 Welcome to the sixth and final episode of the Path to Racial Equity. I'm Victoria de Francesco Soto, I'm the Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement and the Chief Diversity Officer at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. And with me today, I have the immense pleasure of hosting Chas Moore, Executive Director and Founder of the Austin Justice Coalition. Tonight, we are going to be thinking but also putting into place those steps that we need to take in terms of intentional action for that path to racial equity. We're going to be having a conversation where we're pulling out what are things that you and I and all of us viewing this video can do. So with that, I want to dive in and I want to start with you Chas and in asking in terms of these concrete steps, right? It seems so overwhelming, racial equity. How do we pursue racial equity? Well, we pursue it by first of all, detailing what we need to do and then putting that into action. So Chas, with your experience, both lived and professional, where do we start? You know, Vicky, I think the first and only place we can start is through education. And I know that's so, you know, just obligatory, but I think because of the way our public school system is set up and really most of our school systems whether they're public or not, we don't really take a deep dive into racial history in this country until it's almost too late. So, you know, I really think if people took the time and opportunity to educate themselves on the past, you know, by reading the bell hooks and Audrey Lord's and James Baldwin's and really understanding the racial history and the racial tension in this country, that has to be the first step. And, you know, I think a prime example of this is Germany. You know, something they do in Germany is every day, believe it or not, they talk about the Holocaust, right? They understand that this was a part of the German history and the German fabric. And in a step in a way to not repeat what they did in the past, they educate themselves on it on a daily basis within a public school system. So I really think the first step is to take a deep dive to understand the racial complexities that are alive and well in this country. And, you know, it's so many books, it's so many resources that are available now to help people do that. So that would be my very first step and encourage people to do the very deep and necessary self-education and self-awareness about the racial history in this country. Which as an educator, I could not agree more with you with that foundational step of understanding what our racial history is, what our racial context is, you know, from our nation, our nation's racial history. And I also, I think it's important to understand our state's racial history and also our local level history. I know Austin has a very complex history of racial segregation, of racial inequity. So I think, you know, adding on to your call for education is understanding racial inequities at various levels. And Chas, you and I have spoken before and you provided this beautiful example that was very personal about how education is key to how you view equity around you. And I'd love for you to share that, Chas. Yeah, and you know, it's kind of like the second part, right? Like this is one two punch with education. I think after we realize the history and the context of how we got to what we are today, we kind of have to reckon with the history, the truth and how we either benefit from it or how we ascribe to it in some way, right? And I believe this example that I gave you was my own reckoning with me being a man, right? Even though I'm a black African American, I'm still a man and I have to understand the history of women's oppression in this country. And even though, you know, I had nothing to do with that, I still benefit from the way we objectify and mistreat women and withheld their rights for such a long time. And after I learn about history through the lens of women, more so the women that have been more impacted which, you know, the black women, women of color, I try to reckon with how am I contributing to the stereotypes and the misogyny if I am? And then I have to deal with that, right? And I think a lot of times when we talk about race, a lot of our white women's assistant today, they look at it like, well, you know, I didn't lynch anybody or I didn't, you know, discriminate towards anybody. I didn't play into the gentrification game with black communities and black neighborhoods. But the fact of the matter is that you are beneficiary of white supremacy, right? You're a beneficiary of white capitalism. You're a beneficiary of redlining. You're a beneficiary of all these laws and things we had in place to make sure that black people were segregated, to make sure they were left out of the economic opportunities that have come forth in this country. And I really think, you know, that's the hardest part about all this work. It's easy to go, it's easy for me to go to the women's rights march and rally, but to actually sit down and sit in the truth and listen to the stories of women that have been wrong systemically or just, you know, societally and to do the inner work to make sure I'm not contributing to this, it's scary, but it's most definitely needed to make sure that we don't recreate what our ancestors and people before us did. So, you know, after the education, after you read the how to be an anti-racist and you read the, you know, the fire next time or whatever book you want to read, you know, I really challenge people to just sit in it for a minute, right? Sit in those truths, sit in those stories, sit in those texts and see how