March 1, 2025 • 31 mins
ICYMI: Hour One of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – The installation of more weapon detectors and scanners at LA Metro train stations & bus stops AND a conversation with former “Mrs. Hooters International” LeAngela Davis, who joins the program with an insiders perspective on the restaurant chains decline…PLUS – An in-depth look at how you’ve been celebrating ‘Black History Month’ all month/year long and you had no idea” - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:22):
Kfibo Kelly, We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app and.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yay, it's Friday.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Y'all, it is Friday, and we're going to get the
party started and make sure we get your weekend off
to a great start. We got some Metro updates and
let me just tell you it has to do with
weapon detectors.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Finally, finally, it seems.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Like Metro's going to enjoin this party and finally figure
out what they need to do. Also joining us on
the show will be former Hooters Girl International le Angela Davis.
We had a discussion last week about Hooters and how
it was, i'll say, careening towards bankruptcy. She's going to
tell us her inside stories of what it was like
being associated with Hooters and also becoming Miss Hooters International
(01:07):
back in twenty ten. And you might have noticed, or
maybe you didn't notice, I'll do something a little different
at the end of the first hour. I have never
made any mention or made any deal of Black History Month,
and that has been intentional for a number of reasons. One,
I'm just a talk show host. I'm not here to
do a black talk show. I'm not here to serve
(01:30):
any type of agenda. But there's a reason, and I
know none of you know this beyond that, why I
really have never made any mention of Black History Month.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Am I aware of it? Yes, of course they have.
It's February, and.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
This was February twenty eighth, which is the last day
of that particular celebration. And against the backdrop of all
the supposed controversy of DEI and the perception of these
ethnic specific months and where the place is for this
and these I got some thoughts in that going to
end the first hour with that, and I please, I
(02:04):
hope that you'll stick around to hear that, because I
think we'll all all, including me, learn something. I'll learned
something from you, and I think you'll learn something from me.
That's at the end of the first hour. It is
a huge show tonight. It is so very huge. And
I don't know what Stephan is going to do, because
Stephan he does whatever he wants. Sometimes he listens to
the show, sometimes he pays attention. Sometimes he even give
(02:25):
us a rim shot, and sometimes he just walks out
and goes down the hall. And I have no idea
where he's going, So it could be any one of
those things tonight. Sometimes he feels invested and involved and
interested and other times not so much. I know Mark
is going to be here because he has to do
the news. I had no place else to go. She
kicked you out already. It doesn't matter never money. See,
(02:47):
he dangles these things out there, and if you if
you do a follow up question, the minute you do it.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
He's like no, no, no, no, no no, look at the time.
Now let's move on.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
This is exactly where I need to be, right And
also I see they moved a couch into the newsroom again,
so this is great.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Well, it's nice to see that Bethany Brown is back.
Oh yeah, there's some good things that I can't tell
everyone about what are happening within the walls of KFI.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Having nothing to do with us of the show. It's
just so we have some folks who.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Were formerly gone and now they are back, like Heather
Brooker as well. It's nice to have some friends back
in the KFI newsroom. And I have no qualms mentioning
that publicly. Well, yeah, we're all happy for the people
who came back, for sure, good people and I never
ever like to see people go through employment difficulties.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I've been on the other side of that.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So when you have some good people, some consummate professionals
welcome back into the fold, I always salute that and
always celebrate that. So it's nice to know that if
Bethany you're listening, or Heather you're listening, glad to have
you both back. But we're gonna have a wonderful time tonight.
We're gonna close out February. I didn't say black History.
(04:00):
We're going to close out February with all sorts of
fun and insight. And it all starts right now. It's
Later with Mo Kelly caf I AM six forty. We
are live everywhere the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
And I'm not so arrogant as to think that I
specifically had anything to do with this next story. I
am not going to say to you that I exerted
or wielded some level of undue influence and bent La
Metro to my will. As it relates to safety on
(04:40):
the trains, safety on the platforms, and the safety at
the station.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I would never say that. I would never presume that.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
But if you want to accord that to me, if
you want to give me that credit, I won't turn
it down because La Metro, if you're a writer, you
can expect to now pass through metal detectors at more
train stations and be scanned at bus stops to determine
if electronic screening can keep guns, knives and other weapons
(05:08):
off the transit system and make it safer. Glory, hallelujah,
thank you Jesus. Now, that doesn't mean that the occasional
knife won't slip through. We've all been to an airport.
We see all how the guns and other contra band
should slip through. And I'm not saying that this is
as good as having its own police force. But if anything,
(05:28):
it signifies that Metro is making the public acknowledgment that
the status quo is insufficient. You can't keep putting people
on trains and platforms and in stations and they either
not feel safe or not actually safe. You had to
do more than the green shirt ambassadors. You had to
(05:51):
do more than having the classical music to piss off
the homeless people and hope that they would actually walk
away and not get on the train.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You had to act do more?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
And what have I been asking for for at least
two plus years now that Metro do more. I had
said that Metro was not doing anything and everything that
it could within its power to make sure that riders,
and I'd like to remind people I used to be
one every single day that riders were getting the best
(06:22):
from Metro, that Metro was putting its best foot forward
and trying anything and everything to make sure not only
its riders but its operators were also safe. Now we've
talked extensively about how bus operators, for example, were routinely
attacked and then finally they started putting up those plexiglass
(06:43):
or lexan partitions to better protect bus drivers. Did I
have anything to do with that, Probably not, but I
know that I was one of the voices helping push
La Metro in that direction. And I think this is
more of the same because if it were okay, if
it were good enough as it was, we wouldn't see
(07:03):
these changes. Although that they're very slow to take place,
although it's taken longer than it should have, but these
public complaints, as well as the unfortunate circumstances surrounding them,
have made a difference. More needs to be done, no
doubt in the world. More needs to be done, but
this is one of those necessary steps. Metro's Board of
(07:27):
Directors voted ten to zero yesterday ten to zero to
expand this pilot weapon detecting testing for one year. I
know we're gonna have to wait a whole year to
see if they're going to implement it full time. And
it uses high tech systems designed to catch passengers who
are boarding and carrying or brandishing weapons. For me, cannst me,
(07:51):
for you, but for me, if you can minimize and
mitigate the danger, that means far more than doing nothing.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I need you to do something.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And it may not be everything, it may not be
actually what I have been bitching and complaining about as
far as Metro Police, but I will acknowledge that you're
moving in the right direction. You are moving closer to
what I know is going to happen, because, believe you
and me, there will be a Metro Police force. It'll
(08:23):
probably be later than Suitor, but that is the actual solution,
or the closest thing that they can get to, a solution.
