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And Still We Rise
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Happy (Belated) Black History Month from SNMA Presents: The Lounge Podcast!
Join our RTL hosts as they cover milestones like Sinners being the most nominated movie to date, recent news surrounding tennis stars Osaka and Gauff, Ray-J's revelation of his heart condition, and more!
We look forward to seeing everyone soon in Pittsburgh for AMEC 2026!
To share your thoughts on our discussion or if you have any questions to ask our hosts, email podcast@snma.org for a chance to be featured on the show!
Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed on our podcast do not reflect the official stance of the Student National Medical Association.
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Transcript
AMEC 2026 Conference Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
The views expressed on this podcast represent only those of the hosts and do not represent the views of the Student National Medical Association. AMEC 2026 will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center from April 1st to April 5th, 2026.
00:00:17
Speaker
This year, the conference is entitled Bridging Generations with Hope, Illuminating the Voices and Vision of the Future of Medicine. AMEC 2026 will bring together over 3,000 pre-medical students, physicians, alumni, and healthcare care professionals from across the country for a vibrant and empowering experience.
00:00:36
Speaker
Join us this year in Pittsburgh as we build bridges that inspire hope, strengthen bonds, and empower the bold visionaries who will transform healthcare care for generations to come. To register, please click on the link in the description box below.
00:00:49
Speaker
Now, let's start the show.
The Lounge Podcast - Black History Month
00:01:09
Speaker
Welcome to SNMA Presents The Lounge. Whether you're in the student lounge, doctor's lounge, or lounging around at home, get ready to join SNMA for meaningful conversations on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare.
00:01:24
Speaker
It's Samiza, Dr. Samiza, guys. Hi, how are you? Now, guys, to start off the topic, um or this today's show, what are we doing to observe Black History Month?
00:01:37
Speaker
um I can start. I think something that was so cool that I saw literally today, basically I was ah on the floor. i was on the floor um of like the PEDS floor that I'm working at right now. And I don't know if it was the nurses or the residents that made this poster, but it's about Vivian Thomas. And he was basically a lab nurse.
00:01:59
Speaker
like supervisor slash worker at Hopkins that was there at the time that Alfred Blalock was there. And basically they were the creators of this shunt called the Blalock Thomas and Towson shunt that was used to treat blue baby syndrome. But the actual T was, was that this guy more than likely like completed this surgery, like on dogs initially. um And like, he was the main person that actually like helped create the kind of prototype of the shunt. And he kind of like passed that, you know, information along to the three white surgeons and like cardiologists that the shunt eventually became named after. um
00:02:41
Speaker
For some reason, I did research on this, like, i don't know, like right before I left medical school. So I just thought it was super cool that, you know, somebody was bringing him up because I think people don't talk enough about how, like, he kind of was really um crucial to the development of this shunt. And even it being called the Blaylock Thomas Taussig shunt, like that's a correction that happened recently so yeah i think it's cool to learn about like black people in medical history even more specifically so think that was cool that they were like going to do a little poster on him very fire very fire like that how you doing guys i am aspiring student dr jared jeffrey and for black history month i really have been trying to be intentional about um consuming black content
00:03:31
Speaker
And not really, uh, you know, social media wise, just television wise, just, um, and not the stuff that we're used to from the nineties. I want to give a little bit more attention to things that have been coming out recently, things that are like telling current stories, things that are telling stories that we as a generation have lived can relate to things of that nature.
00:03:54
Speaker
And I just watched a movie on Amazon prime very recently, relationship goals. Um, And, you know, I was watching the movie and Method Man did his thing in this one, right? um And I'm watching the movie and I'm like, yo, these fits are eating. Like, these are fits that I feel like I could wear, like I could see my friends wearing and stuff like that. And, you know, it just made me feel very connected to the story and just like very seen, right? Very present, very seen. And so I want to do a little bit more of that. I feel like I'm going to like, you know, hit a rewatch of Insecure. I might turn on Harlem. Shows like that where like I really like Grown-ish.
00:04:28
Speaker
You know, the shows that ah it's a good black story, but it's also like relevant to the time because I know we can get us 90s babies could really get caught up in our nostalgia. You know, we grew up in the best generation. But I also think that there are some ah there are some people that are putting things together right now that also deserve our acclaim and adoration. You know what I'm saying? So that's how I'm celebrating Black History Month.
00:04:55
Speaker
One more year, I'm grown now.
00:05:01
Speaker
I'm always randomly singing on here and I can't sing. I love it. Anyways, continue. Keep being you, sis. Keep being
00:05:12
Speaker
Hi everyone, my name is Chinasa and I'm a fourth year medical student. um This is such a great topic and i echo what Samisa said earlier. i mean, every day is Black History Month, so amen to that. i think from So for me, I've actually been doing this Bible study by a Black pastor. Her name is Dr. Kimberly D. Moore, and essentially ah a Bible journal for women. And it it just organizes it in a way that you're able to read the Bible in 52 weeks.
00:05:44
Speaker
So I'm very excited about that. they They have notes and just reflection points each week, and and it's organized. That way you can... take small bites every day and cumulatively you're able to finish the entire bible so that's been yeah that's been exciting to see a black preacher or a black a minister to come up with something like that's such a great resource to just rely on yeah that sounds fire
00:06:16
Speaker
it's been great you know get your mental together do whatever you got to do Pray to God, girls live for a walk. but That's my own Black history, Black history slash Black history year plan.
00:06:31
Speaker
Period.
00:06:34
Speaker
Well, some exciting stuff, some exciting stuff that we're doing for Black History Month.
Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' and Black Excellence in Cinema
00:06:40
Speaker
So we'll get into For our preclinical students, running the patients list and awards allows the team to address pressing matters of the day.
00:06:50
Speaker
And we'll transition to the segment of the show where we'll be discussing some of our recent events in medicine and beyond that's affecting our communities and population that we serve. So grab whatever beverage of choice you typically enjoy. For me, it's tea, whether it's coffee, maybe matcha. I don't know. But grab whatever you need to grab, and we are going to run the list.
00:07:14
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Speaking of matcha, I know we don't really deal with Starbucks, but that banana bread matcha thing.
00:07:26
Speaker
Banana bread matcha. Really? I haven't tried it. I've been saying that i need I need somebody to put me on to the Starbucks drinks. I went into a Starbucks the other day. I had to just leave because I have no idea like what to order.
00:07:40
Speaker
so So please, if you if you can if you can just send me banana bread matcha. I'll remember that. I'll try it out. I'll let you know how it goes. That sounds delicious. It's fire. I'm so sorry. I'm distracting us. Continue. I'm so sorry.
00:07:53
Speaker
Oh, no, you're i mean, you're good. It's all part of it. We're starting on some really celebratory note today, which I'm very, very excited about. um Hallelujah. Say hallelujah for sinners. And um shout out to our guy, Ryan Coogler. OK, so he's I mean, he's broke the Oscar nomination record.
00:08:15
Speaker
with the movie Sinners, a total of 16 nods. He's been, this movie has been nominated for every category except original songs. um So i think for us, especially, I mean, for, I mean, not just the black, I mean, everyone watching the show, I think it's just an incredible, mean, it's just like an incredible movie and and just an incredible a place to so to sit with all of these nominations.
00:08:46
Speaker
Absolutely. For sure. And I think, I guess, like, what's more remarkable is that, you know, it's beat the 14 nomination records for for several other movies, such as All About Eve, which was released in the 1950s.
00:09:01
Speaker
um Interestingly, I mean, Coogler is not the only Black director, you to have been nominated for Best Director nomination. i mean, he's going to be joining other people, including John Singleton for Boys in the Hood, Lee Daniels, Steve McQueen, Barry Jenkins. I really, really love Barry Jenkins, and I liked Moonlight a lot.