am I being a part of the problem or the solution and then, you know, unpack it from there, you know. Because we can't become politically active, politically involved for racial equity causes if we don't have that educational base and I could not agree more that it's also sitting in that because it's not just about skimming a book and checking it off and telling your friends, hey, I read how to be an anti-racist, but really marinating in it because this is what gets you to being a co-conspirator, right, to where you are an ally. You can never mimic that lived experience of someone who is different than you, but I think it is important to know that you can still be an ally, you can still be a co-conspirator, but that requires that educational piece and I know you and I talked a little bit about that if you wanted to draw that out, Chas. Yeah, and you know, like this is my three-point, you know, my three-point thing when I talk about these things, last but not least is how do I take what I've learned? How do I take what I've reconciled with and how do I put that to like actual use? Like how do I actually apply it in everyday life? And I think the word that people really need to start grappling them out around is being an ally is great, right? Being an ally is the person that has the bill and sign in the yard and you need those people too. However, we need like radical allyship. We need co-conspirators. We need people that kind of take up the Swahili term when boom too, which means I see you and I hear you like I almost want with you and join that fight as if you too are that person that you're fighting for. And you know, like me again as a man, for example, that means women should not be the only ones leading the charge for equal pay, right? That mean that men need to join in their fight as well. And when we talk about racial equity, that's not just a black people's movement. It has to be all of us moving because we're all a part of this society that has benefited from the free labor of black folks and the genocide of indigenous folks. So I think really understanding that and taking that to heart and really being open and willing to struggle for our brothers and sisters that have been historically and systemically impressed is the goal that we all need to achieve to obtain. And I think that it's a very hard thing to do because in the American context, at least in American society, we're told and we are socialized to think that all these issues are these certain groups issues, right? When we think immigration, if we're honest, if we're very honest, we coined it up as a Latinx American issue. When we think about police brutality, like we coined it up, we marked it off as an African American issue. When in reality, that's an American society issue, right? That's all of us issue. And so we are really willing to deal with that and grasp that reality. I think these strides for progress and change will always take a little bit longer. But the moment we realize that, police brutality is not just a black people's problem, it's a my problem too. When we realize that equal pay, the gender wealth gap is not just a ladies issue, that's my issue too. That's when we can start to see this radical change and this radical growth in our country. So yes, be a ally, but how can you be a radical ally that's willing to really get in the midst of these fights and in the struggle to make sure we can fight the true equity and equality for all? The word radical I think is one that we need to get comfortable with because you hear radical and I think the initial reaction to folks is to cringe a little bit, like radical, oh, that's too crazy, that's too much. But understanding that radical being a complete shift, a 180 is actually a good thing when you have a system that's broken. So I think in thinking through our practical steps toward charting that path to racial equity, it's getting comfortable with knowing that things aren't right and that there does need to be a radical shift. And I think in looking to our second step and using this lens of radical, building on top of education and having an education in our racial context and our racial history, what comes next in terms of us charting that path? No, I really think so. My favorite definition of radical comes from the phenomenal Angela Davis, right? She coins radical as simply getting to the root of the problem, right? If we know the problem of police brutality is based in the sheer lack of accountability for police officers, then we should all be fighting to make sure, one, that we have policy legislation in place to make sure we can hold these officers accountable. And also, we know that a lot of the ills that come at the hands of police brutality at the hands of police is wrapped up in police doing too much. For example, the fact that police are first responders to mental health crisis calls, the fact that police are the first responders in a lot of domestic violence situations, it's understanding that when community members, black community members, black activists are organized around the country are calling for the funding of police. It's not so much like we hate the police. It may be some of that, which should be understandable. But it's more so about how about we do something radically different and invest in the communities and invest in services that can mitigate these situations without people being harmed. So, radical just means, like instead of putting a band-aid on it, we work towards a cure. Radical means that if it's wrong, let's fix it. Let's not case study about it. Let's not make it something that we need to philosophize about, like let's fix it because we know if we listen