FREDERICK HAMMERSLEY FOUNDATION...

...AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU

THIS TIME, ON COLORES!

WITH A DEEP PASSION FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN

EXPERIENCE IN UNITED STATES MILITARY HISTORY,

ROBERT F. JEFFERSON JR. UNCOVERS AND SHARES STORIES OF COURAGE,

VALOR AND LESSONS FOR HOPE.

WHILE RESEARCHING ONE FAMILIES HISTORY IN TWO WORLD WARS

ROBERT F. JEFFERSON JR. IS INSPIRED TO LIVE

BY THE COURAGE OF HIS CONVICTIONS.

YOU HAVE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF TO HEAL.

SINGER, SONGWRITER AND VETERAN JUSTIN EVAN

THOMPSON SHARES A HEARTFELT PERFORMANCE.

SEEKING SUPPORT THROUGH ANGELS AND HEROES,

MILITARY FAMILIES COME TOGETHER BY EXPERIENCING

RANCHING AND FARMING.

IT'S ALL AHEAD ON COLORES!

LESSONS FOR HOPE.

>>DR. ROBERT F. JEFFERSON JR. IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF

HISTORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO AND THE

AUTHOR OF BROTHERS IN VALOR: BATTLEFIELD STORIES

OF THE 89 AFRICAN AMERICANS AWARDED THE

MEDAL OF HONOR AND FIGHTING FOR HOPE: AFRICAN AMERICAN

TROOPS AND THE 93RD INFANTRY DIVISION IN WORLD WAR II.

I'M SO HAPPY TO TALK WITH YOU DR. JEFFERSON WHAT

INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE ABOUT AFRICAN MILITARY-

AFRICAN AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY?

>>WELL MY GRANDFATHER BASICALLY SERVED IN THE

SECOND WORLD WAR AND WHEN I WAS A BOY HE WOULD

BASICALLY TELL ME STORIES ABOUT HIS UM SERVICE AND

HOW HE FELT ABOUT BEING A YOUNG MAN, BEING IN- LIVING IN A,

A RACIALLY SEGREGATED SOUTH,

SOUTH CAROLINA AND WHAT THE WAR MEANT TO HIM AND THE, HIS

STORIES BASICALLY STAY WITH ME FOR MUCH OF MY

LIFE AND I BECAME MORE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THE

SECOND WORLD WAR EXPERIENCE WAS LIKE FOR

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND I DECIDED TO BASICALLY

DEVOTE MY LIFE TO THAT.

>>CAN YOU SHARE A COUPLE OF STORIES THAT STAND OUT TO YOU

THAT SOME OF THE MEN THAT YOU RESEARCHED AND WROTE ABOUT?

>>THERE'S A GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF LEMUEL PENN

WHO SERVED WITH THE U.S.

93RD INFANTRY DIVISION UM DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

AND BUT HE WAS A NOTED EDUCATOR IN THE WASHINGTON D.C. AREA.

HE LATER GOES ON BASICALLY TO BECOME ONE OF THE

CELEBRATED CAUSES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHEN

HE AS A RESERVIST WAS KILLED ON HIS WAY BACK

FROM FORT BENNING BACK TO WASHINGTON D.C. AND IT

BASICALLY ALERTED MUCH OF THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE

HAZARDS THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS FACE WHEN

TRAVELING ON- DOING BASICALLY IN, INTERSTATE TRAVEL.

>>HOW WAS HE KILLED?

>>HE WAS KILLED BY CLANSMEN WHO WERE

BASICALLY DRIVING AND SAW HE AND TWO OTHER BASICALLY

PASSENGERS IN THE CAR, THEY WERE WEARING THE NATIONS UNIFORM.