00:09:23
Speaker
I love it. But anyway, the 98th Oscars will be held in March. It'll be held on March 15th. And another exciting, exciting point to note is that Wumi Masako, who's a dark-skinned actress that played the leading lady role in the film, um she played ah she played as the leading elite ad leadingin lady in a role that usually doesn't cast dark-skinned women as intelligent, especially in this movie, as desirable and as his ultimate partner and
00:09:55
Speaker
and spouse. yeah So with, I mean, with all of that said, I mean, I'm super excited and I really, really am looking forward to the results, but knowing that, knowing the atmosphere and the country that we're in, um, I think my question to you all is that, do you all think he's actually going to win these nominations? I mean, I don't want to get my hopes up right now, but Hey, I will celebrate all the nominations. Nevertheless.
00:10:25
Speaker
um i can I can start. I think something that made this movie like really exciting and like very popular to multiple different like communities is that I think it was artistically done really well. like if you i like watch so many videos on like if it was, I think it was a 16 by nine and like how he had it screened in different places so that you could kind of have a different, I guess, outlook on the movie when you kind of consumed it. I think Ryan Coogler actually kind of discussing the art of directing and critical choices and like cinematography. I think to your technical people that are watching movies for the art of watching movies, I think that really,
00:11:11
Speaker
appeal to them. And then in like a cultural aspect, like how often is it that you're seeing like black, like vampires done artfully, right? So like, I think you had so many different communities kind of like coming together all at once that it just,
00:11:29
Speaker
I hope that people will respect that artistry. I mean, i don't know, maybe it's going to be another surprising Oscar win, like how Moonlight was where like literally people tried to like shadow over it. And the guy literally was like, what are you guys talking about? We didn't win. Like, please get off the stage. So I hope that it's it doesn't have to be a surprise. It doesn't have to come kind of like overshadowed in like this weird sort of like situation. But I think it is both critically and commercially acclaimed for a reason.
00:12:03
Speaker
That's well said. That's well said. Yeah, extremely, extremely well said. um Yeah, i like the way that you put that, Samiza. um I think that it's also worth noting that like the...
00:12:17
Speaker
entirety of Coogler's career has been one of going against the grain, right? He... let's let's like Let's please, let's remember, he made this movie on a $15 million dollars budget.
00:12:28
Speaker
um When people say, like like, you know, just referring to Fruitvale Station, people said, oh, people don't want to see a story about a man getting shot in a train station, right?
00:12:40
Speaker
He took the opportunity. He broke numbers with that one. He took a... what are we going to call this thriller horror kind of, kind of situation, put a, yeah, put a real historic spin on it.
00:12:55
Speaker
And he's done a similar thing again. He's already won golden globe. Well, the movie has already won golden globes for like, you know, uh, he's got best director, best screenplay of a motion picture, best actor in a drama motion picture, things of that nature.
00:13:09
Speaker
I think it is, well do that the awards continue to roll in for sinners I yeah am I gonna say it's going to so of 16 nominations I expect to get at least four wins I'll say at least 25% at least 25% will it get best picture i don't know that one is tough that one is tough but I think that it has a very very very good chance I think it has a very good chance
00:13:43
Speaker
And I just, sorry, I just wanted to add to that last part that you talked about, Umi Masaku. I think what is even more important about her role, and I'm not sure if there is a nomination for best actress for her or not, but I think what is even more important about her just presence in the um movie at all is that not only is she dark skinned, but she's also a plus size woman or least- Agreed, yep.
00:14:07
Speaker
our Our country's version of that. And I think those two things together are super important to sort of put those women who kind of come at that intersection and are marginalized, even within the Black community, and make her your leading lady with somebody that's conventionally very um ah desired in the community, like Michael B. Jordan. I think having those two things is a statement. And I think it was a reason that he did that. And Wumi Masako is beautiful, right? Like she was also in absolutely yeah the other um show from HBO that I can't think of right now. But...
00:14:45
Speaker
Like, it's just good seeing her get her due. And as someone who classifies themselves as dark skin and plus size, I loved seeing somebody that could look like me or does look like me in a movie and is not only a woman that's important to the movement of the story, but she's she's a sex symbol, like in the in the in the movie, right?
00:15:07
Speaker
And you don't see that often. Yeah, that was really huge. Even in the comments after I watched the movie, I kept on seeing people talk about, I mean, ah we they were surprised that she was that she was his sexual interest or whatever you want to call it, or his his partner, or the fact that they displayed such intimacy was just something people weren't really expected expecting for someone who, quote unquote, looks...
00:15:32
Speaker
Black and dark skin and and plus size. So I think it was really nice to, it was just really, it was is really nice to just amplify those experiences, right? Because we are not a monolith um as Black people. And love takes many shapes and it comes in different ways. So it's just a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful movie. Very unique, very different in terms of the genre as well. I've never really enjoyed vampire or horror stories, but that one kept me in my chair. Yep. this This one kept me locked in. yu
00:16:10
Speaker
I do. So this was truly, truly important to me. And I love history. it it It put all my favorite things in one movie. It's great. Yeah. Yeah. dan I might go rewatch sinners next too.
00:16:23
Speaker
I rewatched it. Like me too. i I think on Thanksgiving and I was with a non black majority crowd. So that was interesting, but we don't have to get into that. um But either way, it ate.
Eniola Shokunbi's Innovation and Parental Support
00:16:37
Speaker
Got you. Got you. um Well, this black history month, we are taking the entire episode to highlight black excellence from around the country. And, you know, black excellence comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes, even as small as a 12 year old girl.
00:16:54
Speaker
So out of Connecticut, we have 12 year old Eniola Shokunbi, who developed a virus killing air filter for classrooms. It was actually kind of crazy. So she was able to secure an 11.5 million grant and is going to be installing them all over her home state of Connecticut.
00:17:11
Speaker
And so it's, it's bad funny. And in her interview, she was like, she wants to one day be president of the United States, but first she's going to make, you feel me? But first, black excellence is going to drip all over this episode, y'all. Stay tuned. Stay tuned. Nigeria, stop. She wants to an impact in the local community. yeah.
00:17:34
Speaker
So at at the the humble um at the humble age of 12, she's in the fifth grade, and she was able to lead efforts to create an air filter system that's able to remove the common cold and COVID viruses from classrooms. The system is effectively a filter that...
00:17:51
Speaker
um The air goes in through all sides and it comes out of the top and it's a filter in and filter out system. It consists of a so it's cost $60 to make and consists of a box fan with four furnace filters, duct tape and cardboard.
00:18:05
Speaker
She was able to test it and get it certified by the Environmental Protection Agency ah in North Carolina for its for its efficiency. I think that we don't hear enough stories like this these days, you know, the young inventors, the young children really taking something, they putting together with their hands and succeeding. Um,
00:18:27
Speaker
I'm kind of enamored. You know what I'm saying? Because this sounds like the kind of thing that you expect from somebody coming out of like a trade school, somebody that is like, you know, a startup looking to get their own business started. And, you know, they don't put these, you know, where they used to put these kind of shows on television back in a day, right? Like, oh, the tiny tots and look at what, look at what the great kids of this nation is doing, you know? But so like, this is a story that, especially like, you know, like social media isn't like going to promote and stuff like this as much.
00:18:57
Speaker
But I think that this is fuego. You know what I'm saying? um What do you guys think? Now, well, a round of applause, Aniela, wherever you are, if you're listening, if anyone's listening, we're so proud of you. This is amazing. This is amazing. And yes, please, we're going to be waiting on you to run for president. I just wanted to echo that.
00:19:19
Speaker
Facts. I said Nigeria stop, but truly Nigeria continue. um She ate that. um That's just sometimes like, you know, I think with the pandemic and everything, like people like worry about like, you know, children of today and whether or not like their, you know, learning curve is any different because of the, the impact the pandemic had on schooling. Yeah. But I think when you hear stories like this, it's just, oh, like there's kids that are out there making it in spite of all that, right? Like she's 12, like her time was impacted by COVID and she's still able to look at the things around her. And it's like, okay, how can I make this better? How can I do something that's literally, she probably thought, okay, like COVID impacted me, the flu impacted me. How can I make a change? And I think,
00:20:12
Speaker
to have that sort of mindset as not even a teenager is so, so powerful. So shout out to her, shout out to her parents, shout out to her village and everybody that, you know, kind of encouraged her to continue in that way. Because how many times are we discouraged when we're on this path from doing like random things? So,
00:20:31
Speaker
You got it. It's really dope. In an article from the American Lung Association, it says that um her passion for the subject started when she read an article about air filters in the White House. And she was so interested in the topic that she took to writing to UConn's Indoor Air Quality Initiative. And she asked them for the blueprints of their air filter so that she and her classmates could build one.
