IBS Interview Podcast: Michael Walker & Willa Strong

May 7, 2023
Black Summit Interviews
Season 1, Episode #14 - Michael Walker & Willa Strong

In this podcast episode, Glenn Greenidge and Grace Lawrence interview MICHAEL WALKER & WILLA STRONG: 

Mike Walker, 44, is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and his lovely wife Willa Strong, 43, is a native of Chicago, Illinois. A chance meeting at The International Black Youth Summit in Philadelphia in the year 2000 led to a 20-year friendship and 17 years of marriage and counting.  They have 3 lovely daughters and a newborn son.

Mike and Willa have a podcast called CurseWords and Craziness.  A dynamic and artistic look into what it takes to care for three teenagers on the Autistic spectrum. The website (www.cursewordsandcraziness.com) will be expanding soon.

They also host a Special needs family support group on TikTok (@yamainmanmike) on Saturday evenings.   Willa is authoring her first book "Child of the Universe," which is due out in September 2023.

During the interview, we ask our guests about their lives and careers, with a focus on how they effectively use the Summit Tools and Distinctions in all aspects of life. 

For more information about the International Black Summit, please go to:

Website – blacksummit.org
Twitter – @blacksummit
Facebook – facebook.com/blacksummit/
IBS News Sign-Up – bit.ly/IBS-signup
IBS Annual Summit Event Registration – blacksummit.org/ase

The views and opinions expressed by the person interviewed are their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the International Black Summit.

Transcript

[THIS TRANSCRIPT HAS NOT BEEN EDITED NOR PROOFREAD.]


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Welcome to the International Black Summit Interview Series Podcast for those of you who aren't familiar with us.

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The International Black Summit is an organization created in 1991, and our purpose is to provide an opportunity for our participants to bring into being their vision for the black community and the world.

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In this interview series we interview current and past participants and facilitators of the international Black community.

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Really looking to find out how they use the tools and distinctions of the International Black Summit in their lives, in their careers, in their families, in their community.

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Tonight we're going to be interviewing Michael Walker and Willa Strong, a couple who met through the International Black Summit when they were young people.

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And we're going to find out how they have continued to use the International Black Summit tools in their lives.

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So I just want to say a little bit about them and read their biography here, and then we'll ask them to join us in our virtual studio.

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So here's what we have, Mike Walker. 44 is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and his lovely wife Willis Strong, 43 is a native of Chicago, Illinois.

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A chance meeting at the International Black Youth Summit in Philadelphia, in the year 2,000, led to a 20 year.

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Friendship, and 17 years of marriage, and counting. They have 3 lovely daughters and a newborn son.

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You might also want to check out their podcast. They have a podcast.

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That they host called curse words and craziness. Which is a dynamic and artistic look into what it takes to care for 3 teenagers on the autistic spectrum.

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The website, their website will be relaunching this September 2023, with all new, with all of its content and products.

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On Saturday evenings. They also host. A special needs family group on tick, Tock, and the app name for their Tiktok is at your main man, Mike.

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You can look for them there also. Willa is offering her first her first book, Child of the Universe, and her first book is out.

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Due out this September 2023. So we'd like to welcome Mike Walker and Willis Strong to join us in the virtual studio.

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So if we could ask them to now join us and turn on their video and their microphone.

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Can you hear us? Can you hear us?

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That would be wonderful. There they are, and so we'll just have them.

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Yes, we can. Yay, yay, hey?

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Welcome! Welcome!

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Good. Alright. Okay. Yes, thank you. That intro made us very proud.

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Oh, right!

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We were high. 5 on ourselves over here. Sounds good. Yeah.

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As you should, as you should, because we're very, very proud of all of your accomplishments, and and we'll we'll we'll get started with that as well.

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But kudos to all the things that you're doing inside of a our community, and as well.

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Thank you.

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And we get to see that your new son is with us this evening, so he gets to have.

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Yes.

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This is his first interview. I hope this is his first interview.

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Yeah, it definitely is, it definitely is these, I guess the podcast. Veteran.

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All right, beautiful.

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So we wanted to ask you. You know, just in terms of giving people a sense of what's available in the International Black Summit, how people have being exposed to it.

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You know, I usually like to find out, and I think this is true, for Glen, too.

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How did you first find out about the International Black Summit like?

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What was your first exposure to the summit? Your first summit event?

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Now he didn't already started before. Yes, yes.

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You know all of that a little bit about that first.

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You want to go first. Okay, wow. My first. So how was it supposed to the summits?

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2 dear friends of mine, and Jamaine Saunders.

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Therefore their father, Orange Saunders, was a senior facilitator at the time.

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This has to be. Oh, my gosh! And now I'm starting to feel oh, this has to be in 94 95 fresh!

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Yes.

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Yes, I was very young, so so germane is a great friend of mine.

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Fly me, great friends of mine, Jimaine, know who I am, says A.

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Some friends of mine are having to party at this hotel.

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Why don't you come down? I was like party.

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The party.

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I'm ready to go. Let's go. I you know.

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So I get down there. I think it was that see port in?

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What city was this?

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I could be wrong, but it it was in a city in New York.

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Yes.

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It was in New York at the time, and I think it was a planning body meeting, and he, you know, he fooled me to come and down near for a party to introduce me to the summit to the Youth Summit, and it worked it worked because it it was just a bunch of young

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people from different cities. A bunch of young black people from different cities, you know, pretty much hanging out and talking, and at the time I was a little resistant, because it was like, Oh, I kinda came in on getting in some people's business, but you know, the other young people in the room welcome, me. In and told me.

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Like. There's nothing here that you don't really need to not know about.

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So sit sit down and discuss, and if you have a fee about something, let it out, and it's snowball from there, you know, I got I almost got addicted to the room addicted to the conversation, and like you know, I really haven't stopped using this since then I

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don't. I don't know how to cut it off.

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I don't even know if that makes sense you know, I'm always involved in the conversation in some way, shape or form.

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So, yeah, that was about 95. And it just really just snowball from there and then in 2,000 the year 2,000.

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So that's when I joined the crew. Beginnings for me.

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Started with family. So my Aunt Alica was attending the International Black Summit.

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She brought her children to the youth. Summit. My cousins, who I grew up with, and sisters and Brother Pond way, and Kenneth Gibson and one summer I was talking with Pnd Wayway and Pond ways, like you know, if you know Polymer I say well, what you doing

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you know what I mean. You're doing anything. Come on, come with me.

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You know, and she brought me to Pennsylvania that was the year 2,000, and I thought that space was so phenomenal.

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I thought there was a most phenomenal group of young black people I feel like I found my tribe, you know, like you know, how could be on this earth, and like Well, who's in tune, you know, and not just with the youth?

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But also the adult body. When I looked at the time they would dream me like all of you, when I see nice to see all of you guys and all the adults in the room it just seemed very dreamy.

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It's like, Oh, my goodness, do these space age futureistic black people here like what is going on here?

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So that is, that's my beginnings right there. And let me tell you something real quick.

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We are a little upset because we've seen some of you guys for 20 years, and y'all all look the same.

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But we don't look the same no more. I don't know what happened with that, but that's how it happened.

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Yeah.

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You look the same to us, it looks the same to us.

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And they say they all just stayed.

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It's it's just temporary.

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You know the adult bodies still, colleagues.

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The adult body is still.

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It's just.

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I think you still refer to us as Young People. So sometime I get a little like we still use right.

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Yeah, I I will admit I'm the one who's regularly correcting people.

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They are not used anymore. These are some folks.

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They're not right.

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And will and will. How old were you at at the time?

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I was 190, goodness, 2020! I was 20 years old.

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Great.

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Wonderful, you know.

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Yes, I I was about 16.

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And you were 16 when you started. Okay, great.

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Yeah, when we met I wasn't 16. I mean, that wasn't.

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Yeah, right, right, yeah.

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Yeah, well, we need to do a little map.

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Okay, 19 9 to 4, 6 years, 2,000.

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Yeah, so just to clarify. Like I said, for people who are listening, there are multiple bodies in the International Black Summit.

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So we have the main adult body for anyone who over the age of 18, through senior years we have adult body within that we also have a young young adult body from 18 to 30.

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5. So between the ages of 18 and 35, you have a choice you can either go into the regular adult body, or you can choose to go into the young adult body.

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Muted.

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But before the age of 18, from the ages of 8, is it 8 or 7?

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Glenn to use the use, but.

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It's we, allow. Yeah, it's usually 8.

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Yeah.

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But we allow set. We've had 7, some 6 year olds in there, and they have contributed just like to older kids as well.

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Yeah.

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So no, we just saying include them and love them up and have them be great.

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Okay, so, officially, it's from the age of 8 to seventeenth.

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Correct. Yes, yes.

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The youth body that's great. So so, and the youth body used to run from used to run from 8 to 24 right?

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Yes, yes.

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So does it still run from 8 to 24.

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That what they use?

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To use? Or does it end? At 17?

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Right? Okay.

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Use.

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No ends of 17, because the young adult space and and and and so if there's any confusion about it when we went over to Africa, and they said, and we said we had a youth summit, and so they started directing their their 20 year olds and 23 and so on and so forth, and

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Yes.

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so well. No, they are not used. They said. No, no, in this country your youth till you are 35, so Wambui, who was part of the youth, summit, aged out past 17, and created the young adults space.

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So that's how the young adult space went from 18 to 35 as a space for people looking to find themselves as young adults.

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Thank you.

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We, we remember, walk away when she came in the room, like when she first got there.

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I remember one very distinctively. And yeah, I was laughing at the discussion of the young adult space because we were there for the birthday.

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We were a part of the.

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Oh, that was a little bit about the birth of that.

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It was, it was, you know. So it's because, you know, because the summit is everybody international.

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Okay. And so she was putting us onto, like, you know, a different viewpoint to look at.

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Because here in America, like, Oh, you 18, let's get it straight you're an adult. So the way she broke it down to was it was like, Oh, you know, and how culturally it' young people they young.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, they start. Thank you. And it was just a beautiful and with that understanding we I tell you what it did for me personally. It gave me some grace as a 1819 2021 year old.

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And understanding that in somebody's eyes I was still a youth, and some of the pressures of adulthood.

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I did not have to take on. I could understand that I was supposed to make mistakes.

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I'm supposed to need guidance. I'm supposed to supposed to. Yeah. And so, you know, that was kind of the gift she gave for me personally, like I'm like, oh, no. 18.

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I gotta get it all together. No, no, you don't, you?

