Welcome And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Welcome to Speak Up International with Rita Burke and Elton Brown.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

What a truly interesting, fascinating day to be interviewing our guest today, who is currently in Georgia, in the United States of America. He is a CJ, and he is a former Chicago Cubs outfielder. He has over 22 years of experience in developing some of the games on top of amateur, collegiate, and professional players. CJ has a wealth of knowledge regarding the support, particularly based on youth development. And as a resource, a resource for social justice and the impact the support has on the social emotional development of youth. He is the co-founder of the Lead Center for Youth, which is a support based youth development nonprofit organization. There's so much more that I can tell you about our guests today. CJ Store. But as we say on Speak Up International, we prefer if our guests tell their own stories. So today I welcome CJ Storage to Speak Up International. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Yep. It's a pleasure to be here with y'all.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

Good to be with you too, CJ. It has been let's just say a challenge for the three of us to be able to uh meet. I think the last time we were supposed to meet, I was on the train, uh commuter line going home, and for whatever the reason, we just could not connect. I couldn't get the audio to work properly. But today I think the stars are aligned and we're ready to go.

CJ’s Story And Atlanta Roots

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Tell me, how did you get involved with youth in your community? And what is your role?

SPEAKER_01 2:24

So I am the chief visionary officer and co-founder for Leeds Center for Youth, which is located here in Atlanta. And as was stated, we are a sports-based youth development organization. And what that simply means is that we intentionally use sports to help marginalized youth make healthy transition into adulthood. And that's exactly what was done for me. I was uh born in 1976 in the city of Atlanta to two very young working class um parents. Uh, and so, you know, being working class and lacking financial capital, also lacking social capital, um, in a sense, that could be a death sentence uh for an African-American um boy. Um, fortunately, I was able to play baseball, being introduced to it at the age of eight years old in 1984. And uh my social capital increased because of um the Cascade Youth Organization in Southwest Atlanta where I played. I was able to be a part of the community with lots of civil rights leaders. And uh my dream was to play professionally with the Chicago Cubs, and I was able to do that. And Leeds Center for Youth, Leeds Stanford Launch Exposed Advised Direct is simply a love letter to the city of Atlanta for intentionally and unintentionally pouring into me to help me um um combat the three curveballs crime, poverty, and racism. And so um just understanding how things were done for with for me with the support of my wife, Kelly, and some others that really helped me to be retrospective. We we built this organization and programming to um help youth overcome crime, poverty, and racism. I'll say, lastly, that's important because you know, me, baseball was my ticket out, and I wanted to play professional baseball, and people talk about the slim chances of playing. Well, you got about a 3% chance or less of um being able to play professional sports. And so we put a lot of emphasis on academics for children because of the low percentage. But here in Atlanta, if you're born in poverty, you have a 3% chance of making it out as well. So the chances of being a professional athlete are very slim, but the chances of making out of poverty in Atlanta are very slim, unless you have advocates like Leeds Center for Youth.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Sounds like quite a story, as I said at the top of our interview, that we like it when our guests tell their own stories. And so I'm going to ask you to talk to us about lead.

What LEAD Center For Youth Does

SPEAKER_00 5:12

You're the co-founder. Talk to us a little bit more about what exactly lead is, please.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

