Bringing you his authentic perspectives on important topics they live in
suburbs together they live in the city together they hang out together all in
the same family we're the only idiots that fight because we want our voice to
only be on one side like does that even make any sense it wouldn't aside loses
you lose everything say on the other hand have a voice no matter what because
somebody that looks like them is always in control Frank candid and straight to
the point well it's just a skewed system of course it is it's a lot of a
judgment answer my question though should we let people go should we let
people go like let's just forget about bail all together and if your neighbor
commits a homicide and kills people up if you kill people and they next to you
and you just let them come back and live right next to you they can live up
there's from you let them come in the house
Frank candid and straight to the point this is the best radio show in the state
of Wisconsin truth in the afternoon with Dr. Ken Harris on 101 seven the truth
and the truth out now he's the mayor of the city of Milwaukee he's a young man
give him a chance I only complain about things that I care about what I want you to
do is pretend like I'm in St. Louis and all I'm asking the mayor and the
Coma Council president and the Coma Council show me now live from the
American Family Insurance Studio at the Avenue in the heart of downtown
Milwaukee here is Dr. Ken Harris
you're listening the truth in the afternoon I'm your host Dr. Ken Harris a
3 3 2 1 2 1 0 1 7 is the number so I want to get something out of the way that I
put on my social media over the weekend and I got a truckload of comments and
DMs and all sorts of that I put them out yeah of all the ridiculous things but
wanted to let you know that this is my last week on 101.7 the truth I will not
be moving forward with the new company and I think as they say it is what it is
so let's have a great week let's have some great fun let's move forward and do
some things and all that so but I was thinking about as I always do I guess
because I'm a black man I think about black men and I think about the things
black men need to do and I think about all those things that need to change and
so I think I'm going to spend this week dispensing advice of course you know
after this week I'll be on YouTube so you know that's that Dr. Ken's truth on
YouTube so we'll be that'll be cool there's so many things in life that we
want to do and so many things in life we want to change and as they say when
you're younger versus older sometimes people don't want you because you're
older sometimes people don't want you because you're younger but in the end it
comes down to time versus wisdom right time versus wisdom you can't sit here and
say that you have issues with like I'm in the YouTube chat right now somebody
said I can take all this change yes you can because life changes it changes I'll
still be hanging out you could decide if you want to support the new piece or
not it's completely up to you but what you should do is make a decision before
you've had time to think and think it through and all that stuff so hang on
aware I'll be around having to decide if it's gonna be live or if it's gonna be
three days a week or Monday through Thursday I don't know because I like my
Friday side or Sunday I'm just saying so I'll probably do Monday through
Thursday definitely unless you all tell me you want something different then it'll
be every day every single day Monday through Friday from four to six so but that
doesn't preclude you from support here got it so let's not get all
nonsensical because elders have wisdom young folks have time I talked about
that in the past and so one of the things I'm gonna talk about this week I want
to talk about men because I always talk about women every talk about women with
women out of the kind of nonsense like this right but I want to talk about the
perception of black men in America especially in Milwaukee and my top five
but five have some interesting things in it by virtue of the fact that it's
about women but and some of the stuff women are doing however I want you to
understand if you're gonna change perception no one's gonna beg white
America for acceptance you have to build an undeniable presence discipline
excellence influence that stereotype would just collapse because eventually
you'll become the stereotype all I'm like that perception changes when patterns
changes so if you want to try to change something you have to interrupt you
have to disrupt right when visibility changes when power changes when behavior
becomes impossible to ignore that is the only thing that is going to change the
perception of black men in Milwaukee one way is to not ask permission to be
respected as a black man and then people argue what's going to be black why
it's going to be raised because you made it that way you created something white
people took advantage of it and then tried to cry race race neutrality makes
no sense you change the perception of black men by sustaining cultural
economic intellectual and listen close personal discipline black people
