Adante Pointer: From Worker to CEO While Lifting Others Up
We're diving deep into the journey of turning hustle into legacy, and this episode is packed with inspiration and real talk! Dr. Stance is joined by the incredible Mr. Adonte Pointer, who shares his powerful story of rising from the streets of Oakland to becoming a beacon of hope for his community. We chat about the importance of lifting others as we climb, and how legacy isn't just about personal success—it's about creating opportunities for those around us. With a sprinkle of humor and relatable banter, we explore how both of us have navigated our paths, faced challenges, and embraced the hustle. Trust me, you don’t want to miss the gems dropped in this episode!
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:What's up?
Speaker B:First, I'm gonna say welcome to me, Dr. Stance, the one and only.
Speaker B:Just so y' all know, born and raised, East Oakley.
Speaker B:And I'm super excited because I got my guy here, Mr. Adonte Pointer.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Mr. Sauciness.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:You know, I got my guy here.
Speaker A:And thank you for having me.
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker B:Thank you for coming.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah, for sure.
Speaker B:I first wanted to start out, you know, my little slogan is turning Hustle into Legacy, which, to me, that's a bar.
Speaker B:Is something that I've done.
Speaker B:You definitely done.
Speaker B:And being from, I think, the streets of Oakland, I'm sure we probably got similar stories, you know, coming from the same, you know, environment, you know, but at the end of the day, we made it out.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:With your credentials, I just admire you one, as a black man, and if nobody's told you, I'm extremely proud of you.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:I do appreciate that.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:The way you carry yourself, and it's just me flatline.
Speaker B:I don't care about none of the cameras.
Speaker B:This is just real life.
Speaker B:If nobody ever told you, like, I'm proud of you.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker B:Because it's a lot of haters.
Speaker B:A lot of people don't want to see us black people win.
Speaker B:And we are educated.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:We bold, we smart, we're beautiful, and we out here.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And so it's an honor to have you sitting here with me.
Speaker B:We finally meeting, you know, chit chatting on the eig, and now I got you live and direct, so I'm so fortunate.
Speaker B:I'm so lucky.
Speaker B:I got some good stuff for you at the end, so we're gonna put that on there.
Speaker B:And I guess.
Speaker B:Welcome to turning Hustle into Legacy.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:Thank you for having me.
Speaker B:Yes, sir.
Speaker A:You know, as you mentioned, it's been a long time coming.
Speaker A:I know.
Speaker A:I have followed you, your journey to success, you know, and what really caught my attention was your journey to success is rooted in lifting up others, you know, And I'm a firm believer, as you mentioned, you know, come from the town.
Speaker A:I didn't come from a silver spoon in my mouth.
Speaker A:You know, we didn't have money, but we were rich, and I was rich.
Speaker A:As it relates to love and direction and spirit.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so it really means something to me to watch another person from the town.
Speaker A:You know, as we lift, as we're climbing, we're lifting along the way, and we bring in people with us, and you're helping to, you know, make sure that we have a more positive future by looking out for Those who.
Speaker A:People are not looking out for, man.
Speaker B:And that's.
Speaker B:That's my.
Speaker B:I think I always tell people, like, I think God strategically chose me to do that work.
Speaker B:You know, I never knew that I would be doing foster care.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You know, I didn't know that I would be in this line of work.
Speaker B:I swear to God.
Speaker B:I thought I was gonna be a nurse, you know, I took all the credits, got my bachelor's in, nurse and all that.
Speaker B:And at the last, I got accepted into three programs.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:One of the top.
Speaker B:Samuel Merritt.
Speaker B:And I said, fuck this shit.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You consider what we call smarty odd.
Speaker B:I didn't wanna work for nobody.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Cause I did for 25 years in the.
Speaker B:I seen the politics.
Speaker B:I'm like, yeah, I'm not going to be a part of this much longer.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:I think me just praying and asking God to show me my purpose.
Speaker B:And then finally it came and that was it.
Speaker B:I woke up and I was like, it.
Speaker B:I'm going to do foster care.
Speaker A:Man, that's.
Speaker A:That's heavy.
Speaker B:Seeing how the kids love me.
Speaker B:I'm like, this is.
Speaker A:But you're not just doing foster care.
Speaker A:Okay, look, I grew up in the hood, you know, I understand.
Speaker A:I seen foster care.
Speaker A:Somebody got 30 people that they have in and out, whatever, you know, check coming.
Speaker A:Don't look like it's going to the right people.
Speaker A:The environment isn't hooked up.
Speaker A:It's not conducive to really producing kids that are growing, to adults that are really going to be able to go out here and participate in society.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Transition.
Speaker A:I look at the luxury living and I really say luxury living.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:That you put together.
Speaker A:And, you know, to me, it's a testament.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:It's proof positive that you.
Speaker A:You could do good work.
Speaker A:You don't have to cut corners to do it.
Speaker A:And clearly, if y' all could see from the camera, she's fitted, she got all her stuff together.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:So not only are you doing the good work, looking out for people, but you're able to look out for yourself.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:And, you know, I just tell people all the time, I did not take an oath of poverty to do the work.
Speaker B:Me neither.
Speaker A:You know, as somebody that, you know, music I listened to growing up, Jay Z would say, hey, man, it's hard to help the poor when you one of them.
Speaker A:That's good.
Speaker A:What can I give you?
Speaker A:If I have nothing to give, I have nothing.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Love don't go.
Speaker A:It don't pay.
Speaker B:For the bill.
Speaker A:I haven't paid a bill yet with that, you know, PG and E. I don't care how many people I love, how many cases I've done for people, they want the bill paid.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I think.
Speaker B:Speaking of cases, Mr. Pointer, tell us who you are.