to the people that have been at the till end of so much oppression and until the end of so much racism and until the end of so much of these things that lead to these generational inequities, they have the solution, right? These solutions are embedded in the voices of the people that have been left out and that have been forgotten about and that have been made invisible by the power structure in this country. So, if we just listen to them, we see that they have the radical answer. They have the radical solutions. And the radical solutions are really not that radical. They're radical only in a sense because they get to the core of the problem, right? But in essence, the only way we get to radical, in my opinion, is by listening to the people that have been affected the most and the closest by all these things that we're talking about. And the only way we can do that is by elevating these voices, right? And we can't tokenize people. We can't have the one person in the boardroom. We can't have just the one Chas. How do we elevate the many voices of people in our communities that have been crowned out for so long? That's how you radicalize people and that's how you radicalize the nation. It's having a seat at the table Chas and I think that it is important to understand that we are a diverse country. Texas, like California and a number of other states are already and have been for a while, majority minority states, yet when you look at our power structures, be they political or corporate, we don't see those same faces. So I think that your second call to action is a critical one. It's about having the voices at the table. It's about going from invisibility to visibility because how can you include these experiences, lived experiences, if you do not have these folks firsthand at the table? And I think that there's this reticence, right? To say, well, no, it hasn't been done. Maybe we start off with one person and then we grow the board or we grow the representation. What's your answer to that Chas? You know, I think, again, it's kind of, I think the best example I can give is, it's sort of like this weird phenomenon of man-splaining, right? You know, like here we have women and ladies across many different races in the background that try to tell you their perspective, their wills, their wants, their wishes. And then, you know, very often you have a man say, well, actually this is what you meant. It's the very same thing when we talk about any other group of people. Like we have black people, we have brown people, we have other people of color telling you their experiences, but then we have, you know, the researchers and the advocates, although they mean well, speaking for these people. Instead, when it should be elevating and empowering these people voices and elevating their voices so they can tell their own story, right? It's this weird kind of white savior conflicts or any savior conflicts, as opposed to teaching people how to speak up and how to speak out. We have so many people that want to speak for them. So instead of occupying that space and that time, all we simply have to do is allow people to step into that space and be their most genuine selves. Because again, nobody can speak for my experience and I can't speak for anybody else's experience. You might have some similarities. It might be some things that are common and some things that we can say, you know, that happened to me too, but at the end of the day, my perspective in my experience is my experience, right? So again, the more we invite people to these spaces, the more we invite these communities that have been harmed historically and systemically to be a part of the solution making, I think that's when we see better outcomes, right? So it's written to me, and this is all simple, maybe because I'm a capricorn and I think very, you know, very logically. I think, you know, we have to do a better job, especially that it seems that we're very genuine in place with racial equity and this wants to be better. We have to start inviting these people in, not only to like the city council meetings and the workforce groups, but also, you know, on the economic level, like our boards, right? We can't just have the one black woman working DNI, right? We have to have black voices, brown voices at the very top of our organizations, at the very top of our businesses, and I guarantee you will start to yield better results. So it's really about, again, radical inclusion, not just inclusion, because it looks good to say, oh, we have one black, one brown, and one, you know, whoever, like let's really diversify our organizations, our businesses, and our, you know, local governments. And I think that's when we start to see way far better outcomes. Well, I'm a tourist, Chas, and we are stubborn and tenacious, so I believe that this is what we need in terms of pushing this path to racial equity forward is severness, because as you've pointed out, when we expand the number of seats at the table for our voices, it lifts all boats, because we are not a disjointed nation. We are a nation that is made up of black, brown, white, Asian American, indigenous folks. So it's not, I think the problem is so many times in these conversations, Chas, that it's seen as mutually exclusive. Like, what's good for you is gonna hurt me, but if you strengthen the fabric of unity of this nation, it actually helps us all as a nation. And in coming to the last step, the last practical step, building on, first of all, getting that educational base, and then making sure that we have the representation so that those voices are heard, what do you see as the last step to ensuring that we are really moving