Latest / Story Scaling / Creating Space, Changing Culture with Airic Hughes

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Creating Space, Changing Culture with Airic Hughes · Story Scaling

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Story Scaling by PodcastVideoscom, where creators share the truth behind the content, the grind and the growth.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and family, I am Bang and you are back with another episode of Story Scaling.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: If you haven't already, please like subscribe.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: I never say that, but I'm learning.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: You got to say that and people will do it.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: But I'm here with a great brother of mine.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I often get out here and I will do it.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: But I'm here with a a great brother of mine.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: I often get out here and I say, man, I'm here with a good friend, but, sincerely, this dude right here has been a pillar, not only the community but in uh, representing holding it down.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: I ain't gonna build it up too much, bro.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: I know you like to keep it low-key, but I am here with none other than dr eric hughes.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: Dr eric hughes, I pulled a bio and this is what I think and this is what the streets think.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: So it says Today's guest is a force in creative and community spaces across Arkansas.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Eric Hughes is the founder of Visionary, a studio and cultural organization and hub using storytelling, education and collaboration to preserve and elevate black southern culture, black culture preservation.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: He's the creative mind behind major initiatives like Homegrown Creative Festival, a weekend-long celebration of black artistry, wellness, innovation and visionary Michaud Film Labs collaboration, which is helping push forward black filmmaking and narrative ownership on a national scale.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: Through campaigns like Healthy Smiles, healthy Lives, Eric is blending public health and creative strategy to bring awareness to dental equity, while using visionary studios to build space for new voices, new projects and real community change.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: I appreciate the intro and the bio.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: On the home ground, big shout-out to my dog, stoney Jackson.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: That's his initiative.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: The Michelle Ward and Fem Labs is a visionary initiative and we're coming together to do something special, man.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: So that's the only thing that I can say.
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: I want to make sure everybody clear on cause.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: I don't want to take no credit, that's not mine but at the same time, that's my dog and we looking forward to bringing something innovative to the city I love it, bro, I love it.
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Do you mind if I throw the stunners on man?
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: This your show, bro.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Come on that part.
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: You feel me?
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: We locked in man, let's start there.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Oh, thank you, bro, for joining us.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: We talk so much you know what I'm saying off camera that it's like man, having you in the spot is a blessing, bro, for real.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you doing that.
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, man.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: So let's start there.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Homegrown, give me the backdrop.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: Shout out to Stoney Jackson.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure if I done met bro like shake his hand, but it's a name that you hear.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: A lot A face, you see, you know what I'm saying.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: And dope artists, if I'm not mistaken, right Like be spittin' came in and you was complimenting my snap.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: That's, bro, really.
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: He from the city, he a hustler, just the same as all of us, and you know, if you really bout it for real, then it ain't no one lane.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: It's just expression, and being able to capitalize on your expression is the standard of a professional artist, and Stoney is somebody that is a a force when it comes to making space for artists, not only in the city but in the state, and so the homegrown concert series is something that's been going on for a very long time, and we're thankful that stoney was able to allow the michelle Award in Film Labs to collaborate and bring a new event to the Homegrown series, and what we're doing in Little Rock on September the 4th is an event called Clips and Convos.
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: It's a Michaud social event.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: It's one of the things that we do with the Micheaux Award in Film Labs is make space and bring community together through social events.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: We call them Micheaux Socials, and the Micheaux Award in Film Labs is the organization that's collaborating with Homegrown.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: I call it MAFL, just so it kind of can bring it off the tongue a little better, but MAFL works to make space for creators of color in Arkansas.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: We do it through direct funding with the Michaud Award.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: We do it through education spaces called.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: Michaud Labs where we teach people through hands-on training and Michaud Social events, such as the Clips and Convos Michaud Social that we're doing at the Pocket Park in Little Rock on September 4th, and so MAFL and Homegrown are coming together to highlight the artists on the Arkansas scene.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: So the Homegrown series does that They've been doing that for a very long time and highlighting local artists.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: So Michelle Ward and Film Labs, with our focus on film and storytelling, we're highlighting the music videos from these artists and numerous artists around the state.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: We've gotten dozens and dozens of submissions from artists to showcase some of the best quality visuals for music artists and highlight the producers and directors behind those visions and give them some shine, because that's a big part of absolutely presentation absolutely you ever think it's uh, it's in the cards for you to be a rapper.
