Black Perspective: August 27, 2023

This week on The Black Perspective, Vanessa Tyler discusses the connection between menthol cigarettes and race; Esther Dillard talks to an author about how to help your kids understand African American history; Ahmed Gordon talks to actress Giovani Samuels about the ongoing writers and actors strike, and Mimi Brown talks to the race car driver who was the inspiration for the new film, Gran Turismo.

Listen now!

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's August twenty seventh, and todaywe talk about how menthal cigarettes has become
a racially dividing topic. We welcomean author who wants to help parents help
their children learn about their history.We then go to Hollywood to discuss the
current strikes and discuss how a blackman turns his love of a video game
into a real life career. Thosestories and more. Welcome to the Black

(00:22):
Perspective. I'm your host, MikeIsla. Welcome to the Black Perspective,
a weekly community affairs program on theBlack Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the black community.The FDA has made it clear it will
ban the sale of menthol cigarettes,but that decision is falling along a racial
divide. Why the Black Information networks. Vanessa Tyler has the story because among

(00:55):
this is also Eric Garner confronted bycops. Seconds later, New York City
cops bring him to the ground.One of the cops wraps his arm around
his neck in a deadly chokehold.In twenty fourteen, he was accused of
selling illegal loose cigarettes. His mother, now activist Gwen Carr, says menthol
has not killed anyone. It's nicotine. Banning Menthol has turned racist. She

(01:19):
says, ban all cigarettes or noneat all. Corey Pagie, retired executive
with the New York City Police Department, community leader and speaking out on how
banning nicotine is trouble for black people. Thanks for having me. Why should
people in communities of color be concernedabout a nicotine menthol nicotine band? Well,

(01:40):
one of the reasons you just broughtup. Ragana died from allegedly selling
Newport Menthol cigarettes. Sonja Bland,who refused to put her Newport cigarette out,
put out your cigarette please, I'min my cart. Well, you
can step on out now. Idon't have to step out of my step

(02:01):
out of the car. No,you don't have the right stare not out
of the car. Do not havethe right to do that. I do
have the right. Now step out, or I will remove you. Refuse
to talk to you other than toidentify myself and damp out, or I
will remove I am getting removed fora step out, or I will remove

(02:23):
you. I'm giving you a lawfulorder. And the allegedly was killed in
the jail cell and George Floyd wasallegedly buying mental cigarettes with a kount of
fift fifty dollars bill. Those arethree incidents we know that with police interactions,
these three black people ended up dead. And we only know about those
with NESSA because there was cameras,So how many others was killed? And

(02:46):
encounters with police over a mental product. You can't arrest your way out of
addiction. Like miss car said,nicotine is the addiction. Nicotine is every
single cigarette. So I don't careif you bad cigarettes band them all.
But why would just black and Hispanishpeople not be allowed to smoke and everybody
else could Does that even make senseto anyone? No, So what's the

(03:06):
underlying reason on it? It soundsgood, it's real sexy dan cigarettes,
it sounds like a smoking issue.But why just banding for us and nobody
else? It doesn't make sense.And I know that if you put a
band in place, you're gonna havemore interaction with the police because the underground
is going to explode in New Yorkstate. I live in New York.

(03:27):
Sixty percent of cigarettes sold in NewYork is already illegal. The underground is
going to explode. There's gonna befights on the streets, the police are
going to get involved, in frontof your half a million dollar home,
and they're gonna find out that itwas because the legal sellers cigarettes and that
the police are going to have todeal with that. Because I'm a police
commander. We got two people shotover legal cigarettes. Now I have to

(03:50):
put a team in place. Andif it gets really big, they're gonna
get that word that no one wantsto hear. Rico. They're gonna put
a task for us together, noteverybody. He's going to be going to
jail for a lot of time.Well, it's no question. According to
the Centers for Disease to Controls,seventy seven percent of black smokers have a
Menthol cigarette between their lips, andby banning Menthol many are expected to stop

(04:15):
smoking and black young people may noteven start. So you said it sounds
sexy, but what about the healthaspect. I'm glad you brought that up,
because this Menthol band is not ayoung people band. I'm calling this
a menthol old people band. Youlook at under the last just say,
the last thirty years, smoking secessionhas gone down over sixty two percent.

(04:38):
This is real, This is real. Now, out of that seventy seven
percent of people that are smoking mentholThese are old people. These are elderly
people over the age of twenty fiveor whatever they decide they want to smoke.
Listen, at what point does thegovernment stop regulating everything we do.
If you want to band cigarettes,band cigarettes, you can't just ban one

(05:00):
segment of the community. And thisis the sole reason why I got involved
with this. I'm like, whyare you only being a cigarettes that just
one segment smokes? Because I'm youknow, a little skeptical at the government
caring about what happens at the blackand brown cuting me because the crack ho
Wood they didn't do counselor treatment andeducation. They threw all the black and
brown people in prison. And nowfast forward to today, they got an

(05:21):
opial issue. Guess what they're doingcounselor treatment and education. But they really
cared about our community. They wouldtake those big gulps out of our community,
all these big macs, all thesebig big everything sugars everywhere. They'll
be dealing with that first before theydeal with menthol cigarettes. Diabetes is the
number one killer Black community, right, yeah, sure is well. The

(05:44):
NAACP, for years, the organizationis spoken out about how tobacco companies targeted
blacks with mental cigarettes and flashy advertisements. Don't you think it's time to stop
this deadly marketing? Just just stopit this. I'm so I'm super happy
you ask that question because I'm sotired of hearing these organizations say that they're

(06:06):
talking brock in brown communities they havethey can't even talget since nineteen eighty eight.
The Master Settlement agreement was nineteen eightyeight. No advertisement. You'll never
see Michael Jordan, Lebron, James, Steph Curry, Kevin Hard, none
of them. Cool jazz Fest.When was the last cool Jazz Fest?
Thirty years? It's over. There'sno more targeting. The only way you

