WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:04.400 Hudson River Radio dot com. It beats listening to nothing. 2 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:10.160 My goodness, being Frank right where the only way to 3 00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:16.359 be is Frank. Hello everyone, and welcome to being Frank. 4 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:20.719 We're the only way to be is Frank. I'm your host, FRANKL. Borno, 5 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:22.640 and I'd like to thank you for joining us on 6 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:27.039 what we like to call the Intelligent Conversation podcast, where 7 00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:30.079 no conversations out of bounds and all points of view 8 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:33.039 are welcome. You know, we record live to tape. I 9 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:36.159 give you the date so you have some context and relevance. 10 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:41.240 It is the twenty ninth of January, as we celebrate 11 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:44.439 Black History Month. Few communities in America have had more 12 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:47.520 impact in more ways in the development of this country 13 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:51.520 than Black Americans. From their introduction as slaves in sixteen 14 00:00:51.640 --> 00:00:55.560 nineteen and corresponding degradation through the elevation of the first 15 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:58.799 black man as President of the United States four hundred 16 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:02.560 years later, they have come more obstacles and challenges than 17 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:05.640 any other ethnic or racial group to achieve greatness in 18 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:09.200 every endeavor they attempt. In a vast list that includes 19 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.120 the likes of Frederick Douglas, Paul Robes, and Maya Angelo 20 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:16.359 Malcolm Exanina Simone, Barack Obama, and of course Martin Luther King, 21 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:19.480 just to name a precious few. They have risen from 22 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:22.599 the bonds of slavery to the pinnacle of American society, 23 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:26.319 and of course their contributions continue today in so many 24 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:29.760 ways and on so many levels. My guest has for 25 00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:34.959 many years been using his many very talents as an artist, organizer, teacher, 26 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:37.719 and activist to enrich his community. 27 00:01:37.959 --> 00:01:39.319 In everyone in it. 28 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.319 I could read a long list of his accomplishments, including 29 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:45.799 his induction into the Rockland County Civil Rights Hall of 30 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:49.640 Fame and his inclusion in NIAC Historical Siety's Great African 31 00:01:49.640 --> 00:01:52.760 American Portrait Exhibit. But as is the case with so 32 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:55.959 many of my guests, it's so impressive that would spend 33 00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:58.640 half the show simply doing that. So why not meet 34 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:02.560 him and hear his story his own words. Welcome Bill Batson. 35 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:07.920 Thank you, Frank. That was quite an exceptional summary of 36 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:14.479 you know, the the the community that celebrated in Black 37 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:18.479 History Month, and I'm honored to be on your program 38 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:21.680 and I'm I'm humbled to be a part of a 39 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:23.560 program with that kind of introduction. 40 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:28.000 Well, Bill, it's true you know, we tease one another. 41 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.240 I don't know who's busy, or you or I doing 42 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:33.520 many little things. I don't know if there are too 43 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:36.199 many great things, but certainly little things that add up 44 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.520 to a lot of things. And we're going to go 45 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.879 through some of them because I think they're important, especially 46 00:02:41.879 --> 00:02:44.800 your involvement here in Nayak. We both live in Nayak. 47 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:48.639 You have a very strong connection here for many years. 48 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:50.319 I want to talk a little bit about that. But 49 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:55.240 let's let's assume no one knows Bill Batson. What should 50 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:57.360 people know about you? Tell us a little bit about 51 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:00.759 your background, where you grew up, and how you came 52 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:01.879 to where you are now. 53 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:06.800 Well, you know, Nike is a very just significant threat. 54 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:11.319 I mean everybody, you're shaped by your family. You're shaped 55 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:16.080 by your neighborhood and the institutions, the schools, and the 56 00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:19.960 places where you work. So for me, I came to 57 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:25.080 Nayak in nineteen sixty four. I was adopted into a family, 58 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:33.639 an African American family. I'm biracial. My grandmother and had 59 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:37.919 been here her whole life. My great grandfather came, her 60 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:41.599 father came in the eighteen eighties. They were some of 61 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:45.960 the earliest members of Saint Philip's Amision Church. They shaped 62 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:49.599 me as a young person. My grandmother was a pillar 63 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:53.919 in her community. Despite the fact that she was a 64 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:04.280 domestic she owned a home, had that home rudely taken 65 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:08.759 from her by the process of eminent domain. Nayak is 66 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:11.199 one of those communities that had Nerve and Renewal program. 