Soldiers vs Solutions - Violence is a Public Health Issue

Hello and welcome back where we talk truth and tackle tough issues and create a space for healing and solutions. I'm your host, Dr. V, and today we are diving into one of the biggest challenges facing our nation: inner city violence. Our topic today is soldiers versus solutions, how to cure inner city violence and make communities safer. This conversation really is coming at a really, really important and critical time, particularly for Washington, D.C. There are neighbor neighborhoods across the country, including ours, that are being militarized. And there are some neighborhoods that are being threatened with militarization. There's increased ICE arrests. In some cases, there's false arrests. And so here's the reality: this is not a war zone. These are our neighbors, our families, our children. And you don't cure this uh brokenness with soldiers. You actually cure it with solutions. So what I wanted to do today is we are going to have two guests on, and we're going to talk about what are the actual solutions and what what is being done. So before we actually bring our guest on, um I want to I want people to really understand um the root causes and and what is the root of violence. So let's start here. So first of all, violence is a symptom. It is not a disease. It is similar to um saying chest pain. Chest pain is a symptom. Heart attack is the actual disease. The root cause is actually blockages of your arteries that's caused by increased cholesterol and clotting of the blood. So as you can see, you know, you have to really separate into what is a symptom, what are the diseases and the entities that are leading to this, and then what are the actual uh solutions. So for violence, we're often talking about generational trauma, we're talking about poverty, we're talking about lack of uh opportunity, we're talking about under-resourced community, uh, under-resourced community uh programs. So when you really think about it, a child is not born violent. No young person ever dreams of picking up a gun or doing anything violent. But when families struggle to survive and schools are underfunded and people feel hopeless, jobs are scarce, maybe there's even uh mental health symptoms or out sort of outbursts that are actually being ignored, um this is when desperation and other things uh begin to occur. So what we want to talk about is um the fact that, you know, these are causes that police and patrol cars and soldiers on the street are not gonna really solve. What happens when you put uh increased police or increased uh uh military on the street, you will see a temporary uh decrease in crime. And then what happens is the minute they're removed, it actually goes back up because you haven't addressed the root cause. So I'm we're talking today, and my guests are going to talk about today how you create sustainably safer neighborhoods. All right, so first I want to I think it'd be interesting to actually talk about what are the ten deadliest cities in America. So when we look at cities that have very high crime rate, what we actually look at is the number of murders per 100,000 residents. So the number one city in the United States that has the highest murder rate per 100,000 citizens is Jackson, Mississippi. The next one is St. Louis, Missouri. Now, what you'll find interesting is you haven't heard any talk about these cities actually being militarized. Then next, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit, Cleveland, Memphis, Kansas City, Atlanta, Newark, and Chicago. So uh when you actually look at the top ten, Washington, D.C. is not even in the top ten. The other thing I think that it's important um to actually look at is look at the investment in local infrastructure and in community programs. So when you actually look at what has happened under this particular administration with the D.C. budget, I want to specifically talk about this. We have about 30,000 to 50,000 DC residents that will be taken off Medicaid and will be uninsured. The emergency rental housing assistance, which needs to be funded at a level of about 100 million but was funded at a level of 26 million, will now only be funded at a level of six and a half million. The DC Health Alliance program, which actually helps people who are not eligible for Medicaid actually get health care, has been completely eliminated. Mental health services. So mental health services normally uh we've been allowed to bill 50 hours of care every 180 days. That's been cut in half so that only so that only uh 25 hours of care every 180 days can be billed. Um and the temporary assistance for needy family has been uh has been cut by 25 percent. So so, in short, when you actually look at this, the resources that are actually needed for mental health, housing, food security are really under pressure. And what this does is this increases the risk and it increases the incidence of violence. So today to help us unpack this issue, and we're gonna have two guests. One is uh Dr. Stephanie Myers, who's the president of Positive Change Foundation and the National Co-Chair for Black Women for Positive Change. She is also an author and a vice president of RJ Myers Publishing and Consulting Company. She will be joining us, and so will Saul Corbyn. Saul Corbyn is the board chair and facilitator for the DC Peace team, focusing on civilian protection, restorative justice, and trauma-informed care. His vision is to help others build and maintain healthy relationships with conflict resolution as a primary focus. Now I'm gonna share a little story and then bring in our guest. A young man I once met, let's call him Marcus. He grew up in a community where violence was almost expected. His father was incarcerated, his mother worked two jobs, and by 14, he had already been to many funerals, more funerals than he had been to birthdays. He joined a gang not because he was violent, but because he felt like his family needed protection. And then he joined a local mentorship program, which connected him with job training and consistent guidance. His story and trajectory completely changed. He found purpose, he went back to school, and today Marcus is actually mentoring other young men. Marcus said we didn't need soldiers, we needed solutions. All right. Welcome, Dr. Myers uh and uh Saul Corbin. Let's start with Dr. Myers. Dr. Myers, could you share a little bit about what you're doing and what your organization is doing around violence in Washington, D.C. and around the world?

