Barrington Martin shares his philosophy about love, unity, and changes he would like to see in politics. Martin was the last person to run against the late Congressman John Lewis in the 5th district of Georgia.
Transcript:
Angela (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the deepening place. It is my honor to have Barrington Martin as my guest today. Barrington. Hello?
Barrington (00:08):
Hey Angela. How are you? I’m so happy to be here. So excited to be speaking with you this evening.
Angela (00:13):
I’m so happy too, and this is one of my favorite kind of meetings because it is actually like we don’t know anything about each other. (Absolutely) so the audience kind of gets to discover as we do. The reason that I reached out to you is I started using Twitter, I think around election time. But yeah, during all that political stuff, just because people post stuff quickly and you could kind of stay up to date and somehow I ran across you and I’m really glad that I did. And I followed you. One thing that I’m always looking for is someone who thinks for themselves, and they’re not afraid to say what they believe. And I really feel like I found that in you.
Barrington (00:53):
Thank you. I appreciate that. I really do, because I think that’s important these days because you don’t see that too much. And everyone is so afraid of going against the crowd or, you know, facing some type of backlash. And that’s just not how I was raised and I have to stay true to myself. And I think that’s the very big piece of what’s missing in life. That a lot of people aren’t staying true to themselves.
Angela (01:16):
Yeah. That’s my total message right there. Before we get going. Why don’t you tell everybody who you are a little bit about yourself?
Barrington (01:23):
I’m a special needs educator here in Atlanta, Georgia. I teach sixth grade. I graduated from Georgia state university, got a political science degree, being a paralegal for most of my working career til I realized that, you know, a lot of my working career wasn’t, it was superficial. It didn’t give me any substance. And so I figured that I needed to do something that will allow me to feel at least that will be impacting my community and those around me. So last year, um, I ran for Congress. I am the officially last person to ever run against a great Congressman John Lewis, of course, he totally blew me out of the water. But with that experience, with that experience in running for Congress, I learned so much about people and about life itself. And now I think I’ve either pivoted or transition to sort of speak, wanting to be a community servant for life and just doing what I have to do and using my tools and my talents to help out everyone else.
Angela (02:21):
I love that. I found you on Instagram and I saw an ad that you ran and it had John Lewis speaking, and it’s his famous thing that he says about get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble. And your line on that was new trouble.
Barrington (02:39):
Absolutely, absolutely. Cause I, I still like we’ve, we’ve done the same thing over and over and over again. And we’ve had the same results. It’s time to like go forward towards like new ideas, new ways of thinking new ways of doing things in order for us to get the results that we’re looking for. And so that’s when I came up with the idea for, for new trouble, like we’ve seen movements in the past and we’ve we’ve, we’ve often times took some of those ways of our elders and repeat it, what they’ve done, but yet we still run into the same brick walls. We still run into the same problems. I decided that that the new phrase needed to be new trouble because it’s time for us to just really take life and take aspects of why further than we’ve had before, in order for us to deliver the future, that we all know that we deserve and that we believe in.
Angela (03:31):
I like that and, you know, you mentioned the ways of our elders. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Jordan Peterson, but he has this great, you know, the story about Pinocchio. He breaks it down. Like the new generation has to present something to the old generation and they have to work together. When you’re talking about the ways of our elders and new trouble. To me, that’s kind of like what you’re saying here I am a man. I’ve got new ideas for my generation. Give me a spot at the table.
Barrington (04:04):
Absolutely. That that’s, that’s very important. And I think that, you know, our elders are important to the future because you know, they know that they know the past and they lived the past and they’re supposed to be with us here for guidance, but yet we’re supposed to do the heavy lifting. But I feel like oftentimes, especially within our society, there are people within the old guard that are afraid to give up. The reins are afraid to relinquish control or the power, but in order for us all to be okay, there has to be a changing of the guard. There has to be new blood, new energy, because if not, we’re gonna remain stagnant. And I have this big, ideal that stagnancy equals death in order to live, you have to keep moving. And I think that that’s what we’re seeing. Or we have seen this in our political arena. We’ve been doing the same exact thing since 1776 and the people who deserve change or need change the most still haven’t been served. And so in order for us to serve those people, but also ensure that all of us have a promising future, we gotta do things differently.
