Blackness: Terraform - The Expectations Project

Today we talk to Zakiya Jackson, president of The Expectations Project, a DC-based organization that is doing amazing work advocating for kids in the hood.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Call Zone Media.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
You know, sometimes in life you come across people like
if if I'm gonna keep it a buck that you're
just like, I just want y'all to like me.

Speaker 1 (00:14):
You ever met somebody like that, You're just like, man,
I hope that I hope that food likes me. In like, like,
just just be real with y'all.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
You know, there are some people that you meet that
you just like from far away, you already know like,
oh yeah, nah, we're gonna be homies. It's it's going down,
you know. I felt like with Robert and Sophie and Cools,
I was like, we're gonna be friends. It was just
it was just so obvious to me that when we met,

(00:44):
we would we would it would be that's it, we
would link up the system. I'm about to introduce y'all
to is somebody that was more like the first part
where I was like, God, damn, man.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
I I hope she vibes with me.

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Because some people are just that brilliant, just that just
that dope, and they just carried his presence to where
you're like that there's a there's a calmness to their
brilliance and it's just dope to watch I got introduced

(01:28):
to this thing called the Expectations Project.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
This is a Terrorform episode.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
I'll introduce you to the Expectations Project and Zakia Jackson.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
Zach's I know that.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Capitol Hill is a cesspool, like we all know it.
You know, we all find that lobbying is frustrating. We
already did a thing on lobbyists. But then there's a
thing called advocacy, right, and we're going to talk about
the difference between the two, how they're connected, and that

(02:11):
there are people out there really actually trying to do
dope things. The Expectations Project is a project around educational equity.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
I got involved.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
In their campaign. They were doing about zip codes, that
your zip code shouldn't dictate your future. It's just the idea,
like just because I live in this zip code doesn't
mean that, like my school should be underfunded. The point
is this black woman finna change y'all's life. Let me

(02:54):
introduce y'all to a terror former mster, Kia Jackson.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
But before we do, currently.

Speaker 3 (03:04):
It's like this.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Bullook is like this.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Bullook is like this all right, this week it's like this, Well,
first of all, the most unconsequential debate, the most unnecessary.
First presidential debate is happening on Thursday, which depending on

(03:31):
when you listen to this, hopefully you listen to this
when it drops is tomorrow. I'm gonna go live on
my YouTube prop hip hop and just be going along
with y'all about this foolishness. The Lord, this is fitna
be so funny because what don't we already know? What
don't you already know about these people? This is they're
truly just trying to prove that they not owed and

(03:52):
they could own each other. Like that's the goal. The
goal has to be you just trying to own each other.
So we're gonna go, we're gonna talk about it. I
basically just get yourself drink. Imagine me sitting in your
living room just not being weird, but watching this debate's
so that's what we're gonna do.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
I'm gonna be sitting right here watching this mug with you.
So that's Thursday.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Also in that spirit, on June twenty ninth, I'm gonna
be up in Seattle, like come see your boy live.
I'm gonna be rapping doing some music at Fast Penny
Spirits in Seattle, Washington. You could also get tickets on
my website prophip hop dot com. I'll probably be shouting
that out as I'm going live, man, hopefully see y'all there.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
You know what I'm saying, Like.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
I popped out Sunday at a five K run. Shout
out Greg who is just a dope dude who he's
like a distance runner. He connected with this org that
is flying people, are flying sick kids who need medical help.

(04:57):
Obviously sick kids out of Palestine, so you're flying them
out of guys that to get a medical help.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
He was raising money for it. Praise the Lord.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
They reached their goal, met some dope people, so that
was cool. I got to meet some of y'all. So
all I'm saying is like, yo, like let's connect you
feel me. Don't be weird though I'm begging you, don't
be weird. And lastly, I say this with a complete
straight face, dead serious. I cannot overstate the significance of

(05:26):
what this can in France. Pop out was on Juneteenth
that Kendrick Lamar did what I thought was going to
be just a victory lap, like a celebration, you know,
for the coast, because because they not like us, was
such a big song. It was such a moment for
the Coast. It was like, yeah, let's celebrate your.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
Win, homie. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
This sho parade. You earned it and you put on
for the Coast. But this man made it so much
more than himself. He turned around and he shined a
light on everyone and shout out the homie DJ Head
who we've had on this show, who curated this experience

(06:06):
in the opening experience where he brought these other talents
out like the Wolves meet the Wolves and Jay Worthy,
and just the significance goes so far beyond a couple
back and forth tracks about Drake.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
It was almost like Drake was like background noise.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
This brought together Like I say this again, zero exaggeration.
The term hood politics is a play on words if
you don't already know, but there is such things called
hood politics that has to do with the politics between
gangs and if you're gonna do music in Los Angeles, surprise, surprise,
there's a lot of politics involved. If you're just gonna

(06:46):
move around our city, we just you can't just move freely.
We witnessed on Wednesday on that stage. I'm talking like
generational Mortal sworn enemies. When we say sections like the
hoods that don't they don't get along is the most
under is just the understatement of the year.

Speaker 1 (07:08):
These we are enemies. They were on stage walking dancing.

Speaker 2 (07:15):
The joy, just the black joy that was on that
stage from like I saw a tweet that said, it
was like, think of all the Los Angeles gangs took
pto from killing each other to do a sing along
and dance together about how much they hate a Canadian
and love a coast. So grown men shed tears like

(07:42):
this was it was.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
It was singular.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
This is a moment in history that is not just
for the West, because it's for hip hop as a whole.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
He united the coast. He halted this moment halted gang violence.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
And I think, I don't know what your belief system is,
but like every once in a while, look, there's talent,
there's hustle, there's luck, there's timing right place and right time,
and then the stuff you just can't under you can't
explain to where it's just like you are, you are
God's choice, Like that man was chosen for as as

(08:16):
the church folk would say, for such a time as this, Kendrick,
that was.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
Got He's got you.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
I'm a rapper, I'm from la I would love to
I would love to sell out the form. I'd love
to take on the greatest, the top, the top rapper
in the world and take him down and then unite
the community like I would love to do that. I'm
not Kendrick was God's choice and it was I don't know.
I'm just saying witnessing that. It was like, this is undeniable.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
It was.

