 All right, this is disclaimer. I didn't know he was recording today. I didn't know he was recording today I didn't know it was on film. So, you know Nigga got a man bun going on, but welcome to hella black episode 105 105 For your ass proud. I'm happy This is I can say this is Well in Two days ago when we are three days ago when we plan this I felt really excited to record it this morning Not so much, but not because of the content just because that was days ago, you know, you know life changes different emotions different Three days for a little bit functioning anxiety. That's a That's a lifetime But as I'm reading the outline I am Re-excited if that's even a word. I am excited again. We can make up whatever words we want Fucking wish nigga, I got to start taking this on-camera shit a little bit more serious in terms of Like the clothes Nigga you saw me. I just woke up. I had a hoodie on that I slept in my hair was looking fucking manny I'm my eye. I need to throw a shirt on Thought a shirt on now. I'm over here That's why I had to give it disclaimer, but you know, I still look beautiful. Good job, Blake I want to give another disclaimer You know, there's that time of the year in the Bay Area where the pollen is flying through the air and the air is dry and it's windy And so my allergies have been tweaking For the last like six or seven days. So if you work for an allergy company, you want to sponsor us if you're a Clariton or Oleg or whatever hit us up. I mean, I just don't just be coughing and sniffing. I mean, I Know I'm just giving out disclaimer. I'm gonna try my best to To hold it and then Jack can do a good job of I'm pretty sure she wanted to she can make a blooper real of me coughing and sniffing today But she'll have that footage because she's gonna edit this out. Now you're giving her that idea I like laughing at my she's gonna say happy roller day and post it on Man, it's your birthday month, bro, are you feeling bro? used and abused Same way I feel every July in June and May and April and March and February Now I'm juice, bro. It's wild cuz I Was like brushing my teeth this morning. I'm glad you brush your teeth. Yeah What are you see you How breath in this fucking studio But now I was like damn 29 I I Always wonder what do it be like to be I think we eat. I don't know when I was I Don't think I thought about getting older that much as a kid I Don't know what the reasons for that word But you think about when you were kid 29 is so fucking old in your mind And you know the way you process and think about age Reality it ain't but as a kid you for show and like I know niggas hate when you know We make everything about anti-blackness and about politics and shit, but like really For a month to the reasons just a lot of young niggas. Don't be thinking about getting older for one You feel me you get I had I got partners that really been in jail since they was 1819 years old You feel me then I got partners who didn't even live to see 1819 And then just like even if that's just your close your close like friends or family circle Then you just think about like the niggas from your neighborhood niggas from your city Who you just don't you know who again fall, you know victim to the same shit I just need to go to jail at a young age or dying And so Yeah, I just never really thought about getting older like that and then on top of that if we add like The elements of poverty and being black and shit you also grow up hella fast You know I'm saying it's like the shit that I'm the shit that I'm doing right now in terms of like taking care of Myself, I've been doing that for a long as time, you know, my mom had me and my sister at Before she was I think like 22 or 23 so from my mom had me when she was 17 She had my sister. I think when she was 20 and so I remember doing shit like taking us to To school you feel me on the bus just us to I remember her like my mom like walking me and my sister like three blocks And then me and my sister walking the other four blocks and my grandma being on the porch waiting for us at like 5 30 in The morning you feel me in the dark I remember for me then my mom started going to like junior college when I was in elementary school through middle school and so like Cooking for myself, you know, I'm saying and then my great granny house. It was like nigga shit. They was 75 years old they had just raised multiple generations by a time me and my sister came around It was like oh y'all niggas figure it out and then my granny Jackie was working and shit in Pleasanton. So The shit I'm doing right now. Yeah, it's just if washing my own clothes feeding myself nigga What all other shit that comes with a dough who had taken myself to my own fucking You know doctors appointments or whatever just like maneuvering through the city the best way I can and then also trying to show up for my My siblings and shit or you know, the younger folks in my family that shit. I've been doing for a long time. So Now my knees and back and shit just hurt And now I'll be laughing with my cousin Nick he needs our money and now like we every haircut is getting closer to being your last haircut So it's a little shit like that But I feel like I've been this age for hella long, bro In terms of like whatever responsibilities I have and then just battling capitalism. You feel me like that's Again, I'm trying to niggas be joking like grandpa. No, it's here. Pa pa We have to grow up hella fast. It's like bro. You had to grow up hella quick and have a hella responsibility. So, yeah You might be leaving the party a little bit earlier there, but because you're tired of your back But I'm I'm juiced up for from my party. Yeah, like We're gonna try to party as safely as possible, but I might have all my siblings In one spot. I don't think that's ever happened like ever In my entire life ever You got a hella siblings too I might have every single one of my siblings in one spot My granny's gonna be there. You know, I often have PRA and people's programs in there. So like the niggas who I didn't nearly live for it's all about to be under one spot. So I'm just about that. We're gonna have some good food, you know Hopefully, you know, uncle Rowe come through with that taiki shit. So Yeah, I'm juice, bro man 29 bro Roll a day You ain't the cancer you were Who knows at this point The niggas who I always tell you as a catcher than that. Nah, you a Leo for like 27 years The niggas who I trust with astrology though. So like raven bobby I think those are the two people who really be into that shit that I know and they're like, we are they say I'm a Leo, yeah You know some fire sign energy coming from hella black for y'all asses niggas Aries and Leo, you know, I'm saying I'm just for over there. I say on twitter I say I feel that's about to be my birthday too. I feel like bro. I'm I really that's what I feel like It's all my people. It's a celebration for us all bro about to be turned up But you know, we got a good good episode in store. You feel me? This is I think Multitude of topics have been going on around Oakland versus, you know, charity versus political organizing You know, I'm saying it's a lot of good shit going on A lot of good things to talk about you feel me even this quote unquote budget that's happening in Oakland, which You know, if you're in Oakland, you probably heard about the quote unquote increasing of funds being framed as defunding by some people Um, so we're gonna get into that. But you know, we got some good shit to to talk about we should probably just start there What was that like two weeks ago? Yeah, I think two weeks ago three weeks ago You know, so for those who might have seen it go viral, um on the internet, you know talking about This was a win for the community Talk about the read quote unquote allocation of funds or whatever You know, some organizations acting like