Habits and Hustle - Episode 79: Opal Tometi – Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter, Human Rights Activist, Writer, & Community Organizer

Episode Date: September 1, 2020

Opal Tometi is a Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter, a Human Rights Activist, Writer, & Community Organizer. Through her work, she has fought for justice and the deserved attention to the Black Lives Matter movement, immigration, and basic human rights. Whether or not you agree fully with your current perception of the movement Tometi does a concise and factual breakdown of many of the questions you might have. Addressing rumors, myths, and slander about Black Lives Matter while also tackling issues on police training, healthcare, the court system, and exactly what it’s taken to get the movement to this point in history. Listen to how all lives matter when Black lives matter, how to “walk the talk”, and what to do next. The learning never stops… Hard to believe it started with a hashtag. Youtube Link to This Episode Opal’s Website Opal’s Instagram ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Did you learn something from tuning in today? Please pay it forward and write us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. 📧If you have feedback for the show, please email [e-mail]  📙Get yourself a copy of Jennifer Cohen’s newest book from Habit Nest, Badass Body Goals Journal. ℹ️Habits & Hustle Website 📚Habit Nest Website 📱Follow Jennifer – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter – Jennifer’s Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the Habits and Hustle Podcast. A podcast that uncovers the rituals, unspoken habits, and mindsets of extraordinary people. A podcast powered by Habit Nest. Now here's your host, Jennifer Cohen. It's very nice to have you on Habits and Hustle. I've actually been very excited to speak to you. This is a real treat to have you on here.

I have to... Okay, so I didn't even properly introduce you. We have Opal Tamati. She's one of the founders of Black Lives Matter. But beyond that, you're just extremely accomplished and very impressive. I mean, that's just in like breeding your bio and checking out everything about you.

It's unbelievable. You are named one of times 100 most influential women of the century, one of four of 100 most influential women of the century, one of four of 50 most influential people in the world, a glamour award for justice seekers. I mean, the list, you're also awarded a Sydney Peace Prize in an honorary PhD, and that's just the beginning. I mean, I literally have notes and notes and notes based on your successes, so have notes and notes and notes based on like your successes so it really is a pleasure to meet to kind of virtually meet you and have you here so thank you for being here. Of course thanks so much for having me this is my pleasure as well and definitely excited to connect with you and your

community. Oh thank you. Well let's start from the beginning because really I was I was really anxious to speak to you because well first of all I want to start for the basics. I think what what's the origin of Black Lives Matter because I don't think myself included I don't want to sound like an ignoramus but I think it's really important to like start from the beginning. This shouldn't be a master class in it because a lot of people who I think have misinformation and don't really understand. So let's start with the basics of the origin of how everything began with with Black Lives Matter. Yeah. So yeah, once again, thanks for having me. I love to share about how we originated because I don't think as many people really know the origins. And they don't know that three black women were the co-founders,

the co-founders of Black Lives Matter. And we started Black Lives Matter back in 2013 in the wake of the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin, which I mean, I think if folks recall, it really devastated so many. Both in the US, but around the world, I think the story really traveled far and wide knowing that a 17-year-old boy was stopped and killed, and his murder found not guilty. It traumatized our community. I know that I was looking out after hearing that news. I had actually just watched this film called Fruitvale Station, which is the story of Oscar Grant, which was a young man killed in Oakland, California.

And I just watched that film, then just got the news on my phone about the acquittal of George Zimmerman and my heart broke. It broke because I saw that everybody in the world was getting this news and this information, but also because I was thinking about my 14-year-old brother at the time, and he is the apple of my eye, and I would do anything for him, and I just couldn't imagine that him and my other young cousins and different people that I love, my God kids, would hear this story and think that this was okay. And like the adults wouldn't do anything, right? And so I quickly went to the internet

and connected with different folks who began to share their thoughts and ideas about, you know, what we can do in situations like this. And I was particularly compelled by Alicia Garza, her Facebook post, which essentially said, black people, I love us, our lives matter. And I was moved by that message. And I was moved in particular because Patrice Colors

put a hashtag underneath this in Facebook back in 2013. And it hit me in large part because I was already doing some form of community organizing. I was already part of advocacy campaigns and doing human rights work in New York and across the country. But it felt like they captured something so succinctly and that we could not only have a message, but we can invite more people to join in our advocacy,

join in the movement. And it felt to me like this was an important opportunity for us to build out a platform that reminded people of the amazing courageous work of those like those in the civil rights movement. So I was thinking about, you know, in John Lewis, Martin Luther King, Ella Baker, many other civil rights leaders in the past.

And I wanted to remind people that we didn't have to have this be the end of the story, you know. George Zimmerman being acquitted of this murder didn't have to be it. We could continue to write a new story. We can challenge what was being known as the status quo. And although we had, at the time of, you know, black president, for us, it was just a clear reminder

that the issues aren't just, you know, one off here and there, but there are real structural challenges that we're faced with and that are impacting black communities. And so we had to encourage others to join, you know, with us joining alongside us and advocate. So that was, you know, that was the beginning, about a year after that, Mike Brown was killed in Ferguson Missouri and that too devastated the country, you know, 17-year-old boy. It hadn't done anything wrong, unarmed, was killed by a police officer, you know, and it devastated the community of Ferguson,

and they had these incredible uprisings that happened there. And we were watching on social media, right? We're watching and taking in the news on social media. And we saw the ways in which the protesters were actually treated with a lot of disdain. There was a militarized police force that in essence caused the world to wake up to what was happening in Ferguson as well. And so we saw that and within two weeks organized incredible. And I think it's really important to note because a lot of times folks would look to

and refer to Black Lives Matter as though it was just an online movement or it was just about this hashtag. But what was clear from the Black Lives Matter Freedom Ride and the leadership of Patrice Colors and Darnal Moore, who helped coordinate the right. What was clear to us was that we had to embody our values, that we had to show up and let people know that no, no, no, no, this is not just a rhetorical plant, you know, campaign.

