Just Don’t Give Up

you

Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to the grapevine with your boy Ray Nitty.

Just feeling the air holding it down, man.

We gonna be picking up a couple grapes we left on the table from the lunch break, man.

So we got a couple things we wanna continue the conversation on.

Shout out to maybe Shannon, man.

It's always a pleasure rocking with Shannon, man.

Thank y'all that tuned in to the lunch break.

Now we got a couple grapes like I said that was left on the table So I want us to continue this a 3 3 2 1 2 10 17 That is the number to dial a 3 3 2 1 2 10 17 That is the number to dial to join the conversation.

We about to keep it going keep it rolling Please like share subscribe Join the conversation on YouTube

101.7 the truth let's really Grow this community that we building man 101.7 the truth, please like share subscribe Call in we keeping this conversation going earlier if you just joined in us If you just joining us on the lunch break man, we we had a we had a nice lunch actually.

It was a great education real feeling

Real feeling lunch.

We was talking about.

The prison to labor pipeline.

And companies that was exploiting it and taking advantage of.

Essentially.

New age slavery.

Legal slavery in our country.

And we talked about.

What made that possible in today's country?

And then we dove into the 13th Amendment.

And what it says and what it meant and how deep did it go and what created this environment?

When did it start?

And we didn't get to get to everything because it was such a large lunch.

Then we talked about Taylor Farms.

That's really what kicked it off We was talking about Taylor Farms and the prison labor pipeline that they was exploiting that was also linked to the explosive diarrhea So we talked about all of that But it was a couple things we didn't get to right and we're gonna pick that up on the grapevine We want to talk about felony disenfranchisement Because it's bigger than just us they use these mass incarceration tactics that has

been happening since the Civil War.

This is when this kind of started.

We know slavery exists.

We know they don't want us talking about slavery no more.

They got a new name for it.

They got a new name for it.

What they called it back then.

Let's see what I...

I'm gonna find the name of what they called it and then I'll let y'all know.

But they use loopholes through black codes.

Creating little laws that allow them to do these mass arrests of black people.

Convict leasing is what it was called.

Convict leasing.

That in itself still sound crazy.

That sounds crazy.

We got Big Chop Dakota on the line.

What's up, Big Chop?

How you feeling, man?

Talk to us.

You

live on the

grapevine.

What's up with it?

Can you hear

me?

Yes, sir.

I can hear you loud and clear.

Yeah, man.

I just want to say, man, first of all, man, we got to understand that businesses isn't businesses that make business, right?

So with the 13th Amendment.

These you got these brothers that go to jail, right?

They won't work out here at McDonald's for $14.

But as soon as they go to jail, they want to go to the kitchen and work for 13 feet.

Hmm.

Hey,

man.

So, so if you if you if you if you stay your butt out here and work for the $14, they can use you in jail for 13 feet.

Hmm.

It, um, it, um, and they got done this because I've been in jail multiple times, right?

So

They got that and I never worked not one time when I ever went to jail and I've been there a couple times because I understand that they use you know I mean so at the end of the day they got to understand the prisoners run the prison the prisoners cook the food the prisoners do the maintenance the prisoners do the electricity the prisoners do the plumbing so if we don't go to work they the prison

won't

work so that mean they got to bring other entities out from outside the uh the prison

to do that.

So they got to pay them the regular wages.

They got to pay them the plumber wages, the electrician wages.

So then that stuff won't go up.

So if we band together and say, hey, man, we ain't going to do nothing unless y'all raise these wages up.

Hey, man, the prison won't work.

And that's all I got to say.

Man, I appreciate that big chop Dakota.

Giving us hands on experience.

You said they need to to to unite.

Let me ask you this.

Do they have a union?

I wonder if it's a union for that.

Like, who really fights for residents, labor rights?

Or is that one of the rights they say that you lose when you when you go to prison?

833-212-1017, that's the number to dial.

I'm talking about legal slavery.

Picking a couple of grapes that we left on the table for lunch, man.

We want to talk about how felony disenfranchisement, mass incarceration, all plays a part.

And when people tell me to be strategic, I'm like, what are we doing that's so strategic?

Because the plays is laid out right in front of us what they've been doing.

It says since December 1865, they're using laws.

They're using laws and putting things in place.

If you just joining us, or if you missed.

the lunch break.

Ratified in December, 1865, the 13th Amendment reads, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States of America.

Like we said, this didn't abolish slavery outright.

It just abolished slavery, except.

as a punishment for a crime.

Then we wonder why we the most incarcerated.

Way less than our counterparts.

We get felonies at a way higher rate than our counterparts.

And the story broke because of.

I didn't even say broke because a lot of people knew this.

A lot of people know that this type of thing exists.

But it's back in the main headlines because of Taylor Farms and the prison pipeline labor and them being linked to the explosive diarrhea in the bagged lettuce that was going out.

So we want to talk about felony disenfranchisement.

To me it is it heavily impacts us But I also believe it's bigger than us It heavily impacts us, but I think it is bigger than us and if we Become strategic real strategic real strategy And look at how we could find allies

on the same topic, the same issue that is impacting a lot of different communities, not just Milwaukee.

Y'all know all the data, five through 206 incarcerated more than 50% of its population.

Right here in Milwaukee, one area code is the most heavily incarcerated zip code.

in Milwaukee and if I'm not mistaken, the country, but don't quote me on the country, but for sure, Wisconsin.

And we gonna go through some of the numbers and why I say voting is important.

We not voting for ourselves, we voting for the soldiers they took out the game.

