Know Your Rights Camp Podcast
The Know Your Rights Camp Podcast hopes to inform, inspire and provide tools for the next generation of Black and Brown youth in a collective fight against systemic oppression.
Know Your Rights Camp Podcast
Truth, Power, and Resistance: A Fireside Chat with Dr. Angela Davis, Colin Kaepernick and Nessa
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
“Youth always lead struggles for change. No revolution has ever happened without young people being in the forefront.”
That truth came alive in Oakland as Know Your Rights Camp returned to where it began, nearly a decade after its launch. In a fireside chat with Angela Davis, Colin Kaepernick, and Nessa Diab, young people were reminded that movements are not built by single heroes, but by communities willing to imagine more than they are told is possible.
The conversation was about discipline, self-belief, and the responsibility that comes with knowing your power. About trusting your instincts. About refusing to accept the world as it is when it can be something better.
In a room full of youth, the message was simple and demanding at the same time: you are not waiting your turn. You are already leading.
And has done it for decades. And has not wavered in her conviction, in her belief, her persistence in us, in our futures. Now, when we say that, it sounds incredible. And it is. That does not come without its own trials and tribulations along the way. This woman was on the FBI's most wanted list. They tried to incarcerate her. And she had to fight those battles, and she has won those battles. Also, when we think about this work, the work that she was doing right here in Oakland became internationally known. People all over the world look to this woman for guidance. They look to her for how should we be approaching this? What is our path forward? Give us some insight into how we build and create a better future together. That is everything from black liberation to abolishing prisons, to work on feminism. How do we build a more equal and just society? And this woman has done it across the board, and I've had the pleasure to be able to do some of that work with her in small instances, which has been some of the pleasure and highlights of my career. So without further ado, I want to welcome to the stage my sister, the legend, and you can't do it.
SPEAKER_05I promise you in your lifetime, you'll probably never see this again. Truly, it is an honor. Look at them having fun. This is this is it's important that we also talk about the joy and happiness. When you see somebody that you love, let them know that you love them. And we love you, Dr. Angela Davis. We love you. So thank you for all that you've done. Thank you for not just inspiring Colin. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for inspiring so many of us, and thank you for leading the way, for changing everything and inspiring so many future leaders. Thank you. Thank you. Truly from all of us. We uh we appreciate you, and I hope you feel the love. Do you feel the love?
SPEAKER_01Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, wonderful to see all of you here participating in the Know Your Rights camp. And I haven't seen Colin for a little while. It's been too long.
SPEAKER_00Way too long.
SPEAKER_01And it's so wonderful to meet you now.
SPEAKER_05So wonderful to meet you. It is an honor. I'm I'm fanning out over you right now, truly, like so many other people right now. So we're gonna just have a brief conversation because your work throughout the years, Dr. Angela Davis, has inspired Colin and really what helped birth the Know Your Rights camp. So all the faces you see today, all the work that we've been doing throughout the years, is so much because of you. And you give us the motivation to keep going because I don't know what keeps you going, but we're gonna get to that because it's hard work. Colin, when you're sitting here next to Dr. Angela Davis, what's the first thing that comes to mind?
SPEAKER_00Grateful. Ooh. Grateful on so many levels. Um grateful to be able to share share this space together. Grateful for all of the work that she has put in. It is again, it is not easy work. And the fact that you have continued to do this work for everyone else to create a better future. I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful she's here to be able to share this space and share some knowledge with all of us. Um excited for that, and also just grateful for the inspiration that you have given all of us to allow us to do our work and carry that forward as well. Yes, thank you.
SPEAKER_05Dr. Angela Davis, I want to ask you, what for you, what have been some of the greatest moments you've had right here in Oakland, California?
