Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Rushion interviews George Lambert whose mission is to increase the economic and political power of Blacks

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Rushion interviews George Lambert whose mission is to increase the economic and political power of Blacks · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

0:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations.
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Speaker 1: There we go.
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Speaker 3: Welcome to Money Making Conversation Masterclass. I'm your host, Rashaan McDonald's.
0:34
Speaker 3: The theme is that there is no perfect time to
0:36
Speaker 3: start following your dreams because I recognize that we all
0:39
Speaker 3: have different definitions of success. For you, it may be
0:42
Speaker 3: the size of your paycheck. Mines inspire you to accomplish
0:45
Speaker 3: your goals and live your very best life. It's time
0:47
Speaker 3: to stop reading other people's success stories and really start
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Speaker 3: writing your own. People always talk about the purpose of gift.
0:53
Speaker 3: If you have a gift, leave with your gift. You
0:55
Speaker 3: know that your friends, family, or co workers stop you
0:57
Speaker 3: from planning your dreams, but I guess it is George Lambert.
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Speaker 3: He's the president's CEO of Greater Washington Urban League. The
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Speaker 3: League is on the mission they increase the economic and
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Speaker 3: political power historically disenfranchised and excluded blacks. He's on the
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Speaker 3: show to talk about this as well as an amazing
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Speaker 3: event that's happening. Please welco with the money making Conversation Masterclass.
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Speaker 3: George Lambert, How are you doing?
1:17
Speaker 1: George?
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Speaker 4: I am doing good. Thank you so much. Delighted to
1:21
Speaker 4: be a conversation of the day.
1:23
Speaker 3: Well, you know, first of all, I alwas toll when
1:25
Speaker 3: I want to heard the word Urban League and a
1:26
Speaker 3: lot of people, you know, you hear about the NAACP.
1:29
Speaker 3: You hear about a lot of organisms, like what exactly
1:32
Speaker 3: is the Urban League.
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Speaker 4: We are a civil rights social service organization, been around
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Speaker 4: since nineteen ten. Certainly, if you mentioned the NAACP, have
1:41
Speaker 4: had a number of partnerships with the NAACPO for the years.
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Speaker 4: They preceded us in terms of the work that we do.
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Speaker 4: They certainly came on the forefront of nineteen or nine,
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Speaker 4: but we do a lot of work in collaboration together.
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Speaker 4: We have ninety two Urban League affiliates around the country.
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Speaker 4: We have certainly eye pullers that we all operate from
2:02
Speaker 4: in terms of supporting the communities that we're in. And
2:05
Speaker 4: in Washington d C. Ol foot print is Washington d C,
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Speaker 4: Prince George's County, Maryland and Montgomery County, Maryland.
2:13
Speaker 3: Wow, you know they've nicknamed oftentimes. You've heard the name
2:17
Speaker 3: Chocolate City d C.
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Speaker 4: That whole area it's now Cappuccino City.
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Speaker 1: Now, why you say that, George? Why do you say that?
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Speaker 4: Is the demographics have changed and the landscape has shifted.
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Speaker 4: I'll leave it there.
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Speaker 1: Well, you don't see it's not Shockey.
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Speaker 3: I grew up in Fifth Ward, which is in Houston, Texas,
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Speaker 3: all predominantly black neighborhood.
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Speaker 1: I would have to say ninety nine port nine percent of.
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Speaker 3: That neighborhood was black. Now in Houston is Hispanic. And
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Speaker 3: so you see these transitional things happening. Is that good
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Speaker 3: or bad for black for the black community?
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Speaker 4: You know, gentrification has been a real issue, particularly in
2:54
Speaker 4: the DMV. So that wn't include Washington d C in particular. Uh,
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Speaker 4: And so I guess really kind of depends on your
3:01
Speaker 4: lens from which you look at it. You know, the
3:03
Speaker 4: the the scope for us at the greater warsher of
3:05
Speaker 4: the leagues. Can communities coexist? And that's the conversation I
3:09
Speaker 4: often leave with, can we coexist as a community? And
3:14
Speaker 4: that's you know, part of the work the strength that
3:15
Speaker 4: we really kind of work from. There are some who
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Speaker 4: relocate to this area, come to the city and come
3:21
Speaker 4: for a spirit of wanting to coexist, wanting to support
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Speaker 4: the communities that they're coming into and wanting to see
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Speaker 4: you know, certainly how they can bring strengths and assets
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Speaker 4: and uh and be a part of the community. But
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Speaker 4: there's all those perhaps that you know, as I'm sure
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Speaker 4: you well know, that come of a different mindset. So
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Speaker 4: again it underscores can we coexist?
