for smallbusiness administration, to SCORE team,
and that's what they're there for tohelp you out. Well throughout this book,
and I thought it was very goodand interesting that you put these questions
(42:55):
at the end for people to kindof do that deep dive work. Well,
what do you think is the toughestexercise for yourself? And why?
The toughest exercise for me is shuttingit off, turning it off. I
don't sleep at night because I'm sucha creative person. I can't shut it
off. So I've talked to mydoctor, I've talked to therapists, and
(43:20):
they're trying to put me on allthis medicine and I'm like, no,
you're supposed to be encouraging the creativity, not telling me to stop. So
the hardest thing for me is toturn it off at night. I literally
sleep with either my iPad or apiece of paper or a pencil next to
my bed. And a lot ofmy ideas come in the middle of the
night when I'm sleeping and my brainis able to think and process, and
(43:43):
I start writing stuff down, andthen of course the next morning you have
to decipher it. But you know, that's where most of my creativity comes
from. So I don't necessarily knowif I'm able to shut it off or
shut it down or calm down.But I manage it. So that's the
answer I can give you, isI manage it, but I don't never
shut it off. It's not somethingthat I can not yet, at least
(44:07):
not yet. I like to say. One of my famous quotes I like
to use from Robert Frost's poem isI have miles to go before I sleep,
So I have miles to go beforeI sleep, So I can't turn
it off. Well, final word, the number one message that you want
readers to come away with when theyfinish your book. Oh boy, let's
(44:30):
see, there's so much But howcan I put it in a ten second
reel? Here? The number onething I really want people to realize that
I'm going to show this book hereif I may is the most important thing
is to be prepared to get uncomfortable. Being in business is not about handing
a business card out. Hey I'ma business owner. It's a lot more
(44:52):
than that. And I want totell your listeners and viewers and anyone out
there who reads and picks up mybook. This book is designed and made
to smack you in a face witha doser reality. So it's a wake
up Paul. So if you're interestedin starting a business, I highly advise
you read my book Get Uncomfortable orChange Course, because it will let you
(45:16):
know what's in store for you whenyou decide to walk down this lonely path.
And I tell you it's a lonelypath, but it's not for everyone.
So Get Uncomfortable or Change Course.Well, thank you Kelvin g Abrams
for joining us on the BIM.This book is called Get Uncomfortable or Change
(45:37):
Course. That's it for this editionof The Color Between the Lines. I'm
Ester Dillard on the Black Information Network. Thanks Esther. The Black Information Network
(45:57):
has an amazing team of commentationaders whobring their unique perspectives to stories impacting the
Black community. Today, we checkin with Roland Martin. For all of
you who plan on sitting out theelection, let me remind you what happens
when you have right wing maga judgessitting on the federal bench. Twenty sixteen,
(46:17):
a lot of people set the electionout and chose not to vote for
Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump wins,he goes on to appoint three Supreme Court
justices. Those are right wing judges. You like student loan debt relief.
Those judges blocked President Biden from wipingout all student loan debt relief. Those
(46:40):
judges wiped out Roe v. Wade. Those judges wiped out affirmative action in
cauders and universities, and they willcontinue to rule against many issues that African
Americans support. If you don't thinkDonald Trump will do this if he is
(47:02):
elected in November, don't take myword for it, take his. Then
I called up my people and Isaid, I have a guy from New
York who's an incredible Lawyer's got theright temperament to be a really great judge.
Oh good, sir, How oldis he? I said he's sixty
nine, sir, So he's goingto be there for two three four years.
(47:23):
We like people in their thirties,so they're there for fifty years or
forty years we don't want. Andas soon as they said that, I
realized, yeah, they're exactly right. My administration will again adopt rock solid
constitutional conservatives to be federal Bench justicesand judges, but in the mold of
(47:45):
Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas,who, by the way, right now
is under siege by the radical left. Here's reality. President Joe Biden has
appointed more African Americans to the federalthan any other president in history. Those
judges are there for a lifetime.Don't think for a second by you sending
(48:08):
this election out that is not goingto make a difference voting matters for the
next fifty years. I'm Roland Martinon the Black Information Network. Be sure
to catch Roland Martin, mo Kellyand James T. Harris for daily commentary
on the Black Information Network and ourvery own Doug Davis returns with another segment
(48:30):
of Your Black Business. By theway, the second half of this interview
with black financial literacy entrepreneur John Hodbryantwill air in the coming weeks, but
for now, he dives into thelife of a brother who transformed his life
by losing hundreds of pounds and urgesblack men to do the same. Doug,
Thanks Mike. My name is DougDavis and welcome to Your Black Business,
(48:52):
where we feature inspiring stories of blackentrepreneurs, organizations, and perspectives surrounding
black business. Colin May, aphilanthropist, entrepreneur, and now an author,
recently released his latest book entitled LosingIt for Good, The Ultimate Guide
to Men's Health and Wellness. Inthis book, May share his personal journey
of overcoming food addiction during his youthand young adulthood, starting his healthy lifestyle
(49:17):
transformation in twenty nineteen. He providesvaluable insights and directs readers to resources for
achieving and sustaining optimal health in afast paced modern world. Colin, Welcome
to the BIL Doug, such apleasure. Thanks so much for having me
earlier this week. You shared yourinspiration behind writing this book. A black
man er at a greater risk ofsuffering a stroke or a heart attack,
(49:42):
and that you were in that categoryat one time. You transform your life
and that's your motivation behind writing thebook. I really wanted to provide a
pathway, a resource for black menthat are struggling with weight management, struggling
with our health. And I feltthat telling my story would encourage others to
maybe open up and tell their story, or open up and reshape their mindset
(50:07):
around food exactly. You know,I think it's so important. As I
am, you know, listening toyou, I'm going back to my early
days as a child in Philadelphia,and I remember being over my favorite aunt's
house and man, because she cookand whenever I got in trouble, you
(50:28):
know, my mom would always sendme over to my aunt's house, Aunt
Clara, and she would always bakea cake for me, right and she
would say, oh, baby's gonnabe okay. And that was her way
of showing love to me, youknow, by cooking for me. But
what that did for me I foundlater in life is that I found comfort
in food whenever something happened in mylife, because it took me right back
(50:54):
to those early days in my childhood. Can you share a pivotal moment from
your journey that you have included inthe book which you believe will resonate strongly
with black men. Yeah, absolutely, And to your point, you know
the same with me. I mean, food was something that I part taken
(51:15):
in when I was sad. Itwas something that I partly take in when
I was happy. And one ofthe things that I try my best distress
for black men in the book isthat food is the worst addiction to have.
I mean, you know, youcan be addicted to gambling, drugs,
alcohol, but you can physically livewithout those things. You cannot physically
(51:37):
live without food. And it's atough, tough method to break when you're
constantly thinking about your next meal.Right. So for me, I talk
a lot in the book about notonly physical health, but mental health and
financial health. When you change yourmindset around food, you become more discipline.
(52:00):
I You're more likely to succeed financiallyand in other areas of your life
as well. I'd say a pivotalmoment for me September ninth, twenty and
fifteen. I'll actually never forget theday I went to the doctor for the
first time in two years, andI was over four hundred pounds, four
hundred nineteen pounds, and I wasso embarrassed and angry and sad and frustrated.