Speaker B:Like, what is your biggest success story?
Speaker B:What did your hustle.
Speaker B:What hustle did you do turn into a legacy?
Speaker A:Well, you know, wow, we could be here all night.
Speaker B:Let's go.
Speaker A:Because, you know, there's never really.
Speaker A:When you look at the journey of most people, there's not one thing that happened.
Speaker A:There might be something that was very pivotal or critical at certain times, for sure, you know, but it's been a hustle ever since, you know, I opened my eyes.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:If you're a black person in America, you born especially in the town, and you're not born with a silver spoon and all these different things, you have to climb your way out of this.
Speaker B:Trench, you know, and make the choice to do it.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:You have to put it on yourself.
Speaker A:No one's coming to rescue us.
Speaker A:You know, we're the rescuers.
Speaker A:We're looking out for.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so, you know, as has been said, you know, the best helping hand you can ever have is at the end of your own sleeve.
Speaker A:And so, you know, but I'm not trying to pretend like I had it all together.
Speaker A:Like, you know, I just hit the ground running and was doing everything the right way, the correct way, you know, or even the lawful way, you know, but over time, I'm maturing and under and having a dream of a better life.
Speaker A:And having.
Speaker A:For me, it started at a very young age in terms of the idea of becoming an attorney.
Speaker A:But just because I had the idea of wanting to be an attorney doesn't mean that I had the steps, the discipline, or even access.
Speaker A:You know, that all came later in time and there was a bunch of.
Speaker A:Of stubbing my toes and scrubbing my knees and bumping my head.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:You know, but I can get that.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:Yeah, but I know that was a long winded answer.
Speaker B:Nothing's long winded.
Speaker B:Okay, we got time for Mr.
Speaker A:I'm a trial Attorney, so, you know, I tend to talk in stories.
Speaker B:I should have been one.
Speaker B:Cause everybody say I'm the Great debate.
Speaker A:Simone, look, it's still.
Speaker A:It's not too late.
Speaker B:You know what?
Speaker B:Psychology is my thing.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker B:I realized that.
Speaker B:And you can even ask my peoples over there, like, psychology, me reading people by just having a discernment to read people's body language.
Speaker B:I ain't saying your thoughts and all this, maybe even sometimes, but no, like your body language and, you know, just how you speak, your tone.
Speaker B:I've mastered that.
Speaker B:Like, I'm a philosopher in that field, and I learned that.
Speaker B:That's just my skill set.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Everybody has it, but everybody not tapped in.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:No doubt.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So I think my relationship won with the Lord, him just blessing me with a discernment to kind of, you know, stabilize myself in emotions.
Speaker B:Because I'm be.
Speaker B:Up, too.
Speaker B:I'm up, too.
Speaker B:I'm in therapy.
Speaker A:Most people are look, but they're not in therapy.
Speaker A:Most people need to be in some form of therapy, including myself, I'm sure.
Speaker A:But, you know, when you go and how you go, where you go, there's different types of therapy, as you know it is.
Speaker B:And it's to be honest, being emotionally intelligent is probably one of the hardest things to do, especially with what we're dealt with every day.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And I'm 43.
Speaker B:How old are you?
Speaker A:I'm 48.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker A:Yeah, I'm 48.
Speaker A:I'll be 49.
Speaker B:July, how do you feel about the big five?
Speaker B:Oh, July what?
Speaker A:July 15th.
Speaker A:Oh, I'm a cancer baby.
Speaker A:You know, I don't see age in the way most people do, frankly.
Speaker B:Me neither.
Speaker A:You know, I still feel great.
Speaker A:I get up every day.
Speaker B:Me too.
Speaker A:You know, of course, there's a little bit more aches and pains here and there than what I'd be used to from.
Speaker A:Yeah, but.
Speaker A:But, you know, at the end of the day, like, man, I'm just blessed, as you mentioned, to just be able to crack my eyes open every day.
Speaker A:I could still run, shoot, hoop when I want to.
Speaker A:You know, I could still get on the dance floor and cut it up if I want to, you know, and so it's a blessing.
Speaker A:I don't have any big health challenges.
Speaker A:And so, man, I'm just so.
Speaker A:I don't look at 50.
Speaker A:Like, oh, my gosh.
Speaker A:Or, like, man, it's halfway over.
Speaker A:I look at life like, man, the best is yet to come.
Speaker A:The best is yet to come.
Speaker B:I wouldn't have never thought you record the video, to be honest with you.
Speaker B:I thought you was in your late 30s.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:And I seen your eyes.
Speaker A:You trying to read me?
Speaker A:You looking at my hairline.
Speaker A:This is all real.
Speaker A:I ain't got no beige in.
Speaker B:That bothers me.
Speaker A:There's nothing going on.
Speaker A:It's all me right here.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I am not looking at.
Speaker A:There's no nothing being colored either.
Speaker A:I don't have just for man.
Speaker A:And I ain't knocking the people who you do what you do.
Speaker A:That's on you.
Speaker A:I'm just saying all this right here, this tag right here, this right here, this hairline, this hairline, this beard, this is all me.
Speaker B:Get that for sure.
Speaker B:Percy on the thing, that just was hilarious.
Speaker B:Go say I see you looking at.
Speaker A:No, I was not.
Speaker B:But I literally did not think you were in your 40s when I first started talking to you on the gram.
Speaker B:I thought you was like late 30s or something.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:I appreciate it.
Speaker B:Just by appearance, you're very mature though, for sure.
Speaker B:Like, you know, you're grown ass man respectful.
Speaker A:Of course.
Speaker B:You got kids?
Speaker A:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker A:Three children.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Ever been married?
Speaker B:I see this.
Speaker A:No, I'm never.
