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00:00:00Fishes are quiet, but big doggies are loud!
00:00:28Slippers are quiet, but mommy's shoes are loud!
00:00:50You don't have any books at your house?
00:00:52Well, we're going to try to help you guys get some books.
00:00:56In fact, just one of you guys answer this question.
00:01:00One of you three guys, okay?
00:01:02I did a book about quiet and loud.
00:01:06Nasir, can you name something that was loud?
00:01:10The dog, the big dog.
00:01:12Now y'all got a book out there.
00:01:14I'm from this community, but I didn't realize 61% of kids in poor communities don't have libraries.
00:01:30It was three kids.
00:01:31We gave them a book.
00:01:32They were literally dancing about this book.
00:01:34And those kids had nothing.
00:01:36And that's when we were like, wow, we need to start giving these kids more books.
00:01:48To get these couple of books, it's the smallest gesture, but it's the biggest gesture.
00:02:00Over the years, Akif and I worked in social services throughout Philadelphia, Camden, New Jersey.
00:02:06We would come across these amazing young men that were usually in some type of criminal trouble already
00:02:12through the schools we were working at, the programs we were working at.
00:02:16And one of the main things we noticed is that most of these kids could not read.
00:02:21Having worked in a juvenile detention center, it wasn't something that I would have thought of.
00:02:27I wonder if this kid here knows how to read.
00:02:30These kids are good kids.
00:02:31These are nice kids.
00:02:32But if you read their criminal jacket, they're not nice kids.
00:02:35Your choices are extremely limited when you can't read.
00:02:39Getting a job, starting a business, opening up a bank account.
00:02:43I mean, you could go on and on getting your driver's license.
00:02:46If these babies can't read, they don't see hope for themselves.
00:02:49If a child has physical access to go and pick up a book in their home at any time,
00:02:54that that greatly increases their ability to read.
00:03:01Chicago is like the epic center of violence right now.
00:03:04Go back to 2012.
00:03:06Chicago reading scores.
00:03:0817% kids were proficient.
00:03:102% were overly proficient.
00:03:12So 19% of kids in Chicago were efficient readers in 2012.
00:03:18Fast forward to eight years later.
00:03:20Who's killing each other in the streets?
00:03:22The 18, 19, 20-year-old eighth graders from eight years ago.
00:03:27People don't realize that when you don't know how to read and you're poor,
00:03:31there is basically, there's not a lot of options for you.
00:03:36Young man shot 18, 20-some times right here in North Philadelphia, you know, and these stories are almost common.
00:03:46We can ignore it all we want to, but this stuff is punching us in our face every day.
00:03:51That is why the message that we share is so relevant because we have to have more men with voices willing to step up in these communities.
00:04:03Reading is so essential.
00:04:04Outside of being fun, it's how we better ourselves, and it's going to impact our community, and it's going to move it forward.
00:04:13I've been reading books since I was about a baby, and I've loved them because my dad always read them.
00:04:25Ready?
00:04:26Yeah.
00:04:27Okay.
00:04:28So we've got to choose something to read.
00:04:33I got used to reading a lot more books than usual and finding out more kinds of books.
00:04:41I've been getting real interested in them.
00:04:43What would you like to read?
00:04:45We've got National Geographic over there.
00:04:48We've got magazines.
00:04:50We've got Beauty Basic.
00:04:52What I've learned about reading, let the child pick the book.
00:04:57Let them read the story the best that they can.
00:05:01You know, even if it is just looking at the pictures and reciting whatever it is they see and having fun with that.
00:05:08What's the author's name?
00:05:10Langston Hughes.
00:05:18It's Langston Hughes.
00:05:20Very good.
00:05:21That's a great try.
00:05:22It does look like, would you say, Huggies?
00:05:26Langston Huggies?
00:05:27Well, he's Langston Huggies today.
00:05:29Okay.
00:05:30And what's the title of the book?
00:05:32Let's read the black first and then the red.
00:05:35It gives the child their own new outlook on, hey, so I'm going to go on and explore and I'm going to go, you know, on a safari.
00:05:44I'm going to, I'm going to take this trip to London, England.
00:05:48I'm going to become a fashion designer all with this one book that I've chosen myself.
00:05:55So reading and early literacy is probably the most important thing in impoverished communities that we can give our kids.
00:06:05And it doesn't cause much.
00:06:08You get to pick a book, okay?
00:06:11And this is a book for you to have forever and ever.
00:06:14Amen.
00:06:15Okay?
00:06:16I want that one.
00:06:17No, no, no.
00:06:18What book do you want?
00:06:19What book would you get?
00:06:20Cinderella.
00:06:21I had a feeling you would pick things.
00:06:23Can we do that book for a princess?
00:06:25From zero to eight, zero to third grade, you learn how to read.
00:06:29From third grade on, eight, nine years on, you read to learn.
00:06:35That's why they say if you haven't got it by third grade, you're going to end up in a world of trouble because no one else is teaching you after that.
00:06:42Poor communities, I don't care if you're black, white, Hispanic, whatever, you don't have that money to spend on reading.
00:06:50So what happens is you end up falling into traps of your community.
00:06:55You end up dropping out of school.
00:06:57You end up falling into prison.
00:07:00A, B, C, D, E, F, G.
00:07:05That's why Akif and I say, let's start with the daycares.
00:07:08How do you break the cycle of something?
00:07:10Stop it in the beginning.
00:07:13Because when you look at the statistics around men weeding with children, the outcomes are astronomical.
00:07:20I am C, now I know my ABCs.
00:07:28Next time won't you sing with me?
00:07:32Yay!
00:07:33Great job!
00:07:34Woo!
00:07:35Woo!
00:07:36Woo!
00:07:37Woo!
00:07:38Woo!
00:07:39Woo!
00:07:41Yay!
00:07:42Woo!
00:07:44Woo!
00:07:47Woo!
00:07:49Woo!
00:07:53Woo!
00:07:55Between birth to five years old, those years are very crucial.
00:08:15We want to keep young, beautiful, black, Latino, young men, young poor children out of the prison system.
00:08:22And the best way to do this, to attack it, when they're starting to learn how to do the most important thing kids will learn how to do, and that is read.
00:08:32Say, hey, let's get these dads involved super early, from the beginning, and let's get them involved in literacy.
00:08:40When I was two years old, I was in a big custody battle.
00:08:45I was removed from my father, or he was removed from my life.
00:08:52I didn't even know about my biological father until I was five years old.
00:08:58And I was sitting in a barbershop with my mother, and a man came up to me with two boys.
00:09:04He said, are you Ikeith?
00:09:05I'm like, who is this man?
00:09:08And he said, I'm your dad.
00:09:10And he said, these are your two brothers.
00:09:12As we're leaving, we're in the car, and my mother didn't say anything to me.