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Speaker 3: We know really is is a you know, there was
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Speaker 3: there was a proble moment in the African American community,
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Speaker 3: you know in President Obama, which I know in my
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Speaker 3: lifetime I never thought I would see an African American
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Speaker 3: to be recognized as the president of this United States.
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Speaker 1: We're back to back terms. Even when he.
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Speaker 3: Was president, there was a lot of volatility when it
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Speaker 3: came to we don't know if we really made any
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Speaker 3: strides in the black community and the workforce in social
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Speaker 3: justice under his leadership. And I'm not putting to figure
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Speaker 3: out President Obama, but when he left office there seemed
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Speaker 3: to be a very negative tide for the worst.
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Speaker 1: Can you expound on that?
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Speaker 4: So, first of all, let me talk a little about
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Speaker 4: the tenure President Obama became a president. I think it
4:31
Speaker 4: was beginning in two thousand and eight or so. And
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Speaker 4: what I've always said is, well, we were excited about
4:39
Speaker 4: getting an African American president, but I would submit that
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Speaker 4: the country perhaps was not ready for an African American
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Speaker 4: president all that throughout his tenure and certainly what you've
4:49
Speaker 4: already alluded to as well, we clearly saw it after
4:52
Speaker 4: he left the White House. It was almost like a
4:56
Speaker 4: turning around and undoing so many of the and just
5:00
Speaker 4: progress legislation that he put in place. So that was
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Speaker 4: very clear to all of us as well. I think
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Speaker 4: the other thing is to keep in mind we should
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Speaker 4: never forget this. Well, he did become president, so to sumricin,
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Speaker 4: while we as African Americans were very proud, and while
5:14
Speaker 4: we were there so to speak, but we were never
5:17
Speaker 4: really there, right, Yeah, And in other words, we still
5:20
Speaker 4: have a long way to go before we really get there.
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Speaker 4: So We should never lose sight of that, for sure.
5:26
Speaker 4: We know.
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Speaker 3: It's interesting, did you say that, because, like you know,
5:30
Speaker 3: when the we was emancipated free and during the Civil War,
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Speaker 3: we were offered forty acres in the mural. That was
5:38
Speaker 3: when President Lincoln was still president, and then when he
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Speaker 3: was assassinated that was taking away A lot of people
5:44
Speaker 3: don't realize that the forty acres in the mirror was
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Speaker 3: like a very short window. Some African Americans or some
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Speaker 3: blacks and some negroes at the time of color people
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Speaker 3: they call us at that time, did receive it and
5:55
Speaker 3: and then but as soon as he was assassinated, it
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Speaker 3: was it was everything went back. It was like a correction,
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Speaker 3: a racial correction our gifts, i can call it. And
6:04
Speaker 3: so it felt like it was the same way that
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Speaker 3: happened to us. When President Obama left the office, there
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Speaker 3: seemed to be a need to create a racial correction.
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Speaker 4: You know. Strange as you mentioned that, because it gives
6:16
Speaker 4: me an opportunity to just to do a brief bit
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Speaker 4: of a segue. This last week, the National Beligue released
6:23
Speaker 4: the State of Black American You know, it's the document
6:25
Speaker 4: that you've very familiar with and which really kind of
6:28
Speaker 4: you know, talked a lot about our democracy and pearls
6:30
Speaker 4: our democracy under attack. In other words, we are losing
6:33
Speaker 4: some of those had one games that we fought for
6:36
Speaker 4: over the years, and that is very true. I mean
6:39
Speaker 4: there's been an onslaught in terms of really trying to
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Speaker 4: silence our voice with regard to the voting silence our
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Speaker 4: voice in so many areas as well our history really
6:49
Speaker 4: trying to be race out history to some extent, and
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Speaker 4: so we are stilled very much, you know, fighting many
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Speaker 4: of the messages of the old, fighting many of those
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Speaker 4: issues we have to keep pushing. That is the work
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Speaker 4: of the urb Lingua. I mean, that's the boots on
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Speaker 4: the ground as much as we're very much at the
7:03
Speaker 4: tip of the sphere. And then the fight of the
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Speaker 4: civil rights side of it. We also, you know, really
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Speaker 4: work hard every day or to provide services to folks
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Speaker 4: who we work on behalf of as well. Well.