Speaker A:Is this okay?
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm all that.
Speaker B:I'm in your bi.
Speaker A:I thought I was talking about a minute ago my that we changing it.
Speaker B:Listen, if you really want to know, I was married what six days ago, divorced A pondering went and got me a Rollie.
Speaker B:So I mean.
Speaker A:Wow, okay.
Speaker A:That's a lot of happen in six days.
Speaker B:Put that on the shit, Percy.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:It's not in my line over there.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:You made some decisions though.
Speaker B:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:I like you fell in and out of love and then.
Speaker A:But yeah, hey, apparently it is icy.
Speaker A:So, you know, I don't know if that's how the relationship went or where your heart is at right now, but that bust down is busting.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker B:You know, he did it thanks to him.
Speaker B:But yeah, I think at my age in my life, I know what the fuck I want and what I deserve and what I'm worth.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:And that's another thing.
Speaker B:Like with my foster youth, I try to tell them when they call me, he whoops, listen, get your shit together, okay?
Speaker B:A lot of them don't have that guidance.
Speaker B:I didn't.
Speaker B:So it took me time to be in this position to walk away from something that I knew ain't gonna.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't give a damn about.
Speaker B:About no money, no nothing.
Speaker B:If you not treating me and this to all women.
Speaker B:I don't even know which camera to look at.
Speaker B:But in this one.
Speaker B:Thank you, Percy.
Speaker B:To all women and men.
Speaker A:Yeah, sure.
Speaker B:This is overall, if you're not happy, move the on, man.
Speaker A:That's 100.
Speaker A:And that's just, you know, everyone deserves to be happy, period.
Speaker A:And if you're not happy, the other person who's not making you happy.
Speaker A:It's not their duty to make you happy.
Speaker A:You have to be self contained and in control of your happiness.
Speaker A:But maybe I'm just more of a control freak.
Speaker A:I'm unwilling to place my happiness or my future, be it success, professionally or personally, in the hands of somebody else.
Speaker A:Like that's a lot.
Speaker A:But I just think it's unfair.
Speaker A:I just think it's unfair to rely upon somebody to satisfy everything in you when you can't even figure out how to satisfy yourself.
Speaker B:What if you have figured out how to satisfy yourself, Is it still unfair?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:If you figured out how to satisfy yourself, then the only unfairness is the one that you put yourself in a position that isn't satisfying you.
Speaker A:Like a person has to decide, right?
Speaker A:It's like, okay, I know I like this.
Speaker A:This person isn't doing that.
Speaker A:If I decide to stay with that person, then I'm making a conscious decision to accept something less than what I really want.
Speaker A:And that's okay if that's how you want to rock and play it.
Speaker A:But to complain and be mad about a person when you see they just, they can't do it.
Speaker A:Well, why are we?
Speaker A:I mean, for me, I'm not gonna sit there and wake up every day on the phone or on the text or on the car talking to you like, man, I don't like this.
Speaker A:At some point in time, I gotta say, look, I told you I don't like it, but I told myself I don't like it.
Speaker B:Ooh.
Speaker A:And so now I gotta make a decision.
Speaker A:Either I'm gonna stick with this or I'm gonna have to pivot and do something else.
Speaker A:And that's okay.
Speaker B:It's okay.
Speaker A:There's 80 billion people in this world, man.
Speaker A:Man.
Speaker A:Find you know, what works for you.
Speaker B:That works for you, then that's where I think me making that decision with.
Speaker B:For myself was I chose me and my happiness first because I'm not a bad looking woman.
Speaker B:And forget the physical.
Speaker B:My energy.
Speaker A:I think your fans will say it's.
Speaker A:It's good.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:You gonna get some.
Speaker A:They double tapping.
Speaker A:They signing up.
Speaker A:They subscribe, subscribe time, whatever you like.
Speaker B:No, but like literally my inner, you know what I mean is deeper than.
Speaker B:Cause you could be bad as shitting.
Speaker A:Oh my God.
Speaker B:You see what I'm saying?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:So my heart.
Speaker A:I know what you're saying.
Speaker B:Genuine, you know, And I'm just.
Speaker B:I think I'm my authentic self at 43 years old.
Speaker B:I think the older I've got, the.
Speaker A:Less you got to say 43 years young.
Speaker A:Okay, 43 years young.
Speaker B:That too.
Speaker A:You got a young spirit.
Speaker B:I do.
Speaker B:In a young heart.
Speaker B:And, you know, I think that times is hard.
Speaker B:People is ugly out here.
Speaker B:You know, people like the.
Speaker B:It's just filled with haters and bad energy.
Speaker B:And that's one thing about me.
Speaker B:Me being an empath, I can pick up on energy so cold and I hate it.
Speaker B:Sometimes I ask God, please, I don't want to read this person today, Lord, because I just can't handle that shit.
Speaker A:But you know, where they coming from, huh?
Speaker B:I can see it a mile away.
Speaker B:And I instantly.
Speaker B:I cut the shit down.
Speaker B:Hey, look, I can't work, you know, I can't do this, y'.
Speaker B:All.
Speaker B:I protect my energy at all costs.
Speaker A:As you should.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:You must.
Speaker A:Look, you mentioned the world is not necessarily always a pretty place.
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker A:There's pretty things in it.
Speaker A:And some of those pretty things appear pretty.
Speaker A:And then when you get up close, you know, as they say in your rear view, objects are closer than they appear in the mirror.
Speaker A:You know, some get up close to you, like, ooh, you know, I need space.
Speaker A:Like, that ain't what I thought it was.
Speaker A:And so, you know, but it's very important to protect your energy because that's the source that allows you to do all that you need to be for yourself and for the people who depend on you.
Speaker B:Facts.