THEY SHOT AND KILLED HIM, HE WAS DRIVING AND ONE OF

THE SURVIVORS FROM THAT, I HAD A CHANCE TO INTERVIEW HIM,

HE DESCRIBED HOW HARROWING THAT EXPERIENCE

WAS AND THE WAY HE DESCRIBED IT UM IT STAYED

WITH ME EVER SINCE THEN, I MEAN JUST- HE SAID YOU KNOW,

PENN WAS SOMEBODY WHO WAS WELL LIKED IN THE

WASHINGTON D.C. COMMUNITY BUT YET DUE TO THE

BASICALLY THE UGLY REALITIES OF RACE IN THIS

COUNTRY WAS NOT REALLY ALLOWED TO BASICALLY LIVE

OUT THE FULLNESS OF HIS LIFE AND I THINK THAT IS

SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TAKE GOING FORWARD ABOUT HOW RACE IS SO

DEEPLY ETCHED IN THE, BASICALLY THE COUNTRY'S IMAGINATION.

>>WHAT ABOUT HENRY JOHNSON?

WHY DOES HIS STORY STAND OUT TO YOU?

>>OH WOW.

JOHNSON.

NICKNAMED "BLACK DEATH."

BASICALLY HE IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE FOREMOST

FIGURES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

IN LATE 1918 HE AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES BASICALLY

FOUGHT IN THE ARGONNE FOREST, BASICALLY

OFFENSIVE AND ONE NIGHT BASICALLY DURING A NIGHT

RAID HE AND BASICALLY A PARTY STUMBLED UPON SOME

GERMAN SOLDIERS WHO WERE TRYING TO BASICALLY

INFILTRATE THEIR OUTPOST.

HE FOUGHT THEM OFF SINGLE HANDEDLY EVEN THOUGH HE

WAS GRIEVOUSLY WOUNDED DURING THE TIME AS WELL UM

WHICH CAPTURED THE IMAGINATION OF THE AFRICAN

AMERICAN PRESS DURING THAT PERIOD.

HE SAVED HIS PARTY BUT I MEAN TO MAKE A LONG STORY

SHORT HE HAD TO WAIT, HE HAD TO WAIT, HE AND HIS

FAMILY HAD TO WAIT ALMOST EIGHTY YEARS UNTIL THEY

WOULD BE OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED FOR IT.

>>WE TALKED ABOUT HOW THIS IS SO RELEVANT TO THE

CHALLENGES WE FACE TODAY WITH RACE IN THIS COUNTRY.

HOW IS THIS INCREDIBLY RELEVANT FOR YOU PERSONALLY?

>>WELL I MUST TELL YOU I JUST RETURNED TO THE

UNITED STATES FROM AFTER BEING IN DENMARK FOR A

YEAR ON A FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIP AND WHILE I

WAS THERE I HAD A CHANCE TO MEDITATE ON WHAT DOES

IT MEAN TO BE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN?

BASICALLY LIVING HERE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

AND AS COVID BASICALLY APPROACHED UPON US AND

MADE ITS FULLEST APPEARANCE I STARTED TO

THINK ABOUT IN RELATION TO THE THE LIFE'S WORK THAT I

HAVE BEEN DOING AND STARTED THINKING ABOUT HOW

MANY OF THE SACRIFICES THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS

MADE DURING THAT TIME WERE SO THAT WE COULD BASICALLY

THINK ABOUT, OKAY WHAT ARE WE WANT OUR LIVES TO BE LIKE?

OR WHAT DO I WANT MY LIFE TO BE LIKE?

UM THIS AND GOING FORWARD AND WHAT DO I WANT TO PASS

ON TO FOR INSTANCE MY NIECES, MY NEPHEWS, AND SO

FORTH BECAUSE I WANTED THEM TO THINK ABOUT YOU

KNOW I STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF THOSE WHO I

AM WRITING ABOUT AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE

STANDING ON, YOU'RE GOING TO BE STANDING ON MY

SHOULDERS AND THESE ARE SOME THE THINGS THAT ARE

EXPECTED OF YOU, THESE ARE THE TIME HONORED

PRINCIPALS AND CHARACTERISTICS THAT WE

WANT YOU TO HAVE.

I THINK ALL OF THESE STORIES BASICALLY PROVIDE,

THEY THEY GIVE US TESTAMENT AS TO THINKING

ABOUT HOW DO WE, HOW HOW SHOULD WE LIVE UP TO THE

FULLEST BASICALLY POTENTIAL OF AMERICAN SOCIETY?

ITS FULLEST PROMISE.

