February 10, 2025 • 59 mins
This week on the Black Perspective, BIN News Anchor Mimi Brown talks with journalist Lori Ann LaRocco about her new book, Embracing Your Past to Empower Your Future, and the lessons it offers.
Esther Dillard presents another The Color Between the Lines segment, featuring educators and authors drawing connections between the messages of the Emancipation Proclamation era and today.
Alexandria Ikomoni sits down with actress Kron Moore, the First Lady on Tyler Perry's The Oval.
Mo Kelly catches up with legendary comedian George Wallace to discuss his new Amazon Prime sitcom, Clean Slate. Plus, Doug Davis explores Black wealth—what it takes to build it and how we can secure it for future generations.
Listen now!
Esther Dillard presents another The Color Between the Lines segment, featuring educators and authors drawing connections between the messages of the Emancipation Proclamation era and today.
Alexandria Ikomoni sits down with actress Kron Moore, the First Lady on Tyler Perry's The Oval.
Mo Kelly catches up with legendary comedian George Wallace to discuss his new Amazon Prime sitcom, Clean Slate. Plus, Doug Davis explores Black wealth—what it takes to build it and how we can secure it for future generations.
Listen now!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Sunday, February ninth, and on today's show, Bin News
anchor Mimi Brown talks to journalist Lori Ann Loarco about
her new book Embracing Your Past to Empower Your Future
and more. Esther Dillard has another the Color Between the
Line segment, where educators and authors living today are sharing
a message from the Emancipation Proclamation era. Alexandra Icaimoni sits
(00:23):
down with actress Karen Moore, the first Lady on Tyler
Perry's The Oval. Moe Kelly catches up with legendary black
comedian George Wallace and talks about his new sitcom on
Amazon Prime, Clean Slate, and Doug Davis talks Black wealth
and how we can obtain it. These stories and more
are coming your way on today's program, Welcome to the
(00:45):
Black Perspective. I'm your host, Mike Island.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the black community.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Good Sunday, everyone, and Welcome to the Black Perspective. History
isn't just something we read in textbooks. It's something that
shapes us, our families and the way we move through
the world. In her new book, Embracing Your Past to
Empower Your Future, award winning journalist and author Lori Ane
Lorocco takes readers on a journey through the legacies of
(01:19):
four Black American families whose ancestors were enslaved. Lori Anne
joined BI anchor Mimi Brown to discuss how these families
have preserved their history and how their stories can inspire
future generations.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
So, thank you so much for joining us on the
Black Information Network. This is such an important topic. Can
you please tell us about your profession, your background, and
what led you to write your book, Embracing Your Past
to Empower Your Future.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
So I am a journalist first and foremost, and I
have always loved the stories of people because we all
came from somewhere, no matter who we are. Our past
really has helped pay that way. And my daughter and
I we are history wanks. We love all things history.
(02:07):
And when the world was opening up during COVID, I
reached out to one of my contacts, David Rubinstein, and
he is big been a huge philanthropic proponent for US history.
And I asked him and I said, Hey, is it
possible for us to get tours of the president's homes,
and the presence were Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. And for
(02:31):
those who do not know who David Rubinstein is, he
puts his money to work and if he's going to
donate millions of dollars for history, he wants to make
sure that the complete history is told. And he went
to the foundations of these presidents' homes and said, well,
if you want my money, you better tell the stories
of the enslaved. Because it wasn't for the enslaved individuals,
(02:54):
those presidents would not be where they were right because
it was they supported them. Let's face it. If it
wasn't for the enslaved workers, the presidents would not be
who they were or have supported them. And so we went,
we went to the homes and one of the docents
mentioned the fingerprints of the enslaved. This was that President
(03:15):
James Madison home. And they said that children as young
as the age of five built helped build the homes
of the presidents, and they made the bricks. And so
they showed us these fingerprints and you saw these little
teeny tiny fingerprints. And my daughter at the time was fifteen,
and she was like mommy, oh my gosh. And so
(03:37):
we started diving into, well, who are these individuals that
built these homes? And you know, we do hear a
little bit about the enslaved workers that supported some of
the presidents, be the butler of James Madison. We all
know about, you know, Sally Hemmings, of course, but you know,
who are the other individuals that were out there and
what really struck us And if you guys have ever
(03:59):
seen these bricks, it's the intention of the fingerprints that
were pointed outward. They were out facing the world. These
fingerprints weren't put inward, so they were not seeing those bricks.
And we were like, we need to figure out and
so we started reaching out to the descendants of the enslaved,
(04:23):
be the groups of Madison, George Washington, and we kind
of had to sell ourselves, right, I mean, here I am.
It's like, hi, I am a white female journalist. I
am not a descendant of the en enslavers. I want
to tell your story. And so it took a lot
of trust, right for people to open up their stories.
(04:45):
And we were lucky enough to team up with four
amazing families, Polly and Rose Allen. They were survivors of
the Catilda and co founders of Africa Town, which is
still in existence to this day. They are now incorporated
into Mobile. We worked with the Quander family. They are
the oldest family Black American family in US history that
(05:10):
dates back to the sixteen hundreds here in the United States.
We also worked with the family that are descended from
James Madison, President James Madison. And then finally we also
worked with the Brooks family. They're intertwined with the Quander
family because of marriage. But this family is the only
(05:31):
Black American family in US history with four generals in
the immediate family. And so we dove into you know
who you know, who were your you know enslave loved ones,
What qualities lessons you know did you inherit? What did
you learn and how did their hard work and their
(05:54):
perseverance get embedded into your DNA to help lead you
to where you are today? And that's what drove us
to this. And I get super excited because we all
came from somewhere, and these individuals are lucky enough to
know where they came from and they're enslaved loved ones
(06:15):
are honored each and every day based on the success
of these families.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
You're right, that is not that long ago. Very very interesting.
You know, I wanted to just pivot a little bit
so you could tell us more about why you wanted
to open the Allen School of Logistics and Trade.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah, most definitely. So I am in the industry. In
addition to being the senior editor of Guest at CNBC,
I have written six books. Three of them are on trade.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
And I was at I was I was doing like
a like a book club and a man from Germany said, wow,
you know you're when we were talking about embracing your past.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
He's like, you're He's like, your career really came full circle.
Like what are you talking about. He's like, well, you
wrote about the oldest trade in the world. And it
hit me right in the stomach, and I'm like, holy crap,
you're right. The sale of human beings is the oldest
trade in the world, and I write about it, and
(07:18):
I said, I got to do something about it. And
so I'm really lucky because of my position on the
world stage when it comes to trade. I'm considered a
trade expert. I have testified before the World Trade Organization
about food and security. I have trade I've testified, I've
done moderated panels for the Trade arm of the United Nations,
(07:40):
and I have all these people at my fingertips. What
the heck can I do? And I said, I want
to create the poly and Rose Allen School of Trade
in Africa Town. And the reason why I chose Africa
Town was because of a series of land grabs. The
economic and educational rthide that Africa Town has suffered because
(08:01):
of government has destroyed the town. It is beyond blight.
I went quote on vacation to go to Africa Town
to meet with Vernetta, who's the great great granddaughter of
Poli and Rose, and I saw firsthand what we can do.
And I was like, you are two miles from the
city of from the port of Mobile Logistics is a
(08:21):
wonderful opportunity for individuals. You do not have to go
to college to make six figures in this industry. You
can go to college and you can do other things
like robotics and AI and data analytics and all these
great things. But these kids don't know. And so I
went to Vernetta and Vita, her daughter, and I said,
(08:43):
I want to do this. What do you think? And
you know, can I call it the Polly and Rose
Allen School of Trade. And they were like, you do
that for us. I'm like absolutely, And so for a
year I went around and I spoke with all of
these CEOs that I know, and I I was talking
to Robert Ryder, who's the CEO of DHL Global Forwarding,
(09:06):
and I said, I know, you guys have go trade
and go teach in other parts of the world than
they do. They teach folks in Africa and South America
and all these underprivileged communities. I said, I want you
to come to America and they're like, what are you
talking about underprivileged societies. I'm like, I go, there are
so many I go, but more importantly, I want Africa Town.
(09:29):
And they read the book, they love the book, and
they're like, we're all in. And so, starting on February six,
we're going to have both virtual and in house school
and actually it's in a church to you know, for
these students ages sixteen to twenty four, to get the
(09:50):
soft skills that they need in order to gain entry
into the world of logistics. And we're also going to
have mentors to help them and we're going to continue
to build on the programming so that these young kids
can get jobs and create generational wealth and put a
stop to the generational poverty that this community has suffered.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
That sounds amazing, And you know, thank you so much
for being on the show. Before I let you go,
I wanted to know, is there a website where we
can go to learn more about the school, learn more
about the book and everything that inspired this journey that
even your daughter have taken.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
Sure, so the name of the website is Embracing your
Past dot net.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Thanks Mimi. Embracing your Past to Empower your Future is
out now everywhere. Books are sold with all royalties supporting
the each one Teach one stipend to help descendants of
the enslaved afford college books. In the spirit of Black
History Month, this week's The Color between the Lines takes
us back to seventeen ninety six, before the Emancipation Proclamation
(10:59):
and how educator and author living today is sharing a
message from that era.
Speaker 6 (11:04):
On this edition of The Color Between the Lines.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
David Walker was trying to get the people who were
enslaved to be free in their minds.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
We speak to doctor David Walker, an author and speaker
who's also uniquely connected to David Walker, the Abolitionist, born
in seventeen ninety six. You don't want to miss this one.
I'm Aster Dillard on the Black Information Network, chatting with
(11:31):
writers and authors who offer an added perspective for our listeners.
This is the Color between the Lines. History tells us
that David Walker was born in seventeen ninety six in Wilmington,
North Carolina, to an enslaved father and a free mother,
(11:53):
which at that time meant that he was made automatically free.
He grew up witnessing the horrors of slaw and became
an outspoken abolitionist. He also helped start the first black
newspaper in the United States, called The Freedom's Journal. On
this edition of The Color Between the Lines, we speak
with doctor David Walker, who has a unique connection to
(12:15):
the Abolitionist. The author, motivational speaker, and coach. Talked to
me about how he first learned about the abolitionist when
he was in elementary school.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, I was a student in middle school and as
I remember, it was the first day of class and
the teacher was calling the attendance, and of course she
was going through every child's name, and by my last
name being Walker. I'm always at the end of the line, right,
And she says David Walker. And I raised my hand
(12:47):
and said present. And then she asked me, she said,
have you ever heard of the historical David Walker? And
I said no, I didn't, and she said, yeah, David
Walker wrote David Walker's Appeal during slavery. He was a
slave abolitionist. So she gave us a quick summary. I
don't know whether the rest of the class was excited,
but I was paying attention because his name was David Walker.
(13:11):
And of course, as you can imagine, we didn't have
Google back then, so I had to go home and
get encyclopedia and read about him. And now he is
my hero, not only just my black history hero, but
he's my hero all year along. David Walker.
Speaker 6 (13:26):
Well, how has he influenced your personal and your professional life?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yeah, you know, David. That appeal that he wrote back
in eighteen twenty nine was appealed about telling black people,
even though they were enslaved, because it was during slavery,
that they were to rise up and to know that
God had created them to be just as equal as
their slave masters, so they were to fight against oppression.
(13:54):
And yes, in my work, today, I see that. I
see the cause of actually wanting to fight against oppressive systems.
Systems that you know, bind us, inflict us and cause
us pain. And if you don't stand up against the system,
the system is going to dominate you. And it is
still present today. So I take the words of David Walker,
(14:16):
the mission of David Walker, and I really make it
a part of my life today.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
How did I understand? You are an author yourself. You're
the author of a book called The Champion's Mind. Does
this in any way connect to that book at all?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Well, the book doesn't specifically. Could you like to connect
to David Walker's vision? It doesn't connect specifically. But here's
what The Champion's Mind talked about. It talks about how
to be a champion. And maybe that's the connection between
my book and what David Walker's appeal was. When when
when you begin to stand up and live out your life,
(14:52):
live out your dreams, live out your purpose and your destiny.
I could see that being that appeal like David Walker had,
because it was about standing up and knowing your God
given rights in society. So The Champion's Mind is about winning,
winning in life, winning in every aspect, whether it's your business,
(15:13):
whether it's your home, your marriage. God sent us here
to be champions, and I wrote that book, you know,
the Champion's Mind, how to defeat giants and win, because
life is all about giants coming into our lives, their obstacles,
their setbacks, and we're just gonna have to overcome them
in order for us to win.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
Talk about how what motivated you to start this book,
because you have a unique story in how this all started.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, my story goes back to actually when I was born.