Well, absolutely, and thank you very much for the opportunity to be with you and your audience this morning. Our organization, the Positive Change Foundation and Black Women for Positive Change, we have been very concerned about this issue of violence for for a number of years because we realize that America was born into a violent culture. And the first thing we have to do is change the way people think about violence. If you look at the televisions every night, there's violence every few minutes in a TV show. If you go to the movies, if you play video games, so we recognize that changing the culture of violence is our overall goal. So we started to have a day of nonviolence back in 2012, and then it expanded to a week, and it started off in Washington, D.C., and then other states got involved. And now here in 2025, we're looking at a month of nonviolence, families, and understanding artificial intelligence. And we're doing this in America and around the world, trying to get people to realize it's up to us. It's sure the government has to be involved, the military and the law enforcement all have to be involved, but the real main characters that have to be involved are the people. So we're organizing events all over the world to try to change the culture of violence.

So so give me an example of what type of events, so give me an example of what sort of events are going to be occurring in October.

Sure. We're going to be focusing on peace circles. Now, peace circles, which are called restorative justice peace circles, provide an opportunity, very, very simple, for people to sit down with each other to organize a group of children or high school kids or adults and have them sit around in a circle and talk about what is going on in their lives. We had a peace circle at the White House, the Biden White House last year, and we had kids from five high schools in the District of Columbia. Would you believe, Dr. V, every single one of those children had had a personal experience with violence, either their parents, their neighbors, or themselves. They had seen it, they had seen the pain that had happened afterwards. So peace circles are something that everyone listening can do. You can do it at your kitchen table, you can do it at your church, and these are examples of events that people will be doing all over the world. We also have people looking at gender violence. We know that domestic violence is a terrible problem facing many families. Violence begins at the kitchen table is a slogan that we use. Not to be funny, it's just to make the point. And so we have to try to get people to talk. Stop denying the truth. This morning in the news, Dr. V, there's a news story that the Dolphins assistant coach was just arrested on domestic violence. The Dolphins out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Right. So here you have a top coach probably making millions of dollars beating up his wife.

Right.

And we have to address these issues.

Yeah, so you know, and then, you know, obviously when you talk about uh something related to football or any sort of contact sport, then you're also dealing with, you know, what is going on around brain health. Um, you know, it's um i i this is really, really an important uh issue and it's multifactorial. Now, Saul, you're I'm gonna bring Saul in. Saul, you actually are in charge of the DC Peace team. I didn't even know DC Adapea team. Can you is that is that my understanding, Saul? You actually are in charge of the DC Peace team. I didn't even know DC Adapea team. Can you is that is that my understanding, Saul?

Well, when you say in charge, I I'm the current board chair, but we also have an executive director, Dr. Eli McCarthy, um, and a team of facilitators um and uh voluntary support staff that really um ensure our mission, uh, which is to try to broaden the skills uh and imagination of just a normal neighborhood community members uh to intervene when there are identified crises without having to call in the police all the time.

Okay. So so if I were if I were to call you, how would I how would I how would I call in the DC Peace team and then when you get there, what would happen?

Um well we have our website is uh dcpceteam.org. Um and you can access the different types of trainings that we offer uh in restorative justice, in bystander intervention, unarmed civilian protection or community safety, as well as nonviolent uh communication. So those are the primary areas. We also will deploy um community safety teams upon request, uh locally, domestically, and even sometimes internationally. Uh and we offer um what Dr. Meyer referred to as these restorative peace circles or healing circles for different issues like uh trauma or um wellness uh depending.

So okay, so what tell describe to me these circles. So people sit around and they talk, but what is restorative or healing about it?

So we we live in a in a culture that uh does not celebrate uh mental health uh or awareness of those symptoms, uh, but rather we uh criticize it, ostracize it, isolate it, judge it. Um so there's not there aren't many safe places for people to go to express their uh mental or behavioral concerns. Circles provide that space um to share in a way that um uh the harm can be heard and expressed, the needs can be identified, and we can encourage and support people to move towards healing by supporting each other in the circle and then also outside of it uh with identifiable resources.

So so what sort of things happen after the peace circle? So I'm just kind of thinking like if I share how I feel, and then like am I gonna go home and everything's the same? Or t tell me how does it what happens after the peace circle?