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Still a youth, you know. That's a real thing.

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So that was I very distinctly. Just remember, we had a lot of deep discussions about creating that space and the need for that space, and it it it was great I'm so glad that it's existing.

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It's got a life of its own right now.

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I'm very glad about that.

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It's so interesting. I mean just to mention that was Kenyan.

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And so she was bringing her perspective as somebody who's from Kenya, from East Africa had a cultural background, although she was attending university in the United States.

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Right.

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And she went to Spellman. But her ability to bring a different perspective in terms of the international aspect of the International Black Youth Summit, or Young Adult Summit.

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So. And I'm international. I'm here in Canada, you know, representative, international.

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Nice we looked at someone in Ottawa.

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Yeah, 20, thirteenth.

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Yeah, yeah, we loved it all year. Yeah.

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We had a great use but not quite a big summit.

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Yeah.

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There, but but since we're on one boy I wanted to.

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Just when we are in Kenya, and and for those of you who don't know we have separate rooms.

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So we invited a youth to their own their own space, so they have their own space, and they get to talk, and we'll talk a little bit about it.

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Hmm!

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But one of the things that was so fascinating about the Kenyan news is when on Sunday, normally, what we have is, is the youth come in and say a little bit about what they learned, what they you know.

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Yes.

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Any kind of skills or tools that they might have picked up on, and one of the things that Oneamboo said was that she wanted to be the first female president of Kenya and and her parents.

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We're like. Is that my child up there speaking that you know that powerfully.

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Yeah.

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And so those are the kinds of things, the kinds of results that get produced in the youth summit.

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Yup!

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So I actually went to kind of put you guys on the spot and ask you, when you look back at those first skills that you got out of the youth Summit, what what would you say were the most pronounced, or the ones that stayed with you the most in terms of skills that

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you learned the you know the first, maybe first few sessions of the youth Summit.

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The annual summit event. Yeah.

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You are definitely hitting on it right now, which is to make declaration.

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You know, to make declaration for your life, and to to do so without limitation.

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Being a young black person in Americorps in Canada.

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Obviously all across this world for us to declare ourselves in this world for 4 weeks, see ourselves to be, or who we choose to be.

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I was very important, and so that was the time for me of doing the same thing.

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I think I'd created one of my first affirmation boards, and like 2,001 and part of that Affirmation board included, becoming like one of the greatest authors in the world, so it I what I learned how to do is to make powerful

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declarations for my life, and it definitely didn't feel like competing or anything.

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But when you hear, when you if you hurt one boo, we make that declaration, it touched your salt, you know, without even no like. I wasn't too aware of the state of opinions, society, or government or people.

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But she she for her to say that was like, What do you and then this is before we had a president, Obama.

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Do you understand? So she had to say that what do you? And then this is before we had a president, Obama. Do you understand?

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So she had already made a declar in our mind.

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She was the President, and yes, a black woman. We can't be President.

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Are you kidding me? You're tripping. You know what I mean, and it is 22 h to our witness.

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A President, the become a black member, compressed in here in the Us.

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After hearing her, makes such a decoration. So that's what I took away from it for sure was how to make powerful decorations for my life, and to constantly affirm that you know, after declaring and make my affirmations around it.

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Okay, so what I got from the summit that I always took with me.

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So my first summ summit event. Okay, okay. So when I was trying to join the Youth body, at first I was turned away because I I hadn't done the the landmark form, and but what I was able to do was sit in the room and and listen to how the room was

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speaking, and understand the language and get the distinctions, and be able to apply them to what I was saying.

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What I was thinking how I was, you know, engaging. And so I created in essence the prerequisite right by my presence, and I didn't know I could be so powerful and it took me a while to get it.

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But that's what I really got from that space, and I always moved like that.

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So I was I since doing that at the summit at that young age I can do that anywhere.

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You sit me in the room, allow me, and that's what that's what it is. That's a distinction.

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I learned to listen, I learned to listen very well and use my listening skills to to exercise moving about in any space, and that was it was a.

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It's a priceless gift it's the price. This gift.

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It gets me jobs. It allows me to communicate in situations where things might be uncommunicatable, where things might be fricked, there might be frictionless.

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I know how to wait. Listen, what to listen for the triggers.

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Listen, you know, and use those things. So I seriously haven't been using what I learned in the summit body every day of my life.

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Every day.

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Amazing. You know I feel like we live in a society that has often talked about the power of talking, you know, like this.

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It's this, you know, like power is is kind of associated with being at the front of the room, being the one at the podium.

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Being the one that's talking being the one that's expressing, etc. And I don't feel like in this society.

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People really appreciate the power of listening. I don't know that that's true around the world.

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I!

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This society. I don't think that people preappreciate the power of listening.

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I wasn't good at it, but I had this in order to become you facilitator.

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Once I had to spend the entire summit, not speaking in the room, being pressed, but not sharing, and it was hard, but it was.

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It. Oh, God! It was hard! It was hard. I kept a notebook.

00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:44.000
I frantically wrote stuff down, and sometimes when, but what I learned if if I let it happen if I just was, if I stayed in that, somebody will always say what I was thinking like what I was thinking would always make its way out into the space, and it would get out there and at that

00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.000
age I would be like, you know, like, Yeah, thank you. Oh, my God, every way. But it was.

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:52.000
I realized that oh, man! Sometimes you don't really have to say nothing.

00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:58.000
Sometimes listening can really be the answer to it. I just and and I would try.

00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:12.000
I want to support what you're saying, because for me, in in my learning over the years is that you know, leading to my spiritual growth is that you know God is the ultimate listening.

00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:19.000
So to exercise listening, you know, is such a divine connection to everything, to anywhere.

00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.000
You you are so. Yes, we are as a society, we are.

00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:27.000
We have grown apart from that, because everybody does to be heard but the balance definitely, and I believe our society will do.

00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:37.000
And the summit space holds which will carry with us is the.

00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:38.000
Yeah, you know.

00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:39.000
Yeah, and and I just, I just want to underline for folks who are listening for the first time.

00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:46.000
So listen is one of the distinctctions inside of the summit.

00:22:46.000 --> 00:23:11.000
And what you'll hear us say oftentimes is that we have nothing to give you, but together we can listen together and learn together what's possible, because what what shows up in the space is for us for both of us the and so that the facilitating and and the

00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:20.000
receiving the participants we're all in it together, listening for what's possible.

00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:21.000
Hmm!

00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:23.000
Listening for what's unpredictable, listening for what we can't imagine.

00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:36.000
But together as a collective, the imagining grows wider than a personal. And then we get we glean from all of that good back to you, Jackie, Grace.

00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:51.000
Thank you. You know. I just wanna look at the whole conversation around listening as a distinction and the distinction, authentic listening, which what it is about the prerequisite is entirely out authentic, listening.

00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:52.000
And so you talked, Mike, about being the one who was the seed for the creation of the prerequisite. Can you say a little bit more about that?

00:23:52.000 --> 00:24:04.000
Yeah.

00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:25.000
What I remember. A. I I wanted to be a member of the U-body, but at the time there was, I guess, about all that stated that you know you needed to go through the landmark Forum and not be able to participate in the International Summit and that wasn't

00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.000
something I had done, or, to be quite honest, was willing to do.

00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:45.000
I didn't think I needed to. I've been to a few planning body meetings, and I and a bunch of planning body meetings and a some of the 2 before out wanted to come on as a facilitator, and I feel like I

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:50.000
didn't. I didn't need to go to the landmark form in order to understand what was going on in the room, and at the time there wasn't a belief.

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:56.000
That. That's what you needed in order to to have that.

00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:13.000
And so the u-body was like well, so if we were gonna do if we were gonna it's actually not our own people without having to send them to landmark form, for at the time some of us wasn't affordable, you know I I was a real youth, you know and the

00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:18.000
truth is, this was something I was doing on my own, so I had my parents support.

00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:23.000
But but I really couldn't take anything financially from my family to put toward this.

00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:36.000
But I knew this was something I needed and wanted, and so the start coming up with with some of our with some of the Del body as well, because Glenn was there, we start coming up with okay.

00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:46.000
So what questions do we need to ask? What distinctions do you need to have in order to walk into the summit, space and quar-unquote function? You know?

00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:50.000
So what do you need to know? You need to understand, Trigger? You know.

00:25:50.000 --> 00:26:00.000
Cause that was the was a big word that we were throwing out in order to get everybody to understand how you were being triggered.

00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.000
What was pulling your emotions, what was making you do so on and so forth.

00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:11.000
So we start listing certain distinctions that we needed people to get before they would be able to come into the space.

00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:24.000
We start coming over with a series of questions, a series of exercises that would, I guess, the way I see it inoctrinate you into understanding the international Black Summer Space.

00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:31.000
And you know I know that conversation started because because of me.

00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:32.000
Oh, right!

00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:55.000
Because I came in there, and I understood because I came in there, and I was able to understand the language I was able to kind of pick out the distinctions and and at my first real summit event, when it was time to do the declaration I

00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:02.000
didn't know the declaration, but I didn't want to seen as if someone who didn't know that declaration. I did.

00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:19.000
I wanted to fit in, so so I was a theater, major, and so when when you do theater, they teach you, if you don't know the words like if the group is singing the song, and you don't know the words if you mouth watermelon in rhythm, with

00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:26.000
what's being said, you know you'll be able to kind of fool everyone.

00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:33.000
And so, as they were doing a distinction, I caught the rhythm because there's a beautiful rhythm to the distinction, to the declaration.

00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:45.000
It's a beautiful rhythm to the Declaration, and so I caught the rhythm, and I was able to, you know, watermelon my way through, and I'll never forget somebody was like, you know.

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:54.000
Look, young brother, we are impressed. You've been here a couple of days, and you already know the declaration like that is amazing.

00:27:54.000 --> 00:28:01.000
It's a beautiful thing, and it was, and and and this I know, I was in the right place to be quite honest. This how?

00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:06.000
No, I was in the right place cause the merely after that was said. I was like, Thank you.

00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:10.000
But I'm gonna tell y'all like I'm not.

00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:11.000
True story.

00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:24.000
I I I can't let that one rug I've got to stay in my true cause because hindsight I was looking for that.

00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:25.000
Hmm, hmm!

00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.000
I was looking for a space where I didn't have to watermelon no more, and so I told her I was like, listen, I told them listen, I watermelon my way through.

00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:33.000
I don't know the declaration, you know, but I wanted Jaw to accept me.