Yep. So at the end of the day, our march and orders are to launch, expose, advise, and direct. And we use baseball for boys and tennis for girls for year-round programming. Uh, we want them to become Major League players, and we want them to become Major League Citizens. Uh, major league citizenry meaning that they are gainfully employed, civically engaged, and radical philanthropists. And so with our year-round programming, um, the outcomes that we get are um improvement and growth in the areas of social emotional learning. So I'm thus considering things like academic self-efficacy, um, self-management, um, positive identity, social skills, social capital, all of these things that marginalized and disenfranchised youth are not privileged to. And so we've existed for um since 2007. So we are um 17 years old. And so even when we think about our daughter, who's 17, her name is McKenna. She was born around the time that we actually had um gave birth to lead. And uh McKenna being 17 years old, she at times act acts like a teenager, uh, but she's not quite an adult. But it's the same thing, even for us. We are doing a lot of amazing things, but we are not a 50-year organization. Um, but at the same time, even with McKenna, she's not 12 years old. Um, so we are definitely proud of it. Um, and the thing that I think that we really do a great job of uh promising and guaranteeing uh is the um making sure that our black students are getting the benefit of the doubt, respect, and trust, and um making sure that we use our influence and affluence, influence is relationships, affluence is money. And then our secret sauce is the advocacy. Um, so that's one thing that black youth in Atlanta really need the most because if you're born in poverty here, you have a 3% chance of making it out. In a city that is number one for income inequality based on race in America, in a country that's number one for income inequality uh among the G7 advanced countries, including Canada, Japan, France. So it is really hard to um make it in this city, especially if you are African American. And um lead, um, even though we're we can't guarantee 100% that you're gonna be able to make it out of poverty, um, but our success rate is is very high with regard.

SPEAKER_02 8:03

You

Why Baseball For Boys

SPEAKER_02 8:04

talk about two sports that you use to help mold future adults, male and female. And if I remember correctly, one was baseball, the other is tennis. Tennis for girls, boys, baseball. Why were those two selected for your approach to help individuals become better?

SPEAKER_01 8:38

So, baseball was my sport of choice. It was the one that um helped me to navigate life and uh give me an opportunity to access college uh and also um to become a professional athlete and helped me develop a lot of social capital. Uh, for tennis, our daughter, oldest daughter, McKenzie, who um is a former Division I athlete. She played tennis at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She graduated number two in her class from Southern University in Baton Rouge. And then she did a fifth year at Georgia State University, uh, all uh playing tennis uh and maintaining over a 4.0 GPA. So um tennis is her sport of choice. Uh our youngest daughter, McKenna, plays tennis, and she's assumed to be Division I tennis player. And then our wife, Kelly, uh my wife Kelly, uh she's our she's our CEO of Lead, and so she has really developed into an outstanding tennis coach herself. So at the end of the day, when I wake up, I'm not really concerned about tennis whatsoever. I'm a huge baseball fan, and that's my connection. And uh for the ladies in the house, um tennis is theirs. But baseball is a sport that was invented um in America, in New York in 1845. And um here in America, the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, and Juneteenth was 1865, uh, finally uh freeing enslaved um African Americans. And so during that time, 1845 to 1865, African African Americans that were enslaved were playing this sport. And so when I think about the um atrocities um that my ancestors um went through uh and the trauma that they were experiencing, I would imagine Dan, just like now, being able to move and participate in a sport like baseball was a buffer amid all of that trauma. And so um there's scientific evidence that shows that um sport and movement is the antidote for um individuals that are experiencing trauma. So, you know, and also too here in America, just um with Jackie Robinson um being the first in the modern era to play baseball at the major league level as an African American in 1947. But many people don't know that in 1884, Moses Fleet Walker, an African-American man, made his major league debut in the major leagues as an African-American man. So we're talking about the sport being invented in 1845, Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884, and then Jackie Robinson in 1947. But baseball being an American sport and the very first sport that was invented by Americans, back then for sure, to not play baseball meant you weren't American. Uh and I and I and I feel like even now, if you've never, I'm not saying you have to be on an organized team and you have to play professionally, but baseball is an American thing. Uh you even if you're outside and you're just hitting rocks with a stick, uh, it's a it's a part of being American. And so the Negro Leagues, which was established in 1920, part of the Negro Leagues being established and black people fighting so hard to be a part of the game is because it would it allowed them to prove that they were American. So that's why we do baseball tennis. I don't