So the first thing is that community is built within the space of the circle itself. You're identifying with others that have concerns, needs, or interests in that particular topic, um, and you're leaving with uh those folks in contact. So we're not just uh it's not a one and done. We're encouraging people to stay in touch. So you're building community, you're building connection, and then you're offered resources to follow up. The DCTP steam members and facilitators also offer themselves as resources beyond that space. So uh we always make time for follow-up conversations, continued conversations, and support for where that person is trying to get uh assistance.

So if you want to join this if you have Dr. V, I'd like to answer your question, what happens afterwards, if it's okay. Yes. Uh we had a peace circle in Pennsylvania a couple of years ago, and a 10-year-old boy was in his elementary school peace circle. He came and told his teacher the following week that the after he had been to the peace circle, his parents would always fight on Saturday nights. His mom and his dad would yell and scream at each other. But what he did is he said, Mommy, Daddy, can we sit down and have a peace circle? And his mother and father were so shocked they sat down with him and he said they sat there for a long time and had dinner and talked about all the things that were upsetting them.

Oh wow.

So he became a leader in his family after having learned the kind of tools that Dr. Corbett is talking about. He became a leader in how to try to bring peace. So that's what we mean when we say peace begins at home, it begins at the kitchen table. We have to teach our adults and children how to handle conflicts. They don't have to react. Right. They have to learn how to de-escalate.

So so I I want to just uh make sure that everybody knows the phone lines are open. You can call in. It's 1-800-450-7876. 1-800-450-7876. So, so uh Dr. Myers, you you bring up a very good point about this 10 10-year-old boy. And I want to actually ask the question where are kids learning how to actually resolve conflict?

Well, that's a that's a real problem, and that's where we have to start. And with the month of nonviolence, this is an issue that we need everyone listening to this show to realize we have to hold our institutions accountable. If you belong to a church, your church should be a center for conflict resolution and for nonviolence and peace. At a school, there's ways that they can bring an expert like Saul Corbin to teach the teachers and to teach the administrators and teach the kids. We have to really take responsibility. Right now we sit back and say, oh well, it's someone else's job to do it. It's someone else's job to fix it, the local hospital or the psychiatrist or the school or the church. Well, we have to hold them accountable, and that's not easy. One time I asked the minister if he would do a sermon on domestic violence at his church, and he pulled me over to the side and he said, I can't do that. And I said, Why not? He said, Because half of the people in my congregation are either perpetrators or victims. And if I talk about domestic violence, they will leave my church. So he was more concerned about his uh the size of his church and the money he could get than he was about the health of the people. So we have to hold these people accountable.

So could I do so so we you can do peace circles, for instance, at a church? If it if a church absolutely absolutely so if a church wants to have a peace circle or wants to actually look into this area around conflict resolution, that is something that actually could be could be done. Let me ask you this do the people that are actually arguing with each other have to all be in the peace circle, or can some of the people that are in the argument be in the peace circle? Like I'm just trying to figure out because sometimes you know you have people, they're not even speaking to each other anymore. They're not, you know, I I don't want to be in the room with her, I'm not her or him, or whatever it may happen to be. How how do you deal with folks that have just completely disengaged from each other?

Well, Paul Corbett's the expert on this, but I'll give a a quick answer. You have to learn how to communicate first of all with yourself and stop being in denial and start dealing with truth. And then you've got to figure out what are the things that are causing your loved ones to act this way. They've gone through trauma and pain. So you have to help them. This young man in uh Minneapolis who just killed two children and wounded 17 people, when you look at his background, he was going through all kinds of crisis. He was running around promoting Hitler. He had become transgender when he was uh about five or six years ago. His mother changed his last name, or his first name rather. We have to get to know what are the issues people are facing. We have a Peace Circles toolkit on our website, monthofnonviolence.org. People can go to that website and download for free the Peace Circles Toolkit, which lays out in detail how you do a Peace Circle.

So, so Saul, can you talk a little bit more about, you know, what do you do with situations where you might not have all the parties involved? And does that happen frequently?

Yeah, it's a great question. So uh Peace Circles um are voluntary, so um all parties uh have to want to be there for this to work, but the spaces themselves usually are public and open uh to anybody that wants to attend. So it starts off on the individual level. You don't need to have people that you're in conflict uh with present there. But you can also host spaces, restorative spaces for families, for uh couples, um, and even co-workers. Uh we we we get requests for that um quite often for organizations that are trying to um be able to express their concerns in a safe way. When we say safe, we don't mean that no harm could become of you, but rather it's a safe place for expression. So your your shares will not be redirected, punished, judged, and there's no crosstalk. It's uh an open space for people to to um vent into and people to be heard and also listened.