67 00:04:11.879 --> 00:04:13.879 Talk about that in some detail going forward. 68 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:19.040 Yes that you know, it's a sanitized term. We call 69 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:24.399 it negro removal. And despite that, she managed to acquire 70 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:27.439 a second home once again on a maid's salary, and 71 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:30.879 raise a family and be a civic leader. And so 72 00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:36.160 she kind of set me out into the world. I 73 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:41.199 went to art school after graduating from high school in Teaneck, 74 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:47.160 New Jersey, and then became involved in the arts community. 75 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:52.720 And at one point I found myself in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, 76 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:56.639 and artists tend to look for neighborhoods that are cheap 77 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:00.240 because we don't have a lot of money, and but 78 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:04.240 for other people were sometimes a gentrifying force, and there 79 00:05:04.279 --> 00:05:06.279 are others families living around us. I was in a 80 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:09.959 building where the door didn't lock, so homeless people were 81 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:13.000 living inside, and there were some drug abuse and there 82 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:16.439 was some really horrible situations for the young families that 83 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:18.480 were trying and many immigrant families that were trying to 84 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.199 raise their kids. So I became a housing organizer. And 85 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:25.199 basically my whole life has been kind of pivoting back 86 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:31.680 and forth between culture and civics. So I came back 87 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:35.160 to I did a lot of jobs in politics. I mean, 88 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:39.279 most of my working life was I was the press 89 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:44.360 secretary for eleven ninety nine SCIU, a healthcare workers union. 90 00:05:44.360 --> 00:05:47.279 But while I was there, I founded artists for Jesse 91 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:50.160 Jackson his eighty eight campaign. We created all the merch 92 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:56.120 and did large events and fundraisers. And then I worked 93 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:59.959 for NYCLU, a civil liberties union. I was an assistant 94 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.759 director there. I was constantly drawing on the subway back 95 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:06.519 and forth to work. But I left there and ran 96 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:11.519 Norman Sieguals campaign for Public Advocate. I later worked for 97 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:13.959 David Patterson when he was the minority leader of the 98 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:22.800 State Senate, and continued to make art. Around two thousand 99 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:26.800 and six, I think my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 100 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.040 because of what happened to my grandmother. We have a 101 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:33.879 tradition of not leaving our homes voluntarily. And my father 102 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.720 wanted to die at home and that was something that 103 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:39.839 he gave to a privilege that he gave to his mother. 104 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:45.000 So my cousin Sylvia and I performed that service for 105 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:48.040 my father and his sister Adline. So we did the 106 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.759 home hospice route. I was with I was his primary 107 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:58.120 caregiver for about two years. And Nayak. I've been around 108 00:06:58.199 --> 00:07:00.759 the world. I've seen a couple of places. There's really 109 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:04.439 no place for me as wonderful as Nyac, and I 110 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:06.480 think many people agree. You know, when you get that 111 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.720 perspective of seeing other places, you sometimes you realize how 112 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:11.120 special it is where you started out. 113 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:14.800 No, they would never get that for me. My friends 114 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:18.000 all the time about Nayak, how much I love this place, 115 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:22.120 and why don't you about that? Not a perfect You're 116 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:27.120 intantly you're also yeah, I remember, yeah, yeah. 117 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:29.600 So I'm just I'm just really, you know, happy to 118 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.839 be here. And I feel like I had to follow 119 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:35.600 my my grandmother's footsteps. So we'll talk a little bit 120 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:38.959 about the legacy of urban renewal in Nayak. But you know, 121 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:44.839 there are issues that constantly require the attention of citizens 122 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:47.639 now more than ever before. We have a form of 123 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.600 government that relies on an informed citizenry. And we know 124 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:55.480 what happens when one when an informed citizens citizen ry 125 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:58.399 does not show up and does not take its responsibilities. 126 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:01.920 So right now living that right now, Bill, It's not 127 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.480 a secret, certainly not here in Nayak. 128 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:06.720 The one last thing I'd say is that because of 129 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:09.439 my kind of history and past, I did start this 130 00:08:09.480 --> 00:08:11.879 thing called the Night Sketch Log. So since I've been home, 131 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.800 I've been chronicling the history of Nayak on Night News 132 00:08:15.839 --> 00:08:19.959 and Views. I had for ten years a weekly column 133 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:26.959 and published two books, and I continue to show work 134 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:30.120 and to write about my community. 