00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:38.000
I wanted to fit in, and if the beautiful thing is, the room cracked up, the everybody.

00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:43.000
It was one everybody was just like, Oh, that's good!

00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:45.000
So for my first few summits I was watermelon.

00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:50.000
Mike. That's who I was I was walking on the mic, and it was wonderful.

00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:55.000
It was just, Hey, like I you know, I got through it.

00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:56.000
I memorized it at some point. I did have it.

00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:00.000
I had it down, cause I'm new. But it was.

00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:01.000
I knew I was home. I knew I was home.

00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:10.000
I knew I was kind of home after that, like, this is a space that I could really, you know, obviously grow into.

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.000
And I met my wife.

00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:12.000
And and Mike, I gotta tell you I've used it a couple of times myself.

00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:17.000
Oh, my God! Got it! Sorry!

00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:29.000
It works, it works. If you cast.

00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:36.000
Give a little feel to it. If you really you can sell it, you can sell it.

00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:43.000
You know you said something that I just thought it really touched me, as a whole, like not wanting to watermelon through life.

00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:44.000
Yeah.

00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:52.000
You know what I mean like not wanting to have to have the masks on, not wanting to have to pretend like it.

00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:53.000
Yes.

00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:57.000
Got it altogether, not having to like to just be able to be like.

00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:58.000
I know.

00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:00.000
Look, man, I was watermelon. Like to bring that level.

00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:03.000
I tried. I tried.

00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:04.000
Okay. Yeah.

00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:12.000
Yeah, and obviously with you, I credit the space for helping create that for me.

00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:18.000
You know it was, you know, I and I'll say this about my relationship with my wife.

00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:28.000
I I understood that I couldn't water melt in my way through a real relationship if I wanted one you know I couldn't.

00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:32.000
I don't. I just had a discussion with a young cousin of mine.

00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:38.000
I don't believe in the representative, you know. I don't believe in quote unquote.

00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:49.000
Putting your best foot forward, you know, you don't get whatever for that got at the time we meet, and where I'm at.

00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:50.000
Hmm!

00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:51.000
That's that's the foot you gonna get. That's.

00:30:51.000 --> 00:31:04.000
And I believe if somebody could love you through that, or or see a space to love you past that, then you know, you got something that could be something.

00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:09.000
You know my mind is going in in a number of different directions.

00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:14.000
First. What a great story I'm definitely gonna talk about watermelon.

00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:18.000
So I watermelon. I'm take that on.

00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:22.000
I'm refusing the watermelon, and we will, for those who are listening.

00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:25.000
We will be looking at the declaration at the end of this session, so you can hang on.

00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:28.000
We will be looking at the declaration. You can find out what that is.

00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:36.000
At the end of the session, and all of those and all of the words of that.

00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:37.000
I'm.

00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:40.000
But I really first of all a Mike, thank you for being the seed for the creation of the prerequisite.

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:41.000
Hey! Baby!

00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:42.000
My pleasure, I came to that realization like 6 years ago.

00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:51.000
Seriously. I was like yo.

00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:55.000
Well, thank thank you for doing that, you know.

00:31:55.000 --> 00:32:03.000
Like you said at 1 point in our history you had to complete the the landmark Forum course.

00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:08.000
Before you could attend the annual summit event, which is the Summit flagship event.

00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:13.000
Although we have other events as well, and and that's no longer true.

00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:21.000
We then had a period of time where you could either do the landmark form or the International Black Summit prerequisite.

00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:22.000
That's right.

00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:30.000
That was birthed out of the scene that you generated, and then it became you could have to do the the international Black Summit prerequisite.

00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:45.000
The landmark form was no longer useful as a prerequisite.

00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:46.000
Yeah.

00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:47.000
And now we're still in an explosion. As we speak today, it's not a requirement to do the prerequisite before attending the annual summit event, but it is highly highly highly highly recommended, the so that you can go into the space up to speed and really able to

00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:51.000
Hmm!

00:32:51.000 --> 00:33:01.000
fully engage in and understand the the conversation as it's moved. So so what do you want to go next, Glen?

00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:13.000
I've got a question, you know. One of the things that we I've been talking about, and different people have been talking about.

00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:16.000
Love it.

00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:17.000
Yes.

00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:18.000
Mental health, and and and having a space to clear and talk.

00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:22.000
What would you say inside of the use space?

00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:29.000
That was one of the things that a lot that freed you up to say what what was what?

00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:33.000
That you wanted to say that you you know, felt comfortable enough to say sales.

00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:34.000
Hmm!

00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:43.000
Tell folks a little bit about what that was like for you at that age, to have the opportunity to just speak freely.

00:33:43.000 --> 00:33:44.000
Yes, yes! Oh, my goodness, I'm going first with that one.

00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:50.000
So, yeah, with. So it, you know, of course, I don't know.

00:33:50.000 --> 00:34:03.000
Like it is some. It came at a time, you know, probably had asked me to come to this space at a time where I was transforming transitioning from that.

00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:11.000
That child into the young adult stage. Right? And I was basically kind of on my own.

00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:21.000
, and actually, what I get to reflect on a lot of the things I'm reflecting on in my book with some of the things that I was coming with to the summit space.

00:34:21.000 --> 00:34:26.000
These impactful moments, that I wasn't really sure how it impacted me.

00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:32.000
I just simply going through it, you know, and the summit.

00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:33.000
Honestly, it was a it was a it was a. It was.

00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:45.000
It just had a great structure from the prerequisite to asking this question, you know, and the year 2,000, the question. It was a long last.

00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:56.000
What are you passionate about? What are your passions? And so, yeah, much like, see his account counselor psychotic like with somebody asks you something, you know.

00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:00.000
And the answer is, there is with you, and it.

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:19.000
And if the space was also created such that you can answer how you need to answer, you hear that question as you need to hear it, and so I do give credit to those youth facilitators, and and the adult, you, the adult facilities in the and the adult view.

00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:29.000
The adult facilities in the room that space was held I felt divine. It was like this very divine celestial space to be in was like, Oh, really, no!

00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:33.000
I answer those questions, you know, and this is my life is so.

00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:37.000
Dad is what gave me the freedom. And it allowed, you know, with with the prerequisite, with those terminologies like Trigger.

00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:52.000
It. You know, today, people use that more commonly. Right? They're learning how to use those things more commonly, it wasn't common at the time.

00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:56.000
And so to get the exposure to okay, what does the trigger need to begin to get the language?

00:35:56.000 --> 00:36:03.000
That's what helped me to open up, because then you bring that distinction. You say, okay, why?

00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:14.000
Oh, wait a minute right now, and so there's so much discovery and learning what triggers you, and learning what your listening is for, who it's to.

00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:19.000
And yeah, so I would say, that's how it was.

00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:24.000
Just perfectly structured space. And I do say structure.

00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:37.000
But it was a space to still allow for freedom. Yeah, I wish I that I felt the essence in the spirit of freedom all through that spaces just it's so much I'm very empathic.

00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:46.000
So it is so much wonderful energy moving when you have a summit conversation when the summit is happening, and you begin to ask those questions like that.

00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:54.000
So so as a youth as I'm really saying, thing, I I was really combative.

00:36:54.000 --> 00:37:02.000
I had a combative personality. I'm from Brooklyn, so you know, it's a little, you know, little bit of you know.

00:37:02.000 --> 00:37:26.000
Jump up in me and and being in the space that didn't care about that was very healthy, being in a space of other youth who had some of the similar energy, and then some some different energy that energy that when I'm trying to be combative, they're reflective and that

00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:50.000
somebody in particular, I'll just mention them. Malika was annoyingly good at sometime facilitating me, and you know, being able to give a reflection that I wasn't ready to see, but needed to see and you know didn't allow for my combative nature to

00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:51.000
trigger her at all like, you know, there was no there was no because of my trigger, you know, trying to transfer the energy.

00:37:51.000 --> 00:38:02.000
It didn't happen, and and it helped me grow.

00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:06.000
The space and relationships I created in that youth, body.

00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:26.000
Helped me grow in in ways that I could only look back and see yeah, I'm kind of really reminiscent, was really a great facilitator for me because of hard willingness to like, not care.

00:38:26.000 --> 00:38:27.000
And I mean I say not care, but that's the wrong word.

00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:40.000
But to be carefree about how harsh I could speak about how blunt I may be those things didn't matter, you know.

00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:51.000
She was able to see through my triggers and and understand why, and be able to show me something that truly truly grateful for truly truly grateful for.

00:38:51.000 --> 00:39:00.000
I think it's the things that help make me a better father is the things that help me be able to clear about my actions with my wife.

00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:09.000
It's endless. It's it's really a endless gift that I was given, because I feel like, really, because I started so young.

00:39:09.000 --> 00:39:26.000
I started so young to be introduced at 16, you know, to that type of space to being able to have that type of freedom, to to being able to express failure, regret, joy, happiness, all in the same space.

00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:30.000
And I want to say, get the same reaction, like, you know.

00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:37.000
Sometime you can express those things and get different pools of energy from people.

00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:40.000
But this room, this space, always gave me the same thing.

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:45.000
And it always felt like, it's okay. That's how you feel.

00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.000
It's okay, you know. Oh, I feel it's a great. That's how you feel.

00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:54.000
It's okay. But in are wrong, maybe. But it's okay.

00:39:54.000 --> 00:40:01.000
You know, like, I, really, I really needed that freedom, and that I really I really know that it helped mature me.

00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:04.000
It's still helps maturity. I still have to clear myself.

00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:20.000
It's not like a ending process, you know, so I feel so blessed to be able to have started it so young that I feel like I feel like I had a head start in certain things.

00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:21.000
You know.

00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:25.000
And I wanna teach. I want to teach it to my son desperately.

00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:33.000
I. Wanna you know, I spread it. I spread the I spread the conversation everywhere.

00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:40.000
15 min at Walmart. You talk to me. I'm trying to get you clear, even if it's real quick, you know, man, this money is hard.

00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.000
Where it was. So you got a business, you know, like, you know you you could just complain about it. Bro.

00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:51.000
But you know you could also get a couple of solutions in there.

00:40:51.000 --> 00:41:05.000
You know there's a there's a and you know it's sometimes just so that you think about it so that the next time you see me, you know, and I've had it happen co-worker soon I've passed once or twice give them a piece of the conversation a piece and

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.000
it's so true, that the next time they see they'll be like yo man. I did.

00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:21.000
I went online. And I started this exactly. And so like, yes, it's the everyday thing. It's it's a everyday thing.