Speaker 2 (08:42):
It is beautiful to see somebody walking their purpose. And
that's what we saw. Anyway, for you guys Thursday and Saturday,

(09:12):
all right, politics with prop This is one of the
Terrorform episodes. I've already done a whole intro, so I
don't need to redo this. Ladies and gentlemen, Please, wherever
you are, make some noise. We won't hear it, but
make some noise for mystic kid Jackson. Yeah, man, I

(09:47):
ain't seen you in a while. We did a little
like a slight little ketchup, you know, before we started recording,
just about how how old comes and gets you when
you don't when you don't want it to.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
True enough, I had a friend who just turned forty.
I said, Ointments ointments. My brother need to.

Speaker 1 (10:06):
Have fam yo.

Speaker 2 (10:09):
Look I used to for me, Like, look, that's so funny.
I've never worried about my knees until recently. I was like, dang,
my knees hurt up. But one thing I found speaking
about flying. We saw about flying before y'all got on,
But like speaking about flying is my jam used to
be like left side of the plane, window, seat, hoodie, headphones.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
I'm gonna knockout right, But now I'll be having to pee. Oh, so,
like I gotta get it. I gotta get aisle. Now,
I gotta get an aisle seat because I don't want
to be having to tap these people be like sorry.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
Always in the aisle.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
Listen.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
I'm like I almost don't want to go. If an.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
Exactly one hour flight, I might last for that.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
But yeah, yeah, I was like, what is why do
I have to pee again?

Speaker 1 (11:04):
Like dog? You know, like, well, here we are.

Speaker 3 (11:07):
I will I will full on do stretches in the aisle.
I do not care how it looks, stretch my calves.
I'll just pick up the bottom of my foot.

Speaker 2 (11:17):
We wanted to look, you wonder why, like I look
the part of town I'm from, you know, the the
Latino and Agents part of town. You see you see
them eighty year old you know, chse Asian people outside stretching.
I'm like, there's a reason why they live in that
long and they lad limber because they because they get
up and stretch. Yeah, what I'm like, lesson learned fam true?

(11:42):
All right, all right, let's get down to it. Expectations Project,
first of all, tell us what that is and then
back up and I'm gonna do a little let's learn
a little more about you, and then we can talk
about like how we met.

Speaker 1 (11:59):
But Expectations Project, what is it?

Speaker 5 (12:02):
Great?

Speaker 3 (12:02):
We come alongside faith motivated people to help them demand
policy change, policy changes in the systems that impact impact
children's education in their lives.

Speaker 4 (12:16):
Right.

Speaker 3 (12:17):
And so we do this one through focusing on narrative
shifts around who children are and what they deserve, because
you know, people be thinking a lot of things. Press
them if you press them on it. So you're saying
children don't deserve to be angry. Ever, that's what you believe,
you know what I'm saying. So so we do that,

(12:41):
and then we also support folks with specific advocacy actions
like hey, here's something you can do here's something you
can do right now, or we'll strategize. Sometimes there'll be
a group of people from a certain organization or a
place who care about something in their community and will
help them figure out how to get policy changes for

(13:03):
or what the next step is.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
Okay, So the next obvious question is like, okay, so
how is that different than like Florida and Ron DeSantis
and getting getting all the color, scraping all the color
out of our schools and just saying that, like, you know,
trans kids are a problem, and you know, talking about
sex is killing children.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
You know, Like, how are you different in that?

Speaker 3 (13:27):
Yeah, those things are usually done, I should I think
always frankly done where they're not actually focused on thriving children. Right.
It has something to do with the agenda of adults
and what adults want, what they're comfortable with, how adults

(13:49):
can move the base of voters, that sort of thing.
Lots of fear tactics to get voters to do what
they want.

Speaker 5 (13:57):
That's the Ron DeSantis energy, Right.

Speaker 3 (14:00):
We are saying we're trying to come alongside you, you know,
your community. Now, sometimes you might think some things that
are harmful. We'll push back on that, but you know,
your people, We want to come alongside you and help
you make sure these black and brown kids and other
marginalized kids are learning and have access to the things

(14:20):
that they need. Right, So we use data, and we
use spiritual conviction, and we use you know, strategy to
help people do that.

Speaker 1 (14:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:31):
So yeah, So so I'm here and I'm hoping y'all hear.
The difference is like what's happening in you know, on
our televisions across like most news things because it's so salacious.
Is like you said, there's really not a care for
the kids. It's more like and a lot of times
a lot of these people that show up at these
like school board meetings don't even be from that area.

(14:55):
They just be wanting that it's a it's a strategy
for power, right, And like I said, it's like it's
more of a thing about the desire of the parent
rather than and a scare tactic. That's that's a very
important difference. So it's like, so you are an advocacy
group that helps develop policy that actually reads actual data.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
You know what I'm saying, right, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
And and another thing I think that's that's unique about y'all.
Uh is the the the intersectionality of it all for
you guys, like as far as like that, this is
from I. I walked into an organization when I met
y'all that was like completely led by black women. And

(15:42):
for me, I was like, oh, you know, well, well
that's well that's one, two and three for me. You
know what I'm saying, like I'm down, you know what
I mean, like let's roll, you know. And uh so yeah,
so that was so there's that. Now back up, how
did you get involved in this? Tell us a little
bit about out yourself here.

Speaker 3 (16:01):
Yeah, let me just add one other thing. A lot
of times faith motivated groups they think we're trying to
get prayer in schools, right, or that we're about privatizing schools.
We're absolutely not about.

Speaker 5 (16:12):
That, right.

Speaker 3 (16:14):
We think that there are already Christians and people of
faith in schools. We're trying to help people advance things
for children, not with an agenda towards everybody should be
a Christian.

Speaker 1 (16:25):
Right.

Speaker 5 (16:25):
So that's an important distinction.

Speaker 1 (16:27):
Very important distinction.

Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:30):
Yeah, that's the difference between like what I'll do and for.

Speaker 5 (16:34):
Yes, yep, yep. Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (16:36):
So your question was how did I get into all this?

Speaker 2 (16:40):
Yeah, like a little bit about your your trajectory and
then how you got into this particular thing.

Speaker 3 (16:47):
Yeah. I was born in Southeast DC, grew up in Tennessee,
and moved back to DC as an adult. My mama
was raised in DC, and.