00:20:54
Speaker
And so she kind of took that idea and just like, you know, let it snowball and let it run with it. And here we are.
00:21:02
Speaker
No, like, yeah. Shout out to her mom, Fumike, saying that she's been exceptional since birth. Okay? Okay. You have to drive into your kids.
00:21:13
Speaker
Period. And that's true. You know, I think this is also like a kind of success story in a sense of, shout out to moms for allowing you to do this. I couldn't imagine what I would, what my pops would have responded with if I said, hey dad, I think I want to build an air filter. Like he would have been like, what's wrong with the air I got in my house? Like, what are you talking about? You know what I'm saying? Jerry, please.
00:21:37
Speaker
You feel me? Like, yo, go if you don't like the air in here, go outside. Like,
00:21:44
Speaker
But nah, that's that's that's really fire one. And you know, it could be like a gentle reminder that like, you may not always understand the things that your kids come up interested in.
00:21:55
Speaker
But you know, that a little reassurance and reinforcement and support goes a long way, you know, and shoot for her, it might take her all the way to the White House. Who knows? But yeah, this is this is fire.
00:22:07
Speaker
It for sure will. Like we all cheering you on and hopefully like, girl come put some in my house. Like I'm sure I need cleaner air. um But I'm glad that we're able to talk about that really, you know,
00:22:21
Speaker
Really bright topic because I am bringing in a little bit more of a sadder topic, but I think it does still kind of lend to the conversation of black excellence and almost like the the bad end of that, like us continuing to strive for it and trying to
Mental Health Challenges in Medical Education
00:22:38
Speaker
have that image can sort of lead to dangerous consequences.
00:22:42
Speaker
um But we wanted to shed light on Phil Moyam. He was a third year medical student at the University of Birmingham in England, actually, and he failed a remediation exam.
00:22:55
Speaker
um And that subsequently led to him ah taking his life the next day. um And it looks like he was from Leicester and he was told that he failed his exam by a couple points and then he would therefore need to withdraw from his class. um And no one, you know, can really kind of speak to the exact intricacies, but that the next day he did accidentally pass away or he did pass away. accidentally. Sorry, guys.
00:23:28
Speaker
Let's re-say that. Because it's crazy. um But yeah, so he was from Leicester, like I said, um and he failed an exam by a couple of points and that because of that failure, he would have to withdraw from his course. And unfortunately, the next day he did pass away.
00:23:44
Speaker
um Everybody remembers him as a really joyful person. ah Professors and friends and family-like called him a ray of sunshine. And, you know, you know sometime July of last year when this all occurred. um In his eulogy um at his really, you know, well-attended funeral, um his mom said his love, kindness, and maturity were a constant source of joy to us as parents. Phil's passing has left an indescribable void in my heart.
00:24:17
Speaker
And, you know, I think when we talk about this, um it's easy to talk about the surveys like that. You know, we've seen surveys that in the early 2000s, both first and second year, u s medical students were depressed, ah ah according to about 24 percent of them, according to the Beck Depression Inventory.
00:24:35
Speaker
And, you know, we always talk about, you know, the pressure of medicine and the silent culture and unspoken culture of medicine. But I think, you know, when you have examples of this where, you know, somebody is kind of the overall shining light of what it means to be a Black person going through this journey and they sort of end so abruptly, it it really is, you know, sort of just... devastating It's devastating and it's the unfinished dream, right? And I think that that is just so, so sad because we were just talking about at the beginning of this, how every day is black history month and walking into a patient's room and them seeing you as a black physician, it it makes it a difference.
00:25:23
Speaker
And it's just so easy how the pressure to sort of fulfill that role can tip you personally into a really dark space. So I just wanted to make sure that, you know, we talked about his story, we brought up his name, but I kind of just wanted to hear you guys' with thoughts too.
00:25:43
Speaker
I was so devastating. his soul rest in peace. I feel like the pressures of getting out of medical school isn't talked about at all. you We just really focus on, oh, get into medical school, get into medical school. But being in medical school now and getting through the end of it, it's I would say it's been the hardest thing trying to get out of medical school, same.
00:26:09
Speaker
So i just wanted to say that I just hope this is a reminder for all of us, wherever we are in our journey, that it's so important to take care of ourselves, not only physically, but mentally, and very important to lean on the community that we have. And if you don't have one, then be more deliberate and seek out whatever resources that are available to you to create one because it's so crucial for moments like this, as you highlighted some music where it could have just been one thing and you're just you can just tip on tip over on the other side. um And unfortunately, this has led led to...
00:26:48
Speaker
ah a gap and a gap in the community. you know, he was someone's student doctor to be, he someone's child, he was a community community member. so the loss is definitely going to be felt by everyone.
00:27:06
Speaker
Yep. Yep. I think um
00:27:11
Speaker
medical school is and endeavor. it is a monumental endeavor, but I think that it's one of those things that we come so immersed in it that it's easy to forget slash neglect your connections to other people that are not in the space, you know? And I think those kinds of things really help keep you grounded through tough times and keep you sane when it's time to go insane. You know what i'm saying? Like,
00:27:43
Speaker
I think that, like like, I had a friend that told me this. she's um She's actually a fourth year now. And she said she loves spending time with her friends that have nothing to do with medicine.
00:27:53
Speaker
She loves spending time with her friends who are in completely different fields. You know, they may ask her, oh, how's school going? How's work going? She'll say good, and there's no follow-up questions. Because for this time, I'm actually, like, you know, I'm compartmentalizing that part of myself. Like, I'm allowing...
00:28:10
Speaker
The part of me that I don't get to explore that much. I'm allowing the part of me that I can only feel when I'm with you come out. And i know it's impossible to say, oh yeah, always make time, always keep track for everybody. But You could do it a little bit. you know Phone calls is a thing.
00:28:30
Speaker
um And just really try to you know maintain ah maintain perspective on the big picture. I know in the SNMA, our goal is to see every person that comes into medical school successfully complete it.
00:28:45
Speaker
However, like in this young man's case, in the off chance that you were to be excused, There were more doors that would open down the line. You know what i'm saying?
00:28:59
Speaker
ah And it's it's it's a reality that a lot of us don't like to even acknowledge. But and yeah, there it is one worth, you know, just putting out there lightly.
00:29:16
Speaker
If for whatever reason it doesn't work out for medical school, life is still worth living. You know, it's still worth it to move on because you still have those important connections and a whole bunch of people that would miss you if he was gone. You know what i'm saying? That's that's that's what I would have liked to say to him before.
00:29:34
Speaker
um If I was a friend of his, you know. no No, that's powerful. i wouldn't I don't know if I would even say put it out there lightly. At this point, that's that's like heavily, you know. so thanks for adding that, Jared. Definitely. And I just wanted to Add one little thing for medical students out there. i just feel like medical school in general, people in medical school have this persona, i'll wear this cloak that everything's perfect and you don't fill courses and nothing bad happens. And we are almost always striving for perfection. I just wanted to also i throw that out there as a reminder that it's okay. A grade in a course doesn't define you, doesn't define your trajectory. And as Jared said, it's just not worth the cost of your life anyway. So, cause that's, I just feel like I feel like first, second, I mean, third, in fact, all of it, I was struggling and you look around you and people just feel like you're not, you think you're not struggling or whatever. And then you get to have conversations with these people in closed spaces and you realize, It's not just you. So I feel i just feel in general that we suffer alone and it shouldn't be that way. should be more vulnerable about the struggles that we have and yeah the resources that we that we need to get to where we need to be.