(06:28):
could target is a point of celland that's inside of the store. If
you go inside of the store,they have like new ports, four dollars
products, whatever it is. That'sit. There's no more targeting. So
what they're doing, they're taking theseold posters from the early eighties and saying
they talk. There's no more targeting. There's no billboards, there's nothing on
busses. You can't they can't dothat anymore. That's over. But thinking

(06:51):
about the damage again, remember Isaid the old people this is again,
that's thirty something years ago. That'sthirty years ago. Just now the young
people think they targeted people thirty yearsago. If you pull right now,
I'm just pulled myself. How manypeople I know twenty five years and young
are smoking cigarettes? Zero? Theygot vape stores, they got marijuana stores

(07:13):
all over there. I have mentholsstores where people sitting smoke. You just
gotta go to the store by yourpackage. Cigarette smoking is frowned upon.
Most people don't even want to bearound people smoke cigarettes. It's like today
it's like, hell, you smokecigarettes. No, who's doing that?
Nobody does that anymore. It's mostlylike thirty something years older, young people
aren't doing it. So I thinkin like twenty years, the tobacco industry

(07:36):
is gonna really have a problem becausenobody's gonna be smoking cigarettes unless they,
you know, come into the cannabisgame and invadement, because cigarettes are gonna
be debunk in the next couple ofdecades. We are speaking with Corey Bikie
community leader with concerns about the upcomingFDA ban on menthol cigarettes. The FDA

(07:58):
has said it would not get individuals, but the band is on manufacturing of
mental cigarettes. But you still thinkblack people will be targeted. This is
still a big concern. Oh it'sbig, Vanessa. Once something is made
in America and it's good, it'snever going nowhere. So now America is
stopping ships in China coming from Chinafrom India. The cigarette is going to

(08:24):
boom. The mental cigarettes, they'renot going anywhere. My concern is Ray
Ray in Booboo in the back makingNewport cigarettes and laying them with Fenton all
because we think we think we gota health problem. Now wait until people
start making them in their backyards.Then we're really gonna have a point.
We're not gonna know what people aresmoking. Wow. What should be done?

(08:45):
What should be done is what's beingdone over the last of the years.
Counselentry Magica. You know the commercialwith the lady that's has the throat,
the hole in her throat, she'staught that scares people more. I
know flu have anybody else lu awaymoving un alignment and that's kids people.

(09:07):
That's the you know, education part, getting to schools telling people not to
smoke, but helping with the cessationas you have to help people. You
can't a wresh your way out ofaddiction, Vanessa. There's no way you
can aresh your way of addiction.They tried to with crack. It didn't
work, and you see what happenedto our communities. Well, Corey,

(09:28):
thank you for joining us on theBlack Information Network. Excellent. Thank you,
Mike. When the ban is imposed, it's certain to be challenged in
court, so in reality will beyears until smokers will have to put out
menthol cigarettes. I'm Vanessa Tyler withthe Black Perspective on the Black Information Network.
Thanks Vanessa. Book banning and restrictionson how African American history will be

(09:50):
taught to kids in school has beena topic that is common in the news
today, and one teacher has writtena book to help parents who want to
help their children understand African American historyand slavery from a truthful, yet clear
perspective. That's what's featured on thisweek's edition of The Color Between the Lines
with Esther Dillard. Him Ester Dillardon the Black Information Network chatting with writers

(10:11):
and authors who offer an added perspectivefor our listeners. This is the Color
between the Lines on this edition ofThe Color between the Lines. We're talking
with an author, playwright, scholar, activist and international commentator, doctor Patricia

(10:33):
Williams Dockery. She's here to talkabout her book, Raised to the Truth,
Slavery and the African American Story.The book is a resource for parents
and middle grades readers. And welcomePatricia Dockery to the b I N Thank
you so much for having me esther. It's a pleasure and an honor to
be here. Well, this historybook seems right on time for many parents

(10:58):
who may be worried about places likeFlorida who seemed to be directly attacking how
history is being presented and in theclassroom. Was writing this book a response
to some of those events or not? Well. So this book is in
a series of books of the Raceto the Truth series of books. And

(11:22):
when this idea came about, itwas in response to what we were seeing
as sort of an idea in racerelations in this country. So it was
timely. This is around twenty nineteenthat the that the idea that came about,
and then I was brought on tosort of outline and you know,

(11:43):
think about slavery and the African Americanstory. So in my mind, just
coming off the hills of the heelsof what we had experienced in the Latin
the previous election and the rise ofyou know, former President Trump. It
will it was timely, but nowit's even more timely, just in the

(12:03):
last year. There's so much moreto add and there is a part two
of this book. So it's justawesome. Well that was my next question.
It was in regard to the series. Can you explain about the series
and how it all works together?And so let me just tell you this
is the brainchild of Syrah Rao andRegina Jackson. They are the founders of

(12:26):
the Race to Race to the TruthDinners, and so they're the book packagers
and then they identify people to writethe book. So in terms of the
outline and the concept and the researchand the writing, you know, that's
all the authors. So I wasasked to come on this project based upon
my background and my background writing forchildren in the past, and so for

(12:48):
me it was like I'm still inseventh grade in some ways, so it
was like creating remember highlights. Soit was like black history highlights in my
mind and incorporating everything that we didn'tlearn, not just in middle school but
throughout college. I mean, Ihave a PhD. D in anthropology and

(13:09):
film. Myself very well versed inAfrican American history, but there was so
much that I uncovered doing this research. So this book and all of the
books in this series are to reallyhighlight and debunk a lot of the myths
around African Americans, indigenous people,Chinese Americans, Latin X folk. And

(13:33):
it's just been an honor and privilegeto do this work. And there's so
many amazing and important tip bits thatI think that teachers, faculty, teachers,
parents, and middle school learners willbe excited to learn about. And
I just got my books this week, so wow, awesome, awesome this

(13:54):
Oh wow, that's awesome. I'mtelling you, this book really approaches You
kind of touched on it in youranswer just prior that talks about the flawed
approaches to teaching history, especially AfricanAmerican history. Can you maybe explain a
little bit more about what you meantby that and how you're trying to correct

