Looking Back

I didn't want to close up. Welcome everyone to the Black Culture Geek's broadcast. This is my netman, S.P.J. You and I am Tombstone the Deadman.

And we are just a couple of geeks talking about power culture from a Black perspective. Thanks. Facts indeed. Now, we have a few stories we want to talk about.

Some of these are because I'll show it with some time circle eyes. Right? That's funny. That's funny.

Some of these stories are us going back to an ongoing largely. Largely. Most of the show will be there. Right.

We're going back to a narrative that started that's an ongoing narrative. Something that these events keep happening because new information is coming forth. It's their dynamic events, so to speak. So we will be talking about that.

But before we get into any of that, I just need to ask, what was your week like? My week was the first topic. So I'm just going to go through these things. And you tell me, if you're with me or if you're not with me, what each of these things?

So I listen, I'm a longtime listener of the Black Culture Week's podcast. Why is that? People may ask. It's because I don't believe that the process is ever done.

No, it's not. There's always things that we can do differently. And take away. Do better.

Take a little bit over here. It's not an issue. So one of the reasons that, another one of the reasons that I listen to the majority, not every single episode, but the majority of our episodes is because of something we talked about last week. Loosely relating to something we talked about last week was about being wrong.

But in general, I like to listen to how we come across. I think that's important. It is important. And I want our takes to be as clear as possible.

I would love our takes to be vaguely clear. Well, shut up. Especially whenever we talk about something that, no, not on the topic, but when our take could possibly be controversial, I would like it to be, because if I'm going to, and I did get some feedback from some people, and that's a part of this, but if I'm going to get spears thrown at me, I want it to be earned. I'm fine with the spears.

I just want to make sure that, yeah, that's what I want. Because I want to stand on common thread from last week. I'm going to stand on what I say. Go.

Let's talk about some clarification. One thing, I was slightly confused last week when you responded back to my description of Tiffany Haddish. And I realized it's because I didn't clarify. See, light skin, I don't mean not dark skin.

When I say it. Oh, OK. So for me, light skin is Lauren London, Carmen, Michael Ealy. I got you.

So Tiffany doesn't fit into the light skin category from this. It's not dark skin. But I don't. Right.

That's just me. What I went and did too, after that, because I always, I'm like you. I went and pulled up a bunch of pictures of her. It largely depends on the picture.

Absolutely. It largely depends on the picture. As long as you aren't dark dark skin, most of the time, your complexion will change with lighting. Yeah.

It's just how it goes. Right. And we know that because we're photographers. So the rest of this, largely, is about mega-markle.

So I want to be crystal clear in my feelings. The way that I said, what I said, how I said, when I said. Right. As I put forward, yes, last week, there's a reason that we hadn't talked about her until we absolutely had to.

Because I thought we were pretty clear about that. That part, yes. That part, yes. But I'm just leading the into it.

OK. Let me play this video. This is first. Listen, listen, listen, listen, listen.

It's a very important reason. It's a very important reason. And when I play this video, I don't like it to be some people that here, you really should be watching this episode. You really should be.

Just listening. But I don't like you at the moment. It's fine. You start pulling receipts and chasing.

Listen, listen, listen. I need to play this video. And there are going to be some people that don't like what I'm going to say about this video. And I will explain my reasoning.

I cannot guarantee it's going to make you feel better about what I said. But I'm pretty sure you will have a better understanding of what I mean. So let me play this video. And I think it's this one.

Let me double check. Yes, this one. All right. So let me add it to the string.

I'm going to show you what I want to do is I'm going to play this video. And we can still talk about it. I'm going to do is I'm going to stop the video when I see a blam. Oh, you so dumb.

No, because again, this entire thing, I'm not going to talk about the show last week. What I'm talking about is this entire fiasco. Like I said, the first time I heard her name was when she was known to be going to marry into the royal family. So I had never done that much research into her as much I had to have within the last week and I have.

Right. So now that I know some of the movies she's been in, I'm going to stop. I can tell black women. All right.