oh, this is a win for the defund the police movement Last time I checked if you increase the police budget by nine million dollars. That isn't a fucking win For the people, you know, I'm saying and there was a I believe 18 million dollars in funds That are also going to go to quote unquote violence prevention that is ran by the same city of Oakland that is funding the police Right. Um, so still state run violence prevention programs, which in itself sounds like a pretty big contradiction How is the state going to run some violence prevention programs when the state is a violent one to begin with if we being real You feel me if we having a real scientific analysis, you know But some people calling this saying it was you know a victory for activists and organizers who've been working to defund the police and as a nigger who work To defund and abolish the police. This was no win For a revolutionary nationalist for a pan-Africanist and the principles and ideologies that govern that Hey, that's why I just think language Like you gotta be careful with the language you use and you also have to be really objective So we can look at what's happening from a scientific point. You know, I'm saying like and so Hey, I'm I could get how people call it a win But it's like on what what is the what is the scale that we measuring here? What do we claim as a win? What do we claim as a victory? For me claiming a victory when the police is going to be funded even more than before while also giving quote-unquote these alternative services You strengthen in the state. You feel me. So if you do the math You feel me like from a quantitative from a quantitative standpoint, right? You get OPD whose budget is over 300 billion and now you have this What is what is 300 million, right? I thought it was doing. Yeah, doing in my back 337 million some like I think it's something like that. Yeah, I think I said billion my bad 337 million In comparison to what are they calling these services now violence prevention, which is now has 18 million dollars. Yeah, like 300 million in comparison to 18 million and we know those violence prevention office. They work closely with OPD And at the context of all the other systemic Capitalist racist shit that's already still in place, right? Yeah. What is that in comparison to 18 million? It's it's not much And so yeah, it's just it's not it's not fair to like for me. That's a misleading That's like misleading the people to make a statement like that It's misleading the people for sure and I think it could have just been framed another another way like we can acknowledge Two two things can exist. We can acknowledge like yo, we just got 18 million Fucking we chipping away at this but at this OPD budget. You feel me? We got 18 million going from allocated To now these alternative mental health services I can't reward as you use but like we got 18 million chipped away and we're gonna keep fucking fighting But let it not be let us not let it let it be clear that OPD still has a 300 over 300 million dollar budget allocated yearly Yeah, and this is just addressing the politics This is addressing and making sure that people is on the same page at least if you feel me from our Own fucking analysis We gotta have an hour so you can have a decision like oh, is this actually a win or not? Because you know you have people saying today city council gave much needed hope to the organizers mental health advocates Organizers faith leaders and working families across the city working to defund the police and invest in community I can tell you right now. OPD still having a 337 million dollar budget does not give me hope Which they increased from last year. Yeah, like that does not give me hope that don't give me hope That does not give me any hope at all and to provide the context they had It was 24 because opd got another seven million, right? They got an additional nine million and then so it was was 18 plus nine 27 Yeah, so it was like I'm trying to so it was like 27 It was like 27 million dollars that hadn't been allocated anywhere yet. That was yeah Gonna be increased that was gonna go to the police that was gonna go to the police And what they did was say okay now we'll give y'all nine so you get this increase in nine and we'll give 18 To the mental health services and that's that's what happened. That's the basic level That's just like not the semantics. Now people think what happened. There was 27 million extra dollars That was supposed to go to opd. They said no instead We'll give y'all we'll increase those shit by nine not the full 27 or the other 18 to mental health services That is not that by definitions that is not defunding It isn't defunding and that is that it's not defunding and some might make a straw man argument saying oh Blake and delincy Y'all want money more money to go to opd. It's like no, we're not saying that at all I don't want to get any of it like if we saw like okay, let's say we are advocating for defunding Then what I stand for means I don't want them to get any extra money Actually, I want them to lose money. That's what defund means defund doesn't mean you stay at zero It doesn't mean not like we just keep what we had last year. That's not defunding Defunding is not okay. We're not gonna get all this extra. We're gonna get this somewhere else No defunding is we pulling pulling resources from you and pumping them into the alternatives. Yeah, so no, I'm not gonna thank city council No city council didn't give me no goddamn hope Not even the quote-unquote progress today. Give me no fucking hope Why Why would I why would I think then when the police budget went up 9 million dollars just because they directed 18 million To non mental uh to non police services But how do those non police services work? There's also a question because we know hand in hand that the department of violence Standing toe in toe with opd and for us marching with opd. So what does that really mean? You feel me when we talk about oh an increase in social services and these social services Which I've seen with my own goddamn eyes come outside with the police and they'd be driving police like vehicles I'm like, bro. I'm seeing a social service person come out And they have lights on like they a police officer So what does that mean when oh we're funding social services when the social services is also acting like the police I mean it was like a couple years ago, right when excuse me when it was all that Remember like the increases of Homelessness services and Oakland like that was on the ballot or whatever I mean, you got to the research of what that included It was like niggas for the you're like more police Uh eviction support and she liked that it was like niggas I'm not You know like let's what does this mean and let's define like so even okay now I want to know it as an organization like us or they just who believe in like programming Okay, like I want to see the what program is going to be laid out for this Because I know we had conversations with folks who are doing mental health services They are marketing them shits and they aren't even at this the standpoint of dispatching it It's like this is not an attack bro. We just making an analysis Like is that I'm not downplaying anybody's work But if if I'm talking to organizers who was like, yeah, you know This is our program and it's being marketed as a certain way, but this is like, okay Yeah, we people's breakfast Oakland, you know, we planned to do Like yeah, we're people we're people's breakfast Oakland. We're planning to do this. This is in this But you know, we ain't fair nobody yet Like well There ain't no alternative If people's breakfast Oakland just receive at the at the start of our shit if we receive millions of dollars without Having a plan of distribution or not. We've been marketing people's breakfast Oakland, but we have