00:09:18And we're almost home, and I said, Mom.
00:09:22I said, was that man my dad?
00:09:24And she said, Ikeith, I got something to tell you.
00:09:31Being a committed father came from not having it.
00:09:37My biological father, he had left the household when I was two.
00:10:07I did have a stepfather for about six, seven years of my life.
00:10:17We didn't have a close-knit relationship.
00:10:22It was like I knew he was there.
00:10:23You know, it was a sense of security.
00:10:26However, we didn't have, I would say, meaningful conversations that could set me up for the future.
00:10:35I have not faulted anyone for what has occurred because fatherhood is so important to me and something that I hold close.
00:10:47Back in April of 2008, I was at my mother's house, and I was sick.
00:10:58I had lost about 50 pounds, and I was in denial.
00:11:02My sister was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when we were younger, and my mother had onset diabetes when she turned 50 years old.
00:11:12It got to a point where my mother said, Ikeith, you have to check yourself in to the hospital.
00:11:20I'll be perfectly honest.
00:11:22I didn't want to have diabetes.
00:11:29I was diagnosed on April 4, 2008.
00:11:33In 2009, I was married and became a father to our then 10-year-old son.
00:11:41And since that time, my wife and I, we've had two more children.
00:11:46I knew my diabetes was not under control.
00:11:51And I had to start making a choice for myself and my life if I wanted to be here for our children.
00:11:58Thinking about our, you know, I'll call them our babies.
00:12:02If I don't learn how to control this, you know, the diabetes can eat me up inside.
00:12:09Me being a father, first time around with an infant, there are things that I'm with him all day,
00:12:18and I just want to make sure that my little man is okay and stays healthy.
00:12:23Diabetes and fatherhood.
00:12:32You know, I really, I stay as positive as I possibly can.
00:12:50Because my wife and I are schedules, there are a lot of times I'm with our children.
00:12:56I'm just thinking back on moments when my blood sugar can drop really low.
00:13:04And telling my children, daddy doesn't feel good.
00:13:10You did?
00:13:11All right.
00:13:20Just what to do if daddy passes out.
00:13:24Because I could be anywhere with them, and, you know, it could hit me just like that.
00:13:31And that, that sucks.
00:13:37I do it for our children.
00:13:41So that I can be here, present, when, you know, to see them grow up and to see their,
00:13:47their children, you know, become a, become a grandparent.
00:13:51Uh, even a great-grandparent, maybe great-great.
00:13:59Well, can you take your last few bites?
00:14:02I don't know how to eat all of them.
00:14:15Well, go ahead and take your bites, and...
00:14:18I have a lot left.
00:14:19Go ahead.
00:14:29You can eat some more.
00:14:33I'll give you two minutes, and we gotta go in.
00:14:38Okay?
00:14:45I give our children the engagement, the attention, a million-fold.
00:14:51Everything that I did not have, I give them.
00:14:55When we go into our lessons, when we're talking to the kids in early childhood and in the daycares,
00:15:08and I get to tell them my story on their level, and I say, you know, Mr. A got, got really sick
00:15:16and had to go to the hospital, and the doctor told me that,
00:15:21Mr. A, you're gonna have to do some things different with your life.
00:15:25And instead of all that, you know, candy or junk that you may have been eating,
00:15:30you know, start focusing on more fruits and vegetables.
00:15:33To implant that into these children, you know, letting them know, okay, do we want candy?
00:15:40Yes.
00:15:41You know, do we want soda sometimes, or whatever juices?
00:15:46One of the stories I read was about a healthy snack.
00:15:49Who remembers?
00:15:50Well, everybody.
00:15:51What was the name of the healthy snack that I like?
00:15:55Popcorn.
00:15:56Yes.
00:15:57It's just like, okay, we can have it, but don't have too much of it.
00:16:01And, you know, then we ask them, what are some fruits that you eat?
00:16:05You know, what are some vegetables that you eat?
00:16:07And we make a promise right there in that sitting.
00:16:12It's like, hey, can you promise Mr. A that you'll eat more fruits and more vegetables?
00:16:17Anybody like hot sauce on their popcorn?
00:16:20Yes.
00:16:21Yes.
00:16:21Okay.
00:16:22So this story is about hot sauce on my popcorn.
00:16:26Ready?
00:16:29Hot sauce on my popcorn.
00:16:32I like to have hot sauce on my popcorn.
00:16:35Yeah, I know it's weird, but not as weird as hot sauce on the top of a beaver's beard.
00:16:44I like hot sauce on my popcorn.
00:16:46Yeah, I know it's strange, but not as strange as hot sauce on a handful of change.
00:16:53Well, I like hot sauce and I like spicy things, but I'm not a fan of hot sauce and popcorn.
00:17:01Kind of weird, right?
00:17:02Yeah.
00:17:03I like hot sauce on my popcorn.
00:17:06Yeah, I know it's funny, but not as funny as hot sauce on a beehive full of honey.
00:17:13It's enough for me.
00:17:14Being a father and living with this diagnosis has opened my eyes to a new way of living.
00:17:25And, you know, I enjoy taking that on.
00:17:36I accept the challenge.
00:17:37My name is Brent Parrish Johnstone.
00:17:45I have dyslexia.
00:17:48As a person who struggles with reading, you lose a lot of confidence.
00:17:56It can be a very, it can be a very scary place.
00:18:00Mr. B started learning how to read.
00:18:03Man, I started having some problems.
00:18:05I started seeing words differently.
00:18:08I started seeing words that wasn't there.
00:18:11The words that was there, I wasn't able to read them.
00:18:14Childhood literacy is my passion because I also realized where a lot of struggles in my life came from
00:18:21and insecurities in my life came from was being a struggling childhood reader.
00:18:25Well, if you guys go to school and you start reading and you start having problems, can you make me a promise?
00:18:31Can we make Mr. B a promise?
00:18:33Can you promise that you will tell your teachers, you will tell your parents that you're having problems with reading?
00:18:39Can you do that for me?
00:18:40Can you do that?
00:18:41We promise this will be that.
00:18:42I didn't throw their hands in the air.
00:18:43It's in the air.
00:18:44And wave them like you just don't care.
00:18:46And wave them like you just don't care.
00:18:48Now, listen up.
00:18:48Even though I have problems with reading and writing, Mr. B graduated college and I'm also an author of two books.
00:18:57So just because you're having problems doesn't mean you can't get help.
00:19:01Embrace reading with your child now when they're babies.
00:19:05Because one of the biggest things you're going to find out, one, is their interests, what they like.
00:19:12But if they're struggling, when is the best time to find out if your kid is a struggling reader?
00:19:17At 13 or at 3?
00:19:19Because at 13, now they're surviving.
00:19:22At 3, we can address these issues.
00:19:26Who knows why you read?