forward in racial equity? You know, like this is the part where people kind of lean in and they expect this big finish, but my answer is always the same. And at the end of the day, we all have to commit to doing the work. We have to get our hands dirty. We have to be willing to let go of the things that we've socialized internally. We have to be willing to let go of the things that we've been taught that we need. And we really need to, we have to like, we must, we must be willing to embrace the struggle for liberation of all people. And you know, I kind of like, when I do my speeches at rallies and stuff, I always tell my white brothers and sisters specifically that with your left hand, you can't have it up in the air saying black power and, you know, solidarity, but then, you know, behind your back, with your other hand, you're still holding on to these ideals of white supremacy and white privilege, right? So I think the most important part is doing the work both inside, like letting go of all the internalized racism, the internalized white supremacist ideals that many of us, whether you're black, brown, white or whatever, have internalized and then letting that go, dismantling the stuff inside so we can collectively come together and dismantle the stuff outside, right? That's the only way. I tell a lot of people all the time, like Fred Hampton says, like you don't fight capitalism with black capitalism. You fight it with socialism, right? You don't fight racism with racism. You fight it with solidarity. And a lot of people glance over this very important part of Fred Hampton. And I think once we realize that the solution to many of the problems that we're facing in this country are going to be something that we haven't seen before, that gets kind of scary, but to me it's very enlightened. It makes me almost excited that we can try something new and we have to try something new. If we're really talking about racial equity, if we're talking about true equality, if we're talking about building a society in a state and a country in a world where everybody is free and everybody's allowed to be who they wanna be, and love who they wanna love, and so on and so forth. So it's really just about doing the work, both internally and externally, and being a true co-conspirator, a true ally, a true partner in this fight for justice and equality and equity. So I know that's kind of cliche, but I mean, that's what it is because a lot of us know the problems. We see them. We watch them. We watch George Floyd be murdered. We watch many of our nation's kids be locked up in cages here at the board in Texas. And once we're willing to say, you know what, I'm willing to struggle and let all this other stuff go until we the people get what we want and until my brothers and sisters across the entire spectrum of humanity are treated fairly equally, right? And I think once we get there, and I think we're almost there, I think once we get there, the other side of that horizon is just gonna be so amazingly beautiful that it's insane. It's almost unfathomable. It's almost unthinkable about this place we can get to if we're willing to struggle together and do the work both inside and outside. And in speaking about doing the work, Chas, I mean, that just, it has to be done. But it sometimes goes unsaid, but I think we should just go ahead and say it is the consistency of it is that the work of racial equity, we should focus on it so that it becomes muscle memory. Almost, I think you and I jokingly said, put in the work and put it on the calendar, right? What is it that I am going to do to be a radical co-conspirator? Because I think that it's easy to get wrapped up in a moment in the murder of Mr. George Floyd or another racial tragedy that we face as a nation. But then when that fades, what is left? So I think that as you've mentioned is putting in the work but also the consistency of the work. And Chas, we have just a couple of minutes left but I wanted you to comment on the creation of that muscle memory. Yeah, and Vicki, that's absolutely right. I think a lot of us think that, okay, I donated to, I did the Amplify Austin donation to one of the Black organizations or one of these organizations that are doing the good work. And that's very much needed. However, just like reading and math and cooking and exercise, we have to do this work on a daily basis because we've been inundated. We've been so sanitized with all these false notions and false truths about other races and other genders that it's gonna take a daily exercise, a daily motion or daily action for us to be able to undo these like 30, 40 years of work. So every day, you know, and I challenge people, you know, not even joking, put it on your calendar. Like every day, do something to make sure to be an undoing racism, to make sure you're undoing misogyny, to make sure you're undoing xenophobia. We have to do that, right? Because every day, until we got to like these last few recent years, many of us, we just, you know, we reinforce the stereotypes and we believe the stereotypes. So like, yes, Vicki, like that's absolutely true. We have to do the work on a daily consistent basis to where it becomes second nature that we're just being better people and we're being more inclusionary people. We have to do it every day, daily basis. Just like you drink the water every day, do something that has anti-racist, do something that is uniquely different than all these things that we've been taught that keeps us far apart. It's gonna take a daily chore and task of all of us to get to where we actually need to be as a country, as a society, as a global community. Chas, this has been such a fantastic