[SPEAKER_09]: So she's kind of getting to know him. But her son came to her one day and said, I don't know if she's going to be able to teach him in school, treat him properly. She didn't look differently than you. She was kind of skeptical. Well, what is she doing? She just reacts differently with me than she does with all the rest of the kids.
[Unidentified]: Many came out with necrosis.
[SPEAKER_09]: To make a long story short, the boy had a conversation with Chief Booker. And at the end, I saw Chief Booker giving the boy his card, saying to the boy and his mother, come and see me. Just call first to make sure I'm in the right office. I think that was a positive moment.
[SPEAKER_07]: They're definitely working at it. They're definitely taking more of the people first approach, which is what I'd like to see. You know, we have all the resources available to promote social, where they have a, you know, community engagement. And, you know, part of what I push is, use these opportunities where the city has events to get to our community. So that your first interaction is not a result of receiving a award. You know, you don't have to remember everybody's names, but at least,
[SPEAKER_09]: I'm really, really happy to see that because we have to start working through the traumas that have been left, and that's through the validation and acknowledgement that there is trauma, and then the willingness to change that.
[SPEAKER_07]: It's ongoing trauma. And every time we hear or see something terrible in the media, we have to work even harder to replace those memories. Because those memories, they take up a lot of time. And they accumulate. But I am happy that Black History Month is over for now, because that was a... You know, for me, every day is Black History Month. My gosh, I never worked out so much carrying so many cases of water from the grocery store to the back of the event. I think I ended up with, like, 15 extra tablecloths, because every time I went somewhere, I would buy a tablecloth. I couldn't keep track. I started with a very organized list of what I needed for each event, and by the end, it was... I think the only thing that stayed on the list was the food, because I had already ordered it. But now I've got cases of water just sitting in the office, and cases of seltzer, but that stuff never goes away.
[Carter]: So the singer said, drop off some water here any time, any time.
[SPEAKER_07]: And because I left some at China, so I should have actually done that.
[Carter]: I'm always, always looking for water, because I think it's going to expire.
[SPEAKER_07]: I'll have to, I'll have to figure out how to, yeah, when I come back. Yeah. Bye all the time.
[Carter]: Hi, hello. Hi, I'm Lisa. Hi, nice to meet you.
[SPEAKER_03]: Nice to meet you.
[SPEAKER_07]: Thank you for coming. Yeah. Hi, Lisa.
[Carter]: Nice to see you again. So did you have bad COVID? Did you have long COVID?
[SPEAKER_03]: Did you? Um, it was not great. I actually don't I feel like I'm getting sinus infections, I get them often, but yeah, just when the weather's good, when it gets really damp, it's just there. But yeah, my brain, it's now. So if I just take stop and send it, you know why. Hi ladies, that's my door. And I'm exhausted, so it doesn't matter.
[SPEAKER_09]: I hope people aren't staying away because of the winter because nothing's supposed to happen in the world.
[Carter]: I'll keep an eye on it.
[SPEAKER_07]: Well, and Rachel's right. But still, but still.
[Unidentified]: Hi, Greg. Hi. How are you?
[SPEAKER_07]: I'm well, thank you. How are you? Hello. Hello, how are you? Hello.
[Unidentified]: Hi, we're going to go at 710. All right.
[Carter]: Hey, what Facebook are you on? Are you guys logged into Facebook?
[SPEAKER_09]: Why do you think it's yours again?
[Carter]: I just wanted to check because then I would have to shift it over the center.
[SPEAKER_03]: And that's part of why I'm here tonight.
[Carter]: So obviously, well, maybe not obviously, but you're not from this area.
[SPEAKER_03]: No.
[Carter]: OK.
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm from Framingham. OK. OK. All right. I was born and raised in Framingham. I work for the town of Arlington. So I started there at the end of 2019. And January 2020, I joined the Mystic Valley branch. And then, you know, chaos kind of happened. But yeah, that's where I'm from.
[Carter]: Okay, so then what made you first decide to get involved with DEI work in general, and particularly in the town of Arlington?
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so DEI work in general. I kind of fell into it, I'll say. So my passions started in undergrad at UMass. I led our black student union there. I was in student government doing diversity work. I don't think I ever really defined that as my passion, but everything I did afterwards started to weave that in. And then actually in grad school, I had not a great first day. Our diversity workshop was not good. And so I took that to our program director and I was like, I don't want other students to feel this way next time around. And that kind of really kick-started me doing more research and more work in the DEI area. I ended up in my last semester working for my program on their practices and then from there I was looking at policy analyst jobs and DEI positions because I had seen a few and I was familiar with Arlington so I applied and it's been great. It was a brand new role and I got to build it up to now a division.
[Carter]: Fantastic, fantastic. So if you don't mind me asking, can you talk a little bit about your family and how your family life has shaped the person that you are today?
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I love my family. So let's see, where do we start? I'm an only child, but I don't act like one. So my parents, I'm biracial, so my mom is Irish-Italian-American and my dad is African-American. They met here. My dad's family is from Lynchburg, Virginia, so they moved up here. My mom's family, well primarily, she was born in Framingham. And yeah, they got together. I happened. But they both are one of six and five siblings, so I have lots of cousins. At some point, I grew up living with a couple of my cousins and aunts, all one big, like, you know that show, Full House? It was like that. Like, everyone in one house. It was great, and so I don't consider myself an only child in that sense, that I grew up sharing a room, sharing toys, being bullied. Because I was the runt. But my family's always there. They've always been supportive and understanding and just allowing me and my cousins to just be ourselves and be curious, which I think is needed, you know. Yeah, they've just been there and always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to do. I mean, when I set out for school, I wanted to be an archaeologist. look at me now, I'm not digging.
[Carter]: Okay, so hence the major in cultural anthropology.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes.
[Carter]: Okay, all right, because I kind of wondered where that came from.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I was on the archaeology track and my field school got canceled. So I took that as a sign that I shouldn't go down that career path.
[Carter]: You know what they say, when God closes a door, he opens a window. So very good, very good. Can you talk about the role of your role models in mentors?
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I'd say right now my role models have been a couple of professors, both in undergrad and grad school, but also my supervisors that I've had. I've been really lucky in all of the jobs I've held out of school that they've been inaugural roles. So when I worked at the Children's Hospital, The Autism Center was brand new and I really had the opportunity to build something with my boss and she gave me kind of autonomy to be creative, which I am. I also do art on the side, so all of those pieces of my brain are like, let's figure this out in a different way. And just being there, seeing me for being human. And same with my supervisor now, folks that I, she's amazing and it's just, They trust me to they hired me they trust me. I kind of just build something and keep it moving But yeah, really just seeing people for who they are accepting their flaws encouraging them to You know better themselves. I constantly Am attending conferences and workshops and reading and just doing everything to continue to learn. Because I feel like the work I do especially is, it's a lifelong journey. You're always learning. And so just having that encouragement and support has been key from those folks.
[Carter]: Fantastic. Very, very good. Very good. Okay, so you've been doing this work close to two and a half years now, okay, in Arlington.
[SPEAKER_03]: I just passed three years. Oh, three?
[Carter]: Okay, all right. My timeline's a little bit off, okay. But that's even better. Three years now. So how goes the battle, so to speak?