(52:22):
I went home and cried. Senceanother I'd say week just coming to
terms with you know, this wasmy sighs and looking in the mirror and
having some accountability for what I've reallydone to myself. And I wrote down
(52:43):
my dreams and aspirations what I wantedto accomplish over the next ten to fifteen
years. And I realized that ifI say it the size I was,
I wouldn't have been able to accomplishthose things. So I took a step
back. I dedicated my At thattime four to five months of trying to
get in good shape, I wasfeeling good. I was doing things that
(53:06):
I hadn't done before, exercising regularly, and over the course of the three
and a half year period, Ireally really changed my mindset and changed my
body. In your book, doyou address, you know, some of
the unique challenges that black men faceand maintaining healthy and wellness in today's society.
(53:27):
I mean, I always like tosay that black men are the most
endangered species in the world. Weface so much mental stress, so much
emotional stress, that that can carryover to our physical Yes, And I'm
so glad that you mentioned that,because we as black men face an extraordinary
(53:52):
amount of pressure, everything from familyto relationships to friendships. You know,
I did a conversation in the rightand I asked the brothers that were in
attendance. I said, raise yourhand if you've had a bad job.
All the hands went up. Isaid, raise your hand if you've had
a bad relationships. All the handswent up. And I think so often
(54:14):
we feel the weight of the worldon our shoulders as black men in America,
and it's not getting any better.It's really a matter of coming together
and sharing our experiences, sharing ourmoments with each other so that we can
lean on one another. I don'tbelieve we're supposed to go through life alone,
but it kind of comes back tothat old adage of you know,
I am my brother's keeper, right, So if that's the case, then
(54:37):
we have to make sure that we'resupporting and leaning in on one another and
really being a strong advocate for oursuccess. That is so true. Transparency
is definitely a tough one for AfricanAmerican man. We're taught to not be
transparent. We're taught to suck itup and keep it all in. But
(54:59):
when we become transparent, we openour minds and we open our spirit up
for change. And I know thatmyself. I at one point weighed Wow,
three hundred and twenty pounds, andafter some real insightful thoughts, I
decided to make a change and lostabout one hundred and twenty pounds. It
(55:22):
took me over a year a yearand a half to do so, but
it happened. How does Losing Itfor good tackle the topic of mental health?
Let's go back to that real quick. And you know, why do
you feel that this is such anessential conversation for black men since we're talking
about transparency and the lack thereof whenit comes to our mental health. Well,
I think black men in this countrydon't have an outlet to discuss mental
(55:44):
health. I think that we're oftenperceived as weak or soft if we talk
about challenges that we might have,and I think we have to do a
better job of breaking that stigma.Other other cultures are more likely to embrace
challenges or conflicts that they're experiencing intheir personal lives. And for us,
(56:07):
with what men, we don't reallyhave that safety net. If you will,
you don't have that outlet, andwe have to do a better job
of that. Our lives really dependon us. Again, going back to
I am my brother's keeper. Youknow, we've all gone through traumatic experiences
in life. Life is not easy. And when you see the increased number
(56:30):
of suicides across the country, thatgives you some extreme pause and it should
make everybody set back and say,hey, listen, I've got to do
a better job prioritizing not only mymental health, but my friends, my
family, those that I care about. It's important to check in and see
how people are doing, especially duringthese these times. Do you have any
(56:52):
advice that you can give black menwho may be struggling with food addiction?
I mean, you know, firstoff, yea acknowledging the fact that you
may be addicted to food is initself to me extraordinary, But you know,
food addiction is a real thing.What other you know, kind of
(57:14):
let's say, advice again, canyou provide to some black men listening right
now that have helped you overcome foodaddiction? Well, you know that that's
a big one, is admitting thatthat you do have a problem. And
you know, so much of itcomes down to just reshaping our mindset around
food. You know, I waswhen I grew up, I was always
(57:36):
so jealous of my dad because mydad was like picture perfect, you know,
bord to health and super fit.I was just the opposite. So
you know, it really came downto trying to make a difference, realizing
that I had to make a differenceand prioritized in the future. I think
when you have something to look forwardto, you're more likely to be engaged,
(58:00):
age and you're more likely to bewilling to go through the process of
losing the weight and maintaining the weightloss you know, I tell people that
maintaining the weight losses is even harderthan losing it because you have to again
fully transform your mindset around food,and that's not an easy thing to do.
(58:21):
But I would encourage brothers out therethat want to read my story,
want to be motivated. At least, I'm hoping to motivate brothers across the
country to really lean on each otherand let's start supporting each other in multiple
ways. Well, I have topiss Entrepreneur Now author recently released his new
book entitled Losing It for Good,The Ultimate Guide to Men's Health and Wellness,
(58:43):
Colin Mays, thank you so much, brother for sharing your story with
us today. My name is DougDavis. You're listening to the Black Perspective
on the Black Information Network. ThanksDoug, and that's our program for this
week on behalf of the entire teamat the Black Information Network on Mike Island
pushing everyone a wonderful Sunday and agreat Memorial Day weekend. Thanks for listening,
(59:05):
and be sure to join us nextweek at this time for another edition
of the Black Perspective right here onthe Black Information Network. The Black Information
Network and six time Emmy nominated newsanchor Vanessa Tyler welcome you to black Land,
a podcast about the ground on whichthe Black community stands right now.
From stories about salvation and loss,I love the person who had an a
(59:30):
Chevy diagnosis, the dreams achieved oryet unfulfilled from people who have made it,
I sat down with a therapist andI begin my journey to those left
behind. Listen to black Land onthe iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast
The largest civil rights conference, iscoming to New Orleans this summer, the
National Urban League Conference July twenty fourththrough the twenty seventh at the High Regency,
New Orleans. Register today at Annulconferencedot org. Don't miss the nation's
leading business, political and community leaders, influencers, and celebrities as they all
(00:20):
meet up from the twenty fourth throughthe twenty seventh downtown at the Hyde Regency,
New Orleans. Don't wait. Registertoday at Annuelconference dot org. It's
Memorial Day weekend and today Moe Kellyspeaks with the cast of a new movie
based on the comedic characters of TylerPerry and Tyreek Winn. Brings us a
(00:42):
joyful conversation with the young children ofTi and Tiny Harris. These stories and
more are coming your way next.Welcome to the Black Perspective. I'm your
host, Mike Island. Welcome tothe Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs
program on the Black Information Network featuringinterview and discussions on issues important to the
Black community. Good Sunday to everyone, and welcome to another edition of The
(01:06):
Black Perspective. Many of us haveseen the movie Fruitvale Station, starring actor
Michael B. Jordan which depicts thetragic killing of Oscar Grant by law enforcement
in California. Now there's a newfilm out that takes a closer look at
this event, along with other killingsof black men by police officers, through
the eyes of the mothers who sufferedthe loss of their children. Vin podcast
(01:30):
host Ramsis Jaw has more thanks Mikethe mother of Oscar Grant, Reverend Wanda
Johnson, and award winning Brazilian filmmakerDeborah Susi Silva's new film for Our Children
just had its LA premiere and wasreleased on Netflix May tenth, Written,
directed and produced by Silva, whereOur Children delves into Reverend Johnson's relentless efforts
(01:51):
to immortalize her son by advocating forthe fruit bel Bart station where he was
killed in two thousand and nine,to be renamed in his honor. Her
story Conen's sides with a harrowing policeviolince incident involving Angela Williams and her then
seventeen year old son Ulysses Wilkerson.Though he survives this brutal encounter, ulysses
Is life becomes ensnared in a webof suspicion and reprisal by local law enforcement
(02:14):
that the family continues to fight.Today here to share more about this ongoing
effort, as well as the newNetflix documentary. Our guests Reverend Wanda Johnson
and filmmaker Deborah Susa Silva. ReverendJohnson will start with you. Thank you
so much for having me on yourshow today. I am doing very well.