conversation. I can't thank you enough for your time, your insight and your honesty to pushing us to create that path to racial equity, these practical steps of moving forward. Thank you, Chas. All right, so with this, we are going to move to our Q&A portion of the program. We've got a lot of questions here. So bear with me, don't get angry at me. I'm gonna try to get to as many as I can. The first here, so many white people are opposed to defund police because they don't understand what defund really means as a concept. And since words matter, would it be a good idea to have a better term that describes a concept rather than defund? The same way global warming should be called climate change, do you think that would be helpful, Chas? So it's a nuance in that, right? I think part of it is, you know, it's not about white comfort. It's about listening to the people that have been oppressed by this particular system for so long. And instead of, you know, telling these communities that have been at the literal boot of police oppression for decades since the beginning of this country, I really think it's more so about understanding what they actually mean, right? I think we have to move away from like this, this polite politics, you know, and just instead of doing all that and saying, well, you know what? It'll be better if you package this way. Like let's just listening to the root cause of what they're talking about. Because at the end of the day, if we're changing the words, if we're changing the verbiage, but the problem and the message, like the underlying message is the same, then why do we need to do this, right? Like if you know what they mean, then the package, the label on the outside shouldn't matter. And I really think that this generation in particular is tired of playing polite and tired of playing politics since we've done them. And I think what we're seeing is the aftermath of decades of black folks and black organizing, black activism, important people and other people of color not really being heard and not being listened to and told that if you said it like this, when we see January 6th at the nation's capital, nobody told them how they should have did it. They just did it. So it's a nuance in that that I don't completely understand, but I don't think we should tell people that are oppressed, how they should speak out and how they should be. I think we should just do our best to lean in and understand what they're saying and then go to work to make sure they don't feel like that anymore. But that's just my humble opinion. Jazz, maybe if I could build on that and saying that it is okay to be uncomfortable. Again, changing our mindset, changing our vocabulary in terms of using terms is radical. Let's see a radical shift, let's see a radical change. And in hearing, Defund, that may seem like a very bold statement, but it is okay to be uncomfortable with boldness and with radical change. All right, so I have one more specific question for you, Chas, which is any thoughts on the current events taking place in Rosewood Park? This person may be talking about the occupation of Rosewood Park by another group, 401. You know, that group and my organization have different ways for black liberation and black freedom and just making a better world in society for black folks. But I can't say I disagree. I think what they're doing by marking out a no-police zone, a no-police state is something that's very radical and very revolutionary all in the zone. And I support it, like as far as I'm concerned, they haven't done anything violent, they haven't done anything to warrant them being removed or replaced. As far as I know, unless things have changed, that group and their leader in Zurich has very deep ties in the community, so I'm sure she checked in with enough people to get the thumbs up to do that. And I think my role within this fight for black life and freedom and black lives matter is uniquely different than theirs, but I completely respect their approach. Yeah, I hope that answered the question for that person I saw was anonymous, but yeah, I'm all for any tactic that is going to carve out space to make sure black people and other oppressed people can go be safe, right? If people don't feel safe in their current situations and we can build zones and spaces for people to do that, then I'm all for it. And also, I think what they're doing is bringing attention to something that a lot of us are not even aware about. February 10th, I believe Jordan Marks was killed by APD, by APD officer, and he was clearly from what I'm told going through a mental health crisis, and the police responded how police typically do with the violence, so I'm all for them and they have my support. And if they need anything, I hope, even though we have our differences in how we move more than willing to support them again than the things that they need. So Chas, on this issue of police responding to a mental health episode, there's a question that asks how you would restructure the use of police funds. So in seeing mental health care being part of a first on the seeing group, and we spoke about this during our conversation, which is the police are made to do things that are beyond police duties, and this is also where a lot of problems arise. So in your conception, how should we allot the funds and what sorts of folks do we need to be supporting our community that aren't necessarily police officers? Well, you know, first, I think we have to assess what is the actual need for police in our communities, right? And let's just say, which I can clearly debate, to keep us safe, which we know is not true depending on your zip code and the color of