Election Ready: Mobilizing for Change
Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Grits and Glitter. I am Rev Skip Jennings. I'm a minister, an author, a speaker, and this is the podcast that makes you say, hey, girl. Hey.
Terry Dyer:Hey, girl. Hey. What's up, everybody? I am Terry Dyer, also author, activist, and speaker. And this is the podcast where we do what?
Terry Dyer:We uplift all the Negroes. Hello. Hello.
Rev. Skip:So I think we we dropped into our demographics. But, actually, we go beyond that too. We go way beyond that.
Terry Dyer:We do. This is really a podcast about uplifting black and brown folks and really to just make sure that we are speaking. We're, uplifting. We're amplifying voices. This is a safe and brave space for people to really talk about the nitty gritty.
Terry Dyer:The gritty And also
Rev. Skip:and also anybody who wants to dive deep into this conversation, you know, I listen. I'm a rainbow coalition type girl. I just everybody's welcome to the table for this experience of inclusivity. Inclusivity. Don't care what race you are, gender you are, who you love, where you want to live.
Rev. Skip:You are welcome to this table. I'm serving love, though. I'm serving love. Welcome it. What's up, brother?
Terry Dyer:How's how's
Rev. Skip:how's Florida?
Terry Dyer:Florida's doing alright. You know, we're still getting past that, you know, little hurricane that we had recently.
Rev. Skip:Who knows?
Terry Dyer:But, you know, you know, safe, for the most part. Yeah. Folks have definitely been reaching out to me, and, you know, I'm in South Florida. So we just got the rain, the heavy winds, but but me and my baby girl are absolutely safe.
Rev. Skip:Hey. So there is a difference in people because, you know, coming back from Florida and coming to California, we wanna know why Florida and what was it like. And I always say, you know, for Lauderdale, Dade County, Miami, that's a whole different type of Florida compared to the other side of Florida. You know, Broward County is is so dope. It's you know, for Lauderdale, it's amazing.
Rev. Skip:It's a great place to go and vacation, but I'm glad I'm back in Cali.
Terry Dyer:I know. I when I first moved here and people still do it a little bit now, but when I first moved here, people would always say, oh, oh, have you been to the West Coast? And I'd be like, I'm from the West Coast. What you mean?
Rev. Skip:And so people in Florida called the left coast. They call the left coast. I'm like Exactly. What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that?
Terry Dyer:What you've been up to? What you've been up to out in LA, bro?
Rev. Skip:I was you know what's so funny? Because I was called out. I'm just that that, you know, just brought a thought in my my mind. I was called out by a friend of mine who lives in Fort Lauderdale. And I said, well, it's great to be home.
Rev. Skip:And he said to me, you know, you never call Florida home. You never said this is my home. And I went, yeah. You're right. So I feel like I'm at home, but yet I still have connections in Florida.
Rev. Skip:I still have connections in Fort Lori Fort Lauderdale, particularly. Not just Florida, but Fort Lauderdale. So I'm planning a trip. I'll be out there in December, come to visit you, and I'm going to see my mama first, Thanksgiving. And then I'm gonna do a hop hop, skip, and a jump from New Jersey to Florida, but you gotta be on Spirit Airlines.
Rev. Skip:So
Terry Dyer:Oh, you
Rev. Skip:know what I'm saying? Really go and there it got really good. You
Terry Dyer:know what I said the last time about miss Spirit. But let me not say something now because we are in the conversation with Spirit about sponsoring the December 7th event. So I love y'all if you're listening and watching this.
Rev. Skip:Exactly. But listen, spirit builds your faith, Charles. So, it it is it builds your spirit. So, you know, because you be praying. I gotta tell you, I have never prayed so much getting on a flight going, and it wasn't being afraid that it was going something was happening in the air.
Rev. Skip:But will we take off? Yeah. You know the time. I have had more delays on Spirit, but I love y'all. Thank you for making a direct flight from Fort Lauderdale to Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Rev. Skip:My mama is. So
Terry Dyer:Yeah. Come on, mama. Come on, mama.
Rev. Skip:It's so
Terry Dyer:good. We won't be out here soon. I love it.
Rev. Skip:There's so
Terry Dyer:much so much happening in the fall. Like, we as we talked about in our last episode, we have spent the summer traveling all over the place. We've had all these events. We've had concerts and speaking engagements and conferences. It's been a crazy, crazy, crazy busy summer, but we've got more travel.
Terry Dyer:At least I have more travel. I think you got more travel too.
Rev. Skip:I have more travel. Mhmm.
Terry Dyer:Yeah. I'm in DC next week. Then we're both in Palm Springs, and then I'm in Dallas. And then it's just
Rev. Skip:one I'm in Kansas City before before, Palm Springs. I gotta go to Kansas City, and they are really trying to say that Kansas City has the best barbecue. I'm like, okay. I know right. Trust me.
Rev. Skip:Trust me. Don't Trust me. Hello? They they are fun. City.
Terry Dyer:I was born in Kansas City.
Rev. Skip:Oh, so you think so too? You have the you think?
Terry Dyer:Barbecue. Ricky's barbecue. Oh, baby.
Rev. Skip:Oh, yeah. That's one of the places they're gonna take me to Ricky's. They said, I'm like, okay. Trust me. I've had barbecue all over the world.
Rev. Skip:This is my first time in Kansas City. So she's like, we're gonna take you to have some Ricky's barbecue. I'm going, okay. I'm prove it to me. You know?
Terry Dyer:Ricky's good. Gates has been around longer. Gates' barbecue is in the grocery stores. That's how Gates get down. Right?
Terry Dyer:So Gates and I mean, nationally in the grocery stores. Right? So, yeah, you about to have some good barbecue.
Rev. Skip:Okay. Well, you know, we do need to talk about something that happened in September because we both are we have a client, a mutual client. It's American Exchange, and we got a chance to go to New Orleans.
Terry Dyer:We did.