(14:16):
it. Yeah, so many people, not just you know, middle school
teachers, post school teachers, buta lot of folks black and white,
have this idea that millions of enslavedAfricans came to this country. Now there
were millions of Africans who are transportedthroughout the Transatlantic slave trade, of course,

(14:39):
but of that trade, of thattrade period, only about three percent
came to this country, so aboutfour hundred thousand enslaved Africans. Now,
the really really interesting and astounding pieceabout that is that those that three percent,
those four hundred thousand so black folks, are the ant They they gave

(15:03):
birth to all of the millions ofAfrican Americans that are here today. So
how does that happen? We knowthat slavery was a really horrific practice.
What that means is that because therewere twice as many men who were brought
to this country then in the enslavedAfrican women, that means that the African

(15:28):
women who were brought here are theprogenitor, you know, primordial mothers to
all of us. So that wasroughly seventy one thousand. Black women really
are the birth great great great grandmothersto all of us. So that's so
one point that I just want toreiterate is that many people think that there
were millions who came here, butthere are really a small number. But

(15:52):
because when when the international transportation andimportation and cells of slavery and this country
ended. That meant that American slaveowners were able to really get in on
the slave trade by breeding and reallyreally breeding their slaves, enslaved people,
so that that is how we gotthe growth of the black population. So

(16:15):
that's one of the myths that Ithink this book will debunk for many people.
And just recently, one of myneighbors said to me, oh,
I'm glad you're writing this book,because people need to know that there were
white slaves in this country, andso people conflate and dentured servants with chattel
slavery, which is very different.So there are those types of points,

(16:38):
but also the great contributions that ourAfrican ancestors and our enslaved African American ancestors
made to this country. And howwe all it's harsh to hear that we
all are beneficiaries of slavery today,but in many ways we are because there
are so many things like anoculations wewouldn't even have if it wasn't for a

(17:03):
man named Onesimus who was enslaved byCotton Mather. And you remember reading about
Cotton Mather in American history, buthe was the one who introduced what we
now know as inoculation in this country, so I mean around the world.
So those are the points that Imean about beneficiaries. Not that there was
anything good about slavery, but thereare things that we have today because because

(17:29):
because of their influence on our onour country. A lot of people probably
would kind of like have raised aneyebrow when you talked about beneficiaries and whether
or not we folks benefited from slavery. Can you maybe elaborate a little bit
more to make sure that's a littlebit more clear as to where you stand
on that. Yes, So Idon't. So what I mean is that

(17:51):
that these are African ancestors brought somuch knowledge to this country, albeit their
force, And I'm not saying thatthey benefited. I'm saying that this country,
by the infrastructure, the streets,the roads, the White House,
the arts, culinary everything, youknow, because we have this creative genius

(18:15):
that they brought and that was ableto grow through cultural syncretism. We are
beneficiaries of something that was very dastardly. No way am I saying that slavery
was a good thing, Not atall. I am not on that boat.
But I'm just saying folks should understandthat there's so many, you know,

(18:37):
so much of American not just popularculture, but you know, medicine,
literature, satire, and comedy.You know, it comes straight from
you know, African culture and thedozens and all that, and that stuff
in religious expression that we see incharismatic churches comes from what we see in

(19:00):
the religious expression of people from Westand West Central Africa, who were those
people who were forced into slavery overhere. So that is what I mean,
for sure. I wanted to askbecause I read, I was reading,
and I saw a lot of prettygraphic details included in this book that
disturbed me as an adult. Sowas there any concern with how this might

(19:25):
affect young readers? And how didyou determine what to leave in and what
to take out that type of thing, Just trying to keep a balance there,
Yeah, for sure. So wewent back and forth around the language.
But what we wanted to you know, of course, we didn't go
into like all the details of like, you know, what happened, but
we wanted to make sure that childrenand teachers understood that the way that kidnapped

(19:52):
Africans and enslaved African people were treatedphysically, the torture, the way that
some medical practice came out of theway that enslaved people were treated, That
these were horrific circumstances that they endured, and that it's important for all of
us to know these things because youknow, we don't want to repeat those

(20:15):
mistakes, and it's important for usto know the truth. Once we start
sort of glossing over all, youknow, there were there were lots of
benevolent slave masters, and people getthis idea that, oh, they weren't
really enslaved, they could, youknow, move about freely. But that
wasn't the case. Their bodies werenot their own. So we did go

(20:37):
back and forth with middle school teachers, and the publisher was very intentional about
getting feedback. It went. Wewent back and forth a lot, but
in the end we wanted we wantto make sure that we are as accurate
as possible without of course scaring children, teachers and parents. If you're just

(20:57):
joining us, I messed Dillard speakingwith doctor Patricia Williams Dockery. She is
the author of a middle greater bookcalled Range to the Truth Slavery and the
African American Story. Now, thereare many interesting parts to this book,
I have to say, including achapter specifically on American laws that made slavery

(21:18):
legal, slavery resistance, and freedomfighters. Can you talk about maybe some
of the few surprising nuggets of researchthat you did feel that, no doubt
you're would surprise maybe your readers whenthey read the book. Yeah. So
I went straight to the historical recordsin terms of looking at you know,

(21:42):
laws, and for me, eventhough our country hadn't even been fully formed
during the you know, the colonyyears, slavery was really on the like,
the question and the debate around youknow, slavery was looming me.
You know, it was. Itwas a big question, and so very

(22:04):
soon after the colonies were formed,there were laws that were put in place
to sort of to to about slavery, about what to do. I think
what was what people will find interestingis that in this country we really teach
about Antebellum slavery and like that's justit, like and that slavery was only

(22:27):
in the South, but slavery wasvery active in the New England colonies and
very active in places like New York. And so we also use uh the
excavation findings at different historic places throughoutNew England to really you know, show

(22:48):
people about the early African presence inthis country. I think folks will also
be interested in finding out that notall black people came here as enslaved people,
and that there were people coming overwith the conquistadors from Europe, people
of African descent, some of themnot really doing good things if they were

