Black theater, Perception 3, and community youth programs

When I first met Barack, I was ready for some change. I thought that John McCain was just some more of the same. Well, I didn't know four years ago was that change come slow. It took 400 years to free the slaves. Lord, I hope they're resting easy in their graves. Cause the one thing in America that we all know is that change comes slow. Change comes slow. Hey, Barack, I know you tried to compromise, but you won't get nowhere with some of them guys. I know we got a long, long way to go when that change comes slow. It took 400 years to free the slaves. Lord, I hope they're resting easy in their graves. Cause the one thing in America we all know is that change comes slow. Change comes slow. So Barack Obama, keep on doing what you do. Keep cleaning up the mess that he left for you. Change comes slow by S.S. Jones. Welcome to the Qumran Report. May the peace and blessings of the life-giving creative spirit be upon you and upon your family. My name is Melvin Ishmael Johnson. Coming at you live from Skid Row Studios. And I'm in the studio. With my co-host, Earlene Anthony. Our call in number is 1-800-893-9562. And sitting in with us tonight, a special guest, Julio Hanson. Yes, sir. A.K.A. Paul Lawrence Dunbar. That's right. In the magnificent Dunbar. I'm back and I'm everywhere. And Ms. Mella over there joining us again in the studio. Welcome to the Qumran Report. Thank you for having me. Now, this week on the Qumran Report, here are some community voices from 2014. And I also look forward to the year 2015. But first, we have on the line, Tanook from the Perceptions 3 Theater Company. Tanook, welcome to the Qumran Report. Thank you so much. It's so good to hear all you guys' voices. Happy New Year to all of you. Oh, yeah. Happy New Year. Hey, can you tell, first of all, can you tell our listening audience a little about your organization? And also about the event that you have coming up this weekend? Sure. We have the Theater Perception Consortium. And under the umbrella of our production company, Theater Perception Consortium, we have a foundation called Perception 3 Foundation. The event that will be taking place this weekend will be used as a fundraiser. It will be used as a fundraiser to raise funds for our operators. And we're also part of the Perception 3 Foundation because the money that we raise, we use to do an arts program with disadvantaged youth, students in the schools, and the churches and any other organizations. So we've been trying to raise money to keep the program going because we found that the children who do participate, they thoroughly enjoy it. And it also gives them an avenue and a way to have a voice on stage. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. and at the final performance. The young man came out and recited this poem that was fantastic. And he never said anything throughout the whole time we were doing that after-school program with those students. And you worked a lot in the Englewood area, right? Right. At this particular time, we were at Englewood High School. And we've also worked at Manchester Avenue Elementary School with theater arts with the students. And they thoroughly enjoyed it. So we want to keep the program going. And so we're trying to raise money to keep our program going so that we can offer an arts program to students throughout the community. Okay. Can you tell us all of the details about the event coming up? Yes. The event coming up is called Howling Blues and Dirty Dogs, The Life of Big Mama Thornton. And we just recently won NAACP Theater Award for the best female lead in this show. And it was Keturah Baker. And the show will take place on Saturday, January the 10th, at 7.30 p.m. and January the 11th, Sunday, at 4 p.m. The address is 10950 South Central Avenue. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. interested in tickets, the information number is 323-552-8283. Mm-hmm. Wonderful. This particular piece is very interesting because we're basically historical writers, and we found writing this piece was very, very interesting. This lady's life was very unusual, but yet very interesting. She started out 14 years old singing in a club. Nobody knew that she was 14 years old because of her height and how big she was. But I think this show really will show the true life of what Big Mama Thornton went through all the way to the end of her life. Wonderful. So again, Holland Blues and Dirty Dog. Yeah. And it was backed by popular demand, okay? Hi, Tanook. This is Mellow Desire. How are you? Hi, Desire. How are you doing? Good to see you. Good to hear from you. I didn't even know that you would be on the show tonight, but it's great to hear from you. Definitely wonderful theater company and been there many times, and so glad for you to join us. They also had the production about Fannie Lou Hamer. Yes, that's right. That was the last show we saw. Yes. It was wonderful. That particular show will be coming up very shortly, where it will be, and the time is to be determined shortly. We are looking forward to bringing Sick and Tired to the Freedom Journey of Fannie Lou Hamer back, celebrating Women's Month and things that women have done. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. rights to vote. And Fannie Lou Hamer was falsely charged in jail and savagely beaten by the police because she stood firm to make a change to see that the people in Mississippi got the right to vote. This lady put her life on the line. So this particular show will be coming back possibly the end of February. But anyone needing any more information about the show, they can call the number 323-552-8283 and get an update as to when the show will actually be taking place. Now, let me ask you this. Did you get a chance? Did you get a chance to come out and see the magnificent Dunbar Hotel? No, I didn't. I apologize. I did not get a chance to come out and see that show. Yeah, because I know you guys did some a few little things at the Dunbar Hotel. And one of the guests we have sitting here, he played Julio Hanson. He played Paul Lawrence Dunbar in the magnificent Dunbar Hotel. Hey there. How you doing? Yes. Okay. Hi, how are you? Hi, how are you? I'm doing well. Well, you know, I'm just excited that you, that Inglewood's being put on the map right now because I'm from Inglewood. Woo woo! Inglewood, yeah. So, you know, I grew up as a child seeing a lot of empty theaters, unfortunately. I'm in the city, a lot of empty, empty establishments and I'm glad that, you know, somebody's taking notice of what's happening in my city and bringing some some great stuff. Well, I tell you this, right now, we do not have a space anymore because of some permit issues with the city. Oh, well, let me start making my calls. Get out! Yeah, we're gonna be on that. The space off of... Yeah, I mean... ...the one that you had off of La Brea, that one is gone? that you had off of La Brea. That one is gone? Yes. You won't believe what happened. It was very interesting. We're going to have to get you guys into the station so we can talk about that. Yes. Let me ask you this about Tanu. What are your thoughts about the status of black theater in Los Angeles? The status of black theater in Los Angeles? Yeah, what are your thoughts on the status of black theater in Los Angeles? I think there are quite a few black theater production companies that are working hard to keep the art alive within the community. I know that it gives a voice. What's the biggest challenge for the black theater companies here in Los Angeles? What do you think the biggest challenge? Money. Resources. Money to be able to number one, have your independent, have your own theater. You know, your own space where you can do your own shows as well as other theater companies coming in if they don't have a venue to their own venue to put on production. But I think black theater can flourish here in Los Angeles but because of such a film town, it makes it sort of difficult for black theater to move forward. And I've noticed that say your big theaters like the Fantagious and the Kirk Douglas and the Mark Tabor, a lot of those productions how should I put this? They're not original. They're someone else's piece. Go ahead and say it. Preach. I know what you're saying. I know exactly what you're saying. Yeah, that a director has taken and put his own vision on it whereas as opposed to black theater, what I have seen with black theater in Los Angeles, everything is original. Original. It's original and I find that very very interesting as well as very good for black theater because you're not taking someone else's piece and making it your own the way you want to see it. You're using your own originality, your own original thoughts, your own creative processes to put into motion something that you're not copying from someone else. Let me ask you one more question. What are your thoughts on a national black theater company? This is something that we're going to talk about a little tonight. What are your thoughts about that? The need for a national black theater company? The need for a national black theater company? Well, you know there is one. You do know in South Carolina, in Salem, South Carolina. Or in North Carolina. The national black theater company? Yeah, but I consider that just like being one little local theater company. I'm thinking You're talking about national throughout. I hear what you're saying. Yeah, I'm talking about what we had in the 30s for about six years. We had, when the United States had a national theater company called the Federal Theater Project and the Negro Theater was part of that financed by the federal government. We had it for about six years. It was in all of your major cities. Some great productions came out of that, but they closed it after six years because they thought the Federal Theater Project had too many communists in it. But that's one of the things. I hear what you're saying. I think there should be a national theater company. Yes, there should definitely be a national theater company and it should be able to branch off to the point that it is encouraging and helping theater companies in the various major cities move forward with what they have to offer. To the community and to the public at large. Exactly. That national theater company also could lend itself towards letting there be more cohesiveness between black theater companies and the art that they are creating as well as connections, networking with each other to see that everybody's project is moving forward. There's some form of help being taking place to help these theater companies go to their fullest potential. Exactly. Because I think we had the pattern when we had the Negro Theater Company is the fact that it was in every city connected to all your major cities. They could tour from one city to the next. And the difference is that it was, of course, financed by the federal government. And but this is maybe one of these times we get you in a guy's up on the show so we can talk about that. We're going to talk a little about it tonight, though. Yes. Now, can you once again? I just want to ask her real quick because you mentioned it about to nuke about the lack of money. And it's funny because I've been really thinking about this issue a lot lately. And I had a conversation with a good friend of mine today about how I would like to see black film or theater be really complex and in depth and take take on other issues. Right. And I think that all that all that Hollywood is showing us right now are the same types of things that that we're known for. We're known for being funny. We're known for being fun or but, you know, what about those stealing dance? Yeah. So and you mentioned that lack of money. But is there something I guess my question is, is there something else that you feel is keeping us? Let's say we do have the money. What else could be keeping? Us from putting out those projects that that, you know, go against the grain or that are just abstracted