You know, it was March of nineteen sixty and back
then there were no sonograms, no gender revealed parties. My
mom was pregnant, but she didn't know my gender, and
her and my dad they decided that if I was
a boy, they were going to named me Michael. My
(16:01):
mother was so excited, went around telling all her girlfriends,
my son's gonna be named Michael. My son's gonna be
nakele n named Michael. I think my mom thought I
was gonna be an angel. No, man, wasn't gonna be
no angel, right, But she comes to my grandma Martha,
and she says, ma, if I have a second son,
I got an older brother, Robert. We've decided to name
him Michael. But my grandma Martha turned to my mother
(16:23):
after hearing that news. She looked at directly in her
eyes eye, and she said, his name is David, because
in the Bible, David was a king. David killed Goliath,
and David was a great man. And my grandson will
be named David, and he will be a great man,
you know, esther. I love my grandmother because she saw
(16:46):
the gi giant slayer in me. She saw me as
a winner and overcomer and a champion. And so I
lived my life in the mindset of the biblical character David.
And one day I was going through the scriptures reading
about him, and I found out that he was more
than just a giant slayer, but he won a everything
that he did. So I wrote that book, The Champion's
(17:07):
Mind six chapters. Number one, master your gift. Number two,
be fearless, number three, Be a relentless leader, number four, Communication,
number five, be a person of character. Number six, have
a God relationship. I believe in the God relationship in
order to succeed. And then in chapter number seven, I
love number seven because all the first chapters deal with
(17:28):
how to be successful, how to be a Champion. But
chapter seven is called the Dark Side because we all
have something in us that if we don't watch it,
it'll destroy everything that we've built.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
I love what part of your book also not only
deals with these principles, but it deals with something where
the stories of you growing up and how you had
to overcome certain things and you didn't. Originally you were
supposed to be in sports, you were supposed to be
a sportsperson, and it all changed with one really defining moment.
(18:09):
And I'd love you to talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, you know, I grew up in Betsty, Brooklyn. You know,
I'm sure your audience is well versed with betsto Brooklyn
as the home of Biggie and jay Z and Shirley
Chisholm and so many different people. So when you grow
up in Betsty, we all wanted to be what I
call a living legend. You know, no doubt Biggie living legend,
jay Z living legend. But baseball was my thing. It
(18:37):
was the thing that I was going to do grow up.
I grew up desiring to be a professional athlete, professional
baseball player. In my senior year college, I received a
letter from the Los Angeles Dodgers inviting me to come
and try out.
Speaker 7 (18:52):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
As to getting that letter, Oh man, my dreams were
about to come true. I was excited. I was thrilled
because I was getting ready to become a living legend
out of Bedsty, Brooklyn. But a few days before the tryout,
I remember playing in the game and I was standing
on second base and my teammate got a big base
hit to the outfield, And as I'm dashing around third
(19:15):
trying to come home and score a run for my team,
there was a play at home plate. The throw was
high the catcher. He jumps up in the air to
catch the ball, and as I go to put my
foot on home base, the weight of the catcher comes
down and it breaks my leg.
Speaker 7 (19:33):
Esther.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
As you can imagine, that day, I was just rolling
and screaming my leg, my leg. And I got a
chance to look down at my leg, and I knew
what had happened. I knew that I wasn't going to
make that tryout, and I knew that my baseball career
was over. But there's something And as you can imagine,
(19:56):
I was sad and depressed and disappointed because not only
was my leg broken, but my dreams were shattered right
there on that baseball field. But I realized, and while
I was laying there, I was experiencing what you call
a defining moment. It's been said that when the defining
moment comes, either you define a moment or the moment
(20:19):
will define you. And so what I decided to do
that day get up, I went, I rehad my leg,
I came back to school, I finished my degree, I
earned several degrees. I became a teacher, a school administrator.
I even was a pastor for a number of years,
and then I refereed NCAA Division One basketball for over
(20:41):
twenty five years, you know. And so esther, when I
look back at that moment, that set back, breaking up
my leg and feeling like my dream was shattered, I
decided to get up. And now when I look at
what I overcame then and what I have now, I'll become.
Here's what I say, I win. I say I'm a champion.
(21:06):
And that's how you determine what a champion is. It's
a person who gets up after a setback, after a
challenging moment, and sometimes that's setback. As I said, in
a recent talk. It could be a broken leg, could
be a broken marriage, It could be a broken dream,
it could be a broken spirit. And so yeah, I
came back. And so that was a difficult moment in
(21:26):
my life, but I persisted, and that's what champions do.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Well, I'm going to close with a question in regard
to how this all connects to David David Walker, the abolitionist,
and how does it. I guess his legacy influences you
and how you talk to people today.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, you know again, David told black people who were enslaved,
it's not like today today people can walk around and
they're free, even though there is a system of oppression.
But back then they were actually enslaved eighteen But David
Walker told them to stand up against their oppressors. And
(22:06):
how do I relate that to today? We have many
things in our world today that's oppressing to us and oppressive.
The system that we live in is oppressive, But here's
how we're free. David Walker was trying to get the
people who were enslaved to be free in their minds
because although they were in chains, if they became free
(22:27):
in their minds, they were free people. Because a free
mind will help you get out of bondage, will help
you get out of chains. So today you can be
out of chains, but you can still be enslaved in
your mind. So we got to empower our minds. We've
got to, you know, educate our minds. We got to
(22:48):
know that God has put in us all that we
need to win to be champions. And I think David
Walker's message applies to today in twenty twenty five, because
you know, they got a project going on in twenty
twenty five. So David Walker's appeal applies today just like
it did in eighteen twenty nine. Stand up against those
(23:13):
who are trying to oppress you.
Speaker 6 (23:15):
Thank you David Walker for joining us on the DM.
Speaker 8 (23:19):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 6 (23:20):
That's it for this edition of The Color Between the Lines.
I'm Ester Dillard on the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Thank you. Esther actress Karen Moore, one of the main
stars in Tyler Perry's The Oval on bet sits down
with bi In News anchor Alexandria Icamoni to talk about
the newest season, playing the First Lady and what's to
come for the talented star.
Speaker 9 (23:51):
What's up, guys, is your girl? Alexandria Ikeamoni in the
studio with Karen Moore.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
How you doing.
Speaker 10 (23:56):
Today and fantastic?
Speaker 9 (23:58):
How are you? I am doing well. I just want
to put it out there. We're giving presidential right now.
Speaker 10 (24:03):
Try Yeah you can.
Speaker 9 (24:04):
Oh my god, the look is a look by the way,
I really.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
Do love it.
Speaker 9 (24:08):
It's so excited to have you in studio, so happy
to be here. Yes, absolutely, and we're here to talk
about all things Karin, but also Tyler Perry's The Oval
and be et. We know that season six is going
on right now and you play the infamous first Lady
Victoria Franklin. Can I be honest with.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
You really quick?
Speaker 7 (24:26):
Sure?
Speaker 9 (24:26):
That first season, I was like, I don't know if
I'm gonna like.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
This one list from the beginning.
Speaker 9 (24:32):
I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 10 (24:34):
I haven't photographed.
Speaker 9 (24:35):
I wish I had it.
Speaker 10 (24:36):
Available to pull up right now. Yeah, quickly of the
first time myself Ed Quinn who plays Hunter, and Daniel Kroy. Yeah,
we were doing a tour for the show and it
was our first time seeing the initial the opening scene
for the show, and it was like I hear no evil,
(24:58):
see no evil speak evil type thing. We were just like, oh, yeah,
people are people people are not going to receive this, But.
Speaker 9 (25:06):
You play your character so well though, thank you. Yes, yes,
so I get it. But you know, somebody has to
be quote unquote the villain or the one who tests
the water just a little bit as a little spice
of the show. So we get it, we understand, might
as well be me, might as well. Oh yes, I
love that energy one hundred percent. So let's really talk
about it. Did you expect the type of response that
the show got that it really is getting six seasons later.
Speaker 10 (25:29):
Absolutely not. Yeah, I think because I didn't fully understand
or appreciate Tyler's audience. Yes, target audience. Once I got that,
you know, and that settled with me, Yeah, I kind
of understood the world I was in, and I'm just like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah,
this is this is this is gonna work. Yes, but
(25:49):
I wasn't expecting for people to receive victorious so well.
Speaker 9 (25:53):
Of course, of course.
Speaker 10 (25:55):
Because she was or is.
Speaker 9 (25:59):
So delicious delicious. Oh my goodness, I love the word choice.
But I want to ask you more like, how would
you really describe her in your opinion, not the public's opinion,
not Tyler Perry's opinion, In your opinion other than delicious.
Speaker 10 (26:15):
How would you describe your character? I would describe Victoria
as being ambitious, Yes, misunderstood right. I think she is coodniving,
but only because she wants what she wants, how she
(26:36):
wants it, and when she wants it, so you know,
she'll do what she needs to do to get what
she wants. And she's a fashionissa. Have you seen that?
Speaker 11 (26:45):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (26:46):
Hello, the character and the person in real life Fashionissa.
So one hundred percent we see that. We definitely see that,
and I can appreciate those word choices that you use.
Honestly really does describe her well. But you have been
along this ride for years? Has it really been for
you being a part of the Tyler Perry Studios Creations productions?
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Really?
Speaker 9 (27:06):
How have you been enjoying it?
Speaker 10 (27:09):
It's been a wild ride, yeah, because our first season
was just we were thrown into it, and I don't
think any of us really understood or appreciated what we
signed on for until we got all of our scripts right, right,
because the sides that we got, which are for you know,
those who don't know what sides are there. There's just
(27:29):
short portions of the scripts that we used to audition
with they did not give the full scope of you know,
the reality of the show, and so once we dug
dug into it, we were just like, oh, okay.
Speaker 8 (27:49):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 10 (27:51):
So yeah, it's it's been an interesting ride. And I
think that our entire cast can say that we they
we can that we feel that we are woven into
the fabric of that studio. Yeah, there's definitely a sense
of feeling our ancestors there because we know that, you know,
(28:13):
historically it's Fort McPherson and slaves built a lot of
the original structures that are on the campus, and just
being there and it kind of coming full circle makes
us feel, you know, definitely a part of the plan.
Speaker 9 (28:31):
Absolutely absolutely, which makes a lot of sense. But let's
talk about the season, right We're in season six. What
else can we expect from this season? What spoilers or
something can you tell us about what's to come?
Speaker 10 (28:43):
Give me something? Ooh, I don't know if I can
give you any spoilers, Okay, but I will say that
you might want to stay tuned.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Okay.
Speaker 10 (28:52):
Yeah, there's going to be a power shift. Dynamics are
going to change, a lot of secrets are going to
be revealed. Okay, and I think there are a lot
of shockers you're.
Speaker 9 (29:05):
Going to ask with who, like, who's going to shock
us the most?
Speaker 10 (29:08):
Ooh, I think I think Hunter is going to shock
us the most season.
Speaker 9 (29:14):
Okay, Okay, I know you can't give me too much more.
Speaker 10 (29:18):
Yeah, you know, he just he just got his sea
legs this week's episode. So yeah, once he what he
does with that, I think the audience will be surprised.
Speaker 9 (29:30):
But let's talk about the relationship. Honestly, working with Tyler Perry,
how has that been from your perspective? Because you hear
other actors and actresses talk about their experiences, but I
would love to hear more about yours. Working directly with him.
Speaker 10 (29:43):
It's it's been interesting. It's been tough, yeah, and fun
and very challenging. I've learned a lot about the behind
the scenes of the business. I've learned to be a
lot more more malleable as an actor. Yeah, because we
(30:05):
have scripts and sometimes we adhere to exactly what's on
the page, and sometimes he throws ad libs at us,
and he gives us. He gives us some creative freedom
to you know, explore the characters ourselves and take some
creative liberties. So yeah, and and and just his persona
(30:28):
like I don't know.
Speaker 7 (30:29):
Have you met him?
Speaker 9 (30:30):
I have not met him yet.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Okay, so he is sick going, he's like six seven, Yeah,
gentle giant, you know.
Speaker 9 (30:40):
So I always had this question. I'm happy I'm able
to talk to you about this because on our end,
I do see sometimes they can get compared to Scandal,
like do you see that? Like what are you seeing?
And what kind of response do you want to give
it to people when they just automatically see one Oval
office and the next and just want to put it together.
Speaker 10 (30:57):
It's not the same show.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
That's it.
Speaker 10 (30:59):
I mean, it just isn't the same show. It's very
much a soap opera, I think even more than Scandal
would have been considered it to be. And it is
mostly about the upstairs downstairs of the White House, So
the family that resides in the White House, the first
(31:24):
family and the personnel and our personal lives and they
go home and they have all sorts of things going
on in their personal lives. So it's just a very
different show.
