WBCA Podcasts

The Other Page Radio

Haywood Fennell speaks to organizer and author Devon McNeil about how to change your life and mindset for the better. Devon shares his story of becoming a community leader and role model after 20 years of incarceration. Devon McNeil is the founder of Not On My Watch Mentoring, and also provides jobs and financial literacy education to youth in Boston.

Broadcast on:: 20 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: other

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Good afternoon, good afternoon everybody. Everybody, good afternoon. This is the other page. Really, only I'm your host today. Hey, well, for now, senior. There'll be a BCALP 102.9 FM Boston. We are really ready for the end of the day. We got some folks here that I'm so proud of. You know, I don't want to rush this show because he gonna be here for an hour with us. Oh boy, oh boy, I'm talking about Devon McNeil. Oh boy, oh boy, I gotta tell you about him. I gotta tell you about him, boy, he's gonna be I'll guess today and I know you're gonna want him back. So I'm gonna say, Devon, how you doing today? Oh man, I'm at Peace, brother. I'm at Peace. I'm on my journey dealing with a high degree of atonement. Yes, a high degree of forgiveness. Oh, right. And the high degree of just honoring the ancestors, brother. Oh boy, I'm so happy to hear you talk like that. Coming in man, this show 'cause we gonna flow so people can grow. That's what it's all about, the WBCALP 102.9 FM Boston. That's our station, folks. You're gonna be here a little while talking about things that you need to hear about. We don't get a call in, but we sending it out the best way we can. We gonna say, amen, get stuck. So what's going on, man? Man, so much, so much. Give me a little bit of the time, just a little bit of the time. True indeed, but first, for me and myself, I'm scented. I'm guard-scented, I'm guard-scented, I'm walking my path. Walk in your path. And my duty and my responsibility as it exists today is to awaken, enlighten, guide, mentor, and direct our inner-city youth, man. That's one of my greatest achievements, missions, and duties in life. You're doing it. True indeed. You're blessed to be able to do this, folks. I'm telling you, I'm saying this old man, grow for me, you know. He's doing a lot of things in our community, and he's inspiring people. He knows that nobody's gonna be in the safest. He knows that we must save ourselves. He's a writer, he's a leader, he's doing a lot of things that we hope we know the people will catch on, and don't smell the coffee. Drink it, because it's a new day, a new way, a new say. We can't play no more. You know, in the Bible it says, when I was a child, I played as a child, I spoke as a child. When I became a man, I put away child's stains. This brother said, and I agree with him, that he's on a journey. And he's been on this journey for quite some time, but in order for him to know that he was on the journey, he had the first friend out, how did he get on the journey, and how does he stay on the journey? You wanna tell us a little bit about yourself, wasn't it? Oh yeah, man, so like our brother, he was from that saying, I've been on the journey today, I'm 47 years old. - 47 years old, huh? - So indeed, 47 years old. At the age of 22, I went away, but before that, I was already away, I just didn't know I was away. I was raised within an environment, a family of love, care, good food, hugs, kisses, everything. But there was a shadow element to my family's structure. And what do I mean by a shadow element? I've seen things as a child, that no young black child, no child period, but no young black child should ever be a witness to. What is that? It was coming for me to see drugs being cooked and bagged up, various guns laying around, poker games, dice games, you name it. This was at the age of six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 years old. This was the social engineering. This was the mental manipulation that I went up under. This was actually the school of thought that I was raised in. Until I was 22 years old and I went to prison. Like I said before, brother, I was already in a mental prison. I just didn't reach the physical prison yet. My actions hadn't been enough to entrap me in there. But then at 22 years old, I went into those walls and I thought that I knew what I was getting into and I thought that the county jail was similar to the place I was entering, but it was not. It was not. This is a dark place. This is a place where you have to find a light within yourself first before you can find a light within it. For seven years, I searched in the darkness. I searched, I searched, I searched, I searched. I asked questions, I searched. On the eighth year, I found the truth. I found the truth. I like to say God didn't leave me. I left him, he was already always present, protecting me, keeping me safe. I just had to experience some things on my own in order to come back home. On the eighth year, I found the truth. The truth was that I never knew that I didn't know until I knew. - Oh, that is something that we gotta like take a break with that one brother. Well, I guess today is the final kneel