ain't responsible for racism so stop telling us we got to change because of
something you did you created it you end it but you don't get to tell us how it
affects us black people that are responsible for historical oppression it's in
the past there's nothing you can do to change the past so I think black people
need to like build up a little persistence and resilience and all that stuff and
move forward but we're not responsible for it and we're not responsible for
stereotypes that you created of us we are responsible for what we normalize
what we continue to do that other people use against us we're responsible for
what we celebrate for what we tolerate ever responsible for what we produce
moving forward you know like your children
perception is built through repeated exposure so if you're only exposed to the
negative sides of black people then that's all you're going to get if people
who walk you repeatedly see dysfunction team meetups trash and cars doing
dumb stuff running red lights it assumes dysfunction in the black community is
normal so then you can't complain when people call you something because that's
how the majority of you are acting and when you have a chance to correct it
you say it's culture if the city repeatedly sees ownership discipline
innovation that perception is going to change
every single ethnic group in America corrected itself the Jews weren't
accepted when they first got here Italians weren't accepted when they first
got here Italians I said Italians Irish they weren't accepted Chinese
Japanese they weren't accepted when they first got here it wasn't overnight
and wasn't perfectly but they did it intentionally so here's some things
black men can do right now in a city Milwaukee to change the perception of how
black people white people Hispanic people Asian people all people in America see
black men number one become economically dangerous not physically dangerous
economically dangerous old enough stuff where whenever they have to make a
decision they got call you you are a power player at the table because we know
America respects ownership no matter what you own but they respect it if you
can sign the check instead of cashing them people respect you next protect
your image with discipline if you're gonna go do some dumb stuff and some silly
stuff and some outrageous stuff to go somewhere where there are no cameras no
internet no pictures no phones no no nothing do what you do and come back and
go hey I'm great because right now we're fighting caricatures lazy irresponsible
hypersexual emotionally absent criminal undisciplined no control whatsoever and
and whether the media is fair or not is irrelevant it just amplifies the
examples that it already has and to be honest with you we cooperate with the
performance too I mean at some point every time you have a confrontation it
doesn't need to be content every weakness doesn't need to become entertainment
sometimes what's this maturity is revolutionary because if you're disciplined as
a black man you can change perceptions simply by controlling yourself how you
dress how you speak how you respond to conflict how you carry yourself in
public how you conduct business that matters the times that I've gotten in
trouble the most was when I did just that because then people got bothered we
as black people are judged as a whole by the visibility of the few it's it's it's
it's not fair but it is what it is if you understand systems and you understand
processes you can do anything in life however too many of us entertain culture
right but we're not the owners of the culture I can attest because I use
myself as an example a high a well-spoken highly informed black man can
disrupt more people than allowed boisterous one because ignorance is expensive
it'll cost you too much when you don't understand contracts taxes investing
insurance politics media and you don't know who to call to get it that's
a problem somebody else profits from our confusion but in the end no matter what
we do we have to control the narrative we have to tell our story because they
monetize our pain they monetize our dysfunction put it in movies sell it to
people and then we're supposed to say it's okay when you think about the
dysfunction that was in the Michael Jackson family let alone his life and they're
gonna make tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars off of his life and his
death but look at all the things black people have built in Milwaukee we built
music sports language culture of fashion innovation the city leadership
entrepreneurship faith community all those things but they only look at the
loudest thing as a thing they want to show that represents us if I could show
something negative that represents all black men and we know when we walk in a
room people meet us before they meet us because they assume we're like
everybody else fair or unfair but let me be clear changing the perception of
black men in Milwaukee is not performing for white people it's not about a
simulation it's not about abandoning black culture it's about elevating the
standard and keeping your identity how do you do that number one you can wear
culture but not become a caricature you can elevate standards preserve
