Torture awareness, veterans' needs, Skid Row leadership

I shall not be removed So don't you try to put me down No As poor as I am, I've got my ambition To keep my distance from war and contention I might not be rich, but I'm sure a good star Good star I've got some good friends, but still some obey me Tell their lies and still that don't weight me The joy that's inside brings out my health Is my, my smile Now try if you want Can't stop me, lie if you want Still won't move me, won't move me No, won't move me at all I know who I am, I don't have nobody Only rest to make me and you end up sorry The fire will burn you like a child Oh yeah I'm getting stronger So much stronger Day by day, yeah I'm getting stronger Oh So much stronger I can't move, can't move, can't move, can't move, no I'm midst of the pressures, I still gotta make it Always pushing as high as my payment So keep your eye to talk, I don't have the time No, no There's so much in life if you're willing to earn it Give you some of mine, but please don't stress it Oh I'm getting stronger by Barris Hammond 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 This week we will be talking about the culture life of the skid row community An interview with Ben Guillory Co-founder and artistic director of the Robey Theatre Company And Reverend Sandy Richards of the First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles Also a live in-studio interview and performance by actor, community activist Lee Shaw But first we have with us on the line, Andy Griggs He's with ICUJP, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace How you doing? How you doing, Andy? I'm doing just fine, Melvin Thank you for having me Oh, you're welcome Now there's an event coming up on Saturday, December 10, 2011 At the 7 o'clock piece M at the Peace Center on the campus of USC Can you tell us a little about it? Yeah, first of all it should be noted that this is partially in recognition of International Human Rights Day Which is December 10th And it honors the anak anak together by the American Civil Liberty Youth Union and the PEN American Center. And it will be nine actors and followed doing a reading and including some tape from the National Religious Campaign Against Tortures, some video, and some additional material from the Veterans Project, the reading of a letter by John Needham, who was a GI who was in Iraq and witnessed so many examples of torture. And... Mayhem in his stay over there, that he, when he returned home, he actually, while trying to get help from the VA for PTSD, did not get that help and ended up dying under what seems to be a... taking his own life. And his father will be reading a letter from him, which just is stunning. And the idea is to expose the American people to what was going on at Guantanamo Bay. And, of course, adding the material from Iraq. And we are also trying to make the connection between that and the fact that there is, of course, torture going on here in the U.S. in the prison system as well. In the shoes, the security housing units. Exactly. Now, let me ask you this, Andy. Why, in your opinion, why should the community be concerned with torture? Well, first of all, it's very interesting. We remember Abu Ghraib when it was notified. You know, we were... told about that and, you know, the horrors of that. Americans were shocked and amazed that we would have ever used any kind of torture, that this was not what the U.S. was all about. Yet, we know, if we look back at our historical facts, that we have been practicing torture from the time we came to this country, when the European settlers came to this country. When we displaced the indigenous peoples who lived here, whether it was bringing blankets that were filled with smallpox, whether it was forcing them off their land, all of those things were aspects of it. We go back to the... throughout wartime, torture happens all the time. If you look at what happened in Vietnam, when we talk about the pacification campaigns that was happening in Vietnam. And what it is, is that interfaith communities united for justice and peace, as well as very... a lot of other organizations are saying this should not be happening. And they're trying to put Congress on the line to hold more hearings, to... open up the public records so that people can see what's going on. And yet, this stuff goes on on an everyday basis. And we're hoping to reach a few more people to... to stand up and say this is the wrong thing to be happening. Let me ask you about this, because since 9-11, they also... they're always talking about the ticking bomb theory. Do you think... is torture allowed in any circumstance? I cannot... I cannot condone any kind of torture. We're talking about human beings here. We're talking about people who are... First of all, there's a fallacy that seems to think that you get information. If somebody's under duress and stress and pain, they're going to say anything they want. Anything you want, if you're applying the torture. Yeah. In order to stop it. And so, I can't condone it in any case. Okay. Now, Andy, can you tell us a little about ICUJP? Well, ICUJP, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, was formed shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center, on the Pentagon, and on the... in Pennsylvania. Because a group of very active religious leaders knew that what the response of the U.S. would be, would be to react with anti-Muslim films, Islamophobia, and also with the idea of retribution. And to use it as an excuse to... Yeah. ...to use it as an excuse to... Yeah. ...to use it as an excuse to... Yeah. ...to use it as an excuse to... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. ...to invade other countries. Now, two wars later, billions, trillions of dollars later, this has all been shown to be true. ICUJP adopted the slogan or the vision that interfaith communities must stop endorsing war and violence. Mm-hmm. And as part of that, we've done anti-war demonstrations. On October 7th, we had a demonstration where 14 people were arrested commemorating the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. And we continue... Our work continues. And the torture aspect is a big part of the work that we've been doing over the years. Mm-hmm. Now, can you tell us a little about the basic information about the meeting time that the group... ...the group meets every Friday over at the Emanuel Presbyterian Church? Right. As you said, we meet every Friday morning at 7 a.m. for those who wake up early. And we have amazing programs Friday mornings that range from speakers talking about labor issues, social justice issues, the Middle East crisis, anti-war. We had people in talking about the grocery strike, hotel workers. So it's, you know, economic justice. It's any kind of issues that people of faith should be concerned about. Mm-hmm. Now, where is this... And it's every Friday. And every Friday, people can find out more about us by going to our website, which is www. www.icujp.com. I'm sorry, .org. And I really hope that people will come to this event. Of course, working closely with Drama Stage Kumaran is a very exciting part for us. So this program and two others will be getting two others' performances. Funded... We're funded... We're funded by the Diane Middleton Foundation down in San Pedro. And we hope to be having people come. It's a free event. And see that they can maybe bring it to their... Either community, a community organization could sponsor this. A congregation could sponsor it. We want to see this done and educate people about the real issues that are out there regarding this. Right. And we're looking forward to it. And, Andy, also, we have one of the performers from Reckoning with Torture in the studio, Ms. Earlene Anthony. And we also have the person who worked on the graphic design multimedia tie here. I'm going to ask them to have a comment, starting with Ms. Earlene Anthony about the event. Well, you should also mention that we have the director of the event speaking to me right now. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's right. Full disclosure here, Melvin. Full disclosure. Right. Hi, Andy. How you doing? Hi, I'm great. How are you? I'm good. Of course, I'm going to announce this in the community calendar for December, the event for... In recognition of International Human Rights Day. Which is December 10th. I'll be announcing the information and the address, location, time, and asking people to come and bring some people with them. Because everyone is welcome to attend. Yes, great. And one last thing we didn't mention, that there will be a panel discussion after the performance. The performance is about an hour long. And there will be a panel discussion. But to talk about the issues that are brought up. Because it's, you know, it is, it's very heavy material. And, you know, but it needs to be discussed and it needs to be dealt with. And so we'll have professionals there, people from the cast. Right. As I said, Michael Needham, who's the father of the young man who wrote the letter about what he experienced in Iraq, will be there on the panel. And it should be... It should be of great interest to all who can come. All right. And then a comment from Ty. Hey, Andy. Good evening. How are you? Hey, Ty. You know, as I was in the process, the creative process, I thank you for being the kind of art director that you were on this project. I have my own demons. I have my own personal experiences with man's inhumanity. And one of the last things that we did for this project was create a slideshow of images that I found. And just like you said, Andy, this is not a topic to be taken too lightly. And we hope that we have compiled a visually impressive piece that will convey the message that... And I think that this torture is completely an unnecessary act, not only to try to gain information, but it's just not right. You know? All right, Alan. Absolutely. Okay. Thank you. Andy Griggs, ICUJP, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bye bye. Bye bye. Now on Sunday, October the 23rd, 2011, a forum was held at the Exchange located at 114 West 5th Street to assess the needs of homeless veterans. I would like to play a short