The Breakfast Club - The Breakfast Club Presents: Street Politicians Podcast

Episode Date: December 30, 2020

 With the holidays here, The breakfast club is going to take a little break but we’ve got a little something for you! We are gifting you with a brand new podcast from the Black Effect Podcast Network!Sit back, relax, and check out this new podcast from activists Tamika Mallory and Mysonne the General, hosts of ‘Street Politicians’ Podcast – a show that takes an uninhibited look at the social and civil rights issues, pop-culture and politics! This episode Tamika and Mysonne will discuss “protecting black woman” and how to make the statement more normalized. They also deep dive into who should take accountability between the divide of black woman and black men. Also in this episode they will speak to comedian Affion Crockett, who provided his thoughts and his experience on the topic and suggest ways on how to change negative views on black woman. Also KJ brooks will be their local activist guest where she will speak on recent events that occurred after her viral moment calling out the Kansas city’s board of police commissioners.Make sure you check out ‘Street Politicians’ Podcast on the Black Effect or wherever you get your podcast!  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey y'all, Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history.

Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was Claudette Colvin. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records.

Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. to politics, to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other, so join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Peace to the planet. I go by the name of Charlemagne Tha God, Uncle Charla,

Lenard, whatever you want to call me. Santa Claus isn't real, but I am. And I got a gift for you. It's a brand new podcast from the Black Effect Podcast Network. With the holidays here, the Breakfast Club is going to take a little break, but we've got something for you, okay? Check out this new podcast from my loved ones, my leader, activist Tamika Mallory, and the good brother King Mison, the general, host of Street Politicians Podcast, a show that takes an uninhibited look at social and civil rights issues, pop culture and politics.

Make sure you check out Street Politicians Podcast on the Black Effect or wherever you get your podcast. That's how we own it. What's going on, y'all? It's your boy, my son. And I'm Tamika D. Mallory d mallory welcome to street politicians the place where the streets and politics meet there is so much happening it's so good to always get back here every single week i want to thank you all for following us and being with us every week to hear about what's happening in the streets in politics in, in society. I've been saying over and over again that if Black people don't tell our stories for us, by us, other people will determine the

narratives that our children hear. And we can't allow that to happen. As a Black woman, I tell you, this election cycle, as we have been talking about every week, really, it's like a decompressing. People actually need therapy. But wait a minute, let me just... We need a little bit of... How you feeling today? That's what I'm saying. Black Queen, are you feeling good today?

Well, you know, some days I feel good and other days I don't because I'm telling you. But I just want you to know that we acknowledge the work that you Black Queens have been putting in. Yeah. And you know, and you are...

We want to just celebrate you. You know, I know this... Because I know that Black women are under attack. We are. You know what I'm saying? So I want to be the one to say, as I sit next to a black queen that I know fights for our people wholeheartedly every day, I just want you to know that I see you and I'm here for you. You do that. You do, Mice.

You really do pour into the Black women around you. When I think about the work that we did, everything from Breonna Taylor, her family, to all of our comrades that have been with us on the road, the Leslie Redmonds of NAACP Wisconsin, to Tiffany Lofton, NAACP Youth and College Director. I mean, I don't even want to get myself in trouble. Lanita Baker, the amazing attorney for Breonna Taylor's family. And the list goes on and on of black women who are around us that you support and you do a lot of great things. But I'm just going to tell you that not just black women, but I think black people in general need a detox and some therapy, like some real counseling after this election, because not only do we go through the stress and strain of that, if the administration at the time continues to be in office, we already know what that means, but it doesn't mean that a new administration was going to change anything either. So it's like the stress of what do we choose? Which way do we go? So we had to deal with all of that. And then we had to deal with knowing that whatever happens is on our backs

as black women. Of course, black men, second place. We have to continue to say that. But, you know, with 80% of black men also, well, more than that, showing up at the polls. And so it's just a lot. And I feel like I've been called out my name. I've been accused. I've been threatened and all of that. And it feels really heavy to be a black woman who is carrying the load with so much, you know, for our community. And the thing that I think I struggle with, which is my thought of the day-to-day, is whether or not we should be going to social media or any other forum that is public, right, around people, where people can see and hear it, to talk to Black men about how we feel. It's almost like perhaps we should be keeping our pain just in our homes or keeping it quiet. So I

guess a simple way of asking the question and the thought of the day is should we be airing out our dirty laundry in terms of the relationship between Black men and Black women? If we don't discuss it, it continues. If nothing changes, then nothing changes. But if we do discuss it, it gives other people an opportunity to use our vulnerabilities and our weaknesses against us. And we know that that happened in this election cycle. We know that marketing campaigns are created based upon people watching the division in our communities and they use it and they, what's the word? They expand upon it or they, that's not the word I'm looking for.