A MEMOIR OF COURAGE.

>>ROBERT JEFFERSON IN YOUR RESEARCH ABOUT AFRICAN

AMERICAN MILITARY HISTORY YOU FOUND A REALLY

FASCINATING MEMOIR OF A MAN IN WORLD WAR I AND

THEN HIS DESCENDANT WHO WAS IN WORLD WAR II AND

CARRIED THAT MEMOIR, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THOSE MEN?

>>I CAN TELL YOU AFTER SPENDING SO MUCH TIME WITH

UH MR. REUBEN FRASER WHO WHO WAS A WORLD WAR II

VETERAN AND HE- BY THE WAY HE WAS SUCH A MASTERFUL

STORYTELLER WHEN HE WAS ALIVE, OH MY GOSH.

IT ALWAYS INTERSECTED WITH HIS UNCLE AND HIS WIFE.

HIS WIFE SERVED IN WORLD WAR II AS WELL.

SO THIS IS A MILITARY FAMILY AND THEN ONE DAY I

WAS TALKING TO HIM AND HE WENT TO THE BACK AND CAME

OUT WITH THIS MEMOIR AND SAID "YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN

CARRYING THIS MEMOIR WITH ME EVER SINCE I ENTERED

THE MILITARY IN THE EARLY 1940'S.

I'M GIVING THIS TO YOU BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S A

STORY THAT YOU COULD TELL ABOUT MY UNCLE HERE."

AND THEN HE WENT INTO THE STORIES THAT HIS UNCLE

WOULD TELL HIM ABOUT HIS WORLD WAR I EXPERIENCES

AND HIS POSTWAR LIFE.

>>WHAT WERE THOSE EXPERIENCES LIKE FOR HIS

UNCLE AND HOW DID THEY ENCAPSULATE THE AFRICAN

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE AT THAT TIME?

>>WELL HIS UNCLE BASICALLY MOVED, HE WAS A

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA NATIVE WHO MOVED TO

CHICAGO UH IN THE 1910'S.

JUST PRIOR TO HIS ENTRY INTO THE ARMED FORCES UM

HE ENTERED THE 365TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, WHICH

WAS AN ALL-BLACK UH INFANTRY REGIMENT UH AND

HE SAW BASICALLY HE SAW ACTION IN BASICALLY IN

FRANCE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND IN FACT HE

TALKS QUITE VIVIDLY ABOUT SOME OF THE GRIMACE UH

FIGHTING THAT HE WITNESSED WHILE HE WAS THERE.

AND THEN HE COMES BACK TO THE UNITED STATES AFTER

GOING THROUGH THAT EXPERIENCE AND ALSO

INTERACTING WITH THE FRENCH UH CIVILIANS AND

AUTHORITIES THERE AND HE HAS AN ALTERED VIEW OF AMERICAN

LIFE ALL TOGETHER AND HE SHARES THAT WITH US IN THAT MEMOIR.

THE FRENCH TAUGHT HIM THAT BASICALLY EVEN THOUGH THEY

HAD THEIR OWN RACIAL ECCENTRICITIES THAT

EQUALITY WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM AND THEY

BASICALLY TRIED TO TREAT BASICALLY AFRICAN

AMERICANS UH AS EQUAL AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD GIVEN

THE GIVEN THE TENOR OF THE TIMES IN WHICH THEY LIVED.

HE TOOK THAT AS BEING OKAY THIS IS THE WAY THAT

BASICALLY AMERICAN SOCIETY COULD BE IF IT WAS- IT

FOUND ITSELF BEING UNMOORED BY THE RACIAL

BASICALLY TRADITIONS, PRACTICES AND CUSTOMS OF

THAT TIME AND HE TRIED TO REALIZE THAT FOR THE REST

OF HIS LIFE WHEN HE LIVED IN CHICAGO.

>>DID HE GET INVOLVED IN UH MOVEMENTS

IN THAT TIME IN THE 20'S?