Still not seeing a reason to stop. Definitely not seeing a reason to stop. When you say that too, that's basically when you could look and go, that's my point. Right.

All right. OK. All right. Hold up.

I think you missed part. I'll give. I'll absolutely go. I was about to say that.

I was just about to say that. Specifically the one where she's under birdie. Yeah. Not it.

Yeah. I'll give you that. Absolutely. There it is.

Right. So that was like what? Five, six movies that passed. There's no reason for me.

It's a very specific point. I'm trying to make. I know exactly. I know exactly what you're trying to do.

All right. So my next one. Now, some of these points we didn't we kind of touched on slightly but we didn't like going to specific. I'm subscribed to Ryan Davis's Patreon.

Right. I believe he stopped doing videos on Facebook specifically and just does previews to his Patreon because of censorship and things like that. That's one of the reasons. Well, the other reason is there's a monetary reason.

Trust in that. No, no, no. Absolutely. It just makes sense to do.

He has a Patreon already though. Oh, OK. So I think the reason he just stopped. He just moved all of his content just to Patreon is because of his censorship.

Go for a lot of people doing that. I believe it. So a video popped up and it was a video that kind of sparked because before I saw that video, I wasn't drawing really any conclusions on the whole megamarkle thing because I had a vague idea in my head that this doesn't concern me and I couldn't quite wrap my head around why but I didn't care enough to put enough energy into my head around why. And then I watched that Ryan Davis video and I know exactly what you're talking about.

I'm like, oh, OK, these things. So here are some points that I've formed sometime after, shortly after watching his video. I have no knowledge of her even working closely with anyone black. I think we mentioned that.

We mentioned that vaguely touched on that. I have zero knowledge. And just like anything else, if I am wrong about any of these things, please let us know. I have no knowledge.

I've never heard any other black actor even mention her before. Actually, I don't think I still have. Outside of the whole marriage. Yeah.

She decided to walk through basically an active minefield that had proper signage that were received although it was she decided to still walk through that minefield that's active. And to your point on that, to even feels though you could navigate your way through it does give us some insight into how you perceive yourself. That's my next point because it was two amazing questions from Sis and from Diddy nice week. Sis is because she felt like she could navigate the world family like she's had to navigate hostile black and white spaces.

My question is, how do we change black spaces? Has she had to navigate? I don't know. So that's a great question.

The one other ask is I'm pretty sure her mom is black. I'm pretty sure that as a kid she had she had to have been in some black spaces. But that's not my question. I know what she had to navigate hostile ones.

Right. This is my thing. In our community. And this is what I think that outside of outside of the black community and outside of the American.

They don't understand the racial dynamics. A lot of the times when it comes to skin complexion, all that stuff. But that is that there's a whole litany of things and factors and elements and politics here in this country right around that and it's been that way since day one. They literally had clubs where if you were darker than a paper bag, you could not get it.

Which means the ones of us that were getting into those places were the ones that were of mixed heritage. A vast majority of the time. There's a bunch of politics in it and these things in the tomorrow also psychologically with how we view ourselves and our image as a people and how people outside of our community view us as well. So to be able to navigate black spaces being mixed is one thing.

That's one thing thinking you can navigate those white spaces knowing the politics here in this country thinking you can you have to define what navigation means. What does that mean to be able to navigate and leave in there with a not fucking with you on someone drop shit. What does that mean? Because what that would mean from what I've seen everything I've seen from this situation is not out with Lee.

Showing any indication that you are part of this community. No. To navigate and not be fucked with him. Right now if I was the word there's a word we have for it is called passing.

Right. And if you were consciously intentionally passing. Why would I have a dog in this way? Right.

And this is not to say that I know she was. I don't we don't know that she wasn't. So I'm not so I'm not sure on that specific thing. I'm not sure.

So the question that I guess is because she thought she could change them. My question is. Do we have any evidence that she wanted to change them? No.

I don't know. I have no evidence. I have no evidence. I have no evidence.

