WEBVTT
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My name is Iram Garcia.
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I'm here at the Huddle Talks at the Texas Democratic State Convention.
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Welcome.
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We got Dr.
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O.J.
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or Dr.
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Oyin Consola Gina Doo.
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Excuse me.
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Did I pronounce that right?
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You did good.
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That was amazing.
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Yeah.
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It's a really unique name.
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I love it.
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Where are you from?
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Tell us about you, Dr.
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O.J.
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Yeah.
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I'm originally from Nigeria, born and raised and moved here over 20 years ago as an immigrant.
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And just built a life in the United States.
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Actually, since I've been here, I've lived in Texas, Dallas, Texas.
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So I can say I'm a Texas native now.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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You're almost almost at the Hunter.
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I think I believe so because I do love, you know, Mexican food and all of that.
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It's similar to our cuisine, the rice, the beans.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, it's similar.
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So I absolutely love it.
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You know what?
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You say it's similar, but I I I've had some Nigerian food.
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I don't know if I can handle the spiciness in time.
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Oh, so yeah, spiceometer.
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I can no, I agree.
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Our spiceometer is way up there.
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And but when it comes to flavor, though, that's where we draw similarities because other cultures, the flavor, uh, yeah, but yeah.
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Yeah.
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Dr.
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OJ, you're running for Ellis County Commissioner Precinct 4, correct?
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Yes, sir.
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Why?
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Ellis County Commissioner Precinct 4.
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It's time, it's now, and I'm grateful.
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I don't take the responsibility for granted.
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But let me tell you a little bit about my background and how I came up to get into this place today.
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Yeah.
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Of course, starting out educated in Nigeria, I have a bachelor's in microbiology.
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The goal to come to the United States was to increase my education, which was getting a master's in psychology.
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Eventually, as I began to immerse myself in the culture here, I started just organically doing community mobilization, serving within the advocacy space because I identified a need with domestic abuse being an epidemic within my particular community.
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And that advocacy took me to setting up the nonprofit organization, the Honey Drops Foundation.
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And we've been working in that space for over 10 years.
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And in the course of our work, we were identified by United College Seminary to offer us an honorary doctorate degree based on our work and the framework we created within the domestic violence space, educating teenagers on teen dating awareness and also providing programs and initiatives around men against abuse because there was a huge gap.
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And there is still a huge gap.
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Men against abuse.
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Yes, there is still a huge gap in advocacy for men.
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So we decided to jump in and fill those gaps for our teens, our youth within the domestic violence space and our men.
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So I got my doctoral degree, honorary doctoral degree in philosophy and humanities so that that way the work we do can truly be recognized globally, which it did become recognized.
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And we now have the Honey Drops Foundation here in the United States.
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And we established a couple of years ago in Africa as well to extend the same framework into the African space to help teenagers and men.
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So you're international now with Honey Drop.
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That's true.
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By the grace of God.
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So my experience in that space, like, oh, you're a woman.
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Why are you advocating for men?
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Yeah.
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And I'm like, I'm a woman, I'm not just advocating for men, I'm advocating for people, period.
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It just happens to be that these men don't have representation in this advocacy space.
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Yeah.
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So I I will advocate for them.
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Now, becoming the next Ellis County commissioner is like, okay, that's another challenge to advocate for residents within Ellis County.
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Yeah.
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To break the mold of the white boys club that has existed.
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My upper my opponent, Carl Butler, has been in that office for over 15 years.
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Just like an auto repeat.
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The last time he was challenged to leave the office, for some weird reason, his opponent, who was a Democrat at the time, got redrawn off the map and redist redistricted, took him out of a precinct four.
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So he went back to being unopposed.
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And I'm like, okay.
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So it's time for someone to challenge the status quo to bring not new ideas, but evolving progressive ideas into Ellis County.
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And that's why I'm running.
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I'm a mom.
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I live in Ellis County.
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I have three children that go to school in Ellis County.
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Every decision that is made in the commissioner's court affects everyone in Ellis County from the bottom up.
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The crooked insurance companies have only one goal: to pay you nothing or as little as possible.
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Domingo Garcia, recovering millions for the hard-working people of Texas, including a$32 million verdict.
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Demand a legend.
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Demand Domingo Tehano Tough.
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Can you tell us how?
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Like, I feel like there's a lot of people out there.
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You tell them, hey, you know, you got your county commissioner or there's commissioner's court, and they'll look at you like, What?
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What?
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That is a fair question because most of us like, County Commissioner, do we have one of those?
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Yes, we do.
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And that's because our commissioner's court has done an awful job in bringing in the community to be a part of the process of governing our county.
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So the county commissioner is responsible for the county's infrastructure, roads, bridges, school crossings, um, drainage, sewers, things that make the county run on the residential and business side.
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Yeah.
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The county commissioner is also responsible for allocating your tax dollars, your budgeting, your money.
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We are responsible for millions, hundreds of millions of dollars that runs through the county, that ensures that all cities have what they need to run, to pay for things.
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We are responsible for allocating contracts, road contracts, building bridges.
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Who does these jobs?
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Do we hold them accountable?
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Are we ensuring quality control?
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Are we ensuring that the growing needs of the county is met with the right amount of infrastructure that is needed to, you know, accommodate the people that are moving into our community?
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Ellis County is growing in leaps and bounds.
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So we do need to have more infrastructure.
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We are also responsible for ensuring that we balance the books at the end of the year.
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We give account of how that money was spent.
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What is the justification of the money that was spent?
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And how is Ellis County doing?
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Are we in the red or are we in the black?
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Is your are your tax dollars going towards the things that really matter?
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Or are four, well, five people on the commissioner's court just deciding what happens just because it benefits a few people that they are in favor of.
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We don't want that.
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So the county commissioner's court does all those things.
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But I am running on integrity, accountability, transparency.
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And we're gonna change the culture to ensure that Ellis County is a local government that has the contribution and the impute and awareness of the locals.
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We the people.
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That's amazing.
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And you know, it's important that you mention what a county commissioner does because a lot of the Hanos, a lot of young people, again, they're not involved in their local elections.
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They don't know what their local leaders do.
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And you manage millions of dollars.
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I mean, at the end, if you were a county commissioner, if you get elected, like you will be managing a lot of what happens in the city.
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You said that one of your uh priorities was infrastructure.
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What do you what do you feel like Ellis County really needs right now?
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What do Ellis County commissioners need to do different?
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And what would you do as soon as you get into this position?
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We need to address the issue of our roads.
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A lot of our roads in Ellis County, because Ellis County has been a rural, it grew up from a rural community.
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Yeah.
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And now it's uh it's more urban than rural because we've had so many a lot of influx of families, businesses, and several other things that have now made Ellis County uh a destination county for so many reasons.
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In politics, in business, data centers moving in because Ellis County is now on the map.
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They know that there is a county that has great resources, but look.
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Not the AA data centers.
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We're still gonna talk about that.
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But look, bringing these people in to sap out all these resources is going to, in a few years, hurt us in the end.
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Because we need to address the issue of roads.