Not having La Sheriff Department and LAPD and Long Beach
PD on a platform or every now and then casually
coming through a train station, or every once in a
while peeking their head in on the train. I know
(08:44):
what that's like, because when I was writing, that's what
it was. You would occasionally see law enforcement, you would
occasionally see Metro security, but in between those occasions, people
were running a muck and doing whatever, and there was
no type of threat to URM. This hopefully will decrease
the number of weapons on a train or at a platform,
(09:09):
at a station, hopefully, and if it can make some
people safer, then it makes everybody safer.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Now, maybe not in order of magnitude. Maybe it doesn't
change the balance.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Maybe it doesn't change exactly how many people are harmed,
but maybe it will just stop some people make it.
For me, if you make it more difficult, that's at
least a start, But you have to make it more difficult.
And to me, having someone taped to exit is not
making it more difficult. You're just nibbling around the edges
(09:44):
and saying, hey, we're doing all we can to make
Metro safer.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
No you're not. No you're not.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Don't tell me that just because you're scanning a fare
card that by itself is going to make people more safe. No,
if you're actually scanning for weapons, that is something tang
which will deduce something something to make it more safe
for writers. Testing these systems, going back to the story,
(10:10):
has not taken place on buses. Well you know that
has to be next. Metro reported it was working with
the vendor to begin mobile testing. Okay, I need you
Metro to hurt hell hell up, Okay, this is the
way to go. I'm trying to give you some credit.
I am actually trying to give you some credit. I
just need you to stop shuffling your feet and actually
(10:30):
take the steps. Quote you can't bring a weapon to
a concert or a Dodger game, and you shouldn't be
able to bring a weapon on Metro. That supervisor janis
on also la Metro board chair. Yeah, we agree, we agree.
Quote the weapons detection technology we are already testing at
some Metro trains works and a showing promise in deterring
(10:52):
people from even attempting to bring guns and knives onto Metro. Yes,
we're not. We're talking about reinventing the wheel. We're talking
about putting up some sort of resistance where it's some
level of deterrent if you've never written Metro, you may
not understand what you might encounter. And even though I
(11:15):
am an able bodied man, I don't know what it
would be like if you're concerned about crime, what it
would be like to be I don't know, an elderly
woman or maybe someone you're caring for your child. You
have your child with you, and if you're worried about safety.
It's not enough to just say, well, Metro they have
(11:36):
some green shirts, or I can fill out this form
and make them complaint, or now they have Wi Fi
down there, so maybe I can make a call. That's
not enough. There has to be some level of actual deterrence.
And again Metro is still trying to tell us that crimes,
or I should say violent crimes, are still more a
(11:59):
result of fair jumping.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I don't necessarily believe that.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I think crime is crime, and people are going to
fair jump whether you required them to have an actual
fare card or not, because you know criminals. There were
two murders of passengers last year, and according to Metro,
they were committed by assailants who were mentally ill, and
they were unprovoked killings.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
That's what law enforcement said.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Tell me, tell me that having tapped to exit would
have mattered in either of those circumstances. Lie to me
and say that that half measure was doing something which
was going to make people more safe.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Of course not.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You got to make sure that people not only don't
have access, but also the weapons they might carry do
not have access either. I'm trying to give you a
little bit of credit, Metro, don't blow it all in
one place. It's later with mo Kelly KFIM six forty
Live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app and former Miss Hooters
(13:01):
International Leangela Davis will join us next on the show.
We had told you how Hooters is circling the drain
and they're going to be filing bankruptcy in a few months,
maybe reorganize, maybe go completely out of business. But we're
going to talk to her as someone who worked for
Hooters for a few years and got to see the
fullness of the organization what it was, and she'll tell
(13:22):
us whether she thinks that Hooters has any place in
contemporary society as far as what we expect of modern
dining and also our concept of how we treat women
more generally in society.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
That's next.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Whimmo Kelly on KM SIXFI.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
AM six forty. It's later with mo Kelly. We are
alive everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. Hooters, the iconic sports
bar restaurant chain known more for its waitresses attire than
for its food, is gearing up to file bankruptcy in
a few months to restructure its debt. As we told
you last week, we also discussed some of the reasons
that Hooters may be out of step in a contemporary
(14:14):
sense with what customers and society more generally want and
how food establishments should present themselves in twenty twenty five.
But joining us now is someone who has a much
clear insight as to the inner workings of Hooters and
its original appeal to both restaurant worker and patron alike.
Leangela Davis was Miss Hooters International for the year twenty ten.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
When it was down to me and Rachel Mortenson for
the top two, I was shaking in my boots. My
legs felt like noodles. I have tons of thoughts going
through my head, like what happens if I win? What's
gonna happen if I get second place, like it's just
excited for being there in the first place. And then
and they called her name as first runner out, I
just just melted. It was so awesome. The first runner
(14:58):
up goes too, number seventy six Rachel Martinson, which means
number twenty five.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Le Angel will tell you this. It's mess Hooters International
twenty ten.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
They found out from my Facebook page that I'd actually won,
and the store was going absolutely crazy. People were taking posters.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
Off the walls, people were calling me.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
I think I had like two hundred text messages. I
just felt the love from all over coming through and
it was amazing.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Pleased to have her on the show right now, The
Angela's been a while. How have you been, Hi?
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Mo?
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Life has been really good doing the soccer mom thing
these days and keeping busy.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
How about yourself.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Look, I'm living the dream doing this radio thing, and
you have known me long enough to see the evolution
of what I've been trying to do in a media sense,
So it's nice to be able to reconnect. But I've
always wondered what attracted you to Hooters in the first place.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Where were you? Who were you at that time in
your life.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
You know.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
Starting editors was an interesting story.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
I had just quit my job and didn't really have
a plan, so I do what you're supposed to do,
started networking and calling all my people. I was actually
cheerleading for the Columbus Cruisers. That's the Columbus Cruise cheerleading team.
