Latest / The Breakfast Club / Juneteenth Joy: Celebrating Our Stories, Our Freedom & Our Future

Transcript

Juneteenth Joy: Celebrating Our Stories, Our Freedom & Our Future · The Breakfast Club

0:02
Speaker 1: I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit about everything
0:04
Speaker 1: and everybody.
0:06
Speaker 2: You know, if you don't lie about that.
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Speaker 1: Right, Hey, y'all, what's up. It's Laurena l Rosa And
0:12
Speaker 1: this is another episode of the Latest with Laura Rosa.
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Speaker 1: This is your lidg on all things pop culture, entertainment, news,
0:19
Speaker 1: and all of the conversations that shake the room.
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Speaker 2: Baby.
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Speaker 1: Now today we are black, Andy, Blackey black, y'all. I mean,
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Speaker 1: we're black every day. This is the Black Effects period.
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Speaker 1: Like we are so intentional. I am so intentional about
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Speaker 1: a lot of things that I do in my life,
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Speaker 1: but especially when it comes to platforming. Growing up in
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Speaker 1: a household that was black as hell and a family
0:44
Speaker 1: that was black as hell, Juneteenth and the celebration of
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Speaker 1: Juneteenth have always been something that I've been consistent in
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Speaker 1: our family, even before people was getting off work for it.
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Speaker 1: So I'm really excited today to bring you guys this
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Speaker 1: episode and center black storytellers and storytelling and black storytellers
1:03
Speaker 1: who were doing it in a way that is a progression.
1:07
Speaker 1: I think. You know, we can have various conversations about
1:10
Speaker 1: whether or not you love every black story you see,
1:14
Speaker 1: or how it's told or you know, do lean in
1:16
Speaker 1: and trauma, do lean and joy. I think, you know,
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Speaker 1: Black people are full of so much of everything, from
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Speaker 1: the good, the bad, the ugly, and our stories deserve
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Speaker 1: to be told because it all stems from a place,
1:29
Speaker 1: a place of not the opposite of progression, a place
1:34
Speaker 1: of being held down, a place of being told what
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Speaker 1: we could not do and how we could not do
1:39
Speaker 1: it and being put in positions, you know, from the
1:43
Speaker 1: abilities to not be able to do things like vote
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Speaker 1: or learn or read or you know, even get together
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Speaker 1: in community and fellowship because we were looked at as
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Speaker 1: threats if and when we did. It all stems from that,
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Speaker 1: so to me, you know, I think it's always goal
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Speaker 1: to see those stories be told by people who have
2:02
Speaker 1: the same mission and that same energy of you know,
2:06
Speaker 1: what is the why and how do we keep the
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Speaker 1: progression going by understanding that our story stem from something
2:12
Speaker 1: that is so deep, over four hundred years deep. And
2:16
Speaker 1: that's what we're gonna do today The Latest with Lauren
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Speaker 1: Rosa the podcast. Y'all love the conversations that shake the room,
2:22
Speaker 1: and today I will be highlighting them. A few of
2:25
Speaker 1: them that we've been blessed to have Here at the
2:27
Speaker 1: Latest with Laura Rosa on the podcast. Now, I want
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Speaker 1: to talk a bit about Juneteenth before we get into
2:35
Speaker 1: the highlighting of those interviews in The Latest and normally
2:39
Speaker 1: Here at the Latest with Lauren Roseall we check in
2:41
Speaker 1: behind the scenes of the grind, which is where we
2:44
Speaker 1: ask the question, how are you really doing? Like what's
2:46
Speaker 1: the check in like? So today we're gonna check in
2:48
Speaker 1: behind the scenes of the ground, but we're gonna educate.
2:50
Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about what is Juneteenth and why it's
2:52
Speaker 1: important to celebrate. Let's get into it. So Juneteenth officially
2:59
Speaker 1: is the the celebration mark in the day June nineteenth,
3:02
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five, where the Union, under the leadership of
3:06
Speaker 1: Gordon Granger arrived to slaves in Galveston, Texas and informed
3:12
Speaker 1: them that they were free, that they were no longer
3:14
Speaker 1: enslaved people. Now, this is important because we know about
3:19
Speaker 1: the emancipation and proclamation that happened January first, eighteen sixty three,
3:23
Speaker 1: and we know that the Civil War ended in April
3:25
Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty five, So a lot of people were
3:29
Speaker 1: probably wondering, well, how were there people that were still enslaved? Well,
3:35
Speaker 1: like I said, black people weren't allowed to do much.
3:38
Speaker 1: And I know you guys have heard these stories where
3:39
Speaker 1: you know, we weren't allowed to educate, we weren't allowed
3:42
Speaker 1: to read. They limited how much we, you know, were
3:45
Speaker 1: able to build community and talk amongst each other, and
3:49
Speaker 1: our information traveled, which is why things like the underground railroad,
3:54
Speaker 1: you know, created You know, people who traveled the underground
3:57
Speaker 1: railroad created their own languages in songs and passageways and
4:02
Speaker 1: ways to communicate and signal various things. Because the people
4:07
Speaker 1: that were keeping us down knew that the more that
4:10
Speaker 1: we could educate, the more that we could fellowship, the
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Speaker 1: more that we could come together, the more that we
4:14
Speaker 1: could understand and know about ourselves, and the more that
4:17
Speaker 1: we knew what should be awarded to us, things would
4:21
Speaker 1: change and we could no longer be owned or controlled.
4:23
Speaker 1: But legally we were no longer supposed to be being
4:27
Speaker 1: owned or controlled. But the message was delayed. And yeah,
4:32
Speaker 1: so this was one year after the Senate passed the
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Speaker 1: thirteenth Amendment aboulishing slavery on April eighteenth, eighteen sixty four,
4:38
Speaker 1: when those slaves in Texas were alerted six months after
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Speaker 1: it was passed, in the House on January thirty first,
4:45
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five. But the people, the powers that be
4:50
Speaker 1: in Texas, they knew, they knew what was going on,
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Speaker 1: They knew what was up, but they chose not to
4:54
Speaker 1: because again, and it's so crazy, how like, you know,
4:58
Speaker 1: some of the from those days, from that day in
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Speaker 1: that time still exists today within our communities if you
5:06
Speaker 1: let it, if you allow people to tell you who
5:08
Speaker 1: you are and who you are not, if you allow
5:10
Speaker 1: people to hide information and education from you, they will
5:13
Speaker 1: always be able to control you. And I know then
5:17
Speaker 1: back in eighteen sixty five, it wasn't about what was
5:19
Speaker 1: allowed because people were literally being slaughtered and killed. Families
5:23
Speaker 1: were being separated, people were being sold as if they
5:26
Speaker 1: were pieces of clothing, you know, So we didn't have
5:30
Speaker 1: much to try and rebel with, even though there were
5:34
Speaker 1: people that did that tried that successfully did but those
5:36
Speaker 1: stories are not told. But you know, I think celebrating
5:41
Speaker 1: holidays like Juneteenth are so important, Number one, because I
5:45
Speaker 1: think all days of the year three sixty five Black
5:49
Speaker 1: Joy should be something at the forefront of our lives.
5:51
Speaker 1: But if not all days, I think of all the holidays, Juneteenth,
5:55
Speaker 1: you know, it was one of them where it should be,
5:57
Speaker 1: you know, just a day of joy because you have
6:00
Speaker 1: the right to literally, if no other reason, why, just
6:03
Speaker 1: because of that. But also I think it's a day
6:07
Speaker 1: to continue to have the conversations of the fact that
6:11
Speaker 1: there were things that were denied then and delayed then
6:14
Speaker 1: when it came to the freedom and the allowance and
6:17
Speaker 1: what was allowed of black people, and there are still
6:20
Speaker 1: things being denied and delayed today in twenty twenty six.