I have no evidence. Also changed them into what? Right. I have no evidence from anything that she said anything she's been connected to that I know of that would suggest that she had an issue with how they are.

So it's one one one that wouldn't have been. One that would have been a life goal. No. My black self.

It's not that It's not a goal of mind. You know that there are people that look like us in the streets. Because I said you. Do you know that you?

I bet you didn't know. It's right now. They still read line of neighborhoods. I bet you didn't know that.

So I'm gonna. That's a mix that is I'm not fixing some must. Oh, no. No, that doesn't help.

That's no, no, I'm not doing it. So here's the thing. Here's a list of celebrities with mixed heritage because I said this last week and I want to reiterate, we're not talking about activism. No, that's probably the most clear sign.

Oh, no, I would argue that that is the definitive sign. It's not the only sign. It's not the only sign. No, no.

So this is a list of mixed celebrities who either unapologetically identifies black, often identifies black, early identifies black, or has spoken out from black causes consistently, or any of these things that we talk about that, let us know, oh, yeah, you're black. You're part of the black experience. Yeah, intentionally. Yeah, intentionally.

Drake, Rashida Jones, Felicia Keys, Jesse Williams, Faith Evans, August Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Keegan Michael Key, Tracy Ellis Ross, Zendaya, Jake Cole, Zoe Kravitz, Jordan Pill. All of these people are mixed. All of them. All of them.

And the vast majority of them have spoken out on a bunch of inequality issues. And that's majority of them, vast majority of them, you don't have to question. No. There are some people that after me reading that list, some of some people might be like, really?

I didn't know. I didn't know they were about to say that. I was about to say that. I was about to say that.

So there is a behavioral element to this that I think people are ignoring by being, by giving this blanket protection or blanket concern for all things that might orbit something that our community has something to do with. Like behavior matters. Yeah. So listen, I, me personally, cannot work up the energy to be angry or outraged on a racial level.

For someone that does not seem to even identify with that group. Like, you don't identify it. That's not to say there's only one way to be like, no, we literally don't see a connection with Black Hollywood. Here's such a thing.

It's Black Hollywood. Yeah. I mean, all right. So just going down this list again.

So Drake, his first public shit, he played the only Black kid. And it's not only, but one of the only Black kids in a school of white kids. That was a part of his character. Like, specifically, then on top of that, when early in his red career, he referenced himself being Black quite often.

Like, just one of his lines, as misogynistic and classic as it is, I need something to bail out the fact that it's hard to find a woman when you're talented and Black. Rashida Jones. Now, I specifically, when I started writing these notes, Rashida Jones is one of the first people I'm up. Because Rashida Jones absolutely has been in quite a few roles where she's playing the racially ambiguous person.

Yep. The next one. Yeah. Absolutely.

But I've heard her speak out on Black issues. And also, she was in the Kenya Bursts show. I can't remember the name of it. We watched a couple episodes and we talked about it on here.

I can't remember the name of it, his Netflix show. But to be clear, yes, you don't necessarily have to be Black to speak on Black issues. What we're talking about again is the clues that someone identifies. Right.

Right. All right. These are clues. There are many of Black actors in Hollywood that I have never heard of.

I've never heard of them. Right. Because once they come in my sphere of awareness, right, then you clearly, oh, yeah, that person. Sometimes I say, I see nobody at.

I see their behavior. Oh, yeah. That's part of the commitment. Absolutely.

Then when I came in the contact, what makes the only reason why I knew she was mixed. Because somebody told me. Yeah. I thought she was like, OK, when they made the whole thing about, oh, no, she's just there.

I said, is she? Oh, I didn't know. I didn't know. Let me see.

Alicia Keys, I mean, I don't think I had to. OK. Jesse Williams. No, no.

Uh, um, Faith Evans, August Wilson, Cameron, like, Keegan, like, I don't have. Yeah, I don't send I a J. Cole. Zoey Krabitz specifically, I put her on this list for her.

Yeah, because her father. Oh, doesn't I? From what I know? From what they're not research.