This is about showing up for real people who are in harm's way, that are going through crisis and letting them know they are not alone. And by doing so, that also encouraged those people who showed up there to say, actually this is happening in our own home cities and our own states. And so we want to have our own chapters. We want to engage at the local level in our own campaigns around issues of racism or economic injustice or education disparities and beyond. So that's what we've seen happen over the years.

But I feel like those two stories capture the beginnings of what we know as Black Lives Matter. And of course, it's evolved since those seven years to what we even see today. I remember, George, I remember watching the news when that verdict was read, and it was appalling and shocking. I totally remember that. And I could not believe that that was actually happening.

So good on you, I guess, to actually do something about it. And then I was under the impression that after you saw the hashtag So good on you, I guess, to actually do something about it. And then I was under the impression that after you saw the hashtag of Black Lives Matter, you took the wall and ran with it, basically. Yeah, so once, so that was the thing. When I saw the hashtag, it hit me. It just hit me so clearly that these words not only were powerful in terms of a, like, a demand on the world, but it was also

deeply affirming, right, just like its own chant. And I called Alicia and said, hey, you know, I see this post here, I'm not exactly sure what's going on or what you're planning on doing, but I believe we really need to develop a real platform that allows more people to engage. Do you mind if I buy Black Lives Matter dot com and do you mind if I build up our social media so that we can encourage more people to use this hashtag. And so the result is not just a great idea, but that we can actually really mobilize our communities utilizing the hashtag to coordinate our voices, but also for us to amplify our analysis of the situation. Because we know that it's not just about police brutality, but we have issues in the healthcare system or the education system in the workplace and beyond.

And it's important for us to have that analysis be further developed and understood by a wider spread of our society so that we can actually transform our communities and our society as a whole. So what did you do? Did you start? What did you do? So you took the ball, you started to, like how did you?

Because now it's obviously a massive platform, bigger than it was, of course, and we'll get into that. But what was the steps? Because obviously you're obviously a go-getter and you're able to do this. So it's very much a leadership thing that you're doing. What was your first thing? What did you do? Yeah, so here's the thing. I was already the executive director of another organization called the Black Alliance for Justice Immigration, working on immigrant rights issues across the country with black communities. And I was already busy. You know, I had my hands full with that responsibility, but I knew something more needed to be done. And so

I, right after I called Alicia, I went to, you know, buy the domain. I got Black Lives Matter got calm. I also went to Tumblr because I figured that would be like the easier way for me to both build out the website and have a little bit of a template going. But also that it was so shareable. So much of what was so important about using these tools has been, we need this to share, we need it to be circulating into the world so that folks can engage with the information that they're getting engaged with the stories and know how to connect and do something about what's happening in the world. And so I specifically went to Tumblr, I chose a yellow and black either design because yellow's my favorite color, you know, black because it's obvious, but also the

you know, black because it's obvious, but also the color, because Steve just thought was so beautiful. And so I went there, built that. I then called a bunch of organizers that we know and sent a both called and sent a mass email and invited them to check out blacklicenotter.com. I let them know what we're doing. And I said, hey, you're also doing great work in the community.

Can you tell us more about your organization? And would you be willing to wear a blog post and telling us how you are working to make Black Lives Matter? So that was the first prompt. And so we had maybe about 15 to 20 different organizations and their leaders write blog posts that we could share. And then we also had a list of dozens of organizations across the country where people

can get involved at the local level. So that was the beginning. And between both the creation of our website and then going on and starting our Facebook and our Twitter and starting to populate and use the hashtag, then it began to go a bit more viral at that first year. We got a little bit of press. People were taking the signed up to rallies in different parts of the country. I was in New York. My fellow colleagues were in California, but we also saw that in Atlanta, people were holding these signs at rallies. And so the message began to bubble up and to build

and to be embodied and to really be grounded in real community organizations. And I think what was still important for me was that we needed to also use this as a place for people to understand that it doesn't have, their activism doesn't have to look the same, right, as everybody else is, or if you see me doing something, it doesn't necessarily have to be the same way that you get involved, but hey, here is a whole menu of options, of organizations that you can get involved with, of messages that you can share, of information

through the blog posts and the news posts that we were doing on our social media And it was an essence for us to be able to say We need you right all hands on deck and we're gonna make it as easy as possible for you to Engaging and get involved so you took the ball around with it on the social media side and the online set What did your other partners focus on did you guys kind of divvy up your responsibilities or how did it grow? Yeah. So it was rather, it was very organic. Everything was really, really organic, especially in the early days. And so I went and you know, led on the social media side about a year later,

Patri said, hey, we need to do this freedom ride along with Darnal Moore. And that was when we were able to physically, all of us meet up, along with, you know, 500 amazing people from across the country and even Canada, and we drove carpools, rented buses, got an airplanes. You didn't know them? You didn't know these girls at all.