They exploit it. They exploit it for their interest. So it's like, do we talk about it or do we keep it to ourselves? Well, I think it's, like you said, it's a very slippery slope. I think as a black man, for me, when I'm talking about my own issues, I want to be held accountable.

I'm not calling out black women and saying, yo, black woman, you're not doing this and that. I think that's dangerous. I think that shows a division between black women and black men. I think, like you've always said, y'all need to go and deal with y'all. Don't tell black women what you need to do or white people. Don't tell us what you need to do. You need to go talk to your cousins and your uncles. And I think I started it started to resonate with me. Like the thing, the toxicity that we deal with in our communities as Black men, things that we're dealing with and that we're not addressing, that we continue to play out and that's not

changing within our communities, within the way we deal with our women, the way we deal with each other, is something that we got to be held accountable. And we got to utilize all forms to have this conversation. It's easy to do it behind doors. But when you publicly take responsibility for something that's going wrong and saying, yo, as black men, I don't think we're doing all we can. And then brothers get mad, like, don't say that.

You giving the enemy, no, I'm holding myself. I'm not saying you, I'm saying we. I'm telling you that even though I feel that I'm doing good, but I feel like I'm not the majority. I don't represent the majority of what's going on. When I'm hearing black women talk about how they feel around most black men, they don't feel safe.

They don't feel like they're always protected. That's a problem for me. You know what I'm saying? Even if every black woman around me is like, no, you make us feel safe, but it's other people. I'm not going to say, well, I'm good. Don't put that on me. No. Because I'm a reflection. See, people want to win with the team,

but they don't want to lose with the team. People want to say, well, don't tell me I had 35 in the game. Even though we lost, I had 35. And when you win the championship and you only had two points, you be like, I don't care. We won the championship. So it got to be we when we winning and we losing. So that's what I say as me. For me, as

black men, my duty is when I see that we lacking in something or I feel like we can be doing better in something to call it out. To be held accountable. To say, hey, we can be doing better. Not saying that we all, we not all, there's no monolith. We not all doing anything. But if we

want to say black men this and black men are strong or black men are strong and put ourselves in that category then say well black men are doing something wrong too yeah i think that there is this there's this challenge that we deal with where a lot of black men and maybe black women as well when we talk about protecting black women, we think about it from the perspective of, I'm good to my wife or my husband or my brother or sister or people that are in my immediate circle. Or people may say, you're not good to your wife, husband, or people, again, in your immediate circle. But I don't think that that's what we mean when we say protect Black women.

That's the, this episode of Street Politicians is called Protect Black Women. And we're kind of unpacking what that means. Yes, we should be good to, all of us should be good to everyone, but we're human. And in relationships and other situations, families, you have challenges,

you have debate, you have circumstances. But what we're talking about is as a community, as a whole, how do we really ensure that we are not inflicting more damage and harm systemically on our people? And individually too. Yeah, individually, absolutely. But for me, it's like, if I see young boys sitting by,

watching while a girl is being beat up, and either by their friend or by someone else, and they're not intervening enough to say, hey, this is not right, because this is what I hear. This is what I hear, especially when I'm watching these videos on social media and you see a girl and she's being attacked by, you know, by a black man or by any man. Well, what does she do to cause that on

herself? That's what I mean. That's like, it's a twisted systemic mindset that if the Black woman is being harmed, she caused it somehow. That's very different from me saying, well, you know, my mother and I don't get along. My, you know, like my son and I have our challenges at times. Yes, those are relationship things that have to be solved. But we're talking about how we as a community really wrap our arms around Black women. And perhaps both things go hand in hand, that you can't treat your community well if you don't have good relationships with your own family members. But it feels like we're in a place where people remove themselves from being a part of the we because their personal life is together. So then it's like when you're saying it, they're like, oh, I protect black women.

You know, I fight for mine. It's not you fighting for yours. It's us fighting for one another. And black women have continuously shown up for black men. And I think for me, you know, this whole Meg Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez thing really put it in a different perspective. You know, I was always like, we need to protect black women. We need to stand up.

Yeah, but you and I had a number of knock down, drag out conversations. Yeah, because I was one of the people that felt like, don't say me because it's not me. And then I started to realize it's a collective. We can't say black people this and black people that and then want to separate ourselves when it's not conducive every time.

So I started to acknowledge it. I give you a little props for that. A little credit. Just a little bit of credit. Not too much. Not too much. I got a little credit today for something. She'll go crazy.

She really did something. But the reality is, when I watch the situation with Meg Thee Stallion and seeing how many people would just come out of nowhere saying, that B is lying. She's a liar. He didn't do this to her. And it just was like, why?