No, I'm father and her mother. I didn't know her mother was mixed, but I don't know. But these are the nays mixed. I didn't know that.

I didn't know that. Let me be clear just to be fair. I haven't seen anything from Lenny Krabitz. To put him on this list.

I've never thought Lenny Krabitz was anything other than Black. I agree. I'm not talking about looks now. I'm just talking about specifically behavior.

Right. I haven't seen anything from Lenny Krabitz to single him out to put him on this list. And in my research, in my articles that I found, he kind of seemed to be backing away from identifying as Black in a couple of reports that I read. So as well as Lisa Bonet, it's kind of crazy, right?

It's kind of crazy considering it's so funny. Like I said, I've never seen Lenny as anything other than Black. Never seen him. So it's funny when someone is so obviously like exudes that energy.

Right? Yeah, because his um, yeah, that's his parentage. But it's funny. I didn't know who his parents were at first.

I didn't. Right. But when I first saw my song, I was like, I like it like that. That's how I got to Zoe.

That's how I got to Zoe because when I was making his list, my thought was, oh, we were going to dismiss. Right. And then I typed it. And then I looked.

And that's all that quote. And then I said, that's it. I'm sorry. You could make a list that list would be so long of people in the limelight or whatever that are mixed, but identify as Black.

And typically the people that identify, even those people that identify as Black, it's not that they don't. I'm glad you said that. They don't have the announcing. They're announcing the other part of themselves.

No, but a lot of them have like this is the part they feel more comfortable identifying as a Black person. Or they feel as more important to identify as a Black person. That's part of it too. Um, so yeah, I saw this comments from Lenny and Lisa.

And I saw some of her comments and I wasn't sure. Like, so I'm thinking that there's more than one way that stuff like this happens. All right. So there's one, um, the visual presentation, right?

That people who don't know anything else about them, but they would see them. Right. Right. Right.

And then it's also, um, of course, behavioral who they choose to associate with on a regular basis. Like that sort of thing. I think with people at Lisa Bonet and Lenny Cravitz, we see them. And we only want to see them.

Like they put Lisa Bonet as the oldest child in the Cosby show. No, right. No. That was the reason why she was going on list.

Right. Like someone saw her and said, yeah, I wanted to hit right. Absolutely. But when I like I said, I looked at his because all three of them were on this particular list in this article, all three of them were on there with quotes about their identity.

And I looked at his quotes. I looked at her quotes and I looked at Zoe. And what she said was like something I came to get in black. And I was like, oh, well, okay.

I don't have to have about three of you on here. Yeah, facts, facts. She's literally the combination. She's the combination of that.

Right. It's just go that way. And join payroll again. I don't have to explain that one.

But yeah, so I just wanted to clarify that for anybody listening. I heard I had a couple pieces of feedback. Again, the harsh thing came at me again. And I get it.

I understand why someone would feel that way. And so to be clear to people that were cross-neutral about it, are they people living that life though? No, they were saying that I was being harsh. Okay.

No, but I'm saying to people to ask you that were they were they mixed people that, you know, to have a mixed parentage. Not mixed. She is like skin, though. It's not mixed.

No, she's not mixed. We come in a lot of different ways. Yeah, we come in a lot of different ways. And when I explained further, especially a part of like she married a person who had a photo of him dressed in full Nazi garb next to someone in blackface, next to someone in a claim.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. She changed the tone after I said that when she hadn't seen that picture.

Of course. I mean, sometimes with added knowledge is kind of support. Absolutely. Absolutely.

That's what I want to say. I had a conversation with a friend of mine years ago on Conda Onnes. And he was of the opinion, right, that and you could tell he never outright said that. But the way he discussed these issues of topics, he felt like it's like in black people over here, dark skinned black people here.

And I said, I don't like that. I don't like that whole dynamic. Malcolm X was like, yeah, he was like, I think I go swing back, swing back, spin the block on Malcolm. His mom was mixed.