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Speaker 3: Here there's something interesting, George. I was being to George Lambert,
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Speaker 3: the president and CEO involved in politically try to charge
7:22
Speaker 3: our community economically and politically to write a lot of wrong.
7:26
Speaker 3: I don't think you can have a right a lot
7:27
Speaker 3: of wrong, but at least you can move forward and
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Speaker 3: try to make some corrections. And that's really and thinks
7:31
Speaker 3: when I when I look at a person like you,
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Speaker 3: how did you get involved actively? You know, because you've
7:37
Speaker 3: seen corporately structured a corporate mindset. How did you get
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Speaker 3: into the nonprofit civil rights approaches trying to make a
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Speaker 3: difference in this world?
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Speaker 4: You know, I'm someone who've always had a passion for
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Speaker 4: serving our people. Are folks who to speak when I
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Speaker 4: on board the new folks who come to work for
7:56
Speaker 4: the Credit Wash Up, I tell them all so you know,
7:59
Speaker 4: before I can get to your skill set, your talents,
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Speaker 4: all those great things you want to tell me about
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Speaker 4: who you are, what you've done and all that. First
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Speaker 4: of all need to understand your calling. And so your
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Speaker 4: calling is that you were called to come to do
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Speaker 4: this work. Both my parents were for Baptist ministers, and
8:14
Speaker 4: so I grew up in a household used to wake
8:16
Speaker 4: up one morning on a whim and you going to
8:18
Speaker 4: go side to preach your gods. You are called. And
8:21
Speaker 4: I believe that folks who come to work for the
8:23
Speaker 4: Greater Washing Airplay need to be no less than called
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Speaker 4: to do this work because the people that we serve
8:28
Speaker 4: need people of that calling as well. So it has
8:31
Speaker 4: always been my passion to do this work, and I
8:34
Speaker 4: want to surround myself of others who come to work
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Speaker 4: for us as well. To do this work. I did
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Speaker 4: take a good of a heat as many years ago
8:41
Speaker 4: I left the nonprofit ARENA, went to the for profit
8:44
Speaker 4: and Rena and my wife would probably be the first
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Speaker 4: one to tell you, I was never happy because it
8:49
Speaker 4: was more than about the money, right right. I did
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Speaker 4: work my way back to the Airpen League into the
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Speaker 4: non profit RNA, and I've enjoyed it, and as I said,
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Speaker 4: I'm still still having fun.
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Speaker 3: Before I get into what exactly a president and CEO
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Speaker 3: does at the Greater Washington Urban Urban League, I want
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Speaker 3: to ask you this.
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Speaker 1: I'm an entrepreneur and I've been in the media.
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Speaker 3: I managed Steve Harvey's or a number of years, the
9:15
Speaker 3: Steve Harby Morning Show.
9:16
Speaker 1: I co create that with him, and.
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Speaker 3: So I'm very familiar with black advertisement and the black opportunity,
9:22
Speaker 3: the black dollars that were set aside for they and
9:26
Speaker 3: they would specifically said black, they said black marketing dollars,
9:30
Speaker 3: and then they transition to the word multicultural, and then
9:34
Speaker 3: they started sliding the black dollars over to the Latino
9:38
Speaker 3: community because they said that was the fastest growing community,
9:41
Speaker 3: so they wanted to focus I'm talking about when I
9:42
Speaker 3: say day, I'm talking about advertisers.
9:45
Speaker 1: Now.
9:46
Speaker 3: As an entrepreneur, you have all these r f ps
9:49
Speaker 3: and they they they said they use cod words now
9:52
Speaker 3: and I'm a and then co words that frustrate me.
9:54
Speaker 3: They'll say minority and minority is now. If you don't
10:00
Speaker 3: know this, listen to my show and watching my show
10:03
Speaker 3: is white women white women is minority. That's what they're
10:08
Speaker 3: talking about. They're not talking about people of color. They're
10:11
Speaker 3: not talking about black people. They've shifted that word and
10:15
Speaker 3: made sure that they say minority now because they're really
10:18
Speaker 3: not talking about trying to give the slices of the
10:21
Speaker 3: pie that they say they are to the actual people
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Speaker 3: of color.
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Speaker 1: Am I correct when I say that? Because that's what
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Speaker 1: I'm seeing in the streets.