your skin. But if the police job is to keep us safe from let's say actual harm, then like let's let them focus on those types of incidents, right? Like when we had the Austin bummer, that, you know, okay, that's a police thing. But, you know, your neighbor's too loud and you don't wanna go confront your neighbor. You know, there's literally a group here in Austin called the 10,000 fearless first responders that you can call and they'll help you mitigate this situation. If you get into a fender bender with somebody on the highway, do we really need somebody with a gun to come to that situation? I don't think so. I think we probably need somebody that knows how to defuse that situation because it's very stressful to get in a car accident, and maybe an insurance person so they can just do it right there on the spot. When we talk about mental health crises, right? We know there are places in Eugene, Oregon, and Denver that have no cops showing up to mental health crisis calls. And you know, Evicki, not one person has died at the hands of social workers, right? I think, and then it's so many other things that are intricately tied into like this, this lack of security and safety in neighborhoods, right? Like food insecurity and job insecurity is something that leads to people committing crimes against one another because they don't have the resources they need so they try to take them. So if we have more economic opportunities for people in their neighborhoods, in their societies, then we improve the quality of life. And typically when you improve the quality of life, you don't get those type of criminal outcomes, if you will. So I think, and then in fact, we look at Austin Police Department last year took up, well, historically takes up 40% of the general revenue, the general funds. That's insane. That shows us where our goals and where are the things we care about most lie, right? Like the police are more funded than like Austin Public Health, Parks and Rec, like libraries and all these things that you put them together. And then we wonder why we have so many of the ills in our society, right? I think once we understand that public safety is more than just police, public safety is literally the wellbeing of community members. It's making sure people are fed and well taken care of. It's making sure people have the resources they need, if they need to go check on their mental health. That's public safety. And I think once we understand it and start to allocate funds to those things, the roles and the needs for police in every situation will dwindle. And hopefully, like I said, I really think that before I transition on to the next life or whatever it's after this, that we can live in a world without police. But that means that we as society, we as neighbors, we as friends and family, we as institutions are gonna have to take a lot of that slack and responsibility and be the protectors and be the peacekeepers and safety keepers in our own community. So I really hope that answers the question. And Jazz, I'd like to add on to that and speak a little bit to a subject that is near and dear to me and also something that I do a lot of research on, which is an immigration. And I think that this concept of what is policing ties into the issue of immigration. And when we saw the controversy about sanctuary cities and whether we should have those spaces or not. And at the end of the day, by having our police militarized as ICE agents or deputized as ICE agents and being able to go into communities, that extra layer of policing further hurt what police are actually supposed to do, which is keep our community safe. So if we are able to really get to that root and you've talked about this throughout our discussion, if we get to the root, what's something is about, public safety, let's focus on the public safety and then figure out how we cultivate that and not get in the way of it or actually make it counterproductive to where certain communities are afraid of reaching out to the police because in the instance of the Latino community, they're afraid that they're gonna end up getting deported by the deputy who shows up at their house. So, all right, let me transition a little bit Chaz to talking about representation. So going back to one of our concrete steps that we impact and one of our attendees asks, it appears corporate America is increasingly adopting DEI language and normalizing representation. Why are political leaders lagging by comparison, especially given that their function is societally is to represent the voice of their constituents? First of all, let me say our purpose by saying, I do not know for sure the answer to that question and it's a good question, but I think when we think about elected officials and politics, even though we have a few representation for many different orientations and races within the political game, it's still a very, very, very, very, very white male dominated game. And I think it's so many different ways to answer this question, right? It's gerrymandering, it's these white older politicians literally changing the maps to make sure their seat is safe. It's voter suppression to make sure we can't vote the people that we want, that look like us or at least speak for us or understand our values and views. It's so many things that lead to that, but I do believe that as we continue to get more people that understand the need for a more complete representation, a more diverse democratic system, that then we might actually have a government that will do the things we need done. Because we see now, and I absolutely think Joe Biden needed to be the person and not, well, I absolutely think that Donald Trump