00:19:27Raise your hands.
00:19:28Why do we read?
00:19:28My children don't know they impacted me before they even appeared here.
00:19:49Before I knew who they were.
00:19:51At 18, 19, 20 years old, when I knew in the future I wanted to have kids, I wanted to work with them,
00:19:58I wanted to help them with their homework, I said, I have to address this reading thing at some point.
00:20:03I have to get better.
00:20:05I have to tell people.
00:20:06I have to ask for help.
00:20:10My kids changed my life because without them, I don't know if I ever would address my reading problem.
00:20:19I don't know if I ever would have talked to kids about reading.
00:20:23Parents, the community, I would have done none of that.
00:20:26If I didn't even think I was going to have kids and wanting to be there for them.
00:20:31So, my kids changed my life years before they was even born.
00:20:37I got help for myself because I knew I was going to be a father.
00:20:51God willing, I knew that I wanted to have a family.
00:20:54Get it.
00:20:57Get you the muscles.
00:20:58Get the muscles going.
00:21:00And that's when your pop pop was in the newspaper.
00:21:03He was in front of the newspaper.
00:21:052006.
00:21:06This was right before you was born, before he started getting real sick.
00:21:09They did a big article on naming the paper.
00:21:15All these kids, the pop pop helped thousands of kids.
00:21:19And he started out just trying to help his own kids.
00:21:23We had to throw a bunch of hay for everybody at the stable.
00:21:26Mace, when you get older, you're going to be throwing hay, boy.
00:21:28I've been struggling with reading since the day I started reading.
00:21:34Where do I fit in in this world?
00:21:36How can I be successful?
00:21:38And these questions are starting to arise at 9, 10, 11 years old.
00:21:42So, it can be a dark place at a very early time for kids who struggle with reading.
00:21:49You got to figure out how can I make it in this world
00:21:51without one of the greatest assets to have in this world, reading.
00:21:59Mason's your friend?
00:22:01No.
00:22:02It's me, right?
00:22:04Gianna, you're for you?
00:22:05No.
00:22:10See, the girls get along.
00:22:12He's not your friend.
00:22:14No, you're trying to set him up.
00:22:16Dad, I feel this cheekbone.
00:22:19My dad taught me how to read maps when I was young, right?
00:22:22And because of that, I always felt like I could get a job.
00:22:25I could be a trucker.
00:22:26I knew how to read maps.
00:22:28All you had to do was follow lines.
00:22:30I could do that.
00:22:31There's no reading involved before GPS.
00:22:33It's even easier now.
00:22:34But he taught me how to read, so I had some hope.
00:22:37My oldest brother was a trucker.
00:22:39I'm like, I knew what type of money.
00:22:41He could make good money being a trucker, so I had hope.
00:22:43When you're a young person growing up in poor communities, and you don't have hope, you
00:22:49start looking for instant gratification.
00:22:51He's not going to bite you.
00:22:53Okay.
00:22:54It's like when you're holding a hermit crab.
00:22:57Like when you're holding a hermit crab.
00:22:58Yep, go ahead.
00:22:59I'll show you.
00:23:00I'll put it with you.
00:23:02Hermit crab.
00:23:04You did it!
00:23:05Yeah, mate.
00:23:06See?
00:23:07Feels funny, huh?
00:23:08Did you get scared?
00:23:11Go ahead, Gianna.
00:23:13Like a holy crab.
00:23:16Like a boss.
00:23:17Like a boss.
00:23:19By yourself.
00:23:20Go by yourself, mate.
00:23:21With the other hand, you have more.
00:23:24There you go.
00:23:26Oh!
00:23:27Little nibble.
00:23:31Little nibble.
00:23:32Little nibble.
00:23:33Peace out, Boy Scout.
00:23:34I'm scared of heights.
00:23:35You're scared of heights.
00:23:36They're going to fill all this up today.
00:23:40They went to go get hay.
00:23:41And they're going to fill me up.
00:23:43There's only four blocks out.
00:23:44So they're going to throw it on top of you.
00:23:46We're going to leave you here.
00:23:47No!
00:23:48Peace out, Boy Scout.
00:23:48And they're just going to throw all the hay on top of you, Boy Scout.
00:23:51No!
00:23:52Mm-hmm.
00:23:52Jump down.
00:23:54No!
00:23:54Come on, I got you.
00:23:55No, I made you up.
00:23:57I got you.
00:23:58Just get me.
00:24:00Take me.
00:24:01Taking care of horses is good because you learn that
00:24:04horses totally dependent on somebody else.
00:24:07I'm going to kill it.
00:24:08Like you guys.
00:24:09How y'all dependent on me and Mommy.
00:24:13So being a kid taking care of animals is a good way of learning how to take care of other
00:24:17people that's dependent on you.
00:24:20If these people don't come and feed their horses, they don't eat.
00:24:23Take charge.
00:24:24There you go.
00:24:24Cool.
00:24:25You're the leader.
00:24:26He's going to follow you.
00:24:27Remember that.
00:24:28If you're going to be a leader, you got to make sure your people follow you.
00:24:32Don't stand right in front of them because if he take off, he can run you over, right?
00:24:37Always stay to the side of them.
00:24:40I don't think nobody faster than Daddy.
00:24:43What you think?
00:24:44Golden baby.
00:24:46Who feeds you?
00:24:48Then where Gianna moves at?
00:24:49Where Gianna?
00:24:50See if you like Gianna moves.
00:24:52Go ahead, Gianna.
00:24:53Put it on the nose.
00:25:06Put it on the nose.
00:25:07He said get his boogies out.
00:25:09He said get his boogies out.
00:25:11Hey, get your friend from school.
00:25:13I'm not the best helper with homework.
00:25:16But like my dad, I set expectations.
00:25:19I try.
00:25:20I try to put them around the best people who are good for homework.
00:25:23My kids, they don't know nothing else.
00:25:26They changed my life.
00:25:28And by doing that, they changed the lives of a lot of other young people I helped.
00:25:36Imagine if you ate that every day.
00:25:39You're probably so fat.
00:25:41Bye, yes horse.
00:25:44Bye, yes horse.
00:25:47We will always miss you.
00:25:49I know for Brent, his struggles with dyslexia or having these struggles and not knowing
00:25:57what that was can be very challenging.
00:26:01And, you know, those are things as a parent that you just want to safeguard them.
00:26:04You just want to protect them from all of that and to kind of give them all the tools
00:26:09that you can to be sure that they don't have those obstacles.
00:26:12But if they do, that you're there to assist and help them with those things.
00:26:16Thank God for my father.
00:26:19My dad started working at Temple University.
00:26:21When you worked at Temple University, your kids could go to school for free.
00:26:25And from the time we were born, we knew that.
00:26:28The expectation was, y'all go in the temple.