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Yeah, we need to ensure that all of those unincorporated roads become incorporated so that we can have alternate routes to schools so that schools, because there is a major highway that runs through Ellis County.
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And in the morning, it's it's it's a headache.
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Everyone's trying to get to work, kids are trying to get a school.
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If there is an accident, God forbid, by any chance, there is always a delay.
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Like I remember the last school year, we got many messages.
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Oh, the bus is gonna be delayed today.
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That should not be the case.
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So we need to address the issue of roads, provide more incorporated roads, make them accessible to different points within the county so people can move around with ease and speed.
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And of course, we, you know, with the roads that are not incorporated, bad roads, a lot of motorists are now paying more for insurance because their cars, the wear and tear on the cars, the effect.
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So now when you look at that and how it affects your dollars, because someone might be saying, Well, what's my business with that?
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Here's how it concerns you you are a resident driving through those roads.
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Your car will have more wear and tear.
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You will spend more on insurance for your car, you will spend more on gas, you will spend more on fixing your vehicle.
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That is how it gets to your pocket, and that's why it's important to have leaders who truly care to ensure that amenities infrastructures are updated as quickly as we are growing, because we do have the money, but how are we allocating these funds?
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And who are we allocating the funds to?
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Because again, I don't want to believe that the commission is there now just sitting down doing nothing.
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But I also think they're probably giving this contract to folks who they might not be able to hold to such a high level of accountability.
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So if the job is not getting done quickly enough or at the standard that it needs to be done, you might not be able to hold your friend accountable if your friend is the one who got the contract.
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I'm just saying, no accusations be made.
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Would you so like would you do like uh contracts?
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Would you allow bids on contracts?
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How would how would you try to change how the city contracts, who fixes the roads?
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It's a due process.
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Um the government does business with the the the population.
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So it's a due process.
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It's just being able to be there to know that, okay, are we verifying the businesses that are actually qualifying for these beats?
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Or is it just an autopilot, like, oh, certain people have always done it, and those are the people that should always do it.
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You know, and and that reminds me, you know, because city money, like, there's a lot of money that the city spends to maintain the city.
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And who gets those contracts and who gets that money is usually like the friends of the politicians, you know, like and one really good example was Trump and that reflective pool.
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You know, a lot of people were wondering why that was a they call them no-bid contracts, where other people can't they just assign it?
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Yeah, they just assign it to whoever they want, to their buddies.
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Like Trump founded his construction buddies and was like, hey, I'll pay you millions of dollars to fix the pool, and now it's a big mess, right?
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And and and that happens at the city level too.
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A lot of people are worried about it at the federal level, but at the city level, our city funds go to contractors that are friends of the people that are in government, and you know, ultimately that leads to a lack of accountability, you know, there's less transparency, and obviously there are probably really good business owners out there that deserve the job that didn't get it, you know, just because so-and-so commissioner was friends with, you know, the contractors.
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So that makes a lot of sense.
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And um in the domestic violence space, you know, I I know you've made a lot of progress with Honey Drop.
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What are some of the cultural barriers or or the cultural like why why have you seen an Ellis County like domestic violence?
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Or what do you think drives it?
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And what is the solution?
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Like why what do you think would drive us to reduce domestic violence rates?
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Domestic violence is not just a cultural thing, it's a human problem.
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One of the things that I believe drives it and makes and has made it such an epidemic in our lives over decades, and now it's moving into the next generation is the culture of silence.
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Yeah.
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So, of course, within black communities, brown and black communities, we we can always testify to the fact that what happens in the family gotta stay in the family.
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You want to disgrace the family.
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Do you want us to, you know, people to look down on us?
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And I want to tell you that it's not just in the black and brown families, it's everywhere.
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It's a human thing.
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You know, these things are happening.
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You look at high-level individuals who are, you know, well positioned professionally, and you assume, oh, their life is good.
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That they might be going through the issue of domestic violence, but they can't talk about it because it's like if I say something, who's gonna believe me?
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How are people going to perceive me?
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I think where the solution has to start, and has always started for us at the Honey Drops Foundation, is when you see something, you say something.
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Speaking up is the first step so that you can get the help that you need.
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Because one of the things is a person who has been abused psychologically, there is this cycle of repeated abuse that would happen where even when you try to help the person, they have been psychologically programmed that we have to get them out up to seven times before they finally decide to permanently remove themselves from that situation.
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That is, if they don't end up losing their lives in the process.
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I appreciate that you mentioned, you know, the seven different times.
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And it's a nuance that I think a lot of people miss, you know, like a lot of our folks will think like, well, she stays, so she probably wants to be abused or something, but that's not true.
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Like, there's a lot of nuance to it.
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You know, there's, for example, we live in a patriarchy, you know, a world ran by men, and so usually men are the breadwinners.
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And if you have a family and you have kids and your husband's abusive, but he's the one bringing home the money, you can't just leave.
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You know, you can't just up and leave.
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Your children are gonna suffer the consequences.
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It's complicated, you know, and it takes a lot.
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It takes a lot of things.
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It is complicated, and the people have to understand that domestic abuse is not just a thing that happens suddenly, it's a psychological process.
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There is eight levels of um getting to the physical abuse.
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So there's the grooming stage, there's the stage where the abuser is doing all of these things to reprogram their victim.
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And once they get through all of the eight levels, now they're getting to the physical part.
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There's the verbal abuse, there's emotional abuse, there's financial abuse, where you know, there's isolation that happens in that process that gets that person cut off from people and things that could easily help them get out of those situations.
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So when you look at a person who feels who you feel is a victim but doesn't supposedly want to help themselves, it's not because they don't want to help themselves.
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It's just because they have been put in a situation where they have become helpless.
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And that's why advocates like myself, comedian advocates like Honey Drops Foundation, had to become the voice to for those people.
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There are men who are being abused who would tell me, Oh, this is happening to me, but I can only talk to you about it.
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I don't want anyone else to know about it because society has said, men don't cry, men don't talk about stuff, suck it up, take it, deal with it.
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You're a man.
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No, everyone who is undergoing some type of abuse has a right to get help.
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However, everyone gets or receives the help in their own time.
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The best thing we can do as a community, as a family, as a society, is always stay ready to be there for them.
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Don't ever get to the point where you say, Well, I try to help you once, I try to help you twice, I'm done.
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Don't ever be done.
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Because when that person is ready, be ready to offer that help to them.
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That's the only way.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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And and and the other thing you said is it takes a village, right?
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This is really a community effort.
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Like people don't get themselves out of abusive situations on their own.
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If you see something, say something.
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Say something.
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And it doesn't mean it doesn't just mean if you're the one being abused, say something.
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It's like if you see somebody being abused, you should intervene.
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You know, that that's how you said speaking up is is how we solve, you know, or we start to solve the issue of domestic violence.
00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:35.759
Uh Dr.
00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:44.400
O.J., I I really wanted and I was fascinated by your story, you know, your personal immigration story, coming here to the United States.
00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:45.839
Like, tell me how that was.
00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:46.720
Like, how was it?
