The views and opinions by the hosts and guests of this program are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Milwaukee Black Media or 1017 The Truth.
Good afternoon, Milwaukee.
You're tuned in to the lunch break on 1017 The Truth, where everything is an option on the menu.
I love men, but I don't love a project.
That's it.
That's all.
Don't come here thinking I'm finna fix no man.
That's all I'm
together.
This ain't IKEA.
I don't put nothing in
it.
Grab your lunch, turn up the radio, and get ready for the best part of your day.
you call on that lunch break, like, look, I'm sick of this job.
Come on, come on.
We're going to talk about something else.
Get your mind off the job.
What's
I be, I be, I be dealing with people, like all day.
I don't care what reason you follow me, but you follow me and I influence you in one way or the other.
Now, live from the American Family Insurance Studios at Third Street Market Hall.
Your favorite crew in the blue, Shannon saying wimmy.
It's lunchtime!
On the award-winning 101.7 The Truth, here are your hosts, Ray Nitty and maybe Shannon.
What up?
What up?
What up?
Monday.
Happy Monday.
Happy Monday.
Happy Monday, Milwaukee.
What it do?
What it do?
What it do?
It is time to punch in with your favorite two in the brew, the lunch break crew, Ray Nitty, maybe Shannon, DJ, brother Z.
Holding us down with the production and sound on this happy Monday.
Shannon, how are you feeling?
I'm feeling all right.
How are you feeling over there?
You got some tea over
Ray?
get
Well-deserved, all right.
Somebody's a somebody on Facebook said y'all celebrate like y'all was in the game like man Listen,
on now,
I mean Listen, somebody hit the pink pan.
hit my car
My neck and my back.
You hear me?
Hey, listen, if insurance come around asking, my neck and my back hurt.
Look, so yeah, I was super upset.
That was Friday too.
So that just ruined my whole weekend.
I was like, I'm not doing nothing.
I'm not going to give nobody a chance to hit me again.
Y'all never have a chance to do me like that again.
So I stayed in the house.
Friday.
Friday like right first of all like around 2 30 so that's right before like insurance companies clothes and all that so I just had to sit with this all weekend looking stupid I didn't want to go nowhere cuz I'm like no y'all ain't gonna hit my car again like it was just a mess and dude tell me why this man got off the car and put his glasses on I was like bro
damage here
like, ain't no way.
Probably, cause he hit us, we was at a complete stop.
He rear ended us and like got out the car, put the glasses on him and was like, man, I hit a pink Tesla.
I was like, you didn't even see what you hit.
He was like, I've just been having a rough day.
Man, my day been bad too.
I ain't going around running people off the road.
it was just crazy.
I hate
Literally, I was at a complete stop.
I got the video, like I was slowing down for at least 20 minutes, like dog, you had no reason to be coming in.
I
He had to.
He did that on purpose.
He almost brought the Milwaukee on me.
I grabbed my purse.
I was like, let me slow down.
Let me
down and think.
almost became
That
became
Yeah, of course.
Make sure you first and foremost, call us.
833-212-1017 is the number to dial.
If you have anything to add to the conversation throughout the day, just give us a call.
Again, the number is 833-212-1017.
Make sure you follow your host at Ray Nitty, R-A-Y-N-I-T-T-I.
Follow myself.
I am maybe Shannon M-A-Y-B-E-S-H-A-N-N-O-N.
We also got a Facebook group, y'all.
Make sure y'all head over there.
We are The Lunch Break on Facebook.
That group is growing.
Yeah, make sure you follow us there.
Give us some topics you want to talk about.
Chime in on some conversations, all right?
And last but not least, make sure you head over to YouTube 101.7, The Truth on YouTube, y'all.
You're in the car and you're about to end that drive.
You don't gotta end the conversation.
You can just go to YouTube 101.7, the truth.
You can watch us live in studio right now and join the conversation in the chat where our cousins hang out at.
It's always a good time in the chat.
All right.
We got a little community going on over there.
So listen, make sure you call us and follow us and join the chat.
Why were you there at 3.30 in the morning?
parking structure?
know.
It
maintenance since 1984.
Man, one more car park on there is over, bro.
Yeah, we dogging it today.
I thought my voice was going to be back, but it was an amazing weekend though, man.
We had an amazing weekend, man.
I would tell y'all all about it, but it's gonna take more than one minute.
But I bumped into Brother Z to close out the weekend.
Yeah, man.
I was like, this Brother Z is everywhere.
We gonna tell y'all.
We gonna tell y'all about that, man.
But it was a very, very dope event packed.
Weekend man, a lot of dope energy.
I feel like we have five Saturdays in a row.
That's what my body feels like right
now.
Y'all did.
Y'all did, man.
And I was online just watching everybody live their life like, man.
was
Work and play.
And I voted early yesterday as well.
And that was an amazing experience, man.
But when we come back, man, we got some interviews as well.
We have...
Alderman Russell Stamper will be joining us today.
He will be alongside Vincent Rice.
All right.
And they're going to be talking about some things that they have going on.
But also later today, Shannon, we got a very special interview.
I'm looking forward to this one with Alfonso James.
Truth Nation, if y'all remember, we had a caller that called in and talked about his experience of being wrongfully incarcerated and the journey that he is now on.
So we're going to have Brother Alfonso joining us at one p.m.
today.
But when we come back, y'all, we're going to get into this menu or whatever is left of it.
After these messages, Shannon, you might have to take us in and out of the Brinks, man.
Boy, it's dogging in.
Oh, shoot, Shannon.
You know what time it is.
Brothers, you gotta tell me when to say it so we can do it on time.
The lunch break with the Rayoniddy and maybe Shannon will be right back.
Until then, catch up on all the latest local news and what's happening in our community at 10170Truth.com.
You're listening to The Lunch Break with Ray Nitty and Maybe Shannon, where every discussion is on the menu on the award-winning 1017 The Truth.
favorite crew in the
last
Hey, happy birthday to the Homie Cam Wheels, too, man.
Hey.
Hey, let's join a vibe.
I ain't gonna lie.
It is.
Super smooth.
What up, y'all?
Welcome back.
Welcome back.
Welcome back to the award-winning one-on-one, 7 the Truth Live from the American Family Insurance Studios.
Yes, it is your favorite crew in the brew, the lunch break crew, Ray Nitty, maybe Shannon.
DJ Brother Z holding us down with the production and sound, am I right?
Happy Monday, happy Monday, happy Monday.
Shannon, you know what time it is?
I'ma need you, Brother Z. You ready?
I'm ready.
It's lunchtime.
That was a
it.
Production sound, ears, and ears and eyes.
That is the number to dial.
833-212-1017 is the number to dial.
Y'all just heard it, man.