00:26:31And as I got older, I'm like, wow, that's amazing that this man not only set an expectation
00:26:35for us, he created the pathway for us to actually do it.
00:26:42I was fumbling around with going to different colleges and Temple University has showed up
00:26:49and they had offered a full scholarship to me because I was playing sports.
00:26:53My grades were fairly good with the school system I was in.
00:27:01And I was actually going to go to another school because Temple wasn't winning at the time.
00:27:07My stepfather in our house, and I remember this, he said it with conviction.
00:27:11He said, boy, you're going to Temple.
00:27:14Because that was the only school that offered a full ride.
00:27:18I met Brent at Temple.
00:27:23We both played football together.
00:27:25And coming out of camp, breaking camp, he and another gentleman were the first, you know,
00:27:31interactions that I had as far as getting accustomed to the life, to college life.
00:27:38I believe this relationship was destined to be.
00:27:44Keefe and I are so much alike, but we're so much different.
00:27:47And I think that's the beauty in our relationship.
00:27:50When you come into our readings, you'll see me reading a lot.
00:27:54It's funny because I'm a struggling reader.
00:27:56I'll be reading a lot and this guy is flying around the room.
00:27:59He's doing airplanes.
00:28:01He's acting the book out.
00:28:02And I'll be honest with you, I wouldn't be that good at doing it.
00:28:06Brent, he is a goof.
00:28:09Bring him back up to the sky.
00:28:11Who can touch the sky?
00:28:12Who can touch the sky?
00:28:13Where my dance is at?
00:28:14Where my dance is at?
00:28:15There's a little dance room where you're touching that sky.
00:28:17Okay.
00:28:17Now go back to them toes.
00:28:19Back to the toes.
00:28:20Brent's voice takes over the entire room.
00:28:23He's so boisterous.
00:28:25And he has this squeak to his voice.
00:28:27And so the kid, he's like a little cartoon character.
00:28:30A little dance.
00:28:30I see you over there playing.
00:28:32Look at that.
00:28:33Look at y'all.
00:28:34He's loud.
00:28:34From my observation of A'Keefe, A'Keefe is maybe a little bit more serious.
00:28:51Nobody really sees A'Keefe's personality other than us.
00:29:01He's a goof.
00:29:02He's so serious out in public.
00:29:16And to see him let that shell down and just become that, it's great.
00:29:22Because I know who that is.
00:29:23They were sleeping.
00:29:24So guess what he did?
00:29:26He went to his closet.
00:29:27He opened his closet.
00:29:29He put on his pants.
00:29:30He put on his boots.
00:29:31He put on his shirt.
00:29:32He put on his jacket.
00:29:33He put on his jacket.
00:29:34He put on his hat.
00:29:34Then he put on his what?
00:29:36Closet!
00:29:38Then he ran outside.
00:29:39He started doing the snow angel.
00:29:41And he started playing with Ava.
00:29:42They having fun.
00:29:43She swinging her beats.
00:29:44And guess who saw them next?
00:29:45Oh my God!
00:29:46The chorus said, is that my friends out there having fun?
00:29:50They look like they would be coming into a scare street when you first see them because they're huge.
00:29:56You know what I mean?
00:29:56But then when they lighten up and you get to hear this goofiness to them and how playful they are,
00:30:03it makes you want to just kind of just jump in and do the things with them.
00:30:07What's something that's loud?
00:30:09Tell them.
00:30:13Say it loud.
00:30:13Yeah.
00:30:14Huh?
00:30:15Airplane.
00:30:18Airplane!
00:30:18Yeah!
00:30:19Airplane!
00:30:20They tell them to, like, tell their parents that, please read this book.
00:30:26Like, teach them how to beg their parents, which is so funny to me.
00:30:29And even, um, they're going in environments where some of the kids don't speak English,
00:30:35but they can still feel, you can still see them get excited and still see them understand what's going on.
00:30:42And it might probably be the best thing to happen in their day.
00:30:45It's powerful.
00:30:46What are you doing?
00:30:47Who?
00:30:48I didn't get a hug.
00:30:49Everybody's going to get one.
00:30:50Everybody's going to get one.
00:30:51Everybody's going to get one.
00:30:51Everybody.
00:30:52Everybody in the club.
00:30:54Rents are...
00:30:55...wide.
00:30:57Clouds are...
00:30:59...wide.
00:31:00But it is...
00:31:01It is...
00:31:03...wide.
00:31:03When I leave them, I feel like Superman, because I'm like, I'm able to do something that I wish somebody...
00:31:11I was calling for Mr. A and Mr. B to come help me with reading.
00:31:15Read every day, okay?
00:31:17Every day.
00:31:18I never told anyone I struggle with reading.
00:31:20Never.
00:31:21Except for my mom and some people at school when I fell down at Temple University.
00:31:26But I never mentioned, even though every report card said it.
00:31:29I never said it.
00:31:31Right?
00:31:31But I thought I was dumb.
00:31:33And because I thought I was dumb, I took chances I shouldn't have taken.
00:31:38I didn't see a future that many people might have assumed I saw.
00:31:42I didn't see a future that a lot of people who are great readers saw.
00:31:46So when you're struggling with reading, you're struggling with surviving.
00:31:49So when I was your age and I couldn't read like I wanted to, guess what I used to do?
00:31:54I would make up these stories.
00:31:55I would grab my little pencil, I'd hold my eyes, and I would just make up all these fun stories...
00:32:00...because it was hard for me to read.
00:32:02So right now, what we're going to do, we're going to make up a story together.
00:32:06With my name being Mr. A and his name being Mr. B, what we'd like to get started with is our ABC.
00:32:14Raise your hand if you know your ABC.
00:32:16Because we are in very rough neighborhoods who may not have those resources.
00:32:26We know the difference that the books are going to make for these children, for these parents.
00:32:34I had a young guy who couldn't spell is it, it, six green.
00:32:3713 years old, literally couldn't spell is it, it.
00:32:39He's about to go outside and start to fight.
00:32:42Everybody just wants to be good at something.
00:32:45Right?
00:32:45And when you're not a good reader, you're not doing good in school, but you're still going to school, you need to find, where can I be good?
00:32:53Oh, I cuss the teacher out good.
00:32:55I run out of class good.
00:32:56I beat people up good.
00:32:58I disturb the class good.
00:33:01You're looking for where I get my love at.
00:33:03Right?
00:33:03And that's natural.
00:33:04People that are locked up are locked up for things where they're really just trying to do something to provide for themselves and their family.
00:33:12But they have limited options on what they can, you know, choose to do.
00:33:18When you teach someone how to read, that's love, giving them the ability to be able to learn.
00:33:24Reading is love.
00:33:25And so many of these young kids go from being these young, loved individuals to these older, angry, upset individuals.