Speaker 1 (17:01):
I know in Southeast which we connected about. Well, yeah, anyway,
go on.

Speaker 3 (17:06):
And I bring that up just to say, my mom
taught me from her experiences directly and indirectly, what it
really means to be from the hood, right, Like she
taught me resourcefulness. She taught me creativity under pressure, how
to defend yourself physically and otherwise, right, and how to

(17:27):
pour everything you have into the people around you because
we are who we got sort of thing. And so
I lived in Nashville a long time. I went to
elementary high school all of that stuff there, and started
working there as a social worker, preschool teacher and doing.

Speaker 5 (17:47):
Youth development and all of that stuff.

Speaker 3 (17:49):
And as I was doing that, I didn't have the
word policy in my vernacular really at that time, but
I was noticing.

Speaker 5 (17:56):
A lot of stuff prop.

Speaker 3 (17:58):
I was like way a minute, you know, from my
own schools growing up, but then also from the hundreds
of students I worked with. I was noticing how something
wasn't fair about how whole groups of students are treated,
and it really made me angry, just simple things like

(18:20):
the desks were way nicer at the other schools. When
I would go to competitions, everything looked better up and there, right.
And so I didn't know the word policy, but I
started understanding it intuitively that something was not fair about
how a whole group of students was decided to be

(18:41):
treated by folks who maybe weren't even in the room
with these students, right. And so, coming from the legacy
of instigation on my father's side and the spirit of
exploration on my mother's side, I said, well, let me

(19:01):
get into this. Let me see how folks with more
power than I do or making decisions and are organizing
themselves and figuring stuff out. So I went to business school,
and through business school I got out, and not a
couple of years after that is when I started working
for the Expectations Project because it brought together all of

(19:22):
these things that I was passionate about education, faith communities.
I had been wondering a long time, why aren't faith
communities radicalizing anything that has anything to do with children
right in it.

Speaker 1 (19:36):
Yeah, like in an actual way that actually asked other
to do with children.

Speaker 3 (19:41):
That's right, Yeah, that's right. Like I've been to all
the vacation Bible schools and they're fun and they very meaningful,
but it didn't stop me from having the struggles I
had in schools with my family.

Speaker 5 (19:52):
And you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
So, yeah, I think to add a little color to
the thing, Like the the southeast DC that your mom
is from and my mom is from, in a lot
of ways was kind of like it was kind of
a Wakanda like it was just it was a black place,

(20:13):
you know, and I think, you know, minus the Jim
crowd segregation of it all, which was you know, it
forced us over into this corner. But like you said,
the defending of yourself the part of the community in
a lot of ways, Like sometimes I hear my father
talk about, you know, my dad's from Dallas, you know,
from Dallas, Texas, and he saw that Both my mom

(20:35):
and my dad used to say, like I went to
all black high school, you know, and.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
Obviously that was because of segregation.

Speaker 2 (20:43):
However, there was a sense of community that I think
in some ways I was a little jealous of you
know that you're like every teacher, every administrator, everybody, they
were all.

Speaker 1 (20:53):
Black, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (20:54):
So you saw a community, a network of professional you
know what I'm saying, in this space where you go
to the corner store, that was mister Jenkins. When you
go to the barbershop, that was you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (21:05):
It was just this world where.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
You know, you're in this space to where you're you're
seeing yourself in different versions of who y'all are reflected
on so many different areas of culture. And then for you,
then you get thrown in Nashville, You're like, that's right,
what is happening right now? So did you was was

(21:30):
there a little bit of like a shell shock around
sort of the institutional racism from you from your childhood?

Speaker 5 (21:37):
Yes, because.

Speaker 3 (21:40):
You know, my mom is brilliant, my dad very smart,
my I have all sorts of people in my family, right,
So anything that was good came from black people. I
didn't need white people as a.

Speaker 5 (21:54):
Reference point as a child, right, Anything that.

Speaker 3 (21:58):
Was good and beautiful and strong, it was just black
people because that's who I knew, right, So then to
be in schools were where as a child. I'm a child, right,
I'm an elementary school in early middle school. White teachers
are threatened by me because I'm so smart? What is that?

Speaker 1 (22:18):
Yeah? That the like I thought that's what we was
here for. Yeah, like what what is I.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
Went to for part of my education? I went to
this little, small private Christian school and I was the
smartest kid in my class. And they this bent people
out of shape so bad. Pro they were like say
what now, like they I had teachers antagonize me. I

(22:47):
had I won, like, you know, some academic awards. They
took half of them away from me because they said
it wasn't fair to the other kids.

Speaker 5 (22:56):
But I heard what they were saying.

Speaker 3 (22:58):
They were saying, we're not letting this little no.

Speaker 1 (23:01):
Yeah not not not here.

Speaker 3 (23:03):
Now yeah what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (23:06):
So now, I remember in fourth grade, I remember my
dad was furious where I had. Essentially I made straight a's,
and my teacher during the parent teacher conference, he gave
me all B pluses and he was telling my parents.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
That he wanted me to have something to strive for.
Uh huhm. And my dad was like excuse.

Speaker 2 (23:38):
Me, like and and yeah, I've never like I've seen
my dad livid because my father is a black man,
and he's been living towards me.

Speaker 1 (23:48):
You know, I'm saying I've seen him lived towards the police.
I've seen him livid.

Speaker 2 (23:51):
But this type of angry, I don't think I've ever
seen it because because it was as you as as
you're talking about, it was a sign of an institutional problem,
Like how how do you tell it? Like it basically
was like, are you doing that for the little white kids?
If they get if they get straight a's, are you

(24:12):
taking away they? Like what do you what do you
mean work for? He made it like what I don't understand?
Like so yeah, he man, he ripped that man. He
told that man apart boy and uh And I didn't
know until after because, uh, you know, you're not in
the parent teacher conference.

Speaker 1 (24:31):
I just walked in and out. I saw my grades
and I was like, wow, b pluses, Oh all right,
you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (24:38):
Like I don't the thought doesn't cross your mind that
your teacher can tell you even though you earned something
that you don't you didn't. Yeah, Like I didn't know
that was possible. I thought if I earn a hey,
I get a Hey, you know what I'm saying. So, yeah,
so that was there. There that there was there was
that you know experience that I O of like where

(25:01):
I can like really relate to like them them them
saying well, you earn these awards, but we're not going
to give them to you because it's not fair to
the I thought this was America. I thought it was
if you work hard, you succeed, Like what did you say?

Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah? Oh man.

Speaker 2 (25:19):
So I got involved with y'all over the the the
zip Codes campaign.

Speaker 5 (25:31):
That was the first one.

Speaker 1 (25:32):
That was a word okay, uh we I flew out
to DC. You know, we had a briefing.

Speaker 2 (25:41):
You kind of taught us what what y'all was trying
to do, and they gave an example very specific to
California that the zip code between Beverly Hills and Compton
are one number. It's a one number difference with the
budget for these two places. So so you're the art

(26:04):
the the the the argument was it was around right,
like tying funding to taxes, right, is that that's what
That's what it was that Yeah, so that so if
you're if you're tying your your your school funding to
the property taxes, essentially you're perpetuating this wealth gap, this

(26:25):
educational gap, because and and it's so stupid, and like
the picture you're giving was like so stupid.

Speaker 1 (26:31):
It's like literally one number apart.

Speaker 3 (26:33):
But like and it's punishing children for something that they
already maybe have some financial struggles obviously, right, and now
you're gonna punish them again for not being born to
a wealthy family.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
Like that again, Yeah, I'm gonna punish you for not
being brought as your fault. I we I think a
lot of this would like you know, when you when
you kind of like when you kind of like you're
from La and then you kind of like have this
like epiphany after spending most of your teen years seeing

(27:15):
somebody in the opposite neighborhood as your op like this
is my enemy. And and then you realize like, well,
he ain't choose to get born over there, like I
didn't choose to.

Speaker 1 (27:28):
Get born over here. And neither one of us.

Speaker 2 (27:31):
Own our houses, like we're we're all renters, and we
don't own these blocks, Like why am I defending these
Why are we defending with our lives these blocks.

Speaker 1 (27:45):
We don't own? This is what are we doing? Like
this is ridiculous, you know I didn't.

Speaker 2 (27:51):
And then I say all the time, like Nipsey had
a line like you know you only repping where your
mama pay a rent, Like this's just that's the reason
you repped this where your mama pay a rent. That's
why you from this hood like that ain't got nothing
to do, Like what are we doing?

Speaker 1 (28:07):
Guys? You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (28:08):
So I think that like that reality of like why
didn't get I didn't choose to get born in Compton
and so and if that's the case, like you're again,
you're you're creating a discrepancy, a disparaging you know, a
discrip disparage.

Speaker 1 (28:27):
What's the word I'm looking for.

Speaker 5 (28:30):
Discrepancy?

Speaker 2 (28:31):
Maybe I don't. Yes, that don't have to be there,
Like it doesn't have to be like that. And I
think that's what I appreciated about like a lot of
the stuff that y'all do to where you're like it
don't really, it don't have to be like this, Yeah,
like you don't have to tie your the funding for

(28:55):
your educational programs, Like it doesn't have to be like that.

Speaker 3 (28:59):
No, it's a choice. And I think especially earlier on
when I started working at expectations. It was so big
and it still is to help people understand there are
choices made daily that allow this to happen. This is
not primarily about the choices parents made, you know, to

(29:25):
exist in the world. And it's not to say that
some parents aren't making better choices than others, but detangling
notions of wealth from personal choice. Whoa that is so
related to so many things, including education and how systems

(29:47):
work and what we have access to. I worked for
a job once with youth leaders, and in our curriculum
was something that basically said God trusts some people more
than others with money, and so we need to like

(30:08):
almost like be deferential to those people God trusts more
that when I tell you that, I flipped out. Yeah,
and without knowing what I was doing actually good on me.
I started thinking strategically, how do I get this change
policy wise? Because this is influencing so many people. What

(30:31):
they put in the curriculum isn't a policy, but curriculum
is a policy, right like curriculum is a form of policy.
How do I get this curriculum change so that all
these other people influencing youth don't spread this message that
God favors wealth and wealthy people that they have better

(30:54):
character that is absolutely diabolical.

Speaker 2 (30:58):
Yeah, and and and in a practical sense most of
the time incorrect, Like it's.

Speaker 1 (31:06):
Usually the opposite. They're they're usually the worst people. You
know what I'm saying. Yeah, Yeah, And I think that
like ss yes, stress, and I think that like you know,
the the.

Speaker 2 (31:25):
The difficulty, uh somebody like yourself. This like you know,
it's it's very important even for for this audience, you
know what I'm saying, because you know, we cuss on
this show. You know, we we drinking smoke, and you
know what I'm saying, Like it's it's street, you know
what I'm saying, Like.

Speaker 1 (31:42):
And but there their experience with church is.

Speaker 2 (31:51):
Especially when we like when you and I say, like
faith based. A lot of times we talk in deacon board.
You know what I'm saying, you know, the motherboard. You
know what I'm saying. We're talking. Yes, we have an
entirely different experience than what America thinks when they think Christian.

Speaker 1 (32:13):
You know what I'm saying, Like you just we have it.

Speaker 2 (32:15):
So when you hear statements like well we believe that God,
you know, sovereignly elected these people to have wealth, and
therefore it's a sign of like clearly it's a sign
of God's blessing.

Speaker 1 (32:27):
So that's why they're in trust.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
You know, you stretch that logic to why you stretch
it's at the end of the day, it's why it's supremacy.

Speaker 1 (32:34):
It's white supremacy.

Speaker 2 (32:35):
It's you say, well, why God isn't trusted these people
to have dominion over the world, And it's your job
as a good Christian white man and white woman to
be gracious And so that's their understanding. It's like, well,
slavery's the system. So and since I've been entrusted with

(32:57):
this position, oh, I need to come at it with
humilion and make sure I'm treating this fairly like and
how like you said, it's absolutely diabolical and batshit you
know what I'm saying. So so uh so you with
the wisdom that you had, was like, okay, you're you're
starting your starting position, your your your original premise, no

(33:20):
matter what we do for no matter what we do
after that, if this is where you're starting from, like
there's so yeah, it's never gonna work.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
Yeah, it's never going to work. It's never going to
be liberatory. Yeah, it's never going to humanize parents who
don't have a lot of money and are working their
ass off for their kids. Right. It's never going to
honor people who are choosing between medicine and rent this month,

(33:54):
which I have done before. A terrible position to be in,
you know what I mean. Yeah, And it's going to
keep people bound to an idea that's not real.