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Speaker 4: I think there's clearly a merit in terms of what
10:32
Speaker 4: you're saying. I mean, I will tell you that we
10:35
Speaker 4: are very intentional at the grated Washington that'd be about
10:38
Speaker 4: trying to make a difference and grab those resources for
10:41
Speaker 4: the folks that you're talking about folks of color. Yes,
10:44
Speaker 4: look like you and me who are black folks. We
10:46
Speaker 4: have a entrepreneurship program. We've been doing it for a
10:49
Speaker 4: number of years now. While we do support those who
10:51
Speaker 4: are starting businesses in the sweet spot for us, of
10:53
Speaker 4: those who are in business been around for a while.
10:56
Speaker 4: You know, they may have capital. Now they're looking to
10:58
Speaker 4: double down and to scale in terms of their business,
11:01
Speaker 4: and so we really kind of helped them to do that.
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Speaker 4: Here is one thing I will mention to you that
11:05
Speaker 4: I think was a bit of a tragedy when we
11:07
Speaker 4: went into COVID and the PPP, the payroll Protection Program.
11:12
Speaker 4: There was a very critical lesson learned out of that,
11:14
Speaker 4: I think for all of us, because what we saw
11:17
Speaker 4: was that you know, many businesses, larger businesses got those loans,
11:22
Speaker 4: many of our African Americans small businesses did not. And
11:25
Speaker 4: so when we began to reach out circle back talk
11:28
Speaker 4: with minute of what many of them said to us
11:29
Speaker 4: as well, we had a relationship with our bank, They
11:33
Speaker 4: did not have a relationship with their bank. They had
11:34
Speaker 4: a transaction that occurred every month that banking relationship. So
11:39
Speaker 4: inasmuch as we've helped me to pivot, but We've also
11:42
Speaker 4: now very intentional about helping them, to many of them,
11:45
Speaker 4: to develop a bona fide relationship with their bank, not
11:50
Speaker 4: just a transaction that happens every month that you go
11:52
Speaker 4: into deposit or cash checks. That is the intentionality of
11:55
Speaker 4: what we do. That's what we have to be in
11:57
Speaker 4: terms of, as you said, you know, really breaking in
11:59
Speaker 4: those barriers and getting those doors, getting businesses, getting business
12:03
Speaker 4: supposed to look like us.
12:04
Speaker 1: We know that. Really, this is when I get fired up, George.
12:08
Speaker 3: I'm just when I start talking about because you know, George,
12:12
Speaker 3: I'm there.
12:12
Speaker 1: I see it, and it makes me mad.
12:14
Speaker 3: I go to these RFP meetings and it's supposed to
12:17
Speaker 3: be and my walk in the room and I'm just
12:19
Speaker 3: gonna tell everybody's predominantly white women just sitting in there.
12:23
Speaker 3: And then they offer opportunities. And so then they offer
12:27
Speaker 3: the opportunity really in the construction area and the area
12:30
Speaker 3: of products, and so where blacks are making in rows
12:36
Speaker 3: is in the media and the marketing and the graphic design.
12:39
Speaker 1: We're completely shut out.
12:40
Speaker 3: We're completely shut out because those deals are going to
12:43
Speaker 3: the big marketing firms, and the way they keep it
12:46
Speaker 3: in the big marketing firms they'll tell you what are
12:49
Speaker 3: you doing differently that we can't do, And so when
12:52
Speaker 3: they make that statement to you.
12:54
Speaker 1: You really sitting at the back of the line.
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Speaker 3: And so for the last few years my goal has
12:58
Speaker 3: been able to create my own database and that's been
13:01
Speaker 3: a lot of hard work, George, but that's what we
13:04
Speaker 3: have to do.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, Well, even though you know they're a leg
13:08
Speaker 4: I mean, we're we're a small business, but we are
13:11
Speaker 4: a business as well. Properly we are a business, but
13:14
Speaker 4: we also are very intentional about who we use to
13:17
Speaker 4: support us in our marketing. We make sure that you know,
13:20
Speaker 4: our resources go to folks who look like us, who
13:23
Speaker 4: can help to tell our stories, who can help to
13:25
Speaker 4: really kind of push our brand out there, sir, and
13:27
Speaker 4: get the kind of results that we want. So again,
13:29
Speaker 4: I think it's all about intentionality and then of course
13:32
Speaker 4: about breaking down barriers where we see barriers and going
13:35
Speaker 4: at that very strong and we do that work as well. Well.
13:38
Speaker 1: Here's the thing we movie slide.
13:40
Speaker 3: I've basically been lining up my questions to the black
13:43
Speaker 3: and white summer that you have coming up here. Tell
13:47
Speaker 3: us about that and the importance of it, and we
13:49
Speaker 3: can take our time because I really want to.