So I knew Alicia and I actually didn't know Patrice at the time. So we, Alicia was our mutual connection. And we hadn't even met, like Patrice and I hadn't even met and person at that point. Oh wow. I met Alicia at a leadership training for Black organizers. So community organizers across and it's basically a program around our leadership and my god. I sure are not all that and I actually didn't know Patrice who was living in LA at the time, but through a social media we got connected as a result of Black Lives Matter. So really powerful, really incredible true connections as a result of both the movement, our care and concern for Black

people and the health of Black Lives and the use of these really cool digital tools. This episode is brought to you by Nerds Candy, calling all the gaming tech-savvy nerds out there. The team carriers and keyboard warriors, the achievement hunters and part-time larpers, the tech wizards and boss destroyers. When nerds come together, we live louder, leveling up in our own way. So let's raise our nerds in unison. The sweet, tangy, crunchy candy that's perfect for sharing. Nerds! Shake things up!

Shop now at nerdscandy.com Vitamin water just dropped a new zero sugar flavor called With Love. Get the taste of raspberry and dark chocolate for the... All warm. All fuzzy. All self-care, zero self-doubt you. Grab a with love today. Vitamin water's zero sugar, nourish every you. Vitamin water is a registered trademark of glass O. Well, I find it also interesting that I feel, I mean, you tell me because this is obviously you know way more than I would, I feel like

over the last, because of the pandemic, maybe people are much more isolated and they have less distractions on the outside. That I think when the George Floyd murder happened, it opened up a lot of people's eyes to things that maybe they weren't necessarily even paying attention to. Did it, do you feel the Black Lives explode in the last little while? Like, how much more recognition do you have now than you did back then? I mean, in the beginning, we had just pockets, I think, of right direction. And I went viral for a little bit than it did on. And then, sadly, when Mike Brown was killed, it went global. And that's how the

movement began to be known as Black Lives Matter. So we have not only Black Lives Matter as like our platform, our social media and all that, but then we had the chapters across the country. But because the way that our chapters were created in Ferguson, Missouri, coming out of Ferguson, Missouri, on that Black Lives Matter Freedom, right? That also meant that the press and the message that they were getting was this kind of message and hearing about what, you know, this thing called Black Lives Matter. And so our network became synonymous with the movement in terms of the name and what was

it was called. And because of the ways in which hashtags circulate. So it makes a lot of sense, especially because of the rate in which unarmed black people, children, women, men, people of different ages have been killed. It's a lot. And so it does constitute the necessitates

a movement to stop that, to call attention to it, to make new plans and solutions to address the anti-black racism in our society. And so, yeah, we all had our, you know, our different roles to play to a certain degree. But the real thing is that we have thousands and thousands of people who've been engaging in the work of Black Lives Matter that even predates this particular moment. Then, sadly, with us being in the pandemic and seeing the ways in which even how COVID-19 has acutely impacted communities of color and really acutely black communities, we see that the issues of racism that Black Lives Matter has been talking about is, is, is pervasive, right? It's it's not just all the police brutality, but then we did see that that issue came up once again within this pandemic context and people sitting at, you know, at home, people contemplating their work, their children's

schools and so much of their day to day, they were sitting and hit with this video, the video footage was heart wrenching, our boat, our barrack. I just I've never seen anything in my life like that and I think for all of us to have that on our phones, on our devices, on our computers, on the news, it just I think woke everyone up. Not only in the US, we've seen, we saw rallies and protests from Australia to South Korea to Amsterdam and Paris. We've seen it around the world where people said, we watched this, too, and this is not OK.

And enough is enough. We know that Black Lives Matter has been trying to draw attention to this. This is not an issue that only that group or only Black people are going to solve. Right. Right. This is an issue that is for a company on all of us to address as a society. And so I think this period, something clicked. Something calling for for a long time, but it clicked for the majority of people. Now do you think it's because the video was just so brutal or has there been other videos that people just haven't paid attention to because they're distracted with going out

to clubs, going to work, going with their kids places, because people are stuck at home watching the news constantly, that's the, and they were more or less enlightened by what was happening more, right? So if that same video happened when we didn't have a pandemic in COVID-19, do you think it would have had the same impact on the world in a way? Yeah. Honestly, I feel like the combination of both the pandemic and coupled with this horrible footage really unlocked something that could not have been unlocked otherwise. Yes, I think the pandemic really sensitized our society to what is truly going on and

then folks didn't really have the excuses, right? So, they're both the scales of apathy I think have been removed but also folks you know they aren't going to work in the same ways they're not you know responsible for certain other kind of tasks and they're also in a reflective state around what is this world really going to look like? Am I going to have to be worried about my neighbor and whether or not they're going to pass away and whether or not they have the health care to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, And where do they see things going? And where do they want things to go for society? And I think people finally realized that they have to take

ownership and that they have power. There is a sense of agency that we have. And I think the sense of agency was unlocked when we saw people come together and support their neighbors and make sure people who didn't have access to maybe go into the grocery store, other people help to go the grocery store for them. We saw mutual aid groups form across the country where people are pulling their money to help a single mom and her kids or people are pulling their money because they know

that queer artists might not be getting the same type of jobs because the economy has now retracted. And so I think people were beginning to flex this muscle of care and real compassion and just understanding that our connections are there whether we like it or not, but the quality of our connections, whether we accept them, right, whether we actually, you know, just really care for our neighbor or the person in our community, it actually matters, right? And in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end,

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in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, in the end, It ends up unfolding in a way where we realize, we're connected whether we like it or not, we're in this thing together, whether we like it or not.

