>> Renee: FOR 20 YEARS, LOUISVILLE ACTIVIST CHRISTOPHER 2X HAS BEEN AN AMBASSADOR FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE.

HE HAS GONE FROM BEING A CONVICTED DRUG DEALER TO A HOPE DEALER WITH COMMUNITY WORK THAT SEEKS TO DERAIL YOUTH FROM THE PATH HE ONCE TOOK.

CHRISTOPHER 2X'S STORY IS ONE OF REDEMPTION AND TRANSFORMATION.

SO MUCH SO, HE HAS RECEIVED PARDONS ON THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL FOR HIS MISDEEDS.

A GAME CHANGER ERIN DEED AND YOU'LL LEARN HOW NOW ON CONNECTIONS.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME ON CONNECTIONS.

IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I SAT DOWN WITH CHRISTOPHER 2X AND I'M THRILLED THAT WE ARE CATCHING UP WITH HIM TODAY.

IF YOU HAVE A LOVED ONE IN YOUR LIFE WHO IS IN THE CLUTCHES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OR CHILD SEEMINGLY HEADED IN THAT DIRECTION, TODAY'S GUEST, CHRISTOPHER 2X CAN SPEAK TO YOU AND THEM ABOUT RESTORATION AND REDEMPTION IS POSSIBLE A MAN WHO IS A YOUNG BOY INVOLVED IN DRUG TRAFFICKING AND SPENT SEVERAL STINTS BEHIND BARS.

HAS MATURED INTO A MAN SEEKING TO KEEP LOUISVILLE CHILDREN FROM THE SAME FATE.

HE IS DEDICATED TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES THAT SHOW YOUTH A BETTER WAY TOE A LARGER LIFE.

HE HAS GOTTEN THE ATTENTION OF STATE AND NATIONAL POLITICAL LEADERS AND HAS EARNED PARDONS FOR HIS MISDEEDS.

SO MUCH MORE TO SHARE ABOUT CHRIS.

WE NEED TWO HALF HOURS.

IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN EVEN FROM A DISTANCE.

GLAD TO BE WITH YOU AGAIN.

GLAD TO BE WITH CONNECTIONS.

>> Renee: WELL, A LOT HAS HAPPENED SINCE WE LAST HAVE SPOKEN WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN SEVEN OR SO YEARS.

I WANT TO REFRESH VIEWERS MEMORIES ABOUT YOU AND YOUR WORK WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AND YOU HAVE TOLD US ABOUT THE WORK GOING ON IN THAT COMMUNITY SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

BUT FOR THOSE OUTSIDE OF LOUISVILLE, CHRIS, WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOUR PAST LIFE, WHICH I DON'T WANT TO SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON BECAUSE WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW IS WORTH MORE TIME THAN WHAT YOU DID IN YOUR PAST LIFE.

TELL US ABOUT THE JOURNEY THAT YOU HAVE TAKEN.

>> TO BE QUITE FRANK WITH YOU, RENEE, IT HAD BEEN A DARK JOURNEY FOR A LONG TIME.

THERE WAS A LOT OF SELF INFLICTED WOUNDS AS A YOUNG PERSON AND THEN MY FIRST TIME BEING IN THE JUVENILE SYSTEM AT AGE 13 YEARS OLD AND THAT WAS A PATHWAY FOR ME INTO ADULTHOOD.

AS YOU POINTED OUT, I SPENT TIME IN FEDERAL PRISON AND STATE PRISON AND FINALLY, IN 1999, AT THE BEGINNING OF 1999 GOING ON 23 YEARS NOW, I GOT RELEASED FROM PRISON FOR THE LAST TIME MAYBE IT WAS AN EPIPHANY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS BUT I DECIDED IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO TRY TO AT LEAST ADDRESS SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I COULD BRING ABOUT HEALING FOR SELF FIRST AND THEN OUTWARDLY DO IT FOR OTHERS.

ANDY STARTED ATTACHING MYSELF TO COMMUNITY CAUSES AND COMMUNITY ACTION GROUPS AND WE ARE GOING INTO 23 YEARS LATER, IT IS WHAT IT IS WITH ME AS IT RELATES TO PEACE AND JUSTICE EFFORTS.