6:23
Speaker 1: So when we're having these celebrations today, when we are
6:26
Speaker 1: being blackety blackety black, y'all, when we are talking about Juneteenth,
6:30
Speaker 1: it is important to understand why we are doing it
6:34
Speaker 1: and to know where to put our foot down and
6:36
Speaker 1: to still rebel and have conversations and pushback against certain
6:41
Speaker 1: things that we are not seeing today, although very different
6:44
Speaker 1: and we always are, you know, so thankful and honor
6:47
Speaker 1: our ancestors who made that a possibility for us, which
6:50
Speaker 1: is you know, I think where the joy of this
6:53
Speaker 1: holiday comes from. It's like we've been through so much.
6:57
Speaker 1: Our people before us, enslaves, people before us, people that
7:01
Speaker 1: lost their lives fighting to make sure we had what
7:04
Speaker 1: we have now, went through so much that we deserve
7:08
Speaker 1: to celebrate and just feel a piece of mind for that,
7:14
Speaker 1: although there is still more work to do, you know
7:16
Speaker 1: what I mean. So today I want this episode to
7:19
Speaker 1: feel like that, because behind the scenes of the grind,
7:22
Speaker 1: you know, normally on Juneteen, I'm out, I'm celebrating, I'm barbecueing,
7:26
Speaker 1: I'm a electric sliding. Today I'm literally just taking a
7:31
Speaker 1: time to rest and to be with family and people
7:34
Speaker 1: I love, and that be my joy and my piece
7:37
Speaker 1: for the day. But also just really being grateful and
7:40
Speaker 1: thankful for what I, as a black woman, am allowed
7:47
Speaker 1: to accomplish and do in the world today and thinking
7:50
Speaker 1: about the people who made that possible for me to
7:54
Speaker 1: be able to do that. There was a video that
7:58
Speaker 1: was posted by Shonda Rhime last year on Juneteenth that
8:02
Speaker 1: I saved to put on the podcast here today, but
8:06
Speaker 1: also reposts across social media this year for Juneteenth, and
8:09
Speaker 1: the video is of doctor ople Lee. She is also
8:13
Speaker 1: known as the Grandmother of Juneteenth. She spent a lifetime
8:16
Speaker 1: advocating for June team's national recognition through decades of grassroots work.
8:21
Speaker 1: Because it's a federal holiday and some people, not all
8:24
Speaker 1: do have work off work on this day, but this
8:28
Speaker 1: didn't happen until twenty twenty one. That's what I mean
8:31
Speaker 1: by things being delayed for us. Still, even though we
8:34
Speaker 1: celebrate what we get, we're very honest about what we
8:37
Speaker 1: still are old. So in twenty twenty one, doctor Opley's
8:41
Speaker 1: efforts were honored as she stood beside President Biden when
8:44
Speaker 1: June tenth was finally signed into law. Black history is
8:48
Speaker 1: America's history, and you know what is being denied and
8:51
Speaker 1: delayed when it comes to black people isn't a Black
8:53
Speaker 1: people's problem. It's an American problem. We should always put
8:56
Speaker 1: that at the forefront of our celebrations today and every
8:59
Speaker 1: day our conversation. So let's take a listen to doctor
9:02
Speaker 1: open Lee, and then we'll get into some other conversations
9:06
Speaker 1: with you know, some black creators and artists that are
9:10
Speaker 1: doing the work through their storytelling, like Marse Martin, like
9:14
Speaker 1: Jason Weaver, like a podcaster, and actress Crystal Renee Haslip.
9:19
Speaker 1: Let's take a listener to doctor Operley. So amazing. Some
9:22
Speaker 1: of you who don't know what June teens is.
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Speaker 3: They enslaved in Texas were told they were free for
9:29
Speaker 3: two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed
9:35
Speaker 3: them they watching the church's and they pray for freedom
9:40
Speaker 3: to come. And it finally did when General Gordon Granger
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Speaker 3: and seven thousand colored troops from New Jersey and New
9:52
Speaker 3: York made their way to Gatherston, Texas, and he read
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Speaker 3: General Order Numbers three that's said all slaves are free.
10:03
Speaker 3: When those people came in from the labor and somebody
10:08
Speaker 3: read that to them, we started celebrating. And we've been celebrating.
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Speaker 1: Every spect All right, y'all, now it's time to get
10:17
Speaker 1: into the conversations that are going to shake the room.
10:20
Speaker 1: As if the room has not already been shaken. Okay,
10:22
Speaker 1: if you are not feeling, you know, educated about Juneteenth
10:26
Speaker 1: and like as a black person, you know you're getting
10:30
Speaker 1: all the hugs and all the loves and all the
10:31
Speaker 1: things so far on this episode. The rest of this
10:34
Speaker 1: conversation will definitely do that for you. So let's get
10:38
Speaker 1: on into a conversation that I had with Jason Weaver.
10:41
Speaker 1: Now we know Jason Weaver as the voice of Young
10:46
Speaker 1: Simba and the Lion King just can't wait to be king.
10:48
Speaker 1: We've heard the story about the amazing business deal that
10:52
Speaker 1: set him up for a lifetime of amazing payment that
10:56
Speaker 1: his mom negotiated around that time for him. But more
10:59
Speaker 1: recently we have seen him portray a character in the
11:03
Speaker 1: in The Shy, a show that is entering its eighth
11:06
Speaker 1: and final season created by an amazing Black storyteller, Lena
11:10
Speaker 1: Waithe and The Shy does an amazing job of talking
11:14
Speaker 1: about Chicago, which is an inner city that is often
11:17
Speaker 1: talked about so dark and so cold, and you know,
11:21
Speaker 1: you hear about the you know, the number of black
11:23
Speaker 1: people killing black people and almost all those things. But
11:26
Speaker 1: this show adds warmth and love and community and in
11:31
Speaker 1: substance and presence of real community to Chicago. And Jason
11:36
Speaker 1: Weavers's character is Shah does an amazing job of showing
11:40
Speaker 1: a man trying to come up against the odds in
11:43
Speaker 1: the midst of all of that. So let's talk to
11:45
Speaker 1: him a bit a flashback to when I talk to
11:47
Speaker 1: him a little bit, And you guys can catch this
11:49
Speaker 1: full episode on a previous episode of The Ladies with
11:53
Speaker 1: Long Roads if you want it, but here is a
11:55
Speaker 1: preview of that conversation. Let's get into it. So you
11:57
Speaker 1: talk a bit about you know, just being from Chicago
12:01
Speaker 1: and the authenticity of the show and all the things
12:04
Speaker 1: I think a common question I hear the cast could
12:05
Speaker 1: ask are like, you know, how do you keep authentic?
12:08
Speaker 1: And you know stuff like that, but what are some
12:11
Speaker 1: of the responsibilities that you feel as a person that
12:15
Speaker 1: you know. I got a chance to talk to the
12:17
Speaker 1: younger cast, right, and I know a lot of them
12:19
Speaker 1: are from Chicago, but you being older, seeing the changing
12:22
Speaker 1: of times of how black television goes from something like
12:26
Speaker 1: a Steve Harvey show to you know, what we do
12:28
Speaker 1: or don't have now being you're from Chicago, it's like
12:31
Speaker 1: a double whim me there. It's like you understand the
12:33
Speaker 1: importance of a show like the Shot, but you also
12:35
Speaker 1: are from Chicago and understanding importance of that as well too.