[SPEAKER_03]: the battles up and down um yeah it's i this is a big question um no it's actually it's great like i'm really lucky that The town that I work for I have the support of leadership I say it again and again and again With 2020 if I didn't have the town manager the police chief my supervisor that I had I absolutely would have quit like no doubt But the fact that I was hired before All of that happened. Okay, like with the murder of George Floyd, you know that racial reawakening. That's sure that happened They already had the ideas and the initiatives Starting and so I knew that I wasn't being hired to be a fixer or a solution to an incident or a problem And that's made that I know I'm valued. Okay, and So 2020 was rough, but again, I had a great team to be there and take some of the load. I'd say the first two years were pretty reactionary, just with the climate in general, you know, dealing with things, providing, so my role has been internal and external, so working with community members, but also employees, which is a lot, and they've recognized that. So making sure you know, they're securing funding resources again other DER roles don't necessarily have that in other places But just in this last year, I really I was able to hire two full-time employees and Conduct a community equity audit and start working with our employees as well. So it's been a really good long road, but I think we're at a really good place. I mean, the workshops were a lot for everyone. They ran from October to January and every single employee had to participate. It wasn't an option. It wasn't just for managers. It was, we're all going to do this together because if we're doing this audit, you know, at the minimum, you're going to need the language to understand what This is even about I'm really focusing on like how to have discussion like equity work is not easy and it's not quick Oh, yeah, we had that I mean there were sessions where people finally spoke up about not being sure why we're doing this and People were shooketh, like, but that's the reality. And I had the opportunity to share with folks, you know, some people were really floored by the things they were hearing, not understanding how someone could have that different view and they work in the same place. But that's what needs to happen. Like, you work in your little silos, and you think everyone's on the same page, when in fact, you're part of a much larger institution that's built upon racist policies and systems. Like, yeah, you still have that. So it was good. We shook it up a little bit. Got people nervous.
[Carter]: It's interesting because one of the things that, you know, that, you know, we're finding in Medford is, you know, kind of this whole notion of having the appropriate vocabulary to have the conversation. And in a lot of instances, the reasons why we're having so much difficulty having a conversation, and we are having difficulty having a conversation, is because people have not developed a vocabulary. And so at the city level, there's a great onus of responsibility that's on the city to help the citizenry develop the language and the vocabulary, and then to usher in, in a gentle way, having these conversations. So, you know, hopefully, you know, based on what you just described, as the old song says, her ears are attendant to their cry. Okay. All right. So, what is serving in the town of Arlington taught you about the people that live there?
[SPEAKER_03]: They're special. No, Arlington is a great place. So I don't live in Arlington. I live in Somerville. But that community really has the best of intentions and really wants to be welcoming and accepting and doing what they can to make sure everyone feels like they belong there. Sometimes that alignment is off with the actions. And again, like, taking space to reflect and listen to those who are trying to guide. But it really is a special place. I mean, I saw, so my division, the DEI division is within Health and Human Services. And just, I mean, at the beginning of COVID, and so I had, I started in December and then I had just two months and it was chaos. So, but in that moment, I was doing COVID response, like, And I just saw the outpouring of wanting to give and help and it's there. I mean this morning I was at a community breakfast at Arlington Eats, the food pantry. Just the different, the number of volunteers and all of the folks who want to give and make sure the community is getting what it needs. is there. And the people, I mean, everyone's on their own journey. You've got folks who are never going to change. People are people. But for the most part, I'd say everyone is, you know, trying to do their best.
[Carter]: We're all doing our best. Well, you know, it's funny because, you know, the nature of COVID And all of the negative things obviously are fairly obvious, but one of the positive things that is revealed here in Medford is that there are so many people with really, really good hearts that really want to help and really want to do things to kind of change the context of the conversation now. the challenge, and I'm sure you've seen some of this in Arlington as well, is to get through to the knuckleheads. And I probably use that term advisedly, but we all know what we know. And there are clearly a lot of people who are being really stony about all of this and not allowing the goodness and the humanness to come through and aid and assist in getting us to that place where everybody feels like they're serving everybody else.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I would just say to that, I felt that somewhat and then really worked to redirect my focus because you hear from the loudest voices. Absolutely. And often it's those people who don't want change, who are set in their ways, but they really aren't the biggest group of people. So I get those little reminders that the work I'm doing actually does matter and is making a difference from people I've never heard from. Like I literally just got an email yesterday, I cried a little. But from a community member who like went back and watched some recordings that we had done in what year is it 2021 um and just showed appreciation that they watched it with their family and they had recently moved here and we're looking for something and found that, and we're really impressed that the town was doing these things. So it's, you've got that group of folks that is gonna be there, they're not going anywhere, but don't waste your energy because you've got folks on this end who are just gonna drain you, the people in the middle that you can sway, and then you've got your supporters over here. They're a small bunch, they might be loud and rowdy, but it's not worth your just headache.
[Carter]: That's really a good perspective to take. I think one of the things that we found here at the community center is that, you know, we invite a lot of people to a lot of different things, and the people that come almost invariably are the people who are in favor of positive change happening in the community, and the people that don't come in a lot of ways are not necessarily. So, you know, we're going to keep extending the invitation and having an open door for anybody who wants to come, but we also understand that there may be some folks who never dock in our doorstep. And, you know, we keep the lights on, so we don't need all of that. All right, so I know this is subject to change in a shifting landscape, but what's your current vision for your department, for DE&I, your division in Arlington?
[SPEAKER_03]: Great question. So I've achieved a little bit of that, the fact that it's not a division of one anymore. Yeah, I love it. But yeah, we just finished our equity audit, and I'm actually right now very much in the stage of absorbing all of those recommendations, those results, and partnering it with the report that we had with our employee workshops, I'm not in a rush. I really, everyone's like, not everyone, a handful of folks are very anxious to get started on like, okay, how do we fix, what do we do now? And it's like, nope, slow down. Like, we need to be strategic. So for me, right now, I mean, the plan is hopefully Budget for a few more employees Community engagement is key. So I hired a community engagement and Outreach coordinator in June.
[Carter]: I love it.
[SPEAKER_03]: But the first recommendation we have is establish a community engagement team because we know that Again, we don't know what we don't know. We know we're not reaching certain people. We need people out there meeting, going, meeting people where they are, not expecting them to come to us. So for me, step one is like get that team a little bit up, whether it's like part time, if it's community ambassadors, exploring different options. And then yeah, really the stage I'm kind of in right now is strategic planning, just looking at what we can do. We're a part of a language access program as well. So what that looks like long-term we've got some short-term solutions, but really looking at the budget How are we gonna actually fund all of these things? We know we have to do But being realistic that it's going to take time. It's going to be Years down the road.
[Carter]: All right, nothing without ambition.
[Unidentified]: Mm-hmm Okay
[Carter]: All right, so I'm going to shift gears a little bit. How did your new presidency at the Mystic Valley branch of the NAACP come about? Was it something that you knew you wanted to do, or?
[SPEAKER_03]: Or. It was an or. Yeah, we needed a new president. Zane was tired. But I was asked a couple of times. I actually said no, because I had a lot going on. I understand. And then I finally said, OK, you can put me down as the last option. I was the only option.
[Carter]: There's some people in this room who know what that's about. I know.
[SPEAKER_03]: but When it came down to I'm the only option I was like, okay, then we're gonna do it I actually stepped back from a few other things That I was doing so that I could redirect more of my time because I knew that this would be a big Big shoes to fill. Yes But also just for me, it's brand new and this really I I was on a couple of committees, I was doing a lot, but to take on this type of leadership role, I knew I had to make some more time, and yeah, I'm excited. It's been good, I have a great executive board. They're super supportive. Yeah, looking for new members. If you want one, find me after.
[Carter]: You're ready to holler at your girl, as they say. Okay, so what are your early impressions of being in this role?
[SPEAKER_03]: It's hard It's hard there's a lot of history I literally have fallen asleep every time I start reading through the bylaws Which I need to learn and know them. Yeah and I Time management and boundaries is key and I don't have those But yeah, just I I think If I'm, a couple of the community members that I spoke with, you know, said they wanted to see my vision, you know, come to light. And so my vision really is like really building up our membership. I think we've got some generational gaps and that's, we're trying to reestablish our youth council. So there's just a lot of pieces and I think I wanna get more in touch with the communities. joined and we were on zoom for Years, so part of what I want to do as well is start to bring our meetings not every meeting But back to some of the different communities They really just make our presence more out there And do more collaboration. With the convention coming, the national convention coming to Boston this summer, July, end of July, everybody register when it opens up in May. We're doing a lot of work with the Boston branch and just, I'm excited because it's gonna be a great opportunity to showcase what we have, what we can do, and just let people know we're here.