We playing against different rules, y'all.

They handed out felonies, taking our right to vote, weakening our base, and sliding rules in.

What was it, six states?

Six to seven states made a change to that amendment.

Since 1865, first one coming in 2018, I was well out of high school.

Colorado, Nebraska in 2020, Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont all in 2022.

Don't go anywhere, y'all.

We'll be right back after these messages.

We're going to talk about the numbers on our community, and we're going to get into some other things.

Right now, we'll be right back on the grapevine.

Welcome back y'all welcome back welcome back.

It's the grapevine with your boy Ray nitty holding it down 8 3 3 2 1 2 10 17 that is the number to dial 8 3 3 2 1 2 10 17 is the number to dial We having a conversation y'all we having a conversation about something I think we need to Really take serious Really take serious because they've been plotting on us

for a long time.

And I know the court.

I know who is they, whoever the hell they is.

Them.

They them.

They not like us.

Right.

Exactly.

But since 1865.

They have been working on things to keep us in positions that we are.

To uphold systems like slavery, free labor.

Things that built this country.

and still is in place.

Because of things like the 13th Amendment, if you haven't checked it out, please go check out the 13th Documentary.

If I'm not mistaken, Ava DuVernay produced that documentary.

I hope I'm right about that.

But either way, I am right that that's what it's called though.

What is stabbing me?

I'm on the toe.

So.

We want to talk about now how felony disenfranchisement is bigger than just us.

And then I'm gonna ask the African-American Round Table when they are joining us too, what's their thoughts on this?

So they'll be joining us in the three o'clock hour as well.

So I'm looking forward to getting their thoughts on that as they'll be talking about what they have going on as well.

But we're gonna leave with the numbers and our community.

Nationally, one in 22 African-American adults is disenfranchised due to a felony conviction.

A rate more than three times higher than non-black adults.

4.5% versus 1.3%.

Let's put that into perspective.

Crowley won our election by how many percentage?

Less than a half a percent.

Less than a half a percent.

That's how close it was.

But then you have felonies being handed out.

Almost five percent higher than everybody else in our community.

And if you know if you got a felony, you can't vote.

You can't participate in the process.

You can't let your voice be heard until you're off papers.

That's the other thing.

We don't educate people that once you get off papers, you can get your rights back to vote.

People just think, oh, I'm a felon.

I can't vote.

If you're off papers, you can vote.

You can get that right back to vote.

So.

Keeping it going.

1.3 million black citizens are currently banned from voting because of this.

1.3 million black citizens are currently banned from voting because of this.

In five states.

Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, South Dakota and Tennessee.

More than one in 10 black adults can't vote for this reason.

Just sit with that.

I hope y'all see why I'm going with this.

One in 10 people.

I should have got the numbers and how that relates to Wisconsin.

Because I'm willing to bet for a state that has one of the highest mass incarceration numbers.

We already know, first of all, we know the numbers.

We know.

Wisconsin has incarcerated more than 50% of its black male population.

That's just black males.

More than half of the men has been incarcerated.

We know this.

Now, how many of them has felonies and so forth?

I don't have the facts on that, but we'll do some digging and get that to you.

But I know more than a half the male population Has been incarcerated Just want to think about that This is in this 2026 I'm gonna go back again.

I want us to draw comparisons

I want us to draw comparisons.

Because of the exception.

In the 13th Amendment.

I'm following patterns here.

Immediately after the Civil War, southern states exploited this exact loophole through black codes.

and mass arrest of newly freed black people for vague offenses.

What is that?

That don't sound very familiar and similar to today.

How many black and brown people are incarcerated for cannabis?

They got felonies because of it while their counterparts didn't get felonies and was granted licenses to participate in the cannabis industry.

I think it's interesting.

We getting the highest felonies.

We getting the highest arrest rates.

We getting low participation in the process.

Cannabis still isn't legal, but I guarantee you, I know we don't control.

Or we not in majority or nowhere near the majority of who operates and control cannabis licenses around the country.

Wisconsin got a pilot program.

And this pilot program was supposed to, you know.

Be kind of like a starting ground for what our cannabis industry could look like.

I ended up signing up and getting granted a hemp license to grow and process.

Hemp in Wisconsin.

But yeah, I was probably one of the.

I think at that time it was only about not even five black people.

That had a hemp processing and growing license for.

the state of Wisconsin.

But when.

Or if it ever does become legal, who do you think will be in line to now take advantage of the industry?

That we suffered from the most.

Got penalized for the most.

And now it's going to be, now that it is a multi-billion dollar industry, we ain't gonna be able to participate in it.

Because, remember back in 1865 when we just said, immediately after the Civil War, what the Southern States did to exploit that loophole in the 13th Amendment that says neither slavery,

nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States of America.

I'm gonna keep reading it so we hammer it in, except if you've been convicted of a crime, then begin the mass roundup.

Then begin the mass roundup of black and brown people Immediately after the Civil War It never abolished slavery outright It just says Except as a punishment we can still do what we want to you Wow That's crazy

six states, six states removed it or amended it, I should say.

All right.

We got Miss Sandra on the line.

Miss Sandra, how you doing live on the grapevine?

I'm just fine.

I just wanted to add three more comments real quick.

Now, I want you to say how many blacks are in Wisconsin, the percentage.

And

I want to even specify that years ago when they had slaves, they had life insurance on them.

So they got a bunch of money if they died.

And so now we got these flop cameras, data centers, real ID, so they have all of our information.

So pretty soon we all might be on the radar.

You know what I

mean?