Y'all heard the saying, it's lunchtime.
It is lunchtime.
Yes, it is the menu.
We got an interesting menu today.
It's kind of like a la carte, right?
Because we got guests coming in and out.
We still ride in a wave of being champs because when you champs, you ain't just champs for like, you know, till the parade is over.
You champs
all the way
So we are the champion.
man.
Hey, man.
What a
weekend.
But yes, y'all, the menu is full today.
And I know we usually have a lot of fun, but we got a lot of information that we want to at least touch on today.
As I stated, we have some special guests coming in today a little later.
So our time with you by ourselves is a little limited.
So Shannon.
It was a few things going on.
We talked about the brewers.
The brewers won.
The parade was lit.
It was people everywhere.
Oh my God, it was just like, excuse me.
My voice is going crazy.
It was people everywhere, man.
And it was just an amazing thing to see, right?
But on top of that, so I was down there passing out, you know, stuff for SoVote.
Encouraging folks to vote.
I was also down there, you know, just doing my thing as well and joining it.
But what I noticed is if you looked up, somebody was flying a plane that said David Crowley helped keep the brewers in Milwaukee.
And that was
so,
their
I got to give them their props, they outside.
Sure, sure are some things that we could say, but I think man, given the circumstances, they're doing a very phenomenal job man, so clap it up to them.
Congratulations to the brewers.
We gonna have all day, all week, all year to talk about the brewers.
And we will, I promise you we will.
But it's a couple things that I want us to just you know spit fire about really Shannon um
for sure
so one thing was I don't know if you saw the young african kid 15 years old In New York the Bronx if I'm not mistaken where he was being bullied something we've talked about on this
program, as a matter of fact, as even as recent as talking about with DaVinci, right?
And talking about those type of bullies that I experienced, not to the point where nobody ever chased me down and gunned me down like I was wild animal.
And this young boy was chased down and shot in his stomach by folks that he was being bullied by.
And you know, Shannon, he did what he was supposed to do.
He did what he was supposed to do and reported to the principal, the principal life.
I'm not mistaken.
The kids that was bullying him got suspended.
Right.
I think it was in the morning.
Yeah, so it was on his way to school.
And it has seemingly created an uproar in the African and immigrant population.
And this is something we was talking about about like, you know, I just don't like this division between African Americans and immigrants because it's such divisive.
Narratives being pushed and I am not saying we are all the same, but We from the same cloth at least we look somewhat alike.
We could at least have that commonality right That yeah, we might not have the exact same culture But we know our lineage or whatever the case may be or even though some folks may not know their lineage
But we have caller, we gon' get to you, brother Z had to step out.
Don't go anywhere, I promise we gon' get to you.
Brother Z had to step out, but we'll get right back to you.
Call back in about a couple minutes.
Fall line's gone crazy.
I want us to have this conversation though, Shannon, because they chased him down.
And I know we had a lot of good, joyful conversations surrounding the black Americans and immigrants.
conversation in the diaspora wars, right?
But now it is.
It's taken another turn.
And yeah, not even just the diaspora wars, right?
But our community wars, because whether we want to accept it or not, we are all looked alike in this country
for sure.
Yeah.
And I think that's what's important to point out, right?
America has a bullying problem, and I feel like a lot of immigrants come to the country and they have these rose-colored glasses on, and they're like, oh, this is gonna be a good start for me, and I'm gonna start over, and things are gonna be better.
And when you're faced with things like that, it's really disheartening, right?
And
I feel like...
Already, African Americans have a bad rap when it comes to immigrants of all backgrounds.
I feel like they already have this propaganda in their head of what African Americans are.
And then they come here and face that.
And then that creates that diaspora wars and back and forth.
And I don't think this is a time for that.
And I've seen a few people post about, listen, don't use his death as a fuel for that.
Because we have
Abolient issue here, and it's not only African immigrants.
It's not only immigrants being bullied Like there was a young woman like a week or two ago that was shot because she refused to fight somebody so these kids have issues period and it's up
something needs to happen like this bullying is out of hand and I think everybody can relate to like being bullied and not feeling protected in schools or like schools just not doing enough to protect these kids like we see how far bullying has gone and continues to go and it's super unfortunate and I feel like I think the question for me is like are these schools taking it as serious as they should even Cardi B like made a post talking about how she ended up joining the gang and how like
Boolean starts so young it makes you feel like you don't have any Other like you don't have any other choice but to join gangs and that's why
there's so
many games because that's your only protection so like I said, I do feel like It can feel targeted for some communities, but Sadly, it's just pretty much the culture here and I don't even want to say it's African-American culture or anything like that because then you sound like
The white people that think oh well, it's only a black people problem when they have bullies, too They have their own stuff going on but I do feel like
We are a part of this community and we know what's going on in this community and we need to work on it and a big part of the problem I think we've talked about this a million times before me and Ray had said a million times When do we become community again where people can check your child when people can say something
to these
kids?
Without feeling like they mom gonna come with a bonnet and cigarette in hand.
You can't say nothing to my baby
robe falling off, hungover from last night, cussing you out because your child did something wrong.
At some point, we have to point out the parents aren't involved enough.
Like y'all know when y'all kids ain't no good.
And like instead of, I feel like people have this thing where they feel like they have to protect their child at all costs.
And like one thing about my mom growing up, she was like, if the police ever come to my house, I'm telling.
So y'all better not do nothing y'all ain't supposed to do.
She made it very clear listen You you acting a fool you're you're gonna be punished it's none of that and she's a very loving woman like my mom is so sweet and so kind but like She will make it known like if you are doing wrong to somebody I'm not harboring you I'm not gonna act like it's okay like she would call us on our BS and I think that's the problem in our community sometimes like we are protecting kids even like when we have conversations about
the creepy uncle.
We protect the wrong behavior.
We protect the wrong people.
And that's how we continuously end up in these situations.
We protect the wrong people.
And that's how we end up in these creepy situations.
Speaking of creepy situations, when we come back, we are either going to get into the interview or we'll continue our Alucard menu.
Don't go anywhere.
Y'all, this is the lunch break right here on the award winning one on one, seven to true.
You're listening to The Lunch Break with Ray Nitty and Maybe Shannon, where every discussion is on the menu on the award-winning 1017 The Truth.
What up?
What up, Milwaukee?
What it do?
What it do?
What it do?
Welcome back.
Welcome back.
It's your favorite two with your favorite crew in the brutal lunch break crew.
Ray Nitty, maybe Shannon, DJ, Brother Z, holding us down with the production and sound on this championship Monday.
I don't know if y'all see maybe Shannon right down here.
Is the YouTube up right here?
He's like, I don't see it.
I'm going to make sure we get it wrong.
But yeah, you on with our co-host, maybe Shannon.