[Carter]: Absolutely, and we're an organization that is probably more necessary now than it was when Walter White and several others charted it at the very outset. It's critical right now that we have that particular voice. Okay, so what new initiatives are you excited about as you begin to get around in your service cities and towns?
[SPEAKER_03]: new initiatives um well kind of everything's kind of new for me okay okay all right that's fair that's fair so i really i was a part of our education and reparations committee um and i think for me i with the work that i do and that i have done in the past I want to do more I'd say partnered programs like around educational programs Coming out of the work of the committees that we have. So we have a really active our reparations group our environmental justice And I want to kind of really be able to uplift the work they're doing but make sure it's also not just Within one city or town that's within the branch. I Kind of what I've seen that I would like to work on is mixing that up There are specific issues that yes are relative to you know, Medford or Malden, but it doesn't mean it's not happening in the other Municipalities and so what we do in Malden I'd love to be able to get folks from the other towns and cities on board so that there is a real stronger support between the area
[Carter]: Okay, you may have already answered that question just just now But I I want to ask it because maybe you'll spin it a different way. Is is there a particular city or town? Within the catchment that that kind of intrigues you and if so, why?
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, no Okay, I think all of them. I they're all kind of new to me. I mean, I know Arlington I think I Lucky in the sense that because of my day job, but it's also a night job. It's all the time job. I Do have some of the government connections and so I have that Ability to be like, okay. I know what's going on Things aren't good here. Like let's figure this out But using the branch versus me and my other role. Okay, um, and But yeah, I'm just really kind of looking forward to learning more I spend most of my time in Arlington, but I've been dabbling in Medford and I want to just make the rounds
[Carter]: This is the most fascinating, the most intriguing, the most historical, the most effervescent, the most bubbly community of all of them. So, you know, I mean, don't get me wrong. We got some warts, you know, we got some warts, no real frog doesn't. But, you know, should you be looking for, beside Arlington, excuse me, for a place to hang your hat, you know, at any point in time, feel free to come on through.
[Unidentified]: I will. And we'll be good to you.
[Carter]: I promise we'll be good to you. Okay. All right. So as you think about collaborations, commitment, membership, community building, and again, you may have touched on some of these things already, what burns in you? What burning desire do you have?
[SPEAKER_03]: Um, I don't know if it's a burning desire. But I want, I really want more youth involvement. Like I want to hear what they want to do. Again, you don't know what you don't know. So if I'm putting on a program, and I don't have that perspective, No, they're not gonna come. So I really want that piece. I want more youth involvement from all of the communities Because I think it's vital and I know what I noticed as well is with The different branches across the country there's a trend some of them have super active youth councils and some don't and there's a difference in the type of programming that's going on and I think it's a great way to encourage our youth to become leaders and just know that they have a voice and they can use it and be heard and listened to and and have power. So burning desire, youth involvement.
[Carter]: It's kind of flaming.
[SPEAKER_03]: It may not be, you know, all consuming, but it's got a flick of a flame. I also have a soft spot for youth. I worked at a youth center for seven years and I just
[Carter]: Well see, you and Lisa, our executive director, have a lot in common, so y'all should be having big conversations.
[SPEAKER_03]: Lisa, we're going to have tea time.
[Carter]: And the truth of the matter is, it's something that we struggle with. And so in terms of, you know, having advocacy out there at, you know, kind of a global level, that would be really, really helpful. So if you crack the algorithm, we want to look at your notes. We want to peek over your shoulder and see what it is you do that's successful. how will what you've learned during your, not so brief, but your abbreviated tenure in Arlington DE&I inform how you move the dials forward in terms of the work that you're doing with the NAACP?
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. I would say... I got trapped in my shoe. I would say that I'm a listener. Which again is like why I want more folks so we can hear and absorb. Because what I've learned with Arlington and just previous work is that you need to listen to the voices before you make decisions, before you figure out what your path is gonna be. Because if you just go based off of what's in your little bubble, you're gonna be missing things but hmm what else I feel like it's all just kind of up there well it's gonna trickle down absolutely absolutely
[Carter]: In terms of, you may not know all of them, I know I certainly don't, but in terms of the national priorities of the mother organization, NAACP, what particular initiatives are you most passionate about? What do you want to really see happen or see the dials move on?
[SPEAKER_03]: I, for me, and I know, I think in other places around the country, it's more very much a need, but here as well, just voter registration, getting back to the advocacy piece, making sure people know that they do have power and giving them that empowerment, like awareness. Setting up different maybe an idea I have that I haven't told anyone. So here's a sneaky okay like any programs that we may do in person like I'd love to have just an opportunity to yes, like sign up become a member, but also here are instructions how to Register if you're not registered to vote just simple things that you can start to integrate To remind folks so that is one of the things that I definitely want to do
[Carter]: Yeah, I think it's absolutely imperative that we kind of get back to kind of a level of intensity and a level of understanding of the real, real burning necessity. I mean, if there ever was something that is a burning desire, it should be voter registration right now. Okay, so will you play a little bit of word association with me? sure okay all right so um here's here's here's how i do it's a little bit off the beaten path it's it's not it's not word to word okay it's kind of word to impression word to phrase word to you know kind of what you're thinking when you say something yeah so i'll say i respond yeah whatever's in my head exactly okay okay all right well you know
[SPEAKER_03]: Legacy. Wait, is it one word?
[Carter]: It'll be one word for me, but it can be multiple words for you. But it can be like a thousand or one for me? Yeah, like maybe a hundred, maybe not a thousand. I feel like it's a test. I love it. Without a test, there's no testimony. So, you know, I'm trying to help you develop your testimony. Legacy.
[SPEAKER_03]: Do I keep it short? Legacy. Sorry, I have so many thoughts. I'm trying to put them in a way.
[Carter]: So maybe thing number one and thing number two.
[SPEAKER_03]: Thing number one. knowing your history so that it can inform your present and your future.
[Carter]: That's a great answer. It really is. Okay, authenticity.
[SPEAKER_03]: Me.
[Carter]: Authentic. Okay. All right. All right. I love that you seized on that and you personify.
[SPEAKER_03]: kept it real, like at work, that I show up as I am. There are days I show up in joggers and sneakers and I don't care because that's who I am that day. It's just, you're gonna get Jill, just Jill.
[Carter]: I imagine my tracksuits are legendary. Leadership.
[SPEAKER_03]: Leadership. Knowing how to balance using your power and Responsibility for other people.
[Carter]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, absolutely The cowardly lion courage Courage I feel like I want to answer with the word courage Courage Yeah, just I think it's to me. It's tied to being authentic like You just need to be yourself and not be afraid of failing Because you only learn from failures. Yeah.
[Carter]: Yeah. Yeah. It's that whole speak truth to power thing. Yeah, absolutely Okay, and then last but not least allyship
[SPEAKER_03]: So I have a love-hate relationship with this word. Because it often gets misused. Do it right. OK. All right. All right. Whatever it is, do it the right way. Do your research. Do it right. Ask questions. Don't make it about you. Make it about the person or the group or the people that you are trying to be in allyship with. Nice.
[Carter]: Nice. Nice. And that common vocabulary becomes really, really important. Because if one group is speaking one language and the other group is speaking another language, not much is going to get done. Very good, very good. Okay, so I'm going to flip the script, okay? I'm gonna give yeah, yeah, we're done with the game. I'm gonna give you give you your power It's women's history month. So, you know, I'm gonna take a backseat brother brothers gonna take a backseat What question would you want to pose to me tonight? What do you love most about
[SPEAKER_03]: Medford and this center.