>> AND WE READ ABOUT YOU ALL THE TIME IN THE PAPER AND SEE YOU ON TELEVISION I'M BIG ABOUT HOPEFULLY THESE PROGRAMS ARE NOT JUST SOMETHING TO WATCH BUT SOMETHING TO FEEL AND ACT UPON AND FOR SOMEBODY WHO MAY BE SIT SITTING AT HOME AND YOUR STORY RESEMBLES MAYBE THEIR OWN OR A LOVED ONE WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THEM THAT THEY DON'T LOSE HOPE THAT REDEMPTION IS POSSIBLE.

>> REDEMPTION AND SECOND CHANCES CAN BE REAL IT DOESN'T HAVE TO COME THROUGH A STATE PARDON BY A GOVERNOR OR EVEN ON THE PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL WHICH I RECEIVED IN DECEMBER OF 2020.

AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE REAL SECOND CHANCE AND REDEMPTION SATISFACTION, FOR ANYONE OUT THERE WHO IS LOOKING FOR THAT, WHO HAS SWEARED A POSITIVE PATHWAY TO A NEGATIVE SITUATION.

THE REDEMPTION QUALITIES AND SECOND CHANCE QUALITIES SHOULD COME FROM SOMETHING FROM WITHIN AND THEN AGAIN OUTWARDLY HOW YOU IMPACT OTHERS LIVES.

IT CAN BE OBTAINABLE.

IT'S REACHABLE BUT HAVE YOU TO PUT THE WORK ETHIC INTO IT AND UNDERSTAND, EXPRESSLY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, THAT YOU WERE BORN FOR A BETTER PURPOSE THAN YOU MIGHT THINK SO.

>> Renee: CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE WORK YOU PUT IN?

I LOVE HOW YOU PUT THAT.

IT'S NOT JUST THE DESIRE BUT HAVE YOU TO GO AFTER THE LIFE YOU WANT AND THE LIFE YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGED.

IS THERE A DIRECT WAY YOU CAN DO THAT.

>> PEOPLE WHO GET TIED UP IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, THEY KNOW THE DAMAGE AND THE HURT AND THE PAIN THEY SEE IN NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THEY HAVE FREQUENTED EVEN IN THAT LIFE BEING CAUGHT UP IN CRIMINAL ISSUES SO FOR ME IT WAS MORE OR LESS TRYING TO RESET IN THE BEGINNING OF 1999 AND SAY, WHERE CAN I PLACE MY ENERGY BEST AND WHERE WOULD I FEEL COMFORTABLE MOST PLACING THAT ENERGY IN THE RIGHT WAY TO DO SOME CLEANSING?

I FEEL ANY YOUNG PERSON OUT THERE THAT IS LISTENING TO THIS OR FAMILY MEMBER THAT HAS A YOUNG PERSON THAT IS ON THE EDGE OR TOTALLY ENGULFED INTO THESE ISSUES THEY SHOULD START WHERE THAT PERSON'S MIND SET WOULD EASILY HAVE A SEGUE FOR THAT CHANGE AND THAT'S RIGHT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES AND DOING SOME GOOD WORK, ESPECIALLY WITH FAMILY AND CHILDREN AND EQUALLY SOMETHING THAT DRIVES THEIR INTERESTS WHERE IT BECOMES A SATISFYING PASSION FOR THEM.

>> Renee: I MENTION OR ALLUDED IN THE BEGINNING HOW THE WORK YOU HAVE BEEN DOING IN THE LOUISVILLE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN TRUMPETED BY POLITICIANS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE FROM SENATOR RAND PAUL TO MAYOR GREG FISCHER TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, AND REMIND FOLKS WHEN GOVERNOR MATT BEVIN WAS IN OFFICE, HE GAVE YOU A START PARDON AND PRESIDENT TRUMP GAVE YOU A PRESIDENTIAL PARDON.

BUT YOU HAVE WRITTEN, I KNOW, THAT APPEARED IN THE WASHINGTON POST, THAT PARDONS ARE NOT TO TAKE THE PLACE OF REAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AND THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE AFTER.

>> SO THE AUDIENCE HAS A CRYSTAL CLEAR UNDERSTANDING, I NEVER SOUGHT OUT PERSONALLY THE STATE PARDON.

I NEVER SOUGHT THE FEDERAL PARDON.