>>HE GOT INVOLVED IN UH ONE OF THE REGIMENTAL UH

ASSOCIATIONS THAT WAS CREATED DURING THAT TIME

BECAUSE HIS REGIMENT BY THE WAY UM THEY FOUGHT BUT

THEY DID NOT HAVE AN OFFICIAL REGIMENTAL FLAG

AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THEM DURING THAT TIME UH

IN FACT THE PUBLISHER OF THE CHICAGO UH DEFENDER UH

GAVE THEM A FLAG THAT THEY PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED IN

IN BASICALLY IN EUROPE BUT THEY HAD THAT FLAG TAKEN

AWAY FROM THEM WHEN THEY RETURNED TO THE STATES AND

THAT WAS PART OF THE BONE OF CONTENTION THAT THEY

HAD ABOUT BASICALLY SERVING IN WORLD WAR I AND

BEING AMER- BEING CONSIDERED AMERICAN CITIZENS.

THEY THOUGHT THAT THE FLAG AND CITIZENSHIP WERE ALL

WRAPPED UP TOGETHER AND THAT'S HOW HE LIVED HIS LIFE.

>>HOW WERE HIS EXPERIENCES REFLECTED IN REUBEN'S LIFE?

>>REUBEN WAS A VERY OUTSPOKEN UH ARMY OFFICER

UH DURING HIS TIME UH IN FACT HE WROTE A LETTER TO

THE WAR DEPARTMENT THAT IN THE EARLY 1940'S WHERE HE

UM CRITICIZED THE ARMY'S UH RACIAL SEGREGATION

DURING THAT TIME OF WHICH HE WAS PLACED ON A LIST OF

BASICALLY OF SOLDIERS WHO WERE TREATED AS "NO THESE

ARE SOME OF THE TROUBLE MAKERS IN OUR YOU KNOW IN

IN, IN THE ARMY AT THE TIME."

HE BASICALLY DISPLAYED THAT LETTER TO ME VERY

PROUDLY AND SAID THIS IS BASICALLY THE THE

OUTGROWTH OF ALL OF THOSE LESSONS THAT HIS UNCLE

BASICALLY IMPARTED TO HIM.

HE WAS A VERY, HE WAS A VERY COLORFUL PERSON.

>>THAT REMINDS ME OF JOHN LEWIS' INVOCATION TO MAKE

"GOOD TROUBLE."

>>TO MAKE "GOOD TROUBLE," YES.

>>WHAT IS MOST MEANINGFUL FOR YOU ABOUT THE COURAGE

THESE MEN DISPLAYED, NOT ONLY IN THE BATTLEFIELD

BUT DEALING WITH ALL THESE OTHER ISSUES THEY HAD TO

DEAL WITH AS THEY WENT INTO BATTLE AND WHAT WE

COULD LEARN FROM THEM TODAY?

>>I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT WE CAN

DO IS BASICALLY TO LIVE OUR LIVES BASICALLY UH

BASICALLY BY THE COURAGE OF OUR CONVICTION AND THAT

IS WE NEED TO BASICALLY THINK ABOUT, WE NEED TO BE

EMPATHETIC TO OTHERS IN OUR SOCIETY AND AT THE

SAME TIME WE NEED TO ACCORD FOR THOSE WHO HAVE

MADE THE GREATEST SACRIFICES IN IN, IN OUR

LIVES AND CONTINUE TO MAKE THE GREATEST SACRIFICES

THAT WE ALSO BASICALLY PAY HOMAGE TO THEM EVERY DAY

THAT WE CAN UM WHETHER IT'S BASICALLY THOSE WHO

SERVE IN THE ARMED FORCES, WHETHER IT'S FIREFIGHTERS,

TEACHERS, UM UM DOCTORS THEY ARE TRULY BASICALLY

OUR OUR HEROES AT THIS MOMENT AND WE COULD DO NO

LESS THEN TO BASICALLY TRY TO LIVE UP TO MANY OF THE

THINGS THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO TO SHOW US ON A DAILY BASIS.

THAT'S WHAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS HAVE HAVE TAUGHT ME.

LIVE BY THE COURAGE OF YOUR CONVICTIONS.

HEALING THROUGH EXPRESSION.

[MUSIC]

>>DEVON HAWKES LUDLOW: WELCOME TO COLORES.