presentation from one of the panelists, Reverend Sandy Richards of the First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles. The presentation is five minutes and 54 seconds. REV. SANDY RICHARDS, UNITED METALLIST CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES, 1ST UNITED METALLIST CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES. The first person to come back to the community beyond the normal service providers who specialize in veterans' issues is the great right Reverend Sandy Richards from the First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles. Thank you, Jeff, and thank you, everyone, for being here. I'm here because Melvin and Earline asked me to be here, and I'm representing a small congregation in downtown LA, but as Jeff said, I'm connected with lots of congregations. So if you're looking for a house to live in, I'm here. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you. So if you're Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist or what have you, Soka Gakkai, which is a form of Buddhism. There's lots and lots of institutions in L.A. and, you know, feed your spirit. And so I'd be glad to nominate Erlene. I always know how to get a hold of me, and so does Jeff. But if you would like some consultation on where to find a place to go, I would be very, very glad to help you find that. Obviously, we'd love you to come to our church, which is at Flower and Olympic on Sundays at 10-15. We don't have a building right now. We've been in downtown since 1854, and we don't have a building right now. We've got several, but at this point we're renting. So you'll find us at Flower and Olympic at the Via Flores multi-purpose room. There's a place 10-20 South Flower at Senior Housing. You go around to the back. It's a very nice little garden area. On 9-11 this year, the 10th anniversary of the attacks, we decided to go in a different direction. We invited. Jeff and the Veterans Project to come to our church and talk to us about veterans because we know that for the past 10 years, lots and lots of people have served in the armed forces to an extent that they've maybe almost never, ever been asked to before. And we know the toll that takes on families, but just on a person's mind. We know how being in combat, no matter how you've been in combat, no matter where in the world you've been in combat or why, it changes a person's mind. And so the trauma that people suffer needs to be addressed in the community as much as it's addressed in the special ways that we've heard of from New Directions and other organizations like that. And I know I've talked with many veterans. I know some of the terrible things people have seen. And how hard it is to tell a pastor, especially someone who's never been in combat, what you've experienced, what you've done and had to do, what you've seen done. And I just want you to know that we know. We know. We know. We know. We know. We know. We know. We know. We know. We know. We know. The most important thing for anyone to do who is recovering from trauma is to tell the story over and over again until that memory actually moves from that part of your lizard brain where you're reacting, where the PTSD is causing your anxiety and your heart rate and your stress and your cortisol, to your prefrontal cortex, the thinking part of your brain that knows about past, present, and future that can distinguish between a car back firing and a gunfire. Or can allow you to see fireworks again without feeling activated. And so churches, houses of worship can help you find those places, can help you find places to work it out in your spirit. It's not psychology or psychiatry who refer you to places like New Directions for that. But it is a place where you can bring your whole self, all that you've done and all that you've experienced, and open your soul for healing in a way that feels most appropriate for you. And we welcome women who've been in the military too. We know there are some special issues with women that are not being addressed. And also gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, there are special issues there as well. And we are open to all of those in my congregation. There are other congregations open to those if those are your concerns. We are really welcoming. You don't even have to be Christian to come to be with us every Sunday. And a few people who come aren't. But most people are. And they're pretty, pretty generous. Broad-minded folk. And we do work for peace. We know, though, that soldiers deserve a place of honor and respect. And so you'll find us advocating for peace. And that's mostly to save your armed forces from all of the most necessary conflicts. And we honor and thank all the veterans who have given so much. The ones who come back whole and alive in their bodies sometimes have lost something in their souls and minds. We can't unsee what you've seen. And so we want you to know that you're welcome among us. And that we, actually in our diversity, in our church, we have every kind of diversity you can think of. We're a small congregation. On any given Sunday morning, you'll find people from 11 nations and four continents. That's a big diversity. You'll find people from age 3 to age 93. And we have a new one to be born in December. So we have every kind of diversity you can think of. But we're kind of lacking in the veterans' issues. So if you want to come and fill out the veterans' group, we welcome you. And help us to know more about what it is that veterans are experiencing or that you are experiencing as a vet. And so I think that's really all I wanted to say. Just that we welcome you and that I really appreciate the Veterans Project and Jeff. I appreciate Melvin and Ernie and all that Drama Stage Canada does and all that we do to make our community a whole place. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. At this time, I'd like to turn it over to Ms. Earline Anthony for our community calendar. This is the community calendar for November and December. Thursday, November the 29th at 7 p.m., Dr. Mongo will host the Poetic Justice League at Fernando's. Fernando's is located at 519-425-7000. South Spring Street. For more information, you can contact 213-784-1703. And I repeat, that is on, I believe, Thursday. Tuesday. I'm sorry, Tuesday, November the 29th. Friday, December 2nd, and Saturday, December the 3rd, from 12 to 4 p.m., the L.A. Poverty Department presents a festival for all veterans. All of the skid row artists in Gladys Park. And Gladys Park is located at the corner of 6th and Gladys. You're asked to spread the word and invite fellow friends and fellow artists to sign up. For more information, e-mail info at L-A-P-O-V-E-R-T-Y-D-E-P-T dot O-R-G or text Arietta 310-277-6077. Or Kevin Micah Keith, 213-948-6159. And on Sunday, December the 10th, at 7 p.m., in recognition of International Human Rights Day, which is December the 10th, ICUJP, Interfaith Community United for Justice and Peace, and Drama Stage Conrad, in conjunction with L.A. Region Religious Campaign Against Torture, presents Reckoning with Torture, Dramatic Readings of Memos and Testimonies from the War on Terror. This will be followed by a professional discussion panel. This event is located at the United University Church, USC Campus, 817 West 34th Street. This is a free event. All are welcome to attend. We ask you to spread the word on this. For more information, you can contact 213-748-1643. This is just a reminder, if you have a community event that you would like announced on our show, send the information to DramaStage1 at yahoo.com. Attention, Earlene Anthony. And once again, our call-in number for the show is 800-893-9562. Now back to our host. Thank you, Miss Earlene Anthony. On Veterans Day, November 11, 2011, Drama Stage Conrad, the Veterans Project, and the Roe v. Theodore Company joined forces to provide veterans free admission to a dinner and a play at the Los Angeles Theater Center. Last week, we had an interview with Judith Bowman, Development Director for the Roe v. Theodore Company, and the Director of the Roe v. Theodore Company. This week, in our Voices from the Community section of the program, we are proud to present an interview with Ben Guillory, co-founder and Artistic Director of the Roe v. Theodore Company. The interview is 12 minutes and 31 seconds. So can you tell me a little bit something about the show that's going to be performed tonight? Well, it's called Pity the Proud Ones. Kurt Dana Maxey, who lives in the neighborhood, too. He's got a small loft space not far from here. And he wrote the play, Pity the Proud Ones. In our Playwrights Program, it was developed, and Dana's been part of that for the last four years. And he was working on the play before that. So it's quite an arc to the creative line of from page to the stage, so to speak, for display. And we've been running for four weeks now. The fourth week, we closed this weekend on Sunday the 13th. And things have been going very well. You know, the Roe v. Theater Company, Roe v. was Paul Robeson's nickname. He's the inspiration for the theater company title. And so his social consciousness, his artistry, his humanity has been what drives the consciousness. And the social consciousness of the Roe v. Theater Company has a social consciousness. Most of what we do has some kind of social consciousness. It's still theater. It's still high theater, as opposed to getting on a soapbox, because that's something else. But most of the work we do has a social consciousness. And Pity the Proud Ones speaks to family, speaks to responsibility to one another, loving one another, and so on. Loving about one another. And debts. Debts that should be paid, whether they're emotional debts or monetary debts. When one incurs a debt, they are... The honorable thing is to take care of it. Take care of it. As the deal was set in the first place. And there's that element in there. It's... The tagline is... There's families more than just blood. You know, the Japanese say we have two families. The one we're born into and the one we choose. And there are those elements in the play. It takes place in Florida. St. Augustine, Florida, which incidentally is the oldest city in the country. I