00:33:34And a lot of it goes right back to reading.
00:33:36So, August 10th, 1994, I was so scared.
00:33:43That whole ride, we talked about football.
00:33:46And I wanted to be like, Dad, I was scared.
00:33:49I don't feel I was cool.
00:33:50I'm scared.
00:33:51I knew I was.
00:33:52And I couldn't, I didn't feel like I could tell him that.
00:33:55And I'm not sure how he would have even responded to that.
00:33:58My dad wasn't, he wouldn't be crying.
00:34:01He didn't cry.
00:34:02That dude didn't cry.
00:34:02Him and my brother, they don't cry.
00:34:04I'm the cry baby.
00:34:05And I always felt like, and this is not enough with my dad, no matter where my kids are, I want them to be able to open up to me.
00:34:13I do believe men of color can struggle with being intimate with their children, family, for whatever stigmas are out there.
00:34:23Not wanting your son to be soft.
00:34:26Come on, Grace.
00:34:30We do our own camera work.
00:34:32I hug my boys.
00:34:34We have the daughter, you know, I hug her as well.
00:34:37I give her a lot of hugs and kisses.
00:34:39But I also kiss my boys.
00:34:41You know, I give them hugs.
00:34:43I don't think that they're going to grow up to be something that I would disapprove of.
00:34:49They're going to be who they are, ultimately.
00:34:52And I'm going to love them regardless.
00:34:55I never told my dad I love him.
00:34:58He never told me he loved me.
00:35:00We showed it, right?
00:35:02But we never had those moments like me and my son had when I was like, yo, I love you, man.
00:35:06Like, I love you too, daddy.
00:35:07A lot of them at my age and around there haven't had those moments with their dads.
00:35:13My dad passed years ago.
00:35:25I miss my dad.
00:35:27It's weird because I actually feel like me and my son, my son replaces my dad.
00:35:37And he doesn't know that and I've never told him that.
00:35:39But it's like I'm getting a second of the cheers with my dad and my son.
00:35:45Oh my God, Mason, it sounds like you're losing your voice.
00:35:49Are you losing your voice, Mom?
00:35:52No.
00:35:53You ready to go for a swim?
00:35:54No.
00:35:55You ready to go for a swim?
00:35:56I didn't grow up sitting on laps.
00:36:02I didn't grow up getting hugs.
00:36:05That is definitely something that I had to create, a nurturing side of me.
00:36:09So when I go back and, you know, just seeing those experiences, you know, it's something that, you know, I'll have to work through.
00:36:18That was something that I always took from my relationship, that I wanted to be able to be so open with my emotions with my kids that wherever they were at, they can emotionally, we can emotionally connect.
00:36:31Deanna, look at the camera.
00:36:33Look at the camera, bud.
00:36:35When me and my daughter was young, I was working two jobs at the time.
00:36:38A lot of times when I was getting home, it was time for her bath time.
00:36:41Bath and we read a book.
00:36:43We snuggled and we read the same books over and over again, the same one, but it was so special.
00:36:52And I think when dads do this, they start to realize how much power they really had in the intimate part.
00:37:02So when it comes to mothers being more of the nurturing type, that's what I was for our children.
00:37:13I used to go to them.
00:37:18Okay.
00:37:20Take it like this and you just press it on the side, okay?
00:37:25Okay.
00:37:34Okay, dear.
00:37:35All right.
00:37:37I keep staples, sure.
00:37:39That's my doctor tip.
00:37:41Do it all here.
00:37:42Don't.
00:37:43Say bye.
00:37:44Say bye.
00:37:45Say bye.
00:37:46Hey!
00:37:48The boy's all that.
00:37:49The boy's all that.
00:37:50All right.
00:37:51Let's go.
00:37:53I can walk in the house and it could be 12 o'clock at night and they'll all still be on the couch watching TV.
00:38:00And my first response could be, you know, why are they still up at 12 o'clock or why are they still on the couch?
00:38:05But they're cuddled up and they're so loving, you know, and I knew for my daughter what that was going to be like to be able to have her first love be her dad.
00:38:16She made him mush where, you know, he was a little bit more rugged before her.
00:38:21We talk about the, you know, fathers and being intimate.
00:38:27That's when I learned that it's okay.
00:38:30It is okay to give these children love, especially at a young age.
00:38:36I'll read some NAACP as is now customary.
00:38:41This combination of letters is not a natural syllabic sound.
00:38:47Like, you don't have to be certified to read to your children.
00:38:50You don't have to be certified to be engaged.
00:38:53But we do know that when you take those actions, change will happen.
00:38:58But in doing so, it creates new generational habits.
00:39:00So now I'm giving my child this experience and it creates this norm that my son doesn't have to learn.
00:39:07Right.
00:39:08And so when he's now a parent, that's not a new thing he has to pick up.
00:39:11He will automatically read with his child.
00:39:23January 6, 1998.
00:39:26My freshman year.
00:39:28I'm 18 years old.
00:39:30And I come home on winter break.
00:39:34I'm home with my older sister.
00:39:39And we hear this loud sound.
00:39:42And my sister, Desiree, she ran up the steps.
00:39:45She said, I keep, did you hear that?
00:39:47And then about five seconds later, she just starts screaming.
00:39:52And I jump up and I'm just bumbling and fumbling.
00:39:57And I'm making my way to the room.
00:40:00And as I get to the door, my sister is on top of my stepfather, giving him CPR.
00:40:07He had shot himself.
00:40:09It was at that moment that my life literally flashed before my own eyes.
00:40:16And the whole trajectory of my life changed in that moment.
00:40:21And I'm sure it changed for my sister as well.
00:40:24And as a result, we both ended up taking on our own forms of therapy.
00:40:29And as a result, we both became addicts.
00:40:33It was something that we had dealt with for a number of years.
00:40:42I have two sisters.
00:40:58And I, and I lost one.
00:41:14And it wasn't until I met my wife because our relationship happened so fast.
00:41:31We, we met and got married in 28 days.
00:41:34I knew she had a son.
00:41:36I hadn't met him.
00:41:38I was still in my addicted phase at that time.
00:41:42And we were about a month into our marriage and she sat me down.
00:41:48I was coming in, hanging out with friends.
00:41:53You know, it was alcohol.
00:41:55She said, I keep, I can't do this.
00:41:58And you're going to have to make a choice.
00:42:02I keep, she said, you either stop or else if you don't, I'm leaving.
00:42:08It was in that moment that she said, you're a dad now.
00:42:12And I couldn't imagine what my father, now I'm talking about my biological father.
00:42:20I can't imagine what he felt like when he had his child taken away from him.
00:42:28And, and to try and build that relationship and I'm 42, it's been 40 years.
00:42:39I had the opportunity to celebrate my first birthday with my father.