You probably could hear in your ears.
We'll get the picture.
What's up?
What's
afternoon?
Doing well man.
Thank you for having us.
Oh
Thank you as well
Glad you could join us, man.
interview that
to
with
feeling very well.
I'm feeling very well.
I get a chance to speak to this man and speak to you.
This feels
very good
to
me.
Yeah man so this Saturday November 7th at the historical North Division High School on 10th and center will be hosting a housing resource fair from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
right and we partnered with Summit Union because Vincent and I share something in common we want to make sure our community has opportunity to build wealth so ever since our first encounter and his desire to build more
banks in the community, we decided to start off with a huge housing resource fair.
So this is a collaboration between us, Summit Credit Union, Vincent, Alderman Jackson, Alderman Perez, and about 40 exhibitors who are going to partner with us for this Saturday at North Division.
So we hope the community comes out and learn how to purchase a house.
questions,
break.
I'm Vincent Rice.
I lead our community and business impact for Summit Credit Union.
And in that position, I get opportunities to work with good folks like Alderman Stamper in looking at how we go about creating financial access, greater financial access to the communities in Milwaukee.
And so this housing fair gives us an opportunity to show how
And what we see as being very important for developing a relationship with the community because you can't buy houses if people don't know each other and we can't create those relationships.
So summit is built around where credit union.
So each and every person that joins the credit union becomes a member of the credit union and it is our responsibility to turn things around to your betterment versus a bank or something else that is.
We're dealing with shareholders.
We're dealing with our members and we're trying to ensure that
members get greater benefit out of their dollars.
Nice, nice, nice, nice.
Yes, excellent question.
And I believe homeownership is one of the most powerful tools we have to build generational wealth, right?
creating neighborhood stability and strengthening Milwaukee families.
You know, the housing statistics for Milwaukee are about 42% of residents in Milwaukee are homeowners, but 55% are White households and only 28% are Black households.
So the key to passing on generational wealth or uplifting your family is...
the most profitable tool we have, like I said, is home ownership.
So I've always been about promoting generational wealth, promoting ownership of this city, and the easiest and most effective way to own part of this city is to own a house, build wealth, and transfer it to your family.
I'm particularly excited about a new portion of this housing resource fair, and that is the estate planning.
That individual's plan
on passing this generation of wealth down from family to family.
So we have the how to buy a home, whether you are an existing homeowner, how to preserve and protect your home.
And we have workshops on what to look for and what not to look for in contractors.
What home ownership insurance and estate planning.
Just any question or the whole gamut of around housing.
We also have credit repair opportunities.
Anything you can think of?
You can help mines?
Of course.
Mines
why
I'm here.
Ray said we started from zero.
Well first to say the negative... Well that's good to hear, babe, because...
There's a lot of people in your shoes that don't think that they have an opportunity, and they do.
You start with a plan.
We're going to help you develop a plan, put you on the path towards home ownership.
And the biggest resource we have with the city of Milwaukee is the down payment assistance program.
You can get up to $7,000 towards your new home.
So I'm excited about that as well.
Got it.
For sure, for sure.
You've emphasized the importance of a banking relationship.
What does that mean beyond having a checking or a savings account?
And why does that matter?
It matters because when you walk in the door and you need to have access to funds, people need to know you.
They need to understand where you are, what your plans are, and what you've already established as a foundation for yourself.
And so walking into a credit union with Summit,
Our objective is to get to know you to understand what you need and then to try to figure out how to best address that.
So Ray, in your perspective, if your credit is an issue, then we're going to spend time providing you with access and training to be able to understand what it is that you can and cannot do to impact your score.
And we want to make sure you understand those things early.
Everybody's got credit, got credit cards, got all financial institutions have checking accounts, savings accounts in the light, but it's the relationship that enables you to get access to funds when you need them.
And so being prepared, connecting with people in the branches allows you that opportunity to generate that first comfort level and trust and respect between you and the employee.
For sure.
So you mentioned the comfort level.
I got to bring y'all some cookies or something.
Just
bring your money.
Yeah.
And we will be,
want cookies, we got cookies, we got coffee too.
So you just come on over and we'll
know, well, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have
No, of course, because that's perfect.
Speaking of bringing cookies or building a relationship for someone who feels intimidated by banks or has had that negative experience, how can they begin to building a relationship with the financial institution that they want to build some trust in?
So is the answer bring the cookies?
Well,
you know one of the things that that your your question is very valid because a lot of the people in in our communities often feel like they're intimidated from just from just walking into the facility and and also not understanding who to talk to right so
No, it's not bringing cookies, but it is bring your questions and be very comfortable and confident in knowing that you probably are going to walk in a branch in the Milwaukee area where you're going to see somebody.
It looks very much like you.
that in itself is going to give you a very high level of comfort to say, look, we're here and you're, you're not the first person walking
in the
door here that looks like.
Right.
Okay.
And that's a true, true comfort level right there.
Does that help Shannon?
For sure.
For sure.
So can you share an example?
Like without identifying anyone of how understanding finances has helped somebody change their lives.
Okay.
We have situations where individuals come in and say, look, I have a desire to own a business and they sit down and have a conversation with us about.
what they're trying to do, what they see as their opportunity.
We'll sit down and talk to them about how do we game plan that?
How do we, how do we set timelines?
How do we set, uh, budgeting strategies that help to raise those funds?
Because in order to do anything, you first got to have some money of your own to invest in it.
Because as people talk about the skin in the game concept,
Um, Alderman stampers talking about down payment assistance.
Those things happen.
Yes, they're available, but you have to show a commitment to
be
able to, to gain the benefit of utilizing those things.
So having that conversation, understanding what you're trying to accomplish, and then we sit down and identify what types of products and services and support you'll need.
And then we'll map the plan out together for you so that.
You have a chance to understand what's what needs to be done in the next three months.
What needs to be done in the next six months.
So if it's the first part is credit repair was going to take some time to do that.
So you understand all of that.
You work all that out.
You work with your with your universal banker.
The banker gets the relationship with you.
You start putting deposits in.
You start having money grow.
You start taking some of the classes that we have online.
to prepare you to understand what to do with your funds, what your credit is repaired.
All those things happen and it's all built around satisfying what it is your individual objectives are.
Does that
help?
Nice, nice.
Definitely, definitely.
So I guess I guess I do have another question, right?
OK.
How.
We talked about building a relationship, getting to know your finance, right?
And this is more so, I guess, for entrepreneurs.
What is it like for an entrepreneur who may have just started their business, right?
And they go into these banks or institutions and you may need five years of tax returns or something, right?
It's like,
well,
us.
Let's look at it this way.
The house as Alderman Stamper is talking about allows you to build generational wealth.
Okay.