didn't know that until I started working on the play. It's a play that was written in 1915, so it's a period piece. And it's a very multiracial play in the sense that we have a father who's hired a son from a black Seminole Indian woman. And so he's mulatto son, and he and his father are at great odds. And there's much tension between them. And they come together after not seeing each other for a year. I remember the anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah anakah there is a hurricane looming and hits St. Augustine while all this is happening. And as you can imagine, it's not an accident that the playwright put this in the play. It's a metaphor for the emotional life of the play. What brought you to the Robey? How did you get involved with the Robey? I was one of the co-founders. Okay. And how long ago was that? This is our 18th year. Okay. And so in 94, Danny Glover, who was the other co-founder, and I, we've known each other since before we were actors and when we became actors. We both lived in San Francisco. We became actors and we did a lot of work together. And we both became admirers of Paul Robeson and both were weaned in the theater, so to speak. And like most actors, we talked about it when we were younger about starting our own theater. Theater company. Yeah. To do the kind of work we wanted to do. And the Robey ended up being that theater company. It's long. I can recall during my early days of homelessness down here, I would walk past this building. I would walk past a lot of things down here on Spring Street. And back then, it just wasn't time. You know, I wasn't ready for it because I was in my disease. And I saw that the city, this area really wasn't ready for it. But the Renaissance has hit and it's changed. Yeah. And you can feel it. But my question to you is this. LAPD for a long time has had what's called a policy of containment. You know, it's like you have this border. You have this zone. You know, it's sort of like a Fort Apache kind of thing the way I look at it right now. You have like Spring Street. You have First Street. You have Seventh. And then you have like, say, Central. And within that 50-square block, you have what's called Skid Row. Okay. Okay. Okay. How do you feel about what's going on out here versus what's going on within that 50-square block area of Skid Row where there's homeless, where there's the tents? It's very painful. Yes. Yes. I find it very painful. Of course, not as painful to me as it is to the people who are living it. But it breaks my heart to watch that happen and to witness it and to witness it for so long. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. There isn't a remedy. And it just speaks to the priorities of the supposed responsible politicals of the city. That this thrives, in a sense, here. Yes, it does. You know, I think it's pretty shameful. I mean, anywhere in the country, this is, you know, supposed to be America. Right. All of that, that that means and that that has been heralded as, you know, it's and veterans at that. Yes. I mean, people who have. I don't need to describe to you, of course, you know, but this is, you know, it's I find it. I find it very tough. You said a little while ago and made all the sense in the world. It's applicable to most. What did you say? You were in your disease. Yeah. Yeah. My disease. Right. Yeah. When. That kind of disease, I think, is. One has to be ready. Yes. As you say. Yes. Yes. You know, you have to be ready to accept assistance. Hopefully, anyone that reaches out with an open palm, you have to be ready to. Accept it. Right. Right. And some people, you know, need more than that. Some people need less. I suppose I'm I wouldn't put myself as a. Somebody who could have an have a pat answer to that. Life is an individual journey for each and everybody. And it's a tough one. You know, I don't care who you are. Everybody's got their. Humans in the dark at night. You know, I don't give a. Who you are. Everybody's carrying some of that stuff, you know, because we're all human and all of that. So. Let's God bless anybody. You know, I mean, it's I just find it very painful. Tyrone. I wish I could do more. I I try to do a few things. It's hardly anything. But then again, it's better than nothing. At the end of the day. It's better than nothing. I tell myself that, you know, we're doing this this evening. The theater offers a kind of reservoir or place to come and dream a little. Yes. Yes. Make believe. Yes. And it offers energy and energy gets stuff done, you know, because we start we we operate with spit and gum around here. I mean, the funding is minimal for what we do and accomplish, you know, the kind of creative process that we do that results in the in a play. Most people don't know the behind the scenes machinations of it all and what it takes. It takes a lot of work and a lot of money and to make it look easy and effortless and seamless, which is what it's supposed to look like. But it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. I. When I see. Brothers and sisters out there, you know, just trying to figure out how to