Host Erik Fleming welcomes two dynamic guests — former Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong and media activist Alysia Cutting — for a candid conversation about leadership, racial equity, community healing, and supporting women in public life. They discuss lessons from city government and the pandemic, Chasity’s coaching framework for sustainable leadership, Alysia’s "Check One Box" project, and grassroots solutions to health and social inequities.
The episode also includes news highlights and Erik’s reflections on political violence, the responsibility of leaders, and the power of local action to create lasting change.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 Welcome. I'm Erik Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 I want to personally thank you for listening to the podcast.
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00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 The following program is hosted by the NBG Podcast Network.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:55 Music.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 Thank you. Thank you.
00:01:53 --> 00:02:01 You Hello, welcome to another moment, Erik Fleming. I am your host, Erik Fleming.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:08 So today's show is entitled Unapologetically Uplifting.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 And I think that is very, very appropriate.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:18 Not just for what's happening, but for the guests that I have.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:25 I have two sisters coming on who have basically made it their work to uplift people.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:30 And I am glad that they agreed to come on.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:35 And in light of everything that's happening, even more so.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:44 Because we need to be uplifted. And so after the interviews, I'll offer my thoughts.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:52 But I just am really glad that these two sisters came on and I hope that you
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 enjoy the conversations that we've had.
00:02:55 --> 00:03:01 We're still trying to get subscribers. You know our goal if you're a regular listener.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:06 So you can go to patreon.com slash a momentwitherik Fleming to do that.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:14 You can go to momenterik.com and not only subscribe, but you can catch up on
00:03:14 --> 00:03:19 episodes and just kind of find out what this show is about. Right.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:24 And I would greatly appreciate that if you like the show.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:30 You know, you can go ahead and, you know, put in a review.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:34 You know, tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell everyone.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:39 And, but the main thing we're trying to get is these subscriptions up.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:49 Because, you know, it's, shout out to the NBG Podcasting Network for giving
00:03:49 --> 00:03:53 me a platform or helping me continue my platform. I'll put it that way.
00:03:54 --> 00:04:02 But it's important for us that are independent to get to support, not just the listeners,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:11 but financially to do what we need to do and, you know, and make sure that independent
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 voices are heard. Right.
00:04:13 --> 00:04:18 And so, you know, I just in this moment,
00:04:18 --> 00:04:25 in this time where folks are like concerned about the information that they're getting,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:35 it's important to have people who are not tied into mainstream media or corporate corporate media.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:40 However you want to call it, to be able to say what they need to say and to
00:04:40 --> 00:04:48 lay things out the way that they need to be laid out without censorship or anything like that.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:53 So do what you can, you know, continue to support the show.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:59 We, you know, I greatly appreciate you listening and we'll just go from there.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 So let's let's go ahead and kick this show off. And as always,
00:05:03 --> 00:05:07 we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace G.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 Music.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:20 Thanks, Erik. Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, age 31, was fatally shot in
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 the neck while speaking at a university event in Utah.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:28 A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:35 Israel launched an airstrike in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:38 potentially harming ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:43 Poland, with support from its NATO allies, shot down suspected Russian drones
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 that entered its airspace.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:50 The Department of Homeland Security conducted their largest single-site enforcement
00:05:50 --> 00:05:54 operation, detaining hundreds of South Korean nationals, at a Hyundai car battery
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 plant under construction in Georgia.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:02 The Supreme Court backed a Trump administration policy allowing agents to conduct
00:06:02 --> 00:06:07 immigration raids in Southern California that target people based on their race or language.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 The Missouri House of Representatives approved a new congressional map that
00:06:11 --> 00:06:16 is expected to give Republicans an additional House seat A federal judge in
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 San Francisco ruled that the Trump administration's attempt to cancel temporary
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 protected status for more than
00:06:21 --> 00:06:25 1 million Venezuelans and Haitians was unlawful and racially motivated.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:30 The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has collected voter roll data
00:06:30 --> 00:06:35 from at least 22 states, which it plans to share with Homeland Security for
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 use in criminal and immigration investigations.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:42 A Michigan judge dismissed criminal charges against a group of residents who
00:06:42 --> 00:06:48 tried to present themselves as the state's legitimate electors for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 A Minnesota man who spent nearly three decades in prison for a murder he did
00:06:52 --> 00:06:58 not commit was released after the key witness in the case confessed to the crime herself.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:04 And two Powerball players from Missouri and Texas won a combined $1.8 billion
00:07:04 --> 00:07:08 jackpot, which is the second largest in U.S.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:13 Lottery history. I am Grace G, and this has been a Moment of News.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:20 Music.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:23 All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:28 And now it is time for my guest, Chasity Wells-Armstrong.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:34 Chasity Wells-Armstrong is a powerhouse leader, licensed social worker,
00:07:34 --> 00:07:38 and former mayor who brings over 25 years of experience at the intersection
00:07:38 --> 00:07:43 of government leadership, social justice, and transformational coaching.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:47 She made history as the first black mayor of Kankakee, Illinois,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 where she led bold initiatives in racial equity,
00:07:50 --> 00:07:56 economic revitalization, and criminal justice reform, often while navigating
00:07:56 --> 00:08:01 the entrenched systems of race and gender bias that continue to shape American politics today.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:06 Chasity's public service includes working in Congress as a constituent services
00:08:06 --> 00:08:10 and deputy district director for two U.S.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:15 Representatives, where she fought for policy solutions that center underserved communities.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:20 Today, she coaches women leaders and advises elected officials across the country
00:08:20 --> 00:08:24 through her firm, Catalyst Coaching and Transformation.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:29 Her mission, to help women and municipal leaders lead with confidence,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:34 elevate their presence, and make impactful, equitable decisions without burnout.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:39 Whether she's in City Hall, on Capitol Hill, or inside coaching circles,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:44 Chasity is known for her fierce commitment to truth, justice,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:49 and building the leadership bench for a more representative and inclusive democracy.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:54 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest
00:08:54 --> 00:08:58 the Honorable Chasity Wells-Armstrong.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:10 Music.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:16 The Honorable Chasity Wells-Armstrong. How are you doing, Mayor? You doing good?
00:09:16 --> 00:09:20 I'm doing well. Thank you, Erik, for having me with you today.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 Well, I'm honored that you accepted the invitation.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:29 You know, even in this, even in the 21st century, you know, you would think
00:09:29 --> 00:09:34 that there wouldn't be so many pioneers out there, but there's still a few of
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 us bouncing around, and you're one of those folks.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 And so, again, like I said, I'm honored to have you come on.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:44 So let's go ahead and get this started. What I normally like to do is a couple
00:09:44 --> 00:09:48 of icebreakers before we kick off the interview part.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:51 So the first icebreaker is a quote.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:59 And your quote is, Black women should not be defined by societal stereotypes
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 as angry and difficult and more.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:09 We are loving, talented, compassionate, fun, and smart. What does that quote mean to you?
00:10:10 --> 00:10:15 Well, it speaks to the experience of a lot of Black women, particularly Black
00:10:15 --> 00:10:20 women in leadership and especially those who break barriers in leadership.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:28 My experience has been that women and especially Black women are pushed to shrink
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 themselves, to make other people feel comfortable.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:39 We tend to be bold and courageous because we have to be. We are fighters by
00:10:39 --> 00:10:43 nature because we've had to be and continue to have to be.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:50 And many people are not comfortable with us taking up the space that we take up in certain places.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:59 Yeah. Yeah. I feel you. All right. So the next icebreaker is what we call 20 questions.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:04 So I need you to give me a number between 1 and 20.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:13 11. Okay. Where do you go to check a fact that you see, hear, or read?
00:11:14 --> 00:11:20 Well, usually if I'm reading something, it's coming from a source.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:27 So, if I read something on the internet, I would be looking for the source to
00:11:27 --> 00:11:33 be cited within that particular article or blog, you know, whatever it is.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:37 If it's a blogger or somebody, I would just, You know, Google them,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 look them up and look at their website.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:48 If it's a source, I'm connected to represent women, particularly they are working
00:11:48 --> 00:11:53 to remove barriers for women to be able to achieve elected office.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:58 So I would use sources like academic sources, Mayor's Innovation Project is
00:11:58 --> 00:12:00 another, it's a think tank.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:05 So usually if I'm reading an article, I would mean I would be,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:09 it's a credible source usually, or I'm looking for the source to be cited.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:15 And if I'm not familiar with the source then I would look up that source Yeah,
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 well that's good to know that you've got those kind of resources outside of
00:12:18 --> 00:12:22 the traditional research to fall back on it,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:27 you know, I guess that's one advantage of being a former elected that we do
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 have some think tanks we can call on every now and then Yeah,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:34 that's so police, cities, you know, if it's something related to violence,
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 I'm connected to Cities United,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 you know, they have a coalition of, you know, work and body of work they've
00:12:40 --> 00:12:44 been doing for many years across the country with mayors in regard to violence.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 You know, there's certain organizations that are doing the work.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 And so I would reference those. Yeah.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:55 All right. So let's start this conversation off with some reflection.
00:12:56 --> 00:13:00 Okay. As a Black political pioneer, you experienced some incredible triumphs
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 and some impactful lows.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:07 As a Black female mayor during the summer of 2020 and the COVID epidemic,
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 you dealt with some unprecedented challenges.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:15 What did you learn from that and how did it make you a stronger person?
00:13:15 --> 00:13:22 I learned how vulnerable communities are in these situations and how much they
00:13:22 --> 00:13:27 are looking to their leaders to guide them through those challenging and unprecedented times.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:34 You know, anyone who was elected when I was in 2017 never anticipated that we
00:13:34 --> 00:13:36 would be dealing with a pandemic. Make.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:44 It was just completely unforeseen. And for me, it was really the importance
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 of showing up for my community as a leader.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:51 I took very intentional steps to make sure I did that.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:55 I did short videos every day on social media.
00:13:55 --> 00:14:02 I brought in professionals and had chats like we're doing right now that were
00:14:02 --> 00:14:06 filmed from professionals in the community, whether it was from the medical
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 community, mental health community,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:13 and our social service agencies that could provide resources to keep people
00:14:13 --> 00:14:21 informed about what was going on and to help guide them and try to settle the fear as much as I could.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:26 But people during these times are really looking for their leaders to be present,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 to show up, and to be real.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 You know, I was scared too. I was scared.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:35 We were losing people. You know, I was the mayor of my hometown.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:42 So I know a lot of those families and the deaths hit me personally and allowing
00:14:42 --> 00:14:47 my own vulnerability, you know, to be publicly seen,
00:14:47 --> 00:14:53 I think helped me connect more with my residents during that particular time as well. Yeah.
00:14:54 --> 00:15:01 So, you know, I'm based here in Atlanta now and, you know, Keisha Lance Bottoms was the mayor then.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:06 And she decided not to run for reelection after going through that.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:10 But now she's thinking about running for governor. But she had a lot of the same.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:15 Emotions because she was she was you know she grew up in Atlanta so she knew
00:15:15 --> 00:15:20 people who had gotten sick who had died and and all that stuff but now she like
00:15:20 --> 00:15:25 I said she's gonna run for governor did you get a chance to even interact with
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 her and other mayors during that time or were you,
00:15:29 --> 00:15:33 I'm sorry I never had the opportunity to meet her of course we both were elected
00:15:33 --> 00:15:39 in 2017 so I knew who she was because Essence magazine had dubbed 2017 as the
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 year of the black woman mayor so I was very familiar with who she was,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 but I had not personally met her.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 But it was a very trying time.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:51 You know, I had the vulnerability side of the community, particularly the Black
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 and Brown communities, which we know were hit harder.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:59 But then I had backlash as well from the white men in my community who are,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:04 you know, most of the bars in my community are owned by white men.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:12 And when the governor shut the state down March 16th, I will never forget It was the day before St.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:18 Paddy's Day Which is a big bar day, as you know They were livid I mean,
00:16:18 --> 00:16:22 if they could have I felt like if they could have lynched me They would have
00:16:22 --> 00:16:28 done it They were extremely angry And they were attacking me As,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:32 you know, being a stupid Democrat And listening to this governor Because they
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 were losing revenues Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:40 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was the thing. It wasn't just them.
00:16:40 --> 00:16:44 It was everybody was everybody was struggling. And growing up in Chicago.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:49 Yeah. St. Patrick's Day. That's like a national holiday for folks.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 So that was the timing was really, really bad.
00:16:53 --> 00:17:00 All right. In your farewell address, as Mayor Kankakee, you said there are many
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 broken people in this community.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:06 When people who have been conditioned not to trust their own people,
00:17:07 --> 00:17:11 not to value themselves and not to believe there's hope and a better way,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 they lose the opportunity to make a difference.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:20 In this current political climate, do you feel that is an accurate national
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 assessment? And what do you think will change that?
00:17:24 --> 00:17:30 Yes, I do believe that many people are broken, starting from the leadership in the White House.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:36 Anytime you have to demean and dehumanize and put other people down because
00:17:36 --> 00:17:42 you feel insecure or mediocre or whatever your issue is, that's a reflection on you.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:48 And, you know, what I have seen with some black people is they're not comfortable
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 unless the white people are in
00:17:49 --> 00:17:53 charge because they've been conditioned to think that they're less than.
00:17:54 --> 00:18:00 And we are not. And what I have seen over the years, particularly more recently,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:06 is that there's a group of people in this country that are very intimidated by black brilliance.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:12 And I don't say that to be arrogant. we've had to be resilient as a result of
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 the oppression that we endure.
00:18:15 --> 00:18:19 It's made us creative and resourceful. It's a skill they don't have.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 Many of them don't have because they have not had that experience.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 It's an experience that I don't want us to continue to have.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:30 I don't want us to be in situations and in systems where we have to be resilient
00:18:30 --> 00:18:36 and to overcome all these barriers and challenges, but that has been our reality.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:40 So yes, we are very broken right now as a country.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:47 The trust has been eroded in our institutions, the disinformation,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 and how do we recover from that?