SPEAKER_01Well, first, Nessa, let me um uh say to all of the young people in the house today um how happy I am to see you, to see your faces uh, and to know that uh you're carrying on legacies. And thank you so much for creating the Know Your Rights Camp. I should have worn my yeah, I remember you sent me a box of uh swag from, and I I realized I should have worn my know your rights t-shirt today. Um but um uh before I respond directly to that question, I I would just like to say that um nothing I have ever done in my eighty-two, almost eighty-two-year-old life. I'll be eighty-two in January. Yes. Nothing I have ever done have I done by myself. It's always been with other people. And as a matter of fact, people know my name, not so much because of what I did, but because of the fact that when I was um uh targeted by the FBI, the government of this country, when I was in um jail facing uh three capital charges, facing the death penalty three times, you know, there wasn't too much I could do. But people all over the world responded. People here in Oakland said no. People in Africa said no, people in Asia. And it was because of the fact that so many people responded to the call to stand up for my freedom that people know my name. And so I you know, I just like to point out that it's never been me by myself as an individual, it's always been uh me in community. And and so I see you as the upcoming community. Well, you know, youth always lead struggles for change. No revolution has ever happened without young people being in the forefront. And so I see you now as uh being in the forefront of the change that we need if we are going to uh be able to imagine a world of equality and justice and freedom, and that's all I would like to see. And I think that's all any of us would like to see, am I right? That's right, that's right. But I love Oakland. You know, I have lived in Oakland longer than I have lived uh anywhere, and I have lived in a lot of places. I I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. I went to high school in New York, I went to college in Boston, I went to graduate school. Oh, I also I also spent a year in France studying. I I went to graduate school in Germany, uh, and then I moved to LA, and then after that, I um well that was when I got arrested, so so I was you you you you know where the Morin County Jail is. So I spent some time in the Moran County Jail. Actually, I spent some time in the jail in New York as well. In the Women's House of Detention in New York, and then in Moran County, and my trial took place in San Jose, so I was in jail there. Um and then when I got out of jail, I came to Oakland.
SPEAKER_04And I have been in Oakland ever since.
SPEAKER_01And I have so many beautiful memories uh of Oakland uh, including um, you know, I'm someone who's been active since I was a teenager, maybe even before that. Uh and so, you know, my my really exciting memories are um, this I don't know whether you can relate to this, but they're of demonstrations. When people come together, uh there's someone who said that demonstrations are rehearsals for revolution. You get that? Do you know, do you know sometimes when you're by yourself and you think about uh what's going to happen to you, and oftentimes uh you don't have any really um good or exciting ideas, you feel alone, you feel like you can't do anything because you're by yourself. You ever have that feeling? And then you come together with a whole bunch of people, and your heart feels connected with theirs, and you realize that what you weren't able to do as a one person, you are absolutely you convinced that you can do with the hundreds and thousands and hundreds of thousands of people who are with you. Um have you ever had that feeling? Yeah, I mean that's what music does. Doesn't music make you feel connected to other people? So, um, so yeah, my I mean I can remember an amazing demonstration that took place uh down uh at the port of Oakland. Have you have you all ever been down to the port? Do you know what I'm talking about? Okay, I'm an honorary member of the International Longshore Workers Union. So if anybody, I don't know any anybody or parents who are in that union? Who?
unknownUncle.
SPEAKER_01What is nobody? Oh, your uncle is a member of the ILW, International Um Longshore and Warehouse Workers Union. Well, anyway, along with Martin Luther King, Danny Glover, and a few others, I am an honorary member of the Longshore Workers' Union. And um so find out what's happening. And when they issue a call, like on May 1st, every May 1st in San Francisco, we march down Market Street. Because that's you know what May 1st is? What is May 1st? Okay, what does May Day mean? Workers' rights, absolutely. It's workers all over the world who are standing up for their rights. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_05How about for you, Colin? What are some of your favorite moments, whether it's in Oakland or in the Bay, during your time you were here?
SPEAKER_00I mean, I think the the most prominent one that immediately comes to mind is obviously our first Know Your Rights camp out here in Oakland. Yeah. That was 2016. It just protested. In the midst of all of that, Oakland was the place that we did our first camp, and Oakland showed up in such a major way. Um the other part during that time period, just think about Oakland. Uh we had a high school out in Oakland, Castlemont.
SPEAKER_04Castlemont.