Why would you just assume that a woman who got bullet fragments in her foot and a man got caught with a gun, that he didn't shoot? Why would you think that she would just create a whole story? What about your reality or your upbringing or your understanding of a black woman what has she done prior to this to make you just instantly call her a liar well it's because so much of how

we are viewed as black women is based upon and i think it's on both sides, the few who are liars, who lie on black men, who, you know, say that he beat me when he didn't, you know, she's a, she's a tramp, she's a this, you know, whatever, all of those things, the negativity, I think that there are some that have had those interactions and, and even have had mothers that were not really good to them, um, or mothers that they just hate for whatever reason. And therefore they translate that onto the whole. But what we know is that nine times out of 10, I don't even know of a man, period.

But I'm just going to say nine times out of 10, Black women or women in general are not going to just say somebody shot them. You might say he hit me and he didn't or he choked me or he you know, whatever. Those things we can go back and forth. But he shot me and he

didn't shoot me. Like it doesn't even make sense. And you shot. No, no, no. They said she wasn't really even shot. She got a doctor's report. She got a doctor's report that said that she was shot. She paid the doctor. You don't know.

But why? Why would she pay the doctor? Why would she pay the doctor, lie on her, put the bullet fragments in her foot, all that stuff, so she can lie on that man? And then people, then there was a guy who had no face, no nothing. It was just a sound on the internet. He even told you. And he said he was the security. He was there.

He told a whole story about it. And people actually believe what he said. They never saw him. They don't know who he is. They don't know who it was. They made up a whole story, said her best friend said she was there. That never happened.

It's just so much stuff, man. And I think it really disheartened me. It shows us. It is disheartening. It is. It was disheartening for me. It is. It was very disheartening. It's disheartening for me.

So it's really, you know, protecting black women is the order of the day. And we have to keep talking about it. And I know people probably tired of it. They feel like we always talk about it. But if we don't continue to exactly, if nothing changes, nothing changes. And so we have to talk about it. But somehow or another, we still got to figure out when is the right moment. You know?

That's a fact. And speaking of Megan Stallion, first of all, she had me in that incredible, incredible performance on Saturday Night Live, which I didn't even know. When someone texted me and told me about it, attorney Lenita Baker, I was like, oh, that's big. As if it was about someone else. Cause I just couldn't even wrap my head around, you know, how powerful that moment was for her to include my voice in her performance and shout out to Kevin Louse,

who is our board member at Until Freedom and was responsible for making that happen. And you know, Meg, like anytime, right? Like, come on up here. Listen, you know, I don't, I believe that you know, you have a lot going on. We just want you to know that anything you need from us, you know, you can utilize our platform. You need us individually

as a unit, whatever, man. We want to protect black women. I believe you. I don't believe you made up no story about somebody shooting you. I know I see the trolls. And I just wonder to myself, what is this woman dealing with? How does she feel after she was shot? And she has to explain and have to defend herself about somebody hurting her.

So I just want you to know that we are with you. And you're welcome to come up here. Anytime she wants to come to Street Politicians. And I've had dinner with Meg. You know, unless she's completely like a psychopath who is able to change personalities right before your eyes. I personally do not believe that the young woman that I sat and talked to and spent time with just made up a story about who shot her. That's just me. But that's not what we're here for,

to deliberate a legal matter. It ain't even legal, it's ethical for me. Well, that's true. The legal part is whether he go to jail or whether they say he did it. The ethic part is me knowing that a man harmed a woman and trying to lie and act like he did. That's just ethics for me. And every other man should hold that man accountable.

Like, don't let no nigga around you sit around doing no sucker shit and you ain't checking him. I'm not a nigga around you. I'm not saying anything. Okay. I'm fine. Well, don't let no black man, no brother, green, anything sit around you. No color.

None of that. No color. What you say? Color people. You still saying color people. No color people. Don't let no color people sit around you and doing sucker shit to a woman and getting away with it, man.

If you condone sucker shit, then you a sucker too. Yeah, for real. Rob Markman That brings us to one of my brothers, a brother that I think is a dope comedian slash actor. He put out this dope video about black women. He didn't talk about how he loves black women and it touched our souls. So we was like, we got to bring him up here, especially when we talking about how he loves black women and it touched our souls so we was like we gotta bring him up here especially when we talk about this topic and that is none other than my

brother afion crockett so he's going to be with us in a minute to join us and expound on this topic about protecting black women and loving black women and what it means to him yeah and in our activist segment today speaking of protecting black women we're going to be hearing from a young lady who we affectionately call KJ. You all saw her in the viral video where she is standing before the board of police commissioners in Kansas City. And she's really speaking truth to power. That's a fact. In the rawest way. She said she ain't nice, which we get into.