that they really, really unique and uniquely ours to that's a big question. I can answer that if you can't know you have to stand up for what you believe in no matter what. Yeah. So you my thing is you can't. You can't sit back and say, oh, I can't do this. This is not going to happen for me because I don't have the money. My thing is, as long as you have a strong faith in believing that you can make this happen, it will happen. And you have to have cohesive teamwork. There has to be interconnection with other companies as well as as well as the actors and actresses, you know, the person who's directing the piece. There has to be teamwork and everybody. It has to be on the same page. You know, a lot of people, I hate to use this word, but I'll use it anyway. Some people demotivate themselves to the point that they are not focused where they really need to go in theater or with whatever project that they're doing. Wow. So a lack of money, lack of money. My thing is the money will come if you're putting out a good product. You're putting out a good product, you stand true to the art. The money will come. Your passion, I have to say this too, your passion has to really be there. Your passion has to be there. It has to be no matter what, this is going to take place. And that has been something that has really propelled me, Carla, and Larry to move forward because I'm one of three business partners and we write collaboratively and we work very hard to be on the same page. That's not to say that people have their disagreements or what they think. Something will know it should be like this, it should be like that. And another thing, people have to be flexible, flexible and not taking anything personal when it comes to working in theater, mounting a production, working with people. Okay. Now, Carla, you know, I would love to get you, Larry, and I mean, Tanook, I would love to get you, Larry, and Carla in here during February on one of these Mondays so we can sit down and talk about the organization in detail. We love the history and all of that. So thank you very much and we're going to make the announcement again. We're going to read the press release. We're going to look at the latter part of the show and give out all of the information again. Okay. Thank you so kindly for having me on your show. I will discuss with Carla and Larry. We would love to come to your show in February and be on your panel and discuss whatever. Okay? Wonderful. We're going to talk about black theater. Thank you, Carla. Thank you. Thank you to Newt. Happy New Year. Thank you and it was so nice talking to each and every one of you. Have a pleasant evening. You too. Bye-bye. Okay. Thank you to Newt. As I mentioned, we're going to announce the event again at the latter part of the show. Now since we're talking about theater and entertainment in Los Angeles, I'd like to play a clip from veteran film and stage actor David McKnight about the business of show business and we'll come back and discuss it. Okay. I think your question is what is my opinion that upstart actors, struggling actors so to speak, new coming actors, what can they do to gain more employment in Hollywood? Is that what your question is? Exactly. Okay. I would say that to develop their professionalism, you know, study as much as you can, understand also that it's a business and that's one of the most difficult sides of it is the business. A lot of people have talent. A lot of people have talent and the ability to perform, the ability to do a job. One of the things that they may fall short on is the business aspect of it because it is a business and there's so many things that you have to do on the business side in order to gain employment. So you have to seek out and understand what the business side is. Become familiar with your union, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio, and all of that stuff. And also Actors Equity Association. Find out about these unions and how they protect you and so forth. Find out about casting directors and agents and stuff like that. Find out what it is that they do, how you have to work with them, and how you have to be professional with them and so forth in order to sustain and maintain employment in the industry. That business side is very important once you get your talent straight. Okay. Jamal. Alright, let's talk about the comments on what David was talking about because I guess that's why they have business at the end of show business to let you know that, hey, this is a business. What are your thoughts on that? You're so right because I've been, I consider myself a professional. I've worked in music and television and film and theater. Fortunately, I've had those experiences. But I can't say I was always a businessman. I was not a business person. I was not always business. Until lately in my life, I've begun to see my artistry as a business. I've had my cards made. Simple things like that. Having your cards made. Having your website done. Having something to shop as far as music is. I'm working on my project as far as music as well. So having my CDs done and having my songs done so I can show somebody that, yeah, I do really sing. And only lately have I been really business. And unfortunately, well, not unfortunately. Hey, it's never too late to kind of get your business in order. At least I believe that. So I think what he's saying rings really true. Because you gotta, number one, there's a lot of people coming up now. Unfortunately, the younger people are getting more hip to this than it is a business. A lot of them. So if you're older, you know, like us, these kids are coming up knowing stuff that we didn't even, having the idea of. So we gotta really be on our business because there's people coming up all around us, you know, that have their business in order. Or getting it in order. Exactly. No matter what you do, there's always someone that does twice as much. They're just probably not at the right place at the right time. So we always have to show our A