(23:11):
with the conquistadors. However, theywere coming over prior to sixteen nineteen.
So this book, even though it'stitle slavery, it is about the you
know, the black presence in thiscountry even before it was it was even
formed in terms of insurrections and anduh, slave revolts. I think folks

(23:37):
there there is divided. Some peoplebelieved that there were so many slave revolts
and then on the other hand,people like I won't mention this the controversy
rapper who was like, oh,you know, enslaved people didn't rise up
and this and that, but theydid. Sometimes it was on a on

(24:00):
It was it macro micro level interms of like how they like sometimes people
poison their their masters, sometimes theyfeigned illness to get out of doing work.
And then also were sort of thepeople who were the brain, the
master minds around revolts. But byand large, those big, big revolts

(24:25):
that we think they didn't happen,you know, there were a few of
them, of course, and manyof them were thwarted, you know,
for different reasons. So but thepoint is that enslaved people did fight back.
They were resistant. They didn't justcome over like, oh, yes,
shackle me, I'm here, I'myours. There was resistance and it

(24:47):
took various types of form. Wow, I know we're running out of time.
So I want you to give me, hopefully the overarching message that you
hope that adult and young readers willget from reading the information in this book.
Yes, first and foremost, AfricanAmerican history is American history, full

(25:07):
stop. This is our collective storyabout what happened to all of our ancestors.
Because these black folks again contributed toso much of American culture, life,
society as we know it today,and we need to celebrate them.
We also need to recognize the horrorsof the past so that we never never

(25:34):
go down that route again. AndI think that this book and the stories
and the you know, the storieswe talk about in this book, the
presidents who were slave owners and otherprominent people. I think it really shows
that humanity is complex. We are, we are, our leaders can be

(25:59):
flawed, but it is incumbent uponus, as everyday men, women and
children who love this country to knowthe truth, to do our own historical
excavation, to find the you know, find out the questions. If there's
something that you want to challenge,go to the historical record, look it
up. It's important for us toknow the truth so that we can build

(26:22):
a better tomorrow and be better citizenstoday. So that's what I would lead,
That's what I would lead. Well, thank you so much doctor Patricia
Williams Dockery for joining us on theBN. Thank you for having me esther
awesome. That's it for this editionof The Color Between the Lines. The
book is raised to the truth slaveryand the African American story. I'm Ester

(26:45):
Dillard on the Black Information Network.Thanks Ester, how Heywood writers and Actors
strike has been going on for ninetynine days. The studios made a counterall
for last week, but the actor'sguild rejected it. We don't know when
the strike will end or what itwill mean for future projects and film,

(27:06):
TV and streaming the black Information networks. On med Gordon talked to a former
Disney actor about how the strike isaffecting actors and writers like her. Thanks,
Mike, I have the honor ofhaving one of those actresses that you
know, everyone knows from that show. It's Giovanni Samuels. How you doing,

(27:27):
Hey, what's up everybody? Man? I am so happy to have
you here because there's a lot goingon, yes, in the industry,
and with this writer's strike, withthis actor's strike, I think we are
finally, in my opinion, peopleare kind of trying a kind of understanding

(27:48):
that Hollywood is more than just theone percent. Yes, now people are
getting it. Now, people areare I guess the facade, the curtain
is now being revealed, right,But it feels like the networks are just
digging in. Yes, And Iwas. I was there, like,
you know when I read that thatthat article that're gonna wait him out because

(28:11):
eventually they don't need the money andthey'll come back. And I'm like,
no, no, no, they'renot gonna do that. I'm like,
they were dead serious about this saidthat we're gonna wait until people start losing
their homes and getting their cars repotthat that's what he said, But it
looks like that's what they're doing.Yeah, intentionally right first, just thinking
business wise, they were going totry and rate it out for like a

(28:32):
month or maybe two months, haveit as a tax ride off deductible for
them. Oh we lost this moneybecause of the strike, blah blah blah.
But this just further proves to mehow much money they made off of
streaming and they're not trying to giveit up. So yeah, talk to
us about you know what what's beingtalked about right now between the actors,

(28:52):
the writers, everybody, Because Iknow that at first you don't want it
came to the writers strike. Itwas AI. You know AI. AI
has a problem. I'm like,okay, streaming an issue. I understand
that. Then the writers, youknow, and then the actors are like,
look, we need to renegotiate happening. It's the same across the board
for both of us. With thewriters, it's having h AI right shows

(29:15):
for them, cutting them out ofthe creative process. You can't. AI
doesn't really create, It reproduces,so whatever you put in it, then
it's going to create something. Butthat's not that's not going to be real,
that's not going to capture people.You're gonna see there's going to be
flaws to the system. And yes, with technology, everything evolves, but
as far as creating stories something genuinethat that comes from a person, and

(29:37):
you're trying to cut costs by onealready having seven or eight episodes per season
instead of the traditional twenty two,so that already cuts people down. And
then you have exclusivities where you can'twork on another show, okay, and
if you're only doing eight episodes andthat's the only thing that you got for

(29:59):
a whole year until you might pickus up for the next another season,
that that's a you know, there'sthere's a lot of contractual things that need
to be worked out in that aspect, for especially for the writers. So
that's that's what they're fighting, okay. And then the other half is streaming.
Like, like I said, allof us are fighting were streaming.
So here's my question. And Iremember years ago when I started seeing big

(30:23):
time actors started doing a lot ofstreaming movies and I started asking around,
I'm like, what is it aboutstreaming that you guys are turning to this
so much? And it's like they'rethey're offering movies type of paychecks and less
work basically, and it's like,oh, okay, so in my mind
it was a good thing. Butnow but now we like maybe five six

(30:47):
late years later, it's like,oh, wait a minute, what's going
on because we don't even know whathow much the streamers are making, because
they're not even making that evident howmuch. You know, we can't tell
how many people actually watch the show, so that it's their excuse of why
they don't want to give up residualsfor streaming. But if you're telling me
you made twenty four million dollars inyour bone, that's the bonus you got.