00:18:52 --> 00:18:56 And that's what I started writing about this morning, we have to really do some
00:18:56 --> 00:19:02 reflection and challenge things that are in front of us right now.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:07 You know, I started drafting my next newsletter and I'm talking about how,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 you know, Charlie Kirk's death is being,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:16 how it's being handled versus how when George Floyd was killed or even Melissa,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:22 the state rep in Minnesota, you know, the flags weren't flown half-staffed for
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 her. She was a public servant.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 She devoted her life to public service.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 There's a difference in how this is being handled.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:35 And I will be challenging people to think back to times when you've seen,
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 for example, George Floyd was killed.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:42 His children, nobody's talked about his children and what's going on with them.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 And they've lost a father.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:50 And it's handled very, very differently. And we need to look at that as Americans.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:55 We need to, why is that? Why are we not thinking about George Floyd's children
00:19:55 --> 00:19:59 or Melissa Hortman, who now has orphans?
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 Her children are orphans now.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 What is that tied to?
00:20:04 --> 00:20:08 Why do we value certain lives over other lives in this country?
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 That's why I don't pledge allegiance to the flag, because this country is not
00:20:12 --> 00:20:16 living up to the ideals of what it was.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:20 You know, it's supposed to be evolving into something better.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 And we are going backwards right now. We have went backwards. Yeah.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:28 And I think building community is the other answer to that, Erik.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31 We have to get out of our own comfort zones. And that's something I've been
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 talking about in my newsletter as well.
00:20:33 --> 00:20:38 Like challenge yourself to talk to somebody you normally wouldn't talk to or
00:20:38 --> 00:20:41 or just to get in different spaces and learn,
00:20:42 --> 00:20:46 you know, from other people and build community with other people because locally,
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 you know, you're that's where we have power right now is at the local level.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:56 Yeah, and that's where the most dynamic change is going to happen at the local level.
00:20:57 --> 00:21:04 I was listening to a podcast, and it was like, you know,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:09 they're two ladies, and they get excited whenever they get a mayor to come on
00:21:09 --> 00:21:14 the show as compared to a congressperson or whatever, because it's like,
00:21:14 --> 00:21:19 you know, they understand that, you know, everything generates locally.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:22 And and they think that mayors are the
00:21:22 --> 00:21:26 greatest elected officials ever created so i'm
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 sure you won't argue with that but yeah it's
00:21:29 --> 00:21:34 all the the the healing process has
00:21:34 --> 00:21:40 to be local and you know because once it gets to a national stage those people
00:21:40 --> 00:21:48 are dictated by the the mood of the nation So if we can if we can work within
00:21:48 --> 00:21:53 our own communities to deal with the brokenness, to deal with the healing,
00:21:54 --> 00:21:58 then it'll it'll generate on a national level.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 But you about to get me on a soapbox. So let me let me move on.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:09 What are your thoughts on the imminent Trump invasion of the city of Chicago?
00:22:10 --> 00:22:16 Well, you know, he's impeding on states' rights. I believe in local governance.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:19 And as a country, we all did.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 That's why we have local elected officials.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:27 And governors have the authority to activate the National Guard should they
00:22:27 --> 00:22:32 deem it necessary. Our governor has done that in the past. I think is extremely
00:22:32 --> 00:22:36 reckless and irresponsible to be sending troops in.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:41 He is terrorizing communities. He's a bully. He's creating confusion.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:45 You know, who do you listen to when they show up? Who's in charge?
00:22:45 --> 00:22:50 Is this local Chicago Police Department in charge or is the federal government in charge?
00:22:50 --> 00:22:54 And this is a man who has absolutely no military experience,
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 no law enforcement background.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 He's completely out of order, completely out of order.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:07 And he's targeting Democratic governors, Democratic states, Black women.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:12 This is not about crime. The statistics have been shown over and over again
00:23:12 --> 00:23:16 that crime is higher in Republican states.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:21 He has pulled funding that would address the systemic issues that are tied to
00:23:21 --> 00:23:26 crime, like mental health services, like anti-poverty programs,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:30 like gun violence prevention programs, youth programming.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:35 All of those things he's pulled money away from that i am as you can tell is i'm pissed about it,
00:23:36 --> 00:23:42 it i am absolutely infuriated about it and that the this republican congress
00:23:42 --> 00:23:47 has allowed him and the supreme court to just do whatever he wants yeah and
00:23:47 --> 00:23:52 that's that's the that's the tragedy of it yeah yeah he is a danger to this
00:23:52 --> 00:23:55 this country he is an absolute danger to this country.
00:23:56 --> 00:24:02 There is no big city in the United States that is ever going to say we have zero crime.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 That's just not going to happen. When you have human beings,
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 you're going to have crime.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:12 When you have a country that's been structured in a way where you have a widely
00:24:12 --> 00:24:16 wealth gap, the have and the have nots, you're going to have crime.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:22 So if you really care about crime, You have to address the issue holistically
00:24:22 --> 00:24:27 He is being punitive In his decision making.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:36 Yeah, it's like with with, you know, you brought up the point about home rule,
00:24:36 --> 00:24:42 the state's rights. It's like it would be easier for him, just like,
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 you know, D.C., since D.C.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:50 Is a federal district, you know, that it was it was kind of expected that he
00:24:50 --> 00:24:55 would do it there. I kind of thought that he would do it there first instead of Los Angeles.
00:24:56 --> 00:25:00 But, you know, that was pride and contempt and all that stuff that he did it there.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:05 But it would be easier for him to do it in the southern states or the red states
00:25:05 --> 00:25:09 than it would in a place like Chicago and New York.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:14 Because, you know, I came from Mississippi as an elected official.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:18 And that was one of the big issues was that the cities don't have total home rule.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:24 So it's like if if if he wanted to get in with, you know, Governor Reeves in
00:25:24 --> 00:25:29 Mississippi and say, look, we want to put the troops in Jackson, it could happen.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:34 And the city of Jackson would be limited compared to, you know,
00:25:34 --> 00:25:39 say you and Kankakee or or Mayor Johnson in Chicago as far as saying,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 no, that's not going to you.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:46 No, there's some steps that you got to take to even make that happen.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:48 One, we got to agree that you can come.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:55 Or make a request for that. So it's real interesting, those dynamics and all that stuff.
00:25:55 --> 00:26:01 Real quick, how do you think Mayor Johnson is doing, not only dealing with that,
00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 but just dealing with the city, just being an observer and what's going on?
00:26:05 --> 00:26:10 You know, I don't follow him heavily, believe it or not.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:16 You know, I've heard different things about him. I do believe in my heart that he loves people.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:21 I do believe in my heart that he believes in equity and justice.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:30 I'm not sure if he has the most or the best support that he needs around him.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:37 But I admire and respect the way that he's standing up for his community, for his city.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:42 And I love that about our governor as well. I heard our governor actually say,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:46 if you mess with my people, if you hurt my people, you will be held accountable.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:50 I mean, I had so much pride in Governor Pritzker when he said that.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:55 To see this president putting military troops on our streets,
00:26:55 --> 00:26:58 it's just unbelievable.
00:26:58 --> 00:27:03 And I told my husband, you know, if I see people pulling up,
00:27:03 --> 00:27:07 snatching people off the street, I'm just going to have to pray to ancestors
00:27:07 --> 00:27:10 protect me because I don't have it in me to turn my head.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:15 These are people that are in unmarked cars that are not identifiable.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 They're covering their faces.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:21 Anybody that goes into law enforcement knows that if they're working in law
00:27:21 --> 00:27:24 enforcement, they are taking a risk every day with their life.
00:27:24 --> 00:27:28 They chose to do that. You don't have the right to show up in our communities
00:27:28 --> 00:27:34 and claim that you need to cover your face because you're worried about being harmed by us.
00:27:34 --> 00:27:38 You're supposed to be in the community to protect us, not to harm us.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:41 So I'm not going to idly stand by and watch you snatch someone.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:45 You could be a trafficker for all we know. You could be a trafficker.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:52 So it's disheartening. It's infuriating. I don't know all the issues.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 I've never lived in Chicago. ago.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:57 I don't know all the issues that Mayor Johnson is dealing with.
00:27:57 --> 00:28:00 I think it's a lot to take on having his back.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:05 You know, he was a commissioner before becoming the mayor. So I don't think
00:28:05 --> 00:28:09 he had a lot of experience in this, what, the third largest city in the United
00:28:09 --> 00:28:12 States. So it's a tough, tough job.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:18 And I admire the way he is standing up for his people. I do believe he He has
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 a heart for the people. Yeah.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:24 All right. So let's get into the consultancy work that you do.
00:28:24 --> 00:28:31 Your motto is unapologetically uplifting women. Why is that important to assert? Yeah.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:39 Because women are 50% of the workforce and we are more than 50% of the U.S. population.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:44 And I believe that when women are in leadership, particularly in public policy,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 we do better as a society.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:50 Our communities thrive. Our families thrive.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:53 We take care of people.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:57 Not that we're perfect. Not that there's not some outliers out there.
00:28:57 --> 00:29:01 But for the most part, women usually, what I have found, women usually run for
00:29:01 --> 00:29:05 public office because they want to make a difference in their community.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:08 It's not so much as ego-driven and power-driven.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:13 And there's data that supports that women are more effective CEOs.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:18 They're more effective at problem solving, getting things done more quickly
00:29:18 --> 00:29:20 and bringing solutions to the table.
00:29:21 --> 00:29:24 They work more collaboratively. So I believe that overall,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:29 as a society, we benefit and I'm all about helping women and supporting women
00:29:29 --> 00:29:34 in those spaces so that they have the capacity to execute the vision that they
00:29:34 --> 00:29:37 have to enhance and improve their communities. Yeah.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:45 Interesting fact, the district that I used to represent, there's only been two
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 men that have ever been elected.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:51 Me and the young man is currently in there now.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:56 And he is the son of the last representative who was assistant.
00:29:57 --> 00:30:05 So, you know, it means, you know, when people look at people for what they bring,
00:30:06 --> 00:30:16 right, it's not so much, you know, that whole old trope about the fair sex and all that kind of stuff.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:23 It's like most of my opponents have been women if I'm running for,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 especially at the local level.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:34 And, you know, women are just as fierce as men when it comes to competing Women are just as.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:40 Dug in the ground when they need to stand for issues, just like men.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:45 It's just different styles of how men and women go about it.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:49 And I think it's more, you know, some people say it's biological.
00:30:49 --> 00:30:56 I think it's more societal, you know, it's just how a person has been raised
00:30:56 --> 00:31:03 because you can see some men who have compassion and you could see some women who are like,
00:31:03 --> 00:31:06 no, you're fired. You're out. Get out. You know what I'm saying?
00:31:07 --> 00:31:12 You, you, it, personality types are learned. It's not necessarily biological,
00:31:12 --> 00:31:18 but, but I, I, I can't argue with the stats and you're right that, you know,
00:31:18 --> 00:31:24 women have shown incredible capabilities and I, and I really appreciate the
00:31:24 --> 00:31:28 fact that you, And there's others out there that, you know,
00:31:28 --> 00:31:35 want to make sure that women don't, I don't know what's the term I want to use,
00:31:35 --> 00:31:41 that you're out there building self-esteem and you're giving reassurance,
00:31:41 --> 00:31:47 I guess is the term I want to use, that you made this decision to be a leader.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:54 And so your job is to make sure that, you know, you're not second-guessing yourself.
00:31:54 --> 00:31:56 Am I kind of close to what you do?
00:31:57 --> 00:32:01 Well, I think nobody can give you self-esteem. It's self-esteem.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:05 So that comes from, it's internal, what you think about yourself.
00:32:05 --> 00:32:12 But my job is to support, to make sure that women are clear on their vision, their why.
00:32:13 --> 00:32:17 They're going to need to be very clear on that because they're going to be tested,
00:32:17 --> 00:32:20 tried, disrespected, harmed in many ways.
00:32:20 --> 00:32:26 We see the attacks, you know, even when VP Harris ran, I was like,
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 okay, they're getting ready.
00:32:27 --> 00:32:30 Here we come. She's a whore. She's incompetent.
00:32:30 --> 00:32:34 They have a whole checklist, tick list of what they do to women.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:39 And so for me, it's making sure that they stay connected to their why,
00:32:39 --> 00:32:44 knowing what their values are, and having the capacity to serve.
00:32:44 --> 00:32:48 A lot of times women are in systems that are not designed to support them.
00:32:48 --> 00:32:51 So for example, I'm working with a mayor now.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:56 And even when I was mayor, I did not have, I was writing my,
00:32:56 --> 00:32:58 I was writing the social media posts.
00:32:58 --> 00:33:01 We didn't have a communications person. I was writing the press releases.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:06 You know, some mayors are doing their own schedule. If you, if you look at the
00:33:06 --> 00:33:10 role of a mayor and the fact that they are the CEO of a municipality,
00:33:11 --> 00:33:16 running a multimillion dollar municipality, no man would be expected to do that
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 without administrative support.
00:33:18 --> 00:33:22 The men that are CEOs are not writing their own speeches.
00:33:22 --> 00:33:25 They're not scheduling their own appointments. So their ecosystem,
00:33:25 --> 00:33:31 when I talk about that in my scale framework, it's not just being connected to other women mayors.
00:33:31 --> 00:33:36 It's also looking at the systems and structures that you are working in and
00:33:36 --> 00:33:40 making sure that they are designed in a way that supports your capacity.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:45 Because you will burn out. You will be exhausted. And they thrive on that.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:47 That's what they're hoping that will happen.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:49 But as you said, we dig in.
00:33:50 --> 00:33:55 We're stubborn and determined to get things done, but there's a cost to that.
00:33:55 --> 00:34:01 And I'm trying to help women lead and govern in a way where they're not experiencing
00:34:01 --> 00:34:04 such a deep cost, if that makes sense.
00:34:04 --> 00:34:10 Yeah, yeah. So go into the scale framework in a little more detail since you
00:34:10 --> 00:34:15 mentioned that. So it's my proprietary framework that I've created.
00:34:15 --> 00:34:18 And the S stands for strengths. And that's really leaning into,
00:34:19 --> 00:34:23 it sounds common, but a lot of times if you're an entrepreneur,
00:34:24 --> 00:34:26 solopreneur, you know what that's like.
00:34:26 --> 00:34:29 You're doing every job. And it's not...
00:34:30 --> 00:34:34 To the best use of your capacity. You could be more effective if you were focused
00:34:34 --> 00:34:36 on what your lane of brilliance is.
00:34:37 --> 00:34:41 And so really working in your strengths and identifying where those support
00:34:41 --> 00:34:46 pieces are and how, if it's a mayor, for example, who needs to be on your team, right?
00:34:47 --> 00:34:51 The C is confidence and cognitive reframing.