Thank you, Deborah. Our listenerswould love to hear from you as
(02:35):
well. I'm really I appreciate theopportunity of being your show, and I
am really excited that our film isout there for a wide audience. Sure.
Sure, so let's talk about thatand we'll start with you, Deborah.
Give us a little bit about yourbackground for folks that don't know who
you are, sort of a littlebit about your upbringing and sort of what
(02:58):
led you to the career path thatyou're sure. I am originally from Saint
Paulo, Brazil, and I grewup in Afro Brazilian community, working class
community, and I saw in journalismmy opportunity to tell stories that were important
(03:21):
for my community. As a TVnews reporter, which was my first job
in the field, I documented issuesranging from police violence to my mass incarceration
and anything that were related to wasrouted in systemic racism. So that was
(03:45):
my focus in journalism in Brazil.I moved to the United States in two
thousand and nine to pursue my graduategraduate studies in journalism, and that's when
I found my love for documentary filmmakingand this is what I've been doing since
(04:06):
then. And Reverend Johnson, alot of us are a little bit more
familiar with the why your story,but for those that aren't, just give
us a little bit of background.So Oscar was killed January first, two
thousand and nine, at the Fruitvillebark Station and December thirty first is my
(04:27):
birthday, so that is the lastday that we had an opportunity to be
together. I had instructed him totake part and never did I imagine that
he would not return home. Andwhen I received the call that he had
been shot, I could not wrapthat around my head. I didn't at
the time know who had shot himor why he had been shot. And
(04:54):
when I found out that it wasan officer hired to retain and served the
communities, I really couldn't understand it. His friends and the community was saying
that he wasn't resisting that he waslaying on the platform, and yet he
was shot and killed. And hislast picture reveals the picture of an officer,
(05:20):
the same officer who shot and killedhim, utilizing his point in his
taser at those on the platform.And the officer narrative was that he first
said Oscar was resisting arrests. Thesecond thing he said he thought he was
(05:40):
going for a gun, and weknow that that's not true at all.
We know that he wasn't resisting.And then the third thing that he tried
to say is that he had tasergun confusion, so he didn't know his
gun from his taser. And sowe went to court. The officer was
(06:01):
sentenced for eleven months in a countyjail, and he was also charged with
the gun and has been charged withThe judge removed because he said he gave
the jury the wrong instructions. Andso Oscar that night that he was on
the platform with his friend, wastrying to de escalate the situation. He
(06:28):
told the officer he wanted to talkto somebody who was in charge. Not
only did he tell the officer that, he told us friends, Hey,
you guys followed their directions. Bequiet, we're going home. And yet
he did not have an opportunity tocome home. And so since then my
life has been filled with wanting toget justice for Oscar and seeing others killed
(06:55):
and wanting to get justice for them. And it was really to the community
that helped us to secure that justicefor my son. And it takes all
of us to work to ensure whenwe see injustices, to help the other
families fight for justice so that theycan get some kind of measure of justice.
(07:21):
That's fantastic work. Let's talk abit about the film. You're pursued
to have brute Vale Stationary named inyour son's honor is part of what these
film documents, So let's talk abit about why that's important. So oftentimes
(07:42):
when we see young men or youngwomen killed, in the beginning, the
crowd is there, people are protesting, and then as time goes on,
people go back to normal lives.And so what I don't want and didn't
want for Oscar, is that usto really go back to normal. See.
(08:05):
I want a memorial set there thathis name will always ring in the
atmosphere. And you know, let'slook at this. When we have police
killed, we have freeways, andwe have different things named after them.
(08:26):
Why not a citizen? Why notsomeone who was in compliance? Why not
someone who was following the directions butlost their lives? Why not name the
station after him? And so thatis one of our goals. We have
not obtained that yet, but weare still working to try to obtain that.
(08:50):
We have gotten the street name,we have gotten the mural name.
So we're working towards getting the truths. Veil State named after Oscar and it's
a process, it takes time.Well, let's let's go with that a
bit, because I know that inthe film you're inspiring others to advocate for
(09:11):
their children. You mentioned Angela Williams, and you know, for folks that
are unfamiliar with kind of how thatstory began, why don't you give a
little bit about that story, justso that people know what they can expect
to see. So Deborah had beenfollowing me for about seven years and she
(09:33):
met Angela, who is from Alabama, and she heard about Angela's story and
she began to follow Angela. Andupon following Angela, she received the vision
to kind of began to intertwine thestories, and she did that. Angela's
(09:56):
son was again coming home from aparty or a birthday party, I believe,
and it was dark and he wason his way. The police stopped
him. You will see in thefilm where they really beat him up,
abuse their powers. During that time, he was hospitalized and then a lawsuit
(10:22):
was fouled. During that process ofthat lawsuit being foul, he was then
charged with capital murder, so theytook him to jail, only to end
up releasing him. I think it'simportant for us to understand that that happens
so commonly with families who are tryingto fight against the judicial system, where
(10:48):
that person or the family members willbe followed and just different things will happen.
I've heard many different styles worries,and so in Angela's story, we
end up meeting and we begin totalk. I begin to a culture on
(11:11):
what justice looks like. It maynot happen overnight, but having the perseverance
and enduring is what is going tobe required. And it becomes, you
know, a movement there, it'son the news, it's talked about,
(11:31):
and she continues to pursue justice forhim. Add Yeah, I think what
is really interesting and important in Ulysses'scase, and this is one of the
reasons why I decided to follow thatstory as well is because I feel like,
(11:52):
as you know, mainstream media isso focused on case where the victims
die by police violence, and Ithink it's important to cover those case.
But I know, not only asa journalist, but as a black woman,
that police violence happens in many differentways. It's like, you know,
(12:16):
from the daily interactions with black communitiesin you know, in my case,
like just growing up in Brazil andmy father, my father, for
instance, the fact that you know, I remember when I was a seven
year old girl and I would bein the car with my father. He
loved cars and he worked so hardto you know, have the car of
(12:37):
the year, and I remember likehe was stopped by the police on a
daily basis. And the fact thatI recall that as a grown woman,
I think that is you know,upsetting. So police violence happens in different
ways. And I felt like,you know, when I learned about Ulyssa's
(12:58):
case, and then Angela was youknow, had posted that his picture on
on the internet, and that's howyou know, I learned about the case,
and that became viral, and andthen I felt like, oh,
this is a case of a survivor. How many stories, how many of
those cases do you know get coverishedon the media. Oftentimes we will,
(13:22):
you know, we will only shinea light when victims die. And I
felt like it was very important toinclude that case as well. It made
me think about, like, howmany more are out there, how many
more ulysses are out there that survivebrutal attack, but it goes under it
goes unreported because you know, howhow you're going to report to the police
(13:46):
that you were brutally beaten. Soit's really it's it's really an important portion
of the story that we need toshine a light on and I felt like
that should be on the documentary aswell. Well. With that in mind,
I would like to thank you bothvery much for your work that you're
(14:09):
doing, of course above all else, but again for your time today to
come on and share more about whatit is that you're doing. Once again,
today's guests are the talent behind thenew Netflix documentary For Our Children,
Reverend Wanda Johnson and filmmaker Debra SuzaSilver Mike Back to You, Thanks.