Why Tennis Matters For Girls

SPEAKER_01 12:26

have a whole lot of information as far as the the history is concerned with it, but it it is known by many as a country club elitist sport. Um, and there's a lot of barriers. And so, for what I love about black girls in our organization being able to play the sport is the volleying of the ball going back and forth is synonymous with um the volleying that's required even in debate. And so, even as we look at here in America, you know, we're uh as we're approaching the US presidential election, there's a lot of debate. And uh you got to be able to hold your own. And so, black girls at a very young age in our organization, when they go out and play against other girls of varying races and varying communities, and they're volleying back and forth. Um, cheating is a strategy. We don't want our girls to treat to cheat, but oftentimes their opponents do cheat. And if those, if their opponent is cheating, then you gotta understand how to advocate for yourself in a sport that doesn't have umpires and referees on the court. So our girls getting a chance to play tennis, understanding how to uh volley, um, how to um debate uh and do all of that and stand up for themselves. I mean, I think it's the best sport for girls and black girls here here in Atlanta.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

It's a wonderful sport for everyone, but for girls, particularly black girls. I wholeheartedly agree with you on that because it's one of my most favorite sports. Tennessee, one of my most favorite sports. I don't play anymore, but I I I could if I wanted to.

Social Capital Explained With Examples

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Now, you said that baseball helps you to gain social capital. That's an absolutely powerful statement, and I want you to expand or elaborate on it, please, for our listeners.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yep. So financial capital is money and social capital is relationships. And so for me, as an African-American man living in a racialized city and a racialized society, in a racialized country, in a racialized world, um, oftentimes black people are at the bottom of everything. And um me growing up, I got a chance to play baseball in front of uh Hank Aaron, uh, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, and several other civil rights leaders. And so these people were among the the middle and upper middle class, not only of African Americans, but of Americans and throughout the world. And so my family was not that. So my family, you know, definitely a working class uh family, but being on these baseball teams in middle class black communities, it allowed me to develop relationships with people where they can uh give me the benefit of the doubt, respect, and trust. And um so that context always preceded my content. My my context and those relationships always, well not always, often put me in the right place at the right time to get a yes or no. And it helped make sure that if I got a no, it wasn't because I was black, it was just simply because I wasn't good enough. And at the end of the day, that's all people can ask for and want. So that social capital piece, having someone who can mentor and sponsor you, who can coach you and advocate for you, um allows you to just really show up for me openly black and uh and my authentic self. And that's liberating for me. I get to just be me, and so that's what baseball did for me, and that's what we're doing for youth as well.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

I think it's very important that we are comfortable living in our own skin. If we're not, everything else falls apart. Talk

The Three Curveballs To Overcome

SPEAKER_02 16:45

to us about the three curveballs that lead to aims to help black youth learn.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Yeah, well, learn and overcome. You know, again, um if you're born in poverty in Atlanta, you have a three percent chance of making it out. And you know, you're you're in a city that's the number one currently for income inequality based on race in America. And so when I think about racism before it's about people, it's about power. And when we break down the power of it, it is influence, which is relationships, and affluence, which is money. And so um, when we get past the power structure and then we start to categorize people by race, you know, in any kind of race, there's a winner, there's a loser, there's a finish line, there's a start line. Um, and um with racism in America, there's barriers that even if we start at the same place and start on time, there's barriers that's gonna make it difficult if you're African-American, uh, to be able to win. And um, you know, for for us, you know, racism um is is more than an event, it's a structure, is more than name call calling, it's uh it's policies. So that said, we believe that racism is man-made. Um, we believe that poverty is man-made, and we believe that crime is a result of racism and poverty. So, in that sequence, racism causes poverty, poverty causes crime. And so for us as an organization, we have programming, and um, you know, for us beyond our programming, really working hard to have the the proper relationships, even the ones that will have an impact on policy to um minimize and call loud and fight against racist policies, policies that still exist in it here in Atlanta, and uh like redlining, uh gerrymandering, um, and and the the outcomes of poor education and poor health. So, you know, um fighting against those things. And so if we can fight against those things, then we can um minimize the the poverty that people will um have and be a part of. Again, going back to them becoming major league citizens, gainfully employed, civically engaged, and radical philanthropists. And if we can minimize the racism, we minimize your chances of being poor. And people don't wake up wanting to commit crimes. I mean, I know for me, I don't I have no desire to steal things, I have no desire to kill people, all those type things, but I'm also in a very privileged place where all the things that I need um to be alive and thrive. I'm I'm so I'm so busy uh enjoying those things that I don't need to worry about killing somebody. So, but but we do have racist policies and structures in place that intentionally um makes it difficult for people to be employed and properly housed and properly educated that will dysregulate them so that they do wake up trying to commit crimes to live life.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

You made what I consider to be a very profound, as a matter of fact, you are making some profound statements that are lingering with me, and I need to process and I need to ingest.