Rev. Skip:We saw big Frida. How many times did we see big Frida perform live at that com at that that conference?
Terry Dyer:3 nights in a row. 3 nights in a row. We was we was big Frida. Oh. Yes.
Rev. Skip:Oh. Oh, wow. God.
Terry Dyer:We were. Yes.
Rev. Skip:I'm the queen to make you shake.
Terry Dyer:What? Yeah.
Rev. Skip:Make you bounce. Come on. You make you bounce. Bounce, honey. The queen of it it was so incredible to see black, brown, LGBT of the whole gamut getting together and partying and having one we were there making a difference as well, but we got together to talk about and inspire each other in this field of of the world that we're still living in with HIV and AIDS.
Rev. Skip:It's still happening, y'all. It's still happening. We got a chance to go to represent one of our clients, but we got a chance to connect and and and really, I wanna say network and align ourselves with other people that are in this work that we're doing.
Terry Dyer:Absolutely. I think someone described it in a meeting after the conference was over. Someone described the event the whole few days, and we had trouble getting there because what? New Orleans had a hurricane. Right.
Terry Dyer:New Orleans had a hurricane as we were all traveling. Over 3,000 people traveling all over the world to get to this conference, and we all had hurricane issues trying to get there. But it was really like a family reunion. That's what someone described it as. Absolutely a family reunion.
Terry Dyer:So I had an amazing time up until the end, but I had an amazing amazing time.
Rev. Skip:Do you you know, one of the things that I you know, besides seeing big Freda and being around so many wonderful experiences and going to, you know, the the the black party events that we went to was second line. We got a chance to march in the 2nd line. And for all your listeners that don't know about the 2nd line in New Orleans, you know, when someone passes and makes their transition, they have a long slow walk to the cemetery, and the music is booming. Everyone's crying. 2nd line, you turn around, you're going to celebrate.
Rev. Skip:You're celebrating that life. And I've seen second lines on TV programs and on on even on, I think, Housewives did a second line in New Orleans or whatever. They did. They did. I saw that episode.
Rev. Skip:I was like, oh, it would be great to experience second line.
Terry Dyer:Girls Trip Girls Trip. Girls Trip.
Rev. Skip:Girls Trip.
Terry Dyer:Girls Trip. Second line.
Rev. Skip:That's right. It was so inspiring. It almost brought me to tears at one point because we are just marching and you oh, ew.
Terry Dyer:Everyone was in good spirits. Yeah.
Rev. Skip:It was amazing. Favorite conferences of all time Yeah. Of all time.
Terry Dyer:Yep. I'm excited for next year. We're already in conversations with, the organization to participate and sponsor at a bigger level, to maybe have some breakout, educational sessions, for the organization, etcetera. So I'm excited for for next year too.
Rev. Skip:And then maybe next year, we'll do a live episode Oh. From New Orleans.
Terry Dyer:Center. We could. We could.
Rev. Skip:We could. And speaking of that, we're doing a live podcast recording, October 30th.
Terry Dyer:Palm Springs, California, IA. We are coming for you. We're very excited to be partnering with some local organizations to really have a great conversation and amplify and uplift their community. So we're excited to come out there in
Rev. Skip:a couple of weeks. Absolutely. And, you know, they can get in touch with us at grits and it's gritsandglitterpod@gmail.com to find out more information. Right? Absolutely.
Terry Dyer:Facebook, there'll be all kinds of information on there on the social media as well.
Rev. Skip:I love it. I love it. Alright. So we are back into the election field, and we're talking about the post election readiness and how do we prepare for what's coming up in the end in whatever way. But before we do that, we are still in Diddy News.
Rev. Skip:Can we call this Diddy News? We do we just we're doing something. We're just going something. It's called Diddy News.
Terry Dyer:Listen. Listen. Alright. So I I wanna I wanna take this one first because I just like the election just like the election, I'm obsessed with what's happening with all the Diddy News. Right?
Rev. Skip:Mhmm.
Terry Dyer:This is a part of our culture, our our history. These are this is someone that we've, you know, amplified and we've lift lifted up in in in not only pop culture, but the black community. Right? So this is this is a big one. So I don't listen.
Terry Dyer:Molly, you in danger, girl. Like, I'm sorry, dude, but I don't I don't necessarily wanna go all the way back to the beginnings of his troubles that began in the 19 nineties, but let's just say we'll we'll go back to, like, the alleged trouble in 2013. Right? So I'm just gonna go quickly down a little chronological list here. So 2013, he gets in trouble for a skull full with J.
Terry Dyer:Cole. I didn't know he got into a fight with J. Cole.
Rev. Skip:Yeah.
Terry Dyer:I thought J. Cole was like, good people. You get into a fight with J. Cole? Okay.
Terry Dyer:Then in 2020 2015, he allegedly excuse me. 14, he allegedly punched Drake. Drake. You got in trouble for punching Drake? I thought we like Drake.
Terry Dyer:Like, why you punching Drake? Girl. So then it continued from there. The next year, in 2015, he got into a fight with an assistant UCLA football coach. Girl, which is Oh, his son, 19.
Rev. Skip:His son, Dwayne.
Terry Dyer:Yep. Absolutely. So in 2019, his ex girlfriend, Gina Huynh, accused him of abuse. And then, of course, we fast forward to what I feel like is the beginning of the end for mister Diddy. 2013, the accusations and the, lawsuit filed by his ex girlfriend, Cassie.
Terry Dyer:So since then, there has been a multiple, multiple, multiple, multiple suits filed against him for sexual assault, and other crimes. He has officially been arrested as we all know. Right? The other crimes are well, let's just say it's a lot. Sex trafficking, sexual abuse of a 100 and 20 people.
Terry Dyer:A 120 people Yeah. Including 25 minors. And as you just said, racketeering. Yeah. Did you also know that he tried to pay $50,000,000 for his bail, and it was denied not 1, not 2
Rev. Skip:I read that.