00:42:45Since I was from two years old was when I turned 40, I myself could now change history.
00:42:54And, and, and what I always wanted in life was a family.
00:42:59So my wife gave me the choice of having that family.
00:43:06And it was that day, September 26, 2009.
00:43:11And she sat me down on that bed that I gave up drinking.
00:43:15And I have not had one drink since.
00:43:23And I always tell him this, my oldest son, that he changed my life by giving me that opportunity to be his father.
00:43:34Let's ask questions.
00:43:39Let's build powerful relationships, win new business, and influence others.
00:43:46The fact that he just naturally picked up to do all of those things and be present with them.
00:43:52And then when you get reports from school and the teachers and other people are telling you how great your kids are and how amazing they are.
00:44:01And I know that he is their caregiver 90% of the time.
00:44:04I know that's nothing but him.
00:44:06I didn't have my dad in my household growing up.
00:44:10So seeing Brent with the kids, it's something that I can view and appreciate, whether it's them chatting.
00:44:17Like I can see like sometimes Mason and Brent just having these long little chats.
00:44:22Gianna, she confides in Brent too.
00:44:25Like, and Brent, something that Brent does, after he picks them up from school, he'll have conversations with them.
00:44:30Just bring up combos like, you know, how was your day today?
00:44:34And then that just kind of stirs the conversation.
00:44:36But kind of, you know, after a long day of school or then going into after school and just kind of checking in with them.
00:44:43And then it brings them to just talk and just whatever quality time that is within kind of conversations, which I think is good.
00:44:51Because then you kind of find out what's going on with your kids.
00:44:54How was their day?
00:44:55With math, I really go to my dad about that because he's better at it than my mom.
00:45:03My dad is clumsy.
00:45:05I know you all too.
00:45:06It's different when your mom holds you and kisses your boo-boos.
00:45:12Mom's supposed to do that.
00:45:13But when dad still allows you to be gentle, but then explain things to you, why he's toughening you up, why he's pulling you back together to just let things go.
00:45:23It just gives a different support to their emotional growth.
00:45:26I just tell them stuff that happened, like today or other days.
00:45:45Do you like being able to talk to your dad and mom?
00:45:48Yeah.
00:45:49How does that make you feel?
00:45:50Happy.
00:45:51Why does it make you feel happy?
00:45:55Because other people don't have mom.
00:45:57Little boys are almost raised to be robots, like not human.
00:46:03Boys don't cry.
00:46:04Boys don't dance.
00:46:05Men, for years, were just told, stop crying.
00:46:09Don't, don't, don't, don't.
00:46:10They never realize how to, how do I regulate my own emotions?
00:46:17Not just shut them off, because shutting them off ain't good.
00:46:20How do I simmer there?
00:46:23How do I go from 10 to 1?
00:46:25Still being able to express myself emotionally, well, people always like to say we look alike.
00:46:35And I always like to say it.
00:46:37It's not true.
00:46:38Yeah, there's no way.
00:46:41We ain't close to looking up here.
00:46:44I got to know.
00:46:45I'm happy I don't look like you.
00:46:48You should be happy when you look like me.
00:46:51What's real is, I cut myself, I'm hurting.
00:46:54You all right, my man?
00:46:54All right, you get that.
00:46:56I'm going to wash it off, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:46:58Not shutting down someone's feelings.
00:47:02And I think far too often, men shut down little boys' feelings and don't allow them to grow into who they are emotionally.
00:47:14Oh, those jokes.
00:47:17Those jokes, yeah.
00:47:20They're not going to tell them those jokes.
00:47:21I got to remind them I'm not going to tell them you.
00:47:25This is a chapter in my book called July 1st.
00:47:28July 1st was the first day football magazines came up.
00:47:34They previewed the season, college, NFL.
00:47:37I loved sports back then.
00:47:39In the 80s, there was no internet, right?
00:47:41You couldn't just get stuff by pushing the button.
00:47:44We would go to the Sheldon Hall Mall to this bookstore.
00:47:46Every July 1st, he would buy me like three, four, five books.
00:47:50But my dad never read the books.
00:47:53He would go get them and I would go read them.
00:47:55Now at the time, what I was really doing, I was teaching myself how to read.
00:47:59He has no idea.
00:48:00He was, that's how I was teaching.
00:48:02To this day, I use little skills when I'm reading.
00:48:05That's what taught me how to read.
00:48:07I wanted to read so bad what was in that football book, but I was struggling.
00:48:11I wasn't going to tell him, right?
00:48:13I wasn't going to tell my mom.
00:48:14I just go sit in my room forever and just keep reading these books.
00:48:18And he doesn't know that.
00:48:20And I wish I would have told him that before he passed.
00:48:22But he played a big part in me becoming a better reader.
00:48:30Me and my dad was exactly, I'm like, my dad couldn't read really well.
00:48:34He couldn't write really well.
00:48:36But I never knew that.
00:48:37Dad was the main stickler about education.
00:48:41Being smart.
00:48:42Being smart.
00:48:42Sometimes that used to mess me up.
00:48:44Dad, I'm not smart.
00:48:45And he's like, no, you got me smart.
00:48:47You got me smart.
00:48:48Got to do your work.
00:48:49When you really think about it, reading isn't everything.
00:48:51Reading is in, you know, filling out a job application or buying a home or anything.
00:48:59Reading is everywhere you go.
00:49:00Signs, streets.
00:49:02And if you are not equipped or don't have that knowledge, it's a real struggle.
00:49:18I'm beautiful.
00:49:19I'm proud.
00:49:20I'm beautiful.
00:49:21I'm proud.
00:49:22I'ma say it out loud.
00:49:24I'ma say it out loud.
00:49:27I love my hair.
00:49:28I love my skin.
00:49:29I love my hair.
00:49:31I love my skin.
00:49:32I love my smile every time I grin.
00:49:34I love my smile every time I grin.
00:49:37I'm beautiful.
00:49:38I'm proud.
00:49:39I'm beautiful.