12:38
Speaker 1: So what are you dealing with when you're walking on
12:39
Speaker 1: set day to day? Because of that?
12:41
Speaker 4: Oh man, that's another great question. I think that one
12:46
Speaker 4: of the things I'm most proud of with our show
12:50
Speaker 4: and being in Chicago is that, you know, we explore
12:54
Speaker 4: the elements of violence in street life, which is a
12:58
Speaker 4: reality in Chicago, and everybody knows that that seems to
13:01
Speaker 4: be amplified more in mainstream media than anything when people
13:06
Speaker 4: are reference in Chicago. But one of the things that
13:09
Speaker 4: I'm really really proud about is that we are showing
13:13
Speaker 4: the beauty of the community. We are showing the solidarity
13:17
Speaker 4: in the unity that does exist in the community.
13:20
Speaker 1: You know.
13:20
Speaker 4: Yeah, the South Side and West Sides and some of
13:23
Speaker 4: the more underserved communities in Chicago and the Chicago Land
13:27
Speaker 4: surrounding Chicago Land area, yeah, are plague with violence in
13:31
Speaker 4: certain ways. But you know, there's also communities there with heart,
13:35
Speaker 4: Like the community of Inglewood has heart in history, the
13:38
Speaker 4: community of Woodlawn, park manor Chatham, you know. I mean,
13:44
Speaker 4: there's so many communities there that are comprised of black
13:48
Speaker 4: and brown people where you know, those stories have never
13:52
Speaker 4: been told, They've never been acknowledged, and they haven't been
13:56
Speaker 4: told in a beautiful way too. The way that they're
13:59
Speaker 4: depicted visually. You know, I think Lena and the directors
14:02
Speaker 4: and the producers do an amazing job of actually presenting
14:05
Speaker 4: the South Side as a thriving, beautiful and colorful community.
14:10
Speaker 4: You know, even when the show is like set in
14:13
Speaker 4: the wintertime, the things that are shot interior, they feel
14:16
Speaker 4: very warm. The homes feel welcoming, you know, the conversations
14:20
Speaker 4: within the home feel relatable even if you're not from
14:23
Speaker 4: the South side of Chicago. So that's one of the
14:26
Speaker 4: many things that makes me very proud to be associated
14:31
Speaker 4: with the show and represent on behalf of it as well.
14:34
Speaker 1: So your character, first, I have a question last year
14:38
Speaker 1: or maybe even been earlier this year, I can pull
14:41
Speaker 1: up there, let me see what the day on that was.
14:43
Speaker 1: I'd have to pull it back up, but I saw
14:45
Speaker 1: it was like one of the trades. So it was
14:47
Speaker 1: like deadline of variety, and they announced that you and
14:52
Speaker 1: what's her name, Unnah Hall or pickword now going to
14:57
Speaker 1: be serious regulars. But you have been a regular on
14:59
Speaker 1: the show already.
15:01
Speaker 4: Well, that's what a lot of people, That's what a
15:03
Speaker 4: lot of people had assumed. I was always technically, since
15:07
Speaker 4: I first came on the show on season four, I
15:09
Speaker 4: was always technically contractually referred to as a recurring character.
15:16
Speaker 4: What ended up happening was is that I think, you know,
15:22
Speaker 4: because with the shat, everything is kind of unpredictable, and
15:25
Speaker 4: I think Lena plays a lot on synergy and connection
15:31
Speaker 4: and flow and authenticity and her ability to tell a story.
15:35
Speaker 4: And I just think over time the type of character
15:38
Speaker 4: Shad is or was, and how his story was so
15:43
Speaker 4: relatable to a lot of people, but also because he
15:47
Speaker 4: was so layered as a character and nuanced, you know
15:50
Speaker 4: as a character, I think it just made for interesting
15:54
Speaker 4: stories to be built around him, and the audience.
15:57
Speaker 1: Responded well to that, and so over time, they just
16:00
Speaker 1: kind of kept me on, and you know, I think
16:05
Speaker 1: when season eight finally came around and they realized that
16:10
Speaker 1: that character in particular contributes so much to the overall
16:14
Speaker 1: story arc and storyline of the show, that's when they
16:17
Speaker 1: decided to, you know, promote me the series regular, which
16:19
Speaker 1: I'm I'm very grateful for.
16:21
Speaker 4: I'm I'm very grateful that I got the opportunity to
16:24
Speaker 4: be recognized in that regard in the last season. But
16:28
Speaker 4: even prior to that, prior to becoming a series regular,
16:32
Speaker 4: you know, I was still very honored and proud to
16:35
Speaker 4: be a part of the show. And you know, anything
16:37
Speaker 4: that was required of me, whether it was heavy lifting
16:40
Speaker 4: or just playing more of a supportive role, you know,
16:42
Speaker 4: I was I was always enthusiastic, you know, to meet
16:46
Speaker 4: the challenge because again, you know, for me, it's about
16:50
Speaker 4: telling a great story. Yeah, it's about you know, representing
16:54
Speaker 4: something that you know that I believe in and that
16:57
Speaker 4: and that I'm proud of so you know.
16:59
Speaker 1: Record folk watch it. I'm like, hold on, Alan, I
17:02
Speaker 1: mean did that because I was the reason why I
17:05
Speaker 1: brought that up, because I was like, I know that
17:06
Speaker 1: The Shy has like so many twisting turns in the storyline.
17:09
Speaker 1: So I wonder if you on the talent side wherever, like, Okay,
17:12
Speaker 1: I know I'm here and i know I'm a part
17:13
Speaker 1: of the story, but is this something that happens just
17:15
Speaker 1: in case it'd be like, no, bank, I mean that
17:19
Speaker 1: that's exactly what it is.
17:21
Speaker 4: You you hit the nail on the head. I mean,
17:23
Speaker 4: you know, Lena has this saying during our table read,
17:27
Speaker 4: she was like, yeah, y'all, you know, knock out these lines,
17:30
Speaker 4: get it right, you know, sell these lines because you
17:32
Speaker 4: know anything can happen on The Shy.
17:34
Speaker 1: Nothing's guaranteed. Nobody's guaranteed, and you know, as an actor,
17:39
Speaker 1: it keeps you on edge because you know, each and
17:42
Speaker 1: every week you gotta come with it. You know, there's
17:45
Speaker 1: never a relaxed position that you should ever find yourself
17:48
Speaker 1: in as a creative period. But you know, especially on
17:52
Speaker 1: that show, you will always kind of well, man, is
17:55
Speaker 1: my character gonna make it next week? Am I gonna get.
17:57
Speaker 4: Killed, And I think a lot of that was based
17:59
Speaker 4: on or your performance and how the audience reacted to
18:03
Speaker 4: you and and their engagement with your characters. So thankfully
18:06
Speaker 4: for me, I think you know a lot of people
18:09
Speaker 4: like genuinely like Shod and could see that at his
18:13
Speaker 4: core he was a good guy, and they ended up
18:15
Speaker 4: kind of rooting for him. So that gave me, you know,
18:18
Speaker 4: that that ability to stay around a lot longer.
18:21
Speaker 1: I think with Shot, it's like you feel like everybody
18:25
Speaker 1: has a Shot in their family or knows a Shot,
18:27
Speaker 1: like somebody who just honestly is just like trying to
18:29
Speaker 1: do the right thing. But you you're playing the cards.