Terry Dyer:But 3 times. Three times, they denied his bail of $50,000,000. Can you just go ahead and give me a 1,000,000 of that and call it the United Negro Terry Advanced Fund, like, growth fund? How about that?
Rev. Skip:How about that?
Terry Dyer:Right? And lastly, of course, it was just announced that his official trial date is May of 2025. So I don't know about y'all, but I can't get enough of following what's going on with him because we've put him on such a pedestal, and he's done so much for hip hop and rap music and our culture. So what what do you think about this?
Rev. Skip:Well, I so much to unpack on this. First of all, I am very clear about what I bring into my consciousness because whenever I start bringing in excess gossip and TMZ stuff, I I it really affects the way I feel. Yeah. But I I believe that this is a very important topic for me personally because I love Bad Boy. I love the music.
Rev. Skip:So now I get to look at this and going, how much do I support the music? It's like, I can't listen to r Kelly. And then that's it's so funny because we had this conversation last year at the barbecue that that someone put on and said, no. No. No.
Rev. Skip:No. No. No. You can't play step in the name of love. Then, like, yes, we got do you know?
Rev. Skip:And so we had a conversation, and they were like, oh, yeah. This is a cousin of mine. I'm like, yeah. I guess you're right. Yeah.
Rev. Skip:So then we look at all the artists, especially, you know, Lil Kim, you know, Mary j Blige. You know I'm talking about Biggie. Biggie for me is my top five. And, you know, more money, more problems. Well, I guess you did claim that right to be true, did he?
Rev. Skip:He said he
Terry Dyer:wrote a song about it. Like to hear it, hear it goes.
Rev. Skip:More More Money, More Problems. So, you know, all about the Benjamins. Listen to his music that really leads us to this. So I'm going through that personal thing. How much more do I support?
Rev. Skip:And even though although our producer might smack me for saying this, but I had to go through a a a a thing with with Michael Jackson. And I I am I going to listen to Michael? And I do. So here's a question. What level of do we do we say, yeah, we can continue to listen or no or not?
Rev. Skip:That's a deeper question. How much support are we going to? Right now, I can't, and Michael was acquitted. Yes, ma'am. Michael was acquitted.
Rev. Skip:But here's the story. How much in this space because Michael wasn't doing racketeering and, you know, he helped the planet.
Terry Dyer:He helped
Rev. Skip:the world. That's my jam. Okay. Go ahead.
Terry Dyer:I've had girl, we can't pay for that. Stop that. I have the I have the same thought process about Chris Brown.
Rev. Skip:Yeah.
Terry Dyer:I have not touched a Chris Brown song since the issue, the abuse with him and Rihanna. Haven't touched you. You're an abuser. I you know what I'm saying? So, like, I feel like it's the same same concept here.
Terry Dyer:I can't really mess with Diddy Music. And, you know, there's a couple of songs that, like, I'll be in the gym and hello. Hey. Good morning. Hey.
Terry Dyer:You know what I'm saying? But, like, I can't I can't do that anymore.
Rev. Skip:So then here's a deeper question. When we're talking about hip hop and hip hop in the queer black you know, I love I love hip hop music, and we talked about this in the podcast. I love it, but do I feel welcome and safe in the hip hop Yes. And world? No.
Rev. Skip:I don't. I'm not saying how it is. I'm saying I'm calling the thing a thing because of the past, and I come out of the age where it wasn't acceptable to be queer in
Terry Dyer:hip hop. Right. You
Rev. Skip:know, thank you for LouxNoz, and and we have a lot of queer artists that are coming out. We've even talked about it that are in the forefront of this, you know, in hip hop and and changing the genre and and connecting, but it's so much more to be done. And because black people and and queer and black and brown and queer people, period, LGBTQA plus community, we love hip hop. So when are you gonna stop? When are you gonna stop, you know, ostracizing us or making us feel unwelcome?
Rev. Skip:And I believe it's coming around. There's a shift, but, you know, yeah, there's some some music I won't listen to. I will not listen to Diddy right now, and I got a question. You know? I don't know.
Rev. Skip:I don't know.
Terry Dyer:I agree with you. I you know, you talked about, you know, the welcoming of LGBTQ folks in hip hop. Right? Like, there's still even though, you know, to this day and everything is going on with Diddy and all the people, I feel like if you just acknowledged whatever you're feeling and whatever you wanna do with the men, the women, or whatever, if you just get past that, oh, that's a DL thing. I'm not gay.
Terry Dyer:It's this or whatever. We might be further along in the conversation or in the community as being more open and inclusive than than we are right now. Some of the stuff may not have been happening if we were more inclusive. Right? If you were just in in taking a look at yourself and saying, alright.
Terry Dyer:So I like to sleep with men. So what? Who cares? So I'm in hip hop. So I'm this.
Terry Dyer:Get over it. Like, it's just sex for you or if it's just this. Right? Like, you if you could just get past that, then we might have not he might not have had the situations of the space that he's in now. So Yeah.
Terry Dyer:Like you said, I love the fact that there's Lil Nas. There's Miles and, Milan that were on love and hip hop. There's saucy Santana. There's all these people that are trying to change the name of the game and be more inclusive, but clearly, we got more work to do because y'all trying to do his job. Work to do.
Terry Dyer:Hey, now.
Rev. Skip:Look what you're doing. Hey, now. Hey, now. So Yeah. We're gonna take a little break, and, I'm I'm ready to get back into the election conversation.
Rev. Skip:And when we get back, we're gonna talk about how to prepare ourselves and get ready for the aftermath or the post election vibe and what's coming up. So, Hey, stay tuned and we'll be right back. Hey, y'all welcome back to Grits and Glitter, and we're about to dive deep into the election field because it'll you know, we got a mission coming up, Terry. Did you know that? Yep.
Terry Dyer:I mean, I heard a little bit of something about it.
Rev. Skip:A little something something something something.
Terry Dyer:It's on every corner, every TV show now. Right?
