F c B Faith is your rhythm and prey station. I listen, my mom listens, pretty much the whole family. I cannot, I cannot. I can. Said, don't, don't, don't and no joke. Don't. Listen to FCB Faith on iHeartRadio Odyssey at ffaith dot com or tell your smart speaker to play FCB Faith on iHeartRadio. This is the FCB Podcast Network. This is the l Laws Extra. Welcome to the Outlaws Extra. This is Darvey other Kingkonmorrow. Don't forget too. Like us on Facebook at Facebook dot com, slash the Outlaws Radio. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram or x and Instagram at the Outlaws Radio. Once again, this is an Outlaws Extra. We have a special interview with Cleveland Council President Blaine Griffin talking about his initiative to get more black men participating in the political process. Not only is this year, but moving forward as well. Obviously, if you listened to the last episode, you know you heard me say at the top, you know it's been a lot going on around here and we're trying to catch up. We had about a month long, of course, because of my father's passing, and now we're working on catching back up here. We have a lot of content in the queue here that we're going to get out to you. So we wanted to make sure that we brought this to obviously because it's a time sensitive, particularly because they have an event. One of their events is September twentieth, and then another one as well that he'll be talking about any interview, So I want to make sure that we brought that to you in a timely fashion. But stay tuned. We will have a regular episode coming up soon where we will get the crew together and do what we do. And also that's where I'll be making my my formal you know, tribute to my dad. I'll be doing that with my team, all right. So for those of you who are familiar with the Outlaws extras, you know how this goes. We're gonna take a break now and when we come back, will air the interview in its entirety. So stay tuned. You're listening to the Outlaws Extra. F CB Faith is your rhythm and preystation. I listen, my mom listens. Pretty much the whole family. Said, I don't don't I know. You'll comes listen to FCB Faith on iHeartRadio Odyssey at epcbfaith dot com or tell your smart speaker to play EPSCB Faith on iHeartRadio. Welcome True, sir, out blow Lay, Welcome back. Make sure that you subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you listen to the show on Apple, make sure you leave us a five star review and a comment. It's very important for the algorithm and for those of you who have already done so. Thank you all so very much. And now let's get to our interview with Cleveland Council President Black Griffin. All Right, we have a very special gift us with us today is the Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin. Welcome back. How you doing, sir, Hey, I'm. Doing good man. How y'all doing to Data Outlaws? Yes, sir, yes, sir, I appreciate you spending some time with us. Man. So, first of all, of course, you have a very important event, couple of very important events that you're a part of. Man, tell people a little bit about it. Well, we've been really for the last month or two, we've been engaging African American males and fraternal organizations to really try to make sure that we you know, first of all registered black males through voter registration. We've targeted to focus on educating them, to really. Focus on education and voter education and what the platforms and issues are. And then mobilization. We want black men to get out the vote. Listen man. People have counted out Ohio to counted out black men, and we felt it was important that this most affected group of people that in this selection that are oftentimes counted. Out, need to have a voice. So we've been meeting at Mount Sinai Church every couple of Saturdays to organize. We had a press conference that stepped off with three hundred and fifty men from everything from the Omega Si Fi fraternity that I belonged to, the Capa Alpha Pi, the Alphas, the Iotas, and the Sigmas, as well as people like one hundred Black men NAACP Urban League, all the Mason organizations and all of the other fraternal organizations and churches and deacons. We've been really engaging them with the goal of raising some money this upcoming Friday, September to twenty of our Southgate Lanes two fourteen zero zero Northfield Avenue and then the culminating event is going to be black men getting the game. One thousand boots on. The ground, and we're doing that on Saturday, September the twenty eighth, beginning at eleven o'clock where we go in and we just we talked to black men at the doors to them and let me say this, the sisters are welcome. Every ethnicity is welcome. But the goal is is to engage black men to make sure that we get out to vote at the city at Cleever, and I think it's a very important initiative and effort. We got all of the legends of political activity from all the former mayors and the president, elected officials, Secretary Fudge, everybody's. Engaged in this. And we can't tell people who to vote for because most of these groups are non partisan, but we can tell them what we need them to vote for, which is what's in the messages. Of our community. Now me, I'm with Kamala and I'm with Coach Governor Wallace. However, that's a blame choice. That's not a fraternity choice, and that's not the group choice. All we want to do is educate people and have a presence and hopefully we can carry on this momentum, so black men could have a presence in the city. At Cleever, so you know, black men oftentimes, especially black men under fifty in particular, feel disconnected and not a part of not a part of the process. And a lot of black men I've heard from, like I said, particularly under the age of fifty, are questioning, you know, what's in it for them. They don't feel like there are efforts and initiatives to specifically talk to them. So talk a little bit about why it was important for you to have this initiative that is specifically talking to black men. So let me say this to you. You know, I've heard that, and I've seen the polling on that, and we know that both sides of the Republican and Democrats and independence. Are fine for black men to support them. And I remember