to distribute a single meal That's misleading the people in my in my opinion, bro. Like that's misleading. I've presented myself as something I've got y'all behind something, but I have yet to take the action yet And as niggas who believe in scientific socialism who believe in analyzing programs and analyzing steps based off based off both quantitative and qualitative data Like I just that just don't sit well I just I feel like that's misleading the people because also the people are entrusting like, okay If you presented this or acting like this you provided the service or the service exists Or acting like city council gave us hope to organizers. That is again In my opinion, that's misleading people Why would they give me hope when they're increasing the budget to the police? why And if we understand in krumah and we understand neocolonialism and we understand imperialism and we understand fascism and we understand the welfare state We know that the state will always give Give you some crumbs To appease you while also strengthening the state. This is a perfect example of that A perfect example that i'ma send jacks this little graphic that in krumah god. You feel me? It's like legit ads movements happen. The state will use funds from imperialism From colonizing the world To fund the welfare state at the expense of the global south to give us things like mental health services right To appease workers here So that we don't actually revolt and actually have revolution. That's why george jackson himself said reform What is reform as another word for fascism? You know what i'm saying because that's that's really what's happening is this is the increasing of this welfare state Universal basic income that uh would be shaft is piloting in the east oakland It's all the shit is a fucking welfare state being built a neoliberal welfare state It's fascism not freedom. It ain't freedom. It ain't independence and it's not sovereignty And that's the analysis that we're having as revolutionary nationalists as pan africanists. We want freedom independence sovereignty self-governments to make political decisions over our lives and as new africans we build decolonization programs that offer up the alternative That is separate from the state That ain't fed by the state That ain't getting money by the state. You know what i'm saying? That is a clear alternative from the state That is building towards freeing the land from your own american control So it's again, this is when you have an analysis based on a politic and you put in a politic in command That ain't about no ego That's about what is the politic saying about what is happening right now in the city of oakland You feel me? It's ain't about black saying about hella black Saying about it is about us because we it is our lives, you know i'm saying but this is about what And in a personal this ain't my feeling like this is about putting this opinion rooted in objective realities and facts and analysis And scientific folks it's going to be people who hear this and be upset with us people who we might have worked with before people who Shit our elders fucking young folks in the community might hear this and get upset But it's like we tell you what we stand for we tell you the ideologies and the principles that govern our thinking and govern our work revolutionary pan africanism revolutionary nationalism and our metric of of fucking analysis scientific socialism like The the shit that we just brought to y'all the people who are pushing and go ask them what their ideologies are Go ask them what governs their organization go ask them what they're using to make their analysis We believe in scientific socialism And if they push the same thing then They it's not adding up you can't reform the state You can't reform the state reform is always a cycle of fucking punishment A cycle of making the state stronger A cycle of the fucking welfare state being continued and continued to build You can't reform a plantation. You got to abolish the plantation. That's a fact. That's a scientific fact You know, there ain't no argument. We've lived reform. Everything we've lived is reform That reformed the plantation into a prison. That's why you got angola state prison now Or I don't know if it's a federal prison or what but you got angola as a fucking prison that used to be a plantation That was reform And this will happen. This is what you want to call this reform increasing money to the police and giving violence profession some money as well When if we look at the the scientific fact every single year opd goes over budget why over time Guarantee they're gonna kill another african this year guarantee they're gonna be some protests and guarantee the motherfucking pigs It's gonna you feel me Philip. They piggy bank And guess what that's gonna mean more funds to opd So we're talking about imperialism here We're talking about colonization. We're talking about white supremacy This ain't finna go down to reform The way this shit will crumble is by building sustainable programs that build towards decolonization Sustainable programs outside of the state that offer people a true alternative not an alternative sponsor by the state Not mental health services sponsored by the state But when we organize outside the state as nationalists as revolution revolutionary nationalists That's how we build looking trying to get trying to get Yo, yo fucking captive nigga. Yo fucking slave master. Nigga ain't finna cosign. Yo freedom nigga That's like the image of like if me and you was digging a hole and we digging them back to back We shoveling dirt into each other's shit. That's what reform be reminding me and then you have a tractor Yeah, the united states tractor dumping more dirt into it At the same time. Yeah for the folks that's you know, it's gonna be people who Hear this and they're gonna get upset because they For them we attacking a person who and it's like we not attacking you as a we haven't we haven't named names We haven't named organizations. We just naming exactly what was said And I was again, I was naming exactly what would happen and what was said Reading quotes, you know I'm saying so that the people can make an informed decision and educate themselves based on what is happening in this city Or you can make a you can come back with an informed like or you will have to say well What I meant was this I can't go off what you mean. I can only go off what you said And so again, if you're pushing, this is a big win for this gives us hope This is a Step towards or this is defunding. It's not defunding 25 million 27 million was allocated They said now we're gonna give 18 over here. We're gonna increase this by nine Increasing and defunding cannot exist simultaneously. They cannot so this ain't a win towards or this don't give us hope towards defunding Yeah, they can't like and by definition that's not a city council to give me no fucking hope And so you got to just judge things by not what you feel you have to judge things by the objective data that's presented in front of you And that's what we're doing with this. So no opd was not defunded No, as niggas who organizing it does not give me hope They still exist. They still have 300 at least this is not including overtime. They have at least 337 million dollars at their disposal To do what they were designed to do protect property Mind you, we only talking about opd Niggas, do you know how many police departments actually run through oakland? We also talking about the chp niggas through alameda county sheriff niggas. We talking about oakland how the Housing authority bpd bpd be running through north oakland pulling niggas. Oh, like, what do we what do we really talking about? state police What's the tank to a hotline like that's what i've been trying to get niggas to understand You talk about hope like what's the tank