And so it's to attend to what is. And I think part of what happened was between being sensitized with the pandemic to what is going on and to our own agency, our own sense of power, especially, our sense of power when our government wasn't responding in the ways that a lot of us thought they should. On a different country around the world,

where we're like, oh, they're back to normal, or a new normal. And we're really reflecting on, is this thing working? How is it working? And then we see once again, this murder of George Floyd in addition to a number of other things that kind of preceded that moment that made people realize, like, even now, even in the midst of this crisis, things like this are going on. And I think people just felt a sense of real shame around this as well, right?

That this could be going on for so long and I didn't really rise up. I didn't go to the rallies before I didn't speak up or call my elected official. I didn't really engage. And so now is the time. You know, this is enough. This isn't going away by itself. Right? I have to think about it.

I have to show up and act. So I think it shifted things for a lot of people. Well, I also was interesting. You just said that the police were doing a lot of those things before people. This is not the first time with having the knee in the neck or whatever. It's just the first time I think maybe people

like took actually notice or saw sought with their own eyes. So then what about all the protesting and the police? Like what's your view on all this? Like do you believe in debunking the police and the protest because they were getting violent? Like what do you think of all of that stuff? What's your take on it? I'm so heartened by the uprisings that we've seen across the country and around the world.

I think it's incredible to witness and to be alive for these times where people have found the courage within themselves to say, I'm going to speak up. I'm going to be found on the right side of history and I'm going to join something that is meaningful and necessary right now. That's been extremely powerful. And I think that there have been some amazing encourages calls within those protests and within the rallies and the different organizations who are essentially saying,

we need to reevaluate what safety looks like for our people and for our communities is safety It our police a requisite for safety or are there other things that we should be considering that make a society or Neighborhood or a community truly safe my boy. That's what I'm curious about. Yeah, so what I think is what I thought has been amazing Has been people have been saying hey? We actually need really good jobs programs in our communities I think what I thought has been amazing has been people have been saying, hey, we actually need really good jobs programs in our community so that folks aren't actually engaging in other types of quote, you know, off the records.

Yeah. Right? Because they would like to, but hey, they might not have access to employment for a number of reasons. And they might be just comingating against in the workplace. So there's questions around, could these resources be used to create jobs, plus programs? There are others who are saying, hey, sometimes when

police are called, it's for an issue related to mental health. Why don't we have resources that are allocated for more social workers, or other kinds of health care workers in those moments of crises where you can de-escalate a situation without the use of lethal force. Other folks are talking about, hey, we don't have the same types of resources

for the education system that we have been calling for for so long. We know where those resources can come from. And it's actually really important and effective for our communities to have a well-funded, well-resourced, you know, administrative staff, education staff, the supplies that the students need and beyond. And then I think the last example that I've been seeing people share who widely has just been, look at how militarized the police force. We don't need military in our communities. We actually could use those types of resources for the types of PPE

that our doctors needed, that our healthcare workers needed, that the janitorial staff needed as they're cleaning the hospitals and beyond. And so I think there's a real question about, where are we allocating taxpayer dollars and are really serving the community best. And also, when you have law enforcement that is licensed and authorized to use a lethal weapon, when you have a society that's riddled with bias, an anti-black racism as a bias,

this is what happens, sadly. We see this lethality, this brutality that is happening in our communities day in and day out. So no, George Floyd was not the first, Breonna Taylor was not the first, these aren't the first, but we're seeing that these issues are still persisted even in the midst of a pandemic. And people are fed up, you know, they're, you know, enough is enough. Let's restructure this thing. Let's make it safe for all of us and not for just some of us.

And that's, I think, in essence, what we're seeing, the movement's coffer. So it's not just education, but it's changing the structure of what's happening, right? The education is really kind of, you know, step one. And then the other part is the structure. You know, I also was gonna say that, it's like, oh, I like to tell people like, yeah, awareness is good, but action is better, right?

So it's like for the community and for society to be aware that there's police brutality or there's issues with our educational system or healthcare system. It's like, okay, great, you know that, you have the data, you have the stories, but what are you gonna do about it? And that's what comes into play.

Is are these systems working? And if not, we've made that assessment that they're not, I think it's clear. So now let's do what we need to do to fix them. Or to actually, actually, I'll do a fix them. In some cases, it's not. We don't need to fix, but we need to change them. And then, so I want to ask you about that.