[Carter]: Okay. Okay. So, it's a couple things. I love most about Medford the fact that through all of the changes that we're going through right now, and we're going through a lot of changes, the one thing that I know is still important to the people that live here is family. You know, I deal primarily with, you know, with the older population as I direct elder services. And, I mean, you know, the ladies talk about a lot of things, the men as well, but one of the things that is a common thread amongst them in conversation is family. You know, they talk about their family, they talk about their sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters and aunts and uncles and folks that have passed, folks that they've taken care of, that they've raised. It's the thread that continues to keep this as at least a somewhat nuclear community. I mean, there's pockets of different stuff happening all over the place. But the one thing that's common to everybody, and I write a lot about it in my poetry, is family. It's really, really important. And it was a two-part question, the second part was... What do you love about this? Enter. On the days that I love it... And truth be told, that's most days. But on the days that I love it, it feels like I belong here. And I know I'm not going to feel that way forever. But this is the second building on the site, and it's under 20 years old. The first building on the site, the old army barracks, the Quonset hut, as they call it, I grew up in that building. So, you know, I'm kind of, you know, in some ways, because they say, you know, once an adult, twice a child, I'm kind of getting close to that place where I'll start to live, have my second childhood, as many of my seniors are having right now. And from the first childhood to now getting close to the second childhood, the one thing that stayed the same is that this is still, when I walk in here, it's still my place. I have not yet come in on any given day and felt like I didn't belong here. And I think, you know, for any job, that's pretty cool, you know, to walk in every day and feel like you belong there. Now again, I may not always feel that way, and there are days when, you know, it challenges the notion, but for the most part, you know, it's, and I know, and I may not do it well every day, but I know that it's important work and I try. You know, I try. Okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: I have one more question. Okay.
[Carter]: Yep.
[SPEAKER_03]: Okay, so if I'm in Medford.
[Carter]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_03]: And I'm hungry.
[Carter]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_03]: Where are you gonna tell me to go to get the most delicious meal? Any cuisine.
[Carter]: Okay, okay.
[SPEAKER_03]: Like it's got a slap. Okay.
[Carter]: All right. All right, so I'll tell you a place that I've eaten recently that I really, I thought the food was good. I like Italian food. Okay? And, you know, Salvatore's down in Medford Square. You know, they're pretty good. They're pretty good. I also have been invited and gone on a couple of occasions to the Kiwanis meetings, and they used to meet at a little spot on Main Street called Bichelli's. And they put out a spread. They put out a spread, and the food was banging.
[SPEAKER_03]: I will take my mother there.
[Carter]: I don't know. If I was taking my mom, I probably would take her to Salvatore's, because I think the atmosphere and ambiance, as the French say, it's pretty nice. It's a pretty nice place. Thank you. OK, you're welcome. Okay. I thought that one was going to get me. So I want to give you the last word, kind of what are your parting thoughts? This is great.
[SPEAKER_03]: I told you I'd be nice to you. You're pleasant. No, but this is just really wonderful just to be able to be in a community space. Again, a lot of what I've been doing for the last few years has been virtual and successful, meaningful, but You don't get that like the laughter the commentary. It's It's nice to be in this space and I'll be back. Yeah.
[Carter]: Yeah. Well come for the commentary because If you come to the lunch from 12 to 1 yeah Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, right? And if you can pigeonhole the ladies and get them to talking about the stuff that they talk about that they don't think I hear when I'm sitting in my office, I'm not going there, right? Because I'll get my hands slapped. But they're funny. They're funny. They got mad comedy. I'll come through. Will I fit in? Will I blend in? We talking high-level hilarity, all right? I love it. They're a hilarious bunch. So listen, thank you so much for bringing new leadership, new energy, and a spirit of personal engagement to this community, to our friends in Arlington, and to the constituencies of the NAACP and the Mystic Valley. We're happy that you've recovered, you know, your good health, although I know you got some fits and starts. It is, it's a sine wave, you know, it's not a straight line. Thank you so much for your attentiveness and your interest in the discussion. Thank you all just as well for that. So we're going to take a little bit of break so that we can get things set for the second part of this evening. Get ready for something special and something very different on the musical side of the coin right after we take a break to reset the stage and share some WMCC announcements. Thank you, Jillian.
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you.
[Carter]: All right, all right. No, I let some of my lackeys take care of it. Like I got some of it. Thank you for coming out with a hug, y'all.
[Unidentified]: Thank you very much.
[SPEAKER_07]: All right.
[SPEAKER_06]: I ain't mad at her. She ain't mad at me. I'm chapped up.
[Unidentified]: Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
[Carter]: All right, let me get this.
[SPEAKER_09]: Keep the rug, right?
[Unidentified]: We have lost the internet for a little bit, but we came back a lot faster. It's harder to get involved.
[SPEAKER_09]: It's harder to get involved. It's harder to get involved. It's harder to get involved. It's harder to get involved. It's harder to get involved. It's harder to get involved. It's harder to get involved.
[Unidentified]: Because most people think of us like this. We work for money. We cover those bills.
[Carter]: Check, check, one, two, three, one, two, three. Yeah, because I have this. So I'm gonna do a little intro and then I'll let you guys take over, okay? Okay. All right. Is that all right? Yeah. All right. I feel like I'm failing you and I hate it. I really do. Can you see the anguish in my face? Sorry. All right. Okay. All right, if I can have everybody take their seats, we're gonna try and get going again. All right. So folks, if you're here and you can take your seats, that would be greatly appreciated. OK. All right. So let me make sure I got what I need. OK. So it's time to turn our attention human and canine, to the lyrical miracle we've engaged for this evening's musical, in quotes, side of the ledger. Tonight we're going to take the second half of our program in a slightly different direction. Beats, check. Rhymes, check. Stories, check. Orchestration and instrumentation, not so much. Tonight it's about the spoken word and the mind, soul, and spirit connection to the world we're living in. And because it's Women's History Month, it's about the sisterhood. So let me tell you just a bit about the performance you'll be experiencing over the next 45 minutes or so. Now familiar to some of you, new to many, is Michelle La Poetica. carries the last name Richardson around as well. Michelle is a dynamic spoken word artist who travels throughout Massachusetts and the Northeast with multiple musical performers, including rappers, singers, poets, and other creatives breathing new life into the spaces of hip hop, social justice, cultural diversity, and inclusiveness of all stripes. She and her Soul Cipher group took the center by storm a few years back and it was a totally new experience for everyone. Her musical and producing credits are legendary in the area, and she's a legitimate queen of the spoken word scene, having won numerous awards for the art form, and she has taught a new generation of poets and performers how to do the daggone thing. Joining La Poetica is another spoken word maven of the highest order, Cole Rodriguez, is an internationally recognized artist hailing from Boston, but having traveled extensively as a participant in the National Poetry Slam. Cole has competed against some of the top-ranked poets in the United States. Like Michelle, La Poética, she has used her poetic work to inspire activism and speak truth to power. Cole is passionate about youth development and has used her platform to serve in universities, high schools, and therapeutic spaces where poetry can be deconstructed, reconstructed, created, and celebrated. See, I'm a poet, too. I can do this stuff. She loves music. She loves cooking. Got to know about that a little bit better. In the Boston Celtics, among other things, her performance credits really a truly prodigious and really too numerous to mention and Baby girl over here is Dexter tell me your last name darling Dexter Garcia Okay, she's one of Michelle's Chargers, one of her newbies. I don't know as much about her, but I do know that she's the published author of many books, actually, and that she's brought several of them with her, so if you like what she does, support her art form on your way out. As the young folks are fond of saying, y'all need to get out the way, we got stuff to do. So I am going to let the ladies give you the goods. West Medford and World, give a warm welcome to Michelle La Poetica Richardson, Cole Rodriguez, and Dexter Garcia. All righty? Ladies, take the stage.