13:50
Speaker 1: Get a clear understanding of it.
13:52
Speaker 3: It was brought to my attention and they started saying,
13:54
Speaker 3: you got to talk to George, got to talk to Jeore.
13:56
Speaker 1: He's the man. So I got the man on my show.
13:58
Speaker 1: So if the man don't talk fans, maybe we all can.
14:01
Speaker 3: Learn something and also be participants in a summit that
14:04
Speaker 3: can also change our life.
14:06
Speaker 4: Well, I will leave by saying that the man is
14:09
Speaker 4: talking to the man as well.
14:12
Speaker 1: Thank you so, But let me.
14:15
Speaker 4: Just give you a little bit of background and say this.
14:17
Speaker 4: When we went into the beginning of COVID, so many
14:20
Speaker 4: companies reached out to me, corporate, you know, major corporations
14:23
Speaker 4: reached out and said, you know, Georgian as president, you
14:27
Speaker 4: know what is it we can do? We want to help.
14:29
Speaker 4: This was at the around the murder I will not
14:32
Speaker 4: say killing, but really the murder of Jewish for what
14:34
Speaker 4: can we do? How can we help? And I said
14:37
Speaker 4: to all of them then, and I still lead my
14:40
Speaker 4: conversation now by saying the same thing, if you are
14:43
Speaker 4: interested in going beyond the metaphor, I'm happy to have
14:47
Speaker 4: a conversation, okay. And it's still there. And so that
14:50
Speaker 4: really kind of led to our first Equity Summit, which
14:54
Speaker 4: we did two years ago, and one coming up on
14:56
Speaker 4: Friday for the twenty eight.
14:57
Speaker 1: Right after that was right after the COVID.
15:00
Speaker 4: Right right after the killing the murder of George Floyd.
15:02
Speaker 4: Actually okay, cool, yeah, right up there, and men we
15:05
Speaker 4: were moving into coporate right after the killing of George Floyd,
15:08
Speaker 4: murder George Ford. And so really again, uh, if you're
15:11
Speaker 4: interested in going beyond the metaphor happy to have the conversation.
15:14
Speaker 4: So many of them did engage. And what we decided
15:17
Speaker 4: to do because there's a major issue in so many
15:20
Speaker 4: companies about equity, particularly when you kind of look at
15:24
Speaker 4: many companies recognize that they are under you know, they're
15:28
Speaker 4: under index, I will say, in terms of having folks
15:32
Speaker 4: of color and where their equity lenses inside the company, right,
15:35
Speaker 4: and we wanted to begin to have some conversations around that.
15:38
Speaker 4: We initially curated the Equity Summit as a safe space
15:42
Speaker 4: for top of house in terms of corporate CEOs, to
15:45
Speaker 4: come do some sharing of best practices, what other companies
15:51
Speaker 4: are doing, what their colleagues are doing, particularly in areas,
15:53
Speaker 4: for example, how you move the needle in their talent
15:56
Speaker 4: acquisition strategy. So many times, you know, folks like you
16:00
Speaker 4: and I, we can get into companies and we can
16:02
Speaker 4: come in at perhaps a senior level, but we don't
16:04
Speaker 4: get the coaching and we don't get the mentoring right
16:07
Speaker 4: that we can move forward in terms of at some
16:10
Speaker 4: point that there's a pathway for us to become president
16:13
Speaker 4: and see that company as well. And if that's not there,
16:16
Speaker 4: that's a problem, okay, and that's a blind spot. And
16:20
Speaker 4: so this, you know, this, this event that we do
16:24
Speaker 4: is a continuation of the work that we started two
16:26
Speaker 4: years ago. So this would be the third, third year
16:29
Speaker 4: we're doing it. This year, we're really kind of underscoing
16:32
Speaker 4: trust inequity. And let me tell you what I'm talking
16:35
Speaker 4: about in terms of trust and equity, because many companies
16:38
Speaker 4: do get it. First of all, clearly recognize that there's
16:43
Speaker 4: a business imperative for so many companies here. I tend
16:46
Speaker 4: to talk now more about the emerging majority. The emerging
16:51
Speaker 4: majority are really folks who look like you and I.