00:30:48
Speaker
So um I just hope that just encourages anyone out there who's struggling with whatever clerkship, whatever shelf exam, whatever board exam, whatever it is that you you got this and it's it's okay.
00:31:02
Speaker
And you can connect exhale. Wonderfully said. Yep. Yep. But before we move on to the next topic, um we're just going to take a moment of silence for Phil Moyo and all the other ah young black excellent people who so came to pressures of institutions and took their own lives.
00:31:37
Speaker
Rest in peace. You are gone. But you are Black History. And this Black History Month, you will be remembered. Well, on to something lighter.
00:31:49
Speaker
i don't know if you guys ever heard the phrase, it's a goal growing up.
00:31:55
Speaker
Well, y'all, from Nigeria, so, you know, Sundays like this, just hear people around just talking about it's a goal. And, know of course, when I moved to America, I moved to Houston. That was not a thing anymore. hear people are playing football ball with your hands. We're not even going to go into that.
00:32:11
Speaker
Oh, well. ah But um if you didn't get that reference anyway. I just got it. It took a second. It took a second. It took him a second. Sound it out, baby. Sound it out.
00:32:25
Speaker
I was referring to American football. ball But, um yeah, we had we have the AFCON and Senegal won. We had AFCON and Senegal won. Senegal defeated Morocco. 1-0. Okay, that's another thing. Come on, that's serious. 2-0.
00:32:43
Speaker
one o two o Yeah, so Senegal defeated Morocco 1-0 in extra time on Sunday, and that yielded them the second AFCON title. Congratulations, Senegal. That's amazing.
00:32:57
Speaker
Period. At a ceremony in Dakar on Tuesday after an open top bus tour in front of thousands of delighted supporters, President Faye spoke to confirm the bonuses each of the Victoria squad will receive. Now, that's what I'm interested in. is there a way to sign up or get a cut?
00:33:18
Speaker
He promised each of the 28 players $75 million. seffa totaling 2.1 billion seffa i believe it said as well as plots of lands free plots of lands africans and land ownership please and she said bump the hundred thousand dollars the land the land So this this is pretty some exciting stuff. My cousin actually in Senegal during this time. So I can only imagine the kind of victorious state the entire country was in you know to have brought back home this victory. And congratulations to that all the players who are not only bagging some sizable cash, but also of lands.
00:34:13
Speaker
Absolutely. That's fire. That's fire. Yeah, I think second on the line when it comes to sports news was incident that occurred involving Naomi Osaka during the Australian Open. i actually saw a video of this and it was a bit disturbing.
00:34:30
Speaker
But essentially, during the the course of the the game, she made several comments such as, unquote, come on, just essentially hyping herself up, keeping her morale up. That way she can see herself through through the competition.
00:34:47
Speaker
And her opponent was... ah Her opponent felt very disrespected and interjected several times, of which the... the I guess the coach the coach also...
00:34:59
Speaker
confirmed that it was it was acceptable, what me the statements Naomi was making to comfort herself or to encourage herself. And at the end, there's a bit of an exchange between Christia, essentially, and Naomi.
00:35:17
Speaker
Naomi actually eventually apologized after the victory. And I was actually curious to hear about your thought because don't know. I'm sorry, she apologized after victory? She did it so okay i Apologize for what?
00:35:33
Speaker
Apologize essentially for the comments she was making for comments on the court It wasn't even well received Her opponent was still very mad You could see the facial facial expressions It wasn't even received And I don't even understand why she was apologizing anyway In the first place yeah so So you know what it is right?
00:35:56
Speaker
Osaka is she's on the young side and she's beating people that are meant. She's beating people that are a couple years older than her. And I guess they don't like the demonstrative display.
00:36:07
Speaker
um I'm not going to lie. you You guys are going to have to. I've never seen in sports where one competitor tells another competitor how to react to scoring.
00:36:20
Speaker
do you Could you imagine that? Like, could you imagine like LeBron James goes, he dunks on somebody and they say, oh, well, look like the opponent says, hey, LeBron, don't get too excited about dunking on me.
00:36:32
Speaker
ah don't don't Don't start celebrating now. That's for the ref to decide. That's for the ref to say, okay, hey, sport unsportsmanlike conduct or whatever the case may be. According to what you just said, it sounds like the ref...
00:36:45
Speaker
said whatever she was saying was okay because it wasn't directed at the other player. This is internal monologue. Like, this is me hyping me up. Don't try to get in my way because you... And, you know, I feel like... I don't know. i didn't watch the game. i I saw a little bit of the... I saw a couple of the clips.
00:37:02
Speaker
It just hits like somebody trying to get in your head and throw you off your square. you know what I'm saying? like Like, oh, yeah, you know, and they'll try to do stuff like this to young athletes because they'll they'll, you know, assume that you can get an emotional rile out of them or whatever the case may be.
00:37:16
Speaker
I'm sorry, sis, but ah Osaka, she she she's not the one or the two. She she'd be coming out here and she be playing and she... yeah Apologizing after a win is crazy. um Well, let me not say crazy. But you you see what I'm saying? Like, it just it just doesn't roll off the tongue right. Like I won and now I'm apologizing to you. Like, I guess, you know, that's very sportsman like over, though. You know, sorry, I hurt your feelings.
00:37:39
Speaker
But um I need you to take your feelings somewhere else because this is a sport on one of the world's biggest stages. And I'm going to do what it takes to win. And I feel like everything that she just everything that you described her doing was well within reason. i don't know. this It sounds like very normal athletic performance to me.
00:37:59
Speaker
I thought so too. What do you think Sinise are? Yeah, I mean, I guess, you know, I didn't see the part where she actually ended up apologizing. I was, you know, proud of her because usually, know, Naomi's like pretty like poised on the court. And like, even when people go low, like she doesn't tend to do that. But like, she kind of clapped back and in the immediate like post, like post, that oh my God, I'm sorry, guys. In the immediate setting. Yeah.
00:38:25
Speaker
So in the immediate setting, she kind was just like, I mean, i don't understand why you're upset because I'm hyping myself up. But, you know, I guess, you know, you got to be trained and everything else. I think that played a part into her, like actually apologizing. And in general, she even said, you know, i don't like disrespecting, distracting people. Like, that's not what I do. So I think it was more so getting back to her own character in terms of like letting her have that apology.
00:38:50
Speaker
But I was proud of her for kind of having that moment. Like, relax. Like, i'm just I'm just saying what I need to say for me. And literally everybody was looking at the other lady like, she talking to herself, basically. Like, she's not coming at you. That makes sense. It sounds like she's just being a professional.
00:39:07
Speaker
Yeah, like, it it just seems like she's being a professional. And I mean, in general, like, you know, we, I think, As not to not to get back to this on everything, but as black women, is sometimes difficult. In February, you could get to it all you want.
00:39:26
Speaker
All I want. As many times as you want. You know, we're told that our emotions are too much. And, you know, it's always an issue when we do things, even if we emulate literally the same behaviors of people that don't look like us.
00:39:44
Speaker
I think Coco's moment during, I mean, during this match is the same thing, right? Like she was emotional. She told everybody, please let me have this moment. They didn't listen to her. Then they caught the moment and then everybody everybody's like, oh, she's breaking rackets.
00:39:56
Speaker
Literally how many male white tennis boys have we seen break rackets over the years? It's not that serious. This is what literally, this is this is how you get mad in tennis. You break the racket. Like that's, yeah everybody knows that that's what you do. so But both Coco and Naomi both know that it's different when you look like them, especially in the sport of tennis that is traditionally very white and very male um dominated. So I understand her not wanting to lose like public support by having that moment. But I you know i get it.
00:40:35
Speaker
I guess is my overall feeling. I get it. I understand yeah having to sort of like curtail your emotions that you overall can be heard and seen and respected in your field.
00:40:47
Speaker
yeah That happens no matter what you do. No, I don't get it. and i get why here really dont no i understand not wanting to do it, but I understand why it is done.
