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The memoir and devotional authors on what it means to persevere, believe, and keep going against great odds.
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00:04Hey everybody! Welcome to our next panel, I think one of the last of the day. This panel
00:15is titled What It Takes to Beat the Odds. I'm going to start off with some introductions
00:20and some bios, and then we'll get started on the conversation. So first, I'd like to introduce
00:32Mr. Calvin Duncan. Mr. Calvin Duncan is the founder and director of the Light of Justice
00:37program, which is focused on improving legal access for incarcerated individuals. Falsely
00:42accused of murder at the age of 19, he endured a life sentence without the possibility of
00:47parole in Louisiana prisons for more than 28 years. While incarcerated, he became an inmate
00:53counsel substitute or jailhouse lawyer, which is for sale in the bookstore. That's the title of his
00:59book. Helping hundreds of fellow prisoners challenge wrongful convictions and unjust sentences. His
01:05efforts have contributed to landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Smith v. Cain 2012
01:11and Ramos v. Louisiana 2020. Duncan holds a J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School and resides in New
01:18Orleans, where he continues his advocacy work on behalf of those still behind bars. Let's welcome
01:23Mr. Calvin Duncan. All right, and then I'd like to introduce Mr. Albanyer C. Eugene Jr. He's the
01:32author, sorry, I'm sorry. He's the author of Momentum, which is going to be available for signing
01:38after this. 100 Devotions to Regain Hope for Your Life and Future. His debut book releases
01:44October 13th. He's an ordained minister and community builder who has a deep passion for
01:49spiritual formation, emotional wellness, and cultural renewal. Through viral videos, speaking
01:56engagements, the Momentum Academy, and more, he helps people find lasting peace, holistic
02:01healing, and authentic rest in a restless world. Let's welcome Mr. Albanyer.
02:08All right, you guys, this is going to be a great panel, not just because of our panelists,
02:13but there's some great questions that are prepared. The first one, both of your books ask readers
02:18to keep going when the odds feel overwhelming. Can you take us back to a moment when perseverance
02:24stopped being an abstract idea and became a reality, it became a daily reality of survival and practice
02:32for you? Testing. Okay, so when we was kids here in New Orleans, Louise Allison's incarceration capital
02:45world, we knew two things. We were going to either go to prison at a young age or get killed.
02:51So we used to
02:52sing these prison songs about our age going to rhyme with the crime that we was going to be sent
02:57to
02:57Angola. But as kids, we didn't know that they had a system that was going to make that a reality.
03:04So fast forward, in 1982, I was arrested for a murder I didn't commit. And they put me on a
03:11unit with
03:12guys that had already been sentenced to death. And I told them that I didn't commit my crime.
03:18And it was like, look, man, you're going to get the death penalty. They're going to execute you because
03:22one, you have the same lawyer that I have. You have the same judge, same prosecutor. And besides that,
03:30the victim of your case is white. And the young man, the witness in your case is white. So I
03:36asked them,
03:37you know, how can I help myself? And that's when they told me I had to become a lawyer.
03:41So that's when the reality really hits me that the song that we were singing as kids
03:48now is a reality that here I am going to be executed for a crime I didn't commit.
03:53But I had to learn a law. I only had between the eight and ninth grade education. So it hit
03:59home.
03:59And that's when I started trying to learn a law to help myself from being sentenced to death.
04:06Yeah. For me, it was getting my education. I went and got my master's degree in counseling.
04:12Really helped me learn a lot of the unhealthy parts of how I think, how I see the world,
04:18how I'm moving through the world. I think for me, after getting educated,
04:22I got held accountable to living in a healthier way, which to be short is to answer the question.