So that's what I had to say.

I appreciate that, Miss Sandra.

Thank you for calling in.

Thank you for calling in Miss Sandra.

So.

Wisconsin's.

Black or African American population.

Is approximately.

Three hundred and fifty thousand to three hundred and eighty thousand people.

Residents making up roughly six point four percent.

to 7.7 percent of the state's total population, according to the US Census Bureau.

Eight million of us here.

It ain't any half a million of us here.

Put that into perspective.

Now, out of that number.

How was how many of them is is men you think?

Probably slightly under 40% or above just slightly above 40% But let's just say we cut that 380 in half

because of felonies.

Don't go anywhere, y'all.

This is The Great Vine.

We'll be right back after these messages on the award-winning

one-on-one, Seventh of Truth.

Oh, you caught?

What

up, y'all?

Welcome back.

Welcome back.

Welcome back.

It's the grapevine with your boy Ray Nitty.

We getting in to some juicy, man.

But they say grapes make wine, man.

So just give it some time.

Give it some time.

We gonna get to the drink.

We gon' get to the drink, man.

833-212-1017, that is the number to dial.

833-212-1017, that's the number to dial.

Bring somebody on, bring somebody over with you, man.

We talking about legal slavery in the country, felony disenfranchisement.

How is it bigger than just us?

Right?

So, we talked about the numbers in our community.

Far as America nationally one in two one in twenty two African-American adults is disenfranchised due to a felony conviction and rate more than three times higher than non black adults 4.5 percent versus 1.3 percent 1.3 million black citizens are currently banned from voting because of this in five states Arizona, Florida, Kentucky South Dakota and Tennessee

more than one in 10 black adults can't vote for this reason.

So as I stated, this isn't a black issue only.

And the data say so directly.

Nationally, roughly four million Americans total are disenfranchised by felony convictions, meaning black Americans, while disproportionately affected,

are still fewer than a half of everyone locked out.

I want to think about this now.

I'm going somewhere with this now.

And trust me, this ain't the oppression Olympics.

I'm not trying to prove a case for who's being oppressed more, but I'm trying to prove a case for why we should unite even more.

as oppressed people.

Because it's 2026, oppression isn't just based off race.

Financial oppression is a real thing.

Poverty don't got no race.

But a lot of people that look like us experience it.

Now on a larger scale, the numbers may show a different story.

But I'm gonna say this.

Nearly 500,000 Latino Americans are disenfranchised with Latino voters barred at higher than average rates in 28 different states.

in Arizona and Tennessee, specifically over 5% of Latino voters are affected.

Geos, just follow me, man.

Follow me.

About 800,000 women.

Are disenfranchised nationally.

Nearly one in five of everyone locked out of voting.

for this season.

Let's think about that.

Seven hundred sixty four thousand, about eight hundred thousand women are disenfranchised nationally, nearly one in five of everyone locked out of voting for this season.

Florida alone has the largest raw number

of disenfranchised citizens of any state in the country.

A population that cuts across every racial group in a large, diverse state.

Follow me, y'all.

Y'all getting the squeeze yet?

Is it worth the squeeze yet?

The poverty connection is real.

Try to find my shoe.

The poverty connection is real.

Disenfranchisement tracks poverty and overpolicing more than it tracks any single racial category on its own.

Communities with less money for private legal defense, more police presence and fewer.

Diversion program resources see more felony convictions across every race.

Which is exactly why the impact spreads well beyond one community, even as it hits black communities the hardest.

I don't know, man.

eight, three, three, two, one, two, ten, seventeen.

That's the number to dial eight, three, three, two, one, two, ten, seventeen.

That's the number to dial.

That's what we talking about.

And while we say voting is extremely important.

Because every way you turn.

They're trying they're trying to strip rights away.

from people.

I'm with you, Guru.

I'm with you, Guru.

Miss Sandra called in and said about the flock cameras and overpolicing and evading of privacy.

We talked about it.

The poverty connection is real.

That's why I say we are way more similar than we are different.

But we take the bait.

And that's a that's a different that's a that's a valid point, but I think it's a different conversation.

Right.

Because you talking about people that actually commit crimes says when you commit a felony.

You disenfranchise yourself.

No excuse, no conspiracy theory when you commit that crime.

You know your rights as a citizen can be taken away, and I ain't mad about it.

Yeah, but when you got petty crimes, I don't know if you just joining Miss Laurent.

Because we had to go back to 1865, the 13th Amendment.

I'm going to read it for you.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted shall exist within the United States of America We talking about how it relates to legalized slavery That's what we talking about really and disenfranchisement That's what we talking about so

Slavery, the amendment, 13th Amendment, it never abolished slavery outright.

It says it abolished slavery except as a punishment for a crime.

So it has been intact for over 150 years, Brother Laurent.

And just a quick, I'm going to read it again.

Immediately after the Civil War, Southern states exploited this exact loophole through black codes, different laws, different rules that they made up to justify mass incarceration of newly freed men and women.

This was back after the Civil War.

newly freed black people for vague offenses like vagrancy, not having a job.

Then they lease those prisoners to labor, to plantations and companies, a system historians call convict leasing.

So that's what we're talking about, Brother Laurent.

We're talking about states, companies being able to exploit bad laws.

over policing, over mass incarcerating, giving people in our community higher sentences and way more felonies at an alarming rate than our other counterparts disenfranchising us.

So that's what we're talking about and being able to pay them pennies on a dollar, if not even anything at all.

So, yeah, you're talking about people that has done real crimes.