00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:25.000
So, let let me unpack 2 of the distinctions that you talked about.

00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:39.000
So trigger, and and these are words I I love what Jackie Grace always says about it, and these are words in the that we use in the English language all the time.

00:41:39.000 --> 00:42:02.000
But we use it in a particular way. Inside of this this body, and we use trigger as a reflection of what has something that you are unable or unwilling to be with, and so and so you are in a conversation, and you notice that you're now somewhere else.

00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:07.000
So you've been triggered, and the person might have said a word.

00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:26.000
One of the things used to trigger me was divorce, and and so I hear divorce, and wherever I was in the conversation was gone, I'm now out in another conversation called my divorce, and what happened, and the drama, and so on, and so forth, and that being present one of the things that

00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:30.000
we use with trigger is a distinction called Noticing.

00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:35.000
I get to notice myself in. Oh, oh, I just got triggered!

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.000
Oh, excuse me, Mike, excuse me, Willa. I wasn't present.

00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:52.000
Let me get back to being present with you, so I can be in the conversation with you because I was triggered, and I noticed I was triggered, and I came back to the conversation.

00:42:52.000 --> 00:42:59.000
Now inside of that also. Now I still may be in my trigger when I come back to the conversation.

00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:00.000
So maybe, Mike, I said, well, the Glen, you need to be clear.

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:09.000
Do you need to clear yourself? So it so clearing yourself, is now looking at.

00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:16.000
What's that? Dominant conversation that is, that's that's rifling in your head, and you can't anything but that conversation.

00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:26.000
You wanna you wanna just kind quiet that conversation. You wanna relax, maybe take a couple deep breaths.

00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:43.000
Maybe you know, just do a little you know 30 s meditation or something to bring yourself down to relax, so you can then begin to be present, because the thing that we've noticed about life is when you're not present, you're missing.

00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:44.000
That's right.

00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:53.000
It and if you're missing life there's nothing for you, you know, to to grab onto, to appreciate.

00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:54.000
Right? You can.

00:43:54.000 --> 00:44:03.000
Oh, I just had a great moment, but if you are not present, that moment is gone because you're inside your trigger, or you're not clear, or you're noticing something else other than being present.

00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:12.000
And so these tools that we provide you, we provide you so that you stay present to the conversation, cause.

00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:19.000
That's where the power is. That's where the staying power is.

00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:20.000
Yes.

00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:23.000
And you can't be in relationship with anything or anyone.

00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:30.000
If you're not present.

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:31.000
Yeah.

00:44:31.000 --> 00:44:34.000
So I just wanted to clear that up for those who are listening as anew.

00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:39.000
And this is part of what we do inside of the youth Summit.

00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:40.000
Yes.

00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:48.000
You, you know one of the other things I didn't say this earlier, but I I was one of the adult youth facilitators, joy and education.

00:44:48.000 --> 00:44:55.000
There's a couple of us around that have been in in this particular designation.

00:44:55.000 --> 00:45:06.000
And one of the things that for me is very, very important is that we have young people stand up and speak to their peers.

00:45:06.000 --> 00:45:15.000
So it's actually like, you know, public speaking is one of the things that adults are scared with, much less young people.

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:26.000
And so I think one of the things that I think is is is monumental in getting your that expression out.

00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:38.000
There is go to the front of the room and speak to the body or at least stand and speak to the group, and that, and still some confidence, some some.

00:45:38.000 --> 00:45:43.000
You know that people people really do want to hear what I have to say.

00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:45.000
And and inside of this this, and and as Micah will have both said, this is a sacred place, this.

00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:51.000
So they can speak. Whatever's there? What's going on with them to any particular degree?

00:45:51.000 --> 00:46:02.000
So I love that. Yeah, go ahead.

00:46:02.000 --> 00:46:10.000
I can remember as as a as a young teenager in the space, trying to.

00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:20.000
Discredit the voices of somebody younger than me, and and I remember it was me, and I will never forget the how in which and at this was somebody.

00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:37.000
Maybe 9, 10 years old, and the power with from which they spoke, and that the the words of not wanting to be silenced, due to anything due to my age, my size.

00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:42.000
It, it it was, it was super powerful.

00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:45.000
I felt I felt so small after trying to play so big.

00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:53.000
You know, man, what I'm talking about is this, what you're talking about is, you know I go.

00:46:53.000 --> 00:46:59.000
And it was. It was a great understanding for me, and the ability to be so young.

00:46:59.000 --> 00:47:07.000
And have yourself be heard, is a big confidence builder, and I think a lot of our young people.

00:47:07.000 --> 00:47:25.000
I think that's what you see in the expression of the youth, in that pushing all of the quote, unquote black lives, matter, movements, all of the protests that have been happening in the years past, like those are youth that wanna be heard and that's what's so important about

00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:30.000
a space like the international Black Youth Summit. You know, we heard we are really heard.

00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:33.000
That's really important.

00:47:33.000 --> 00:47:46.000
Really important, you know, it's interesting. You talk about having these conversations with people at Walmart, or wherever your co-workers like, always carrying that conversation with you.

00:47:46.000 --> 00:48:03.000
The International Black Summit. Conversation with you and Deborah Small's a former facilitator, and ongoing facilitator of the International Black Sun.

00:48:03.000 --> 00:48:04.000
Hmm!

00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:09.000
She used to have an expression, being a a summit facilitator in the field like a summit facilitator in one of our events in the room.

00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:11.000
But she's to talk about being a summit facilitator out there in the field, out there in the world.

00:48:11.000 --> 00:48:27.000
She was a summit facilitator out there in her work you're a summit facilitator out there in in Workmart, out there with your co-workers in your family, with your teenager.

00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:33.000
So I wanted to ask. You know I look at first of all, I'm just a Dorian looking at you guys.

00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:38.000
As a couple with the baby like it's just like, pick your perfect.

00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:39.000
It's like you need to take a picture and put it.

00:48:39.000 --> 00:48:45.000
You know, it's like the perfect picture that when you buy the frame there's already the perfect picture that when you buy the frame there's already the perfect picture in there.

00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:50.000
Oh, hello! Thank you.

00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:51.000
Thank you.

00:48:51.000 --> 00:48:53.000
Like it's. It's just beautiful.

00:48:53.000 --> 00:48:55.000
And I'm not gonna spend too much time on this.

00:48:55.000 --> 00:49:02.000
But the summit, the International Black Summit, initially, was created out of a conversation around relationships between black men and black women.

00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:07.000
We won't get into that right now. But look at look at what you guys are representing.

00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:20.000
It's just beautiful. So, so wanted to ask you guys a little bit about the work that you do first being parents, 2 or 4 children and also the podcast.

00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:25.000
Cast and the family group that you guys are working with.

00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.000
And I say, you're kind of doing it as facilitators in the field.

00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:30.000
Oh!

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:39.000
I totally agree with that. I think it's very interesting that you mentioned Deborah.

00:49:39.000 --> 00:49:51.000
You know her her son was one of my best friends, and he's definitely a part of what cultivated me to having the conversation everywhere you go like it, doesn't it?

00:49:51.000 --> 00:49:52.000
Didn't make sense to find gold and not take it with you.

00:49:52.000 --> 00:50:01.000
You know what I mean like. So if you've and to me the conversation was gold, you know.

00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:07.000
So to not take it with me ever was foolish, but.

00:50:07.000 --> 00:50:18.000
One of the one of the ways that I feel fortunate is that my family, meaning motherfather's sister.

00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:22.000
They're very receptive to you, you know. To the conversation I was having with the summit.

00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:36.000
Without having to go to the summit. You know I like to sometimes break the summit conversation down into layman's terms, so to speak.

00:50:36.000 --> 00:50:43.000
You know, so that I think a lot of times what used to scare people was the conversation.

00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:46.000
Or should I say the wordage? You know people people can sign, and that's why the prerequisite was always good.

00:50:46.000 --> 00:50:53.000
People can sometimes, you know, feel like you're trying to talk smarter than them.

00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:57.000
What do you mean? Triggered? Especially and you know I'm not really talking about today.

00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:01.000
I'm talking about in a time where the word wasn't used more.

00:51:01.000 --> 00:51:07.000
What you mean, you know. Hack having to explain it in a I guess layman's term is Debate.

00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:17.000
I was very good at that I'm very good at using whatever language you use to get you to understand what the conversation is.

00:51:17.000 --> 00:51:23.000
You know, sometime the words aren't important as much as the conversation is important, you know.

00:51:23.000 --> 00:51:29.000
So, even even with my wife. Sometime, the words we use on what we're really trying to say.

00:51:29.000 --> 00:51:36.000
You know, we just in a space where these words are in a way, and then sometime it'll take me noticing.

00:51:36.000 --> 00:51:39.000
Oh, no, no, no, that's not what I'm talking about.

00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:42.000
This is what I'm talking about, you know.

00:51:42.000 --> 00:51:48.000
So, being able to.

00:51:48.000 --> 00:52:03.000
So what we do. So yeah, I, I use the I'm kind of babbling, so excuse me, I use the c codage in order to have the conversation spread everywhere.

00:52:03.000 --> 00:52:10.000
That's how I use it in my podcasting. That's how I use it in our support group.

00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:15.000
So people some people might not understand. Trigger. They'll understand. Bothered, you know.

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:18.000
I don't I don't get caught up in the wordage.

00:52:18.000 --> 00:52:28.000
I get caught in the conversation, and and really what I'm caught in is getting clear, you know, understanding that you know.

00:52:28.000 --> 00:52:37.000
Just being is enough, you know, being in the space, being with what's happening.

00:52:37.000 --> 00:52:41.000
You know, you know, being a father being a husband, you know.

00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:55.000
Being is, you know, sometime enough, and and the the conversation, the wordage, those things help me with that.

00:52:55.000 --> 00:53:13.000
They help me in podcast, and they help me in talking to my wife to help me in dealing with 3 autistic children who are nonverbal, which is really why, you know, using, you know, sometimes getting past the word, it is important.

00:53:13.000 --> 00:53:14.000
For me, you know, I don't always need the word.

00:53:14.000 --> 00:53:23.000
Age I need to get to what's about what we need to get clear about, you know, having 3 daughters who don't speak, you know.

00:53:23.000 --> 00:53:24.000
Sometimes I can't wait for the words I sometimes I almost never wait for the words.

00:53:24.000 --> 00:53:33.000
You know I have use my other listening. Yes, so it's about listening.

