This is an I-Heart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.

Welcome back to All the Smoke.

Jack, I think we've made it to the top of the mountain.

Yeah, man, we're leveling up. We've done a lot of amazing things, but I think we did it. Guard's good. We got them here. First shout out to Chris and Geron for making this happen. Appreciate you fellas. Our brothers. As we sit here, the home court, the brand new Obama Presidential Center.

First of all, congratulations.

We got a chance to... As we sit here, the home court, the brand new Obama Presidential Center, first of all,

congratulations. We got a chance to shoot some jumpers in here yesterday. What do you hope this

brings to the south side of Chicago?

Well, I've told this story. I was in New York. I was 25, and I wanted to figure out I could be part of building up communities and,

you know, trying to add the grassroots, make things better for folks.

Couldn't really figure out how to do it. A group of churches hired me in Chicago.

They said, well, come out here.

There are a bunch of neighborhoods that have been hit with steel plant

closings, folks losing their jobs.

There was a lot of racial turnover.

So they said, we'll pay you $13,000 a year and car expenses.

So I bought a used car, janky car, put all my stuff in the back seat, and I drive from New York.

And you come out the skyway here, and back then this park had a four-lane highway, right down the middle of it right right over here right

where that fence is and so so this is the place where i first came to chicago was right through here

and these are the neighborhoods where i worked um michelle grew up michelle and craig y'all met

michel's brother they grew up in a little bungalow that they didn't even know, their aunt owned, about two miles from here. I taught here, our daughters are born here. Our wedding reception was about a mile away. So this really was the place that became not just my home, but it's where I learned how to do the work that I ended up doing.

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