So as you pay your monthly payments, you build equity in your home.
And so over time, that equity allows you to be able to then fund yourself.
Okay.
One of the things that financial institutions always look for, if you've never started a business or done anything like that, there's still an opportunity for you to show that you're committed to the process and that we call that skin in the game and being able to have a home provides you opportunity to have that equity that you could put forward to start that business.
Okay.
And then that gives you an opportunity to say, okay,
We can use as an example, um, the SBA, the SBA has a program that allows you to put 10% down on what you're trying to invest to borrow.
Okay.
So let's say you've had your home for five years, you've built up equity.
So you can take that, you can take that equity out and put that as a down payment.
That gives you that start off.
Okay.
The lat, the next part of it is, is we really want to understand what you want to do, Ray, from the perspective of.
What's your business plan?
What's your game plan?
I don't I'll just take two years of your personal tax returns.
But the purpose of that is really to prove that you are a responsible individual.
It is not to try to say
You are a bad person.
You haven't done anything or any of that nature is more to understand that you're saying that I'm accountable.
I've got two years of tax returns.
I've got a home.
I've got some equity and I got a concept of a business model of what I want to do.
And here's where I want to go with that.
That gives us a picture of who you are, what you want to do and you're building credibility with that organization to say, okay, let's move a little further to get you the loan.
And that's excellent.
And along with Credit Union being the front, so I meant being the front runner, we'll have the bids there as well.
The lunch break with the Rayoniddy and maybe Shannon will be right back on the award-winning 101.72.
live on YouTube and 1017thetruth.com.
You're listening to The Lunch Break with Ray Nitty and maybe Shannon, where every discussion is on the menu on the award-winning 1017th Truth.
Welcome back.
Welcome back.
Welcome back.
What it do?
What it do?
It's time for your favorite two in the brood, the Lunge Break crew, Ray Nitty, maybe Shannon, DJ, Brother Z, holding us down with the production and sound.
833-212-1017.
That is the number to dial.
We got Mr. Vincent Rice and Alderman Russell Stamper joining us today at the lunch table, man.
We having a great conversation.
Shannon, how you feeling?
You gonna holler at them?
you know, getting a little house so you could come back.
Listen, I
a few houses, a few businesses.
I'm gonna come with the credit intact.
is exciting.
You just
I got the credit.
I just ain't got the bag.
So you bring the bag, I bring the credit.
It's a full unit.
Man, we have all aspects.
anything you need we will be able to provide.
just going.
Yes yes this Saturday from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
at North Division High School at 1011 West Center
We will be hosting our annual 2026 Housing Resource Fair.
We will have every gamut from looking to purchase a home, if you're thinking about purchasing a home next year, or if you need resources for existing homeowners.
We will help you with homeowner insurance, credit utilization and credit management, building wealth.
estate planning and how to pick a contractor, the do's and don'ts of hiring a contractor.
We will have over 40 exhibitors all focused on helping you become successful in home ownership or realms around home ownership.
That is the gift of it and we hope as many Milwaukee families can come.
And if you
don't have a bank account, we will have folks there ready to open the account with you.
So you can walk in, learn about what you need to purchase a home, and if you have a credit issue, learn about how to get those credit issues repaired, and then open an account and get yourself ready and make that plan to purchase that home and we'll be all there to help you make it
work.
Some credit units special, Ray, because they have a philosophy where they...
not just trying to grow their bank, but they're trying to really help the individuals become a homeowner, help the individual become successful.
And that's why it was a perfect partnership, because we were having a meeting, and Vincent was discussing the same points that I was making, and it was based on helping people.
And the number one way to help people with a bank in Alderman is providing access to capital, access to resources to become a homeowner.
So it was perfect.
I think it's very important, as you stated earlier, how we could pass down generational wealth or fund our own businesses from being able to have that asset in, what did you say, equity, that you build up in it.
And if you want to know some contractors not to holler at you could call me to
I'll tell you
you should
Russ, I ain't gonna
Hey, man, you know, I want people to be successful
For sure.
So what questions should residents be asking lenders at the fair, even if they're not ready to buy or have been denied before?
What are some good questions to ask?
What's number one?
What is our process?
So you get to understand what the expectations are.
What documentation are you needing to get?
Because it's not simple to go about purchasing a home.
Um, you've got to have those tax returns.
You've got to have information on what you are, your income to prove that you can afford to pay for the home.
Um, and then you got to start, you got to present a savings plan.
You don't have to show me the amount that you have in the account on Saturday, but you have to let folks know that you're beginning to do that and you're preparing to understand what it is from a, from a personal financials.
Perspective that you need to bring to the table There are different types of programs.
There is the axe housing has a their home home train home home assistance training programs Those things they've probably take six to twelve months to complete those programs So yes, they'll be there too.
So you'll have a chance to Interact with them get a sense of what they're asking
We have a program for single, for single women, uh, with, with households, uh, it's called the women, women build equity program.
And we're working with those housing associations to help, uh, single women get prepared to purchase a home.
So there's a lot of opportunity to look at ways to buy homes on Saturday.
Yes.
And I think one of the main questions they should ask is what, what actually is building generational wealth?
When you own a home over time it appreciates and appreciation is wealth.
Appreciation is the equity.
Appreciation equals equity which equals money.
Money that you can use to become an entrepreneur.
Money that you can use to fund your child's education or money that you can use to buy another house and use that equity and keep buying houses so you can build generational wealth.
So it's a tool.
to put you on the path to become self-sufficient.
Yes, sir.
And in answering the question, please remind people of the event because a couple people chimed in on the YouTube and said they missed the time.
Sure.
But they'd love to know about the event.
Sure.
Housing, right?
We know we're voting tomorrow.
Oh, yeah.
Is housing on the election ballot tomorrow and in what way?
Absolutely.
Housing is,
the whole conversation is about building wealth and in order to build wealth you have to be able to have access and capital and know how to purchase a home.
The election tomorrow is huge because of one of the gaps that I just told you about.
the housing gap between white households and black households.
And
if you don't vote, you don't have a voice.
You really don't have a say so.
So the more you vote, the more people you can get to vote, the more you can have information and opinions in your voice on what's happening in this city.
So to me, it's the most important issue besides health care on the ballot tomorrow.
And the candidate of my choice has done
Wonders invested millions into Milwaukee and Milwaukee County
You're listening to The Lunch Break with Ray Nitty and maybe Shannon, where every discussion is on the menu on the award-winning 1017 The
Truth.
We gon' be alright.
We gon' be alright.
We gon' be alright.
Do you hear me?
Do you feel me?
We gon' be alright.
We gon' be alright.
Huh?
We gon' be alright.
We gon' be alright.
Do you hear me?
Do you feel me?
We gon' be alright.