QUICKLY, MY FRIEND FOR SEVERAL YEARS, RETIRED AIR FORCE BRIGADIER GENERAL GIVENS APPROACHED MYSELF AND MY FAMILY IN 2019 ABOUT THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL PARDON IN CONVERSATION.

WE TOTALLY TURNED IT DOWN SEVERAL TIMES AND FINALLY HE WAS SO PERSISTENT IN THE SAME YEAR OF 19 THAT HE WANTED TO DO THIS AND HE THOUGHT THAT I WAS WORTHY OF THIS TRY.

MYSELF AND MY DAUGHTERS FINALLY JUST TOLD HIM, LOOK, YOU CAN DO IT, BE QUIET ABOUT IT.

WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR FANFARE BEHIND IT AND THEN EVERYTHING EVOLVED, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, RENEE, THAT'S ONE THING I'LL USE AS RELATES TO THE PRESIDENTIAL PARDON.

I'LL USE AS A TOOL, AGAIN, TO TALK ABOUT REDEMPTION AND SECOND CHANCES AND TO ALSO LET THE YOUNG KNOW, WHO WILL LISTEN, THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO WAIT ON THESE RARE SITUATIONS AS IT RELATES TO THESE PARDONS.

THIS PRESIDENTIAL PARDON, I MEAN I HAD A HISTORIAN TELL ME THE WEEKEND THIS HAPPENED OR END OF THE WEEKEND, CHRISTMAS WEEKEND, OF 2020, THAT THEY RESEARCHED AND THEY COULDN'T FIND, AT LEAST ALL THE WAY BACK TO PRESIDENT REAGAN, WHERE LOUISVILLE CITIZEN GOT A FULL PRESIDENTIAL PARDON.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 40 YEARS AND SOME CHANGE, PLUS.

AND SO THEY'RE SO RARE.

I DON'T WANT INDIVIDUALS TO THINK THAT A PARDON IS THE TRULY REDEMENTIAIST QUALITIES OF A PERSON, BUT DOING THE WORK AND FINDING SATISFACTION IN DOING SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW IS WORTHY TO DO IN A POSITIVE WAY AND IMPACT OTHERS IS THE BIGGEST APPLAUSE YOU CAN GET IN LIFE.

>> Renee: AND THE PEACE WORK THAT YOU HAVE DONE.

YOU HAVE BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THESE CONVERSATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO POLICE INVOLVED SHOOTINGS.

HOW DO YOU SEE THIS CONVERSATION NOW UNFOLDING AND WHAT YOUR WORK IN THESE LAST 20 YEARS HAS TOLD YOU HAD AND INFORMED YOU ABOUT WHAT ARE WE, AS A NATION AND AS A STATE SHOULD BE DOING NEXT?

I THINK THESE ISSUES ARE AS SERIOUS AS THEY GET I THINK YOUNG VOICES NEED TO BE GRAVITATED TO THE TOP OF THE FERTIONS.

WE HAVE A LOT OF TALENTED INDIVIDUALS WHO AS YOUNG EMERGING LEADERS IN THE CONVERSATION.

I WOULD TELL EVERYBODY THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THAT WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO CO-EXIST BETTER FOR CHILDREN TO THRIVE IN SAFE AND INHABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS TO CO-EXIST BETTER, NOT IN A WAY, RENEE, THAT WE HAVE THIS LOVEY DOVEY RELATIONSHIP THAT MIGHT BE SO ARTIFICIAL, BUT ON THE PRINCIPLES OF RESPECT WE CAN GET THERE IF WE TRY HARD AND I WOULD SUGGEST ANYBODY, POLITICIANS, GRASSROOTS INDIVIDUALS, INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN SEEING BETTER COMMUNITIES, THAT WE USE THE CHILDREN AS A FOCUS TO GET THERE IN A WAY THAT WE CAN ALL FEEL GOOD ABOUT AND HAVE SAFE AND INBE PART OF.

>> Renee: YOU HAVE EARNED THE TRUST OF LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT USED TO GO AFTER YOU, THAT YOU ARE NOW A PARTNER WITH THE FBI AND DOING THIS WORK.

TALK TO US ABOUT THAT.

SO FOR ME, TO BE QUITE FRANK WITH YOU, RENEE ALT ONE POINT IN MY LIFE WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND EVEN INTO MY ADULT YEARS BEFORE THIS TURN AROUND CAME ABOUT, I'M JUST LIKE ANY OTHER YOUNG BLACK IN A NEIGHBORHOOD WHO FEELS A NO TRUST ISSUE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.