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: So I'll tell you about that in a moment.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to be a rapper, but I am an artist.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, one of the campaigns that we're working on through my company, visionary, is telling the story of oral health care, and I don't want to jump the gun, but we can get into that in a moment.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: This your show.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: But no, this your show, no it the reason I even mentioned the rapper thing, because the way you kicking it running down whoa, we got this.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: We're little rock boy shout out stony dot.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Now I'm like I'll bet.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: So like these are the best episodes, bro, I'm rolling on your time, jump in so no doubt.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: um, we, we have a campaign rolling, we being visionary.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Visionary is the organization that Bro shouted out in the beginning.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: We focus on black culture preservation.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: We do it in areas of film and media, education and social justice.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: So that's why we have MAFL.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: That's how we do what we do in film and media, and another way that we do it is through our own productions, and I'm a filmmaker myself, and the short documentary that I'm producing, called Healthy Smiles, healthy Lives, is telling the story of oral health care in Arkansas.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: But, to answer your question, if I'm a rapper, we're producing an album to release alongside our short documentary.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Now, the short documentary in and of itself is its own conversation and I'm happy to talk to you more about it, but the album that we're accompanying this short documentary with is going to be featuring Arkansas artists and I'm gonna do a little vocal speaking part on an album.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: So I ain't a rapper, but you know I get on it's like a poker hern.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know what I mean.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: Hey, hey, hey, hey, shout out to Jewel, shout out to her.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: It's so good, it's so good, bro, that's dope.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Bro.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: Whenever I hear everything you got going, I'm always amazed as a fellow artist, because I'm like, I think there's always intention which is inspiring and invigorating, and I think there's always a stack.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: It's not just.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, I'm complimenting the hat.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: I'm like bro, the hat dope.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: You're like, yeah, it's just an expression.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Then you got the documentary that's going to be accompanied by the album.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: That's probably going to be accompanied by something else.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: So let's go to the think tank, bro, when this stuff starts to even be conceptualized is to even be conceptualized.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: Is that just how you process things?
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: Is it like man, a documentary is cool, but it got to be a company with these tracks?
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: Like man, the hat is cool, but like that has to be like, how does how does it?
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: It work for you?
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Is it a?
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: You know just something that?
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Or does it build?
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: To god be the glory, yeah that's how it works for me.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: You know, whatever is dropped onto me in a download is what we do, and we're very purpose driven and mission based.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: We're tapped in with the source and know who we are and what we're here to do.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: So when we get the new download, it's always above and beyond it's way more than what I could think.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: I'll just sit here and do this short documentary, but the download said hey, a plus b equals z.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know when I talk about purpose.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, bro, that's uh, we talk about that from time to time too whenever I talk to you.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: It's a, it's a clarity of purpose.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: You know what you're doing, you know where you're going and you've built here in arkansas what we haven't seen.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying and I like to give people that flowers because you know you got the first black owned business on the downtown fayetteville square.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: You know you are saying, nah, we can build a creative hub here because we got to speak to that.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: You know, for somebody that's like Arkansas, why ain't you going to Atlanta?
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: You got all of the knowledge, you got all of the resources and you would probably be better served moving to California Like what keeps you rooted, and championing Arkansas like you've done.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: Since I've known you, the better of you know however long it's about we, it's not about me.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: Have a line.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: It's about we, it's not about me.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: And I'm an Arkansas native.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: I'm a Little Rock nigga.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: I'm from the city I grew up off 12, right next to Ugly Mike's, the bottom, so there ain't no vantage point that's ever going to make me want to invest in another space, because I know this space so intimately and I can work directly in the areas of impact, because there's such a great need when we talk about the healthy smiles, healthy lives.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: Short documentary that's just one reflection of how we can speak directly to the need and work clearly on the impact with partners that are strategically aligned around the solutions.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: And, you know, coming into the path of entrepreneurship and artistry as a secondary career, because my first career is as an educator.