00:53:33.000 --> 00:53:35.000
Hmm!

00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:54.000
So we'll we'll find this to what we're doing, so that I help my husband not be able so much right so in our everyday parenting, by forget what has us share so much at this time of our lives, via the support group it's a special needs family support group which is a reflection

00:53:54.000 --> 00:54:04.000
of who we are. We are family with 3 teenagers who are on the autism spectrum, and they all happen to be nonverbal.

00:54:04.000 --> 00:54:11.000
Okay, so in this space of you know, we you know you're in a summit, and you're using work.

00:54:11.000 --> 00:54:14.000
You're telling people to get up in and say something.

00:54:14.000 --> 00:54:21.000
And do you know so in a world where my children don't use words like, how do we do that? You know?

00:54:21.000 --> 00:54:23.000
And so the listening part comes in. So that's like one of our.

00:54:23.000 --> 00:54:29.000
We took what we have from this summer space, and we both happen to be great.

00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:35.000
So we're so we're listening and listening is what is not just.

00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:39.000
The ear part is kind of looking at what they're doing and say, Okay, I see you.

00:54:39.000 --> 00:54:43.000
This is the direction you're going in. This is this thing that you want.

00:54:43.000 --> 00:54:47.000
This is how badly you want, or how you know passionately.

00:54:47.000 --> 00:54:51.000
You know you want this thing here, so that has helped us from the both of us.

00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:57.000
And sometimes we're listening without giving them a chance to talk.

00:54:57.000 --> 00:54:58.000
So that's what goes balances. We have to figure out and allowing them to be independent, you know.

00:54:58.000 --> 00:55:14.000
So it's like we're so good at the listening thing that we kind of just taken, you know, not giving them a chance to fully make their request a times, but it also allows the space of freedom for them.

00:55:14.000 --> 00:55:31.000
They can have a bad day. We actually endure a lot of things that a lot of other parents with special needs cannot you know they're not talking, but the acting out when yes, yeah, a special needs child with someone who's not verbal cannot be heard?

00:55:31.000 --> 00:55:40.000
Okay, we were able to have. We have more tolerance than most people and that's something that we've learned just sharing in our group. Okay?

00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:43.000
So that's the parent aspect of it. When you all talked about mental health and just, you know, in the state of mental health in this whole world today, right?

00:55:43.000 --> 00:55:55.000
And just how the summit conversations are to the world, and very much needed.

00:55:55.000 --> 00:56:05.000
You know. So with the support group, that's really, that's what we're about.

00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:06.000
Yeah.

00:56:06.000 --> 00:56:07.000
We're.

00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:14.000
That conversation in the space of like we, you know, we take them all, if we can, within that hours I get we're here.

00:56:14.000 --> 00:56:16.000
We're clearing. We are your clearing. You come here to clear you.

00:56:16.000 --> 00:56:28.000
Come here to clear, you know, right? And so that's what that hour of being on social media is all about.

00:56:28.000 --> 00:56:36.000
And I get you know it's not. We're not like this popular live group, but it's like the people that come. They get us, and we share completely with that.

00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:41.000
We serve as a reflection of them, and we get to know them as such.

00:56:41.000 --> 00:56:45.000
And understanding that a lot of families like I was cause sometime fill alone.

00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:50.000
And feel like nobody understands, and nobody's listening, you know.

00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:55.000
Nobody could really get what I'm going through. It's like, no, no, no, we get it.

00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:56.000
Hmm!

00:56:56.000 --> 00:57:02.000
We get it. And it's okay. We serve as a listening and we serve as a clearing in that space.

00:57:02.000 --> 00:57:21.000
So, so now, the the podcast is a that is our creative, that is understanding that what it is to be for us in this lifestyle is sometimes some curse words.

00:57:21.000 --> 00:57:25.000
It's sometimes some craziness, you know. It's sometimes singing a crazy song.

00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:33.000
It's sometime. Yes, my daughter is up at 3 30.

00:57:33.000 --> 00:57:37.000
One am asking for snacks in the kitchen, and I'm too tired to handle it.

00:57:37.000 --> 00:57:43.000
But I gotta handle it. It's it's it's you know.

00:57:43.000 --> 00:57:49.000
It's that's that is, that is that thing to help you laugh, you know, cause we need joy.

00:57:49.000 --> 00:57:57.000
We definitely need joy, happiness and health are a one, a.

00:57:57.000 --> 00:58:12.000
Be quiet one, and so when you talk about that mental, you know, the podcast is also for our mental health as well, it's actually, you know it's how we don't go crazy.

00:58:12.000 --> 00:58:15.000
Cause all the curse words we don't know how we're going to do.

00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:19.000
This is also for our mental health as well. It's actually, you know, it's how we don't go crazy, cause all the curse words we oh, you know!

00:58:19.000 --> 00:58:35.000
So where's the peace? And that's what we really kind of keep underline. That's what it's all about.

00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:40.000
You gotta laugh laughter. You need that. That that's healthy. I'll be honest with you.

00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:51.000
I'm I'm a little still cord in my feelings.

00:58:51.000 --> 00:58:52.000
Hmm!

00:58:52.000 --> 00:58:53.000
Yeah, my, our oldest dog actually passed this morning today.

00:58:53.000 --> 00:58:54.000
Oh, my! Sorry to hear that!

00:58:54.000 --> 00:59:06.000
And yeah, we unexpectedly had to take her to the Vet.

00:59:06.000 --> 00:59:07.000
Yeah.

00:59:07.000 --> 00:59:09.000
And you know she didn't come home. So it's we're morning and it's just been a long day today.

00:59:09.000 --> 00:59:18.000
Actually, I'll tell you this sharing all this stuff in the space is very helpful and healing from me.

00:59:18.000 --> 00:59:32.000
I I didn't want to start the conversation with all my dog that but, you know, feel the need to share that.

00:59:32.000 --> 00:59:39.000
That was that was definitely heavy on our heart. It yeah, it it had me be present to.

00:59:39.000 --> 00:59:49.000
Well, I'll share I had me be present to the joy I want to spread in particular with my family.

00:59:49.000 --> 00:59:58.000
You know I am. I am a dialysis, patient and and I do dialysis 4 to 5 times a week at home.

00:59:58.000 --> 01:00:07.000
I sometimes am ill during the day and during my ownness I get Honorees.

01:00:07.000 --> 01:00:15.000
I get very angry, and sometime it's not.

01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:19.000
No, sometimes it's never really anybody's fault, you know.

01:00:19.000 --> 01:00:25.000
Why why, I'm angry, you know it's because that's the easiest way that I deal with pain.

01:00:25.000 --> 01:00:38.000
Is anger. And it's funny that my dog passing today have me be present to how I don't wanna spread that anger anymore.

01:00:38.000 --> 01:00:55.000
I really don't wanna give that to my wife and my kids, and even my younger puppy, you know, I I don't wanna give angry, hurt men and.

01:00:55.000 --> 01:01:01.000
Yeah, that's that's really what I became.

01:01:01.000 --> 01:01:13.000
Sometimes they hurt, and pain of life could have you build up that watermelon, you know, shield again so wow, that's another reason. We started this special needs podcast.

01:01:13.000 --> 01:01:14.000
And excuse me, our special needs support group and also course words.

01:01:14.000 --> 01:01:21.000
And praise is because it's more than just our children.

01:01:21.000 --> 01:01:35.000
It's also his state of health as well that had us realized like the mental issues issues of those who are actually who have the disability.

01:01:35.000 --> 01:01:53.000
You know that, you know, from someone having an illness, a disease, a disorder, is kind of acknowledging, like, you know, they are going through something themselves.

01:01:53.000 --> 01:01:54.000
Okay.

01:01:54.000 --> 01:01:55.000
You know they have their own mental battles to face, and I'm encouraging Michael to write a book as well, so to be reflective of the mental background.

01:01:55.000 --> 01:02:03.000
That he has endured at this time. I don't know if you all know, but he faces insomnia, depression, anxiety, in its part because of his chemical makeup.

01:02:03.000 --> 01:02:11.000
When you're missing a kidney, and you know best we are. You know.

01:02:11.000 --> 01:02:14.000
That's how whole the body works. It's like your chemical makeup.

01:02:14.000 --> 01:02:20.000
Just kind of puts you in a vulnerable space, not having everything operate, not having your mind.

01:02:20.000 --> 01:02:28.000
Get all that you know, material and sell, you know s sustenance, that you need.

01:02:28.000 --> 01:02:42.000
So this is also relative to what we're doing with our support group and with our podcast the very thing that he's sharing just sharing how he doesn't want to be this angry person anymore.

01:02:42.000 --> 01:02:43.000
So I'm you know. Of course I'm glad you know.

01:02:43.000 --> 01:02:49.000
Of course I'm happy about that.

01:02:49.000 --> 01:02:58.000
You know, you know, I've got a question for you guys, and actually, it's it's a twofold question.

01:02:58.000 --> 01:03:08.000
Now that you're parents, what would you say to other parents about doing the International Black School Summit?

01:03:08.000 --> 01:03:16.000
And then the flip side of it is, what would you say to parents about having their young people do?

01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:23.000
The Youth. Summit.

01:03:23.000 --> 01:03:24.000
Yeah.

01:03:24.000 --> 01:03:27.000
I!

01:03:27.000 --> 01:03:32.000
I would encourage the parents to go first.

01:03:32.000 --> 01:03:35.000
I I would definitely encourage the parents to go first.

01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:43.000
1, 2, 2. First, you always want to understand what your kids are getting into as a parent.

01:03:43.000 --> 01:03:46.000
I will always want to understand what my children are getting into.

01:03:46.000 --> 01:03:52.000
I think I think parents or parents think they know they kids.

01:03:52.000 --> 01:03:59.000
Most parents would say, they know their children, and going first would allow you to understand.

01:03:59.000 --> 01:04:10.000
If it's a space for your children, or if there's something your children could get from the space, I believe everybody gets some different space.

01:04:10.000 --> 01:04:33.000
I just think, you know I wouldn't. I would encourage anybody who doesn't think they can handle the conversations on their own, that the summit is a great space to get tools to engage with a young people in a in a different kind of way in a special kind of way.

01:04:33.000 --> 01:04:34.000
Questions for you, Mike.

01:04:34.000 --> 01:04:35.000
Yeah. How would encourage this? Not not that. I just.

01:04:35.000 --> 01:04:40.000
I kinda talked myself through it, I would definitely encourage the summit.