Uh, and when I wake up, I recognize you lookin' at me for the pay cut.
Bahamasabi lookin' at you from the face down.
One Mac 11 even ruined with the base down.
Skimming, now let me tell you about my life.
Painkillers don't even put me in a twilight.
What up y'all welcome back
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
It is our two with your favorite crew in the brutal lunch break crew Ray Nitty maybe Shannon DJ brother Z holding us down with the production and sound man We got our Alderman Russell Stamper just wanted to say thank you all and give you all his farewells and we got Alfonzo in the studio with us You may have heard him call in What was that last month brother Z maybe?
And he shared his story, he had his emotional up here, crying on the mic.
Very, very emotional and serious story of triumph, faith, determination, perseverance.
I can't even explain, brother, to have that many years of your life taken away from you and still have such a pure heart.
So I commend you and I look forward to sharing your story with our listeners today, brother Al-Fazer.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to hearing that too, man.
It's wonderful.
me close out, man.
Thank you, Lunge Break.
Thank you, maybe Shannon and Ray.
I want to personally invite everyone out this Saturday to North Division, 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
We're hosting the Housing Resource Fair 2026 City of Milwaukee and a bunch of partners.
Me, Jose Perez, the president and Alderman Jackson and big shout out to our partners and sponsors, Summit Credit Union.
Thank you so much and I'll see y'all Saturday.
for checking
in.
Thank you for coming out.
Feeling good, feeling good.
That was a really good interview and I know we have a great interview coming up next, so super excited to get into this.
I feel like
This this lunch break has been very filling and it's going to continue to serve us well.
So
I do, very memorable.
We got a lot of phone calls after that.
I think it brought up a lot of emotions for everybody because
I
feel like in one way or another, a lot of people feel like they have been slighted by the system or a family member, somebody close to them has been.
So to hear him speak the way he did about his experience, I think it made everybody emotional.
So once again, brother Alfonso James, thank you for joining us.
And brother Z, thank you for hooking up this interview as well, man.
He texts us like, man, I know somebody who's been through something like this and he has an amazing story and you called and you shared.
And then brother Z got on it again
like,
my pleasure, brother.
I know.
Let's
And you know, one of the craziest things is that that was one of the most exciting nights of my life.
Because I was into breakdancing.
It was brand new on the scene, and then all of a sudden, you two have always come into town, and so they was looking for breakdancers.
And so I was one of those people that had fallen in love with those things.
But there also was a competitive side of things where, like,
We were neighborhood kids and I thought I was the best.
And then there was this other neighborhood kid thought he was the best.
And so him and I came together one day and on my side, the girl said I won.
So that didn't resolve too well.
And so we got into a physical altercation and a knife was produced.
I stabbed him in his side, which resulted in him getting three to four stitches.
But the next day, because it was a hood thing, we got back together and we was back friends again.
but unbeknown to me, there was an arrest warrant out for me for stabbing him.
And so a month later, the police just happened, it was a murder that happened that night and they just still happened to campus our community.
Me not knowing because I'm still hanging out in the same community, hanging out with the same guys.
And so it's not that I was hiding anything.
And so on that day, it was a murder that happened that night.
And so they was campus in the community.
And at this particular time, my mother, where I lived,
probably lived like two or three miles from where this incident happened.
And I wasn't familiar with that place.
And so to make a long story short, the police asked my mother to talk to me.
So they took me downtown to the fifth district on Locust.
And then they transferred me downtown to the big house.
And that's where I saw, like above this door, it was a word that was beyond my comprehension.
And I later discovered it was a homicide division.
And so they, instead of asking me about the breakdancing fight I got into,
They started asking me about a murder that happened the night before.
And they got really crazy because they say it was a strangulation.
And the first thing I told them, I'm a break dancer, you know, and I don't deal with things like that.
But unfortunately, after 12 hours of being interrogated and given this information, they came to me at the like the midnight hour and said, your mother is in the lobby waiting on you.
All you have to do is sign this paper.
And at that moment was a blank sheet of paper.
So I signed with the expectation of being released to my mother's custody.
But then as soon after they came, they transferred me to the Children's Center.
And at Monday morning, it's when I was read what happened and that I signed a confession to a murder that I had not committed.
Wow.
Yeah, for I guess.
So what was life like?
at 17, and what do you want people to understand about the young person you were before you arrest?
I know you talked about breakdancing and things of that nature.
The type of person I was, I grew up on the east side of Milwaukee, and when I grew up in the 70s, there was the North Cots.
There was the Braggs and Pitts, and the CYDs, and so the youth had a place where we were able to go to invent our frustration in a healthy type way.
So I was always around things.
Um, of that particular whether or not I responded to the positive energy that was, you know, that was offered to me is, you know, remain to be seen because I still needed to identify who Afonso was as a kid in the community.
I knew I wasn't a gangbanger.
I knew I wasn't a bitter or angry person, but it was just an issue for me to really discover who I was as a man.
For sure.
So.
What would you like to share?
I know you shared a little bit about the circumstances surrounding your conviction.
What would you like to share about the ongoing pursuit of your exoneration?
Great question.
First of all, at the beginning, nobody believed me.
I didn't have the ability to communicate to other people and tell them what actually happened, what was really going on.
But instead, they began to see me as a troubled teenager that happens to fall into the system.
But they never asked me questions about how this happened.
What was the discovery of this?
And so I just felt like I was in a place where nobody understood.
And so at one time or another, suicide was an option until I decided that, no, whatever the pain was, I was going to overcome those things through truth.
And so that's always been my plight, especially while I was incarcerated, to not only to prove my innocence, but to also build my character.
I wanted to be, I wanted to create something that was out of love and not out of hate.
And so I put a lot of work into discovering who Alfonso really was.
But most importantly, I discovered who my God was.
And that was the pivotal point of my transformation while incarcerated.
What's on the menu today?
The lunch break with Ray and Eddie and maybe Shannon returns in just a moment.
Welcome back welcome
Truth Nation, what it do, what it do with your boy Ray Nitty, maybe Shannon, DJ, brother Z. This is your favorite crew in the Brutal Lunch Break crew.
Ray Nitty, maybe Shannon, DJ.
I said that already, you know.
We are joined by the good man, Alfonzo James, with the heart of gold.
Man, I'm sorry.
My heart turned cold for less.
So brother, I commend you.
I commend you.
Out of people that took basketballs from me and I still ain't forgiven.
I think we can all learn a thing or two from Alfonso James.
Thank you.
I'm telling you, man.
Okay.
So if you are just joining us, Truth Nation, we are talking to brother Alfonso James.
Quickly his young life was changed.
And he even told us
I don't even remember this part of the story when you called about an incident that happened prior.