00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:51.279
You went to the University of Lagos, which is in Nigeria, I'm guessing.
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:56.880
So your microbiology, then you needed to get your master's and your PhD.
00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:59.039
So you came to the United States to further education.
00:17:59.279 --> 00:17:59.519
Yes.
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:01.680
Tell us about like the hardships of that journey.
00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:05.279
Like, what did you go through having to come from one country to another?
00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:12.799
So, yes, I ha ha being an immigrant is uh see, every immigrant story has a different face.
00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:13.279
Yeah.
00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.200
But every immigrant story has the same underlining things.
00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:26.720
We all come from a place where we're familiar to a new place, and we all want to just have a better way, a better opportunity.
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:31.359
We want to access things that we probably don't have where we came from.
00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:33.279
That is the underlying thing.
00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:36.640
And everyone has to go through the immigration process.
00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:36.960
Yeah.
00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:38.640
I had to go through that.
00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:45.519
You know, transitioning from being an immigrant to being a naturalized citizen, that was a process I had to go through.
00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.839
And every immigrant has to go through that.
00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.920
You know, starting fresh.
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:56.640
Because no matter how well established you are, where you came from, if you come to a new place, you're starting from ground zero.
00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:05.440
And that's what I had to do as a student, then eventually having my family and building up literally from the ground up here in the United States.
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.799
And over 20 years later, we're running for county commissioner.
00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:10.079
Who would have thought?
00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:10.480
You know?
00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.319
Yeah, and and you have a PhD.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:14.000
Yeah, we have a PhD.
00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:16.480
And that was due to the work that was being done.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:20.559
Because I was raised by parents who have always taught me to serve.
00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:23.039
You always serve wherever you go.
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:29.920
You know, I'm I went to another city and I was, you know, doing some work over there, and I was like, I need to have find the church to go when I'm here.
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:32.319
And I I got in there, I was like, oh, can I serve?
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:33.359
They're like, you're new.
00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.880
I'm like, yeah, but it's church.
00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:35.519
Let's serve.
00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:36.240
I love it.
00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:39.519
I tell you, the pastor was so shocked, he was like, nobody ever does that.
00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:44.559
I'm like, I come from a culture, a legacy of you serve.
00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:46.240
You always serve first.
00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:50.640
And permit me to say this: this is what we need to do as politicians.
00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:52.720
Get into that space to serve.
00:19:52.880 --> 00:20:00.720
As the Democratic Party, we're talking about, we're doing this top-down election and campaigning and cooperation.
00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:05.920
The reality of the matter is it really doesn't matter how much we talk about it.
00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:17.440
If we're not about serving each other, if the top candidates are not looking to serve the middle and the bottom candidates to ensure that we all win together, this whole top-down approach, it's not gonna work.
00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:18.240
I'm sorry.
00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.759
We have to be very realistic in talking about these things.
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:26.240
When we're doing all these political things, what makes the far right better than the far left?
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:28.720
It's the approach in serving each other.
00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.359
How are we doing things better as Democrats?
00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.400
Why do we deserve to be elected into those offices?
00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:36.400
Is it just because we are the alternative?
00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:43.200
Because I'm not just gonna say Carl Butler is uh a Republican, so kick him out of office, put me in there because I'm a Democrat.
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:43.519
No.
00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:48.720
I will say I am coming into that office because I have a heart to serve my people.
00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.920
I have been serving, I have the track record of service.
00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:57.759
And that is what is going to qualify me above Carl Butler to take in that commissioner's court to the next level.
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.240
So Democrats need to do the same thing.
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:05.920
If we're gonna do this top-down approach for this campaign to get to November, we need to get it right.
00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:10.000
The top candidates help the middle, help the grassroots level candidates.
00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:16.000
Make sure we are all trickling down all of the resources to make sure we all wing together.
00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:24.640
Let's get out of the celebrity candidacy where, oh, there's some down the they're they're out there, and then the rest of us just need to figure things out on our own.
00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:28.799
To me, that is no top-down cooperation, coordination, what we're calling it.
00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:30.880
Right now, it just seems like a lot of talk.
00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:31.599
I'm sorry.
00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:37.119
I had to I had to get that because we're the black and brown grassroots level candidates.
00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:39.920
We're the ones like we're coming in here, we're putting ourselves out there.
00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:45.599
I know you'll say, Well, nobody asks you to do it, but we're doing it because we truly want to serve and we want to represent our people.
00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:47.519
There needs to be more representation.
00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:54.799
But in order to really flip this seats blue, the top candidates are going to have to do more and do better.
00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:57.359
Do more than just giving speeches and talking.
00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.680
I yeah, I mean, look.
00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.160
I love what you said about leadership, and that's that it's servitude.
00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:05.759
You know, everybody wants to be a leader.
00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:09.440
Everybody wants to be a top dog because they feel like they're going to be first in line.
00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.480
But no, being a leader means you're last in line.
00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.319
Because you're there to make sure everybody gets in first before you do.
00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:16.880
Yeah.
00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:19.599
And, you know, I hate that perception.
00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:25.039
You know, there's a lot of ego involved in, you know, our politics, and unfortunately, a lot of greed as well.
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:28.160
But I'm I'm happy that, you know, you're calling it out, Dr.
00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:30.880
OJ, that you're running to, you know, try to end that.
00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:35.599
Because personally, I feel like that's what most people are upset about with the system.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:39.200
It's not red, it's not blue, it's a bunch of selfish people that pick up the city.
00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:48.480
Because even with our blue system, we have all our ticketed campaign and all the people on the on the on the billboards who are celebrities to us.
00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:51.519
And I'm sorry, you should not be a celebrity.
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:53.680
You should be a servant leader.
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.960
You should not be the one with the bodyguards and the and the protocols.
00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:04.799
You should be the one going to say, hey, county commissioners, hey, judges, hey, councilmen, councilwomen, what do you need?
00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.880
How can I help us flip the sit blue?
00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:15.119
While I'm up there trying to get that Capitol seat, let me help you get this grassroots seat so that we can all get in there together and do what needs to be done.
00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:15.920
I'm sorry.
00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:18.079
That should really be the priority.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:25.519
Not you trying to make a celebrity entrance everywhere you go, not you trying to be the first name to be heard, not you trying to be the only voice to be heard.
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.559
It's really being the voice that says, How can I help?
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:29.599
What do you need?
00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.400
Don't go into places making an ask and saying, I need you.
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:34.319
Oh, you need us, you're already there.
00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:44.000
So if you're telling us you need us now, when you get there, what is the what is the responsibility that we're gonna hold you to to say you're actually gonna go there to work for us?
00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:50.319
If we put you in that office, if you're not serving right now, why do you deserve to serve after elections?
00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.160
That's a question I need all our democratic leaders to answer.
00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:57.119
Because I'm like, okay, why are we here?
00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:09.680
We're over here at the bottom just scraping for stuff, all of my brown and black sisters and brothers trying to raise money for their campaigns, and we have all these top-ticket leaders who are raising millions and millions and millions, not thinking of the fact that these candidates need help.