Speaker 5 (34:06):
But we're going to keep trying to achieve.

Speaker 3 (34:09):
This essentially level of whiteness that we think would make
us free. And they're not free themselves, but they do
have more money can play around.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
At least you can pay for it.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
Though.

Speaker 1 (34:54):
I'm reminded of two things.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
One is like something from my own story, and then
two is a a thing that you said. I don't
know if it was to me or to a room,
but you said it, and I was just like, damn.
But there was one thing I remember, you know, to
your point, a lot of families, you know specifically, like

(35:18):
I'm gonna say black and brown families. Your face was
this choice once you have children to be like, why
I want my kids to go to a better school, right,
So you're like, okay, I want them to get the
better education, so you choose to move out of a
neighborhood that's way more comfortable, way more accepting, to where

(35:39):
it's like, you know, for the like the Latinos, you like,
I mean, I can there's a Badia truck right there.
I know that there's pandulce on the way of the school.
You know what I'm saying, Like I can get the tortillas.
I like, you know what I'm saying. Like for me,
it was like as simple as like I just need
some hair grease, like I need to be able to
like I want to be able to go to the store.

(36:00):
I mean even even like right now, like I was, like,
I live in it and this is it's similar. It's
not as bad, but like I live in a predominantly
like Mexican part of town. But there was I wanted.
I'm wanted to learn how to make black eyed peas.
And y'all everybody knows, they all know. Alm was my wife,
and she had in our la hipster of it all

(36:24):
our farm box that we get delivered a produce every week.

Speaker 1 (36:30):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
Come on now, Yeah, it was we had a bushel
of kale of some greens. So I was like, Oh,
I need to go get a turkey. I need to
go get a turkey leg, you know, cause I was like,
I'm gonna make some greens and I walked in there
and I had to I had to go to Crenshaw
to get some get a smoke turkey leg because they

(36:52):
just don't sell it here. And it's and it's because well,
this is Mexican, Like y'all don't cook with that, you
know what I'm saying. And it's like it's understand it's understandable,
like you know, but you could get you could get
called up. There is here, you know what I'm saying. So,
like that's their environment, you feel me. So for me,
it was as simple as like I just want to
get some hair grease, you know what I'm saying. Like
I just so as as a parent, you make a

(37:15):
decision to be like, well we got to go move
out to the outskirts and now those comforts, those types
of communities, that is good for your children's mental health,
you know what I'm saying. So now it's like you
in this good school, which was my story, I'm in
this good school, I'm surrounded by these white kids and
I'm fighting every other day, you know what I'm saying,

(37:36):
because I look. I remember the I mean the first
day I was out there, I just walked down to
the park.

Speaker 1 (37:45):
I was gonna play some basketball. This little this little
boy looked at me.

Speaker 2 (37:49):
It was like and I was curious because I had
never seen I was like this, this white boy looks
like a like an eighties movie to me, I had
never seen like a white boy.

Speaker 1 (37:57):
White boy.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
I was like, with the swooped hair and the blonde
and I was like, oh my god, they're real people.
Like I didn't know these movie characters were like act
like they were based on actual people. So I'm looking
at him like, dang, that's crazy. He was like, you
got staring problem. I was like, oh, I'm gonna slap
the shit out of you.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
Like I was like, because where we're from, that means
you ready to get away. Yeah, you ready to get down.

Speaker 2 (38:22):
So I was like, okay, so I just got here,
so I'm like, all right, we're gonna have to get down,
you know what I'm saying. Like it was just it
was almost like immediate. But then I like clicked into
reality because I started looking around at the rest of
the park and I was like, oh, I'm gonna get mopped,
Like if I if I fire on this kid, They're
all gonna jump Ben. And I'm like, and I'm most

(38:46):
likely gonna have to go to school with you. You know,
so again where we from, that means like, oh, we're
gonna be fighting every day.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
Then, you know, I'm like, well, I don't want to
fight out.

Speaker 3 (38:54):
I ain't got no backup.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
They all in. They all in the city. The backup
in the city. They don't go to the school no more,
you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (39:01):
But so so so I say that to say why
I feel like what y'all do is so important, is
like it would have been wonderful if I could have
gotten that quality of education.

Speaker 1 (39:09):
Where I was from.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
You know what I'm saying, because because I get to
have the again, I get to walk by mister Jones's
liquor store, walk in there, Hey, mister Jones.

Speaker 1 (39:19):
You know what I'm saying. I have that community that
I that I had at home.

Speaker 2 (39:24):
You feel me that now it's like I'm busted all
the way to the other side of town. Like you
learn to make new friends, you know what I'm saying,
But like that was missing you know what I mean,
And I feel like what y'all do is at least
one of the reasons why that that project resonated with
me was like, I wish I would have had that,

(39:45):
you know what I'm.

Speaker 5 (39:46):
Saying, absolutely, absolutely?

Speaker 2 (39:49):
And then another thing dream, that's the dream, right, that's
the dream. And then another thing you said and I
would And I mean, it's kind of like it's very
much a uh a mic drop statement, but I would
love for you to elaborate a little further. Is you
said a budget sheet is a moral document?

Speaker 1 (40:10):
Mm, And I was like, damn, do you know what
I'm saying? Can you can? You can? You can? You
can you expound on that a little more?

Speaker 3 (40:21):
Yeah? Absolutely, thanks? Prop A budget is you know, we
know what a budget.

Speaker 5 (40:32):
Is is how you're going to spend the money. That's
what a budget is.

Speaker 3 (40:34):
What we're gonna do with this money, how we're gonna
give it to different folks, who gets what?

Speaker 6 (40:38):
Right?

Speaker 3 (40:40):
And the reason is a moral document is in determining
where the money goes. We are making an education budget,
moral judgments about who deserves what. When you say who
deserves what, that is a moral decision. Yes, there's a

(41:00):
ton of heat in DC right now because of some
choices the mayor and the council people are making. Who
was hot, it's hot right now in DC, But a
lot of programs for kids are being cut while money
is being put into capital investments, basically like getting more

(41:24):
business into downtown. And my mom and I keep talking
about it, and I keep saying, you don't. Actually a
lot of times we make it as the only one
thing can be chosen. I refuse to accept that that
is true. Congress does that all the time. There are
ways to choose multiple things. But also, if we had

(41:45):
to let something go, why wouldn't we choose children?