00:41:02
Speaker
Okay, okay. Okay, I get you on that point. But I mean, since we're even in Black History Month, I think that's just the part that just sits with me and just is heavy in my heart, right? Like, what did MLK fight for?
00:41:15
Speaker
Because ah with these two ladies that you just pointed out, there isn't even freedom of expression of your emotion. Why can't you just express how you feel in peace?
00:41:28
Speaker
Especially in something so emotional like sports. Like sports is one of those places, avenues where your talent is on display and it's being challenged, you know?
00:41:45
Speaker
it yeah big challenge It's challenges competitive. Yeah. It's an emotional experience competing at the highest level, seeing the culmination of work you put years and years and years in for.
00:41:56
Speaker
Listen, man, I just think that it is one of those things where. The media is always going to look for something to make a story out of. And it's up to us to, you know, the same way that we we provide a shroud on social media where we see something and we're like, oh, yeah, that's that's not that's not how it's going to go. Like, you're not going to make this story into one of those.
00:42:19
Speaker
Just keep supporting each other in that way. You know what I'm saying? I feel like I i would love to think that there's a world where these celebrities can go to like a page like The Shade Room and see the comments that get the most likes from the community and know, like, yo, we got y'all back.
00:42:35
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? Without even having to interact with us nothing like that, they could just they could just see, yo, the the the diaspora got y'all. We still out here. Speaking of beef happening and on the biggest stage, um, ASAP Rocky recently went on, uh, E-Ro show and he wanted to talk about Drake. So,
00:42:59
Speaker
as As you may or may not know, ASAP is married to Rihanna at this point. um And Drake and Rihanna used to date for a number of years. I think they were like on and off between like, and let's say like 09 to like 16 or whatever the case may be.
00:43:15
Speaker
Um... In 2018, Rihanna actually you know told Vogue that Drake and her do not have a friendship at the moment. you know We're not friends, but we're not enemies either.
00:43:25
Speaker
um And I think that's like a very good place for you to be when you're in a serious relationship, having babies with somebody else, um building a family, that kind of thing.
00:43:37
Speaker
um So it was it was on Ebro's show when asked about it. uh he asked whether there was really an issue between asap rocky and drake rocky basically stated that he and drake who were once friends had a falling out over women well i'll put on air quotes over females um rocky has been dating rihanna since 2019 and they have three children at this point and so it's one of those things where it's just like uh
00:44:09
Speaker
Do you think that Ebro was kind of like trying to make something out of nothing with this set of questions? like Like, to me, it seems like ASAP and Rihanna's relationship is one of the least problematic that we've seen.
00:44:25
Speaker
Does this set of questions seem like he was trying to like stir things up, find something to talk about of nothing? What do you guys think? Always. Always.
00:44:38
Speaker
Short and sweet always. I mean, I i i feel like Ebro, I put Ebro in the same category as like Joe Budden and that whole podcast.
00:44:50
Speaker
I'm not a frequenter, i have to say. I'm not like really opposed to like, you know, the gossip blogs or gossip podcasts, I just, I think I don't put that much stock into it. Like, it's not surprising to me that Ebro asks these set of questions because yeah that is one traditionally, like, what is looked for when you're going to the podcast. I think that's one thing, right? Drama. But then...
00:45:19
Speaker
it is very quintessentially hip hop to be measured by what are your quote unquote accolades, right? Your awards, things you own, your money. And in that traditionally is the women that you possess. There are there air quotes in what I'm saying. So even though Rihanna is quite literally a billionaire and owns the her own makeup line and is a successful recording artist in her own right and a successful mother and partner. She is still being looked at in this conversation as an object of somebody's desire, right? As an object to be one or to be like...
00:46:03
Speaker
I don't know, fought over. She's not fought about, hey, like maybe I had a relationship with this guy and it didn't work out and now we're not friends and now I'm with this guy and we're together and married and have kids. yeah Like many other adults do.
00:46:17
Speaker
Exactly. No, she's Drake's. I don't even know if we can classify what they call dating. Like he was like obsessed with her, kept bringing it up. And she like that they was on literally like dubbed him multiple times.
00:46:31
Speaker
She dubbed him multiple times in public. Right. Cool. That's fine. It's not even a big deal. But it happened. It's not happening now. We all know that. why this is even a conversation to even bring up when quite literally their oldest kid is three. So let's say at most it's been four years plus, because I'm i'm adding the pregnancy to it since Drake has been a ah factor in her life and we're still bringing it up.
00:46:58
Speaker
So I love the point you make because I think that the hip hop blogs need a new lane. I think they need to...
00:47:11
Speaker
you you know You see what I'm saying? like Like, stop trying to draw on drama of the past. Stop trying to make something out of nothing. This isn't even a question that anybody is looking for the answer to because the answer is very, very clear in front of our eyes. You know what I'm saying? Like this Black History Month, please, less successful Black families like this one Have what they need to have. Stay up out the drama. Stay up out the light.
00:47:39
Speaker
Let them build and grow in private. yo like You're so lucky you got him on your show to do an interview and you want to go out here asking him nonsense about his lady. like like and This is the kinds of things that be throwing me with the hip-hop logs.
00:47:53
Speaker
but um yeah yeah that's that's That's my very, very short, minute rant because yeah we we we simply must do better. We simply must do better. I'm not a hip-hop journalist no more, but, like, please, we we we can find something better to ask about at this point.
00:48:11
Speaker
ASAP is that he acting. Ask about his acting career. i don't know. And, I mean, like, this is like this is making, i don't want us to sound like we're being, like, holier than thou or, like, we've never read a Shade Room post. Because that's not it. I love mess, right? i've i've i I was an avid watcher of love and hip-hop at some point.
00:48:31
Speaker
that That's not the point. My point is that, one, I think it is true that we need to change our conversation if you know you want to be seen with sort of with any sort of journalistic integrity. it's just whatever there. But I also, i think when you ask is this question relevant? Is this question needed? It's of course not needed.
00:48:54
Speaker
so I think it's just, you know, you just know what you're looking for. I'm not going to Ebro to like tell me anything new about Rihanna or, or ASAP. Like, i don't know, like they can kind of directly say whatever they want to say about their family. They do enough interviews that I think you can focus on their art or like whatever business endeavor that they're going to do. But I don't think you can really expect a unbiased interview.
00:49:18
Speaker
in this particular setting that he put himself in. But again, like I said, I don't think the people that are listening to E. Ro Show, that's what they're looking for. I think you're looking for a little bit of mess. And if you have that in mind, then yeah, of course, you want to hear about some random old relationship beef between asap Rocky, a father of three, and Drake, father of one.
00:49:43
Speaker
So... I mean, is other one you know, like, i don't know. I don't know. But again, Speaking of mess and reality TV and kings of reality TV, shout out to Vince Staples and his ah treatise on Rage and his importance in Black popular culture.
00:50:07
Speaker
um But more specifically, um kind of talking more seriously about Rage, we're talking about his ah substance use on IG Live and TMZ and...
00:50:20
Speaker
sort of the serious health consequences he sort of had from his various actions over the years. He revealed um that his heart is pumping at a far um lower capacity due to the heavy use of alcohol and drugs. um And he shared that with TMZ that um his doctors told him that he likely only has months to live. Now, I don't know about the validity of all that. But it says how old that it's 45. Yeah.
00:50:52
Speaker
forty five Oh, he's 45 and he quotes and saying, I thought I could handle all the alcohol i and I could handle all the Adderall. Um, but that he should potentially prepare for the chance to need a pacemaker or a defibrillator soon. And then he told TMZ that basically he was on Lipitor, Jardians and Entresto and that it's been hard for him to stop smoking and drinking.
00:51:19
Speaker
Now, going to put on the medical hat for two seconds because I think it is very clear by the medications that he's taking that he has some degree of heart failure. Heart failure. That seems to like guideline-directed management therapy, right?