135 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.519 We're going to talk about the sketch Log and how 136 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:36.360 you it's morphed and grown now to include a civil 137 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:39.840 rights aspect to it. We will get to that in 138 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:43.960 some detail. But while you happen to mention it. Through 139 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.480 your job, you had the opportunity to get involved with 140 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:52.039 many great people, great figures who in your mind sticks 141 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:55.360 out and someone that you might point to as a 142 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:56.759 real role model. 143 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:01.320 Well, okay, in terms of a role model, I've always 144 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:05.879 been a you know, subscriber of Kingyan nonviolence and a 145 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:10.200 practitioner of Kingyan non violence. So that has been a 146 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:15.639 constant for me. But in terms of the ability to 147 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:18.960 be in the audience of a person who I think 148 00:09:19.039 --> 00:09:24.919 is a significance beyond beyond their time, would be the 149 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.440 opportunity I had to meet Nelson Mandela in nineteen ninety six, 150 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:32.480 I spent two years in South Africa. I had a 151 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.000 chance to go to Robin Island and see the conditions 152 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:37.799 that political prisoners there were held under. I got to 153 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:40.519 see a country transform from one of the most racist 154 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:44.039 states on the planet to a multi racial democracy. It 155 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:47.360 was the first country in the in the world to 156 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:52.639 recognize same sex marriage. It has certainly had its struggles, 157 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:55.440 but it's it's a glorious example of of of hope 158 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:59.440 and what can happen when people do resist oppressions and 159 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:04.480 come to together in large numbers and mass movements. So 160 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:07.960 I had a chance of medium. It was an extraordinary occasion, 161 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:12.720 and one of my favorite possessions on the planet is 162 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:16.559 an autographed copy I have of Antigony. No less Now, 163 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:20.559 I would not proclaim Mandela as an actor per se. 164 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:23.360 I don't think he would claim to be a Thespian. 165 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:27.360 But when he was on Robin Island, every year, the 166 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:30.639 prisoners were allowed a performance, and I read in his 167 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:34.799 biography that he was fond of the play Antigony by Sophocles, 168 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:37.919 and he played the role of Creon, which is the 169 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:40.200 bad guy. He's like the you know, he's the de 170 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:44.879 clerk character. But he actually believed in himself to such 171 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.919 an extent. I believe while he was imprisoned, he imagined 172 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.279 himself free and the president of South Africa because he 173 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:55.440 picked the role of illegal because he thought that leaders 174 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:00.559 had responsibilities and were to be tested. So when I 175 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:04.679 met him, I wanted him to sign the book, and 176 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:07.639 I was in a receiving line and it felt selfish 177 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:09.679 of me to like try to stop him, so I 178 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:14.039 walked away in one of his six foot five Africannor 179 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:17.080 security guards asked me what I had in my hand. 180 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:19.879 I thought I was about to get, you know, a 181 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:22.240 searched and I said a book. And he said, you 182 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:25.240 want old man to sign book? So I handed it 183 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:27.679 to him with my business card, and three weeks later 184 00:11:27.720 --> 00:11:30.559 in the mail in Brooklyn, I got my autograph of 185 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:31.200 Nelson Mandel. 186 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:35.440 Incredible story. Now there's also an element. I've heard you 187 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:37.799 tell the story, and it's wonderful. I'm glad you shared 188 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:40.679 it with us. But you also there's something very interesting. 189 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:45.519 You mentioned his security detailed as africaners and which were 190 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:48.919 the white, the Dutch white, if you will, early rulers 191 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:52.600 in apartheid, but he made a point of employing them 192 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.559 as his bodyguards. It took a little bit about that 193 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:58.480 and why that was important to him and what message 194 00:11:58.519 --> 00:11:59.360 that sends. 195 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:04.200 You subscribe to the Emma Goldman philosophy that the revolution 196 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:08.360 you make determines what comes after. So there was great 197 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:12.120 fear in South Africa that that the you know, the 198 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:16.200 African population was suppressed so violently for so long, and 199 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:18.799 in a very similar way to how the black community 200 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:23.200 in America during Jim Crow was was was you know, 201 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:27.279 subjected to violence and intimidation and lynchings. 