(31:11):
That's your bonus on top of thepaycheck you already have. Right,
So you tell me you don't havethe money. If you had, if
you got a twenty four if younot everybody else, just you got a
twenty four million dollar bonus, right, No, you you got the money.
You just don't want to cough itup. It makes absolutely no sense
for actors, especially the ones I'vebeen in the game for a long time,

(31:34):
even myself, where we were usedto being able to live or at
least sustain off of residuals, andas an actor, you have to make
twenty six k a year through workand or residuals to qualify for SAG health
insurance. Oh okay, so ninetyeight percent do not if you are a

(32:01):
SAG member. Most of us don't. Wow. And you get that from
residuals now. And not only arethe residuals and living off of it and
health insurance, but this also goesinto our pension. This also goes into
our retirement and other things moving forward. So you're telling me the work that

(32:21):
you're you're clearly making money off ofthese streamings. You can't pay me more
than one cent, So what canbe done? I talked to Tamu Latrelle
a few weeks ago, and she'son the music side of things, and
she's talking about the issues that they'rehaving with streaming on that side, and
she's talking about, like, look, we let Spotify, these these foreign

(32:43):
companies from foreign countries come in anddictate how we get paid. And now
that everything's gone to streaming, we'regetting paid less and less and less.
And the same thing is happening withthe Netflix is who we have. Netflix
came in here and all of asudden. All everybody's doing a streaming situation

(33:04):
and they're jumping everything over there andcutting the actors and the writers out cheaper.
It's cheaper for them, And Iget it from a business perspective,
But if you guys are making literallymillions of dollars off of work that I've
done, okay, ten twenty yearsago, and you're making that kind of
money, you've definitely can bring meoff, right. And then for you,

(33:29):
you know you talked about it,you know, talking about the pension.
Just can you give people an ideahow you make your money? Like
how do you like you have ason, met your son, wonderful son,
Savan, you know, six yearsold? Like how how are you
before the strike happened? What wouldyou're not a page? I guess it
paycheck? But how like how doesyour income come as an actor? And

(33:50):
I'm guessing right, do you writea little bit too or yeah? So
how does your income come? LikeI get a check every two weeks from
my job, So for you,yeah, the same thing, don't.
We don't make it like that?So so what did it look like for
an actor to get paid in thisindustry? Right? Okay? So if
you're on a show, so youget a weekly check because you shoot an

(34:14):
episode per week. So you'll getthat check, and you'll take a hiatus
or which is called a break,or you'll take a break for a week
skip you get a check. Sowhen the season is over, you are
quote unquote technically unemployed. The showgets picked up again, but you only
get paid for the weeks that youare. You are on a show.
Got it, So, however yourcontract is, however that works out,

(34:37):
blah blah blah blah blah. Yougive ten percent to your agent or whatever
to your team, and you liveoff the rest. Got it. When
I'm not on a show or notworking, I teach acting classes. I
have my own company it's called GSActing Workshops, where I teach private lessons.
It's either half consulting and half coaching. So if you're a first time
actor you know nothing about the business, I can consult with you on how

(35:00):
to move so you don't get scamor you're not making redundancies or even ruining
your name before you even get inthe door. Got it. Then,
if you are or season actor orwhatnot, and you just need coaching for
a part or a self tape.I can accommodate that for you as well,
So I do that during the week, and then my other side hustle,

(35:21):
because yes, this is the dayand age where one income is not
enough, you need more than one. I used to drive lyft. I
I help out with a friend ofmine in his business. He does event
planning, so I'll do floral arrangementsand stuff for them. I have more
than one jobs, and people weresaying, oh, go get a job,

(35:44):
We'll get a job. I gotfive. We were gonna make We're
gonna make this work. We're definitelygonna make this work. So so now
that we are into the strike,what does that look like for you?
Now? Now because you're not ona set, you know it now,
it's all the side hustles. It'sall the side hustles. It's all my
business. And when I started doingconventions, like going to different comic cons

(36:09):
doing meet and greets and stuff likethat. And because of the strike,
you that can you not really You'renot supposed to, not really, So
you can as yourself, but notas any of your work. Got it?
Where do you think? Where doyou where? Do you honestly see

(36:29):
this thing ending? Or do youthink we're gonna see a false schedule.
No false schedules at all. Absolutelynot. It's not already in the can,
I don't think so. If it'snot already in the can and it's
not independent, then okay, howabout Winter Spring? You think this is
the way that they came back withnegotiations the second round of negotiations for the

(36:51):
writers, they was not trying tobudge. Really, no, this AI
is a very big deal, notjust for the ride but for the actors.
So I hear that they're trying todo AIS where they're taking your face.
Yes, they want to take backgroundactors completely scan You use your face
likeness in perpetuity, meaning forever,so I can use your face in whatever

(37:17):
film any kind of way in thebackground, however, I feel for the
rest of eternity. Right, So, if you did background just to get
your feet wet, and you're tryingto learn the business, and then you
switch off and become a doctor andthen your face ends up in some kind
of horror film or porno or whatever, that's going to mess up your reputation
in the future. Right. That'sjust one aspects of the way that this

(37:42):
is horribly wrong. But do youremember Power Rangers? Yes, do you
remember Zordon? I heard about him. Yeah, yeah. They he works
one day, not even a fullday, and they use him throughout the
entire series. Ever paid him adime. Wow, that is what they're
trying to do to actors. Iwish you the best. You got a

(38:05):
book, because what I'm gonna donow, hey, look look Louisa Vane
out there, he playing and Iwant to make sure that his mom would
get something. We're gonna go,We're gonna look. Yeah, what we're
gonna do for those future actors whowant to get in this wonderful industry.
As you heard us talking about this, this wonderful acting industry all bad like,
there are some really beautiful parts toit, and and me teaching is

(38:30):
that beautiful part that I speak of. We'll talk about your book connecting with
people who are passionate about the artsand really want to learn and get into
it. And my motto has alwaysbeen I'd rather help you than hurt you.
And this book in particular is calledAll that You Need to Know About
Show Business. And yes it's allfun and games, Yes it's lights camera