[SPEAKER_06]: Allow me the opportunity to reintroduce myself. Mother, mujer, mover of souls, motivator. Mean maneras of managing, mean fingers, mean fingers. Manipulan cuando señalan lenguas torcidas. Malintencionadas, mencionan a Michelle, de manera equivocada. El menosprecio, minimizations, attempted and dumb, succeeded in the relations of goals, dreams, and expectations. Ocurren, pero milagros tambien. Aparece un lapiz, un papel, and from that moment yo pude entender cual era mi deber exclusivo. Nací para ser poeta. oradora del arma, creative interpreter for emociones manifestadas, manos armadas. Con la pluma y su espada, because toda palabra is a double-edged sword. Una espada de doble filo. In each verse, una estrategia, cada poema is a battle cry for you to wake up, levántate, obten esperanza y entiende que desde lo más superficial hasta lo más profundo, you are the only ones in control of your mundo and how the actions of others or lack of them te afectan. My mission is to change the world with my defects, my talent, my pencil, and my notebook. So whether you love me or you hate me, you either fear me or respect me. Whether my energy repels you, or if to you I'm magnetic, you will always remember how I made you feel. But also remember who I am. I am Michelle, La Poética. Now, I wanna introduce two amazing poets. These poets are women by their own rights extraordinary in many, many ways. I encourage you to look them up, both Cole Rodriguez and Dexter Garcia. Don't let the youth fool you. This baby is powerful. Powerful. So I'm gonna step back, now that you know who I am. Now I'm gonna let Cole introduce herself.
[SPEAKER_01]: He had four aunts, three sisters, and six girl cousins. He watched their trials and their tribulations as they searched for good loving. There were bathroom preps and whispered conversations that left little room for the imagination's creations. He was trying to make sense of the role that men played, trying to understand why these women always stayed. Now, security, stability, it remained elusive. As mom's relationships explored new directions of abuse and licks, they were loose because you need excuses to explain how you could accept mental and physical bruises. So he watched these losers. He envied their charms. He forgave them as Mama returned to their undeserving arms, never considering the effects of such spiritual. His silence, his withdrawal. It set off no one's alarms. It took two weeks, three days, and 18 stitches after Mama couldn't fulfill stepdad number six's wishes. And don't get it twisted, this was no weak chick. She retorted his punches, hands clenched and dumb fists. But his energy was missed. Confusion persisted as Walter witnessed his mother's self-love becoming listless. It seemed like every instance she just couldn't resist this and was weakened by the pressure of her suitor's insistence. So he questioned his existence. He stayed out later on the block. He tried to hang with older guys to listen to them talk to their bragging contests of their sexual conquests, creating context for Walter's repressed respect. confidence, constantly tested and questioned. It was hard to discern the valuable lessons. And when those young ladies, they came to beckon, Walter's sisters stepped in. Under the guise of protection, they told him, toughen up, buck up, walk with your chin up to them girls, your feelings, don't just give up, don't be weak. Definitely don't cry, because the world is unforgiving to boys with wet eyes. He believed these lies, he held it all in. He used their expectations to justify his sins. You see, they judged men by their dreams and not their deeds. Subconsciously, they believed Walter didn't deserve what he needs. It took two wives, three sons, and one daughter for Walter to consider his history's offering. He watched his offspring repeating the patterns he taught them. He looked his demons in the eyes. He finally fought them. He dug deep into the caverns that we keep. nestled inside. He freed his mind. He finally relinquished his pride. He was ready to break patterns and leave legacies behind. Walter freed himself finally when he let himself cry.
[SPEAKER_02]: OK, that was beautiful. I don't know how I'm going to follow it, but here we go. I'm a reader. I'm terrible with memorizing things, so I'm going to read from my book. This is one of my books. And this poem, like many of my poems, is I think all of my poems are love poems to some degree. They just present themselves in different ways. In this one, God is universe and she has my face constructed of stardust. She is all nebula, all galaxies upon galaxies of woman and black and black and black and every color that has ever been and beauty. Her eyes are sun, all fire and scorch. I imagine falling into them and feel nothing but warmth. Here I learned there is no hell, just the eyes of a woman who has been overlooked one too many times. Here I learned the embrace can be a comfort when you are also burning from the inside out, when the world is cold and you nothing but flame. Here in the eye of universe, in the eye of God, I find myself for the first time. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_06]: If my ancestors still talk and still walk, what would they say about the cruel world we now live in? To see all of their sacrifices sacrificed to a world of sin, futures looking grim, lives now trimmed from the exercise of dodging bullets of evil while trying to maintain a peaceful existence. Simple things taken for granted, many a seed planted in soils poisoned by deception. There's no light to bring fruit to conception, much less birth. If your souls could be measured at this point, what would be its worth? For day after day, we seem to take for granted all of the gifts and seeds by life planted, opportunities falling like autumn leaves in the wind. Close your eyes, extend your shirt, create a basket with your skirt. Dream something, want something, do something. Don't continue to let life pass you by. For since birth, you've seen seconds turn to minutes, minutes to hours, those hours to days that fly by, waiting for you to embrace that epiphany. Drop blindly, constantly, finally, see you have and will have until your last dying breath. The opportunity. to be a fruit-bearing tree, willing and able to nurture all those in its proximity, but instead, we consciously turn our deaf ear, turn our backs out of fear, knowingly choosing not to be, and unknowingly choosing to become Jesus's tears. What if you knew that your time was near, that someone else's clock was winding down? Would you choose to be an adjective, a verb, or a stagnant noun? Smile or frown, be a prince or a pauper, and would you, could you, should you not just wear, but even be allowed to look upon a jewel-bearing crown with the intent to wear it? Tell me now how you see fit that we've lost our belief in love, truth, and loyalty, respect, honor, and affection given genuinely. How easy it is for them to stand and expect from me, when they can't even look in the mirror and see what Jesus would see. The great and good spiritual robbing hoods, robbing hoods of the dream robbing capabilities. Actually, that's a spoken word that's done for me. Mad random, I know. But as my thoughts wander to and fro, I ask you, each and every one of you, if you truly knew that the sky was your limit, how tall would you be willing to go?
[SPEAKER_01]: for a little known fact about me that I've never shared in any performance space, because it has had no relevance. But tonight has relevance. I went to the Brooks Hobbs School for elementary school. I started out actually at the Furby for kindergarten. And the first time I ever saw anybody break dance live, was at the old West Medford Community Center. So come on here to my dressing table. So I find myself, as usual, I am admonishing my daughter. This time it's from the kitchen. Girl, you need to stop wasting the water. She's got to understand, y'all, things are getting drastic. All your consumable liquids come encased in some plastic. I'm trying to get her to conserve our most precious resource. It's the imprudence of humans that has created our discourse. Over one million people are without adequate drinking water worldwide, and California's supply is probably gonna go dry before she's old enough to drive. If you live in Colorado, your faucet may just be producing gas. Imagine drinking a glass of water and having a flame shoot out your... Look around at your environment. because it's history that reminds us that it should not surprise us, where the earth, she survives us. You think that we are a match for the planet? She survived billions of years of destruction and you think we're gonna do real damage. Ozone layers, global warming, that's all a warning that the world will be burning, but she will keep on turning because the earth is discerning and eliminates any force refusing its natural learning. Humans, we're the ones on the way out. The planet's going to survive us of this, I have no doubt. From us, she surely will recover from the apocalyptic thoughts that seem to hover because I know what happens when you disrespect your mother. Our planet's adversity is being neglected. Most of our wetlands remain unprotected. Our fish are full of mercury and continue to be rejected. Australia's watching the city dry up. And that's what I call being naturally selected. Policies are ineffective and if left unchecked, well shoot, Medford could be affected. I'm just trying to teach us some respect. Instead of showing our children how to raise healthy crops, we satiate their ADD with Kool-Aid and Xbox. The Gaza Strip, Ethiopia, Egypt are all engaged in warfare as they feel the scarcity of water and try to hoard their own share. And here in America, it's already affecting the masses. Some people have clean water while others are denied access. And we watch with apathy as our communities become fractions as our leaders continue to not get held accountable for their actions. And I'm wondering how thirsty one has to get before you show a little passion. Because we are withering, y'all, in the new world order. Withering like the flowers. Girl, you forgot to water.