So hold on, I'm going to hold that thought, because what I was going to say also, because we're on the police a little bit, what do you think of even taking a step back? And maybe when people are hiring, they should do a better job. Maybe have a better way, basically, not have basically have a better way of leading out

to people who would not be good fits for this. Maybe they should be taking more mental health checks of who these people are, and the training process should be better than just, because I think right now, maybe it's not as good or as elaborate as it should be. Right. There are a lot of people who've been calling for that. And I think there have been cases where, in places where there has been additional training

or different types of training. But the data that's come out from that is that it doesn't really work. So it's not, yeah, it's not. It, because the, why is that then? Why is it? That's because of this. So, you know, UCLA did this whole series of studies

on implicit bias. It's because so much of the implicit bias that has happened in a matter of less than a second. The judgment call is made. And you have an entire society that's being fed these messages around the value of black lives. So if you're getting media messages time and time again, it's devaluing blackness and black skin

and sees that there's a crime, there's so few things that are gonna get you to that point where you're able to stop your innate, like a quaffee in the middle of it. And then the truth of the matter is also you have a lethal weapon, so you have a gun that is able to discharge in a, you know, in a fraction of a second. So what we've, what we've seen, what the data has begun to show us is know that training is, is not really the solution. And there, there might be, there is some

an element of weeding out the, the people who have chosen to come to the, this profession or because of their desire to play out their racist views. And so there has been, there have been studies even by the FBI found that there are a crew of white supremacists that have been going to interlaw enforcement on purpose for this game. So this is, that is a real issue. And so I think yes, there can be work and there should be work done to weed them out. However, what is also going on at the same time is there's no amount of training, no amount of pouring more and more dollars into this profession where at the end of the day, they were not designed to be a support or safety net

or safety, you know, my rule for communities of color and black people specifically, just wasn't designed that way. And so the real call is to say, hey, these resources can actually be used to make the entire community safe, but let's also look at that. That means there are other professions in there, right?

There are other systems. There are other institutions that can be well-resourced in order to have a more healthy and vibrant society overall. More from our guests, but first a few words from our sponsor. So do you want your team to develop habits that will help them thrive? You need rise.com. The all-in-one online training system employees love. Rise makes online training easy to create, enjoyable to take, and simple to manage.

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Or now, because now it's a movement. And I know that's like a, and then you have these chapters. What is, what is the day to day look like? And how are the chapters, I'm confused by the movement, the chapters, everyone has their own chapter, but they're, they're not, they're affiliated with you, but they're not really their own entity. Can you explain all this? Because it's, I'm kidding. Gladly.

So what I would think is, what might be helpful is there's a movement, right? A movement, we're good at anyone person, any three people, any organization, right? A movement is comprised of millions, you know, thousands of time, millions of people, leaders, organizations, and beyond. So that's going on. Whether we have a live or not, whether I do it or not, it's happening. So you started the movement. Three of you guys started the movement, and now, and then, now, what, you know, now these chapters take it from here. Yes. Now, then we have, you know,

the three of us as co-founders, but we are engaged in different organizations and it also, you know, were public figures and so we're supporting other groups and companies and organizations across the country and the world and providing advice and, you know, speaking and sharing. So there's that, you know, there's that kind of responsibility. We sit on different boards and beyond. But then we have what we also confed was the actual global network of Black Lives Matter where we shoppers across the country

who are dynamic and their individual affiliates. So they're similar to a planned parenthood or an NAACP where the local expression is different. So some chapters might be working with a family around an issue of police brutality, while others might be doing work around just healing and caring for the community, while there's might be doing education work.

So it really varies. But then at the local level, there are also a number of other organizations that have their own names, right? And there might be a number of other organizations that are and have their own names right and there might be a chapter of the NAACP that's involved with the coalition the Black Lives Matter might be involved with or there might be a Black youth project or the Dream Defenders or different organizations and so they're all part of this kind of larger movement and so I understand the confusion that I understand but I think that little bit

kind of helps to clarify some of that. And how about like there's a lot of I feel myths about Black Lives. There's like a lot of myths about Black Lives Matter, a lot of inaccuracies of what you guys are involved with. Can you clear some of the, can you name and talk about maybe three or four, or as many as you want actually, the main myths and inaccuracies of what you guys stand for and what you guys are? Yeah, I mean I think I'd want to know specifically what you might have heard, but I'll say this and I appreciate you raising that because what we found is that not only are we the largest movement in history, but we're all on the, we have had the most attacks in terms of disinformation of any entity

in history as well. So we have got two big awards, right? Or big. And that's why I wanted to bring it up. You're the most significant social movement of modern history by far. And yet there are a lot of inaccuracies. When you bring your name, not you specifically, but the movement platform Black Lives Matter,

it can, you get a lot of different people with lots of different opinions, right? Right. So there's a lot, I mean, there's a lot of that. And so from folks, you know, cutting the same things that, you know, about us being going out and causing violence or to, there's just a number of I've heard it all.

But there's way at the top. I mean these days, ooh, what's the top ones? I mean, there are so many that I kind of lump and discard. You throw away. Well, I do because the thing is, if you go to both, if it's our website, if it's to my social, the other co-founder social media, and beyond, you know exactly what we stand for. And so the fact that we have to even dispute various lies just feels like it's gaslight.

