Tyrone Hall Interview, July 27, 2019

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:00:05.040 --> 00:04:02.430 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Tyrone Hall on July 27, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Tyrone Hall discusses his work with the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens. SUBJECTS: Late Skate in Anacostia Park; Anacostia Park (Washington, D.C.); Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative; National Park Service -- Anacostia Park; National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens; Activism, criminal justice; Activism, juvenile justice; Activists, formerly incarcerated; Council for Court Excellence (CCE); Criminal justice activism; District Task Force on Jails & Justice; Juvenile justice; Juvenile Justice Advocacy Group; Open City Advocates (formerly Mentoring Today); Incarceration

Tonight is July 27, 2019. We're at Anacostia Park at Late Skate. Okay, do I have permission to record this interview?

Yes sir.

Would you mind telling me your name?

My name is Tyrone Hall.

And what brings you to the park tonight?

My work for the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens. We are organization and community-based to help and return to citizens in the juvenile justice system and adult system that returned at home with services that give them a better outlook on life than they had before. We provide services like mentoring and a mentor, peer-to-peer specialists. We have a Ready for Work program. Four cohorts have already graduated out of the program. Basically like project empowerment. We also provide services helping individuals get interview clothes, in case they do get interviews. We also help them get into trade school...get higher education basically.

Who are you hoping to reach today with your message?

Anybody who takes my message and can hopefully use it in their everyday life. I don't really have a specific audience. I grew up in the trenches. I really ain't have no role model. I was in and out of jail since the age of twelve. The longest I did was 30 months. That was back in 2015. And I came home 2017 and crashed out. I ended up catching 5 months over a charge I didn't do. From there, I just came back home eight months ago. Since then, I've been with the National Reentry Network. That's where I started at. I'm also with the Council for Court Excellence, CCE. I'm on the District Task Force on Jails & Justice. They're advocating for either renovating the jail or make a whole other jail. And I'm on the Juvenile Justice Advocacy Group, as well. So, I came home with the mindset that if I didn't get it this time, it probably would never happen. I lost my mom last year, August 1, while I was incarcerated. That's what really made me change my life around.

What brought you to this particular organization?

I'm with Open City Advocates (formerly Mentoring Today) as well, but I've been with them. I've been a mentee. When I came home this time, I upgraded to a mentor. Now I'm the spokesperson for Open City Advocates. They're the ones who directed me to the National Reentry Network. I started off in the Ready for Work program. And then I graduated and they gave me a position in the organization, because how great i did.

And tonight, what do you guys hope your group can accomplish?

Right now, they have a Late Skate. So we're hoping to continue this. We want to continue providing services like this, for not only returning citizens, but the youth that's out here. As you can see, youths have been getting killed this year. I feel like if we provide better programs and services and activities like this for the kids, that it wouldn't be a problem. We wouldn't have to worry about this.

Yeah, so you guys Is this your first time here?

What, at this park? No, I had family reunions at this park. I had other events at this park.

Is this your first time skating at this park?

Yes, this is my first time skating at this park, though.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:04:20.370 --> 00:08:24.330 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Tyrone Hall on July 27, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Tyrone Hall discusses Go-Go and its influence. SUBJECTS: Anacostia Park (Washington, D.C.); Go-go; Don't Mute D.C. movement; Gentrification; Anti-gentrification

And you were telling me a bit about your experience with Go-Go music. From what I understand, this park is is a bit of an epicenter for Go-Go. But you have your own story...

I don't really have a Go-Go story because I'm more of a rap artist. I go by the artist name of Radio. AMR is my organization and I'm trying to put together Academic Music Resources. But I do have a story about the Go-Go... that Don't Mute D.C. movement. They resist. I grown up in a T-Mobile Store, for real. I've been living in that community for 27 years. The owner of the store, Don, he would tell you like I used to come in there, still comes in to this day, when the neighborhood tried to take go-go away from that store... that's all that store plays is go-go. They don't play no rap music. Nothing else. it playing Go-Go since I've been born. When I seen that happen, it made me feel lost. It made me feel like we have no hope. Especially if it had went through. But once I seen how many people rallied around it. It gave me a new set of lights, like we still got something here. I believe Go-Go is significant. I went down in Atlanta for like three days. I met a dude, right. He asked me do I know BYB is. I thought he was playing. He said no, Backyard Band. I said how you know about Backyard.....? Sing me a Backyard song. He really sing... "nothing feels good if I'm not with you..." I felt like tipping my glasses to homie and I didn't believe it would reach that even though Atlanta is not that far, but that's still far from DC, the DMV area where originated from.

So you said all of your expience is through rap music. Has your work been inspired at all by Go-Go?

Yes. I feel like it's all creative. Go- Go music, for the most part is an original song that's already played. They just make it into a Go- Go song. They just like remix it basically. And put their own spin into it. So it definitely synchronize with rap music all types of music, pop, r&b, country all types of music.

So what do you think, a place like this, where you got outdoor space--a park--where you listen to music, periodically having to live Go- Go bands. Is this is something special?

It's something special when you have two races coming together enjoying the good time. Gentrification is a big topic in the city right now. They're moving the long DC residents that's been here out into Maryland and Virginia and bringing out of towners from California, New York, Florida to obtain jobs that should be for DC residents. I feel like when I see events like this, it's special. And I feel like you need to be continuous for the love and the bond to come together between the white and the black community.

INDEXED CLIP TIME: 00:08:26.010 --> 00:09:25.380 SEGMENT SYNOPSIS: Dan Kerr interviews Tyrone Hall on July 27, 2019 during Late Skate at Anacostia Park. In this clip, Tyrone Hall discusses Anacostia Park in the future. SUBJECTS: Anacostia Park (Washington, D.C.)

And in your vision, you're seeing this park, where would you like to see this place in maybe 10 years?

I would like to see honestly how it is right now. You see how lit it is how alive it is. I would like to see this from 10 years from now, but a better structure though I need this fixed up. The grass is a bad look at the basketball court. Those need to be fixed up. This skating rink needs to be fixed. This is cool right now, you know, I'm saying, you got to start with small stuff. Bringing everybody together is small, but it's monumental to me. It's going to end up big you know, I feel like I believe in 10 years... it's gonna be great. DC is gonna be the place to come to.

Now, is there anything else you'd like to leave us with today?

I'm gonna tell you this. I came home eight months ago. My first two months home, I thought I was going to regress back to my old ways because of the pressure and the things that was coming towards me. I turned to God and now also changed my ways, my ways of thinking. Once I did that, opportunities open the door for me. I have three jobs. I've been on two board committees. I've been on national TV. I've been in a newspaper. I have a music program that I'm starting to work out through the government helping me out. Things like that wouldn't been possible without God without faith in yourself. If somebody is not giving you energy and telling you the right thing to do. They always say, Oh, that's bad, and I don't feed all of them. I don't see it. I feel like you make your plan and you stick to it. And watch. You will blossom. Trust me.

Thank you for participating.

Thank you.