Right. I don't like the idea that we separate that on that level because I have seen the darkest brothers and sisters out here climbing heavy and not really I really hold it down. I'm a lot of the people that I've seen that have I mean held it down in ways that some of you people that's just leaning on your skin complexion for that shit. Don't compare.

You have not done with Lil Wayne, you have not looking away. You have Lil Wayne a mix. Lil Wayne is out this motherfucker Rocket Raccoon and J Cole is out at all the fucking price. And his parent is just mix.

So like I said, his whole idea about that was to me superficial, but not looking at the reality right? Right? So that's why I don't, it's about behavior. It really is about behavior and who they identify with in the way they live and the things they choose to speak on and in the way they choose to identify.

Those things in this country, those things in this country are important politically. As much as people want to hold whom I got thing now, that's not what's been here. That's not what's been here. Like as a matter of fact, conversations even about it being that percentage wise are smaller than the vast majority of the reality of this place.

Right? That's not these things, these things still matter because while there are no more paper bag clubs, no, no, no, no, no, there are no more physical manifestations. Right. The psychological damage that shit does, I still see.

I still see that shit anytime I've seen man, kids identify with certain dolls over other dolls. I've seen the shit that comes out of people in our communities, that is clearly entrenched in skin color, hair texture, politics here in this country. So when people act like, we'll be on that. No, the fuck we're not.

We're still in that shit. It's just that people, yo, it's just that it's expressed. Like you said, it's not the physical thing. This is psychological shit and how motherfuckers relate to certain images and all of that.

Like it's still here and I feel like we won't always kind of have this issue, especially here because black people was told was taught not to like themselves. When I say about not liking themselves and talk about the things that the phenotypes people would identify you as being black about traditionally, like overall, we were told that those things were bad. Your hair is nappy and bad. Your skin complexion is dark and bad.

Your lips are full. Your nose is wide. And that's bad. This is the reason why these things still matter now because while they took some of the actual overt stuff and placed it over here, the subtle stuff is still like part of the lingo, the conversation, all of that shit.

And recent times, I have heard people who have had kids come out of the heart. The hair comes out a little. I've heard them say, I'm sure hoping they keep that. Did you?

Why? So all right, wait, why? I will give you one valid reason because there's only one, right? I just don't feel like dealing with it.

That's the only value. That's the reason I've heard more than almost anything, right? Before you continue, I would venture to say half of those people are like, yeah, come on, but even talking about this, what I mean by this layers through all of this, the reason you feel like you don't want to deal with it is because there are certain styles you want to put the kids hair in. What are these styles?

Because some of these styles goes along with our perception of what's beautiful. What we think looks good. What society accepts is looking good. The society over here is interesting white supremacy.

So the closer you get to that image, the more people think, oh, that's pretty. Look at the light eyes. That's pretty. There's a lot of shit in here that this is why I got a close family member, close family member of mine that I've had this conversation with.

And he's very hard on our community about a lot of shit. And I told him, bro, you can't expect a broken community, a broken people to not display broken behavior. Thanks. That's asinine.

And rather than judging them on that behavior, you can do that, but you need a lot more nuance and need to be a lot more knowledgeable about the condition that created that. That mentality, those reactions, you got ahead in order for your judgments to even be valid to me. Because if all we're going to do is talk about what it is and not how it got there. And the trauma that it took to get our people there to the point where they hate themselves, they hate the way they grow out of the ground.

Are you serious? Like, yo, that's crazy. That's why I'm big on grace versus mercy. Facts.

I'm not I'm not going to not give you consequences for some shit that you are responsible for. Right. But I will absolutely allow you a little something because of situations that, you know, may have led directly to the problem. You can't treat the problem without knowing the origins.

And I said, I'm all facts. We have to clear the table and start from scratch when learning to love what makes us black. Yo, I don't I don't know. Can you just take an out of race for a minute, take it out of race.

Just put as an individual homo-sapian, carbon-based, primate here on the third rock from the sun, right? Right there, right? As an individual, what good can come to you? Before you do that, I'm going to have fun.