(14:30):
Ramses, rapper Ti and singer songwriterTiny Harris are well known in the music
industry. And now their school agedchildren are trying to follow in their footsteps.
News anchor Tyreek Wynn caught up withthe adorable girls of the Harris music
family and shares his conversation with them. What to do, guys, It's
Tyreek w Winn. You're tuning inon your home for twenty four to seven
(14:52):
News the Black Information Network. Wegot some amazing, adorable guests in the
building today. We have Harris,Harris and Van Van. How y'all doing
good? Good? So, y'allgot this new single out called be You.
I listened to this song. Itwas amazing. It was real catchy.
I was over there vibing and stuff. I was like, okay,
(15:15):
it was awesome. So how doyou guys like the song? I like
it because that Eras on my songand EMC like directed it and yeah,
okay nice. So how was itworking with MC? Like? It was
fun? It was really fun.It was something new. It was fun.
It was something new, Okay cool? So who came up with the
(15:39):
idea which one y'all came up withthe idea for this song? My dad,
me and my daughter just heard abeat that was lit and we were
like, oh, y'all why don'twe do this beat? Then we just
made up this song basically Okay,all right, y'all, y'all lit,
Okay, I love it. Sowhen did you realize is that you wanted
(16:00):
to that y'all wanted to do music. So when I was a kid,
I just my dad just put onthe beat and I was like, Vivin,
I'm gonna stop you right there.You're still a kid. I am
way older than you. You're stilla kid. I'm three years older than
you. You are still a kid. No, I'm talking about when I
(16:22):
was a baby. So when Iwas a baby, when I was two,
when I was two, I mydad just put on the beat and
I was like, oh, Ilike this beat, and I just made
up my name is Van Van Iain't complaint. Okay, nice. How
you come up with that nick Soyou came up with that nickname for yourself?
Yeah, okay. When y'all weredoing the song, y'all were doing
(16:45):
it, and I saw the musicvideo, it was great. Y'all were
doing it in the classroom. Whatwas the most fun exciting part. The
most fun exciting part for me wasthat when she was performing in the classroom.
I don't know if they put itin the music video. But I
got to stand up, well,the whole class got to stand up on
(17:08):
the chair on the desk and dance. Okay, yeah, because I don't
really get we don't get to dothat in real school. So how long
did it take y'all to do thedo the actual video, put the song
together? It took us like aweek and a half, I think,
(17:29):
okay, kind of not a week, not like two weeks. Maybe not
a week. It just took usa day. No, it took us
a week. It's either a whichone is it? It took us a
week? No, we're talking aboutman, after the second day of recording.
Yeah, it took us a week. You're talking, ma'am. It
(17:51):
took us a week. No,a week and a half. Okay,
let's just start so so, yeah, it seems like y'all have to make
this. So y'all, y'all don'tknow how long. You definitely know she
doesn't, Okay, pretty sure theaudience already knows. But you have some
amazing parents, you know, whohave poured so much into you, and
(18:14):
I'm sure they are an inspiration toyou. So can you talk about some
of the things that they may havetaught you going along this journey. My
mom taught me how to do likesome runs, like easy runs because I
was like six. I'm eight now, but yeah, so yeah, she
(18:37):
taught me like some runs and riffs. Yeah, and my dad taught me.
I don't know he taught you somestuff. I'm sure he definitely taught
me something I just forgot. Butwho taught you to sing? Myself?
(18:59):
Me and myself and I yourself?So you just had that talent like you
was just born with that. Yeah, okay, say that you better old
that. Okay, that's what's up. So, like, I know,
being in the studio has to belike something really cool because you're in the
booth and you got the mic andyou're recording your song. How cool is
that? How do y'all like that? It is really cool because if you
(19:21):
love singing or rapping or wherever youlove today, you get you If you
mess up, you get to doit over again. And that's what I
like because I like singing like alot a lot. If I go to
the studio, my favorite part ismessing up and having to do it over
because I get to sing, Likethat's my favorite part too. Oh,
(19:44):
and then after you get to listento it. Yeah, okay, yeah,
y'all like the way it comes throughwhen they play it back. Nice.
So we're about to close it outin just a sec. But I
want to talk about y'all's I sawit. Y'all have a big social media
follow and a lot of people arelooking at y'all. How does how does
it feel to have like a lotof fans? It feels good because I
(20:10):
like my fans, and I liketo go alive and say heyism every every
time I go somewhere where I goto New York, when I go to
South Carolina, when I go toTennessee, when I go to Atlanta,
I like to talk to my fans. Well that's why. Yeah, I
love that worldwide. Okay, whatabout you? Me? Uh? I
(20:36):
like communicating with me fans like likeshe said on Live, I don't really
be on Live still. Okay,now, look, I got one question
for y'all. I want y'all tobe honest. Who has more fans me?
How many fans? Do? You? Got? Too many to count?
(20:59):
I don't, but I've been doingthis more than you have. I
three years. Think I will saythis has been great. So I want
to talk, and just before weclose it out, I do want to
I want to ask you, guysthis. The name of the song is
be You, So can y'all telleverybody exactly? I want you to tell
everybody what you think be You means. And I also want you to tell
(21:22):
everybody what you think be you.Okay, So what I think be means
is be more confident and mean yourself. Don't let anyone say not be you,
because if you're not being you,who are you? Don't let nobody
stop what you're doing and be yourselfnice. I love that. That was
(21:45):
some great advice. I appreciate y'allso much for coming in. Guys,
makes you you go ahead and checkout be You. It is released on
all major streaming platforms and it servesas a vibrant anthem for children a teachers.
Y'all can play it in the classroom. Get the students up dancing and
viving. I'm sure that they willlove it. Appreciate y'all so much for
(22:07):
coming in. Hope y'all had agreat time. Y'all have a good time.
Yeah, okay. Appreciate y'all somuch, and thank you guys.
Thank you for having us, Thankyou for having us. Yeah it was
great. Yeah, y'all y'all werefantastic. Y'all are awesome. Y'all have
me laughing over it too. Ialways need a good laugh man. Appreciate
y'all so much for listening and tuningin on your home for twenty four seven
news the Black Information Network. I'mTyreek w winn catch y'all next time.
(22:32):
Thanks Tyreek. Keeping in line withsome lighter news this more Memorial Day weekend
is news commentator Mo Kelly's conversation withthe cast members of a new film that
spooks some of the iconic movie characterscreated by Tyler Perry. I'm O'Kelly,
(22:57):
and this is the Black Information Work, featuring an all star cast including Jamie
Fox, Mickey Rourke, Vivica AFox, Tisha Campbell, Jasmine Guy,
My next two guests. Not AnotherChurch Movie is a new parody comedy film
that playfully yet blatantly fire shots directlyat the films of Tyler Perry. Now
(23:17):
in theaters. This is usually mydearrest, but uh, I'm feeling like
something pasttag Holy Days, Holy Daylisten, feeling very blessed to day?