Speaker 9 (31:36):
Yeah, on different Okay, we'll take it, will definitely take that.
So you have been in a role like this, but
also your resume expand. I think it's two thousand and six.
So you've been in the game for a very long time.
So you've played various roles. What would you like to
do next? Like, do you see a different role for
yourself or do you see a different type of I
don't know, genre, Like what would you like to do
(31:57):
as far as the future for you?
Speaker 6 (31:59):
Everything?
Speaker 9 (32:00):
Everything?
Speaker 7 (32:01):
You know.
Speaker 10 (32:02):
I'd love to play an action role, yes, maybe a superhero.
Oh wait, you know maybe.
Speaker 9 (32:09):
I've been seeing things about Miss Storm, like people are
wanting a miss Storm. Is that her name from Marvel
or DC? One of the two?
Speaker 10 (32:15):
Something about that Storm? I did. I was a part
of DC universe for a while as Doctor Chapel, and
in the original comics the original story, doctor Chapel is
Doctor Midnight. So, uh, DC fans know.
Speaker 6 (32:35):
What that means.
Speaker 9 (32:37):
I'll catch up.
Speaker 10 (32:39):
But I love that.
Speaker 9 (32:39):
Okay, so superhero action movie comedy. See a lot of
people don't know they see what they see on the oval,
and you know what I choose to.
Speaker 10 (32:50):
What we know, what we choose to put out on
social media. But I don't think anyone knows anyone else,
you know, all unless they've spent time with them. Or
that person has given much of their lives for public consumption.
(33:11):
I don't think I've done enough of that because I
liked to last.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
I loved a last.
Speaker 9 (33:17):
That's good. I loved to So twenty twenty five, we're
just getting started. What are your new Year's resolutions? What
are you wanting to accomplish and finish and do this year.
Speaker 10 (33:28):
I don't make resolutions, that's fair, I said intentions, yes,
and so I intend to focus heavily on my production
company and getting our first production up and running in
the very near future. I intend to continue to pour
(33:49):
into other people's lives via mentoring. I really enjoy actor
mentoring and being more kind to myself so important. Yeah. Yeah,
More self care.
Speaker 9 (34:06):
Definitely, Yes, we need self care. So what is your
favorite thing to do right now for self care?
Speaker 10 (34:13):
Aside from a really good nap, I'd.
Speaker 9 (34:15):
Say that's top tier.
Speaker 10 (34:17):
I mean, you know, a bath with a nice glass
of wine, candles.
Speaker 9 (34:25):
And a book that's beautiful, that is a vibe. Yeah,
I absolutely love that one. You talk about the production companies,
something's coming very soon. What details can you share about
that one?
Speaker 10 (34:36):
Not a whole lot, but I will say that I
think this is a project that will resonate with a
lot of people. The audience will be able to participate.
Oh that's awesome, and it's it's a new take on
an idea that we've seen before.
Speaker 9 (34:56):
Okay, okay, genre help me out. I trying to like
make it make sense in my head. I'm gonna pull
whatever I can pull out of you.
Speaker 10 (35:04):
Oh, reality, but but in the best since yes, you know.
So it's it's a reality show that we'll be intended to.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Lift people up.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
I love a good show.
Speaker 9 (35:22):
I just finished Love Island by the way, Love Island USA,
So I'm all for like reality, good reality shows where
you can get the audience interaction some way, shape or form.
So we're super excited about that. We'll put a pin
in it. I won't ask any more questions about it.
We'll just wait until it comes out. Any last word
you like to leave with the people.
Speaker 10 (35:38):
I would really like to thank our fans, the fans
of the Oval, who have rocked with us for for
six seasons and it's only going to get better. There
have been some changes made, so I think I would
really encourage people to stay tuned. And yeah, I love
(36:01):
you guys so much. I'm so grateful for you, and
I want everyone to ensure that they are taking good
care of themselves physically, emotionally and mentally. So this year,
make that a priority in a focus.
Speaker 9 (36:16):
Absolutely powerful words, important things that people need to make
sure they focus on. And of course, the fans love you.
The fans love the show, they love what you bring
to the table. So seper excited to continuously see how
it plays out this season. So so excited about that.
Once again, Karn Moore Alexandra Grimoni in the studio. iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Thanks Alexandra. Every now and then it's nice to take
a break from all the heavy news stories of the week,
and our next guest is someone who can provide us
with some much needed comic relief. Bin News commentator Moe
Kelly caught up with legendary Black comedian George Wallace and
talked about his new sitcom Clean Slate, now airing on
Amazon Prime Video, starring George and Laverne Cox.
Speaker 8 (36:58):
I'm Moe Kelly, and this is the Lack of Information Network.
Speaker 7 (37:01):
They got me in a hotel here three hundred and
eighty five dollars a night.
Speaker 8 (37:06):
Whoa, That's what I said.
Speaker 7 (37:07):
I said, WHOA, I said I ain't gone no way.
If there's gonna be a show, it's gonna be in
my room three hundred and eighty five dollars a night.
They don't want you to steal the towels. I told,
the hell of the tolls. I'm taking a great side
of this one. Woke up one morning, thought and have
(37:32):
a light breakfast, ordered some raisin toast.
Speaker 11 (37:34):
The lady came upstairs.
Speaker 7 (37:35):
The raisin toast was seven dollars and twenty five cents
seven dollars until I told her, I said, you take
this toast back downstairs, and you take six dollars worth
of those.
Speaker 11 (37:45):
Raisins off this toast.
Speaker 7 (37:51):
And I took two of the raisin.
Speaker 8 (37:52):
I said, and here's a little sum for yourself too.
I really do like him.
Speaker 7 (37:56):
I'm I just saw it at home depot. You know,
you know, I tee, that's so quickly she got the
job making keys.
Speaker 11 (38:00):
But that's a whole different story. Say there's a whole
different story. You ain't gonna dish me.
Speaker 7 (38:05):
You ain't gonna just me in front of all these
people here, Okay.
Speaker 11 (38:08):
I love ladies and animal print dresses.
Speaker 7 (38:10):
Turn me on.
Speaker 11 (38:11):
Look at all these lady animal print dress over there.
That turns me on. But some of you ladist.
Speaker 7 (38:15):
And now when y'all want these animal printdresses, you can't
be logger than the animal that you represent.
Speaker 11 (38:32):
You get me. Lady came in there another night wearing
a zebra fish.
Speaker 7 (38:39):
Everybody said it's a savant.
Speaker 12 (38:41):
And from the late legendary television producer Norman Lear comes
the heartfelt new comedy series clean Slate on Amazon Prime Video.
Clean Slate follows Harry played by comedian George Wallace, an
old school car wash owner in Alabama who has a
lot of soul searching to do when the child he
(39:02):
thought he was a son returns as a proud trans
woman now named Desiree played by Laverne Cox. Her homecoming
brings together a hilarious cast of friends, co workers, and
love interests as Desiree and Harry try to get it
right the second time around. Joining me now on the
show is the star of Clean Slate, longtime friend of
(39:25):
the show, the incomparable George Wallace. George, how you doing, sir?
Speaker 11 (39:30):
I feel good all over? How about you today?
Speaker 12 (39:32):
I'm doing well. It's always nice to be able to
talk to you. And when I saw that you were
gonna be star of Clean Slate. I could not wait
to have you on. We know that Norman Lear was
a master of capturing the inherent tension of family dynamics.
This Clean Slate is along those lines. But what is
it that's always so funny about family?
Speaker 11 (39:52):
Family is good and family is different.
Speaker 7 (39:54):
And family can make you happy, family can make you laugh,
family can make you mad, Family to make your don't
unders stand situations, and that's what Clean Slate is about.
I started with an idea I wanted to reboot Sampiting
Son and at the time this show was created seven
years ago, we finally got it on the air, and
I wanted to create Sampling Sun with the great normal
live everything he's done, it's been great and very controversial.
(40:17):
None more controversial than this show Clean Slate. Seven years ago,
the Orangres of New Black was a how to show out.
I didn't know leburn Cox, I didn't know nothing about it,
but I just heard a lot about it, and I said,
I want to work with this great person. I hope
she goes along with the idea. What happened is that
back as a black old man down in Mobile and Alabama,
(40:38):
own having a family owned a car wash. All oll
the wash and my family and my wife died. My
son left home, and I didn't it for my son.
In twenty three years and I get an email said Dad,
I'm coming home tomorrow. I go to the door, then
down and the most beautiful lady you've ever seen in
your life standing at the door. And I said, oh,
(41:01):
young lady, any lady, don't know what he's telling avonnor
you're coming back to saying job's return whatever, not today,
not for me.
Speaker 11 (41:08):
My son is coming home. And she says it's me,
that's right.
Speaker 7 (41:13):
Silence for about forty minutes, and I'm just looking the
next thing, and I said, well, come on hand. But
in any case, my son has transgendered. And the beautiful
Laverne Cox is sitting at the door saying, my daughter
and we learned to live and let live. I'm being
educated to learn to live with her lifestyle, and she's
learning to live with my old fashioned lifestyle. My house
(41:36):
is still old like it was thirty years ago. And
she just amazed that this is still the way I live.
And I'm definitely amazed the way she's now living. But
it's all about love and happening. No I am this
mass a lady is really in a good time right now.
Speaker 11 (41:51):
My son's coming in a minute.
Speaker 6 (41:53):
Dad, I'm your daughter, Desiree.
Speaker 13 (41:57):
I've always been desirel.
Speaker 7 (42:03):
We haven't spoken on the wall.
Speaker 13 (42:04):
How long?
Speaker 7 (42:05):
Only trees?
Speaker 8 (42:06):
What happened?
Speaker 1 (42:07):
How this place looks exactly the same.
Speaker 11 (42:10):
We don't know what they say.
Speaker 8 (42:11):
If they ain't broke, don't fix it.
Speaker 11 (42:14):
That's broke. I gotta fix it. We have a very
special surprise guest.
Speaker 9 (42:21):
She ran a very fancy art gallery in New York City.
Speaker 11 (42:26):
Says for Taylor swift By sunglasses. So what happened up there?
Speaker 6 (42:30):
I arrange for a gallery space and then my.
Speaker 7 (42:32):
Funding bell throom.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Your bus broke and you.
Speaker 6 (42:35):
Live at your mama broke?
Speaker 11 (42:36):
Oh, she brought jokes with her from New York.
Speaker 8 (42:39):
I ain't perfect, and I don't pretend to know it all.
Speaker 10 (42:41):
But does the rake coming back and opening up like
that was a major step?
Speaker 7 (42:47):
Oh my god?
Speaker 2 (42:48):
What we're in your living room?
Speaker 11 (42:50):
Girl?
Speaker 7 (42:50):
You don't chudge the presure off the prodi are you're crazy?
Speaker 5 (42:54):
How about crash with you?
Speaker 11 (42:56):
Ain't crashing when you're home.
Speaker 8 (42:59):
Until they're gonna have to be decorated.
Speaker 9 (43:02):
Congas, let me Dad, I.
Speaker 7 (43:03):
Wouldn't do that because I don't know what that is.
Speaker 8 (43:07):
To my daughter, to our good. I'll get your number,
all right, Pat, I wasn't asking you. I just thought
I might need to get in touch.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
It's timey declutter.
Speaker 7 (43:20):
We can start by replacing that ISO on the mall.
This is my class possession and it ain't all no
where son, daughter, Dammit.
Speaker 6 (43:27):
Jar, I'm going to retire off this.
Speaker 12 (43:31):
Would you say Harry is closer to Fred G. Stamford
or Archie Bunker or George Jefferson.
Speaker 7 (43:40):
George Wallace, all four of them mixed, all four of
them mixed together. Because it's a new day at a
new time. With the climate of America today, Oh my god,
this is gonna be really accept It is going to
be controversial. It's going to be talked about a long time.
I think nothing has hit the screens like this and
me dealing with it. And I'm glad to be Harry,
to be learning about life. It's good to learn something
(44:02):
new that you don't know about it, and you learn
to live with it, and you can learn to accept
different ways people live, because it's hard as hell to
live with me. I'm an old black man and what
I say gonna go okay, But.
Speaker 12 (44:14):
That's actually there's a lot of truth in that, because
if you come from a black family dynamic, that is
very much the case in many households. How much did
you draw upon your own family dynamic experiences for something
like this?
Speaker 11 (44:28):
How much? Oh much?
Speaker 7 (44:29):
Everything is from the surreal George Wallace, it's a real
my daddy, George Wallace, it's a real my granddaddy.
Speaker 11 (44:35):
It's a real people. I grew up in the neighborhood.
Speaker 7 (44:37):
You know. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, and we grew up
in a neighborhood where it didn't matter. Everybody was your daddy,
didn't matter who if everybody was your mama.