202 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:28.000 So there was a. 203 00:12:27.879 --> 00:12:31.480 Fear that when when the worm turned, that there would 204 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:35.720 be retribution. And Mandela was very mindful of of not 205 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:40.559 wanting to unleash that that beast. And he uh, he's 206 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:45.360 also smart. And the guards that he had on Robin Island, 207 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:49.039 he was a political prisoner of of extreme importance. And 208 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:53.159 I imagine that they acquitted themselves in such a way 209 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:55.919 where it occurred to him that if he was going 210 00:12:55.960 --> 00:13:00.120 to be protected outside of prison, that they might be 211 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.679 well equipped to do it. But I also think that 212 00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:08.120 for men who had been the guard of a political 213 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:10.759 prisoner was suddenly released, I imagine they thought that they 214 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:14.440 their days were numbered and to suddenly be elevated to 215 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:19.879 a position of you know, presidential guard. They protected that man. 216 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:22.720 He probably had the best protection on the planet because 217 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:25.720 they were so appreciative and it's sent a great, great symbol. 218 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:29.120 In the same way that he and Bishop Tout decided 219 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:34.039 to support the South African rugby side in the World Cup, 220 00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:38.320 and rugby was not an African sport. It was considered 221 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:39.720 more of an africaner sport. 222 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:41.519 And they made a lot. 223 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:45.120 Of steps, I think, to to you know, unite the country. 224 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:48.320 But of course, of course they also went after the 225 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.320 truth through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I think that 226 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.840 there's so many parallels between South Africa and the United 227 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:57.519 States that need to be examined. Right now, Robert F. 228 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:01.759 Kennedy is being mismntled in front of the Congress, as 229 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:06.039 he should be, But his father made note of the 230 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:09.320 fact that both South Africa and the United States were 231 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:11.600 originally founded by the Dutch and then taken over by 232 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:16.279 the British. They violently suppressed an indigenous population. They had 233 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:20.879 an extraordinary civil rights movement, and they have always struggled 234 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:25.360 to repair the breach of discord and racial discord in 235 00:14:25.399 --> 00:14:28.200 their in their you know, in their countries. And when 236 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:32.039 we talked later about uh urban renewal and Nayak, while 237 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.559 I was in South Africa, I found papers that suggested 238 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:39.639 that the South African government came to the United States 239 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:43.960 in the fifties and sixties to study our urban renewal 240 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:49.440 program to use it as a template for their forced removals. 241 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:52.759 And then they studied our reservation system for the Native 242 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:56.600 Americans to create their homelands. So, you know, oftentimes we 243 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:59.519 think we're the paraton of virtue, but often, you know, 244 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:02.080 that's not necessarily the case. So I think that there's 245 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:05.519 a lot that we can learn from South Africa that's positive, 246 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:07.840 and unfortunately, there was a lot that they learned from 247 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:08.919 us that was negative. 248 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:13.480 Perfect segue my very next question urban renewal in Nayak. 249 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:16.720 You know, we who live here, and you mentioned it, 250 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:20.200 it's a unique place, it's a diverse place. One of 251 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.519 the strengths of it, but it's not a perfect place, 252 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:26.960 and it has suffered from the scourge of racism like 253 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.039 many other places. And one of that was through, as 254 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:33.159 you mentioned, a clean word, if you will, of urban renewal, 255 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:36.519 and it happened, of course, in the Black neighborhood and 256 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:40.320 in a strange quirk Jackson Avenue, which was kind of 257 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:43.360 the main boulevard, if you will, through the Black neighborhood. 258 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.000 I now live on Jackson Avenue and it's still a 259 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.399 wonderfully diverse neighborhood. I want to talk a little bit 260 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:51.960 more about that later if it will stay, because we 261 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:55.279 have quite a few Latinos and Hispanics in our neighborhood. 262 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:59.000 We know what's happening there. But you were affected directly. 263 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:04.039 Family was affected directly. What was that like, what kind 264 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:07.360 of effect, what kind of emotional mental effect did that 265 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:08.399 have on your family? 