Why that counselor fair. It's actuallypronounced Harry Taylor, Harry the Penius Silent.
Got that, Mary, Yes,you're honored his panal work, My
(23:41):
favorite nephew. Look this morning,right, God told me I'm supposed to
empower all the women of the world. God wants a new pivven uh haveing
my bea, and I'm going toneed you to commit to I'll do anything
for you, guy. I needyou to become a brider. I don't
know nothing about Ryden. Do youknow what a part point is? No
storyline? Kevin Daniels co stars asTaylor. Harry the p is Silent,
(24:08):
and he joins me now on theshow, Kevin, good to talk to
you. Good to talk to you, Mo. How you doing, I'm
doing well. Can't wait to dothis, and also joining me as comedian
Luke Ashley, who plays hopra Winfall. Luke, what's going on? What's
up? MO? Let me justsay this, Luke. As I look
at the film history of Tyler Perry, much of it is both intentionally funny
(24:32):
and unintentionally funny, from the questionablefrom the questionable whig choices to dialogue to
what I would call predictable story acts. When you watch a Tyler Perry film,
which is immensely popular, when youwatch, what comes to mind,
Oh man, you know the firstthing that comes to mind is I recognize
that Tyler was telling personal stories thathe had seen growing up. The media
(24:56):
character. He watched that Auntie andthat big Mama around him, and he
was able to take something because Tylerhas some stories that are sad, He's
been through some things, but hewas able to really spin it and make
fun of it exactly what we're doing, yep, and bring us some joy.
And we all got those family membersand we can all relate to the
family reunions and seeing those you know, female characters in our lives. But
(25:19):
the media character, which is ArmaDude played by Kevin you know, we
really just we really just wrap itup with a nice bow and bring the
essence of what we always saw Tylerdo. So, you know, and
I grew up watching them with mymom and like so to see her to
bring her to the premiere and haveher life and have her get the joke
and enjoyed lit the whole world tome, you know what I mean.
(25:41):
I was like, Oh, that'sgreat, because it really is about celebrating
this body of work this man isdone, but also like celebrating our culture
and celebrating like you say, thewith choices, the like with the actors,
like the script of their lives andstuff. It's like we were just
shed a light on, Like youknow, we can make fun of ourselves
too, Kevin. Let me stayright there, Kevin, Because Tyler Perry
(26:03):
has been parodied over the years byother individuals. How do you know where
that line is between parody and vindictiveness? Right? You know? And that's
that's a great question. Man.I feel like this, this movie is
more about celebrating the work of itand like it's like a roast, you
know what I mean. You getup there and you tell some some great
(26:26):
jokes, and some of them surecan be a little like, oh oh,
what joke was that joke? Wasthat? Yeah? But I think
that like overall, it's the joyof like, look at what this man
has done, accomplished from nothing andcreated himself a billion dollar empire. And
it's like, and I love theidea that in our movie it's because it
was God's playing all along. Youknow. That's great it Luke, you
(26:52):
play Oprah Windfall and obviously a playon the name of Oprah Winfrey recently talk
about contemporary issues. Both Perry andWinfrey were back in the news as part
of a comedy routine air quotes performedby comedian Monique. What is it about
Oprah which people sometimes take issue withor find worthy of parody? You know,
(27:15):
Oprah's been in the game for soso long, and one thing I
appreciate about Oprah is that she doesn'tpunch down at all. She gives back
a lot, never punches down.In fact, she's been a blessing to
help Tyler, you know, she'sblessed Kevin with a job. I mean,
she's done so much. And atthe end of the day, I
(27:37):
mean, god, the Monique.We can go all day on the Monique
stuff, right, and I hadto kind of do my own research.
I love Monique. I recognize thatas a comedian giant. I recognize her
work and her and what she's beenthrough. And these are people that hurt
her, you know. But I'ma quote Oprah here. You know.
It's about gratitude, it's about evengoing forward, you know, And I
(28:02):
think that's the message of Oprah.I'm sorry that what happened to Monique was
so painful. But we're in sucha season right now. We're only hearing
some of the dark things, thehard things, the harsh things. We're
watching the news. The news isalways going to be there. Playing Oprah
is really about still mirroring the samethings that Oprah does. It's about gratitude,
(28:22):
it's about giving people those gems ofjust like keep going, keep pushing,
don't give up. And the Moniquething. You know, I hate
to say it, but Prectice cameout fifteen years ago. We got to
get going. We got to getgoing. So you know, I'm just
saying. And Oprah is one ofthose great people that I think has done
so much for the community, somuch for women. I don't want to
(28:44):
spend any time putting her name downbecause she's really just been celebrating things.
I mean, we've seen Color Purple, We've seen her in this season of
you know, loving her Body.It's been a really beautiful thing to watch
Oprah seventy. This is not youknow, She's really giving us a lot
over the years, and I wasso grateful to play her and just channeling
who she truly is. It wasgreat, It really was. Hey,
(29:06):
Kevin, this is a great jobat it, Kevin, Let's get into
sir, not another church movie.You have a fantastic cast, a great
recipe for laughs. Uh but howmuch how much improvisation were you allowed in
these scenes? I gotta say wewe We were given a wide berth and
we did a lot off a lotof improv There's actually this is a scene
(29:29):
that made the movie that was completelyimprovising, was not in the script.
A dude and and Kyler Pratt's character, she is playing Angelabata's character for Mick
the Browns, and I just thought, if she's gonna be here on this
set here in Savannah, I wantto work with her. So we and
Johnny let us go and we getin sorttle funny little scene about inheriting the
(29:51):
house, and it was great andit landed into the movie, so we
were we had funny. Yeah,we had a great time with that.
It was really like we had,you know, we had a script really
like guidelines, but he really letus play and it was just smart because
you get all these comedians together,there's no ego. If everyone was just
trying to make you laugh, andwe got the crew laughing. The camera
(30:12):
is shaking and all that kind ofstuff. It's a lot of fun.
Well. I wondered then, Luke, because I wondered how many times folks
might have broken character. And there'ssome folks in here which I don't think
in a classically comedic sense. Youknow, who do you have playing the
devil other than Mickey Rourke. Ididn't see that. Yes, exactly exactly.
(30:34):
Nicky's great. I mean, Jamieis God. I mean, whoa.
There was some outtakes. I mean, oh my gosh, there were
some things that Jamie did as guythat was so funny. He really really
you could tell he really really tooksome time to find some of those those
quotes about God, the things aboutGod, the inner, they's just things
that have happened in the world.He took some topical things and spun it
around. It was great. HishaCampbell, Oh my, Gosha Campbell started
(30:57):
shouting in one of the church andwe it was so hard not to laugh.