So I called all my girlfriends and said, hey, guys,
I need a job like yesterday. And one of my
good friends said, hey, you know what, there's a new,
brand new restaurant opening up. It's called Hooters, and they're
(16:20):
hiring their brand news, so they need every position. I
was a little hesitant at first because I'd never worked
in a restaurant before and I always thought it was
like an adult place. So I was very hesitant. But
I went in, I interviewed, all went well, and you know,
what's done is done.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I don't want you to undersell yourself.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
You went to the Ohio State University, you got your degree,
so this was a time of transition for you.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
What originally was your plan?
Speaker 5 (16:48):
My original plan you know, was too well.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
My first major actually went to Outobne College first for
music education. I first wanted to be an educator, but
then Right around that time, I started doing a lot
of cuts to the music programs and the arts, so
I took a year off. When I came back, I
went to Ohiose State for communications. Kind of wanted to
do what you're doing now, but that was my goal
at the time, was to get into media. My sister
(17:13):
had done some media work, so I was inspired by that.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Life often throws us all curveballs, and this may not
have been your original path that you chose, but this
was the path that you were ultimately on. What was
your experience like while working for the Hooters organization.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Well, I can say that I didn't have any expectations
coming in. I didn't think it was going to be
a long term thing for me. I thought it would
just be a holdover till I found something else. I
had a lot more comfort working in like a corporate environment.
That's what I kind of did a little bit after
high school.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
But I fell in love with it, you know.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
I started as like a trainer in the store, and
then it expanded to like a regional trainer, and then
it became like a corporate trainer where I would travel
across the country opening up stores and training girls, and
then it stretched even further out to taking me all
the way to Japan, or to Germany or to Saint Thomas,
and so it just kind of grew and grew, and
I just, you know, I'm just so grateful for the time, because,
(18:11):
you know, little Ome, I would never have thought in
a million years I'd be doing any of that.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
So and to be paid for it so amazing all around.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
How did you get involved, or maybe you just told
us how you ultimately got involved with the pageant? Was
it pitched to you or is it something that you
decided to pursue on your own.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
You know, life is really funny.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
I remember seeing the pageant on a television screen inside
of a Texas roadhouse and I was like wow.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
I was like, this is like a pageant for like
a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
This is interesting because I'd always been interested in modeling
and things like that, so it piqued my interest before
I even started working there, so I knew it existed.
But once I started working for Hooters, I think I
was interested naturally, and then someone approached me and said, hey,
you should do it.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
First.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
It started with like a calendar, the Hooters calendar, right,
so you submit your own pictures to the calendar selection
committee and then they decide on that part. But you know,
I was selected for the calendar, and then once I
was selected for that, and they like, you should probably
try to do the pageant too and see how you do.
Speaker 5 (19:14):
So that's kind of how I got into it.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
After you won, you became Miss Hooters International for twenty ten.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Where did that leave you? Did it catapult you a
diny way?
Speaker 4 (19:25):
You know?
Speaker 5 (19:26):
I started with Hooters in two thousand and four.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
That same year I ended up meeting the love of
my life in La So like I was kind of
on my way out because I was living in Ohio
at the time. So the pageant was in the summer.
I was engaged in August, I was living in la
in September.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I got to ask you the reason why we brought
you on Le Angela to Davis, former Miss Hooters International
twenty ten, because Hooters has been in the news and they,
from all published reports, are gearing up to file bankruptcy.
What would you say about Hooter's place in American twenty
twenty five? Would you make the emotional connection between Hooters
possibly being out of step with what we conceive of
(20:08):
how a restaurant should present itself or something else.
Speaker 5 (20:11):
I mean that's I know.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
We are in a time where there's a lot of
political correctness and people have their perceptions of what Hooters is.
Over the years, people have spoken to me about, you know,
did you feel like objectified working there?
Speaker 5 (20:25):
And I'm just like, you know, no.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Firstly, let's start here. We are pretty much fully covered
if you really look at it. We have tights on,
we have shorts on, we have a top on, more
skin at the beach. Okay, let's start with that. And also,
you know we are I guess considered entertainers. I mean
we don't really. It's a little bit different role than
typical waitressing. But I say, in this day and age,
(20:50):
it's an iconic brand. I think there's a spot for it.
I don't think we need to overdo it and have
everything the same. I think it's a unique brand. It's
a pioneer in this space, and I think it would
be a travesty if they closed all the doors.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
There's a spot for it.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We do know they're trying to reorganize, which means that
the brand may not go away, which means that not
all locations may be closed, but there's going to be
some sort of restructuring. If I were to ask you,
in the time that I have left with you, what
did you most learn or appreciate from your time with
not only working for Hooters but participating in the Miss
Hooters International competition.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
What would you say?
Speaker 5 (21:30):
I'd say, do your best, you know, put your best
foot forward.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
You know, like I said, I didn't. I never expected
for me to get so involved with the company. But
by doing my best and presenting myself in a way
that I don't know, I just left all my troubles
at the door, and the doors just kept opening from there.
So you know, whatever you do, just have fun and
opportunities will come from it.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Ohio State Buckeye. Leangela Davis was Miss Hooters International in
twenty ten. It's hard to believe I've known you that
long that long.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
It's nuts, it's nuts, and you've been so hard on
my buck guys, but look at us now.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
But that was back when USC was good.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I can't say anything now you just won the national championship.
I can't say anything other than it's nice to reconnect
with you. Thank you for coming on tonight, le Angela Davis.
I'm quite sure. Everyone's trying to google you right about now,
because I know how my listeners are.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
Oh my okay, well just me now, soccer mom, wife, neighbor.
Don't be too hard on you. Guys.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Well, we appreciate you coming on tonight. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Thanks, take care.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
It's Later with Mo Kelly. I AM six forty. We
are alive everywhere in the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
It's February twenty eighth. I'm gonna do something a little
bit different tonight. You may not have noticed, or maybe
you did, but I don't talk about quote unquot Black
History Month. I don't do Black History Month features or
mentions or anecdotes. Is not that I'm not aware of it.