All right, if you want to join this conversation, you can call in now, 1-800-450-7876, 1-800-450-7876. Maybe you're curious about peace circles if they would help for your particular situation. Um maybe you've actually been a victim of violence or had someone in your family member that's been a victim of violence, and you want to actually talk about it uh live on the show. Uh it's 1-800-450-7876. Um, so Saul and Dr. Myers, can you guys share with me what other things that you have seen? So Peace Circle sounds sound very sound very interesting, and I'd like to know what other things that you have seen um that are actually working in our community? Because I think sometimes what happens, particularly with black communities, there's so much concentration and focus on the problem. And there's a lot of people out here that are actually um creating and implementing solutions, and those solutions are being are working. So what other things have you guys found that has been very effective um around uh making communities safer and decreasing community violence?

Well, we one example is a school that I recently learned about in St. Louis, in fact, that's a city that's having a lot of the problems, where they have a reconciliation principle and where they're trying to rebuild villages, where people can come with their with their kids to school and sit down and meet the parents of other kids. One of the things that we're missing is that years ago we used to have what we called the village. You could go to your aunt, your uncle, your grandparent, your neighbor. The neighbors would tell your parents if you were acting out and and get get some discipline on you. So we're trying to emphasize the point of strengthening families. When I mentioned the month of nonviolence, families. And artificial intelligence, strengthening families and rebuilding the village. The other thing we're looking at is opportunities. A lot of young people are confused. They don't know what they want to be when they grow up. They don't know how to prepare for it. But right now, artificial intelligence is creating jobs at the$200,000 and$300,000 level for people coming right out of community college. So we need to train our young people in how to be part of the future. We're going to have a training program September 17th on how to understand artificial intelligence. And we need to find out can artificial intelligence help stop violence? Maybe it can. I don't know. But these are going to be things we're going to experiment with. What can artificial intelligence do to help someone resolve conflict? Unfortunately, right now, artificial intelligence is promoting suicides in some young people. We have to flip the script. And so we invite people to come to our website, Black Women for Positive Change.org, and sign up for the Artificial Intelligence Program. So we have to have opportunities. In addition to programs that address violence, we have to help our young people look towards the future and to see themselves thriving and doing well and succeeding. Like you, Dr. Z, being head of an emergency room at a hospital and and being a woman of accomplishment. That's what our young people have to see.

So we're going to actually go to break. We've got a caller. Anthony, I want you to hang on, and after the break, we're going to actually take your question. Uh we're going to actually uh do we have time to go to Okay, Anthony, go ahead. We got one minute. Tell us what you wanted to talk about.

Hello, how are you doing? I just uh just want to comment on you talking about the churches. A lot of churches don't want to get involved in helping our kids because their hands are tied by bureaucracy. And I'm talking about the other people who they put their money in the churches. And we keep talking about AI. When we talk about AI and ancestors' intelligence, we need to go back and think about how our ancestors did this to create a better world for all of us today. It got to come from back where we originally started.

All right, Anthony.

All right, Anthony. Okay, alrighty. Thank you. All right. We're gonna go to break, and then on the other side, Saul, I'd like to hear from you about some other things that also make a difference.

If you owe the IRS, here's a question. Would you rather deal with IRS liens, wage garnishments, and asset seizures on your own while interest on your unpaid taxes compounds daily, or have an experienced team of tax professionals helping you put an end to that? If you want option two, the experts at Optima Tax Relief are here ready to help you. Their tax attorneys and licensed professionals step in front of the IRS on your behalf, fighting to put your tax debts to rest. Specializing in taxpayer assistance programs offered by the IRS, their award-winning team has resolved over a billion dollars in tax debts for their clients. So, would you rather keep fighting the IRS on your own or have Optima buyer side helping you? If taxes are the problem, let Optima help you with the answers. Call now for a free consultation.

Call 800-569-4435. 800-569-4435. 800-569-4435. Optima Tax Relief. Some restrictions apply. For complete details, please visit OptimaTaxrelief.com.

We've got two amazing uh speakers and guests on, uh Dr. Stephanie Myers and Dr. Saul uh Corbin, who's head of the uh DC Peace team. Um and we're talking about what sort of things are actually being done out here in the community, what can you do in the community, what can you join in and do in the community, um, specifically to make our communities uh safer, to help with folks learning about conflict resolution. Um and so the phone lines are open. It's uh 1-800-450-7876. You can call in if you want to share something that you have been doing in the community that you feel has been making a difference, or if you actually just want to have a question or a comment, or if you feel that you've been affected by gun violence and you want to actually speak about it. It's 1-800-450-7876. All right, I guess we've got a caller. Uh we've got a caller on line three, Robinson. No, we don't. Okay. All right, so Saul, you were going to tell me um what other things the Peace Circles sound very interesting, and you're gonna talk to me about other things that are going on that have actually made a difference in our community. Because I think often there's too much focus on the problem and not enough focus and um uh marketing and and news about things that are actually happening. So if you could um please share with me other things that you think that you have seen out here um in DC or in other cities that have actually made a difference in violence.