to a hotline? What's armored cars to a hotline? was What's Fucking how many what how many however many officers they got on the payroll? What's that? to Five dispatchers that's not even out right now That's what i'll judge it by like in theory. We're not going off. I can't judge a theory, bro Until i see it into practice all i can judge is what's been presented in front of me the practical With the objective material reality that exists And every day that i go out there on sundays I mean niggas still sleeping in tents. That's not giving me hope. I mean you should what's a five five six to a hotline We got to be we got to be This nigga ty got a piece he just wrote On like the power of language. You feel me like bruh niggas that we talk about this all the time as an organization we got to be Very conscious and careful of the words we use to not mislead the people words have meanings and we don't get to They of I guess from like a lexicon Lexicon was like a dictionary definition and I guess even just from a world like Material world right like words can shift based on context So we have to add we have to look the meaning can shift based on context We have to look at context But we can't just be saying things to make them mean what we feel they mean like not depending on the context This means this So no, you can't make defunding mean what you wanted to mean to make you feel good No, you can't make 337 in comparison to 18 million make you feel good. It's not it's not about what you feel breast about the objective material reality That's all we can that's what we go off of you don't if you don't like objective material realities Don't come to this podcast. It's only gonna make you mad. It's all this is an anti feelings podcast What we're seeing is just this rising class of quote-unquote abolitionists Who are actually reformists who are actually assimilationists who actually have ties to the democratic party And uh, I think it's money. God damn neoliberals Monday could come out. So he said the democratic party is where movements go to die Our movements go to die in the democratic party So they love it right the democratic party is a perfect example of niggas like to talk about shit And then do it in the exact opposite. They're oxymoronic. They're contradictory to the fullest Red and blue, you know, they get to pump up Bernie Sanders and then they get to go with a dash of Kamala like what the fuck are we doing here? I don't know what's happening. All I could do is go off feet. We do know what's happening. Yeah More of the story OPD not get defunded words matter Contacts matter and if you want to see real change You need to have a scientific approach or else the neoliberals will continue to pull the wool over your eyes and piss on you and tell you it's raining But Decolonization programs those are real changes. Yeah Anytime you build a program that is separate from the state That's a real you feel me with a political objective That's how we define change There's a great marker for change. There's a great marker ideology behind it The practice behind it in the political objective What is it moving towards? You know i'm saying and constantly reassessing for actual alignment You know i'm saying like really hitting that drawing board like yo is this shit really working? That's why we fuck with scientific socialism trial and error and error trial assessment and error trial and error Trial and error Always looking. All right. What way can we improve this program? You feel me? How do we make this system work the best? You know i'm saying how are we how are we the most productive and i'm glad we talking about ideologies and political objectives and decolonization programs because You know, i'm sure this has been talked about in the podcast before but where are we at? And this is this is the terrain in 2021 anyway, right the As we look at the height of neoliberalism these fucking nonprofits, you know i'm saying like that. This is a result of it And here in oakland like it's so easy for the like there are there are non-profits that are doing the work that we do In terms of meal distribution and there are non-profits doing the work that we're aiming to do in terms of now What's having this mobile clinic there are non-profits doing what we do in terms of uh Community education right there are non-profits doing what we do in terms of bail funds, you know i'm saying But the political objective is what separates us and we do not want to be conflated and connected to Are misunderstood with any of these? organizations bro In groups just because we have a You see it the political ideology the political objective we pump down your throats every every chance we get Hey, i mean in a lot of times, it's you know, these non-profits Um, essentially it's trying to put a fucking bandaid on a gaping wound They ain't trying to heal the wound, you know i'm saying it's There's a cycle of funding this cycle of oftentimes state funding That ain't meant to solve the problem. You feel me that ain't meant to cure The fucking disease at hand of white supremacy of capitalism of imperialism You know i'm saying so a lot of people a lot of non-profits they're doing this should feel good You know i'm saying they're doing it for charity, you know what i mean? But you can't you can't use it for good though Yeah, and i was and i was gonna say also i think that some Things start off, you know, i'm saying in the non-profit sector was again created for specific reasons It was created to colonize and to to pull niggas out of movement space because for one the movement don't pay that will If it pay at all niggas get small stipends and shit like that, right? Uh, and then also think about us this last year How much money we missed out on because we weren't a 501 3c like Hundreds of thousands probably millions of dollars because corporations are like oh, we can't write this shit off Yeah, so it's a way Literally the system of capitalism is colonized how you can do this work how you can serve people for free Then there's then there's political limits on what you can say So even if you do our non-profit, that's like, you know fucking we gonna We need access to this money and we're gonna say what we're gonna say you probably won't be around for long You can try it You probably won't be around for long. I think a community movement builders in Atlanta You know, they've done a good job of showing how you can use a non-profit for for good You know what i'm saying? The thing is about capitalism you don't get your feet wet in it. Anyway, you know, we at llc right now But how is she gonna fund them? How's she gonna like movements take funds? You think about the panthers and niggas was outside every day. She even think about the nation Don't party selling beanpots outside and it's it's hard it's hard and It's hard to raise money for showing and them grants be They are they are a huge resource and again, you think about the work that we sometimes grants be controlling people You know what i'm saying? So it's like knowing that as well Like, you know, you got to have your fucking weekly report of what you did where the money went You know, i'm saying like you talking about building any type of Revolutionary front. What does it look like to have your work monitored that way? Monitored by a NGO that is actually ran by the state department You know And that's if i'm lying i'm lying, but i ain't lying But then there are those ones that are just actually in the way. You know what i'm saying? Who are Strictly feel good work Doing it for themselves and i have have no desire to see the system that has forced them to exist To to abolish you know, i'm saying like i i want Food co-ops and i want free food programs and i want free clothes programs and i want community learning to exist I don't want the conditions that we are doing them now to still exist