Rev. Skip:You know, and we talked about this in the last episode. Thank you for your honest connection and your experience and your conversation about the election. I think that's what we need to really have a real, important conversation about why this election is so important. And we talked about this about rights. It's about women's health rights and the rights for LGBTQA plus rights for black rights or brown rights, and the right to to to just be.
Rev. Skip:And this is the election. I remember the t shirt we got in, in New Orleans. And on the back of the t shirt, it says, vote as if your life depends on it. It does, Joe.
Terry Dyer:It does.
Rev. Skip:It depends on it.
Terry Dyer:And people need to understand that. That's the reality of where we are now. This is an election that dip our lives depend on.
Rev. Skip:After an election, I I know you're you said you're not that political, but you being an activist, brother, you are political. I know. You've always been
Terry Dyer:political. Don't remind me.
Rev. Skip:How do you feel after you know, I gotta tell you, after Obama election was done both of them, because I I helped to really promote get it out there. I'm not gonna say he won because of me, but I was a part of it. One thing you don't know, I actually sing backup for John Legend and will I am at the DC at the d DNC in 2008 at Visco Stadium in Colorado. I was on the back. I was a background singer for will.
Rev. Skip:I. Am and and John Legend. So when Obama was elected, I was tired. Child, I was like, thank God he's in. And I just like, I don't wanna do anything political.
Rev. Skip:I don't wanna get out there. Thank God. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Rev. Skip:The same thing happened on his reelection. When it was done, I was like, oh my God. I don't wanna and I I really checked out maybe about 6 to 8 months after the election. Now when Trump, Chito, as you call in president Chito
Terry Dyer:I called.
Rev. Skip:I was I I didn't do anything political for about a year and a half. I was just like, I can't. I don't wanna see anything.
Terry Dyer:I was
Rev. Skip:I was in trauma. Post traumatic
Terry Dyer:Mhmm.
Rev. Skip:Experience. What was your experience like at the end of these election times? And I know a little bit I'm a little bit older than you, so maybe 2,008. I don't know if you were politically active back then and there. Just a little you're a little tiny, but what was your experience?
Terry Dyer:For me in 2008, I had just got engaged in 2008 and was in a committed four and a half year relationship. And for me, you know, the big ballot item was, gay marriage, was gay marriage for for LGBTQ folks. And so for me, I was sort of battling internally because and I've talked about this on the podcast before, but for me, I didn't I I felt a a sense of hypocrisy from LGBTQ folks for standing up and saying, oh, we've gotta be equal in our community. We've got, you know, gay marriage, this, gay marriage, that, when we're not equal in our own backyard. That's a problem for me.
Terry Dyer:Right? I I I feel a a huge sense of hypocrisy for me standing out there and rallying for equal rights when we don't treat each other equal. So I was in a in a state of confliction back in 2008. Did I vote for it? Of course, I did.
Terry Dyer:Right? Like, I was engaged, and I wanted to be married and, you know, wanted that piece of paper. But at the same time, I felt a huge sense of, like I said, hypocrisy because we treat each other with a huge level of inequality, and disdain and and bigotry. Right? So how can I, in good faith and good conscious, be fighting for equality when I'm watching us be completely dismissive and, divisive in our own community?
Terry Dyer:So that's how I felt in 2008. Was I extremely proud to see somebody who looked like me in office? Absolutely. Mhmm. In San Francisco, I got to shake his hand at an event, for local community leaders.
Terry Dyer:So I was very, you know, just in awe and and had chills because of that. But then, of course, years later when you know who, became an office, I completely went in the morning and was like, this isn't real. I'm watching a TV show. I used to watch his, apprentice a few seasons of his apprentice. I'm watching that man now be in the most powerful powerful position in the world Yeah.
Terry Dyer:What what happened? What happened? So I definitely went into a a a political depression, if you will. It was like, I don't wanna talk about it. Don't don't don't talk to me.
Rev. Skip:The the one thing that really came up after all these elections about self care and understanding that maybe your candidate won or lost. There has been a be a sense of self care because if you're invested into an election, everything, your energy, your vibration, your mental capacity is around who's going to win. Now Yeah. I talk about this, and I wrote this in in an article. I I write for a magazine called Inner Visions for the Agape International Spiritual Center, and I wrote this in my last what will come out in November.
Rev. Skip:No matter who wins, we have to understand that partisanship if you go to the root word of partisanship, it means to divide, to separate. You are a part of something. You're for something. You're against something else. That's what partisanship is all about.
Rev. Skip:Our natural state and here comes reverend Skip, so I'm getting on my soapbox. I'm on my soapbox. We are here to be to coexist together, to be together. We are interconnected. We are connected by spirit, by love.
Rev. Skip:But this experience that we go through is an experience of separation. You're right. I'm wrong. I'm wrong. You're right.
Rev. Skip:You're, you know, I'm right. You're this divides our spirit. And this is why self care is so important for us to really connect with what are we feeling and how can we heal it. Because we still gotta live on this planet. So it's so important for us to
Terry Dyer:each other.
Rev. Skip:Know that
Terry Dyer:And with each other.
Rev. Skip:And with each other. So how do we take care of this energy of the divide? And part of this thing that we're talking about today is we must prepare ourselves for what could happen whoever wins. Look at January 7th or January 6th.
Terry Dyer:Yes.
Rev. Skip:It happened look at that, and I'm looking at this and going, am I seeing this? Is this really happening? Are they storming the capital? Am I seeing this flag of Trump and
Terry Dyer:Which was incited by him.
Rev. Skip:Yeah. Right? And so Excuse me. I'm not laughing at it. But I thought it was really funny when when he say I had nothing to do with it.
Rev. Skip:And JD Vance says, oh, he he turned over power peacefully. What universe
Terry Dyer:do you
Rev. Skip:live in? Is this the multi universe of Marvel Studios? I don't know. Where are you?
Terry Dyer:Hello? Are you doctor Strange? What is happening? What
Rev. Skip:is Oh, that's a good name. That's a good name. That's a really good name, doctor Strange.