Yeah, uh so I think the DC peace team embraces you know the perspective that um you know most people want to be heard. And when they feel like they're not being heard, uh it's a reflection of uh how they see their value or worth. And so um for us it's uh moving away from an us versus them mentality and building connection with others. So in every intervention uh that we uh practice or utilize, it's about uh connecting with the person first in a way that they felt they feel heard. And so uh it's not what we're saying, it's how we're saying it. It's not what we're doing, but how we're showing up and being present to others. And so that uh requires some effective communication, some active listening. So uh while we offer a lot of workshops, um, the other chaff of our mission is actually out in the communities uh building relationships with folks in certain neighborhoods that might be in need, but that requires us to be present to the needs of the uh community members, listening to uh what their interests and directions are, and then aligning ourselves in a way that supports and encourages their own empowerment.

Great. So so soul, I have another I have a question that was text messaged into me. Um, and I think this is for you because you have a more a mental health background. Um, you know, uh Mayor Bowser actually started talking about the fact that anxiety has gone up in the city with all of this militarization and all of this policing. Um can can you talk a little bit about, you know, what how does it impact uh just you know, people, regular people in the city, um, seeing all of these tanks and military folks and you know, what is this doing to all of our mental health?

Yeah, so anytime you have a mental health issue or symptom that is left unaddressed or untreated uh or unattended to, it typically gets worse. So now that anxiety has gone up with all of this militarization in the city, um without uh any uh resources to deal with that, to offset it, to to talk about it, those problems and concerns tend to uh break down the trust that we have not only in uh government, in organizations, uh, but in each other as well. And so then it ends up becoming, you know, trying to clean up a river, let's say, that's uh from downstream, which you can't do. You have to go uh to the source, as we mentioned early in this program to deal with that. But with the breakdown of trust, so increased mistrust means um it fuels this disconnect between folks and then also how we uh view and perceive others, which will then be the filter for how we treat them. So uh all of these um whatever symptoms, whether it's depression or anxiety, just tend to get worse uh over time, and then the person uh if that continues will have a breakdown, and when they have a breakdown, they not only potentially harm themselves, but those that are around them. So, yeah, there there needs to be more accessibility to uh mental and behavioral health resources uh for all of the increases in mental uh health issues that are occurring.

So, so that's um so thanks. And I just want to remind people that if you feel like you're experiencing a mental health emergency, we have a 988 number that is now nationwide and 988 for you to call and actually get access to uh health that you need. Um, and it is 24-7. So, so I've been kind of wondering like, well, what happens if I really kind of get stopped by any of these people, or how I should even be engaging or looking at them or not looking at them when I'm walking down the street. It's very, very awkward. Um, I know I have actually um I have actually started carrying my passport with me all the time, which I never thought that I would actually really have to do. Um, Saul, do you have any any suggestions around around that?

Yeah, well, you know, the first thing is you gotta know what your rights are. Um there's a lot of um misconception in terms of what happens um, let's say if law enforcement stops you or you're present um to maybe an arrest. Um, but the first thing is knowing what uh you can do, which is knowing your rights, uh knowing when they can uh take you what kind of uh warrant information they need to do that, that needs to be signed by a judge, um, that there are witnesses there to document everything, uh, as well as um have attorneys uh called in to be present for that process. Um but the the main thing is to is to stay calm and then also to speak to them in a way that they can hear you, right?

Right.

So a lot of us kind of get into our feelings and we become defensive, which in current times tends to escalate the situation and then um law enforcement groups or a or agents can then become more uh aggressive in their pursuit.

Yeah, so um escalation versus de-escalation, and I wanted to just because I think this is really really important. You you know, all of us can get into um you can get into any sort of a uh conversation, disagreement, um, interaction that begins to escalate quickly, right? And so de-escalation, you know, a couple of core principles of de-escalation is really one to stay calm, right? Um to listen. Yes, to create some space and listen actively and avoid kind of like trying to win, um, to speak softly and slowly, be careful about body language, um, acknowledge someone else's feelings and purpose. Um I tell people, you know, these people have been sent here from Louisiana, Mississippi, and they're just doing their job. You know what I mean? They they're following, they're following the crazy orders. Um, and um, you know, know when to step away, know when to walk away, because some arguments are not worth um taking all the way uh to uh completion.