It feels like, you know, in so many ways, it feels really disingenuous, and I know that I've found that when people have even approached me and said things like, oh, well, wouldn't it be better if you said all lives matter instead of black lives matter and things like that? And I'm just like, you know what's happening in the world? You see what's happening in the world. You see that there is a real urgent crisis and need and it's pervasive and it needs to be addressed. Why would you, you know,

say this thing or bring this other, why would you bring this to me in this way when you know what we're doing? And you know ultimately that yes, the aspiration is that all lives matter. But guess what? The reality is in this world right now, we're not seeing that all lives matter. We're actually seeing that black lives are being devalued systematically and are under attack. And so we are fighting to ensure that they better and that they're protective and they're safe. And yeah, and I just find that so much ends up being sad

in a way that feels like it's, you know, they're gas lining us or they're not connected to the reality of the situation. And they aren't really taking in the news and it's just regurgitating sound bites and different lies. And so my big thing is like folks have to know that there is a lot that's being set out there. A lot of it is not true and there is a willful effort to undermine us, to discredit us, to make us seem as though we are some kind of weird enemy with some alter your motive. Well, I'll tell you one myth exactly. I mean, there's a lot of them, right? Like you said, it's, first of all, it's funny when people, I tend to understand where you're

coming from, your organization that you store the movement platform is called Black Lives Matter. So when people say to you, well, isn't it all lives? You're like, well, that's not what my organization is. My organization has a very distinct, that's what you're trying to, that is what you're trying to, well, not to say you don't care, but that's not what your entire platform is right now, right?

So it doesn't make, I can see why there's such an incongruent, when they say that to you, right? Because you're like, that's not what I'm trying to do. Well, not even not what I'm trying to do. It is what I'm trying, it's exactly what I'm trying to do. But if we do this, we will get there, right? Right. It's work to ensure that Black Lives Matter,

you will then have a world where all lives matter. Because the status quo is that Black Lives don't matter in the society, right? That's the norm. That is the norm. We see it, I mean, CNN just released a report two days ago saying that a new study that came out showed that Black babies, newborns, when they're born,

there are three times more likely to die if they're being delivered by a white doctor versus a doctor of color. So these, this is real information, real data, these things are happening and they are at play. So we have a society where oh wow, you know, black lives don't matter. You know, we see this also with mass incarceration and the ways in which, you know, black people are so easily locked up, we're 13% of the population, you have 40% of the people in prison. It doesn't quite add up on a natural, but it does add up if you live in a society that values, doesn't value black lives, right?

Right. So it's deep, it's pervasive, but it's real. And so what we are saying is let's deal with the real facts, with the real data, the real stories. And what we continue to see time and time again is the devaluation of Black Lives and so we've created a movement that said less affirm. Less affirm Black Lives, less ensure that we are respecting, protecting and building a world

where everybody has the opportunity to thrive and not be able to over other folks. And what's interesting is because of the popularity and it's become more mainstream of weight, it's helped bring awareness to all sorts of groups, not just actually Black Lives Matters. Black Lives Matters, I feel, has like helped kind of like lead the way for all these other things that are kind of happening now. It's like a ripple effect. Absolutely.

There's a total ripple effect, I think. We wouldn't have seen, I mean, even the change of the, I hated this term, the Washington, the tin, I was going to say, Washington Redskins, I was going to bring it up. Well, we wouldn't have seen that. I mean, I think that there are other movements from the immigrant rights movement to the Me Too movement to me to movement and beyond where we've seen such so much advancement as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement.

So they are infected. They're not one, you know, there's not one group that has a monopoly on any, but there's definitely a ripple effect where we are all finding our voices and we're all standing up for justice in our respective spaces. What can people do? You were talking about this. Awareness is kind of half the battle, but the other one, other part is like action, right? What can people do to show support and be involved without just necessarily just going and protesting.

What are other ways people can help? Yeah, I think the important ways for people to help in this moment are by joining an organization, be it local or even national, getting involved because that is a space where people can finally walk the talk. They can their actual values. They can learn more about the issues. They can get in a little bit deeper because the thing is we can't just have one select group of people that are going to be doing the advocacy and kind of helping to reframe or restructuring our society, we need more of us to be involved. We need more of us to be aware and knowledgeable.

So I encourage people to join organizations. I also encourage people to join organizations because organizations allow you to have a community that is gonna continue to educate you, right? There's always more to learn. There's always more to learn. They'll keep you accountable to your values's always more to learn. There's always more to learn. They'll both keep you accountable to your values, will help you learn more, but also it's a sustainable

way to engage. All have so much on our plate. I think we're all facing burnout, even in the middle of pandemic, I know folks are are feeling the strain of work, of life, managing of real-sue things, but being a part of an organization allows you to share the responsibilities. So I think that is also incredibly key. Orcs also can connect you with opportunities for phone banking, for example, so calling if it's an elected official, they can let you know when it's time to vote or how and what you should know when you're going into the polls. Being connected to a group, I think, is probably the most important thing folks can do right

now, a campaign or an organization. That is key. I think beyond that, folks should donate, they should give. If they see that there is a group out there that could use their support. They should be donating to local organizations. Largely, I would encourage folks to donate to Black Latin organizations in their community, also to groups that are doing really strong work with allies. There's a lot that has to be done. And it's in partnership, it's in coalition, it's with different types of people coming together.