I'M HERE WITH SINGER-SONGWRITER JUSTIN EVAN THOMPSON.

WELCOME JUSTIN.

>> JUSTIN EVAN THOMPSON: THANK YOU GOOD TO SEE YOU DEVON.

>>GOOD TO SEE YOU.

HOW ARE YOU?

>>GREAT.

QUARANTINED.

>>QUARANTINED.

EXACTLY.

LAST TIME YOU WERE ON COLORES, YOU PLAYED SOME

OF YOUR AMAZING MUSIC AND I WANTED TO ASK YOU,

WHAT IS MUSIC TO YOU?

>>IT'S A, IT'S A ROCK, IT'S A FORM OF SECURITY

AND IT'S ALSO A FORM OF EXPRESSION AND SOMETHING I

CAN ALWAYS CONNECT TO IN THE SAME WAY REGARDLESS OF

HOW TRANSIENT THINGS MIGHT BE.

>>WHAT MADE YOU FACE TRAUMA AS PART OF YOUR LIFE?

>>WELL I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS A CHOICE

WHETHER OR NOT TO FACE TRAUMA.

I THINK WE ALL HAVE TO FACE TRAUMA, YOU KNOW?

I'M A VETERAN.

I'VE STRUGGLED PTSD.

I'VE STRUGGLED WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE.

I'VE GONE THROUGH DIVORCE, HOMELESSNESS.

YOU KNOW?

TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD JUST ALRIGHT, YOU KNOW,

ALL THIS, THESE DIFFERENT AVENUES OF PAIN OR SUFFERING.

I DON'T THINK THAT YOU HAVE A CHOICE WHETHER OR

NOT TO FACE IT.

I THINK IT'S ABOUT HOW YOU DO AND IN A LOT OF WAYS,

THAT'S WHAT MUSIC HAS BEEN FOR ME IS THE WAY THAT,

I'VE FACED IT.

>>I WAS LOOKING TO YOUR SONG SILHOUETTE AND I

NOTICE IT'S A LITTLE BIT REDUCED IN IT'S SOUND THAN

IN YOUR PREVIOUS MUSIC.

IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WERE HEADING TOWARDS AS A MUSICIAN?

>>YOU KNOW, THE MORE I SONGWRITE AND THE OLDER I GET,

THE SIMPLER THINGS GET FOR ME AND IT'S, YOU KNOW,

YOU HEARD THE OLD SAYING LIKE, I COULDN'T

WRITE A SHORT LETTER, SO I WROTE A LONG ONE.

LIKE, SOMETIMES THE SIMPLER IS MORE EARNEST

AND ALMOST HARDER TO ACHIEVE AND KIND OF DOWN

TO THE HEART, YOU KNOW, AND I LOVE FOLK MUSIC.

I'VE SORT OF GROWN UP ON FOLK MUSIC AND IT'S JUST,

ITS SIMPLICITY IS ITS BEAUTY, YOU KNOW, SO

SILHOUETTE WAS A SONG I WROTE IN A REALLY

DIFFICULT, KIND OF, TRYING TIME, AND I FOUND MYSELF

IN SORT OF A BEAUTIFUL SITUATION.

IN A GARDEN AND THE JUXTAPOSITION OF REALLY

STRUGGLING WITH BEING IN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, IT'S

LIKE GORGEOUS DAY, BEING IN THAT SITUATION KIND OF

SPAWNED SILHOUETTE AND IT'S THIS QUESTION OF LIKE

IS IT DARK OR IS IT LIGHT?

YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I WRITE REALLY PLAYFUL SONGS

AND LIKE IT ANECDOTAL BUT SOMETIMES MOST TIMES I

CAN'T HELP BUT IT HAD IT BE A LITTLE BIT HEADY AND

EXISTENTIAL AND THAT'S WHEN I, WHAT SILHOUETTE

WAS, IT'S LITERALLY MUSING ON: IS LIFE BEAUTIFUL?

OR IS IT THE DARK?

>>IS THAT SIMILAR TO YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A VETERAN?

>> I MEAN, YEAH.

I THINK SO.