And I don't know how serious what you're about to say. So I want to joke before. Oh, no, get that off. Get that off.

Okay. So during the solar eclipse, we're not shut up. Okay. Shut up.

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Shut your banana or something.

I was about to say was good. We all don't have to ask what good comes from a person, a person, no matter what color, that doesn't like themselves. Nothing. Nothing good comes from that.

Now, there may be good things in spite of that. Right. But they overall don't like themselves. Now, open that up to an entire community.

I'm not talking about every single person in the community, but I mean, there is a lot of that shit here, even in those of us that are fairly conscious of the fact that we were literally taught to hate things about ourselves, natural things about ourselves, that novus still have those psychological hang ups. Right. Nothing good can come from that. Nothing good can come from that.

There's going to be some fucked up shit that we're going to say. We're going to react to people a little differently because they look a certain way. It's a lot of shit that goes into that, yo. And it's like that said, got stuff from scratch.

First, you got to learn who told you, who told you you were ugly and to take that shit with a grain of salt. That's this. But also, 2020, solid legislation making natural black hair protected class. We had to write a law about it.

So kids don't get sent home and work doesn't issue them. That's funny. Good hair. That's this.

Also imagine having to write a law. Listen, the craziest thing about that to me is kind of confirmation bias, but also, no evidence. I struggled with that because not because it was impossible. There's no way.

No, not a bullshit like that. But just like, why is it even allowed to be such a big deal in other places where I've never had a deal with that? Like, because it's not it's largely women, but it's not just women. No, it's not.

It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not.

It's not. It's not. It's not. So in my head, when I was going on, like, why the fuck is this such a big deal everywhere else?

Like not everywhere else, but in other places in this guy in country, right? Where I know several guys and quite a few women who didn't have to deal with that here. Right. And I'm like, why, why, why, why could it be?

No, this I'm just asking, could it be that because Baltimore, the dark people in Baltimore are like, so there's probably a bit more like in this region. But say you went to one of them Midwest. Right. Right.

Right. Right. Right. I would say like, like, she might be a problem.

That's possible. New York. It's possible. But the only the only issue, the only, the only other thing I have against that is just because the majority of population, like majority of owners and bosses are still.

That's true too. And they make the rules, right? Yeah. I don't know what the hell is it?

Maybe a situation where they realize that the majority of population is black. Like, yo, this is, this is what I'm going to come up with. Right. I'm going to get employees.

Right. Like, this is where I come from. This is my work pool. This is there.

So maybe they're cool. Maybe it's you too. I wondered, like, why, why is this, you will never anybody was a thing here when I was when I was like in my early twenties. I remember because my producer had to twist and it was I was one.

Yeah. I didn't. But like I said, never was it like this. That's not it.

No, clearly. Absolutely. Clearly. Just like, why?

Why? Well, I'll tell you why, man. And this is this is this is why I feel you start seeing more and more people going out of their way to control the narrative before the ball gets rolled because very true. The moment that shit becomes a thing and it's repeated often and often it becomes settled in cement that the phrase we like to use our time headcannon, it becomes that it literally has no evidence to support it outside of the people's perception of it.

It's been said so many times that this is axiomatic. Right? This is what it is. That's why you see now a lot of people because it used to be a time where the stop me went online.

The powerful were invested in controlling the narrative. The average person didn't even get that wasn't something they revolved their thoughts around. Right. The powerful were concerned with it.

But now you see more people that aren't in positions of power trying to control the narrative about themselves and everything else because they realized even on a subtle level, they never verbalized it. Once some shit gets started. Once that lies in a natural energy machine, yeah, yeah, you got to control the narrative. And I think because we're not talking about a narrative that lasted for 10 years.

Right. This is a long term shit. You know, imagine when you was in school, when you was in school, and a rumor was started about somebody in school that's called law doesn't matter. That's better.

Better. Padra, yo, by the end of the day, that's kind of that happened. Yeah. Then his mother's disabled verbs mother's and lesbian.