Terry Dyer:But But I like that character, so we can't call Cheeto doctor Strange.
Rev. Skip:We gotta I know.
Terry Dyer:There we go. Listeners, come up with a name, a Marvel name for Cheeto. You know, I like to say his name, but for Trump. And and message us with that. We'll choose the best name.
Terry Dyer:I like that.
Rev. Skip:A villain. I like that. It has to be a billing name, though.
Terry Dyer:Yes. Yes.
Rev. Skip:We are so digressive. We are so digressive. But but this is the experience that I believe that we need to understand. We're going to heighten experience of separation. And when we see it on the outside, we are absolutely feeling it inside.
Rev. Skip:There must be the space of healing.
Terry Dyer:I agree. I agree. I don't think we as as people, as a society, do a good job of of expressing what healing looks like, period. Right? Yeah.
Terry Dyer:I love the fact and we've talked about this before. I love the fact that there are athletes and actors and actresses that have done a great job in the past year or 2 years talking about mental health and mental health awareness and and bringing using their platforms to encourage folks to take a step back and and and put their mental health first. But where is the conversation about self care and self love? Like, we're not necessarily talking about that just yet.
Rev. Skip:Yeah. If he wins, I ain't going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere if he wins because our work is even more important. We have to drop into the work that is required if if he wins or Kamala wins. There's still work to be done.
Rev. Skip:And I believe that that is the thing that we we need to realize that there's still work to be done if Kamala wins. We have to keep her hold her to her promises.
Terry Dyer:100%. It goes both ways. We can't just because we are for her and things like that, you know, we want her to come in and do the job that she says that she's going to do. And if she doesn't, then, you know, we have to hold her accountable. Like, if the same would be for that person, the same would be the the same for him too.
Terry Dyer:So it goes it goes both ways.
Rev. Skip:So we're gonna take a break right here. When we come back, we're gonna give you some ideas of self care and how you can take care of yourself post this reelection, and we're claiming, comma, comma, madam madam president, comma. So stay tuned. Come back. We'll see you in a moment.
Rev. Skip:Hey, y'all. Welcome back. Grits and glitter. We are everything in election. Grits and glitter.
Rev. Skip:I wanna give you some ideas of how to take care of yourself post this election vibe. Couple of things that I've written down for for for y'all to really think about after this election no matter what. Number 1, we have to create a support network. I believe that it's something that we did not do. And what I mean by that is find your people, find your tribe, because I believe that there is energy and a vibration in knowing that we're not alone in how we're feeling.
Rev. Skip:So finding your tribe, create your support network, very, very important stuff.
Terry Dyer:But I will say too, just to add to that, find your political tribe. Right? Because it's one thing to find the tribe that you have things in common with that are sports or pop culture or game nights and things like that. It's one thing to find that tribe, but that might not be the same tribe that supports your political views or your political perspectives. Right?
Terry Dyer:So it's I think it's important to be surrounded by, folks that are gonna share the same sentiment. If she loses, he wins and and and vice versa.
Rev. Skip:You know, we do have, some they're called log cabin, Democrats or they're l no. No. No. They're not. They're log cabin Republicans.
Rev. Skip:Thank you. Thank you, Denise. Well and and it they're really big here in California. There's a huge movement of LGBTQA plus that are Republicans that are voting. I know a couple of them, and I've had a conversation with them.
Rev. Skip:And I said, why are you voting for Trump? Oh, I'm voting because my pocketbook is safer with Trump. Yep. So
Terry Dyer:That's usually the answer that we get from everyone. Right? I've done the same thing. I have people from my childhood that, you know, helped raise me at 15, 16 years old posting, I'm not with her or, you know, blah blah blah. And then I will ask them, well, what's your reasons for voting for, oh, it's it's money.
Terry Dyer:Oh, it's oh, she's this. She's that. But you're still not giving me the reasons that you would vote for him. Right? But then I've also heard from other people, he helps the rich remain rich.
Terry Dyer:Though that's his focus.
Rev. Skip:So when we look at Biden, we look at the Harris, we look at what it was all about. There was more money for those in small businesses. Now for the 1% and those who have that tax bracket, of course, they're gonna vote for Trump because they're protecting that. But what about for the rest of us? And I think that's an important thing to bring to to the fact.
Rev. Skip:There is money and there is a plan to support small businesses. There's a plan to support those who are starting a business for sure. This is something that's very, very important. The lie of there were more people employed under Trump, especially black folks. He I remember him saying the other day and he say, I did more for black people than comma ever had.
Rev. Skip:I'm going, are you kidding me? Are you for real? But the unemployment rate, it's been low for for for us and for everyone across the board. There are more jobs created under by for under Biden and Harris, and she's gonna continue on that legacy
Terry Dyer:do that.
Rev. Skip:When she wins.
Terry Dyer:100%. I agree with that. You know, all I think about is that meme, where Candy Burrows is saying, the lies. The lies. The lies.
Terry Dyer:The lies. Everything that comes out of this man's mouth is a 100% lie. Project 25, 2025. Oh, that's not mine. I didn't write that.
Terry Dyer:I'm not supporting that. Like, everything that comes out of that man's mouth is a lie. So I think we have to really start to embrace the fact. Right? We're not gonna manifest it, but we need to start embracing the fact that this man just might win.
Rev. Skip:I love well, I love what Michelle Obama said. Yeah. You know, someone needs to tell him that the presidency is a black job. He's trying to get black jobs black jobs. So here's here's one I really believe in as someone who does Reiki and energy healing and all that.
Rev. Skip:After this election and even leading up to this election, we gotta be able to get a massage, self care. And it's okay to detox away from social media because I'm working on social media for for for the Harris campaign, and I post, I need to take a detox after this is done because social media I don't even like social media as and people go, well, you're always on there every. I'm on it because of work. Social media
Terry Dyer:didn't say that y'all. He didn't say that y'all. He loves y'all on social media. He loves y'all. I didn't say the people.