01:04:40.000 --> 01:04:59.000
I I would say most parents should go first, but I would definitely encourage this on me as something that you should introduce your children to, because the just, the language, the understanding of being clear, you know I feel like the summit has saved me some money

01:04:59.000 --> 01:05:03.000
in psychiatry, you know. I'm I'm able to.

01:05:03.000 --> 01:05:10.000
Slowly. You know, I feel like the summit has saved me some money in psychiatry, you know.

01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:20.000
I'm I is has saved me a lot on my psychiatry bill, because we are really able to.

01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:26.000
Talk through a lot of you know what is going on with us.

01:05:26.000 --> 01:05:28.000
And yeah, definitely, you're my psychiatrist.

01:05:28.000 --> 01:05:37.000
Go ahead!

01:05:37.000 --> 01:05:42.000
Okay. You said that you would recommend that the parents go first.

01:05:42.000 --> 01:05:45.000
Did your parents go before you?

01:05:45.000 --> 01:05:52.000
No, mine didn't either, but no, excuse me, my, it it is the woman that raised me so.

01:05:52.000 --> 01:05:53.000
She's my aunt, mother so. Yes, she did. She did come first, actually.

01:05:53.000 --> 01:06:02.000
So, and she sent. Was she? Let her kid, you know I'm her child, so it's like when she okay. It.

01:06:02.000 --> 01:06:16.000
And she you know what she says today is that she knew that we needed that space and she acknowledges it as the space that you know those that's what she could not give us was a way to cause we didn't talk like that.

01:06:16.000 --> 01:06:29.000
In our home, and and part of the things that are in my book actually go over some of the things like we weren't talking like that at that time, and maybe because we were too young, because my auntie didn't have the tools at that time.

01:06:29.000 --> 01:06:32.000
You know she didn't go into. I was 20 years old.

01:06:32.000 --> 01:06:38.000
No, she went before that, but it was like I was 20, and she was just now letting me know about it.

01:06:38.000 --> 01:06:59.000
So we have gone through a few experiences with, you know, few traumas involved already, but the fact that she came and knew that it was a space that we needed to be in, I think that supports what he's saying. It's like, yeah, let the parents go some parents might not you know.

01:06:59.000 --> 01:07:23.000
Ironically. My parents engaged in a similar conversation in a different space, so, as we were able to come together sometimes, and and now I get it, why, I was able to sometimes decode the language because my parents spoken in a different language, you know, they use different wordage I use different words, but I started.

01:07:23.000 --> 01:07:24.000
To get. Oh, that were they using means, trigger, that word means this, that word means that.

01:07:24.000 --> 01:07:32.000
Oh, it's a different language, but it's the same conversation, the same thing.

01:07:32.000 --> 01:07:41.000
So my parents had a similar conversation, which allowed us to communicate, which allowed us to to basically get clear on things.

01:07:41.000 --> 01:07:52.000
And so that is yeah, that's that's why the that's I get. That's why I worked for me and my, we found a way to have that communication.

01:07:52.000 --> 01:07:55.000
Yeah, it's good. I think parents should definitely go.

01:07:55.000 --> 01:07:56.000
Yeah, and I I think it. I think it can happen all kinds of ways.

01:07:56.000 --> 01:07:58.000
Because again my mother and father weren't directly there.

01:07:58.000 --> 01:08:02.000
But it was a space that I benefit greatly from, so I think it can happen the breakthrough it first of all if you're there, and you're having a lot of report directly there.

01:08:02.000 --> 01:08:22.000
But it was the space that I benefit greatly from, so I think, and whoever chooses again, that I know that was somebody always came to, even if you find it.

01:08:22.000 --> 01:08:32.000
If you want to you know, if you chose to for some it came naturally for somewhat easier, for some, you know.

01:08:32.000 --> 01:08:35.000
By the end of the weekend, or maybe on Sunday, you get, you know, have your breakthrough.

01:08:35.000 --> 01:08:47.000
Happen. Maybe it was after. And I just think in all ways that everyone should be welcome, because, you know, I think it's happening in different ways for different people.

01:08:47.000 --> 01:08:52.000
And that's speaking for my other. The other youth participants is well, and myself.

01:08:52.000 --> 01:08:57.000
One of my favorite stories is Brother from Chicago.

01:08:57.000 --> 01:09:06.000
I put him out there. His name is Bob. We were at it was it was where is the summer where we met? And Philly?

01:09:06.000 --> 01:09:21.000
He came on Sunday, and he came focused to get his breakthrough like he stormed in the room, and it was like he kind of whirlwind into space, and everybody was like he just got here. What did he do?

01:09:21.000 --> 01:09:24.000
But he it was like, no, I came to get my breakthrough.

01:09:24.000 --> 01:09:30.000
I came for it. I'm okay. What?

01:09:30.000 --> 01:09:36.000
What I'm here for my breakthrough. Okay? I'm about to break through.

01:09:36.000 --> 01:09:37.000
And the truth is.

01:09:37.000 --> 01:09:40.000
So he came for day number 3.

01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:44.000
He came for day number 3, and it was like, and it was like Yo.

01:09:44.000 --> 01:09:52.000
I'm here, you didn't use this wordage, but you get by the actions and energy like he came for his breakthrough.

01:09:52.000 --> 01:09:58.000
Okay, he stormed in the room. He shook up the room, and it was like we stood there.

01:09:58.000 --> 01:10:10.000
But through his breakthrough all of us got a breakthrough because he came with such an honestly, the room was a little kinda like Fluffy at the time.

01:10:10.000 --> 01:10:21.000
It was nice it was all the flowers and all. We're doing good.

01:10:21.000 --> 01:10:22.000
Alright!

01:10:22.000 --> 01:10:24.000
Bob came through. Boom! No, and we was like da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da

01:10:24.000 --> 01:10:35.000
da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da it was one of my favorite moments of understanding like man you could really come through with this, and really get what you want from me and he really knew what he wanted he knew he

01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:43.000
needed this space to come through to get clear, so he could go back to Chicago cause I mean, it was the last day.

01:10:43.000 --> 01:10:47.000
It was the last day he came, got his breakthroughs all right, cool.

01:10:47.000 --> 01:10:50.000
I I go back to Chicago now I'm gonna be all right.

01:10:50.000 --> 01:10:52.000
And that was that's one of my favorite moments.

01:10:52.000 --> 01:11:00.000
That's one of my favorite stories. I I like to see other people come to you for their breakthrough, and sometime with that rainbow just energies.

01:11:00.000 --> 01:11:03.000
All right, all right. What's that? Right? You want your breakthrough.

01:11:03.000 --> 01:11:08.000
We don't get you there, so wait a minute. I got you absolutely. You wouldn't talk.

01:11:08.000 --> 01:11:18.000
Okay, let's go, you know. I know I come to my wife like that sometime.

01:11:18.000 --> 01:11:19.000
How about you, Willa? Do you also have a favorite story?

01:11:19.000 --> 01:11:22.000
You finish cause, you know.

01:11:22.000 --> 01:11:24.000
That's a great story, my!

01:11:24.000 --> 01:11:37.000
Thanks! Oh, goodness I it's pretty honest! From the moment I step into those spaces to some space, things just start happening like I.

01:11:37.000 --> 01:11:48.000
Again, I'll say for me, like it is a dreamy, very celestial, whole vibrant energy that I get there.

01:11:48.000 --> 01:11:49.000
I wouldn't say I witness breakthroughs more than I just experienced for myself.

01:11:49.000 --> 01:11:59.000
My own breakthroughs, and that was the magic for me.

01:11:59.000 --> 01:12:03.000
That was the magic for me. And now you know, of course, I love to.

01:12:03.000 --> 01:12:19.000
I can easily share in others success in their you know the beauty of their life and their transformation, but I know that I was, you know, in need of one for myself, and it did.

01:12:19.000 --> 01:12:23.000
It really started in Philadelphia for me, and I I just.

01:12:23.000 --> 01:12:45.000
I've been just on this cloud ever since, like just being able to express who I am, be who I am, and no particular thing, I think, and I guess in a way, maybe maybe like I say, let's say it 20 I start when I was 20, I'm 43 23 years later, finally, writing a

01:12:45.000 --> 01:12:49.000
book, right like I said I had this declaration.

01:12:49.000 --> 01:13:10.000
I'm an author. I'm this, that and this and this, and having life happen, and then being able to come to this space to be an adult, and to come to this space comfortably and enjoy this space right here and maybe that's like late blooming, you know, maybe it's

01:13:10.000 --> 01:13:12.000
like yeah, I got a lot of things there, but now, and I can have you know, nothing, so to speak.

01:13:12.000 --> 01:13:23.000
No, you know, just starting from the base this ground, this space right here and it's I feel like I have an abundance of everything that I need, because I can have a conversation.

01:13:23.000 --> 01:13:32.000
You know. So that's that's the breakthrough for me.

01:13:32.000 --> 01:13:38.000
I'll tell you how we met. It was the Thursday night event.

01:13:38.000 --> 01:13:41.000
Oh, yeah.

01:13:41.000 --> 01:13:42.000
Oh, look!

01:13:42.000 --> 01:13:46.000
It was Thursday night event. I'm 21.

01:13:46.000 --> 01:13:47.000
I'm from New York City. I got my whole check for the week.

01:13:47.000 --> 01:14:01.000
The whole check. I'm going to the summit. I had long locks at the time my locks were done, I'm 21 years old.

01:14:01.000 --> 01:14:06.000
You can't tell me nothing. I'm the most beautiful chocolate thing.

01:14:06.000 --> 01:14:13.000
Walk in the streets so it's a Thursday night event, you know.

01:14:13.000 --> 01:14:18.000
I know this is where you know we kind of mingle, and we dance and round seventies night.

01:14:18.000 --> 01:14:41.000
So everybody's dancing, and I get to the ballroom at the Adams Mark Hotel seventies night. So everybody's dancing, and I get to to the ballroom at the Adams Mark Hotel rolling with the summit like how I used to say it because the the places

01:14:41.000 --> 01:14:50.000
we stay were the places that nobody else black in town thought black people stay, and especially, and as a youth, you know, you know how powerful it is to be somewhere, and a bunch of you'd be like.

01:14:50.000 --> 01:14:53.000
Well, where y'all from? I'm from New York.

01:14:53.000 --> 01:15:03.000
Where are you staying? I'm staying at this place don't nobody, black stadium man come down this Saturday at this time. I'll be there.

01:15:03.000 --> 01:15:05.000
I'll let you in. You'll come into a room.