Angela (05:09):
Well, I noticed you said something about you have new ideas and if you have your way, then politics itself will, will change in our country. (Absolutely.) What are some of the things that you would like to see? What are some of the changes you would like to see?
Barrington (05:25):
Well, first and foremost, I think that it’s time for us to diminish just this idea, excuse me, of a race. I think that we have to get past, um, this notion or this ideology that has done nothing, but divide us and separate us and allow the powers to be. And by, by that, I mean the super wealthy to continue their, their reign in controlling all of the resources, excuse me, all the capital and things like that. I think that in order for us or for us to unify, we have to take away those shallow, things that have separated us. And we have to understand in order for us to move forward and to be successful, we have to band together. Because one of the biggest things I noticed in politics is that you have people that may vote on opposite sides of the aisle, but they possess the same problems.
Barrington (06:14):
How does that work? That makes no sense if you’re a staunch Democrat and I’m a staunch Republican and all our lives, we’ve been voting this way, but yet we still possess the same problems. Then it’s time for us to start asking those necessary questions that we haven’t asked before. What are our politicians doing? How is it that you and I possess two separate political beliefs and yet still we have the same issues in regards to housing, economics and so forth? So I think that one of the first things that needs to happen of course, is that we have to eliminate this, this ideology of race. We have to eliminate the ties to political parties that we have. We have to place more emphasis on policy, more so than parties. And more than anything, we have to empower the people through education and people need to be educated on their situation better as far as where things are occurring with our community, but also people need to be educated on the issues of other people.
Barrington (07:09):
Because I feel like once we are, um, open enough, or once we understand the issues that other people are going through, it’ll allow us to see that we are more similar than different. This knowledge will allow us to broaden our perspectives, to allow us to understand that it’s never, it never has been us versus them, but these, these narratives and these stereotypes perpetuated by political parties, by the political machine itself has made us turn on each other. When he said, should we, we as the people make up this nation and the government is supposed to essentially work for us.
Angela (07:45):
I feel the same way and my saying is, meet me in the middle for a love revolution. That kind of comes from my background as a therapist and working with people, understanding even as an individual, you have to bring those two sides together, the shadow side, and the, the other side to be a healed person. It makes sense that people on the left and people on the right have to be able to meet at the table and express themselves. And that’s how we would get to know each other and realize we’re not so far apart
Barrington (08:19):
Facts. I agree wholeheartedly. And I think that I love the fact that you touch on love. And I think that’s something I do as well, because I feel like I’m a purveyor of love. Like I’m totally in love with love as an ideology, as a feeling, as in everything that encompasses it because growing up, my parents always taught me that in order for me to be able to love other people, howI had to to love myself first. And I had to really understand what that meant and growing up, it’s kind of hard to figure that out what it means, because we look at it on the shallow surface. Like we say, Oh, you got to love yourself. You gotta treat yourself well. And you take that, like, that means, you know, doing, doing things that make you feel good, but the biggest way I found love was really like looking at myself and pointing out all the flaws that I have and actually owning up to it and realizing that in order for me to totally love myself and just be a better person in the world and be a better person with other people.
Barrington (09:09):
I had to realize where I was falling short. And I think that sometimes even though it hurts, if you love yourself, the way you’re supposed to, you’re going to always own up to your flaws and understand that even in your imperfection, you could be perfect in your way. Not, not the way society wants you to be not the way anybody else wants you to be, but, but whatever tools you have, whatever, all the attributes that you have as a person, you can always better them. And I think that is a very important just for us to look inward in order to be able to make the change outward that we seek
Angela (09:42):
What you said is it’s really what I was kind of saying, embrace your shadow. You have to embrace those parts of you that are less desirable. And that’s opposite of kind of what we’re taught, you know, put your best foot forward. You know, don’t let anybody see all the Instagram posts are just the best and most beautiful, but you really took a look in the mirror and had compassion on yourself. And once you learn to love yourself, it’s going to make it possible now for you to love and have compassion on others.