[SPEAKER_02]: I would like to introduce this poem by saying that it is after one of my favorite poets of all time. She's one of the first people I ever heard do spoken word. Her name is Jean Ann Verley. If you've never heard of her or heard her work, look her up. She writes in a way that I cannot possibly explain. So definitely look into her. And it's called And, Or, After Jean Ann Verley. There's no safe space here. And this is target practice. And I love her so much, I just watch her fire. And stand at the end of this range and watch her pull the trigger with no warning. And it's so easy for her. And she never knows how much damage is done. And I'm never the last one standing because I have ammo I don't use. And she watches me fall. And says I'm just being dramatic. she watches me bleed and says I'll be okay and I feel as if I may die this time around and days later I unwrap my wounds and they are still open and I brace myself for it to happen again or love myself or build myself or understand that this is toxic and or know that I can still love her while telling her this is wrong, or scream, or scream, or scream, or cry, or kick, or shield myself, or protect my mind, or heal my heart, or know that love and pain are not the same things, or ask her to do better, or tell her I deserve better, or know that she doesn't know how sometimes, or teach her, or tell her I'm trying, or love her harder, or love her from afar, or let myself smile, or dodge the bullet, or watch her pull her weapon, and this time, run. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_06]: You ready for the last round? So, I am. I am. They are. Many of you may be. But I am an endangered species. And I sing no victim song. I am a woman. I am an artist. And I know where my voice belongs. And there are people in your life that have earned your truth, beams. They support you and hold you up, even when you're earthquakes, they remain steady. They see past the muck, past the field of debris left after your last crash landing or your last collision with a meteor. Some heights, hits, hats, hates, gates, be out of this world, and they're keepers, wielders, and teachers too. What to do, what to do. If hate begets hate and monkeys see monkey do, do as I say, not as I do. Some not knowing, some fully aware that they do as they see and repeat as they hear. Some knots and bruises showing from the inside is a sign of compartment syndrome. You're bleeding out on the inside. Pressure builds and the only way to survive it without suffering permanent loss of function, life, or existence is by releasing the pressure. This is how we, this is how I release and relieve the pressure that robs me of my ability to breathe. The irony. I reclaim my breath when I take yours away. We, I, lose myself in a poem and a performance so that you can feel me, see me, so that you can find you and free me from the darkness that forever tries to consume me. If I took you on a ride upon my roller coaster, would you even survive the high highs and the low lows? The air is thinner up there, and it's thicker down here. In both cases, you still can't breathe, and the middle don't want you. So how do you survive the roller coaster? How do I? Balance. Or the relentless pursuit of it. Not happiness because I now understand that true happiness comes from genuine balance. The more aspects of you that are balanced, the more genuine and enduring the happiness will be. A shift of the scales could be devastating for someone like me. My scales for far too long have been balanced by air propelled from the wind beneath my own wings. No care, no love, just fire and steam. Ream after ream of thoughts, dreams, wishes, and emotions accumulate and become beams in their own right, able to withstand the hardest shakes and darkest, murkiest floodwater. So much soul on those pages that once the atmosphere settles and the waters reside, there's no rust here. No mold, nothing foul that here is because this type of magic, this type of being, is undeniably and incredibly resilient and resistant to the point that where even the most microscopic remnants of me can fill a room like this with resonance. Do you see? Do you feel? Do you hear me? That's who I am, that's who I be. I am the soul that made you see what you felt when you heard how I feel, learned how I deal, and remember how I told it. Italicized, highlighted, and boldly engraved in the most profound depths of your being. What you being, be in real life looking like an apology to the universe for not having found this version of yourself sooner. The universe looks at you and says, shh, child, don't apologize. Remember who you are. Recuerda quien tu eres. Aun cuando aparenta o se siente estar sin luz, sigue siendo ella. Radiante en su existencia, nueva medias, sigue siendo ella. The moon does not apologize when she is not full. Neither should you, neither do I. And you, you should be thankful that we as artists shine brightest most times when we are most empty. That though your accolades and praises and even love can ring loud and plenty, at the end of it all, most times, I feel most empty. Because it's not enough. Because I've given you all that I got. and I still have nothing. My light fills you, the process drains me, and at the end of it all, I have to devise ways and means to refuel my own soul, because the type of love that I need never finds its way into my receivables. And all the love that I get at the end of the night has yet to evolve into having the ability to afford me and mine enough stability to not have to struggle or worry. Still, even when eclipsed by the shadow of the earth and sun being in perfect alignment, you still shine. You're still you in all of your phases, moon, because true moons overcome oppressive negativity.
[SPEAKER_01]: I began my descent onto a brazen path where the love I have for myself is the only love that seems to last. Sight sounds and the people I see are a reminder that y'all are a reflection of me. I met this student one day. In school, she was trying to stay worried about maintaining that GPA and struggling to understand the things the professors would say. She didn't get to play. She was studying all day, but it was all good to her. She was determined to make her way. No camaraderie found. with the other women in her class. She didn't seem to fit in. They always seemed to have more cash, but she was on her path, trying to stay focused. What she saw back at home is what challenged her the most because no one really cared that she was going to school. No one else thought Michelle Foucault was cool. No one else to share in the lessons of her day. It seemed like no one that was around her had anything of value left to say. She was alone and lonely, and it seemed to me like she was always being phony, either faking for her classmates or faking for her homies. I grabbed her and I reminded her, it's okay to just be you. Don't try to impress these people. To thy own self we must be true. I be you, you be me, we be she. She is beautiful. Kept it moving in the bus stop. Saw Jeannie with the sunlight gleaming into her eyes. Her silver bangles were jingling as they bumped against her thighs. Her hair was done up, her makeup was tight. All to mask the pain of what she goes through every night. This car pulls up. Hey, look at some legs on Shorty. She doesn't even know to get offended. She's gotten so used to feeling dirty. Hey, little mama, come on, show me what you got. And this attention, it's got her thinking that she's hot. Two hours later, exchanging sex for some pot and the diseases she's got. It don't make her stop. She's not trying to make, see, they could have bought a clinic when she's trying to make it pop. She carries a fake coach bag and it's loaded with Rough Riders and the list is long of men that have been inside her though no one provides for her or stands by her side for her. So she uses sex to try to fill the hole that resides in her. Wish that they missed her, they all just really just a guess or a pester or I totally dismiss her. No one was around when she was in need. Yet she still let them be inside of her in hopes of producing a seed, a baby, a dependent. She wanted to be a mother so she could be the creator of something that would truly love her. Even though the most lovable parts of herself, Youngster had yet to discover. She'd find herself getting wistful when she'd feel him slipping off the rubber. Even though it's good for your soul to love something you can't control, security from stability is something she has yet to know. She has found a place to rest, but she has never found a home. Been chewed on and spewed on, it seems she roams this earth alone. I felt her pain as I caught her winking back. Never considering the suitors or the chivalry they lacked, she puttered up her lips. She turned and revealed how her jeans hug her hips. I wanted to try to save her before she jumped in the scar and dipped, because I knew they'd have her giddy off with just a few quick sips. So I grabbed her by the hands. I looked her in the eye and told her, you are far more valuable than anything they could buy. The way that they're speaking, nah, girl, it's just not suitable. I be you. You be me. We be she. She is beautiful. I don't know if she believed me. I continued on my way. I prayed for her enlightenment, that maybe she'd understand one day, that maybe she'd be like Marsha, who saw the brightness of the light that shone from deep inside of her when she started treating herself right. She quit smoking, learned to do Taibo, found herself with idle time until the library she would go, filled her mind with as much information as it could take, observed all people, and without judgment, learned from their mistakes. She prayed every day, mostly to herself, that she would continue to find the strength to consider her mind her greatest wealth. She found friends and people like-minded. She understood most stories, they get told one-sided. She created change through discussion. She appreciated her blessings. She tried to take all her mistakes as opportunities for lessons. So I called her one day. I told her something unusual. I told her, I be you. You be me. We be she. She is beautiful. They walk with me as I continue on my journey, weathered and war-torn and sometimes a little weary. The world can get scary. Everything isn't always clear. But I'm learning to face my path with a brave absence of fear, constantly contradicting myself, forever reinventing myself, testing myself, condensing myself, but consistently striving to find the best in myself. Things change and they seem to be getting harder, but really, it's getting easier, because baby, I'm just getting smarter, realizing that I am a part of a blanket that keeps me wrapped in karma. I look in the mirror now. I smile at my reflection. I'm thankful every day for another resurrection, because I am my sister's keeper. I reap the benefits of her protection. Together, we fight to challenge society's perception of women that only relate to each other with lies and deception. So when my sisters wish to gossip, they are met with my refusal. I tell them I be you. You be me. We be she.