Yeah. None of it's true. None of it's true. So imagine for a day.

That shit. Don't listen. These things are not going to be easy to to exercise. No, the collective consciousness.

It's just not. Yeah. It's not. I don't need to be honest with you.

I really don't have a clue how to do it other than to say it should start with the individual person deciding that to question themselves every time some shit come out their mouth or a thought pops in their head on that level and go, what do I think that just ask yourself? I don't know. I mean, yes, but in my opinion, the only thing that trickles up is blood. There's no like if the people on the ground put in pain, then sure something can move upwards.

Right. But barring that, it just, I don't know. It doesn't seem to work that way. Boring, barring that blood.

Like you, you can, I can have all the well wishes that I want. Right. No, hold up. I'm sorry.

I need to address this comment. Eddie doesn't mind his business. God spray it. Now it's true.

Hold on. We got to we got to take an egg. Yeah. I don't know.

We got to address this. I'm not certain that's how that went. Eddie. Eddie.

There is the monsterable evidence impeachable impeachable unassailable evidence that you don't mind your business. The fact that you're here right now. Well, okay. But you're going to be far with that one.

But let's get sorry. So I didn't read this before. I specifically wanted to save it for the show to get right thoughts. So let's get into this.

This is first link. Right. Maryland Governor signs $577 million HBCU settlement bill. Maryland governor Larry Hogan signed legislation on Wednesday to settle a 15 year old federal lawsuit relating to underfunding at the state's four historically black colleges and universities for $577 million over a decade.

Hogan lawmakers and school officials described it as a landmark in addressing historic inequalities and funding for the schools. We finally got to this day. Maryland House Speaker Adrian Jones, a Democrat and the state's first black speaker who sponsored the bill said to a pause at Bowie State University, adding that she is a sister and a mother to HBCU graduates. Hogan, a Republican vetoed a similar bill last year after signing economic difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hogan told reporters the state was facing potentially daunting deficits and uncertainties at the time and that he vetoed other costly measures as well. He also noted that the state has made historic investments in the schools in recent years. This is an important occasion that we're here today to enact an historic bipartisan measure that will be an unprecedented step forward in addressing inequalities in our higher education system by making substantial investments in Maryland's historically black colleges and universities. Hogan said the funds in the settlement will be used for scholarships and financial aid support services as well as faculty recruitment and development.

The money also could be used to expand and improve existing academic programs including online programs as well as the development and implementation of new academic programs. Amita Bro, president of Bowie State said the extra funding will enable the colleges to stay competitive. We're growing but we need additional support to build out new academic programs to open up our doors wider for the students who want to attend Bowie State University. And so for each one of our HBCUs it means a great deal for the students, for their families and our communities as well as the workforce.

The measure passed unanimously in the Senate and by an overwhelming majority in the House would not begin payments until fiscal year 2023. The money will be distributed each year to HBCUs based on the share of students enrolled during the immediately preceding academic year compared to the total number of students enrolled at all HBCUs. Morgan State University received 24 million in first year, Bowie State 16.8 million University of Maryland East Assure 9.7 and Coppin State 9. The measure's provisions are contingent on a final settlement agreement June 1st.

Michael Jones, a leading attorney for the HBCU, stole the Associated Press last week. He did not anticipate any problems with the settlement. Once the settlement measure became law, Jones described it last week as one of the largest pro bono civil rights settlements in history. The lawsuit dating to 2006 alleged that the state had underfunded the institutions while developing programs at Traditionally White schools that directly compete with and drain prospective students away from HBCUs.

In 2013, a federal judge found that the state had maintained a dual and segregated education system that violated the Constitution. The general assembly successful efforts to provide the four HBCUs with long overdue funding and a process for creating in developing high demand unique programs will enable the HBCUs to be competitive in recruiting students of color and all students thereby helping bridge the racial divide in the state's highest case system, said John Greenbaum, Chief Counsel and Senior Deputy Director at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Underlaw who served as Co-Lead Counsel in the case. I have a question. I have no answers yet.