But some but Dr. V, I wonder if they didn't start bringing the people in from Mississippi and the southern states because the um military people from Maryland and DC and Virginia weren't being aggressive enough. I'm just concerned that they reached out to communities racially biased to try to start actions, and that's a real concern I have. One of the things that we're promoting is the idea of a peace pledge nationwide to try to encourage a movement to get started. Because when the brother who called in Michael, he said we needed to go back to the ancestors. Well, the ancestors believed in the village, they believed in sitting down in in circles and working things out. The ancestors did not believe in confrontation and grabbing a gun and shooting somebody because they disagreed with you. So I agree with him. We need to go back to some of the indigenous philosophies of Native Americans, people out of Africa, people out of villages and and Asia. But we also have this peace pledge that we're asking people to either rap, sing, or speak the peace pledge, and maybe we could start a movement where we make peace the happening thing, the trending thing on social media.

So, what am I pledging if I sign the peace pledge?

Well, I have a quick copy of it for you. I can read it to you. Go ahead. Okay, it's on our website. It says I pledge to uphold peace in the name of nonviolence and to work to keep my brothers and sisters safe. I promise to seek the path of peace and to treat others with fairness and respect. I pledge to do this for the sake of humanity so we can all live together in peace and harmony. And a person can sign that peace pledge or they can chant it. That's what we want now. We don't want it to just be a piece of paper. We want people to get in groups with children or senior citizens, multicultural, multiracial, multi-generational, and chant the peace pledge. I'd love to have a rapper turn it into a rap. They can sing it, they can dance it, but we need to get it up on social media because things trend and we want to keep our brothers and sisters safe.

So that's the goal of all this. So, Dr. Myers, let me tell you something. It's very interesting. I'm gonna I'm gonna have you read this peace pledge again.

And I'm as you were reading it, and I'm a I'm a I'm a fairly peaceful person, but as you were reading it, I was I was thinking of some people at work that I probably could treat a little bit nicer.

So I want you I want you to read that again, and I want the listeners to think about who in your life do you need to have a different conversation with than you have normally had a conversation with if you agreed to this peace pledge? Can you read it again, Dr. Myers?

Okay, I sure will. I pledge to uphold peace in the name of nonviolence and to work to keep my brothers and sisters safe. I promise to seek the path of peace and to treat others with fairness and respect. I pledge to do this for the sake of humanity so we can all live together in peace and harmony. And that's the nonviolence peace pledge.

All right, and where would I get that to sign it? Or where would I get that to agree to the pledge?

Sure, the month of nonviolence.org, www.monttofnonviolence.org. You'll see the peace pledge right up there. You can print it out. It would be great for people to have their children to recite it and sign it and stick it up in their bedroom. Put it on the refrigerator, put it in the car, put it someplace to remind you that you want to be nicer to your employers. Right.

Right, or whoever, or your co-workers, or you know, people that you see on the bus or the train or you know, on the highway, on the highway, or anywhere where it may happen to be. Um All right, I gotta take a quick break. Um I want to open this up to any uh listeners. Uh if you want to take the peace pledge or you want to say something about the peace pledge, uh maybe you um maybe you have things that you think would make your neighborhood safer, um, or maybe you have uh uh some comments about the peace circles or policing or anything that you think would actually make a difference, or maybe you've been impacted by violence.

And we want them and we want them to send us a video of them doing it. And about who wants that peace pledge, make a camera, film yourself, and send us the video and the email address is on the website.

All righty. We are going to um uh continue this conversation on the other side of the break. What the health is happening, that is the real question. It's also the name of my new podcast where you can literally get life-changing advice. What the health ha what the health is happening is where we give you the inside scoop on all health matters. We empower you with information and everything that you need from breaking news to health and medical updates. New episodes up late upload every Tuesday, um, and they it is on all streaming platforms. So whether or not you use uh Audible or uh Apple Podcast or whatever, if you type in what the health is happening, your dose of medical reality with me will pop up. Um I have guests, experts in various fields. Um, I tell people this is really, really important. As we go through everything that's going to be occurring over these next couple of years, um, you it is going to be harder and harder to get into your doctor's office. It is going to be harder and harder to get the health care that you need. And it's really, really important that you access this as a way to actually get science-based, evidence-based uh actual information on what sort of things you can do to make a difference and what you need to ask when you go into the doctor's office and what sort of things you need to actually look out for. All right. Let's bring it all together here. So so uh Dr. Myers and uh Saul, uh Dr. Myers on the peace pledge, um I did get uh I did get a text message immediately. They wanted to know um, will this peace pledge be given to DC public schools?