She ain't nice. She says that she ain't nice, which we will get into and talk to her about because- That's a bar though. She's like, I didn't come here to be politically correct. That's not what I came to do. And that's just what it has to be at this time. That's a fact. A young black woman, Keasia Brooks, who was an activist in Kansas City. So we're going to be talking to her as well. So before we go to the next segment and have our special guest join, we're going to take

a quick break for our sponsor. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout? Well, that's when the real magic happens. So if you love hearing real, inspiring stories from the people you know lighthearted, pretty crazy, and very fun. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

So y'all, this is Questlove, and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th.

I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand-new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing.

Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was Claudette Colvin. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We're going to discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people to hopefully create better allies. Think of it as a black show for non-black people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you

the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly. Whether you're Black, Asian, White, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us, then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters, and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. That's how we own it!

But before you ask this question, don't let my presence affect you. Alright, the question is, would you date a black girl? I like black girls to an extent, you feel me? To an extent? What's the extent? The skin tone? Yeah. Okay, what kind of black girls? Either my complexion or lighter. I'm darkening, so you want to talk to me? No. Dark skins are mean. I remember when you thought I was crazy when I used to tell you that, you know, darker skin girls, even at my complexion, um, are just not as desirable,

if you will, to some men. And, and, and, And what's painful is that sometimes it's Black men, a lot of times it's Black men who sort of look at us and say that the darker we are, as you saw in the video, we're mean, we are just not as cute and attractive to our own men. So it's really, the sentiment is really painful to hear. And I think that the young woman in this video knew the answers already. That's why she went out to do this experiment because she could probably feel herself.

I mean, I get it. And I've learned a lot lately. I think growing up, for me, I don't think, I think there was a stigma like, oh, you wanted to get the Puerto Rican girl or light-skinned girl. You used to say it, but I don't think people was like, they just didn't like dark-skinned girls. Now I'm hearing that I'm just not attracted to dark-skinned girls. You're hearing actually dark-skinned dudes that's midnight black talking about they don't want no dark-skinned girls. So it's like, I think it's a product of slavery you know it's it's it's trauma

it's it's it's a thing that we've been taught that darker we are that the less we are that you know so i think yeah we're actually feeding into it you don't remember it but and maybe and you know maybe our next guest can talk about it a little a little bit but even in school days right there was clearly in that movie that we love right everybody's on school days, but if you think about the colorism issues in that movie and the split between the lighter skin girls who were looked at as being cool, and that was Tisha Campbell and Jasmine Guy, and then you had the darker skin girls who they called you just a jigaboo. No, the jigaboos i think were the light-skinned girls but the wannabe you know the jigaboos was the dark skinned and the wannabes was the light-skinned oh okay right you're just a wannabe you want to be white okay exactly so see you remember that i remember that was that was spike lee's whole thing i grew up

around in a multicultural i'm from the the Bronx, so it was so multicultural. And a lot of my family members were dark skinned, or light skinned, or brown skinned. The first girl that I ever was attracted to in elementary school was really dark skinned. So for me, I don't think I really paid that much attention. A lot of my dudes actually liked the same girl that I was attracted to. She was like the prettiest dark skinned chick that you ever see. You understand what I'm saying? So I understand now. I see that I was attracted to. She was like the prettiest dark-skinned chick that you'll ever see. You understand what I'm saying?

So I understand now. I see that it's happening now. So we're going to bring my brother, you know, comedian, actor, extraordinaire, you know, one of the funniest guys that I know. You know, every time I see him play a role or do some type of character, it's like just hilarious, man. He put out this video just talking about

how much he loves black women. So we're going to bring Afion Crockett on here to have this conversation with us. What's up, King? How you doing today? What's up, King and Queen? How y'all? Going on.

Thanks for joining us on Street Politician. Look, I'm honored. When y'all names came across my email and my publicist, you know, she'll field different requests or whatever. I was like, immediately. Those are my people right there. Let's go.

I can't imagine what this country would be like without black women. I mean, they've been on the front line. They set the stage. They cried the tears. They fought the fights of everything that was right. You're our mothers, our sisters, our wives and daughters. Black woman, I love you. Black woman, I love you so much.

So what made you do the video? I mean, we needed it. Let me just tell you, it was really appreciated. I know I needed to hear Black men, especially the little black boy who I saw in the video. I needed to hear that you all love black women and we know it. Of course, we know black men love us. But if you let the media tell it, there's such a stigma and there's so much division between us. And so it's great that you use media to dispel the myth.

Yeah, I mean, look, that's a long conversation but I mean let's start it um for me I just it's just so blatant how we are depicted in the news in the media and movies and tv and you know it's always slave this and uh oppressed uh version of that and I'm as an, I'm tired of it, right? But in our society, right, there was a video by My Black is Beautiful years ago of all these beautiful Black women saying, I love you, Black man. And it was amazing.

