S1 EP01 - Try Pride in a Small Town w/ Morgxn

APPLE | SPOTIFY

“Hello, everyone, my name is Kashif.

My name is Blake.

And you're listening to Who's Gonna Be There? A podcast that is not sponsored by Red Bull and will not give you wings. Sorry, that was missed.

But anyway, today we're going to be talking about Pride, both Pride in a small town, two different small towns, and what we're excited about for Pride this year. With a dollar and a...

Well, we are so excited to be talking to our dear friend of the new podcast, Morgan. Hi, Morgan.

What's up?

Hello, hello. We'll go around and say our pronouns, so mine are he, him.

Mine are also he, him.

Mine are like he, they, bitch, as long as you call me sweetly. Can I say that?

You can say that. I mean, yeah.

I like bitch.

Okay.

I kind of like biatch, but you know. That sounds nice. Lovely.

Well, we are excited to talk about your pride in a small town and what that was like. But before we talk about that, tell us a little bit about yourself. I know that you have a new single that just dropped.

Yeah. I'm from Nashville, Tennessee, born and raised. I think like the quick liner about me would just be that I am a singer-songwriter who grew up here who couldn't have left fast enough, you know?

And then when I found myself coming back to Nashville, kind of out of defeat, if I'm being honest, it was sort of like I didn't want to come here, but I did. And all of a sudden, I'm here, I met somebody, and he grew up in a very religious community. And all of a sudden, I was like, wait, religion?

I have no idea what that even means. And I don't understand how people grew up in a community that once they discovered who they are, they were just like the community turned their back on them. Do you know what I mean?

I know I'm talking to people who probably understand it deeply, but for me, I was like, as my mom says, how can you give birth to somebody and then turn your back on them when they discover who they are and they're not hurting anybody? Do you know what I mean? Long story very short, my song that just came out is called Holy, and the line in that is, I don't care what you call it, it's holy.

Because I don't know anything more holy than love. It doesn't matter what gender or expression that is about, but like love is holy, period, you know? So that is a little bit about me.

This past weekend, though, my husband and I own a farm in Sumner County. And basically, affirming Sumner is an event that like has no public support from like, there's no elected official that affirms anybody in Sumner County.

And tell us how far Sumner is from Nashville.

Well, that's what's weird. It's one county over from Nashville. So you're not talking about forever.

What you're talking about just 45 minutes away from Nashville, Tennessee, is a county with not a single elected official who affirms anybody's right to be anything except for straight, white, and Christian. But you have there this like amazing community of people. And I'm blown away at what we pulled off this weekend.

But basically, affirming Sumner has happened two times in the past. And last year, what happened is that it was held in a space that is affirming, but a photo of a drag queen went so viral that they basically got all this pushback. And they were like, we can't support you publicly in a way that also allows us to continue doing the business that we're doing.

So we love you, but we can't host it. So my husband and I, somebody reached out to us and it was like, would your farm host affirming Sumner? And like, we didn't think too much about it.

We were like, absolutely. We're hiring security. We're getting an insurance policy.

100%. And we're gonna put this on. And I don't wanna be totally blasphemous to New York and LA, but I'm so uninterested in pride in big towns right now because what happened with this pride in a small town was like the definition of what pride is to me.

It was community, it was sacred, it was holy. It was, you know, I could go on forever how special this weekend was.

Yeah. I mean, having worked for a queer org in which we did pride celebrations throughout the state of Tennessee, I got to see some of what pride is like in a small town, places like Pulaski or in rural Tennessee, and just the people who come out. And you know that maybe this is their first pride, or they don't really have a large community, they don't necessarily have a large network, but for just a couple of hours, they get to see other queer people feeling free.

It's an exciting thing.

I mean, I'm sure everyone here in this room, and, you know, everyone at our pride in Sumner County had definitely heard the story about this girl who basically posted a picture of her kissing her girlfriend and her high school, Christian, private Christian high school, denied her diploma for graduation. Do you know what I mean? And claiming like things that you said about the community.

And I looked at the post. They didn't say anything except for, like she posted it to her stories and was like, please go comment on this because I know that people in my community are gonna be mad at it, and I need like support. Do you know what I mean?