And then they started canvassing the building and then the neighborhood and then picked you up for sent you downtown.
Well, sent you to district five at first, which later you were transferred downtown gave you a blank paper to sign.
Let me ask you this question.
How district four, I'm sorry.
How old were you at the time?
17.
no.
Right, no, it wasn't.
There was no video,
cardio or anything.
You know, I ain't no lawyer We did have Olivia Pope with us that joined us last week.
So I might think I'm in her team, but I'm you know, I just asking the questions, right?
so They get you to sign this what turns out to be a confession after all it was a blank paper, right?
Now your life has changed for what you know to be essentially
the rest of your life.
And you talked about on the phone call, you talked about the time you spent in the hole.
Can you walk us through that story?
Now, you're a 17 year old kid and you're incarcerated for something that you don't do in a place that has incarcerated more than 50% of its black male population.
Let's start with that.
in a place that is incarcerated more than 50% of its black male population.
I'm just gonna leave that there.
So walk us through that now.
You're in the hole now and you even said you taught yourself how to properly read and so forth.
So let's all walk through these changes in your life
now.
You know, there's like one of the images I had in my head like,
The last movie I saw as a kid, and it terrified me, was Penitentiary.
I don't know if you've
ever saw
that, but it was like this movie, Penitentiary, and it was like these older dudes would take advantage of these young people.
So that was my perception going
in that
place.
And then as you get acclimated into that environment, you begin to surround yourself that not only look like you, but have an attitude like you.
It just so happens, these were real killers.
And so I thought that if I can disguise myself,
I'll pretend that I was something that I wasn't, then I'll be able to get along.
But that pretend then ended up costing me to the point where you can't fake it.
And so I was called out.
And as a result of that, I responded not according to what I want to, but according to what that environment required.
And so as a result of that, I ended up getting five years solitary confinement, administrative confinement, which means that you're not allowed to come outside of your cell until that five years.
At 17.
At 17, yeah, so from 18 to like 24, I served in solitary confinement.
But I ended up, someway somehow, I just ended up transforming all of those negative things into something positive.
Once I was placed in that environment,
There was only one or two things to do.
Either try to run, which I was a great runner, but in prison, you can't run anymore.
Or you have to face yourself and discover who you really are.
And I chose the latter one because I needed to know what made me tick, what made me operate.
And I knew that prison wasn't going to be the form of the thing that broke me.
So how can I overcome these things?
And so I began to dig deeper and deeper, not only into myself, but then one day there was a pastor that all he visited once a week, every Friday.
And so for time after time for a month week after week he will come and I would throw urine on him You know just just reflecting back on those things.
This is just how This is just how the mindset of a person is if you're treated as an animal you become the very
essence of
that of that thing Even though in your heart is something entirely different So when I began to bite into those things and believe those things
I was like, hey, no, this is not for me.
And so there was something that clicked inside of me that confirmed that I was created for something better than prison and I wasn't going to die there.
Yeah, of course.
So how has your experience shaped your views on incarcerating young people and what you support or I'm sorry, and what support you wish that had been available to you?
Oh my God.
Great question.
The biggest thing is that I was ignored.
I was a juvenile.
There
was
no counseling.
There was no trauma.
There was none of those type of things available.
And so while incarcerated, I saw 14 and 15 year old babies.
I call them babies because they're kids.
I saw them come through
the prison system.
Their mothers is like 20 or 25 years old.
I mean, 25, 26 years old and stuff.
And they come and see these young people in prison and they're so broken.
You see the trauma not only from these young people, but you see it from their parents as well.
And the system is not really addressing those things.
Rather than deal with the issues and just throwing the key away on a person, just imagine if who was investing their thought process, investing who they are as a person.
Because the keys was thrown away.
With on me, nobody believed me when I told them the truth from the very beginning.
So I have to believe in myself.
Like the scripture says, is that David said days, there was days when he woke up and he had no friends or anything.
So he had to encourage himself.
So there was many times where I had to shake my knees up and stand, stand up and be bold and look myself in the mirror and say, okay, I have to encourage myself in order to get through this storm.
For sure.
And what.
What helped you endure this experience?
I got a friend family and a friend community.
I come from, I was born in Mississippi in the cotton fields, you
know, with
grandmothers and all that type of stuff is that all they knew.
So education wasn't like a pivotal point, but spirituality was.
And so from that perspective, those things was passed down to me.
So I always had that, that seed of faith that built inside of
me.
Would you say forgiveness has played in your life?
Because I know we talked about how we all could learn a thing or two about from your experience and how we could work on forgiving some people.
So what role do you say forgiveness has played in your life and how do you understand forgiveness alongside this pursuit of justice?
I think forgiveness came probably second because I had to learn that pure love has no condition.
And everything that was attached to my life had some type of condition.
to be involved in my life.
But forgiveness, oh my God, forgiveness was one of those major things where I knew that eventually I had to look to people who accused me in their face.
And what type of person do I want to reflect in front of them?
And so it also traces back to that was I playing with the Bible?
Was I playing with my spirituality?
Or was that something that I really embraced?
And I wanted to embrace it because I wanted to live the fullness of my life.
For sure.
Okay, let's get back into the journey and then we're going to bounce back into some more questions that Shannon got, right?
So five years in solitary, right?
From 18 to 20 some had to teach yourself how to read, how to teach yourself, all of these different things, right?
That, you know, young people are typically supposed to be in school for.
Now you're in, I'm assuming, a hostile environment, real killers.
You know what I mean?
And I could only imagine what was forming or growing in you during those times.
And what is that process like?
And just for our listeners that are just joining us, right?
We're talking to brother James, Alfonso James, who is.
Telling us his story shit like sharing his truth with us How many years were you Convicted to serve and how many did you actually serve?
And then I got some more questions for you
on that I was I was I was I was sentenced to a hundred and five years which in Wisconsin is
sentence And so I ended up serving 32 years
of that life sentence that I was given.
And I was released through parole.
I had gone to the parole board 19, 20 times.
I was continuously telling them that I wasn't responsible for the murder, but they expected me to take some type of accountability, which I didn't.
And so in Wisconsin, they don't play those games.
You go to the parole board, you have to admit some type of guilt or some type of remorse.
But that wasn't in me to show any remorse, but it was in me to show compassion.
And I think that that was the thing that eventually compelled them to respond.
time?
I had, I just turned 18, just turned 18.
I was like, when they announced, when they said it, it was like five minutes after the jury have found me guilty.
And I'm looking at these strangers and I'm looking at these people who sat next to me, wasn't a reflection of me, they wasn't from my community, but it was an all white juror, a white person who died, a white judge, a white DJ.
I was gonna ask that too.
I had no chance.
So I went in there as an ignorant child and then was taken advantage of.