(38:52):
fun, but this is still abusiness at the end of the day,
and you need to know the businessside of this industry that we're in,
Like, Hey, how do Iget an agent? I give you some
basic steps to get in there?Okay, what happens after you get an
agent? What do you do foryour first audition, whether it's self tape
or in person? Okay, Igot the job? How do I read

(39:14):
a call sheet? These are allof those things that you kind of have
to learn on the job because thereisn't really a curriculum route there for it.
And if there is, they're notteaching you industry standard. They might
teach you college version or school orwhatever, but industry standard this is it.
So I give you a breakdown ofHey, this is what happens from

(39:36):
when you first get your job allthe way to you wrap and at the
end of the book there is adictionary to kind of help you with the
lingo, because it does sometimes feellike you're speaking in Yeah, I've heard
conversations. I'm just like, Idon't know, I have no idea what's
going yet. I hear my sisterwho's in theater talking, I'm just like,
I don't know, right, butwhat you're doing, Like she came
over to my house the other dayto do audition tape and she was that

(39:58):
was two hours. I was like, I was like, took you two
hours to do that? She's like, yeah, the way I sang that
song, I was on the wrongkey. And I'm like, everything,
everything matters. Everything matters, man, everything, How can people find you?
Follow you? Because I feel likenow it's like, well, how
you just talk about making TikTok videosand becoming rich off of that. No,

(40:19):
It's like, it's honestly, howyou guys are already creatives and know
how to do these things, sothat an avenue that you're thinking about,
like you gotta be TikTokers. Well, and that's a whole another Really,
that's a whole another thing. Sowe can be influencers, but we can't.
Our content can't be about our pastwork or stuff. It has to

(40:42):
be about us. And you seemlike you're nice enough that I can you
get into what you're doing without havingto talk about stuff in the past in
the past, And I have I'mI've got a YouTube page, and I'm
in the works of and I actuallydid uh right and executive produce and shot

(41:04):
a pilot for some stuff. ThatI can't even talk about now because it's
it's all it's all sagged up.Got you, Yeah, got you,
Oh man, Giovanni Samuels. Iappreciate the time. I know, I
know it's a lot and and andI've seen your passion behind this, and
so I just wanted to give youan opportunity to speak on it on our
network. And I really do appreciateyou coming down and having this conversation.

(41:27):
Thank you completely for having me.You can find me. All of my
solciers are the same, only oneGiovanni. That's g I O V O
N N I E Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok uh Giovanni Samuels for
Facebook and YouTube. Yeah, anduh Patreon is coming soon. I understand

(41:51):
you gotta do it her Giovanni Samuelsdot com or from my classes GS Acting
Workshops dot com. Thank you gettingjo Vanny Mike back to you. Thanks
man. He is a rapper,podcaster, and upcoming actor, with his
recent film credit being a Netflix hitmovie They Cloned Tyrone. He is also

(42:14):
an advocate for autism awareness the BlackInformation Networks. John Marshall spoke to Ken
Folk about everything he is working onthe first person that you hear, the
first person that you see, firstwords that you hear, y'all. Like,
seriously, in this movie list thathas been number one, big Bash

(42:35):
Netflix, they cloned Tyrone immediately.God it's Sean. So talk to me
about, man, how this wholeacting thing came out? Because that's that's
what we're here folks. You knowhow did that mean? Start acting?
My mom Bless her soul and mydad bless your soul. Both on pass
Away to cancel rest in Peace.They might ancestors, but like they both
because of the kind of music thatI was doing from Memphish, like they

(42:59):
like, you know, you drip, you fly, you make positive if
you make goodbye music. Memphers isdarker like they really it's kind of hard
to accept individuals that's more like thepositive, you know what I'm saying,
Like it's just different, Like youknow what I mean, the streets gonna
eat, the streets gonna one tohear what the streets want to hear.
So it's like my dad was like, you know, man, you need
to you know, it's great tobe audio, you know what I'm saying,

(43:22):
but you visual and they need tosee you. You know what I'm
saying, so you know, andyou can do that. And my mom
were like that too. So it'slike when they passed, I took it,
Like all right, I took aclass if you don't mind me asking,
And when when twenty twelve and twentythirteen back to back, you know
what I'm saying, And it waslike, all right, well when they
passed, Yeah, when they passed, I started. I took a class

(43:44):
I called Tarry Vaughan. So yeah, I'm class, Like let me like
learn how to how to really actuallydo yeah, like it, don't skip
in the steps, don't cheat thedon't skip any of the steps, don't
cheat the grinds, right, youknow what I mean honestly, like actually
do it and go through the rejections. Uh not go through connections, but
but to like really book roles basedon the performance and auditioned and you know

(44:07):
what I'm saying, and doing thatlike and those things that you've seen me
in prior to with like super FlyAtlanta on FX with season two with Donald
Glover. My first acting gig waswith Donald Glover, you know what I'm
saying. So I'm playing in therole with him outside of uh, shot

(44:28):
out yeah, right, sweet lineswhatever. I'm doing a scene with Donald
Glover and this is another rapper thatturned this for Atlanta season two, episode
three, season two, and yeah, and I'm like, bro, like
somebody that got My first role waswith somebody the like, Okay, you're

(44:49):
putting it right in front of me, guy, you putting that was your
first my first rollout book, youknow what I'm saying, Like was that?
And it's like I'm sitting here withDonald Glover all day and it's like,
y'all have any kind of relationship.I mean, he knew about so
Christmas, I say, you knowwhat I'm saying, So, yeah,
he already knew what. But itwas like, you know, just just

(45:09):
being but you know, it's likeme, I'm humble, bro, I'm
able to like, Okay, youknow I'm tall, and but I'm not
you make a presence when you Iknow it's a president. But it's like
at the same time, I'm like, okay, this yo show, you
know what I mean, And I'mgonna be able to, you know,
just fall back and like let dudedo his thing. It's like the things