Which is like not a blasphemous comment. It's a true comment. Anyways, she came to it.

It was her first Pride Festival ever. And she came to it, I'm chills, she came to it with her mother. You know, that kind of experience.

I've played, I headline London Pride. You know what I mean? There's nothing more prideful and communal and queer and special than like seeing her and her sister and her girlfriend and her mother have this incredible experience and we got to do it on this farm that is a firming space that my husband and I have.

Yeah. I mean, one of the things I loved about, I love about the farm also is that for, I believe it was for your engagement, that y'all like planted a bunch of fruit trees.

Yeah, it's funny. I mean, these words, like, I don't even actually know that we ever were engaged. I mean, there was just like, I think at one point, You were bethrobed.

At one point, there was probably like a tree planted. And like, maybe, I think actually, we decided after the fact that we would call it engagement or something, because I mean, I guess that's the beautiful thing about being queer. There's no like, there's no exact definition to the things that we're doing.

We're like creating it in real time. But make up the rules. It was, it felt like us having land in Tennessee in 2025, in a rural place that again is 45 minutes away from here.

It's not so far. But you feel like you're in this new space that we're creating together. And, you know, we read a lot of books about what marriage even means.

And like when you know that you're married and all that stuff, and all these things engaged, all these words are made up. And they're also like very heteronormative things that we're we're trying to claim for ourselves and figure out what they mean. So I think somewhere between having land, planting flute, flute trees, well, somewhere between having land, planting fruit trees.

We were like, I think we're engaged. Do you know what I mean? And then, you know, and then I was like, you're my Beyonce.

And then, you know, you're my Beyonce. All right.

If that's gonna, if you're gonna like do the thing, you gotta like, it's gotta be a little, it's gotta be fun. It's gotta be fun. Because like, what's the point?

We're not, you know, this is not for bridal showers and, you know, that's not interesting to me. Gender reveals, bridal showers.

Yeah.

That's not queer and sacred to me.

But will you be my Beyonce? Oh, yes. Yes, I will be your Beyonce.

I love that. One of the other really curious things for me is in your music, as a person of Jewish faith who grew up in the Jewish faith, Jewish tradition, you are speaking to, in terms of your music, you're speaking to a lot of gays, queers, with Christian trauma. And for instance, when I first heard your music, I assumed, I was like, oh, this is one of the, you know, the church girls.

Like this, you know what I'm saying? I just made the assumption. And when we first started talking, I was like, oh, wait a minute.

Can you talk a little bit about bridging that divide or how you do that so well? Because it's brilliant.

Oh, I don't have an answer to that. I mean, like, growing up here, the thing I did was fun fact. I don't know that I've ever said this on an interview before, but I did a lot of children's Christian gospel choir recording stuff, do you know what I mean?

Which is just like a thing I was hired to like sing in a choir, and then, really fun fact, you're gonna love this. I was the voice of Jesus for Lifeway Christian magazine's Bible for Kids. No!

Wait, wait, wait.

Can you just give us a little bit of-

I have not a clue what I read, what I said, but I know that I did so well that the producers apparently wanted me to also read, like, and do their next series and be Moses. And then they basically had to stop that because they were like, I think that it would be confusing if the kids found out that Jesus is also Moses or something. And I'm like, they'd also be confused if he found out he was Jewish and gay, but like, whatever, whatever you want.

I don't, you know, it's weird. I don't know how these themes like find their way into it, except for that I'm extremely, I'm an empath. You know what I mean?

Like, I feel a lot of things and I feel like some of the confusion that I watch when my husband talks about his journey in, you know, like sort of where he thought he was going to go to seminary and then like just the mere fact that he found his truth of who he loved and that like the whole community turned its back. It's like, I guess it just finds its way into the music. You know what I mean?

And I mean, it sounds to me like it is empathy, it is love. Like, I mean, you're just, you are absorbing the story of somebody that you, that you care about, that you love. And I mean, I know Gabe, I know your husband well, and our stories are kind of happened parallel.

But it sounds like that's a potential place where it comes from, is just love for each other.