00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.799
How can we serve them?
00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:18.160
Let us lay the example, let us show them the example so that that way we can prove to our country that we are here to serve the common people.
00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:18.799
Yes, ma'am.
00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:19.519
I'm sorry.
00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:21.039
No, you don't have to apologize.
00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:22.960
Look at actually I'll point this out.
00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:35.599
I'll point this out, and and it's something that I don't like about our society, is that like women, advocates, especially black women, feel like they need to apologize when they speak their truth.
00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.039
I'm apologizing because it seems like I just took the conversation.
00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:41.200
But I'm like, these are the matters.
00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:42.880
These are the matters that really matter.
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.640
These are the conversations that matter right now.
00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:55.200
If we're a convention and we're not talking about these issues, and we're just here taking pictures, we're just here chasing politicians, we're just here doing all of these things, then why are we at convention?
00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:55.759
Yeah.
00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:02.720
No, exactly, which is why you shouldn't apologize for speaking, because this is the right time to take the mic, and you're the right person to do that.
00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:07.279
I mean, the rector's like, bring it down, but she knows when I get passionate, I'm like, I'm gonna wall it.
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.960
Bring it up, bring it up, bring it up, get bring the energy higher.
00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:13.839
That's what's that's literally what the Huddle Talks is about.
00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:17.759
Look, look, the Huddle Talks came because we believe in the little person.
00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:18.400
You know what I mean?
00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:31.039
We believe in the person that came from nothing, built, you know, because all these people that have things already built for them and for them, like they don't appreciate or understand the struggle.
00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:39.200
And and I think that, you know, the struggle and and under like the immigrant struggle, having to build your business from the beginning, like teaches you a lot about leadership.
00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:41.279
It teaches you leadership and servitude.
00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:46.400
That's where if you don't work for what you have, that's where you get confused and you think that you should go first as a leader, right?
00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:47.519
That's where you get the ego.
00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:48.000
Dr.
00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:53.279
OJ, if we want to learn more about you, if people want to support your campaign, how could they find you?
00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:54.160
All right, guys.
00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:55.200
So my name is Dr.
00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:58.079
OJ, and I'm running for Ellis County Commissioner.
00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:01.119
My campaign slogan is we shine the light for a reason.
00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:04.960
Because I'm running on integrity, accountability, and transparency.
00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:09.839
You need to help me flip this seat blue by voting for me.
00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:11.680
Register to vote.
00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:15.279
Make sure you tell everyone around you to register to vote.
00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:18.240
But I also need you to donate to my campaign.
00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:19.039
At Dr.
00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:23.039
OJSpeaks, the number four, Texas.com.
00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:28.960
Make a donation to my campaign so that we can get to doing the work in November.
00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:36.880
The reality is local government directly impacts state and federal government.
00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:42.000
The effectiveness of our government starts from the local level.
00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:46.720
So I want to call everyone out there to support local government candidates.
00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:55.519
But most importantly, in this election cycle, I want to tell you this it's important for you to vote blue all the way.
00:26:55.680 --> 00:27:01.279
That means when you get to the polls, vote Democrat from the top to the bottom.
00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:06.000
Don't stop at the top because those are the people you've seen on the news, on the billboards.
00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:11.759
Make sure you vote Democrat in your counties from the top.
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.960
Make sure you check it all the way to the bottom.
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:18.000
That is how we flip Texas blue.
00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:20.640
That is how we change the narrative.
00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:23.519
That is how we get to shine the light.
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.559
My name is Dr.
00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:29.680
OJ running for Ellis County Commissioner, and I look forward to seeing you at the polls.
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:30.799
Thank you so much, Dr.
00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.279
OJ.
00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:33.279
What a pleasure to have you here on the AutoTalks.
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:34.799
I'm glad you brought the energy.
00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:38.079
I'm glad that we have you running for commissioner.
00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:39.839
You know, and she's right.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:28:01.119
Look, if you care about your community, you're not gonna stop at the presidential elections, you're not gonna stop at the cool, fancy congressional elections, you're gonna go all the way to your local elections, you're gonna look at the railroad commissioner at the precinct, you know, you're gonna look at every single election and you know, vote Democrat or vote your values.
00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:07.359
It could be an independent, I don't know, but you know, it's important that you get involved and you get informed about these elections because Dr.
00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:16.960
OJ, once she's a commissioner, she'll be in charge of roads, flood mitigation, you know, there's there's so many things that are commissioners of millions of dollars, right?
00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:18.559
And so hundreds of millions.
00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:20.720
Hundreds of millions of dollars.
00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:21.440
So, Dr.
00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:24.480
OJ here with us on Tejano Talks, thank you so much for being here.
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:27.440
I really appreciate all your energy.
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.440
Thank you, Tejanos.
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:30.640
We are together.
00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:33.680
We are one family, black and brown and white and yellow.
00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:36.160
We are one family in Tejano Talks.
00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:37.200
Y'all are doing it.
00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:38.000
Thank you so much.
00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:38.720
I appreciate it.
00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:42.559
Make sure to follow us on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, all your favorites.
00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:44.000
We'll be here for you.
00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:45.599
We'll see you next time.
00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:22.960
My name is Iram Garcia.
00:00:23.280 --> 00:00:28.160
I'm here at the Huddle Talks at the Texas Democratic State Convention.
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:28.800
Welcome.
00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:29.519
We got Dr.
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:30.079
O.J.
00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:30.640
or Dr.
00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:33.359
Oyin Consola Gina Doo.
00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:33.920
Excuse me.
00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:34.960
Did I pronounce that right?
00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:36.159
You did good.
00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:37.600
That was amazing.
00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:38.240
Yeah.
00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:40.399
It's a really unique name.
00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:40.799
I love it.
00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:41.840
Where are you from?
00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:42.799
Tell us about you, Dr.
00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:43.200
O.J.
00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:43.679
Yeah.
00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:49.200
I'm originally from Nigeria, born and raised and moved here over 20 years ago as an immigrant.
00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:52.640
And just built a life in the United States.
00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:56.719
Actually, since I've been here, I've lived in Texas, Dallas, Texas.
00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:58.880
So I can say I'm a Texas native now.
00:00:59.119 --> 00:00:59.359
Yeah.
00:00:59.439 --> 00:00:59.600
Yeah.
00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:01.200
You're almost almost at the Hunter.
00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:07.120
I think I believe so because I do love, you know, Mexican food and all of that.
00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:09.920
It's similar to our cuisine, the rice, the beans.
00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:10.239
Yeah.
00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:12.799
Yeah, it's similar.
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:14.079
So I absolutely love it.
00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:14.719
You know what?
00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:17.359
You say it's similar, but I I I've had some Nigerian food.
00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:19.040
I don't know if I can handle the spiciness in time.
00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:21.040
Oh, so yeah, spiceometer.
00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:22.400
I can no, I agree.
00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:24.480
Our spiceometer is way up there.
00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:33.200
And but when it comes to flavor, though, that's where we draw similarities because other cultures, the flavor, uh, yeah, but yeah.