00:34:52 --> 00:34:57 So as women, like you said, we've been conditioned in society that we are to
00:34:57 --> 00:35:01 be in certain roles and to have certain tasks,
00:35:01 --> 00:35:07 you know, in the family and in the workplace and really reframing all those
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 messages that we've gotten.
00:35:09 --> 00:35:13 I was told, you know, you need to wait your turn to run. I was in the primary.
00:35:14 --> 00:35:16 There were four of us. You can't win.
00:35:16 --> 00:35:20 My motto was nobody will outwork me. And they didn't.
00:35:20 --> 00:35:24 That was my motto. But if I had internalized and listened to that message,
00:35:24 --> 00:35:27 I might have been discouraged to not run.
00:35:27 --> 00:35:34 So reframe, cognitive reframing. A is aligned values and boundary negotiation.
00:35:34 --> 00:35:39 I need to be clear on what I value and then set boundaries around that.
00:35:40 --> 00:35:45 The L is leadership longevity. Again, talking about being able to protect your
00:35:45 --> 00:35:48 own energy and capacity so that you can lead for the long term.
00:35:48 --> 00:35:52 If you're a great leader, we don't want you burned out in your four-year term,
00:35:52 --> 00:35:54 Erik. We want you to come back, you know.
00:35:54 --> 00:35:58 And then the E, again, it's that ecosystem that I referred to earlier.
00:35:58 --> 00:36:03 Not just the people around you, your peer network, but the systems that you're working in.
00:36:04 --> 00:36:09 Yeah. So let's dive into the L a little bit. You once described your work as
00:36:09 --> 00:36:11 mayor as emotional and difficult.
00:36:12 --> 00:36:16 What was your guiding force to sustain, preserve, and to protect?
00:36:17 --> 00:36:24 I have always been a weightlifter. I like to lift.
00:36:25 --> 00:36:30 I was very unhealthy as mayor. I've lost, you know, quite a bit of weight and
00:36:30 --> 00:36:33 gotten much healthier since I've come out of that.
00:36:33 --> 00:36:36 It was a lot of just not being able to sleep.
00:36:36 --> 00:36:42 Gun violence was prevalent in my community. At any time there was a shot fired,
00:36:42 --> 00:36:45 I was literally blamed for that. What's the mayor doing? Where's the mayor?
00:36:45 --> 00:36:50 You know, even though I'm the one that brought this gun violence prevention
00:36:50 --> 00:36:53 plan and initiative to Kankakee that they're now still executing.
00:36:53 --> 00:36:56 I partnered with Cities United to do that.
00:36:56 --> 00:37:00 But for me, what helped was having, you know, when you're in that type of a
00:37:00 --> 00:37:03 role, you have a very small circle of people that you can trust.
00:37:03 --> 00:37:08 For me, it was having a network with the women mayors. I'm still on the steering
00:37:08 --> 00:37:11 committee for the Mayor's Innovation Project. And there's a women mayors network
00:37:11 --> 00:37:15 that's connected there. And it's mayors from all over the country.
00:37:15 --> 00:37:18 And we support each other. We talk with each other. we are able to vent,
00:37:19 --> 00:37:23 we're able to, you know, share the good times and the bad.
00:37:24 --> 00:37:26 So having a network is important.
00:37:26 --> 00:37:30 Doing things to protect your health, like taking care of yourself.
00:37:30 --> 00:37:35 And it's hard, it's very challenging to do that because you're on 24-7.
00:37:35 --> 00:37:37 As you know, you've been an elected official.
00:37:37 --> 00:37:40 People expect you to, you know, pick up, show up.
00:37:40 --> 00:37:46 And so that's challenging, but weightlifting and working out has always been
00:37:46 --> 00:37:47 very therapeutic for me.
00:37:47 --> 00:37:50 For me, it's not even about vanity.
00:37:50 --> 00:37:53 It's about my, like mentally, I need to work out.
00:37:54 --> 00:38:00 I need to walk. I need to lift. So that's been helpful. I'm also a journaler. I'm a writer.
00:38:00 --> 00:38:03 And so that helps me as well.
00:38:03 --> 00:38:07 And I'm not a religious person, but I am a spiritual person.
00:38:07 --> 00:38:12 So I have my quiet time and nature to connect and talk to the universe.
00:38:14 --> 00:38:17 And, you know, that helps me as well.
00:38:17 --> 00:38:25 Yeah, yeah, it's golf and doing this podcast is my therapy.
00:38:26 --> 00:38:31 You know, I didn't have the ability to do a podcast, so I used to do a lot of
00:38:31 --> 00:38:35 writing too when I was elected.
00:38:35 --> 00:38:39 But but the golf, just being able to hit that little white ball as hard as you
00:38:39 --> 00:38:43 can sometimes, you know, it takes the whole burden off.
00:38:44 --> 00:38:49 I'll tell you this. I I had 14 members on the city council in a town of twenty
00:38:49 --> 00:38:51 six thousand, which is absolutely ridiculous.
00:38:52 --> 00:38:56 And the team that I assembled, my department heads.
00:38:57 --> 00:39:01 I love them like family. When I think about them, I've never served in the military.
00:39:01 --> 00:39:03 I have a lot of people in my family that was military.
00:39:04 --> 00:39:09 And I don't mean this to be insulting if there's any military people listening, including my dad.
00:39:10 --> 00:39:16 But for me, I view the team that I've worked with in Kankakee as the closest thing.
00:39:17 --> 00:39:22 For me, I feel like it must be the closest thing that military people feel when
00:39:22 --> 00:39:28 they've been in wars together. because it literally was a war for four years.
00:39:28 --> 00:39:32 Like every, they were coming at us every day and they were attacking staff.
00:39:32 --> 00:39:37 Like staff had not been accustomed to that, but they were even being used as
00:39:37 --> 00:39:41 pawns just because they were on my team and they were supporting the vision
00:39:41 --> 00:39:42 of what I was doing in the community.
00:39:43 --> 00:39:45 So I'm forever grateful to them.
00:39:45 --> 00:39:50 And since we connected, the city council on September 2nd unanimously approved
00:39:50 --> 00:39:58 a proclamation to name a street after me. And that street ceremony is this Saturday on September 13th.
00:39:58 --> 00:40:03 But I attribute a lot of what I was able to get done to the team that I that
00:40:03 --> 00:40:05 I had around me. And I love them dearly.
00:40:05 --> 00:40:09 Well, congratulations on that. And I understand that's the street that you grew up on.
00:40:10 --> 00:40:15 I grew up in the neighborhood Hobby Heights. Hobby Avenue has a whole story
00:40:15 --> 00:40:18 because it's been the it's in the black war.
00:40:18 --> 00:40:23 It's flooded for over 60 years in the eight and nine hundred blocks. It had been neglected.
00:40:24 --> 00:40:28 When I became mayor, that project was on the list for funding.
00:40:28 --> 00:40:31 The mayors in the region voted to defund it.
00:40:31 --> 00:40:36 I fought with my city engineer and stood up to them and made them put the money
00:40:36 --> 00:40:40 back in. So that's why this is like such a big deal in the community.
00:40:40 --> 00:40:45 They didn't think this would ever happen because it's been neglected for years.
00:40:45 --> 00:40:50 And I told them Kankakee has a Frank Lloyd Wright home, too.
00:40:50 --> 00:40:56 It has a historic neighborhood designated Riverview historic district that would
00:40:56 --> 00:41:01 have never been tolerated for 60 years. in historic Riverview for a street to
00:41:01 --> 00:41:04 be flooding to the point where people can't even use the street.
00:41:05 --> 00:41:08 So this is like a, this is a big deal for our community.
00:41:08 --> 00:41:14 Yeah. Yeah. I had a, somebody served in student government with a Jackson state.
00:41:15 --> 00:41:18 She was, she was a native of Kankakee.
00:41:18 --> 00:41:23 And, uh, you know, growing up in Chicago, it was kind of like Kankakee,
00:41:23 --> 00:41:24 you know, is any of us down there?
00:41:25 --> 00:41:27 And then of course, when I met her and a few other folks, I said,
00:41:27 --> 00:41:29 Oh, we got some black Okay, cool.
00:41:30 --> 00:41:36 So I'm glad that you stayed home and did what you did to help improve the community there.
00:41:37 --> 00:41:41 What is your best? Let's close this out with this question. What is your best
00:41:41 --> 00:41:46 advice for anyone seeking public office in this moment that we are in?
00:41:47 --> 00:41:53 One is they need to be clear on their values because they're going to be tested
00:41:53 --> 00:41:54 and they're going to have to.
00:41:55 --> 00:42:01 You have an obligation as a leader to stand up for the people that you're representing.
00:42:02 --> 00:42:09 And in that role, you need to be very clear that you're ready to do that because you will be tested.
00:42:10 --> 00:42:14 So, you know, I really encourage people to be clear on their values,
00:42:14 --> 00:42:18 to build their ecosystem because you can't do this alone, you know,
00:42:19 --> 00:42:25 to get aligned with someone that can help guide them through what this is going to be like.
00:42:25 --> 00:42:30 And I'm not talking about campaign managers. I'm talking about the personal
00:42:30 --> 00:42:35 impact of what it means to be a public leader. Your whole life will change.
00:42:36 --> 00:42:38 It completely changes, as you know.
00:42:39 --> 00:42:43 Protecting their health, their mental health.
00:42:43 --> 00:42:49 You know, people can say anything about you on social media when you're an elected
00:42:49 --> 00:42:51 official. You have no recourse.
00:42:51 --> 00:42:56 You can't sue them for slander or libel. And they know that.
00:42:56 --> 00:42:59 And they will say the most horrific things about you.
00:43:00 --> 00:43:04 So being able to put some systems in place to protect your health,
00:43:04 --> 00:43:06 mental health and physical health.
00:43:07 --> 00:43:12 And this is not a time for entering for spotlight and performance.
00:43:13 --> 00:43:18 We need real leaders. We need real leaders that are going to stand up and fight
00:43:18 --> 00:43:22 for people, for their communities and for our country.
00:43:22 --> 00:43:24 Yeah, amen. Amen to that.
00:43:25 --> 00:43:29 One thing I always tell people, you know, I'm a little older,
00:43:29 --> 00:43:32 so it's like social media was not that big a deal.
00:43:32 --> 00:43:35 It was just really getting started when I was elected.
00:43:36 --> 00:43:41 But you could see how the Internet and the anonymous emails was playing a part.
00:43:41 --> 00:43:46 But I tell people all the time, it's like once you decide to run for office,
00:43:46 --> 00:43:48 you don't have friends anymore.
00:43:49 --> 00:43:51 And people look at me kind of crazy. And I tell him, I said,
00:43:51 --> 00:43:59 look, those people are your either your constituents or, you know, voters or whatever.
00:43:59 --> 00:44:06 And if you can convince them as a voter that you need to be elected to the position, then that's fine.
00:44:07 --> 00:44:11 And after the election or whatever, then whatever relationship had, you can go back to that.
00:44:11 --> 00:44:15 But, you know, I learned that lesson from Tip O'Neill. I don't know if you ever
00:44:15 --> 00:44:19 read that book when he talked about the first time he ran for the state assembly
00:44:19 --> 00:44:21 in Massachusetts, he lost.
00:44:22 --> 00:44:27 And he asked his he went to his neighbor and his neighbor said,
00:44:27 --> 00:44:30 well, he went to the neighbor and said, man, that was a tough election.
00:44:30 --> 00:44:33 We lost. He said, no, the guy voted for what?
00:44:34 --> 00:44:37 And he was like, you didn't vote for me. He said you didn't ask me. Right.
00:44:38 --> 00:44:44 And, you know, because Tip thought I'm going to win this block because I know all these I live there.
00:44:44 --> 00:44:47 And, you know, so that's why I remind people all the time.
00:44:48 --> 00:44:55 You don't have friends when you run. You have supporters and you need to and
00:44:55 --> 00:44:59 you need to cultivate the supporters and build that base so you have more supporters
00:44:59 --> 00:45:02 and you get 50 plus one and all that. But anyway, yeah.
00:45:03 --> 00:45:12 So, but look, how can people get in touch with you to to take advantage of your
00:45:12 --> 00:45:14 expertise, your consultancy and all that?
00:45:14 --> 00:45:18 And even if they just want to pick your brain about stuff, even if they don't
00:45:18 --> 00:45:20 want to go through the classes that you do and all that.
00:45:21 --> 00:45:23 Well, I'm not in the pick the brain business.
00:45:27 --> 00:45:32 I will do a consultation with anyone, a 30-minute consultation,
00:45:32 --> 00:45:37 but I'm not in the pick-your-brain business. I am the first Black mayor elected in my city's history.
00:45:38 --> 00:45:43 I have worked for two members of Congress. I am a bachelor's and master's level
00:45:43 --> 00:45:45 educated social worker.
00:45:45 --> 00:45:49 So you are talking to a person with expertise and lived experience.
00:45:49 --> 00:45:53 And I have packaged that to earn a living.
00:45:54 --> 00:45:59 I am done with public service and I still volunteer in my ways,
00:45:59 --> 00:46:02 but this is my business, which is Catalyst Coaching and Transformation.
00:46:02 --> 00:46:10 My website is chastitywells.com and it's C-H-A-S-I-T-Y, one T,
00:46:10 --> 00:46:13 I am not a belt, chastitywells.com.
00:46:13 --> 00:46:17 I have two offers. I work with people on a retainer.
00:46:18 --> 00:46:22 It's a three-month commitment, and they have individual access to me.
00:46:23 --> 00:46:28 And then the other ways that I work with people is through, I call it a municipal
00:46:28 --> 00:46:29 transformation package.
00:46:29 --> 00:46:33 And I go in and I work with municipal teams and train teams.
00:46:33 --> 00:46:39 So those are the two ways. I have a free newsletter called The Leadership Catalyst.
00:46:39 --> 00:46:41 You can subscribe on my website to that as well.
00:46:42 --> 00:46:46 There's a couple free resources also on my website. In the newsletter,
00:46:47 --> 00:46:51 I also provide a free downloadable resource in every newsletter.
00:46:51 --> 00:46:58 So I provide, I do my share, making sure that people are getting access to good
00:46:58 --> 00:46:59 information and resources.
00:47:00 --> 00:47:02 But I am not in the pick your brain business.
00:47:03 --> 00:47:05 Amen, sister. I feel you.