I mean, also, music is a total mystery. Do you know what I mean? I'd be lying if I had any idea how things happen or what things mean.

And, you know, famously, David Bowie was like, I don't know what I'm writing about when I write about it. It just like, it just is. And for me, that feels like permission to not know.

And I think, like, you know, I'm a Pisces with, like, you know, probably recovering OCD tendencies or something. But it's like, in music, that's not my mission. Like, my mission is just, like, transcribe the feeling into a melodic, you know, sensibility and then go from there.

Like, I would never, I could never tell you that I sit down to write a song called Holy. Like, it's just the chords moved me towards. I remember it's, I don't care what you call it.

It's holy, holy, holy. I was like, that melody feels great.

Yeah, it felt holy.

Yeah.

Yeah. I love that. I am really curious, like, what do you see or hope for prides that are not in a small town this year?

I mean, I would hope that prides all over the place return to a sense of the riot that started pride. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's not about...

Well, let me also say, like, I've thought about this a lot with commercial prides in America that are not always a place where, like, everybody and every color feels like they're represented in the, like, lineup sometimes. Do you know what I mean? It's like, if you look perfect, you're there, but, like, that's not my journey.

Do you know what I mean? And so I would hope that prides all over the place reclaim that sort of sense of, like, every color under the sun, every body shape under the sun. Like, it's, you know, pride, of course, started as a riot, but, like, right now in 2025, it feels like pride continues as this necessary form of communion, and there's, like, a sacredness to it.

And that's the only reason I'm gonna show up for something prideful this month is, like, if there's a sense of community and urgency. Because if it's just for show, I just don't care. Do you know what I mean?

Like, if that, like, sometimes, honestly, this month, I've been, like, my version of loving myself this pride is saying no. Do you know what I mean? It's saying, like, I'm not showing up to that thing, you know, because you're not respecting my boundaries and my time and et cetera, et cetera.

And so me being prideful is also self-respecting myself. You know what I mean? I love that.

Yeah, I think that's a I think that's a great tip. Well, thank you so much. A great tip.

OK. Well, anyway, on that note, we're going to take a quick break and more who's going to be there after this.

If you live in middle Tennessee and have been thinking lately about a career shift, may I humbly suggest the field of massage therapy in a low touch culture like the US? Massage therapy can make a powerful difference in people's lives. And trust me, MindBody Institute is the perfect massage school to start the journey of becoming a licensed practitioner.

“MindBody Institute is a 36-week program with a clinical emphasis. They limit class sizes to ensure an individualized, hands-on learning experience where instructors tailor their lessons to fit your particular learning style. Full disclosure here, I happen to be one of those instructors, so I'm obviously biased, but I absolutely believe that MindBody is one of the best massage eduations that you can get in Tennessee and the surrounding area, and that's evidence in our students' Imblex pass rate.

So if you want a massage school that feels like family, head over to mindbody.edu to get more information, request a catalog, or schedule a tour. Again, that's mindbody.edu.

You know, I was just curious, because I've been out to the farm. I know what it looks like. It's beautiful, by the way.

I did help plant a few of those fruit trees.

You're in there.

You're fruity. I think maybe like an apple and a plum.

Yeah, they're thriving.

Well, I want to reap the harvest at some point, so I'll have to visit and-

I wanna reap the harvest too.

Wait a minute.

You didn't plan any trees.

Come on in. You know, it's a gay, queer thing. You have immediate access to reap the harvest of this farm.

Okay. I love that. Okay.

I was curious just because when we did Pride in my small hometown back in Colorado, there were very big security concerns.

Great question.

And I also kind of intentionally- I knew you were coming in, so I wanted to intentionally not pay attention to what happened this weekend so that I could kind of come in fresh. So, give me-

I would love, like, a snapshot. Like, what did the day look like and were there any concerns?

I can answer all of that, because I think it's like- it's a blueprint that, like, people should be thinking about how they can do this in their small town all across America. Like, Pride in the Heartland, new series.

Can't wait.

Ooh, on HBO.

Can't wait. Call me. You know, we-

just brass tacks, we hired security, armed security. For this year, we didn't release the address and everything was in RSVP. I think in the future, we're still gonna have security.