[SPEAKER_07]: She's too beautiful.
[SPEAKER_02]: This is my latest book. It's called love poems to my not lover It's supposed to be a little funny, but also very real And this poem is called written universe I've written all my love poems to you All of the songs and one liners. I filled the sky with ink one pen stroke at a time. The glow is always so strong here. Never a weary moment. That is to say I never tire when it comes to loving you on paper or in life. Every star is a dedication and the moon sits idly by waiting to become canvas. Waiting to light up the sky with its reflection of you. I've never penned anything as beautiful as the sun. Maybe that's why I haven't captured your heart yet. But I'll keep trying. I'll create galaxies if need be. Call it a written universe. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_06]: So who said one more round? So I have this poem that I wrote years ago, and I'm trying to see if I can find a way to have... It worked. Hold on, honey, it's about to get real. Yes, I'm gonna do. So let me introduce you to Lone Soul, ladies and gentlemen, please give him a round of applause. Lone Soul is an extraordinary saxophone player. He didn't bring his sax. So before I play this, I'm going to tell you the story. Because it's important and it's relevant in all of the stories. All because it feeds into the system. Hello. Well, the system done missed some fire today. But some things are meant to be a certain type of way, right? So years ago, I used to work at a storefront spot in Lawrence, Mass. This spot used to happen to be on what I call a hot block. This is where the crack was, this is where the prostitutes was, this is where it happened, you know? And this particular guy would walk back and forth all day long, every day, every day, every day. I'd see him walking back and forth. Sometimes I'd growl at him. I did not like this man much. I kind of loathed him a bit. And one day, he was on the phone. He was walking down the street. He was cussing something awful. And as he was walking, he saw my son, who was seven at the time, sitting outside the car. And he put his phone to his chest. And he said, my bad, little man. You didn't need to hear all that. I apologize. I was coming out the office in that very moment when I saw that go down. I was like, this monster has a soul. So I said to myself, And myself said, have a conversation with him. Find out what happened. And I did just that the following day. He was walking down the street having a similar conversation. I said, excuse me, when you have a moment, I'd like to have a word with you. He put his phone to his chest and said, I have a moment for you right now. How can I help you, miss? And I said, well, it seemed like yesterday you were having some issue, and you were, you know, cussing up a storm, and my son was there. He's like, oh, that was your little man. My apologies. I apologize, little man. I stopped him, and I said, no, no, no. I saw all of that go down, which is why I'm asking you for a moment today, because I didn't really like you. I mean, I was honest, right? He looked at me kind of weird. He said, but you don't even know me. And I said, no, but I kind of know what you do because I watch you all day, every day. But after what you did yesterday to my little boy, I feel like there's something more to you. So I'm asking, how did you get here? You know, and it was the classic story. You know, he had trouble at home, so he went to the streets. The streets welcomed him. The streets got him locked up. He got locked up, then got released, and then he couldn't go back home, so he went back to the streets, and the streets welcomed him and got him locked up again, and so the cycle continued. While he was locked up, I don't know, many of the times that he was locked up, he got to writing, so he wrote poetry. So at the end of our conversation, you know, he got a little frisky and he was like, so what's a brother gotta do to ask a girl out on a date? I was like, you know, I know what you do for a living, right? And he said, yeah, but a brother can dream though. And I said, tell you what, you write me a poem and I'll write you a poem and then maybe I'll let you take me to McDonald's. So I don't know whatever came of him. I hope he's still breathing. You know, I hope he's doing better. I never got his poem, but I did write him mine. Years later, fast forward 13 years later, right? My eldest son, He's showing me some songs in a playlist, Spotify. It's a Spotify playlist. He's showing me his music. And this song comes out by this artist named George Lovett. Look him up, please. George Lovett. And the instant the song began, I felt like the same feelings that I felt when I sat down to pen that poem. So music does that. Music takes you places. It takes you back. It takes you forward. It helps you dream. It makes you dream. So this song, go ahead, baby. Took me back to that moment as I wrote this poem for this man. So this poem is called Ode to a Husband. And it goes a little something like this. As I stood before you, humbled by the possibilities of what could have been, had we met at another time or place, life and wildness steps retraced, perhaps, to a time in your life before society forced you to take one wrong turn after another, and another, and another. I see loneliness and sadness in your eyes, and I tell you this with no fear or disguise, but for all the things for which you're wise, You still choose to handle the knife by which the soul dies Promoting a pipe dream sold in highs, perhaps Conforming to the pleasures that lie within cheap thighs When in your heart, you yearn for the whispers of a true woman's sighs You sling rocks to the tick-tock and you don't stop to listen to a potential lover's rock that sings to your clock, waiting for the right time to approach you with the idea of what and if. What if? Two words that transcend through time like sand and then sift through a bottomless filter into a bottomless bag, into a bottomless pipe that pleasures a bottomless soul, a soul that spends its life chasing a high like a dog chases its tail. And their intention is doomed to fail Because you and I both know They ain't ever gonna catch it But they sure gonna keep stepping To fetch what you got Making you forever the one that life forgot A perpetual number 11 stuck right in the middle of a catch 22 You're damned if you don't And you're damned if you do And you're damned if you don't And you're damned if you do I see beyond what lies within your pockets and delve into the curiosities that lie within your minds, because I believe you to be so much more than what you've chosen to become. And even though you've always got some, I could never see in you the sum of what I'm looking for. And so I'm forced to look not onto you, but at you. At times in anger and aggravation, and at times in shame, knowing you are not to blame. Because you've been forced to play this game by their rules. Two rights don't make a left and two wrongs don't make a right. Lack of moon does not make day and lack of sun does not make night. The clock ain't wrong, baby. It's just wound too tight. Causing you to run late and let life pass you by. Right now it may seem like you're the big fish, but baby, even big sharks can get caught on hooks. And I know that in your day, you've read enough books enough to know that failure is not an option. It's a choice. And many choices you still do have, because even though you think you're running late, it's never too late if you're still breathing. What more can I say? What more can you do? I can only hope and pray that someday you'll figure out the sum of what's true. And make your choice to find your way, baby. And finally, let your gray skies turn blue.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wish I could whistle. This poem will not rhyme. This poem is officially a protest of saying sounds that sound the same. I don't know where it started. It might have been Dr. Seuss. Maybe rock him. They were amongst the first to really sing to me. And then came Shakespeare, George Carlin, Jay-Z, unraveling a pentameter mystery. It's brought bliss to me throughout my history. It's a habit I have trouble resisting, you see. Not this poem. This poem will not rhyme. This poem is about creating a whole new rhythm. Going in a direction you haven't gone before, doing something brave and different that might feel a little uncomfortable. This poem is about lizards. Lizards are an amazing creature. There are almost 1,800 different types of lizards within the lizard species. They can be found on all but one continent of the earth. Lizards get around. Another interesting fact about the lizard is that many of them have the ability to release their tail from their body when being held captive by a predator. They can actually separate from this appendage and escape, be free. They do not regenerate this tail. You may actually see some lizards stumbling around, trying to find their balance, trying to learn to walk without this part of themselves that they thought that they were going to have forever. but they do find their balance, they do go on to live. Imagine if each of us could find our tail, that part of ourself that's holding us captive, that part of ourself that's trying to kill us, that idea, that belief, that voice inside our head, self-talk, that behavior, that habit, that peace that if we too learned how to release it, we too could go on and be free. We, too, may find ourself stumbling around, trying to find our balance, trying to find a way to be without this thing that's part of ourself that we thought that we were going to have forever. But we, too, would work through the uncomfortableness. We, too, would go on to live. And that, my friends, is why this poem could not rhyme. It's because sometimes you get caught in a pattern of doing stuff just because that's how you always do it. And you have no good reason to explain it other than that. Sometimes if you take that voice that's going on inside of your head and took it out and sat it down on the couch and let it start talking, you would tell it to shut up. Sometimes we've got to stop ourself. Give ourself a little bit of grace, forgive ourself, and give ourself permission to try again in a new direction. Because there isn't roadmaps, and sometimes you will find yourself stumbling down a path, and you find yourself, you got no roadmap, and habits are sort of like that, where it's easy to start to revert back. So you've got to pull yourself out. Forgive yourself. It's okay. I can start again. I'm not going to run. The problem with following in other people's footsteps, the problem with following in other people's footsteps is that it doesn't leave any room for the parts of yourself you have yet to discover. Thanks for your time tonight.