00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:33.760
Yeah.
00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:34.159
Dr.
00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:37.439
OJ, you're running for Ellis County Commissioner Precinct 4, correct?
00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:38.239
Yes, sir.
00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:38.719
Why?
00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:41.519
Ellis County Commissioner Precinct 4.
00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.760
It's time, it's now, and I'm grateful.
00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:45.920
I don't take the responsibility for granted.
00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:50.719
But let me tell you a little bit about my background and how I came up to get into this place today.
00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:51.040
Yeah.
00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:56.000
Of course, starting out educated in Nigeria, I have a bachelor's in microbiology.
00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:01.599
The goal to come to the United States was to increase my education, which was getting a master's in psychology.
00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:20.639
Eventually, as I began to immerse myself in the culture here, I started just organically doing community mobilization, serving within the advocacy space because I identified a need with domestic abuse being an epidemic within my particular community.
00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:26.560
And that advocacy took me to setting up the nonprofit organization, the Honey Drops Foundation.
00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:29.039
And we've been working in that space for over 10 years.
00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:51.360
And in the course of our work, we were identified by United College Seminary to offer us an honorary doctorate degree based on our work and the framework we created within the domestic violence space, educating teenagers on teen dating awareness and also providing programs and initiatives around men against abuse because there was a huge gap.
00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:52.560
And there is still a huge gap.
00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:53.919
Men against abuse.
00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:57.280
Yes, there is still a huge gap in advocacy for men.
00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:04.240
So we decided to jump in and fill those gaps for our teens, our youth within the domestic violence space and our men.
00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:14.960
So I got my doctoral degree, honorary doctoral degree in philosophy and humanities so that that way the work we do can truly be recognized globally, which it did become recognized.
00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:18.479
And we now have the Honey Drops Foundation here in the United States.
00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:26.159
And we established a couple of years ago in Africa as well to extend the same framework into the African space to help teenagers and men.
00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:28.400
So you're international now with Honey Drop.
00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:28.879
That's true.
00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:29.919
By the grace of God.
00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:07.439
So my experience in that space, like, oh, you're a woman.
00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:09.199
Why are you advocating for men?
00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:09.599
Yeah.
00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:14.960
And I'm like, I'm a woman, I'm not just advocating for men, I'm advocating for people, period.
00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:19.600
It just happens to be that these men don't have representation in this advocacy space.
00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:20.000
Yeah.
00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:22.160
So I I will advocate for them.
00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:29.839
Now, becoming the next Ellis County commissioner is like, okay, that's another challenge to advocate for residents within Ellis County.
00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:30.240
Yeah.
00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:34.480
To break the mold of the white boys club that has existed.
00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:40.000
My upper my opponent, Carl Butler, has been in that office for over 15 years.
00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:42.319
Just like an auto repeat.
00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:57.279
The last time he was challenged to leave the office, for some weird reason, his opponent, who was a Democrat at the time, got redrawn off the map and redist redistricted, took him out of a precinct four.
00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:00.319
So he went back to being unopposed.
00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:01.759
And I'm like, okay.
00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:11.040
So it's time for someone to challenge the status quo to bring not new ideas, but evolving progressive ideas into Ellis County.
00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:12.160
And that's why I'm running.
00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:12.720
I'm a mom.
00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:13.839
I live in Ellis County.
00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:17.120
I have three children that go to school in Ellis County.
00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:23.759
Every decision that is made in the commissioner's court affects everyone in Ellis County from the bottom up.
00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.319
The crooked insurance companies have only one goal: to pay you nothing or as little as possible.
00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:34.959
Domingo Garcia, recovering millions for the hard-working people of Texas, including a$32 million verdict.
00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:36.160
Demand a legend.
00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.800
Demand Domingo Tehano Tough.
00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:40.160
Can you tell us how?
00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.639
Like, I feel like there's a lot of people out there.
00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:48.639
You tell them, hey, you know, you got your county commissioner or there's commissioner's court, and they'll look at you like, What?
00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:49.279
What?
00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:55.360
That is a fair question because most of us like, County Commissioner, do we have one of those?
00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:56.480
Yes, we do.
00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:06.720
And that's because our commissioner's court has done an awful job in bringing in the community to be a part of the process of governing our county.
00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:20.639
So the county commissioner is responsible for the county's infrastructure, roads, bridges, school crossings, um, drainage, sewers, things that make the county run on the residential and business side.
00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:21.040
Yeah.
00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:27.600
The county commissioner is also responsible for allocating your tax dollars, your budgeting, your money.
00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:38.160
We are responsible for millions, hundreds of millions of dollars that runs through the county, that ensures that all cities have what they need to run, to pay for things.
00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:43.279
We are responsible for allocating contracts, road contracts, building bridges.
00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:44.720
Who does these jobs?
00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:46.240
Do we hold them accountable?
00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:48.399
Are we ensuring quality control?
00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:59.279
Are we ensuring that the growing needs of the county is met with the right amount of infrastructure that is needed to, you know, accommodate the people that are moving into our community?
00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:01.920
Ellis County is growing in leaps and bounds.
00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:04.639
So we do need to have more infrastructure.
00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.279
We are also responsible for ensuring that we balance the books at the end of the year.
00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:12.560
We give account of how that money was spent.
00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:16.079
What is the justification of the money that was spent?
00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.319
And how is Ellis County doing?
00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:20.560
Are we in the red or are we in the black?
00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:24.879
Is your are your tax dollars going towards the things that really matter?
00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:34.720
Or are four, well, five people on the commissioner's court just deciding what happens just because it benefits a few people that they are in favor of.
00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:35.680
We don't want that.
00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:38.319
So the county commissioner's court does all those things.
00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:42.879
But I am running on integrity, accountability, transparency.
00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:54.560
And we're gonna change the culture to ensure that Ellis County is a local government that has the contribution and the impute and awareness of the locals.
00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:55.759
We the people.
00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:57.199
That's amazing.
00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:05.040
And you know, it's important that you mention what a county commissioner does because a lot of the Hanos, a lot of young people, again, they're not involved in their local elections.
00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:07.040
They don't know what their local leaders do.
00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:08.480
And you manage millions of dollars.
00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:14.399
I mean, at the end, if you were a county commissioner, if you get elected, like you will be managing a lot of what happens in the city.
00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.759
You said that one of your uh priorities was infrastructure.
00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:20.240
What do you what do you feel like Ellis County really needs right now?
00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:23.040
What do Ellis County commissioners need to do different?
00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.240
And what would you do as soon as you get into this position?
00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.279
We need to address the issue of our roads.
00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:34.639
A lot of our roads in Ellis County, because Ellis County has been a rural, it grew up from a rural community.
00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:35.039
Yeah.
00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:51.200
And now it's uh it's more urban than rural because we've had so many a lot of influx of families, businesses, and several other things that have now made Ellis County uh a destination county for so many reasons.
00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:57.279
In politics, in business, data centers moving in because Ellis County is now on the map.
00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:01.440
They know that there is a county that has great resources, but look.
00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:02.879
Not the AA data centers.