We had insurance, security, insurance, got to do that. We didn't release the address without RSVP. Still, we're gonna require RSVP and we checked people in.

Like, we had, like, a security line and, and cars were checked in before the cars went to park. You know what I mean? So that's, like, both unfortunate and also, like, you just got to do it.

Do you know what I mean? We had some people on the internet, you know, talking about the blasphemy of, like, how they've, how this pride has gone, quote, underground. It didn't go underground.

There's just nowhere, there's no ground. They were allowed to be on, except for the queer people who owned some land in it, you know. And we were very aware of who those names were, and we were, like, making sure they weren't on the RSVP list.

But we had 500 RSVPs in this small town. That's amazing. Do you know what I mean?

Less than that showed up. It also rained, but, like, at least 300 people showed up. And that is huge for what this was.

And again, you know, if you look at, like, the election even this past year, like, you know, there were more people than I expected who voted for Gloria Johnson in this county. Like, they're there. They want community.

They want to be affirmed. And, you know, I love that we got to do it. But we had seven musicians, I think, play.

You know, we had a far too loud AV and DJ like do the sound. Gabe built a stage, which is just a skill set that I don't have.

I'm amazed, but not surprised.

I'm, quote, literally same phrase. Like, I can't tell you how many interviews I've given talking about things being built at the farm while I'm giving an interview and my husband is like building it. Do you know what I mean?

Amazing aspirations.

We built a stage and it looks so, from what I'm told, it looks like the perfect Christian Bible camp stage, you know, like wooden. And at the end, we like stacked the chairs on there and it looks so precious so that we can have it for future years.

Maybe put on some kneelers for communion or other things.

I was like, maybe put on, I mean, maybe put on plays. Like, are we doing more concert series at the farm probably? Do you know what I mean?

Yes, absolutely.

It kind of feels like it's going to evolve into something. But the organizers of it in years past were the Collab in Hendersonville, which is a co-working space, and Earth First, which is a plant and vintage store in Gallatin, together with P-Flag, who had done a picnic. Basically, they had done it in the past.

And again, we're looking for land. So that group plus Gabe and I with the farm, we were the group that did it. And then raising money through donations.

And that's how we made everything happen.

Very cool. That's incredible.

Wow. And yeah, the number is surprising to people, because they're like, oh, did 20 people come? I'm like, no, we're talking hundreds of RSVPs.

And this is the thing. Like, here's my question to the room. I opened for Alok.

I'm sure we all know who Alok is. And Alok, who lives in New York, very, I feel like they're very coastal or whatever, was kind of like uninterested in what's happening in the coastal areas, because I think when you have queer people gathering in rural spaces, there's an element of, there's a bit of danger to it. There's like, what's the safety going to be like?

And we made sure to cover that base, you know, but it's like, there's something more urgent and something, I'm just way more interested in what's happening in our rural spaces than I am the cities.

Yeah, and I think there's something braver about it, I dare say. There's something that feels earthy and organic and imperfect, and like, we're still trying to figure it out, but queer people have always existed in the Midwest, in Appalachia, and it is important for us not to be overlooked. I say us because I'm a transplant to the South, and also lived and came out and lived in Tennessee.

You play a vital role in being a transplant in the South, and we've talked about this separately, but it's like, I don't know your experience exactly, but I do know that you being a transplant here, you represent something that can help this place move forward. And that feels, not to plug myself all the time, but my album is called Heartland, and in the Heartland, statistically, queer people exist. And I want to see more people moving to the Heartland and helping the Heartland evolve because it needs more queer diverse voices, you know?

And that's what this weekend felt like to me. It felt like so diverse and so lovely. I love that.

That's amazing.

Yeah, I think speaking of the Heartlands, Blake, I know that last year, you went back to Lamar to headline at Lamar's Pride Fest, and I want to know what that was like going back to your hometown. First, actually tell us a little bit about Lamar. Yeah.

And it is a small town.

It is a small town. I guess just like a little snapshot of Lamar, it's I think I'm not sure what the population is now. It's been steadily shrinking over the years.

I would put it probably somewhere around 6000. But it's it's especially in that part of the country. Small towns are not like, you know, like a little town that's just like off a big city.

They are out in the middle of nowhere. There's like a 50 mile radius around us where there's no other town. Like if we wanted to go shopping at a shopping mall, that was at least a two hour drive.

And many of the folks in the smaller towns around us would come to Lamar to go to a grocery store. And so we at least had some stoplights.

Yes, I will also interrupt to say, if you if you did watch Oprah and Gayle's cross country adventure, Lamar is a place where they stopped an Oprah got called a particular name. That was actually the first time that I ever heard that. And she said it on the Oprah Winfrey show.

We'll leave that particular name to the imagination. But yeah, to YouTube. Because it's on there.

In a car with my best friend Gayle, at times we were laughing so hard we could barely breathe. And at times we drove so long we could barely walk.

And at times we literally feared for our lives.

This was one of those times.

But anyway, that was honestly, that was when Lamar first came into my consciousness so many years ago. And then of course, years later, I meet Blake.

Y'all have met. Wow.

Yes, yeah. That was our, that's our very least connection via Oprah.

Blake's like, I'm from Lamar.

And you're like, ah.

Okay, great.

Yeah, that feels wild.

Yes. And I will just say that that picture is not all the way inaccurate. Okay.

It's a very interesting place. But yeah, I obviously grew up there. My family grew up in the surrounding area.

I mean, it's just like pretty much all of my family is in and around Lamar. And I grew up very much not out of the closet. I was a nice young man, very studious, very athletic.

I was the perfect little child, because when you're perfect, you can sort of hide in plain sight. So when I found out that they were doing Pride, because this is just their third annual Pride, they started doing it two years ago, the organizers are amazing and courageous and dynamic. I can't say enough good things about them, but they organized it three years ago.

There have always been security concerns. It's the only one in Southeast Colorado. So it's not just Lamar Pride Fest.

It's Pride Fest for Southeast Colorado, the surrounding area. So people from the surrounding small towns come to Lamar, too. But yeah, that's Lamar.

It's very rural. I know sometimes when people think of Colorado, they think of mountains, but it's actually more kind of like Kansas, very flat, grazing, pastures. My family were ranchers.

And so yeah, that's kind of what Lamar looks like.

That's the thing. I mean, when you have these major cities that you know, you know, the Denvers and like, you know, the the Nashville's and all of these things that sort of are the major points of America, there's like, there's places that are not that far from them that become a whole different world.

Very quickly.

Gabe grew up in Sumner County, which is the county where our pride was. And like to go back to your hometown as a as a out proud person working for and performing at this thing, I bet that was, you know, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I bet that was like, super fulfilling for the journey that you have been on, I assume.

It was. It was very full circle. It was.

And I want to hear about your experiences as well, kind of performing on a, I guess, a smaller stage in this setting. But, you know, I kind of I kept imagining like some younger version of myself out there in the audience. You know, I kept thinking of myself down there looking up and seeing a possible future that I did not see at all when I was growing up.

You know, and that was reinforced by the fact that what you were saying about the people that show up to a small town pride, like my high school football coach showed up and got to talk with him. When it's a town full of people that you have daily interactions with and then they show up to pride, there's something about that connection. There's something about that communion, as you put it, that really it kind of opened me up.

It was like, there are ways in which I belong here that I didn't know that I belonged.

That's a good point for America to like hear in this moment because I have to check my own bias. Do you know what I mean? I have to reframe my own opinion about small towns, being in a small town.

And to your question of like, yes, I've performed my song home, around the world, 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square for Pride. Do you know what I mean? It's a top 10 record.

It's got a lot of streams, like, etc., etc. But, you know, the back home to the place where I belong, there's nothing like it.

Singing that on stage, built by my husband at our farm, in a small town for Pride, like, that is home to me. Do you know what I mean?

And the thing about that is, is that people prove that they are home to you, because it didn't cost them nothing to show up at Pride. In a small town, it cost you something. People know what other people are doing, right?

They recognize you on the street. So it cost them something to show up at Pride. It cost my football coach something to show up at Pride.