Do People Wake Up Racist

SPEAKER_00 20:31

But the one that I want to raise with you right now is a statement. You don't wake up intending to commit a crime. Do people wake up intending to be racist?

SPEAKER_01 20:45

Yeah, I think so. I mean, here in America, if we're looking at racists, black and white, and we're looking at how people are educated in this country. I I I've never been white, I have no desire to be white, I love being black. I think that if you were born white in America and you are studying history books that says that Christopher Columbus founded America, um and things of that such, then I I I think it's very easy to look at African American people in a negative light. If you look at the way African Americans are living and you look at the history as it portrays uh white people, so if I believe that there are millions of white people that look down on African American people um without giving them the giving them the benefit of the doubt, respect and trust. And so with that being said, and having a superiority mindset, then yes, they there are white people that wake up to feel their way. Now, I have relationships. With people where I show up openly black, and we create a brave space so they can show up openly white, and they do admit that they think negatively about um black people. And even for me, I mean, my my thoughts of negativity towards white people had to be put in check by categorizing the distinction between white supremacy and being white. So I hate white supremacy, I don't hate all white people, however, uh when it comes down to racism, what I tell white people is it's not your fault, but it is your fight. So, you know, it's just but and then I'll also make it even about me. I I don't wake up thinking about the plight and rights of women. I wake up thinking about the plight and rights of men, and then even specifically black men, because I'm a black man, and so there are a lot of times, especially with my black wife, where she has to convict me and say, You need to be looking at this from the perspective of women, but just the fact of the matter is um we all have prejudice, and that prejudice is healthy until it gets to a point where we are making it difficult and impossible for people to live a good life based on their gender, based on their race, based on their religion.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Thank you. I think you brought up an excellent point, and I think that has been magnified by the election. That was one of the things that Kamala has been emphasizing, uh, is how men versus women and how a lot of black men are kind of reluctant to vote for her, and having to find a way to connect with men and to be able to show them the importance of their voice and how they should use it, of course, she suggests. So,

Conviction Versus Guilt In Growth

SPEAKER_02 24:33

how does lead help in the social, emotional development of youth?

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Yeah, so again, those capacities that we focus on are um academic self-efficacy, positive identity, uh, self-management, social skills, um, things of that nature. But but even just touching on the one for a positive identity, even as we connect it to uh the political environment. So we got we got two choices. We can we can make people feel guilty or we can convict them. Uh making people feel guilty is paralyzing, and convicting people is empowering. Uh the fact of the matter is I'm in a very good place right now in 2024, but prior to 2015, I've um in 2014 I got accepted into a cohort in Atlanta called Leadership Atlanta, and I graduated in 2015. When I went into this cohort, they're educating us about um Atlanta and educating us about things with regard to um education, uh race relations, health, um a vast array of things. And so we're we're getting under the hood and finding out some facts. And so I went into Leadership Atlanta that year, struggling with being openly black, struggling with um having women in positions of power over me, and also struggling with relationships with um, you know, people that were gay and lesbian. And I had a very convicting experience that entire year, and I left out feeling good about being openly black, uh, having no more issue with women being in position of power over me, and and actually being able to have uh authentic relationships with people that were gay and lesbian. And um, and so I was convicted at the heart, and it really got me connected to um um a better way of living, a better way of thinking, um, the ability to ask questions before making statements. So, from a positive identity standpoint, the bottom line is this I know what it's like to be misogynistic. Um, and it is um it's not good. I mean, but I was I was I was raised that way, not intentionally, but you know, it was just like as I looked around, you know, women were doing those type things, and men were doing these type things, men were leading, and and we had some we had some men that were that were fools that were leading the way. And so it's kind of like, you know, it's like, why would I not have this woman who's a a who's more fit mentally, physically, socially to lead all because we gotta have a man. So I I struggle with that for about a year, and I'm I'm only in a good place because of that. So we share that even with the children that we that we're with. And uh again, we're not trying to make them feel guilty, but we are trying to convict them at the heart, have some some dialogue. Um it's it's not a discussion, it's not a directive, but let me hear your story, and that's how we process things, even including the election.