16:54
Speaker 4: That's what a lot of the political battles about in
16:57
Speaker 4: this country, because our numbers are certainly spie and increasing,
17:02
Speaker 4: and so when we kind of take a look at that,
17:05
Speaker 4: we have to be very clear that companies now having
17:09
Speaker 4: imperative as they you know, bring various things to market
17:13
Speaker 4: that they need to be certainly positioning to folks who
17:18
Speaker 4: look like us, you know, get any brands in front
17:20
Speaker 4: of us, making sure that there's something we have an
17:23
Speaker 4: interest in it. So there's a whole batch of research
17:26
Speaker 4: and surveys and studies out there now that suggests that
17:30
Speaker 4: you may love a particular brand, but in as much
17:33
Speaker 4: as you love that particular brand, if you don't trust
17:35
Speaker 4: that brand, you will stop buying it. All right. Companies
17:39
Speaker 4: get it, They understand that, and so really kind of
17:42
Speaker 4: changing in terms of how they're reaching out and marketing
17:45
Speaker 4: the folks who look like us. So that's about the
17:48
Speaker 4: trust in companies. Folks will make decisions now about not
17:52
Speaker 4: going to work for a particular company because they don't
17:54
Speaker 4: trust them absolutely they're going to do the right thing.
17:57
Speaker 4: And that's the conversation that we're having to you know,
18:00
Speaker 4: really unpack it to it just kind of understand it.
18:03
Speaker 4: So the folks that look like us, we understand it,
18:06
Speaker 4: but how do we help companies to understand it? And
18:09
Speaker 4: how do we help take down barriers in terms of
18:11
Speaker 4: many of the systematic racism barriers that are under some
18:14
Speaker 4: companies to some and said, and then those who get it.
18:17
Speaker 4: But they're really trying to move the need forward in
18:19
Speaker 4: terms of how they do better as well and how
18:21
Speaker 4: do we support them.
18:22
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I'm speaking to George Lambert is the president's CEO
18:26
Speaker 3: of the Greater Washington Urban League. They're on a mission
18:28
Speaker 3: to everybody to strengthen the economic and political power of
18:31
Speaker 3: black population in their region. It's two things I'm asking
18:35
Speaker 3: you first, and I ask you how does one find
18:37
Speaker 3: out about it? Give us some contact information so we
18:39
Speaker 3: can see how we can get people involved. And the
18:41
Speaker 3: question I'm ask you about after that is diversity, equity inclusion.
18:45
Speaker 1: First of us, give us that contact information.
18:49
Speaker 4: So the easiest way is there's just a Greater Washer
18:52
Speaker 4: of les so g w L. If you just google that,
18:55
Speaker 4: go to a website, you'll see the link that will
18:56
Speaker 4: give you the information about the upcoming summit on truck
19:00
Speaker 4: and it is opening. As I mentioned, it's a hobby event.
19:04
Speaker 4: So while we are delighted to have folks to join
19:06
Speaker 4: us on site at the event, you can also join
19:09
Speaker 4: online as well. So again GwL four Greater Washer ever link,
19:13
Speaker 4: just google it you'll get us immediately and you'll see
19:17
Speaker 4: a link that will take you straight to the information
19:18
Speaker 4: about the event.
19:19
Speaker 1: Okay, cool.
19:21
Speaker 3: When George Floyd, unfortunately was murdered in Minnesota, a groundswell
19:27
Speaker 3: of civil injustice, social change swept this country. You know,
19:31
Speaker 3: you had a massive amount of donations to HBCU's jobs
19:35
Speaker 3: was saying we've done wrong, we have to do better.
19:38
Speaker 3: We've done wrong, we have to do better. The DEI diversity,
19:41
Speaker 3: equit inclusion. That phrase was thrown out there more times.
19:45
Speaker 3: If I had a dollar for every time, I wouldn't
19:47
Speaker 3: be here interviewing you, sir, because I would be rich.
19:51
Speaker 3: As I turned into twenty twenty two. As we stand
19:55
Speaker 3: in twenty twenty three, I feel that that energy, the
20:00
Speaker 3: desire to do right has changed.
20:02
Speaker 1: I feel there's no need. Why is that happening?
20:07
Speaker 4: So here's what I would say to you. I am
20:10
Speaker 4: of the strong belief and I think there are companies
20:12
Speaker 4: out there that certainly get it as well, that the
20:16
Speaker 4: George Floyd moment, so to speak, was not just a
20:19
Speaker 4: moment in all honesty. In other words, sometimes we subscribe
20:24
Speaker 4: to form, and then sometimes we subscribe to substance. And
20:28
Speaker 4: here's what I mean by that when we subscribe to form,
20:32
Speaker 4: what we're saying is that, you know, we certainly will
20:35
Speaker 4: continue to state the course, so to speak, with the
20:38
Speaker 4: status quote, but when we subscribe to substance, we are
20:42
Speaker 4: very intentional about aligning strategies that will succeed in It
20:46
Speaker 4: will certainly make a difference in terms of taking down
20:49
Speaker 4: barriers and all those things that I talked about earlier
20:52
Speaker 4: in terms of how we address systemic racism, how we
20:56
Speaker 4: address that. There is clearly equity cross the board and companies.