Well, we certainly hope so. We are working to meet with the leadership of the District of Columbia to ask them to make it an issue. We would love to see mayors and governors around the country chant the peace pledge with their students ask them to make it an issue. We would love to see mayors and governors around the country chant the peace pledge with their students, people who are elected officials, and so we're reaching out to them. We're reaching out to some of our leaders and our faith leaders, and absolutely they can do it in the schools not only, but this is where it becomes individual responsibility. The person who asked you that question should contact the schools in their neighborhood and tell them about this because chances are they're not listening to this show. So they need to take the leadership. We gotta get off the couch and become leaders. We have to vote, we have to get involved in local community action. We need to form community networks that that provide safety. You know, years ago, Dr. Z, the men in our community would always go and have the talk with the young people. Our grandfathers, fathers, uncles. We need to get the talk going again. And the peace pledge is a part of that. So, yes, we need to get the word out, but we can only get it out if the people listening to this show in their cars, on their phones, on their radios, they have to be the leaders. And they can sign up at monthandonviolence.org to have an event. The event can be in your living room with your two grandkids, or it can be at the church with a hundred people, or in the neighborhood, whatever works for people to be able to talk about how to deal with these issues, and we have to become more advocates, more activists. We need to get people to run for office. They need to run for the offices of mayor and and and Congress so they can control the budget, and that way we can fund people like Saul Corbin and the GCP team because they're powerful and they know how to fix this problem, but we don't have enough of them. Right. And so we need to expand that that talent base in our community.

So can you can you tell me has your program at all been impacted by the new budget that's coming down? This this big bill is coming down. Is your is your program, DCP's team, at all impacted by that?

Uh no, it hasn't. Um in in in the sense of uh we're not uh applying for a lot of federal uh government funds. So uh most of our funding comes from private donations and uh smaller grants. So uh yeah, our movement hasn't been hasn't been uh affected, but the requests have definitely uh increased uh due to all the unrest and chaos that's going on. The request for your services. That's correct.

Yes. So so so let me ask you this with school back in session, I I can't help but actually, you know, you know, we had another incident this week of um gun violence in in school in schools. You know, what would you tell parents and children? Because I think there's a lot of concern around, you know, what's going on with the schools, um the services at the schools. Um so what what would you what what would you tell parents or children uh, you know, who are concerned about going back to school given um given the gun violence that we're seeing that's specifically directed at schools?

Yeah, the first thing I would say is to make sure that um both parents and children are aware of all available resources. I know Dr. Myers can speak to this as well. But also, most importantly, for me is for parents and children to have open communication with each other about what their concerns are. Unfortunately, sometimes parents, excuse me, children feel like they can't speak to their parents about their concerns. So they look to other resources like peers or whoever to find those answers or navigate their concerns. And sometimes they're relying on others that don't know any better than themselves. But keeping those lines of communication open and uh if that means informing parents about how to do that with their kids, uh so that the concerns are transparent and then the community can respond to those needs.

All right.

Dr. Myers, you have anything to add around that?

Well, I agree that it's important for the parent-child relationship to become stronger, and we have to also be very honest about what's happening. They're taking black history, they're taking books out of our schools and our libraries. We have to look at the schools, the public schools, the private schools, and even the home schools. We have to look at different approaches toward educating our kids. Back in the Black Power Movement, we had liberation schools. And I would love to see liberation schools get started again. And they were right there in the church. And so Saturday mornings, you may be able to ac um actually try to increase your child's learning by giving them the black history of what's going on, by teaching them technology, by teaching them about artificial intelligence and conflict resolution. We're going to have to have new mechanisms to try to compensate for the loss that we're having in our budget and in our schools and the money that's being applied. Even here in Washington, D.C., at the same time we have this military marching up and down the street, because I live in D.C., it's absolutely horrifying. But we have got to also try to change the minds of those military guys. We have to change them so they realize that the Secretary of Defense and somebody's leaders, they need to learn more about our communities and who we are, and not to be so confrontational towards us.

Absolutely.

There are many mechanisms that we have to do. We have to support new leaders. We have a president at George Mason University who's under attack by the Department of Education. We need to support him. We have the sister Lisa Cook on the Federal Reserve Board.

Yes.

We have to support her. So we really need people to stop just listening and talking, but sit down and write those letters, make those phone calls, hold the Congress, City Council, superintendents of schools accountable. And yes, they should all be involved in this peace circle movement and just nonviolence movement. But we have to get them involved. And a lot of them don't realize that when America was started with the genocide against Native Americans, with the enslavement of our ancestors, and even with the white indentured being brought in here under force, that was all violence. Right, right, yes, it absolutely was. Yes.

So, Dr. Myers, we we got a caller here. I'm gonna bring in uh Julius Rivera. We got a we got a caller here on line three. Um, I want to be able to get him in here before we wrap up. Uh Julius, what what did you you have any questions or comments?