04:30It's like, that's when it became a lifestyle is when I started to know better. And I started to
04:35understand like, wait, there's a, there's a better way. There's a healthier way. So yeah,
04:40that was for me when I got my master's degree. Yeah. Awesome. It sounds like a raised level of
04:45consciousness for the both of you. So there's a difference between simply surviving and actively
04:52believing that something better, better is still possible. I like to say that, or not like to say,
04:57but I do think we live in a nihilistic society. A lot of the kids have lost hope and they
05:03think
05:03there's no purpose to anything. So clearly you all have purpose. You're writing these books. You're
05:10out here speaking. How did you learn to hold on to hope without denying the reality of what you're
05:17facing? Well, after they told me that I had to become a lawyer and the guys, the men that I
05:23was in
05:24prison with, they wasn't, you know, they didn't feel the need to be lying to us about what needed
05:30to happen. So trying to study law, I actually fell in love with law. I really did. And especially when
05:36I started reading, I read about the constitution and the, and the bill of rights. And then how I am
05:43looking at the bill of rights and half of them was directed to protect people like me, accused of
05:50crimes being prosecuted, like the fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth, and, uh, first right access to the
05:57court in the position, in the position of the government. So here I am reading about what the
06:03people back then knew what they needed to protect themselves from being oppressed and abused. And I'm
06:10reading it in the constitution. And it made sense that half of them was directed to protect people like
06:16me. And I came to the realization with only eight, between the eight and ninth grade education,
06:22that if I learned this, if I learned how to wield that power, that is the law, I could be
06:29a powerful
06:29person, not only to help myself, but to help other people. So, but, and I always say, really, we got
06:37the,
06:38if some people might not believe the law, but the law is the, is the weapon that really these people
06:43are
06:44using to crush people, spirit and everything else. So if I learned how to wield that power,
06:50I could be a powerful person. And if I could convince other people that we have the most powerful
06:56tool that this country could give anybody, they too could be in power. That, that's an empowering
07:01the people to really face the, the reality of living here in United States, not in a fairytale land
07:08that where we was living in a project where we were able to, to blame everybody for our downfall.
07:14And understanding that we have a tool, the Bill of Rights, to wield it, to protect ourselves like
07:21they thought way back then when they created this country. So that's what kept me going, that if I could
07:28just learn how to live in America, if I could ever go to America, that is get out of prison,
07:36and wield this
07:38power that they have given me. That's hope there. That's hope that we could do just about anything,
07:47because we didn't, we realized that law is what govern our lives here, that law is the thing that
07:52they use and to crush us. And that if I could learn how to wield it, I'd be all right.
07:57And we all could be all right.
08:01Yeah. How did you learn to hold on to hope without denying the reality of what you're facing?
08:06Yeah. I think, and I talk about it in the book a lot, too. Like, I think in life, you
08:10have to make sure you focus on what actually matters.
08:14I feel like so much doesn't matter. So much is just kind of like here today, gone tomorrow. But people
08:20matter.
08:21For like, meaningful relationships really do matter. And I'm finding, and I really love this about meeting people,
08:26it's like, people invite you into a new world. It's like, what they know, what they've been through, what they've
08:32experienced,
08:33maybe they could put you on something. You're like, wow, I never knew that until you told me. I didn't
08:37see it that way
08:38until you brought that to my attention. It's like, oh, wow, you put me on, and you had me meet
08:42this individual
08:43that I didn't know was going to transform my life. I feel like people give me hope. Like, I feel
08:49like one of the ways
08:49that God just reminds me that he loves me is by putting great people in my life. You see what
08:53I'm saying?
08:54And I feel like if we, you're speaking about the generation, I feel like if we get excited again
08:59about doing life with people, I feel like we get excited again about meeting new people.
09:05And the people who hear me say that, and maybe they go like, ah, but people hurt me in the
09:08past.
09:09Like, we did a panel earlier talking about how, like, the same way people can hurt you,
09:14the same way some of us will meet people that will just, I mean, really set us up on a
09:18beautiful healing journey.
09:19Like, my wife is here. She loved me back to life when I was in a very difficult season.
09:24Like, people are beautiful people, amazing people. They give me hope. You see what I'm saying? For sure.
09:32And you guys are giving me hope. Now, I'm going to ask, I don't know if this is a challenging
09:36question,
09:37but it's a question I like to ask black men. I'm deviating from the script.
09:41I'm a book talker, so I review books online for hopefully a living one day.
09:47And I have a tendency, and it goes viral almost all the time, to call out black men and their
09:53role in this space.
09:54So, I'm telling black men to read Toni Morrison.
09:58I'm telling black men to get in the field like the black women are literally doing the work, at least
10:04from my perspective.