Yeah, if you do that, if you did the time, you should do the crime.

But the truth is, in our community, we get penalized extremely different than our counterparts.

We got Al on the line.

Al, how you doing?

Talk to me.

I'm doing wonderful.

The first thing I want to say is for us as black people, number one, why do we use poverty for every excuse?

Number two, why do the white men have to be in control?

Number three, why some of y'all don't vote and weaponize your vote?

Next, y'all don't unify and some of our black people want to be controlled by white people.

That's why and then on top of this You have to understand nothing that all white people some white people are mass manipulators Very good

at

it And then what they do is that when they get you right where they want to they manipulate you all the way down So how is this how is it they can dump you down until you read a book that they don't even follow Have y'all ever thought about that

And even if you go back to Dr. King, do y'all ever thought that maybe Dr. King was used by the government to dumb y'all down?

Because if we get people to think in a certain mind frame, we can continue to do what they want, to black people.

But if you turn the tables and do it to them, they'll tell you you're wrong.

That's why I always say,

Y'all gotta ask for stuff.

Okay, we know you got a felony.

What is pardoning your felony if they're not going to expunge you when you go for a job?

It's still going to come up if it's not expunged.

So we as black people, we got to go hard.

Take what they use against you and use it against them.

Where is it y'all seeing?

This is a hood.

turn it into a neighborhood and start buying the houses.

Once you start buying the houses, take the equity out the houses and start getting into politics.

Now you can control what comes in and out your neighborhood.

Y'all won't even put some of your kids in college, but you'll go take everything you got and put them in church.

Why not put them in the college so they can run up against these judges?

Because as long as you get black people who don't use a, lose a character in the integrity,

You can get these white judges to run for their money.

You don't want to be like these cool ass niggas out here.

You want to be better?

So this is the question you need to be asking.

And also, I want to ask you to ask these people, white people, why are you so mad at us?

Because half of the, half of the black people that's in your family, they was raped into your family because grandpa won a little extra season.

So why are you not going back to the trauma?

within your household that was given to you by your mammy and you're happy.

But every time something happened, you put it on black people.

It's not the black people, it's the people that gave you life and sent you lies.

Now that's in-house that you gotta deal with.

But I hang up and listen to your reply.

Have a great day.

Appreciate you Al for calling in.

In quick response before we go to break to Al, the poverty connection.

I don't think it's using it as a

I agree with everything Al said, right?

I'm just making a case for the poverty connection and why it's real for disenfranchised, right?

Because disenfranchised tracks poverty and overpolicing more than it tracks in any single racial category on its own.

Communities with less money for private legal defense, Nacho.

public defenders, because you know what they're getting there.

People don't got the money to pay for the proper legal defense, so you don't even have to go to the felony.

You don't even got somebody negotiating on your behalf that really is even thinking about public defenders.

They just trying to get the case closed so they could get to the next public defense trial.

Laurent says.

I hear you.

But that I would say you are correct, but we need to also take a look at we have the numbers to take control of our own communities, police, fire, teachers, government, and we don't.

Yeah, I don't.

I don't I don't think we do that enough.

We do need to police our own communities.

We do.

But I think it's easy for us to to say that right as And I'm trying to say this carefully As as people who do a little bit more research And who are a little bit more informed

Loran that's more so what I feel So yeah, we we got to take control of our own communities But we we barely take a control of our own minds our own mentality people still throwing litter out the window full bags of food diapers McDonald's Poverty is a mindset And I said I got to correct myself before this break

I said, if you do the time, you should do the crime.

And I meant to say, if you do the crime, you should do the time.

But don't go anywhere, y'all.

We'll be right back after these messages on the award-winning 1017, The Truth.

What up, y'all?

Welcome back.

Welcome back to the grapevine with your boy Ray Nitty holding it down.

On the award-winning 101...

Seven to Truth, DJ Brother Z holding it down on the production and sound.

We're talking about legal slavery, man.

13th Amendment and the trickle down effect that it's having on our communities and communities of others.

We got a couple of things in the chat.

Cousin Guru doing what Cousin Guru do.

He says, Crowley didn't get those millions from the hood.

Oops, my bad.

He for us with his Mr Cosby Fitz.

I don't know what that means.

But I could tell you what he did get.

Cousin Guru.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley co-authored and championed a bipartisan Wisconsin Legislation Act 185 to close the troubled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth prisons.

His policy centers on replacing distant state facilities with local treatment focused regional care.

I'm going to tell you some of the key pillars that was in it.

Cousin Guru.

Tell you a couple of key pillars in it.

Closer to home care.

We send so many of our young people to these far away places where these families can't even afford real lawyers so they deal with public defenders that.

Get their kids to accept these crazy charges and send them further away.

So closer to home care, shift incarcerated youth from remote facilities in Irma, Wisconsin to regional centers near families and support networks.

I'm going to tell you what else it was in there, cousin guru.

Treatment focus environment.

prioritized mental health, trauma-informed education, and vocational training over purely punitive confinement.

I can tell you some more, Guru.

Local implementation.

Advanced regional infrastructure like the Milwaukee County Center for Youth to rehabilitate local youth and reduce recidivism.

Sound like reform to me.

So when we get excited and just say stuff, I want to ask, like, what have you done?

We be quick to criticize.

Now I want to know, what have we done as individuals?

We want to talk about all of this.

We got to pick up our community.

What actions have you taken or have you taken as a citizen in this community?

When we spew these insults when we spew these things like what have you?