00:51:36
Speaker
Cool. In terms of how that relates to him needing a pacemaker or defibrillator, I'm not exactly sure because those aren't necessarily the exact same things that they would be treating.
00:51:48
Speaker
But I think things can get lost in translation. What I think is clear regardless is that this heart is pumping at a far below capacity is that probably his ejection fraction is reduced in some sort of way. I don't have his medical chart. This is just me gathering from the little facts that he said.
00:52:07
Speaker
um Either way, I think it speaks to a larger issue that One, you're at an increased risk of all these things sort of as a black man, right? That says number one. And then you add on the stressors of heavy alcohol and substance use. I think that's an often not discussed issue that can come with substance into use disorder, right? Like it can have very dire physiological consequences. And that's just...
00:52:37
Speaker
like you wouldn't know that as somebody who's not in medicine, right? So I think Ray J being somebody that's been in our public consciousness literally for at least two thirds of his life, kind of seeing that transition of him as a child actor to having more of a role in like reality TV. And now he's telling me like, hey, like all the choices I made in my early life are catching up with me and now my heart doesn't work. i think that's important for people to see. I think it's an important,
00:53:08
Speaker
lesson to learn. um And it's honestly really sad, right? Because then I think if people, not to say That if people knew all the health consequences of alcohol use and substance use disorder, they wouldn't utilize those substances. But I think it's just something that people don't know about. Like people know about the emotional and psychosocial stressors of both of those um disorders. But i don't think they sometimes think of like quite literally, physiologically, you're harming your body.
00:53:43
Speaker
Right. And how it's like, why would you know that? Exactly. Yep. Yep. um Yeah. I think that this is like a real, i don't want to call it textbook. I think this is a great chat opportunity to highlight ah something that I heard a while back. I i can't remember where I heard it, but it was essentially they say like, you know, rich people learn that Money can buy happiness and they'll say, but up to a certain point, right?
00:54:11
Speaker
um And they'll say like when there's wealth building, okay, cool. You want to build to a certain amount of money. Then once you've obtained a certain amount of money, then you start to look to the things that matter beyond money to make you happy, family and health.
00:54:26
Speaker
And it's a tale as old as time.
00:54:33
Speaker
You are playing the game backwards if you come up on a lot of money and you use it on things that will shorten your life. It's one of those things. And, you know, I guess I'll tie that in, you know, it's a medical pod and stuff like that.
00:54:46
Speaker
um A lot of these physicians that we all are about to be, we're going make a whole lot of money. And once you make a whole lot of money, cool, you have gotten piece of the pie down.
00:55:00
Speaker
towards wealth. If you gonna have real wealth in this world though, real wealth is having the money and having a body that is fit and able to enjoy using it, yo.
00:55:13
Speaker
Like this just sounds so You said 45 years old? that one hit me because I'm just like... Young age 45. Young age, yo. That's a lot of living hard, living fast. know what I'm saying? And it sounds like it's all substance use related. You know, like didn't hear anything hereditary or nothing like that. Like, yeah, just lifestyle choices. So, you know, as my moms would say, be wise and not otherwise. That's a really sweet one. Yeah, I think
00:55:47
Speaker
One thing that, mean, for everyone out there that's listening, when you go to your physician, whoever it is that you trust, tell them about that social history, y'all. And be honest. Be honest so they can help you out. The thing is, there are a lot of resources for this. I mean, there's even medication for alcohol abuse. But I just feel like people are just not honest or will will sort of...
00:56:10
Speaker
sugarcoat how much they drink or or or lie and things like that i think when you go to a physician you should you should go with the mindset that they're not there to judge you you're there to really gather a complete history that way they can understand how to help you um what about what about throw you in jail are are the physicians there to throw you in jail for using drugs absolutely not we're not the feds we're not the feds Absolutely not. We're not a fad. So that's what, that mean, that quote stuck out to me.
00:56:41
Speaker
the Like the surprise almost, like him thinking just, oh yeah, he could handle it and that was okay. That makes me, that makes me understand that there's just never any sort of conversation with anyone that that pre perhaps could point out that, hey, this is going to hurt your heart long-term.
00:57:03
Speaker
um Because we know, I mean, we know that alcohol does cause, um, Heart failure, dyslexic dysfunction, things like that. So so yeah, you just go check check yourself out, develop that relationship with someone that you trust, and um be honest with them. Be honest with them about those bad habits, whether there's smoking, there are resources for that, there are ways to get you back on track. And I really, really want to echo what Jared said. If you have all the wealth and you're just stuck in a hospital bed, i mean, sometimes you you can't even buy a heart.
00:57:39
Speaker
you Sometimes you can't even buy a lung, you know? So it's on it's just so unfortunate. Yeah. Health is wealth. Health is wealth.
00:57:50
Speaker
I feel like the, I don't know that the next topic is um any lighter. i feel like we went from substance abuse now to um death, possibly death penalty, possibly.
00:58:01
Speaker
know But um this is a topic that we've talked about last year. we talked about Luigi Mangiano, who, who essentially, i mean, who essentially murdered the United healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.
00:58:17
Speaker
Allegedly. Sure. Okay. Let me just go. Actually. he he hasn't He hasn't been to court yet. it's it All charges are still alleged.
00:58:29
Speaker
In quotes. Right, right, right. Well, okay. So this is a topic that we talked about last year. we discussed about Luigi Mangione, who allegedly murdered the United healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.
00:58:44
Speaker
So on January 30th, a federal judge ruled that Luigi cannot face a death penalty in his upcoming trial for the murder of the United healthcare CEO. She dismissed two counts, two counts from his federal indictment. One of which carried the death penalty as a potential sentence.
00:59:04
Speaker
Described by the New York Times as a significant, quote unquote, blow to the Trump administration's effort to revive the use of death penalty in federal cases, this decision invalidates a capital prosecutor prosecution that data and legal analysis showed show was a historical analysis.
00:59:22
Speaker
All right. So, and I mean, last year we talked about the... the difficulty in accessing health care insurance. But the I mean, I guess the question for today really is, why are people praising a suspect who who allegedly murdered her father and individual on the street in broad daylight?
00:59:42
Speaker
Is this supposed to be an inexcusable behavior? What do y'all have to say to that?
00:59:51
Speaker
In a time in this nation where increasing amounts of people are having trouble paying for healthcare care expenses and simultaneously a healthcare CEO is taking very large salaries, bonuses, and rejecting procedures for people
01:00:20
Speaker
with minimal reason, it's a sign of the citizens frustration with the system. It is not acceptable to murder someone, it is not acceptable to try to take that kind of judgment into your own hands.
01:00:39
Speaker
um However, the way that Mangione lined the entire thing up, having words written on the bullets, um the fact that, you know, his grandmother was denied um coverage for a surgery.
01:00:54
Speaker
All those little factors play into the greater narrative. And it's a narrative that I think that a lot of Americans can relate to.
01:01:07
Speaker
So it's not the murder that they are trying to... um validate simply it's the pushback against the system and you know unfortunately it just seems that mangioni if he did this alleged crime that was his method of pushing back against the system um it sounds like you know the masses are looking for a way to push back against the system and kind of you know let let health care executives know
01:01:43
Speaker
that it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to get decent health coverage or get a surgery paid for or things of that nature. Samisa, what do you think?
01:01:55
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting. um this' is also a random fellow alumni of mine, but that's neither here nor there. But I...
01:02:08
Speaker
You know, I don't think that people are necessarily praising him as much as they're kind of like Jared is relating to sort of talking about a buck against the system. It is very unfortunate that this man lost his life. I think most people would agree. um i think inadvertently what he stood for as an insurance company CEO is why people have been less than sympathetic.