identity embrace blackness without glorifying destruction right elevate
standards preserve identity honor struggle but don't normalize dysfunction yeah
you struggle in and you're on welfare but at some point you got to get off and
move forward because I'm be honest with you the only time black people are
protested against is when we show excellence and it's too difficult to
dismiss ownership was too difficult to silence and elect is too difficult to
manipulate strong families difficult to destroy unified communication that's
a whole other thing so how do you change all this perception one you stay
rooted you stay focused and you stay disciplined you become so excellent that
stereotypes seem like a lie because everything that they've seen is of
excellence we want to build which is why we got fraternities so why we got
Prince Prince Hall Mason so we got 100 black men all these organizations the
goal is to build a generation of black men so strong that they no longer need
validation in any part of their life especially from people that are committed
to misunderstand it makes no sense because history has shown us something powerful
I'll leave you with this perception might just shape our opportunity but
persistence will definitely shape our destiny and that is Dr. Ken's truth on the
new 101 seven the truth more of truth in the afternoon with Dr. Ken Harris
is next on 101 seven the truth the truth app and 101 seven the truth dot com
you're listening me truth in the afternoon on your host Dr. Ken Harris 8332121017 is the number
we've been talking about how we gonna get black men to change the perspective in
the profile of what it is they do I think I think every day this week leading up
to Friday I'm going to pick one topic and that's going to be my show topic for
the day I want to I want to kick around things that can be done and so if you
have any comments about how do we how do we how do we change the how do we
create destiny which drives me to a question I don't know if I should ask I don't
know if I've asked this before but why can't black people get out of influence of
light society like have so many things by the way 8332121017 if you want to
respond why can't black people get out of the way get out of the under the
influence of light society is it that we perceive that they have the control
they have they actually have the control they have or we just want to be like
every other human in America in America in the world and just belong I don't
know I don't know at some point we stopped getting sick and tired of being
sick and tired we allow people to do things to us and through us but then
only get ours and discount other other things other people other entities
which is fine it's it's just people can play your human nature against you
when you're black to work against you being black which is weird to me but
that's what we do
Todd talking Texan I said hi Dr. Ken I will follow you on whatever platform
you're on I am super upset you're leaving I recently found you the absolute
best talk show host I'm not reading because this is what he wrote I have ever
listened to Barton well thank you for that you are the best at your craft I
love your perspective on current events and life in general I will always
follow your career and any avenue you choose your loyal listener Todd was that
Todd from okay I'm a walker book a shows waterford that's one waterford okay
okay well thank you for that but yeah it's it's at some point we keep
talking about a color blind society but is that what we really want do
black people really want a color blind society too much of our culture too much
of our life too much of what we do is tied into our color but then in order
for us to move forward we let other things happen and then we take care of
ourselves first which I get that's how life goes but at some point are we
going to give away the culture and miss changing that perspective of negative
because we perpetuate that a lot I was I was walking around this weekend and I
just saw black people with I'm like what are you dressed that way because you're
poor or are you dressed that way because you dress that way or are you dressed
that way because you're just you know jamming people and you actually got
money you just standing outside like here's here's the problem here's who I say
anytime I see you on a schedule to beg for money that's a problem for me I go to
this same place every Thursday every Thursday morning this same guy shows up to
beg for money I'm like player what you doing like Sunday through Wednesday and
Friday and Saturday what you do it and so I think yeah so when you got a
system set up I'm inclined not to help you the other thing was before I get to
the calls I offered to give somebody some money and they said okay I said but
what do you need oh man I'm hungry I said why don't you come inside and I buy
you something to eat he told me that's okay I said that that is why I knew you're
relying and I'm not giving you money I'm I'm kind of I'll admit I'm kind of
hard on let me think about if I want to say that before I get beat up it's
Gerald you're on the award winning 101 seven of truth good afternoon Dr.