I THINK, I THINK A LOT OF THE TRAUMA I HAVE IS, YOU KNOW,

IT'S NOT ACCESSIBLE DIRECTLY.

I MEAN, IF THAT'S A WAY, IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW,

WHEN I WROTE A SONG CALLED THE WAVE, IT WASN'T

TILL AFTER I LIKE, REFLECTED ON THE LYRICS

THAT I HAD WRITTEN, WHAT I REALLY REALIZED, WHAT I

WAS TRYING TO SAY AND IT, SORT OF, WAS SUBCONSCIOUS

AND I WAS ABLE TO LOOK AT MY OWN LYRICS, LIKE A

RORSCHACH AND SAY, OH THIS IS WHAT I'M FEELING, YOU

KNOW, AND SO WHEN LYRICS JUST COME OUT THAT WAY, A

LOT OF THEM, A LOT OF MY MORE SIMPLE LYRICS JUST

COME OUT THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, I WROTE SILHOUETTE

IN A SHOT JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T GO THINK

ABOUT IT AND COME BACK AND REWORK A VERSE AND IT WAS JUST,

IN A SHOT AND IT'S REAL SIMPLE AND

STRAIGHTFORWARD AND I THINK THAT STUFF IS

ACCESSING THAT, SORT OF, PRIMORDIAL, THAT SORT OF,

VISCERAL PART OF ME, WHERE, YEAH, MY TRAUMA, MY

EXPERIENCES RESIDE.

[MUSIC]

>>SILHOUETTE OF A BUTTERFLY.

SILHOUETTE OF A BEE.

WHEN I LOOK AT YOU, MY LOVE, IS IT SHADOWS OR

LIGHT THAT I SEE?

MAYBE DARK.

MAYBE LIGHT.

IS IT DARK OR IS IT LIGHT?

SILHOUETTE OF A BUILDING, SILHOUETTE OF A THRONE.

I HAVE NOTHING IN THIS WORLD THAT I CAN'T RIGHTLY

CALL MY OWN.

MAYBE WRONG.

I MAY BE RIGHT.

IS IT DARK OR IS IT LIGHT?

MY SILHOUETTE.

OH, THE DUSK AND THE DAWN ARE SOMETHING IN BETWEEN.

AND I CAN HOLD MY BREATH FOR A MOMENT,

UNTIL I'M MADE TO BREATH.

SILHOUETTE OF MY BROTHER.

SILHOUETTE OF HIS BROKEN BONES.

IS THERE LIGHT THAT I CAN BRING TO THE DARKNESS THAT IS KNOWN?

AND I SURRENDER EVEN AS I FIGHT.

IS IT DARK OR IS IT LIGHT?

MY SILHOUETTE.

AND THE DUSK AND THE DAWN ARE SOMETHING IN BETWEEN.

AND I CAN HOLD MY BREATH FOR A MOMENT UNTIL I'M

MADE TO BREATH.

MY SILHOUETTE.

>>JUSTIN, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THESE

MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS.

ARE THESE HEALING FOR YOU?

>>MY MUSICAL EXPRESSION HAS BEEN, JUST THAT IT'S

BEEN AN EXPRESSION OF ME COMING THROUGH THESE EXPERIENCES.

AND WHAT I THINK THAT MEANS IS, IT'S EVIDENCE OF

HAVING COME THROUGH THESE EXPERIENCES, YOU KNOW,

BECAUSE YOU DON'T GET THAT WHEN YOU'RE IN THE THROES

OF IT, AND YOU KNOW, I'M NOT LIKE, I'M NOT OVER THE

HILL OR NOT ENLIGHTENED OR ANYTHING AT THIS POINT BUT

WHAT I'VE EXPERIENCED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S

EVIDENCE THAT I HAVE MOVED THROUGH THINGS AND THAT

I'VE GROWN AND I SEE THAT IN MY ART AND MY SONGWRITING.

>>YOU THINK THAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT MUSIC?

>>I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD HAPPEN WITHOUT SOME KIND OF

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION AND THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT.

MY PARTNER ALWAYS SAYS, WELL, YOU'RE AN ARTIST AND

THAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL IN THIS WAY BECAUSE YOUR ARTIST.