I've been knowing as long as he was no bigger than a minute. And I've been with him. I've been with him instead. He has grown beyond my wildest imagination because he was in a place in a space that he didn't have no choice. I know his grandmother, I know his mother's aunt's and cousins and good family folks. And he's representing them. I know his mother is so proud of him. I know his grandmother is so proud of him. His uncles and all of them that no longer here with us. But I'm so proud to have him here today to share what needs to be shared because when he leaves this studio, he's not gonna be the same as when he came here. And I'm not gonna be the same as I was when I came here today to do media day. This was a special brother or brother that realized that he could think 'cause he didn't wanna think no more. He would write me from a place where he had to ask for taller people, where he had to stand for the count, where he had to be deprived of things that he'd no longer as deprived of. He's home now and he's been home and had a conversation with him this morning, praise God and he says that he got a lot of sons and people call him nieces and nephews that are in need of help. But you can't help nobody raise your hand 'til you help yourself. - That's right brother. - And helping myself, I had to learn to ask for help. Something that you consistently wrote in your letters to me, most of us, we get so isolated within our own thinking. - Isolated. - And it starts within the mind first. That's where we become isolated first within the mind. And when you isolate your own self within your own mind, then you create a prison for yourself. I could never ask for help because I thought that was a weakness. I thought asking for help was a weakness. And I shouldn't ask for help in some of my most lowest, darkest moments, but I was afraid brother. So what I did was while I was in those prison cells, while I was in that place, I learned to ask Devon, myself, how can I serve you? - Oh my goodness, good. Come on now. - How can I serve you? Brother, you're here. You're not going nowhere. You made a horrible, horrible mistake. And now you have to fix your life. But it was a choice because brother, as you know, in prison, you can sleep all day, if you want. But in that sleep, when you wake up, your problems, your stress, your depression will remain the same. - Might double up, it might double up. - Might double up on you. So I chose to ask myself, how can I serve you? And I wasn't only asking myself who I was really asking brother, is the wounded inner child at the core of my being. I needed to talk to him directly because I had discovered through a book called Houses of Healing that I had a wounded hurt, lonely inner child that needed to be hugged, nurtured, loved and cared for all over again. And so when I learned to do that, we began to have deep discussions. Who was we I'm talking about? I'm talking about the self-realization I came into as the varmicneal as a 30-something year old man. And then I had to go back and learn little the varmicneal all over again. - All over again. - All over again. In a place where I had nothing but time. What am I saying? I use my prison time wisely. I'm proud to say that I spent 20 years of my life incarcerated the last 17 years of that working on myself. And I have not been into one physical altercation with an officer, staff member or inmate. Why? Because I did not go to prison looking for a rotation or trouble. I went there with a reputation that I was trying to get rid of in order to better myself. - Be right back. This is the other page of radio. My guest today is a man I'm real proud of. And the varmicneal will be right back. - The Oscar Michaud Family Theater Program is a Boston nonprofit. They hope to teach the importance of community service through the art of theater. Looking to establish a year-round community-based family theater organization with full theater productions by people from the community. For more information, you can visit www.oskermashaudrep.tripod.com. (upbeat music) - Well folks, I'm here to tell you that I want you to understand that my brother Nevon was saying that he recognized who he was not doing that period of time that he was incarcerated. And what he's learned, he's been putting into effect. With his writing, with his fighting, he mentioned something about not having any physical encounters, and we know what they can lead to. I'm afraid it's that he will continue to trust in his high power, whoever you wanna call it, and continue doing the work 'cause we need you, brother Nevon. There's no question in my mind that God needs you. Because what you're doing, what I do is that we represent the fact that God don't make no junk. What he does with us who are not ready to, you know, yield. He's like the blacksmithing, working on a piece of oil. And he's got two at the Advil, or Anvil, and he's started banging on you with the hammer and putting more fights on you, you understand? Yes, indeed. And he's shaping you, and he looks at it and when he's got his shape right, he puts us in the cooler water of mercy so that you can become his vessel. And that's where you and I was at, at one point in time. I didn't