though I think it's be like talking liberation, but don't have you can't they have no analysis on capitalism You know, i'm saying they have no analysis on colonization. You keep hearing people over black lives matter black liberation black freedom But they never have anything that points to the causes of this work Oh, we need to have Uh, you know, it's anti Motherfuckers be anti police, but won't even say like abolish all pigs. Fuck all pigs. Oh, you shouldn't call copper pig You know people be uh, you know Wanting to work with the houses, but we're not or came to advocate and serve the houses but have Never mentioned the capitalist imperialist conditions that have led to this And that's the easy way you can differentiate your work from charity Versus the actual political deal decolonization program working to free the land Because that charity ain't going point to capitalism That charity ain't going point to colonialism That charity ain't going to come for the democrats that is putting our people on the streets Charities do their minimum charities require no sacrifice, you know, i'm saying Philanthropy that's philanthropy. Yeah, like it's feel good. Make yourself feel good. Have your little dinner Most of the money not going to programming. You know, I'm saying it'll go to talent aka like the executive board the Whatever workers you got on but most of the the majority of the shit is not going to Programming and sustaining the work. Yeah, like if you look at a lot of these, you know shoot BLM had what 90 million dollars I raised and what political programs do they have that are serving the people? How many meals have been fed you feel me how many clothes been put on people's backs? How many shoes been put on people's feet? And we mentioned, you know Charity being rooted in like kindness or whatever, but like Charity is just also an extension of capitalism. Yeah, you feel me? It's an extension of Oh, I exploited People through my job and now I need a tax deduction. So I'm gonna do charity You know, some people do it for real reasons and they want to actually get back and support people But a lot of these motherfuckers is philanthropists Washing their money At the end of the act you can do a given back is like why is rocker feller considered a fucking philanthropist? Motherfucker is a billionaire. He should not exist. He might even be a trillion. Who knows? I'm saying that should should not exist I think that's just a low bar because I feel like if you truly do love your people and truly do want to see People sustain and empower them free waiting you take those resources to dismantle again the systems and structures that led to them needing your help What what higher act of love can you give? That's self then sovereignty We like what like then creating the conditions for you don't gotta be a fucking quote unquote philanthropist You could actually just make your shit a co-op But no what rocker fell got all his money from oil and shit I don't know rocker fell it that much. I know they're like one of the wealthiest families or whatever slavery slavery exploitation But yeah, I was gonna say something around like kindness, right? And I think you know nigga kindness exists in decolonization programs love exists in decolonization programs I yell my nigga. I love you. Here's a here's a resource I'm gonna share with you and at the same time I'm sharing these resources I'm actually I'm also working actively even when I'm not providing this meal for you To tear down the systems that again create the conditions for me to have to come out here and feed you While you on the street That's love. That's kindness Not let me do this bare minimum Every now and again. I'm gonna do this bare minimum I'm in real love real revolutionary love is decolonization programs because it's attempting to have political self-determination autonomy And independence from this capitalist state this racist state that oppresses us every single day That is the highest form of love So when you was building a nation and you're working a free nation those decolonization programs is an integral part You feel me you can't just be like anti this anti that's like what are you for what are you building? You know I'm saying we could talk about the man all we want But if we ain't gonna put in the work to build political autonomy We ain't ever gonna be free You know I'm saying and that's what decolonization programs are it has a political objective It is nation building in its highest form. We're acting as a nation We're doing this as a nation to free ourselves from this you're all american control At the end of the day, that's that's what we're doing is trying to free the land You feel me have real autonomy real self-determination people always want to talk about You know all these you know other countries in the world and like you know free palestine It's like all right. Yeah free palestine But nigga if you trying to work to free palestine work to get independence here in this country and destroy the imperial core Yep, you feel me don't just talk about it nigga be about that action, but again build programs That is actually alternatives that is rooted in revolutionary nationalism to free the land Otherwise, what is we doing? You know I'm saying and it it isn't We got a big enemy ahead of us, but what freedom is possible Freedom is possible folks just got to start doing the real work to connect the dots And we're living imperialism, you know, I'm saying we're a living example of what it means to start small We're still so small organization. We ain't huge very small very small. You feel me But if you're dedicated take the right steps reading Reflecting growing internal self-growth This shit is possible to feed 30,000 people You feel me to build a health clinic To have a bail program You know I'm saying to have a grocery program All these things are possible if you take those steps and do it outside of the state And creating in a way that allows the people to sustain themselves, bro Like I don't understand that's that charity should charity be Be pigeon free be buried feed motherfuckers Like no the the the complete goal isn't self sustainability and self determination It's like I'm trying to give you enough to keep surviving like no nigga. We trying to give niggas You know why we we can give you what you need to survive right now while simultaneously Niggas creating the creating the conditions for you to thrive and control your own destiny trying to bury for you nobody Come on That's what these niggas do. They'll feed you a hot meal while simultaneously Exporting the workers on a on a staff like I bet those for example Explaining me why someone making that much and you see it happening like small little co-ops and shit I remember there was that one uh I wish I knew his name, but I think he was up in Oregon or Seattle It was like a tech company and the ceo took like a big ass Salary salary could basically paid all his workers like so everybody was making the same Shit, you know what I'm saying? It's just like Jeff Bezos has the conditions to where niggas From the factory lines at amazon to the truck to the truck drivers could be making $30 an hour And you will see a huge increase in quality of life. And guess what? In capitalism don't even gotta be dismantled for that to happen like niggas won't even do the Like you talk about that's the come on Come on and so it's like what is what is Jeff Bezos giving, you know, five million dollars to To kids studying coding have to what is that a comparison when he has Thousands of workers. He's exploiting Niggas can't get sick days niggas is working 12 hours niggas is being monitored by fucking computers. Like I'm confused, bro You know what it is way more lives just increasing the The hourly hourly wage Of every worker he has and he do that. Guess what he's gonna do next Increase the