And we need those groups to also have the resources, the support in order to transform this world. So, have you always been like this? Like just such a, like a new natural born, where you just always, this a natural born leader, this, you know, this, you know, you all call for good. Like, when you were younger, but before this and before you were,

what was it the black alliance for just immigration? You were the CEO of that before, you're not involved, are you still involved with them as well? Or? No, no, no, I don't, okay. I passed the baton after he's passed the baton. My gosh, but I'm still talking with the director regularly and of course support, but Absolutely. I think that's also okay. But yeah, you know, I I

as far back as I can really remember, I didn't even think about high school where I was involved with a diversity, any quality club as a young person, which is my early days of learning a little bit more about what was going on in the world and what I can do and using my voice

and organizing cultural showcases on my high school campus and all that. So I started then and then I went off to college at the University of Arizona in Tucson, which is near the US-Bexico border region. And so there I also learned a lot more, not only a lot about immigration because of my own family's experience being Nigerian-American, but also I learned a lot, you know, being in the border region, you know, witnessing some tragic things in terms of, you know, people with blisters on their feet from crossing the desert, dehydration, people dying, just a, you know, number of issues, but also Arizona being kind of ground zero for a lot of the policy changes

around immigration. And so those were my stomping grounds, my early days learning in that space. And yeah, I guess I was. You know, I just attracted to this work quite early when I realized that, okay, I'm reading stuff in the textbooks that say, you know, Martin Luther King did realized that, okay, I'm reading stuff in the textbooks that say, you know, Martin Luther King did this or Rosa Parks did that and I kind of thought things were resolved

or should be resolved by now and only to have these rude awakenings not only in my only family's life, but in some of the lives of my closest friends and, you know, from an early age became really attuned to the fact that the world isn't perfect. Your fall is not far from it and I have all these beautiful people in my life that I love and care about and myself included and I want us to be treated with the respect and love that we deserve and the kind of reverence and care that I have for my peers and my loved ones, I want the world to see that as well. So that was inspired within me early on and my parents are from Nigeria and they have their own respective professions, but they were also, you know, they're ministers, they were serving in their church early on. So I got to see that

kind of acts of service and I started volunteering at homeless shelters in high school and and soup kitchens and just kind of that was like my fun and I wow, I was organizing some other young folks in my youth group and things like that to go with me. And so there are those, you know, those little seeds early on for sure. And we see, you know, what we're doing now, which is right, which is the honor of my life. And all I've ever wanted was to see hundreds of thousands of millions of people come into a sense of their power, their agency, and that we can build a type of world that really works for all of us.

And we can have a multiracial democracy that works and celebrates us and affirms the diversity that already is. And that's all I've ever wanted. So it's great to know that there are way more people, thousands, if not millions of people now, who are equally as invested and committed and finding their ways to join the movement for human rights and omplugnity for us. Wow.

Well said. Very well said. Day to day, then, what do you spend most? Like, what do you do day to day to spend your time dignity for us. Well, well said, very well said. Day to day then, what do you spend most? Like, what do you do day to day to spend your time spreading the message with just black lies matter? You said you sit on a lot of boards, you're involved, maybe with strategy, with other people. How else?

Like, give me a day in the life of you. Day to life. Day to life, it looks very different every single day. Oh my gosh. So sure. It really does. But I'll give you a snippet. I'm just thinking about day last week, where I try to actually

have a well-rounded day these days. At the beginning and even towards the beginning of their horizons, I'll say I was completely off-balance in terms of, you know, lots of press, lots of meetings, lots of consulting with different groups, and that can easily be an 18-hour day. I know. Where that still speaks into my day to day now, but I'm trying to have a bit more balanced pace, where, for example, you know, I might go on a walk in the morning or do some yoga

in the morning after doing a little bit of meditation. And then it's start the day. And that might be press and really recording a podcast, for example. But time to wake up in the morning. I'm an early riser, so I'm up by 6 a.m. if not 5, but no. OK. Yeah, 5 to 6 a.m. Yeah. And I thought that, do you pray? I heard that you pray, though, also. I read at articles in the Guardian, that you prayed multiple times a day.

Is that what I saw? Yeah, I mean, I'll take a beat multiple times a day. But it might not be a full on, you know, I've made a dedicated space But I'm one of those people who will say I need three minutes Pause take that moment take deep breath Pray think about the mantra that I might have created for myself in the morning Bring that into my awareness for my next set of meetings So for example, I had a meeting before ours and that was a strategy session and then an

invitation to do a speaking engagement. That's advising actually on the business side. So it's a beauty brand that I was talking with that wants to think about how they bring this into their team more but also with their own messaging and the worth of doing in the community. So my days also look like that, which is supporting and advising both on the new business side of things, because there are a lot of amazing supporters, amazing people who recognize that, hey, what we're calling for the type of transformation our society needs isn't solely going to take place at the governmental level, but there are businesses and leaders in the corporate space

and beyond that also have a role to play and that they can actually lead where others might not be able to. So this is a company that's thinking about their leadership and in that way. So conference calls, more sessions, Zoom meetings, Zoom, Zoom meetings. Yes. And then these days I set myself up with a new therapist. So I might have a therapy session once a week. And so I'm able to do that.

But my therapy might also be a long conversation with a friend. And that's also equally healing. So I'm doing my best to have a bit more balanced than I was. But it's a lot of Zoom like everybody. It's a lot of conference calls like everybody, the, be different than maybe a typical like, you're something like that. But it's similar kinds of engagement, given the times that we're in. Strike! Tell me something I don't know on. While unlike that nasty curveball, there aren't any surprises when you find anxer next car with Carvana, you get real terms personalized for you right in your strike zone.

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Visit Carvana.com or download the app to get pre-qualified today. We'll drive you happy at Carvana. Right. Well, so you do, Akarvana. Right. Well, so you do a lot of consulting just from brands who want to just be even more socially conscious of what they're doing more or less. Yes, exactly.