00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:05.120
We're still gonna talk about that.
00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:12.720
But look, bringing these people in to sap out all these resources is going to, in a few years, hurt us in the end.
00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:15.519
Because we need to address the issue of roads.
00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:26.639
Yeah, we need to ensure that all of those unincorporated roads become incorporated so that we can have alternate routes to schools so that schools, because there is a major highway that runs through Ellis County.
00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:29.600
And in the morning, it's it's it's a headache.
00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:31.840
Everyone's trying to get to work, kids are trying to get a school.
00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.879
If there is an accident, God forbid, by any chance, there is always a delay.
00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:39.519
Like I remember the last school year, we got many messages.
00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:41.360
Oh, the bus is gonna be delayed today.
00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:42.639
That should not be the case.
00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:54.879
So we need to address the issue of roads, provide more incorporated roads, make them accessible to different points within the county so people can move around with ease and speed.
00:09:55.440 --> 00:10:07.039
And of course, we, you know, with the roads that are not incorporated, bad roads, a lot of motorists are now paying more for insurance because their cars, the wear and tear on the cars, the effect.
00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:12.559
So now when you look at that and how it affects your dollars, because someone might be saying, Well, what's my business with that?
00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:16.879
Here's how it concerns you you are a resident driving through those roads.
00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:19.279
Your car will have more wear and tear.
00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:26.240
You will spend more on insurance for your car, you will spend more on gas, you will spend more on fixing your vehicle.
00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:40.879
That is how it gets to your pocket, and that's why it's important to have leaders who truly care to ensure that amenities infrastructures are updated as quickly as we are growing, because we do have the money, but how are we allocating these funds?
00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:43.360
And who are we allocating the funds to?
00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:47.840
Because again, I don't want to believe that the commission is there now just sitting down doing nothing.
00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:54.559
But I also think they're probably giving this contract to folks who they might not be able to hold to such a high level of accountability.
00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:05.200
So if the job is not getting done quickly enough or at the standard that it needs to be done, you might not be able to hold your friend accountable if your friend is the one who got the contract.
00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:07.679
I'm just saying, no accusations be made.
00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.879
Would you so like would you do like uh contracts?
00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:12.559
Would you allow bids on contracts?
00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:17.519
How would how would you try to change how the city contracts, who fixes the roads?
00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.120
It's a due process.
00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:23.200
Um the government does business with the the the population.
00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:24.480
So it's a due process.
00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:32.559
It's just being able to be there to know that, okay, are we verifying the businesses that are actually qualifying for these beats?
00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:38.639
Or is it just an autopilot, like, oh, certain people have always done it, and those are the people that should always do it.
00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:45.120
You know, and and that reminds me, you know, because city money, like, there's a lot of money that the city spends to maintain the city.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:55.200
And who gets those contracts and who gets that money is usually like the friends of the politicians, you know, like and one really good example was Trump and that reflective pool.
00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:02.559
You know, a lot of people were wondering why that was a they call them no-bid contracts, where other people can't they just assign it?
00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.440
Yeah, they just assign it to whoever they want, to their buddies.
00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:11.200
Like Trump founded his construction buddies and was like, hey, I'll pay you millions of dollars to fix the pool, and now it's a big mess, right?
00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:13.840
And and and that happens at the city level too.
00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:36.639
A lot of people are worried about it at the federal level, but at the city level, our city funds go to contractors that are friends of the people that are in government, and you know, ultimately that leads to a lack of accountability, you know, there's less transparency, and obviously there are probably really good business owners out there that deserve the job that didn't get it, you know, just because so-and-so commissioner was friends with, you know, the contractors.
00:12:36.720 --> 00:12:37.919
So that makes a lot of sense.
00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:44.000
And um in the domestic violence space, you know, I I know you've made a lot of progress with Honey Drop.
00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:53.279
What are some of the cultural barriers or or the cultural like why why have you seen an Ellis County like domestic violence?
00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:54.960
Or what do you think drives it?
00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:56.399
And what is the solution?
00:12:56.559 --> 00:13:00.720
Like why what do you think would drive us to reduce domestic violence rates?
00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:06.000
Domestic violence is not just a cultural thing, it's a human problem.
00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:18.000
One of the things that I believe drives it and makes and has made it such an epidemic in our lives over decades, and now it's moving into the next generation is the culture of silence.
00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:18.399
Yeah.
00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:27.120
So, of course, within black communities, brown and black communities, we we can always testify to the fact that what happens in the family gotta stay in the family.
00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:28.639
You want to disgrace the family.
00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:31.279
Do you want us to, you know, people to look down on us?
00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:35.360
And I want to tell you that it's not just in the black and brown families, it's everywhere.
00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:36.799
It's a human thing.
00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:38.559
You know, these things are happening.
00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:47.440
You look at high-level individuals who are, you know, well positioned professionally, and you assume, oh, their life is good.
00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:55.039
That they might be going through the issue of domestic violence, but they can't talk about it because it's like if I say something, who's gonna believe me?
00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:57.279
How are people going to perceive me?
00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:05.919
I think where the solution has to start, and has always started for us at the Honey Drops Foundation, is when you see something, you say something.
00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:11.120
Speaking up is the first step so that you can get the help that you need.
00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:32.399
Because one of the things is a person who has been abused psychologically, there is this cycle of repeated abuse that would happen where even when you try to help the person, they have been psychologically programmed that we have to get them out up to seven times before they finally decide to permanently remove themselves from that situation.
00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:36.399
That is, if they don't end up losing their lives in the process.
00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:40.399
I appreciate that you mentioned, you know, the seven different times.
00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:52.080
And it's a nuance that I think a lot of people miss, you know, like a lot of our folks will think like, well, she stays, so she probably wants to be abused or something, but that's not true.
00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:53.919
Like, there's a lot of nuance to it.
00:14:54.159 --> 00:15:01.120
You know, there's, for example, we live in a patriarchy, you know, a world ran by men, and so usually men are the breadwinners.
00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:07.519
And if you have a family and you have kids and your husband's abusive, but he's the one bringing home the money, you can't just leave.
00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:08.799
You know, you can't just up and leave.
00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:10.639
Your children are gonna suffer the consequences.
00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:13.519
It's complicated, you know, and it takes a lot.
00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:14.159
It takes a lot of things.
00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:22.480
It is complicated, and the people have to understand that domestic abuse is not just a thing that happens suddenly, it's a psychological process.
00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:28.879
There is eight levels of um getting to the physical abuse.
00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:36.720
So there's the grooming stage, there's the stage where the abuser is doing all of these things to reprogram their victim.
00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:42.000
And once they get through all of the eight levels, now they're getting to the physical part.
00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:57.440
There's the verbal abuse, there's emotional abuse, there's financial abuse, where you know, there's isolation that happens in that process that gets that person cut off from people and things that could easily help them get out of those situations.
00:15:57.679 --> 00:16:07.120
So when you look at a person who feels who you feel is a victim but doesn't supposedly want to help themselves, it's not because they don't want to help themselves.