We had to really maintain character.But she does her thing. Everyone
really does a great, great jobof leading into all the comedy and the
timing, and so it's been It'sa great film. Y'all gotta go out
and see it. It's worth it. If you've seen Tyler Perry, you
know the characters. If you haven't, it's still worth going out to laugh
(31:18):
it. Is there a gag reel, a blooper reel that we might get
to see somewhere along the way,I lose you. I promise you there
is with the butter. It's theButter on Top. And if everybody gets
out this weekend and go see thatmovie, like we know they should,
(31:40):
you'll see it a lot serter thanyou think. Oh oh, all right,
then let me ask you this.So yeah, if Kevin, if
people get out there and go seethis, how likely or possible might we
expect a sequel to something like this? Because it lends itself to that.
I got to ask the question.I gotta say that they are already talking
about it, everybody out there thisweekend. You know, May tenth.
(32:07):
It's a good Mother's Day weekend.I think it's it's in some theater's Thursday
night. But uh, but Friday, I go in and go see the
movies, and you know, andwe'll we'll know soon not absolutely not.
Another Church movie is now in theaters. Kevin Daniels, Luke Ashley Thank you
so much for coming on the BlackInformation Network. I wish you nothing but
(32:27):
success and congratulations. Thank you much, MO, for sure you. Thanks
Mo. Welcome back to the MemorialDay weekend edition of The Black Perspective.
How I'm your host, Mike Island. Let's check in now with Gracie Award
(32:51):
winning news anchor Esther Dillard for thisweek's installment of The Color Between the Lines.
I'm mister Dillard on the Black InformationNetwork, chatting with writers and authors
who offer an added perspective for ourlisteners. This is the Color between the
(33:13):
Lines. On this edition of TheColor Between the Lines, we're talking about
business advice and what are some ofthe things that you could adopt to make
yourself more of a success. Joiningme is Kelvin g Abrams. He is
an entrepreneur and business owner who sharesome pearls of wisdom in his latest book
(33:38):
called Get Uncomfortable or Change Course.Welcome Kelvin g Abrams to the bin.
Thank you for having me. Iappreciate it well, Kelvin. I took
a look at your website and Isee that you're in your business right now.
I look at your website, yourFacebook page and you run a really
unique business called Tiki's Playhouse and somethingcalled Canine Coffee. It's kind of a
(34:02):
combined thing, and I thought itwas a unique concept. Can you talk
about this business and what inspired youto open it? Absolutely? So.
Tiki's Playhouse has been here for fifteenyears. And what inspired me was the
loss of my dog. I hada wye Mariner who was a boy,
what was it, eleven months,three weeks and three days old, and
(34:24):
I had to put him down.So he was very much a puppy,
and his name was Tiki. I'ma New York Giants football fan, so
all my dogs are related to Giantsplayer. So his name was Tiki,
named after Tiki Barbara, and soI decided at that point in time,
back in December twenty I'm sorry,December two thousand and seven, to start
(34:45):
a business and name it after Tiki. So I called it a Tiki's Playhouse.
We incorporated January two thousand and eight, and fifteen years later, here
I am. And during the processI pivoted a little bit. I had
a grooming area which was my coffeeshop that I'm in right now and dealing
with groomors after you know, eightnine, ten, years kind of got
(35:07):
to be a headache, and soI kind of said, what else could
I do down here? And thenat that point I kind of looked at
the stock market and you kind ofjust saw that the number two traded commodity
was coffee. First was oil,second was coffee. So it's a no
brainer. Dogs in coffee kind ofmerge them together. So that's kind of
where the concept came from. It'ssimple and playing money, money, money,
(35:29):
money. Well, it's really interestingbecause I thought though that the way
you talked about your business starting inyour book, it was kind of emotional,
and maybe you could talk a littlebit about how that emotion kind of
kind of drove you to make thisbusiness change and to start the business.
(35:52):
Yeah, so it was very emotional. I lost my dog. I was
going through a rough time at mycareer at that point, and I thought
about doing this. The funny thingis is when I was in college,
you know, I thought of bydoing a business, and I've been an
entrepreneur thinking in my mind my entirelife. I just didn't know what it
was. And then in college Ikind of started working on this doggy daycare
(36:14):
concept, and so that's kind ofwhere it came about, and so I
had a lot of struggles in thevery beginning, of course, like most
businesses, had a lot of struggle. But what kept me determined the first
five years was my dog Tiki.I had lost him at a very young
age. It was my very firstown personal dog that I had lost.
I excuse me, I kept thehiccups. I took it very personal.
(36:36):
You know. I cried a lot, and I told myself, and I
told Tiki, and I prayed toGod that if he ever gave me the
opportunity to start my business, thatI would give everything I have and devote
every time and every energy and breathto Tiki. And so here I am
fifteen years later, still devoting mybusiness and myself to Tiki. Wow,
(37:00):
you write, uh, you're writinga book how hard it was, and
how hard it is for entrepreneurs,especially black entrepreneurs, to go from really
an idea to actually making it happen. And you can correct me if I'm
wrong, But it appeared that thatmay be the reason why you named the
book the book title get Uncomfortable orchange course? Was getting uncomfortable one of
(37:25):
the biggest obstacles that kind of heldyou back from making this decision. You
know, I got to be honestwith you. I've been uncomfortable my entire
life. Growing up. We've hadyou know, I had a good childhood
like most people. You know,I had a decent childhood. Towards the
end, it got a little hairy. Towards the end of maybe the last
five years or so, it gota little hairy. But I've been uncomfortable
(37:47):
my entire life. My parents raisedus to work hard and to you know,
to to succeed and to never giveup and then never quit. We
were not allowed to quit. Weweren't allowed to quit jobs. We weren't
just allowed to quit. We hadto deal with it and struggle through it.
So I've been uncomfortable my entire life, and the business get uncomfortable to
(38:08):
change course. I've been writing thatbook since I was eighteen years of age,
and so again it's something that I'vedealt with my entire life, and
I just didn't know when or howto put it on paper and talk about
being uncomfortable. But yes, beingin business is very uncomfortable. There's a
lot of good days, bad days, ups and downs, and there's a
(38:30):
lot of learning lessons that you haveto be ready for and some you're not
going to be ready for. Butevery day's a learning lesson. Well for
those of you who are just joiningus. I'm aster dealer with the Black
Information Network. Speaking with the entrepreneur, business owner, and author Calvin g
(38:51):
Abrams about his book book, GetUncomfortable or Change Course. You wrote about
knowing your worth. I thought thiswas a very interesting chapter, very good
chapter, because it's something that alot of people have a problem with,
especially with the art of negotiation,something something that I struggle with as well
as for myself. What do youthink that made you stronger in this area
(39:16):
and how did you determine your worthand use it in the art of negotiation.
So that's probably the biggest point inmy book is starting out with basically
minimal business knowledge, you are takenadvantage of, and I was taken advantage
(39:37):
of, and so I lost alot of money. But through my losses
I've learned. So my thing isis sure I may lose a lot of
money, or sure I may losea deal, but as long as I
learned from that deal, and Ihave learned from that deal, and over
the years it has strengthened me soit's not something that has come from within.