I GET IT.

HOWEVER, ONCE THE LIGHT CAME ON IN MY HEAD AND I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT HEY, GUESS WHAT, LAW ENFORCEMENT IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

IT'S GOING TO BE PART OF A FABRIC OF A COMMUNITY WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT.

SO, FOR ME, IT'S ABOUT LOOKING PAST THE SO CALLED BLUE UNIFORM OR A DETECTIVE IN A SUIT, WHETHER IT'S ON A LOCAL LEVEL, STATE LEVEL OR THE FEDERAL LEVEL WITH THE FBI.

I BELIEVE IN HAVING CIVIL SERVICERS TO-- CONVERSATIONS TO TRY TO BETTER RELATIONS AND BERT RELATIONS IN A WAY THAT EVEN FOR YOUNG BLACKS, YOU ALL HAVE THE RIGHT AND YOU ALL SHOULD HAVE THE WILLPOWER TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH ANYBODY THAT'S IN ANY REALM OF LIFE, WHETHER IT'S THE FBI OR WHOEVER IT IS AND TO LET THEM KNOW I'M TO BE RESPECTED, AS I RESPECT YOUR SPACE, YOU RESPECT MY SPACE AND WE CAN CO-EXIST BETTER FOR BETTER DAYS FOR ALL OF US.

THAT'S MY THOUGHT PROCESS.

>> Renee: BUT HAVE YOU SEEN HOW THAT HAS NOT ALWAYS PANNED OUT AND WE HAVE SEEN THE CLASHES WITH THOSE ACTIVISTS LIKE YOURSELF WHO HAVE BEEN IN THE STREETS PROTESTING FOR JUSTICE PEACEFULLY BUT YET IN LOUISVILLE AS A GREAT EXAMPLE WHERE SOME OF THAT WAS MET WITH RESISTANCE AS WAS REPORTED FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT.

YOUR VIEWS ON, PARTICULARLY THE LAST SUMMER IN 2020 AND THE PROTESTS OVER BREONNA TAYLOR, HOW DO YOU SIZE THAT UP AND HOW DO YOU THINK THAT CHANGED LOUISVILLE?

AND IS CHANGING LOUISVILLE?

SO, RENEE, YOU KNOW, THOSE PREDOMINANTLY YOUNG INDIVIDUALS WHO ESSENTIALLY POURED OUT INTO THE STREET, LET THEIR VOICES BE HEARD IN THE MOST MAGNIFYING WAY THAT THEY COULD MAGNIFY THEIR VOICES, THEY CAME OUT OF HURT, THEY CAME OUT OF DISSATISFACTION.

AND THOSE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT ON THE OTHER SIDE WHO WERE TAKING THE BRUNT OF SOME OF THOSE ACCUSATIONS OF POLICE MISCONDUCT, WE ALL GOT TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT DIDN'T JUST MANIFEST BECAUSE OF A SNAP OF A FINGER SITUATION.

THESE WERE BUILT UP SITUATIONS THAT OCCURRED.

AND I WOULD SAY THAT THE SUMMER OF 2020 WAS EYE OPENING AT BEST, NOT ONLY IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

EQUALLY AT THE SAME TIME, I CAN RELATE TO THE HURT.

I CAN RELATE TO IT WELL.

EQUALLY MY WHOLE VIEW OF THE SUMMER OF 2020 WAS AND STILL WILL BE, TO HELP NAVIGATE YOUNG VOICES TO BE INTELLIGENT AND TO MOVE IN AN INTELLIGENT WAY SO WE CAN SEE REAL RESULTS, NOT ONLY JUST BECAUSE OF A BREONNA TAYLOR POLICE INVOLVED SHOOTING SITUATION, BUT AS IT RELATES TO EQUITY PERIOD AND THE EQUALITY THEY'RE SEEKING IN A WAY AND THE RESPECT THEY'RE SEEKING FROM THOSE EMPOWERED TO UNDERSTAND THEY ARE PEOPLE AND THEY'RE PEOPLE WITH PURPOSE.

I WOULD ASK YOUNG PEOPLE TO DO IT WITH TASTE, DO IT WITH DISTINCTION AND AT THE SAME TIME, UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND YOU SHOULD BE COUNTED.