00:47:06 --> 00:47:10 My dad used to tell me all the time, he said, son, you can't just keep helping
00:47:10 --> 00:47:12 people out and get into your heart.
00:47:12 --> 00:47:16 You know too much. They got to give you some money. You got to package that
00:47:16 --> 00:47:19 and make a living. Yes, ma'am.
00:47:19 --> 00:47:25 But I do have ways, you know, free resources as well. So there's a balance.
00:47:26 --> 00:47:30 Well, Chasity Wells-Armstrong, the Honorable Chasity Wells-Armstrong,
00:47:30 --> 00:47:37 I greatly appreciate you coming on the podcast and sharing your thoughts and talking about things.
00:47:37 --> 00:47:43 And I wish you much continued success in your business. And I greatly appreciate
00:47:43 --> 00:47:46 when you did offer yourself to public service.
00:47:46 --> 00:47:52 A lot of people don't understand the commitment and the sacrifice that you have to do.
00:47:52 --> 00:47:57 A lot of people think it's all about ego and hubris. But if your heart's in
00:47:57 --> 00:47:58 the right place, it's not.
00:47:58 --> 00:48:02 And you definitely are one of those people whose heart is in the right place.
00:48:02 --> 00:48:06 So I thank you for your public service. And I thank you for coming on the show.
00:48:07 --> 00:48:10 Thank you, Erik. You take care and let's keep in touch. Yes,
00:48:10 --> 00:48:12 ma'am. All right, guys, and we're going to catch y'all on the other side.
00:48:13 --> 00:48:31 Music.
00:48:32 --> 00:48:38 All right, and we are back. And so now it is time for my next guest, Alysia Cutting.
00:48:38 --> 00:48:45 Known throughout New England for her voice and programming on WEIB 106.3 Smooth
00:48:45 --> 00:48:51 FM Radio, Alysia has received multiple awards for artistry, volunteerism, and community service.
00:48:52 --> 00:48:57 A lover of the art, she is a singer, dancer, actress, international model,
00:48:58 --> 00:49:01 poet, inspirational speaker, and voiceover artist.
00:49:02 --> 00:49:06 Her genuine love of people, authentic personality, comedic timing,
00:49:06 --> 00:49:09 and expressive smile light up every space she enters.
00:49:10 --> 00:49:15 A native of Greater Springfield, Massachusetts, Alysia is an engineering graduate
00:49:15 --> 00:49:21 of Tuskegee University and a former engineer, math and science educator, magazine editor,
00:49:21 --> 00:49:26 vice president of membership and marketing for the YMCA of Greater Springfield,
00:49:26 --> 00:49:31 and director of marketing for Wallingford Family YMCA.
00:49:31 --> 00:49:37 She is Camp Director for the Historic Black American Residential Summer Camp, Camp Atwater.
00:49:37 --> 00:49:43 She served as Rural Health Equity Director for SOW EGA Rising,
00:49:44 --> 00:49:48 advocating at the state and national level on medical debt.
00:49:49 --> 00:49:53 Medicaid and closing the coverage gap, the maternal health crisis,
00:49:53 --> 00:49:59 holistic wellness, access to nutritious foods, children's dental care and other
00:49:59 --> 00:50:01 issues affecting rural and marginalized communities.
00:50:03 --> 00:50:08 Alysia is a Frank Hatchet trained dancer of multiple genres who continues to
00:50:08 --> 00:50:12 perform and lead dance workshops focused on the Afro diaspora.
00:50:12 --> 00:50:18 As a runway model, she has walked in fashion weeks, including New York, L.A., Miami and Paris.
00:50:18 --> 00:50:24 She's been on TV, in films, in stage plays throughout Massachusetts,
00:50:24 --> 00:50:29 Connecticut and Georgia, including Little Shop of Horrors, the Vagina Monologues,
00:50:29 --> 00:50:33 Chicago, the 9-11 inspired play Children in the Playground.
00:50:33 --> 00:50:36 A Boston production of Harlem Renaissance with a gospel flavor,
00:50:37 --> 00:50:41 multiple tours of four-color girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow
00:50:41 --> 00:50:49 is enough, and a virtual production inspired by the life of the artist Jean-Michel Basquat.
00:50:50 --> 00:50:53 That was part of the 2020 Hollywood Fringe Festival.
00:50:54 --> 00:50:58 In addition to radio, her media endeavors include producing and hosting Media
00:50:58 --> 00:51:01 Mama TV, an all-women talk show.
00:51:02 --> 00:51:06 She previously hosted a cable TV show, provided video announcements at a church,
00:51:06 --> 00:51:11 and created a cable show to highlight YMCA programs called Why the Why.
00:51:11 --> 00:51:16 She is a freelance editor, a social media content creator for several organizations,
00:51:16 --> 00:51:21 and handles the public relations and marketing for the Gospel Group Provision of Albany, Georgia.
00:51:22 --> 00:51:26 She is a sought-after guest speaker, panelist, minister, and emcee who regularly
00:51:26 --> 00:51:29 speaks at churches, schools, and youth organizations.
00:51:30 --> 00:51:34 Alysia will release her book, Check One Box, Reflections on Race,
00:51:35 --> 00:51:36 Ethnicity, and Color in 2025.
00:51:37 --> 00:51:41 Alysia is a proud mom of four, a grandma of two, and a member of Alpha Kappa
00:51:41 --> 00:51:44 Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
00:51:44 --> 00:51:48 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest
00:51:48 --> 00:51:51 on this podcast, Alysia Cutting.
00:51:53 --> 00:52:03 Music.
00:52:02 --> 00:52:06 All right, Alysia Cutting. How you doing, ma'am? You doing good?
00:52:07 --> 00:52:12 I'm doing pretty well. Thankful for a brand new day. Never seen it before, so I'm good.
00:52:12 --> 00:52:16 Yeah, same here. Same here. Well, I'm thankful that you're here on the podcast as well.
00:52:17 --> 00:52:23 I really, really am honored to have somebody that has been out in the media
00:52:23 --> 00:52:29 sphere for a long time, But you're kind of a renaissance woman because you do a lot of stuff.
00:52:30 --> 00:52:36 And I'm always attracted to people like that because especially if they're doing
00:52:36 --> 00:52:39 stuff in the community, too, that's that's really, really positive.
00:52:39 --> 00:52:45 So normally how I start these off, I do like a couple of icebreakers. Right.
00:52:45 --> 00:52:49 So the first icebreaker is I want you to respond to a quote.
00:52:50 --> 00:52:56 And the quote is, always do good things from a pure place, not for people's accolades.
00:52:57 --> 00:53:01 People will misrepresent your motives, but God knows your heart.
00:53:01 --> 00:53:02 What does that quote mean to you?
00:53:03 --> 00:53:06 I feel like I wrote that, like literally.
00:53:07 --> 00:53:13 No, I completely co-signed that. Ultimately, I don't personally believe in putting
00:53:13 --> 00:53:16 anyone on a pedestal because we never know what people's true motivations are.
00:53:17 --> 00:53:22 And I know that for me in my life, whether there's an accolade or not,
00:53:22 --> 00:53:24 whether it's even seen or not, I don't care.
00:53:25 --> 00:53:28 You just got to do the right thing for the right reasons and just know that
00:53:28 --> 00:53:32 you're putting more positive vibes into the world than negative.
00:53:33 --> 00:53:37 So, yeah, I feel like I wrote that quote. I believe in that, truly.
00:53:37 --> 00:53:44 You actually did. so yeah that's that's you'd
00:53:44 --> 00:53:48 be surprised how many people don't you'd be surprised many people don't recognize
00:53:48 --> 00:53:53 their own work a lot of times when i give a quote back to somebody they don't
00:53:53 --> 00:53:57 realize they're the ones who said it you know and you know sometimes i you know
00:53:57 --> 00:54:01 i'll use quotes from other people but i try to find something that the guests
00:54:01 --> 00:54:02 would have said or written,
00:54:03 --> 00:54:07 and a lot of people don't even recognize their own work that's that's that's
00:54:07 --> 00:54:10 kind of cool but But you recognize it, so that was good. Got me for real.
00:54:10 --> 00:54:13 Like that's, yeah. Well, apparently that is something that I would say because
00:54:13 --> 00:54:15 apparently I did. So yeah.
00:54:16 --> 00:54:21 And the other thing, too, is, you know, I was I was an elected official for
00:54:21 --> 00:54:24 a while and there are a lot of times.
00:54:24 --> 00:54:28 Oh, yes, ma'am. Twenty some odd years ago now.
00:54:28 --> 00:54:33 So I long away from what's going on now. But one of the things people use I
00:54:33 --> 00:54:35 used to introduce a lot of bills.
00:54:35 --> 00:54:40 And so sometimes somebody else will introduce similar legislation and get it passed.
00:54:41 --> 00:54:44 And, you know, some of my colleagues were like, well, didn't you introduce that
00:54:44 --> 00:54:49 bill? Why did they take his bill instead of yours? I said, does it matter?
00:54:49 --> 00:54:54 If I introduced a bill and this person introduced the same bill and that bill
00:54:54 --> 00:54:59 got passed, then that means that my idea is going forward, right?
00:55:00 --> 00:55:04 Because if I thought it was going to help my people, obviously that person felt
00:55:04 --> 00:55:07 it was going to do the same thing. It doesn't really matter at that point.
00:55:08 --> 00:55:12 Now, we did have a provision where it's like, yo, stick my name on the,
00:55:12 --> 00:55:14 you know, as a co-sponsor, you know, stuff like that.
00:55:15 --> 00:55:20 Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, right. And then sometimes they would even ask,
00:55:20 --> 00:55:22 you know, folks would say, well, look, I got it passed.
00:55:23 --> 00:55:25 We're going to add you as a co-sponsor because you're going to do St.
00:55:25 --> 00:55:31 Bill. But the gist is, it's not about who gets the credit. It's about what work gets done.
00:55:32 --> 00:55:37 So I greatly appreciated that quote. All right. Now, the next icebreaker is. Okay.
00:55:38 --> 00:55:41 Let me get ready. Okay. It's called 20 Questions.
00:55:41 --> 00:55:46 Okay. And what I need you to do is give me a number between 1 and 20.
00:55:47 --> 00:55:55 Okay. Okay. I like the number 7, but my birthday is on the 15th of October. I'm going to say 15.
00:55:55 --> 00:55:58 All right. Well, happy birthday in advance for that.
00:55:58 --> 00:56:03 Well, thank you. And your question is, when you think about the challenges our
00:56:03 --> 00:56:06 country faces, what gives you hope?
00:56:06 --> 00:56:09 What gives me hope is that there
00:56:09 --> 00:56:16 are a lot of younger adults and young people that have a lot of passion and
00:56:16 --> 00:56:24 tremendous ideas that if we as a generation help them to curate their ideas
00:56:24 --> 00:56:26 and help them to manifest things,
00:56:26 --> 00:56:33 then we're going to be able to have some kind of sustainability as a culture, as a life. is life.
00:56:33 --> 00:56:38 So the fact that we do have young people that are trying to do positive things
00:56:38 --> 00:56:43 in the community, they just need a help and they just need some guidance. So that gives me hope.
00:56:44 --> 00:56:50 Okay. You describe yourself as a low maintenance woman of complex sentences and pure intentions.
00:56:51 --> 00:56:57 Expound on that if you would. Yeah, sure thing. So I just kind of.
00:56:58 --> 00:57:04 People know, those who know me, know me, know that I am pretty chill and laid back.
00:57:04 --> 00:57:08 I, because of how my life has flowed, I've kind of had to be very flexible,
00:57:08 --> 00:57:12 be very spontaneous in many ways.
00:57:12 --> 00:57:19 So for me, I just don't put a lot of energy into like attaining things.
00:57:20 --> 00:57:25 It's more of anything about attaining experiences and being a helper alongside
00:57:25 --> 00:57:27 of other people who are doing things.
00:57:27 --> 00:57:31 So yeah, you're not really going to find me in the malls doing a lot of stuff.
00:57:32 --> 00:57:36 I don't really, nothing personal for anyone who does prefer things that are
00:57:36 --> 00:57:38 of a quote unquote status symbol, but that's just not me.
00:57:39 --> 00:57:45 So for the low maintenance part, I just, I get up each day and I'm grateful
00:57:45 --> 00:57:49 and just kind of try to go with whatever the flow is for that day.
00:57:51 --> 00:57:52 Complex sentences, I'm a yapper.
00:57:54 --> 00:58:01 And I like words. I love words. I have been trying for most of my life to scale
00:58:01 --> 00:58:05 back on some of the words to be more, less long-winded.
00:58:05 --> 00:58:09 But I do like complex sentences. And I do, when I'm writing,
00:58:10 --> 00:58:15 enjoy putting and crafting things together for the written word.
00:58:15 --> 00:58:19 And what was the last heart? Go with the flow, like low maintenance,
00:58:19 --> 00:58:22 complex sentences, and... Pure intentions.
00:58:23 --> 00:58:28 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Listen. Ultimately, I really believe everything boils down to motivations.
00:58:28 --> 00:58:35 And if your motivations are in the right place, then that for me makes a big
00:58:35 --> 00:58:38 difference. I am not intentionally trying to cause harm.
00:58:38 --> 00:58:43 Now, have I ever possibly, but my intentions are not to cause harm.
00:58:43 --> 00:58:50 And so my motivations are pure. If I'm not having pure intentions, I just won't do it.
00:58:51 --> 00:58:55 Simple. Okay. And speaking of, you mentioned words.
00:58:55 --> 00:59:01 When I say the phrases words have power and speak truth to power,
00:59:01 --> 00:59:07 what comes to mind and how do you feel that you have contributed to the fulfillment of those phrases?
00:59:07 --> 00:59:12 Words have power. I try, and I realize over the course of my life that even
00:59:12 --> 00:59:18 as a child, I try to choose my words wisely because you cannot take them back.
00:59:19 --> 00:59:25 So words do have power. Like I said, you never intentionally want to try to
00:59:25 --> 00:59:26 cause harm with your words.
00:59:27 --> 00:59:31 So you have to learn how to choose them wisely and use a lot of discernment.
00:59:31 --> 00:59:32 So yeah, words have power.
00:59:33 --> 00:59:37 Words have power. Like I said, words have power to inspire.
00:59:37 --> 00:59:42 Words have power to destroy someone's soul. Words have power to uplift.
00:59:42 --> 00:59:46 Words have power to tear down. I mean, we look at marketing, we look at media.