game. Be very serious because you don't know who you're gonna meet. And always be ready. So Mr. McKnight was on point. You gotta really be on the game. Really be on your, your A game. One thing. What do you think he's talking about? Your thoughts on what he's talking about? Knowing everything about the unions that represent you? It's very important that you know who's in your field. For example, if you want to be a director and you don't know maybe the top three directors of all time, maybe you have to do your research. So you can't really be an effective actor, I would say, so to speak, if you don't know all the aspects of acting that include the union, if you're taking union gigs. If you want to be independent, that's a different story. But it's always good to educate yourself and know what's out there that will be working for you and not against you in the long run. Because a lot of artists, they've been taken advantage of because they don't read the dotted line on the contract or they're not following through on everything they need to do to protect themselves. So they definitely need to educate what's out there as a group to help protect the field, to feel that they're in the craft that they want to go into. Mm-hmm. And you know, it's also forever changing, which is the crazy part. Because what I used to think I knew 10 years ago, now it's changed. Because I mean, at least for music, and I know for film and TV, I'm sure it's changing just as much. You know, theater, I guess not so much because it's more of a, it's a live thing. But when you become into, when you start recording and starting selling and getting to all the, you know, into all the products and all that stuff, that stuff is constantly changing. That's the crazy part about it all. And seeing one thing about theater, if you remember when television first came on the scene in the 50s, you had to transition between the stage actors and they, what was it, Hallmark? There was a drop off there. Yeah, they used to have, they used to do these live theater events and see, and the audience was hungry for that. Mm-hmm. And I think we're gonna have to start thinking in terms of that as technology, because that was new on the scene in terms of how the old theater concept was mixing in with the new thing that they call television. Because they had already did it on radio. That's what we did. So far, it's old. That's what we did in the play, you know, the magnificent Dunbar Hotel, and Ben Guillory and Levy Lee, they really geniusly crafted this play to include multi-media. You know, showing the 1941 Pearl Harbor, showing the Dunbar Hotel, and then mixing it with stage theater. So that's what, that's, I mean, we have to. Now I'm really upset I didn't see it. Thank you, Mel. I just gave it away? Oh, no. Spoiler alert. Oh, no. It's all right. Look, let me say this. We're headed to the international market anyway. Yeah. Right, so you'll see it again. Last month, we had an in-studio visit from some of the actors from the magnificent Dunbar Hotel. And I think, you know, we're gonna have to, you know, we just finished 29 sellout performance Yay! at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Mm-hmm. Roby Theater Company, baby. Yep, and we discussed the possibility of a national black theater company. Miss Bella, you were sitting in here. Yes, I was. And I would like to play what I thought was an outstanding response from Kim Sanders. What's up, Kim? Yeah, he played Jack Johnson. Yeah, he was Jack Johnson. And I asked him what it would take to make this national theater company. Yeah. Well, at the core of the black experience Mm-hmm. is being able to think holistically. At the core of the African experience is the ability to think holistically. And even though Du Bois was saying at the starting point it was about the playwrights, he still had a holistic agenda. Mm-hmm. And actors wouldn't have been left out. He was trying to put together a structure so that we could develop a systemic way of sustaining the culture. Mm-hmm. And I think that's what we're gonna do. Yeah. So, I think that's what we're gonna do. Yeah. So, I think that's what we're gonna do. Yeah. So, I think that's what we're gonna do. Yeah. So, I think that's what we're gonna do. Yeah. So, I think that's what we're gonna do. Mm-hmm. When you are exposed, it's very seductive. Actors were on stage. They were very, they were, it's very seductive when you're getting a lot of attention. And I would assume that that probably had something to do with the split. Mm-hmm. You know, this desire to be seen. Mm-hmm. As opposed to the desire to maintain the integrity of the mission. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know, this desire to be seen as opposed to the desire to maintain the integrity of the mission. And we still have to be mindful of that today because there will still be those systemic seductive elements out there to try to split up agendas, split up missions. And if we don't have the discipline to recognize that, then we won't have any more success than they did. And we have to be, you know, mature enough to avoid infighting. We have to be mature enough to avoid infighting. It has nothing to do with us disrespecting your individualistic way of thinking. But if you want to collaborate, then there has to be some humility. There has to be some listening, teaching, silence, educating, all happening at once. And what we tend to do is we get lost in. What is first? As opposed to saying that's first in a particular perspective. But that's not discounting second, third, fourth or fifth, because they're all pieces to the puzzle. I think along with grant writing, you're going to need to like appeal to those who have economic power that are not a part of the government. Yes. Look like us. Don't look like us. Yes. We're committed to humanity, committed to children, committed to women's rights. Mm hmm. And all of those people need to be addressed at the exact same time. And we need to be careful about pushing each other away, saying