01:15:05.000 --> 01:15:12.000
We'll talk about it. It it it was such a a reason to stick my chests out just some of the places we stay, you know, when you get to tell other youth that don't think black people stay there.

01:15:12.000 --> 01:15:27.000
It's like, No, we there. I got a room with 7 other people, but I got a room, but so I'm I go into the.

01:15:27.000 --> 01:15:30.000
I go into the ballroom. The music is playing a dancing.

01:15:30.000 --> 01:15:44.000
Willa is dancing with another. You facilitate the name Dawson at the time, and I'm like, Wow!

01:15:44.000 --> 01:15:52.000
She's nice, right? So so she was nice looking. Let me say that I was like, she's nice nice.

01:15:52.000 --> 01:15:56.000
So this is the A/C of the disposable cameras.

01:15:56.000 --> 01:16:03.000
So I I strategically take pictures of the youth to the left of her.

01:16:03.000 --> 01:16:07.000
Hey? What's up? Y'all stand right there! Stand right there!

01:16:07.000 --> 01:16:13.000
I take pictures of the to the writer for, hey, are you right there ever?

01:16:13.000 --> 01:16:16.000
Okay, hey? Hey? Hey, Dawson, what's up, man? Hey?

01:16:16.000 --> 01:16:20.000
I I didn't. I didn't really want to picture Dawson.

01:16:20.000 --> 01:16:27.000
I had a lot of pictures. I I didn't need another picture with Dawson, but I wanted to picture a girl.

01:16:27.000 --> 01:16:34.000
He was dancing with. So they took the picture together. It's funny I had the picture for a long time.

01:16:34.000 --> 01:16:43.000
I don't think I have it anymore. But I took that picture, and then Dawson went went to get them something to drink.

01:16:43.000 --> 01:16:47.000
So her and I kind of standing there on the dance floor.

01:16:47.000 --> 01:16:50.000
There's a little bit of a awkward silence.

01:16:50.000 --> 01:16:53.000
So you know I must have run my 21 year old.

01:16:53.000 --> 01:17:05.000
Courage, and I say to her, I say, I don't mean to be to forward, but I think you are absolutely beautiful, and she was like, Oh, thank you! And then I walked away.

01:17:05.000 --> 01:17:13.000
I left the room I just left it's like I'm going it's Thursday, so it's it's strategy.

01:17:13.000 --> 01:17:25.000
It's strategy. It's strategy. It's Thursday. We're here for a weekend so I was like, I'll just leave the line, get my clock gable on and stroll out the room kinda cool, like you know.

01:17:25.000 --> 01:17:44.000
Boom. I mean, it worked. So yeah, I mean, I'm how did you feel after I told you that you remember that I've you know it wasn't the first time that I got.

01:17:44.000 --> 01:17:53.000
And they're like, Well, I'm I'm I'll call me, and I was looking good, and that was the friend he was the first person at the summit.

01:17:53.000 --> 01:17:56.000
Nice. How are you beautiful? So, thank you. Guys.

01:17:56.000 --> 01:18:02.000
You were like dude. Get in line, get in line. Thank you.

01:18:02.000 --> 01:18:08.000
I think you're number 12 in line.

01:18:08.000 --> 01:18:13.000
Funny, funny, funny thing about that. So the weekend happens.

01:18:13.000 --> 01:18:25.000
We bonded over the weekend. You know her, and I end up spending a lot of time together that's the rest of the weekend, and so it's like, I think, maybe Monday or Tuesday.

01:18:25.000 --> 01:18:32.000
I decided, I'm gonna call her right now. Ironically, this is very much iical.

01:18:32.000 --> 01:18:37.000
Da Dawson called her. Maybe 5 min before I called her right.

01:18:37.000 --> 01:18:51.000
So our initial phone conversation was quite cold. She was kinda under the like these dudes must be running game impression, trying to call me back the back.

01:18:51.000 --> 01:18:57.000
And so I remember first of all, I'm being kind of infatuated with her.

01:18:57.000 --> 01:19:01.000
I was like, I really like this girl. I enjoyed our weekend.

01:19:01.000 --> 01:19:02.000
I wanna talk to her all the time, and that wasn't normal for me.

01:19:02.000 --> 01:19:23.000
I was quite the whole at the time, so you know, being, in factuated with one girl wasn't something I was used to wanting to always talk to one girl wasn't something that was used to, but I found myself wanting to talk to her and want to get to know her different than everybody

01:19:23.000 --> 01:19:29.000
else. After the first conversation I got. Oh, man, I'm gonna have to be really persistent.

01:19:29.000 --> 01:19:35.000
This is gonna take work. So it started, you know, three-minute conversation.

01:19:35.000 --> 01:19:39.000
8 min conversation because she got to go to class, you know.

01:19:39.000 --> 01:19:46.000
12 min conversation. Because, you know, we kind of ran out of stuff to talk to and don't want to do the dead air thing, you know.

01:19:46.000 --> 01:20:04.000
20 min conversation, half an hour, and then all of a sudden, within a couple of maybe a month or so, we were talking every day, a lot, running up phone bills she was in Chicago at the time, and I was in New York.

01:20:04.000 --> 01:20:11.000
And and right, and champagne. Illinois at college, and so we.

01:20:11.000 --> 01:20:37.000
So that was, that was August when we bet we talked on the phone up until October, where we met again in Oakland, planning body meeting in Oakland, and that was quite bigical, because you kind of talked to somebody for a while and for me you kinda like you have this image of the

01:20:37.000 --> 01:20:43.000
person in your head. But you could be wrong, and they could not look like the image you've been holding for all these months.

01:20:43.000 --> 01:20:47.000
I I don't understand how people do the Internet things.

01:20:47.000 --> 01:21:07.000
Just let me say that as a sidebar I was so nervous going to see her again because I was pretty much fallen in love with her, and when it the image to match what was in my head, what I saw, and I remember coming into the planning body meeting in Oakland and looking around

01:21:07.000 --> 01:21:12.000
the room for her, and looking around the room. And when I spotted her she was everything.

01:21:12.000 --> 01:21:19.000
I'd imagine in my head, and then some, and I was just like it was that inner life.

01:21:19.000 --> 01:21:24.000
Yes, yes, this is.

01:21:24.000 --> 01:21:25.000
Yeah.

01:21:25.000 --> 01:21:28.000
Oh, my goodness, why do I feel like this? Is our Valentine's Day episode.

01:21:28.000 --> 01:21:34.000
This is may.

01:21:34.000 --> 01:21:35.000
Hmm!

01:21:35.000 --> 01:21:43.000
I very much just like yes, and I remember when she saw me she kind of knew it was me, and I knew it was her, and after Oakland it was pretty much that was it.

01:21:43.000 --> 01:21:49.000
I think we solidify being boyfriend and girlfriend in January.

01:21:49.000 --> 01:21:51.000
So it's like, October in January.

01:21:51.000 --> 01:21:56.000
We solidify being boyfriend and girlfriend, cause I came to her school and stayed the weekend, and that was it.

01:21:56.000 --> 01:21:59.000
We've kind of been.

01:21:59.000 --> 01:22:02.000
With each other ever since. Yeah, it's my homey rep.

01:22:02.000 --> 01:22:05.000
Oh, gorgeous!

01:22:05.000 --> 01:22:08.000
Wonderful story, huh?

01:22:08.000 --> 01:22:12.000
Gorgeous. You remember it that way, Willow?

01:22:12.000 --> 01:22:14.000
I do, I do. I kind of remember, like I say, I you know when you're young you can choose.

01:22:14.000 --> 01:22:23.000
And it was just. We have such a chemistry, I noticed, looking at.

01:22:23.000 --> 01:22:26.000
I noticed his eyes first. So that was what like I saw.

01:22:26.000 --> 01:22:33.000
I could see him in a role, you know, because he has these domineering like beautiful big eyes.

01:22:33.000 --> 01:22:43.000
And it did happen like that. We talked and we're talking about just sharing.

01:22:43.000 --> 01:22:55.000
So being so comfortable, sharing, so we had learned how to share you know, in the summit that we already shared, and I just felt so free being with him and sharing my life with him.

01:22:55.000 --> 01:23:05.000
That I knew I'm and I remember there was the exchange of you know people like oh, I can't say I love you, it's like you know I love you it's like you know I love you, and we just said it very freely.

01:23:05.000 --> 01:23:10.000
Not caring about what's gonna happen. Will he love me back?

01:23:10.000 --> 01:23:12.000
I'm kind of good like. You know what I love this person.

01:23:12.000 --> 01:23:18.000
I'm gonna let him know. And he helped make that just a easy things to do, easy to love them, you know, and yeah, it really did. It happened like that.

01:23:18.000 --> 01:23:28.000
They have like. That's where we became good friends, and we had to keep buffer relationship.

01:23:28.000 --> 01:23:34.000
We had to keep that authenticity long distance, because we weren't in the same cities, and we live in cities, and there's people available in cities.

01:23:34.000 --> 01:23:42.000
So it's like we kept choosing each other in a missed everything.

01:23:42.000 --> 01:23:46.000
And I very specifically remember, you know, we understood that we were I didn't want to do long distance.

01:23:46.000 --> 01:23:53.000
That what was odd for me, I was very adamant.

01:23:53.000 --> 01:23:56.000
I'm doing a long distance relationship. I live in New York. You couldn't me.

01:23:56.000 --> 01:24:13.000
I'm not doing no longer, but I remember going on a date early on and not talking on the phone and not being present with the date at all, because I wanted to get back to call home.

01:24:13.000 --> 01:24:26.000
And that's when I kind of knew like, Oh, I just need to stop, you know, it's like, stop playing around if if I'm being honest with myself, I'm having a clearing conversation with myself, you know, this is the woman I choose.

01:24:26.000 --> 01:24:29.000
And if she choose me back I'm lucky, and I'm blessed.

01:24:29.000 --> 01:24:31.000
And so I just focused on that. Here, here we are.

01:24:31.000 --> 01:24:37.000
Here we are! We didn't know we was gonna have a second this late.

01:24:37.000 --> 01:24:49.000
I'm gonna tell you that we didn't know our son is our son is one of those gifts that that come in his life that I don't think had nothing to do with us.

01:24:49.000 --> 01:24:55.000
We were just the vessels, and we just almost.

01:24:55.000 --> 01:25:03.000
I'm grateful. I'm just so grateful to be that, and to get to share that with her.