01:02:38
Speaker
um but I don't think you can take away from the fact that somebody in their family lost somebody that they love. Like, even your most horrible villain in in in a cartoon, like, has somebody that loves them, right? So you can't take away from that fact, but I think in terms of this actual topic of him not getting the death penalty, it was really interesting sort of reading like, you know, what kind of separates this death penalty decision or lack thereof versus people that are currently on death row and, you know, things we've heard about everybody that we know about Dylan roof. I believe that's the um movie theater person um that killed people in maybe Colorado. yep
01:03:25
Speaker
And then Zokar Sarnev, I'm pretty sure that was the Boston Marathon guy. Boston Marathon bomber, yep. Exactly. um All of these people and somebody else, Robert Raza, I'm not exactly sure who that is, but um they all specifically got the death penalty.
01:03:46
Speaker
the The thing that holds them all together is that they all complete um they all committed firearms crimes, but the reason they got the death penalty is actually not for the firearms. It's for other things. For Dylann Roof and Robert Bowers, it's for obstruction of religious exercise resulting in death and for Boston Marathon Guides for using weapons of mass destruction.
01:04:06
Speaker
And the thing about law and how things are done in this country is that literally you have to prove things within the law and it has to be done with like an an in trial, obviously beyond reasonable doubt. But when you're talking about sentencing, like,
01:04:22
Speaker
there's nothing about what he did to this one person that justifies the death penalty, right? Which is why he's not facing it. They took it out. um So, I mean, I think it just sort of speaks to the very like specificity of law, because that's just how it works. um But overall, like very sad situation, but I think the public...
01:04:48
Speaker
feeling towards it of either indifference or kind of what seems like celebratory. I think that's more so an effect of just how,
01:05:00
Speaker
I think jaded people are with like insurance and even as somebody who's in the healthcare field, like dealing with insurance as a provider and I don't even really deal with it cause I'm a low level, like I'm, I'm a lower level in my training. It's still very annoying. Like you get prior authorization stops on Epic for trying to give somebody some pain medicine after surgery.
01:05:24
Speaker
Like they just got cut into And you're telling me that I can't give a kid medicine. so yeah, I think people are mad at insurance companies, but that doesn't mean you should celebrate somebody that actually passed away and lost their life.
01:05:38
Speaker
I got some flowers. I want to give flowers to recently diseased CEO of the nonprofit Beauty to the Streets, Shirley Rimes. Mm-hmm.
01:05:57
Speaker
She was a street legend. She was working out of l LA and she was the founder of a nonprofit organization that was seeking to combat homelessness through giving a makeovers to different women.
01:06:15
Speaker
um She was a pillar in the community. She worked in a various set of ways, uh, Offering things like, you know, well, in addition to makeup, also hair, food, clothing, hygiene, safety items. Her work was essentially outreach to the homeless community. I believe that l L.A. has a a larger than average homeless population, if I'm not mistaken.
01:06:39
Speaker
um And it's said that she touched thousands of people around LA. um a little bit about her backstory. Ms. Shirley was a titan of social advocacy.
01:06:50
Speaker
She was able to garner millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram by documenting the way that she organized efforts to distribute meals and provide beauty and other hygiene services, as well as holding events in the Skid Row area of LA, as well as Nevada.
01:07:06
Speaker
She was a mother of six and she battled can's um she cancer wolfolf she was a mother of six and she balanced a 26-year career in medical billing with her mission to provide food and hygiene kits as well as service to those living in the streets. She had two awards she won awards ah for her work, the 2021 Hero of the Year from CNN and the 2025 NAACP Image Award for the Social Media Personality of the Year.
01:07:36
Speaker
Um, and you know, she leaves ba behind people that, you know, they kind of just said things like she just loved to help people. And it said that her organization will still continue. Beauty to the streets is going to continue offering services and the board will continue to lead the next generation of nonprofit leaders.
01:07:56
Speaker
Um, so I just wanted to ask you guys, like, how do you think that her death is going to impact that community? um even without knowing the cause of her death.
01:08:10
Speaker
I think there's going to be a big void because I remember visiting l LA. you know i'm from i live in Texas and I've just always had that dream of going out West. And I remember just feeling uneasy when I first visited a few years back now because couldn't wrap my head or around that contrast of people, the wealthiest people you can think of in the nation living in the same city where you have a literally like a community that spans miles of people who are just unhoused.
01:08:48
Speaker
eden It just didn't make sense to me. It just didn't make sense at all. um for it to be For it to be that pronounced and I remember having a conversation with a local even when I visited there and it's so funny because hes he told me you know some of us we just follow our acting dreams and the next thing you know you can't pay rent and you end up there right so these are not necessarily just these are I guess I'm just saying that
01:09:21
Speaker
These are just regular people. it it could be you. Like, it could be me who just couldn't pay afford yeah ah just couldn't afford housing one month and the next month rolls over and the next thing you're on the streets.
01:09:36
Speaker
So, I mean, I looked on her her Instagram page and I'm really curious to see if if as an organization who, if they step up and continue her legacy, because the the community, no doubt, is going to fill the void that she she filled with providing hair washing services, grooming services, makeup services for those who are just honestly just forgotten.
01:10:07
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i think sort of the like explosion of like housing insecurity in L.A. and kind of all parts of California that Chinasa is talking about, I think, like she said, what makes it so prevalent, that it's so stark.
01:10:29
Speaker
um And, you know, it's so stark and it seems like people don't care. and people like literally try to like basically demolish Skid Row every every chance they get. So when you have somebody that kind of cares about this community that like is kind of in your face, I don't understand how people try to forget them. um I think she's in the minority of people that attempt to help and sort of like, you know, add whatever resources they can to try to help the community like get a little bit back more on their feet again. yeah, it's a huge loss.
01:11:10
Speaker
And like Shannasa and you guys were saying, somebody has to step up because it's it's it's a loss. And I think without it, you have even less people that you know sort of get to have this moment of, okay, I'm human too. I deserve grooming as well. And I think you know Obviously, there's always programs about giving food and everything else, but changing somebody's appearance has a major impact. and you know She was doing the Lord's work. and
01:11:48
Speaker
i mean Now she's hopefully taking her rest, but you know somebody should probably step up in her place too.
Tribute to Shirley Rimes and Activism in Medicine
01:12:03
Speaker
Yeah, and I think it's important that, you know, we let this be one of those stories that kind of inspires us to act in our own communities, you know? She didn't have any kind of extravagant work or anything, but she did what she could with what she had and was able to make and a big impact in a big city.
01:12:29
Speaker
I think Samisa needs a moment.
01:12:36
Speaker
Yeah. Speaking of um people who, you know, kind of deserve their moment and, you know, should be spoken of and, you know, their light and everything that they gave to the community.
01:12:52
Speaker
And another sad um moment that we're going to bring up is Alex Pretty's murder. um He was a 37-year-old registered ICU nurse in Minneapolis who had no criminal record and had a license to carry that was unfortunately killed by ICE agents on January 24th.
01:13:15
Speaker
There was a protest going on and he basically kind of stood in the way of another protester um that was being um basically um aggressively approached by ICE agents, and they unfortunately took his life. I mean, we could talk about the relevant timestamps. I mean, it literally goes from like 8.57 to 9.01, which that's four minutes from the basically the start of their interaction to when they shoot him for the first time. um But yeah, they they were like um spraying pepper spray on people. They approached him, and then that's when people started to record.
01:14:04
Speaker
um And then three minutes um into their interaction, they basically kind of were shooting um like ah like rounds into either the air or the crowd. And then he started to record. um They started to get aggressive with him and push him.
01:14:23
Speaker
And he sort of like fell on somebody. And then eventually, like I said, at around like 9 to 9.01 a.m., m they eventually um ah fire shot into him. And then they see that. um I think they eventually did, it looks like, about six shots overall.
01:14:44
Speaker
my gosh. And then they, you know, eventually approached him. But i guess, you know, oh sorry, I'm wrong. It was 10 shots were fired in less than five seconds.
01:14:58
Speaker
um And then, unfortunately, this man who probably helped countless people in the hospital and outside of the hospital and was literally helping somebody until he lost his life, unfortunately, was taken too early.
01:15:13
Speaker
um I think this story is important because it kind of, you know, is at the intersection of multiple different things. It's talking about medical professionals and, you know, sort of our innate ability slash propensity to help, to step in, to kind of have a voice for the most vulnerable.