Individually done to help improve our communities Because it can't just be sitting on a computer and talking about everything that's wrong What action we so righteous I Don't see people outside because I'll be outside with the communities

With the folks with the people So I'm now I want to know what are we doing individually Outside of just criticism I'd like to know Because it's easy to criticize what I don't see is

Enough of us that's criticizing getting out and actually doing some work.

Now, I ain't talking about you, girl.

I've seen you.

I'm talking about in general as a community.

As a community, I'm talking about.

because we have so much criticism as a community.

And then the funny part is a lot of the criticism goes back to people saying things like we need to take control of our own communities.

Let's do it then.

Let's just stop sitting up here and.

Having black talk about it with a black action that What an action that We do a lot of this we do a lot of mouth running finger typing I Don't see enough boost on the ground.

I'll be seeing the same people out all the time

Touching our communities Ms.

Farina Brooks, Vymaiz, Nat, Nisha, Sawyer, Amir, Chad rest his soul

We say the same people out over and over again.

I want to see more faces there.

We ain't upset enough then because when people really upset, they get thrusted into action.

A lot of people still comfortable.

That's what the thing is.

We comfortable in the environments that we have to live through right now.

Because we ain't uncomfortable enough to be like to hell with this.

I'm about to go do something about it.

We're so comfortable that we could just sit down and text about the problems.

Get active.

Let's get active on it.

So yeah, just poverty is an excuse.

It's a real thing.

And it's some progress that is real and we're gonna name it.

We gon' name it.

But I want y'all to sit with that.

We criticize, but what have we activated within ourselves?

What have we put into action?

Where did we volunteer?

Did we mentor any young people?

Did we reach out to mentoring MKE?

Don't go anywhere, y'all.

We'll be right back on a great vibe with Ray Nitty on the award-winning 101.7, the truth.

What up y'all?

What up?

What up?

What up?

Welcome back.

Welcome back.

It's your boy Ray Nitty on the grapevine.

On the award winning 1017, the truth.

DJ Brother Z holding us down with the production and sound.

Shout out to Cece.

Both of them.

Shout out to Cece, both of them.

Man, we having a great conversation, man.

We talking about the legal slavery.

in the city, in our country, and so forth.

And we we we have in this conversation, we talking about our responsibility, you know, somebody said poverty, like Al called in and said, you know, we got to stop using poverty.

I agree with everything Al said when he called in.

And I don't think poverty is an excuse.

I think it's a real tool that they're using to.

Keep us where we are and it ain't just about us because as we said the numbers are showing It's about women.

It's about Latinos.

It is about black people Some progress is real and we said we want to name some of the things that was worth naming this disenfranchised population has fallen 31% since 2016

as 26 states plus DC has expanded voting rights for people with felony convictions since 1997.

Over two million Americans have regained.

The vote as a direct result.

So it's some.

But we got a lot of work to do still.

We got a lot of work to do still.

We have to vote.

We have to vote all of these things that we just talked about from the lunch break to right now.

We're squeezing grapes Guru said I ain't got the answers sway I'm from the move states But I do want to see the city win and that's the thing we can't move away from this This ain't something you just move or go to Detroit then

Go see what Zeke and New Era dealing with out in Detroit.

Trying like actually doing work.

To get the really out in the streets.

Doing work, protecting communities, protecting women, bringing resources.

To neighborhoods in Detroit.

The work don't just stop in Milwaukee because we move someplace else.

Now, maybe you ain't talking about moving to Detroit.

But I know in this country with these laws, where there's a neighborhood of black people.

There's a high chance we're going to find some of the similar issues in other impoverished states.

Now, you can find some some very affluent communities as well.

You said I was just about to say if you go out west or you go to Baldwin Hills and you in Black Hollywood or Inglewood.

But even then Inglewood has a set of problems as well, too.

Shouts out to Miss Dixon running for mayor in Inglewood.

She been running for mayor for a while.

This would be her second.

I mean, I said a while like it's just been 10 plus years.

I think this is our second time running.

So, yeah, we can't just move away from the problem.

What are we going to do?

What responsibility are we going to take as a community?

Did we give up on the village?

Are we so far gone as a society that we only care about ourselves and ours?

Barely our our our own people own family.

We've gotten so selfish that it's just Minds just all minds me me me me me We gotta get back to the community Don't forget we got the African-American round table that's gonna be joining us today as well

You know, I would love to talk.

I'm excited to talk about them as we are actually talking about this topic right now.

We're going to be talking to Raisha Farmer.

I hope I said that name right.

I'll be butchering people names over here.

Forgive me.

And Tracy Watford.

I want to get their thoughts.

They got some amazing things going on.

We're going to be talking about the African-American Roundtable Feed the Change MKE campaign.

I'd love to know their thoughts.

Very interested in knowing their thoughts.

Guru said I was doing that here, was told to keep my head down, can't do too much standing up for the people by a local black leader.

Oh, oh, it runs deep and I'm.

Man, I get it.

I get the struggles.

I've watched people that deserve to get the support and resources that is doing great work in the city have to always do the most with the lease.

So I get that.

We've always had to do the most with the lease.

So I understand that frustration.

But I think a lot of times we allow that frustration to.

Leak over into us having animosity towards our communities.

So we easily get frustrated with our people and our communities, and it's easy to give up on one another.

When it feels like all the work that you've been doing over the years is like.

I struggle with the thoughts like, am I doing this in vain?

I've asked people numerous times, do you think the work we ever do that all this work that we're doing, is it going to ever change anything?

Is it going to have any real impact?

And I remember brother Amir called in yesterday and.