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: I'm in the faculty, on the campus at a PWI, one of the SEC institutions, and navigating those spaces.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: It shapes the foundational dynamics of our perspective.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: The experience of who we are gives us the direction.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: But understanding how to navigate these systems and work towards a goal that isn't easy is really where a lot of that was honed in when we first started, when Visionary first started working with the students, working with the black communities here that needed help and needed support and developing those things into where we're able to scale those and build on those skills to help other organizations tell stories, such as the the challenges of our Arkansas oral health care yeah, you know, being able to use those experiences that we've had foundationally to stay on the mission and the own task, yeah, but to do it at a next level, to be able to create new opportunities and help tell stories that haven't been told.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: You know, when people think about the statistics about Arkansas oral health care, we down at the bottom, nationally, right.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Well, these statistics don't relay the work that's being done all around the state by good people who are focused on making a change and making an impact to help Arkansans.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: And until we have the capacity and ability to tell that story, it's only going to look one way, you know, and so that's really a big part of this short documentary, and we're excited about the partnership that we've established with the Delta Dental Foundation the partnership we've established with the Rockefeller Institute, who helps collect the data and go into the communities and do the focus group for understanding the challenges that our Kansas have with oral health care, and we're excited to show this documentary not only around the state.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: show this documentary not only around the state, but it's already scheduled to have exposure as part of the National Alice Convention in Miami in 2026.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: So I'm a speaker at that, talking about this project and how storytelling is being utilized to make a change in Arkansas.
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Wow, we gotta let that breathe for a second man.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: To God be the glory.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: Wow, we gotta let that breathe for a second man.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: To God be the glory.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, woo, when I look at you, you know you done came to events and always fresh, always ripped up, always doing your thing.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Like I said, it's just kicking it.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying, doing your thing, bro.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: And then you know we sit down and we have these conversations about the importance of health care in underrepresented communities and people who don't have access to the same thing and the impact that it has on them.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: And so for you, why is it important to paint this whole picture?
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: You could just do floss stuff.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: You could just talk about, like, if I take, I'm glad I got these shades on, because the earring, the earring alone you know what I'm saying, but we could just talk about fly stuff.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: So why is it important to paint the entire picture and be the voice?
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean for these underrepresented communities?
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: Like, why not just do the stuff that's going to get the clicks and the clout?
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Because that's not the main thing for us and our purpose is focused on helping us to really understand what the main things can be.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: I'm not going to tell anybody what it should be, because that's for them to determine, but what we are here to do is to show you what can be and to give you pathways to connect and build that future alongside us and with us.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: And because it's a we thing and not a me thing, I don't.
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: So I tell people all the time.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: You know I I teach classes with hundreds of students.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: Literally, I'll stand there and just be on stage and there'll be hundreds of students in the room and every single one of them grade and future, is contingent on them paying attention to what I'm saying every day.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: So anything I do outside of that is not attention based.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: I really don't care about it.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: I'm being myself and I'm influenced by the people that we were influenced by growing up.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: So it reflects, you know, and it's just expression, and the attention of it really isn't the priority, it's the purpose of it for me, because you know, I can't boast or brag on nothing that God did, god, god did.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: That's all I can say is to God be the glory.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: When it comes to all that type of stuff, and I'm just thankful to be a vessel that is being used to execute the purpose, and that's what I really focus on.