Barrington (10:10):
Absolutely. That’s, that’s, that’s the only way that it can work. And I think that like a lot of the problems that we see, especially right now, especially over the last four years, is that I think people didn’t have a complete and total understanding of who they are. And this is why a lot of times, especially in politics in my mind, politics has become the new religion. People latch on to things very quickly, without truly understanding if it meets the tenants that they have set for themselves in life. And this is how you get extreme views. This is how you get this notion of the us versus them type mentality. When he essentially, we were all supposed to look around and say, okay, we might disagree, but how can we meet in the middle and figure out the best way to move forward? Because that’s, that’s what it’s about. It’s about compromise and putting forward the best or the most efficient ways to govern that produces solutions that we all can enjoy. But now it seems to me that even in my lifetime, and I’m only 32 years old, I feel like I’ve never seen, um, this nation or the people within this nation, more specifically, this openly divided among each other.
Angela (11:20):
I agree with you there. I would say the same thing in my lifetime. And I think part of it is we, we have exchanged our values for ideology and the values is something that we can, we can meet in the middle over. For example, when I was probably your age and younger, the classic liberals were the ones that would go to bat for free speech every time. It’s really concerning to me and interesting in a way to see that same party, be okay with censoring conservative accounts. And, you know, for example, taking Parler off and canceling people, because before you could always count on the left to be defenders of free speech.
Barrington (12:09):
Yes. It’s like, it’s like it’s flip flopped, and this thing that I want to bring to the forefront is that you don’t have to be a part of a faction. I ran as a Democrat in my city district five in Atlanta, because I felt that people wouldn’t understand if I ran in anything else, but I don’t feel like I’m under that umbrella of electives of a Democrat or any type of political party. Honestly, I just partake in conversations, politics of things that I feel that this just makes sense for everybody. Cause, cause I feel like both sides of the aisle have great ideas, but also both sides have horrible ideas. And why should you have to place or fit yourself into this box? When essentially we are so vast, as far as the personalities that we possess, the people we have so many layers in is it’s impossible for just simply two political parties to cover all the bases of your political ideas.
Barrington (13:06):
And who says that you have to fit in those boxes. And that’s the one of being more like, uh, I guess like one of my biggest issues with politics, because it’s like, it’s like a line is drawn in the sand and you’re forced to choose, but what if you don’t want to choose? And the things that we disagree on, let’s just come to the middle about it and just to see what is the best way to move forward. We don’t have to attack or possess these notions that, Oh, well you feel this way. And I feel this way, then you’re terrible. And you’re automatically enemy, no, this is supposed to be what, “One Nation Under God”, right? So this is one nation. We have to be United in order for us to survive. Because if we’re not, this is where you’re going to see the fabrics of our democracy being whittled away.
Angela (13:49):
I think the founding fathers had this right when they gave the power to We the People, people don’t understand what a revolutionary idea that was. The government had never shared power with people. And so for us to be so willing to give that back and let people govern us, if we, the people are divided, then that works for the politicians because then they’re able to take more of our freedoms away from us.
Barrington (14:17):
Yes. And that’s what we’ve seen like over the last two decades, maybe I would say since since 9-11, we’ve watched a lot of our civil liberties being removed under the guise of specific things, whether it’s protection or whether it is comfort or convenience. And I think that this is why I was very, very shocked. Seeing the rhetoric I saw on social media when our former president was removed from Twitter, because it sets a precedent when a social media conglomerate can silence the acting president or the sitting president. I worry about things like that. That’s what I fear when you hear or see people cheering or doing good about the sitting president being silent. They’re not taking into account that if it can happen to him, it definitely can happen to you. There may be a time where your voice may me to be heard the most, but yet, because you felt this way when the president got silenced, it can happen to you. And now that’s when, um, you know, serious tyranny can occur.
Angela (15:21):
Freedom of speech is, is such a God given special, right. That’s the whole point of that self that you mentioned earlier, we have to do that inner work so that we can get in touch with that. And then it is our duty to present that to the world. And it might not be exactly right, but when I have the opportunity to say it out loud to you, you might say, well, Angela, that doesn’t ring true with my experience. Maybe you need to adjust that a little bit. And we, you know, make adjustments in real time. If we’re allowed to talk about it, the censorship thing, I feel like that’s a one way train that just gains momentum. And it never changes direction to your point, people that are excited about it now don’t realize it’s just going to keep growing and one day your child is going to have a brilliant idea that they’re not going to be able to talk about because we set that precedent.