00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:12.720
It's just because they have been put in a situation where they have become helpless.
00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:20.480
And that's why advocates like myself, comedian advocates like Honey Drops Foundation, had to become the voice to for those people.
00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:27.759
There are men who are being abused who would tell me, Oh, this is happening to me, but I can only talk to you about it.
00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:36.080
I don't want anyone else to know about it because society has said, men don't cry, men don't talk about stuff, suck it up, take it, deal with it.
00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:37.200
You're a man.
00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:42.879
No, everyone who is undergoing some type of abuse has a right to get help.
00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:47.840
However, everyone gets or receives the help in their own time.
00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:55.440
The best thing we can do as a community, as a family, as a society, is always stay ready to be there for them.
00:16:55.840 --> 00:17:00.720
Don't ever get to the point where you say, Well, I try to help you once, I try to help you twice, I'm done.
00:17:00.879 --> 00:17:02.159
Don't ever be done.
00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:07.200
Because when that person is ready, be ready to offer that help to them.
00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:08.480
That's the only way.
00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:09.519
Yeah, absolutely.
00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:13.519
And and and the other thing you said is it takes a village, right?
00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:14.880
This is really a community effort.
00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:18.240
Like people don't get themselves out of abusive situations on their own.
00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:20.319
If you see something, say something.
00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:20.960
Say something.
00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.960
And it doesn't mean it doesn't just mean if you're the one being abused, say something.
00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:28.480
It's like if you see somebody being abused, you should intervene.
00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:35.039
You know, that that's how you said speaking up is is how we solve, you know, or we start to solve the issue of domestic violence.
00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:35.759
Uh Dr.
00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:44.400
O.J., I I really wanted and I was fascinated by your story, you know, your personal immigration story, coming here to the United States.
00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:45.839
Like, tell me how that was.
00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:46.720
Like, how was it?
00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:51.279
You went to the University of Lagos, which is in Nigeria, I'm guessing.
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:56.880
So your microbiology, then you needed to get your master's and your PhD.
00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:59.039
So you came to the United States to further education.
00:17:59.279 --> 00:17:59.519
Yes.
00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:01.680
Tell us about like the hardships of that journey.
00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:05.279
Like, what did you go through having to come from one country to another?
00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:12.799
So, yes, I ha ha being an immigrant is uh see, every immigrant story has a different face.
00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:13.279
Yeah.
00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.200
But every immigrant story has the same underlining things.
00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:26.720
We all come from a place where we're familiar to a new place, and we all want to just have a better way, a better opportunity.
00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:31.359
We want to access things that we probably don't have where we came from.
00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:33.279
That is the underlying thing.
00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:36.640
And everyone has to go through the immigration process.
00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:36.960
Yeah.
00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:38.640
I had to go through that.
00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:45.519
You know, transitioning from being an immigrant to being a naturalized citizen, that was a process I had to go through.
00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.839
And every immigrant has to go through that.
00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.920
You know, starting fresh.
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:56.640
Because no matter how well established you are, where you came from, if you come to a new place, you're starting from ground zero.
00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:05.440
And that's what I had to do as a student, then eventually having my family and building up literally from the ground up here in the United States.
00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:08.799
And over 20 years later, we're running for county commissioner.
00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:10.079
Who would have thought?
00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:10.480
You know?
00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.319
Yeah, and and you have a PhD.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:14.000
Yeah, we have a PhD.
00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:16.480
And that was due to the work that was being done.
00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:20.559
Because I was raised by parents who have always taught me to serve.
00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:23.039
You always serve wherever you go.
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:29.920
You know, I'm I went to another city and I was, you know, doing some work over there, and I was like, I need to have find the church to go when I'm here.
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:32.319
And I I got in there, I was like, oh, can I serve?
00:19:32.400 --> 00:19:33.359
They're like, you're new.
00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.880
I'm like, yeah, but it's church.
00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:35.519
Let's serve.
00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:36.240
I love it.
00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:39.519
I tell you, the pastor was so shocked, he was like, nobody ever does that.
00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:44.559
I'm like, I come from a culture, a legacy of you serve.
00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:46.240
You always serve first.
00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:50.640
And permit me to say this: this is what we need to do as politicians.
00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:52.720
Get into that space to serve.
00:19:52.880 --> 00:20:00.720
As the Democratic Party, we're talking about, we're doing this top-down election and campaigning and cooperation.
00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:05.920
The reality of the matter is it really doesn't matter how much we talk about it.
00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:17.440
If we're not about serving each other, if the top candidates are not looking to serve the middle and the bottom candidates to ensure that we all win together, this whole top-down approach, it's not gonna work.
00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:18.240
I'm sorry.
00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.759
We have to be very realistic in talking about these things.
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:26.240
When we're doing all these political things, what makes the far right better than the far left?
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:28.720
It's the approach in serving each other.
00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.359
How are we doing things better as Democrats?
00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.400
Why do we deserve to be elected into those offices?
00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:36.400
Is it just because we are the alternative?
00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:43.200
Because I'm not just gonna say Carl Butler is uh a Republican, so kick him out of office, put me in there because I'm a Democrat.
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:43.519
No.
00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:48.720
I will say I am coming into that office because I have a heart to serve my people.
00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.920
I have been serving, I have the track record of service.
00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:57.759
And that is what is going to qualify me above Carl Butler to take in that commissioner's court to the next level.
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:00.240
So Democrats need to do the same thing.
00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:05.920
If we're gonna do this top-down approach for this campaign to get to November, we need to get it right.
00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:10.000
The top candidates help the middle, help the grassroots level candidates.
00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:16.000
Make sure we are all trickling down all of the resources to make sure we all wing together.
00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:24.640
Let's get out of the celebrity candidacy where, oh, there's some down the they're they're out there, and then the rest of us just need to figure things out on our own.
00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:28.799
To me, that is no top-down cooperation, coordination, what we're calling it.
00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:30.880
Right now, it just seems like a lot of talk.
00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:31.599
I'm sorry.
00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:37.119
I had to I had to get that because we're the black and brown grassroots level candidates.
00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:39.920
We're the ones like we're coming in here, we're putting ourselves out there.
00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:45.599
I know you'll say, Well, nobody asks you to do it, but we're doing it because we truly want to serve and we want to represent our people.
00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:47.519
There needs to be more representation.
00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:54.799
But in order to really flip this seats blue, the top candidates are going to have to do more and do better.
00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:57.359
Do more than just giving speeches and talking.
00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.680
I yeah, I mean, look.
00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.160
I love what you said about leadership, and that's that it's servitude.
00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:05.759
You know, everybody wants to be a leader.
00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:09.440
Everybody wants to be a top dog because they feel like they're going to be first in line.
00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:12.480
But no, being a leader means you're last in line.
00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:16.319
Because you're there to make sure everybody gets in first before you do.
00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:16.880
Yeah.
00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:19.599
And, you know, I hate that perception.
00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:25.039
You know, there's a lot of ego involved in, you know, our politics, and unfortunately, a lot of greed as well.
00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:28.160
But I'm I'm happy that, you know, you're calling it out, Dr.