Speaker 11 (44:45):
That's the neighborhood I grew up. Man. It's all about
respect and love and be loved.
Speaker 12 (44:50):
How much room did you give yourself? Yes, it's your idea,
but how much room did you give yourself to be spontaneous,
to be off the cuff, to be unrehearsed in your
seat means?
Speaker 7 (45:00):
With Laverne Cox, I think executive producer, she also executive producer.
We did our own thing and you'll see a lot
of my lines and have things. I would say things
will just come up out of nowhere. Uh and my
next your neighbor is tell My Hopkins. She's my aunt esther.
So we fight all the time.
Speaker 11 (45:16):
You shut up. You don't tell me what to do.
You shut up.
Speaker 7 (45:19):
And she helps me a lot in learning how to
live and live there in LaVerne's community.
Speaker 12 (45:25):
I get to says that this is going to feel
like a warm blanket, something very familiar, but at the
same time, it's going to be something very different. Did you,
when you were sitting down with Laverne Cox, say Okay,
this is as far as we can go. Or did
you say, we don't have any limits. Let's just see
where it goes.
Speaker 7 (45:42):
You are the smartest person I'll talk to exactly. We
have no limits. Let's just do this, let's deal with it,
and we're dealing with it with love and laughter. And
that's why you're going to enjoy the show. Some things
I don't understand and you won't understand them with me.
Some things she doesn't know about me, Mine happens. But
we're gonna learn to live and love each other. There's
(46:03):
gonna be some tough moment, sayre I'm having a heart attack,
and then she's taking care of me all of a sudden.
That's where a love comes in and you know we
can take care of each other.
Speaker 12 (46:12):
It's called Clean Slate and the premiere's next Thursday, February
sixth on Amazon Prime Video and just to reset. Clean
Slate follows Harry, who is played by George Wallace, an
old school car wash owner in Alabama who has a
lot of soul searching to do when his son leaves
and then comes back twenty three years later as a
(46:33):
trans woman. It's really really funny and can't wait to
see all the episodes. George, did you ever have a
formal conversation with la Verne Cox and ask hers like,
where is the line as far as humor versus either
hatred or mean spirited comedy? Because we've heard a lot
in the past year or two about how transgender people
(46:54):
have been vilified or talked about in comedy.
Speaker 7 (46:57):
Well, that's what we're gonna learn in this series as
you watch it. And we had a conversation about just
letting life live. This is mostly about her life right
now and we're all learning this at the same time.
And she doesn't whatever let me she has That's where
we go.
Speaker 12 (47:15):
Who was the first to break character and start laughing
during the scene you were Laverne.
Speaker 7 (47:20):
Well, you know it with me because you know I
could be because I'll change lines every every scene, so
I know my lines. But you know this could be
plenty yet the time. Let's do another thing. Let's do
it this way, Let's do it that way. And then
that's when you know you're having fun, you know. See,
Laburne is never the had never done comedy committee role,
(47:42):
but now this is different for her, and she's learning
and I'm throwing out all kinds of crazy ideas and thoughts.
Speaker 11 (47:49):
That's why it's funny.
Speaker 7 (47:50):
I'm me and she's her, and we put it all
together and it's really fun.
Speaker 8 (47:55):
Are you one to watch your own work?
Speaker 7 (47:58):
See, I've had a problem with it so far. It's
been a good much to me. But watching me, I
guess I'm pretty good. I don't know, they say it,
so I'm good. I will watch and I will enjoy.
I'm the greatest of a whole time. People see me
on the radio and the movies and television. People see
me in on radio. That's what mahama Alee used to say.
Speaker 12 (48:17):
From legendary television producer Norman Lee, the idea comes from
for this heartfelt new comedy series, Clean Slate premier on Thursday,
February sixth on Prime Video. It stars Laverne Cox and
my guest George Wallace. Friend of the show, George, I
love you and there's nothing you can do about it.
Speaker 11 (48:31):
Nothing do my line in front of me.
Speaker 8 (48:34):
I just did, George Wallace, what you gonna do? Hang
up on me.
Speaker 7 (48:37):
Let me tell you something. People are using my line.
I'm gonnasue you. I love you and there's absolutely nothing
you can do by it. By hoever you said that again,
You're going to court. We're going to court in Washington, DC.
Speaker 11 (48:47):
I love you. Thank you so much for everything.
Speaker 8 (48:49):
Bye George. For the Black Information Network, I'm Moe Kelly.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
Thanks Moe, and be sure to catch Clean Slates, starring
comedian George Wallace and Laverne Cox, airing now on it
Amazon Prime Video. Black Wealth, How can we obtain it?
There are many avenues to financial success, but Doug Davis
has a guest who knows the secrets and is here
to give us a few.
Speaker 10 (49:12):
Doug.
Speaker 13 (49:13):
Hey, thanks Mike. This is Doug Davis, and you're listening
to your Black Business where we highlight them any achievements
of black entrepreneurs and business owners, while touching on how
Black Americans can achieve wealth. It's Black History Month, and
we have renowned financial literacy consultant and founder of WE
Management Services with us, Will Rowntree. He's also an investor
and specializes in real estate wealth creation. Will Rowntree, We're
(49:36):
happy to have you with us as we delve into
the historical context of Black Americans financial literacy, the economic
challenges we face and how we can overcome them, the
business of credit, how race impacts credit. Welcome back again
to the BIL.
Speaker 14 (49:51):
Absolutely, thank you, Bill.
Speaker 13 (49:52):
Blessing to have you here man, particularly during this very
important month of ours. If you can, let's get into
some historical cond text of our lack of financial education
as a whole. Can you provide like an overview of
the historical barriers that have kept Black Americans back and
have hindered our financial literacy and economic progress.
Speaker 14 (50:14):
Yeah, no, absolutely so. I'll often say it first started
with me knowing that this was something that I was
not taught, you know, growing up in a household where
you know, we were just taught, you know, the basics
of how to become successful, go to school, get good grades,
get a good job, and on that journey and me actually,
(50:35):
you know, accomplishing most of that does The one thing
that we never talked about in my household or when
I actually went to college was finances. We never talked
about credit. We never talked about anything economics. And then
as I got into the real world, you know, in
my early twenties, I found out that there was no
place that taught us anything. So as most of us,
(50:59):
we went through the school of hard knocks of understanding
that credit is important, having bad credit is expensive, and
that because there's this this this gap of information that
we are not taught in the black household, we go
out there and we have to we're already starting at
a deficit.
Speaker 7 (51:19):
You know.
Speaker 14 (51:20):
I started to actually learn that a lot of my
peers already had a you know, we're starting at a
deficit because their parents use their credit as kids, putting
utility bills in their name. So it almost became like
an epidemic of what it was that we did not
know about credit. And so it really just sent me
(51:40):
on my question why I got into what it is
that I actually do and why I'm so passionate about
going out educating and teaching the importance of it, because
the only thing that I've learned of what we do
know about credit is all consumer based. We only learn
how to use credit to spend, but not how to
(52:00):
use credit to create wealth.
Speaker 13 (52:03):
That's really impactful. Explain a little bit about what you
do right now. I mean I gave you somewhat of
an illustrious intro, but I know you can expound more.
Speaker 14 (52:13):
Coming from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, you know, like I mentioned, I
went on the journey of doing everything that you know
I was conditioned to do. But on that journey, Doug,
in two thousand and three, I lost my job. I
got laid off, didn't know what I was going to do.
And so during that was time. During that time period,
I was on this quest, in this search, and I
(52:35):
started reading books on just you know, business and entrepreneurship.
And while on that journey, I met an individual who
became a mentor of mine, who said, will eventually credit
will become the new dollar. He told me this in
two thousand and three. Didn't know what he meant by that.
At the time two thousand and five, I was fortunate
(52:56):
enough to move to Las Vegas. I quickly found out
what he nan though, Doug, I moved to Las Vegas
only had five hundred bucks to my name, and I
couldn't rent an apartment without putting two times the deposit down,
couldn't buy a vehicle without putting thirty percent down. And
I just started to see that having bad credit was expensive,
and so I decided to kind of go on this
(53:18):
journey of learning everything I could about credit, and I
ended up coming across a book by Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad,
Poor Dad, where he talked about how he leveraged other
people's money, and he was essentially talking about credit, and
so I started to learn the difference between what it's
called structured debt and unstructured debt. Structured debt is where
(53:42):
you leverage credit in order to be able to create
a well building through purchasing assets. And as I kind
of dig a little bit in the weeds here, Doug,
this is essentially what they talked about in the book
The Creature of Jecko Island, which is how the Federal
Reserve got started. And so I started to just really
(54:03):
learn and research and talk about all of these different
concepts versus what I was taught growing up was unstructured
debt or unstructured credit, whereas we're using credit or debt
to go and buy things that put us in debt,
for example, using my credit to go and shop, to
(54:23):
go to dinners, to take vacations, to buy vehicles, to
buy the home. Most people overspend on their homes, and
so I had to learn the difference and just understand
that these are concepts that have been around far longer
than I have. It's just unfortunately we wasn't invited to
the meetings where they talked about these different type of
(54:45):
strategies and concepts well before most of us were even
old enough to even learn about these things. So once
I started to learn about it, man, it took me
on this journey where I was literally, for the past
ten years, have traveled the country, even on my own dime,
doing free workshops, free seminars where I would set up
(55:07):
in the middle of a neighborhood and just do a
free financial literacy workshop, teaching about home ownership, credit finances,
and different things of that nature, speaking in school, speaking
at colleges, anyone who would listen. Because again, one of
the number one contributor to a lot of you know,
our I always say, financial fatigue is because the lack
(55:31):
of the information we have on finances, credit, economics, and
different things of that nature.
Speaker 13 (55:38):
Let me put a hypothetical out there. I'm a thirty
eight year old African American women professional, two kids, single,
struggling to make ends meet. Got a great job, but
the economy's killing me. I can't even save and I
can't keep up with my credit, you know, because I
have to, you know, continue to borrow from Peter to
pay Paul. How can I get out of this situation?
Speaker 14 (56:00):
So, believe it or not, that's actually the normal avatar
of who I speak to on a day to day basis.
And the very first thing is what always go back
to is elementary and as cliche as this sound, the
first thing that I do with every client, what I
sit down with them is first always say we need
to know what your number is does, and what I
(56:23):
mean by that we need to know exactly how much
money you bring in versus your expenses, because what I
find is that a lot of people, even though things
are increasing, I do still find that people are over
leveraged because we don't really know how much money we make.
And here's what I mean, does if a company pays
(56:47):
you fifty thousand dollars a year, how much goes through
your actual bank account? Does And that's a question.
Speaker 13 (56:54):
I would probably say a little more than half of that.
Speaker 14 (56:59):
But what do most people budget their finances? Again, for
fifty they budget against the fifty thousand, So mathematically they're
always going to be in a deficit because we don't
know our number. And so whenever I sit down with
a client, that's the very first thing I do. There's
no amount of credit or strategy that can help you
(57:22):
if everything you're doing there's more month at the end
of your money, because you're always going to be You're
always going to operate at a deficit. So that's the
very first thing we have to do. Then once we
find that out, now we're going to go in and say, okay,
we may need to cut out some of these streaming services,
we may have to cut out the snack machines at work,
(57:45):
like we got to start figuring out where we can
cut within the within the expenses first, because there is
going to have to be a level of sacrifice and
always tell people, look, let's rip the band aid early
and it doesn't have to be boring and in different
things of that nature. There's actually several alternatives, and this
is the exact same thing I have to go through.
(58:07):
And so all while we're going through that, I'm also
helping them to recondition the way they think, because usually
the reason a lot of people end up in these scenarios, Doug,
is because we've been taught a completely different ideology about
money and credit. We think, the more we make that
we're in a better position.
Speaker 7 (58:25):
Man.
Speaker 13 (58:25):
That's good. Final comments regarding Black History Months, the importance
and our financial future.
Speaker 14 (58:33):
As of now, per the Wall Street Journal, in twenty
twenty four, the average net worth of a black household,
we're already pretty close to their, Doug, it's like seventeen
to twenty four thousand and so often tell people we
need to wake up. You know, this space of what
I call financial literacy. It's no longer a luxury to
(58:57):
want to learn this, it's mandatory financial literacy.
Speaker 13 (59:00):
Consultant, real estate wealth creator and founder of WE Management Services,
Will Roundtree can't thank you enough, brother for this information.
Got to bring you back soon, man, Thank you so much.
Speaker 7 (59:09):
Again.
Speaker 13 (59:10):
This is Doug Davis. You're listening to the black perspective,
your black business on the bi in.