I was watching that joint. I felt love. I was like, wow, that's amazing to hear. And in the back of my mind, I was like, oh, they got to have a male version of this too, right? And about a year went by and I never saw the video. So I was like, yo, I just felt compelled. I have a lot of black friends. I got sisters, you know, and I know how these sisters feel that black

men overlook them. So I was like like let me get all the black men together that i know so that we can actually voice it because it's one thing to think it and to be in your own bubble and to just know what you know but to verbalize something as powerful as saying i love you black woman you just never know how far that can go. Yeah, we appreciate it, man. I was having an argument with a guy, like you said, there are stigmas. And there is a lot of people who don't even understand the reality we're dealing with. You know, there's a lot of black men who are blind to the fact that what they believe is loving a black woman or the way that they love a black woman is not sometimes not the way that they want to be loved. We got to start having those conversations too. So seeing you put out this video just empowered me.

It made me feel like there are other brothers who understand the need to make our sisters and our mothers and our women, just black women in general, just feel loved, man. So I think it was really timely. I remember one day my son was arguing with a guy. They were debating. And the guy started to say, and the whole point was, Mice was saying,

we need to protect Black women. We've got to do better. And, you know, there were so many men who came at him like, you know, we do protect our women. But the conversation with this one particular

person boiled down to him believing that if he beats his woman, right, but then he fights someone else who may disrespect her, he is protecting her. And it was so difficult to get him to understand. And of course, you know what, for us, it's like, he just must be some idiot we don't got to deal with it but the the again his page was full of men who actually supported that stuff you know it was like it was it was almost like trendy at the moment yeah we got a lot of work to do yeah um as as a community like it's really it's really a lost um mindset to love black women and for Black people to love ourselves. And again, I can point to all the reasons why we are conditioned to not love ourselves and how even down to the George Floyd tape and every other tape that we've seen

Black people getting murdered, right? That is a clear message. That is a clear statement that they want to send to us to say, this is how we view you. This is how we view you. This is how you should view yourself. And so you shouldn't care when y'all killing each other. And when, you know, a young black dude is hitting a young black woman in the face with a skateboard, like you shouldn't care. And that's the stuff that bothers me is knowing how long of a conversation that is to try to get.

The hope is to get our men first of all to understand that concept we have to love and protect our black women in a real way not in just you know for a week and hashtag about it right and when you say when you said george floyd what it brought up for me immediately it's hearing him call for his Black mother, right? Like everybody knows that the Black woman gives life, not that all women don't, but we talking about Black people right now. So the Black woman gives life and that we carry everybody's struggles on our back.

We carry everybody's struggles, right? We just thinking about this election. We were talking about that earlier, that 90 plus percent of Black women continue to show up and save the country and also be major supporters of the Democratic Party, whether we are being treated fairly and given the resources and attention that we deserve or not. But we keep doing it over and over again. And you were saying, well, black men also. Yeah, that's what I was saying. You know, we want to give credit. You know, black women definitely save the day every time. But we came

in second place this time. You know what I'm saying? We definitely came in second place. But for me, it's like, how do we find this balance, Afion, where we hold ourselves accountable for what we understand is wrong? Because I put myself in it. Even though I feel like I'm one of the biggest protectors and lovers of black women ever,

I say we need to do better. And then there's this pushback from black men that I'm feeding into a narrative that we're not already doing it. And then I'm trying to explain to them that I'm having conversations with black women who don't feel loved, who don't feel loved, who don't feel like we protected them. So how do you think it is that we balance between not feeding into a narrative, but still holding ourselves accountable? I mean, it's about ownership.

You know what I mean? It's not enough for me and Mice to love our black women and protect and have this mindset. We have to say we. We as Black men as the whole, we're all responsible because we haven't been perfect. You know what I mean? I've never beat on a woman, but that doesn't mean that I haven't gotten into an argument and talked crazy or

gotten mad and whatever that thing is. So we have to first own that we all got to do it. And we got to start having real conversations. If it's forums, if it's meetings post-COVID, Black men got to stop being so in a, ah, man, don't tell me what to do.

We already doing that. Like, nah, but you might be doing it, but we collectively are not doing it. So we got to take our ego aside and be like, no, no, no, yeah. I take care of my lady, but you know, the community of black men have failed the black woman. Well, we, we have to, and, and, and by the way, there are young black boys who are coming up behind you. Or I have a young son who's 21 years old. And sometimes the challenges that we go

through, you can see that he has gotten too comfortable, you know, learning from society that it's OK to like go off when you want to on your black mother. And he and I have had many conversations about respecting your mother, but he is not alone. This is a sort of a trend among many of my black women friends where they're talking about the relationship with their son. And of course, my son loves me to death or to life. But it is something that needs to be dealt with. Now, the next time we talk, we got to deal with how Kamala Harris being on the presidential ticket impacted the amount of black men who voted for Trump and against the Democratic Party. That's another conversation, but we may not have time to talk about that today. Yeah, I mean, look, Joe was a wild boy, but he's smart enough to know when to pick the right running mate.