SPEAKER_00So a week after I first protested, Castlemont was out there protesting. And the following week, I was out there with Castlemont protesting. Yeah. So as we were talking about protesting and demonstrations and those being some of the most memorable moments, being in the locker room with the Castlemont football team while they were out there protesting and getting ready to go out and compete on the field, also was a moment that we got to see the reality of what life beyond football for them looked like and what they were dealing with, what they were trying to combat. And that then obviously sprung into protests springing up across the country, that's right, across uh across the globe. So that's one piece of Oakland. The other part of Oakland is we have so much inspiration from what has happened in Oakland and the work that has been been done in Oakland. When we think about the the Black Panther Party, that's right. Our 10 points are inspired directly by the Black Panther Party's 10-point program. Um so a lot of our inspiration when we think about Black Liberation, when we think about the movement, when we think about how we have built any how even how we have thought about building community, a lot of that inspiration comes from Oakland directly. So being back here today is incredible.
SPEAKER_05You know, we have this idea of wanting a free, more just world, right? And sometimes when, you know, you just see everything that's going on, it feels like it's not attainable. So can we really change the world to be better? And for people who may think there is no hope, we're still faced with the same issues that we were faced with before. What can you tell everybody to stay on course and to not give up? What does that inspiration look like for you, Dr. Angela Davis?
SPEAKER_01Well, um well, have you ever heard the slogan imagine the impossible? Sometimes when we are living in the moment, and we all have to live in the moment, and I think that's great to live in the moment, but we we also need to imagine what that moment might be like if um the world is organized in the way it should be. Uh and you know, I mean, I don't know what you think about billionaires. You know, you don't need a you don't need billions of dollars in order to be happy.
unknownThat's right.
SPEAKER_01And as a matter of fact, if you have those billions of dollars, it would seem to me that you would share it with people, you know, who don't have anything. You've seen all of the encampments around here. I mean, every time I pass an area where people are living in tents, um I realize that if we if we had just a fraction of those billions of dollars to create housing for everyone. I mean, by virtue of being human beings, you should have the right to live. And of course, um the you know, all of the rights, uh, where are they listed? Um to be free, to be healthy, to be brilliant, to be safe, to be loved, to be courageous, to be alive, to be trusted, to be educated, and to know your rights. Um, see, I I'm someone who believes that education shouldn't cost anything. Education should be free. You know, from kindergarten all the way up to the postgraduate level. If we lived in, if we lived in the right kind of society, no one would ever have to worry about coming up with enough money to go to college. Everyone would be able to pursue their dreams. And and so um, yeah, I think that um to imagine living in a world where where education was not a commodity, where education was not not something to be bought and sold, but rather available to everyone who wants to pursue their dreams. And then and then people would learn how to pursue dreams of living in a better world, not only for themselves as individuals, but for everyone all over the planet and would also learn how not to pollute the planet. Uh you know, I always have a lot of problems because I decided some years ago that I was not going to drink water out of uh plastic bottles. Uh-oh, hold on. Look. Uh because I know what I know how plastic is destroying the world. That we have plastic in our bodies, and there's plastic in the oceans, and and and if everyone could be convinced that uh we could do that one thing to prevent the destruction of the pl. So, you know, I walk around with a thermos, and I I it's it's you know, it's it's not gonna change the world, but it allows me to at least get that message out that we need to be mindful of what we do. And when we drink a little, especially, especially those little bottles.
SPEAKER_04Sorry, guys. We wanted to make sure you had water.
SPEAKER_01Sorry, guys. But everybody does it, right? And and sometimes it's the things that seem to be most normal that everybody else does, that we have to stop doing in order to be able to look forward to the kind of world that we should all be able to live in.
SPEAKER_05How about for you, Colin, when you envision this world, right? And sometimes the mountains to achieve that seem so tall, hard, difficult. How do you remind people that it is attainable? That we can live in a freer, happier, more just world?