Speaker 5 (41:48):
Why would we choose children to let go?

Speaker 7 (41:52):
Right, So, we're making a moral choice when we say
kids don't really need after will care, kids don't really
need early childhood education.

Speaker 3 (42:05):
The money should go towards more subsidies for businesses that
aren't small businesses by the way, often yeah, let's provide
money there.

Speaker 1 (42:20):
And somebody also, I just.

Speaker 3 (42:24):
I just am dumbfounding, like that's not actually how uplift works,
Like if you were really focused on rising the rising
tide or like bringing everybody up together.

Speaker 5 (42:40):
Trickle down is false.

Speaker 3 (42:42):
That's actually not.

Speaker 2 (42:43):
That's what I'm just about to say is like, why
are y'all still holding on to that.

Speaker 3 (42:47):
It's been forty years. It's don't work it don't people
write whole PhDs on it. White people write PhD yes too,
It's not just us need that for your validation, right, Yeah,
there is.

Speaker 6 (43:03):
A white man going around telling people that have rich
people just paid their taxes, we could fully fund universal
education I think through college, which everyone just paid their taxes.

Speaker 1 (43:18):
So funny with the laws we already have.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
Like okay, with the laws we already have, if you
just if you just paid it, college would be free.

Speaker 1 (43:30):
Yeah yeah.

Speaker 3 (43:31):
So so much of this work is deep. It is
like it's like pulling uncovering it. What's that very spiritual
old term uncovering the veil or removing the.

Speaker 1 (43:44):
Veil in the veil.

Speaker 3 (43:45):
Yeah yeah, like nah, it doesn't have to This is
how it needs to be if there is enough.

Speaker 2 (43:53):
And it beat him saying people that be like, well,
kids have nothing to do. There's a problem with vagrancy.
Why they always loitering? Why are you guys doing well?

Speaker 1 (44:01):
Fam You know what I'm.

Speaker 2 (44:03):
Saying, like, well, you know why, because you took away
our after school programs. What we're supposed to do, well,
kids are you know, well, there, we're gonna have an
we're gonna have an undeveloped workforce. Well, you know, the
head start was great, Like I felt very prepared, and
now I'm that because you took away something that was working.

Speaker 1 (44:22):
That's the crazy part to me. And I'm like this,
this was working, like because what we're doing.

Speaker 5 (44:29):
Girls.

Speaker 3 (44:31):
Back to the Moral document, not everyone knows what's happening,
and people ride on that and there's a lot of confusion.
But some people do know exactly the choices they're making,
and they're saying black people as a whole, or poor
black people or black people from this neighborhood and immigrants

(44:52):
who are too.

Speaker 1 (44:52):
Brown or you know, yeah, nobody knows.

Speaker 3 (44:56):
People we're not so worried about. We don't need to
protect them. They're not worthy of deep care and they're
certainly not.

Speaker 5 (45:08):
Uh applicable for equity. We know, we're not even trying
to because.

Speaker 2 (45:16):
They're definitely not putting, uh, they're definitely not putting none
of the Norwegian or Scandinavian immigrants on buses, you know,
sending them up to sending them up to New York
and Chicago. You're not putting them on but they immigrants too,
you're not putting them on buses. Yep, yeah, this you're
so brilliant. Okay, So here's the big question. Well there,

(45:40):
Before I get to the big question, first, the first
question is what are y'all working on now?

Speaker 3 (45:45):
Yeah, there are three kind of big efforts we have
right now. One is under the umbrella of truth Matters
for students. So all the stuff around book bands and
don't kids shouldn't be on come per bowl, white kids
shouldn't be at school, But also the stuff around uh,

(46:08):
trans kids and gender and parents' rights, all of that
are the same people driving that engine. And it is
around coordinated attacks against truth right and against educating all kids.
And so we are giving people resources and actions they

(46:30):
can take to fight back against that.

Speaker 5 (46:33):
We're also doing a campaign around.

Speaker 3 (46:39):
Helping people just really understand what's going on in a
deep way.

Speaker 5 (46:44):
We call it telling it like it is or classes
in session. So where did all these things come from?

Speaker 3 (46:49):
What's time?

Speaker 5 (46:50):
Proper?

Speaker 3 (46:50):
I remember we had a conversation. You called me and
you were like, ze, what what is the root of
some of this? It was while forty five was still
in office, something around the seventeen seventy six stuffy and.

Speaker 1 (47:10):
All of that is the problem.

Speaker 3 (47:12):
Yes, so we are actually doing work around explaining these
things that people could know where this comes from. As
you would say, prop, these people are not smarter than you,
They just use another language, so we demystify the language.
And then the last thing we were working on economic mobility,

(47:32):
which some people think is weird since we're an education organization,
but we really understand that family need money and resources
and that it provides a level of stability that cannot
be underscored. And again I mentioned it earlier, but the
data shows there's enough money, there is enough resources, but

(47:54):
it's being hoarded, it's not being distributed, and we have
to help help.

Speaker 5 (48:01):
There be better access. So we have a lot of
work around.

Speaker 1 (48:04):
That right now, love it. And then the biggie yes,
if okay, whoever, whoever forty seven is, Yeah, however it is,
let's set that aside, whatever dystopian we're about to live through. Yeah,
if you could write America's education policy, writ what would

(48:30):
you write? Perfect?

Speaker 5 (48:32):
Yeah, perfect world.

Speaker 3 (48:37):
We would have an expanded tax credit again that we
had in twenty twenty one, lifted a whole bunch of
kids out of poverty, gave them stability, and then they
let it lapse, and now they're trying to bring one back,
and we're working on that. We want it, but it's
baby compared to what was existing before. So we want

(48:57):
the expanded child tax credit, gift parents money. Put money
in the hands, and people just put money in their
hands and they will spend it on transportation and food
and childcare. They're not out here spending it on whatever
stuff that people are being accused of. Right, I would
then say funding more modern school infrastructure, so get rid

(49:20):
of the digital divide. Everybody needs wireless kidsney buses that
don't break down when it's too hot. And I know
it seems silly to say this, but it's true. It
needs to be said. They need clean water, and they
need clean air, and any food, any food.

