David Idemudia and Malcolm McFadden co-host the welcome and orientation segment for the fifth annual Speak Your Truth! event, reflecting on the event’s growth from a one-time fundraiser into a meaningful annual tradition, acknowledging both in-person and at-home audiences, and orienting attendees to the evening’s fundraising activities, vendor tables, interactive art canvases, and the ArtFarm donation initiative.
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Transcript
[00:55:14] Thank you.
[00:55:17] Thank you, Mom and Mike.
[00:55:18] Check, check.
[00:55:22] What’s up, David?
[00:55:25] What’s up, Malcolm?
[00:55:26] I was in the middle of soaking it all in
[00:55:29] because this is…
[00:55:31] This is five years that we’ve been doing this.
[00:55:33] And like Tyler said, after the first year,
[00:55:42] this was kind of supposed to be like a fundraiser thing.
[00:55:44] And then people were like, we want more.
[00:55:47] What are we going to do?
[00:55:47] We should do it next week.
[00:55:48] I’m like, next week?
[00:55:49] Hold on, hold on, hold on.
[00:55:51] We can’t.
[00:55:51] Next week?
[00:55:52] Next year.
[00:55:54] And so year after year, it’s become something that I…
[00:55:58] I don’t even know how to really put it,
[00:56:00] because I’m standing on stage in front of you speaking,
[00:56:04] and you guys are like, oh, he’s so cool.
[00:56:06] He’s so confident.
[00:56:07] But standing up here scares the hell out of me sometimes, right?
[00:56:12] Like Tyler said, I don’t know what to say.
[00:56:15] But I don’t leave it to what I need to say.
[00:56:19] It’s the stories, the words from everyone out there
[00:56:24] that comes up and speaks their truth.
[00:56:27] That’s where the real power is.
[00:56:29] And so every year when I’m like,
[00:56:30] should I do it, should I do it, should I do it, let me do it.
[00:56:35] And it’s like one of the most gratifying things
[00:56:38] that I’ve ever felt in my life.
[00:56:41] It tells me that this is my purpose.
[00:56:44] And so I appreciate everyone who comes up here tonight,
[00:56:48] because to speak your truth, to speak your heart of heart,
[00:56:53] it takes a lot.
[00:56:55] And just before we begin, I just want to say thank you
[00:56:59] for coming out.
[00:57:01] Yes, give it up for yourselves for coming out to this event.
[00:57:04] Thank y’all for coming.
[00:57:08] Oh, and we can’t forgive our people at home.
[00:57:11] Can’t forgive our people at home.
[00:57:12] Yes.
[00:57:13] Everybody at home, thank y’all for watching from home.
[00:57:16] You should be here, but we’re not going to talk about that right now.
[00:57:19] We’re just going to leave that alone.
[00:57:20] We’re just going to leave that alone.
[00:57:22] I mean, they tuned in, though.
[00:57:23] They tuned in, yeah.
[00:57:24] They did, they did.
[00:57:26] They typed in the YouTube, and they got it.
[00:57:28] They didn’t type it in.
[00:57:28] They didn’t type it in.
[00:57:29] They clicked it, and then it came up.
[00:57:31] I’m trying to give them credit here, Mom.
[00:57:32] I don’t know.
[00:57:33] It’s not too much credit.
[00:57:33] You click, and it come up.
[00:57:36] All right, all right, all right.
[00:57:38] We’re listening.
[00:57:39] Leave back.
[00:57:40] They at home right now.
[00:57:40] We don’t want to stay at their home in bed, chilling.
[00:57:44] Okay, you’re making me jealous right now.
[00:57:46] I am jealous.
[00:57:47] I am jealous.
[00:57:49] They chilling at home, you know, just relaxing.
[00:57:52] They playing some music in the background.
[00:57:54] Got them a glass of wine.
[00:57:55] Multi-tabs going right now.
[00:57:56] Multi-tabs going on.
[00:57:58] All right, all right.
[00:57:59] Yeah, yeah, but thank y’all for joining us at home anyway.
[00:58:02] Thank y’all.
[00:58:05] But also, you guys, while you’re here, so this is kind of like a fundraiser.
[00:58:10] We’re trying to raise money for mental illness, right?
[00:58:13] So along this whole wall over here, y’all see that on the, y’all right side, my left side?
[00:58:19] It’s a whole bunch of dope items all donated for this event.
[00:58:23] So let’s give a shout-out to everybody that donated something.
[00:58:26] Let’s give a shout-out to them.
[00:58:29] Also, the dope art in the background, in the back behind everybody.
[00:58:36] There’s also dope art back there.
[00:58:38] Please support that.
[00:58:39] By Laura Bear.
[00:58:41] Laura Bear.
[00:58:41] Yep, and then we got the BTF boys up in the front.
[00:58:44] Yes.
[00:58:44] Some really, really dope items, too.
[00:58:46] Yep, and the girl with the cocoa butter.
[00:58:48] Yes.
[00:58:49] Yes.
[00:58:49] That’s Brenda right there.
[00:58:51] Brenda, yeah, Brenda with the cocoa butter.
[00:58:54] I’m going to go get me some cocoa butter after this.
[00:58:56] Yes.
[00:58:57] Yes.
[00:58:57] I got one of those soaps.
[00:58:58] That soap smelled so good.
[00:59:00] I was like, okay, $16?
[00:59:02] All right, worth it.
[00:59:03] Okay.
[00:59:04] You ready to go home and take two showers, huh?
[00:59:06] Three.
[00:59:07] Three?
[00:59:07] Because I’m about to get sweaty.
[00:59:08] I’m just saying.
[00:59:09] Just saying.
[00:59:11] But thank you, guys.
[00:59:14] Welcome, and take the time to know these people.
[00:59:19] Know these artists.
[00:59:20] Their artwork speaks for themselves.
[00:59:22] Like, kill the artwork here, truthfully.
[00:59:25] What I ended up in doing back there, that corner over there,
[00:59:28] right there, right there, there are three canvases in which there are words on there
[00:59:34] that you could write to add a message.
[00:59:38] So, one of which says hope.
[00:59:40] You can write a message of hope.
[00:59:42] The second says COVID-19.
[00:59:44] If you have any words for COVID-19, you can write them there.
[00:59:48] And Tyler said you could cuss.
[00:59:50] Tyler said.
[00:59:51] Tyler said.
[00:59:52] If you got a message for COVID that you really want to get out there, write it on there.
[00:59:57] Tyler said everything.
[00:59:58] Anything goes.
[00:59:59] Anything.
[01:00:00] Yes.
[01:00:00] He said that.
[01:00:02] That guy.
[01:00:04] All right.
[01:00:04] And then the last one is speak your truth 2021.
[01:00:08] So, if you have a message for us, if you have a message for what you felt this night, it’s
[01:00:15] appreciated if you write that message down, and we’re going to donate it to the art farm
[01:00:21] to show that we were here.
[01:00:24] That’s what’s up.
[01:00:26] I know.
[01:00:27] It was a last minute thing.
[01:00:28] Nobody knew about it.
[01:00:30] Meaning you just made it up just now.
[01:00:32] Literally.
[01:00:33] Literally.
[01:00:34] Walking in the door.
[01:00:38] Patrick.
[01:00:40] So, you all hiding over here with the list.
[01:00:45] Okay.
[01:00:46] All right.
[01:00:47] So, we are introducing a Julie Larkins.
[01:00:51] Yay.
[01:00:52] Yay.
[01:00:54] Yay.
[01:00:55] Yay.
[01:00:58] Yay.