that their ideas don't matter. And we also need to, like, listen to the youth and ask them what are good ideas and how can those ideas be implemented? Because sometimes the older innkeepers don't want to sit down and let the youth be energetic and use that vibrancy and creativity. Mm hmm. And sometimes the youth don't want to sit down and listen and establish their powers and their creativity and their discipline. And so they go out there and it's easy for them to be figured out and they become a casualty. And all of that talent is wasted. Mm hmm. So there needs to be a lot of internal work on every person to understand the importance of buying into a collective agenda. Mm hmm. Because that's who we are as a people. Mm hmm. That's right. Yeah. And I thought that was so profound. Wow. And what Kim was talking about. Kim be speaking, boy. Y'all don't have no idea. We'd be in the dressing room and Kim be just, he'd be. Dropping out knowledge. Dropping out knowledge. Kim, where's the book? You better write that book, boy. Yeah. He's a certified, licensed therapist. So he knows what he's talking about. So what are your thoughts on what he's talking about? Can you add to that? Right. I mean, he said it all. Basically, we have to learn. We have to learn to even humble ourselves to work together, to get past our egos, to say, well, it's not about me. It's about this. It's about the project. It's not about what I can do. It's about what will benefit best for this project. And that's how we miss the mark. We always put ourselves in there, not understanding that we're part of the body. One is an arm. Another person's a leg. You know, you cannot expect to pick up a gun. You cannot expect to pick up something with your foot. Let the foot do that. But we kind of boggle ourselves by saying, no, everything has to be in one pot. And this is how it has to go or else. And that's how we shoot our blessings down before it even starts sometimes. I agree. And, you know, the other that is so powerful. Where's your book? Right. But the other thing he said, too, and I connected with Kim a lot because he and I both work in education. He's a therapist and I am a teacher. I'm a teacher coach, teacher trainer. Love it. Yeah. So but we connected on that fact that, you know, a lot of kids in our schools that need us to hold them by the hand, not push them, not push them back and not push them forward, but just hold them by the hand. And I see it every single day that, I mean, if I could just get all the teachers in one room and say, you know what? Some students need more than just a book, an open book in front of their face. They need. I want you to connect with them and see who they are first before you even try to teach somebody. Hold them by the hand and find out who you're dealing with. And Kim mentioned that. He says, you know what? The youth, I mean, the older people don't want to just sit down and look and see what's going on. This stuff is changing around us. Yeah. Everything is so microwave right now. But, you know, when you have something like the Internet and iPads and iPhones and everything is so quick. They get lost in that. It's like the interaction of live theater. That's why it's so important to connect with live theater. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Take yourself into a world that the computer cannot. And so that interaction of the child wanting to be touched, talked to, that's what we're really crying for. But we keep shoving these electronics and say, yeah, babysit the kid. And then, you know, we can't expect the results to be the way that it is. Well, let me ask you this. Now, how do we cut into the gap? I know when I was coming up and the generation before us, they really forced us towards reading. Right. And we have more information. We're more informed than the people that got access to information. They can punch up a button now and have all of this information in their hand, but yet and still you can mention certain books that they should be familiar with. And it's like talking. Yeah. So how do we bridge that gap in terms of making them use technology the right way? Well, it's kind of, I wouldn't say it's too late to come up with a new solution because we're already in the fire, basically. The access to computers right now is so normal to us now that it would seem strange any other way. I just think we just need to introduce books in a fun way and in a new way. Old school, I'm so for old school no matter what it is because there was something original there that started back in the day that still works if we just go back. To how we taught each other, how we communicated. There really is no quick secret, I think, to have a kid read a book. It's really just have that option presented to them more often than so. And I tend to think that it's, I had to think about that question because that is such a good question. I tend to think that it's less about reading the book than it is about understanding the purpose of the book. And I think that if we teach children, to understand that each person who writes a book has a certain purpose. Each person that writes a play has a purpose, writes a song. There's a purpose behind it. And that that child, they have a purpose in their life. So if you connect all that together, I think that's more the key than, I mean, because there's certain stories that, you know, I'm around certain people that they say, oh, yeah, we read such and such and such and we read this and this. And I have to sit back and I close my mouth because I didn't read that stuff. And I could have read it. I think I'm intelligent, pretty intelligent. But I didn't read them, you know. And I don't know whose fault that is. My parents are very intelligent. My father was a teacher. My mother is very intelligent. And they brought us, my mother and father were always there. You know, they put us in good schools or whatever. And, but there's certain stuff that I still miss out on. But what I'm getting now in my, as I grow in life too, I'm