Speaker 5 (49:39):
Props, so.

Speaker 3 (49:45):
Infrastructure around that. We want teachers to be trusted and
treated like professionals, So pay them and give them what
they need to succeed in schools. Treat them like the
subject matic spirts there are. And for everyone who says,
what about the bad teachers, then we will deal with
those teachers. But but so much of other industry, every other.

Speaker 2 (50:09):
I don't understand such a singer, like every industry, you
deal with it.

Speaker 1 (50:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (50:18):
The two more things we would invest in the mental
and emotional well being of students, like to let a
Child Be a Child.

Speaker 4 (50:25):
Campaign you did with us making sure that children what
they need. There's still thirty five million students in schools
with police but without key mental health and other health
staff for children, and so we need that to be addressed.

Speaker 3 (50:43):
And then finally, our policy priority areas are really shaped
around what does it mean to center the joy of
black and brown students in their education? That can actually
be a policy central of joy black and brown kids
can be fully affirmed in school. Schools could be inclusive,
culturally responsive in their curriculum and the books that they see,

(51:08):
and in the recruitment.

Speaker 5 (51:10):
Retention and hiring of teachers.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
There can be folks who look like any student, all
the students who are represented, you know in these schools.
I think only two percent of public school educators or
black men.

Speaker 5 (51:27):
What the heck?

Speaker 1 (51:28):
Yeah, yeah, you know, yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:31):
So those are the That's what I would write, That's
what we would write at CP.

Speaker 2 (51:37):
Center and the joy that dude, you're like, I almost
want to cry man, because it was like because I
remember that, I like it was a stark difference, Yes,
from like one school experience to the next one, Like
it was jolting. And even now as a parent, I

(52:01):
remember when my oldest daughter when they were doing their
you know, uh early American like immigrants project, and they
did this like Ellis Island thing. So it was supposed
to be like, we'll dress up like your ancestors and
we're gonna do a whole Ellis Island kind of like

(52:23):
fun thing that they were going to learn about history.
And me and I Alma looked at each other and
we was like, we didn't go through Ellis Island. I
was like I was, I was like, you, well, do
we not participate? Do you what do you want her
to dress up as? I'm like, that's not that's not
our history. You said, we're learning our history. You want

(52:45):
to know how, you want to know how we got here?
You really want my child? You want my child to
dress up how we got here? Is that that that's
what y'all want to do. I don't think you want
to smoke. You would have known better and like and
like you said, like you had a if you had
a black teacher in that room.

Speaker 1 (52:59):
You know what I'm saying, You had a brown teacher,
you had an agent teacher.

Speaker 2 (53:02):
They they probably be like, nah, I don't know if
we did, we're gonna tweak this project a little differently,
you know. So that being said, my youngest daughter, her
project is just about ancestry. So her project was bring
pictures from your grandparents, your your your great grandparents, learn
about your stories, bring in food from your community.

Speaker 1 (53:24):
You know, they said.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
One of them once she's doing is like build a
model or a drawing of the types of homes you
would have lived in. You know what I'm saying. So
you're you're you're learning the same thing. You feel me like,
you're there, you're the the The goal of that project
is the same, you know what I'm saying. But now

(53:50):
you know, I'm not furious having to sit into the
audience for this play that y'all doing for Ellis Island,
like furious, I remember, like I just and trying not
to show it on my face because my daughter just
she's my little fourth grader, you know, she just trying
to do her homework and she's participating.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
We're in friends.

Speaker 3 (54:07):
Yeah, it's not her fault.

Speaker 1 (54:09):
You understand what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (54:10):
So I'm but like me and I almost like rubbing
my shoulder because I'm furious, you know what I'm saying.
This Friday and that, But that was my oldest, my
youngest This Friday, they were like, we're gonna bring in
dishes from our culture, almost.

Speaker 1 (54:23):
Gonna make basle.

Speaker 2 (54:24):
I'm gonna make a you know, we already made black
eyed peas, so it's like bringing black eyed peasle. Like
I'm like, Okay, this is this is what you're trying
to accomplish, and it's accessible. You understand what I'm saying.
Those that nuance like you said, that's why I like
I almost started crying.

Speaker 1 (54:42):
He was like, yo, send her the joy.

Speaker 2 (54:43):
Because that would that would bring me joy. If I
was a kid, I would have been like, oh, this
is dope. Yes, okay, this is we're gonna bring you
know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (54:52):
People don't understand how much joy facilitates learning. Yeah, much,
so much, not just for kids, for adults too, but
don't be but you know, it creates a lot of
space for wonder, for dreaming, for creativity, which is helpful

(55:14):
in any topic, math or English or another language or geography.
That sort of a kind of tenderness you can have
when you're joyful is good for learning, and it's good
for for creating an environment where kids feel safe and

(55:37):
seen and heard. Right, and we just audacious enough to say,
let's let's make policy.

Speaker 1 (55:44):
Let's make it a law. Yeah, what if it was
a law.

Speaker 3 (55:47):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (55:48):
I'm just saying, what if it was a law? Was
wrong with that?

Speaker 3 (55:52):
Let's to be able to do that, right, Let's let's
do that. And I love something about the example you shared.
Being culturally sensitive and being aware doesn't necessarily mean you
have to start from scratch with your like that that activity.
It's good to have children do activities that have them

(56:14):
bring in things, but don't be so don't like neglect
the tapestry of students that you're workat with.

Speaker 1 (56:24):
It's not hard.

Speaker 2 (56:25):
I feel like people always say, well, you're gonna you're
make a teacher's work.

Speaker 1 (56:27):
I'm like, well, really, it's not that hard.

Speaker 2 (56:29):
Like if you if you as as a former educator,
if you're looking at the thing I'm looking at my
comic core, I'm looking at like the I'm looking at
the learning objectives, and I'm going Okay, this is what
you want, this is what they need to know.

Speaker 1 (56:43):
Yeah, you know, and like you said.

Speaker 2 (56:45):
If you treat educators as professionals, then they're going to
be like, all right, let me think, let me think
about it, let me think of what would be fun,
you know, what would be a due way to do this.

Speaker 1 (56:54):
And it's really.