>> Renee: WHEN YOU JUST SAID THAT, I WAS THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE FOOT SOLDIERS THAT WE'VE HAD THE PLEASURE OF TALKING TO AND THAT I KNOW THROUGH OTHER SPACES, HANNAH DRAKE THE LIST GOES ON AND ON OF THESE YOUNG.

>> ALL WONDERFUL TALENT.

>> Renee: AND TAKING AT IT, JAKORI, THE YOUNGEST COUNCIL PERSON AND YOU CAN'T TURN ON FACEBOOK WITHOUT SEEING HANNAH DO SLAM POE POETRY THAT GETS YOU ALL THE WAY STRAIGHT AND CA TOUR IS RESPONSIBLE IN PART FOR BREONNA'S LAW IN LIEUVILLE.

THEY'RE USING THE PASSION FOR ACTIVISM VISM FOR REAL CHANGE AND REAL CHANGES COMES IN POLICY.

I WANT TO SAY WE ALL REMEMBER IN THE "COURIER JOURNAL" THERE WAS A PHOTOGRAPH OF THIS BARRICADE OF STRONG AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN, WHO WERE TRYING TO PROTECT A WHITE OFFICER, WHO AN OUTSIDER WAS TRYING TO COME IN AND INFILTRATE.

IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN THESE IMAGES OF THE CLASHES.

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE COMMUNITY SAID WE ARE GOING TO PROTECT THESE LAW ENFORCEMENT, THESE GUARDIANS OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY SYSTEM AS WELL AND RESPECT THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING AND CALLED TO DO FOR THE COMMUNITY.

>> I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT THAT UP AND I'M WELL ACQUAINTED TO WHAT YOU ARE SPEAKING ABOUT, THE YOUNG MEN PROTECTING THE WHITE OFFICER.

I TELL KIDS ALL THE TIME, TO BE QUITE FRANK WITH YOU, RENEE AND YOUNG PEOPLE, THAT THE BE PROUD OF YOUR BLACKNESS.

BUT USE YOUR BLACKNESS IN A UNIVERSAL WAY FOR HEALING THE PLANET.

MEANING THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU CAN'T SAY I'M JUST BLACK, BLACK, BLACK AND NOT WANT TO GIVE JUSTICE TO ANY PERSON ON THE PLANET EARTH.

REAL BLACKNESS FOR ME IS USING IT IN A WAY TO GIVE HEALING AND JUSTICE TO ANYONE YOU HAVE INTERACTIONS WITH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, BEING PROUD ABOUT HOW YOU WERE BIRTHED IN THE WORLD AND DOING IT IN AN INTELLIGENT WAY AND NOT SHOWING NEGATIVITY WHERE IT TAKES AWAY FROM THE BLACKNESS THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO PROMOTE.

>> Renee: YOU KNOW, I WANT TO SHIFT NOW BECAUSE ALONG WITH ALL THE TIMES WE SEE YOU ON THOSE PROTEST LINES, THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING IN THE COMMUNITY, WE DON'T WANT TO OVERSHADOW.

AND YOUR GAME CHANGER SITE, I THINK YOU HAVE A T-SHIRT THAT READS BACKWARDS TO ME BUT I THINK YOU ARE DOING SOME GOOD ADVERTISING FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION, FOR YOUR NON-PROFIT.

AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT.

AND THIS REPORT THAT YOU RELEASED, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN IN 2019, VIOLENCE THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN LEARNING.

AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT THE TRAUMA OF VIOLENCE.

AND THIS REPORT DOES THAT.

AND IT DOESN'T JUST GIVE YOU ALL THESE FACTS AND FIGURES BUT THESE ANECDOTES FROM FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY, THE FORMER EDUCATION COMMISSIONER OF KENTUCKY WAYNE LEWIS.

YOU TALK TO LAW ENFORCEMENT BUT YOU ALSO TALK AND HAVE EXCERPTS FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED THROUGH THAT VIOLENT TRAUMA.

AND FROM PEOPLE WHO, YOUNG TEENS WHO WANT A BETTER WAY AND A BETTER LIFE, WHICH MAKES IT NOT JUST AN ANNUAL REPORT WITH PIE CHARTS.

BUT IT REALLY MAKES IT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN CONNECT TO WITH A HEART.