didn't need to be the person, right? But we also see that Joe Biden is already stepping back on a lot of things that he was talking about on the campaign trail, like getting rid of the school loans and things of this nature. Yeah, it's a lot of games being played in politics that try to keep people out of the political game. So I think we as a people are gonna have to continually get out and galvanize and energize people to be active. And also, I think another thing too is that both parties, more so the Democratic Party does a really, really bad job at elevating black, brown and other people of color to run for elected office, right? I don't think it's enough buy-in and investment in those people. Instead, we do more of the same, we do like the good white man or the good white lady, as opposed to getting the people that are from the neighborhoods that are mostly impacted and often overly impacted to represent themselves. So I really hope that answers the question to have answered that. But I mean, that's like a, we need to go get a beer and talk about that kind of question. Well, in post COVID time, we could actually do this when we're all together where we have that chance to engage. And one piece I wanna pull out, Chas, from what you were just discussing is the gerrymandering piece, right? That institutional constraint where you see the intentional suppression of voters of color in different regions, not just in Texas, but all over the country. And I think that a call to action right now, this minute is for folks to talk to their legislators. I know that the Texas legislature before the snowpocalypse was very much engaged in the issue of redistricting, their public hearing. So I would encourage folks watching this, spreading the word to say, your voice matters, get in touch with your elected leaders at the state office. Because at the end of the day, they're the ones who draw the lines and whoever draws the lines impacts who is going to be represented. We have one last question that I'd like to get to. And I think it is a beautiful way to end this session because it takes us to a very local and immediate level, right? Here in Austin, here in central Texas and Chas, you're being asked, what changes would you like to see from the local businesses, this local business community and their political involvement here in this area to move us toward the change that we have discussed? That's a very good question. And I feel like this person has been sneaking into my mind because we actually have a campaign that's coming out hopefully next month to address that. And I kind of want to give this answer with this context. So today, city council passed resolution 67 that which is a really big first step in my opinion, at least in which the city is going to formally acknowledge their involvement in the displacement and the mistreatment and the discrimination of the black community and to come up with a plan for restitution for black folks that have been displaced and left out of the economic growth and boom for Austin. And that's great. However, the city of Austin, and I don't think many municipalities in the state of Texas, locally have the funds to really pay that bill because that bill would be enormous. And until we get leadership that's sympathetic to those type of resolutions and those type of local efforts, the state is not going to get involved as well. And I think far too often we let the Teslas and the Facebooks off the hook by not addressing their lack of involvement and a better tomorrow, right? They want us to use their platforms to talk about these issues and speak out and they'll do like an ad, a Super Bowl ad or put out a commercial. But what are they actually doing? Like how are they actually getting involved? Are they speaking up for the millions of people, the millions of Texans that use their platforms? Is Amazon who has turned into everybody's local shop and deliver go-to thing? What are they doing to make sure that the very customers, many of which are people of color and poor people that overspend through their service to make sure our quality of lives are what they need to be. So we have a campaign coming out that's gonna address that specifically. And I can't talk too much about it now because my team would like go crazy, but yes, to answer the question, our local businesses and not the mom and pop shop, right? I think them too, but the strain should be on these billion dollar, million dollar businesses that just come in and take all of our money but don't really stand up and fight for us when they need to. So I cannot wait to share that campaign with people hopefully next month. Well Chaz, I look forward to hearing the news about this program and I know that we'll be able to amplify it through our partners in this program. And quickly, I wanna recap the really powerful steps that you provided us with tonight. They are deceptively simple but so impactful and starting with educating yourself about our racial context and our racial history. And then with that, that pushes us to seek the representation of our diverse voices at the table because if you don't have those voices, if you have folks remaining invisible, there cannot be meaningful change. And finally, again, so simple but so needed, put in the work and as you said, put it on the calendar because this is the only way that all of that thinking and doing becomes muscle memory in charting out this path to racial equity. And Chaz, it has been such a delight to engage with you. Thank you for this and thank you for your voice and for all of your work. And I thank you all for joining us tonight in charting the path to racial equity. Have a great evening.