Rev. Skip:I said social media.
Terry Dyer:What he said.
Rev. Skip:Because it's it's it's tough. It's it's social media. It's it's it's work. But, I truly believe that a detox from social media is really important after this. What do you think about self care?
Terry Dyer:I mean, I I'm a huge advocate for it. And as you know me very, very well, a lot of the listeners will know me very, very well. You can't show my status. At self care. I am 100 and not the best at self care.
Terry Dyer:I know. It's been a couple of months, about 4 or 5 months actually since I've had a massage. I haven't had a massage since my concert in San Francisco in February. That was the last time that's the last time I had a massage. I know.
Rev. Skip:That's not right.
Terry Dyer:And I used to get them all the time. Like, once every 6 to 8 weeks, I was getting them. I just you know, life catches up, and you know me. I'm I'm hustling. I'm bustling.
Terry Dyer:I'm gym. I'm sports. You know? So but I believe a, you know, self care, it heals the spirit. It heals the body.
Terry Dyer:It it allows for more breath and blood flow through the body. So it's incredibly important. And I think with all of the negativity that's happening with this campaign, and in our culture and society right now, like, we will 100% need a detox, once the election is is over.
Rev. Skip:So I don't know about you, but when I don't mind saying his name because they need to know. When Trump won, there were more consumption of alcohol ever. Of course.
Terry Dyer:I wish I had it. Let's ask him now.
Rev. Skip:He knows a lot of drinking with junk blood, Blood, and that ain't self care. Although, you know, a cocktail you know, I love a good cocktail, but it was excessive drinking. And we came out of you know, when we were still in the in the pandemic, still dealing with it because there was a lot of drinking in the pandemic. Then Trump won, and it was or or actually Trump won the pandemic. All that was gonna after when Biden won, finally, I went, okay.
Rev. Skip:I need to do a detox from alcohol. So I didn't drink for a good 6, 7, 8 months. I didn't drink once he won because I realized, oh, I came from the pandemic drinking. Trump had won and all that, and my excess alcohol was off the chart. I went, okay.
Rev. Skip:That's not self care. So I did a detox from alcohol. I did a detox actually in my eating. I actually when Biden won, I actually went vegetarian, vegan, and it was the most important thing I could do for my body temple. Because I know I was eating and eating and eating.
Rev. Skip:You know? I was eating.
Terry Dyer:I cannot empathize with that with you. I'm sorry. Usually, I can empathize, but you on your own with that.
Rev. Skip:Oh my god. So okay. So let me ask you a question. Where do you get your news media? Where do you where do you stay informed?
Rev. Skip:Because that's one of the things that we wanna tell people. CNN, I I'm I'm MSNBC. I love it. But I I'm doing I'm trying to get into a place where I can get more neutral and energy. We have to stay informed because what happens is that we drop in and we go, okay.
Rev. Skip:I'm gonna put my thing in. Stop following what's happening politically. We have to stay informed. We have to stay informed.
Terry Dyer:Absolutely. I agree.
Rev. Skip:So so what where else? Are any other places that you're gonna stay informed?
Terry Dyer:I mean, I don't do my news from social media. That to me is, like, the worst idea, you know, because things are so fabricated and, you know, people are just saying things and and creating things I've found too. Right? They're just making up stuff on Twitter and things like that. So those are not, in my opinion, the best places to get them.
Terry Dyer:But for me, it's it's also some of the you know, you mentioned in our last, episode, you talked about The View and loving The View and things like that. So I think some of those are good reason because they're fact checking. Right? Like and you're on national international television. Right?
Terry Dyer:Like, you they've got to have the facts. So I I follow some of that type of stuff in order to stay well informed. But for me, it is hands down. And I think, again, I've said this before. I've watched so much CNN in the last 4 or 5 months that I've watched in my entire life.
Terry Dyer:So, it's been kinda cool, I will say. Like, as somebody who does not consider themselves a political person, it has been cool to, you know, keep up with, you know, Anderson Cooper shows and all these other people that have I've I've just been exposed to a wide variety of new voices that I didn't necessarily know about. You know what I mean? So I I've been embraced that and been loving that too.
Rev. Skip:There is this new and maybe, you know, Dece will Denise will pop it into the feed, but there is this new, it's owned by the Clippers, the owner of the Clippers or the ex owner of the Clippers. It's called Fats, and I've I've been on there a couple of times where there's not too much of a slant to it. So I am in search of getting my news from a place that doesn't have too much of a slant. I think the most neutral place that I know of right now is CNN, but there is this website that you can get that has no it's not opinionated, news. So I'm gonna look for more than that.
Rev. Skip:But right now, we're gonna we're gonna actually take a break. And when we come back, we're gonna talk about how do we heal the nation. I feel like we're gonna sing, Michael Jackson's song just for 15 seconds. Heal the world. So when we come back, please That's
Terry Dyer:all we can afford. Stop that.
Rev. Skip:Stay tuned. We're gonna drop back into this in a moment. Hey, y'all. Welcome back. I need some self care.
Rev. Skip:I need some self care, T. I need some self care.
Terry Dyer:I need some love. I need some love. I need some love in. Like Someone is your favorite word, love.
Rev. Skip:I love. I love love love. I love love. So we're talking about how do we heal this planet? How do we heal this nation that feels divided and broken down?
Rev. Skip:What what can we do to bring us closer together? And I'm all about true inclusivity. We talk about this a lot. Yep. There's the word diversity, which is one thing, and there's inclusivity.
Rev. Skip:And a lot of times, you wanna talk about diversity, and you're not completing the whole conversation with inclusivity. Diversity means I'm diverse from you. I'm different from you. Inclusivity means I don't care what you think or what you believe or who you love or the color of your skin. I'm including you into this conversation with me.
Rev. Skip:I believe we must be willing to sit down with folks that don't vote the way we vote and have a conversation. And just really not I'm not here to change your mind. You're not here to change my mind, but I need to hear how you think and how you believe so I can be able to embrace you. Maybe not your activity or what you what your what your, philosophy is, but I wanna be able to go I can hang with you.