And Kamala was perfect. And that positions her to potentially be the first woman president. We already had our first black president, of course, in Barack. And it also helped that Barack was on the running trail with them, on the promotional trail, the campaign trail. But yeah, Kamala's going to be, she was the perfect person to increase that support of Black voters and Black women. Again, we love you Black women. Rob Markman, Jr.: We ain't got no choice but to love Black women.

I just want to know, when we talk about this subject, and I get so much back and forth, I did Nick Cannon's show and we was talking about Black women and how we need to protect Black women, and I was just owning up for things that I might've done wrong. And it was so many people just beating me up. Like Black men, like, y'all, nobody want to hear this. And Black women done this and Black women ain't perfect. We talked about Meg Thee Stallion and Tory and they like, she gotta be lying and Tory didn't do none of her.

That beast, that T-C. And it's like, are we dealing with a trauma? Where do you think this anger is coming from that you see, that especially shows up in this generation? Where do you think this anger is coming from from black men? You know, victim

shaming comes from, first of all, lack of ownership. And you're right, it's trauma. You know, no man who's hurt, who's been hurt, wants to admit that there's, you know, there's some healing to be done. So that's another thing is black men. We don't know that we need to heal, nor do we have the confidence and the security to go heal and go sit with a therapist and really correct your traumas and heal your traumas because there's always going to be that conversation there's always going to be that backlash every time one of us says we love black women all they're going to be able to do is point the finger and be like yeah but all the black women I knew did this to me and and they

they aggressive and they this and they that you know what i mean but that all comes from a a pain place so if all you remember and all you know is the times that a black woman did something to hurt you as opposed to being a man and manning up and and healing yourself and seeking that that forgiveness also all you're going to do is keep pointing fingers and and when you finger point, it's going to make you not look at all the crazy stuff you did to the Black woman. So I think that's where that feedback comes from. It's trauma and it's lack of ownership. Ownership is a very important concept that a lot of us don't practice. I definitely agree with that. Well, you know,

we can have this conversation all day. we probably need to do like a round table with just black men and black women and just talk through these subjects and just get everybody's perspective and understand but once again man thank you for being here thank you for you know gracing our presence and street politicians

with your knowledge when we see that video we like we definitely got to bring Afion on here man and I want to thank you personally for always supporting me, you know, for always being there, always showing me love on my page and everything. So continue to do the work, brother, man.

There's only a few of us out here that really, you know, that aren't afraid to take accountability, aren't afraid to speak truth to power and, you know, and deal with whatever comes with that. So once again,

we want to say thank you for being here. Thanks so much for joining us on Street Politicians. You know, this is an endeavor for us that we really want to see grow and provide voice for what's happening in the streets and in politics within our community. So it was so great to have you as one of our first guests. Well, let me say this to both of y'all. I appreciate y'all being front lines. Hands down, y'all are both front lines. Y'all are putting yourselves,

not, you know, y'all not pulling other people and putting them in the front. You too are putting yourselves on the front line. You're getting arrested and salute to my brother, Trader Truth. That's my brother.

But I appreciate y'all putting yourselves on the front line. You're getting arrested. And salute to my brother, Trader Truth. That's my brother. But I appreciate y'all putting yourselves on the front line for the cause, for the people. And God bless y'all. May y'all stay protected because I know y'all are going back out there whenever something else happens. We all have a position to fight in this battle. But you guys

have determined that you guys are going to be front line and put your hands to the plow. So I salute y'all. We need y'all. And my son, you're one of the greatest MCs, man. I just want to shout your heart came up, your pocket, your rhythm. He's a scrub.

He's a scrub. He's a scrub. You know, see, look, the black woman, look. She want to call a black man a scrub. See, this is what they talking about, man. Y'all can't give a black man a nod. Yeah. Thank you so much.

She know what I do. But I appreciate you, Atheon, for the love, man. Thank you. Continue to do the work. We appreciate the love. Atheon Crockett, yes. And we look forward to seeing you soon. Peace.

Salute. Salute. So before we go to the next segment and have our special guest join, we're going to take a quick break for our sponsors. Hey, guys. I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even

deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. You know that rush of endorphins you feel after a great workout? Well, that's when the real magic happens. So if you love hearing real, inspiring stories the people, you know, follow and admire. Join me every week for post run high. It's where we take the conversation beyond the run and get into the heart of it all. It's lighthearted, pretty crazy,

and very fun. Listen to post run high on the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So y'all, this is quest love. And I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records, Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimany here.

I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We're going to discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people to hopefully create better allies.