My family had no idea as to how the system operates.
And so when I was trapped in it, one of us had to discover what the hell is going on.
And I wasn't satisfied because there was a duration of my incarceration where they give you these IDs and you have to wear these IDs continuously.
But I was like, I'm rebelling against this because I'm not a person who's an offender, who's an inmate.
You have me captive in this space for now, but I'm gonna rejoice.
And even though it hurts the hell out of me,
But I'm not going to let you see me cry.
I'm not going to let you see me broken.
And so while they was out playing their games one o'clock, two o'clock in the morning, I was, man, I was on my knees praying to God that he give me the strength not only to be able to endure this, but to be able to be a vessel while I was in that environment.
You praying now, you praying like crazy.
And you like, I'm not, I'm not living the rest of my life here.
105 years not gonna see me.
We wanna get into what kept you going, what did that fight look like, and we wanna talk about the day you heard you coming home, all right?
Don't go anywhere, y'all, when we come back.
I feel like I'm getting ready to start crying, brother Z. Oh my God, I'm having a good time right here on the award-winning one.
Shannon, you better not make fun of me, either.
Don't go anywhere, y'all.
I support you.
We'll be back right after
this message.
Don't go anywhere.
Pull up a chair.
The lunch break with Rayonetti and maybe Shannon continues in just a moment on the award-winning 1017 The Truth.
You're listening to The Lunch Break with Rayonetti and maybe Shannon, where every discussion is on the menu on the award-winning 1017 The Truth.
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Shannon, how you feeling?
Man, I'm feeling great.
Excited to get back into this interview.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
We are.
We have some comments to Shannon a 3 3 2 1 2 10 17 is a number to dial if you have any questions for our guests.
Cousin Coco.
Says the same thing happened to my son to my son and his friends from the Third District Police Station.
They vastly had them confessed to a murder.
They had nothing to do with and that's the thing like you put these kids under so much pressure, right and Ain't no telling what these officers or detectives are Offering you in there like yeah, you don't get to go home at the end of the night You know just we just need you to
say that
yes, and it's gonna be way easier on you than what it would be down the line and I could only imagine
We hear your case.
We hear this our cousin in a chat case.
That's just two people.
That's just two people.
Imagine how many, how many more, right?
And imagine how many didn't have your perseverance, how many just said, you know what, this is life.
And a spirit or will was broken.
So Shannon, we want to get into his fight.
because you gotta be a strong, forgiving brother.
I told you, I done burnt things down for less.
People ain't show up to my birthday party.
You know what?
I'm
upset.
Got some
like
That's a villain origin story right there
So I commend you man for having a heart of forgiveness and just pure right we want to get into the fight One get into what kept you fighting.
What what was that look like and then take us to the day that
You finally fought so hard enough that they was like, you know what, young man, you coming well, you did 30, you an adult now
at
through that
story.
I mean, I went to the parole board again, like 21, 22 times, and they expected me to admit guilt.
And so,
This was before the Innocence Project even existed.
I was, I probably written probably like 9,000, 10,000 letters to all type of networks.
Oprah Winfrey's and Harada were very, so, you know, expecting, or that was my source of hope at that particular time.
And then when the Innocence Project got involved, it was like, my life had been transformed already for the good because I had removed, even though my number was 167208, I had,
Taking that negative thing and I converted over to something that was positive, which is unbound And so I began to live my life as though the chains have been removed.
So the day I was finally released It was February the 14 2017
that right and what a lovely day Oh, that was one of the most beautiful is and scariest days of my life because now the
Everything that I imagined is about to become a reality.
So I thought I was prepared for what's on this side.
But I went in a 17 year old person that came out of a 50 year old with a 17 year old mentality.
The world is different.
The world was different.
It was entirely different.
And I remember the first time I was able to step outside of the prison walls.
I still felt an invisible wall because I was released on parole.
But I still felt this this like freedom where I'm about to be validated.
And so I took those first couple of days and I'm not going to lie, depression kicked in, anger kicked in, everything kicked in that I had that remained dormant while I was incarcerated.
And I was like, God, you brought me this far.
And I have this stuff.
Was I lying during that during the course of my incarceration?
Or this is something, a filtering process that I have to go through.
Um, but once I adjusted, it was like, okay, all right, God, no more complaining.
Um, there was work to
be done out here.
that's beautiful.
Yeah.
So what surprised you the most about life outside prison?
I know you talked about those feelings coming back and you feeling like you were prepared, but getting out here and being like, wait.
Maybe I wasn't too prepared.
Was there anything else that surprised you about life outside of prison?
The culture.
The culture.
Everything had changed.
When I was like, the family was still a unit.
Respect to our elders was still a thing.
Getting in the middle of the streets without weapons and fighting fist to fist, that was still a thing.
And so now they have cell phones.
They have the flat TVs.
I was like, what the hell is a flat TV until I saw one?
So what
85.
Oh my God.
came
Islands.
But, hey, 85.
It was a different era.
It was a different culture.
Very different.
So
social media change.
Like you said, people still respected their elders back then.
Falling a far away from that so a lot of culture has changed a lot of things look different
And you know there were some other things too, but you have to be reminded of what was going on in the 80s You had the crack epidemic was about to be introduced into our community the massive amount of guns the massive incarceration The AIDS so while I was away all those things happen, you know the Jeffrey Dahmer so
It was so, I wasn't really
involved in the cause.
So many things swept our community.
Yes.
For sure.
So what helped you rebuild trust, relationships, and the sense of belonging?
And what do you wish families understood about welcoming somebody home and getting them back up to date on what's going on out here?
Oh
my God.
With the new technology they have, Sandin, they're able to keep people up to date with their family.
Like they have the video calls or...
the men and women in prison have a way where they can see their kids
or
whatever through the video.
Back in those days, we had snail milk.
If you write a letter, it'll probably take you two weeks before you even get a response.
And then the phone calls at that time was like $20 for 15 minutes.
So yes, so that was unheard of.
Rich to go to jail.
You
gotta save up before
you go to jail.
You gotta save up.
It was, it was, it was, it was horrible.
So it was, it was like, why would you, I mean, I get it, it's hard out here.
It's challenging out here for every, every person.
But I try to, and put into the young people that, man, you guys have an advantage that we didn't have when we were growing up.
You're able to, to like just hit a button and that button will take you across the world.
You know, and so the education and intellectual level is much
higher.
for sure.
We got to go to Al.
I'm just
Because you got out
what year?
2017.
Come
go ahead and talk
feeling?
I'm doing wonderful, and I'm gonna say congrats on being released, but moving forward, we need to have a long-term goal to get more black judges and big-time black lawyers because you're dealing with some white people who are mass manipulators, and a lot of them have been raised to be pathological liars.