know that when you was where you was, that you had as much depth as you had, but I knew you had something to work with. I knew that you was trying to help people by reading your letters and what you was doing and stuff like that, man. Trying to find yourself in the maze of pain so that you could gain. You've done that. What else are you doing out there? Today, my non-profit organization is called Not All My Watch Mentoring. It's a non-profit that I'm utilizing to impact change in the lives of our inner city youth. Through this non-profit, I have a few programs. The biggest program, the most attractive program, is called The Street's Line, which is based on my book called Entitled, The Street's Line and We Believed. - Boy, that's mine. - Also, my second book that I wrote a year later is called From Negative to Positive in My Own Words. Also, I just started Boston Strong, pressure washing and mobile detailing, which I utilize to provide youth with inner city jobs, where they can learn financial literacy, they can learn responsibility, they can learn a trade because I was informed very, very, very, very, very harshly that poverty is violence. So, I had to take it upon myself if I don't want to see violence, the same violence I perpetuated within our community, that I must live the change that I want to see. So, I decided to start this LLC in order to help these young men because they are money conscious and they do need help. So, that's some of the things I've done within our community. I just was able to secure some space where now I can host Monday night youth sessions from 4 to 7 in order to give youth more insight on the lives of the streets, the lives that they're being told, the lives that they're being driven into their young minds, that they're a pliable young mind through through many platforms and different things. So, my job, I have a big job ahead of me, but I've qualified myself for this job based on my empirical experience, brother, peace. - I understand what you just said. Congratulations on getting some space, but because of determination and your faith in God, everything's gonna come your way. So, continue to stay on that journey and realize that it's not about me, it's about we as you and I discussed earlier this morning. And I wanna know about your books. How's it going with them? Can you read anything for us today? - Oh, man, absolutely. So, my books, they were actually doing very good right now. I was able to get 10 books inside Madison High School, and some of the youth inside there, I was able to get a few youth inside of a charter school in Roxbury. I'm actually going to start a group session within a high school where we're gonna circle up and read some of these stories out of this book, again, titled The Street Slide, and we believe that was written by myself and about a hundred other men striving to tell the youth not preach to them, not lecture them, but we're trying to tell them our experience up close and personal and just let them know that we believe that the streets would provide us with all of our hearts' desires, but it was a lie. And now we're in a prison cell telling the youth exactly what we're going through. That's what this book is about. So, yes, I have something very, very, very important to read from a young brother, and this young brother was actually 16 years old. 16 years old? When he was, when he went into prison. When he went in. And when I met him, he said, "Vee, "I have a natural life prison sentence. "I don't know when I'm coming home, "he says, but I want to change my life." And I said to him, "I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to tell you this. "If you don't give up on yourself, I will give up on you." - There you go. - And we started to really help guide each other. And so, his chapter is called "My Youth Gone." It's on page 93 in my book, "My Youth Gone." And he says, "Damn, "a life bid at 15 years old. "I know you're probably saying to yourself, "he's just a baby. "He didn't know any better. "But that's not what the world calls it. "No, do they see it that way?" He didn't know, he didn't know any better, did you say? - He didn't know any better. - All right. Let's go, let's go, "My Youth Gone." - He said, "To them, I'm a murderer. "I'm a stone cold killer. "I'm a savage. "I'm a no good low life. "That's what I am to these people. "However, "I do not see myself in that light. "To me, I was a lost soul, "striving to be like everyone else, "my peers around me, "who had a huge influence on my way of thinking. "I saw the older dudes selling drugs "in order to buy nice clothing "so they could attract the females in our neighborhood. "I wanted the same thing, so I followed "in their footsteps, but look at me now." - Look at me now. - I'm doing a natural life sentence in prison. - Uh-oh. - All those material things I was living for and all the women I wanted, where is it and where are they now? - I'm all alone doing this time. Where are my so-called boys? I thought y'all were going to ride with me to the end. I guess this life bid is the end, huh? Where are all the pretty young ladies who were so-called in love with me? That's right. They are no longer in sight. Like the song goes, out