SPEAKER_00Well, I think the the first thing I think about in relation to that is we don't have to accept what is. And like oftentimes we're told to just accept what is in front of us, accept how things are. This is how it's always been done. And I think even being able to challenge that and challenge those ideas very intentionally, I think is a starting point on that, to be able to open the door for some of that imagination of what the future looks like and what we actually want to accomplish. The other part I think about in relation to that is using this as a great example. One small act of not using a water bottle. I know all of y'all are thinking about it right now because I am. I'm still thinking about it in the back of my head how we get rid of all these plastic bottles. One small act from one person can have a ripple effect that transcends that person into communities, into cities, into states, countries, and the world. So while that one act may not feel significant in the moment, that one act can change the world. And believing that one individual act that you take can have that possibility can give us hope to keep going in that process. The other part that I think about in relation to that is the moment that things are hard. And I've seen this in my own work. I've I've got to learn and see some of this from both our our conversations and just the history of the work that you have done, as well as many others. And the part of that that becomes important for me is I know there are people that have come before me that have done work and faced consequences that are far greater than what I have faced. And that gives me the ability to say, if they can do that, I can do that too, and I can go further. And how far can I go? And how many people can I bring with me in the process towards achieving this goal that we want to together? So I think those pieces become important. And then the last piece is rallying around what is that goal? Whether that is workers' rights, whether that is liberation, whether that is housing, whether that is a living wage. These are all areas that we can rally around. And that may start with something small in your school. It may start with something small in the after-school program, something small with a community organization that you're a part of. It may be something small within your own house that expands beyond it. But whatever that is, being able to rally around that and bring people with you.
SPEAKER_05I want to stay right there, Colin. You know, your act of protesting really, you know, turned into a global conversation. You changed the world, truly. Why was it necessary for you at that moment to take that stance, right? When it would have been easier if you didn't do anything, you would still have your career to this day. Why was it important? Why did you find, hey, this is necessary and I have to speak out? And then we'll ask Dr. Angela Davis. What was that moment you're just like, I can't stay silent. I have to do something about this.
SPEAKER_00I think a few different levels of that. The first is I value people, I value us. Um I think that foundationally is critically important. And there are times that we don't see that. And I think that that foundation has to exist. The second part to Dr. Davis' point, education. The more I knew about why things were the way they were, as opposed to, hey, these were one-off instances of things that just happened. That there are systems intentionally built to perpetuate this. Whether that is poverty, whether that is incarceration, whether that is pollution, that systems exist and have been built with intentionality to make sure that those outcomes come to fruition. And then in knowing that, I can't not do something. For me to be able to look myself in the mirror and say, I now know that this is an issue. And I may not have the whole solution today, but I have to take an act towards finding a solution and putting our people in a better place and better position. I have to do something. Part of that was seeing Oscar Grant. Part of that was seeing Mike Brown and Tamir Rice and Allen Sterling and Philando Castillo. That list goes on and on of people from our communities that we had seen killed. And at what point do we do something about that? So all of those things led to that moment. And how do we create a better future for our people?
SPEAKER_05And for you, Dr. Davis, why was it necessary for you to do the work that you did? Knowing that maybe you didn't know all everything that was going to happen, the consequences, everything that you were going to face in your life. But something clearly in your spirit said, I gotta do something. I'm gonna do it. And you stayed on course. How and why?
SPEAKER_01Well, you know, um, I I grew up in the segregated South. At a time when the city I lived in, Birmingham, Alabama, was the most racially segregated city in the country. As a matter of fact, I learned about South Africa because they used to call Birmingham the Johannesburg of the South. Um and so I was very fortunate to have a mother who um was a teacher and a father who was a teacher. And my mother especially um encouraged us. I have like um two brothers. As a matter of fact, um, Colin knows that one of my brothers, uh Ben Davis, uh played for the Cleveland Browns uh back in the day. Um and so my mother would would um tell us when we got upset about not being able to do something, uh, because you know, as kids, we wanted to do what kids kids do. There was this amazing, amazing amusement park that was um maybe about ten blocks from our house, and it was for white children only. So we had to like stand outside and watch the white children having fun on the rides, but black people weren't allowed to go in. As a matter of fact, black people weren't even allowed to go into the library or the museum or there were I mean we have sports, black people always have sports, right? Uh, but uh there was uh but there would be black-only events, right? Um and so my mother would always uh tell us that this is not the way things are supposed to be. This is wrong. So I grew up realizing that you know my childhood desires to have fun and to do things that that I wanted to do were connected to larger questions. And that and my my mother would say the world of Birmingham is not always going to be like this. Uh segregation is not always going to be the law of the South. And my mother was an activist, so she was involved in um campaigns uh even before what we know as the civil rights movement beginning in 1955. So I I kind of grew up thinking that the world did not have to be the way it was. That it could be it could be better, it could be different, it could be changed, and that things can always be better. We never have to accept what is offered to us. Schools can be better. You know, education really should be about allowing every person to discover their passions and to develop the means with which to pursue their passions. That's what education should be. If it doesn't do that, it's not worth anything at all. And so, yeah, uh let me I could go on, but I but I know we we we don't have very much time left, so let I've and I'm and I'm I'm looking at all of the young people here and and and thinking uh every single person here has a dream.