Speaker 1 (59:15):
Thanks Doug, and that's our program for this week. For
more on these stories, listen to the Black Information Network
on the free iHeartRadio app or log onto binews dot
com for all of the latest news impacting the black community.
Also be sure to follow us on social media at
Black Information Network and on X and Blue Sky at
(59:35):
black Info Net. I'm Mike Island, wishing everyone a great Sunday,
and be sure to tune in next week at this
time for another edition of The Black Perspective.
It's Sunday, February ninth, and on today's show, Bin News
anchor Mimi Brown talks to journalist Lori Ann Loarco about
her new book Embracing Your Past to Empower Your Future
and more. Esther Dillard has another the Color Between the
Line segment, where educators and authors living today are sharing
a message from the Emancipation Proclamation era. Alexandra Icaimoni sits
(00:23):
down with actress Karen Moore, the first Lady on Tyler
Perry's The Oval. Moe Kelly catches up with legendary black
comedian George Wallace and talks about his new sitcom on
Amazon Prime, Clean Slate, and Doug Davis talks Black wealth
and how we can obtain it. These stories and more
are coming your way on today's program, Welcome to the
(00:45):
Black Perspective. I'm your host, Mike Island.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the black community.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Good Sunday, everyone, and Welcome to the Black Perspective. History
isn't just something we read in textbooks. It's something that
shapes us, our families and the way we move through
the world. In her new book, Embracing Your Past to
Empower Your Future, award winning journalist and author Lori Ane
Lorocco takes readers on a journey through the legacies of
(01:19):
four Black American families whose ancestors were enslaved. Lori Anne
joined BI anchor Mimi Brown to discuss how these families
have preserved their history and how their stories can inspire
future generations.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
So, thank you so much for joining us on the
Black Information Network. This is such an important topic. Can
you please tell us about your profession, your background, and
what led you to write your book, Embracing Your Past
to Empower Your Future.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
So I am a journalist first and foremost, and I
have always loved the stories of people because we all
came from somewhere, no matter who we are. Our past
really has helped pay that way. And my daughter and
I we are history wanks. We love all things history.
(02:07):
And when the world was opening up during COVID, I
reached out to one of my contacts, David Rubinstein, and
he is big been a huge philanthropic proponent for US history.
And I asked him and I said, Hey, is it
possible for us to get tours of the president's homes,
and the presence were Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. And for
(02:31):
those who do not know who David Rubinstein is, he
puts his money to work and if he's going to
donate millions of dollars for history, he wants to make
sure that the complete history is told. And he went
to the foundations of these presidents' homes and said, well,
if you want my money, you better tell the stories
of the enslaved. Because it wasn't for the enslaved individuals,
(02:54):
those presidents would not be where they were right because
it was they supported them. Let's face it. If it
wasn't for the enslaved workers, the presidents would not be
who they were or have supported them. And so we went,
we went to the homes and one of the docents
mentioned the fingerprints of the enslaved. This was that President
(03:15):
James Madison home. And they said that children as young
as the age of five built helped build the homes
of the presidents, and they made the bricks. And so
they showed us these fingerprints and you saw these little
teeny tiny fingerprints. And my daughter at the time was fifteen,
and she was like mommy, oh my gosh. And so
(03:37):
we started diving into, well, who are these individuals that
built these homes? And you know, we do hear a
little bit about the enslaved workers that supported some of
the presidents, be the butler of James Madison. We all
know about, you know, Sally Hemmings, of course, but you know,
who are the other individuals that were out there and
what really struck us And if you guys have ever
(03:59):
seen these bricks, it's the intention of the fingerprints that
were pointed outward. They were out facing the world. These
fingerprints weren't put inward, so they were not seeing those bricks.
And we were like, we need to figure out and
so we started reaching out to the descendants of the enslaved,
(04:23):
be the groups of Madison, George Washington, and we kind
of had to sell ourselves, right, I mean, here I am.
It's like, hi, I am a white female journalist. I
am not a descendant of the en enslavers. I want
to tell your story. And so it took a lot
of trust, right for people to open up their stories.
(04:45):
And we were lucky enough to team up with four
amazing families, Polly and Rose Allen. They were survivors of
the Catilda and co founders of Africa Town, which is
still in existence to this day. They are now incorporated
into Mobile. We worked with the Quander family. They are
the oldest family Black American family in US history that
(05:10):
dates back to the sixteen hundreds here in the United States.
We also worked with the family that are descended from
James Madison, President James Madison. And then finally we also
worked with the Brooks family. They're intertwined with the Quander
family because of marriage. But this family is the only
(05:31):
Black American family in US history with four generals in
the immediate family. And so we dove into you know
who you know, who were your you know enslave loved ones,
What qualities lessons you know did you inherit? What did
you learn and how did their hard work and their
(05:54):
perseverance get embedded into your DNA to help lead you
to where you are today? And that's what drove us
to this. And I get super excited because we all
came from somewhere, and these individuals are lucky enough to
know where they came from and they're enslaved loved ones
(06:15):
are honored each and every day based on the success
of these families.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
You're right, that is not that long ago. Very very interesting.
You know, I wanted to just pivot a little bit
so you could tell us more about why you wanted
to open the Allen School of Logistics and Trade.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah, most definitely. So I am in the industry. In
addition to being the senior editor of Guest at CNBC,
I have written six books. Three of them are on trade.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
And I was at I was I was doing like
a like a book club and a man from Germany said, wow,
you know you're when we were talking about embracing your past.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
He's like, you're He's like, your career really came full circle.
Like what are you talking about. He's like, well, you
wrote about the oldest trade in the world. And it
hit me right in the stomach, and I'm like, holy crap,
you're right. The sale of human beings is the oldest
trade in the world, and I write about it, and
(07:18):
I said, I got to do something about it. And
so I'm really lucky because of my position on the
world stage when it comes to trade. I'm considered a
trade expert. I have testified before the World Trade Organization
about food and security. I have trade I've testified, I've
done moderated panels for the Trade arm of the United Nations,
(07:40):
and I have all these people at my fingertips. What
the heck can I do? And I said, I want
to create the poly and Rose Allen School of Trade
in Africa Town. And the reason why I chose Africa
Town was because of a series of land grabs. The
economic and educational rthide that Africa Town has suffered because
(08:01):
of government has destroyed the town. It is beyond blight.
I went quote on vacation to go to Africa Town
to meet with Vernetta, who's the great great granddaughter of
Poli and Rose, and I saw firsthand what we can do.
And I was like, you are two miles from the
city of from the port of Mobile Logistics is a
(08:21):
wonderful opportunity for individuals. You do not have to go
to college to make six figures in this industry. You
can go to college and you can do other things
like robotics and AI and data analytics and all these
great things. But these kids don't know. And so I
went to Vernetta and Vita, her daughter, and I said,
(08:43):
I want to do this. What do you think? And
you know, can I call it the Polly and Rose
Allen School of Trade. And they were like, you do
that for us. I'm like absolutely, And so for a
year I went around and I spoke with all of
these CEOs that I know, and I I was talking
to Robert Ryder, who's the CEO of DHL Global Forwarding,
(09:06):
and I said, I know, you guys have go trade
and go teach in other parts of the world than
they do. They teach folks in Africa and South America
and all these underprivileged communities. I said, I want you
to come to America and they're like, what are you
talking about underprivileged societies. I'm like, I go, there are
so many I go, but more importantly, I want Africa Town.
(09:29):
And they read the book, they love the book, and
they're like, we're all in. And so, starting on February six,
we're going to have both virtual and in house school
and actually it's in a church to you know, for
these students ages sixteen to twenty four, to get the
(09:50):
soft skills that they need in order to gain entry
into the world of logistics. And we're also going to
have mentors to help them and we're going to continue
to build on the programming so that these young kids
can get jobs and create generational wealth and put a
stop to the generational poverty that this community has suffered.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
That sounds amazing, And you know, thank you so much
for being on the show. Before I let you go,
I wanted to know, is there a website where we
can go to learn more about the school, learn more
about the book and everything that inspired this journey that
even your daughter have taken.
Speaker 4 (10:31):
Sure, so the name of the website is Embracing your
Past dot net.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Thanks Mimi. Embracing your Past to Empower your Future is
out now everywhere. Books are sold with all royalties supporting
the each one Teach one stipend to help descendants of
the enslaved afford college books. In the spirit of Black
History Month, this week's The Color between the Lines takes
us back to seventeen ninety six, before the Emancipation Proclamation
(10:59):
and how educator and author living today is sharing a
message from that era.
Speaker 6 (11:04):
On this edition of The Color Between the Lines.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
David Walker was trying to get the people who were
enslaved to be free in their minds.
Speaker 6 (11:11):
We speak to doctor David Walker, an author and speaker
who's also uniquely connected to David Walker, the Abolitionist, born
in seventeen ninety six. You don't want to miss this one.
I'm Aster Dillard on the Black Information Network, chatting with
(11:31):
writers and authors who offer an added perspective for our listeners.
This is the Color between the Lines. History tells us
that David Walker was born in seventeen ninety six in Wilmington,
North Carolina, to an enslaved father and a free mother,
(11:53):
which at that time meant that he was made automatically free.
He grew up witnessing the horrors of slaw and became
an outspoken abolitionist. He also helped start the first black
newspaper in the United States, called The Freedom's Journal. On
this edition of The Color Between the Lines, we speak
with doctor David Walker, who has a unique connection to
(12:15):
the Abolitionist. The author, motivational speaker, and coach. Talked to
me about how he first learned about the abolitionist when
he was in elementary school.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Yeah, I was a student in middle school and as
I remember, it was the first day of class and
the teacher was calling the attendance, and of course she
was going through every child's name, and by my last
name being Walker. I'm always at the end of the line, right,
And she says David Walker. And I raised my hand
(12:47):
and said present. And then she asked me, she said,
have you ever heard of the historical David Walker? And
I said no, I didn't, and she said, yeah, David
Walker wrote David Walker's Appeal during slavery. He was a
slave abolitionist. So she gave us a quick summary. I
don't know whether the rest of the class was excited,
but I was paying attention because his name was David Walker.
(13:11):
And of course, as you can imagine, we didn't have
Google back then, so I had to go home and
get encyclopedia and read about him. And now he is
my hero, not only just my black history hero, but
he's my hero all year along. David Walker.
Speaker 6 (13:26):
Well, how has he influenced your personal and your professional life?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yeah, you know, David. That appeal that he wrote back
in eighteen twenty nine was appealed about telling black people,
even though they were enslaved, because it was during slavery,
that they were to rise up and to know that
God had created them to be just as equal as
their slave masters, so they were to fight against oppression.
(13:54):
And yes, in my work, today, I see that. I
see the cause of actually wanting to fight against oppressive systems.
Systems that you know, bind us, inflict us and cause
us pain. And if you don't stand up against the system,
the system is going to dominate you. And it is
still present today. So I take the words of David Walker,
(14:16):
the mission of David Walker, and I really make it
a part of my life today.
Speaker 6 (14:20):
How did I understand? You are an author yourself. You're
the author of a book called The Champion's Mind. Does
this in any way connect to that book at all?
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Well, the book doesn't specifically. Could you like to connect
to David Walker's vision? It doesn't connect specifically. But here's
what The Champion's Mind talked about. It talks about how
to be a champion. And maybe that's the connection between
my book and what David Walker's appeal was. When when
when you begin to stand up and live out your life,
(14:52):
live out your dreams, live out your purpose and your destiny.
I could see that being that appeal like David Walker had,
because it was about standing up and knowing your God
given rights in society. So The Champion's Mind is about winning,
winning in life, winning in every aspect, whether it's your business,
(15:13):
whether it's your home, your marriage. God sent us here
to be champions, and I wrote that book, you know,
the Champion's Mind, how to defeat giants and win, because
life is all about giants coming into our lives, their obstacles,
their setbacks, and we're just gonna have to overcome them
in order for us to win.
Speaker 6 (15:32):
Talk about how what motivated you to start this book,
because you have a unique story in how this all started.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, my story goes back to actually when I was born.
You know, it was March of nineteen sixty and back
then there were no sonograms, no gender revealed parties. My
mom was pregnant, but she didn't know my gender, and
her and my dad they decided that if I was
a boy, they were going to named me Michael. My
(16:01):
mother was so excited, went around telling all her girlfriends,
my son's gonna be named Michael. My son's gonna be
nakele n named Michael. I think my mom thought I
was gonna be an angel. No, man, wasn't gonna be
no angel, right, But she comes to my grandma Martha,
and she says, ma, if I have a second son,
I got an older brother, Robert. We've decided to name
him Michael. But my grandma Martha turned to my mother
(16:23):
after hearing that news. She looked at directly in her
eyes eye, and she said, his name is David, because
in the Bible, David was a king. David killed Goliath,
and David was a great man. And my grandson will
be named David, and he will be a great man,
you know, esther. I love my grandmother because she saw
(16:46):
the gi giant slayer in me. She saw me as
a winner and overcomer and a champion. And so I
lived my life in the mindset of the biblical character David.