I'm just something that I don't do. And that's always
been intentional. And again, don't get me wrong, it's not
(23:14):
that I couldn't. Nobody has ever told me, Mo, you
can't say that, you can't talk about that, You shouldn't
talk about that. But for me, it clouds my intended
message and confuses some folks. Some people wrongly think that
Black History Month quote unquote is exclusionary, But actually it's
quite the opposite. It's including. It's inclusive of a lot
(23:35):
of the stuff that most people, me included, missed in
our primary and secondary college education, no exaggeration. When I
was attending Arnold Elementary and Calimayer Middle School in South
Torrence High School in the early nineteen seventies and into
the eighties, the only thing I was ever formally taught
(23:56):
having to do with African Americans was slavery and George
Washington Carver.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
That's it. That's it.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
No exaggeration. Oh I forgot and double down with Huckleberry
Finn and of mice and men. Not exactly flattering portrayals,
as if that was the only thing connecting us with
American history, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
Not even taught about doctor Martin Luther King Junior. And
this was even during the fight to make his birthday
(24:23):
a holiday. No mention of doctor King. What's your point, mo, Well,
here's my point today. As I said, is February twenty
eighth the last day of quote unquote Black History Month,
and for some folks is still in twenty twenty five.
A controversial idea some people even call it racist. Oh
my goodness, and I'm here to tell you you have
(24:43):
been participating in Black History Month basically all year long,
and you're none the worse for it. You may not
have realized it, but all of you, including Mark Ronner,
including Stephan.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
What yes, oh, all of you.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
You listening in your car right now, you in the gym,
which your earbuds, You've been participating the fact that you
know anything about doctor King today, and can mention that
one line from that one speech of his, that's a
direct result a Black History Month. It just crossed over
into the mainstream. I bet you didn't know that. I'm
(25:18):
here to tell you. And it's not like the country
is worse off for learning about doctor King. You use
that quote today out of context, usually incorrectly, but you
use that quote today, and you know about that quote today?
Why Black History Month? And you probably never even made
the connection. It was Black History Month which made him
a historical figure who is now taught in schools. If
(25:42):
I went back to Arnold Elementary or Caliban Middle School,
South Towarrents High School, they'll talk about doctor King, They'll
learn about doctor King.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
There's a connection.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
We're not worse off today because of that, the fact
that you know anything about Jackie Robinson, the same thing
just crossed over into the mainstream. And now all of
Major League Baseball celebrates him every single year, and his
number has been immortalized in the sport. And the Dodgers
start their season very soon. Guess what, You can thank
Black History months for that. And you know, also what,
(26:14):
America didn't fall into the ocean and sink. If you
know anything about Jackie Robinson. There's a connection. And it's
for me at least. And this is just my one
guy's opinion. It's never bad to learn more American history,
even if it can be uncomfortable at times. And in fact,
that's why I love this country. I hope you're hearing me.
(26:35):
I love this country because when you learn all of
its history, including the part with all the warts, you
can see what a mighty long way we've come as
a nation.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Think of it this way.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Think about learning the story of World War two and
the majesty of D Day, but leaving out Pearl Harbor. Yeah,
it changes the story. All of it matters, and all
of it made America stronger. Believe that part, and I
don't explicitly talk about Black History Month, because I don't
segregate it unintended in my mind. But you get a
(27:09):
steady diet all the time and you don't even know
it all year long, and you didn't die from it either.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
When I gave you the history of ROBERTA.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Flack, remember that at the beginning of the week and
her time at HBCU Howard University with my parents. That
right there, that right there, when I talked about the
anti ice marches and economic blackout happening today that I'm
not participating in, and I compare contrasted it to the
Civil rights movement. That right there, when I shared the
story of astronaut Ronald McNair, his contributions and the challenger.
(27:38):
That right there, when I told you about a Philip
Randolph and FDR.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
That right there.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
It's not Black history, it's just good old American history.
And I submit that we're all better for it. You
might have even learned something. Nobody's face melted, nobody's not
one person's face. And you might have also noticed that
during quote unquote Black History Month or African American History,
I don't much quibble about the title, you may have
noticed that A common theme is acknowledging the first person
(28:06):
to do this, so the first person to become that.
I know it just drives you up a wall. You're
annoyed by it, and I know a lot of folks
are tired of hearing it. But if I could, let
me offer a different perspective. Each time, you may hear
something like, I don't know Colin Powell, the first African
American Secretary of State.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Let's use that for example.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
It's for me at least, another public acknowledgement of how
much this country has grown, how far this country has come,
another door which has opened, and room in which we
all can walk into, one once upon a time which
was unavailable. I tend to think of it as a
(28:44):
very public acknowledgment of how great America is presently. How
As the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan said that America can
be as good as her promise, a lot of people
talk about making America great again, won't call any names,
but want to pick and choose what and who are
considered great. I'm just saying, include all of it, and
(29:08):
include everyone. For me, each time I hear about another first,
I celebrate and I make no apologies for that. It
makes me love this country even more because it's something
probably my grandparents never lived to see. I attended Georgetown University,
a school that my parents couldn't imagine attending. It didn't
(29:28):
even have its first black student until nineteen fifty. I
was one of the first black males in the Torrents
Unified School District. Back in nineteen seventy three, I was
called the N word the first day of kindergarten. I'll
never forget it. I was the only black male in
my high school graduating class. And today it's no big deal.
(29:51):
And I think about that, and I'm proud. I remember
when my parents weren't allowed to buy a house in
Torrance back then. I remember how Lawrence as a sundown town.
Better look that up. Do not sell to black's racial
covenant back then. And it's okay to celebrate growth and inclusion.
It's okay to acknowledge that things are much better now.
(30:12):
And as I celebrate that and the growth of America,
America continues to grow. Black History Month for me, quote
unquote is a way of reminding all of us, not
just you, but me as well, how much we've grown
in a very positive way.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Learned about its struggles, so celebrate its successes.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
And if you learn anything from me beyond what you
were taught in high school about these subjects. Sorry, I'm
here to tell you you can thank Black History Month,
and no, you didn't melt in the process. Imagine that
America is the greatest country on the face of the earth,
not just because it exists, not because of the Constitution,
but because it has overcome every obstacle which has come
(30:49):
its way. I don't call it Black History Month because
for me, it's just American history, and American history is
limited to twenty eight days of the year.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
But hell, what do w I know?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I'm just the first African American to ever host a
weekday talk show on KFI since its inception in nineteen
twenty two. Only took one century for it to happen.
KFI AM six forty. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Have no axes to grind here? What do you think
we are lumberjacks? How do you even grind an axe?
Speaker 5 (31:20):
Anyway?