Terry Dyer:I remember taking certain classes in college. Some of them were philosophy. Some of them were critical thinking, etcetera, etcetera. And some of the things that we would talk about in there really sort of opened my eyes to the whole thought process around inclusivity and just being exposed to different cultures, being exposed to different peoples different people. I don't always wanna say or think that my thought process or my ideologies are the right ones.
Terry Dyer:I wanna be exposed to others so I can be well informed in order to make a decision on what I think and how I'm gonna move and navigate this this crazy thing that we call life. Right? Mhmm. And and have my own perspectives. Like, I I like hearing, you know, folks that have different opinions from mine.
Terry Dyer:Sometimes it might change my opinion. Right? I don't know that. How do I how do I know if my opinion or my perspective is right unless I hear a difference of opinion and then make an informed educated decision. Right?
Terry Dyer:So I think we, in my opinion, we've gotten away from that in our society. Right? Like, we don't like to necessarily hear different perspectives and from different frames of references, different cultures. We deal with things differently in different cultures. Right?
Terry Dyer:So Yeah. I've always like I have found that, you know, the 30 years, you know, starting in college of my life, like, I've past 30 years of my life, I have gotten to a space where I like understanding and hearing from different frames of references and different experiences in order to figure out what my thought process is and how my perspective is going to deal with whatever the situation or the issue frames of references and different experiences. And why not learn from that? You may not agree with it, but understand it and respect that they are going to have a difference of opinion in you. Doesn't mean you're right.
Terry Dyer:Doesn't mean they're right. It just means that there is a difference of opinion, and you can still coexist. You can still cohabitate. You can still be neighbors and work on the PTA together. You can all of that is still possible if you just understand that there still needs to be a level of respect.
Rev. Skip:And and part of it too is understanding and as you as an activist and me as a minister, we are in the public eye and people will come up to all the time and saying, no. I don't I I can't get down with that. Fine. Especially in ministry and in activism, we find, you know, we're on the protest line. We're here.
Rev. Skip:Boom. We're surrounded. A lot of times in churches, there's a lot of people that don't believe how I'm openly gay in the pulpit, and people have come up to me going, yeah. You're you're openly gay. How does that work with god?
Rev. Skip:It works just fine. How do you being straight work
Terry Dyer:with god?
Rev. Skip:It works just fine. But that's my reactionary experience. But I wanna be able to say, listen. Let's embrace this conversation. What is your fear?
Rev. Skip:And we can talk about my fear. Because it is a reactionary experience of your fear, so I'm gonna be in fear of you. You know, fear begets more fear. Hate begets more hate. Love begets more love, but we need to have a willingness.
Rev. Skip:I'm gonna use that word willingness to come together and experience this life together.
Terry Dyer:Absolutely. I think at the end of the day, we have to understand that we're not going anywhere. Right? We're all we have no choice but to coexist in this space together. We can't put brown people on an island by themselves.
Terry Dyer:We can't put women on an island by them. Like, it doesn't work that way. So Yeah. We have been placed on this planet in this earth to coexist together. Figure out how to do that.
Terry Dyer:Figure out what that looks like, and then we will create a better living space for everybody here except since you go back to a different planet. We can send him on a
Rev. Skip:rocket ship somewhere.
Terry Dyer:We could do that. I give us permission to do that.
Rev. Skip:In in my notes, it says here because I did a whole list. I have 10 different things. One of the things that came up in the research, it said prepared for a protest. Either way, whoever wins, there will be a protest. And and how do we prepare you being more activists out there?
Rev. Skip:How do because I I, you know, I believe, you know, when black lives matter jumped off, I was out there in the streets, and that was fine. I don't think activism in that form of a protest is where I'm gonna drop in no matter what. How do you prepare people who are wanting to get to the streets? What what do you what are you saying to people? Because you're more of the activist than I am.
Rev. Skip:What are you saying to people to prepare for a protest or to prepare for a protest that might be against the winner that you might want? What can you say to that?
Terry Dyer:Totally. Great question. I would say, 1st and foremost, let me say or remind you. If you remember, there was a young gentleman in our San Francisco event, our town hall, that was not going back and forth, but they were having a little bit of a a dialogue, from a younger generation person to an older generation person. The older generation person didn't see that the younger generation was taking the baton.
Terry Dyer:Right? You're not you're not fighting the good fight like we fought. Right? And the the younger generation person was like, yes, I am. My fight is not your fight and and it doesn't look the same.
Terry Dyer:You were fighting in the streets of Selma. You were fighting out that we don't we do not protest like that anymore. We protest in a on social media. That's their world now. So I think to to kinda wrap your question quickly is I think it's really gonna be about, one, all protests need to remain violent free.
Terry Dyer:Like, no, please, please, we don't need any more of that. We have enough as it is. We don't need any more violence in our street and senseless killings. We don't need any. Don't be breaking stuff now, people.
Terry Dyer:We don't need to be breaking stuff and keep the small businesses and the looting and all. We won't need any of that. Yeah. What we need are loud voices with major platforms. Right?
Terry Dyer:That's those are because people listen to those are influential folks. They have a platform. They have a reach. We need those folks standing up, and that's a level of protest. So for me, that's the best way to be protesting.
Terry Dyer:And and you got right to congress, right to people. Right? Like, you've gotta do the work on the back end of things. Right? That's incredibly important as well.
Rev. Skip:And, also, too, I think it's very, very important as we're wrapping up the segment to understand too. When Kamala wins, because I'm claiming I'm claiming I'm claiming. When she wins Yeah.
Terry Dyer:Heard it here first.
Rev. Skip:Has to you heard it here first. There has to also be there are things that I don't agree with. There are things that I'd I'd and this is a whole another show, but I I'm gonna say this really quickly. Last year, this time, the Noah Festival was happening in in in in in Israel. And there were brothers and sisters that just wanted to dance for love and just dance and be at a festival.