00:49:40i'm proud i'm beautiful i'm proud once we read the stories we wanted to gift the the children
00:49:47with books you know with some literacy resources now these books are books that we took from our
00:49:54own home when we started out they were books from our children's shelves that you know they
00:49:59make they may not have been reading and during our campaign at the time we read in 30 day cares
00:50:06in 30 days so we had to have at least around 100 books to give away because we were saying we were
00:50:12going to give three books away it was great you know it was good however when you have a room full
00:50:20of 30 kids and only three of them are receiving a book it was the kids and it was the children that
00:50:30were coming up and they were crying and they were like well i want a book where's mine at
00:50:36and that's when brent myself we really had to go back and we we started asking or you know it
00:50:42either popped up or sure the universe showed up giving us access to more books that is always
00:50:48something that's stuck in my head is making sure that the kids have have access to books and that
00:50:55they get these books in their hands now what was the title of the book how many monkeys did the book
00:51:03start out with hold them on y'all raise your hand everybody raise their hand can everybody answer
00:51:10answer it how many monkeys yes yes very good job but lee you screamed our first five there you go
00:51:19buddy you get a book today what do i like to put on my popcorn
00:51:24she was first say it again hot sauce very good when you have individuals that look like you
00:51:35that are not afraid to show up and be present and and be of service that that is a difference maker
00:51:47i remember this little kid we had in kensington and anyone knows about kensington the biggest drug
00:51:52epidemic in the country right now as far as opioids go it's a rough neighborhood and we were in there
00:51:59with these kids and he we asked him like what's the most important thing whatever it was he started
00:52:05speaking about father how fathers were the greatest thing in this world because when we talk to them
00:52:10we speak from that point of view and the lady was crying lady worked there forever over 30 years she was
00:52:17crying back there she said you know that boy hasn't seen his father in years the father was like locked
00:52:24up for like murder or something he wasn't in his life and she was like for him to have so much
00:52:30passion about what a father is what it should be what he took away from you guys like she couldn't stop
00:52:35crying and it's like listen even though this kid doesn't have a father right he understands that fathers
00:52:43are important right it may be that the the the link that leads him to being a positive father in the
00:52:51future it gives them a different view on what good men are what passionate men are what caring men are
00:52:59and that it can be very cool to be this but there was these two young teams and this guy was fighting
00:53:05to get his son back they get custody of his kid and he said so wait a minute so i could read because he
00:53:11was in the batman this dude he knew all about bat he said so i could read batman with my son
00:53:15he was like yeah and we had some batman books and he was really like wait i can't like literally like
00:53:21i can do this like yeah you can do this with your son he left there with maybe a dozen books
00:53:28a lot of batman and with the idea that oh this is how i can connect with my child and help him become
00:53:36a better reader i do know that given love given resources you could take your mind and your body
00:53:44anywhere in this world
00:54:06reading is love like reading is really love like teaching a person how to read
00:54:13or helping them in that journey right you may not be able to teach someone how to read
00:54:17but you can help them in a journey you can advocate i'm a father who has to advocate
00:54:22for his son who struggles a little bit with education like i do and you know that's the biggest thing
00:54:30you can do is advocate teach your child be along for that journey no one teach children how to read
00:54:36after third grade reading is love that's what it means that is exactly what what it says you know
00:54:45to to me when you look at the issues that we have in the world where that love is removed it's like
00:54:53okay how did it get here because i always say you know we're not born innately mad at the world if
00:55:05it's a mother it doesn't matter if it's a parent caregiver who is whoever is with these children
00:55:11from a very young age or still even in the womb because you can still read uh to children in the womb
00:55:17i did it with our children and that love is teaching or educating without having the certification
00:55:25but just being willing to be in the moment with those children and it doesn't have to be perfect
00:55:34he always read with the kids um and me watching them grow in their capacity for reading especially
00:55:42daily i mean she's so expressed in her reading and it takes her away from the computer and the ipad
00:55:51and price away from his gaming system and it it's like you get to become whatever's in the story
00:56:00but it opens up your mindset to seeing things outside of where you are and i think that opens up
00:56:06kids minds to being to realizing that life is not just that one place that they're in and that
00:56:14there's way more to what they know than just where their where their home is or where their block is or
00:56:20their street or their neighborhood or anything like that just seeing that there's more to life than just
00:56:25that always been about the children always have been about helping the community um informing families
00:56:30and because of that because of their willingness to not be paid their passion about the community has
00:56:36come out in their work you get hit with so many closed doors closed doors with funding closed doors
00:56:42with reluctance um in a community for people to open their doors to you and assist and say yes we we
00:56:48see your value man ikeef literally did this with nothing for two years no money no vehicles taking books
00:56:57from my kids bookshelf i remember like for a while he like he would go through my bookshelf just take
00:57:05some or i'll just go through them like stuff i don't really read that much anymore whoever got it
00:57:09they're enjoying it too like i did i was in a good career working in social services i was a dean
00:57:16in schools making good money and i said i'm done with it i didn't like working in these agencies who
00:57:27i felt like at the end of the day we're not really trying to help this situation we're trying to keep
00:57:31getting paid right i didn't feel like we were doing as best as we could for these uh for these kids and
00:57:38these families so i walked away from it all i literally got myself fired i'll also be honest
00:57:44with you i wasn't in a position financially where leaving a full-paying job was smart probably smart
00:57:50to do and i was very surprised my wife was like all right cool i'll back your play when it first started
00:57:55it was kind of like oh i'm no longer doing my job okay so then it's like whoa okay and so what are we
00:58:01doing now and you know kind of just going off on this idea and you know encouraging him because
00:58:09definitely i wanted to encourage him i know that he had um when he left the previous employment it was
00:58:15you know there was a lot of taxing emotions involved with that particular employment and just
00:58:21leaving them but then also having that motivation and that thought that this idea was going to be the
00:58:29next thing and being able to foster him as best as i could during that time i got off a true job
00:58:35there were way more money than i ever made in my life but they were back in schools doing the same
00:58:41thing and i turned both of them one was six figures i turned them both down people looked at me like i was
00:58:46crazy when i did it and i said no i'm making fathers read 365 for it like me and i keep got something
00:58:53amazing going on what my wife has allowed me to do is be everything that i didn't have i often had an
00:59:02issue in the beginning when we first started you know about finances because this job doesn't pay them
00:59:08you know a salary so everything fell on me a lot and i was resentful probably because that's what the
00:59:16world told me that a man was supposed to do and then it's taken years you know to really relax your
00:59:22mind and kind of see value totally different he's the first person up in the morning getting them
00:59:28ready for school making sure that everything runs on time he's the conductor of the train i pull the
00:59:33caboose us being entrepreneurs and having having a business where we can create our own schedules
00:59:40i've been the one that's been home taking care of our children i literally went to nothing i went to
00:59:46working in clubs going to charity four or five in the morning i passed out from exhaustion one night
00:59:51because i would work all night so i could keep my days open but then i had to we only had one car so
00:59:56i had to take my family to school in the morning school and work and then me and i keep we had some