And one day I was going through the scriptures reading
about him, and I found out that he was more
than just a giant slayer, but he won a everything
that he did. So I wrote that book, The Champion's
(17:07):
Mind six chapters. Number one, master your gift. Number two,
be fearless, number three, Be a relentless leader, number four, Communication,
number five, be a person of character. Number six, have
a God relationship. I believe in the God relationship in
order to succeed. And then in chapter number seven, I
love number seven because all the first chapters deal with
(17:28):
how to be successful, how to be a Champion. But
chapter seven is called the Dark Side because we all
have something in us that if we don't watch it,
it'll destroy everything that we've built.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
I love what part of your book also not only
deals with these principles, but it deals with something where
the stories of you growing up and how you had
to overcome certain things and you didn't. Originally you were
supposed to be in sports, you were supposed to be
a sportsperson, and it all changed with one really defining moment.
(18:09):
And I'd love you to talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Yeah, you know, I grew up in Betsty, Brooklyn. You know,
I'm sure your audience is well versed with betsto Brooklyn
as the home of Biggie and jay Z and Shirley
Chisholm and so many different people. So when you grow
up in Betsty, we all wanted to be what I
call a living legend. You know, no doubt Biggie living legend,
jay Z living legend. But baseball was my thing. It
(18:37):
was the thing that I was going to do grow up.
I grew up desiring to be a professional athlete, professional
baseball player. In my senior year college, I received a
letter from the Los Angeles Dodgers inviting me to come
and try out.
Speaker 7 (18:52):
You know.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
As to getting that letter, Oh man, my dreams were
about to come true. I was excited. I was thrilled
because I was getting ready to become a living legend
out of Bedsty, Brooklyn. But a few days before the tryout,
I remember playing in the game and I was standing
on second base and my teammate got a big base
hit to the outfield, And as I'm dashing around third
(19:15):
trying to come home and score a run for my team,
there was a play at home plate. The throw was
high the catcher. He jumps up in the air to
catch the ball, and as I go to put my
foot on home base, the weight of the catcher comes
down and it breaks my leg.
Speaker 7 (19:33):
Esther.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
As you can imagine, that day, I was just rolling
and screaming my leg, my leg. And I got a
chance to look down at my leg, and I knew
what had happened. I knew that I wasn't going to
make that tryout, and I knew that my baseball career
was over. But there's something And as you can imagine,
(19:56):
I was sad and depressed and disappointed because not only
was my leg broken, but my dreams were shattered right
there on that baseball field. But I realized, and while
I was laying there, I was experiencing what you call
a defining moment. It's been said that when the defining
moment comes, either you define a moment or the moment
(20:19):
will define you. And so what I decided to do
that day get up, I went, I rehad my leg,
I came back to school, I finished my degree, I
earned several degrees. I became a teacher, a school administrator.
I even was a pastor for a number of years,
and then I refereed NCAA Division One basketball for over
(20:41):
twenty five years, you know. And so esther, when I
look back at that moment, that set back, breaking up
my leg and feeling like my dream was shattered, I
decided to get up. And now when I look at
what I overcame then and what I have now, I'll become.
Here's what I say, I win. I say I'm a champion.
(21:06):
And that's how you determine what a champion is. It's
a person who gets up after a setback, after a
challenging moment, and sometimes that's setback. As I said, in
a recent talk. It could be a broken leg, could
be a broken marriage, It could be a broken dream,
it could be a broken spirit. And so yeah, I
came back. And so that was a difficult moment in
(21:26):
my life, but I persisted, and that's what champions do.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
Well, I'm going to close with a question in regard
to how this all connects to David David Walker, the abolitionist,
and how does it. I guess his legacy influences you
and how you talk to people today.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Yeah, you know again, David told black people who were enslaved,
it's not like today today people can walk around and
they're free, even though there is a system of oppression.
But back then they were actually enslaved eighteen But David
Walker told them to stand up against their oppressors. And
(22:06):
how do I relate that to today? We have many
things in our world today that's oppressing to us and oppressive.
The system that we live in is oppressive, But here's
how we're free. David Walker was trying to get the
people who were enslaved to be free in their minds
because although they were in chains, if they became free
(22:27):
in their minds, they were free people. Because a free
mind will help you get out of bondage, will help
you get out of chains. So today you can be
out of chains, but you can still be enslaved in
your mind. So we got to empower our minds. We've
got to, you know, educate our minds. We got to
(22:48):
know that God has put in us all that we
need to win to be champions. And I think David
Walker's message applies to today in twenty twenty five, because
you know, they got a project going on in twenty
twenty five. So David Walker's appeal applies today just like
it did in eighteen twenty nine. Stand up against those
(23:13):
who are trying to oppress you.
Speaker 6 (23:15):
Thank you David Walker for joining us on the DM.
Speaker 8 (23:19):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 6 (23:20):
That's it for this edition of The Color Between the Lines.
I'm Ester Dillard on the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Thank you. Esther actress Karen Moore, one of the main
stars in Tyler Perry's The Oval on bet sits down
with bi In News anchor Alexandria Icamoni to talk about
the newest season, playing the First Lady and what's to
come for the talented star.
Speaker 9 (23:51):
What's up, guys, is your girl? Alexandria Ikeamoni in the
studio with Karen Moore.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
How you doing.
Speaker 10 (23:56):
Today and fantastic?
Speaker 9 (23:58):
How are you? I am doing well. I just want
to put it out there. We're giving presidential right now.
Speaker 10 (24:03):
Try Yeah you can.
Speaker 9 (24:04):
Oh my god, the look is a look by the way,
I really.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
Do love it.
Speaker 9 (24:08):
It's so excited to have you in studio, so happy
to be here. Yes, absolutely, and we're here to talk
about all things Karin, but also Tyler Perry's The Oval
and be et. We know that season six is going
on right now and you play the infamous first Lady
Victoria Franklin. Can I be honest with.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
You really quick?
Speaker 7 (24:26):
Sure?
Speaker 9 (24:26):
That first season, I was like, I don't know if
I'm gonna like.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
This one list from the beginning.
Speaker 9 (24:32):
I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 10 (24:34):
I haven't photographed.
Speaker 9 (24:35):
I wish I had it.
Speaker 10 (24:36):
Available to pull up right now. Yeah, quickly of the
first time myself Ed Quinn who plays Hunter, and Daniel Kroy. Yeah,
we were doing a tour for the show and it
was our first time seeing the initial the opening scene
for the show, and it was like I hear no evil,
(24:58):
see no evil speak evil type thing. We were just like, oh, yeah,
people are people people are not going to receive this, But.
Speaker 9 (25:06):
You play your character so well though, thank you. Yes, yes,
so I get it. But you know, somebody has to
be quote unquote the villain or the one who tests
the water just a little bit as a little spice
of the show. So we get it, we understand, might
as well be me, might as well. Oh yes, I
love that energy one hundred percent. So let's really talk
about it. Did you expect the type of response that
the show got that it really is getting six seasons later.
Speaker 10 (25:29):
Absolutely not. Yeah, I think because I didn't fully understand
or appreciate Tyler's audience. Yes, target audience. Once I got that,
you know, and that settled with me, Yeah, I kind
of understood the world I was in, and I'm just like, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah,
this is this is this is gonna work. Yes, but
(25:49):
I wasn't expecting for people to receive victorious so well.
Speaker 9 (25:53):
Of course, of course.
Speaker 10 (25:55):
Because she was or is.
Speaker 9 (25:59):
So delicious delicious. Oh my goodness, I love the word choice.
But I want to ask you more like, how would
you really describe her in your opinion, not the public's opinion,
not Tyler Perry's opinion, In your opinion other than delicious.
Speaker 10 (26:15):
How would you describe your character? I would describe Victoria
as being ambitious, Yes, misunderstood right. I think she is coodniving,
but only because she wants what she wants, how she
(26:36):
wants it, and when she wants it, so you know,
she'll do what she needs to do to get what
she wants. And she's a fashionissa. Have you seen that?
Speaker 11 (26:45):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (26:46):
Hello, the character and the person in real life Fashionissa.
So one hundred percent we see that. We definitely see that,
and I can appreciate those word choices that you use.
Honestly really does describe her well. But you have been
along this ride for years? Has it really been for
you being a part of the Tyler Perry Studios Creations productions?
Speaker 4 (27:06):
Really?
Speaker 9 (27:06):
How have you been enjoying it?
Speaker 10 (27:09):
It's been a wild ride, yeah, because our first season
was just we were thrown into it, and I don't
think any of us really understood or appreciated what we
signed on for until we got all of our scripts right, right,
because the sides that we got, which are for you know,
those who don't know what sides are there. There's just
(27:29):
short portions of the scripts that we used to audition
with they did not give the full scope of you know,
the reality of the show, and so once we dug
dug into it, we were just like, oh, okay.
Speaker 8 (27:49):
Okay, okay.
Speaker 10 (27:51):
So yeah, it's it's been an interesting ride. And I
think that our entire cast can say that we they
we can that we feel that we are woven into
the fabric of that studio. Yeah, there's definitely a sense
of feeling our ancestors there because we know that, you know,
(28:13):
historically it's Fort McPherson and slaves built a lot of
the original structures that are on the campus, and just
being there and it kind of coming full circle makes
us feel, you know, definitely a part of the plan.
Speaker 9 (28:31):
Absolutely absolutely, which makes a lot of sense. But let's
talk about the season, right We're in season six. What
else can we expect from this season? What spoilers or
something can you tell us about what's to come?
Speaker 10 (28:43):
Give me something? Ooh, I don't know if I can
give you any spoilers, Okay, but I will say that
you might want to stay tuned.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Okay.
Speaker 10 (28:52):
Yeah, there's going to be a power shift. Dynamics are
going to change, a lot of secrets are going to
be revealed. Okay, and I think there are a lot
of shockers you're.
Speaker 9 (29:05):
Going to ask with who, like, who's going to shock
us the most?
Speaker 10 (29:08):
Ooh, I think I think Hunter is going to shock
us the most season.
Speaker 9 (29:14):
Okay, Okay, I know you can't give me too much more.
Speaker 10 (29:18):
Yeah, you know, he just he just got his sea
legs this week's episode. So yeah, once he what he
does with that, I think the audience will be surprised.
Speaker 9 (29:30):
But let's talk about the relationship. Honestly, working with Tyler Perry,
how has that been from your perspective? Because you hear
other actors and actresses talk about their experiences, but I
would love to hear more about yours. Working directly with him.
Speaker 10 (29:43):
It's it's been interesting. It's been tough, yeah, and fun
and very challenging. I've learned a lot about the behind
the scenes of the business. I've learned to be a
lot more more malleable as an actor. Yeah, because we
(30:05):
have scripts and sometimes we adhere to exactly what's on
the page, and sometimes he throws ad libs at us,
and he gives us. He gives us some creative freedom
to you know, explore the characters ourselves and take some
creative liberties. So yeah, and and and just his persona
(30:28):
like I don't know.
Speaker 7 (30:29):
Have you met him?
Speaker 9 (30:30):
I have not met him yet.
Speaker 10 (30:31):
Okay, so he is sick going, he's like six seven, Yeah,
gentle giant, you know.
Speaker 9 (30:40):
So I always had this question. I'm happy I'm able
to talk to you about this because on our end,
I do see sometimes they can get compared to Scandal,
like do you see that? Like what are you seeing?
And what kind of response do you want to give
it to people when they just automatically see one Oval
office and the next and just want to put it together.
Speaker 10 (30:57):
It's not the same show.
Speaker 6 (30:59):
That's it.
Speaker 10 (30:59):
I mean, it just isn't the same show. It's very
much a soap opera, I think even more than Scandal
would have been considered it to be. And it is
mostly about the upstairs downstairs of the White House, So
the family that resides in the White House, the first
(31:24):
family and the personnel and our personal lives and they
go home and they have all sorts of things going
on in their personal lives. So it's just a very
different show.
Speaker 9 (31:36):
Yeah, on different Okay, we'll take it, will definitely take that.
So you have been in a role like this, but
also your resume expand. I think it's two thousand and six.
So you've been in the game for a very long time.
So you've played various roles. What would you like to
do next? Like, do you see a different role for
yourself or do you see a different type of I
don't know, genre, Like what would you like to do
(31:57):
as far as the future for you?
Speaker 6 (31:59):
Everything?
Speaker 9 (32:00):
Everything?
Speaker 7 (32:01):
You know.