get through the day. I count my blessings. Yeah. You know, I count my blessings because, you know, we're all just a hair away from. Being a casualty. You know, we're all just a hair away from. What do you see for the future for the road? What what's what's what's going to stay here and just keep doing theater, do what we do and. Because really, this is all about a reflection of society. That's what it is. Yes. In time and space. Sometimes it's present and current, sometimes not so much. This is a period piece, but it's still when you see it is a very much a reflection of the society then and a kind of metaphor for now. Right. So. We'll be here. OK, we'll be here. We've been here for 18 years, which is a phenomenon in itself. Just be able to last that long. And. It's been a lot of fun. And a lot of learning to. You know. Because one of the things Paul Robeson said was he. Wish in his old age to be with tribesmen. Because he. Loved the ways and the idea of learning and knowledge. Which is a big part of the process here. I mean, the whole idea of periodically being able to go into different worlds like this world tonight of 1915 St. Augustine, Florida, and. Discover it. And try to recreate elements of it. It's a real learning experience. And. That's a big fun for me. Yeah. You know, that's the fun part. Yeah. Because what other occupation is there where you get an opportunity to do all of that on a regular basis? You know, not too many. Not too many. No. No. So, you know, I'm blessed. I always. Got health. Got a couple of kids who came out. OK. Got a wife that, you know. We get along. You know. That kind of thing. And I've got some really good colleagues working in the theater. Thank God for simple blessings, you know. Yeah. Yeah. That's what that's good to meet you, too, man. It's been a pleasure. Yeah. Pleasure. Thank you. Thank you, Ben. Thank you. You're welcome. OK. Thank you, Ben, for a great interview. And thank you for the great job you do at the Roe v. Theatre Company. Thank you. Thank you for the work that you do for the theater. I appreciate it. I appreciate the work that you do for the theater. I appreciate the work that I work for the theater. actor, community activist, Lee Shaw. We're going to be talking about the culture, life, of the Skid Row community, but first we're going to do a reading from a speech by Marcus Garvey, and then we'll come back. Lee, can you tell us a little about what we're going to hear? Yeah, Marcus Garvey went around to some of the black communities throughout the nation, and when he came back, he, in a speech, he said that what he found was, I just come back from a 38-state tour in order to study the conditions of the black people in America. Let me tell you what I found in this year of 1916. I found that the Negro leaders of our people have no program. They're just living off their so-called leadership while our people continue groping in the dark, looking for a little light. Okay, now how do you relate that to what's happening in the Skid Row community? It's still the same. From 1916 to 2011, nothing has changed. The leadership is stale. The life, leadership, Skid Row, east of Los Angeles Street, is still the same. On the other side of Los Angeles Street, it's a little different because now you have the lofts, you have the money on that side right there, so the leadership bends that away. But for the people down there, it ain't never going to change. Until the leadership changes. Now let me ask you this. What should the community expect out of their leadership? At this stage? What do you think the community should expect out of the people that are supposed to represent them as leaders? If I were them, I wouldn't expect anything. What I would do is I would get involved in the process of voting, you know, and change the leadership. Because as long as you have the people you have in office right now, it's going to be about money. Everybody has a price. Some people love their people. They have a price that they pay. Some people get a monetary price for selling people out. Those who love their people, they pay a price called death. Now let me ask you this. What would you consider one of the most important things that we can give to the people that we love? What would you get from studying the life and works of Marcus Garvey? Marcus Garvey is a blueprint. You know, he set the blueprint up for leadership. One of the things when he first when he came here, he came here to work with Booker T Washington, unfortunately, Booker T Washington passed away, which pushed him on to where he had to go, you know, Sam? And, and those who came after him, those who came after him, After him, right, after his deportation, those who followed him, the Garveyites, as they call them, adopted the same thing, self-help. You have to help self, your family, your immediate family, your extended family, your people. You know what I'm saying? And this is what he was pushing. He didn't, like Booker T. Washington, he didn't say, I have to hate you. No, I can love you and love my people the same way, but I'm going to help myself. You know what I'm saying? And