00:59:46 --> 00:59:52 Words in commercials and scripts, they're chosen very, very specifically to
00:59:52 --> 00:59:57 elicit very specific emotions on a visceral level. So all words have power.
00:59:58 --> 01:00:04 And we just as a society need to be very careful and conscientious about how we use our words.
01:00:04 --> 01:00:07 Words, you know, look, when we're old enough to remember sticks and stones,
01:00:08 --> 01:00:10 I break my bones, words never hurt me. Yeah, that's a lie.
01:00:11 --> 01:00:13 Words can destroy people. And so words have power.
01:00:15 --> 01:00:20 And using our words to try to uplift in community, that's something that I try
01:00:20 --> 01:00:23 to do. Now, full story here.
01:00:23 --> 01:00:28 As a young person, I remember in elementary school, I had a speech impediment.
01:00:28 --> 01:00:32 I was in the third grade, and I remember saying the wabbit on the woof.
01:00:32 --> 01:00:35 So the speech impediment thing, I had a stutter.
01:00:35 --> 01:00:41 I still sometimes do. And I was very shy, but I felt like even with all of those
01:00:41 --> 01:00:47 things, that there was an opportunity to do and speak differently.
01:00:47 --> 01:00:50 Inspire, to try to use your words for the good.
01:00:50 --> 01:00:55 So I've done that. I try to do that. I've done advocacy work in health-related
01:00:55 --> 01:01:00 areas and speaking inspirationally, especially to our young people.
01:01:01 --> 01:01:05 And whenever I have a platform, I do try my best to make sure that I'm using
01:01:05 --> 01:01:11 my words for good and to inspire for positive change versus negative. Yeah.
01:01:12 --> 01:01:19 Go ahead. No, I'm saying it's a lot. And I recognize that.
01:01:20 --> 01:01:23 Listen, I love music, all forms, all genres.
01:01:24 --> 01:01:28 And, you know, I grew up, I am hip hop years old, I'll say that.
01:01:28 --> 01:01:34 And so I've even musically observed how words have always had power to motivate,
01:01:35 --> 01:01:37 to inspire, or to do the opposite. it.
01:01:38 --> 01:01:43 So every single word that's spoken has power, it carries energy, it carries weight to it.
01:01:44 --> 01:01:49 And that is on a personal level, how we speak to ourselves, your bodies,
01:01:49 --> 01:01:54 you, we are listening to our own mouths. And when we speak negatively over our
01:01:54 --> 01:01:58 own selves and situations, that impacts us, I believe.
01:01:58 --> 01:02:03 When we're speaking negatively or positively to others, I believe that that does do things.
01:02:03 --> 01:02:09 And when we use our platforms to whatever that messaging is,
01:02:09 --> 01:02:12 it is going to carry weight. It is going to adhere.
01:02:12 --> 01:02:18 Someone will hear words and it will speak to them on a level that will cause
01:02:18 --> 01:02:21 them to act. And we see that every day.
01:02:21 --> 01:02:25 We see that literally every day. Yeah.
01:02:26 --> 01:02:30 All right. For over a decade, you have been working on a project called Check One Box.
01:02:31 --> 01:02:35 Explain to the listeners what that project is and how impactful it has been.
01:02:36 --> 01:02:42 Okay. So I am, among other things, I do spoken word.
01:02:42 --> 01:02:47 And one particular piece that I wrote years ago was called Check One Box.
01:02:47 --> 01:02:54 And in that piece, I talked about people's experiences who might be The box
01:02:54 --> 01:02:59 that they might check on the ethnicity or the race box might not be what people think they are.
01:03:00 --> 01:03:05 Or they might have been mischaracterized by one ethnicity versus another.
01:03:05 --> 01:03:06 People might assume that they
01:03:06 --> 01:03:09 speak a language that they don't because of their physical appearance.
01:03:09 --> 01:03:14 So when I wrote this piece and performed it, everywhere that I went,
01:03:14 --> 01:03:20 people would say, wow, those stories, I really could relate to what you said.
01:03:20 --> 01:03:25 Now, their stories might not have been the same everywhere that I went,
01:03:25 --> 01:03:29 but different people of different backgrounds could all relate to the basic
01:03:29 --> 01:03:33 being told, well, what are you?
01:03:33 --> 01:03:36 Or asked, what are you? Or told, no, you're not this, you have to be this.
01:03:38 --> 01:03:42 And I went about interviewing people, asking them, hey, listen,
01:03:42 --> 01:03:45 have you ever been asked, what are you?
01:03:45 --> 01:03:48 Have you ever had to decide which box to check on a form?
01:03:49 --> 01:03:53 And everybody who I would speak to would have very, very interesting stories.
01:03:54 --> 01:03:55 Some of them were very tragic.
01:03:55 --> 01:03:58 Some are very sad, very painful, very hurtful.
01:03:58 --> 01:04:01 Some of them were very inspirational. Some of them were very funny.
01:04:01 --> 01:04:07 And so I began to just compile people's stories and put them into,
01:04:07 --> 01:04:11 which I'm just about done with, putting them into book form.
01:04:11 --> 01:04:18 And it's just been a really interesting journey talking to people whose stories
01:04:18 --> 01:04:24 and how they self-identify versus how society identifies them is really telling.
01:04:24 --> 01:04:25 It's really interesting.
01:04:27 --> 01:04:35 Yeah, like you've got a Facebook page and, you know, some other things you're doing with that.
01:04:35 --> 01:04:41 So are you still getting people responding through social media as far as your
01:04:41 --> 01:04:42 interviews and all that kind of stuff?
01:04:43 --> 01:04:46 I had to put a pause on it to get caught up.
01:04:47 --> 01:04:52 I will have to do a second part as soon as I finish publishing the first one.
01:04:52 --> 01:04:54 I'm already going to have to do a second part.
01:04:55 --> 01:05:00 Because even as we look at demographic information across just our country alone,
01:05:00 --> 01:05:06 the number of people who identify as either quote-unquote mixed or mixed quote-unquote
01:05:06 --> 01:05:10 race or anything is really increasing.
01:05:10 --> 01:05:14 So I have literally had to kind of stop asking people and just kind of get caught
01:05:14 --> 01:05:18 up with the stories that I had. So I know that when I put it back out there,
01:05:18 --> 01:05:20 I'm going to get flooded again.
01:05:20 --> 01:05:27 But again, the stories are there. They really are there. Yeah, that's cool.
01:05:28 --> 01:05:34 All right. So as someone who has lived, who has had a lived experience in STEM
01:05:34 --> 01:05:39 education, what are your concerns with the current administration regarding education,
01:05:39 --> 01:05:43 especially as it relates to black women? Oh my goodness, I could.
01:05:43 --> 01:05:50 Let me first start on the non-STEM related portion because I believe that history is important.
01:05:50 --> 01:05:54 And as a proud graduate of Tuskegee University,
01:05:55 --> 01:06:02 to see the erasure being that the history of the Tuskegee Airmen is being removed
01:06:02 --> 01:06:06 from the training in our military is tragic.
01:06:07 --> 01:06:13 That number one, as a Black woman, we have historically been underrepresented.
01:06:14 --> 01:06:18 And that underrepresentation is something that is very difficult.
01:06:19 --> 01:06:25 So I believe that as a Black woman, we have to make sure that we are seen and
01:06:25 --> 01:06:30 that we are uplifted, particularly when it comes down to STEM,
01:06:31 --> 01:06:33 you know, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
01:06:34 --> 01:06:36 And I'm going to throw an A in there, too, for some people who,
01:06:36 --> 01:06:39 you know, call it STEAM with the arts in there for the A.
01:06:40 --> 01:06:43 But yeah, this administration, seriously, it is tragic.
01:06:44 --> 01:06:55 It's foul. And I do know that when we take the focus off of sciences and how
01:06:55 --> 01:06:57 women are represented and how Black women are represented,
01:06:58 --> 01:07:03 it's, I'm almost at a, I believe it or not, I'm almost at a loss for words here
01:07:03 --> 01:07:09 because I'm just trying to process the amount of erasure, the amount of disenfranchisement,
01:07:10 --> 01:07:20 the amount of vitriol that is going towards Black women and particularly in
01:07:20 --> 01:07:25 STEM and funding being removed and the focus being taken off.
01:07:25 --> 01:07:29 So this administration, it saddens me.
01:07:31 --> 01:07:35 It just saddens me. So I do feel like we need to be making sure that we're doing
01:07:35 --> 01:07:40 much more holding feet to fire and speaking truth to power and doing what we
01:07:40 --> 01:07:43 can do in our communities to make sure we are investing in us.
01:07:43 --> 01:07:51 But yeah, it's a lot. And it's still a lot for me to process.
01:07:52 --> 01:07:56 Yeah. Yeah. I total, total agreement with that.
01:07:56 --> 01:08:01 I just felt, you know, I said, well, let me throw this question and I'm coming
01:08:01 --> 01:08:02 at you at different angles.
01:08:02 --> 01:08:07 But again, you've got your hands on a lot of things and you've had an incredible
01:08:07 --> 01:08:11 life journey experience. And I even have learned something just in the brief
01:08:11 --> 01:08:12 time we've been talking.
01:08:13 --> 01:08:17 Talk to me about your current activism based on the premise that zip code shouldn't
01:08:17 --> 01:08:20 determine health outcomes.
01:08:20 --> 01:08:31 Absolutely. So I am currently between Southwest Georgia and being an aid to
01:08:31 --> 01:08:34 my aging disabled parents in Massachusetts.
01:08:34 --> 01:08:41 And so I, in my Georgia context doing health advocacy, understand that rural
01:08:41 --> 01:08:47 areas definitely are suffering.
01:08:47 --> 01:08:53 Rural areas are suffering because of hospital closures. Rural areas are specifically...
01:08:55 --> 01:09:00 Okay, how can I say this? Health outcomes, okay? When we intentionally pour
01:09:00 --> 01:09:06 money into certain areas versus other areas, we know that those areas that are
01:09:06 --> 01:09:09 not funded, which are zip code, often zip code dependent,
01:09:10 --> 01:09:12 are disenfranchised.
01:09:12 --> 01:09:16 The health outcomes of the diabetes, of the high blood pressure,
01:09:16 --> 01:09:22 of the strokes, of the maternal mortality is significantly impacted by zip codes.
01:09:22 --> 01:09:27 It is significantly impacted because we know that sometimes those zip codes
01:09:27 --> 01:09:33 are predominantly, the residents are predominantly Black, Black American, okay?
01:09:34 --> 01:09:41 And what Georgia is having, is struggling with is making sure that the health
01:09:41 --> 01:09:43 outcomes are equitable across the state.
01:09:43 --> 01:09:48 So I was working with an organization really trying to put some money behind
01:09:48 --> 01:09:53 and put some activity behind and put some advocacy work behind,
01:09:53 --> 01:09:56 shedding the light that this cannot go on.
01:09:56 --> 01:10:04 The environmental racism, the lack of attention given towards maternal health
01:10:04 --> 01:10:09 outcomes, particularly among Black women in the South, is like, it's tragic.
01:10:09 --> 01:10:14 Again, I hate to keep saying that word, but I literally don't know any other word to say.
01:10:15 --> 01:10:19 It should not be like that. So one of
01:10:19 --> 01:10:25 the things that I had done was going to the statehouse and participating in
01:10:25 --> 01:10:31 advocacy days to make sure that people who are eligible for Medicaid were being
01:10:31 --> 01:10:37 covered and not being X'd out of the process by way of not getting information.
01:10:38 --> 01:10:43 And I say that because we can, in many areas, assume that, oh,
01:10:43 --> 01:10:47 well, of course, people can just go online, They can just go to their offices for medical services.
01:10:47 --> 01:10:49 In rural areas, it's not that easy.
01:10:50 --> 01:10:53 Some areas don't have adequate cable.
01:10:54 --> 01:10:58 I'm sorry, not cable, internet providers. Internet service is not reliable.
01:10:58 --> 01:11:01 Trying to get from one area to get to the doctor's office.
01:11:01 --> 01:11:06 If I'm having to travel 35 miles to make it to an appointment because hospitals
01:11:06 --> 01:11:12 are closing, my zip code is making a difference in my health outcomes.
01:11:12 --> 01:11:16 I also did go to, this was a little bit during the Biden-Harris administration,
01:11:17 --> 01:11:23 a little bit back during the Biden-Harris administration, and went to speak
01:11:23 --> 01:11:24 to the Health and Human Services.
01:11:25 --> 01:11:27 There was a panel talking about
01:11:27 --> 01:11:31 medical debt and how medical debt is impacting people's lives as well.
01:11:31 --> 01:11:37 So I was sharing stories about some of the people in some of those zip codes
01:11:37 --> 01:11:38 who were having medical debt,
01:11:39 --> 01:11:45 not really getting clear and concise billing information and predatory debt
01:11:45 --> 01:11:49 cards about medical bills, just all of these different things that were going
01:11:49 --> 01:11:53 on and presented information and stories.
01:11:53 --> 01:11:58 And as a result, the Biden administration at the time decided to take medical
01:11:58 --> 01:12:00 debt off of credit reports.
01:12:00 --> 01:12:02 Now, I can't say where that is right now.
01:12:03 --> 01:12:06 New administration, new changes. But ultimately.
01:12:07 --> 01:12:13 Yes, your health outcomes should not be dependent upon whether you are in a
01:12:13 --> 01:12:18 predominantly black, predominantly poor, or predominantly rural environment.
01:12:18 --> 01:12:26 The same way that environmental racism as far as how where different things
01:12:26 --> 01:12:29 that cause pollutants or what is it?
01:12:29 --> 01:12:32 Where is this? I think it's in Landover, Maryland, where they're putting deciding
01:12:32 --> 01:12:36 whether or not they're going to put a new, forgive me, I don't remember what
01:12:36 --> 01:12:38 the word is, like an AI factor.
01:12:39 --> 01:12:45 Oh, I forgot the word is, but these things generate pollutants and how they're
01:12:45 --> 01:12:51 chosen to be placed in certain zip codes in certain areas is the same underlying,
01:12:51 --> 01:12:56 you know, health brings the health concerns like we saw still in Flint.
01:12:57 --> 01:13:00 These things make a difference and they should not be. That's not equitable.
01:13:00 --> 01:13:04 That is not what we should be doing. This is not what should be allowed.
