VOA – CONNECT
EPISODE # 215
AIR DATE: 02 25 2022
TRANSCRIPT
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Teaching Defense
((SOT))
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
Krav Maga is Israeli martial art. It is a martial art.
No matter what anybody tells you, it is a martial art. It’s just more martial, less art.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Teaching History
((SOT))
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
Thank you guys so much for your attention.
If you're in kindergarten, right, you need to see these positive images. And you need to see the beauty of your heritage in a way that will spark you to feel a sense of pride.
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Teaching the Ways of the Land
((SOT))
((Alex
Community Gardener))
Soul Fire Farm is just really at the vanguard of thinking about racism in our current food system and how we have to shatter that together.
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((PKG)) KRAV MAGA
((TRT: 04:35))
((Topic Banner: Krav Maga))
((Reporter/Producer: Marsha James))
((Reporter/Camera: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Chevy Chase, Maryland))
((Main character: 1 male))
((Sub characters: 1 female; 1 male))
((MUSIC/NATS: D.J. Stephens))
Backwards! Come on! Move!
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
I’m the head instructor and owner of Krav Maga CDK.
((NATS: D.J. Stephens))
Got to be an example. Lead by example. Get enough rest in the afterlife.
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
Krav Maga is Israeli martial art. It is a martial art.
((Courtesy: D.J. Stephens CDK/YouTube))
No matter what nobody tell you, it is a martial art. It’s just more martial, less art.
The skinny of it is a guy, Imi. And Imi [Lichtenfeld], I think he was actually Hungarian but once he deployed [against] during the Nazi regime, he went to Israel. And Israel employed him to teach their troops. So, he was a boxer and a wrestler, legend has it, but he was a good fighter.
((NATS))
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
Now, I could do it with a clinch to make it even more powerful.
It’s based off of what would normally be instinctive movements, things you would do anyway in a stressful situation. So, if somebody were to throw something at you and you go, “Oh!” Right? So, it’s okay. But that’s what people do. So, let’s just make that into a defense. So, if that’s your defense, it’s easier to recall as opposed to doing all this other crazy stuff. That’s good but if you can’t do it in stress, then it doesn’t make a difference.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((NATS: D.J. Stephens))
And boom, I’m poking him. Boom, with my front foot. Make sense? The power comes from that hip. Good.
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
So, martial by definition means war. That’s what martial means. And the art is a method, a way, how you express yourself. Some people express themselves, you have paintings. That’s an art, you know. They express themselves through painting. You have singing, that’s an art. Acting, that’s an art.
((NATS: D.J. Stephens))
When you go up, you’re going to twist left, twist right, go back down.
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
I am the first African American to get his black belt [in Krav Maga], for the state of Maryland. Definitely the first second degree [in Maryland].
((NATS: D.J. Stephens))
Move! Move!
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
So, you’re just in a de-escalating. You could be using your voice, “Hey, listen man. Back up.” You know, whatever, you know. Boom! Okay?
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
So, that makes me feel good. But the reason why it makes me feel good is I like to inspire.
((NATS: D.J. Stephens))
Alright, let’s play. Let’s go!
((NATS))
17, 18, 19, 20
Bottom squat position! Hold that position and count to 20. Go!
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
There’s a book by Tim Larkin called, When Violence Is The Answer. And he starts the book off and he says, “Violence is rarely the answer but when it’s the answer, it’s the only answer.”
((Courtesy: D.J. Stephens CDK/YouTube))
You know, so when a bad person is using violence against a good person, that’s a bad act he’s doing.
But when a good person is using violence to defend him or herself, that’s a good thing.
((NATS))
((Lara Ballard
Student, Krav Maga CDK))
I took karate in high school but then just never came back to it. And about four years ago, the country seemed to be getting a little rough and I thought, well, you know, if I, you know, if there are people out jumping other people on the streets, harassing other people in the streets, I want to be able to do something. And, you know, I’m not a martial artist. And I’m not on, you know, some journey toward, you know, being Bruce Lee or whatever the 52-year-old female equivalent of that is. And Krav Maga is a system that anyone can do, you know. It’s not pretty but, you know, you can learn something in a single seminar that might just be the thing that saves your life. And the longer you stick with it, the more you’re able to address whatever risks come your way.
((NATS: D.J. Stephens))
Go!
((Matt
Student, Krav Maga CDK))
I first heard about it from a friend of mine but I had actually been thinking about, you know, some sort of martial arts because I’m in the security field. And I wanted to go further into that. So, came to try this out, ended up loving it.