Speaker A:So, you know, I have a point.
Speaker A:If you are a negative person, meaning.
Speaker A:And that doesn't.
Speaker A:That could just be.
Speaker A:Simply put, you negative on yourself.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:You doubt yourself, you doubting others.
Speaker A:You know, you see something nice, you always criticize it.
Speaker A:You always talking mess about somebody, you're not going to find yourself around Me neither.
Speaker B:I can't.
Speaker A:Access denied Quick.
Speaker B:I think when you a child of God, which I'm sure you are.
Speaker A:Yes, for sure.
Speaker B:You know, I think that for me, I'm going to say this.
Speaker B:I feel like God puts people in my life.
Speaker B:Either they're a lesson or a blessing.
Speaker B:And, you know, I'm learning at 43 years young that which way I'm going, I take all, you know, wholeheartedly the lessons, you know, like even ex husband, like, that was a lesson for me.
Speaker B:I'm an impulsive bitch.
Speaker B:I'm gonna keep it 100 even.
Speaker B:This shit, I woke up, like, fuck it.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm gonna spend 15,000, I'll build a motherfucking podcast for the kids, for people to tell their story, blah, blah, you know, and it just.
Speaker B:You can ask my producer it just happened.
Speaker B:I met him, I seen him, I went on the first podcast.
Speaker B:I'm like, oh, dude, I think I'm gonna build this.
Speaker B:Two weeks later, I built it.
Speaker A:That's huge, though.
Speaker A:You know how many people I come across talk about it and don't be about it?
Speaker A:So to have the vision, but sometimes.
Speaker B:The resources, it's overwhelming time.
Speaker B:I do too much sometimes.
Speaker B:Bring it back, Bring down back.
Speaker A:Just, hey, man, you know, there's a time, you know, look, when you complained about you was hungry and wanted to eat.
Speaker A:Now your plate is full and you fat.
Speaker A:You gotta sit there, you gotta eat that up, you know, and that.
Speaker B:And that's.
Speaker B:I think.
Speaker B:Is there anything in your life that you feel like you did like?
Speaker B:Because to me, you not a talker neither.
Speaker B:You're a doer.
Speaker B:Like, you know, you stand on business.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And you take care of it.
Speaker B:I watch you.
Speaker B:You be traveling, doing your thing.
Speaker B:If you seen me last year, I was traveling.
Speaker A:Yeah, we saw, like, we saw her, right?
Speaker A:She was here.
Speaker B:But I'm kind of.
Speaker B:I'm modest, you know, I don't put all the business on the social media now.
Speaker B:I'm gonna be an open book.
Speaker B:That's what.
Speaker B:You know, I hope they don't hate me for that.
Speaker B:But, you know, is there anything that you feel like one you regret?
Speaker A:Regrets?
Speaker B:Like, any regrets you got?
Speaker A:You know, there's.
Speaker A:There's.
Speaker A:There's not many, because I try not to think about life in that way because I. I read.
Speaker A:I do a lot of reading and listening to podcasts and all these type of things to make sure I stay encouraged.
Speaker A:And one of those things is, you know, life doesn't happen to you.
Speaker A:It happens for you.
Speaker A:And so I remember one of the ones I carry.
Speaker A:And, you know, it's not some bombshell type of thing, but when I was at UC Berkeley, a father, you know, raising my daughter, you know, no bread, still living in West Oakland, trying to figure it out.
Speaker A:The university suggested and proposed.
Speaker A:They were like, hey, man, there's this opportunity for you to become.
Speaker A:For you to go to school for like a year over in Ox at Oxford, and so to become what was called a Truman Scholar, which they would have paid for law school or grad school.
Speaker A:You know, I could have gone to all the Ivy League, to the Harvards, the Yales, all these different things like that, Right?
Speaker A:But I was caught up a.
Speaker A:In raising my daughter at that time, which caught up, which is.
Speaker A:Which is what I should have been caught up with.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker A:Just trying to make it through Berkeley at that point in time, and I was, like, pledging my fraternity, so.
Speaker A:So, yeah, many people don't know all.
Speaker A:All these parts of the story, Right.
Speaker A:So I was like, I. I didn't have time for.
Speaker A:To do the application.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think, dang, what would.
Speaker A:Especially when I. I ain't gonna lie.
Speaker A:I went to Obama's inauguration, and I'm sitting there watching that, brother.
Speaker A:I worked in politics before I was a lawyer.
Speaker B:Really?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I'm sitting there and I was like, man, you know, what would have happened if I went that route?
Speaker A:Where would I have landed?
Speaker A:You know?
Speaker A:But as I said, things happen for you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Not to you.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So I. I landed where I was, where I'm supposed to be, you know, and I'm happy to be, you know, fighting and represent my community.
Speaker B:And where are you?
Speaker B:Let's speak about that.
Speaker B:Like you're.
Speaker B:Your accolades, your accomplishments.
Speaker B:Of course, like I said, look, I don't even need this fucking shit right here.
Speaker B:But the super lawyer.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B: You the Super Lawyer,: Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And then, of course, to me, I think, like I said, what put you on the map was that Oscar grant.
Speaker B:I think that was one of the biggest.
Speaker B:Maybe not payouts, but biggest accomplishment, because I feel like that was like, one of the first big things in the town where the young man was, you know.
Speaker A:Absolutely, yeah.
Speaker A:Oscar's grant.
Speaker A:His life was taken from him by Officer Johannes Mesley, BART police officer.
Speaker A:For those that aren't in the bay, that's like the subway cop.
Speaker A:Or, you know, literally not the SWAT team, you know, subway Cop.
Speaker A:And, you know that cop, Johannes Meszely, that convicted felon shot Oscar in the back and killed him while he laid on the BART platform at Fruitville Station.