18:32
Speaker 1: You were dealt to a certain extent, but you are
18:34
Speaker 1: you there's a boundary or a cutoff with you as
18:37
Speaker 1: a human.
18:38
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, Now it's so funny that you would mention
18:41
Speaker 4: that I have so many I have so many black
18:45
Speaker 4: men in particular that range and age, you know, who
18:48
Speaker 4: have dealt with similar circumstances in their personal lives. You
18:54
Speaker 4: know that that kind of run parallel maybe to what
18:57
Speaker 4: Shot is experienced, even being incarcerated maybe at one point
19:00
Speaker 4: in their lives and trying to re enter back into society.
19:03
Speaker 4: And be giving a second chance, and not a lot
19:07
Speaker 4: of those stories are told from an honest and respectful
19:13
Speaker 4: point of view, you know what I mean. I think
19:16
Speaker 4: with Shad's character, it really showed in a very authentic
19:20
Speaker 4: way the obstacles that he was being confronted with and
19:24
Speaker 4: that he had to hurtle over, and even the decisions
19:27
Speaker 4: that he made in his mind whether to sway left
19:30
Speaker 4: or right, whether to stay legit or whether you go
19:32
Speaker 4: back into the gangster world.
19:34
Speaker 1: Even when we explored those things.
19:37
Speaker 4: They were explored in a very honest and respectful and
19:40
Speaker 4: authentic way, which I think allowed especially a lot of
19:45
Speaker 4: the black men who became later on familiar with our show,
19:50
Speaker 4: finds something to connect with, you know what I'm saying
19:54
Speaker 4: in the show. So so that was good and I
19:57
Speaker 4: was happy that I was able to serve that regard
20:00
Speaker 4: as an actor in helping to tell that story, because
20:04
Speaker 4: you know, that does impact me. It does matter to
20:06
Speaker 4: me when other brothers come up to me and they
20:08
Speaker 4: and they share their stories with me, and how through
20:11
Speaker 4: you know, watching the show in some kind of way,
20:13
Speaker 4: maybe gave them, you know, some additional insight or maybe
20:16
Speaker 4: gave them, you know, some more hope you know and
20:19
Speaker 4: knowing that there's a silver liner, that there's light at
20:22
Speaker 4: the end of the tunnel, even for them. So I'm
20:24
Speaker 4: glad that I was able to serve in that regard.
20:26
Speaker 1: Now, next up, we have a conversation with Miss Marse Martin,
20:29
Speaker 1: who is one of my favorite creators in Hollywood. And
20:32
Speaker 1: I say that all the time, not just because she's
20:33
Speaker 1: amazing as an actress and on camera, but I think,
20:37
Speaker 1: you know, she is so young, but she is so intentional.
20:41
Speaker 1: She does a lot of work in the community when
20:42
Speaker 1: it comes to HBCUs and Black students and Black conversations
20:47
Speaker 1: and centering you know, people that are trying to work
20:50
Speaker 1: and continue to tell stories in Hollywood as Black people
20:54
Speaker 1: young and old. And she's just done so much in
20:57
Speaker 1: such a little time because she's so young. But I
21:00
Speaker 1: just love her energy, I love her spirit, and I
21:02
Speaker 1: love how she cares about us for real, for real.
21:05
Speaker 1: So we were at the campus of Howard University, which
21:08
Speaker 1: is a renowned HBCU historically Black college or university, and
21:12
Speaker 1: we were having a conversation for the HBCU First Book
21:15
Speaker 1: Film Festival, which is an amazing organization that centers Black
21:19
Speaker 1: storytellers and helps you know, funding when it comes to
21:22
Speaker 1: that as well. And we talked a lot about her
21:24
Speaker 1: journey and you know what it looks like for her
21:26
Speaker 1: to be doing everything that she's doing and being intentional
21:29
Speaker 1: about being black while doing it. Let's take a listen.
21:32
Speaker 1: So you embarked on your career at a really young age,
21:35
Speaker 1: and we talk about, you know, in the business and then
21:37
Speaker 1: being able to do all these things. But what were
21:39
Speaker 1: some of the opportunities or challenges that came with the
21:43
Speaker 1: opportunities of being in spotlight so young?
21:45
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness.
21:46
Speaker 5: I mean, I will put it in perspective that I
21:49
Speaker 5: started when I was five. So the the complications that
21:56
Speaker 5: we had going from I mean Dallas to la and
21:59
Speaker 5: then and going from Huntington Beach to like Burbank, which
22:04
Speaker 5: is a two hour drive going back and forth from
22:06
Speaker 5: the studio. I mean, it was just a lot of
22:08
Speaker 5: sacrifice that came here to it, as it is for
22:11
Speaker 5: anybody who has a passion, and I believe, I mean,
22:15
Speaker 5: there's things in the little details that like a lot
22:18
Speaker 5: of people don't even think of, such as like you know.
22:20
Speaker 2: Who's doing your hair? You know, how's your hair going?
22:23
Speaker 5: Look, A lot of people don't know how to do
22:24
Speaker 5: black people's hair, and then when you know, we're able
22:27
Speaker 5: to fix that with the amazing Roxy Lindsay, who is
22:31
Speaker 5: such a like like a perfectionist when it comes to
22:35
Speaker 5: black women here of course, But I mean there's just
22:37
Speaker 5: there's so many things that you could talk about and
22:41
Speaker 5: you know, relate to when it comes to just what
22:43
Speaker 5: it was like growing up in that space. But I
22:46
Speaker 5: feel like, just as a whole, the things that you
22:48
Speaker 5: don't even think about, such as just your childhood just switching,
22:52
Speaker 5: you know, just shifting from with me being a little
22:56
Speaker 5: girl from Dallas, Texas, going from a public schoo that
23:00
Speaker 5: I was at for many years and then going to homeschool,
23:04
Speaker 5: you know, such as that, and just like the different
23:06
Speaker 5: shifts that puts on a perfect person and what it
23:10
Speaker 5: takes on. So I feel like it was a lot
23:12
Speaker 5: of changes that happened. But I think with me being
23:15
Speaker 5: an old soul and always around I'm not gonna say, oh,
23:20
Speaker 5: grown people all the time. I used to be around
23:23
Speaker 5: my aunties and I was like eight years old and
23:26
Speaker 5: they was telling me about they divorced stories and stuff,
23:28
Speaker 5: and I'm like, exactly, girl, like this is what you
23:31
Speaker 5: have to do. So going from that to then going
23:35
Speaker 5: on a set that you know, it's it's legend that
23:39
Speaker 5: I also saw as like my aunties, like Jennifer Luiz,
23:42
Speaker 5: like it was basically.
23:42
Speaker 2: The same thing.
23:44
Speaker 5: So I think it's just being able to kind of
23:47
Speaker 5: change my mindset at such a young age and not
23:50
Speaker 5: really thinking about how crazy the shift is from someone
23:54
Speaker 5: else who meets the eye, but just you know, having fun,
23:57
Speaker 5: trying to find the fun and everything that I do
24:00
Speaker 5: think that was the most important thing.
24:01
Speaker 1: You talk about the shift. I can't imagine at such
24:04
Speaker 1: a young age what that feeling was like. But do
24:06
Speaker 1: you remember when you were like, oh, things are different
24:09
Speaker 1: for me than the kids that I started going to
24:10
Speaker 1: school with, Like when you kind of realize like, okay,
24:13
Speaker 1: I'm a celebrity, these things are happening.