10:05What do you all see your role as, as black men, in engaging not only the black men of your
10:12generations,
10:13but the younger generations, hopefully inspiring them to act for the next generations coming up?
10:20That's you. I'm learning from you right now.
10:23So, what I always told myself back then, way back then when I was 19, how did I get here?
10:33How was I so naive?
10:37How would I know about where I'm at has been a really, that people that was educating me failed to
10:45tell me
10:46that they are a group of people.
10:49And I'm going to feel comfortable saying white supremacists.
10:53They are intended to make sure that the 13th Amendment, the 14th Amendment, and the 15th Amendment
11:09does not become a reality.
11:12And so, with all of that pressure is being put on us, black men,
11:20and this spirit of white supremacists that are looking for hoses to encapture in a work through.
11:29It has no boundaries, not just to white men, white people.
11:34It embodies us too.
11:36And now we are doing some of the same stuff that white supremacists would have us doing.
11:40That is, forget about the struggle, the pressure, the system, even in the Bible where they talk about, you know,
11:52about men.
11:52The Bible teaches you that the leaders, the elite, the king is going to destroy men.
12:00And boys, Moses, Jesus, always say, Jesus was on the run before he was even conceived.
12:10Moses was sought after before.
12:13You know, it's like this is a spiritual thing, that they're going after boys first.
12:19And then when we have, no disrespect, black sisters are not understanding that we have been under so much attack
12:31and some of us just don't, it takes a lot to keep going.
12:36It does.
12:37It takes, my book talks about this.
12:39My co-author is Sophie Cole.
12:41When I got out of prison, I used to try to go on dates.
12:46I always say, I'm going to meet a nice, you know, I know my potential.
12:50I'm going to challenge the system.
12:52I need to meet me a nice sister.
12:54And every time I went on these dates, it was like, look, man, look.
12:59You don't have nothing else to talk about?
13:01I'm talking about prison.
13:03And I was rejected over and over and over.
13:06So to answer your question, from a spiritual realm,
13:10the powers that be is going to continue to go after black boys first.
13:15And if they could destroy that mind, then it leads into adulthood.
13:20And then when, like in the 90s, they wrote a paper like this.
13:26They said they were going to make black men so despicable
13:29that black women wouldn't even want to even date us.
13:32So I don't know that answered your question.
13:36But we've been under a tremendous amount of attack.
13:39And my book talks about that kind of attack.
13:43And it talks about how not giving up when you're in power with the next brother.
13:47We're going to get to it.
13:49Mr. Albedier.
13:51Yeah, yeah.
13:52What's my role or how do I envision my role in helping the generation?
13:57I am someone who didn't have a lot of education growing up.
14:01And so I have a burden to make sure that people get a chance to learn something new.
14:06I have a burden to make sure that, like even my videos,
14:08if anyone here knows me from my videos, I'm telling this to y'all.
14:12No one knows this.
14:13But I'm just talking to the younger me.
14:15Like there are people there and they're helping me film.
14:18And I'm conveying a message that's reaching the world.
14:20But my desire is to reach that young kid who's sitting in his room
14:25who just doesn't know any better.
14:27That's why my work is all about what I've learned.
14:29And just letting people kind of in to see whether it's how I live,
14:34lessons I've learned, the decisions I've made.
14:36And I feel personally that is my role to just continue to give back
14:41when it comes to wisdom and information and education,
14:44especially when it comes to how men and women are different.
14:47There's a chapter in my book called Men and Women Are Different.
14:50And I didn't learn that until later on in my life.
14:53Like we think differently, we move differently.
14:57And our differences really, they really help each other.
15:00If we come together and we continue to protect one another,
15:03like there's beautiful things we can do.
15:06But my job or my role, so to speak,
15:08is if I'm in the presence of somebody in the generation before me or after me,
15:12like I want to make sure I'm sharing what I've learned.
15:14And hopefully they can skip some bad decisions or mistakes along the way
15:20because that's what I would have needed or would have wanted.
15:22And so that's what I want to get back.
15:24Absolutely.
15:25I like kind of you were alluding to speaking to the younger you.