01:15:36
Speaker
There's that. There's also this conversation about sort of this rise in prominence of ICE agents and kind of the increase in violence and the interactions that people are having with ICE. This is, i mean, he was maybe one of the first or second people that got killed in an ICE interaction. But I think now by this point, I think we're at like four or five that have come into the national kind consciousness.
01:16:05
Speaker
So, I mean, I guess what's you guys' just take on it? um As medical professionals, we always, you know, feel the need to speak up for peace and against injustices.
01:16:16
Speaker
um i mean, he was clearly having one way of medical professionals going sort of standing against ICE. But I guess what do you guys take from the story of Alex Prady and what can we do to sort of, you know, play our part?
01:16:31
Speaker
A federal agency whose role is to remove non-Americans from the United States killing Americans is about as backwards as it gets.
01:16:45
Speaker
ye A ragtag group of untrained civilians masquerading as law enforcement masquerading as some kind of civil servant masquerading as somebody who is upholding the law.
01:17:09
Speaker
These guys are currently a threat to society. The tactics they implore are dangerous.
01:17:21
Speaker
The methods that they use to handle conflict or ah being met with resistance are dangerous. And even the the stories that you hear about people who who do successfully get detained...
01:17:41
Speaker
These guys are dangerous. Like this as an organization, there's not enough regulation. There's not enough training. And i will be really happy if this this government department ceases to exist.
01:17:57
Speaker
As Bad Bunny said, eyes out.
01:18:01
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, I think i think you really, you just really hit it on the nail, jard I mean, and Samisa too. I was just going to quickly add that I i personally applaud Freddie for also just standing for his values and upholding his own moral compass, unfortunately did lead to his death um and may his soul rest in peace. I feel like as medical professionals, as individuals, as members of a society,
01:18:33
Speaker
we still have a duty to uphold our own beliefs. I mean, obviously without causing any harm, any destruction, but you do have a right to to protest peacefully.
01:18:47
Speaker
And we should be afforded that. I think just overall, like, I don't know, like, Being an immigrant myself and like having a lot of family members that may or may not you know have had issues with documentation, it's never that people were ever fully you know just happy to have immigration officers everywhere. like i I vividly remember people like, oh, you got to be careful. Immigration might be coming, blah, blah, blah.
01:19:17
Speaker
However, i don't know. i feel like it's just it's just ramping up that's really the problem. Like, I don't know. We've gone from, The aggression. The aggression is just so much. Like, I mean, we have the other videos, you know, them basically running a lady into another car and she had an accident. And another doctor tried to give medical attention. They're like, we got paramedics coming. Okay, but there's somebody that is...
01:19:44
Speaker
some sort of ACLS, BLS, or whatever, life-saving support trained who is offering their assistance. And for some reason, because you aren't properly trained, you're not letting people offer their expertise.
01:20:01
Speaker
So, you know, I think it's just, I think we've never been fans of just the way that this country treats people that are undocumented.
01:20:13
Speaker
And where they go when we know that they're undocumented. But there is just something that is so scary about the violence and almost like the normalization of it that it is just kind of beyond the pale. And I do have to say that. and I think that is very scary. And I think that deserves people talking about it and making a stink about it, to be completely honest. Yeah.
01:20:35
Speaker
That's just my personal thoughts. The personal thoughts of Samiza, Jared, and Chinasa. This is not necessarily the thoughts of SNMA. SNMA. Yes, we do have SNMA. very personal opinions. Very personal Exactly.
01:20:49
Speaker
And I have no problem standing by that personal opinion. I just want to say that for the record. Likewise. Well said, Samiza. Do you anything to add, Jared?
01:21:02
Speaker
Uh... Nah, very well said. you guys You guys hit every nail on the head. Yeah. Awesome. Well, we are going to get into our health observances. We like to do this every month and talk about talk about a topic in particular that we could pay more attention to So for February, we'll be discussing teen dating violence and what it what it includes. So teen dating violence encompasses physical, emotional, sexual, or even digital abuse in a current dating situation. relationship or by a former dating partner.
01:21:45
Speaker
Young people experience violence at an alarming rate. According to the National Intimate Partner in Sexual Violence Survey, here are some here are some numbers for y'all. So over 70% of women and of men.
01:22:03
Speaker
that's huge y'all experience intimate partner violence, whether that's sexual or physical violence or stalking under the age of 25. So that is alarming and that's concerning. And I mean, for the medical students out there, trainees out there, feel like I remember several times, not only in OB rotation, but just as good practice where we were told to ask our patients if they felt safe at home.
01:22:33
Speaker
So that's just something that we could be aware of because that could lend lend some insight as to intimate intimate partner violence, especially in the OB-GYN world. Anyway, one in four women will experience, and one in four women first experienced intimate partner violence prior to the age of 18 49% experienced rape as a minor.
01:22:57
Speaker
Over 8% of women and men both report having experienced first rape under the age of 25, y'all. So this is not even... limited to one gender. um This is affecting both male and female.
01:23:12
Speaker
Interesting enough, sexual violence is also usually committed by someone the survivor knows. So these are people that are are very, they share very close ties with. Over 28% of girls who experience sexual violence under age of 18 were raped by a current or former intimate partner.
01:23:31
Speaker
Anyway, and enough set of statistics, it is an alarming problem. And I think the most important part is just highlighting some of the resources and the hotlines that, yeah, that you all can yo'a ken nu utilize and mobilize if needed. And just and i just also want to reiterate the different types of intimate intimate partner violence. As we said earlier, it encompasses
01:24:02
Speaker
emotional, physical, sexual, digital, um because I feel like that's one thing that could also be misconstrued. Well, I mean, they weren't necessarily technically hitting me, but they were emotionally abusive. That still counts as um that still counts as abuse.
01:24:19
Speaker
okay
01:24:22
Speaker
are there any medical Are there any medical provider any other resources medical providers are able to are able to yield surrounding teen dating violence awareness month that you all have seen, particularly your community or your spaces in your hospital that you'd like to echo at this time?
01:24:44
Speaker
I don't know any formal resources. I think for the most part, it's... open conversations and like informing the youth about these things at an early stage. Right. So like, I think junior high school, high school students used to have like large assemblies where we might talk about something like this. And, you know, It's uncomfortable. it's something that like, like, right, you're not trying to raise your hand at maybe or something like that.
01:25:10
Speaker
But putting the information out there for children to know and be able to recognize when these things might be happening is, i think, one of the better things that we can do to help arm the next generation.
01:25:24
Speaker
Yeah. And there's always the National Domestic Violence Hotline. We'll probably put that in the link for the um for the episode so that if anybody is experiencing this and listening to this podcast, they do have a way of getting help for themselves. um I think as medical professionals, one, we're mandated reporters. So if we see something, you like have to say something. And I think...
01:25:52
Speaker
kind of just echoing what you said, um always stay vigilant, always look for signs of abuse because you could be the difference between somebody like getting help out of a very scary situation that they don't know how to get out of and,
01:26:10
Speaker
potentially like them losing their life, right? If you don't get them out of that situation. So I think you always need to stay vigilant and you need to, if you are dealing literally with any patient of any age group, we're talking about teens right now and dating violence, but this goes for kids and caregivers or kids and other people that they're around. This goes for older people and elder abuse. Like as somebody that sees people kind of like, you know, at their worst or at their most vulnerable, it's it's important for you to continue to step in step in the um and the balance for them. So that would be my charge to everyone, no matter if you're a primary care, subspecialty provider, like just always look for signs. Very well said, Tamiza.
01:27:01
Speaker
And that's our show. Thanks so much for joining us on this episode of SNMA Presents The Lounge. Let us know your thoughts about the discussions we had today or ask us a question for a chance to be featured on the show by emailing us at podcast.snma.org.
01:27:20
Speaker
And be sure to follow SNMA all your social media platforms to stay up to date on upcoming events. Bye, guys. Bye, everybody. We'll see you next time. Bye. Thank you all.