21:01
Speaker 4: That's the difference between form and substance. And so we
21:05
Speaker 4: are very clear really want to work with companies for
21:08
Speaker 4: about the substance of making change, not so much just
21:11
Speaker 4: about the form. In other words, it's going beyond as
21:14
Speaker 4: I mentioned earlier, going beyond the beyond the status quo.
21:20
Speaker 4: But really, how do you bring that that that rhad
21:24
Speaker 4: everything line with your actions as well? That's the key thing.
21:28
Speaker 3: Well, you know that and because I'm frustrated again, you
21:31
Speaker 3: know at two frustrations you got out of me, George,
21:33
Speaker 3: you know, the minority really being the white woman and
21:37
Speaker 3: now the versus the echoing inclusion is being is taking
21:40
Speaker 3: on on Lukewarm temperature in twenty twenty three.
21:44
Speaker 1: So when you go to the black white sumburb, what
21:46
Speaker 1: are you trying to gavin at it? How are you
21:48
Speaker 1: gonna get Rashan McDonald energized? Get me fired up again?
21:51
Speaker 1: Because right now I'm kind of lukewarm, sir. I'm thinking
21:54
Speaker 1: M and C. I'm sinking INM and C.
21:56
Speaker 4: Well, so a couple of things. So, first of all,
21:59
Speaker 4: it is about sharing best practices and so you know,
22:03
Speaker 4: iron shopping's iron so to speak, and so having companies
22:06
Speaker 4: in the room where they can hear best practice what
22:08
Speaker 4: others are doing. We also bring in subject matter experts
22:11
Speaker 4: who are in this space, who are really doing a
22:13
Speaker 4: lot of this work. For example, we have a great lineup,
22:16
Speaker 4: but one of the ones that we'll mention is Donna
22:20
Speaker 4: Gambrel used to be with the Tragic Department, but it's
22:22
Speaker 4: doing a lot of work in this space, particularly the
22:25
Speaker 4: work in terms of you know, financial and financial inclusion
22:30
Speaker 4: and also economic empowerment as well. And so we're really
22:36
Speaker 4: kind of talked about things that we can all do,
22:38
Speaker 4: how we can really change the lens with regard to
22:41
Speaker 4: where we are now. But again two things. One subject
22:44
Speaker 4: matter experts in the room. Two best practices about iron
22:47
Speaker 4: shopping iron in terms of listening what others are doing
22:50
Speaker 4: as well.
22:52
Speaker 3: Right, you know, as we go through this whole process.
22:55
Speaker 3: And the first of all, I want to thank you
22:57
Speaker 3: for taking the time to get on this call just
22:59
Speaker 3: to hear my side of the store, because my side
23:01
Speaker 3: of the store is heard by a lot of people.
23:03
Speaker 1: Because I'm an.
23:03
Speaker 3: Entrepreneur, I feel I employ people, but I'm also frustrated
23:08
Speaker 3: by the process when people say they got an opportunity
23:10
Speaker 3: over here, and this is what these RFPs or these
23:15
Speaker 3: summit can lead to frustration from a person like me,
23:18
Speaker 3: especially when I because I'm a member of the National
23:20
Speaker 3: Minorities SIFIRE, the Development Council as well as the Georgia
23:23
Speaker 3: Minority Developing Council as well down here in Atlanta, Georgia,
23:28
Speaker 3: and you make these phone calls, they set up these
23:30
Speaker 3: one on ones, and then at the end of the
23:32
Speaker 3: one on one, you're excited, and then they tell you
23:34
Speaker 3: that magic word that you know is going to go nowhere,
23:37
Speaker 3: We're going to pass your information to another department. And
23:41
Speaker 3: it almost seems like they're just checking off a box.
23:44
Speaker 3: Say they've done this and there's gonna be no results.
23:48
Speaker 3: I know as a as a person who's frustrated, and
23:50
Speaker 3: I'm not pointing in their fingers, but how can I
23:53
Speaker 3: push it? Just just don't give up, Just keep trying. George,
23:56
Speaker 3: Is that's the mantra I should have in my pocket.