Think of it as a black show for non-black people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle. Exactly. Whether you're black, Asian, White, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, you name it. If you stand with us,

then we stand with you. Let's discuss the stories and conduct the interviews that will help us create a more empathetic, accountable, and equitable America. You are all our brothers and sisters,

and we're inviting you to join us for Civic Cipher each and every Saturday with myself, Ramses Jha, Q Ward, and some of the greatest minds in America. Listen to Civic Cipher every Saturday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So as street politicians, activists have a home with us. We want to make sure that on every episode we catch up with activists and organizers around the country who are doing great work on the ground and make sure that we give them an opportunity to tell their stories and to ensure that the

narratives around what is happening comes directly from people who are engaged and who are actively working to make change. And so this young sister, who we affectionately call KJ, you all know her as Keasia Brooks. We saw her at a police council meeting or a police commissioner meeting where the board members who actually control the Kansas City Police Department, where they were meeting and the public was able to make statements. And she went before this council of individuals and really spoke truth to power. She told them up. It was on point. She said, I'm not nice. Right. She started out like that. I'm not nice.

I'm not nice and I don't seek to be respectable. So I'm not here begging anything of soulless white folks and self-preserving black folks. You get one life and you all in this room have chosen profits over people. And that's pathetic. So let's have KJ to come and let's talk to her and learn a little bit about why she made that riveting speech. I wouldn't even call it a speech. She just basically told it like it was, like it is directly, right. Directly to the, to the people who needed to hear it. Hello. Hi KJ. Thank you for having me on here. How are you? I'm nice today, y'all. You're nice today? That's good.

I want to know, what was your motivation behind what you said at that meeting? I woke up that morning just feeling really motivated, feeling really angry. I heard the gospel song, Don't Forget to Remember. So that just kind of got me excited. I'm like, they forgot to remember where their paychecks came from. So I wrote that speech as I was sitting in the crowd, partially directed at a lot of the people who came who weren't really speaking their truth. They were speaking what they thought would sound the best. So I wrote that partially in direct to the people who came with us and partially in direct to the police board, who we rarely get a chance to see here in Kansas City.

My main motivation was just, I won't say anger, but, you know, just y'all going to get this truth today. Had you been engaged in your local community and fighting against police brutality prior to this day? Like I've been in every facet of activism. I've been with the young protesters. I've been with the like kind of middle-aged concerned parent activists. And then I've been with the older civil rights leaders. Tell us about what's been happening to you since the day when you spoke at the council meeting or the commissioner's meeting. I left a friend's Halloween party and I was just sitting in my apartment complex parking lot at 11 o'clock at night, like I normally do to decompress. And I saw their cars just coming

through and how my apartment complex is set up. You really wouldn't need to come back there unless you were living there. They've been kind of just trailing around and my security sees them all the time. But now that I've drawn national attention to them, they're definitely angry. And I could see that manifesting itself in various ways. You're not alone. So we've experienced the same type of intimidation. It's a playbook that they use, but you also have to protect yourself. I'm glad to hear you have security. You need to be safe. And I guess the question would be, what can people do to help?

I do have a cash app for security. I'm paying security, which I'm paying taxes on at KCPD. So with great power comes great responsibility. So I want to be able to dive into this work without having to worry about whether or not, you know, someone on the street could get me or someone in the KCPD. You have an organization. What is the organization? What is it that you specialize in? What is, you know, what is it that you your expertise in? Yeah, I have an organization that's co-founded by my comrade Maria and I. It's called the Chingona Collective. Chingona is a Spanish word for badass woman, so it could apply to anyone of any race.

But we're made up of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous women. So we just work together. But, you know, I'm Black. I want to work on Black issues. But, you know, I want to be there to support my sisters. Okay. So what is your catch-up? We want to definitely make sure that people are supporting you and make sure that you are secure

and make sure that your grassroots organization is able to thrive and you continue to do your work. Kiesha Gabriel is my first name and my middle name. It's on my Instagram at kjg.brks. It's a link in there. There's been a few fake pages popping up. If you just go to my Instagram, like,

yeah. Well, thanks for being nice to us today. Yes. We appreciate you. You know, we love to see the fire reboot. It's good to see that smile.

And we're glad that you have security and people protecting you. So whatever we can do, you know, you got us on your side. Yeah. Call us anytime and be safe. Okay. Take care of yourself. Thank you so much. Good. Be good to you. your side. Yeah. Call us anytime and be safe. Okay? Thank you.

Take care of yourself. Thank y'all so much. Good. Be good to you. Take care. Bye-bye. KJ is funny. Like, I mean, and I know she's not trying to be funny, but she's funny.

And I like her. And I think we need to do all we can to support her and make sure, you know, she's- Go to her Cash app. Cash app. Support her. I went to her, I DM'd her the other day and told her that I wanted to, it app. Cash app her. Support her. I went to her. I DM'd her the other day and told her that I wanted to. It was just a cold DM.