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: And I, you know, if anybody were to take anything away, it's keeping the main, finding the main thing and then keeping that main thing, the main thing, you know, because if the main thing is just focused on you, it's going to run out.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: The flyness comes and goes, that's all subjective.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: Somebody ain't going to feel it, and who cares Right gonna feel it.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: And who cares right as long as you cool, whatever it is, and I get to go teach them hundreds of classes this way, mm-hmm, and then hundreds of students in my classes this way, and then, when them students leave that class, not only do they know more about America and our historical legacy and what that means to them today, they also can see the real-life example of how that context provides freedom for an individual.
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: Because I'm standing here telling you this as Dr Eric Hughes, wearing my own stuff, with my own studio.
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: When you go to go shopping, when you leave campus and go to wherever else, you probably walk past my studio and I don't got to say nothing, it just is.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: You know, that's the best part.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: All right, bro, it's a lot there.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: It's a lot there.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: Two things that I remember, that you've said, that stuck with me, is I wear one outfit every day, and it's a call to authenticity and honoring yourself more than anything.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: Not shape-shifting, um, and I want to, I want, I do want to touch on that.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: And then, uh, something else you say is it's always going to be some shiny stuff.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: Always, it'll never be a a lack of shiny stuff, and so, even as you talk about this idea of keeping the main thing, the main thing is staying focused.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: There has to be a draw to do something that that could be just a little bit outside of your scope of what you do.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: You know, maybe you focus on this, but, you know, for a bag, sometimes, you know they want you to come in and ship this way.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: I know you, you know what I mean, so I can I.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean, so I can, I can vouch.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: There's people out there that's like, oh man, I'm doing this for motivation.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: It's like, nah, bro, you, you really trying to be seen.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: You trying to be seen, which I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I can see through it.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean, but it's like you know you are who you say.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: You are both on and off.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: I got a line in a song where I say I can't give you confidence.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: You have to learn it as you go.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: I can tell you what I know, but like you still gonna have to, and so for you there's a level of groundedness you know what I'm saying and humility, and I imagine that to some degree that's not transferable, to some degree you just have to go through what you go through and learn that you got to stay grounded and stay humble.
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: In your case, like, where does that even come from?
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: How do you be a person who, for you, it will be easy to, like I said, veer one way or do something that's a little bit compromising for a selfish gang?
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Like where does that that groundedness you know what I'm saying kind of come from?
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: And how do you stay like that?
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: Because we all have seen people that's man, you, I know it's in there, but you, just you shift.
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: It's easy to get off track, man.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: So to answer that, what I say is there's a lot that I've been through and my family has been through that keeps us focused.
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: You know, being a husband, being a father, having lost a child, having lost a child and then also, at the same time, living in the same skin while you're doing all these things that you're doing and accomplishing the goals that you have for yourself, is it takes that level of understanding and groundedness of who you really are and what you're really here to do.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: Because in going through those things it's helped me to be courageous and the tools that have benefited my growth the most have been love, wisdom and courage.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: And you know the love is a requirement, the love is the essence, the wisdom is the skill and the understanding that you build through the experiences, through the bumps, through all those things.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: And the courage is to be present and execute in the moment.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: You know, and growth takes that.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: It takes that courageous intent, you know, and to be able to speak about the loss that I've experienced and be able to use that for myself and to be able to help others.
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: You know that that's a part of the purpose and being able to walk in that purpose is.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: It is the reason that we keep the main thing the main thing, and that I keep the main thing the main thing, because there ain't nothing that no person on this earth will ever say to me that's going to be better than well done, my good and faithful servant, because at that point I get to see my daughter again.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: Give me chills bro.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: So it makes it, you know, and it is easy to get off track.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: Because what people don't understand in the journey is that when you put in the work that is required to succeed, you will succeed.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: But what's next?
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: What happens after you achieve your success?
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Of those initial goals, is there something bigger than me, or is it just me and my goals?
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: Because if it's something bigger than me, if it's a we thing, then it's always a next right step, a next task that needs to be accomplished.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Because, even if you good, my one of my favorite professors used to always tell me this.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: He said, man, I go in his office.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: He said, man, I'm a black man in America with a PhD, bro, I'm straight.