You know, he talked about that.

about feeling like, man, you know, I just don't know if I'm having... And I said, you may not even see the impact in somebody right away.

It might not even be for a few years.

I'm seeing the impact that Urban Underground had in my life.

And I'm 42.

I was in Urban Underground when I was 17.

So we can't give up.

No matter if we don't see the fruits in front of us.

Loran said the United States is the strongest capitalist society in the world.

You are in competition with everybody else from birth.

If people can eliminate you from competing, they will.

You could also eliminate.

Absolutely.

Use that vote.

The ones that can't fight should fight.

We should be fighting for the folks that can't fight.

We should be voting for the folks that can vote.

Get well informed.

Stop just listening to what we see on Facebook and getting rather.

I was getting rather by some of the ignorant stuff people were saying as well.

You got people talking as if they's political strategists and what should happen in this election and how things should go about in this election and they don't know the difference between Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley.

Journal Sentinel still confusing them.

You know how many articles I see when they say County Executive David Crowley and it's a picture of shit.

So you don't even know what the hell the article about is it about the man in the picture or the title on the article?

We got to get better informed We get so emotional I get emotional too I'm learning to navigate how emotional I get about these type of topics

because it's frustrating trying to have an educated conversation with people who already ain't listening to you because they think you are just an entertainer and what can you say you made by?

They want you to present all the facts as the entertainer while they just spew nonsense and ask you for evidence.

And that's another conversation, Guru.

Why do we lose our talent?

To the Las Vegas's, to the Chicago's, to the Atlantis, to the out West.

We don't do a good job at retaining our talent.

That could help impact our communities.

We let them go.

We beat them up.

We disappoint them.

And then they leave the city with resentment because it wasn't an environment here where our talent could thrive.

Feel like they have value, feel like they have importance, feel like they have something to offer to the change that's needed in the community.

So I hear you.

But sometimes we got to remember people leave because they had no choice.

Now it's one thing to leave.

It's one thing to leave.

But let's remember the ones that are reaching back.

Some people leave and just disappear.

But it's a lot of people that relieve and reach back.

Don't go anywhere, y'all.

When we come back, we'll keep this conversation going.

on your award-winning 1017, the truth of Ray Nitty on The Great Vine.

What up?

What up, y'all?

Welcome back.

Welcome back.

You now tuned in to The Great Vine with Ray Nitty.

We having a real amazing conversation today.

Who's talking about the prison labor pipeline and the exploitation of the exception in the 13th Amendment that allowed this legalized slavery to take place in our country.

But we have the African-American Round Table in the building with us.

Thank you all for joining us.

We have Raisha Farmer.

I said it right.

And Tracy Watford.

How y'all doing?

How y'all doing?

How y'all doing?

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for joining us.

We look forward to hearing about the African-American Roundtable.

And I had some extra questions that wasn't on the, you know what I mean?

Just because we're having a big conversation and I think it is important to get you all's take on some of these things affecting our African-American table in this.

community.

Um, but we want to know more about the feed to change, uh, MKE campaign you all have going on and the importance of that.

And I just want to tell our listeners about who you all are.

So Raisha Farmer is one of Milwaukee's proudest natives on down to her roof.

Is I had a ration and a dancer already?

Who put this in?

I did chaos.

Let's just get through it.

We got more important things to

do.

You know how hard it is to read it?

Look, look, look.

See what I got to deal with?

That house spear.

On down to her Rufus King blue and gold.

They even put the blue and gold in there to be spiteful.

Wow.

Like that's play spiteful.

Adoration in the dance.

Riverside.

Shout out Riverside, man.

Y'all know how we get down, man.

I'm a lady tiger myself.

Hey, still not talking about.

There we go.

Need a tiebreaker in here.

Rufus Green, Ms.

Tracy first.

Oh, man, but no.

Raisha is one of Milwaukee's proudest natives on down to her Rufus King, Blue and Gold, as well as a DJ, writer, organizer, and more.

She's facilitated community conversation and arts program with Stillwater's Collective and the Zedler Center.

worked in the fields of candidate and party electoral campaigns and built power on issue campaigns for the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Campaign, and now the African American Round Table.

As their community program manager, Raisha leads the team of African American Round Table members and far northwest side resident leaders, predominantly for automatic districts five and nine.

who run Feed the Change MKE.

Clap it up for Ryazan, man.

Okay, journalists be doing something.

Y'all be doing

something.

A little

one too at least.

Appreciate that from a Rufus King general.

Ms.

Tracy.

Tracy Watford is a retired teacher, writer, traveler, former journalist, and current entrepreneur in the Automatic District 5.

Tracy became a member of African American Roundtable after attending a visioning session

where residents were able to express their support for a Northwest side led food access campaign in 2025 and since has shared brilliant ideas about educating families through the campaign and has also committed to supporting the campaign through African American roundtables, social media, blogs, radio, interviews and etc.

Thank you all for the amazing work that y'all do.

Appreciate y'all for this.

Absolutely.

So we want to talk about the African-American Roundtable.

Let's give our audience a rundown of African-American Roundtable, what it is you all do, and some of the things you all are looking to accomplish, and then we'll get into the Feed the Change campaign.

Sure.

I can start, and then I would love to toss as many questions as possible to Ms.

Watford, who's

been in

the campaign.

The African-American Round Table is a black lit organization.

We're based on Milwaukee's Far North West Side.

Our office is on 69th and Brown Deer.

We root it in the area to begin building power with black people on the Far North West Side, knowing that Far North West Side residents are often left out of conversations, decision-making processes, civic engagement opportunities, yada yada.