Speaker A:And, you know, that movie was then turned in.
Speaker A:I mean, that incident, that tragedy, you know, was turned into a movie which was Fruitville Station, or people call it Fruitville.
Speaker A:And that's where many people were introduced to Ryan Coogler, who went on to make Black Panther and Creed and a lot of other different movies that people love.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But that was his first movie, and he pitched.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:He pitched the movie Fruitvale to me on my couch when I used to stay by the lake.
Speaker A:And this brother had just graduated film school, so he was trying to convince myself, as well as the law firm that I was working at and John Burris, that was the firm I was at, to allow him to make this movie.
Speaker A:And when we introduce him to Mama Wanda and to Oscar's family, and we're, you know, it sounded like a pipe dream.
Speaker A:Cause I'm like, who are you, brother?
Speaker A:Yeah, it was a dream.
Speaker A:I'm like, nobody's making movies about what happens to brother slang.
Speaker A:Like, we hadn't seen that.
Speaker A:So as you said, that was the first.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's before the Trayvon Martins.
Speaker A:And really, that's the first viral video of a police shooting and killing a black.
Speaker A:A black man.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:We hadn't seen that.
Speaker A:You know?
Speaker A:Yeah, we hadn't seen that.
Speaker A:It wasn't.
Speaker A:That was just when cell phones.
Speaker A:Everybody now thinks cell phone with a video and a camera.
Speaker A:But they were.
Speaker A:Those were the first years of having cell phones with cameras.
Speaker A:So it's the first viral video.
Speaker A:And the first time, as you mentioned, if you're from the town where in modern times.
Speaker A:I mean, I know the Black Panthers and people have always been organizing and doing stuff, so we're not gonna diminish any of that.
Speaker A:But in a more modern time where the community came out and tore shit up in order to make sure.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:In order to make sure that.
Speaker A:Yeah, we got on the head, you know, we demanded meetings, we demanded things be done, we demanded prosecution.
Speaker A:And it's one of the few times and real, like I said, in modern time, going forward, where people were like, look, we're not going for the fact that you gonna just whitewash this.
Speaker A:You gonna sweep this under the rug.
Speaker A:You're gonna try to pretend that this brother deserved this to happen.
Speaker A:You know, we're not just gonna sit silently by and go about our business.
Speaker A:No, this whole thing is shutting down, period, until we get what we looking for.
Speaker B:Listen, and I gotta piggyback on that.
Speaker B:That's one thing I love about our city is.
Speaker B:Yeah, they talk shit.
Speaker B:Yeah, we probably was on the map for quite some time as being the number one murderer state and all that.
Speaker B:But let me tell you something.
Speaker B:Don't come fuck with us at all.
Speaker B:Don't come fuck with us, and we.
Speaker A:Won'T fuck with you at all.
Speaker B:And I noticed that as much as people talk about Oakland and, you know, the people from Oakland, at the end of the day, when shit get, you mess with our people.
Speaker B:They came through.
Speaker A:Listen.
Speaker B:They came through.
Speaker B:And I ain't gonna say we might have done it the right way, but we still done it.
Speaker B:How we decided to do it was how we decided to do it.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:It's called self determin.
Speaker A:And that's what's been big in the Town in Oakland, you know, and what people I feel like, don't appreciate and understand because we don't even talk about our history as much as we should.
Speaker A:But if we understood our history, we would also understand why we've been one of the larger and consistent targets of the system.
Speaker A:Why they.
Speaker A:They talk about defund police and people get upset.
Speaker A:What happens when you defund the city?
Speaker A:They done.
Speaker A:That's what they did.
Speaker A:That's what I'm saying.
Speaker A:That's, you know, the property values, you know, granny house worth a million dollars.
Speaker A:You know, it used to be.
Speaker A:She bought it for $15,000.
Speaker A:And then what happens?
Speaker A:They start closing the schools.
Speaker A:They start removing after school programs.
Speaker A:The, you know, they start shutting down the jobs, opening more liquor stores.
Speaker A:Crime rates is going up.
Speaker A:People are getting, you know, all this over policing and then it becomes what a wasteland almost, right?
Speaker A:And then you're a target.
Speaker A:They pump all the dope and the drugs in and everything else.
Speaker A:You know, you.
Speaker A:I've traveled the world.
Speaker A:When you talk to individuals, they respect the town.
Speaker A:In Oakland, they like.
Speaker A:Oh, you from Oakland.
Speaker A:They like, man.
Speaker A:They like.
Speaker A:We know you battle tested, you know what I'm saying?
Speaker A:You from the town.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:You know, you real.
Speaker A:You gonna keep it real.
Speaker A:That's the first thing you gotta speak your mind, right?
Speaker A:All of that, right.
Speaker A:That's a good thing to be known for.
Speaker A:That's a good character trait.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:I'm very proud of it.
Speaker A:But when you turn on the news, what they telling you?
Speaker B:Nothing but bad.
Speaker B:That's why I watched it.
Speaker A:In about 20 years, don't go to Oakland, what's going to happen?
Speaker A:But then when you go back into your real history book and you realize all the labor organizing to make sure people have rights, when you realize that the Black Panthers were making sure they got tired of police brutality and started their own police patrols.
Speaker A:When they said, we're not sending our kids to school hungry and then expect them to be in a mind state to learn.
Speaker A:So we gonna make sure we have free lunch.
Speaker A:We gonna make sure they got breakfast, man.
Speaker A:Brother, sister, you don't have clothes to wear.
Speaker A:We got that for you.
Speaker A:Man.
Speaker A:You don't have.
Speaker A:Because what we see now, you go to Highland and all these places for free medical, man, that wasn't around back then.