(40:00):
It's just I've learned from my mistakesand I'm not going to go back
to making those mistakes. So that'sthe only answer I can really honestly say,
is just learn from your mistakes.And boy, had a lot of
financial mistakes that once or twice Ithought I was going to go into bankruptcy
and just end it all. ButI figured it out. And that's also
(40:22):
about being a business owner is pivotingand figuring things out. And that's what
I just learned to do over theyears is anytime I have an issue or
a problem or struggles, I learnedto figure it out. I just put
two and two together and just kindof learned to figure it out. So
I'm always pivoting. That's what alot of people do you and many business
(40:43):
entrepreneurs they advise that you get acoach, but you know, not all
coaches are equal. And how didyou find your coach or coaches and what
did they teach you. I havea couple of people I refer to as
coaches, and they came about fromfriends who noticed that I was struggling emotionally
(41:07):
mentally and just struggling and there isone I talk about in my book an
awful Lot. His name is UncleWilly. He's a great guy. He's
not related to me, but myfriend, my dear friend, Sarah,
introduced me to Uncle Willy and he'sbecome a friend first and foremost. But
he's also a business owner himself,and him and I have gone through a
(41:29):
lot of the struggles early on,so I lean on Uncle Willy a lot
to support me, help me foradvice. I actually went out and sought
a business coach to help me outas well too. For a while,
so I've worked with a business coach. I now have a publicist slash marketing
person that I work with as well, and I consider her a mentor and
(41:52):
a coach. So the people thatI like to try to bring into my
network and bring into my family,if you will, I consider all of
them coaches because I like to hirepeople that are professionals and experts in their
field and in their craft. Andso that's who I have working around around
(42:12):
me. And it started with UncleWillie. I'm sorry, it started with
Ed Knox. Back at SCORE,you know small business administration. They have
an organization called SCORE of Retired BusinessOwners that come and help people. And
Ed Knox, I remember him,and he started me on this long journey
of mine here and he was verytough on me. He was extremely tough.
(42:34):
But I'm here today fifteen years laterbecause I saw a coach from SCORE
and most people think that it's goingto cost you, but it's absolutely free.
And that's what they're there for smallbusiness administration, to SCORE team,
and that's what they're there for tohelp you out. Well throughout this book,
and I thought it was very goodand interesting that you put these questions
(42:55):
at the end for people to kindof do that deep dive work. Well,
what do you think is the toughestexercise for yourself? And why?
The toughest exercise for me is shuttingit off, turning it off. I
don't sleep at night because I'm sucha creative person. I can't shut it
off. So I've talked to mydoctor, I've talked to therapists, and
(43:20):
they're trying to put me on allthis medicine and I'm like, no,
you're supposed to be encouraging the creativity, not telling me to stop. So
the hardest thing for me is toturn it off at night. I literally
sleep with either my iPad or apiece of paper or a pencil next to
my bed. And a lot ofmy ideas come in the middle of the
night when I'm sleeping and my brainis able to think and process, and
(43:43):
I start writing stuff down, andthen of course the next morning you have
to decipher it. But you know, that's where most of my creativity comes
from. So I don't necessarily knowif I'm able to shut it off or
shut it down or calm down.But I manage it. So that's the
answer I can give you, isI manage it, but I don't never
shut it off. It's not somethingthat I can not yet, at least
(44:07):
not yet. I like to say. One of my famous quotes I like
to use from Robert Frost's poem isI have miles to go before I sleep,
So I have miles to go beforeI sleep, So I can't turn
it off. Well, final word, the number one message that you want
readers to come away with when theyfinish your book. Oh boy, let's
(44:30):
see, there's so much But howcan I put it in a ten second
reel? Here? The number onething I really want people to realize that
I'm going to show this book hereif I may is the most important thing
is to be prepared to get uncomfortable. Being in business is not about handing
a business card out. Hey I'ma business owner. It's a lot more
(44:52):
than that. And I want totell your listeners and viewers and anyone out
there who reads and picks up mybook. This book is designed and made
to smack you in a face witha doser reality. So it's a wake
up Paul. So if you're interestedin starting a business, I highly advise
you read my book Get Uncomfortable orChange Course, because it will let you
(45:16):
know what's in store for you whenyou decide to walk down this lonely path.
And I tell you it's a lonelypath, but it's not for everyone.
So Get Uncomfortable or Change Course.Well, thank you Kelvin g Abrams
for joining us on the BIM.This book is called Get Uncomfortable or Change
(45:37):
Course. That's it for this editionof The Color Between the Lines. I'm
Ester Dillard on the Black Information Network. Thanks Esther. The Black Information Network
(45:57):
has an amazing team of commentationaders whobring their unique perspectives to stories impacting the
Black community. Today, we checkin with Roland Martin. For all of
you who plan on sitting out theelection, let me remind you what happens
when you have right wing maga judgessitting on the federal bench. Twenty sixteen,
(46:17):
a lot of people set the electionout and chose not to vote for
Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump wins,he goes on to appoint three Supreme Court
justices. Those are right wing judges. You like student loan debt relief.
Those judges blocked President Biden from wipingout all student loan debt relief. Those
(46:40):
judges wiped out Roe v. Wade. Those judges wiped out affirmative action in
cauders and universities, and they willcontinue to rule against many issues that African
Americans support. If you don't thinkDonald Trump will do this if he is
(47:02):
elected in November, don't take myword for it, take his. Then
I called up my people and Isaid, I have a guy from New
York who's an incredible Lawyer's got theright temperament to be a really great judge.
Oh good, sir, How oldis he? I said he's sixty
nine, sir, So he's goingto be there for two three four years.
(47:23):
We like people in their thirties,so they're there for fifty years or
forty years we don't want. Andas soon as they said that, I
realized, yeah, they're exactly right. My administration will again adopt rock solid
constitutional conservatives to be federal Bench justicesand judges, but in the mold of
(47:45):
Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas,who, by the way, right now
is under siege by the radical left. Here's reality. President Joe Biden has
appointed more African Americans to the federalthan any other president in history. Those
judges are there for a lifetime.Don't think for a second by you sending
(48:08):
this election out that is not goingto make a difference voting matters for the
next fifty years. I'm Roland Martinon the Black Information Network. Be sure
to catch Roland Martin, mo Kellyand James T. Harris for daily commentary
on the Black Information Network and ourvery own Doug Davis returns with another segment
(48:30):
of Your Black Business. By theway, the second half of this interview
with black financial literacy entrepreneur John Hodbryantwill air in the coming weeks, but
for now, he dives into thelife of a brother who transformed his life
by losing hundreds of pounds and urgesblack men to do the same. Doug,
Thanks Mike. My name is DougDavis and welcome to Your Black Business,
(48:52):
where we feature inspiring stories of blackentrepreneurs, organizations, and perspectives surrounding
black business. Colin May, aphilanthropist, entrepreneur, and now an author,
recently released his latest book entitled LosingIt for Good, The Ultimate Guide
to Men's Health and Wellness. Inthis book, May share his personal journey
of overcoming food addiction during his youthand young adulthood, starting his healthy lifestyle
(49:17):
transformation in twenty nineteen. He providesvaluable insights and directs readers to resources for
achieving and sustaining optimal health in afast paced modern world. Colin, Welcome
to the BIL Doug, such apleasure. Thanks so much for having me
earlier this week. You shared yourinspiration behind writing this book. A black
man er at a greater risk ofsuffering a stroke or a heart attack,
(49:42):
and that you were in that categoryat one time. You transform your life
and that's your motivation behind writing thebook. I really wanted to provide a
pathway, a resource for black menthat are struggling with weight management, struggling
with our health. And I feltthat telling my story would encourage others to
maybe open up and tell their story, or open up and reshape their mindset
(50:07):
around food exactly. You know,I think it's so important. As I
am, you know, listening toyou, I'm going back to my early
days as a child in Philadelphia,and I remember being over my favorite aunt's
house and man, because she cookand whenever I got in trouble, you
(50:28):
know, my mom would always sendme over to my aunt's house, Aunt
Clara, and she would always bakea cake for me, right and she
would say, oh, baby's gonnabe okay. And that was her way
of showing love to me, youknow, by cooking for me. But
what that did for me I foundlater in life is that I found comfort
in food whenever something happened in mylife, because it took me right back
(50:54):
to those early days in my childhood. Can you share a pivotal moment from
your journey that you have included inthe book which you believe will resonate strongly
with black men. Yeah, absolutely, And to your point, you know
the same with me. I mean, food was something that I part taken
(51:15):
in when I was sad. Itwas something that I partly take in when
I was happy. And one ofthe things that I try my best distress
for black men in the book isthat food is the worst addiction to have.