Ken great great great topic I think that when you mentioned earlier in the
dialogue about the culture you reference culture and I think that that that is a
key and I think part of culture for me and my little bit of understanding is
values and I think if you can get when you can get black men to have certain
values right and those values that that they have if they demonstrate how if those
values can influence them how to be a specific way in terms of how they think and
then the results of that thinking I think now you're on a pathway to maybe
correct and not what I hear in some of the problem that you're referring to in
terms of black men now okay you know when you go across the country I I'm
mad you know I don't know what it looks like specifically when you talk about
black men and you compare men in the city Milwaukee to a comparable city not a
big city that's got eight times the population I'm talking Chicago that you
know compare black men here to like Kansas City or you know Cleveland or many
athletes or and then I would be interested in some kind of research to
like to see what kind of success and then the areas of success that black men
have but if we're focusing on here because we're from here I live there born
here well I think oh you're not okay I'm born and raised here I've been here half
my half I like I kind of phrases half my life to live the Chicago the other half
I lived here I am literally smack dab in the middle oh wow yeah I was born here
so I've seen the changes and I've you know had an opportunity to live in
other cities for a little small time okay and yeah it's the values I I know it
is it's the values and for some reason okay so then let me tell you with it
because I'm getting sure time what values are you talking about well one one in
particular is self-value how do you value yourself so let's start there like
when you value yourself how many things do you do that causes harm to yourself
right and then when you talk about self-development is it existential or is
it something internal you have to decide you have to decide that right so once
again like when you start to value your life yourself your body your mind I
would think just thinking on that I would do things that's going to enhance my
mind my body my spirit you know I'm gonna do positive things to enhance that what
I am but if I don't value it you know hey you know if it floats out of a way my
mind goes and so you have to you have to like be centered on like I care about
for myself it's in an extreme way almost to the point where it may be
sounding selfish but it's my self-preservation that I need to have kick in
right and so I gotta I gotta I gotta trust us in here oh my you're making a huge
assumption that people value that because you value it and so the way you see it
but that's the key that's the key but it's not what you refer to it's not it's not
it's if that person doesn't value it you assume that if they value life or
value themselves then they won't hurt other people kill other people do all
these other things that's an assumption well it's an assumption based on
enough eyewitness accountability that most people probably fall into that
thinking which is anecdotal at best so we really don't know if that in other
words look at the other side what's stopping people not from killing people or
hurting people or shooting people or stealing value we know we don't we don't
know that because we haven't asked that question have we we're making an
assumption well you use the word values right because you mentioned about
culture right but we're making on us but you're making an assumption about the
outcome of those values and I don't know if that's true well it depends on who
the person is and my case making the assumption so if I if I use my own life
then I'm gonna say it's it's true to it and that my life is not that much
special in anybody else's so I'm suggesting that is black men did 50% of the
things that I've done in my life oh it'll be a lot more walk you'd be a it'll be a
lot better place yeah now I know you saying I can't guarantee that but contrary to
that you can't say that it can't be that way either I'm saying show me well that's
what we're trying to answer the question okay show me right so it would take
black men to have a value within the culture that's going to help improve like
that a certain that's just one aspect of your life that's just one aspect of
value there's other ways of slight that apple that there's more components to it
okay you know we're not sitting down right in the book but we're not right
your memoir so you know all right first girl thank you all right and so we've been we've been kicking
it around for sure brought up some very good points I'm running behind a little
but he brought up some very good points as as it as it relates to what do black men value
if I can show what you spend your money on over the last five days I can show you what you value
I can tell whether or not you enjoy something like something have your mind on something if I
can see your bank book you know I'm saying like your balance and all that however if you tell me who
your five closest friends are I could tell you whether or not you gonna get through the week
this is truth in the afternoon with doctor Ken Harris on 101 seven the truth the truth app
and 101 seven the truth dot com
you're listening the truth in the afternoon and I'm your host doctor Ken Harris 8 3 3 2 1 2 1 0 1 7
is the number we're gonna take it easy this week we're gonna do too much deep stuff we go