prices of everything on amazon I'll give you niggas 30 dollars now everything costs and that's capitalism for you, right? And lower the quality of the product too But that's what I'm saying But you know, that's just if that's They'll give you any excuse for exploitation under capitalism. That's all that's gonna happen Probably the ways to go up the prices go up That's what's going on with the turret Hey, man, again, look at things with the objective reality Don't be misled By the masses and hold on to a higher standard, bro, you know, and it's okay to do that There's a vital propaganda wing that is pushing this out You know, I'm saying we think about amazon and we think about all the union organizing that's been going on and the pressures To quell it then, you know, you got uh Rappers, you know doing shows for amazon and saying what Tyler creators say he said, fuck amazon Eat the rich, you know, I shut up. You bought toilet paper. Yeah, nigga Niggas need to wipe their ass tight with the creator nigga. They need to wipe their ass That's that victim blaming shit, bro You say Fuck amazon eat the rich. Yeah, niggas are saying fucking amazon eat the rich And then you're saying you a contradiction because you bought toilet paper off amazon Like what kind of fucking logic is that my nigga? It's not logic But we know niggas like him don't use logic They just don't not when it's not beneficial You know, and that's again, that's not a medic you hate capitalism, but you bought food today, bro You hate capitalism, but you bought fucking toilet paper, bro. He doesn't understand how monopolies work You hate capitalism, but you bought some soap from dove, bro It's impossible to escape amazon amazon doesn't just own amazon amazon has 56 of the e-commerce market Even if you ain't shopping that's called a monopoly if you ain't shopping amazon Nigga you someone was somewhere where you buying shit is coming from amazon nigga Might not have the amazon package nigga, but nigga you got that shit from there So it's like my G just make it make sense. You know, I'm saying like, okay Amazon put on a free concert quote unquote free for another tax break for that We pay for that as much money as Jeff Bezos think I for niggas do they pay for that concert The niggas about your album they pay for that concert Oh amazon put this on oh, so now we know y'all like amazon, huh? My nigga come on propaganda and I hate when niggas try to do that. Like that's like so manipulative Of you like you think you call the niggas out and you got some bases in your in your shit But you really thought you were doing something you're really the nigga who whose analysis is wrong You are again blaming the poor for buying toilet paper for involuntary participation into a system for wanting to wipe the ass of global imperialism What that ain't that she was nuts Allowing that shit to happen, bro. Like that shit ain't cool That's why That shit ain't cool, bro. It's really not and it's it's sad You know I'm saying like a nigga like that is apparently. I don't know. He might he said he grew up poor But again, you know what happens once you once you get that much money, you know the nigga he getting his bag he producing shows and Performing at the biggest festivals number one albums But y'all gotta stop letting people I really want the poor to stop letting the rich disrespect them like that and they make excuses for them And then defend them That nigga disrespected everyone's humanity like oh nigga y'all had capital them so much began look at you buying toilet paper Nigga like that nigga really wants you to walk around with doodle hanging out Oh, y'all shouldn't have came to this show if they had capital like damn nigga I don't deserve lecture. I don't deserve uh joy joy A break time off from being a worker like I'm pretty sure the niggas who was in that show that worked for amazon would have would have preferred a higher wage in that punk As free show by a tolerated creator But again, man, that's why we can't keep turning to these niggas celebrity culture Death to celebrity culture on the left. These both voluntary involved in involuntary, uh agents of the state Known as celebrities influencers, whatever words you want to use I just don't get how niggas could constantly like disrespect your humanity They always shoving you get niggas who say tweets like oh if you judging a millionaire If you if you roasting a millionaire To the joke to the joke too like nigga money do not make you better than me money. Don't make you smarter Money don't mean I can't whoop your ass But I guess in terms of capitalism again, we like we again have been associated to we have been conditioned to believe that You know, whoever thrives at capitalism is the smartest. They're the most moral So does that mean does that mean y'all Fucking worship these white people because white people own what 99% of the land White people own the means of production White people and slave joe ass So you're supposed to celebrate them because they got fucking money. They're somehow smarter than us because they oppress us And again, that's refusing to look at context. How did they get that money? from slavery Exploitation exploitation prisons corporate monopolies That's why I ain't praising them niggas I ain't praising them at all but Death to celebrity culture even on the left even your favorites Celebrities who claim to be leftist, but ain't out here doing no material work for the people ain't out here serving the people That's that's my thing is like bro you people I think Motherfuckers always like well, what is you doing? I'm doing the best I can what I got and I like nigga We also are holding these niggas to a higher standard. They claim to know so much and they have all the resources Why should why should a person with a million followers? um, however many thousands of dollars they make in every month and however much influence they have why should they be Compared to the average worker on terms of who's doing who was able to provide resources for the community The nigga who has more resources should be held to a higher standard I mean we wouldn't have to worry about fucking getting funds of all these black celebrities the multimillionaires gave 10 percent of their income back to the people And back to the movement at bare minimum 10 percent imagine that Keep wishing I have a dream i'm trying to find That one day Black celebrities will give us their money for the people our next shit the next the patreon question Yeah, can you fight? I'm not logged in on patreon all this shit I'm tired, bro. Am I making sense? Yeah, you're making a lot of sense, bro. I'm sleeping It was a question around like dedication I believe so I don't even know it's just showing all these people who took their pledges off or added new pledges This is a good time to remind you to subscribe to our patreon patreon.com slash yellowback plot how i'm supposed to trust everybody with about the revolution Ready, but like niggas won't even do the bare minimum Like go send this link to your partner and tell them to sign up for our patreon Come on, man. Do the bare minimum. I think this you don't even require no risk No risk or you want people to be educated Yeah, man, do the bare minimum bro pass some revolution niggas ain't doing this I don't think you can have another I don't think there's another platform That's talking this shit and then going on trying to put it in the practice and then coming back like a yo This work this didn't work and oh, yeah, we was wrong here, but they was wrong over there I don't think that's happening this type of reflection and intention All right, well, where do we go from here? I want you to white intern It's my white slave roach I think I remember though It was like a comment though, right? It was They wanted to hear us talk about something around like like how do you build