Yeah, how are you doing, Dr. V and all your guests? Uh yeah, really quick. I'd like to share a perspective on the troops coming into the cities. I would like us to back up a little bit and look at them in a more positive way, a way of eyes of deterrent. There may be some training needs to be taught to interact with the public, but at the same time, the support for the police to do traffic enforcement or other investigation. But our people who are ex-stores mingling around, you know, the big box stores are reporting millions of dollars stole. If we just have more eyes to be out and see, they don't have to stop them because we have cameras for that. We have cameras for to report who who did the mischievous behavior and we can go find them. However, that could be a deterrent if we have officers out and telling the young children what some of the stuff means in our government. For example, all the salad on the uniforms of the officers. What does that mean? So so Julius, let me ask you this. Are you engaged with the children?

So Julius, let me ask you this. Are are you in DC? Are you able have you seen these troops? Are you are you in D.C.?

I'm in Memphis. But wait a second.

Now you're in Memphis. You now these troops are needed in Memphis, okay? Memphis has a much higher murder rate, okay? So now I want to know why is the state of Tennessee, I want to know why is the state of Tennessee sending troops to Washington, D.C., right, when Memphis has one of the highest murder rates in the city. Why do you think that's occurring? Because you guys do need these troops.

Okay, I would say my my personal opinion about DC is things above our pay grade. Is there terrorist threats or some type of threat that we can't tell the public right away?

No, that's not what's going on.

No, that's not what's going on. We just had the leader of of our one of our rivals on U.S. soil.

We've had look we've had them, we've had them on the U.S. soil before.

Right, right. So what's going on with that?

Right, right. We've had them on U.S. soil before.

Right, right. We have a lot of stuff going on, and our other enforcements, the FBI, CIA, and any of those other letters, the alphabet boys, they're busy with their thing. Do we use this as a peacekeeping force? Well, okay, let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. Is your is your peacekeeping the world?

Okay, but let me ask you this. Is your mayor, is your mayor white or black?

Right.

Your mayor is black. Okay, but you got you, but you're a you're a Republican state. See, I think this is more about politics, you know, and more about because all of the cities that have been named, which have been D.C., New York, and Chicago, New York City is the safest city in the w in the country. It has the lowest murder rate of all the cities in the United States, right? So when you're talking so when you're talking about going into these these states that are democratic but don't have high murder rates, this is about politics. This is not about this is not about violence. But I I I gotta I want to take the last caller before thank you for calling in. And um, I gotta take the last caller here, uh Askia.

Good morning, how are you doing?

Good.

And how are you doing, you guys? I heard your guests on another show on your radio station, and I think it's a good thing. I mean, we have to start from the floor up. I mean, I think that's what we have to do. Um, I want to ask uh the doctor, have she reached out to public announcements when it comes down to professional sports? They have a budget just for stuff like this. Uh, you you usually see it around like uh Super Bowl time, or they do it out throughout the year. Uh, they do have a budget for public announcement from health to everything else, and I think it's a great idea. Have you reached out to that part of uh um, I guess uh uh the segment as far as uh uh reaching out to the NBA, the uh NFL and places like that. Because uh I think it would be something that uh the you know you have a lot of kids and you have a lot of people just in general look at these sports, and if you reach out to something like that, that would help you as far as your budget and everything else. Uh number two, young lady uh to the host. Yes. Um I don't agree along with I'm I'm in California. I don't agree along with just straight out the bat what's uh but I think when we're doing something when the when the president, regardless of whoever he is, I have to respect the president, whoever it is, and I think that's just something we just gotta have to do. Um we don't have to like him, but I think once that person becomes the president of the United States, and if he's using this as a model, you gotta understand Washington DC is considered a federal place. I I mean you can't get no federal because that's where all our decisions are made at.

Yes, we do not have we do not have statehood. Yes, we do not have statehood.

Right. So uh so if if he wants to use that as a model, and you know, look, some of our police forces are all over, regardless of whether it's red or blue. They're ridiculous, and I think their police are starting to lose respect, and this is why we're starting to see a lot of the killings with police now, is because what they've been doing over the years. So I think if it works, we just had to sometimes we just as black people we have to step back and just see if something's gonna work. I I I mean, I I've been in that situation. I was here with the Ronnie King thing, and I'm telling you, the the the the uh the the military was a lot better than the police force to bring our city back to where it should, you know, bring it back from what it was what what they was actually doing in them seven days. So I just say I think sometimes we have I'm 66 years old. Sometimes I've been a Democrat all my life. I think sometimes we get so into politics ourselves we can't see clear through the forest.

So you think you think we need to you think we need to wait to wait and see what the impact what the impact is because we're about to close. We got a like a minute of we got a like and I want one of those. Yeah. All right, we got wait, wait, wait, wait, we got Dr. Myers, Dr. Myers, we got 20 seconds, so say it quick.

Okay, please sign up to do a sports initiative on our website, month and nonviolence.org.

With soldiers versus solutions, how to cure inner city violence and make our communities safer. Thank you, fam.

The preceding program was paid for by Channel of Health.