David Idemudia delivers closing reflections sharing his own experiences with racial trauma and emotional vulnerability, before affirming to the audience that they are not alone and inviting collective gratitude and a closing meditation to decompress.

Watch on YouTube at 03:59:19

Transcript

[03:59:19] so

[03:59:20] every year sorry this

[03:59:31] sometimes you gotta cry crime is like taking your soul to the laundry man

[03:59:36] sometimes you need a good rinse and I’ll tell you as a behavioral health

[03:59:40] therapist myself days ago I was laying in on my couch crying my ass off because

[03:59:47] of all the pain that I’ve endured in the past year that I’ve endured as a Miami

[03:59:50] and all the pain that i’ve endured in my entire life is not easy being black it is not

[03:59:57] easy if you think it is you are dead wrong right being near a police officer triggers me

[04:00:05] i’m doing nothing wrong i am according to many people the whitest black person you will ever see

[04:00:10] right but for me i’m shaken to my core and that’s just one of the tricks i’ve been a survivor of

[04:00:21] racism my house was destroyed by racists i go after i graduate with my master’s degree

[04:00:28] to a shoppers to get some food and then i’m accused of stealing

[04:00:34] what does that make me feel when i felt so accomplished that i actually did something

[04:00:40] though

[04:00:40] this goes on but i cried because i needed to release i cried because i’m human i’m i cried

[04:00:48] because like you said malcolm you’re strong there’s nothing wrong with crime

[04:00:56] not for men not for a woman not for anybody

[04:01:02] and if you ever need to talk to someone you have people i know it’s hard

[04:01:10] especially

[04:01:10] when you are feeling down and depressed,

[04:01:13] you feel like there’s no point,

[04:01:14] you feel like you’re gonna be rejected,

[04:01:16] but that’s not the case, we welcome you.

[04:01:20] Tyler, psychologist, your brother right here,

[04:01:25] social worker and therapist, we got your back.

[04:01:31] We’re in this together and I want everybody to know

[04:01:34] you are not alone, not in this fight.

[04:01:40] Thank you.

[04:01:49] So if anyone, first time here at Speak Your Truth event,

[04:01:56] if it’s your first time, raise your hand please.

[04:02:00] Okay, I love the newcomers.

[04:02:05] Raise your hand if you felt moved tonight.

[04:02:10] That’s why we do it, that is why we do it every year.

[04:02:17] This is what gives me hope, gratification,

[04:02:22] is that we together can speak our truth

[04:02:27] and know that we are not alone.

[04:02:31] So I wanna thank everybody who’s come up here.

[04:02:35] We’re going to do our best to wind down

[04:02:38] with some meditation, right?

[04:02:40] I just wanna make sure, it’s been a rough night,

[04:02:45] a great night, hard stories, powerful statements,

[04:02:53] but we’re here.

[04:02:56] So without further ado, let’s decompress.

Connections