((D.J. Stephens
Head Instructor & Owner, Krav Maga CDK))
People walk around the streets
((Courtesy: D.J. Stephens CDK/YouTube))
or wherever they are, you know, if they have confidence that they know they can defend themselves if they had to, I found that people are a lot nicer. I kind of call myself, “Saving the world one punch at a time
((Courtesy: D.J. Stephens CDK/YouTube))
through the teachings of self-defense.”
That’s my mantra.
((NATS/MUSIC))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Telling the Whole Story
((SOT))
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
Carter G. Woodson. He was born in 1875 and he actually passed away in 1950. But during his time, he completely devoted himself to studying black history and making sure that the world would have this information.
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK B
((PKG)) THE MAN BEHIND THE BLACK HISTORY MONTH
((TRT: 08:18))
((Topic Banner: Black History Education))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera/Editor: June Soh))
((Map: Ashburn, Virginia; Leesburg, Virginia))
((Main character: 1 female))
((NATS: Tiffney Laing))
Okay. Awesome. Well, thank you, guys, so much. It’s going to be so much fun. I want you guys to just really get comfortable. Enjoy all the activities. Get to know each other. But I want you to just be relaxed and to have fun. Okay?
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
My name is Tiffney Laing and I'm the founder of Bevy and Dave. It used to be an educational toy company but now it's expanded and now it's a multimedia educational company.
((NATS: Tiffney Laing))
First, we're going to watch the very first Bevy & Dave film.
((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave))
((NATS: Film/Song))
So, let’s make a joyful noise
as we celebrate your brilliance
celebrate your greatness inside.
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
Carter G. Woodson. He was born in 1875 and he actually passed away in 1950. But during his time, he completely devoted himself to studying Black history and making sure that the world would have this information.
((NATS: Film))
Never forget Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
So, he was very devoted to that cause. And so, that's why he created Black History Week back in 1926. It was the first week. And then it expanded to Black History Month in 1976.
((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave))
((NATS: Film))
Girl: We’re on 9th Street Northwest, in Washington D.C.
Ah, there it is.
Boy: So cool. I can’t wait to meet Dr. Woodson.
Girl: Me too.
Narrator: This building is best known as Dr. Woodson’s office home. It’s here that Dr. Woodson took on the heavy task of researching, recording and publishing Black history.
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
It wasn't just about publishing and getting the books out there. He literally went straight to the teachers and he would make books for them to use in the classroom to teach the children. And he would have questions at the end to make sure they understood the lesson.
((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave))
And he also created other things, like the Negro History Bulletin that would go out once a month to teachers for people to have to learn more detail about what they didn't know.
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
And so, what I love about him is he was not only brave and courageous, but he understood that it took just one person to make a difference.
((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave))
Good afternoon, Dr. Woodson.
Hello, Mrs. Terrell.
Mary Church Terrell was an educator, activist and the Co-founder of the National Association of Colored Women. Their slogan was, “Lifting As We Climb.”
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
He made Black history a collective effort where all the history was now put together in a way for people to consume it, to learn it and have an opportunity to learn more about the work of many Black people, not just one here or there, which is what was available at the time.
Some people ask, “Well, why Dr. Carter G. Woodson? Why him first?” Because he's my personal inspiration. His mission was to save and publish Black history. And my mission is very similar. The difference is that I'm not just using books like he did. I'm using toys. I'm using film. I'm using games and any other medium that can get children to learn in a fun way.
((NATS))
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
I enjoy doing presentations. So, when I’m preparing for presentations, I do a few things. Obviously, I’m packing what needs to go, the books, the toys, whatever needs to be, the film. But I also put the art and craft package together, so the children can have the opportunity to be more creative with the work, so they can write down what they’re learning, so they can expand upon their ideas.
((NATS: Tiffney Laing))
Okay, so you can sit anywhere you want.
((NATS: Film))
Between 1920 and 1960, this area was home to Black leaders in the arts, science, the military and many more.
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
When a young child is learning Black history, they need to learn things that are age appropriate. So clearly, if you're really young, you really don't need to learn about things that can be violent. But you can learn about things that are going to help you achieve more. So, if you're in kindergarten, right, if you're age five, you need to see these positive images. And you need to see the beauty of your heritage in a way that will spark you to feel a sense of pride.
((NATS: Tiffney Laing))
Thank you, guys, so much for your attention. So, I’m going to ask you a couple of questions now. So, first question is, who did you meet in the film? Did you meet anybody in the film that you didn't know about before?