Barrington (16:16):
Absolutely. I can’t stop you from saying what you want to say, just because I don’t agree with it. One of the foremost tenants of our nation’s freedom to be able to say what you want to say, what do you want to say it to who you want to say? One of the greatest reasons America is what it is, is because we get to criticize our leaders without prejudice. You may not like what someone is saying, but it’s an inalienable, right? For you to be able to speak up and speak out against anything. It is God given for you to be able to say, what’s on your mind and what should we eliminate that from one person you set up a dangerous precedent in the future.
Angela (16:56):
Someone made a comment on your Twitter. Freedom of speech only applies to the government. And you said, are you serious? A lot of people who felt okay with it said, yeah, they’re a private company. They get to do what they want. And your point is, it’s a precedent that you’re setting and to celebrate that it’s dangerous territory.
Barrington (17:18):
Right? Absolutely. And I think that again, we have to be more forward-thinking as far as what’s going on within society and Twitter may be a private company, but Twitter possesses the tools to be a lot of people’s news and a lot of people’s ways to connect. And these are like real concerns that I have and that people should have just because you don’t agree with a person or you don’t like a person, or you have some type of bias against a person does not make it okay. And I think that often times people will have to move the goalposts based on their biases. And again, they don’t recognize that at some point in time, this could be, the pendulum has to swing back to you back to you. And once that pendulum swings back to you, you have to be okay with the same thing that you’re okay with, happening to someone else happening to you, and I feel like a lot of people aren’t ready for for that.
Angela (18:13):
That’s one of my rules in the middle I have to want for you what I want for myself. And that keeps us honest. If I can put myself in your shoes and I’m okay with, you know, taking your job well, how would I feel if that were me? And if I’m not okay with it happening to me, then I need to reassess.
Barrington (18:31):
One of the, I guess foundational lessons I learned from my mother is that, you know, treat people how you want to be treated and just send out the energy that you want to get back. Because like at the end of the day, if you, if you just have the, the audacity, just to, just to treat everybody the same way you want to be treated…
Angela (18:50):
What a beautiful world that would be, if we truly could learn to love each other, love your neighbor as yourself, the way I want to be loved. I love you that way. This is another thing that kind of goes to the education and the division that we’re experiencing right now. I mean, I feel like we have to mention media and I wanted to read a quote from your Twitter. It says media is so heavily biased in its reporting. Even intelligent people don’t know they’ve inherited those biases. I thought that was a pretty strong quote.
Barrington (19:25):
Oh 1000%. Absolutely. Absolutely. See, and I’ve been saying this for a long time now and um, I’m happy that you said this or are you recording me because I never get a chance to speak, um, in totality about that particular issue, what I’ve noticed or the thing I disliked strongly based on the fact that our news is not reported unbiasedly for us to, to develop our own opinion. And oftentimes what you will see is that the news itself is reported in a biased way. The big problem, the foundational problem is that I feel like the news should be reported unbiasedly and allow people to be objective owning, where they choose to take their thoughts. It’s almost as if these companies are being controlled by people who want their ideals passed off, even if some of the most intelligent adults, but a lot of people get their news from mainstream media.
Barrington (20:17):
A lot of people don’t take the time to research and develop opinions for themselves. And they just accept the narratives that they see on TV. And ultimately this creates the reality that we all exist in. This creates the decision-makings of people when essentially they don’t even know if what they believe is what they believe are your thoughts, your thoughts, if they’re not who put them there, why they put them there. And why do they want you to believe what they want you to believe? We take a step back to actually thinking about why am I, why do I feel this way? Am I feeling this way? Because these are my feelings or these, my, my exclusive independent thoughts, or are these someone else’s feelings or thoughts are that they projected upon me? And if so, why did they, why do they want me to believe this? Why did it want me to feel this way? Why am I unable to think about my exclusive thoughts that are belong to me and me solely? We have to like in today’s technological age, where we’re being bombarded with information, you really have to slow down and really ask ourselves these questions. So we can be open to having some sense of self-preservation.