SPEAKER_00 28:11

You you talked about the difference between helping people to be convicted or making them feel guilty. But both of them require so much energy. Sometimes they could be energy draining. Either choosing to help people to become convicted, and we know that making people feel guilty shouldn't be our goal because it's not healthy for anyone, not healthy at all. And so, what I'm hearing you say is there's been a bit of a mindset shift on your part, uh kind of transformation based on the program that you were involved with. And and I applaud you, I congratulate you for that.

Pathways To Empowerment In Practice

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Talk to us a little bit about the pathways to program. How does that work?

SPEAKER_01 29:12

The pathways to um empowerment?

SPEAKER_00 29:15

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

Okay, yep. So um we we have year-round programming, and uh everything that we do uh starts with assessment. So we have three months throughout the year, and we work on like a calendar year uh with the school system starting in August, where we are uh assessing students, just um finding out for them what works, what doesn't work in the classroom and on the on the field or tennis court. We we aren't a school, so we aren't um going in and trying to help them with their schoolwork, but again, athletics does build academic self-efficacy. Then for three months, we go into an engagement process. So now we're teaching you things based on what we know doesn't work and what does work. Then we go into three months where it's an empowerment phase where we're giving you responsibility and authority, and then we end the year with three months of an application phase where uh they are in charge of um doing a lot of things. That empowerment phase is it works out really nicely because up until that point, many of them have never played baseball or played tennis. And so we're really pouring into them and educating them and even backing up further, that assessment phase, you know, rather than us saying, you know, hold the racket, the tennis racket like this and do this. It's just I'm just gonna toss you a ball and just hit it. I don't care if you hit it over the fence, I don't care, you just just hit it. Because they may hold it wrong, but consistently are hitting the ball in. Um, and then we'll move to that engagement phase where now it is, okay, I've seen you for three months, hit balls with no control, no spin. You you are not effective doing it the way you're doing it. So now I'm gonna engage you and teach you. And then when we move to that empowerment phase, so now we're gonna actually start to go and have some competition where you can put into practice what you've been working on. But empowerment to us means you have responsibility and authority. And then that application phase, I mean, it's like, hey, listen, we're showing up to win now. Like this is this is uh where we are. So uh that pathway to empowerment is so important because we want to get them at a starting point, but we want to get we want to empower them um to put into action. But that's a lot like mentorship as well, too. And unfortunately, what we have here in Atlanta is we have a lot of people that really believe in the the power of mentorship to a fault. And I say to a fault because um mentorship is the floor, not the ceiling. We we got folks here that think that mentorship is like the ceiling. Well, after you mentor me, now you gotta you gotta empower me to put it into action. And you have to protect me. So even for black youth that's in the city of Atlanta, by all means, if you have a white person that wants to be your mentor, that's great. Uh in fact, that's that would be advantageous. I mean, we've had, I still have white people that um will sponsor me and advocate for me after mentoring me. So now I'm ready to go into rooms that I otherwise wouldn't go into. And because you're my sponsor and you're my advocate, you're gonna make sure that people listen to me. So um that's kind of how the program designed. I