I WANT YOU TO TALK ABOUT PARTICULARLY THIS STUDY AND THIS IS A YEAR OLD.

WHERE IS IT NOW?

IT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN THE CHRISTOPHER 2X GAME CHANGER RENEE.

WE WORK HAND IN GLOVE WITH THE YMCA CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER AND BEFORE AND BACK TO SCHOOL.

AND WE KNOW TRAUMA IS REAL.

WE USED TO HAVE THESE OLD MODELS WHERE YOU DO THIS INTERVENTION WHERE KIDS GET INTO HIGH SCHOOL ABOUT VIOLENT TENDENCIES AND ALL THAT.

THAT INFORMATION IS INFORMATION THAT IS OUTDATED.

WE HAVE TO INTERVENE NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, RENEE, AT THE PRESCHOOL LEVEL, WE HAVE GOT TO DO STRONG INTERVENTION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND DEFINITELY MIDDLE SCHOOL BEFORE THEY EVEN TAKE THAT NEXT STEP IN THE HIGH SCHOOL.

BECAUSE THE KIDS ARE ABSORBING STUFF LIKE A SPONGE.

NOW YOU SEE TWO YEAR OLDS THAT CAN NAVIGATE THROUGH CELL PHONES THEY PICK UP INFORMATION RAPIDLY NOW.

AND UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF THAT INFORMATION IS VERY NEGATIVE AND CAN START A PROCESS FOR THEM ON THE ROAD TO NO RETURN AND THAT IS VERY DEVASTATING FOR FAMILIES THE REPORT WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THE CHILDREN WHO ARE IMPACTED BY TRAUMA SOMETIMES HAVE A HARD WAY OF SEGUEING BACK INTO THE CLASSROOM AND FOCUS AGAIN ON THEIR LEARNING.

WE WANTED TO HIGH THAT HIGHLIGHT THAT THROUGH REAL LIFE TESTIMONY.

AND ON THAT PIECE FOR ME, WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE REPORT IS THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, AT LEAST REGARDLESS OF THE CONVERSATION ABOUT U.S.

SENATOR RAND PAUL.

HE TOOK THAT REPORT AFTER HE READ IT AND HAD A CONVERSATION ON A PANEL THAT I PUT TOGETHER ABOUT IT AND IN 2020, HE ENTERED THAT REPORT INTO THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD FROM THE FLOOR OF THE U.S. SENATE BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THE REPORT WAS THAT WORTH TOE TALK ABOUT VIOLENCE AND THE IMPACT ON CHILDREN LEARNING.

SO I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO DISMISS THAT OUR CHILDREN AT EARLY AGES NOW, YOU CAN START TO SEE THESE BEHAVIORAL ISSUES AND IF THEY'RE LEFT UNCHECKED AND IF YOU THINK THEY'RE JUST GOING TO GROW OUT OF IT, IT IS NOT LIKE THAT.

>> Renee: WHEN YOU MENTION THE TESTIMONIES, ONE IS YOUR VERY ONAND I'M JUST GOING TO READ THIS.

IT SAYS IMAGINE YOU ARE A MOM AT HOME WATCHING A VIDEO WITH YOUR KIDS AND THEIR PLAY MATES ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOUR HOME IS BEING RIDDLED WITH BULLETS FROM A HIGH CALIBER WEAPON.

NO IMAGINATION NEEDED.

THIS HAPPENED TO MY DAUGHTER HEAVEN, A CHILD DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST WHO WAS WITH SIX CHILDREN AGES 1-7 WHEN HER HOME WAS HIT WITH GUNFIRE FROM AN ACHE AK-46 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON.

MOST OF US, CHRISTOPHER, NEVER HAVE TO ENDURE WHAT HEAVEN HAD TO ENDURE, NEVER HAVE TO WITNESS THAT.

AND SO HOW DO YOU GET PEOPLE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THAT EXPERIENCE?

THAT IT IS NOT JUST YOUR TESTIMONY.

IT'S SOMEBODY'S LIFE EXPERIENCE AND YOUR OWN?

>> THERE IS NO DOUBT, RENEE.

THAT WAS THE SPRING BOARD FOR THAT REPORT.

TO BE QUITE FRANK WITH YOU, HEAVEN'S TRAINING AS AN EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST SAVED THOSE KIDS THAT DAY IN DECEMBER OF 2018.