what who's just got you but I'm a talk and do all sorts of things and have a great time and
reminisce and all that stuff stuff uh 8 3 3 2 1 2 1 0 1 7 is the number
quanta said let me take the youtube chat hey y'all yeah oh by the way Kathleen put
will you still be doing your book review the spook who said about a door almost almost definitely
almost definitely yes so I think I think yeah I think we'll be doing this so you know um
babar what what are you talking about babar welcome back doctor Ken even though you'll be leaving soon
as from now um
so you can hit me on at dr. Ken's truth on youtube and uh that's my ex handle
and lengthen dr. Ken Harris junior so I'll be in autumn places doing what I do
um let me see what it was so quanta said dr. Ken I pray you enjoyed your birthday weekend
will be listening no longer be
um okay yeah that's so that's so that's so that's okay that's cool appreciate it yeah
oh look at you how standing got some awards and stuff that's what I'm talking about
winning. Winning the way you do um and and LaCretia quanta say it was a
cool I get it and so and so one one of the things we have to realize and understand
that that happens in life is that change happens right and so as I was going through the news
today I was I was looking at some of the some of the things from my top five and I was a little
perplex took to the point where I'm going to like ask that question because it was kind of a
you know kind of a weird thing um I don't really understand how we allow ourselves to be
manipulated and
present it in a way that's not really clear that's not really positive and we do it
we talk about weighing whether or not you're black or not or whether or not you're black
enough or take your black card we do that silliness here but in the end what it what it came down to
is what's acceptable but is it acceptable to white America or is it acceptable to black America
because those two things are mutually exclusive although there's some things that that fit
I can't think of any I can think of things in white culture that fit black but not black culture that
fits white we seem to be only in the end of time and the sports arena acceptable in white society
and then everything after that you know we got a fight in business we got a fight in real estate
we got a fight in investing we got a fight in home ownership we got to fight it everything else
and I don't know if that's
important enough for us to really bother to I think we spend an inordinate amount of time not
taking advantage of resources instead of just doing what we do there are some things I do
as a black man that I only do with black people or if there's a white person in my family that is
my family that I do and it's and it's I can't say it was somebody else told me but it's what we do
and sometimes people will invite me to stuff hey can you do such a such and I go
no I had an example today somebody wanted to introduce me and then we'll take a break
somebody wanted to introduce me to somebody because of some of the work I do in the community
and all this and that and I thought about it and I said and I guess you can tell me how to do
this 8 3 3 2 1 2 1 0 1 7 is a number how do you tell somebody else who wants to introduce you
and I'm using this introduce you to somebody no like a Zach I want to introduce you to a friend of
mine you want to go into radio he want to be in radio blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
how does Zach say to me hey that can't yeah no without sounding pompous without sounding like
I don't really need that not really now to be honest with you when we come back I need you to
answer that question how do I tell somebody that the person they want to introduce me to yeah
I'm not interested now I'll tell you why but I want to hear from you 8 3 3 2 1 2 1 0 1 7 how do you
tell somebody who wants to introduce you to somebody that you really don't want to meet him
I need a I need a entryway into that conversation because I've got like three or four different answers to
that that just might not be appropriate you're listening the truth in the afternoon of your host
Dr. Ken Harris how do I tell someone that I don't want to meet somebody they want to introduce
me to it's truth in the afternoon with Dr. Ken Harris on 101 7 the truth the truth app and 101 7 the truth dot com
you're listening the truth in the afternoon on your host Dr. Ken Harris 8 3 3 2 1 2 1 0 1 7 is a
number had a question on the floor how do you tell somebody like hey thanks for the friend connection
but you know I mean it's easy to do on LinkedIn it's easy to do on so you just decide yeah ignore
and then it keeps popping up like ignore like what are we gonna do decline like what
so somebody says hey I want to introduce you to I got a friend of mine y'all do the same stuff
and I'm like I'm not really seeing any utility and really meeting the person so
how do I say thanks but no thanks without it sounding pompous or arrogant I'll go through
they're right I'm just yeah so let me go back through the talk and text line
I'm the and the youtube chat
hey that's funny that is funny oh somebody said when I when I read the the youtube chat and all that
um um I don't read the comments some of my well one of the reasons I don't is because if it
takes a significant amount of time to have to give the backstory to answer what the person is saying
it's kind of not worth saying and y'all see it in here so I guess y'all can talk to each other
but I'm just saying LaCretia said what's up bestie so you heard that um yeah but it just