Mentorship Is The Floor Not Ceiling

SPEAKER_01 32:42

do want to go back also to just to talk about uh when you talked about the energy required um for dealing with people and making them when it make not making them feel guilty and not empowering them. I am I'm 48, and when I turned 48, we had dinner, and um my wife asked me and had our three daughters, two daughters um with us with me at the dinner table. And Kelly, my wife, said, Well, CJ, you got any words of wisdom for the girls? And it was it caught me off guard, and and I said, Okay, I got I got three things. I can't remember what the third thing was, but the the first thing I said was um don't ever die in the presence of a fool. Um, the second thing was marry well, and I can't remember what the third one of so here's how I look at things, even when it talks about my energy. Uh the the the Bible speaks of a fool and it talks about the companion of fools suffer harm. So foolish people are stupid people, so to be stupid is to know the right thing to do, but not do it. And struggling people are making mistakes out of ignorance while trying to be successful. Success is achieving a goal, and significance is using your success to serve others. So I'm not gonna use any energy with stupid people because, like I said, I don't want to die in the presence of a fool. So if you are stupid and if you are a fool, like you're gonna be stuck, and I'm not trying to convince you anything. Matter of fact, I'm trying to stay away from you. So, but people that are struggling, that are making mistakes out of ignorance, like ignorance, not stupid, then we can have dialogue, we can have debate, we can have some discussions. And the bridge between being stupid and struggle is humility. So not thinking less than of yourself, but thinking of others more than yourself. So that's how I protect myself. It's like I I label you as stupid, which means there's nothing for us to talk about, and vice versa. You know, I'm I'm in my place of stupidity sometimes, and it and if I'm being stupid and you waste your time trying to change my mind, the Bible said a companion of fools suffer harm. So you're you're gonna be destroyed with me. So that's my mindset. Well, okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:10

Got it.

SPEAKER_02 35:13

We've

Transforming Atlanta Through Citizens

SPEAKER_02 35:14

been talking a lot about transformation, and if kids are fortunate enough to be inducted into your system, which transforms them, how does lead aim to transform the city of Atlanta?

SPEAKER_01 35:36

Yeah, so transform people, transform people. And here in Atlanta, as I've stated a few times, if you're born in poverty in the city of Atlanta, you have a 3% chance of making it out. So that's like the same um low percentage of becoming a professional athlete. And uh in most things, I mean, you have a very slim chance of becoming an astronaut. Heck, you have a very slim chance of becoming a doctor, lawyer, or anything. And so when we just when we look at that and we look at those issues, uh, we need transformation um here in the city of Atlanta. And so our plan is to use our programming to develop major league citizens. Again, major league citizens are gainfully employed, civically engaged, and radical for Atlantic. If we develop uh a legion of Major League citizens, then many of them are gonna grow up to become uh our politicians, business owners, clergy, uh positions of significance and be African American. And here in Atlanta, we have what's called the Atlanta Way. It's a handshake agreement that came out of the civil rights movement that essentially said that all business goes to white people and all politics goes to black people. And so we've had several black mayors here in our city, starting with um Maynard Jackson. And so uh, as we look to transform Atlanta, um to be able to develop African American children that become consequential African American leaders, that changes things for the outcome of African American children. So even here in this city, the cradle of the civil rights movement in Atlanta, we have African American children in our Atlanta public school system that are performing lower than non-English speaking students. And so that is uh unacceptable because of a um a race of people, African Americans, that have for decades have been disenfranchised and marginalized. And we don't we don't do this in a vacuum with just African Americans. We have several white people that are a part of um our lead programming. We have um when we talk about social skills um throughout that pathway to empowerment, um, specifically when we get to the empowerment phase, uh we have uh our over 250 um annual um cohort of students that are starting to engage with white people within that empowerment phase after going from assessment to engagement. And then by the time we get to the application phase, I mean they're showing up full confidence. I'll give you a prime example. Um, by the time we get to the summer, we have what's called uh bankhead with buckhead. So here in uh the city of Atlanta, we have a zip code 30318, which I was born and reared in. And I was from the bankhead community, which is mostly black and poor. And then 30318 in Buckhead is mostly white and wealthy. So the gap between those two communities is the largest in America based on race. So we do programming in 30318. We also do some programming throughout the year where we're teaching our principals for Lee Center for Youth to white children in Buckhead. And then in the summertime, we bring those white children together uh for a self-officiated baseball game. So imagine eight-year-old black boys and eight-year-old white boys showing up thinking that it's gonna be bankhead against Buckhead, and then we combine them and they they they combine teams. Uh, and so uh that's a lot of fun. But when I look at the future of this city and when it's operating at excellence, my wife Kelly and I want to make sure that the story is told in the spirit of truth and our names are mentioned. We have an obligation to make sure that when this city is completely transformed and all people, starting with African American people, get a chance to live healthy and whole lives, that our name is mentioned. So some people will say it doesn't matter who gets the credit. For us, we want the credit and we want God to get the glory. But I want all the credit for all the things we do.