SPEAKER_07Yes.
SPEAKER_01Or even if they don't know what that dream is yet, they can discover their dream. And and they can discover the means with which to pursue that dream.
SPEAKER_05Um that's what I would like. Absolutely. Right now, if you could give the best piece of advice to your 13-year-old self, what would that be? Because the youth in attendance today range in age 13 to about 17 years old, average 13, 14, what would you tell them today? We'll stay with you, Dr. Davis. What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, sometimes I'd like to reverse that question. Uh, because I think the best ideas always come from young people. So, and and and and then older people often become satisfied with who they are, and they believe that just because they've lived in the world a certain number of years, that they have the right to tell young people what to do. And so I would reverse that and say, uh, what would my 13-year-old self think about who I have become? Have I fulfilled those dreams that I had as a 13-year-old in the trajectory of my life? What's the answer? Well, you know, I try. I don't always succeed, but I think my 13-year-old self would say, uh, I think you've done pretty well staying the course. And uh, you know, because older people often completely forget that they can still learn and that they can learn from young people. And I never wanted to become that older person who thought that all she had to do was to uh um give advice and tell young people what they should be doing. Young people should not be, they follow in the footsteps of those of us who are older. But young people should be exploring new terrain, should be creating new ideas, and and and older people should be willing to take the leadership of young people where that's the case. So that's that's what I think I would do.
SPEAKER_04Oh, I love that. Colin, it's a hard follow-up. 13-year-old self.
SPEAKER_01Let me say something. You know, the older you get, the older young is as well. So Colin is a young person.
SPEAKER_00Oh my interesting, mine is along similar lines from a different perspective, which is thinking about my 13-year-old self, the biggest thing that I would say is trust yourself. And I say that because I think back to when I was 13. A lot of the instincts I had about the world, even in the areas that I didn't fully understand, were pretty good. Just because of the sense of I wanted to see people treated fairly. I wanted to see people do well. And things that didn't feel like they fit that felt like things I wanted to stay away from or things I wanted to try to address. And also the aspirations I had for my life, a lot of those were on a good trajectory as well. And I think oftentimes when we think of, to Dr. Davis' point, when people talk about younger people or people in their teenage years, they often talk in regards to like, oh, you have so much more to learn in life, and y'all don't have it figured out yet. And some of that's true. You will constantly be learning, you'll constantly be evolving, you'll constantly be picking up new insights, new information. But the foundation of who you are, how you view the world, what is possible, your instincts about the world. You have those now. That is why you lead so many movements. That is why you create so much change. I also want to take that, this is a moment to say, realize the power that you have. I don't know if y'all truly appreciate the amount of influence and power you have on adults and older folks. We are constantly trying to think about, oh man, they said this today. Like, we gotta go figure this out. We don't have an answer for it, but we need to go try to solve it now. You show up in ways and you make us better because you do question things. Because you are challenging the norm. You have not gotten to that point of being later in life and just being like, hey, this is how things have been for 50 years, so like it's always gonna be that way. You haven't accepted that. And don't accept that. So realize your power in that, trust your instincts. That would be the biggest thing that I would say.
SPEAKER_05What philosophies keep you grounded, Dr. Davis?
SPEAKER_01Well, what philosophies keep me grounded? Um, you know, I studied philosophy, so I have to stop for a moment. We could be up here for the next two days. Uh but um I I guess I would say that um that I try to challenge individualism uh which is um connected to capitalism. Um I try to remind myself that every single day we are encouraged to think only in terms of ourselves and what we can do as individuals. And I ask myself, how can I encourage others to think of themselves as a product of community, as connected to other people, that we're never only by ourselves. And when we imagine ourselves accomplishing something, you know, whether it's a small thing or whether it's a a big thing, it's it's it's always in the context of community. Uh and uh when you know when I watch the Valkyries uh out there on the court, I know that every single member of that team is also thinking about the support they get from everybody else. Uh so it's not just about the single individual, it's about how to cultivate uh uh community. Um and I um I yeah, I think that's uh one of the practices that I try to engage in. I also, you know, I I I do things that I do by myself, but even that's not by myself. You know, I I I practice um I try to do um uh work that's going to keep my mind sharp. I try to keep do work that's gonna keep my body together. You know, especially when you get to be more than 80 years old, you really have to work on it. It doesn't come naturally as it does, you know, when you're when you're younger. So so I do Pilates at least three or four times a week. Wow. I practice yoga, I do meditation. So those those are just some of the practices that that I've learned to rely on. I love that. How about for you, Colin?