24:16
Speaker 2: Okay.
24:16
Speaker 5: I will say when I went from my public school
24:21
Speaker 5: in that was Texas, where I was with the same
24:23
Speaker 5: people for many many years, and then moved to Huntington
24:28
Speaker 5: Beach where it was just a bunch of white kids.
24:31
Speaker 5: I went to like a YMCA and I had like
24:36
Speaker 5: it's like white, very like out there, jolly, yes, baby happy, and.
24:45
Speaker 2: Most of them. Sometimes sometimes I.
24:47
Speaker 5: Would be you know, absent because I would have to work.
24:52
Speaker 5: So when I come back, I was like, I was working,
24:55
Speaker 5: and you know, I was a middle school kid talking
24:56
Speaker 5: about I had.
24:57
Speaker 2: To work, like, you know, I was at work.
25:00
Speaker 5: So that's when I kind of realized the shift in
25:02
Speaker 5: how different I was from just other kids, and you know,
25:09
Speaker 5: it was it was different at the time, but I
25:11
Speaker 5: was there was something in me that was very vocal
25:14
Speaker 5: about being like talking to my parents and me and like, listen, y'all,
25:17
Speaker 5: this ain't gonna work. I was like, this is not
25:19
Speaker 5: gonna work. I need to find something else. And that's
25:22
Speaker 5: when I moved into homeschool, and then my mom became
25:25
Speaker 5: my teacher, and then we had some amazing, amazing tutors
25:29
Speaker 5: on the Blackish set that helped me out so much,
25:32
Speaker 5: and I then eventually I had the same tutor up
25:35
Speaker 5: until I was finished with school. So at the end
25:38
Speaker 5: it was very helpful, you know, But that was definitely
25:41
Speaker 5: the shift of like, wow, this is different.
25:44
Speaker 1: So growing up in the industry and growing up around
25:46
Speaker 1: the arts, you said something important, Like you said you
25:48
Speaker 1: were able to go to your parents and say this
25:50
Speaker 1: is not working for me, Like I need to change
25:52
Speaker 1: schools because whatever just wasn't on point for you to
25:55
Speaker 1: do what you need to do right. Yeah, as a
25:57
Speaker 1: creative and a lot of you know, the students and
25:59
Speaker 1: the people here are probably creators or businesses and they're
26:02
Speaker 1: young and they're figuring things out. What would be your
26:05
Speaker 1: message to them about being able to say, hey, this
26:08
Speaker 1: is not working for me, so that they're their best
26:10
Speaker 1: selves when they're showing up and trying to create their
26:12
Speaker 1: projects and do different things because you did at a
26:15
Speaker 1: very young age.
26:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it starts with.
26:20
Speaker 5: Understanding the question behind the question of like, Okay, this
26:24
Speaker 5: isn't working.
26:25
Speaker 2: Why isn't it working? What are you feeling?
26:27
Speaker 3: Like?
26:27
Speaker 5: Tell me what the perfect scenario is? How do we
26:31
Speaker 5: get to that point? And I think even at that age,
26:34
Speaker 5: it was trying to understand myself before saying what I
26:38
Speaker 5: had to say to everybody else outside.
26:40
Speaker 2: Of that, which I definitely had to learn.
26:44
Speaker 5: You know, just growing up, because I was a person
26:47
Speaker 5: that would say something and then someone would ask me
26:49
Speaker 5: why and I was.
26:49
Speaker 2: Like, hmmm, I don't know. So I think to be
26:53
Speaker 2: able to.
26:55
Speaker 5: Understand where it's coming from the feelings that are rooted
26:59
Speaker 5: into it, it's helped me so much, whether I'm learning
27:03
Speaker 5: with journaling or even like I'll do these voice memo
27:07
Speaker 5: diaries of just me talking just it can be like
27:10
Speaker 5: the most crazy ramble or whatever.
27:13
Speaker 2: Is it like a diary or like what talk us
27:14
Speaker 2: through that it's like.
27:15
Speaker 5: A voice memo I would I mean, I guess you
27:17
Speaker 5: can call it a diary, but it's just a brain
27:19
Speaker 5: dump of things that I have on my mind because
27:22
Speaker 5: I mean it could be very overwhelming at times. So
27:24
Speaker 5: and then you'll have all these questions that I'm like, Okay,
27:27
Speaker 5: how do we how do we come to the solution?
27:30
Speaker 2: Yes, and just go from.
27:32
Speaker 5: Layer to layer to later to layer, because it's truly
27:36
Speaker 5: like an onion, you know, just trying to figure out
27:38
Speaker 5: what is the core the core situation which has helped me,
27:42
Speaker 5: which has helped me so much. So I think that
27:44
Speaker 5: would be my advice to people is to learn yourself constantly,
27:50
Speaker 5: learn yourself, don't rush your process, don't rush.
27:54
Speaker 2: Into making a decision. I think it just it.
27:56
Speaker 5: Definitely helps in the long run and just your growth
28:00
Speaker 5: as a whole.
28:10
Speaker 1: Deciding to get behind the camera for you and you know,
28:13
Speaker 1: creating projects and producing. Was that something that you were
28:17
Speaker 1: always doing or was that something that you know, one
28:19
Speaker 1: day you were like, rememb what is this? I want
28:21
Speaker 1: to try it? Like how did that come about?
28:23
Speaker 5: When I created Little with my family? That was That
28:28
Speaker 5: was honestly the peak of everything was being able to
28:33
Speaker 5: actually see something that me and my parents created in
28:36
Speaker 5: our living room turn into something that we go to
28:40
Speaker 5: Atlanta and we're filming for three months, saying you are
28:43
Speaker 5: just really seeing your dreams come.
28:45
Speaker 2: To reality, which was very surreal for me.
28:49
Speaker 5: And if you've watched a little before, there's one scene
28:52
Speaker 5: in particular where I it's literally when Jordan wakes up
28:56
Speaker 5: and she has these big old clothes on, she got
29:00
Speaker 5: this huge hair, and she's just now waking up. She's
29:02
Speaker 5: trying to look for her glasses and then she tries
29:04
Speaker 5: to see herself.
29:06
Speaker 2: In the mirror and she just shook.
29:08
Speaker 5: And even I think that was one of the first
29:09
Speaker 5: scenes that we shot and I was like, wow, I
29:12
Speaker 5: cannot believe. I just remember me and my mom going
29:16
Speaker 5: band for band on, like what she was gonna wear?
29:19
Speaker 2: What she's looking like? What is she saying?
29:21
Speaker 5: And then me actually doing that with a whole production.
29:25
Speaker 5: Everybody's saying, like doing it for takes on takes, and
29:28
Speaker 5: it just was so special, and then to have that
29:35
Speaker 5: and then to realize like, oh, I could do this
29:37
Speaker 5: over and over and over again, like this is fun.
29:40
Speaker 2: That's how genius productions came about.
29:42
Speaker 5: And I could do it for other people, not just
29:45
Speaker 5: for me to feel this, but for other young black
29:48
Speaker 5: girls who want to be in front and behind the camera,
29:51
Speaker 5: other black boys who want to pursue anything, anything that
29:55
Speaker 5: they want. It's like I understood what that energy was, yes,
30:00
Speaker 5: and how much I want to share that with other people.