01:13:04 --> 01:13:12 Yeah. So, yeah, I don't know what the technical term is, but I say the AI power plants.
01:13:13 --> 01:13:15 Thank you. Yeah, sure.
01:13:16 --> 01:13:21 And a lot of people still are coming to grips with the fact that what AI is
01:13:21 --> 01:13:23 like power driven, it's like, yes,
01:13:24 --> 01:13:28 I mean, you know, they got the power to computers and all the servers to do
01:13:28 --> 01:13:33 all these computations and, you know, write for us and everything else.
01:13:33 --> 01:13:36 But but i'm glad you're focused on that
01:13:36 --> 01:13:39 because you know i'm a
01:13:39 --> 01:13:43 city boy I grew up in Chicago I lived most of my life in Jackson Mississippi
01:13:43 --> 01:13:49 and now I'm here in Atlanta but my roots are like in places like Madison Georgia
01:13:49 --> 01:13:58 and Nutbush Nutbush Tennessee and Marks Mississippi right okay so It's like, you know,
01:13:58 --> 01:14:03 all of us, especially in the Black experience, should really have a concern.
01:14:03 --> 01:14:05 It's a challenge for us in the urban areas.
01:14:05 --> 01:14:10 But, you know, our cousins and our relatives are, a lot of them are in these
01:14:10 --> 01:14:12 rural areas, especially in the South.
01:14:13 --> 01:14:18 And we should really be advocates to make sure that, you know,
01:14:18 --> 01:14:20 in the urban areas, we talk about food deserts.
01:14:21 --> 01:14:24 But, you know, in the rural areas, we're talking about health deserts.
01:14:24 --> 01:14:27 And there are two businesses as well, actually.
01:14:27 --> 01:14:35 So all of it is, it's a holistic experience that is not, it's just, it's a lot. Yeah.
01:14:35 --> 01:14:40 Well, I'm glad that you're focusing in on that. And, you know,
01:14:40 --> 01:14:46 it's like more people need to be aware of those situations and be active in them.
01:14:47 --> 01:14:52 Last couple of questions, I want to tap into your other hat,
01:14:52 --> 01:14:53 which is that you're a minister.
01:14:54 --> 01:14:59 Yeah. And so I asked this of a previous guest, but since you are a minister,
01:14:59 --> 01:15:01 I'm going to ask you this question, too.
01:15:02 --> 01:15:07 When all is said and done, which concept will have suffered the most damage
01:15:07 --> 01:15:11 in America, democracy or organized religion?
01:15:12 --> 01:15:14 Oh, wow. OK, let me think.
01:15:16 --> 01:15:17 It's interesting.
01:15:19 --> 01:15:25 Democracy versus organized religion, which would have caused society to suffer the most?
01:15:25 --> 01:15:27 No, which one is going to have the most damage?
01:15:28 --> 01:15:31 The most damage. Yeah, which is going to be damaged the most?
01:15:32 --> 01:15:36 Oh, okay. Well, let me see.
01:15:36 --> 01:15:40 While you're thinking about it, let me give you my opinion. Okay, yes.
01:15:40 --> 01:15:44 I think organized religion is going to be the most damaged. I,
01:15:44 --> 01:15:49 you know, I am a liberal or leftist center or whatever label you,
01:15:49 --> 01:15:52 I'm a Democrat, whatever label you want to put on me.
01:15:52 --> 01:15:55 I don't like labels. Just float, whatever, dude.
01:15:55 --> 01:16:02 Yeah. And it's like, you know, a lot of people on my side, you know,
01:16:02 --> 01:16:06 kind of some of the more popular podcasts and all this stuff, they talk about,
01:16:07 --> 01:16:10 you know, they're atheists and, you know, they don't go to church.
01:16:10 --> 01:16:15 They don't conform to, you know, organized religion and all that kind of stuff.
01:16:15 --> 01:16:19 And so and there's a lot of people, especially in the black community,
01:16:19 --> 01:16:22 especially younger generations who look at the Christian church,
01:16:22 --> 01:16:24 especially as it's being betrayed now.
01:16:25 --> 01:16:30 And or even, you know, Islam or Judaism. Right.
01:16:30 --> 01:16:35 And they're looking at it like these religions suck. It's like all they do is kill people.
01:16:36 --> 01:16:38 They, you know, they're racist and da da da da.
01:16:39 --> 01:16:44 And, you know, so those who want to have a relationship with God,
01:16:45 --> 01:16:48 just say, well, I just have a relationship. I'm not going to any church.
01:16:48 --> 01:16:50 I'm just going to have a relationship.
01:16:50 --> 01:16:55 Whereas other people like it can be a God that allows all this stuff to happen.
01:16:55 --> 01:17:02 So I think American democracy is more resilient, even though we're going through
01:17:02 --> 01:17:03 some real challenges right now.
01:17:04 --> 01:17:07 I think it's more resilient than organized religion.
01:17:08 --> 01:17:11 Now, I've thrown my opinion out there. What do you think?
01:17:13 --> 01:17:17 Thing. So democracy is always that thing that will, in my opinion,
01:17:18 --> 01:17:22 stand if, and this is an if-then statement,
01:17:23 --> 01:17:30 democracy can stand if those that not only know better are challenging themselves
01:17:30 --> 01:17:34 to do better, meaning that it is easy for all of us,
01:17:34 --> 01:17:38 present company included, to be outraged by what we're reading,
01:17:39 --> 01:17:43 hearing, seeing, being spoon-fed by algorithms and bots, all of the above,
01:17:43 --> 01:17:51 and be so moved to click a button, an angry face emoji, and call that we've done our part.
01:17:51 --> 01:17:57 Activism and democracy will only sustain itself if we move beyond our keyboard
01:17:57 --> 01:18:00 activism, and I say that kind of just because we're commenting,
01:18:01 --> 01:18:05 we're doing things, saying things online and sharing post, if we move beyond
01:18:05 --> 01:18:08 that to actually making transformational change versus just.
01:18:09 --> 01:18:11 Hey, I'm clicking buttons over here.
01:18:11 --> 01:18:15 Now, that democracy can sustain itself if we move beyond that.
01:18:15 --> 01:18:20 And if we don't, and if we don't challenge things and push back and make real
01:18:20 --> 01:18:29 transformational change on a local, state, national level, democracy can't fall. But that's on us.
01:18:30 --> 01:18:36 Now, on the organized religion side, there has always been a place for the structure,
01:18:36 --> 01:18:40 I believe, of the organization of a faith.
01:18:40 --> 01:18:42 And again, words do matter.
01:18:42 --> 01:18:48 So I personally, this is Alicia, I personally don't like using like religion,
01:18:48 --> 01:18:51 religion, that particular word a lot.
01:18:51 --> 01:18:56 I personally, it's more of my faith and collecting,
01:18:57 --> 01:19:02 the collective experience of others who share that faith and are inspired by
01:19:02 --> 01:19:06 each other and we come together to uplift each other and to be able to,
01:19:06 --> 01:19:12 you know, use that collaborative experience to help push ourselves into the.
01:19:13 --> 01:19:18 Into moving day by day and kind of staying in the battle, that has its place.
01:19:18 --> 01:19:23 The Black church, and I use that in quotes, the Black church has had its place.
01:19:23 --> 01:19:29 It birthed, it gave the space to birth movements. It gave the space to organize.
01:19:29 --> 01:19:34 It gave the space to do so many of the things that we now look as the part of history.
01:19:34 --> 01:19:36 Oh, wow, that was transformational change.
01:19:37 --> 01:19:41 But anything that, I'm looking at Jesus now.
01:19:41 --> 01:19:45 Anything that Jesus did when it came to those that were the quote-unquote religious
01:19:45 --> 01:19:53 of his day, he looked at them and said, are you placing that religion over the actual people?
01:19:53 --> 01:19:56 Now, when you have a group of
01:19:56 --> 01:20:02 believers, an organizational structure that instead of caring for people,
01:20:03 --> 01:20:07 upholds systems, and I'm saying unfortunately, increasingly,
01:20:07 --> 01:20:13 some of our quote-unquote Black churches are aligning with the empire versus
01:20:13 --> 01:20:18 being transformational about what we need to be doing for the care of people.
01:20:19 --> 01:20:25 So kind of in summary, yeah, the organized religion thing, as far as I'm concerned,
01:20:26 --> 01:20:27 some of that stuff just needs to go.
01:20:27 --> 01:20:35 Some of that stuff needs to go because it has placed more emphasis on holding
01:20:35 --> 01:20:43 positions and seeking an alignment to power versus we have real people,
01:20:43 --> 01:20:49 real life, who are dealing with real life issues that we collectively are not
01:20:49 --> 01:20:51 being the, quote, hands and feet of Christ.
01:20:51 --> 01:20:54 We are not doing what needs to be done to care for the sick.
01:20:54 --> 01:21:00 We are not doing what needs to be done to advocate for people who are perceived as.
01:21:01 --> 01:21:05 Disenfranchised or who are disenfranchised. We are not using our voice,
01:21:05 --> 01:21:07 our platform and our dollars.
01:21:07 --> 01:21:13 And I'm saying collectively, collectively as organizations to pour into our
01:21:13 --> 01:21:15 children to bring the next generation up.
01:21:15 --> 01:21:22 So if organized religion means seeking alignment to power, to money,
01:21:22 --> 01:21:27 to being, you know, seen in a certain kind of way to getting my title on,
01:21:27 --> 01:21:29 then yeah, that part can fall.
01:21:29 --> 01:21:33 That part can fall. Because I'm looking at what Jesus did when he was speaking
01:21:33 --> 01:21:35 to the religious leaders of his day.
01:21:36 --> 01:21:40 He's like, you would rather, and he called them out. So you would rather,
01:21:40 --> 01:21:43 you know, uphold this, that, or whatever.
01:21:43 --> 01:21:47 Versus caring for the sick, caring for those that are needing,
01:21:47 --> 01:21:51 caring for those who are not able to care for themselves or who are not,
01:21:51 --> 01:21:53 you're not giving voice to the voiceless.
01:21:54 --> 01:21:59 And when the quote unquote church does that, That part of organized religion can go bye-bye.
01:21:59 --> 01:22:04 I can't speak to other faiths because those are not things that I was raised
01:22:04 --> 01:22:07 in or that my faith aligns with.
01:22:07 --> 01:22:12 However, I'm sure that other faiths and other religions would be the same.
01:22:12 --> 01:22:17 Hey, if you're too busy trying to get yourself taken care of and trying to uphold
01:22:17 --> 01:22:24 structures and institutions that are not serving people and people are walking away, not made whole,
01:22:24 --> 01:22:30 not feeling inspired, not being able to live life and life more abundantly,
01:22:31 --> 01:22:35 hey, then it needs to go bye-bye. All right.
01:22:35 --> 01:22:41 Years ago, Andrew Young gave a sermon deriving from the book of Isaiah,
01:22:41 --> 01:22:47 the 58th chapter, verses 9 through 12, on repairing the breach to recreate community.
01:22:48 --> 01:22:52 What do you think it will take to repair the breach in this nation?
01:22:53 --> 01:22:59 Well, I am definitely a person who believes that if it looks like a snake,
01:22:59 --> 01:23:04 walks like, no, if it looks like a rose, smells like a rose,
01:23:04 --> 01:23:07 acts like a rose, has the characteristics of a rose, it's a rose.
01:23:08 --> 01:23:12 If it looks like a possum, I know this is a weird example, I'm going somewhere with this.
01:23:12 --> 01:23:16 If it looks like a possum, an opossum, walks like it, does like,
01:23:16 --> 01:23:20 acts like it, and has all the characteristics of it, then that's what that thing is.
01:23:20 --> 01:23:24 So I will say that there is always, from my religious standpoint,
01:23:24 --> 01:23:29 there has always been the element of evil in the world and those that do evil
01:23:29 --> 01:23:31 and those that will do selfish things.
01:23:32 --> 01:23:36 The love of money is the root of all things of evil. So follow the money and
01:23:36 --> 01:23:39 you'll see evil manifested in this world through people, through actions,
01:23:39 --> 01:23:42 through policies, through systems all the time.
01:23:42 --> 01:23:47 What, in my opinion, it's gonna take is for those of us that know better to do better.
01:23:48 --> 01:23:54 Now, if people know that we have ills in our community, I'm going to say specifically,
01:23:54 --> 01:23:58 I'll say in the Black American community, we know that we, it's really easy
01:23:58 --> 01:24:02 to say what these kids today are doing, these kids today, these kids today.
01:24:02 --> 01:24:05 We talk about what the youth are doing, what they're not doing,
01:24:05 --> 01:24:08 and how things were better when we were older, when we were younger.
01:24:09 --> 01:24:15 So if we collectively, as an example, are not investing in talking to,
01:24:16 --> 01:24:22 cultivating, mentoring, solving the problems, and listening to our youth.
01:24:23 --> 01:24:28 We are the problem. So while we cannot, I cannot go and necessarily make policy
01:24:28 --> 01:24:36 change at the national level, but I can definitely be a part of programs that are here locally for me.
01:24:36 --> 01:24:41 I can make sure that I am inspiring other people to take action and not make excuses.
01:24:41 --> 01:24:48 So to help create and bridge the gap in our communities is to me my first and foremost concern.
01:24:49 --> 01:24:54 I'm concerned about what we are not doing and how we are not reinvesting in
01:24:54 --> 01:24:58 our own communities in real ways.
01:24:58 --> 01:25:02 Now, those of us that, okay, here's an example.
01:25:03 --> 01:25:06 During the civil rights movement, let's say the Montgomery bus boycott,
01:25:07 --> 01:25:09 everybody wasn't an MLK.
01:25:09 --> 01:25:13 Everybody was not a person who was on a platform speaking.
01:25:13 --> 01:25:20 There were people in the community who made sure that we coordinated transportation.
01:25:20 --> 01:25:23 We don't know who they were. You might not know who they were.
01:25:23 --> 01:25:27 They never got the accolades. There were people who made sure that everybody got fed.
01:25:28 --> 01:25:33 People had to make sure that kids were taken care of, that the logistics were handled.
01:25:33 --> 01:25:37 Not everybody was on a platform as that quote quote-unquote, that leader.
01:25:38 --> 01:25:44 But I believe that when we all walk in our spheres of influence,
01:25:44 --> 01:25:49 when we all walk in our realm and do what we have the capacity,
01:25:49 --> 01:25:53 what we have the power to do, collectively and organize as such,
01:25:54 --> 01:25:56 then we will begin to see change in our community.