understanding that it's not so much that I didn't read those books, but trying to understand what those authors and those men and women were trying to say that came before me so that I can at least connect with them. Connect, you know, connect spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, wherever, you know. Yeah, I think literary classes, writing classes, the history of film, these are certain classes I remember when I got my master's that I had to take these, at the time, I didn't think they were important. I was like, theory of film? Why do I have to learn about the theory? But I realized it brought to me a different understanding of the film that other filmmakers may not understand. And it's finding the history of something that brings meaning to... To the product now. So if you tell a kid here, read Huckleberry Finn. Like, why? I don't want to read this white kid on a boat. Right. And they say, no, but the history of Huckleberry Finn, who he really is, Huckleberry Finn is just like you. He's just in a different era. If we give like a little backstory of something, it brings more meaning to it, which drives the youth into saying, okay, I want to know more. Okay. And this is the next point I want to go to because there's a big need in the community. The underserved community for after school programs. Yes. Now, when I was in my prime, when I went to school back at Eastern Michigan University, I remember one thing that I really thought about during the summer, and it was one of the greatest programs that I come in contact with, and they got rid of it. It was called CEDA. It was a comprehensive job training program. Okay. It's what it was called, and it gave the youngsters, during the summer, arts and all that kind of stuff, but they had a job during the summer, 20 hours a week, and they would have, it was, and you didn't see that many gangs and stuff in these areas until they got rid of them. This is where I want to play. We also had Tony Brown here. Tony Brown, who's the executive director of OLA, which is the heart of LA, one of the best after school programs. The best. In Los Angeles, in the MacArthur Park area, and at one time, that was a gang-infested area, and I asked him, what would it take to start an after school program in underserved and gang-infested areas? And I'm going to play his response, and we can come back and talk about it, because I know you work with young people. You are trying to put together a program that gears towards young people, so let's play that. Now, how can we create, how can the city create more after school programs like OLA, especially in gang-infested areas, since we know OLA went into a gang-infested area and was successful? How can we use that as a model for a lot of the little areas in the city of Los Angeles? Sure. You know, I think one of the things to do is to start with someone who's a gang-infested area, and I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. I think that's a good idea. who really, really cares to spend consistent time with the kids in that neighborhood, wherever that neighborhood might be. And I think the consistency is key when you're starting something out. Now, I get it. You're a volunteer. You have other things you have to do. You know, my predecessor, our founder, probably ran into the same challenges when he was first starting out of heart of Los Angeles. But if you're going to be there on a Saturday, be there every Saturday. Be there. Be there. Pick one day a week. Start that way. Don't try to say, oh, I'm going to start this nonprofit and I'm going to, you know, open the doors. I'm going to be here every day and we're going to make this work and this is going to be incredible. Do what you can do and do it consistently. Because, you know, these kids rely upon a lot of hope. You know, hope for an alternative. Hope for a brighter future than the one in which they're living. And we're talking about going into gang-infested neighborhoods. You know, they've been let down many times in life. And that's part of why they've joined the gang. Because the gang has come in and said, hey, listen, I know this person's let you down. I know that person's let you down, whether it's your parents, your school. But don't worry, me and the homies, we're there with you. You know, we won't let you down. And so if you're going to create something, make sure you don't overcommit and do what you can do and do that consistently. I think that will help you launch something that kids will want to come back to. Because trust is a major issue. That's what's been broken. You know, I think, you know, our country has this social contract that we're going to take care of our children. You know, we're going to send them to schools that are safe. We're going to, you know, create neighborhoods and parks that are safe for them to play in. We're going to give them outlets to where they can be creative and express themselves without being bullied for it or without being, you know, jumped into a gang. We're going to do all these great things. Well, you know, if you're going to take this on and recognize that you have a responsibility then, right, to be consistent. Right. Someone that these kids can trust. How do you craft after school programs that deal with gang intervention? We've talked about a little of it a little earlier. Well, you know, first of all, Heart of Los Angeles tries, I think, step one is to do the prevention side. Right. I mean, we want to prevent kids from joining them in the first place. So we start with kids really young. But we do meet kids along the way. We're middle school and high school. And there's. There are times in which we have to try to intervene. The answer to the question, I think, really is create alternatives that are relevant. Create opportunities, alternatives that will help those kids to feel connected to what's happening in their neighborhood, at their school, in their life. I think a lot of kids, at least in our neighborhood, the gangs tend to prey on those