23:59
Speaker 3: Is that the more I should be telling all my
24:01
Speaker 3: fellow entrepreneurs, that's part of the system. Don't let one
24:05
Speaker 3: off stop you. There may it be many many offs,
24:08
Speaker 3: and there's many offs would eventually lead to success.
24:11
Speaker 4: Well, so a couple of things I'll say to you.
24:14
Speaker 4: First of all, that was the lesson we learned from
24:15
Speaker 4: the ancestors. Okay, persevereriance. We learned that lessons from the ancestors.
24:19
Speaker 4: The second thing I will say to you is that
24:21
Speaker 4: the in the District of Columbia, I know, the mayor
24:24
Speaker 4: did to prove a disparity study for folks who are
24:27
Speaker 4: in business, you know, who have businesses or whatever, to
24:30
Speaker 4: just kind of see with the District of Columbia their
24:32
Speaker 4: spend in terms of, you know, how many of the
24:36
Speaker 4: folks like yourself and others who are in business who
24:38
Speaker 4: can provide services or whatever, how much businesses that the
24:41
Speaker 4: city is really doing with them. And so as you
24:44
Speaker 4: as your listeners are listening, then I would encourage other
24:48
Speaker 4: communities and of local governments to take a look that
24:52
Speaker 4: it well, because it is a tremendous spin and you
24:54
Speaker 4: and I both know that we have more than the
24:56
Speaker 4: capability of delivering on a line of those services and
24:59
Speaker 4: delivering what a lot of those needs in terms of
25:02
Speaker 4: you know, what the what the demands are. So again
25:06
Speaker 4: we have to be you know, just like what the
25:08
Speaker 4: ancestors did, continue to just stay in the space to persevere,
25:15
Speaker 4: but also work with organizations like ours for very much
25:18
Speaker 4: about the business of taking down barriers, and we will
25:20
Speaker 4: help you in that fight to take down those barriers
25:23
Speaker 4: as well.
25:23
Speaker 1: Well.
25:24
Speaker 3: I want to thank you for coming on Money Making
25:25
Speaker 3: Conversation Masterclass again. I'm speaking to George Lambert, the CEO
25:30
Speaker 3: and president of the Greater Washington Urban League, and the
25:34
Speaker 3: event that we were discussing that is happening this Friday
25:37
Speaker 3: is the Black and White Summit. Close us out by
25:39
Speaker 3: giving us a little bit more detail and how we
25:41
Speaker 3: can get in talk the information we can use to
25:43
Speaker 3: get in.
25:43
Speaker 1: Touch with you all your organizations so we can participate.
25:46
Speaker 4: Well, first of all, just google us, go to our website.
25:49
Speaker 4: This Greater Washing Urban League or gw u L, and
25:54
Speaker 4: you will find us when you find us at GwL
25:57
Speaker 4: three sixty five. What you will also see is a
26:00
Speaker 4: link there that you can go directly to will give
26:03
Speaker 4: you information about the summit. It is a hybrid event.
26:06
Speaker 4: If you have an opportunity, lovely to join us in
26:08
Speaker 4: the in the studio for the event, but if not,
26:11
Speaker 4: you can certainly streaming and join us online as well.
26:14
Speaker 4: I encourage you to come and thank you so much. Uh,
26:17
Speaker 4: this is the master talking to the Master.
26:23
Speaker 1: I would say, humble saying, I'll do up popper. I'm
26:26
Speaker 1: just trying to get people to follow me and come
26:28
Speaker 1: to your advent.
26:29
Speaker 4: And I'm saying, but.
26:33
Speaker 1: Again, I really appreciate you. And again this is money
26:36
Speaker 1: making conversations. Master Lives.
26:37
Speaker 3: The show is put here in place so individuals like
26:40
Speaker 3: you and people around the country can expose themselves and information.
26:43
Speaker 3: So it's about upper mobility, and the only way you
26:45
Speaker 3: can have upper mobility is do information and information.
26:48
Speaker 1: I try to get well on.
26:49
Speaker 3: This show is absolutely free, and if you participate, I
26:52
Speaker 3: assure you it'll make your life and your family's life,
26:54
Speaker 3: and your friend's life and the region a lot stronger
26:57
Speaker 3: in the black community. Thank you for coming on my show.
27:00
Speaker 4: Thank you, sir, I appreciate it. Have a good one.