this is what he was teaching. But these intellectuals, you know, these intellectuals at that time pushed him to the side, right? Because now their agenda was this right here. I'm white educated. I think this way, and we can all get along. I'm not Rodney King, and neither was Marcus Garvey. Mm-hmm. You know what I'm saying? We can get along, but I got to do it for myself. Mm-hmm. It's the only way I'm going to get what I deserve, I got to do it for myself. Okay. Beautiful. We're going to do some later shows where we're going to spend a lot of time discussing Marcus Garvey in detail. And we'll be hearing more from you from the Voices from the Ether portion of the show, in which we're getting ready to head into now the Voices from the Ether portion of the show. Thank you for listening to the Voices from the Ether. How do you separate the present from the past? If it's Monday night, about 15 minutes to 9, then you're listening to Voices from the Ether. Playing in the background is Howl by my good friend Roger Karnes, who will be performing this holiday season at the Far Bar, located at 347 East 1st Street, Los Angeles, California, on December 3rd, 15th, and 29th. For more information and reservations, call 213-617-9990. You can also visit Roger online at www.rogercairns.com. So many habits that will have to break For The Senses tonight, a recorded piece, Summertime, performed by Jerome St. Jerome and Franchi Joy, at an open mic that was held at The Exchange, downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, November 20th, 2011. Summertime Summertime Summertime Summertime Summertime Summertime Summertime Summertime Summertime © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021 Using the misery of the community to get what you want. Things stay the same while you run your game. Seeking to cause disunity so you can scream. The system is the problem. It's just a dream. Now you act like you don't know what to do. You don't care about the community. You care about you. You are the system because you pimp like the system. Pimping off the misery of the community. Poverty pimps walking with a limp. One foot in Hollywood and the other one on Skid Row. Like we don't know. Still playing the master's game. Pimping the Skid Row. Poverty pimp. Dropping your pants and walking with a limp. Showing your behind like a poverty pimp. You are all for yourself. You don't care about the rest. You want the worst for the young and not what's best. Now you are going to cause confusions like the hypocrites do. You don't care about the community. You care about you. Pimping off the misery of the community. Selling dreams that turn into nightmares. Acting like you care. Leading the people nowhere. The blind leading the blind while the community stays behind. Poverty pimps. Sucking the life's blood of the community without the fancy clothes and car. You're still a poverty pimp. That's what you are. You know, Melvin, you posed the question earlier about the leadership in Skid Row. Well, there's your answer. Poverty pimps. Skid Row is the capital. Capital of poverty pimps. That's right. From the overpriced stores to, I hate to say it, a lot of the leadership in the treatment facilities and LAPD. And a lot of the other organizations that are down there, they're saying that they're there to help. But a lot of them are just filling up their own coffers for their retirement. And really don't care about the residents. Or the, um, those that are being caught up in the system of torture that we call Skid Row. Okay, we're going to close this visit with the ether. With a recorded session made up of open mic performances. Held at the historic, but now boarded up by the city of Los Angeles, Old 23 Firehouse. Located on 5th Street, downtown Los Angeles, the heart of Skid Row. It didn't, oh no, we have another bad bit of tape tonight. That means we have some air time. And I think Lee has something prepared here. You know, when you think about Skid Row. I remember when I came to California back in 1963. My first introduction to this area down here was like something like 65 or 66. I used to go to the state theater. And, you know, go to the show. And at the time they had a lot of little clubs when the military people were down here and everything. And it was kind of blooming. You know what I'm saying? But still, Los Angeles Street was the borderline for everything. Those clubs that they went to was west of Los Angeles. And the other people was always on the east end. You know what I'm saying? Now, living in a country like we live in, especially a city like Los Angeles. There should not be one homeless person. Nor a homeless person. Nowhere. Given that much of time. From 1960. I'll just say, I'll say 65. From 65 to 2011, you mean to tell me that you can't come up with an idea to keep the people off the street and get them in the house, get them somewhere? No. You're living off of them. You're breathing like an old blood leech. You're sucking the lifeblood of the people. And you're lying to everybody else. They're lying to people. They're telling everything they possibly can. Oh, well, I have