30:02
Speaker 1: What are things that you so when you're doing little
30:06
Speaker 1: you mom, your family, your home, you're figuring it out
30:08
Speaker 1: and then you're on set, right what were some things
30:11
Speaker 1: that you were realizing that you had been learning all
30:14
Speaker 1: along the way that helped you a lot at that
30:16
Speaker 1: time that somebody right here right now could be like
30:19
Speaker 1: hyper focusing on because it'll get them to a point
30:21
Speaker 1: where they could go out and do a production with
30:22
Speaker 1: friends next month, the next week. What are some of
30:24
Speaker 1: those like core things that you were like, let'll see
30:27
Speaker 1: what she did there. God, I didn't even know that
30:28
Speaker 1: this was preparing me.
30:29
Speaker 2: Ooh, oh that's a tough one.
30:34
Speaker 1: Mom said, use your resources.
30:36
Speaker 2: Oh look, my mom is right here, she's like.
30:38
Speaker 1: Yeah, Mom's right here in the front, y'all. Mom is
30:40
Speaker 1: right here in the front.
30:43
Speaker 2: The fad is killing me. Absolutely yeah.
30:47
Speaker 5: I mean, like my mom was saying, definitely using your resources.
30:51
Speaker 5: I think connection is everything. The reason even why a
30:54
Speaker 5: Little came about is because of Kenya Bears and Will
30:58
Speaker 5: Packard and of course Kenya created so we had the idea,
31:04
Speaker 5: but it wouldn't have been able to come to fruition
31:07
Speaker 5: the way it did without the team behind it.
31:10
Speaker 2: And it's genuine people who want to see you win.
31:13
Speaker 6: You know.
31:14
Speaker 5: It's not just there were in it for the money,
31:16
Speaker 5: or they're in it because I'm a prodigy or you know,
31:18
Speaker 5: or whatever the whatever.
31:20
Speaker 2: Story you make in your head. But it's I mean,
31:25
Speaker 2: I was nine.
31:26
Speaker 5: I was nine when that that conversation started, you know,
31:30
Speaker 5: so a lot of people can see that in different ways.
31:35
Speaker 5: You know, they can see it and you know, go
31:38
Speaker 5: with some kind of story that it's not true or
31:41
Speaker 5: I'm just the face or whatever.
31:43
Speaker 2: But they saw a girl with a passion, with.
31:46
Speaker 5: An idea and wanted to follow suit with it, you know.
31:51
Speaker 5: And I think that is the most important thing, is
31:53
Speaker 5: just following your heart with people who want to protect it.
31:58
Speaker 5: You know, because that's not I mean, that's not around
32:01
Speaker 5: a lot, you know.
32:02
Speaker 1: We were talking about that.
32:03
Speaker 5: Yeah, you people really absolutely just genuine good people who
32:08
Speaker 5: you just want to be around, you know, you never
32:10
Speaker 5: want to be around no fake people, of course, but
32:12
Speaker 5: I think it's just important to just curate your team,
32:15
Speaker 5: find your team, find your energy that you want to
32:18
Speaker 5: be around, and just create your plans and go from there.
32:22
Speaker 5: We had a plan, yes, and I think that was
32:24
Speaker 5: that was important. So I think that was one thing
32:27
Speaker 5: is using your resources. Another thing my mom says a
32:29
Speaker 5: lot is what's for you, what's for you, and what's
32:31
Speaker 5: for you won't miss you?
32:32
Speaker 2: I read every time.
32:34
Speaker 5: And I say it here because there was a minute
32:37
Speaker 5: where I mean I was just on Blackish for like
32:40
Speaker 5: it was what nine years of.
32:43
Speaker 2: My life almost said.
32:44
Speaker 5: And I feel like I was starting to as an
32:48
Speaker 5: actor become stagnant or like, you know, as a whole,
32:52
Speaker 5: I'm growing up in front of everybody's eyes as Diane,
32:55
Speaker 5: not as Marseille, you know, so I think as a whole,
32:59
Speaker 5: I had to sit back and it was more of
33:02
Speaker 5: a complicated experience to find myself because of it, and
33:06
Speaker 5: little in creating my production company and also turning into
33:11
Speaker 5: the person I truly want to be, which is an
33:14
Speaker 5: overall creator. I'm just a creator at heart. I just
33:17
Speaker 5: like having fun, building businesses and stuff. That's just really
33:20
Speaker 5: just what I want to do, you know. And I
33:22
Speaker 5: just I think as a whole, that's what I wanted
33:24
Speaker 5: to be and what I was destined to be. And
33:27
Speaker 5: I realize, like, you know, as long as I follow
33:32
Speaker 5: my path, as long as I trust in God, as
33:35
Speaker 5: long as I don't stress about it, no pressure, just do.
33:38
Speaker 2: What is at hand. And then if I.
33:41
Speaker 5: Know that God is not going to put anything in
33:43
Speaker 5: my heart and my mind and my gut that.
33:47
Speaker 2: It's not supposed to be, it's not supposed to be there.
33:49
Speaker 2: You know.
33:49
Speaker 5: It's everything that I think, everything that I feel. It's like, okay,
33:52
Speaker 5: this is this is here for a reason. I'm feeling
33:54
Speaker 5: this way for a reason. So when everything came about,
33:57
Speaker 5: I was just like, wow, this is just really God's journey.
34:00
Speaker 5: And even though I created Little at nine, I didn't
34:06
Speaker 5: feel me until I was thirteen. I didn't get the
34:08
Speaker 5: record until I was fourteen. You know, I didn't create
34:11
Speaker 5: my production company until I was fourteen fifteen. I didn't
34:13
Speaker 5: start actually selling stuff until I was sixteen seventeen, you know,
34:19
Speaker 5: I didn't start getting the recognition for it until I
34:21
Speaker 5: was eighteen nineteen, you know. So I think to be
34:24
Speaker 5: able to trust the plan, yeah, trust the process, find
34:30
Speaker 5: joy in the process is what's the most important thing,
34:35
Speaker 5: because then you realize, like, wow, this is perfect timing
34:38
Speaker 5: and what's.
34:38
Speaker 1: The rut now? Last, but not least, we got my
34:42
Speaker 1: girl Crystal Renee Hastley from the Keeping of Positive Sweetie podcast,
34:47
Speaker 1: which she's one of our Black Effect cousins. And what
34:50
Speaker 1: I love about Crystal is that, you know, she's spiritual,
34:54
Speaker 1: she's fashionable, she's such a girl's girl, but she's also
34:58
Speaker 1: like non judgmental, just a real person to have a
35:01
Speaker 1: good conversation or heart felt conversation with. And I think,
35:06
Speaker 1: you know sometimes like I know me, I can't speak
35:08
Speaker 1: for myself. I don't want to speak for all black
35:10
Speaker 1: people because I hate when people do that for myself
35:14
Speaker 1: as a black woman that is navigating so much in
35:16
Speaker 1: life on a daily basis and family, you know, personal, professional,
35:21
Speaker 1: all the things. I really enjoy people who just give
35:25
Speaker 1: you a breath of fresh hair sometimes like it's not
35:28
Speaker 1: about the struggle. Though, I don't mind talking about that
35:31
Speaker 1: I'm not one of those people that feel like you can't.
35:33
Speaker 1: It's not about all of the hype and the entertainment,
35:37
Speaker 1: glitz and glam. With Christopherinete hayesl it's really just about
35:41
Speaker 1: a sub like a conversation full of substance and depth
35:44
Speaker 1: and feeling, and it allows you to feel. And I
35:48
Speaker 1: think sometimes when you walking into the world, I mean,
35:50
Speaker 1: I know, like I get up on a daily sometimes
35:53
Speaker 1: and instantly I'm on like a the world is not
35:56
Speaker 1: gonna humble me. I'm a black woman, and it's like dang,
36:00
Speaker 1: like you know, and I know black men that you
36:03
Speaker 1: walk into the world as well, and there's like a
36:06
Speaker 1: let me protect myself or shield myself or get myself
36:08
Speaker 1: ready for the world. So it's always amazing when there
36:11
Speaker 1: are spaces or conversations created that allow you to take
36:13
Speaker 1: that off and just feel and just be a person.