of sight, out of mind. I'm like a memory to them now, but why is that? I'm not physically dead. I'm still alive and breathing. I'm just held in a cell, a cold cage, like some wild kind of animal. - Yeah. - Where was all the love and loyalty I was promised? I remember when I was free and I always wanted to be in the streets with my boys, hanging out. My grandmother used to say, "Baby, those are not your friends. "Stop hanging with them "because you're going to find yourself in big trouble, "but all that wisdom she was giving me "was going into one ear and out the other." Now, because I chose not to listen to the people who truly loved me, I'm sitting within a place where we are considered the walking dead. Damn. It sucks being in here all alone, but please, don't get these words twisted because I know this is not the last stop for me. I know I'm going to go home one day through the grace of the Almighty God. Yeah. I know that he has a plan for me. I just don't know when that plan will come. Before in this message, I just want to say to whoever is reading this, love yourself before loving anyone else. Know who you are and believe in yourself. Take advice from the people who truly love you because they've been through it. The same trials and tribulations and have made the same mistakes. They are telling you these things because they love you. Please listen to your loved ones. I didn't listen to mine. And now I'm sitting in prison again, doing a natural life prison sentence. Take care, God bless. Are you a veteran or do you know a veteran who is struggling with housing due to COVID-19? Veteran Zinc can help provide support services, including assistance with rent, deposits, utilities, as well as emergency housing, including hotel stays to eligible struggling veterans. If you or someone you know is in need of services, please call 1-800-482-2565 or go online to www.veteransinc.org. Put a frog in boiling water and it'll jump right out. But put a frog in cool water and slowly heat it up. That frog will boil. As veterans, we tell ourselves the lie that we can handle anything. We let the water boil. You are not a frog. If you or a veteran you know needs support, don't wait. Reach out. Find resources at va.gov/reach. That's va.gov/reach. Brought to you by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ad Council. - Brother Devon. - Yes, brother. - Brother, what was your when you first read that? You know, all the things, man, that he did. He was relating to them. He was getting strong for them. Because when you was writing me and you was doing what you was doing to keep your sanity, you know, you had to realize there's some things that you got to let go. And that's one of the problems with our young people is that they're running around with a bucket holding on to it instead of getting rid of it. And the bucket is on their neck holding on to them. I want to be like him. I want to be like them. Like you said, you got to be like yourself first. You got to understand that even though you're not behind the boss, the way that life is for the young black man today, as I see it, you're still in jail. You can't go nowhere. You can't do nothing because of your skin color. Because of your hairstyle. You're emulating something that's not going to work for you. It's not going to work for you. It's not going to work for you. And I'm so glad that he was reading to you and you got a chance to sit with him and begin the process of him changing his thinking. That's right. That's right. If you don't listen to others, others won't listen to you. That man asked me that question. And I was up there framing them on your behalf. Can't judge people, man. I was in hell, yeah, I was in hell. But I was here to tell you that people change. And I believe this man has changed. I was there when that man's family was there, too. I watched every time. And I remember your lines, man. I thought I was going to get lost trying to get up there. But because I went up there, I was able to go back up there for somebody else. Not one time. I knew how to get there then. But now you're here with us and you're doing work, man. That's right, brother. And I'm here to tell everybody, man, that we too changed, man. You get sick and tired. You get sick and tired. He said he had a program or two going for him. But he couldn't have done the program until he got rid of a program. That's right. It's all about trusting in the Lord. If you don't have no high power, you're going to be down there. You're going to be wallowing in the dirt. You're going to be doubting yourself when God is assured us that He is with us. You went up in that place, man. And when you got ready, man, you called me, man. That's right, brother. I didn't waste no time, man. No time, brother. I got every, and I want to say this to our great listeners, I could have not got through those 20 years of incarceration without the support that I had. I still got it. And have from my family. Amen. From so many community members. Yes. Who prayed for me while I was in that cell. That's right. Who wrote me while I was in that cell. Amen. Who came to see me, took my phone calls, wrote me letters. What I want to say to them is they are a huge, huge