a PhD, a master's degree and all this right here. Well, with all your education you got, you can't come up with some solution for the homeless problem? Now, one thing that we talk about all the time in Drama Stage Cool Rhyme, we've been dealing with it later, is we come to the conclusion that we feel that the veterans homeless situation. I feel there are two things that we have to look at in relationship to the homeless problem. Number one, the veterans homeless situation should move towards the forefront in terms of becoming the vanguard. That's right. Of the whole homeless problem. And the reason for that is because all of the federal money that would be available. One of the largest part of the United States budget is the military budget. So they still have a responsibility. Right. And they still have a responsibility to the veterans, especially the homeless veterans. So this might give us a chance to really look at some models and some solutions that can be supported by the federal government as we seek a solutions to the homeless problem. And then use it as a homeless problem, use it as the general solutions to the homeless problem for all. And the second thing. And I think we talk about this often. I think it's important for these religious organizations, the Christians and the Muslims and the Jewish organization to buy up or either rent some of this empty property that you have all over Los Angeles. All these empty buildings. And buy some of this. Make this part of your congregation. And start programming. Start developing some programs to pull. Some of these homeless individuals into your congregation. I think if the religious community step up, that would make a big dent into the homeless problems. So we're going to move. Tyrone, you want to say anything else in tying us up into the ether portion of the show? Wrapping up the ether portion of the show tonight. I'm telling you, everything is going to come to this place in MP3 format or WAV format in the future. So we don't have this problem again. Anyway, all my favorite listeners out there, voices from the ether would like to invite you to call in at 1-800-893-9562 for our future episodes. If you want to call in and read some spoken word pieces or share some thoughts in the last 15 minutes of our show, it would be greatly appreciated. Again, the call in number for the future will be 1-800-893-9562 if you want to be or if you want to call in live and participate in the voices from the ether section. So now we're going to give it back to Melvin and close out for this evening. Okay. Thank you, Tyrone. I would like to thank our in-studio guests, actor community activist Lee Shaw and on the line Andy Griggs of ICUJ. Ben Guillory of the Roby Theater Company. Reverend Sandy Riches of the First United Methodist Church of Los Angeles. And a special thanks to Jeremy in the Skid Row Studios. You can check out past shows of the Qumran Report on iTunes, Facebook, Twitter, or www.DramaStage-Qumran.org. Thank you for tuning in to the Qumran Report. And I'll leave you with the song that opened the show, I'm Getting Stronger by Barris Hammond. I shall not be removed. So don't you try to put me down. No. No. I can't alone. I can't alone. I can't alone. I can't alone. Keep my distance from war and potential. I might not be rich, but I sure that's time. That's time. I've got some good friends, but still some obey me. Tell the lies and still that don't wake me. The joy that's inside brings out my health is mine. My smile. Now try it, you won't. Can't stop me lying, you won't. Still won't move me, won't move me. No, won't move me at all. I know who I am, I don't have nobody. Only rest to make me and you end up sorry. The fire will burn you like a child. Oh yeah. I'm getting stronger. Oh yeah. So much stronger. Day by day, yeah. I'm getting stronger. So much stronger. Can't move, can't move, can't move, no. Amidst all the pressures, I still gotta make it. Always pushing as high as my pavement. So keep your eyes on talk, I don't have the time. No, no. There's so much. There's so much in life, if you're willing to earn it. Give yourself a mind, but please don't stress it. Awake from the slumber, open up your eyes, yeah. Try if you want, can't stop me lying, you won't. Still won't move me, you won't move me, no. No, no, no, not at all, no, no. I know who I am, I don't mail nobody. Only rest to make me and you. end up sorry Father will humble you just like a child yes Oh, and I I'm getting stronger Oh, so much stronger Day by day yeah I'm getting stronger And you can't move me no You won't get me no As poor as I am I've got my ambition Keep my distance from war and contention I might not be rich but I sure get style Got style Got some good friends but still some hate me Tell their lies but still they don't hate me The joy that's inside brings out the healthiest smile Try if you want You can't stop me to lie if you want You still won't move me You won't move me No, not at all No, no, no Try if you want You can't stop me to lie If you want You won't move me Won't move me No, no, won't move me You won't move me Try all the time