Speaker B:Absolutely not.
Speaker A:You had to pay for a doctor.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And if you poor because you unemployed and all these different things, you don't have a doctor.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker B:That's facts.
Speaker A:So Black Panthers created medical clinics.
Speaker A:So this is our legacy and our History, but we don't necessarily know it.
Speaker A:Cause it's not promoted.
Speaker A:What's promoted is all the bullshit it is, you know, and, you know, even for myself and my generation, you know, man, the music that I was listening to as a teenager in my early 20s, man, they call it drill music now.
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:I don't know nobody.
Speaker A:But, you know, back then it was trapping and rapping and everybody was moving and thinking they was Pablo Escobar.
Speaker A:But what they were setting us up for was what we see today.
Speaker A:You feel me?
Speaker B:In the generations, the population, general, all that has definitely changed.
Speaker B:Where we got the men wearing skirts, the women wearing goodness, you know, like, it's just.
Speaker B:And don't.
Speaker B:I don't judge.
Speaker B:Don't get me wrong.
Speaker B:I'm happy that people are able to be themselves.
Speaker A:Yeah, sure.
Speaker B:And live their own truth.
Speaker B:But it's different now.
Speaker B:Everything is just completely different.
Speaker B:Even the mentality.
Speaker B:Like, Like I said, I don't even listen to a lot of the news.
Speaker B:I ain't seen the newsfire in 20 years.
Speaker B:7 When I was on it.
Speaker A:Okay, thank you.
Speaker B:Other than that, you know, it's just too toxic for me because they put out all that negativity.
Speaker B:My mind is so sensitive.
Speaker B:But as far as, like the new up and coming rappers and mo power to them and all that, but I don't even understand half a shit they say, right?
Speaker B:I don't know the terminology.
Speaker B:I don't know anything.
Speaker B:But I'm trying to.
Speaker B:Like, even you saying drill music, I didn't know that.
Speaker B:Like, I'm like, okay, I need to step my game up and learn a little bit of something and be more like, you know, in the world.
Speaker A:I don't know if you really need to listen where you at in life and what you're trying to do.
Speaker A:I don't know if you necessarily need to be tapped into that anyway.
Speaker A:Allowing that into your mental space.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Cause I don't know.
Speaker A:But at the same time, it's like, it's what's being promoted to our people.
Speaker A:It is, you know, which is why stuff like this, platforms like this, where people are gonna be introduced to people who are doing different things, who are successful in whatever lane that is.
Speaker A:They get introduced to game, get introduced to good game, you know, this is what we need to be promoting, period, you know, because there's other options and lanes and you don't have to necessarily go work for somebody.
Speaker A:But there's also nothing wrong with learning the game from somebody.
Speaker B:I tell people that all the Time.
Speaker A:Before I was a boss.
Speaker A:Before I was a boss, I was an employee.
Speaker B:Same here.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Before I was the boss, I was an independent contractor.
Speaker A:I had to learn.
Speaker B:I had to learn.
Speaker A:You can't start off as the CEO of a multi million dollar business and don't do nothing.
Speaker B:It just don't work.
Speaker B:And that's another thing too.
Speaker B:People, not, they come in and see once you've won and got the title, no one sees the back end of all the work and sweat and tears that you put in and then want to come in when is all popping and, you know, dropping.
Speaker B:And I, I've dealt with that.
Speaker B:But I had a lot of people too, that supported me and believed in me in the vision before it blew up.
Speaker B:And those are the people I always tell them.
Speaker B:I literally on if God, it's the last thing I do.
Speaker B:I want to change their life financially, you know, spiritually, you know, and just help the people that believed in me.
Speaker B:Because it wasn't that many, you know, even my own family, you know, a lot of people.
Speaker B:So for me, even with this podcast, you know, I created this for my foster youth and people like you that have turned their hustle into a legacy, helping the community and helping other people.
Speaker B:I'm actually starting something focusing more on mental health.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker B:It's huge.
Speaker B:Because in my, you know, me doing a foster care and transitional housing, the kids don't want to talk no goddamn damn therapist.
Speaker B:They just don't.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:They don't want to talk to a therapist.
Speaker B:So what I did, I created something called Be with, which, you know, that's the name of all my businesses.
Speaker B:Be With, Building with, Intentional transformation.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you, but you already know.
Speaker B:Be With.
Speaker B:It's like, you know, that's Oakland.
Speaker A:Yeah, right, right, Absolutely.
Speaker A:But you know, the town.
Speaker B:Be with this, like, okay, but Be with and then Crash Out.
Speaker B:Yeah, that's the name of it.
Speaker B:Be With Crash Out.
Speaker B:So every Monday.
Speaker B:And I love you to tune in too.
Speaker B:Every Monday, 7pm I'm gonna be inviting all my kids in the program.
Speaker B:I'm up to like, probably 45 right now.
Speaker B:Like 45 kids, plus my staff and a special guest to come and like, let the kids crash the fuck out.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Just say what's going on.
Speaker B:Just say, how was your day?
Speaker B:We literally all the staff, we're gonna ask them, how was your day today, baby?
Speaker B:And just Crash Out.
Speaker B:You say what you want and we here to support you.
Speaker B:We did a meeting that's huge last week.
Speaker A:I like that.
Speaker B:And like 25 of the kids showed up.
Speaker B:And they showed up, honestly, I think, because I was there.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:And I noticed that.
Speaker B:And I'm very modest.
Speaker B:Not trying to be like that, but I'm just saying my presence.
Speaker B:They know that I started this company.
Speaker B:They know that I'm behind the scenes, you know, like, you know, making shit happen for them.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:So I think that they know you genuine.
Speaker B:They know I'm genuine.