working on Frank Jackson's campaign, former mayor of the city in Krema, and you're right, that group over fifty males black and white, feel that they don't belong, that they don't fit in anywhere. And one of the things that one of the candidates does is that they do with and speaking to people's grievings. But what we're trying to do is saying if housing is important, if healthcare is important. If wealth creation and growing the wealth and the working families and middle class families that you and I often talk about, If dealing with making sure that government cares about people, and working to deal with some of the barriers that have been put up through policies, and yes, racism. I know people don't like to hear that, but if we don't start dealing with some of those policy issues and telling people what to vote for and why it's voting for this is important, then we've all failed. That's why I said it's just as important as this is not. Just voter registration but education. I happen to be a huge, huge critic of Project. Twenty twenty five. Now other people may like I don't. I think it's something that I at least want to educate people to help them understand what the potential that this could have, as well as what some of the other decisions that this election could lead to, like who represents us on the Supreme Court, how Congress and Senate is up for grabs, and if we do even get Kamala Hers or Donald Trump, if one of them get the opposite Senate, then it's still going to be a stale main We're. Still going to have government shut downs and everything else. So it's important that we really educate people on what government is supposed to do, why government is working for them, and that's important. I think we need to do more schoolhouse rock. You know, you grew up like that with me, and you know. I'm telling my age, But we need to. Do more schoolhouse rock on how we help people understand what a bill is, Capitol Hill, and everything else, the differences between legislative, judicial, and executive. Branches, because people don't know. They don't teach you in school anymore. So we really have to do. That education and really go back to back to the grassroots. So one of the things that I often hear. One of the criticisms that I hear from from black men, Like I said, particularly black men under fifty about the system is that they feel oftentimes like they're being like it's not a two way street conversation that they're being talked at, talk a little bit about how, yeah, you're going to be doing voter registration, voter engagement, and education, but you're also going to be listening to their concerns and hearing the things that they care about. Correct absolutely. One of the things we started out with, and you know, one of the things that we started out with is really focusing on the you know, listening to black males in the barbershops, saying we got the DJ communities involved and all of these guys are literally engaged. And when we went to listening. Sessions with them, it was three things that they talked about. One is how can they own a business, two is generational wealth and three years making sure that they can own property. Those are some hot topics. And these are things that we're articulating to the you know, to the people that are running for office, whether it be the federal level. Or any other level, so that they can have an. Understanding of what's important as they are are talking to people listen. One of the things that counsel People does, because we're the closest to the people, is that we focus on connecting the boardroom in the streets. We help the boardroom understand what's going on in the streets so that they can, you know, make sure they make the investments. And support the things that are important to our community. But we also make sure that we help the resources reach our community. So we're really in a position that we really try to influence this conversation and help people understand what's important to our community. And I will tell you and talking to most young black men. That want to learn how to start a business, which is why. We work with tr See and doctor Baston. They want opportunity, they want equity. That's the reason why we did the CBO. The Community Benefits Ordinance, and they want to work with us with that. They want to be able to create generational wealth, which we know the biggest path to generational wealth is home ownership. So a lot of those things are where people are talking about and people are talking with them they want to vote for, and try to make sure that we help people understand what they need to vote for as opposed to just listening to somebody speaking to their grievances and not having an action plan or steps. In order to trying to resolve a problem. I've always learned a long time ago, Darbio, don't bring me a problem without bringing me a solution. And that's what we're trying to do. Right So, I know we got a couple of minutes here and I'm gonna let you go once again, I'm very appreciative that you were generous with your time to come here and popping in on the show. But one thing too, as it regards to this initiative, And I understand you know the presidential election is important, but I'm also concerned. I'm more concerned if. You will to participation on our local elections and state elections. Do you think that this is that this initiative and this effort that you guys are doing now for the presidential is something that can carry over as well. Absolutely, That's the reason that I want to put this together. I don't want to put this together just so that we can get a candidate elected or prevent. A candidate from getting elected this year. I want to put a coalition of men together that are esteemed, and the coalition of men that can work on things like gun violence in our community, work on things like educating people around home ownership, work on things like mentoring again, and those kind of things. I've always seen. That when black men show up, we have. A tendency to be able to bring order to a situation. So some of this nuisance, crime and chaos that we see in the streets, if people see a good, concerted group of black men. There's no school that we can't. Go in, no