SPEAKER_00I think the there's a couple that come to mind. The the first one that feels most foundational to us is from the time I was young, I was always taught that everybody is valuable. We just have different skills, and I think that's important, especially as we talk about living in a capitalistic society. Most of the time, what we see is people who have high net worths, people that have celebrity or fame, are deemed more valuable. And I just don't believe that to be true. Every person has value. We just have different skills, we show up in the world differently. I would say my time playing for the 49ers. When we're playing in the Super Bowl, we don't end up in the Super Bowl if it isn't for our equipment staff, if it isn't for the videographers that are filming our practice, if it isn't for the manufacturers that are creating all of the gear that we're wearing, if it isn't for everybody in the community that's coming out to support us. None of that happens without all of these other people within society. We just happen to be playing in a way that's entertaining for everybody to be able to engage and be excited about. But a lot of the work that actually goes into making that happen come from people that have different skills that I would never be able to do. So I think that becomes critically important. You do not have to be someone of status or wealth to have value.
SPEAKER_05That's right.
SPEAKER_00Those are external factors. Intrinsically, you have value. All of us have value. We are all connected in that way. So that is one component of it. The other part that I think is important in this too. We had a poster in our college locker room, and it's a little more aspirational just thinking, but the poster said no one rises to low expectations. And that has always stuck with me. Because oftentimes we put ceilings on what we think is possible. And oftentimes that shows up even more significantly when we think about work happening in communities. Oh, we can't make that happen because of XYZ. Oh, we you know, we can't talk about housing for everybody. How are we gonna do that? Living wage, like no, we gotta make our money. All of those are ceilings and expectations that are put on us. Also in relation to what is possible for us. So I think removing that barrier of what a ceiling is and saying our expectations higher for what we think is possible, what we think we can accomplish, and how we can do that collectively together, I think is another part that I constantly think about. How do we raise that expectation of what we expect from society, what we from expect from each other, and also what we expect from ourselves.
SPEAKER_05Great philosophies. I'm gonna implement that and the yoga from Dr. Davis. I'm I'm gonna get right. Okay, so we do want to take about two questions from the audience. I saw two quick hands over there. You guys beat everybody. So right there in the back, in the back, in the back. So we're gonna That's the Castle Mon Squad over there. I saw it by my peripheral. I said you saw, I saw you guys. Okay, so please stand up, say your name, and ask the question, please.
SPEAKER_02Um, my name is Jada. My question is what are you guys' tips on how to stay focused and motivated?
SPEAKER_01Great question, by the way. Yeah, that is a great question. Um, and thank you so much uh for raising it. Um yeah, you know, sometimes it's hard to stay focused, isn't it? Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated. Um again, I think I sound like a broken record, but but but I want to bring it back to how being involved in organizations and being involved with other people can motivate you, can can make you stay focused when you're doing it not just for yourself and not just by yourself, but when you're doing it with others. Uh and that's you know, I don't know where I would be today in this um very long life that I have had uh if it weren't for other people. Uh and I I I kind of like to internalize that sense so it's not just when I'm physically with other people. I always like to think about what how other people have helped me become who I am. And therefore, I have a responsibility of staying focused and staying motivated to carry out the legacies that have been developed uh in that community. I mean, I realize when I think about, you know, all of the people who've been involved in struggle, uh, you know, whether it's uh black liberation struggles, whether it's um feminist movements, whether it's the environmental movement, uh, you know, whether it's international solidarity with South Africa, for example, um uh and right and right now with Haiti and with Congo and you know, all of the other uh I know we we we haven't mentioned uh the name of um uh what's his name? Um I don't like even like to call his name. Do you have any idea who I'm talking about? You do, okay. You know who I'm talking about, who talks about you know countries uh uh as um shithole countries.
SPEAKER_04Oh you know what I'm talking about?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, oh him uh yeah uh and and and you know uh in a lot of African traditions to call someone's name is to give them power. Uh and so I I I don't like to call his name, but you know who he is, right? Uh and um I think that um that we that that he's not the one who represents our future. We are the ones who get to determine our future. We are the ones, and we are the ones who have to stay focused and who have to stay motivated, and we have to motivate each other. And the last thing I'm gonna say is that uh having had the um opportunity to to live such a long life, I feel like I'm not here only for myself. I'm here for you know all of those comrades and sisters and brothers who are no longer uh uh with us. Do you do you by any chance know the name of Asata Shakur?
SPEAKER_07Yes.
SPEAKER_01Okay. I think about my sister Asata uh when I'm up here today. I think about, I mean, the other, the other day actually, I had the opportunity to to meet someone on Zoom at a gathering like this, whom I have been struggling for for over 50 years. And that is Leonard Peltier. And I'm I'm so glad that there are a bunch of you who know who he is. Uh he's this amazing um indigenous Native American freedom fighter who was the longest held political prisoner in the history of this country. He was behind bars for for 50 years. And I became involved in his case 50 years ago. And I finally had the opportunity to talk directly to him on Zoom at the he was supposed to show up in Oakland. Uh but uh the at the last minute the FBI um representing what's his name? You know who I'm talking about, uh uh uh withdrew the permission for him to come to Oakland. Uh so I mean the the the good thing is that he's no longer in prison. He's he's on his reservation in South Dakota, and he has people there who love him. Uh but uh yeah, I mean I think of people like Lynnett Pelt here, and these are I mean, I know I've used your question about staying motivated and and and and and being focused and you know to address larger issues, but I think we should always try to open up and think about the implications of what we're doing, even uh even our small acts. So, yeah, thank you for that. That was great.
SPEAKER_05Colin, how can you follow up with that one? I mean, how do you stay motivated and focused?
SPEAKER_00I'll say you can get a little bit of the the football and athlete side of me right now, which is I don't think about motivation a lot, I more so think about discipline. Oh, that's interesting. And within sports, and I I found this to be true outside of sports as well, having a discipline that you come back to and you practice on a regular basis is a great way to help drive focus. Because then in those moments, when you think about motivation and you have the highs, you can take those further. You already have the foundation of what you do, but in those moments where for some reason the community may not be there, and it's just you by yourself. That discipline can keep you going in those moments where the motivation isn't high. And I have found that to be one of the best practices to be able to keep moving forward with focus, is having that discipline. Because there are gonna be there will be plenty of moments throughout your life, throughout circumstances that you go through, that you're gonna be like, man, I I might feel like I'm in this alone. That discipline can keep you going, and that doesn't have to be some grand discipline that feels world-changing. It may be something I wake up in the morning and I make sure I do this. Or every night before I go to sleep, I do this. For me, one of my daily disciplines, I get a workout in. Like, that is one of the things that keeps me on track. I think because I played sports for so long, if I don't get a workout in, I feel off the rest of the day. So that becomes one of my disciplines in relation to the other work I do that can keep me grounded and focused to be able to keep going. So I try to think about things grounded in disciplines.
SPEAKER_05By the way, his workouts are 4.30 in the morning. And they are annoying for someone who's sleeping next to him, you guys. Just, you know, just letting you know. But yes, 4 30 in the morning. Great question. Now we are gonna take more questions throughout the day, promise, but we are gonna move on. Really quick, right now, this conversation that you all witnessed. I hope that you get to experience more conversations like this. I can't promise it'll ever happen. I've I've been on this earth for 41 years, and I have never seen such a powerful conversation like this from two incredible people that I'm completely inspired by. I'm honored to be sitting here next to you, Dr. Angela Davis. It's uh it's a privilege for me right now. And Colin, of course, you know, I my love for you is it's forever. And I'm so thankful for the both of you and everything that you both have sacrificed for all of us here today, not just in this room, not just in Oakland, but around the world. So thank you both so much. Please give these incredible freedom fighters, incredible people, so much love right now.
SPEAKER_03Oakland, California, round of applause for Dr. Angela David.