kids who are having problems with the language. You know, if they have a kid. Who doesn't speak much when they're spoken to. Very shy about language. They become a target. If they see kids who, you know, are trying to push away from their parents, you know, walk a few steps ahead, walk a few steps behind, don't necessarily want to be associated. If they see kids who are starting to try to emulate this pop American culture. All of those things. And kids don't realize this, but all those things become. Identifiers. Pick me, pick me. You know, for the gangs. They say, because they'll come in and their psychology might be something like. So, you know, I see that your parents don't. You always have to walk these five blocks alone. But your parents, let me guess, your parents aren't around. They must work all the time. Let me guess. They basically tell you to come straight home, turn on the television and don't go outside. Man, my dad was the same way. Oh, you have a dad. Yeah, I don't have a dad either. And they start to do all those things. They try to pull away any connection the child has to staying away from gangs. They try to drive those wedges in between what connects kids to this culture here. I bet you're doing really bad in school. Yeah, I get it. They don't get you. They don't get us. And they do that. And so after school programs should be the ones to come in and say, hey, listen, we value who you are. We have all the patience in the world. We believe that if we give you a chance, you can realize whatever dream you have. You know, it's not a silly dream. You know, and we support the kids in that way. And we let the kids be the kids. And we let them feel important for who they are and who they'd like to be. And even though they don't know who they'd like to be, we still give them that confidence. Try to empower them to feel good about who they are right now. And it's OK not to necessarily know quite yet. And then we start to expose them with the arts, music. Athletics, dance, painting, graphic arts, filmmaking, anything and everything. Robotics, anything and everything. To give them alternatives so that they have to then when they're faced with the alternative of getting involved in some sort of criminal activity, they can say, you know what? I don't need to do that over there because if I did all of that over there, I'd be giving up all of this over here. I've been smelled. Well, I want to ask you because you're trying to put together the program for the Warriors Radio. Yeah, Kingdom Warriors. Kingdom Warriors thing. And I know a focal point is these young people. Let me ask you this question. Yeah. How do you, because, you know, when you deal with a lot of young people, I used to observe over there at Ola, you always have some gifted little young people. Oh, yeah. They're always at the top. How do you deal with the one that lasts? They come back behind. They come out of these broken homes, these gang infested areas that he talks about. How do you merge them into one cohesive unit? It's really just trying to put yourself in their shoes. I always try to start from the beginning. This kid wasn't born this way. So why is he purposely not trying to be involved in the program? Why is he, you know, lashing out at this other kid? Why is he being loud? Those are the telltale signs of talent right then and there. It's just shifted in the wrong direction. So I always try to find what is their favorite whatever it could be. It could be a favorite video game character, musician. And I try to find a story that would relate to them towards their favorite whatever. So that wall suddenly breaks down and the kid doesn't even know it while you're saying, oh, yeah. You like Drake? I like Drake too. I think it's pretty cool. You know, this song and that song, you know, I don't know any Drake songs, but I try to fake the funk, you know, so eventually the kid starts trusting you and then it's more prone to listening to what you have to say rather than barking at them because I'm sure they get that all day. You talk to them in a tone where it's kind of hard for them to resist and say, okay, well, you know what happens when you don't do this? You know, this is the consequences. And I know you don't want that. I know you're smart kids. And I know you want to do better. Right. And nine times out of ten, they usually don't say no. He said, yeah. And it's being consistent. Tony Brown nailed it when he said you got to be consistent because when you're in this kid's life, you have to make sure that he knows that you're there or going to be there at least once out of the year. So that way it can actually be more effective. But even the most troublesome kid is no such thing. There's always something. That kid needs to be directed to. And usually they're the most talented ones, the ones that are all over the place and more rambunctious. Those are the ones we want to work with more importantly. Okay. What are your thoughts? Yeah, I just, you know, you mentioned what Tony Brown was talking about is not a one day fix. Basically, what I got from it. He said that if he basically is saying if you're planning on making some changes in the community. That's something you have to be consistent with was just what Melo said. And you have to, you have to be consistently there to support them. And at the same time feed them that culture that the dance or the hip. He said that dance or language and art and music and everything that they, you know, they're related to. These children, like I said, I see it every day that there's so many children and adults, for that matter. That you see that are hurt. Yeah. That are hurting. And a lot of adults haven't dealt with that. And so you can imagine. So you have our children that we don't stop and take a step and say, wait a minute, let me try and connect and see what's going on. This kid in the Tony Brown study says, you know, some of these kids are going to walk home and they got to walk through this gang infested thing. But if you say, you