(45:29):
you see me on from that.I was in Star on Fox with Queen
Latifa and and Brandy Season three,I play Leon. Leon was this pump
that went crazy and like, sothat did that? Then I did uh?
After did, I did uh?This thing called uh I did.
I'm a I'm a country cowboy inred their Redemption to Game on the voice

(45:51):
off acting I want to touch youon this autism advocates. You know what
I'm saying, Absolutely yeah, Igot I gotta touch on you know what
I'm saying, and do that.So what I what we do is we
have an autism nonprofits, a foundation. You know what I'm saying. It's

(46:13):
it's it's a Memphis and it's Atlantaand my wife, Queen, she runs
it. And it's like, youknow, it's we feel like if you
have autism, you're different, notless, and we're different and blessed,
you know what I'm saying as faras a family. So you know,
that's like my passion because I'm doingthis documentary called Instrumental and it's, like
I said earlier, is about thestory of non speaking autism. Because people

(46:36):
talk about autism, but it's likethe spectrum is wide, so it could
be somebody who just have different socialmiscues and you say that's autism, and
you don't see the severity of it. Then you have someone like my son,
it's like not speaking to you,and it's like and and you're trying
to figure out what the need is. Just kind of like how if it's
an instrumental beat and I'm listening toand I'm trying to figure out what to

(46:57):
say on it, you's know whatI'm saying or what to put on it.
It's like he's like that instrumental tome. And and I don't see
a lot of people of not ofblack people like coming out saying, hey,
okay, hey my son got autism, and this is what's going on
with it. This is what itlooks like, this is what stimmy looks
like, this is what these thingslook like. So my life and our
life is an open book to that, you know what I mean. And

(47:20):
that's what we're we're we're pushing likeon the on the daily, like you
know what I'm saying for for inclusionawareness, autism awareness and acceptance. So
you know, I stand inside ofthere toy with with with parents that have
that have kids with autism or ifyou have autism. You know, there's
a lot of adult diagnosed autism,you know what I'm saying. And it's
just it's just a situation where it'sa learning People think it's a disease or

(47:44):
something. It's not a disease.You can't cure it. You can't like,
oh, I caught it early,and I'm you know, it's not
like that. It's like it's gonnabe with you. You know what I
mean. It's a learning disorder.You know what I mean. You're not
neurotypical, you know what I'm saying. So it's something that is my purpose.
And for the last my son istwelve. We got Dino when he
was two. So for the lastten years, this is what I've been
ten thousand hours in, you knowwhat I mean, learning how to be

(48:07):
an autism dad, learning how toyou know, to to deal with this.
And now that we've been in itfor a while, we want to
be able to offer the things thatwe know to be able to get to
young parents that may just got diagnosedbecause we didn't have nobody with us when
we got diagnosed to figure out,like, man, what is it?
I ain't none about it. Mywhole family nobody have an artism. I

(48:27):
don't even know what this is.And then there's of course there's the whole
thing. Is it from the shots? Is it from you know, that
whole thing or whatever? It's allthat, brother, yes, all of
that. So it's just you know, we carry that, you know what
I mean. But I think it'sone of the things. To me,
it's grown me. It's made mebe a better individual, a better father,
or better person. It puts myperspective of the humanism of me or

(48:50):
just like, no matter whatever I'mgoing through, I go to bed and
wake up with autism. You knowwhat I'm saying. No matter what blessing
I get, no matter what filmI do, no matter what blessing God
bring me, I'm still going tobed and waking up every day as an
autism father. You know what I'msaying. And with a child with autism,
autism black father, you know,black father at black you know what
I'm saying. So that is somethingthat is close to my heart and we

(49:13):
urge individuals to like, you know, Autism aphickers at org. Make sure
you check it out. Make sureyou check out the website if you think
your child may have autism. There'ssome there's some things on there that you
can be able to look early signsthings of that nature. You can donate,
you can become an advocate, youknow what I mean, all of
those things, bro. Tap intoautism maphicks dot org that though, Man,
I really I really appreciate you havingme. Man, I really appreciate
being able to up this was thiswas you know what I'm saying, And

(49:36):
being able to talk. Man,it's really dope. Bro, And I
just I appreciate y'all. Going tostream the movie that's out right now.
Yeah, stream a movie. Youknow what I'm saying. Thank clowns around.
That's done out right now. Gostream that. And yeah, man,
more movies on the way. Gostream Uncle king Folk. That music
is out right now too. Andsubscribe to my vibe immediately king Folk dot
com so you can check out thatimmediately King Folk Podcast, Autism Magicks out

(49:59):
org. You know what I mean, donate, you know what I mean,
Subscribe to the vibes, man,that's what That's what's going on.
If I gotta put you on thespot just real quick, just one time.
You know I'm a radio guys,we gotta do this. Do you
remember your first lines from the movie, Man, My first line from the
movie. Yeah, I want youto hit it like you in the movie

(50:21):
Piggle Wiggly. You know what I'msaying. He was at the Piggy Wiggly
over there on the West side.Oh God, I'm telling you was right
there. You know why because heblack? Nah? You black? Nah?
Hey, y'all. That is kids, Shine Ki Shine Coleman right here
on the Black Information Network. Iam John Marshall. This is the Black

(50:45):
perspective on iHeart Radio immediately. Yes, thanks John. Ran Theresmo it's a
popular racing simulator video game that takesgamers from their couch to inside a virtual
race car driving on the world's mostpopular tracks. But for one young black
man, he went from his couchto racing in an actual race car.