Speaker 10 (32:02):
I'd love to play an action role, yes, maybe a superhero.
Oh wait, you know maybe.
Speaker 9 (32:09):
I've been seeing things about Miss Storm, like people are
wanting a miss Storm. Is that her name from Marvel
or DC? One of the two?
Speaker 10 (32:15):
Something about that Storm? I did. I was a part
of DC universe for a while as Doctor Chapel, and
in the original comics the original story, doctor Chapel is
Doctor Midnight. So, uh, DC fans know.
Speaker 6 (32:35):
What that means.
Speaker 9 (32:37):
I'll catch up.
Speaker 10 (32:39):
But I love that.
Speaker 9 (32:39):
Okay, so superhero action movie comedy. See a lot of
people don't know they see what they see on the oval,
and you know what I choose to.
Speaker 10 (32:50):
What we know, what we choose to put out on
social media. But I don't think anyone knows anyone else,
you know, all unless they've spent time with them. Or
that person has given much of their lives for public consumption.
(33:11):
I don't think I've done enough of that because I
liked to last.
Speaker 6 (33:16):
I loved a last.
Speaker 9 (33:17):
That's good. I loved to So twenty twenty five, we're
just getting started. What are your new Year's resolutions? What
are you wanting to accomplish and finish and do this year.
Speaker 10 (33:28):
I don't make resolutions, that's fair, I said intentions, yes,
and so I intend to focus heavily on my production
company and getting our first production up and running in
the very near future. I intend to continue to pour
(33:49):
into other people's lives via mentoring. I really enjoy actor
mentoring and being more kind to myself so important. Yeah. Yeah,
More self care.
Speaker 9 (34:06):
Definitely, Yes, we need self care. So what is your
favorite thing to do right now for self care?
Speaker 10 (34:13):
Aside from a really good nap, I'd.
Speaker 9 (34:15):
Say that's top tier.
Speaker 10 (34:17):
I mean, you know, a bath with a nice glass
of wine, candles.
Speaker 9 (34:25):
And a book that's beautiful, that is a vibe. Yeah,
I absolutely love that one. You talk about the production companies,
something's coming very soon. What details can you share about
that one?
Speaker 10 (34:36):
Not a whole lot, but I will say that I
think this is a project that will resonate with a
lot of people. The audience will be able to participate.
Oh that's awesome, and it's it's a new take on
an idea that we've seen before.
Speaker 9 (34:56):
Okay, okay, genre help me out. I trying to like
make it make sense in my head. I'm gonna pull
whatever I can pull out of you.
Speaker 10 (35:04):
Oh, reality, but but in the best since yes, you know.
So it's it's a reality show that we'll be intended to.
Speaker 2 (35:18):
Lift people up.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
I love a good show.
Speaker 9 (35:22):
I just finished Love Island by the way, Love Island USA,
So I'm all for like reality, good reality shows where
you can get the audience interaction some way, shape or form.
So we're super excited about that. We'll put a pin
in it. I won't ask any more questions about it.
We'll just wait until it comes out. Any last word
you like to leave with the people.
Speaker 10 (35:38):
I would really like to thank our fans, the fans
of the Oval, who have rocked with us for for
six seasons and it's only going to get better. There
have been some changes made, so I think I would
really encourage people to stay tuned. And yeah, I love
(36:01):
you guys so much. I'm so grateful for you, and
I want everyone to ensure that they are taking good
care of themselves physically, emotionally and mentally. So this year,
make that a priority in a focus.
Speaker 9 (36:16):
Absolutely powerful words, important things that people need to make
sure they focus on. And of course, the fans love you.
The fans love the show, they love what you bring
to the table. So seper excited to continuously see how
it plays out this season. So so excited about that.
Once again, Karn Moore Alexandra Grimoni in the studio. iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1 (36:35):
Thanks Alexandra. Every now and then it's nice to take
a break from all the heavy news stories of the week,
and our next guest is someone who can provide us
with some much needed comic relief. Bin News commentator Moe
Kelly caught up with legendary Black comedian George Wallace and
talked about his new sitcom Clean Slate, now airing on
Amazon Prime Video, starring George and Laverne Cox.
Speaker 8 (36:58):
I'm Moe Kelly, and this is the Lack of Information Network.
Speaker 7 (37:01):
They got me in a hotel here three hundred and
eighty five dollars a night.
Speaker 8 (37:06):
Whoa, That's what I said.
Speaker 7 (37:07):
I said, WHOA, I said I ain't gone no way.
If there's gonna be a show, it's gonna be in
my room three hundred and eighty five dollars a night.
They don't want you to steal the towels. I told,
the hell of the tolls. I'm taking a great side
of this one. Woke up one morning, thought and have
(37:32):
a light breakfast, ordered some raisin toast.
Speaker 11 (37:34):
The lady came upstairs.
Speaker 7 (37:35):
The raisin toast was seven dollars and twenty five cents
seven dollars until I told her, I said, you take
this toast back downstairs, and you take six dollars worth
of those.
Speaker 11 (37:45):
Raisins off this toast.
Speaker 7 (37:51):
And I took two of the raisin.
Speaker 8 (37:52):
I said, and here's a little sum for yourself too.
I really do like him.
Speaker 7 (37:56):
I'm I just saw it at home depot. You know,
you know, I tee, that's so quickly she got the
job making keys.
Speaker 11 (38:00):
But that's a whole different story. Say there's a whole
different story. You ain't gonna dish me.
Speaker 7 (38:05):
You ain't gonna just me in front of all these
people here, Okay.
Speaker 11 (38:08):
I love ladies and animal print dresses.
Speaker 7 (38:10):
Turn me on.
Speaker 11 (38:11):
Look at all these lady animal print dress over there.
That turns me on. But some of you ladist.
Speaker 7 (38:15):
And now when y'all want these animal printdresses, you can't
be logger than the animal that you represent.
Speaker 11 (38:32):
You get me. Lady came in there another night wearing
a zebra fish.
Speaker 7 (38:39):
Everybody said it's a savant.
Speaker 12 (38:41):
And from the late legendary television producer Norman Lear comes
the heartfelt new comedy series clean Slate on Amazon Prime Video.
Clean Slate follows Harry played by comedian George Wallace, an
old school car wash owner in Alabama who has a
lot of soul searching to do when the child he
(39:02):
thought he was a son returns as a proud trans
woman now named Desiree played by Laverne Cox. Her homecoming
brings together a hilarious cast of friends, co workers, and
love interests as Desiree and Harry try to get it
right the second time around. Joining me now on the
show is the star of Clean Slate, longtime friend of
(39:25):
the show, the incomparable George Wallace. George, how you doing, sir?
Speaker 11 (39:30):
I feel good all over? How about you today?
Speaker 12 (39:32):
I'm doing well. It's always nice to be able to
talk to you. And when I saw that you were
gonna be star of Clean Slate. I could not wait
to have you on. We know that Norman Lear was
a master of capturing the inherent tension of family dynamics.
This Clean Slate is along those lines. But what is
it that's always so funny about family?
Speaker 11 (39:52):
Family is good and family is different.
Speaker 7 (39:54):
And family can make you happy, family can make you laugh,
family can make you mad, Family to make your don't
unders stand situations, and that's what Clean Slate is about.
I started with an idea I wanted to reboot Sampiting
Son and at the time this show was created seven
years ago, we finally got it on the air, and
I wanted to create Sampling Sun with the great normal
live everything he's done, it's been great and very controversial.
(40:17):
None more controversial than this show Clean Slate. Seven years ago,
the Orangres of New Black was a how to show out.
I didn't know leburn Cox, I didn't know nothing about it,
but I just heard a lot about it, and I said,
I want to work with this great person. I hope
she goes along with the idea. What happened is that
back as a black old man down in Mobile and Alabama,
(40:38):
own having a family owned a car wash. All oll
the wash and my family and my wife died. My
son left home, and I didn't it for my son.
In twenty three years and I get an email said Dad,
I'm coming home tomorrow. I go to the door, then
down and the most beautiful lady you've ever seen in
your life standing at the door. And I said, oh,
(41:01):
young lady, any lady, don't know what he's telling avonnor
you're coming back to saying job's return whatever, not today,
not for me.
Speaker 11 (41:08):
My son is coming home. And she says it's me,
that's right.
Speaker 7 (41:13):
Silence for about forty minutes, and I'm just looking the
next thing, and I said, well, come on hand. But
in any case, my son has transgendered. And the beautiful
Laverne Cox is sitting at the door saying, my daughter
and we learned to live and let live. I'm being
educated to learn to live with her lifestyle, and she's
learning to live with my old fashioned lifestyle. My house
(41:36):
is still old like it was thirty years ago. And
she just amazed that this is still the way I live.
And I'm definitely amazed the way she's now living. But
it's all about love and happening. No I am this
mass a lady is really in a good time right now.
Speaker 11 (41:51):
My son's coming in a minute.
Speaker 6 (41:53):
Dad, I'm your daughter, Desiree.
Speaker 13 (41:57):
I've always been desirel.
Speaker 7 (42:03):
We haven't spoken on the wall.
Speaker 13 (42:04):
How long?
Speaker 7 (42:05):
Only trees?
Speaker 8 (42:06):
What happened?
Speaker 1 (42:07):
How this place looks exactly the same.
Speaker 11 (42:10):
We don't know what they say.
Speaker 8 (42:11):
If they ain't broke, don't fix it.
Speaker 11 (42:14):
That's broke. I gotta fix it. We have a very
special surprise guest.
Speaker 9 (42:21):
She ran a very fancy art gallery in New York City.
Speaker 11 (42:26):
Says for Taylor swift By sunglasses. So what happened up there?
Speaker 6 (42:30):
I arrange for a gallery space and then my.
Speaker 7 (42:32):
Funding bell throom.
Speaker 2 (42:34):
Your bus broke and you.
Speaker 6 (42:35):
Live at your mama broke?
Speaker 11 (42:36):
Oh, she brought jokes with her from New York.
Speaker 8 (42:39):
I ain't perfect, and I don't pretend to know it all.
Speaker 10 (42:41):
But does the rake coming back and opening up like
that was a major step?
Speaker 7 (42:47):
Oh my god?
Speaker 2 (42:48):
What we're in your living room?
Speaker 11 (42:50):
Girl?
Speaker 7 (42:50):
You don't chudge the presure off the prodi are you're crazy?
Speaker 5 (42:54):
How about crash with you?
Speaker 11 (42:56):
Ain't crashing when you're home.
Speaker 8 (42:59):
Until they're gonna have to be decorated.
Speaker 9 (43:02):
Congas, let me Dad, I.
Speaker 7 (43:03):
Wouldn't do that because I don't know what that is.
Speaker 8 (43:07):
To my daughter, to our good. I'll get your number,
all right, Pat, I wasn't asking you. I just thought
I might need to get in touch.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
It's timey declutter.
Speaker 7 (43:20):
We can start by replacing that ISO on the mall.
This is my class possession and it ain't all no
where son, daughter, Dammit.
Speaker 6 (43:27):
Jar, I'm going to retire off this.
Speaker 12 (43:31):
Would you say Harry is closer to Fred G. Stamford
or Archie Bunker or George Jefferson.
Speaker 7 (43:40):
George Wallace, all four of them mixed, all four of
them mixed together. Because it's a new day at a
new time. With the climate of America today, Oh my god,
this is gonna be really accept It is going to
be controversial. It's going to be talked about a long time.
I think nothing has hit the screens like this and
me dealing with it. And I'm glad to be Harry,
to be learning about life. It's good to learn something
(44:02):
new that you don't know about it, and you learn
to live with it, and you can learn to accept
different ways people live, because it's hard as hell to
live with me. I'm an old black man and what
I say gonna go okay, But.
Speaker 12 (44:14):
That's actually there's a lot of truth in that, because
if you come from a black family dynamic, that is
very much the case in many households. How much did
you draw upon your own family dynamic experiences for something
like this?
Speaker 11 (44:28):
How much? Oh much?
Speaker 7 (44:29):
Everything is from the surreal George Wallace, it's a real
my daddy, George Wallace, it's a real my granddaddy.
Speaker 11 (44:35):
It's a real people. I grew up in the neighborhood.
Speaker 7 (44:37):
You know. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, and we grew up
in a neighborhood where it didn't matter. Everybody was your daddy,
didn't matter who if everybody was your mama.
Speaker 11 (44:45):
That's the neighborhood I grew up. Man. It's all about
respect and love and be loved.
Speaker 12 (44:50):
How much room did you give yourself? Yes, it's your idea,
but how much room did you give yourself to be spontaneous,
to be off the cuff, to be unrehearsed in your
seat means?
Speaker 7 (45:00):
With Laverne Cox, I think executive producer, she also executive producer.