WHERE, IF IT WASN'T FOR HER QUICK THINKING AND HER TRAINING, WHERE SHE PULLED THEM TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED AND WENT UNDER THAT BED, BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T A TARGET OF ANY KIND.

IT WAS SOMEBODY SHOOTING AT A TARGET AND HIT THREE DIFFERENT TOWNHOUSES AND THE TOWNHOUSE SHE WAS IN TOOK THE BRUNT OF THOSE ACHE ACHE AK-47 ROUNDS.

IT IS AN ATTENTION GRABBY TO LEAD TO A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE INNOCENCE THAT IS CONNECTED TO THE IMPACT ON VIOLENCE IS REAL.

AND THE TRAUMA WHERE KIDS JUST HEAR GUNSHOTS IN NEIGHBORHOODS, RENEE, IS REAL.

AND IT DEFINITELY TOUCHES THEM IN A WAY WHERE THEY NEED TO BE EVALUATED FOR HELP AND LASTLY ON THAT, RENEE, FOR ME, PARENTS DON'T NEED TO BE ASHAMED OR AFRAID TO SEEK HELP.

DON'T BE THAT WAY WHEN YOU NEED HELP, SEEK HELP, FEEL FREE TO CALL ME AT ANY TIME AND I'M A GOOD LINK AND CONNECTOR FOR THAT TRAUMA HELP AND MENTAL HEALTH CONNECTIONS.

>> Renee: YOU KNOW, I'M CURIOUS, HOW WAS THIS REPORT RECEIVED BY THE JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM BECAUSE WE ALL READ, EVEN THOSE OF US WHO LIVE IN LEXINGTON, ABOUT THE EDUCATIONAL PLIGHTS OF CHILDREN IN POOR NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE THERE IS HIGH VIOLENCE, HIGH CRIME.

AND THIS KIND OF TRAUMA THAT THEY ENDURE, THAT YOU CAN'T SEPARATE YOUR LIFE FROM OVERNIGHT TO THE NEXT MORNING WHEN YOU HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL OR BEING VIRTUAL LEARNING OR HOWEVER IT IS.

HOW DO THE JCPS RECEIVE THIS AND WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT KIDS WHO COME FROM THESE ENVIRONMENTS NEED REALLY A HELPING HAND?

>> SO WHEN THIS REPORT WAS RELEASED AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT CAME IN NOVEMBER OF 2019, RENEE, I TOOK A COPY TO EACH OF THE BOARD MEMBERS ON THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IN JFER JEFFERSON COUNTY AND TO Dr. POLEO, I BELIEVE IT WAS RECEIVED WELL AND I NEVER DID GET ANY NEGATIVE FEEDBACK.

AND THEY THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A GOOD REPORT AS RELATES TO OTHER DISCUSSIONS AS IT RELATES TO PUBLIC SAFETY IN THEIR SCHOOLS AND I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THAT.

>> Renee: GOOD, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHANGES TO ZERO TOLERANCE POLICIES.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM, THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND OUR EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL SERVICES SYSTEM, THEY'RE ALL TIGHTLY INTERWOVEN, AS YOU KNOW.

I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU.

SO IF THERE IS A BREAKDOWN IN THE SOCIAL SERVICES AND EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS, THAT'S GOING TO MANIFEST IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

SO WHAT IS IT YOU WANT THE EDUCATION COMMUNITY TO DO, NOT JUST IN JEFFERSON COUNTY BUT THAT CAN BE A MODEL FOR THE REST OF THE STATE AND NATION ABOUT HOW TO MAKE THIS WORK FOR KIDS BETTER WHEN THEY'RE OR DEALING WITH THIS KIND OF TRAUMA IN THEIR LIVES EVERY DA I?

>> CONSTANTLY BE ABOUT WHAT THEY SAY THEY ARE.

THEY CARE ABOUT KIDS THEY CARE ABOUT KIDS PATHWAY TO PROGRESS AND AT THE SAME TIME, I WOULD EMPHASIZE AGAIN, RENEE, LET'S TALK ABOUT A CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY BRYANT AT ONE TIME, WHEN HE WAS YOUNG AND I FELT THAT I WASN'T GETTING ATTENTION THAT I NEEDED AND I'M NOT CRYING SOUR GRAPES.

BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN YOU SEE A TROUBLED KID IN SCHOOL, TO BE QUITE FRANK WITH YOU, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO BE MORE PATIENT WITH THAT KID THAN ANY OTHER KID THAT IS EXCELLING AT THE TIME AND GIVE MORE ATTENTION TO THAT KID TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT IS THE BOTTOM LINE ON THIS BEHAVIORAL ISSUE AND HOW CAN WE ATTEMPT TO TURN IT AROUND BECAUSE, RENEE, YOU KNOW THIS, AT THE END OF THE DAY, A LOT OF KIDS, UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN THEY DON'T GET THAT ATTENTION, WE KNOW THERE IS A REAL SCHOOL TO PRISON PIPELINE THAT IS A REALITY AND IT SHOULD NOT BE AND WE HAVE TO WORK HARDER TO LET IT NOT BE $WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE AND WITH YOU AND OTHER PROGRAMS THAT, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY THIS EARLY CHILDHOOD PIECE THAT YOU ARE REALLY INVOLVED IN.

WE KNOW THAT IF A CHILD, BY THE THIRD GRADE, CANNOT READ AT GRADE LEVEL, THAT THAT IS HOW STATES PROJECT HOW MANY PRISONS THEY SHOULD BUILD BASED ON THIRD GRADE READING LEVELS BECAUSE THOSE KIDS ARE MORE LIKELY TO DROP OUT ALONG THE WAY, RIGHT?

SO AS SOMEONE WHO WAS IN THAT SITUATION, THAT HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT SITUATION WITH JUST MAYBE A MINUTE WE HAVE LEFT, YOU KNOW, I DO WANT YOU TO, AS YOU ARE LOOKING INTO THAT CAMERA, SPEAK HOPE ABOUT WHAT IS POSSIBLE REGARDLESS OF YOUR ZIP CODE AND WHERE YOU MAY BE LIVING.

WHAT REALLY IS POSSIBLE?

>> THE HOPE IS THE HARD WORK INTERNALLY FROM WITHIN TO KNOW THAT YOU WERE BIRTHED IN THIS WORLD FOR PURPOSE.

SO I WANT ANY FAMILY MEMBER TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY FACE THESE KINDS OF TROUBLING SITUATIONS WITHIN THEIR FAMILY UNIT, AND EXPRESSLY AS IT RELATES TO THE KIDS, LOOK AT THE SITUATION, JUST LIKE IF YOU TOOK THEM TO A PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR AND THEY GOT DIAGNOSED WITH AN ILLNESS.

YOU WOULDN'T GIVE UP ON THEM THEN AS RELATES TRYING TO CURE THAT ILLNESS BASED ON THE DOCTORS' ASSESSMENT.

DON'T GIVE UP ON THEM BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEHAVIORAL ISSUES.

WORK HARDER TO TRY TO CORRECT THOSE ISSUES.

>> Renee: THAT'S A GREAT WAY TO END IT.

CHRISTOPHER 2X.

I APPRECIATE YOU AND THE WORK THAT YOU ARE DOING.

EVERY ACCOLADE YOU DESERVE, SIR AND I'M PROUD TO KNOW YOU AND I THANK YOU FOR GIVING US YOUR TIME.

>> LIKEWISE, RENEE.

>> Renee: THANK YOU ALL FOR WATCHING CONNECTIONS.

YOU CAN GO ON OUR WEBSITE AND YOU CAN FIND PREVIOUS EPISODES WHERE WE HAVE TALKED TO CHRISTOPHER 2X ABOUT HIS WORK AND THE EFFORTS THAT HE IS DOING TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM AND EARLY CHILDHOOD.

WE APPRECIATE YOU VIEWING US TODAY AND OF COURSE YOU CAN ALWAYS FOLLOW THOSE PUBLIC POLICY DISCUSSIONS HAPPENING IN FRANKFORT EVERY DAY.

WE HAVE A RECAP AT 11:00 P.M. MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY 8:30 EASTERN TIME ON FRIDAY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE KEEPS YOU IN THE KNOW ABOUT THE POLICIES THAT REALLY AFFECT YOU EVERY DAY.

AND MAKE SURE YOU TUNE INTO KENTUCKY TONIGHT ON MONDAYS TO GET THE DISCUSSION AS WELL AS 8:00 P.M.

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM AND OUR PODCAST TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING.