Transcripts For WABC Here And Now 20150920

Here and now. Join the millions who have already switched. We switched. And now, were streaming netflix. Who knew Time Warner Cables internet was so fast mom switched. And now, we can watch our favorite shows together, on demand. I switched. So i can connect to the internet just about anywhere with my free twc wifi hotspots. Join the millions who switched to Time Warner Cable. For 89. 99 a month, youll get 100meg internet, and hundreds of hd channels. Youll also get unlimited calling across the u. S. And 34 other countries around the world. Call today. I switched. Now i have a free app that lets me watch tv whenever i have the time. For 89. 99 a month youll get tv, internet and phone. And if you call now, theres no risk, no contract, no catch, no kidding. I switched to Time Warner Cable and knew exactly when they were coming. Thanks to their one hour appointment window. Switch to Time Warner Cable today. And ask how you could get a 300 reward card. Call today. According to the National Black catholics congress, there are about 3 million black catholics in the u. S. , including the thousands of black catholics here in new york city, all looking forward to pope francis much anticipated visit. And joining us this afternoon is father mario powell, a jesuit priest, father freddy washington, the pastor of st. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in harlem, and brother tyrone davis, the director of the office of black ministry of the archdiocese of new york. Thank you all for being with us this afternoon. You know, the city really, the country is giddy about the pope coming here, so i want to ask the three of you what it means to you and your fellow catholics here in new york city that this pontiff, who has never visited the United States before, is going to spend a few days here. I think for you know, this is the first time ive been, as a priest, in a city in which a pope has visited, and so, for me, its really quite exciting to be around for this popes visit, but especially for this popes visit, because, as a jesuit priest, its hes a jesuit its personal. Its personal. So, its welcoming him home, in a sense. Father washington . Yes. I think its a great excitement that kind of follows from his election. I mean, people were on the edge of their seats, wondering who was going to be the new pope. And once they found out he was one from the americas and just that excitement of having someone from this hemisphere, who can speak to the reality of people who are disenfranchised, et cetera i think thats the great excitement. And among your congregation youre the only pastors sitting here today. Are they excited . Are they making plans to get out there in central park and. . People want to be there all [ laughter ] no matter where if hes there, they want to be there. Yes. [ laughs ] and how does the diocese get ready for the pope . I mean, you know, we had a glimpse at some of the things that are being done. I think those who are somewhat on the inside we dont really have an answer to your question. [ laughs ] i think theres so much excitement and concerns and so forth that it becomes, at times, a little confusing. But its still a very positive air, positive attitude, and excitement. Ive experienced this is probably my third pope that ive experienced visiting new york, and for each one of them, its been exciting, but i think this is probably the most exciting of the papal visits that ive experienced. Why do you say that . Is it because francis seems to be so much a man of the people, especially the poor and the disenfranchised . I think so. I think he has been he has taken a route for himself and has spoken in ways that people may not have heard before, whether were talking about the rich of our communities, but, more especially, those who are, as father freddy kind of mentioned, those who have been disenfranchised, those who may have been alienated from church. Somehow, they feel a connect. And i also see a great connect those who are not even catholic. Mmhmm. A great connect. Thats true. Recently, of course, he made some changes in the church when it comes to annulment. So, people really see him, in some sense, as a progressive pontiff. Is that an accurate characterization . I wouldnt say hes progressive as much as i would say he is hes a pope that i think speaks to the real lives of catholics, and the reality is when you have loving catholics whose marriages dont work, and i think he speaks to the frustration in the process, and theres nothing in terms of large theological change thats taking place, but i do think hes speaking to the realities of peoples lives in a way that i dont think people are used to. Some have said that he sees people where they are. Yes. And his big focus seems to be to get people to the church, to minister them, to also draw them to the church. That, i think, is a valid point. I think the whole thing of what prevents us from entering into the church, what are hurdles, are blocks, that somehow keeps us from that . And if someone was going through a process of annulment and it cost money and they dont have money, does it prevent them from even having their day, you know, of explaining or trying to present their arguments for whats going on . And he wants to make that easier for them . Mmhmm. I have to ask you, i know that over the last few years, there have been a lot of talk about, you know, the church roles declining. Obviously, weve seen churches close here, schools close here. Is it your thought that with so many people following everything Francis Pope Francis does and says so closely that well see those numbers rise, particularly against people that may have felt disenfranchised, may be looking for a spiritual home, that he and what he stands for, the sort of backtobasics christianity they see that as attractive and will attract them . Yeah. I would hope so, and i think that, you know, again, following up on something that father mario said, i dont think that pope francis has really turned Church Doctrine on its head. Mmhmm. I think he has really challenged particularly those of us who are in ministry to look at how we are ministering to those who are members of the flock but particularly to those who are most in need. I think in the whole area of families, he has said people define families in many different ways. And some of those are inconsistent with church teaching, but the real issue is, how do we minister to people in their families as they see them, not how do we transform them, particularly at this moment . Are we ministering to that . And i think hes made that message worldwide to all of his bishops and cardinals. Talk to the people. Find out what they need and examine how we are ministering to them. Is his message particularly attractive, do you think, to black catholics . I think he speaks about his theology, i think, has a certain tinge of social justice attached to it that i think is very attractive to blacks, and its very familiar to blacks, because i think you cant talk about a black Church Without talking about black politics, and i think what francis is doing when he talks about the poor, when he talks about the way that we gather together economically, talks about the environment, hes really speaking, i think, to a long history of black political and religious involvement that really speaks to people that are disenfranchised, people that are on the margins of society, and in the United States, i think that plays well within the black community. And, father washington, you have the oldest black Catholic Church in harlem. In harlem, yes. You know, our parish of st. Mark was founded particularly to minister among the africanamericans and those from the caribbean who came to northern manhattan. And i think that one of the realities is that people are looking for a sense of joy, and i think the pope captures that, even as he talks about what is good news. From the very beginning, hes talked about that. And so that church shouldnt be an experience of coming from a funeral but coming from an experience of joy, and i think thats captivating for africanamericans. Yeah, and in your church, you still get that sometimes you walk in, you could think you were in a baptist church. [ laughter ] i think, to some degree, when we talk about how the message of pope francis resonates with black folks, with black catholics, id more rather speak about the potential for it resonating. Mmhmm. And i think that depends upon how the message is conveyed and interpreted by church leaders, because people come to church, and they need their pastors to talk to them about what is being said. Lets face it most folks in the pews are not reading anyones documents. But the person in the pulpit hopefully has read the documents, and it depends upon him how he conveys and tells that story. And i think if he tells that story of what pope francis has written and what he is saying to people, i think it will resonate at very, very high levels. I am looking forward to the visit next week, and perhaps well have you guys back on and you talk about the visit and what we see in the weeks after he he leaves. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. Up next on here and now, an organization thats helping make life a little bit easier for families of children with stay with us. Everyone is saying, hey you gotta get fios but why . Well, fios is a 100 percent fiber optic network, so you can get 100 out of all your devices. So whatever speed you need, fios has it with the Fastest Internet and wifi available, from 50 to 500 mbps. But the main reason to get fios . Were rated number 1 in customer satisfaction. Ultimately, thats why. Get 50 meg fios internet, tv phone starting at 79. 99 a month. Plus get 350 back with a two year agreement. Parenting a child with special needs comes with extraordinary challenges, and when the twin boys of our next guest were diagnosed with autism and speech and language delays, she realized just how limited are. Thats when manybabies was born. With us today, the founder of manybabies, schaneick thomas. So nice to meet you, schaneick. Same here. You really turned what had to be challenging and painful for you into help for so many other women. Tell me when you realized that your boys had some special needs. They were about 2 years old. They werent speaking and developing like other 2yearolds, and i tried i thought maybe they were just on, so i was waiting for that aha moment, and that aha moment took a long time to come. So, i put them in a private school at 3 years old, and they still had challenges, but i was still waiting for that aha moment. And it was when i put them in a Different School for a Summer Program they were there for only five days and the Program Director said, i think you should get them evaluated. And im like, evaluated . What do you mean . She said, theres something thats a little bit different. She was very sensitive when she told me, and she said that theres just something thats a little bit different, and there are certain milestones that they should have accomplished by now, and they havent, so i said, okay. What do i do . Where do i go . And she gave me a contact place, and i went through the process, which was long and intimidating. Mmhmm. I had a team of people that came to my home and also to the facility that they were in just to observe and evaluate them, and then after all that was over, they brought me into a room surrounded by that same team of evaluators, and i had this it seemed like a booklet at the time of everything that was just wrong with my children. And i was sitting there, and i said, okay, you guys have to stop, because i had to hear it twice cause i have twins. Yeah. And i said, you just have to give me a minute to process, because it became extremely overwhelming, and what i heard that theres something wrong, theres something wrong, theres something wrong. And when you look at them, you see them as being perfect. Now, when you started getting the help that your sons need we should mention theyre now 7, almost 8, and little terrors, you said. [ laughing ] yeah. But when you started getting them tried to get them the services they needed, figure out what services they needed, what kind of problems did you run in to that make you say, you know what . I need to help other people so they dont have to, you know, did. Well, there was hiccups between what the schools were saying that my boys did not deserve versus what their i. E. P. Said that they deserved, because their i. E. P. , their individualized Education Program thats a legal document, and it clearly states in black and white, these are the services your childs supposed to get. Well, what i found was that the school was a little bit resistant or they were very slow in giving my children the services, and there was a lot of back and forth where the attention was now on us as opposed to whats in the best interests of our children. So, what is it that manybabies is able to help parents do when they find themselves in the same situation that you were in . Well, what we try to do not what we try to do, what we do is we give that handoverhand service to our families, because that was something that i wish that i would have had. Oftentimes, you find people will say, go to this website or go to this organization. Theyll give you the information, theyll give it to you on paper, but then youre left, like, trying to figure out, how do i apply this . So, you walk with them, holding their hand through the process . Yes, until they get to a certain level of comfortability, where they can advocate for themselves and pay it forward by helping out other families. How rewarding is it for you to be able to do this . I often say that i am here to serve. I think that all people are here to have to serve others. I think that its very important to give back, and because i can help someone through the grace of god, that is rewarding. Mmhmm. I think that he gives us experiences so that we can share. We learn from those experiences, and then we share so that someone else coming behind us or alongside us do not have to fall okay. And manybabiesnyc. Org. Yes. Go to that website. Find out more about your organization. Yes. And, if somebody needs assistance, how to get it . Yes. They can contact us through that website. Theres a contact page where you can send your email. Theres a phone number that you can reach us. Were also looking for people who want to volunteer some time, because, you know, were a nonprofit, if they want to help donate to the cause so that we can continue to help out families in the community, that would be appreciated, as well. All right. Schaneick thomas, manybabies, thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. No, thank you. I appreciate it. Still ahead on here and now, why poorly maintained roads in the new york city area are costing stay with us. Join the millions who have already switched. We switched. And now, were streaming netflix. Who knew Time Warner Cables internet was so fast mom switched. And now, we can watch our favorite shows together, on demand. I switched. So i can connect to the internet just about anywhere with my free twc wifi hotspots. Join the millions who switched to Time Warner Cable. For 89. 99 a month, youll get 100meg internet, and hundreds of hd channels. Youll also get unlimited calling across the u. S. And 34 other countries around the world. Call today. I switched. Now i have a free app that lets me watch tv whenever i have the time. For 89. 99 a month youll get tv, internet and phone. And if you call now, theres no risk, no contract, no catch, no kidding. I switched to Time Warner Cable and knew exactly when they were coming. Thanks to their one hour appointment window. Switch to Time Warner Cable today. And ask how you could get a 300 reward card. More than half the roads in the new york city urban area that includes newark, new jersey are reported to be in poor condition. Thats according to a recently released report by trip. Its a Nonprofit Organization that researches and evaluates Road Conditions across the country. And that rough ride well, it is costing you money. With us today is aaa spokesman robert sinclair. Nice to see you here. Good to see you. Instead of standing on some hot roadway. Yeah, or cold. Or cold, depending on the season. Indeed. This report when i said it costs money, its no joke. The report found that an average of over 700 among new yorkers spend on their cars because the roads are in bad condition. Right. I think the total was 781, and thats actually up from the report that they was 675, so its getting worse. The roads are in bad shape. You hit the roads. You damage your wheels, your tires, your suspension components, rack and pinion, control arm, springs, struts, all these kind of things, and, in fact, if the road is bad enough, you might even drop the car down so it could tear up underneath the engine and the transmission the whole undercarriage. So, it is a very impressive negatively impressive figure that the average motorist in our area is spending this on a yearly basis in order to keep their car up to par. Its a bad situation. And so, you know, where does the blame fall . Is it local folks . Is it the feds . The feds. The gasoline tax hasnt been raised since clinton was president. Its 18. 4 cents per gallon. Its not indexed to inflation, so we do not have enough money to fix our roads. A lot of the money that we spend on our roads comes from the feds at the state and local level, and the number is 51 for our area. Nationwide, its 23 of the roads are in poor condition. So, it seems no matter where you go, youre gonna be in bad shape. So, weve been advocating for various bills in congress that would raise the gasoline tax a nickel a gallon this year, nickel a gallon next year, the following year, and Congress Seems to not want to raise taxes. Its the third rail of politics. Which kind of doesnt make sense, particularly when youre talking about the gas tax these days when you look at the fact that gasoline right now, its been pretty low for quite a few months. Its been pretty low, and, in fact, since last year, probably this time last year, weve seen gasoline prices fluctuate by more than 1. You know, they went down, we were near we were high 2 a gallon, 2. 20, 2. 30, back in january, and now were upwards of 3 a gallon, so who would have seen a nickel in those fluctuations of gasoline prices . So, its something nobody would even notice, and it would make a tremendous difference, not just for the roads but for the economy. The National Association of manufacturers say bad roads create congestion. It makes it difficult for them to get Raw Materials in and finished goods out from manufacturing facilities. The jobs that would be created it would be a tremendous boost. But Congress Keep playing these games, and, you know, now theyre talking about repatriating money from overseas and all that. Well see what happens. [ chuckles ] yeah. You . You know, this is the time of the year, in part because the gas prices are so low and, in part, its the season. Its summer. Many people are on the roads, so safety a big issue. One of the issues we heard a lot about lately is advocating for seatbelt use in the back seat, not just the front seat. Why is that important . The backseat bullet phenomenon. You can be restrained in the front seat, but if you are 16 years of age or older in the state of new york, you do not have to wear a seat belt in the back seat. Well, what happens is if the vehicle especially is moving quickly enough and strikes a fixed object, the unrestrained people or cargo in the back go flying forward. I remember years ago, a certain car company had an ad called the elephant in the back seat, and it talked about a 60pound child in the back seat. If that vehicle were to strike a fixed object at 50 miles an hour, that child would be propelled forward with the force equivalent to the weight of a baby elephant nearly 1,000 pounds. So, its a very bad situation. In new york, in emergency rooms, trauma surgeons will tell you about partition face, where somebody was in the back of a cab. Smashed into the. And they smashed their face in on the partition. So, its very important that we wear our seat belts, no matter where we are in the vehicle. I remember a state trooper who worked on the thruway told me he has never unbuckled a dead person, and Something Like 33,000 people are killed on our nations highways every year. More than half of them are not wearing their seat belt. So, whatever perceived inconvenience, it is definitely worth saving your life. Absolutely. Another issue these days that you cant get beyond, and even though i think we all know its ridiculous texting and driving. Oh, yeah. We did a study last year where we put cameras in cars with teenagers, and, you know, for the first it was in there for a week, and Something Like 500 teens the first two or three days, model behavior. They were perfect drivers. Then they lapsed into their bad habits, and texting definitely was part of it, and it was so bad to the point now where we say that distractions, texting among them, are responsible for 48 of the crashes where teenagers get into trouble crashes. So, you know, its bad and getting worse, and manufacturers are putting these things in the cars that make them rolling smartphones so you can do texting, you can do emails, you can facebook, you can all youre behind the wheel. You cant do it. Itself focus. Yeah. Driving in and of itself is multitasking. You know, youre controlling a heavy object moving at speed. You have to know rules and regulations of the road, conditions. You. They say driving in an urban situation is akin to a pilot flying a plane during landing, takeoff, and lowlevel flight. Theres a tremendous amount to do, and you have to concentrate fully to do it. You shouldnt be distracted. And, you know, speaking of distractions, if youre driving in new york city, you see more bicyclists on the road, and so i think as drivers, we do these days, especially in this city and others, we have to learn to share the ride the road with bicyclists. Not so easy for a lot of people. Its difficult. I mean, the city has been on a kick, especially during the bloomberg administration, putting in a lot of bike lanes and what have you, but there wasnt a whole lot of, lets say, engineering study done in many cases when these bike lanes were put in, and, oftentimes, theyre put in and maybe one or two persons an hour would use them. So, weve got an old city. It was not designed for cars. It wasnt really designed for horse and buggies, either. So, with everybody trying to use the road at the same time, it makes it very difficult, and we have to be aware of each other when were on the road. All right. Robert sinclair of aaa, always nice to see you. Good to see you. You always pick up the phone. [ chuckles ] yes, i do. Anytime. Thank you very much. Youre welcome. A group of students from brooklyn are more than making their point. They have been declared they are the young solomon debate team, representing team u. S. A. Freedom from civil disturbance, a state in which there is no war or fighting, harmony in personal relations all of these things define peace. If you want to make peace, you have to. Nobody gets to choose where they were born, when they were born, or whom they were being conceived from. Why should we have to carry the burden of fear and shame of what we look like when our mere existence was forced upon us . Ive fought against white domination, and ive fought against black domination. Ive chased the ideal of an eclectic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and equal opportunities. It is an ideal i hope to live for and achieve, but, if need be, it is an ideal i wish to die for. This afternoon, michael white, the founder of the solomon Debate League, along with debate coach Thomas Paisley and champion debater shavanes robinson. Thank you all for being with us this afternoon. Congratulations, shavanes. Thank you so much. Does it feel as good as i champion . Trust me, the feeling is awesome to know that you have been doing great and that, for doing great, youre actually being seen as such, so, yes, it feels very much as it should. You were recognized for all the hard work. All the hard work is really paying off. And what was it . Your debate team how large is it . It consists of eight people. Eight . Okay. Sometimes two extras. Okay. All right. So, mr. White, this all started its a fascinating story to me. You wrote two books, essentially about, you know, a young man growing up in an urban environment, and you felt like his story, solomon solomons adventures was a good way of helping children to. And helping innercity kids learn what was possible. So, how did this grow into the Debate League . Well, the objective was to put something out that our kids would be able to enjoy but yet learn from. And, uh, the best way to do that, i felt, was from getting them to talk about the experience. Thats the reason why we have a series of books. And what it does is it allows the youngsters, first of all, to say, this is me or this could be me or in my neighborhood, this is somebody that i know. And once that happened, it was to break down that barrier so that Language Arts would be able to be used. Children in new jersey and in new york, according to a recent standardized test, kids that are of color. Mmhmm. Fail Language Arts. And so this was an opportunity to give them something that would level the playing field, and thats why we utilized this book here and now even internationally in places like south africa. It engages them. It engages. Right. To read the story. They could put themselves in that, and, you know, even if theyre just enjoying the story, theyre learning. Exactly. And, in a way, learning how to express themselves and think about the possibilities. Yes. Now, mr. Paisley, you saw you were introduced i think you two met on a train or a plane or. . Yes. We met on the new jersey transit. Uhhuh. I was commuting back from work. And you talked to him. He introduced hes very, yeah, convincing. Yes. And he convinced you to read the books. I read the book, and it also came with the cd. And at our school, we had a program that is now a its a transfer school, but at the time, it was a program. And i found that, along with the book and the cd, i was able to get it into the classroom, and they were able to work with a lot of different students that were on a lot of different levels. And as slim as the book looked, it deceived me at first. But as i read it, i saw that it moved up in level very quickly. So, we started off with the class debates, and it grew into school debates, and they started to energize the school, and students started to talk about ideas and concepts rather than material things, rather than people, and it was transformative. And why was it your feeling, that could really enga that could really use solomons adventures . I mean, for a lot of us, i dont know that we would have made that leap. But you made it, and its successful. The leap was made by observing our youngsters. Theyre always arguing. [ laughter ] arent we all . But now the opportunity to argue in a setting where, you know, there are rules and regulations was a thing that you had to do. And, actually, i got that from when i was teaching at printing trade school and we had these rough children that were in the school. I had to find a way to get them to be able to settle down and to voice themselves in an organized manner. Mmhmm. And so thats when i first came upon the idea of creating debates. Okay. Now, shavanes, what is it about debate that you that sucked you in and made you good at it . Well, really, naturally, i am a very argumentative person. [ laughs ] and. An honest man, too. Yeah. And now i see debate as a way of transforming all my other emotions into more logically acceptable manner, into something thats much more acceptable and means a lot more to a lot of people and myself. And now you know how to do the research, get your facts, and know what youre talking about and make your point. I mean, at first, it was difficult, but i had a great coach, mr. Paisley. He made it seem so easy. At first it was difficult, but now i could do it in just a second. Well, youre a champion. [ laughter ] mr. Paisley, i know that you had never coached debate before, but you stepped in because you wanted this program to succeed and to get stronger. You know, what does it mean to you to watch shavanes and the other kids blossom . Well, to actually see where now, its only been five years, and its really grown. Its really grown. Its really made a mark. Weve instilled our whole communityschool concept because not only do we have the students being able to resonate ideas, but it goes through the administration. It goes to the c. B. O. S. It goes through the community. It goes through even the elected officials. And, believe it or not, were competitive whether its a private school, charter schools, public schools. It doesnt matter about what type of school it is. If youre prepared, youre prepared. And the last team you beat was south africa . Yes. Team south africa. Team south africa. Mmhmm. Hey, im impressed. Im im very impressed. And it all started with, as you slight books, and they turned out to be much more than that. Now, you guys, youre in bedstuy. Yes. Where . Right in the heart of bedstuy, on utica and fulton. Mmhmm. Okay. And solomonsadventures. Com we can find out information about the books and the cds. Solomonbooksonline. Com. Okay. Solomonsbooksonline. Com. Solomon. Solomon. Booksonline. Com. Okay. Com. The biggest thing that they have now is when we met at the consulate to determine the debate, the South African consulate, their consul said, if we win the trophy, were gonna present it to our leader. So, we said, if we win the trophy, were gonna present it to our leader. So, the World Leaders cup trophy now has been won by us, and our next thing is to be able to present it to the president , who is our leader. Okay. So, youre working on that. So were working on it, and we certainly want to make sure that if he can, he can receive that, because they worked very hard to allow this trophy to be put into his hands. All right. Thank you all for being with us, and keep us posted. We want to know how that turns out. Mmhmm. All right. Well, thank you. Well be right back. Join the millions who have already switched. We switched. And now, were streaming netflix. Who knew Time Warner Cables internet was so fast mom switched. And now, we can watch our favorite shows together, on demand. I switched. So i can connect to the internet just about anywhere with my free twc wifi hotspots. Join the millions who switched to Time Warner Cable. For 89. 99 a month, youll get 100meg internet, and hundreds of hd channels. Youll also get unlimited calling across the u. S. And 34 other countries around the world. Call today. I switched. Now i have a free app that lets me watch tv whenever i have the time. For 89. 99 a month youll get tv, internet and phone. And if you call now, theres no risk, no contract, no catch, no kidding. I switched to Time Warner Cable and knew exactly when they were coming. Thanks to their one hour switch to Time Warner Cable today. And ask how you could get a 300 reward card. Call today. Its the final countdown the final countdown if youre the band europe, you love a final countdown. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. The early days of the Harlem Globetrotters is a story about talent and tolerance on and off the basketball court. The Emmy Awardwinning documentary Game Changers how the globetrotters battled racism reveals how the worldrenowned players managed to succeed despite barriers. Take a look. Constantly on the road, they took on any and all white teams willing to accept the challenge, routinely beating them. Its just that we were better ballplayers and we had a much better team. We are as good, if not better, than you are. You got more opportunities. We dont have those opportunities. We are better, and the only reason that we dont have those opportunities is that our skin is dark. Lets be a little bit fair and maybe not so condescending here about the white players of that era. They were playing a different type of basketball. They did not have the jumping ability, the athleticism, that a lot of the black players had, so they used what they had. They just couldnt do what the guys of color were able to do from the very, very, very beginning. And with us today is legendary harlem globetrotter carl green and the executive director of our Childrens Foundation, mr. Samuel brown. Thank you both for being with us this afternoon. Thank you for having us. Mr. Green, i said to you when you sat down that most of us think about just the happy faces when you say, right. But it wasnt always like that behind the scenes. Definitely not. What first of all, when were you a globetrotter . Whats the started in 1954. Mmhmm, when and you played for the globetrotters for. . Five years. Yeah. And as you traveled around the country and around the world, in some places, you were treated not like the globetrotters we expect but just like another black man. Tell us a little bit about some of the things the team encountered. Restaurants in the south, and, uh. We had to stay at peoples houses. And it was kind of difficult, because, coming from new york. Mmhmm. I knew it was prejudiced but not this type of prejudice, where they have signs up, saying, no colored. And that bothered me, cause, you know, coming from new york, i went to Junior High School with all black kids, but i wasnt feeling what it was. You know what i mean . You were a little insulated, you think . Right. So, when i went to high school, i went to high school with white kids italians, mostly, and spanish. And, uh. It opened my eyes that they were having problems and we were having problems, too, and so it was kind of like everything was physical. Mmhmm. Intimidation. And, you know, i grew up i couldnt be intimidated. My mother taught me things that, you know, i stood up for my rights, and that was it. And this guy was the same. And all the people around us not all, but most of the people around us turned out to be drug addicts and killed, jail, whatever. And so when i finished playing with the globetrotters and saw all of this stuff around the world, it was worse than what i saw here, so i said, this is a joke. Theyre playing around. Those people over there was killing each other in the same places where bosnia and where theyre isis and all. I was in those places, and it was scary. Its very scary. You know . I mean, one night, i was in one to go out to eat at night. And i saw this man on the sidewalk with his arms so bony, and he was begging. And i seen some wild kids. You know, they were i said, no, im not going out tonight. You know . So. And you were a person that felt like you could handle yeah. Yeah, but you were smart enough to know, maybe i need to stay where i am tonight. Thats right. What did being on the Harlem Globetrotters teach you, ultimately . [ sighs ] the things you saw on the road, as well as just the opportunity to play before people and to learn all these things from around the world. First of all, it taught me that you know, one guy that i grew up with and went to high school with played with the trotters, too. Name is charlie hoxie. And he was like a couple years older than me, and i always looked up to him, the way he carried himself, and, you know, us traveling together, going to me, because, you know, when i was young, theyd had air raids for the war, you know, in the 40s, and i used to wonder, you know, theyd cut out the lights and pull down the shade to the window. So, when i got to europe and it was still wartorn in the 50s and saw all this misery you know what i mean . It was kind of shocking to me, you know . Did it give you a new outlook about your own neighborhood or your own upbringing and where you came from . Definitely so. So, you know, when i came back from the trotters, mr. Brown had been to college and did things, and he walked up to me one day and said, hey, you know, we need to help these kids. Mmhmm. And so that is where im gonna pull you in to the conversation, mr. Brown. You started an organization, why was that something important to you . Now, you two grew up in the same neighborhood. Right. So youd known each other, you told me, for over 60 years now. Yeah. Yeah. Why was this something near and dear to your heart, and how did you think that mr. Green here could help you to realize that dream or help you to make that dream you know, really help it to blossom . Well, with me, i had a couple tragedies in my life. I had a brother who was, uh who was who was who was killed on 116th street over a card game for 10 cents. I, uh. When it happened, i was away, and i heard my mother and father they was crying about the funeral and things like that, and it just i really felt for them. It just really hurt me. Do something that would make my parents proud, and i knew what i had to do had to do with kids, and i wanted to make sure that kids would not be the way i was and that they would go out and do things and make their parents proud and not just want to do it the other way. Mmhmm. By the same token, i had a brother, another brother, who died of overdose of drugs. I had another brother who died of h. I. V. You know, so, weve been through the whole spectrum of things, and its about helping the kids help themselves, their community, and their parents. And why do you think mr. Green is such a good fit for this . Mr. Green, by the way, youre the chairman of the board at our Childrens Foundation. Mmhmm. Well, you know, i had been watching carl for a long time. Yeah. He told me you were always watching him. Yeah. Right. He used to come on the block, and he would go down to the whats the name of the place . Arcade. Arcade, the place where youd buy your french fries. Right. And i wanted to know, what is he doing on my block . You know, so i was just watching him, and i kept watching him, and i saw the things that he was doing, and i had a lot of respect for him, and so, uh. You know, we just hit it off. Yeah. And so, what, the organizations about 30 years old now . No, its almost 50 years old. Is it almost oh, its 50 . Mmhmm. Oh, please, pardon me. And its a fullservice organization. Talk to me about what it is that you do with the children. I mean, you offer, really, everything. Well, the first thing is that we provide the children with a foundational development, meaning that we develop our kids of their skills they need for the rest of their life, and we also work with the parents, the grandparents, and the small kids. We provide from etiquette classes to fencing classes, tutoring classes, education excursions, all of those type of things. Any instrument that youd want to get involved in, we have those things for the kids, and we also heavily deal with college, and so thats what we do. Yeah. And i know that a big part of it is you take the kids. You start really young with the right. cause i was reading the thought is that even a 6yearold could appreciate a visit to a college . Yes. Yes, of course. The reason for that is that when we say a college, we take an education excursion every year, and its for about 12 to 13 days, and weve taken all the kids to all of the socalled historical black colleges from philadelphia down to florida. We take them to Mcgill University in toronto. Those kind of things with kids, and the thought was, you know, the other culture their kids, young kids, always go to college to see what their big brother and big sister is doing. But our kids never had the chance to do that, so we wanted to expose them to that part of it, so they could dream about college, and, yes, we start them as young as 4. And if somebody wanted to find out more information about what our Childrens Foundation does. . Call. Were in the process of putting up a website. Okay. All right. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon, and please continue your work. If youve been around 50 years, taking care of these children and their families, you must be doing it right. Trying to. Thank you both. So, i needed to deposit a check. I was about to head to the bank, but out of nowhere it just started to rain. Like really rain. [clap of thunder] i did not want to go out. [clap of thunder] but then i was like duh, just use your phone. Mobiledeposittechnothingy to the rescue. Im rayna. Thanks for joining us on here and now. If you missed any portion of todays show, you can watch at abc7ny. And if youd like to comment or share your story, email us at abc7ny or follow us on facebook and twitter