know, you don't have to walk, you don't have to walk alone. At least showing them that there is some support for them. I was part of a group. I was part of a group called Engage the Vision. And that was a mentoring group at Martin Luther King Elementary School. And those children were so happy to see us there just to the presence. And it was a mixed group of men, you know, just there to give back to the community. And they were just happy. Just a group of boys, you know, to have these mentors come in. And I was there as much as I could. I wasn't there every time, but I was just, you know, when I left, I felt like, you know, like I had done something, you know, as opposed to just saying, oh, those kids, they don't want to do anything or they can't fall in line or they can't. They can't listen. They can't listen. Like you say, you know. Do you think it was a major difference? Was it an all male group that would go with male and female? You know, whenever you have a group of men, it started out, well, I have to go back. It did start off as men of color in the industry, and then it changed into a group, Engage the Vision. And the Engage the Vision group is a group of all different types of men. You have Latinos, you have black men, you have white men, you have Asian men coming to mentor these kids. And whenever you see a group of men coming, you either want to run or you want to say, wow, what is that? And when these intelligent men come up on the, you know, young, hip guys come onto this elementary school campus, you don't want to run. You want to say, well, let me see what's going on. And these boys were like, wow, all these men are here. They're here because they love us. You know? You're part of Mokiti? I was. Wow. Well, I am, but I'm, anyway. Sorry, I'm back in a day. That's how I met a group of wonderful men of color in the industry. Right. We were supposed to start a ladies version of that. Oh, you were? Yeah. Mokiti. Mokiti. I just haven't heard from anybody. I've tried to contact a few people, but, but no, it, you know, that's what we need. We need more of those. We need more of those organizations like yours. Mokiti, Wokiti, whatever it is, engage, engage the vision. We need all these people to come together and show that we care about our community. And that's, that's really what, what, what we need, you know? Okay. Wonderful. Before we go into some final comments, I'm going to have Earline once again, read to Nuke the information and give that all out, the location and all of that, what's about. Immediate press release. Two performances only, Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 7.30 PM and Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 4 PM. Perception three presents Howling Blues and Dirty Dogs. This is a musical about the life of Big Mama Thornton, featuring singer and actor, Jewel Tompkins. She has starred in the Bard Ray musical, It Ain't Nothing But the Blues. She's also a great gospel, blues and jazz singer. This musical is a multi award winning production for best musical director and best director of a musical by the NAACP Theater Award. The location is the WLCAC at 10950 South Central Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 959. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Earline. Anthony, let's take a break. a minute and p for the closing comment and then uh we'll roll on our starboard i just had a great time here today just being with you guys meeting meeting mellow here um and just talking about something that i'm it kind of raises my heart rate you know to talk about things that's that's regarding our community and i'm starting to feel like wow this is kind of like what i'm passionate about what i kind of want to do and you're being here with you guys is kind of helping me kind of figure out what my purpose is in life and what i what i want to do with all of my gifts that god above gave me and i and i want to use them to the fullest and um i think i'm just at the beginning of all that so i'm just proud to be here with you guys plenty of things for you thank you oh oh well in the next 30 days we planning on interviewing 15 families with south central putting a face to the name of incarceration if you lost a loved one if you know anyone that likes to tell their story you can give me a call at 718-510-4803 um in february we will start shooting um raising uh awareness and building a kickstarter so hopefully that'll go into a theater that we're trying to obtain in the heart of south central that'll be used for the adults and youths alike thank you say the number again say the number again seven one eight five one zero four eight zero three mellow like i would like to extend a special thanks to uh to nuke on the phone from the perceptions three my co-host earlene anthony julie johansson miss mellow please listen to past shows of the coon round report by googling in coon round report thank you for tuning in to the coon round reporting from your host melvin ishmael johnson may the peace and blessings of the life-giving creative spirit be upon you and upon your family i leave you with dr martin luther king talking about righteousness somebody make you think that god chose america as his divine messianic forced to be a sort of policeman of the whole world god has a way of standing before the nations with judgment and it seems that i can hear god saying to america you're too arrogant if you don't change your ways i will rise up and break the backbone of your power and i'll place it in the hands of a nation that doesn't even know my name be still and know that i'm gone the promises of the great society have been shut down on the battlefield of vietnam making the poor White and Negro bear the heaviest burdens, both at the front and at home. Though the civil rights leaders, for various reasons, refuse or can't take a stand or have to go along with the administration, that's their business. But I'm afraid that I know that justice is indivisible. In justice anywhere is the threat to justice everywhere.