And so our mission is to organize, nurture, and transform Black leaders to build power and service of Black liberation.

What that means is we're trying to get Black people together to activate the power that's already within them, develop their skills, and allow them to lead the change in their communities that's going to give them better material conditions and allow them to thrive.

So we run a number of campaigns.

We have a number of programs for young people, for adults, for black people.

Our campaign work is not exclusive to black people.

We invite folks across the city, regardless of racial demographics, to participate in campaigns like Feed the Change.

But we're rooted, yeah,

on the Northwest Side to develop black power.

And Ms.

Waffer can probably tell you more about her experience with art, since she's become a member.

So I stumbled upon art.

And I heard about a community meeting they were having and I went and I was interested in what they were doing.

So I wanted to see when I got to the meeting, my mind was blown because they were actually discussing issues, but also not just venting and complaining.

They were actually brainstorming for solutions.

And that's me.

I don't want to just hear the problem.

I consider myself a problem solver, and I wanted to align with the organization that really was doing what they said they were going to do.

And so they were giving people an opportunity to share their ideas, to share their concerns, and that got me.

So tell me about Feed the Change.

Tell us about Feed the Change.

I'm feeling like it's just us in here sometimes.

So what I learned about Feed the Change, and I'm learning and involving in my knowledge of Feed the Change, but it's a campaign to empower our community to be self-resourceful in having healthy food options.

That's something that I'm passionate about.

As a classroom teacher when I taught social studies when I taught life skills I talked to my students about food deserts a lot of them didn't know that that existed but I taught middle school primarily and when I would see my students come in in the morning a lot of times their breakfasts would be that they thought was breakfast would be a bag of flaming hot Some kind of purple orange or green juice that they could grab at the gas station, but it was nothing healthy

And it was nothing that could feed the mind and the body.

And so that's something that I'm very passionate about.

And so I started talking to them about food deserts and what that meant.

And so feed the change for me was an opportunity to help become part of the solution to resolve that.

Give our community healthy options.

Farmers markets.

grocery stores that actually sell fresh food, not just processed foods, something other than a gas station.

Snacks are okay, but snacks don't feed the body.

And we'd be using that as meals.

I was guilty of it.

When I was at the greatest high school ever, Riverside University High School, you know, we used to, it used to be a centuries over there.

And we used to walk over there.

And I remember it like, I get a strawberry milk.

I get a glazed long John donut and a bag of flaming hot and that was breakfast.

Let's see.

I don't know.

I don't know what era you were in.

I remember the century, but I was grocery shopping.

I was a latchkey kid

and

for years we didn't have transportation.

The bus was our transportation.

So I would go after school with my two book bags on my shoulder.

And I would have a list of groceries that we needed to get for the house, especially if it was getting ready to be a snowstorm.

And I would be big girl shopping and carrying that stuff on the bus.

And so, yeah, it wasn't no flaming hots now.

Popcorn is my snack.

And we didn't do the microwave.

We popped the real popcorn.

So those were things that I like now.

I like Doritos, Cheetos, all of that.

But that wasn't necessary.

Yeah, I wasn't shopping for groceries.

I was buying all the snacks I can to sell at school.

I mean, I don't know too many people who don't indulge, to be honest.

Like, even as we're building a campaign, first of all, food access is a new issue for African-American Roundtable.

So we're learning as we're

going.

But, you know,

we're

everyday people, like everybody

that's

listening, who...

are also learning to reconnect with land and soil and healthier foods and how to prepare different types of meals and we're all learning.

But like Mrs. Wofford said, it's definitely about resourcefulness or self-determination, as we call it, and not relying on corporations or outside entities or SNAP benefits or all these other things that haven't always worked for us to meet our basic needs for food.

which we also know is tied to our safety if we're

full and if we're nourished and

if we're taken

care

of, then our communities are in better position to be safer.

And so, yeah, it's just about giving people, especially on Northwest Side, their vision coming to life in terms of what it looks like to grow and prepare and have access to your own food and not be relying on somebody else to give you that through community gardens, through locally owned grocery stores, farmer's markets.

et cetera, et cetera, the list goes

on in

terms of what we heard from residents.

But this is stuff that the people said that they wanted for themselves.

And it's like,

OK, well, let's go and get it.

That's what

Feed the Chant is about.

Don't go anywhere, y'all.

We are live with the African-American Roundtable.

We are talking about Feed the Change MKE, a campaign that they are launching to help address the food disparities in our local communities.

When we come back, I want y'all to tell the folks.

I think it said District 5 and 9.

So just kind of give the people an idea of where those districts are.

Don't go anywhere, y'all.

This is the great Vine with Ray Nitty on the award-winning 1017, The Truth.

What up y'all welcome back welcome back to the grapevine with Ray Nitty on the award winning one on one seven the truth we getting into the vines y'all talking to him african-american round table and We're talking about the feed the change MKE campaign Addressing the food disparities in our local communities

If you're just joining us, 833-212-1017 is the number to dial.

You could also text that number.

Please follow us on Facebook, like, share, subscribe, bring somebody to the show with you.

Please, please, please like and subscribe on YouTube, 833-212-1017.

That is the number to dial.

And for those of you that's riding in your cars, thank you for joining us.

We are talking with Ms.

Raisha Farmer.

and Tracy Watford.

See, I got the names right today.

Appreciate it, man.

So we just talked about feed to change.

And but I want you all to give a snapshot, a snapshot.

See, I'm from the island.