(51:06):
His story is the subject of themovie Ran Theresmo, which is in theaters
now, and he talked to theBlack Information Networks Mimi Brown all about it.
Thanks Mike. The Newstony Pictures moviegrant Arrismo is in theaters right now
and with me is Jan Martin World, the Black race car Driver the movie
is based on, So Jan,can you tell me what it's like to

(51:27):
be part of this movie and howit feels to have your real life story
portrayed on the big screen. It'sa part of my life, which you
know, it's it's very unusual toother people in the industry, in most
sports, also gaming. So I'vealso feel very blessed to be able to
tell this part of my life toa very wide audience with the movie,

(51:51):
because it's not something which I imaginewas going to be a thing, But
feel very lucky and blessed that's it'sit's going to be a thing for people
to see. Grantedisma was described asa classic underdog story, underdog sports story.
What's the most challenging aspect of yourjourney from working class care to professional

(52:12):
racing driver? Just being better,being faster, being better in audreas,
not only in terms of the Stopwatch, but as a human as well,
constantly striving to improve yourself. Andthose early years it was just to stop
Watch. I cared about just beingas fast as I possibly could and to
learn as quickly and to keep themmy learning curve exponential. That's what all

(52:35):
I cared about. Other things haveto take that drop away. They will
be They will come back later onin in your life to have to improve
them. But yeah, just beingas fast as I can be. That's
the most difficult thing because it's alwaysit's always how do I get quicker?
How do I find more speed?How do you feel about being a trail

(52:58):
laser in the racing world and therepresentation that you bring to the sport.
It's not something I think about deeplybecause I'm a very selfish person in the
way that I just focus on beingas fast as I can be. However,
I'm aware that people that have lookedat my career and we'll watch this
movie and they'll go, that's maybethat can take some direction, a different

(53:22):
direction in life. Maybe I canend to remote sports because I never maybe
I didn't think about it before.I'm aware of that, But personally,
I just do me. I justrace the car and try to be as
fast as I can, raise schoolcars across the world, and represent my
family name in the best light possible. That's all I kind of care about,

(53:43):
having no good morals and ethics,and that seems to have guided me
in the right way, right directionin life, so much so that now
there's a movie about a past,a time of my life and those those
early years, So yeah, that'sthat's where we Are, you know the
film that's a beautiful job portraying yourinspiring story, showcasing your determination, your

(54:07):
talent. How do you think themovies portrayal of your experiences will resonnate with
black audiences and aspiring racers who mayface similar challenges well life and in careers
and in life in general. Youare going to be presented with difficult moments,

(54:27):
dark moments, and you're judged onhow you come back from those.
You're judged on your return. Soin the movie is and that's what has
happened in the what's shown in themovie happened, And I think anybody from
any background can take something from thatand believe that there's always loss at the

(54:50):
end of the tunnel. So that'smy only wish from from the movie.
It's I hope people can take apositive direction and and push on and do
something with their lives which brings thempurpose and passion. And yeah, whether
that be in motorsport or whether thatbe I don't know, being a sailor

(55:12):
or doing something in arts and crafts. That's my wish from the movie.
If one person is able to dothat, then it's a it's a win
for me. This is me MeBrown, and I'm in conversation with Jean
Martin Borrow, the real life blackrace car driver that's depicted in the movie
Grand Turismo. Taking it back justa little bit, how did playing Grand
Turismo the video game help you developyour racing skills and how did it feel

(55:36):
to transition from virtual racing to reallife racing. I think the Grand Turismo
the game itself because the variables arethey're standardized. There's not so many variables
in the game prepared to real life, where there's any infinite number of things
can happen. It forces you tobe consistent. It forces you in order

(55:57):
to be good at Grand Turismo,you have to be consistent and you have
to do the same thing over andover again many many times, very very
fast. But that teaches you howto get into this frame of mind called
the zone where it's like writing yoursignature. You don't think about writing your
signature, you just you just doit. That skill is transferable. Of
course, the basic stuff of learningthe racing lines, that's all very basic,

(56:20):
and that's no surface level. Butthe mindset is transferable to real life
because there's many things going on ina racing car where your car could be,
you'd be in the racing in thewet, your winsprey, mirpers can
not be working. It's flogging up, You're trying to defend another carf and
behind you have a radio engineer talkingto you. At the same time.
There's so many things going on.But if you're in the zone, if

(56:42):
you can understand how to how toget in the zone, and if you
go out of it, how quicklyget back into the zone. That is
the biggest transferable skill, the mostimportant transferable skill. And your your story
is depicted by an actor, didyou have to offer him any insight or
help him portray you authentically at anypoint? So, Actually, he had

(57:06):
been in the running for the roleof playing me for a long time.
He was the studio's favorite. I'veknown. I'm not personally known, but
I've known this story. We metone month before shooting, just by chance.
He happened to be filming another moviebefore before Grand Turismo, and I
was near a race track making surea race car that was going to be

(57:30):
used on set is working correctly.I text him. He came down and
he'd never been to a race track, he'd never seen a race car before,
or cars going round, So itwas the perfect opportunity, the perfect
situation before going on set, andhe's asked. We sat down for hours,
was talking about you know, familylife, personal personal things, what

(57:54):
it's like in the race car,and he was asking so many questions.
So his attention to detail is incredibleand he was the perfect person to play
me, and I'm very he's doinga great job as well. Okay,
last question. The film showcases somany iconic racing tracks in the world.

(58:17):
Which track was your favorite and whatmade it so special to you. My
favorite track is a it's two havetwo. I have two, so there's
one. The Newbergring is one,and also there's a track in Japan called
Sugo sports Land and this is alsomy favorite. And they're so special because
they're old school. They're built,you know, in an era where where

(58:45):
you are punished if you are ifyou stray off the off the tarmac where
there's grass and then there's a barrier. But as a racing driver, this
excites you so much because it's almostlike having a candle and trying to touch
the candle but not getting burnt.That's that's what it's like to drive these
old school circuits, and that's oneI am a favorite to those two.

(59:06):
We love that. Thank you somuch for taking the time to speak with
the Black Information Network. Let's talkinto Thanks Memi. For more on these
stories, listen to the Black InformationNetwork on the iHeartRadio app or log on
to binnews dot com, where youcan hear this program in its entirety on
demand. Also follow us on socialmedia at Black Information Network and on x

(59:30):
formerly known as Twitter at Black Infonet. We thank you for joining us on
the black perspective and look forward tocontinuing to have needed conversations for the black
community. Next week on Mike Islandon the Black Information Network