36:15
Speaker 1: And Christopher and Haysley is that I got a chance
36:18
Speaker 1: to talk to her during the Finland at Sea Cruise,
36:21
Speaker 1: which was a cruise all black women, fifteen hundred black women,
36:24
Speaker 1: and the cruise maybe nothing but good vibes, double Dutch
36:27
Speaker 1: drinks and electric slides. Okay, y'all hear me shout out
36:31
Speaker 1: to have the lowry you put that together under the
36:33
Speaker 1: fool work program. But we had a really great conversation
36:36
Speaker 1: just about spirituality, career growth and yeah, just like a
36:41
Speaker 1: real girlfriend chat. So let's get on into it right now.
36:45
Speaker 1: So I always crassed this conversation, was saying that I
36:49
Speaker 1: was asked about this a lot, and I don't ever
36:51
Speaker 1: mind soft about it because I feel.
36:53
Speaker 6: Like all of y'all had watched it, were able to learn.
36:55
Speaker 1: Something and be able to see yourself in it, and
36:59
Speaker 1: that re mind talking about it, even though me and.
37:01
Speaker 6: Guess are in a way different stays for sure, So
37:03
Speaker 6: I'll say that first, we love her due. It was
37:05
Speaker 6: just a cursing joy like that.
37:08
Speaker 1: But you know, I think, if I'm being real, it
37:12
Speaker 1: was like I I understood, like I was able to
37:15
Speaker 1: sit that day and have the conversation the way that
37:18
Speaker 1: it didn't even throughout.
37:19
Speaker 6: The process my little moments was happening. It was ummable,
37:22
Speaker 6: and I was like, you know, I'm like I didn't
37:24
Speaker 6: know what was happening. I was happening for me.
37:27
Speaker 1: It was like if I work in her place, how
37:29
Speaker 1: would I feel? Yeah, and I've actually been in her
37:31
Speaker 1: place and after that sent when.
37:32
Speaker 6: My mom got sick. When I was working at TEMs,
37:35
Speaker 6: my mom was back in the campus. She stood at them.
37:37
Speaker 6: But when I think be so when I was working
37:41
Speaker 6: at PAGE, I remember I had to take lead from
37:45
Speaker 6: work to be with my mom. And I got took
37:47
Speaker 6: Baract and Bay day to day like literally, so I
37:50
Speaker 6: was like, yo, I'm like trying to skype in TEMs life,
37:53
Speaker 6: I'm a hospital all that, and I'm like, I can't
37:55
Speaker 6: do it anymore, Like I'm not myself right now. I
37:58
Speaker 6: needed to be with her and both of this, they
38:00
Speaker 6: hired another girl, and I remember the black.
38:03
Speaker 1: Girl now only they hired her. They sat her right
38:06
Speaker 1: way out of the city and they would give.
38:08
Speaker 6: Her all, you know, they n't hit them. So they
38:11
Speaker 6: they were even like they like because you know, it's
38:14
Speaker 6: like white people that like be around black people and
38:16
Speaker 6: then it's like the.
38:17
Speaker 1: White white people they're like it's like yeah, so they're
38:20
Speaker 1: very like sometimes they can I think people in those
38:22
Speaker 1: phases can be kind of tone them to what they're doing.
38:25
Speaker 6: In these wives, right, so you.
38:27
Speaker 1: Have people that are really upset call me like why
38:30
Speaker 1: would they sit her like they just pop alonga girl
38:33
Speaker 1: popp another man right, and it was causing like she
38:37
Speaker 1: was there and she was being put in positions to
38:39
Speaker 1: do things and like whatever, and she was uncomfortable. But
38:42
Speaker 1: I've already talked to her a bit before I sets out,
38:45
Speaker 1: so we had a little bit of a report. But
38:47
Speaker 1: I remember the fan of the show.
38:49
Speaker 6: Was when they were making it that SMS. They were
38:51
Speaker 6: making it such a thing with me and her man
38:52
Speaker 6: stashing the clay. She works in Indianapolis now, Tency, she's
38:57
Speaker 6: right now, she wouldn't be out there for for USA
39:01
Speaker 6: to day though she's doing very well apple Tz.
39:04
Speaker 1: But I remember that you're not gonna heard this being like, look,
39:06
Speaker 1: even when I come back into my my role or
39:09
Speaker 1: if I'm home ever come back, I want you to
39:11
Speaker 1: understand that, like I have no issue.
39:13
Speaker 6: With business is business.
39:14
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, and I know what's not you.
39:17
Speaker 1: I know that there are thanks for happening around you
39:19
Speaker 1: that you might not be aware of.
39:20
Speaker 6: Meaning if you're aware, there's nothing you can do, you're.
39:22
Speaker 1: Just showing up every day to work. So fast forward
39:26
Speaker 1: into the breakfast sub situation. I'm like, okay, God, yeah,
39:29
Speaker 1: I'll see. You had me in that situation a few
39:31
Speaker 1: years back.
39:31
Speaker 6: And because now I'm able to be here and be like, Okay,
39:35
Speaker 6: you're showing up every day to work, you're not really in.
39:37
Speaker 1: Control of what's happening, but you can't act like you
39:39
Speaker 1: don't know what's happening, right, So I have a certain
39:42
Speaker 1: empathy first us and.
39:44
Speaker 6: It's understanding that, like you was also my first time
39:46
Speaker 6: being at up posting pract perment not vocal, and I'm like,
39:51
Speaker 6: it's not not yet.
39:54
Speaker 1: Know that was my first time being that, of course
39:57
Speaker 1: in terson with someone who was right and then just
40:00
Speaker 1: recently had a baby, and going back, I never experienced
40:03
Speaker 1: that that close. So I'm like, oh, like when people
40:08
Speaker 1: talk about all of the things that happened, like, I'm like, oh,
40:11
Speaker 1: that's a real thing, and I'm watching it happen. So
40:14
Speaker 1: as a woman, I'm like, bro, it's no way that
40:17
Speaker 1: even though I know she's upset and she don't want
40:19
Speaker 1: me to hearing them, if I can set in she's
40:22
Speaker 1: having us up there, I can step in and back en.
40:24
Speaker 6: She says it to this.
40:25
Speaker 1: Day, like you were so hard to be that because
40:27
Speaker 1: you were coming every day so refreshed, and I'm like, well, one.
40:30
Speaker 6: Of the past, because like I knew that it wasn't
40:33
Speaker 6: us personally, and I knew that I wasn't her problem.
40:38
Speaker 1: I was actually her partner in that, but she just
40:40
Speaker 1: wasn't at the place where that was something she wanted to,
40:42
Speaker 1: you know what I mean.
40:43
Speaker 6: And I pucking board set and I also felt like
40:45
Speaker 6: to's like it was above us.
40:48
Speaker 1: I just was getting the brunt up it because I
40:50
Speaker 1: was a bigical representation of what needs to happen from
40:53
Speaker 1: a bigger standpoint way from a repetator that wasn't happening.