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
And as the child gets a little older, then they can start learning about the other things, right? Because now their mind can understand it more.
((NATS: Film))
((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave))
That is the Howard Theatre, built in 1910. One can see a play, a musical performance or even a vaudeville show there.
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
Children love to watch films. They love visual stories. And so, we have to diversify how children learn, so we can really get the message to sink in. Because the key that I've learned about children is
((Courtesy: Bevy & Dave))
((NATS: Film))
you have to repetitively give them the information.
Why did I start preserving Negro history? Well, I received my doctorate degree in history from Harvard University in 1912. And it was there that I was truly set upon my path.
One of my professors, Edward Chaney, told my class that the Negro had no history. I challenged him, arguing that no people lacked history.
Ah, what did he say?
He told me to prove him wrong. And so, I have.
((Tiffney Laing
Educator, Founder of Bevy & Dave))
I would like to share a quote by Dr. Carter G. Woodson that to me speaks a lot to his personality. He has many quotes but this one, it speaks to his personality but it shares to the work that he did and what I'm doing. “Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and to make it better.” That quote is very powerful because what it’s saying is that no matter where you are in life, no matter how your life begins, you have the power to change it and change the world.
((NATS: Tiffney Laing and children))
“You must honor your life by being your best self. How you live your life is your legacy in the making.”
And just understand like it’s okay to not be perfect. Nobody is perfect.
It’s best just to be your, what?
Self.
Best what?
Self.
Exactly, best self. Thank you, guys, so much. You can take puzzles, if you want, home. Thank you so much for being here.
((NATS))
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up
((Banner))
Returning to the Soil
((SOT))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
We are part of a returning generation of Black and Brown farmers whose grandparents and great-grandparents fled the red clays of the South to escape oppression. And we’re realizing that something was left behind in the Great Migration and that was a bit of our culture, a bit of our souls, a bit of our connection to our ancestors and the sacred earth.
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
BLOCK C
((PKG)) SOUL FIRE FARM
((Previously aired September 2019))
((Banner: Soul Fire Farm))
((Reporter/Camera: Gabrielle Weiss))
((Additional Camera: Camilo de la Uz))
((Map: Grafton, New York))
((Main character: 1 female))
((Sub characters: 4 females, 4 males))
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
We are part of a returning generation of Black and Brown farmers whose grandparents and great-grandparents fled the red clays of the South to escape oppression. And we’re realizing that something was left behind in the Great Migration and that was a bit of our culture, a bit of our souls, a bit of our connection to our ancestors and the sacred earth.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
Another worm.
((Neshima Vitale-Penniman
Daughter))
Mom, there’s three left.
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
Oh, okay.
((Neshima Vitale-Penniman
Daughter))
This one looks a little healthier. Maybe I’ll switch it out. It’s a little sickly little thing.
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
They grow, sickly little things. It’ll grow. It just needs soil.
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
My name is Leah Penniman and I’m the founding co-director at Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, New York.
So, there’s eight of us who live here in season. My family, including my partner Jonah and our two teenage children, Neshima and Emet, are here all year round in this beautiful, straw-bale, timber-framed home that we built from hand. And additionally, members of our farm team live with us from the spring through the late fall.
((NATS))
((Neshima Vitale-Penniman
Daughter))
Because I’ve grown up with farming, I never think that it’s something people are really interested in. It’s like, oh, that’s just how you get your food. But then, like hundreds and hundreds of people come to every single event and it’s like whoa, like my mom has created something that people really want to learn about and be part of and that’s amazing to me.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
Soul Fire Farm is a Black, Indigenous, people of color-led community farm
((Photo Courtesy: Soul Fire Farm))
and we’re dedicated to ending racism and injustice in the food system.
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
We do that in three basic ways. We grow a whole lot of vegetables, herbs, fruits, eggs and pastured poultry, which
((Photo Courtesy: Soul Fire Farm))
we distribute at low prices to people who need it most in the communities of Albany and Troy. The second way is by educating about a thousand new farmers from Black, Latinx and Indigenous communities across the country, who come for week-long residential courses
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
in sustainable agriculture. And the third and final way is that we organize, very actively, for
((Photo Courtesy: Soul Fire Farm))
fair laws that support farm workers, farmers of color
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
and consumers in the food system.