01:00:02work to do so sometimes i wasn't i wasn't sleeping today october 26 in about a half an hour my partner
01:00:10i keep staples and uh meeting with the mayor's office um when we got together last year to put
01:00:16this thing in motion ultimately we knew we needed funding we needed the support of people hired bigger
01:00:22than us programs especially black led programs for children in the inner city right grassroots just
01:00:37started now a lot of times these programs falter because we we don't get the proper funding yes that
01:00:43f word funding funding funding funding and being very honest a lot of times it's not coming from our
01:00:49community that we're serving we haven't necessarily learned how to be totally charitable to each other
01:00:58and those big private foundations they make you jump through loops and paperwork you to death and
01:01:06disqualification they move the goalposts a lot and even because even when you're there right
01:01:11akif and i have we're learning this we're climbing this ladder and ultimately to come back and try to
01:01:16try to teach others um and we see how the goalposts you know you're a small organization because there's
01:01:22two of us but another organization is big and they have five people and they get you know millions of
01:01:28dollars right now uh north philadelphia school giving kids 13 books of peace pre-k and kindergarten
01:01:35students we do two to three interactive readings with them and you know that costs money right it costs
01:01:4345 000 to get all those books and we try to figure out how to do how can we do it for the whole school
01:01:49district how can we do it for all the kids in the city and all the cities we know how there's a path
01:01:56there there's other blueprints there of organizations that have been successful throughout the country
01:02:01um but it doesn't happen without funding the only way for you to survive is to have funds some type of
01:02:10funds and there are so many great organizations that don't see the light of day you could have miss annie
01:02:18may who has been on west chester avenue for 50 some odd years just taking care of the kids providing
01:02:29diapers providing things for new mothers or new parents out there and they don't get any recognition
01:02:38but they just do it because of their love for their community their love for people
01:02:56you just can't be a father to your kids you have to be a father to your community so one of the things we
01:03:03say is uh father's week 365 is a father initiative that engages fathers and their kids early literacy
01:03:11and kids in their community he put on his boots he put on his shirt he put on his jacket he put on
01:03:17his scarf he put on his hat then he put on his what do you put on you put on your hands when it's cold
01:03:22we can just show up at a very early stage of their lives um and then they they get to see us um in
01:03:35that position and to be able to champion something like literacy reading making sure that you dream big
01:03:45in this life um we want them to know that it's coming from us and it it may not look the way they
01:03:56expected um but now they they have that possibility within themselves and then we want to make sure that
01:04:04other men fathers father figures caregivers out there uh who are with these children see us doing it and
01:04:13are able to take that take that on as well you can't buy the type of energy that's put into these
01:04:22kids not even from a babysitter and it's nice to have that you know because i get to live a great life
01:04:30and really only have to do half of it and he does a lot of the work in between the homework is done you
01:04:37know the kids are well behaved if there's ever an issue with them all he has to do is walk in the room
01:04:43meanwhile i'm screaming and hollering and try to like get everything you know in order and make
01:04:50them listen to me they think i'm a joke you know that mom's silly mom's goofy she's you know she's
01:04:56not really serious when she's telling meanwhile he can walk into a room and just be quiet and stay in
01:05:01there and the room goes silent and everybody does what they need to do you can't bottle that up if i could
01:05:07bottle that up i would be rich i would peaches peaches squeaky leaky rubber ducky lucky lucky
01:05:14time to fly rubber ducky going
01:05:20here we go rubber ducky bye bye bye favorite jammies where you think they going
01:05:26when we realized wow you know there's just not enough voices out here speaking about early literacy
01:05:49speech especially in the communities that we're touching all those ways that we can create content
01:05:56um to help better our community literally when we started this it was the second reading we've ever we
01:06:03ever did and um from there to now it's like wow we we've really done a lot you know we've read to
01:06:09over 8 000 children we've uh given out over 50 000 books um we've trained almost thousands of parents
01:06:19i mean for the first two years we did this with no money we did this with no money really not even
01:06:25anyone knowing about us and now to be featured on the news four or five times now and we're actually
01:06:33impacting kids like we're still doing what we set out to do from the beginning i'm able to do something
01:06:38that i i wish somebody i was calling for mr a and mr b to come help me with reading telling kids
01:06:45that hey even if you're struggling with reading you're going to be okay it means a lot when you
01:06:49see someone going through what you do what you went through and you see them in a successful position
01:06:54because it's like wow okay this is not a death sentence there are not enough black male educators
01:07:02and when they see us um we want that we want to represent uh images or models that they can relate
01:07:17to in their own household we want to make sure that that engagement lives on you know watching
01:07:23it start off as just an idea with them and i see how much effort my husband puts into
01:07:29all of this and i watch the kids and i watch how exciting that you know the experience is i'm so
01:07:37proud of them you know and i know they're out here in this community making a difference and that's
01:07:42really all that matters it does a lot of legwork behind it it's almost a lot of um knocking on doors
01:07:48and hoping that someone will you know be able to believe in your idea and want to support your idea
01:07:56and being determined and believing in your idea enough to go through all of these different steps
01:08:02to get it to where it is now i have to thank
01:08:07you know he he's my stepfather but i call him dad you know i i have two dads and it was when i was in
01:08:14high school my senior year playing sports playing athletics it was my stepfather that chose my path for
01:08:23me i mean he said boy you're going to temple and brent and i joke about this all the time because
01:08:31that's where we met that's where we met at temple and and his father was on the police force at temple
01:08:39for a number of years it was written brent and i mentioned that a lot it was written that our fathers
01:08:46had a lot to do for what is going on right now with the organization fathers are so important the
01:08:56message that we're trying to bring across you don't have to wait for superman put on your own goddamn
01:09:01cape and get out there and start saving lives you don't have to wait till you have this degree you
01:09:06don't have to wait till you have this website you don't have to wait till you have all this funding
01:09:10get into the community where you're trying to help develop a plan on how you want to help
01:09:15and do the and do the work we literally were told y'all will never get fully funded by the
01:09:21william penn foundation for your little program in your black and brown community a week later
01:09:27we got a call from william penn foundation saying we want to work with y'all
01:09:32to any mother out there
01:09:46parents individuals who have created children
01:09:53do the very best you can
01:09:56to show to continue to show love not only to your children but to each other because not all
01:10:07relationships are going to work out that's just the truth however something that i took on
01:10:18i said whoever has my child whoever births my child whoever that woman is i'm going to do whatever
01:10:31it is that i possibly can to remain in the life of my child or children we've done a lot it's just so
01:10:40much more we have to do and want to do and can't wait to do that's the beauty of it
01:10:48that's the beauty of it
01:10:55you see the tree is growing
01:10:59growing from the ground
01:11:02beautiful and pure
01:11:06energy
01:11:08energy
01:11:10beautiful
01:11:12oh
01:11:22oh
01:11:26oh
01:11:32oh
01:11:36They don't drink gaito, they sip heat-o-eat.
01:11:54And what happens when they go out, when we want to buy stuff?
01:12:05I'm too many things.
01:12:12I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.
01:12:15I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.
01:12:19I'm so sorry.
01:12:22I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.
01:12:29I'm so sorry.
01:12:36I'm so sorry.
01:12:38I'm so sorry.
01:12:39I'm so sorry.
01:12:41I'm so sorry.
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