SPEAKER_00 40:06

Hence, Speak Up International, that is their purpose for you to tell your story and for your story to be archived. So when younger generations are researching people who have changed their communities, they find your name and your wife's name. So you're doing exactly what we're hoping to do with Speak Up International. So

What Civic Engagement Looks Like

SPEAKER_00 40:29

when an individual becomes civically engaged, how do they behave?

SPEAKER_01 40:37

Your life becomes a lot more consequential. You you move from being alive to living. Um you understand the importance of voting, even if um even if you don't think your vote counts, you start to really understand um the voting process. Um, you start to respect others. So, you know, one I'm not so I don't represent all African American people, but I know what it what it means to be an African American man. And for me to for me to consider black women, white women, Asian men, and other people, that's gonna require a level of humility. Not thinking less than myself, but thinking of others more than myself. So when you become civically engaged, you have a different mindset where you're looking at life totally different. You actually have the mental capacity and the emotional capacity to say thank you. Uh, you have the emotional capacity to to be thoughtful, and and that's privileged. I mean, if you wake up, if you wake up in the morning and you're thoughtful and considerate, can consider yourself privileged because not everybody is living a life where um they have the capacity to do that.

SPEAKER_02 41:58

Martin Luther King summed that up when he said uh black kids would be able to play with white kids. I think that was really an important part of his vision, and it seems like your organization helps black youth interact with individuals outside of their blackness, and I think that's very I think that's very important.

Closing Thanks And How To Connect

SPEAKER_02 42:38

I want to say thank you for allowing us to have this conversation with you. We got to talk a little bit about lead, uh, we could probably talk about that alone for at least another hour and a half. We talked about how lead helps kids overcome obstacles that may or may not be inherent, and it's important to identify these things and to help them, and you guys help them through the use of baseball and tennis, and there's a whole lot of stuff that's going on when you're playing these sports, and it's not just whacking that ball, but you also have to use your mind and body to be able to win or at least walk away feeling good about yourself as you're performing this feat. So thank you so much. And when your next chapter begins, please come back to us. We would love to hear it and have an opportunity to have a conversation with you. And we wish you all the best in Atlanta and my My fingers are crossed, hoping that the right individual becomes our next president. And uh not and not the and not one that's going to cause obstacles for our people and other marginalized individuals.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

So thank you so much. My pleasure. Thank you all. I appreciate the great questions and the concerns. They are a gift. And um, you know, it just really allows me to come on and have a good time as well. And um these questions and me being able to respond helps build my confidence so I can do the work that I need to do. So thank you all.

SPEAKER_00 44:42

You know, I have about a million more questions I want to ask you, based primarily on what some of the things that you said. So as Delton extended the invitation to come the next time, the invitation is open. I never heard the term openly black. I like it, and I'm gonna research it. Openly black. I thought we were just openly black, but you you you brought new meaning to that for me, and I appreciate that. And what's the other thing? Positive identity. I don't know what it means, but next time we'll have you expand on that a little bit more for us. Next time. But I know you have a hard stop, so we're gonna let you go. But I thank you, I thank you, I thank you so much for blessing us with your presence here today.

SPEAKER_01 45:24

My pleasure, and then maybe next time we come on, we can have one of our students come on with us as well. Excellent. So that'll be good. So let's let's stay in touch to make that happen.

SPEAKER_00 45:34

Wonderful. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

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