00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:30.880
OJ, that you're running to, you know, try to end that.
00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:35.599
Because personally, I feel like that's what most people are upset about with the system.
00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:39.200
It's not red, it's not blue, it's a bunch of selfish people that pick up the city.
00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:48.480
Because even with our blue system, we have all our ticketed campaign and all the people on the on the on the billboards who are celebrities to us.
00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:51.519
And I'm sorry, you should not be a celebrity.
00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:53.680
You should be a servant leader.
00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:56.960
You should not be the one with the bodyguards and the and the protocols.
00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:04.799
You should be the one going to say, hey, county commissioners, hey, judges, hey, councilmen, councilwomen, what do you need?
00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:06.880
How can I help us flip the sit blue?
00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:15.119
While I'm up there trying to get that Capitol seat, let me help you get this grassroots seat so that we can all get in there together and do what needs to be done.
00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:15.920
I'm sorry.
00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:18.079
That should really be the priority.
00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:25.519
Not you trying to make a celebrity entrance everywhere you go, not you trying to be the first name to be heard, not you trying to be the only voice to be heard.
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.559
It's really being the voice that says, How can I help?
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:29.599
What do you need?
00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.400
Don't go into places making an ask and saying, I need you.
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:34.319
Oh, you need us, you're already there.
00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:44.000
So if you're telling us you need us now, when you get there, what is the what is the responsibility that we're gonna hold you to to say you're actually gonna go there to work for us?
00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:50.319
If we put you in that office, if you're not serving right now, why do you deserve to serve after elections?
00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.160
That's a question I need all our democratic leaders to answer.
00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:57.119
Because I'm like, okay, why are we here?
00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:09.680
We're over here at the bottom just scraping for stuff, all of my brown and black sisters and brothers trying to raise money for their campaigns, and we have all these top-ticket leaders who are raising millions and millions and millions, not thinking of the fact that these candidates need help.
00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.799
How can we serve them?
00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:18.160
Let us lay the example, let us show them the example so that that way we can prove to our country that we are here to serve the common people.
00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:18.799
Yes, ma'am.
00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:19.519
I'm sorry.
00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:21.039
No, you don't have to apologize.
00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:22.960
Look at actually I'll point this out.
00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:35.599
I'll point this out, and and it's something that I don't like about our society, is that like women, advocates, especially black women, feel like they need to apologize when they speak their truth.
00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.039
I'm apologizing because it seems like I just took the conversation.
00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:41.200
But I'm like, these are the matters.
00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:42.880
These are the matters that really matter.
00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:44.640
These are the conversations that matter right now.
00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:55.200
If we're a convention and we're not talking about these issues, and we're just here taking pictures, we're just here chasing politicians, we're just here doing all of these things, then why are we at convention?
00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:55.759
Yeah.
00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:02.720
No, exactly, which is why you shouldn't apologize for speaking, because this is the right time to take the mic, and you're the right person to do that.
00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:07.279
I mean, the rector's like, bring it down, but she knows when I get passionate, I'm like, I'm gonna wall it.
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.960
Bring it up, bring it up, bring it up, get bring the energy higher.
00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:13.839
That's what's that's literally what the Huddle Talks is about.
00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:17.759
Look, look, the Huddle Talks came because we believe in the little person.
00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:18.400
You know what I mean?
00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:31.039
We believe in the person that came from nothing, built, you know, because all these people that have things already built for them and for them, like they don't appreciate or understand the struggle.
00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:39.200
And and I think that, you know, the struggle and and under like the immigrant struggle, having to build your business from the beginning, like teaches you a lot about leadership.
00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:41.279
It teaches you leadership and servitude.
00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:46.400
That's where if you don't work for what you have, that's where you get confused and you think that you should go first as a leader, right?
00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:47.519
That's where you get the ego.
00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:48.000
Dr.
00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:53.279
OJ, if we want to learn more about you, if people want to support your campaign, how could they find you?
00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:54.160
All right, guys.
00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:55.200
So my name is Dr.
00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:58.079
OJ, and I'm running for Ellis County Commissioner.
00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:01.119
My campaign slogan is we shine the light for a reason.
00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:04.960
Because I'm running on integrity, accountability, and transparency.
00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:09.839
You need to help me flip this seat blue by voting for me.
00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:11.680
Register to vote.
00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:15.279
Make sure you tell everyone around you to register to vote.
00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:18.240
But I also need you to donate to my campaign.
00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:19.039
At Dr.
00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:23.039
OJSpeaks, the number four, Texas.com.
00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:28.960
Make a donation to my campaign so that we can get to doing the work in November.
00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:36.880
The reality is local government directly impacts state and federal government.
00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:42.000
The effectiveness of our government starts from the local level.
00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:46.720
So I want to call everyone out there to support local government candidates.
00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:55.519
But most importantly, in this election cycle, I want to tell you this it's important for you to vote blue all the way.
00:26:55.680 --> 00:27:01.279
That means when you get to the polls, vote Democrat from the top to the bottom.
00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:06.000
Don't stop at the top because those are the people you've seen on the news, on the billboards.
00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:11.759
Make sure you vote Democrat in your counties from the top.
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:14.960
Make sure you check it all the way to the bottom.
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:18.000
That is how we flip Texas blue.
00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:20.640
That is how we change the narrative.
00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:23.519
That is how we get to shine the light.
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.559
My name is Dr.
00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:29.680
OJ running for Ellis County Commissioner, and I look forward to seeing you at the polls.
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:30.799
Thank you so much, Dr.
00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.279
OJ.
00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:33.279
What a pleasure to have you here on the AutoTalks.
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:34.799
I'm glad you brought the energy.
00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:38.079
I'm glad that we have you running for commissioner.
00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:39.839
You know, and she's right.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:28:01.119
Look, if you care about your community, you're not gonna stop at the presidential elections, you're not gonna stop at the cool, fancy congressional elections, you're gonna go all the way to your local elections, you're gonna look at the railroad commissioner at the precinct, you know, you're gonna look at every single election and you know, vote Democrat or vote your values.
00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:07.359
It could be an independent, I don't know, but you know, it's important that you get involved and you get informed about these elections because Dr.
00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:16.960
OJ, once she's a commissioner, she'll be in charge of roads, flood mitigation, you know, there's there's so many things that are commissioners of millions of dollars, right?
00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:18.559
And so hundreds of millions.
00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:20.720
Hundreds of millions of dollars.
00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:21.440
So, Dr.
00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:24.480
OJ here with us on Tejano Talks, thank you so much for being here.
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:27.440
I really appreciate all your energy.
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.440
Thank you, Tejanos.
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:30.640
We are together.
00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:33.680
We are one family, black and brown and white and yellow.
00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:36.160
We are one family in Tejano Talks.
00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:37.200
Y'all are doing it.
00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:38.000
Thank you so much.
00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:38.720
I appreciate it.
00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:42.559
Make sure to follow us on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, all your favorites.
00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:44.000
We'll be here for you.
00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:45.599
We'll see you next time.