AND I JUST DISAGREE VEHEMENTLY.

I THINK EVERYONE'S AN ARTIST.

I REALLY THINK THAT, WHAT ART IS, IS YOU EXPRESSING

AND REFLECTING ON THE WORLD AROUND YOU AND

THAT'S NOT SOME PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT THE

ARTISTS, THE TALENT, LIKE, THAT'S EVERYBODY.

AND SOME PEOPLE HAVE JUST SUCH LEARNED INHIBITIONS

ABOUT EXPRESSING THEMSELVES IN THAT WAY AND

I SEE IT AND I JUST WANT TO, LIKE, DRAW IT OUT OF

PEOPLE AROUND ME, LIKE YOU NEED TO WRITE OR CREATE OR

DO SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU NEED TO LET OUT WHAT

YOU'VE SEEN, YOU NEED TO ,LIKE REFLECT, YOU NEED TO

MIMIC, YOU NEED TO PULL THE VEIL AWAY, AND SAY,

THIS IS HOW I SEE THINGS, AND SO I DON'T, I DON'T

BUY INTO THE ARTISTS, LIKE, THERE ARE ARTISTS.

I THINK EVERYBODY'S AN ARTIST.

IT'S JUST ABOUT, IF YOU CAN GET INTO THAT AND

EXPRESS YOURSELF THAT WAY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IT SHOWS

YOU LIKE A RORSCHACH TEST WHAT YOU'RE FEELING INSIDE.

>>FANTASTIC.

THANKS YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING ON THE SHOW TODAY.

>>WELL, THANK YOU.

IT WAS FUN.

[MUSIC]

ANGELS AND HEROS.

>>SO WE'RE ALL GONNA FOLLOW EACH OTHER DOWN, OKAY?

>>[MAN] HOW WAS THAT DRIVE?

>>FUN.

>> [WOMAN] GONNA GET THE PEN SET UP FIRST SO WE CAN

GET THE ANIMALS OFF AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, OKAY?

>>HEY!

I'M TALKIN' 'BOUT THESE HERE.

THERE WE GO.

[SPRAYING]

[SQUEALING]

>>[WOMAN] THAT NEEDS TO GO OUTSIDE SO IT, THEY CAN DRINK.

'CAUSE THEY CAN'T GET TO IT LIKE THAT.

>>[WOMAN] THIS IS A TWO MONTH PREPARATION.

EVERYBODY HERE IS DONATING THEIR TIME AND EVERYBODY

HERE HAS BEEN TOUCHED BY A FAMILY MEMBER WHO'S BEEN

IN THE MILITARY.

>>[MAN] START GETTIN' 'EM WATER.

>>WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING FROM F.E.

WARREN UP IN CHEYENNE.

WE HAVE PEOPLE COMING FROM SHRIEVER AND PETERSON.

AND THE ACADEMY.

AND WE MAY HAVE SOME PEOPLE FROM

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE AS WELL.

>>[WOMAN] HI!

>>THIS EVENT THAT WE'RE HAVING TODAY IS TO SUPPORT ALL

THE MILITARY FAMILIES AND THEIR SPOUSES WHO ARE IN THE MILITARY,

THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED OR ARE BEING DEPLOYED.

>>LOTTA THESE KIDS NEVER GET TO BE OUT OF THE CITY

LIMITS OR EVEN GET TO BE AROUND, UM, LIVESTOCK OR

HORSES AND SO, THIS MAY BE THEIR ONLY OPPORTUNITY.

>>I STARTED ANGELS AND HEROES ABOUT TWO AND A

HALF YEARS AGO TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.

TO SUPPORT THE MILITARY PERSONNEL AND THEIR

FAMILIES BECAUSE NOBODY RECOGNIZES THE FAMILY, THE

SACRIFICE THEY MAKE AS WELL.

THE WIFE OR THE HUSBAND AND THE CHILDREN.

>>MY HUSBAND IS PCS TO SOUTH KOREA AND I'M

RAISING THREE CHILDREN.

MY TWO YEAR OLD TODDLER HAS SEVERE AUTISM.