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: And that stuck with me until I got my PhD.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: And when I got my PhD, I understood yeah, I'm a black man in America with PhD, I'm, I'm straight.
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: But what does that mean for the people that came up off 12th with me?
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: What is the people that?
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: What does that mean for the people that can't go do that?
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: What does that mean for the people that can't go do that?
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: What does that mean for the people who?
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: That's so far out the realm of what that?
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: And that leads to the second question about you know the, the, the shiny stuff.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: So you know, in essence, you know I'm I.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: I honestly feel I just be myself.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: It's not nothing that I do for nobody outside my own skin and, being who I am and where I'm from, I know how to speak our language, I know what we understand, and so if I can be myself, however that looks, but especially if it looks some way that's familiar, you know what I mean.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: Then the audience that we work for and with automatically understands.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: I don't even have to say that, matter of fact, anybody outside of that black audience know exactly what it is.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: When I walk up, you can see it every day, and so that keeps me in that same space too, because, no matter what my education credentials are, when get pulled over, I'm a nigga in the car dealing with the police just the same as anybody else.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: Or when I walk up to try to get a loan for my business at the bank, absolutely you know what I mean, so that that kind of keeps you level set when it comes to the mission and when it comes to really keeping the main thing.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: The main thing, because you know it's bigger than me.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: I'm not really tripping on anything because at the end of the day I do.
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: I am a black man in America with a PhD.
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: You know I do my thing, so that's cool.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: But that's only so good when it comes to purpose, because it's always bigger than you.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, bro Woo.
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: I feel like I was overdue for one of these combos.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Real deal, bro.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: You know we'll get the shot, put it up for hours.
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: I got one more thing on the shiny stuff.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: Please.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: I ain't going to hold you too long on that.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: No, sure, sure.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: But you know, the shiny stuff is not negative man and we get this stigma about.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: You know, trying to, it's either this or that, it can't be.
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: It's either humble or it's flexing right.
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: Neither of those things are the main thing for us, because both of those things rely on opinions outside of your own skin.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean.
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: It's not even really about that, but our culture has been held back from accessing freedom and accessing self-determination for so long that the first thing we don't want to do is show off that freedom, show off that self-determination and this is key be important.
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: That's one of the biggest challenges that we have.
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: Is these important?
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Can I say these important?
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: You know?
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: what I'm saying.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: So, dr carter g wilson wrote this book in 1933 called the miseducation of the Negro.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: Dr Carter G Woodson is the reason that we have Black History Month.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: He started the first Negro History Week and now that became Black History Month, which we celebrate annually, and we'll work to continue to celebrate as long as we need to.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: He wrote that book in 1933.
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: There's a chapter in the book called the Need for Service Versus Leadership and he talked about the problem that black communities were having in 1933.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: And it was a lot of people in these organizations that's out front and trying to be seen as leaders in such and such a X, y, z, and if that's your priority and that's your goal, then that's what you will get.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: That's all you will be.
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: Is somebody seen as?
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: Oh, this person is in this organization, or they do this and this and this, but at the end of it, the tangible transformation or the impact of it is going to be lacking.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: Dr Wilson said we need people that can commit their hands to a task and provide the service to our community.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: And if you can find those tasks that you need to do.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: Our tasks are film and media, education and social justice.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: Whatever those tasks are, if it's cutting hair, if it's making art, if it's making clothes, whatever that task is, if you commit yourself to that service, then you are leading our community.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: Your work is pushing things forward and nobody has to say anything to do work.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: Shout out to Dr Carter G Wilson.
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: That's the shiny stuff syndrome, you know wanting to be seen, wanting to be the president of this, wanting to be the leader of that or the first.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: That ain't the priority, you know.
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: The main thing is black culture preservation.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: For us, fulfilling purpose, making an impact, leaving a legacy.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Fulfilling purpose making an impact, leaving a legacy.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: I think it's a cool thing to think about.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: Anything you do for somebody else is probably not where you need to be.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Like I said, I look at you always fresh, always fly, but I know you wake up like that For me.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: I literally got a bar where I say Shout out Cowboy Carter.