And it's great because we are seeing that they a lot more understand, you know, from the NBA, which is doing a phenomenal job and really out there and being very clear with their stance and inviting others to brands like uprenon jerrys and you know, others that are just really take a benon jerrys, really. Yeah, which are you should check out some of their stuff online. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Really? I'm going to totally check it out. Is that over there Instagram? And you'll see what they've been doing from their statements to a check. They're corporate responsibility and their donations and so on. Yes, they're messaging.

They've really used their platform to educate the public in a way that I have never seen before. So definitely. Wow. Are you helping them on that one? Or I'm some of the people that I know are helping them with that. Oh, OK.

We've had our conversations for sure. And they're amazing. However, I'm going to check it out. It has been happening for years. But they've really set it up in the last few months, really made it a bolder and more clear assertion of who they are and what their values are as a company and they're not, you know, they're not shining away from it. Wow, I'm going to go check it out.

So who are some of the companies that you do work with to help them kind of be more conscious of what's happening? Oh, I don't know that I can share all the brands. I can't be. OK. I know. I'm itching too, but I'm like, hmm. Name one.

How about one company? Name one? Well, I've shared with, you know, and I've had these various conversations with the NBA. So oh, you have. OK, that's a good one. So that's a good one. It's for you.

I think it's important important and it's necessary. And these are the times that we're living in and it's great to see that they also want to take this kind of stand. And so they've been out there leading and whatever I can share, and if I can support, I'm open to that. I'm open to that, especially with folks who have demonstrated that they are already thinking

about it. And so it's easier. It's easy to partner in that way. When folks are not open and ready and willing to commit their resources to walk the talk. It's a dream. Absolutely. Then what can I ask you, what is this? What is dice for a rising that you're working on?

Is that a new project? Yes. So that is my new project. So it is a new digital platform that we have begun to unfold virtually. And this project, in essence, is bridging some of the communities in the diaspora, so African diaspora, when we see diaspora,

that's what I mean. Yeah, tell us what it is, because I think that again, I don't want people who, people may not know, this is not a master class, so break it down, what is it? Yeah, so when I say the diaspora, what I what I'm alluding to is

African-American who might have been in the US for many many generations. I'm talking about African immigrants or refugees Who might be more recent to the US or different parts of if it's Europe or Brazil or different parts of the world. So people who aren't in Africa, Black people aren't in Africa. Got it. Meaning that. But what this platform is really about is about uplifting the different types of stories, the different types of cultural expression that is happening within these types of communities that are across the diaspora. So they might be some folks in, you know, Amsterdam or in South Paulo and we're basically using this platform to share about the diversity that exists within the black community because it's, we're not a monolith. We're not all speaking one language, right?

So their black folks who speak Spanish, and I don't think you can use it. And so on. So this is a space to really just celebrate the breadth of who we are. And to also begin to make those connections with our peers that might live on the continent of Africa. So it's Ghana, which celebrated the year of return

last year, which was a very powerful rallying cry where I don't know if you might have seen this, but back in August of last year, there was this beginning of the year of return in which the president of Ghana said, hey, we want African Americans and black people in diaspora to come back to the continent, to visit, to get to know, to connect with the culture and your roots, and to know that you also have a place that's here, right? That there is also this history that isn't just the history of slavery in West or slavery across the Americas, but you have this other history and we're inviting you to come back.

And that was an important kind of kickoff last year, last August, because that marked 400 years since the first ship landed in the US, right, from the coast of Ghana to Virginia. So that was an important, yeah, I was the former. So in essence, what this platform is doing and diaspora rising is inviting more stories about our history, our culture, and the great things that those of us who are here are doing.

So that's how, so you're spending a lot of time on that. I'm spending time on that as well. And that's in the beginning stages, but that's also taking quite a bit of energy. And love, wow, and love. The great thing is that, you know, we have amazing teams and I have an amazing team and people who are not only looking for a paycheck, but they're, you they're volunteering and supporting and they get it. And so they're contributing in various ways to the very passionate about this. Yeah.

So it's incredible. And oh, wow. You're a busy girl. Yeah, so kind of like one on. Yeah, you got a lot going on. Wow, I don't want to keep you any longer. It's been over an hour, I think, that I've been like, you know, ringing you with questions.

It was a pleasure having you on the podcast. Thank you so much. Where do people get more information about you, about everything that you're involved with Black Lives Matter, Dice Fora, just share everything. And yeah, then you can go. So people can keep up with me by visiting my website, just share everything and yeah, so then you can go. So people can keep up with me by visiting my website, actually opal-tamedi.org.

You can go to my website and from there, you'll see plenty of links, if it's to my social or to organizations that I work with, you'll see all of that right there. And then of course, social media, opal-i, so O-P-A-L-A-Y-O, on Instagram, on Twitter. And then I of course have my Facebook fan page, and you can just type in my name, and you'll see that there.

And from that point, you'll see all the related platforms that I work with. Well, well, well, you've been very, thank you so much for taking the time. It was super interesting. I've learned a lot. Hopefully everyone else has too, I'm sure. And I guess good luck with all these different projects. And I'll be following it. I'll be trying to be much more active myself

because now with information, then you have to do action, right? So that's absolutely right. Thank you so much for having me. And don't hesitate to reach out if anything. I'm sure I'll be in touch over the next few months, if not years. I won't speak to panerial things that are going on. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I'm Heather Monahan, host of Creating Confidence, a part of the YAP Media Network, the number one business and self-improvement podcast network.

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