factor in my life. Kept me motivated, kept me strong, kept me going. And I have every letter, brother. Whenever you are ready to write your next book, I got enough letters for us to fill up a book. So I have them all. And I just want the world to know if you have anybody that's going through these trial tribulations in those prison houses, please reach out to them, make sure they're OK. And before the phone hangs up, always ask them, what are they doing to better themselves? And leave them with that thought. That's right. We got to always leave them with a thought. Do you have a website that they can go to? Is that up yet? Yes. Let's hear it. I have a website. It is www.not on my watch, mentoring.com. I also have a Facebook page, Devoir McNell. I also have a landing page titled the streets lied.org. Let's go to that again. Now it's going to stop from the last part. And go back up to the first. Yep. I have a landing page, which is called the streets lied.org. I also have a website, www.not on my watch, mentoring.com, and also my Facebook page. Amen. Devoir McNell, D-E, V-O-N, last name. McNell, M-C, N-E-I-L. Thank you. Peace, brother. We're going to run some things here about you. You know, Triad Veterans League is an organization that needs to be in the community. And we are in the community. We started in 1997 being an organized strategy to raise the consciousness of our people. You know, we are not those people. We are not them nor him. We are we. And you need to see that. My guest today is a powerful example of what can happen when you stop trying to be somebody that you're not. People don't want us to be free, but it is not their decision to make, because he said that he did 20 years. And I've seen people that was in the prisons lockdown before I got there, and I left them there. I left them there, but some came out. And we're coming together. We're going to pull together and not fight as a finger, but as a fist. We will knock down the falseness of their promises and have our own. He said that he has books and programs. That don't sound like somebody that's not trying to stay out. They're trying to stay in the game and realize that they are not the game, but in the game, a player in the game. But you can't be no player if you're playing by somebody else's rules that is not to your benefit. He wrote the book in prison. That's right. I know a lot of people that's in prison, and I've watched them. And I've watched a lot of what they didn't do. They didn't take time to think about what time they were had to do and make use of that time. It's not about the time doing you, you do the time by doing what he did, building his confidence, finding out who he is, and why he is, and why we are. It's not hard to do. See, when you get stuck, you're no longer on your primary purpose. He said he came from a family of love. He knew love. And I know his family. That's right. Like my family. Oh, sure. Some of them, they say, oh, look, look, see, I told you you're going to change. That's judging people. It's still the judging people. Find out for them yourself who you are. It's quite easy to do once you look. You can't take no shower in your clothes. Now, speaking in the metaphor, you got to take your clothes off to get wet to get that dirt off you. So when you decide that you're going to change your thinking, you got to take your clothes off. You got to put on something else. That's right. And that's what he's done. And he's helping others. It's not about helping people that's in jail. It's about helping people to keep them going to jail. That's right. It's a plan, but it's not our plan. I didn't bring him in here to talk about what he did. I put him here to talk about what he's doing. I noticed, man, I went because he called me. I went because I knew his family. And I know what he's trying to do, man. And all the time, see, people have these predispositions about you when you come out of a brother. You notice they are, he ain't going to change. He's going to do the same thing with Von and Nina. No, he ain't going to say, mmm, mmm, mmm. You're steady in there, right? You're steady in there, making that change. That's right, brother. Hey, look, and then let me tell you something. Let me tell you all something. This is no lie, right? Oh, God bless the dead, man, but my wife, man, she didn't get it, man. She didn't get it. And my kids didn't get it, he's a man. But God has been so good to me. I remember, I remember just like it was now. I was running round crazy doing crazy things in and out of jail, asking for toilet paper, all the things that are part of prison life and stuff, man. And I was laid up in the VA hospital in the detox. It was a Saturday night, man. And everybody was in their ward sleeping there, got their medication and everything, but me. I was going through withdrawal pains. And I was sweating and everything. And everybody was snoring and stuff, man. And my vital signs and blood pressure and things didn't get down at that time I prayed to the Lord. And I asked him to help me. I had reached that point. And I said, help me to get clean and help me to write. It's all I asked for. You can't bless yourself. But when God steps in, he's in. And just