We did our own thing and you'll see a lot
of my lines and have things. I would say things
will just come up out of nowhere. Uh and my
next your neighbor is tell My Hopkins. She's my aunt esther.
So we fight all the time.
Speaker 11 (45:16):
You shut up. You don't tell me what to do.
You shut up.
Speaker 7 (45:19):
And she helps me a lot in learning how to
live and live there in LaVerne's community.
Speaker 12 (45:25):
I get to says that this is going to feel
like a warm blanket, something very familiar, but at the
same time, it's going to be something very different. Did you,
when you were sitting down with Laverne Cox, say Okay,
this is as far as we can go. Or did
you say, we don't have any limits. Let's just see
where it goes.
Speaker 7 (45:42):
You are the smartest person I'll talk to exactly. We
have no limits. Let's just do this, let's deal with it,
and we're dealing with it with love and laughter. And
that's why you're going to enjoy the show. Some things
I don't understand and you won't understand them with me.
Some things she doesn't know about me, Mine happens. But
we're gonna learn to live and love each other. There's
(46:03):
gonna be some tough moment, sayre I'm having a heart attack,
and then she's taking care of me all of a sudden.
That's where a love comes in and you know we
can take care of each other.
Speaker 12 (46:12):
It's called Clean Slate and the premiere's next Thursday, February
sixth on Amazon Prime Video and just to reset. Clean
Slate follows Harry, who is played by George Wallace, an
old school car wash owner in Alabama who has a
lot of soul searching to do when his son leaves
and then comes back twenty three years later as a
(46:33):
trans woman. It's really really funny and can't wait to
see all the episodes. George, did you ever have a
formal conversation with la Verne Cox and ask hers like,
where is the line as far as humor versus either
hatred or mean spirited comedy? Because we've heard a lot
in the past year or two about how transgender people
(46:54):
have been vilified or talked about in comedy.
Speaker 7 (46:57):
Well, that's what we're gonna learn in this series as
you watch it. And we had a conversation about just
letting life live. This is mostly about her life right
now and we're all learning this at the same time.
And she doesn't whatever let me she has That's where
we go.
Speaker 12 (47:15):
Who was the first to break character and start laughing
during the scene you were Laverne.
Speaker 7 (47:20):
Well, you know it with me because you know I
could be because I'll change lines every every scene, so
I know my lines. But you know this could be
plenty yet the time. Let's do another thing. Let's do
it this way, Let's do it that way. And then
that's when you know you're having fun, you know. See,
Laburne is never the had never done comedy committee role,
(47:42):
but now this is different for her, and she's learning
and I'm throwing out all kinds of crazy ideas and thoughts.
Speaker 11 (47:49):
That's why it's funny.
Speaker 7 (47:50):
I'm me and she's her, and we put it all
together and it's really fun.
Speaker 8 (47:55):
Are you one to watch your own work?
Speaker 7 (47:58):
See, I've had a problem with it so far. It's
been a good much to me. But watching me, I
guess I'm pretty good. I don't know, they say it,
so I'm good. I will watch and I will enjoy.
I'm the greatest of a whole time. People see me
on the radio and the movies and television. People see
me in on radio. That's what mahama Alee used to say.
Speaker 12 (48:17):
From legendary television producer Norman Lee, the idea comes from
for this heartfelt new comedy series, Clean Slate premier on Thursday,
February sixth on Prime Video. It stars Laverne Cox and
my guest George Wallace. Friend of the show, George, I
love you and there's nothing you can do about it.
Speaker 11 (48:31):
Nothing do my line in front of me.
Speaker 8 (48:34):
I just did, George Wallace, what you gonna do? Hang
up on me.
Speaker 7 (48:37):
Let me tell you something. People are using my line.
I'm gonnasue you. I love you and there's absolutely nothing
you can do by it. By hoever you said that again,
You're going to court. We're going to court in Washington, DC.
Speaker 11 (48:47):
I love you. Thank you so much for everything.
Speaker 8 (48:49):
Bye George. For the Black Information Network, I'm Moe Kelly.
Speaker 1 (48:54):
Thanks Moe, and be sure to catch Clean Slates, starring
comedian George Wallace and Laverne Cox, airing now on it
Amazon Prime Video. Black Wealth, How can we obtain it?
There are many avenues to financial success, but Doug Davis
has a guest who knows the secrets and is here
to give us a few.
Speaker 10 (49:12):
Doug.
Speaker 13 (49:13):
Hey, thanks Mike. This is Doug Davis, and you're listening
to your Black Business where we highlight them any achievements
of black entrepreneurs and business owners, while touching on how
Black Americans can achieve wealth. It's Black History Month, and
we have renowned financial literacy consultant and founder of WE
Management Services with us, Will Rowntree. He's also an investor
and specializes in real estate wealth creation. Will Rowntree, We're
(49:36):
happy to have you with us as we delve into
the historical context of Black Americans financial literacy, the economic
challenges we face and how we can overcome them, the
business of credit, how race impacts credit. Welcome back again
to the BIL.
Speaker 14 (49:51):
Absolutely, thank you, Bill.
Speaker 13 (49:52):
Blessing to have you here man, particularly during this very
important month of ours. If you can, let's get into
some historical cond text of our lack of financial education
as a whole. Can you provide like an overview of
the historical barriers that have kept Black Americans back and
have hindered our financial literacy and economic progress.
Speaker 14 (50:14):
Yeah, no, absolutely so. I'll often say it first started
with me knowing that this was something that I was
not taught, you know, growing up in a household where
you know, we were just taught, you know, the basics
of how to become successful, go to school, get good grades,
get a good job, and on that journey and me actually,
(50:35):
you know, accomplishing most of that does The one thing
that we never talked about in my household or when
I actually went to college was finances. We never talked
about credit. We never talked about anything economics. And then
as I got into the real world, you know, in
my early twenties, I found out that there was no
place that taught us anything. So as most of us,
(50:59):
we went through the school of hard knocks of understanding
that credit is important, having bad credit is expensive, and
that because there's this this this gap of information that
we are not taught in the black household, we go
out there and we have to we're already starting at
a deficit.
Speaker 7 (51:19):
You know.
Speaker 14 (51:20):
I started to actually learn that a lot of my
peers already had a you know, we're starting at a
deficit because their parents use their credit as kids, putting
utility bills in their name. So it almost became like
an epidemic of what it was that we did not
know about credit. And so it really just sent me
(51:40):
on my question why I got into what it is
that I actually do and why I'm so passionate about
going out educating and teaching the importance of it, because
the only thing that I've learned of what we do
know about credit is all consumer based. We only learn
how to use credit to spend, but not how to
(52:00):
use credit to create wealth.
Speaker 13 (52:03):
That's really impactful. Explain a little bit about what you
do right now. I mean I gave you somewhat of
an illustrious intro, but I know you can expound more.
Speaker 14 (52:13):
Coming from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, you know, like I mentioned, I
went on the journey of doing everything that you know
I was conditioned to do. But on that journey, Doug,
in two thousand and three, I lost my job. I
got laid off, didn't know what I was going to do.
And so during that was time. During that time period,
I was on this quest, in this search, and I
(52:35):
started reading books on just you know, business and entrepreneurship.
And while on that journey, I met an individual who
became a mentor of mine, who said, will eventually credit
will become the new dollar. He told me this in
two thousand and three. Didn't know what he meant by that.
At the time two thousand and five, I was fortunate
(52:56):
enough to move to Las Vegas. I quickly found out
what he nan though, Doug, I moved to Las Vegas
only had five hundred bucks to my name, and I
couldn't rent an apartment without putting two times the deposit down,
couldn't buy a vehicle without putting thirty percent down. And
I just started to see that having bad credit was expensive,
and so I decided to kind of go on this
(53:18):
journey of learning everything I could about credit, and I
ended up coming across a book by Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad,
Poor Dad, where he talked about how he leveraged other
people's money, and he was essentially talking about credit, and
so I started to learn the difference between what it's
called structured debt and unstructured debt. Structured debt is where
(53:42):
you leverage credit in order to be able to create
a well building through purchasing assets. And as I kind
of dig a little bit in the weeds here, Doug,
this is essentially what they talked about in the book
The Creature of Jecko Island, which is how the Federal
Reserve got started. And so I started to just really
(54:03):
learn and research and talk about all of these different
concepts versus what I was taught growing up was unstructured
debt or unstructured credit, whereas we're using credit or debt
to go and buy things that put us in debt,
for example, using my credit to go and shop, to
(54:23):
go to dinners, to take vacations, to buy vehicles, to
buy the home. Most people overspend on their homes, and
so I had to learn the difference and just understand
that these are concepts that have been around far longer
than I have. It's just unfortunately we wasn't invited to
the meetings where they talked about these different type of
(54:45):
strategies and concepts well before most of us were even
old enough to even learn about these things. So once
I started to learn about it, man, it took me
on this journey where I was literally, for the past
ten years, have traveled the country, even on my own dime,
doing free workshops, free seminars where I would set up
(55:07):
in the middle of a neighborhood and just do a
free financial literacy workshop, teaching about home ownership, credit finances,
and different things of that nature, speaking in school, speaking
at colleges, anyone who would listen. Because again, one of
the number one contributor to a lot of you know,
our I always say, financial fatigue is because the lack
(55:31):
of the information we have on finances, credit, economics, and
different things of that nature.
Speaker 13 (55:38):
Let me put a hypothetical out there. I'm a thirty
eight year old African American women professional, two kids, single,
struggling to make ends meet. Got a great job, but
the economy's killing me. I can't even save and I
can't keep up with my credit, you know, because I
have to, you know, continue to borrow from Peter to
pay Paul. How can I get out of this situation?
Speaker 14 (56:00):
So, believe it or not, that's actually the normal avatar
of who I speak to on a day to day basis.
And the very first thing is what always go back
to is elementary and as cliche as this sound, the
first thing that I do with every client, what I
sit down with them is first always say we need
to know what your number is does, and what I
(56:23):
mean by that we need to know exactly how much
money you bring in versus your expenses, because what I
find is that a lot of people, even though things
are increasing, I do still find that people are over
leveraged because we don't really know how much money we make.
And here's what I mean, does if a company pays
(56:47):
you fifty thousand dollars a year, how much goes through
your actual bank account? Does And that's a question.
Speaker 13 (56:54):
I would probably say a little more than half of that.
Speaker 14 (56:59):
But what do most people budget their finances? Again, for
fifty they budget against the fifty thousand, So mathematically they're
always going to be in a deficit because we don't
know our number. And so whenever I sit down with
a client, that's the very first thing I do. There's
no amount of credit or strategy that can help you
(57:22):
if everything you're doing there's more month at the end
of your money, because you're always going to be You're
always going to operate at a deficit. So that's the
very first thing we have to do. Then once we
find that out, now we're going to go in and say, okay,
we may need to cut out some of these streaming services,
we may have to cut out the snack machines at work,
(57:45):
like we got to start figuring out where we can
cut within the within the expenses first, because there is
going to have to be a level of sacrifice and
always tell people, look, let's rip the band aid early
and it doesn't have to be boring and in different
things of that nature. There's actually several alternatives, and this
is the exact same thing I have to go through.
(58:07):
And so all while we're going through that, I'm also
helping them to recondition the way they think, because usually
the reason a lot of people end up in these scenarios, Doug,
is because we've been taught a completely different ideology about
money and credit. We think, the more we make that
we're in a better position.
Speaker 7 (58:25):
Man.
Speaker 13 (58:25):
That's good. Final comments regarding Black History Months, the importance
and our financial future.
Speaker 14 (58:33):
As of now, per the Wall Street Journal, in twenty
twenty four, the average net worth of a black household,
we're already pretty close to their, Doug, it's like seventeen
to twenty four thousand and so often tell people we
need to wake up. You know, this space of what
I call financial literacy. It's no longer a luxury to
(58:57):
want to learn this, it's mandatory financial literacy.
Speaker 13 (59:00):
Consultant, real estate wealth creator and founder of WE Management Services,
Will Roundtree can't thank you enough, brother for this information.
Got to bring you back soon, man, Thank you so much.
Speaker 7 (59:09):
Again.
Speaker 13 (59:10):
This is Doug Davis. You're listening to the black perspective,
your black business on the bi in.
Speaker 1 (59:15):
Thanks Doug, and that's our program for this week. For
more on these stories, listen to the Black Information Network
on the free iHeartRadio app or log onto binews dot
com for all of the latest news impacting the black community.
Also be sure to follow us on social media at
Black Information Network and on X and Blue Sky at
(59:35):
black Info Net. I'm Mike Island, wishing everyone a great Sunday,
and be sure to tune in next week at this
time for another edition of The Black Perspective.
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