What makes a school a historically black college or university? What makes it one? Yes. Now, I'm not sure of the direct, you know, definitive definition of what makes it that, but I was always under the assumption that it was a school that like back when they wasn't letting us go to certain schools or whatever.

To be part of the entire American educational system, they really segregated us out of that. These schools were like the black colleges that came together that was formed for specifically us because so. My question then, follow up, is should the University of Maryland get praise or get shit because there are several branches to the University of Maryland? I never knew that East and Shore was a HBCU.

I didn't even. Yeah. So this is the definition they give. Historically, black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African American community.

Okay, so does the University of Maryland get shit or do they get praise? I don't know that I can answer that simply because I have a completely different take on the school systems, the way they have them here in this country. I don't believe they really serve the students, especially higher education, they tend to serve themselves with that. So I don't, I think the system needs to be overhauled completely anyway.

So I don't know if, is this worthy of praise or are you propping up a system that don't really, that's what I'm saying. Like I wasn't like, was it a situation where it's like, all right, they're not good enough to go to our main school. Let's go ahead and give them, or was there a situation where it was like, all right, we have substantial resources. Let's create a place for them to like, I don't, I don't know.

I think it may, I think it's case by case, to be honest, because no, I'm talking about the city of U.M.E. Yes, I'll be well, University of Maryland. Overall, you have been some fairly brilliant people that came from out of that. You know what I'm saying?

Like, I know somebody I used to date, she's an attorney, a lot of attorney, coming to mayor, extremely intelligent that came from out of that system. I don't, I don't, I mean, I went to college for I know several people that I know, quite a few people that went through through the University of Maryland system, because clearly I went there. So I know people that were there when I was there. Then I also know, I also know people from U.M.E.S.

I don't really know anybody from the one here, but whatever. But yeah, yeah, I know quite a few people that has gone through that system. And I just never, like even like some people that were like really close to me have gone to U.M.E.S. and I still never knew it was an HBCU.

Yeah, I didn't either. I didn't know either. And it's interesting that Calvin gets to slide in there because, yo, just became a university. Right.

And I was learning about that now. For those of you who don't live in Baltimore, so all of you. So yeah, all of you just here. It's like me, you and FED.

Like, um, Calvin, it's kind of, it's kind of well known for other people, no other name, cop state, right? But I don't realize that's just right in the middle of that. That's very, very right in the middle of that shit is right in the middle of the like right across the I said this door is made from my old church. You used to go used to live across street from cop.

This is the hood. It's less than a mile away from my dumb mom. Yeah. Yup.

And anybody, especially anybody grew up in the 90s, early 2000s and all that other shit. You know my dumb mom, you know what I mean? Yeah, it was like, you know what I mean? What's up, Jonathan?

It's a power went out and came on now. No internet watching on phone. Yeah, not on Boston. Yeah.

Yeah. I don't know. I had a question about that too. When I went, they got the least amount and I'm wondering is because that's, they don't need as much.

I think that's what it is. I think because they're the smallest school. If I understand the article right, then it's because they're the smallest school. Okay.

Because I think it says based on the population in the year immediately preceding the year that the funds are allocated. Right. So yeah, I think it's because they're the smallest school. I was wondering, that's the first thing about my head, really, the whole article was like, I forgot a little bit.

Yeah, I got a piece of that. I mean, I was over there. I'm just happy that we're included because I said, given the definition of the HBCU, I said, it weren't university until relatively recently. Right.

I guess in college, I guess in the moment you become university. That's it. You get grateful. You get grateful.

I'm with it. I'm with it. Yeah, this shit though. Yeah.

This one thing that is good for the show, but not necessarily good personally. This this this idea of a politician potentially being honest and forthright about his feelings about something. I mean, look, anything in heaven? Yeah.

Right. Is this like really? I think I have to say this possible. I believe it's I believe it's true.

This is one of my blind spots too. I'm not going to bullshit you. Yeah, clearly. I don't trust them.