Angela (21:26):
I think people lack, curiosity. It seems like certainty is valued more than curiosity. And for that reason, we have to pick a side and stick with it. And then if I am left-leaning I seek out the left leaning news. If I’m right-leaning, I seek out more of the right leaning news, the mainstream media, to your point. I mean, we’re not doing journalism anymore. We’re concerned about ratings. Those networks are wanting to gain viewers and they tell you what you already believe to be true. Yes. And so we’re not really branching out and digging around and trying to figure things out. I really miss the old school journalism. What we’re doing now is just more based on people’s opinions and biases.
Barrington (22:15):
Yes. It’s based on entertainment. And I get it. I understand that, you know, capital is one of the biggest motivators of business person’s livelihood. And I totally understand that, but when it comes to the news, it deals with the lives of millions of people. And I think it’s important for people to start asking themselves, okay, when I watch this newscast, why is this information being presented with this bias? Who controls this? What benefits do they have in presenting this information to me? Because I know that I have to vote. I know that there are certain decisions that I make. That’s going to move our nation one way or the other. And if these people who control the, these media conglomerates push out these narratives that are bias in nature in order to persuade me to believe a certain thing, what’s in it for them at the end of the day, what is it taken away from me? Because it, there is a price to everything. And that’s one of the major notions that we should really think about going forward. Always question in this day and age, we have to question everything even within ourselves, even within our own minds and our feelings. Because when we really ask those deep questions, we keep everyone around us, including ourselves honest, that keeps the line of truth from being blurred.
Angela (23:39):
I love that you said that question, everything. And I think what we have return to is our community and our actual neighbors and learning from them and hearing from them and hearing stories and not being afraid to ask, you know, why do you believe the way that you do instead of attacking somebody for believing the way that they do.
Barrington (24:02):
Yes. Often times I see that when people disagree and especially within this past or this current election atmosphere, anytime someone disagrees or anytime someone thinks differently or feels differently, people automatically become one of the attack. And instead of giving that person, grace and trying to understand why they feel that way, our life experiences shape what we believe and on a bigger, more macro lens view of it, our life experiences and our past experiences, especially shape our reality
Angela (24:39):
In the therapy world. We call that holding space. Like I can hold the space for you, and I can allow you to express your perspective, your experiences, what you’ve lived through and not make a judgment. I can just let it be there. And then maybe later that day, or maybe the next day, you can hear mine. And we, we learn from each other and we respect each other for our own story. So I think you’re right about that. One thing that you mentioned a couple of times, right at the beginning was race. And I’m sure we could do a whole episode on that, but how are we going to come together?
Barrington (25:16):
I think ultimately we have to understand that we possess more similarities than differences. I think that we have to understand we are all the human race, no matter what color your skin is, if you procreate with another human, you’re going to get another human. I think that we have to understand that this notion of racial ideologies or racist ideologies was put into place by very powerful people who wanted to subjugate everybody below them and not just a certain group of people and I’ve thought long and hard about this. And I’ve even studied this in my philosophy courses in college, and it never just made sense to me, or I never felt as a black man, a black American that like life is out to get me just because I look the way I look. My parents didn’t really teach me that. My parents never put forth the notion that, Hey, you know, you’re a black man.
Barrington (26:23):
Now they have reminded me that, you know, racism exists. And because I am what I am, or I look the way I look and I’m going to be treated a certain type of way, but my parents always, no matter what you do, just be the best that you can do anything that you want to do. And that’s how I was raised. And I think that if we remove this notion that your skin color makes you exceptional or your skin color is a curse on you, I think that we’ll begin to shape our reality because often times when it comes to race, these ideologies become a self fulfilling prophecy. I’ll give you if you feel like the world is out to get you, then that is the type of world or reality that you’re going to do, that you’re going to create for yourself. And you’re going to always run into that, that brick wall and always see things that continue to perpetuate that narrative or continue to support that own bias that you’ve created.
Barrington (27:18):
I think that once we realize that as a people, and what I mean is that people as human beings, we go through the same emotional spectrum as everyone else, we go through the same problems as everyone else. Yes. There are certain aspects of society that are unfair to a specific or specific groups of people based on the way they look. I’ve personally always said that in my mind, there is no such thing as systemic racism. The reason I say this is because people control those systems. Those systems are not created in order to outcast one specific group. It’s to me, I used to always use a metaphor, it’s like a loaded gun on the table. That guy can not hurt anyone because it’s not anyone’s hand. And that’s, those are those systems. Those systems created by themselves are those systems. However, when there are specific people in charge of those systems, that’s when you start to see the subjugation or the unfairness of those systems.