AND IT'S BEEN ACTUALLY REALLY VERY INTERESTING TO

SEE 'CAUSE MY SON WAS NOT RESPONDING VERY WELL AT

FIRST, AND THEN ONCE HE SAW THE HORSES HE JUST LIT

UP AND NOW HE'S MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE OTHER

ANIMALS SO IT'S BEEN A LOTTA FUN.

>>WE CAME OUT BECAUSE THE EFM PROGRAM, I THINK THIS

IS A GOOD THING FOR THE FAMILY AND FOR THE KIDS.

THEY TEND TO DO THIS QUITE A BIT FOR US AND IT'S VERY WELCOMED.

>>THE GIRL COWS HAVE THE THINGS YOU MILK AT THE BOTTOM,

>>YEAH?

>>THE BOYS DON'T.

>>[MAN] OKAY.

WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS?

>>BUT EVEN JUST TO TOUCH SOMETHING THAT'S FOREIGN

OR WEIRD TO THEM I THINK IS GOOD BECAUSE THEY'RE AN

IMPORTANT PART OF OUR LIFESTYLE,

THEY'RE PART OF OUR FOOD CHAIN.

AND I THINK A LOT OF CHILDREN PROBABLY DON'T

UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS OF RAISING THAT ANIMAL FOR

FOOD DOWN THE ROAD.

>>YOU KNOW US LIVING IN D.C. BEFORE WE LIVED HERE

IN COLORADO ABOUT A MONTH AGO THEY REALLY DIDN'T GET

TO SEE A LOT OF THIS STUFF, SO IT'S REALLY NICE

THAT THE FAMILY PUT THIS ON FOR EVERYONE AND THAT

THEY'RE DOING EVERYTHING THEY DO FOR MILITARY FAMILIES.

>>I HAVE TWO CINDYS HERE THAT ARE PREPARING THE FOOD.

VOLUNTARILY THEY COOKED IT THEY GOT EVERYTHING READY FOR IT.

>>SO EXCEPTIONAL FAMILY MEMBER PROGRAM, IT'S A

PROGRAM THAT IS PUT TOGETHER BY THE MILITARY

THAT HELPS SUPPORT FAMILY MEMBERS WHO HAVE WHO HAVE,

FAMILY MEMBERS OR CHILDREN THAT HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS,

WHETHER IT BE PHYSICAL, NEUROLOGICAL OR MENTAL.

MY SON IS, HE'S FIVE YEAR...

SIX YEARS OLD ACTUALLY.

HE IS AUTISTIC AND HE ACTUALLY HAS ADHD.

AND THE REASON WHY WE CAME HERE TODAY WAS BECAUSE MY

SON IN THE PAST, WE'VE RIDDEN ON RIDING HORSES

AND THIS IS WHEN HE'S THE MOST CALM WAS WHEN HE'S

ACTUALLY ON TOP OF A HORSE.

SO THE EQUINE THERAPY PORTION OF IT IS THE

REASON WHY WE CAME.

>>[MAN] WHAT'S YOUR HORSE'S NAME, MARYANNE?

>>WILLOW.

>>WILLOW.

NOW WILLOW IS HAVIN' A LITTLE TROUBLE FOCUSING

WHEN SHE GOES TO NEW PLACES.

I'M GONNA COME UP AND SAY HELLO.

WORKING WITH HORSES IS ABOUT LIKE WATCHING PAINT DRY.

IT'S MONOTONOUS, IT'S REPETITIVE.

GOOD GIRL.

THAT'S A CHANGE, LAST TIME SHE DIDN'T WANNA GO THAT WAY.

>>YOU KNOW THE WESTERN CULTURE, WHEN SOMETHIN'

HAPPENS TO A NEIGHBOR, WE GO AND HELP THEM.

IF IT'S REBUILDING A BARN, IF IT'S HELPIN' 'EM GO

CALVING, LAMBING, WHATEVER.

WE HELP EACH OTHER.

THAT'S HOW WE MAKE IT THROUGH.

AND THAT'S WHAT ANGELS AND HEROES IS ALL ABOUT.

HELPING EACH OTHER MAKE IT THROUGH.

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