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: We wake up like this this is what it is.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: I wake up and put my jewelry on.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: I don't do it to stunt.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: That's in the song I got, because it's like you know, it's who we are and it's in us and it's nothing wrong with it.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: It's nothing wrong with being fly, it's nothing wrong with doing your thing, but as long as you keep the main thing, the main thing, then it's a.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: You know, it seems Sure, man bro.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about healthy smiles.
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, man, that's a shout out to Delta Dental Foundation.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: Again, they've been working alongside us to use storytelling to help change narratives when it comes to oral health care and one of the biggest issues is that we can't get over ourselves and the issues we have as Arkansans when it comes to the stigma and the fear.
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: Now, when it comes to the access and the ability, the capacity from a financial standpoint to access things, even geographically, those are systemic issues in Arkansas.
• 27:23
  Speaker 2: You can switch whatever industry, health care or whatever it is those are gonna be the challenges that we face because we're largely rural state and having that geographical access, lack of dentist in certain counties, having that financial barriers certain people can't afford right to the dentist those are built-in problems that are external to Arkansans and part of the policy that is prohibiting Arkansans from having oral health care.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: One of the main issues is that people are afraid to go to the dentist.
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: The Arkansans are scared to make those decisions a priority when it comes to their health care and one of the reasons that this fear continues to exist is what we've heard from the dentist and from the communities that we've gone into.
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: Is this disconnect between the conversations about health care and oral health care.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: If you go to your doctor nine times out of ten, they're not going to ask you when.
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: The last time you went to your dentist and that's an issue, because the mouth is in the same body is that you checking up?
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: You know, and?
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: And when the doctor prompts you and asks you oh, have you talked to a dentist or have you been regularly to get your checkups, then the person is more likely to take account for their decisions and make better decisions when it comes to their oral health care, but because of that disconnect, that fear is allowed to linger, and Arkansans suffer from that.
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: And not only do they suffer from poor oral health care, because the mouth is the first entry point to the body.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: The rest of your body suffers and you have all these other health-related issues that stem from your not prioritizing your oral health.
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: And so you know, being able to use storytelling to highlight these things and also to highlight the organizations that are doing work throughout the state to help provide that access, to help bring dentists to communities, to be able to provide services to Arkansans free of cost there are tons of dentists around the state and organizations that are doing that, and so highlighting that was a big part of telling that story as well, because, again, the narratives that are pushed around Arkansas oral health care are only painting one side of the picture, and being able to use the voices of Arkansas themselves to say hey, nah, it's stuff that's happening on the ground to help make these situations better.
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: We just are fighting these issues and we need more decision makers, policy makers, community builders to be able to help us in this effort, and storytelling is probably one of the most efficient ways to do that.
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: How important is it creating a space for creativity to go forth?
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: I was listening to somebody yesterday forgot this creative director.
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: He's worked with everybody, most notably probably Kanye West, on some Yeezy stuff, and he was like the thing that I admire about how Yeezy creates is it's a hub and everything is open space.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: So you got the people that's doing textile right there.
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: You got the people that's working on music right there.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: You got the people that's recording the video right there.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: You got, and it's all just.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: I mean, as a person, as a creative myself, sometimes I realize that my creativity is limited to the space that I'm in.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: If I'm, if I'm, in a small little studio, then it feels like my brain is oh man, I gotta make something, just like this, and you know.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Or if I'm in something that's plush, it got some open light in it, some greenery in it.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: And so you go inside the visionary studio if, if we can, you know, go there, um, and as soon as you walk in, you got.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: First of all, the wall is most likely lined with art, that's, you know, either either an installation that you got at that point, somebody like it's basically a gallery space, and then you go, you got your podcast space.
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: Then you go, you got a place you could record a project and you go and you got a space where you get.
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: So how important is it creating that space for creativity to go forth?