like that brother said, God didn't leave him. He loved God. Oh, that's what he thought. He thought that. That's right. Because he wasn't putting nothing in the pot. But now he's putting things in the pot so he can take things out the pot. You go to the pot, and there's nothing in the pot, and you say you hungry, that means you got to put something in the pot because you got to cook. But if you ain't putting nothing in the pot, you can't drink no boiling water if that. He put his time in the right way. He didn't let the crime keep him from doing the time. Oh, the crime wasn't me, brother. He is in the community. He is again in the game. He is not the game. He is in the game. He is playing by his rules. Stay free and sucker free. We ain't judging nobody. We just got to measure our steps to avoid the pain and keep the game. That's all I'm saying. Support this man. Support his programs. Support his books. Support his writing. Support his movie. Yeah, we got to go for the high road. We can't be on the low road. There's nothing there. That's right. Nothing's here. We're not looking back. We're not looking back. It takes away from us looking forward. We've got to believe that we can achieve. We've got to be a fist and not a finger to win the fight. Reentry, what is it? What is it? I don't know. If you're not preparing people, their mindsets and everything and encouraging them and always want to remind them with a quarry, that they got a bad story, you don't want to forgive anybody, then what do you got? Confusion. This man took his time to find himself. We must find ourselves and be ourselves and not emulate other people that don't like us. We ain't hating. We just ain't waiting. We got things to do. Bigger fish to fry. I'm so happy you came here today, brother. Thank you, brother. Thank you so much, brother, for having me, man. This has been a-- oh, man. This has been a good day here. So, indeed. So, my listeners, this is WCLP 102.9 FM Boston. This is the other PACE Radio. My name is Hable Fennell. My veterans programs are also sponsored by being in media services. A great bunch of people here. I'm telling you, they love me and I love them. And that's not always been that way. But once you find it, keep it. Believe in it. Others will see what you're doing and want to do what you're doing, and you can tell them. Set yourself free. Don't try to be somebody that you're not. Find yourself. Discover the new use so you can do what you need to do. We got Yvonne O'Neill. Do you know Yvonne O'Neill is? Everybody? Do you know what he represents now? He was just a little misguided before. That's all. We all go through that stage. But he is in another phase of his life now. So let me just put it like this so you can better understand how I think. Let's just do life in '20s. He says he's 47 years old, 47, not 50, not 50. So look, from the age, from birth to 20, this phase 1, you allow to make mistakes, and some of us do. And some of those mistakes are costly. We lose our freedom. Some of us may even lose our lives or get a bad decision and end up in a wheelchair. And then you get to the second phase of your life, 20 to 40. 20 to 40, because of some of the mistakes that you made in the 1 to 20, you paint for that in the 20 to 40. And if you're not careful, you're going to stay in that cycle. And you're always going to be repaying, repaying, repaying until you get to the 40 to 60. And you look at the 40 to 60, and you think about the 20 to 40, and you say, I got time, I got time. And you forget that you don't really have time, because you didn't do anything in the 20 to 40. So you can ensure that the 40 to 60, you could do something. It's on you. Remember the phase? You got four now, and you got the 60 to 80. Yeah. What will it be? Who will you listen to? More importantly, who will listen to you? Because they're going to look at your faces in life. If you believe or you are achievable, but if you don't believe, you can achieve. He came today, Devon O'Neal came to the other page, radio, to give a message. What is the message, brother? The message is the streets lie, and we believe. We can overcome. We shall overcome. Look in the mirror, find yourself, believe in yourself. Put God first and foremost in your life, however and whatever he means to you. He'll do the work, just work it. He won't let you down. We'll not let you down. You're not like your friends, you know, your friends. So you got $2,000 of lunch money. They don't want to do nothing to get it, but they're going to ask you for some of it. And you might have had the guy in yours the right way, and they still living their life. You can't be impressed by a lie, because you don't need to see it to smell it. You know what I'm talking about. That's right. And I want to say this before we go. We ain't going to do it. I have been seeing a lot of my past associates in the last two months, here and there, there and here. And the reality is, we look at each other in the eyes, we give a brief embrace. These are some of the men who I ran in the darkness with. We all bumped our heads, we lost skin, and we spent a lot of time behind the prison walls. When I looked them in their eyes, there's no light there. And in that moment, I