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, that was beautiful, again. I love the lizard part. There's actually a lizard reference in my next poem, so I know I chose the right one. This is called Brujeria. You thought you stole my magic. Didn't realize you only took with you parts of me I didn't need. Like a lizard with its tail cut off. The severed bit, well it just dies. Which is to say the things you stole from me lose their meaning without me. Which is to say they are beautiful but useless now. Like leaves in the fall, they are gorgeous and dead and rotting in your hands. But this magic in me, well, it never dissipates. This witchcraft finds its roots in generations before me. It is growing and you, well, you make me sad. You seem to have had magic of your own once, but cut away pieces of yourself you can't get back. Tried to prune yourself but made too many mistakes. You're withering now, and I must admit it's more fun to watch you realize you have nothing of me than I expected. Never thought I'd watch you lose yourself while I grew more alive. I always believed we would grow together. But this brujería is overpowering. I bet you still feel it, don't you? Like a phantom limb. Soy un fantasma. This is not a disappearing act, darling. I am not there. Esta magia es real y yo soy bruja. I see it more clearly now than ever. I've seen you. You're a magician, and that is no match for my hechizo. This is what happens when you try to fool a witch with stage magic. Don't think the world won't notice that you are nothing but a parlor trick and who could care for something so ingenuine, so unreal, it could fool itself. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_06]: I cannot thank you enough for your time and for allowing us the canvas of silence to paint masterpieces on with our spoken word. So thank you very much for allowing us this space. Terry, thank you for inviting us. If you want to contribute to our magic and to our craft, Dexter has some books for sale at a very affordable price. I have a scan code here that you can scan to find out more about me as an artist. And you can also donate to me there. You can also donate to Cole here. Just put her name in the donation, like whatever you want to do. Or you can come talk to us. Yes. The important thing is that we kind of come out of that whole pandemic mentality and remember what it's like to connect. So do me a favor. Say hello to somebody that you don't know real quick. Say just hello. You see how beautiful y'all look right now? And I hope that when you turned to say hello to somebody that you didn't know you realized the beautiful rainbow we have in this room right now. And there's a whole machine out there trying to convince us that this is not possible, that this shouldn't happen. And they've been working for years, honey. And they got salaries and whatnot. So we come as humble artists before you to help you open your minds and hearts and spirits, understanding that love is the only way we're going to survive this war. Love is the only way. It's not about black or white, high yellow or dark chocolate. It's about good and bad, period. I don't care what color your skin is. I don't care where you come from. If your parents jotted their name down on Ellis Island or jotted it on a rock in Plymouth Rock, it doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter to me because at the end of the day, we all bleed red. And if I ask you where you came from, what your favorite color is, what your favorite food is, what your favorite music is, hands are going to go up and down. All the answers are going to be different. If I ask you who in this room has felt pain, raise your hand. And that right there is the common denominator. And that should be the unifying factor because hurt people hurt people is not a thing. Because once you know what it feels like to be hurt, you shouldn't wish that upon nobody. So from here moving forward, may every step you take be blessed. May every time you find yourself in darkness, you remember that you are light. If you have a creative gift, I don't care how old you are, embrace that. Your ancestors turn from you when you deny who you are. So if you want to find connection with your ancestors, embrace who you are. Embrace that magic inside of that little girl inside of you, that little boy inside of you, that always wanted to be something, be that. It's never too late. And for the pieces that fall off, like they do on lizards, listen, be thankful for that. Be thankful for the bad things more than you're thankful for the good. You know why? Because the bad is what shapes you. Imagine yourself being a rock in a tumbler. You can't get shiny and round unless you go through it and lose bits and pieces and chunks of yourself. But once you get to that spherical form, you are the most powerful manifestation of yourself because the energy reverberates within. Think of the atom. So come see me, come talk to me, connect with me, connect with my beautiful sister Cole Rodriguez, connect with my beautiful young sister Dexter Garcia. We exist to take your breath away. So our whole purpose is to move you so that we can create change in this world. So go out there and run and tell that. Tell them what you experienced here. Yep, tell them what you experience here in the West Medford Community Center and may this place fill up every month more and more Because this is what we need. We need that village Again, and again, so thank you again for your time. Come talk to us
[Carter]: So when you think you're a poet and you meet poets, you don't think you're as big a poet as you thought you were. You know, and it's all good, it's all good, you know. Because I said I've been around the block, this thing, Black Girls Rock, I know that is true. You know, as the young folks are so fond of saying, I can't even. That's all they say, I can't even. That was an awesome, awesome set. And we're so blessed to have you all grace this stage. I mean, really, for me, the poet in me is inspired and challenged on a whole nother level. just wow, just wow. So that's a wrap for this new live edition of WMCC's monthly words and music program. We're so happy to be kicking off Women's History Month by visiting with you in your living rooms and other household places. I want to you know, give another kudos to Jillian for sitting down and having a really thoughtful and important conversation and really bringing back to relevance, as several have done in succession. the importance of the NAACP as a seminal institution in American life. It's really, really important in the Mystic Valley, and in listening to Jillian, I hear her passion for doing that, so we're blessed. I want to give a virtual high five to Kevin Harrington, at Medford Community Media for helping us be live on local cable and the internet. AirDap to my brother Kyle Douglas back there for assisting us on the technical side. Thank you all for enjoying another evening just feasting on what WMCC has to offer. If heck doesn't freeze over, and it just might, we'll be back in mid-April. It will actually be the second Friday in April because First Friday is Good Friday, and we want to give everybody the chance to observe it as they might. Before we fade to black, here's one more reminder about what's happening next at your WMCC. March 25th, 2 to 5 p.m., presented in collaboration with the West Medford Senior Club, a Women's History Month afternoon tea. Tickets are $10. All proceeds from the event will go to the WMSC scholarship for high school students. And the ladies really do know how to put on a nice function. So if you're looking to sit down and be civilized and extend your pinky, Come on and see the ladies and have a cup of tea. April 8th, WMCC's 8th Annual Legislative Breakfast Forum, 9.30 p.m. a light breakfast and then networking followed by a program beginning at 10 free, but advanced tickets are required. You can call the office or you can sign up with us. And then May 26th, 27th, and 28th, plans are still in development, but it's coming together. A West Medford family reunion on a slightly smaller scale. Details to be announced, but it is happening. June 17th, the Juneteenth celebration. We're going to be Juneteenth Parkside, so come on out and enjoy that. And then June 26th, we'll start the Girls in Summer Basketball League. And be sure to check out the website for updates and more information on programming and events. Thanks once again to the lead sponsor of WMCC First Fridays, the Medford Arts Council, a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. We're blessed once again by having them give to us again a significant donation so that we can do what we do. That's all for now, folks. Join the Center in April. Conversation will continue. A new edition of First Friday's Words and Music being developed even as we think. If you want to be included in our regular constant contact connection, sign up for membership or give us a call at 781-483-3042. I know the weather's going to get inclement a little bit later on, hopefully not yet. Good night, be safe, keep warm, we hope to see you again soon.