40:56
Speaker 1: So as I took all that into mine, you know,
41:00
Speaker 1: and when everything happened, I was just like, look, I'm
41:03
Speaker 1: not gonna win, and it's by making this a me
41:06
Speaker 1: versus using So what can I what I can do?
41:09
Speaker 1: It's like I have to come in here and be
41:11
Speaker 1: honest about how if I felt, because I mean.
41:15
Speaker 6: The world said there's nothing I can do now and
41:17
Speaker 6: everything's I puy stable, so you know, let's do it.
41:19
Speaker 6: But for me it was important and doing that it
41:22
Speaker 6: was like this is how I feel, and this is.
41:25
Speaker 1: How I can.
41:29
Speaker 6: Yeah, I like, oh sorry, like this is how I feel.
41:32
Speaker 6: This is why I don't act it. But like at
41:34
Speaker 6: the end of the day, I never had but that's
41:37
Speaker 6: why I go to the garden words.
41:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, but after the end of the day, I went like,
41:43
Speaker 1: there's gonna be other women that are gonna go through
41:46
Speaker 1: some real tough times with somebody else. And even if
41:48
Speaker 1: we walk away from this not liking each other at all,
41:51
Speaker 1: and it's not that, but in my mind, I was like,
41:53
Speaker 1: even if that's a kid, cause we never decide to
41:55
Speaker 1: be friends in real life, I wanna show people that, like,
41:58
Speaker 1: you can have a an issue, but like we.
42:01
Speaker 6: Don't have to allow it to like, like you know
42:05
Speaker 6: what I mean, at the end of the day, you
42:07
Speaker 6: don't vocu something that only I look present. I'm don't
42:10
Speaker 6: voting something that I mean you won't understand it because
42:12
Speaker 6: we're both here in the space, right we look.
42:14
Speaker 1: Like each other, we both like our person down and
42:17
Speaker 1: talking to her the first time we met in real
42:18
Speaker 1: life and she's like, you just like me, and I'm like, yeah, girl,
42:21
Speaker 1: this seecause I'll be reportant doesn't mean she's.
42:24
Speaker 6: Like, oh so you believe I'm around?
42:25
Speaker 1: Yes, Like like, but I think that women don't get
42:29
Speaker 1: to see that often because nobody is only room for
42:32
Speaker 1: one of us, right, So for y'all got your real wife,
42:35
Speaker 1: see like, Okay, the conversation is really going for one
42:37
Speaker 1: of us. It's there, but it's like, how long are
42:40
Speaker 1: we gonna sit in that? Like because for real, for real,
42:42
Speaker 1: what just does and when she's great at it's what
42:45
Speaker 1: she does, and when she's great.
42:46
Speaker 6: At what I do, what I'm reread at, it's what
42:47
Speaker 6: I'm doing what I'm great at.
42:48
Speaker 1: And when you married it too, when people began to
42:50
Speaker 1: see that, like, man, we have it to be believe,
42:53
Speaker 1: we have the news, we have the mental help.
42:55
Speaker 6: We have to is like we all brain to seek.
42:59
Speaker 6: We don't mixture. You're into the pot and it works.
43:02
Speaker 6: Like in real Wife, I was just like, man, I
43:04
Speaker 6: looked really hard to get here. I put up this
43:06
Speaker 6: situation and control and change everything that I worked for.
43:11
Speaker 6: I cannot like I have so many other places together.
43:14
Speaker 6: I love it.
43:16
Speaker 1: Many people that nothing, so many women can take something
43:19
Speaker 1: A lot of what you just said, but I love
43:21
Speaker 1: how you showed we can have conflict resolution.
43:24
Speaker 6: There's gonna be conflicts, it's inevitable, but there's a way
43:27
Speaker 6: that we can and then you realize we're actually more
43:29
Speaker 6: alife than that. And a lot of times I think
43:31
Speaker 6: people that we have situations with the conflict to it.
43:34
Speaker 6: Once we actually sit down with.
43:35
Speaker 1: That person, we see so many different similarities and we're like, wow,
43:38
Speaker 1: I actually see myself in you.
43:40
Speaker 6: And you know what else who coming on his cruise.
43:41
Speaker 1: I was like, man, I know Heather and Son is
43:44
Speaker 1: gonna be like real because sometimes you come to me
43:46
Speaker 1: space and everything it's.
43:47
Speaker 6: Like, oh my god, when it department, we're all in
43:49
Speaker 6: white and it's like, y'all are not even nice for real?
43:53
Speaker 1: Well you know what I mean, You're being here in
43:57
Speaker 1: his space, And because I know Heather and what she
44:00
Speaker 1: be on, I'm like, no, she gonna curate this where
44:03
Speaker 1: it's like if that is your personality, she gonna break
44:06
Speaker 1: you down before we get back to where we're going
44:07
Speaker 1: on one day, right, And that's why I was excited
44:09
Speaker 1: to come here. But that was my energy too. With that,
44:12
Speaker 1: I'm like, Yo, we can do all of and the
44:15
Speaker 1: mean girl stuff and all of that, but at the
44:16
Speaker 1: end of the day, it's.
44:17
Speaker 6: Like we gotta learn that, like it's us or it's nothing.
44:21
Speaker 1: They cut in platforms, they're taking black people out of media.
44:25
Speaker 6: They they're shutting our voices down. They don't want.
44:27
Speaker 1: People like me and just people got mad at me
44:29
Speaker 1: because I said a lot of the fact that you
44:31
Speaker 1: got too we real black girls like and not be
44:35
Speaker 1: cleaning over our skin tone because last Ning Darston, I'm
44:37
Speaker 1: not talking about that.
44:38
Speaker 6: I'm talking about like we really.
44:39
Speaker 1: From around, We talk about, we talk, we come from
44:41
Speaker 1: certain things, we eat certain things.
44:43
Speaker 6: Our nails, our hair are lashes, the edges is laid.
44:45
Speaker 6: Like we're doing all of that on this mainstream media
44:48
Speaker 6: platform and you don't see that.
44:50
Speaker 1: So imagine if like we're showing it and none you
44:53
Speaker 1: see it more right, And so now we don't all
44:55
Speaker 1: gotta be in white smiling and.
44:56
Speaker 6: Don't really care for each other. We know how to
44:57
Speaker 6: work there list the white guys talk because y'all know
45:06
Speaker 6: what I'm talking about, y'all like you actually playing to.
45:20
Speaker 1: Y'all. This has been another episode, a very special episode
45:23
Speaker 1: of the Latest with Laurna grows of you're daily digging
45:26
Speaker 1: all things prop culture, entertainment, news and all of the
45:28
Speaker 1: conversations that shake the room in celebration of Juneteenth. So
45:33
Speaker 1: I hope if you are listening to this, she's somewhere.
45:35
Speaker 1: You know, whether you're just getting off work, you can
45:38
Speaker 1: spend the day off work just resting whatever, doing whatever.
45:42
Speaker 1: Brings you joy. I hope you're listening to this conversation
45:44
Speaker 1: and you're feeling happy and proud to be black, and
45:48
Speaker 1: happy and proud to you know, take today to just
45:53
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, like we ate one cracket
45:56
Speaker 1: and just take the day to feel like that. I
45:59
Speaker 1: tell you, guys, every single episode, y'all could be anywhere
46:01
Speaker 1: with any old body talking about all of these things,
46:05
Speaker 1: but y'all always choose to be right here with a meme.
46:08
Speaker 1: I appreciate that so much, my Lowriders. I'll see you
46:11
Speaker 1: guys in my next episode. Happy June Team,