15:28And I think Dr. Sarita alluded to it earlier,
15:30like speaking to your inner child,
15:32nurturing that inner child will by default nurture the inner child of the community.
15:37I know we're running out of time, so let me ask maybe one more question.
15:42When you hear the phrase, beat the odds,
15:45do you think of one breakthrough moment in your own life
15:49or is it something quieter and more ongoing
15:53or rather a decision made again and again when you hear beat the odds?
15:58Beat the odds as it relates to...
16:00Just like the phrase.
16:07I don't know.
16:07I don't really know how to answer that,
16:09but I've always thought in my own life I've beat the odds
16:15because there's so much...
16:18It's just...
16:20The thing that happens to us,
16:22and it talks about that in the book,
16:24is in the law.
16:25The law allows it.
16:26The law allows them to prosecute young kids.
16:29The law allows them to incarcerate, execute innocent people.
16:36And the law said, like here in Louisiana,
16:39life means the rest of your life.
16:40I don't care how much you grow up in prison and educate yourself.
16:45The law says the remainder of your life.
16:47And I always said if God ever came down, you know,
16:53looked down and checked me out,
16:55he would be proud of me.
16:56And I would beat the odds.
16:58And I did beat the odds.
17:00And so when I got out of prison,
17:02and the big book talks about that,
17:04I made sure that I continue to help people beat the odds
17:10because life means life here.
17:13Death penalty means death penalty.
17:14And with a guilty verdict,
17:18that means that the rest of your life,
17:19society has thrown you away.
17:21So if we, for some reason, make it through this,
17:24that is beat the odds because it's entrenched in our laws.
17:28Yeah.
17:29Something practical with that quote.
17:32Is anybody here grateful that you're still in your right mind?
17:35You still can think straight, move your body.
17:37You could be here at Essence Fest chilling.
17:40To me, that's beat the odds.
17:41Like, I feel like every day I wake up,
17:43like there's a scripture that says
17:44there's new mercy every morning.
17:45Like, I'm so grateful.
17:48Like, people on the team is here.
17:49Like, when we be on Zoom calls,
17:51I'll be like, I'm alive.
17:52That's my update.
17:53I'm alive.
17:53I'm still here.
17:54I'm still breathing.
17:55And I'm grateful for that.
17:56I don't, I feel like all of us,
17:57we all have been through some crazy stuff in our lives.
17:59And like, technically, we shouldn't still be here.
18:02Like, that's, I can confidently say
18:03that's a part of all of our stories.
18:05But the fact that we're still here, to me,
18:06is just like, we beat the odds.
18:09And I'm grateful to be here.
18:11And I'm, and I think, I think beating the odds
18:14is, is waking up the next day.
18:17If God wakes you up, amen.
18:19And then the second piece is making sure that
18:22you live a meaningful life while you're here.
18:24You only get one life.
18:25That's becoming more and more of a reality to me.
18:28And, and especially with momentum,
18:30like, my, my desire is people to take ownership
18:33of your life.
18:35Like, just reclaim it all the way back.
18:37And, and, and live the life
18:38that you owe to yourself.
18:40Like, we owe it to ourselves to wake up,
18:43whether it's getting the support we need,
18:45getting accountability we need,
18:47getting the right people around us,
18:48or if we could just do it by ourselves,
18:50with the help of the Holy Spirit.
18:52Like, we owe it to ourselves to really
18:55see the life or the future
18:57that will come if we would just
19:00take advantage of the fact that we're still breathing.
19:02And, you see what I'm saying?
19:03So, yeah, that's my answer.
19:04I love that.
19:06I think I have one more question.
19:08And I want to ask this because
19:10being you, Alvinir, we're talking about
19:11the title of your book backstage,
19:14but also hopefully, like, best wishes
19:17for what the final cover design might have
19:20as far as special editions maybe one day.
19:22I would love for you to talk about
19:23why you titled your book, Momentum.
19:27And then if someone from the team
19:28can get us a copy that you can hold,
19:31I would like for you to, oh, thank you,
19:33to go into the design choice
19:36as to why you designed it that way.
19:38Yeah, so, Momentum to me is important.