I didn't know her. But I said, you know, I want to give you some cash app. I want to deposit in your cash app. You know how we always try to pay forward whatever has been donated to us. We always try to give others that we know are out here that don't have the same access and platform some of the resources that we're able to pull together. And so I sent her that message and she responded. Of course, she gave me that cash app because that's what I asked for. And, you know, she's about her business. But she also said she wanted to have more conversations about the national work. And I think her voice is needed. There's so many out here

who are not speaking truth to power. I don't know what the hell they're doing. And I just want to continue to help and support the young sister. And that brings me... To what you don't want. To what I don't want. Like, this really bothers me.

Why do people think that people who do work on the front lines, who are activists, supposed to be poor? Oh man. I don't get that either. I really just don't get it. What do you think that we supposed to run around here, fight, risk our freedom, and we not supposed to have a pair of nice shoes?

We not supposed to be able to pay our rent? Why do y'all want the people that's willing to risk their lives on these front lines to have nothing? People tell me, yo, you're selling a book online. You're trying to capitalize off the movement. You're a poverty pimp because you're selling a book. Well, I think that... Or you're selling a hat.

So you're a poverty pimp. Well, I believe that people should have as much as they can get. Of course, I believe in Bernie Sanders' theory that people only need but so much money. But I do think that whether you're an activist or whatever you are, a school teacher, a dancer, whatever you are, I think people should live comfortably and that not only should we be able to be supported by the community and people who we entertain, people who we fight for, people who we work with. That's one part of it. But I also think that this country should ensure that people are not living in poverty just because of their zip code or the color of their skin. So I totally don't support that theory. I'm going to wear me a cute boot. I'm going to have me a nice bag and I'm

going to make sure that I have a home and that my family is stable. That's something that I'm going to do. And I will work for mine. It's not like I'm sitting at home expecting people to give, but I also understand that the media has created this narrative and it's been used to try to, you know, pretty much challenge the leadership of Black people in this movement. You know, it's been used as an opportunity to deflect from the real issues and to try to destroy the character of an individual who is trying to do work so that we don't have to talk about the issues of social justice. And I think that what happens is because the media, as Malcolm X says, it's a powerful tool and it's dangerous, right? It is so ingrained in your mind that you start to question the Black leader

who's doing whatever work locally, but then you are willing to give your money to something like the Red Cross, who really also takes people's money and most of the money that goes into the Red Cross is going towards the salaries of those people who work for the company, the leadership or the organization, and not nearly as much of the individual dollars are

going to the ground to deal with relief. I mean, we know in New Orleans still to this day, the city, the town has not been properly rebuilt, yet the Red Cross received probably I know it was millions but it could have been even more than millions of dollars during Hurricane Katrina but yet somebody like Trader Truth who is our family

he's out there doing the work every single day on the ground doing real relief work going into the hood buying trucks and other things picking picking people up, doing tornadoes, doing it all. Why should he get it done?

I just think we got to do better. Why are we questioning people that's willing to risk their lives for us? Why do you want to see people that you know come from where you come from that's doing work, real work? Why do you want to see people that you know come from where you come from that's doing work real work why do you have a problem with seeing them having some level of success being able to survive being able to have something nice or just not being broke and not living day

to day like we that mentality to me is so warped it's an enslaved mentality it's a warped mentality and it was it was done to us on purpose because the entire theory, or at least one that I think has been extremely beneficial to our oppressors, has been to use chaos and also to divide us based upon jealousy, based upon some having and others not having. So it's like, what do you call it? Deprivation. All of these things have been used against us and it worked because it's ingrained in our psyche that we start to want to know what kind of car do you drive rather than having a conversation about the issue that I'm bringing to your attention. But, you know, I think you have to, and I've learned from some of my mentors and leaders, that you just have to keep going and not really stop to focus too much of your attention on that. Sometimes, like I was questioned a few weeks ago about how much money we make and, you know, how is all of this happening?

And of course, then they started asking me. It was supposed to be about me. And the next thing I know, it became, well, how come my son doesn't tell us what he's making? Listen, the president of the United States wouldn't show his taxes. And when they finally found, which they had to crack the code over four years, when they finally was able to find some information, $750.

That's it. So did you fight him? Yeah, did you kill him? Was you on that? Five million more people went out and voted for him, actually. Five million more people did go out and vote for him. The numbers went up in many situations

that tells us a lot about this country. A lot. A whole lot. Yeah. Well, listen, once again, we don't always agree. We're not gonna always be wrong. No, we're not always gonna be wrong. And we're not gonna always be right.

But we can guarantee you that we will always be authentic. Street politicians, peace. Peace. That's how we own it hey guys i'm kate max you might know me from my popular online series the running interview show where i run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together.

Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand-new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Smash, slam, another one gone.

Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history, like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it.

Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show, Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence.

And we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace and social circle. We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other. So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.