Barrington (28:14):
So the solution is to put the right people in charge of those systems so that those people can change up those systems. So they will never hurt anyone ever again. And I just think that as you so brilliant, you put it, um, in your talks that I’ve listened to unity, unity. We have to come together like, like we have to understand that we all share the same triumphs, the same victories, the same pains, the same hurts. If we are able to pass this down to future generations, I think that we will start to treat each other better and totally destroy this idea of race in America.
Angela (28:55):
At the end of the day, I mean, my feeling is that we are, we are one, you know, your parents’ philosophy was to tell you, Hey, this is a deal. You might encounter it, but this is how we want you to live your life. And I think about these little children now who are being told you don’t have a chance, everybody’s out to get you. And what does that do to a kid?
Barrington (29:19):
Yes. It automatically sets them up for failure. I get it. And that’s, again, to me, this is why you, you have to be very aware of the things that you take into your psyche. You have to be very aware of the feelings that you have. Like I’ve been always been introspective. I remember I was almost on a TV show and for the TV, we had to all meet their, we had to go to therapy session for the whole week. And my therapist at the time was telling me like, you know, this whole entire time I’ve been talking to you, you’ve been getting more information out of me than I’ve been geeting out of you. And I thought that I was so funny because he was like, this is like, I’m very fascinated by that. I love to write writing is one of my favorite things to do, it’s a passion of mine.
Barrington (30:04):
And I always like write out my feelings. Anytime. I feel uneasy about something, anytime I’m angry, happy, very jubilant, always write out my feelings because I love to understand myself because understanding me, allows me to understand this world that I existe in. And I’ve always felt that way. And I oftentimes feel that people don’t truly understand themselves, but they don’t take the time or take the introspective tools to really unpack or dig deep, to know why they function the way they do. And I think that if everyone did the individual work collectively, we could all come together so much easier, but in a lot of ways, it’s hard for people to own up to their negatives or the negative aspects of their personality it’s hard to see. I look at it as a Phoenix, rising from the ashes that if you just take the time to just really, really look at yourself in a mirror for who you are, watch how your reality around you shapes. Watch how everything around you starts changing for the better. You just have to take that step.
Angela (31:16):
I agree. And I think I’ve said often that if you want to change the world, you have to start with you. I have to start with me. And once I get that straight, once I get my heart straight, once I get my self reconciled, then I can love my loved ones better. Then I can love my community better. And in that way, that’s how we change the world. Absolutely. Something about the race issue. It’s possible for two things to be true. And I know I get your point about what you’re saying, and I know that there are some people who’ve had a really, really difficult time with race and it’s true. It’s true. And that can also be true. And I didn’t want to dishonor anyone’s experience with that, but I feel like for you, and what you’re saying is your, your parents’ philosophy paid off for you.
Barrington (32:07):
Absolutely 1000%, but I just feel like that it goes so I, for the rest of my siblings as well, because you could just see the way we look at life differently from our peers and to your point, yes. Like, um, total agreeance that, you know, racism exists. I get it 1000%, but my parents always felt, and it just sort of just from me talking to them as an adult, especially my father, that what it wouldn’t do me justice for me to think that the world is out to get me, or it wouldn’t do me justice to feel that because of way I look because of my skin tone, that I was already born with a disadvantage. And in certain respects, especially to the corporate world, yes, there are some hurdles, but when the ideology is to be the best under any circumstances under any pressures that are put on, you you’d have to, you have to perform the expectation for you is to always perform no matter what was thrown in your face, then you take a, one;
Barrington (33:07):
I can’t make excuses mindset. And two, anything that happens to me is my fault accountability. Even when it’s not my fault, it’s my fault. I could have did something better. And having that accountability or that expectation of accountability was starting to me by my parents allowed me to see the world differently. I believed in then a lot of people I understand again, and I can’t stress this enough. Yes. Racist racism exists. I totally totally understand. And I understand that truth, but for me to use it as a barrier or an excuse, or to allow it to prohibit me from reaching my goals and my dreams, that was a, that was a non-negotiable or untolerated by my parents.