And some of these judges know they're kin folks.
And some of these judges will know that this black man standing in front of him is wrong, but he will still vote him as guilty.
You have to look at how some of these mass manipulators is raised.
And the only way we can fight this and combat this is push the upcoming future as a long-term goal.
to get some vicious black judges and black lawyers.
And I don't mean by calling on Jesus Christ.
I'm being the ones who can sit there and see somebody come in here and say, no, you're wrong.
I don't care if you're white or you got white privilege.
You're not getting your money.
You fear to cast mercy from the toilet seat.
Because what has happened, they have been given this open door to do what they want and say what they want.
Like the two white women who sat on a brown round and lied about it and was happy that they got 44 years.
But that look would have turned into sadness if the same judge said, well, y'all got, he got 44 years, but you got 188 years to pay him back everything he lost.
because you got to make sure that their last generation gone file for mental health and AFDC.
So until we have a long term goal to get this is the black lawyers and black judges, this is not going to stop because you got to fight power with a bigger power and you got to keep a straight face.
Have a great day.
Bye bye.
Thank you all for that
You know
Al kept it, that was pretty smooth today with Al.
I appreciate you, Al.
Al is calling, telling like it is up here.
I know we only got a little bit more time.
I want us, you mentioned something.
You said, okay, I'm out now, and I'm more settled in.
Now it's time to actually get to the work, right?
Brother Z, how much time we got before break?
All right, we're gonna go ahead and break now.
When we come back, we wanna talk about that work, didn't you?
Do it now.
All right, don't go anywhere, y'all.
This is
the Lunch Break.
We'll be right back after these messages.
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Milwaukee Black talk.
And that is the menu.
Cousins.
Shannon, how are you feeling?
Feeling good.
Feeling good.
Ready to hear about this involvement with a prison action
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Let's get into it now.
So you mentioned the work.
So for our listeners that are just joining us, you are tuned in with Brother Alfonso James, sentenced at 17 years old to 105 years, served 30 years, prayed and stayed steadfast and was later released.
And for some reason, he decided to be forgiven.
Bruh.
Doing the right thing.
all
Because I'll be like,
Let me not say that.
For those that's listening, I'm just playing.
The views and opinions.
Actualization.
All right?
But you said, uh,
you decided that you had so much more work to do, let's get into that work.
Tell us about the work that you're doing now and what you have coming up because it's so much and I'm excited for me, Brother Z and whoever else wanna join us, cause I ain't even gonna say it because then everybody gonna be knocking on the door, trying to be like,
oh
Let's get to the work.
One of the amazing things that I experienced while I was in prison, especially when I learned to read, is that a safe place for me was like a large body of water.
For some reason, I was able to pray to meditate.
But even though it was an imaginary place, but I remember experiencing a great level of peace and freedom.
So I started thinking to myself and writing.
I was like, well, imagine if there was a place in Wisconsin.
And it just so happens that I was, I just came back in town.
I was frustrated about some things.
And so I needed to get away.
So we drove up to Sheboygan and we went to this Airbnb and lo and behold, it was like a magical place for me.
So I started imagining, man, just imagine if we can have people come here from the community.
with no cost whatsoever to be able to deal with their trauma, to have a safe haven and just be fully, fully immersed in love.
And so when I saw this place and it sits right on the lake and it's beautiful, beautiful, beautiful property.
And so then I started, when I started traveling around the country, I would share my story and my idea was, and the first person I shared it with was Holly Berry.
And so I shared it with her in Atlanta and then she just jumped right on board.
I
love
okay.
That's my imaginary cousin.
I'm gonna stay
focused.
that.
Awesome.
And so she encouraged it.
So when I came back, I was like, okay, after the investigation, after we found resolution of what really happened with the case, I was like, well, now it's time to bring healing to our community.
And so I started to get entering into a conversation with the owners.
And eventually we worked out a couple deals where we were able to lease for like the last couple years.
And so hopefully by our hope is by January the first, it'll be fully operational on down fragile.
Yes.
Man.
like?
When you first pull up on the place, it's inviting.
In other words, we have a long driveway that leads up to the Airbnb, we have a cottage, we have a home, we have an event farm, we have aquaponics where we
grow
our own tilapia, and it's really good.
And then we have a greenhouse as well.
And then you step outside, or you can open your door, or slide your door in the Airbnb, and right there is the beautiful Lake Michigan sitting right there.
There's green pastures.
And if you want to walk throughout the property and stuff, it's just so inviting.
And then also we're incorporating, we have massage therapists that's going to be part of our staff as well.
And so anyone that's dealing with trauma.
So in other words, it's not only for the wealthy, it's not only for those in between, it's for everyone.
And so we're just working out the logistics now where we can be able to invite more than 40 people there.
Man.
That's so beautiful.
So.
Beyond housing and employment, what do people need to rebuild their lives after incarceration?
Good question, Shannon.
The thing about it, we have this trauma that, you know, before we go to prison, there's trauma that is not met or the needs are not met.
So while we're in prison, we don't know how to deal with those things.
And once we thrust back in the community, we still feel broken.
and unwanted.
And so now we got to figure out how to get acclimated back into a world that's rejecting us.
When you go to an employer and you fill out an application, the first thing they see when you walk through the door is the color of your skin.
And then when you file the application, they see the exits that's on your thing.
So we're creating a program right now.
And in fact, we have a grant open in December the 12th here in Milwaukee.
And this program entails that it's called carbon loss.
It used to be the old city on the hill.
here in Milwaukee.
So now we have, not only we have spaces for the unhoused, we have the space for the veterans, returning veterans.
We have space for those who are dealing with trauma.
We have employers that will also be positioned in the building as well.
So we call it, me and my brother Lamar Woods, we call it a one-stop shop.
We have two dental office with brand new equipment in there.
It's fully operational.
And so, again, on the 12th, we'll be inviting not only the community in there, but also other supporters, as well as associates, so we can fill that space.
Yeah.
Sure.
Cece.
Sounds like a great idea.
Damn.
plan.
That fast.
I know.
It's like the Grammy music.
You're trying to accept your Oscar, and they're like, no, we're not done.
I commend you.
I commend you as I was telling you.
This reminds me of somebody me and Shannon knew.
Chad, chow side to the homie, Chad.
I always get emotional.
talking about him.
He gave his life.
He gave his life literally to these efforts and somebody that meant a lot to us.
My voice is gone, so is my emotions.
Shannon and James close us out.
I'm falling apart.
Please close us out.
Before I close us out, James, tell the people where they can find you, where they can connect with you and where they can get in touch with you.
My website is AfonsoJames.com.
You can connect with me anyway or no, I think AfonsoJames.com would be the easiest way because that's the red contact with me.
Listen, if there is anyone.