Speaker B:Not some just act.
Speaker B:I'm not.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:I think me trying to create a platform for them when it comes to mental health would help our kids in the future because there's just no access to them.
Speaker B:Listen, there's nothing for them.
Speaker A:All the stuff, literally all the trauma that we go through, just being black in the United States, black in this world, the bombardment of the images, the music, the movies, our living situations, our family, the police, the government, cutting off snap, whatever, you know, like applying for a job, finding out if I had changed my name to something that sounded more European, I would have got the call back, you know, paying your debt to society, allegedly.
Speaker A:And then you come home in the same job that they would pay you 75 cents for 30 cents an hour or whatever inside, they won't even look at your resume outside, you know, so, you know, you get a job and they got nooses and stuff like that, like the trauma and the assault.
Speaker A:And yet we have to still smile every day.
Speaker A:You gotta go to work, you gotta love on your kids and your people.
Speaker A:So you're just keeping all that because as soon as you start talking about that, it's reverse racism.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:What's your problem?
Speaker A:Why do you see everything like that?
Speaker A:And you're like, you like, listen, man, if I'm gonna explode if I don't let this out, you know, and so, you know, it's a very.
Speaker A:It's a very important thing.
Speaker A:So that's a good thing that you got for the kids.
Speaker A:That's right.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And I hope that you'll come.
Speaker A:Count me in.
Speaker B:We gonna close this out.
Speaker B:But I did wanna give you my gift.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker A:I didn't even know.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That was fast.
Speaker A:Time flies when you're having fun.
Speaker B:They say AP on it.
Speaker B:And then, though.
Speaker B:But, you know, for the closing note, what's next in your journey?
Speaker B:Like, what's coming up for you?
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker A:Well, you know, at this stage, I opened my own law firm about five years ago.
Speaker A:Seen that, you know, we won, as you mentioned, the Clay was California Lawyer, Attorney of the Year awards.
Speaker A:Yeah, I was, you know, that's a big thing because these awards aren't things that you could buy, you know, And Percy.
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:Okay, look, I'm getting.
Speaker A:I see.
Speaker A:I see something pulling up on me.
Speaker B:Get that all my guest.
Speaker A:This is not.
Speaker A:I don't even know.
Speaker A:I don't know if I'm supposed to open this up.
Speaker B:I want you to open it definitely, you know, definitely talk about your journey.
Speaker A:This, this.
Speaker A:This is Christmas in November.
Speaker A:Huh?
Speaker B:Listen.
Speaker B:Okay, this what they get.
Speaker A:Let's see.
Speaker A:Okay, okay, man.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Let's see what's going on.
Speaker A:All I see is this.
Speaker A:Say, okay, that's what we call this a Versace R. Let me.
Speaker A:Let me test that chinchill.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:What's this?
Speaker A:This is big.
Speaker A:Thank you very, very much.
Speaker B:You are.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker A:You know, hey, I've been on a lot of podcasts.
Speaker A:Look, she just raised the level.
Speaker A:She just raised the level.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:She just raised the bar.
Speaker A:All right, so look, look, you call me for the next podcast, I need to match the slipper.
Speaker A:I need to, you know.
Speaker B:No, I got you.
Speaker A:Oh, you know.
Speaker A:No, not you.
Speaker A:I'm talking about whoever.
Speaker A:I'm there.
Speaker A:Yeah, you already.
Speaker A:I got you.
Speaker A:Look, she sat in the bar.
Speaker B:Y' all talk about it.
Speaker B:It's nothing like hustling into legacy.
Speaker A:Well, you asked me what I'm doing next in light of the fact that I got the, the, the, the.
Speaker A:The Versace, you know, situation together, you know, which.
Speaker A:Look, look, it took me off.
Speaker A:Look, I'm a trial child.
Speaker A:I'm used to stuff like that took.
Speaker A:That caught me off guard.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:That caught me off guard.
Speaker A:I appreciate that.
Speaker A:Yeah, apparently.
Speaker A:Apparently.
Speaker A:No, you know, we're just trying to expand at this point.
Speaker A:So I opened an office in la.
Speaker B:Oh, that's dope.
Speaker A:I really want to take cases around the country.
Speaker A:And the whole idea, you know, most law firms, you see, although it's changing a little bit, like they have the name of the person it is.
Speaker A:So our official name is Pointer and Buena.
Speaker A:My last name is Pointer.
Speaker A:My partner, Wellna.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:But we go by lawyers for the people.
Speaker A:And the reason why is because the way I see it is, you know, there's only so much time I'm going to be doing this.
Speaker A:You know, I'm 20 years in representing our community, doing civil rights work, personal injury, criminal defense, you know, employment discrimination, and I've.
Speaker A:I've.
Speaker A:I've had a great ride and I've trained a lot of people along the way, you know, Like a real CEO as a real boss.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Real leader.
Speaker A:Real leader.
Speaker A:Leader, right.
Speaker A:A leader doesn't mean, you know, it's all on you.
Speaker A:Leader means you go first, you know, that's all.
Speaker A:And so, yeah, you go first.
Speaker A:You got to put your foot out there when everybody else like, let me see, is there a steer over there?
Speaker A:You know, let me see.
Speaker A:You gotta go.
Speaker A:You gotta go first.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You take all the risks.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:But the idea is to have lawyers for the people in all corners of our country.
Speaker A:You know, law firms that are dedicated to working on behalf of the people.
Speaker A:And I do a lot of work that doesn't even make it into the headlines or on any type of social media, be it taking the money that I'm getting from settlements and verdicts and making sure different community groups, you know, are giving money to do the work they do, be it passing out food like I doing today.
Speaker A:I'm not passing it out, but I'm making sure that some of the, some of the proceeds.