the dedication to to the movement? How do you build dedication to studying and shit like that like that, right? And for me it made me think or think about the lifestyle politics lifestyle politics from freedom and Should we define should we define our stuff? Yeah, right here boom Sacho sources Sacho sources, you know And all right here, you know From this rule people's breakfast Oakland revolutionary suicide birth people's breakfast Oakland I'll make the foundation for people's programs. Yeah, but this right here. We are all liberators This is what really lit a fire under niggas This is how this right here. Ooh I swear that limited I swear by this book right here But freedom laying here. Oh, I think it's this We'll love to hear y'all talk about personal discipline and how that looks like in the movement Thank you, angel Lopez our very valued patreon patron shout out to shout out to you So they sent that question And it made me think about lifestyle politics and I must have put the wrong page down. This is Because they define lifestyle in the very in the very beginning of the book I believe well, I sent you a note with the questions anyway, so I can look I can look at them right now for the land for the land for the land for the land for the land Remember I shared a doc with you Man, what the fuck you shared so many docs with me today. I don't remember which doctor This is insane There's a I thought it was 139 You got page 139 on the notes. Yeah, that's what I'm saying lifestyle politics becoming new people who live by liberation oriented ideas I mean, yeah, this is a part of it, but I wanted to actually define and there's a section in the book that defines it and I sent you a note yesterday, right? And so I think it was there Yep, here you go. Boom. That's why I'd be writing in my books and shit Set right here definition Okay, so yeah that question from angel talks about Uh dedication, right and like what it looks like in terms of studying and organizing Is that like the basis of it? We'll love to hear y'all talk about personal discipline and how that looks like in a moment. So, yeah, um new Africans Like at the birth of the new african independence movement niggas, you know Making a shake out there in detroit They birth the ideology of new african lifestyle politics And so the definition of that is as the everyday practice of political ideology lifestyle politics involves the constant Interpretation negotiation and reproduction of ideas shared between activists allowing new africans to seek empowerment in the most quotidian aspects of their lives in the movement And then there's another note here in lifestyle politics is every day a section is uh Lifestyle politics as everyday assertions of self-determination and it also says becoming new people who live by Liberation oriented ideals I like this something that mean you just been talking about hella much over the last month, you know Or two after you got the book and they put me on to it, right? And Yeah, I'm glad that angel asked that question because again, it's something that mean you've been talking about a lot uh I don't know this shit is something that I've been to ask your question angel is a struggle, but there are certain things that Uh I believe that Blake and I have done a good job of And it does help that probably that you know, we live together So we get to see each other constantly and like check one another like oh You can't or like bro I feel like I'm like not living up to the shit that I you know That I that I claim to that I want to live by and embody. I don't think you'll ever fully Live up to the politics. No, you you won't for sure like you always are gonna make mistakes. You always you feel me but it's That's part of being human. Yeah We're in a law you feel me but it's that desire though You gotta have desire can take you hell of fall like the desire to you don't want to be guilt ridden yourself and Beating yourself up all the time to live to a standard. That's not feasible or something that should I be doing to myself Is being myself up in my mind And shit you grounded me a couple weeks ago and you was like nigga Jalil Told me don't look to him to be an example for perfect muslim, you know that really grounded me I'm like, all right like Niggas is gonna make mistakes and as well because we say all the time Like we learning and we unlearning in the process of learning and unlearning you're gonna mess up, right? But I think something that has helped us to get to the point Is constantly every day Grounding ourselves in ideology and that's something that we trying to do now in people's programs, right? Like before people's breakfast Oakland reminding people this is a decolonization program The purpose of this is not just to go out and although one of the purposes are is to you know Feed folks the end goal here is revolution and us having the practice Of sustaining a free meal program. Yeah Yeah, I think personal personal discipline is extremely important You feel me in terms of like building revolutionary culture, you know I'm saying I'm like I tell niggas all the time I can't trust you if you don't show up on time You know I'm saying if we make the bare minimum things that build trust within organizations It's shown up on time to meetings. It's come prepared to meetings Um for me personal discipline is reading, you know I'm saying uh in people's programs We have different political education cadres where we reading every week our core team is reading a book all the time You know I'm saying so we have different standards that we set. It's like, okay. My personal discipline is making sure I read Making sure that I'm reading to understand the practicality and how to implement something too not just reading to read But reading to fully understand um Shit another thing that helps me is just like Islamic shit really like fasting Ramadan that helped me move my personal discipline, you know what I'm saying and staying Disciplined to certain things so just changing habits, you know what I'm saying like Sometimes I'll just go vegetarian for a month Just to have that personal discipline within my mind, you know what I'm saying and really trying to uh Have full control, you know, I think that's one thing uh Raj talked about, you know, it's like People think discipline is a negative thing, you know, I'm saying or our understanding of discipline oftentimes is negative But it's like nah like to actually truly be free and you making every choice because you want to You have discipline, which means you have more freedom, you know what I'm saying um But it's really waking up every day and asking yourself for me That's something I really try to do every day. It's like, what is my purpose? I might be feeling tired I might be feeling drained, but like what is my purpose? What am I doing this for? You know, I'm saying like what am I like? What is my goal? You know and really asking yourself because if your goal is freedom independence and revolution and liberation of new african people You're going to try to live your life in accordance to that So that's gonna look different each day, right? Your best is gonna look different and it's training yourself. You feel me because it's uh It was like we in this whole sea of fucking capitalism of the most fucking distractions in the world Like we is in the fucking we have the most distractions We live in the most inhumane society possible That has ever known been ever known to the human fucking race, whatever we want to call ourselves There's gonna be a lot of distractions. So like how are you training yourself, you know? For me, I'm I'm not gonna learn like how to take a break I think that's part of personal discipline too, you know, because I'm like, fuck I'm over here laying down and I find myself watching youtube videos on the movement Or I'm listening with speech or some shit or