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: Because, like you said, it's one thing to be a rapper, it's one thing to be a painter, it's one thing to be a writer, it's one thing to be a filmmaker, it's another thing to be a creative who has a little bit in all the buckets, and so how important is it creating that space?
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: um, it's the intentionality of it, you know.
• 31:44
  Speaker 2: It allows for the growth and expansion you know behind yourself it.
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: It helps when it comes to doing the types of projects that we do because it allows other creators to come and contribute.
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: You know they can come add their flavor to whatever it is that we're doing, um.
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: So, for example, um, we've had people come and contribute to the short documentary, the healthy smiles, healthy lives short doc, at the studio where we did some film sessions just filming people's smiles there in the studio and having that type of space where other artists can come and help and work it makes it to where other people have space to do their thing and that contributes to your thing.
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: Overall it's a week.
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: It makes it a week.
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: It was, it's what makes it a week, absolutely, you know.
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: And it allows for other people to be able to develop their skills in a space that is comfortable for them to grow and intentional for them to feel included and welcome, and I've every.
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: Anytime somebody comes by the studio, um, it's amazing because they had the same exact reaction you know there's.
• 32:56
  Speaker 2: They're pleasantly surprised and immediately begin ideating.
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: You probably think I'm camping.
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: I do that every time I go in.
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: It's like my first time in there.
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: Every time I'm like dang bro, this is this crazy like in the.
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: In the idea is just generally, I still want to record something there like, but that's what it's designed to do, and so it allows us to know that the the machine functions the way that we intend for it to function and it's fully functional.
• 33:27
  Speaker 2: So we want photographers to come by and use our photo lab, we want podcasters to come by and use our podcast lab, we want editors to come use our editing suite and we want communities to come use our conference center.
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: If you're an entrepreneur and you don't have a brick and mortar, we have a collaboration hub where you can come and work or study or chill.
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: If you're a student, you know if you want to host any.
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: We've hosted so many different types of events and so many things have been generated out of that space in, uh, the over a year that we've been there and we've never had to do a grand opening.
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: We'll never do a grand opening because it's one of those spaces that is intentional for our community and it's appointment only.
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: I got that from my from my barber he was an entrepreneur that his barbershop runs 24 7 by appointment only so you can come do what you need to do anytime, and that's how you maximize, you mean literally, if you need a haircut at 11 pm, it me.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's going to cost you what it's going to cost you, but you can get it.
• 34:29
  Speaker 2: Some people got whatever it takes to make it happen.
• 34:32
  Speaker 2: And that type of enterprising context mixed with the intention of protecting our communities Not everybody can come into visionary studios and work because it's for people who are strategically aligned with black culture preservation.
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: If you fool with it, it's a space for you.
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: Organizations host meetings, their churches have started there.
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: We've had video game tournaments out in the space.
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: We've had date night and supper club events out the space.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: Education lab events.
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: All different types of podcasts run out the space.
• 35:06
  Speaker 2: All different types of podcasts run out to space.
• 35:08
  Speaker 2: All different types of documentary films, projects are being created.
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: I mean, you name it.
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: It's happening there, you know, and it's a space that we have built through experience.
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: You know, all of the different areas come from the need for us knowing OK, well, I need space for this and I need space for that, and it's a continuing effort to make space.
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: This studio is a model for future studios that will scale and be intentionally placed in the communities where we're doing work around the state, because these are the communities that need that space the most, and so that's where we're going with the Visionary Studios.
• 35:57
  Speaker 2: And you know, at this iteration of it it's already historic.
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: You should have brought the champagne.
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: I ain't gonna mess up these good white folks.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: My spot, yeah, man, you know how you have it.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: Man, you said something that I wanted to chime in on.
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: What did you say?
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: Oh snap, It'll come back to me.
• 36:27
  Speaker 2: Come holler at us Visionary Studios, 9 South Block Avenue, fayetteville, america.
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: Bro, what else we got like coming up in general that we need to.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying keep our ear open.
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: For what can we follow along?