19:41Like, if you put a small,
19:43a small pebble or a rock
19:46on some railroad tracks,
19:50it, let me, hold on,
19:52let me make sure I'm giving you guys
19:52the right example.
19:54My nerves are getting to me.
19:55Thank you, Holy Spirit.
19:59Let me, let me pick a different example.
20:04So, if you put a rock on some railroad tracks,
20:07it could be the greatest train in the world.
20:09It's not going to get through that rock
20:10if it doesn't have momentum.
20:13You give that same train momentum,
20:14it could blow through this whole building.
20:17Anything with some real momentum behind it
20:18is going to make some great progress
20:20in whatever destination it's going into.
20:22And my desire is,
20:24I don't want to see people quit.
20:25It's my temptation to quit all the time.
20:28Just give up.
20:29Like, all right, this is it.
20:30The next inconvenience,
20:32discouragement, situation,
20:33the stuff that we'd be having to deal with.
20:35And we'll say it.
20:36What do we say as we get older?
20:38There's a quote that we say becomes too real.
20:40It's always something.
20:43Hey, it's always something.
20:45And so, my desire is,
20:46if I can come alongside anyone in their journey,
20:48give you some momentum to move,
20:50I tried to make something that was for Monday,
20:52Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
20:54Saturday, Sunday, during the week,
20:56a hold your hand type of experience
20:58because that's what the Lord has gifted me to do,
20:59is encourage people, give you momentum.
21:01I can almost guarantee you,
21:02if you read this book,
21:04you'll have momentum.
21:06But if you talk with me
21:07and I have you in that moment,
21:09you're going to get momentum to move forward.
21:11Like, if you're in my life,
21:11I will make sure you don't quit.
21:13So, the attempt with this book
21:14is that I can be in your life,
21:16even from afar,
21:18to make sure you don't quit.
21:19Even when you're bugging out on Wednesday
21:20because somebody's getting on your nerves
21:21or you feel like this is every reason in the book
21:23why you should give up,
21:25well, guess what?
21:25You go to Wednesday and be like,
21:27let me just read what Al's talking about
21:28and it's going to give you momentum.
21:30And the design on it,
21:31it's just some forward movement.
21:33It's a quote that I used to say
21:34when I was really young,
21:35for anybody,
21:36just in case you know me for a long time.
21:39My desire is to help people move forward
21:40in every aspect of their life
21:42and that the journey really does continue.
21:44Like, you literally,
21:45here's a cheat code,
21:46you just got to keep moving forward.
21:48You just got to keep moving forward.
21:49I don't care if you do the,
21:50like, your story is amazing
21:52and it's,
21:53I'm blown away
21:54how you've endured all that.
21:56But you just kept moving forward.
21:58Even when it was ugly,
21:59if we just keep moving forward
22:00and if anybody needs some practicality,
22:02you don't know what forward is,
22:03ask for help.
22:05Ask for help.
22:06We owe it to ourselves
22:06to see what's on the other side.
22:08And so that's,
22:10I hope that answered the question.
22:11That was great.
22:12There's always intentionality.
22:15We actually have to wrap up,
22:17but I just wanted to say,
22:19as someone who's into books,
22:21there's so much intentionality
22:22behind cover designs
22:23and why authors do what they do.
22:25So I hope everyone appreciates it.
22:27With that said,
22:28we do have copies
22:30of The Jailhouse Lawyer
22:31in the,
22:32sorry,
22:33in the bookstore
22:34and they will be able
22:35to be signed afterwards.
22:37But we also have
22:38these really cool things
22:39called Advanced Reader Copies
22:41of Momentum.
22:42That means you get
22:42an early copy
22:44of Albanyer's book
22:46before it is published
22:47later this fall.
22:48So if you want
22:49a signed copy,
22:50please line up on this side
22:52and you will get
22:52your signed copy.
22:54And if that's it,
22:55thank you both
22:56for being on this panel.
22:57Thank you all for attending.
23:00And if anybody wants to talk
23:02on the side,
23:02I'm going to be here
23:03for a little longer
23:04before I leave.
23:05But thank you, guys.
23:06Can I get a photo?
23:07Yes, yes.
23:08That's awesome.
23:09Momentum.
23:10That's the.
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