((wendelin Regalado
Land Worker, Soul Fire Farm))
I've been coming to Soul Fire since 2017. This place has really helped me to, sort of, find myself in the land, and to come to understand all of the things that I can bring to this movement, and to our people, and back to the earth.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
Buenos días. Good morning. Welcome to Soul Fire Farm. We’re dedicated to ending racism in the food system, and healing land and our relationship with land, and part of that is being in a learning community where we deepen our understanding of how animals, like chickens, can be part of an ecosystem, and also how they can feed the community, and especially feed people, who otherwise would not have access to that delicious, vital, food.
I'm so excited to be here with all of you for this workshop on chickens. Most of the participants, who are here for today's pastured poultry class, are farm workers from Hurley, New York. Now we want to introduce ourselves.
((Victoria
Farm Worker))
My name is Victoria. I grew up with farm-raised chickens and I’m here to learn about raising organic chickens.
((Victor
Farm Worker))
My name is Victor and we have plans to return to Mexico and we want to start a business like this and sell at low prices to help people out.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
It's a little known fact that about 85% of the people who do farm labor in this country speak Spanish as their first language. So, if we say we're for food justice and liberation, it would be very disingenuous to only offer programming in English that excluded most of the farmers in this nation. And there’s been a lot of excitement, particularly from the Latinx farm worker community in our area, to learn these skills, so that when they do have their own farms and are no longer working for wages on other people’s farms, they can implement these integrated livestock and vegetable systems.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
And then we're going to walk around and meet the chickens on the farm and see how we take care of them, how we know if they're sick, what kind of houses they need. Then after lunch, we'll actually take five chickens and we’ll process them for meat. If you include all of our on-farm and off-farm programs, we reach over 7,000 people a year, of which around 2,000 actually come to the farm. And we learn everything from seed to harvest, as well as the history of Black, Indigenous farming and land-based movements and do a lot of work to heal from the trauma of slavery and sharecropping and the bracero program and other types of land-based oppression that seek to really separate us from a healed and dignified relationship with land.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
We call these shelters chicken tractors. I wanted to be able to move it by myself without a tractor, because for the first few years of the farm, I was managing the farm and I didn't have any staff or partners in the farm. So, I had to think about systems that I could do on my own. We also don't want the meat to be so tough that our customers don't know how to prepare and eat it. So, keeping them in a smaller space that moves every day or every other day, means they still get the benefit of pasture but they're not getting so much exercise that their muscles become very tough.
((NATS))
((Samuel
Farm Worker))
So, raising them like this in smaller cages is better for the meat, to keep it tender and it cooks faster. So, now I understand why the meat from my grandmother's hens was so tough.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
You can give a little push and help her. You're doing perfectly. You're very strong.
((NATS))
((Alex
Community Gardener))
Soul Fire Farm is just really at the vanguard of thinking about racism in our current food system and how we have to shatter that together. And so, I've wanted to come and learn through that lens for a really long time. So, this was the perfect opportunity.
((NATS: Samuel, Farm Worker))
Welcome.
This is it. Goodbye, my chicken friend.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
I believe so passionately that we all have the right to have dignity and belonging as it relates to the earth and to have agency in the food system. And there's just been a whole history of dispossession and discrimination against certain people as it relates to land and food. So, a big part of teaching is about empowering our people and equipping our people with the skills to take back that dignified relationship with land.
((NATS))
((Lytisha Wyatt
Instructor, Soul Fire Farm))
We remove the feathers on the side of the neck that we're going to be cutting from. And I cut cross body, so I don't cut this way. I actually come over here. That's what I find most comfortable. Because I'm right-handed, I'm going to remove the feathers from the left side. So, I want to remove enough feathers, so that I can see what I'm doing.
((Alex
Community Gardener))
So, I'm left-handed.
((Lytisha Wyatt
Instructor, Soul Fire Farm))
Right. So, yeah. Since you're left-handed, you would do it on the opposite side. Yup.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
So, the bird is now considered dead.
((NATS))
((Leah Penniman
Author, Farmer))
We want to build up a generation of people who believe that they matter and that they're connected to something bigger than what capitalism would have them believe.
((NATS))
((wendelin Regalado
Land Worker, Soul Fire Farm))
I was just taken aback by how warm the bodies of these animals were. Learning about the different aspects of pastured poultry, really, sort of has affected the way that I will be consuming poultry going forward.
((NATS))
4 and a quarter, put 4.
4.1
((Samuel
Farm Worker))
I know how to raise chickens now, how to get eggs and I think it is something nice for my family going forward because now I know how to feed my kids. And I can teach them to feed the grandchildren and future generations going forward. And hey, even for my neighbors.
((NATS))
CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM))
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BREAK THREE
BUMP IN ((ANIM))
SHOW ENDS