Speaker 2 (31:23):
KFI and the KOST HD two.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Los Angeles, Orange County
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Live everywhere on the ear radio
Kfibo Kelly, We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app and.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yay, it's Friday.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Y'all, it is Friday, and we're going to get the
party started and make sure we get your weekend off
to a great start. We got some Metro updates and
let me just tell you it has to do with
weapon detectors.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Finally, finally, it seems.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Like Metro's going to enjoin this party and finally figure
out what they need to do. Also joining us on
the show will be former Hooters Girl International le Angela Davis.
We had a discussion last week about Hooters and how
it was, i'll say, careening towards bankruptcy. She's going to
tell us her inside stories of what it was like
being associated with Hooters and also becoming Miss Hooters International
(01:07):
back in twenty ten. And you might have noticed, or
maybe you didn't notice, I'll do something a little different
at the end of the first hour. I have never
made any mention or made any deal of Black History Month,
and that has been intentional for a number of reasons. One,
I'm just a talk show host. I'm not here to
do a black talk show. I'm not here to serve
(01:30):
any type of agenda. But there's a reason, and I
know none of you know this beyond that, why I
really have never made any mention of Black History Month.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Am I aware of it? Yes, of course they have.
It's February, and.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
This was February twenty eighth, which is the last day
of that particular celebration. And against the backdrop of all
the supposed controversy of DEI and the perception of these
ethnic specific months and where the place is for this
and these I got some thoughts in that going to
end the first hour with that, and I please, I
(02:04):
hope that you'll stick around to hear that, because I
think we'll all all, including me, learn something. I'll learned
something from you, and I think you'll learn something from me.
That's at the end of the first hour. It is
a huge show tonight. It is so very huge. And
I don't know what Stephan is going to do, because
Stephan he does whatever he wants. Sometimes he listens to
the show, sometimes he pays attention. Sometimes he even give
(02:25):
us a rim shot, and sometimes he just walks out
and goes down the hall. And I have no idea
where he's going, So it could be any one of
those things tonight. Sometimes he feels invested and involved and
interested and other times not so much. I know Mark
is going to be here because he has to do
the news. I had no place else to go. She
kicked you out already. It doesn't matter never money. See,
(02:47):
he dangles these things out there, and if you if
you do a follow up question, the minute you do it.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
He's like no, no, no, no, no no, look at the time.
Now let's move on.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
This is exactly where I need to be, right And
also I see they moved a couch into the newsroom again,
so this is great.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Well, it's nice to see that Bethany Brown is back.
Oh yeah, there's some good things that I can't tell
everyone about what are happening within the walls of KFI.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Having nothing to do with us of the show. It's
just so we have some folks who.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Were formerly gone and now they are back, like Heather
Brooker as well. It's nice to have some friends back
in the KFI newsroom. And I have no qualms mentioning
that publicly. Well, yeah, we're all happy for the people
who came back, for sure, good people and I never
ever like to see people go through employment difficulties.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I've been on the other side of that.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
So when you have some good people, some consummate professionals
welcome back into the fold, I always salute that and
always celebrate that. So it's nice to know that if
Bethany you're listening, or Heather you're listening, glad to have
you both back. But we're gonna have a wonderful time tonight.
We're gonna close out February. I didn't say black History.
(04:00):
We're going to close out February with all sorts of
fun and insight. And it all starts right now. It's
Later with Mo Kelly caf I AM six forty. We
are live everywhere the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
And I'm not so arrogant as to think that I
specifically had anything to do with this next story. I
am not going to say to you that I exerted
or wielded some level of undue influence and bent La
Metro to my will. As it relates to safety on
(04:40):
the trains, safety on the platforms, and the safety at
the station.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
I would never say that. I would never presume that.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
But if you want to accord that to me, if
you want to give me that credit, I won't turn
it down because La Metro, if you're a writer, you
can expect to now pass through metal detectors at more
train stations and be scanned at bus stops to determine
if electronic screening can keep guns, knives and other weapons
(05:08):
off the transit system and make it safer. Glory, hallelujah,
thank you Jesus. Now, that doesn't mean that the occasional
knife won't slip through. We've all been to an airport.
We see all how the guns and other contra band
should slip through. And I'm not saying that this is
as good as having its own police force. But if anything,
(05:28):
it signifies that Metro is making the public acknowledgment that
the status quo is insufficient. You can't keep putting people
on trains and platforms and in stations and they either
not feel safe or not actually safe. You had to
do more than the green shirt ambassadors. You had to
(05:51):
do more than having the classical music to piss off
the homeless people and hope that they would actually walk
away and not get on the train.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
You had to act do more?
Speaker 1 (06:00):
And what have I been asking for for at least
two plus years now that Metro do more. I had
said that Metro was not doing anything and everything that
it could within its power to make sure that riders,
and I'd like to remind people I used to be
one every single day that riders were getting the best
(06:22):
from Metro, that Metro was putting its best foot forward
and trying anything and everything to make sure not only
its riders but its operators were also safe. Now we've
talked extensively about how bus operators, for example, were routinely
attacked and then finally they started putting up those plexiglass
(06:43):
or lexan partitions to better protect bus drivers. Did I
have anything to do with that, Probably not, but I
know that I was one of the voices helping push
La Metro in that direction. And I think this is
more of the same because if it were okay, if
it were good enough as it was, we wouldn't see
(07:03):
these changes. Although that they're very slow to take place,
although it's taken longer than it should have, but these
public complaints, as well as the unfortunate circumstances surrounding them,
have made a difference. More needs to be done, no
doubt in the world. More needs to be done, but
this is one of those necessary steps. Metro's Board of
(07:27):
Directors voted ten to zero yesterday ten to zero to
expand this pilot weapon detecting testing for one year. I
know we're gonna have to wait a whole year to
see if they're going to implement it full time. And
it uses high tech systems designed to catch passengers who
are boarding and carrying or brandishing weapons. For me, cannst me,
(07:51):
for you, but for me, if you can minimize and
mitigate the danger, that means far more than doing nothing.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I need you to do something.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
And it may not be everything, it may not be
actually what I have been bitching and complaining about as
far as Metro Police, but I will acknowledge that you're
moving in the right direction. You are moving closer to
what I know is going to happen, because, believe you
and me, there will be a Metro Police force. It'll
(08:23):
probably be later than Suitor, but that is the actual solution,
or the closest thing that they can get to, a solution.