266 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:13.960 I mean, it was devastating. It was a wound that 267 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:22.720 we never really fully recovered from. Certainly economically, you know, 268 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:29.240 home ownership is really the ticket out of poverty. And 269 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:34.759 to have a you know, a home basically stolen from 270 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:38.559 you for pennies and then being forced into the real 271 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.720 estate market. The interesting thing about Naik is that, for 272 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:46.759 whatever reason, in the eighteen eighties, the real estate community 273 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:52.159 and the you know, the fathers, I'll say intentionally because 274 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:56.399 I'm sure the women weren't voting, so the village fathers 275 00:16:56.559 --> 00:17:01.960 permitted black families to own property. That wasn't the case 276 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:05.799 in the sixties. Black families could not find because of 277 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:09.759 redlining and because of racist practices in the real estate industry. 278 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:14.519 No matter how much money you were given as as 279 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:19.119 a settlement from you know, the eminent domain process, you 280 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:22.319 couldn't find anybody to buy sell your house. And my 281 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:25.559 grandmother said, in a quote from the time, you know 282 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:28.440 what do you want us to be? Nomadic people like 283 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:32.359 wandering the hills. She was lucky, I think because of 284 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:34.079 the work that she did in some of the families 285 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:37.960 that she cleaned house for. I think she actually worked 286 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:39.640 for the Jewett family for a long time, which were 287 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:42.319 very prominent Nayak, and there was a Jewet who was 288 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:44.359 mayor of Upper n eighth for a very long time. 289 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:46.759 She was able to find. I think she ended up 290 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:49.920 buying the home of one of the Jewet children, so 291 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:51.880 she was able to but a lot of the families 292 00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:56.400 of the dozens of families that were uh this you know, 293 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:01.440 uh displaced. Only a handful were able to buy homes 294 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:05.200 in NYAC, a very very few, and and it was 295 00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:07.960 primarily people of color and Niak, I think it was 296 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:11.240 eighty percent that that neighborhood around Jacksonamily is about eighty 297 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.880 percent black, but there's some white families that were displaced. 298 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:16.400 It wasn't just homeowners, it was there were some businesses 299 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.960 that were displaced, and those people were not compensated for 300 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:21.599 losing a business, they were just compensated for their property. 301 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.839 But across America there were other like in in Boston, 302 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:27.559 for instance, Logan Airport that was an Italian neighborhood that 303 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:32.160 was taken. And you know, the the process of you know, 304 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:35.759 taking somebody's home is something that you know, is really 305 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:42.519 kind of uh hypocritical, because you know, for a country, 306 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:48.240 we've always you know, held property rights on on the 307 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:53.000 highest tier. And yet and these these takings and these 308 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:56.680 these dispossessions, you know, you you you were just robbed 309 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:00.519 of everything. And uh and in Nayak, you know, we're 310 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.240 still trying to figure out what to do. So there's 311 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:07.279 a film called What Happened to Jackson Avenue? It was 312 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:13.720 created by Phoenix Ensemble Theater at jakim Olum and Rudy Jewel, 313 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:20.000 incredibly talented young filmmakers put together something that I hope 314 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:22.720 the whole country gets to see. I know it's done 315 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:27.359 well in some you know, the film festivals. It's going 316 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:30.720 to be shown tomorrow night. As a matter of fact, 317 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.400 at the library. 318 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:35.960 I just give the date because this gets archives and 319 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:39.119 repeated if you're watching now the thirtieth a Thursday night, 320 00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:43.519 just to give that accuracy that sorry, Bill continue. 321 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:46.799 So and and we're trying to figure out what to 322 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:51.599 do the the The current the administration of the village 323 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:56.839 is very different in every way then the administration that 324 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:02.559 allowed this horrible process to occur. And you know it 325 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:05.319 was done to kind of revitalize Nayak and actually tore 326 00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:06.359 the heart out of Naiac. 327 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.839 And it's interesting and not to be tried. To quote 328 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:13.240 Joey Mitchell, they turned tore down paradise to put up 329 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:17.599 a parking lot. And that's literally true if you would 330 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:20.720 the story behind it. Merchants felt they would lose A 331 00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:23.960 new Nanuette mall was being built, and merchants felt they 332 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.839 were losing business because there was no parking, So they 333 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:28.839 created a parking lot out of a neighborhood. 