01:25:57 --> 01:26:03 Now, national level, if all of us in our individual southern states,
01:26:04 --> 01:26:08 northern states, that's Chicago's and everywhere else's are taking that model
01:26:08 --> 01:26:14 of what assets and skills do you have, you bring that to the table to organize.
01:26:14 --> 01:26:18 What assets, skills, and resources do you have, you bring that to the table.
01:26:18 --> 01:26:23 Let's stop making excuses, waiting for the magical, mysterious leader to appear
01:26:23 --> 01:26:27 where we're not taking our own leadership skills and doing what needs to be done.
01:26:28 --> 01:26:33 So to me, that's where I want that community repair to happen.
01:26:34 --> 01:26:39 I can't even think about on a global or a national level until I see what we're doing locally.
01:26:40 --> 01:26:48 And if we do that, then we will see that change happen and manifest because we are all empowered.
01:26:48 --> 01:26:53 Instead of waiting, waiting, waiting, we are empowered to use our resources,
01:26:54 --> 01:26:58 skills, talents, and abilities to make that change happen and make that sacrifice.
01:26:59 --> 01:27:02 That's going to be what's going to ultimately, in my opinion,
01:27:02 --> 01:27:05 to kind of make that bridge happen.
01:27:05 --> 01:27:11 Because I can't expect for those that are dead set against my existence,
01:27:11 --> 01:27:18 I will never expect those that want people who are marginalized and disenfranchised,
01:27:18 --> 01:27:23 if they want them gone, I'm not going to go and try to cozy it with them because
01:27:23 --> 01:27:24 that's not what I'm going to do.
01:27:24 --> 01:27:30 I'm going to make sure that we, those that know better, are doing better and
01:27:30 --> 01:27:36 that ultimately those changes will come. Well, you know, two things.
01:27:36 --> 01:27:40 I remember Hubert Humphrey, when he was running for president,
01:27:40 --> 01:27:44 he talked about transforming America one neighborhood at a time.
01:27:44 --> 01:27:49 One neighborhood. And then I think about the Apostle Paul, I forget which letter
01:27:49 --> 01:27:55 it was, where he enumerated that God gives us all gifts.
01:27:56 --> 01:28:02 And, you know, not everybody can be everything or there are some people who
01:28:02 --> 01:28:08 want to preach that should be a scribe, you know, and all that kind of stuff. Right.
01:28:09 --> 01:28:16 So, you know, I totally agree with the factor that we've got to be local,
01:28:16 --> 01:28:19 you know, in doing the work.
01:28:21 --> 01:28:23 And everybody has a part to play in it.
01:28:24 --> 01:28:27 And there are some people that are like, well, you know, I can't do nothing
01:28:27 --> 01:28:30 because I'm not elected or I can't do anything because I ain't got no money.
01:28:31 --> 01:28:37 You know what I'm saying? But it's like if people follow your example and use
01:28:37 --> 01:28:43 the talents that you have to contribute whichever way you can,
01:28:43 --> 01:28:45 then we'll be a better place.
01:28:45 --> 01:28:52 So Alysia Cutting, let me just say, you know, you are a living example of somebody
01:28:52 --> 01:28:55 using their gifts to contribute.
01:28:56 --> 01:29:00 And you have been very fortunate that you're multi-talented.
01:29:01 --> 01:29:07 But you're also very fortunate that you have been obedient to your spirit and
01:29:07 --> 01:29:14 that you have gone forward to overcome things to continue to help other people
01:29:14 --> 01:29:16 overcome their challenges, right?
01:29:16 --> 01:29:20 So I just want to publicly thank you for doing that.
01:29:20 --> 01:29:23 And I want to thank you for coming on the podcast.
01:29:24 --> 01:29:30 If people want to get in touch with you, how can they do that? Sure thing.
01:29:30 --> 01:29:36 And first and foremost, let me thank you for the opportunity to be a part of
01:29:36 --> 01:29:38 your platform, which I fully respect.
01:29:38 --> 01:29:43 And I thank you that you are walking in your gifting and being able to continue
01:29:43 --> 01:29:44 doing what you're doing,
01:29:45 --> 01:29:51 whether it has been in elected official capacity or now with media capacity,
01:29:51 --> 01:29:56 because you are amplifying voices and doing exactly that thing that I was talking about.
01:29:56 --> 01:30:01 So I thank you for that And I thank you for your kind words And I just gotta say it's,
01:30:02 --> 01:30:05 by God's grace. We just kind of get up every day and try to do the best thing that we can.
01:30:06 --> 01:30:10 So if anyone wanted to get in touch with me, I do have several platforms.
01:30:11 --> 01:30:13 Instagram, it is.
01:30:17 --> 01:30:22 ALCmedia4u. It's also the same thing on TikTok, ALCmedia4u.
01:30:22 --> 01:30:28 I am on Facebook, Alysia Cutting, A-L-Y-S-I-A Cutting
01:30:28 --> 01:30:31 C-U-T-T-I-N-G And I'm not very
01:30:31 --> 01:30:34 active right now on X But it is Alysia
01:30:34 --> 01:30:36 Cutting When I actually have occasionally been
01:30:36 --> 01:30:40 over there Oh yeah And also my I'll
01:30:40 --> 01:30:50 give my email as well It is A-L-C-Media I-N-C At gmail.com Okay Well Alysia
01:30:50 --> 01:30:58 Thank you again For doing this And I look forward to having you back on because that's a rule.
01:31:00 --> 01:31:05 Once you've been on the show, you have an open invitation. So when I have to
01:31:05 --> 01:31:07 explain that to people, it's like, I don't have to.
01:31:08 --> 01:31:14 If you say, Erik, hey, I need to talk about something, we'll get you on. That's how that works.
01:31:14 --> 01:31:18 And, of course, you know, I'll reach out to you, too, if need be.
01:31:18 --> 01:31:22 But I just wanted to make sure that you understood that you had an open invitation
01:31:22 --> 01:31:25 to come back. And again, I thank you for doing what you're doing.
01:31:26 --> 01:31:29 Well, I thank you for doing what you're doing as well. And all the people's
01:31:29 --> 01:31:33 lives who you are impacting positively for the good as well. Thank you.
01:31:34 --> 01:31:37 All right, guys. Thank you. And we're going to catch y'all on the other side.
01:31:37 --> 01:31:47 Music.
01:31:49 --> 01:31:54 All right, and we are back. So I want to thank Chasity Wells-Armstrong and
01:31:54 --> 01:31:56 Alysia Cutting for coming on to the show.
01:31:57 --> 01:32:06 Two dynamic women who are really, really doing their part to uplift people.
01:32:08 --> 01:32:12 And they have, you know, they caught my attention.
01:32:13 --> 01:32:17 And I hope now that they catch some more people's attention.
01:32:18 --> 01:32:21 And, you know, a lot of times I tell these folks, you know, y'all are a lot
01:32:21 --> 01:32:25 more famous than I am when I ask you to come on the show, but,
01:32:25 --> 01:32:30 you know, it doesn't hurt for more people to be exposed to folks that are,
01:32:30 --> 01:32:32 as I always say, doing the work.
01:32:33 --> 01:32:40 So I greatly appreciate the Honorable Chasity Wells-Armstrong and the Reverend
01:32:40 --> 01:32:48 Alysia Cutting for coming on and sharing their thoughts and their viewpoints.
01:32:49 --> 01:32:52 So we've come down to this.
01:32:54 --> 01:33:04 By the time this airs, we will know who murdered Charlie Kirk.
01:33:04 --> 01:33:15 He will be in custody, and we will maybe understand the motivation behind why he did what he did.
01:33:16 --> 01:33:21 So personally, as somebody who's always been fascinated with history,
01:33:22 --> 01:33:27 you know, this is a historical moment in this country.
01:33:27 --> 01:33:33 And it doesn't matter what side of the argument you are on.
01:33:33 --> 01:33:37 This is a bookmark to where we are.
01:33:38 --> 01:33:46 I mentioned the thing about history is because I was one of the many people,
01:33:47 --> 01:33:53 thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who saw the video uncut.
01:33:54 --> 01:33:59 And at the time that I saw it, they were still saying he was in the hospital
01:33:59 --> 01:34:01 and he was in critical condition and all that.
01:34:02 --> 01:34:09 When I saw it, I knew that he was gone because he was hit in the same spot that Dr.
01:34:09 --> 01:34:13 King was shot in 1968.
01:34:14 --> 01:34:26 And just the fact that he was killed in front of his wife and children,
01:34:26 --> 01:34:36 the image of Malcolm X being murdered in front of Betty Shabazz and his children just came to my mind.
01:34:38 --> 01:34:48 You know, I think about Meg Evers and, you know, and I'm saying this not as
01:34:48 --> 01:34:53 a comparison as to people like, you know, Fred Hampton.
01:34:53 --> 01:35:00 The comparison is, is that America is and always has been politically violent.
01:35:01 --> 01:35:04 We have had four presidents assassinated.
01:35:05 --> 01:35:11 We've had multiple attempts on presidents, including the sitting president.
01:35:12 --> 01:35:18 So political violence, as much as we abhor it, as much as we denounce it,
01:35:18 --> 01:35:27 as much as we say that it's not acceptable, it exists.
01:35:27 --> 01:35:34 Just literally months ago, we had a former Speaker of the House in the state
01:35:34 --> 01:35:43 of Minnesota open her door and she was gunned down along with her husband and even her dog,
01:35:44 --> 01:35:45 their dog, right?
01:35:46 --> 01:35:53 And this was after the same guy had shot a state senator and his wife,
01:35:53 --> 01:35:57 right? literally just a couple of months ago.
01:35:58 --> 01:36:08 So for those of us who say that political violence is not what America is about are not being genuine.
01:36:08 --> 01:36:15 It has unfortunately been a part of our history for years, generations.
01:36:17 --> 01:36:21 And no matter how much security you create.
01:36:23 --> 01:36:31 So how you try to manage and control environments, things happen.
01:36:32 --> 01:36:37 I mean, Malcolm was at the Audubon Ballroom, his organization's headquarters.
01:36:38 --> 01:36:43 Medgar Evers was at his house. Melissa Hortman was at her house.
01:36:44 --> 01:36:51 Dr. King was at a hotel. Well, Charlie Kirk was on the first stop of his tour
01:36:51 --> 01:36:56 at a conservative university, right?
01:36:57 --> 01:37:01 So no matter how much you control it, the violence is going to come.
01:37:02 --> 01:37:08 What has to happen in the United States of America is that we as a collective
01:37:08 --> 01:37:14 body have to match our verbal disdain.
01:37:15 --> 01:37:22 We can say that we are not a violent nation. We can say that we're not politically violent.
01:37:23 --> 01:37:27 But the evidence shows that we totally are.
01:37:29 --> 01:37:33 And there are so many things and so many thoughts.
01:37:34 --> 01:37:43 You know, as a human being, we deal with death because it is the ultimate destination for all of us.
01:37:44 --> 01:37:51 Ecclesiastes says that it is actually the evil that we all have to encounter.
01:37:51 --> 01:37:54 Doesn't matter what station of life we're in.
01:37:54 --> 01:38:01 Doesn't matter our level of faith. We're all going to reach that moment.
01:38:01 --> 01:38:12 So when we witness a horrific death, our natural reaction is to be in shock. Now.
01:38:14 --> 01:38:18 Once we get our collective thoughts together and realize who was the person
01:38:18 --> 01:38:26 or what had happened, you know, we started looking at the totality of the circumstances,
01:38:26 --> 01:38:29 right? Was this an act of war?
01:38:30 --> 01:38:35 You know, was this person instigating violence?
01:38:35 --> 01:38:38 You know, all those kind of things. You know, were they part of a gang?
01:38:38 --> 01:38:42 You know, all these different things, when we see violent acts happen,
01:38:42 --> 01:38:46 we start after we get through the initial shock of seeing the violent act and
01:38:46 --> 01:38:49 we start a process of reasoning.
01:38:51 --> 01:38:57 So one of the things I wanted to make clear was that regardless of our reasoning,
01:38:57 --> 01:39:06 we do have to come to the basic understanding that nobody deserves to die in
01:39:06 --> 01:39:12 a violent fashion, no matter what side of the political debate that person is on.
01:39:12 --> 01:39:14 Nobody deserves to die.
01:39:15 --> 01:39:19 Now, people can make the argument about reaping what you sow.
01:39:19 --> 01:39:23 As somebody who is a Christian, I get that, right?
01:39:23 --> 01:39:29 If you engage in what they call stochastic terrorism, right?
01:39:30 --> 01:39:38 Even if you didn't harm, which means that you are not going out and personally harming people.
01:39:38 --> 01:39:47 But what you are saying is invoking people to do violent things directly or indirectly, right?
01:39:48 --> 01:39:51 Because those folks will write a manifesto or whatever and say,
01:39:51 --> 01:39:54 well, I was listening to so-and-so and that's why I did it.
01:39:54 --> 01:40:01 And that person may not know the assailant from Adam's house cat.
01:40:01 --> 01:40:11 That's what we call stochastic terrorism, when words are used to incite violence.
01:40:11 --> 01:40:21 And you will not get any argument from me that Charlie Kirk was guilty of that.
01:40:22 --> 01:40:31 He has said incredibly divisive, derisive, invidious things about people that look like me.
01:40:32 --> 01:40:41 So just like the folks who were descendants of or natives of people that were
01:40:41 --> 01:40:47 part of the British Empire that didn't mourn when the Queen of England recently died.
01:40:48 --> 01:40:56 I do not hold in any judgment or any way, you know, feel any kind of way if
01:40:56 --> 01:41:00 people that are black say, well, we're not going to mourn this guy.
01:41:00 --> 01:41:03 And nobody is asking you to. I'm not mourning him.
01:41:03 --> 01:41:06 What I am doing is acknowledging the fact,
01:41:07 --> 01:41:12 Silence is not the answer, although history will tell us in the United States
01:41:12 --> 01:41:16 that there are a number of people that do think it is.
01:41:18 --> 01:41:22 And there are some folks that are saying, well, I'm glad that he is gone.
01:41:23 --> 01:41:29 So think back to when Malcolm and Medgar and Martin were killed,
01:41:29 --> 01:41:35 how the racist people felt that they were glad that they were gone.