Rev. Skip:The same time that was happening, I was in a festival in Malta. I was in a festival in Malta and a dance festival. We're we're going is this happening while we're here dancing for the sake of love and unity and festivals? And I say this to say this. It reminds me, I do not agree with the 200,000 people more that have died in in in Palestinians that have died.
Rev. Skip:There has to be a voice that's saying, this is not right. Listen. This is a whole another show, But we there are things that are happening there even that that she might win, but we might just still need to oh, child. I can't even get my words out. But we still need to say what is right, what is not.
Rev. Skip:And we need to wrap up this segment, but, oh, this is another show.
Terry Dyer:Breathe, girl. Breathe.
Rev. Skip:This is another show. I wanna I can we do that? I think we can.
Terry Dyer:We can. We can. But let's get into Okay. Who's making a difference, who's making a difference in in one of our our, last segments here. So for me, in our last episode, I highlighted Mayfair Medical as who is making a difference.
Terry Dyer:I wanna report that they are truly, truly, truly killing the health care game, and I'm super impressed and super proud to know, the founders of that organization as they build and grow here in South Florida and, as I mentioned, in, and in Atlanta, Georgia. I also wanna highlight one of their equally amazing partners in XRX Pharmacy, which also recently opened here in Broward County. Adherence to medication is it's such a problem in our community, whether gay, straight, black, white, none of that matters. But adherence to medication is such a huge problem in our communities, and both of these entities, work collaboratively to ensure all patients are followed up with meeting the patients where they are, which is so incredibly important, and breaking barriers for them to receiving the necessary care, that that they need. The CEO of XRx Pharmacy is, Greg Beltran, who really pushes the envelope for the future of health care.
Terry Dyer:So kudos to him and his fantastic team. I'm so incredibly proud to to have you guys in Broward County and to really be be doing a dang thing, for our community here. So that's who's making a difference for me.
Rev. Skip:So I wanna bring in 2, nonpartisan groups. 1 is vote.org, where you can go and get information on getting your vote, getting it out there because it's not too late. You still gotta register to vote y'all. You gotta register. So at vote.org, you're able to find out what is the state's, requirements for voting and who can register to vote.
Rev. Skip:If you know someone who's not registered to vote, you gotta share that information. You gotta go to vote dot org and find out how you can make a difference in the state you live in because we are national. People are listening to this podcast national. Another one is an old I I remember rock the boat? They're still rocking the votes.
Rev. Skip:They're still out there rocking the vote. That's another place where you can find out how to register the vote because your voice matters. So you can go to rock the vote dot org and vote dot org, get information. The last thing I wanna say is we're gonna make a difference here because we want you to be prepared election day. You gotta get a plan to vote y'all on election day.
Rev. Skip:This is gonna come out right before we drop election, right before, November 5th. It's going to drop right before that. Get an election plan. What happens if you're sick? What happens if if there is a hurricane?
Rev. Skip:What happens if if if if if there is, god forbid, in California an earthquake? What is your secondary plan for getting your vote there? Now I wanna say I am so grateful because I've already voted. K. I have already voted by mail.
Rev. Skip:It's in. K. So if you have the opportunity, some people get it in the mail and they go on, they throw it in the go get that ballot, get it into the mail, get voting now, and have your secondary plan. Here's the other thing. Make a difference.
Rev. Skip:If you have an someone who's a senior next door or someone who might not have transportation, offer up a ride. Yo. Big mama. I'm going to the to the ballots. You wanna come with me and everyone has a big mama in there.
Rev. Skip:Well Okay. In their family, most of us. Anyway, you would ask missus Jones, you need to arrive. I wanna take you and make sure you are you registered? This is how we're gonna win this.
Rev. Skip:This is how we're gonna do this. So we gotta get a plan to vote. Y'all, we gotta get a plan to vote.
Terry Dyer:We need to do this collectively. This is a way Who'd
Rev. Skip:you vote for? You already voted. Who'd you vote for?
Terry Dyer:Is that rhetorical? What? Is that rhetorical? Is she joking? Did y'all hear that?
Rev. Skip:She's out for.
Terry Dyer:You know who
Rev. Skip:I'm out for,
Terry Dyer:John. Like
Rev. Skip:I do know. I do know. We'll get your plan together, y'all, and then make sure you follow us on social social media. Yeah. You know, Terry, I'm gonna make a commitment right now with you.
Rev. Skip:We're gonna get more involved in our social media
Terry Dyer:We do.
Rev. Skip:For ritz and glitter the pod because we are on Instagram and Facebook.
Terry Dyer:If anybody wants to come on board and be a little intern or be a
Rev. Skip:We're looking for an intern. Board. If you got some We're looking for an intern.
Terry Dyer:You wanna volunteer, you listen. We need some some even bigger presence. We've got it. We've got following, but we need to get our the grits and glitter out into the social media land. So
Rev. Skip:Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Come on board.
Rev. Skip:Come on board. Again, what amazing, amazing episode, and I'm inspired. I'm I think I've already voted, and it's it's it's happening, but I'm gonna make sure that everyone else votes. And I'm gonna drop a little bit more social media in there to, you know, to get people active.
Terry Dyer:I agree. I agree. We've got just a few more weeks or a couple more weeks when this episode goes.
Rev. Skip:In the countdown for reals. Yeah. For real. It makes sense. Say
Terry Dyer:Do do something fun with your friends to go vote. Turn it into a an afternoon or something. Right? Life is supposed to be fun. There's all the stress, child.
Rev. Skip:Just make it a party. Make a voting party. I love it. I love it. Have that kind, honey.
Rev. Skip:Hey, everyone. Please be kind. Why, Terry?
Terry Dyer:Because it's free.
Rev. Skip:I love when you do that. Hey, y'all. Peace and blessings. We'll see you next episode. Peace.
Terry Dyer:See y'all soon. Peace.