Not having La Sheriff Department and LAPD and Long Beach
PD on a platform or every now and then casually
coming through a train station, or every once in a
while peeking their head in on the train. I know
(08:44):
what that's like, because when I was writing, that's what
it was. You would occasionally see law enforcement, you would
occasionally see Metro security, but in between those occasions, people
were running a muck and doing whatever, and there was
no type of threat to URM. This hopefully will decrease
the number of weapons on a train or at a platform,
(09:09):
at a station, hopefully, and if it can make some
people safer, then it makes everybody safer.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Now, maybe not in order of magnitude. Maybe it doesn't
change the balance.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Maybe it doesn't change exactly how many people are harmed,
but maybe it will just stop some people make it.
For me, if you make it more difficult, that's at
least a start, But you have to make it more difficult.
And to me, having someone taped to exit is not
making it more difficult. You're just nibbling around the edges
(09:44):
and saying, hey, we're doing all we can to make
Metro safer.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
No you're not. No you're not.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Don't tell me that just because you're scanning a fare
card that by itself is going to make people more safe. No,
if you're actually scanning for weapons, that is something tang
which will deduce something something to make it more safe
for writers. Testing these systems, going back to the story,
(10:10):
has not taken place on buses. Well you know that
has to be next. Metro reported it was working with
the vendor to begin mobile testing. Okay, I need you
Metro to hurt hell hell up, Okay, this is the
way to go. I'm trying to give you some credit.
I am actually trying to give you some credit. I
just need you to stop shuffling your feet and actually
(10:30):
take the steps. Quote you can't bring a weapon to
a concert or a Dodger game, and you shouldn't be
able to bring a weapon on Metro. That supervisor janis
on also la Metro board chair. Yeah, we agree, we agree.
Quote the weapons detection technology we are already testing at
some Metro trains works and a showing promise in deterring
(10:52):
people from even attempting to bring guns and knives onto Metro. Yes,
we're not. We're talking about reinventing the wheel. We're talking
about putting up some sort of resistance where it's some
level of deterrent if you've never written Metro, you may
not understand what you might encounter. And even though I
(11:15):
am an able bodied man, I don't know what it
would be like if you're concerned about crime, what it
would be like to be I don't know, an elderly
woman or maybe someone you're caring for your child. You
have your child with you, and if you're worried about safety.
It's not enough to just say, well, Metro they have
(11:36):
some green shirts, or I can fill out this form
and make them complaint, or now they have Wi Fi
down there, so maybe I can make a call. That's
not enough. There has to be some level of actual deterrence.
And again Metro is still trying to tell us that crimes,
or I should say violent crimes, are still more a
(11:59):
result of fair jumping.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
I don't necessarily believe that.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I think crime is crime, and people are going to
fair jump whether you required them to have an actual
fare card or not, because you know criminals. There were
two murders of passengers last year, and according to Metro,
they were committed by assailants who were mentally ill, and
they were unprovoked killings.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
That's what law enforcement said.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
Tell me, tell me that having tapped to exit would
have mattered in either of those circumstances. Lie to me
and say that that half measure was doing something which
was going to make people more safe.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Of course not.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
You got to make sure that people not only don't
have access, but also the weapons they might carry do
not have access either. I'm trying to give you a
little bit of credit, Metro, don't blow it all in
one place. It's later with mo Kelly KFIM six forty
Live Everywhere on the iHeartRadio app and former Miss Hooters
(13:01):
International Leangela Davis will join us next on the show.
We had told you how Hooters is circling the drain
and they're going to be filing bankruptcy in a few months,
maybe reorganize, maybe go completely out of business. But we're
going to talk to her as someone who worked for
Hooters for a few years and got to see the
fullness of the organization what it was, and she'll tell
(13:22):
us whether she thinks that Hooters has any place in
contemporary society as far as what we expect of modern
dining and also our concept of how we treat women
more generally in society.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
That's next.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM sixty.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Whimmo Kelly on KM SIXFI.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
AM six forty. It's later with mo Kelly. We are
alive everywhere in the iHeartRadio app. Hooters, the iconic sports
bar restaurant chain known more for its waitresses attire than
for its food, is gearing up to file bankruptcy in
a few months to restructure its debt. As we told
you last week, we also discussed some of the reasons
that Hooters may be out of step in a contemporary
(14:14):
sense with what customers and society more generally want and
how food establishments should present themselves in twenty twenty five.
But joining us now is someone who has a much
clear insight as to the inner workings of Hooters and
its original appeal to both restaurant worker and patron alike.
Leangela Davis was Miss Hooters International for the year twenty ten.
Speaker 4 (14:35):
When it was down to me and Rachel Mortenson for
the top two, I was shaking in my boots. My
legs felt like noodles. I have tons of thoughts going
through my head, like what happens if I win? What's
gonna happen if I get second place, like it's just
excited for being there in the first place. And then
and they called her name as first runner out, I
just just melted. It was so awesome. The first runner
(14:58):
up goes too, number seventy six Rachel Martinson, which means
number twenty five.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Le Angel will tell you this. It's mess Hooters International
twenty ten.
Speaker 4 (15:10):
They found out from my Facebook page that I'd actually won,
and the store was going absolutely crazy. People were taking posters.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
Off the walls, people were calling me.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
I think I had like two hundred text messages. I
just felt the love from all over coming through and
it was amazing.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Pleased to have her on the show right now, The
Angela's been a while. How have you been, Hi?
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Mo?
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Thanks for having me on.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Life has been really good doing the soccer mom thing
these days and keeping busy.
Speaker 5 (15:36):
How about yourself.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Look, I'm living the dream doing this radio thing, and
you have known me long enough to see the evolution
of what I've been trying to do in a media sense,
So it's nice to be able to reconnect. But I've
always wondered what attracted you to Hooters in the first place.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Where were you? Who were you at that time in
your life.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
You know.
Speaker 5 (15:55):
Starting editors was an interesting story.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
I had just quit my job and didn't really have
a plan, so I do what you're supposed to do,
started networking and calling all my people. I was actually
cheerleading for the Columbus Cruisers. That's the Columbus Cruise cheerleading team.
So I called all my girlfriends and said, hey, guys,
I need a job like yesterday. And one of my
good friends said, hey, you know what, there's a new,
brand new restaurant opening up. It's called Hooters, and they're
(16:20):
hiring their brand news, so they need every position. I
was a little hesitant at first because I'd never worked
in a restaurant before and I always thought it was
like an adult place. So I was very hesitant. But
I went in, I interviewed, all went well, and you know,
what's done is done.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
I don't want you to undersell yourself.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
You went to the Ohio State University, you got your degree,
so this was a time of transition for you.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
What originally was your plan?