is what it is you know Tony said how do I feel about Tori Lo leaving uh Tori Lo is a grown man
Tori Lo can do it he won't just like I can if somebody wants you they do if they don't they don't
and you move forward and life happens and you be professional and you go on like what what are we doing
I don't I don't really understand that I don't I'm not really yeah we'll just restart study hall
on at Dr. Ken's truth and we'll just keep moving
yeah it's it's not a big it's not a big deal people are monitoring relax just
taking easy move forward all that right oh it is it is perfectly fine um but going back to it
like back stuff oh you need to quit Babar you need to quit so Zeta Shay said what's your reason for
living leaving so I don't do people even know as anybody said it so um 101 7 the truth was acquired
by another company entity and they're moving forward and they're changing some of the line up
or all of it or I don't know and they're they're they're they're moving forward and I'm not moving
forward with them it's not a relax it'll be great last week everything's fine um I just but it
it just it just disturbs me that we as black people getting back to it the wigs black people don't
take responsibility for some of the things that we do that we don't we we want black stuff and we
want to do black things but then when it becomes negative it's kind of yeah I know I'm jumping
all the way because I'm reading through all the chats and reading through all the um things but at
but at some point at some point black people need to be responsible so that's why I started out
this entire hour for black men to kind of ask them what y'all doing well what exactly is y'all doing
what are you doing because if you stay quiet and don't say anything you're as bad as the people
doing the work there's a way my other topic was how do I tell somebody that wants to be my friend
I won't be a friend it wasn't like that it wasn't it wasn't that way see now now I'm getting
in a reading too many text messages and going all over the place but one of the reason one of
the main things before the break was whether or not I was going to a person said they wanted to
introduce me to somebody and I don't I didn't know how to tell that person thanks but
thanks but I don't really want to be friends so here's what I did
because first is cold then it's hot then it's cold now it's hot again probably because I'm drinking coffee
so one of the things I had to consider because this is what went through my mind when the person's
asking me number one I don't know who this person is they told me the name and I and I don't know
what I'm gonna talk about and they started talking about all the things we had in common I said okay
they said well this person lives in such and such and I was like okay I'm I'm not really
understanding what I would have in common with this particular person and why oh you all do this
you all do that you all do this you all do that and I just connected something that didn't make any
sense to me at the time but now it makes a sense to me now and and I'm gonna use race as an issue
because I know this person I've known him for years he's a he's a he's a he's a friend he's never
done anything negative but he's a white guy who understands black culture and all that but he
was introduced to me to a foreigner who's from another Latin American country and he said yeah
I wanted to do you you know you're a black guy and you do stuff with black kids and then he said
this person and I said to myself thinking internally this guy's not black what like like what exactly
are you saying we have in common because we do this or because we do that
as all I was like I don't know if I want to be friends and the thing that triggered me was
this guy's not black he's Latino which is okay I'm gonna do like everybody else I'll go a lot of
friends a little Latino but it's from a different point of view it ain't black stuff
which is okay but I don't I don't know if in that space that's gonna fly it'll become too generic
and here's my other reason and I had to be honest about this because people get mad
sometimes you get old enough
these don't want to make me friends like dude like I got enough friends I got enough friends I
appreciate we could be in acquaintance we can hang out every night and we can do that but I got
enough friends I got enough friends and that sounds mean right that sounds mean
but at some point you got to like check it right I understand why people
that are in their 80s you'd be like hey let's do so so they'd be like nah let's not do that
yeah but we gonna am good because you you get to a point and I think that age is a brown like
50ish you get to a point where you're not really trying to take on too much stuff
like like you you're not gonna take on so much stuff that I got to make because honestly you know
the the trauma in making new friends you got to see how they cool and do you want to get to know
their family and friends and and I and I did that in elementary school middle school high school
college I'm not doing that anymore do that it work I'm not making any new friends anymore
is almost to the point where if you don't know me by not too bad so sad
if I don't have an understanding or inkling of you doing something I'm pretty done
and that sounds mean
mouse that you can never have enough friends mile clearly is under the age of 50
cuz mile don't know what he's talking about you're listening mature to have to know that
on your health doctor getting here is top five at five up next