334 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:32.559 Really, people go on to Facebook any day of the 335 00:20:32.599 --> 00:20:36.599 week in Nayak, you'll see people still complaining about lack 336 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:40.200 of parking. So it solved absolutely nothing. It just injured 337 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:43.000 a lot of people. So the current administration has actually 338 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:47.240 made all the files that pertained to urban renewal available 339 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:53.519 there now within the storage space of the Historical Society 340 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:55.920 of the Nayaks, And we're going to go through there 341 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.599 and try to see if we can do some truth 342 00:20:58.640 --> 00:20:59.559 and reconciliation. 343 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:05.319 Would any kind of repatriation or anything kind of remuneration 344 00:21:05.599 --> 00:21:08.119 any is any of that possible. 345 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:10.680 Well, we're gonna look at what's happening in other cities. 346 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:12.519 It's you know, I think there are three hundred thousand 347 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:15.799 people in America were affected by it, you know, hundreds 348 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:20.480 of communities. I believe it's it's Las Vegas and uh 349 00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:25.119 Palm springs, uh uh Cinta, Monica. There are a couple 350 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:31.119 of communities that have had uh uh cases where people 351 00:21:31.160 --> 00:21:35.559 have attempted to you know, get some kind of you 352 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:38.920 know justice. So, yeah, we're gonna we're gonna look at 353 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:41.880 at what what would be the best because Nayak, you know, 354 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:45.799 the housing shortage. Uh, you know, we need housing, we 355 00:21:45.799 --> 00:21:49.000 don't need parking lots and and and that's still the 356 00:21:49.079 --> 00:21:52.039 case very much today. So you know, anything that we 357 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:55.680 can do to lessen the harm to the families that 358 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.440 were suffered, but more importantly, to create a situation where, 359 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.319 you know, people Nayak of all you know, races and 360 00:22:04.519 --> 00:22:07.960 all walks of life, have a secure place to live. 361 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.400 You know that that would be something that we would 362 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:13.319 want to pursue in any any further action. 363 00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:17.799 You know, Nyak has always prided itself on its diversity, 364 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.240 and one of the reasons why I say we live here. 365 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:23.519 That's an important part of it. But as I mentioned often, 366 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:27.440 it's not paradise and there are issues here and is 367 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.000 there an it's it's a question that I've raised and 368 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:34.480 others have raised, is there truly enough mixing in a 369 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:38.160 town like Nyac It's or is it more of a 370 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:41.960 separate but equal And again it's not. It's it's something 371 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:44.200 I've heard from more than one person. 372 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:49.599 Well, so, I actually I brought it up in the film. 373 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:53.759 If you see the film, it's like, we're not segregated, 374 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.839 but we're not integrated either. And I don't think that's 375 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:00.279 a Nyac problem. I think that's an American problem. I 376 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:04.559 think that for whatever reason that that whole notion of 377 00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:07.000 a melting pot, well, first of all, it's a little 378 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.079 bit furious because there's no reason for a person to 379 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:14.799 surrender their culture in order to you know, coexist. And 380 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:18.920 you know, in in in modern society, there's certain things 381 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:22.400 that we love about the different places that we come from. 382 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:25.759 But I think we we hold on to difference in 383 00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:28.559 a way here and we're divided and where we're we're 384 00:23:28.599 --> 00:23:33.160 pit against each other. Maybe that's actually the proper you know, 385 00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:38.240 description of it. And uh, you know, it persists to 386 00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:43.160 this day. It's almost sometimes a formula for you know, uh, 387 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:48.039 political parties and and even businesses. Dare I say in 388 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:53.720 order to avoid you know, or in order to profit. 389 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:57.440 Let's just say that there's there's there's Certainly if something persists, 390 00:23:57.480 --> 00:24:00.480 as long as it has, somebody has benefited from it, 391 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.839 and certainly not the people who were divided like I've 392 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:05.920 been in other parts of the world, and it's just 393 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:08.720 not as not the same. I don't think it's necessarily 394 00:24:08.759 --> 00:24:11.160 a formula. It would not make everything go away if 395 00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:15.039 we were closer together. But when you go into a 396 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:19.319 pub in Britain, for instance, in some working class communities, 397 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:24.920 you'll see people of all races at every single table together. 398 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:27.559 So you wouldn't even be able to say, is this 399 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:30.240 an Indian neighborhood, is this a black neighborhood? Is this 400 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:34.440 a white neighborhood. But if you go into you know, 401 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:37.559