Speaker A:I'm a real life Robin Hood.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:We mask on when we come in the courtroom.
Speaker A:Santa Claus, Robin Hood, all of that.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So that's a redistribution of wealth, in my opinion.
Speaker B:Me too.
Speaker A:You know, so, you know, I want to have a law firm that's funded on those principles, you know, not just.
Speaker A:Just being heck of stuffy and inaccessible to the people, but allowing people who have dreams of becoming a lawyer or just working in the law field.
Speaker A:You know, I bring people in who've never worked in a law firm, and I give them opportunities to work.
Speaker A:And if you're good, I'll raise you up through the system.
Speaker B:I like it.
Speaker A:You know, you come in with no experience.
Speaker A:You know, hey, man, I just got hustle and game.
Speaker A:Okay, cool.
Speaker A:Well, sit right there.
Speaker A:I want you to talk to the people that are coming in, you know, do some intake, put them out there.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:That's the first.
Speaker B:That's the best experience is to being put out there.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:So I've trained a lot of attorneys, a lot of paralegals, given a lot of people opportunities, scholarships, you know, and things like that.
Speaker A:And those are the.
Speaker A:Those are the accomplishments, you know, so those are the things I'm most proud about, is giving other people opportunity and allowing people to shine, you know?
Speaker B:Well, guess what?
Speaker B:God strategically chose you too, to do the work that you do.
Speaker B:And I think you blessed highly favored.
Speaker B:And you're just an amazing man.
Speaker B:I do got one more gift for you.
Speaker A:Oh, okay.
Speaker B:My book.
Speaker A:Yes, yes, I need that.
Speaker A:I need that.
Speaker B:I'LL sign it for you.
Speaker A:Yes, I need that autograph edition.
Speaker A:Yeah, I need that autograph edition.
Speaker B:So I want to hand you one, and, you know, I want to be.
Speaker B:I'm, like, trying to really get that out there, you know?
Speaker A:Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker B:That is just a true situation.
Speaker A:We gonna read this.
Speaker A:Look.
Speaker A:So I'm gonna come back to the podcast.
Speaker B:Yes, please.
Speaker A:After I read this.
Speaker A:And then we gonna change.
Speaker A:We gonna change the dynamic.
Speaker A:The table's gonna turn.
Speaker A:I'm gonna interview you.
Speaker B:I would love that.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker A:I'm gonna interview you.
Speaker A:No facts based off of this.
Speaker B:And we could do different things.
Speaker B:No, I would love that, actually.
Speaker B:That would be kind of dope if you could do that.
Speaker B:I want somebody to interview me more to, like, I'm on this side.
Speaker B:I've been on both sides.
Speaker A:Sure.
Speaker B:And it's my first time being on this side.
Speaker B:Like I said, you my first person to come on, and so I really enjoyed it.
Speaker B:I think you're in a.
Speaker B:Your presence speaks for itself, to be honest.
Speaker A:Well, thank you.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:You have the ability to pull it out of people.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:So that's the thing about being the host, right?
Speaker A:People get on a podcast.
Speaker A:It's dry.
Speaker A:It's like you have to be yourself.
Speaker A:You do.
Speaker A:You have to let your personality come out, and you have to be real.
Speaker B:We had a whole show before they even start recording.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Hopefully there's some B roll here that y' all put in here, because there was a lot of game, a lot of bars, a lot being dropped.
Speaker B:You know, I just.
Speaker B:I guess we'll end it by any Indian words you want to say on the Turning Hustle in the legacy.
Speaker B:Like, you want to tell the people.
Speaker A:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:Instagram.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:I mean, I say this about turning hustle into legacy.
Speaker A:That's a great name, because one thing that we embrace in our community, despite whatever they say on, you know, the blogs and, you know, conservative talk shows and all that, is black people willing to hustle, period.
Speaker A:We willing to work.
Speaker B:We is.
Speaker A:Hell, the country was built on our back.
Speaker A:It was for no fees, period.
Speaker A:No wages, period.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:We still got up and did it.
Speaker B:And we still got up and did it.
Speaker A:So, you know, but so the hustle we embrace, the next part we have to embrace is, as you, in the name of your podcast, turn it into legacy.
Speaker A:You know, we have to look beyond ourselves and create things that don't just get blown away, like the sands of time.
Speaker A:And that means creating systems.
Speaker B:I love that.
Speaker A:That means creating organizations.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:That means empowering people to be around you.
Speaker A:Yeah, I do all of the work I do.
Speaker A:It's not just me.
Speaker A:I have a circle of people.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:That help to help you have lift me up.
Speaker B:You can't do it by yourself, you know, you just can't.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:So you know, I love the name and that's something to remember in terms of turning the hustle and legacy.
Speaker A:And if you want to catch up with me, if you want to follow my clients journey to justice, if you want to hear about Pointer point of view and the work we do at Lawyers for the People, you can either look me up.
Speaker A:Adante Pointer.
Speaker A:That's my name.
Speaker A:That's on all my, that's my handle.
Speaker A:That's what it is on all my social media.
Speaker A:Dantepointer.
Speaker A:And if you want to follow the lawyer firm, the law firm, just look for lawyers for the people.
Speaker A:Lawyers FTP.
Speaker A:And you know, I'll say this, people say lawyers FTP.
Speaker A:I go, yeah.
Speaker A:They say what?
Speaker A:I said, that's for the people.
Speaker A:I thought it meant something else like that NWA song, you know, I said, well, I do sue the police.
Speaker A:So you know, if that's what you think, that's on you.
Speaker A:But you know, we for the people, period.
Speaker A:That's why we're here.
Speaker B:Well, I love you so much.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Toodles and show is over.