Speaker 5 (16:48):
My original plan you know, was too well.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
My first major actually went to Outobne College first for
music education. I first wanted to be an educator, but
then Right around that time, I started doing a lot
of cuts to the music programs and the arts, so
I took a year off. When I came back, I
went to Ohiose State for communications. Kind of wanted to
do what you're doing now, but that was my goal
at the time, was to get into media. My sister
(17:13):
had done some media work, so I was inspired by that.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Life often throws us all curveballs, and this may not
have been your original path that you chose, but this
was the path that you were ultimately on. What was
your experience like while working for the Hooters organization.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Well, I can say that I didn't have any expectations
coming in. I didn't think it was going to be
a long term thing for me. I thought it would
just be a holdover till I found something else. I
had a lot more comfort working in like a corporate environment.
That's what I kind of did a little bit after
high school.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
But I fell in love with it, you know.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
I started as like a trainer in the store, and
then it expanded to like a regional trainer, and then
it became like a corporate trainer where I would travel
across the country opening up stores and training girls, and
then it stretched even further out to taking me all
the way to Japan, or to Germany or to Saint Thomas,
and so it just kind of grew and grew, and
I just, you know, I'm just so grateful for the time, because,
(18:11):
you know, little Ome, I would never have thought in
a million years I'd be doing any of that.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
So and to be paid for it so amazing all around.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
How did you get involved, or maybe you just told
us how you ultimately got involved with the pageant? Was
it pitched to you or is it something that you
decided to pursue on your own.
Speaker 5 (18:29):
You know, life is really funny.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
I remember seeing the pageant on a television screen inside
of a Texas roadhouse and I was like wow.
Speaker 5 (18:39):
I was like, this is like a pageant for like
a restaurant.
Speaker 4 (18:42):
This is interesting because I'd always been interested in modeling
and things like that, so it piqued my interest before
I even started working there, so I knew it existed.
But once I started working for Hooters, I think I
was interested naturally, and then someone approached me and said, hey,
you should do it.
Speaker 5 (18:58):
First.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
It started with like a calendar, the Hooters calendar, right,
so you submit your own pictures to the calendar selection
committee and then they decide on that part. But you know,
I was selected for the calendar, and then once I
was selected for that, and they like, you should probably
try to do the pageant too and see how you do.
Speaker 5 (19:14):
So that's kind of how I got into it.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
After you won, you became Miss Hooters International for twenty ten.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Where did that leave you? Did it catapult you a
diny way?
Speaker 4 (19:25):
You know?
Speaker 5 (19:26):
I started with Hooters in two thousand and four.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
That same year I ended up meeting the love of
my life in La So like I was kind of
on my way out because I was living in Ohio
at the time. So the pageant was in the summer.
I was engaged in August, I was living in la
in September.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
I got to ask you the reason why we brought
you on Le Angela to Davis, former Miss Hooters International
twenty ten, because Hooters has been in the news and they,
from all published reports, are gearing up to file bankruptcy.
What would you say about Hooter's place in American twenty
twenty five? Would you make the emotional connection between Hooters
possibly being out of step with what we conceive of
(20:08):
how a restaurant should present itself or something else.
Speaker 5 (20:11):
I mean that's I know.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
We are in a time where there's a lot of
political correctness and people have their perceptions of what Hooters is.
Over the years, people have spoken to me about, you know,
did you feel like objectified working there?
Speaker 5 (20:25):
And I'm just like, you know, no.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Firstly, let's start here. We are pretty much fully covered
if you really look at it. We have tights on,
we have shorts on, we have a top on, more
skin at the beach. Okay, let's start with that. And also,
you know we are I guess considered entertainers. I mean
we don't really. It's a little bit different role than
typical waitressing. But I say, in this day and age,
(20:50):
it's an iconic brand. I think there's a spot for it.
I don't think we need to overdo it and have
everything the same. I think it's a unique brand. It's
a pioneer in this space, and I think it would
be a travesty if they closed all the doors.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
There's a spot for it.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
We do know they're trying to reorganize, which means that
the brand may not go away, which means that not
all locations may be closed, but there's going to be
some sort of restructuring. If I were to ask you,
in the time that I have left with you, what
did you most learn or appreciate from your time with
not only working for Hooters but participating in the Miss
Hooters International competition.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
What would you say?
Speaker 5 (21:30):
I'd say, do your best, you know, put your best
foot forward.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
You know, like I said, I didn't. I never expected
for me to get so involved with the company. But
by doing my best and presenting myself in a way
that I don't know, I just left all my troubles
at the door, and the doors just kept opening from there.
So you know, whatever you do, just have fun and
opportunities will come from it.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Ohio State Buckeye. Leangela Davis was Miss Hooters International in
twenty ten. It's hard to believe I've known you that
long that long.
Speaker 5 (22:01):
It's nuts, it's nuts, and you've been so hard on
my buck guys, but look at us now.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
But that was back when USC was good.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
I can't say anything now you just won the national championship.
I can't say anything other than it's nice to reconnect
with you. Thank you for coming on tonight, le Angela Davis.
I'm quite sure. Everyone's trying to google you right about now,
because I know how my listeners are.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
Oh my okay, well just me now, soccer mom, wife, neighbor.
Don't be too hard on you. Guys.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Well, we appreciate you coming on tonight. Thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
Thanks, take care.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
It's Later with Mo Kelly. I AM six forty. We
are alive everywhere in the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
It's February twenty eighth. I'm gonna do something a little
bit different tonight. You may not have noticed, or maybe
you did, but I don't talk about quote unquot Black
History Month. I don't do Black History Month features or
mentions or anecdotes. Is not that I'm not aware of it.