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: Oh, birth out of necessity.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: That's what I was going to speak to.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: It's like it's crazy that, again, along with purpose and along with main thing, the main thing everything you do is not something for the sake of doing it.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: You're not just.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: You are going strategically and you're painting where it ain't.
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: You know they say paint where it ain't.
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: You know, people who need a film lab or edit bay, uh, you know, whatever the case may be, north of stargazer being one of the main places, because people that look like us don't necessarily think you can go out and start your own visionary studios, your own banging and gang music festival, your own, whatever the case may be.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: And so that's dope, bro, like you know what you got coming up and working.
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: You already plugged clips and combos and all that good stuff.
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: But, like right now, again, just let us know what's going on, where we can keep up with you, where we can get some merch.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: Bro, I slipped and left my hat at the crib, but you, you know how we rocking, bro, some of the flyest merch, and it's always on point and on brand um.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: So yeah, bro, just everything you got going.
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: Let us know where to follow along and how to tap in uh, thank you.
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: Um websites wwwtruevisionarycom, tru, the real underground visionary vision a-i-r-i, a-i-r-i, true visionarycom.
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: Find all the stuff that we got going on at visionary.
• 38:00
  Speaker 2: Um websites for the macho award of film Labs themichaudfilmlabsorg, michaudfilmlabsorg, michaudfilmlabsorg and Michaud M-I-C-H-E-A-U-X filmlabsorg.
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: Oscar Michaud, pioneering American black filmmaker from the early 20th century.
• 38:21
  Speaker 2: He's out there as a namesake.
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: That's where we get the spirit and the legacy and we're continuing his work in storytelling.
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: Michellefilmlabsorg, truevisionarycom.
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: The websites.
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: Check us out on social at Visionary, just at Visionary, v-i-s-i-o-n-a-i-r-i, and then for the Michelle Award in Film Labs at the Michelle Film Labs.
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: Connect with us as far as what we got, upcoming man, you can find all the information there.
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: You can also get merch there.
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: Again.
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: Shout out to some of our plugs.
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: Stoney Jackson he's come through with us for the hats man.
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: That's hard.
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: And then also Creative Dimensions and Little Rock.
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: Shout out my dog and Little Rock, shout out my dog.
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: Broderick, you know we all.
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: Again, it's a we thing.
• 39:07
  Speaker 2: When we come together we make this.
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: It's one big bro.
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: It's a huge little ecosystem.
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 39:15
  Speaker 2: And so it's dope and that's why it's got to be tapped in and organized and that's our goal is to continue those dots, because this Arkansas, we all right next to each other.
• 39:26
  Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying.
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: No matter where we are in the state, we right next to each other.
• 39:30
  Speaker 2: But go catch some merch at truevisionarycom, man.
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: We definitely appreciate it.
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: And if you're in Little Rock, we definitely want to see you.
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: If you're in Central Arkansas, we want to see you on the weekend of September the 4th, on Thursday September the 4th, on Thursday September the 4th, at the Clips and Convos event and then on Saturday evening at the Homegrown Concert Series.
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: We're going to be screening, premiering the Healthy Smiles, healthy Lives short documentary around the state this fall.
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: So look out for a screening date in the city near you and definitely come check us out, man, at Visionary Studios.
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: We would love to work with you and if you need space to do your thing, it's a space for you to do your thing.
• 40:14
  Speaker 1: Catch his album on the way, man.
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying.
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: The tape finna drop Nah, bro.
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: Again, I appreciate you being here, man.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: We'll do it again.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: It's all love.
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: I definitely appreciate the invitation, bro.
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: Thank you, bro, till next time.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: Story scaling Dr Eric Hughes, true visionary.
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: Shout out to everybody that he mentioned Everything that's going on.
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: Shout out to Little Rock.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: Shout out to Stoney Jackson Homegrown Festival I can't even name everything.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: Shout out to Bodrick.
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: You feel me, I can't name everything.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: It's a lot going on, a lot of real emotion happening, man, and shout out to it all.
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: We'll catch y'all next time.