So sometimes my Caribbean accent, like slip out.

So if you hear something that just a little, what

was that?

A little different Cajun spice on it.

That was just the Caribbean and me fighting for freedom.

But.

Please give people a snapshot of the districts that you all are heavily operating in right now.

And I know y'all focus on the whole city, but I know it's specified district five and nine.

Right, right, right.

You're right.

Yeah, so we do work across the city, but we're building power in automated districts five and nine.

The alder folks for those districts are Lamont Westmoreland in automated districts five.

That's where Ms.

Watford lives.

And then Larissa Taylor is the alder for Automatic District 9.

That's where I live.

Yeah.

OK.

But hey, hey, neighbor.

But, you know, the cleanest way, because there's a bunch of different ways you can define automatic districts, you can give zip codes, you can give lines.

Sometimes the lines are not always clean.

But I like to give streets, because I think, you know, Milwaukee folks, we get down by streets.

So I think between 76 and capital.

through 124th or County Lion Road and Brown Deer.

That's where the bulk of our like Far North West Side work is happening.

There's a little bit of outlier.

I think Lamont Westmorelands District goes a little bit more south and east, but that's the bulk of where we are.

So what are some of the goals of this campaign that you all would like to see?

Well, for me, I think

the education component of getting the word out about what art is actually doing and how people can have a voice in seeing how the money is spent for the budget, for

the

city, the participatory budget.

And I first learned about that with art, and I honestly didn't start paying attention.

to a lot of that conversation until art, because I was of the mindset, well, they're going to do what they want to do anyway.

I had started getting a little cynical about politics.

And with working with art, I felt more hopeful.

And so some of the goals for me would be to increase community engagement and participation in the

process

and letting people know what the process is and how the process works so that they can have their voices be heard.

I would like to see more food access.

For me, that's big.

I'm part of the aging community.

And so even though I can drive myself to a grocery store and have options for what I'm buying, there's going to come a day where I may not be able to drive out my neighborhood.

And

so I need to have those options available to me if I'm able to still walk or whatever.

And there are people who

Right now, they can't drive somewhere else.

And so I want to see more options for them in our community.

You know, Midtown.

You know,

Midtown

used to be capital court.

And it used to be a thriving area.

And now I look at it and, you know, it's heartbreaking because it's just not the same.

You know, the option is there is very disrespectful, in my opinion.

and I want to see better investments and commitment to correcting those things in that area in our district.

They just had a brewery credit union open up and the Alderman was very proud of that work.

I'd like to see that same pride in recommitting to correcting some of the issues in that grocery access at Midtown because it's not there.

I understood.

I

had

never thought you was part of the Asian community.

Not

Asian,

aging.

Aging.

Well, you don't look like you're part of that community either.

She got an accent.

You ain't a part of that community either.

See, sometimes I be hearing things wrong.

I'm like, OK, that's why we can't judge people by their covers.

But

you

are definitely not a part of the Asian community.

You look great.

You look great.

Um, what's the core message?

What's the core message of this program?

Yeah, ultimately, you know, Miss Wafford talked about she's talking about the pick and save in midtown.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We were on a different rodeo show and we heard about I'm not even gonna repeat just something discussed in terms of the quality of the food.

We continue to hear about the quality of the just the experience when you walk into the pick and say blah, blah, blah.

All of that shows us.

which leads into our core message, we can't rely on corporations.

We can't rely on grocery store corporations to meet our needs.

They're gonna come and they're gonna go according to profit, unfortunately.

And we've been dealing with the same issues with some of these grocery chains for years.

And so ultimately, people have to take charge for their own grocery access.

And what that looks like, Ms.

Waffer was talking about it a little bit earlier, is through the city budget process, let's take one million of the city budget dollars, we learned that

Mayor Johnson said there's at least 685 million that's currently unaccounted for.

And so set aside a million of that is our goal to invest in people being able to start their own grocery stores, farmers markets, community gardens to access their food, delivery services to access their food, and also educational programs for food providers so they can sustain.

and for community members to have like nutritional education so they know like how do I work with healthier foods how do I preserve these things where are other places I can access them because sometimes it's not about something new it's about like there's this thing in this community that you don't even know exists and you don't you don't you know engage with there's a lot of like African markets on the northwest side speaking of Asian Asian markets on the northwest side that we could be getting healthier options from

And so, like, give the people the money to be able to, like, increase awareness and marketing, access more of these things, start their own community gardens, et cetera, et cetera.

We can't keep relying on the grocery stores.

That's not it.

That's not gonna be the end-all, be all.

That's not the only solution to food access.

So I heard you say...

there's how much money unaccounted for?

And when you say all of these millions is unaccounted for, what do they mean by that exactly?

I'm just telling you, hey, I can share the link.

I'm just telling you what the mayor put out in his video, educating folks about how the city budget process works.

There are 685 million of like a, I think there's like a two billion, two billion dollar budget.

I might need to be fact checked on that.

I think that's how much the city has to allocate every year.

And there's 685 million that like is not reserved for something else already.

And so we're saying of that money, let us get a million.

And that's a, that's a small.

A drop in the bucket.

That's a small fraction.

Right.

But if

you're feeling good, give us two or three more minutes.

OK.

I mean, if it's

600 and something, like, I don't want to derail our focus right now.

I'm going to stay focused, right?

So 600 and let's just say 600, because it's more than 600 million, you said.

But for the second number, we're going to say $600 million accounted for.

Unaccounted.

Unaccounted for.

at

this

time, and he said, I want you to tell me how to spend it.