I'm just something that I don't do. And that's always
been intentional. And again, don't get me wrong, it's not
(23:14):
that I couldn't. Nobody has ever told me, Mo, you
can't say that, you can't talk about that, You shouldn't
talk about that. But for me, it clouds my intended
message and confuses some folks. Some people wrongly think that
Black History Month quote unquote is exclusionary, But actually it's
quite the opposite. It's including. It's inclusive of a lot
(23:35):
of the stuff that most people, me included, missed in
our primary and secondary college education, no exaggeration. When I
was attending Arnold Elementary and Calimayer Middle School in South
Torrence High School in the early nineteen seventies and into
the eighties, the only thing I was ever formally taught
(23:56):
having to do with African Americans was slavery and George
Washington Carver.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
That's it. That's it.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
No exaggeration. Oh I forgot and double down with Huckleberry
Finn and of mice and men. Not exactly flattering portrayals,
as if that was the only thing connecting us with
American history, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
Not even taught about doctor Martin Luther King Junior. And
this was even during the fight to make his birthday
(24:23):
a holiday. No mention of doctor King. What's your point, mo, Well,
here's my point today. As I said, is February twenty
eighth the last day of quote unquote Black History Month,
and for some folks is still in twenty twenty five.
A controversial idea some people even call it racist. Oh
my goodness, and I'm here to tell you you have
(24:43):
been participating in Black History Month basically all year long,
and you're none the worse for it. You may not
have realized it, but all of you, including Mark Ronner,
including Stephan.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
What yes, oh, all of you.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
You listening in your car right now, you in the gym,
which your earbuds, You've been participating the fact that you
know anything about doctor King today, and can mention that
one line from that one speech of his, that's a
direct result a Black History Month. It just crossed over
into the mainstream. I bet you didn't know that. I'm
(25:18):
here to tell you. And it's not like the country
is worse off for learning about doctor King. You use
that quote today out of context, usually incorrectly, but you
use that quote today, and you know about that quote today?
Why Black History Month? And you probably never even made
the connection. It was Black History Month which made him
a historical figure who is now taught in schools. If
(25:42):
I went back to Arnold Elementary or Caliban Middle School,
South Towarrents High School, they'll talk about doctor King, They'll
learn about doctor King.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
There's a connection.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
We're not worse off today because of that, the fact
that you know anything about Jackie Robinson, the same thing
just crossed over into the mainstream. And now all of
Major League Baseball celebrates him every single year, and his
number has been immortalized in the sport. And the Dodgers
start their season very soon. Guess what, You can thank
Black History months for that. And you know, also what,
(26:14):
America didn't fall into the ocean and sink. If you
know anything about Jackie Robinson. There's a connection. And it's
for me at least. And this is just my one
guy's opinion. It's never bad to learn more American history,
even if it can be uncomfortable at times. And in fact,
that's why I love this country. I hope you're hearing me.
(26:35):
I love this country because when you learn all of
its history, including the part with all the warts, you
can see what a mighty long way we've come as
a nation.
Speaker 2 (26:45):
Think of it this way.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Think about learning the story of World War two and
the majesty of D Day, but leaving out Pearl Harbor. Yeah,
it changes the story. All of it matters, and all
of it made America stronger. Believe that part, and I
don't explicitly talk about Black History Month, because I don't
segregate it unintended in my mind. But you get a
(27:09):
steady diet all the time and you don't even know
it all year long, and you didn't die from it either.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
When I gave you the history of ROBERTA.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Flack, remember that at the beginning of the week and
her time at HBCU Howard University with my parents. That
right there, that right there, when I talked about the
anti ice marches and economic blackout happening today that I'm
not participating in, and I compare contrasted it to the
Civil rights movement. That right there, when I shared the
story of astronaut Ronald McNair, his contributions and the challenger.
(27:38):
That right there, when I told you about a Philip
Randolph and FDR.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
That right there.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
It's not Black history, it's just good old American history.
And I submit that we're all better for it. You
might have even learned something. Nobody's face melted, nobody's not
one person's face. And you might have also noticed that
during quote unquote Black History Month or African American History,
I don't much quibble about the title, you may have
noticed that A common theme is acknowledging the first person
(28:06):
to do this, so the first person to become that.
I know it just drives you up a wall. You're
annoyed by it, and I know a lot of folks
are tired of hearing it. But if I could, let
me offer a different perspective. Each time, you may hear
something like, I don't know Colin Powell, the first African
American Secretary of State.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Let's use that for example.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
It's for me at least, another public acknowledgement of how
much this country has grown, how far this country has come,
another door which has opened, and room in which we
all can walk into, one once upon a time which
was unavailable. I tend to think of it as a
(28:44):
very public acknowledgment of how great America is presently. How
As the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan said that America can
be as good as her promise, a lot of people
talk about making America great again, won't call any names,
but want to pick and choose what and who are
considered great. I'm just saying, include all of it, and
(29:08):
include everyone. For me, each time I hear about another first,
I celebrate and I make no apologies for that. It
makes me love this country even more because it's something
probably my grandparents never lived to see. I attended Georgetown University,
a school that my parents couldn't imagine attending. It didn't
(29:28):
even have its first black student until nineteen fifty. I
was one of the first black males in the Torrents
Unified School District. Back in nineteen seventy three, I was
called the N word the first day of kindergarten. I'll
never forget it. I was the only black male in
my high school graduating class. And today it's no big deal.
(29:51):
And I think about that, and I'm proud. I remember
when my parents weren't allowed to buy a house in
Torrance back then. I remember how Lawrence as a sundown town.
Better look that up. Do not sell to black's racial
covenant back then. And it's okay to celebrate growth and inclusion.
It's okay to acknowledge that things are much better now.
(30:12):
And as I celebrate that and the growth of America,
America continues to grow. Black History Month for me, quote
unquote is a way of reminding all of us, not
just you, but me as well, how much we've grown
in a very positive way.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Learned about its struggles, so celebrate its successes.
Speaker 1 (30:27):
And if you learn anything from me beyond what you
were taught in high school about these subjects. Sorry, I'm
here to tell you you can thank Black History Month,
and no, you didn't melt in the process. Imagine that
America is the greatest country on the face of the earth,
not just because it exists, not because of the Constitution,
but because it has overcome every obstacle which has come
(30:49):
its way. I don't call it Black History Month because
for me, it's just American history, and American history is
limited to twenty eight days of the year.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
But hell, what do w I know?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I'm just the first African American to ever host a
weekday talk show on KFI since its inception in nineteen
twenty two. Only took one century for it to happen.
KFI AM six forty. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Have no axes to grind here? What do you think
we are lumberjacks? How do you even grind an axe?
Speaker 5 (31:20):
Anyway?
Speaker 2 (31:23):
KFI and the KOST HD two.
Speaker 4 (31:26):
Los Angeles, Orange County
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Live everywhere on the ear radio
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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