Angela (33:53):
It sounds like your parents too, are kind of old school. And we talked about the ways of the elders. I’ve had racism on my heart since I was a kid. I can’t really explain it. It’s just always been there. And so I would study Langston Hughes or Martin Luther King Jr. Frederick Douglas and the common denominator to me for all of those great men was; I am a man, give me a chance. Get out of my way. These are my constitutional rights. And it sounds like that’s kind of how your parents raised you, like go for it.
Barrington (34:28):
Yes. I will never forget. I’ll never forget. When I was in kindergarten, I was in kindergarten. We had some type of.
New Speaker (34:36):
i forget what it was. Someone came to our school for something and the lady got up and she she’s asked all of us, what do you want to be? And I told her that I wanted to be a basketball player. And the lady told me, I understand you want to be a basketball player, but you know, you need to have something to fall back on. What else would you want to be? And I was like, no, I want to be a basketball player. And I told, I went home and told my mother what she said, my mother was pissed. And that day for my mother said, my mother said, you can be whatever it is you want to be. I don’t care what it is. And ever since then, I strongly felt that way. I’ve always felt that no matter what it is. And I think that once you are given that type of mindset, especially at a tender age, imagine how that snowballs into your childhood and into your adulthood. And just the way that you view life. Yeah.
Angela (35:24):
It’s so powerful. That’s, you know, on that spiritual level, you plant that seed in someone and then you wait for it to bear fruit. We have to be very, very careful about what we’re planning in our children. Absolutely. I really have enjoyed getting to know you a little bit.
Barrington (35:41):
Same here. We have to do this again. I really enjoyed our conversation.
Angela (35:44):
Yeah. I’m sure we have so many, so many different directions we could go. So I’d love to have you again. I wanted to just close with one thing that really stood out to me. I think this was on your Instagram and you were saying this to your constituents when you were running for office trust that you all possess a warrior in me that will always fight for righteousness.
Barrington (36:10):
Absolutely. Oh man, I have to give that, that part of my personality to my grandmothers and my grandmothers always told me that I had an obligation to make sure that everybody around me was okay. Even, even complete strangers because that’s just a type of energy or this type of passion I have in my heart. I think that I’ve always been a type of person that I want everybody to win. And I think that everybody has the capabilities to win, but oftentimes things in life get people down. I’ve always felt that, but the need that, you know, even for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, even from those who couldn’t defend themselves, that I’ll always have to be that person to make sure they’re okay. And so that’s like where that stems from.
Angela (36:54):
Well, that’s kind of like the, that life, Liberty and pursuit of happiness. I want to make sure that you have that ability. I hope that you engrave that on something. I really love that. Before we sign off. Do you want to tell people how they can get in touch with you?
Barrington (37:11):
Twitter, which is always something going on on Twitter. I’m always making people mad or making people feel good or whatever. My Twitter is at underscore Barrington ii at underscore B a R R I N G T O N ii and my Instagram is Barrington for Atlanta.
Angela (37:33):
All right. Well, one little question I have for you. You gave a shout out to Anita Baker. What’s that about?
Barrington (37:39):
Okay. Okay. Quick story. Quick story. Okay. So, um, I was, I think I was going to LA and I’m at the airport and I see this small elderly lady behind me the whole time. I’m like, that looks like Anita Baker. And then we ended up going to the same security line. The TSA agent checks her ID and the TSA agent starts freaking out. And Ms. Baker, there was like, honey, please calm down. I say, ma’am I knew you was Anita Baker. And she was like, you did well, why you didn’t freak out like her? And I was like, because we out here in public, you know, you gotta be cool. Baby, I like that about you. And then her and I just had a nice conversation. She hugged me. She told me that, um, she enjoyed talking to me. And then eventually when I ran for Congress where she tweeted me and she stated that it’s not your time, but a delay is not, no, she gave me so much encouragement and we’ve been cool with ever since.
Angela (38:38):
That is so awesome. That’s a great story. So thanks for sharing that. And thank you so much for joining.
Barrington (38:44):
Thank you for having me, Angela. We will do this again.
Angela (38:46):
Yes. Okay. Bye bye. Have a good day.