01:41:35 --> 01:41:41 And our response to them was, but the dream didn't die with them,
01:41:41 --> 01:41:44 and we're going to continue to fight on.
01:41:45 --> 01:41:49 Well, what do you think is going to happen now that Charlie Kirk is no longer with us?
01:41:49 --> 01:41:53 Do you think Turning Point USA is about to just disappear?
01:41:53 --> 01:41:56 Do you think the conservative movement is about to retreat?
01:41:57 --> 01:42:04 No. They're going to fight on and still spew whatever they're going to spew
01:42:04 --> 01:42:07 and say whatever they're going to say, right?
01:42:07 --> 01:42:13 They're going to continue to act. If not anything, they might feel more emboldened to do it, right?
01:42:14 --> 01:42:20 Which is, again, the reason why I say violence is not the answer.
01:42:21 --> 01:42:27 Dr. King said that violence only begets violence, right? that the only way that
01:42:27 --> 01:42:33 you can end darkness is by using light.
01:42:34 --> 01:42:41 We can't kill our way out of this situation. We can't physically go to war.
01:42:42 --> 01:42:49 We may, but if war was the answer, then we wouldn't have the United Daughters
01:42:49 --> 01:42:54 of the Confederacy putting statues everywhere in the country,
01:42:54 --> 01:42:57 highlighting the folks that lost the war, right?
01:42:58 --> 01:43:02 Violence does not solve our problems.
01:43:02 --> 01:43:07 President Obama said, rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame,
01:43:07 --> 01:43:11 he said, let's use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations,
01:43:12 --> 01:43:17 to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy
01:43:17 --> 01:43:21 and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.
01:43:22 --> 01:43:27 Then after he said that, Donald Trump became the next president of the United States.
01:43:28 --> 01:43:37 So it is hard for us in the United States of America to live up to the idea of America.
01:43:38 --> 01:43:45 People are saying, well, Mr. Kirk was just exercising his free speech and he
01:43:45 --> 01:43:49 got killed for that, or he was exercising his faith, and he got killed for that.
01:43:50 --> 01:43:59 I would say that somebody who did not agree with him went to the extreme measure
01:43:59 --> 01:44:04 of trying to silence his voice, and individually they did.
01:44:06 --> 01:44:12 The problem with that is that his supporters are going to get louder.
01:44:12 --> 01:44:19 And that's no different than when they murdered Medgar, Malcolm, and Martin.
01:44:20 --> 01:44:26 Our voices got louder. When George Floyd was murdered in front of the whole
01:44:26 --> 01:44:33 world in a span of nine minutes, we got loud and we took to the streets.
01:44:34 --> 01:44:37 See, it doesn't matter what side of the coin you're on.
01:44:39 --> 01:44:44 Violence toward the other side doesn't stop the other side.
01:44:44 --> 01:44:47 They may be in grief. They may be in shock.
01:44:48 --> 01:44:55 But they're going to come back. The way that you defeat ideas in this nation is with better ideas.
01:44:56 --> 01:45:05 The way that you gain political power in the United States is to obtain it through
01:45:05 --> 01:45:09 voting, through organizing, through mobilizing, through educating.
01:45:10 --> 01:45:17 You cannot, you cannot win it at the barrel of a gun.
01:45:17 --> 01:45:21 You cannot win it with a blade of a knife.
01:45:21 --> 01:45:28 If we are tired of what is being said, if we are tired of what is being legislated,
01:45:28 --> 01:45:34 if we are tired of what is being pressed down upon us,
01:45:35 --> 01:45:40 then we have tools to fight back. We have our voice.
01:45:40 --> 01:45:43 We have our brains. We have our bodies.
01:45:44 --> 01:45:49 And our bodies, when I say that, not as targets,
01:45:49 --> 01:45:55 but our bodies as far as being able to mobilize and go to the places of power
01:45:55 --> 01:46:02 and make our voices and our ideas heard, whether they're at the state capitol
01:46:02 --> 01:46:04 or at the polling booth, right?
01:46:05 --> 01:46:09 We have platforms. I have a podcast. You can have a podcast.
01:46:09 --> 01:46:11 Whatever. We have newspapers.
01:46:12 --> 01:46:18 That's what Frederick Douglass and them did. They had newspapers, right? The black press.
01:46:19 --> 01:46:20 We have tools.
01:46:21 --> 01:46:30 And despite how skewed the Supreme Court may come out or it's trying to come out,
01:46:31 --> 01:46:37 you still have a court system because Brown versus the Board of Education wasn't a football game.
01:46:37 --> 01:46:40 It was a court case, right?
01:46:40 --> 01:46:47 We won battles in courts. We have been able to slow things down because of courts.
01:46:47 --> 01:46:51 We've been able to slow things down by electing people in state legislatures.
01:46:52 --> 01:46:54 We've been able to elect people in Congress.
01:46:56 --> 01:47:01 Don't get things particularly passed, we slow bad stuff down, if not defeat it.
01:47:02 --> 01:47:12 I think it's unfair for us to condemn how people respond to what they saw on
01:47:12 --> 01:47:14 the internet or what they saw in the news.
01:47:15 --> 01:47:22 I think part of our problem is that we don't understand that there may be a story behind that.
01:47:22 --> 01:47:29 I look at things like this as like really an opportunity to learn about people.
01:47:29 --> 01:47:36 Because there are people I went to high school with who are on both sides of this particular issue.
01:47:37 --> 01:47:41 When I say issue, I'm talking about the death of Charlie Kirk,
01:47:41 --> 01:47:43 which is fascinating to me.
01:47:44 --> 01:47:50 I don't hold them in any different regard because they're basically the person
01:47:50 --> 01:47:51 I went to high school with.
01:47:51 --> 01:47:54 I know them. There are people I went to college with.
01:47:54 --> 01:48:00 There's people I've served in the legislature with and just all different people I work with now.
01:48:01 --> 01:48:06 Everybody has their own way of processing what just happened.
01:48:07 --> 01:48:15 And there's no right way to do that other than what makes you feel comfortable moving forward.
01:48:16 --> 01:48:22 I was telling somebody, I think on Instagram, that I remember when George Wallace got shot.
01:48:23 --> 01:48:27 And I'm old enough to remember George Wallace.
01:48:27 --> 01:48:34 I'm old enough to remember when he got shot. I was young, but I remember he
01:48:34 --> 01:48:36 was in a group of people shaking hands.
01:48:36 --> 01:48:38 He was running for president of the United States, and some dude,
01:48:39 --> 01:48:41 I think his name was Bremer or something like that, I can't remember,
01:48:42 --> 01:48:46 just walked up to him and shot him. He was paralyzed for the rest of his life.
01:48:46 --> 01:48:50 Well, a lot of people don't know. That while he was in the hospital,
01:48:50 --> 01:48:53 a young lady who was running for president of the United States at the time,
01:48:54 --> 01:48:57 went to go visit him. Her name was Shirley Chisholm.
01:48:58 --> 01:49:05 And at that moment, Ms. Chisholm took it upon herself to remind Mr.
01:49:05 --> 01:49:09 Wallace that he was a man of faith and God was talking to him and said that
01:49:09 --> 01:49:12 it's time for you to change your ways.
01:49:12 --> 01:49:16 Now, Charlie Kirk's not going to get that opportunity. That's it.
01:49:19 --> 01:49:22 Redemption point with his organization, but I doubt it.
01:49:23 --> 01:49:28 And so George Wallace lived the rest of his life trying to fix,
01:49:28 --> 01:49:32 at least politically, the damage that he did when he was able-bodied,
01:49:34 --> 01:49:38 right? Some of us have those moments.
01:49:38 --> 01:49:45 Greg Abbott, terrible accident at work, was able to get on his feet because
01:49:45 --> 01:49:48 he was able to be compensated for the damage that had happened to him.
01:49:49 --> 01:49:54 Now that he's the governor of a state, he wants to take away that same opportunity
01:49:54 --> 01:49:57 to other people. He wants to end workers' comp in his state.
01:49:57 --> 01:50:02 So some people don't get the message, regardless of who visits them and who
01:50:02 --> 01:50:05 talks to them, even if it's God.
01:50:06 --> 01:50:14 So, you know, my opinion is no different than anybody else's as far as its value. It's my opinion.
01:50:15 --> 01:50:22 And one of the things that I've always tried to live by is that I do not wish
01:50:22 --> 01:50:27 harm on people I disagree with,
01:50:27 --> 01:50:30 even if they want to do harm towards me.
01:50:31 --> 01:50:40 I have been trained mentally and even physically to protect myself from harm, but I do not wish it.
01:50:41 --> 01:50:47 See, the most powerful weapon we have on this planet is our tongue.
01:50:47 --> 01:50:53 Those of us of the Christian faith understand that because it's taught to us. It's in the Bible.
01:50:54 --> 01:51:02 So when we condemn people, when we wish harm upon people, that's powerful.
01:51:02 --> 01:51:08 When we condemn ourselves or wish harm upon ourselves, that's powerful.
01:51:09 --> 01:51:21 So you'll never hear me say things like, he deserved that, or I wish that would happen to him.
01:51:22 --> 01:51:25 But I'm not going to attend the funeral.
01:51:26 --> 01:51:30 I'm not going to cry or mourn.
01:51:31 --> 01:51:43 But it is my place to acknowledge and to go deeper than the incident and deal with the total problem.
01:51:44 --> 01:51:51 And the total problem is that we live in a violent political system.
01:51:52 --> 01:51:59 And in order for democracy to go forward for another 250 years,
01:51:59 --> 01:52:01 as we know it in this country,
01:52:02 --> 01:52:07 stochastic terrorism, Violent rhetoric, all that stuff has to end.
01:52:09 --> 01:52:13 More guns than we have people, needs to be revisited.
01:52:14 --> 01:52:18 Now, we have a privilege with cars, but we don't have more cars than we have people.
01:52:19 --> 01:52:22 And we got all these interstates and highways and all that stuff.
01:52:23 --> 01:52:29 And people can die in a car wreck or get hit by a car, but we don't have more
01:52:29 --> 01:52:36 cars than people, but we have more guns than we have people. We need to revisit that.
01:52:37 --> 01:52:43 However rational people can come to that conclusion, doesn't bother me that
01:52:43 --> 01:52:50 there will be organizations lobbying for guns and organizations lobbying against guns.
01:52:50 --> 01:53:01 Those people who are given the chance to leadership need to intelligently revisit where we are.
01:53:01 --> 01:53:10 We need to figure out a way to convince people to do what we want or take a
01:53:10 --> 01:53:20 position that we want without leaving the door open for violence to be part of the options.
01:53:21 --> 01:53:26 You know, we ought to be in the business of trying to protect one another.
01:53:27 --> 01:53:32 It doesn't matter if it's a political operative or a young lady sitting on a
01:53:32 --> 01:53:37 subway who basically showed up in the United States to get away from a war.
01:53:39 --> 01:53:44 Our main objective should be to serve and protect.
01:53:45 --> 01:53:50 It's nice to have it painted on a police car, but that needs to be instilled in our hearts.
01:53:50 --> 01:53:55 And you don't have to be a law enforcement officer to have that mindset.
01:53:55 --> 01:54:05 If you want to make an argument about a court decision, let's not question the IQ of the judge.
01:54:05 --> 01:54:13 Let's deal with the decision and let's see, can we appeal that, right?
01:54:13 --> 01:54:19 You don't like legislation that's being brought before you. Let's try to amend it.
01:54:19 --> 01:54:24 If you can't amend it, vote against it. And if it, you know,
01:54:24 --> 01:54:28 convinced the governor to veto it, the governor signs it or the president signs it.
01:54:30 --> 01:54:36 To challenge it in court. Then the ultimate next step is to get those people
01:54:36 --> 01:54:39 out of office through the process.
01:54:40 --> 01:54:46 We can't kill each other to achieve progress. You just can't.
01:54:46 --> 01:54:53 Dr. King quoted someone as saying, we can learn to live as brothers or we can all perish as fools.
01:54:54 --> 01:55:00 I don't want to see America perish. Despite its history, despite all the challenges
01:55:00 --> 01:55:04 that many of us in the Black community have had to go through.
01:55:04 --> 01:55:08 I personally do not want to see America perish.
01:55:08 --> 01:55:18 I want to see an America that my children or my child and any future grandkids
01:55:18 --> 01:55:23 or anybody else's kids and nieces, nephews, whatever,
01:55:24 --> 01:55:28 future generations, I want to see the America that I had the privilege of living
01:55:28 --> 01:55:34 in still exist, even better than it was when I was alive.
01:55:35 --> 01:55:39 I don't want to see America perish. I want to see it get better.
01:55:41 --> 01:55:49 Ironically, 24 years ago, this nation had a moment when it felt like it was
01:55:49 --> 01:55:51 being attacked and we came together.
01:55:52 --> 01:55:55 It was a moment, but in my lifetime, I saw it.
01:55:55 --> 01:56:00 Just like I saw a black man become president. I saw the United States of America
01:56:00 --> 01:56:04 unite, say we will not go quiet.
01:56:05 --> 01:56:06 We will not surrender.
01:56:07 --> 01:56:10 We have the right to exist and we are going to do so.
01:56:11 --> 01:56:15 And then everybody went off in their separate corners like we usually do.
01:56:15 --> 01:56:22 But for just once, I really want to see us galvanized.
01:56:23 --> 01:56:27 Doesn't mean we have to be homogenous in thought. But I don't know.
01:56:28 --> 01:56:35 Homogenous in concept. I do want us to understand that America is for all of us that are here,
01:56:36 --> 01:56:41 and that all of us are given the opportunity to do the best that we can do,
01:56:41 --> 01:56:49 to be able to live and live abundantly, to be able to go about our lives without fear and despair.
01:56:50 --> 01:56:54 And although you can't totally eradicate some of those things.
01:56:54 --> 01:56:58 You can minimize them to the point where you can deal with it.
01:56:59 --> 01:57:03 It shouldn't be our everyday existence, right?
01:57:04 --> 01:57:09 So that's where I am on this deal.
01:57:09 --> 01:57:14 You know, when I got frustrated and angry, I started a podcast.
01:57:14 --> 01:57:18 I didn't pick up a gun, picked up a microphone.
01:57:19 --> 01:57:27 I need us in America to be that resourceful and stop being violent rhetorically
01:57:27 --> 01:57:31 or physically to get our point across. Thank y'all.
01:57:32 --> 01:58:21 Music.