Speaker 2 (56:55):
Like like they're given that example where I'm like, you're
the learning goals the same, you know, And I'm like,
if you came through Ellis Island, if your family came
through Ellis Island, do that mine didn't. I'm not saying don't.
Like you said, you don't have to start it. You
don't have to not do that.

Speaker 3 (57:10):
You're not feeding up kids. If that's no experience.

Speaker 2 (57:13):
No, that's not everybody's experience, not everybody's experience. It's like people, Oh,
it's so overwhelming. If I have to cater to everybody,
then it's like, well bro, it's really is not that.
It's not that serious player, you know what I'm saying, like.

Speaker 1 (57:25):
Oh, well kids got peanut allergies. A nigga and his
kids gluten free. I'm like, well do you want the
kid to die?

Speaker 2 (57:30):
Fam Like like you because it's inconvenient, Like what's wrong
with you?

Speaker 4 (57:35):
Don't?

Speaker 1 (57:35):
Like the kid could die eat peanuts?

Speaker 2 (57:37):
I don't understand why that is what's the.

Speaker 3 (57:43):
Problem, like.

Speaker 1 (57:45):
Like you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (57:46):
Like just yeah, you know? Or yeah, we can go
on forever about this and just yet could Yeah.

Speaker 3 (57:53):
There is an Afro Latina teacher who's Dominican, a teacher
educator named Lorene her mom, and she talks about textured teaching.

Speaker 5 (58:04):
What does it mean to show up in a textured way?

Speaker 3 (58:08):
I love that that allows your students to be fully seen.
And the part that's hard about it, prop is I
think it's hard when teachers don't want to examine themselves
or when adults don't want to reckon. That's that's hard. Yeah,
and you neither you and I as educators are saying

(58:30):
that education is simple. We're saying it's not as hard
as y'all. It's not as complicated as y'all are making
it out to be. To be inclusive, yeah inclusive, yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (58:45):
Yeah, you're right, Yeah, inclusivity It can be done, like
you said, if you just sit down and think for yourself,
like okay.

Speaker 3 (58:51):
And that's what we say to people about advocacy too.
It can be dramatic and super hard, or you might
actually be doing versions of it already that you don't realize,
And maybe we could come along and help you see that.
We're not trying to make you have a whole new
way of life. Necessarily, we want to come alongside and say, oh, well,

(59:14):
just show up at this meeting and say this, and
if you can't show up, ask mother so and so
to go to the meeting. Like we can incorporate this
into our lives, the demanding that children get what they
deserve and not shoulder all the burden in our own communities,
because I think sometimes parents also feel guilty, like y'all

(59:37):
are supposed to be able to do everything under the sun,
all by yourself for your kids. How prop how could you?

Speaker 1 (59:43):
No, you can't, how could you do that?

Speaker 3 (59:46):
You deserve better from the places that are educating your children.

Speaker 5 (59:50):
And it's okay to ask for what you deserve.

Speaker 3 (59:52):
Thank you, Serena Williams. Comay to ask for an apology.
It's okay to say this is what I deserve. It's
okay to to demand more.

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
Can't add to that?

Speaker 2 (01:00:06):
So perfect, So please tell them where to find you,
Where to find Expectations Project. What types of things you
guys like, you guys need donations, you guys need like.

Speaker 5 (01:00:15):
Like, oh awesome, thank you.

Speaker 3 (01:00:17):
We are Our website is expectations dot org. Please check
us out there. We are in the midst of a campaign.
We're trying to raise money a few hundred thousand dollars
by September, which will put us in a really great
place over the next year. So we're not asking any

(01:00:39):
of you to write one check unless you want to,
but expanding our donation base would be super helpful and
we can plug you in and then also check out
the campaigns on our website that we're doing right now
as well. You can find us on ig at expect Project.

Speaker 5 (01:00:59):
I think that's right. I'd be terrible, gave the wrong I.

Speaker 3 (01:01:02):
Looking at it now, And you can also find us
on Facebook at the Expectations Project and you can see
the campaigns we're doing right now. We've been doing a
lot around the truth matters and as I mentioned earlier,
economics mobility. So sign up for our resources. Let us
support you any way we can. You can find me

(01:01:26):
yes on Instagram as well at lady ze Love Now
I'd be silly on there.

Speaker 1 (01:01:32):
So y'all like we get to see the real youth.

Speaker 3 (01:01:35):
It's all education. Now you're going to see my fens.

Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (01:01:40):
Black girl, travel boy, she'd be outside.

Speaker 3 (01:01:44):
I'll be outside. But you'll get an education too. If
you want to stick with just the education, stick with
the company's side. All right.

Speaker 2 (01:01:52):
When you when you run the thing, then you can
have your own I G and dont buy your own thing.

Speaker 1 (01:01:58):
I do what I want on my I G. That's right.

Speaker 3 (01:02:04):
Thank you so much for having me on. It's a
blessing to be in the work the struggle a celebration
with you.

Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
So thank you man, Thank you sis.

Speaker 2 (01:02:14):
All right, all right, now don't you hit stop on
this pod. You better listen to these credits. I need
you to finish this thing so I can get the
download numbers. Okay, so don't stop it yet, but listen.

(01:02:39):
This was recorded in East Lost Boyle Heights by your
boy Propaganda. Tap in with me at prop hip hop
dot com. If you're in the Coldbrew coffee we got
terraform Coldbrew. You can go there dot com and use
promo code hood get twenty percent off get yourself some coffee.
This was mixed edited and mastered by your boy Matt

(01:03:00):
Alsowski Killing the Beat Softly. Check out his website Matdowsowski
dot com.

Speaker 1 (01:03:05):
I'm a spell it for you because I.

Speaker 2 (01:03:07):
Know M A T T O S O W s
ki dot com Matdowsowski dot com. He got more music
and stuff like that on there, so gonna check out.

Speaker 1 (01:03:20):
The heat.

Speaker 2 (01:03:20):
Politics is a member of cool Zone Media, executive produced
by Sophie Lichterman, part of the iHeartMedia podcast network. Your
theme music and scoring is also by the one and
nobly Mattowsowski. Still killing the beat Softly, So listen, don't
let nobody lie to you. If you understand urban living,
you understand politics. These people is not smarter than you.

(01:03:42):
We'll see y'all next week.