01:25:03.000 --> 01:25:04.000
Really, that's it. Yeah.

01:25:04.000 --> 01:25:16.000
Thank you. Thank you both. Well, I'm grateful that you both sent this evening with us, and I'm sure I seek with Glen when I say we're both grateful that you said yes, our invitation to be our guest tonight.

01:25:16.000 --> 01:25:19.000
Always. I I can't say no to family.

01:25:19.000 --> 01:25:39.000
This is the family space I actually actually remember when my first, when my first daughter was born, there was a planning body meeting in Harlem, and I happen to be living in Harlem at the time, and I wasn't a member of of the youth body at the

01:25:39.000 --> 01:25:40.000
time, but I remember it is I never left. I always hear what's going on.

01:25:40.000 --> 01:26:03.000
Orin is like a father's to me, so I kind of keep my ear to where the summit is gonna be and where the space is, and there was a planning body meeting in Harlem, and I remember getting the opportunity to come to the village and let them know like you know we got one we

01:26:03.000 --> 01:26:09.000
you know my first daughter's been born, you know, and I came to share that with the village, and how that's always really special for me.

01:26:09.000 --> 01:26:17.000
It. It was. Yeah, it was the summit that the summit in my life.

01:26:17.000 --> 01:26:20.000
Yes, you are our village, and it is, you know you do.

01:26:20.000 --> 01:26:30.000
You could step away from your village, you come back home, and there your people there are the aunties and the uncles, and the cousins, and the culture.

01:26:30.000 --> 01:26:37.000
There's a culture here in the summit that is remained, and it's still here, and every time we come back and we speak with you guys, or we see you all cycle. And with the minutes you're like, yes, and clearing.

01:26:37.000 --> 01:26:51.000
And present. I was like, yes, you all are very much.

01:26:51.000 --> 01:26:52.000
You are the magic in my life, and that's for sure.

01:26:52.000 --> 01:26:57.000
You ought to magic in my life, and that's for sure you are the magic in my life.

01:26:57.000 --> 01:27:01.000
This space, the people in it that keep that magic going.

01:27:01.000 --> 01:27:26.000
Yes, I have to give this space the credit for having believe in a family that that there's a family that there's a of like-minded souls and beings that I could connect with, and feel so connected and feel loved and feel accepted.

01:27:26.000 --> 01:27:35.000
So you are very much this space is the reason that we are together, and reason that we have this family.

01:27:35.000 --> 01:27:42.000
The reason we can have these unique children and listen. It is the submitted, you know. It.

01:27:42.000 --> 01:27:47.000
It is this, it is you all, it is everything!

01:27:47.000 --> 01:27:51.000
And I have to say that like I talked to Glenn a lot.

01:27:51.000 --> 01:27:59.000
I always see your face on. I always see your face, Grace, but it's like we haven't had a you know you just one of those like we haven't had a you know. You just one of those like we have an exchange. We?

01:27:59.000 --> 01:28:09.000
Had to have a conversation in detail. But I've always see if I'm like, Yeah, that's family.

01:28:09.000 --> 01:28:13.000
I know her. I I've seen her for years now.

01:28:13.000 --> 01:28:19.000
So Joyce, comrade, be all of you all. It's like.

01:28:19.000 --> 01:28:20.000
Haven't seen you all for so many years. Now it's like, Yeah, these are my, it's these are my uncles, you know.

01:28:20.000 --> 01:28:36.000
My youth. People are my peers, my sister and brother being Malika, talk right now, you know, Alexis, I, when I started writing my book I came.

01:28:36.000 --> 01:28:52.000
I. Alexis write books. U. S. Okay, she writes, that was her declaration to help us. Is that yeah?

01:28:52.000 --> 01:28:53.000
Yeah.

01:28:53.000 --> 01:28:54.000
Make it easy she writes. That was that was our decoration. To help us. Is that yeah? Make it easy, you know.

01:28:54.000 --> 01:29:09.000
I mean it's it. You have very much a core, very much a spark, very much a seed as to why him and I are here, and why I have these children, and how we make it.

01:29:09.000 --> 01:29:10.000
Definitely, yes.

01:29:10.000 --> 01:29:13.000
So beautiful! I will say, for anybody who's listening.

01:29:13.000 --> 01:29:33.000
We have interviewed Malika, Redmond, and Alexis Gum so they've been on the podcast so who, if anybody's listening and they wanna find out more and listen to those podcasts, you can find them on the Youtube channel international black summit or on any of the main podcasts platform spotify and

01:29:33.000 --> 01:29:35.000
others. So I, although we've never done this before, Glenn.

01:29:35.000 --> 01:29:43.000
But I would like to invite Mike and Willa to generate the declaration.

01:29:43.000 --> 01:29:44.000
As we close, would you be open to that?

01:29:44.000 --> 01:29:48.000
Okay, absolutely.

01:29:48.000 --> 01:29:51.000
You know, and I'm clear they're not going to watermelon.

01:29:51.000 --> 01:30:03.000
It will bring it up on screen.

01:30:03.000 --> 01:30:04.000
Can you see? Okay?

01:30:04.000 --> 01:30:05.000
We will not water. Okay. Okay. You ready? Yes. Yes.

01:30:05.000 --> 01:30:19.000
The Declaration of the International Black Summit, we declare ourselves our community, and all communities, whole and complete, there's nothing to do except B.

01:30:19.000 --> 01:30:25.000
We assert that we are responsible for generating community as possibility and distinction.

01:30:25.000 --> 01:30:44.000
We listened for, and grant being the possibility, creation of unpredictable results, our conversation about and for those of African descent is one of power, self, generation, abundance, responsibility, unity, and integrity.

01:30:44.000 --> 01:31:06.000
With the possibility of being. We stand for the expression of our spirituality ending the murders of our men, women, and children, building economies responsible for finding our community maintaining wellness in our being, in our bodies, responsible for funding our community maintaining wellness, in our being in our bodies, providing services, establishing nurturing

01:31:06.000 --> 01:31:25.000
relationships, altering the conversation of who we are in the media, empowering our youth, we declare our community manifest itself in the world as contribution and the transformation of the universe.

01:31:25.000 --> 01:31:27.000
Alright!

01:31:27.000 --> 01:31:28.000
Yeah.

01:31:28.000 --> 01:31:29.000
Thank you. What?

01:31:29.000 --> 01:31:34.000
Thank you. Beautiful. I didn't see or hear a single watermelon.

01:31:34.000 --> 01:31:35.000
I I thought that was perfect.

01:31:35.000 --> 01:31:39.000
Thank you.

01:31:39.000 --> 01:31:50.000
The Declaration. It's also what was so powerful about the space it when you repeat something like that over and over again, it's hard not to live into it.

01:31:50.000 --> 01:32:01.000
It stays with you. Some of the parts I could have forgot.

01:32:01.000 --> 01:32:02.000
Yes, yes, nothing to accept being.

01:32:02.000 --> 01:32:04.000
I focus on daily. There's nothing to do with ending the march of the children.

01:32:04.000 --> 01:32:21.000
That just how present that is you. The way that that declaration speaks that is a part of this conversation.

01:32:21.000 --> 01:32:34.000
And I, you know that would be the first thing I will introduce to a parent not that I kinda read it again and get it again like, you know, you want to know what this space is about.

01:32:34.000 --> 01:32:40.000
We declare this every time. This is this is what we're about.

01:32:40.000 --> 01:32:50.000
Every time anything we're doing it goes back to this. It's a beautiful thing that was that was powerful.

01:32:50.000 --> 01:32:54.000
Well, good. So so I just want to just thank thank you.

01:32:54.000 --> 01:33:01.000
Thank you. Thank you for coming on, you know I love you guys. You know.

01:33:01.000 --> 01:33:09.000
Watch you grow up just so powerful to see your world citizens making things happen in your community, you know, impacting people's lives, moving conversations forward.

01:33:09.000 --> 01:33:19.000
You know, it's just it's it's it's remarkable.

01:33:19.000 --> 01:33:30.000
And I just want to just thank you for allowing this space to catapult you to where your lies are.

01:33:30.000 --> 01:33:31.000
No, thank you.

01:33:31.000 --> 01:33:34.000
Yes, we people to the space. We're thankful to the space.

01:33:34.000 --> 01:33:42.000
And thankful to adult. So if we talk about relationship to adults and youth, this site, you know, this is where you thank your parents, and you like.

01:33:42.000 --> 01:34:03.000
Thank you all for creating that space, for digging within yourselves and seeing what vulnerability, what do you want us to improve what you wanted to change, and having a space for your children so that they can grow so they can't get some tools for their life so thank you one of

01:34:03.000 --> 01:34:11.000
the most remarkable places. That's not a place. It is.

01:34:11.000 --> 01:34:19.000
It is a space stay, but it's anybody that's thinking about visiting wanted to bring some body to it.

01:34:19.000 --> 01:34:27.000
Do it. It's a beautiful space it's a beautiful space.

01:34:27.000 --> 01:34:28.000
Oh, David!

01:34:28.000 --> 01:34:42.000
Be there, just be there. Yes, we we we've been. We've been.

01:34:42.000 --> 01:34:43.000
Hmm!

01:34:43.000 --> 01:34:44.000
Hmm!

01:34:44.000 --> 01:34:48.000
We use the B in in one of our businesses that we wanna create, we, we're creating a space for autistic children in children with special needs called the awesome place to be, you know, that's how that's how the spaces in in our daily existence.

01:34:48.000 --> 01:34:52.000
You know it's an awesome place to be.

01:34:52.000 --> 01:34:53.000
Gotcha!

01:34:53.000 --> 01:34:58.000
Well, thank you. Tonight, on this podcast. This was an awesome place to be with.

01:34:58.000 --> 01:34:59.000
Uhhuh.

01:34:59.000 --> 01:35:03.000
You guys. So thank you. Thank you again being here. And we're going to end the session. There.

01:35:03.000 --> 01:35:22.000
Thank you to. Everyone was awesome to be with you guys who listened, who are either with us live right now as we record this or if you're listening later, or watching us later on, Youtube or Spotify or buzz sprout thank you for being with us, we're going to end

01:35:22.000 --> 01:35:28.000
the recording now and then. Afterwards we'll continue with an informal, short, informal Q. And a.

01:35:28.000 --> 01:35:30.000
If we can, with the people who are with us, live thanks!

01:35:30.000 --> 01:35:32.000
Everyone have a great night.

01:35:32.000 --> 01:35:37.000
Good night, everybody!