neighborhood that we couldn't go. In and be quite honest with you, no crime saying that we couldn't go in and resolve the issue because people. Will see black men out of force. We got to stop being afraid to recognize our place in Cleveland and in our region. And that's what we're trying to do. And perfectly we can keep this coalition together with pastors, deacons, elders, civil rights organizations, like I said, nine organizations and others that will continue this. Momentum because we really do love our community, all right. And finally, I know you guys are just just getting back in a session. You had a press conference while back talking about some of your priorities for this session the city Council. Talk a little bit about what those priorities are. Well, as I said before, now sense crime. And making sure that we get to the level of officers so that we can have the appropriate traffic control. And appropriate response. We need to make sure that we budget forward because quite frankly, a lot of the arper money and one time money is gone. We've made a concerted effort with ARPA, not to use it for. Personnel, but to use approximately seventy five to eighty percent. Of it in order to try to deal with housing and infrastructure needs like back. To basics, trying to consolidate brown fields so that we can clean them up and make sure that we can put factories and bring traded sector jobs back. Homeownership has been critical. Even though we're looking at expanding and putting the fund together to try to. Go into areas where the market won't go. We also want to make sure that we not just focus on big high rise apartment buildings, but that we're actually trying to build homes where people will move into. And then we know we have a critical levee for the school. We know that we have the big issue about. The brown stadium. So these are things that Council are tackling. But I tell people the thing about council that's always unique. We get to deal with the macro, the big issues like stadium issues, and big ticket issues like tip districts and innovative and creative financing, but then we also get to deal with the quality of life and the micro issues, the things that people see every day that that affects the quality of life and affects the way that you live. So we're looking at all. Of those issues. We're very, very dedicated. I think that the press conference with well everybody talked about the different priorities of the different committees. We have some utility rate studies that we have to go over. We know that a very huge study regarding Burke Lakefront Airport. Was just released. And I want to tell everybody, I'm always interested in show me the money, show me how much it's going to cost me, and show me how much it's going to help us get as a return on investment. So we got some big issues to make. Next year is going to be an election here, so yes, we want to keep the momental. But let me say this, this is not about Black Griffin. This is not about any individual or elected official. This is about black men as a collective being respected and having a presence in our community. And what I take pride and joy in is organizing this group to make sure that we have one thousand boots on the ground on September to twenty eighth at eleven o'clock at Luke Pista Park and sell Im George going out talking to people, not telling them who to vote for. Not talking at people, but making sure that they know that somebody cares and gives a damn. About what their gods are. All Right, one more time plug the event that's coming up and event on the twentieth four So we unraised with. This upcoming Friday, September to twentieth at Southgate Lanes two fourteen two fourteen zero zero Northfield Road. It's at Southgate Lanes. The former mayor Arnoble Michael al Wright. Is going to be the key on speaker. Were also are going to have special guests from former Mayor of Frank Jackson, former Council president George Forbes, Secretary of Marshall Fudge. But then we also going to have the new school, New. Generation and then some of us that's caught in between, like. Myself Garvey O. Wild be there to help guide things as well. But we want to have that event because you know, we're going to take it's going to take resources to put this out on the street, to pay for T shirts, literature, and we're really hoping that people see this as a nonpartisan effort to really touch black men in our community. The biggest supportant, but the big. Event, the big event that we're really excited about is September twenty eighth, that's Saturday, September to twenty eight, kicking off at eleven o'clock, covering all the southeast and central part of Cleveland, where we want to try to touch at least five thousand doors for black men, and we want to get one thousand Black men on the ground to be going through these neighborhoods wearing their paraphernalia, wearing their colors, wearing the q doll colors like I'm. Gonna wear my royal purple and old gold. And the red and white and the blue and white and the brown and yellow. And all of the other things. And let me say this, the sisters, we want them involved too. We want the black and gold with the ouphers and all them guys involved, the Ioda's, the. Capitals, the Sigmas. All of these guys, we want them involved. We want the Masons involved. One hundred Black Men Urban League. We want people to fill out the QR COLD and then we want people to go to vote dot BFPF dot o RG. That's BFPF dot o RG. And also I'll make sure that you get the QR COLD because we want to make sure your listeners have the QR cold. But we want to you want a thousand people to. Flood that part because we want to show our community that we really care that we won't be taking some credit. All right, all right, thank you so much Blaine for coming on the show. Man. You know you're a friend of the show. You always got an open door over here. I appreciate it. Thank you, Dar, I appreciate you, brother. All Right, one more time, I want to send a special shout out to Blank Griffin for coming on the show. I really appreciate it. We are out of here. We'll see you next time. Peace. This has been a presentation of the FCB podcast Network, where real talk lifts. Visit us online at fcbpodcasts dot com.