I mean, you know, youcan be addicted to gambling, drugs,
alcohol, but you can physically livewithout those things. You cannot physically
(51:37):
live without food. And it's atough, tough method to break when you're
constantly thinking about your next meal.Right. So for me, I talk
a lot in the book about notonly physical health, but mental health and
financial health. When you change yourmindset around food, you become more discipline.
(52:00):
I You're more likely to succeed financiallyand in other areas of your life
as well. I'd say a pivotalmoment for me September ninth, twenty and
fifteen. I'll actually never forget theday I went to the doctor for the
first time in two years, andI was over four hundred pounds, four
hundred nineteen pounds, and I wasso embarrassed and angry and sad and frustrated.
(52:22):
I went home and cried. Senceanother I'd say week just coming to
terms with you know, this wasmy sighs and looking in the mirror and
having some accountability for what I've reallydone to myself. And I wrote down
(52:43):
my dreams and aspirations what I wantedto accomplish over the next ten to fifteen
years. And I realized that ifI say it the size I was,
I wouldn't have been able to accomplishthose things. So I took a step
back. I dedicated my At thattime four to five months of trying to
get in good shape, I wasfeeling good. I was doing things that
(53:06):
I hadn't done before, exercising regularly, and over the course of the three
and a half year period, Ireally really changed my mindset and changed my
body. In your book, doyou address, you know, some of
the unique challenges that black men faceand maintaining healthy and wellness in today's society.
(53:27):
I mean, I always like tosay that black men are the most
endangered species in the world. Weface so much mental stress, so much
emotional stress, that that can carryover to our physical Yes, And I'm
so glad that you mentioned that,because we as black men face an extraordinary
(53:52):
amount of pressure, everything from familyto relationships to friendships. You know,
I did a conversation in the rightand I asked the brothers that were in
attendance. I said, raise yourhand if you've had a bad job.
All the hands went up. Isaid, raise your hand if you've had
a bad relationships. All the handswent up. And I think so often
(54:14):
we feel the weight of the worldon our shoulders as black men in America,
and it's not getting any better.It's really a matter of coming together
and sharing our experiences, sharing ourmoments with each other so that we can
lean on one another. I don'tbelieve we're supposed to go through life alone,
but it kind of comes back tothat old adage of you know,
I am my brother's keeper, right, So if that's the case, then
(54:37):
we have to make sure that we'resupporting and leaning in on one another and
really being a strong advocate for oursuccess. That is so true. Transparency
is definitely a tough one for AfricanAmerican man. We're taught to not be
transparent. We're taught to suck itup and keep it all in. But
(54:59):
when we become transparent, we openour minds and we open our spirit up
for change. And I know thatmyself. I at one point weighed Wow,
three hundred and twenty pounds, andafter some real insightful thoughts, I
decided to make a change and lostabout one hundred and twenty pounds. It
(55:22):
took me over a year a yearand a half to do so, but
it happened. How does Losing Itfor good tackle the topic of mental health?
Let's go back to that real quick. And you know, why do
you feel that this is such anessential conversation for black men since we're talking
about transparency and the lack thereof whenit comes to our mental health. Well,
I think black men in this countrydon't have an outlet to discuss mental
(55:44):
health. I think that we're oftenperceived as weak or soft if we talk
about challenges that we might have,and I think we have to do a
better job of breaking that stigma.Other other cultures are more likely to embrace
challenges or conflicts that they're experiencing intheir personal lives. And for us,
(56:07):
with what men, we don't reallyhave that safety net. If you will,
you don't have that outlet, andwe have to do a better job
of that. Our lives really dependon us. Again, going back to
I am my brother's keeper. Youknow, we've all gone through traumatic experiences
in life. Life is not easy. And when you see the increased number
(56:30):
of suicides across the country, thatgives you some extreme pause and it should
make everybody set back and say,hey, listen, I've got to do
a better job prioritizing not only mymental health, but my friends, my
family, those that I care about. It's important to check in and see
how people are doing, especially duringthese these times. Do you have any
(56:52):
advice that you can give black menwho may be struggling with food addiction?
I mean, you know, firstoff, yea acknowledging the fact that you
may be addicted to food is initself to me extraordinary, But you know,
food addiction is a real thing.What other you know, kind of
(57:14):
let's say, advice again, canyou provide to some black men listening right
now that have helped you overcome foodaddiction? Well, you know that that's
a big one, is admitting thatthat you do have a problem. And
you know, so much of itcomes down to just reshaping our mindset around
food. You know, I waswhen I grew up, I was always
(57:36):
so jealous of my dad because mydad was like picture perfect, you know,
bord to health and super fit.I was just the opposite. So
you know, it really came downto trying to make a difference, realizing
that I had to make a differenceand prioritized in the future. I think
when you have something to look forwardto, you're more likely to be engaged,
(58:00):
age and you're more likely to bewilling to go through the process of
losing the weight and maintaining the weightloss you know, I tell people that
maintaining the weight losses is even harderthan losing it because you have to again
fully transform your mindset around food,and that's not an easy thing to do.
(58:21):
But I would encourage brothers out therethat want to read my story,
want to be motivated. At least, I'm hoping to motivate brothers across the
country to really lean on each otherand let's start supporting each other in multiple
ways. Well, I have topiss Entrepreneur Now author recently released his new
book entitled Losing It for Good,The Ultimate Guide to Men's Health and Wellness,
(58:43):
Colin Mays, thank you so much, brother for sharing your story with
us today. My name is DougDavis. You're listening to the Black Perspective
on the Black Information Network. ThanksDoug, and that's our program for this
week on behalf of the entire teamat the Black Information Network on Mike Island
pushing everyone a wonderful Sunday and agreat Memorial Day weekend. Thanks for listening,
(59:05):
and be sure to join us nextweek at this time for another edition
of the Black Perspective right here onthe Black Information Network. The Black Information
Network and six time Emmy nominated newsanchor Vanessa Tyler welcome you to black Land,
a podcast about the ground on whichthe Black community stands right now.
From stories about salvation and loss,I love the person who had an a
(59:30):
Chevy diagnosis, the dreams achieved oryet unfulfilled from people who have made it,
I sat down with a therapist andI begin my journey to those left
behind. Listen to black Land onthe iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast
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