I just start reading or something, you know what I mean? So But personal discipline that shit is You know, it's like if we're talking about revolution Niggas need to be doing some type of weightlifting or physical exercise Not on no fat phobic shit But if you know if you know your role if your role is gonna be on the ground Or front lines, you know what I'm saying? It's like that shit is important, you know Being able to know how to throw a punch, you know working out yoga mind body spirit type shit You know that that helps me with my personal discipline But I think the more I'm thinking about it is like sports really helped me Build some of this personal discipline. So I plan sports at a high level So I feel like I've tried to take some of those lessons out of that and build that into This new thing or this, you know, this organizing shit Yeah, and I will say What What really pushes me to be To make consistent efforts that be dedicated and disciplined is really having a full understanding of these ideological texts that I've That I picked up right and like reading about Early new Africans reading about Jalil month of king in his life reading about QEP Newton in his life and in the panthers reading about Asada Shakur In her life, and it's just if I'm gonna be Claiming the ideologies and politics that I've You know that I've that I watched them live out if I'm gonna be claiming the Ideologies and politics of folks like terry of in of in krumah. I just that's just something I can't take lightly You can't play with that shit. It's a you say new africa You know that you are making a commitment to people who fought before you your ancestors Your elders still here people who was new africans who was still locked up You feel me new africans who was in the shoe as we speak. That's why yeah, it's it's a makes me emotional No, what people have fought for and I just can't play with that. I just I can't I can't claim that Because that's that's some fake shit nigga. I ain't no fake nigga. I just I just I just can't do that So that's what allows me to push. I'm like, bro I'm about to really study this shit because if I'm be invoking their names and invoking their spirits for the For the folks that have passed on if I'm be invoking their names for the people that still here for the for the folks That's behind bars who I'm constantly referring to what I just It's I don't know you talked about spiritual shit with yourself in islam There's something inside of me that like it be speaking through to me when I'm like, all right No, nigga, you need to get back on track or On the positive note when I can just feel it coming to me when I'm trying to write when we design a curriculum and stuff I'm like, oh, it's like these pages is jumping off the word to me Or these these words are jumping off the page to me And then I also think it's That kind of self Work is important because it is easy to get Lost behind group thinking and group work, you know, I'm saying and if you're not making those that's a huge thing an organization I would say is Or even teams going back to teams is like you always gonna have that Star player star players those captains, you know, I'm saying and then a person who ain't putting that Work, can you feel me get that champion? Oh, like yeah, what happens if Blake is in around to like push me what happened? You know, I'm saying it's like that gotta be inside of me even, you know, we read in revolutionary suicide He was talking about like And he was referring to like the police patrols that they would do right He was like we knew we couldn't patrol every single area of the east bay We knew we couldn't do that But it was just our job to we knew that that kind of Control will have to come from the entire community. We just went to the foundation and show them how to do it You know what I'm saying and so Yeah, he he he makes that point and so That's that's what I'm trying to be on is just I know I can't Do everything. I know I can't be perfect, but I can at least Set the best example that I possibly can I think something that you and I Talk about a lot is understanding the terrain is something that you and I talk about it Sometimes I talk a lot with Q is like understanding the terrain because we read these yeah We read We read these books And it's so easy to get to place yourself in that place your mind in that time where it's like bro This is 2021. We have never seen surveillance like this I don't even think the path is what it's all like post them with this Non-profit world will look like with this neoliberal world will look like with this propaganda machine will look like great And so we are not with social media and the ci operations on social media We're not living in those times like the terrain is different And so like I tell you all the time I get will not make sense for you To take certain actions for you to for you to run yourself into the ground if we talking about you need to be here For another 40 years in the name of you making yourself feel good Excuse me. Oh, shit in the name of you in the name of you making yourself feel good, right? Like all right I'm wrong. I'm gonna I'm gonna go to every breakfast program. I'm gonna write every paper I'm gonna lead every political cadre. I'm gonna lead every meeting and it's just like all right Now you gonna run yourself in the ground for what just so Blake can say he felt good But that's not what the movement needed at all because you didn't have a scientific analysis of the current terrain You didn't have a objective reality of the current terrain. And so I think just again Really grounding yourself in ideologies that you believe in because those can give you simple guidances, right? Like, okay, I believe in revolutionary pan-Africanism. I believe in revolutionary nationalism I believe in the work of people's programs that is known a The new african independence movement that's gonna lead to sovereignty and self determination And then As time goes on as you continue to read and get more guidance as you continue to Practice and organize and implement these things. You'll start, you know, the the you'll be better You'll be better suit and better able from a knowledgeable standpoint to understand what it means to apply all this Shit to the current terrain because you know, it's 2021. It's not 1967 1966 with the panthers were founded, right? Uh But you I think the number one thing got to be that to get right back to whatever to get finally circle back to angel's point Right where we hit all these different shits along the way the number one thing got to come from self And understand I think the biggest point that you and I both are making Blake is like we just don't take the politics lightly, you know, I'm saying like you talk about When you when you say things you got to try your best when you ground yourself ideologies You got to try your best to bring them into into the material world Whatever that looks like and some of this is gonna be drawn out right in front of you like decolonization programs like reading and learning And some of it you're gonna have to dive a little deeper into It's a lot of internal work that you got to do A lot of internal work that you have to do and that comes from personal reflection I'm taking care of yourself mentally Understand that when you might be projecting on people, you know what I mean? um Because again, like we is a severely traumatized colonized People, you know, and a lot of times people show up into spaces into organizing spaces like that. So it's It's important that you do that internal work, you know, I'm saying because you could read every book You can go to every lecture you can recite theories But if you ain't doing those that internal work that deep work that internal shit that spiritual transformation to yourself like You ain't gonna show up great in the movement in my opinion