realized we are in two completely different places. Listen, listen. They are still under the illusion. They are still wearing many, many false eye dintities that do not belong to them. We are not gangsters, we never were. Never were. We are not thugs. We never were. Bugs, but not thugs. Not at all. We are not killers, we are not dogs. We are in the way. We are not beasts, and we are not goons. And we are only dogs and cats. No, we do not. We are actually original people walking the land, striving to find ourselves, and when you do. And you will. And you will, and when you do find yourself out of that darkness and looking into the light, brother and sisters, just hold on and do not quit. Oh, happy day. Do not quit five minutes before the miracle. Oh, happy day. That's right. When Jesus walked. When Jesus walked. This has been a wonderful show. This is the other page radio brought to you by Triad Veterans League. The creators of the Oscar Michaud Family Theater Program Company performing the Miss Marion Anderson and France Project, performing the new voices of the Harlem Renaissance performing the Harlem Renaissance revisited with a gospel flavor. These are the things that we do because we change our thinking and we are surrounding ourselves with people like Devon O'Neill. Remember his name. Devon O'Neill was here today bringing the message. What is the message, brother? The message is, the streets lied and we believed. But we share, we can overcome. We must. We must overcome. Find yourself in the darkness and search for the light. Again, find yourself. Oh, happy day. In the darkness and search for the light. Oh, happy day. When you find yourself, you can finish this song. Oh, happy day song because that's what you feel. You'll be happy. You won't be in pain because you didn't gain anything because you can't gain anything if you're not on the right footing and knowing who you are and knowing what you're capable of doing. People need you. We need people. Today our guest has been a man of power, of determination. Devon O'Neill, author, leader, we welcome you again whenever you can make it come and say what you are doing because we need to know about the trials and the tribulations that don't have to be. Yes. What is the message, brother? The message is, the streets lied and we believed. We must. We share. We can and we will overcome. Listen, the street lied. We see it every day. Every day. And you go right into it. Right into it. Like, you don't know. You want to be a thug. I mean, do you really want to be a thug? Do you really want to tell people lies? Do you really want to destroy the dream and end up with a scheme that got you set away for another day that turns into weeks, into months, into years? No. We want you to hear more importantly. We want you to read the things that are out there. You can read. You can. You must. We can have dummies around us. Read the map. You're on the wrong road. You can't make it. You got to fake it. And that requires too much energy. Just be yourself. If you need help, and all of us do, and you don't want to be the fool that walks around knowing he needs help, and don't ask anybody, what is the message, brother? The message is the street's lie, and we believed. We will. We share. We must overcome. We will. We must overcome. I believe that. I believe that nobody's more deserving than us. Nobody. That's gone through what we've gone through and realized that our world did not stop, and that we can change not just ourselves, but our communities and those that are around us. You don't have to see it to smell it. It's all in the air. But there's a place in your life when you decide to look at yourself and say, I have to deal with yourself, but I'm proud of myself. And the streets can say anything it wants to say. But I'm not going to ever stop believing, achieving, and doing what I can and doing what we can to come together to change the weather. It's not about the climate. It's about how we live in the climate. Don't steal from yourself. Believe in yourself. Don't judge others, so others don't judge you. We had a great time today. We have one of Boston's leading leaders that's home with us now. Twenty years he did. On a journey, he said, to showing him so much. We're so proud of you, brother. We thank you for coming in today and sharing time with us. And like I said before, we've got to support this brother. Devon O'Neill, he's in it to win it. And we with him, he's writing and fighting as I am. He was our guest today, but then again, we were his guests. What is the message, brother? The message is, the streets lie. And we believe. We share. We will. We must. And we must overcome. Oh, happy day. We thank you for being our guest today, everybody. It's been a wonderful day on the other page radio brought to you by Triad Veterans League. Remember, we are here for you so you can be here for yourself. We will hold your spirits for you until you can hold your own spirit and make your own decisions. Because if you don't, somebody else will. And it might not be what you think it'll be. Stay with us. Pray with us. Don't lose us. We must save ourselves. Thank you. Peace. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] You?