I mean, he couldn't just come and disappear into the crowd. That's not how it works in a small town. And so there is a sense of home.

There is a sense of family, because you recognize you gave up your comfort, your safety to show up and to have proximity to me and to acknowledge that we are together, that we love each other, and that we are good the way that we are.

Yeah, Blake, I'm wondering what was it like when you went back and saw that mural of you for the first time that's in Lamar? I'm curious, did you look on that with new eyes? How did you feel about that person that's painted there?

Okay, so there's a little, I was a catcher. I play baseball, I was a catcher.

No comment.

Yeah, we're gonna skip right over that one, because I've gained some more skills since then. But I am forever painted as a catcher on this.

I'm sorry.

Wow, wow, okay, okay, refocusing.

This is the clip.

Not being bottom shanked. Wait a minute.

And so I'm on this little placard squatting in my catcher stance.

I mean, just, just, okay, okay. We're just gonna power through it. Okay, okay.

Keep on going. We need to clean this up.

We need to clean this up. Sorry for all the flip flopping. Go ahead, okay.

Okay, okay, okay.

Okay, all right. The water is clean.

Cleansing breath. Oh my God. Okay.

Okay. Yes. So you were squatting.

There is this mural. There's this mural of me playing baseball. You know, I've never really been comfortable with it.

And I think it's because I recognized that the version of me that's there is not the full version. You know what I mean? It never felt...

It reminds me of a time when I was doing everything that I could to hold up a facade and to be everything that I could be to throw people off the scent. And that's the person that I see on the mural.

So it's like you got to paint another image of yourself going back to Pride Fest and being up there.

There was a way in which I could stand up in front of people and say, hey, actually, that kid that's on that mural was gay too. This dude that's standing up here waving this rainbow flag is the same person that's on your mural. And I need you to recognize that.

But there was a part of me that was like, I also need the younger Blakes in Lamar to see that too. I need them to recognize that there was a place for them. That's powerful.

Yeah. All right. We're gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back.

My friends know that one of my favorite sayings is, that's nothing to write home about. And sometimes, if I'm feeling a little spicy, I'll say, don't get out your good stationery. Well, not getting out your good stationery is very hard to do when you shop at Gift Horse in Nashville.

Gift Horse is a locally owned shop that focuses on paper goods and unusual gifts sourced from independent artists around the world. I love to walk in there, catch up with their team of knowledgeable staff, and soak in all the colors. And it is my go-to place when I need to send Nashville-themed gifts to my friends and family living elsewhere.

Whether you're looking for a cowoko fountain pen or a sardine jaw clip, you can find it at Gift Horse. Don't live in Nashville? No worries!

You can shop online at gifthorsenashville.com.

All right, so before we go to any party, IRL, we're introverts, we need to know who's gonna be there.

Exactly.

I'm not just gonna go to some party with some energy vampires that are going to leave me feeling sucked to dry.

A bunch of Renix.

In the bad way.

In the bad way, okay, if it's gonna be in the good way, but you know.

Then maybe, yeah, that's some good energy. So we're gonna play a little game where we're gonna ask the name randomizer on my phone, who's gonna be there? And then depending on whatever names that randomizer spits out, we gotta decide, are we going to the party?

Are we staying home? Yeah. All right.

So here we go. First name from the randomizer is Marcia Blackburn. Already a no for me.

Oh, God. Oh, I mean, we could just stop right there.

We could. For those who aren't in Tennessee, people probably know who she is, but for those who aren't in Tennessee, we'll explain in a second.

Yeah.

James Baldwin.

Oh, Jesus. OK.

It's getting interesting.

Getting interesting. No.

Donald Trump.

Oh, my God. This random. What kind of who is this?

This randomizer?

I don't. It's suspicious.

Yes, that's very suspicious.

OK, Marcia Blackburn, James Baldwin, Donald Trump and Donald Trump.

Oh, MFG.

I mean, you couldn't resist. If James Baldwin is going to be there, you couldn't resist.

Because he's going to take them on. I mean, now we have to remember Uncle Jimmy and his sort of two sides, because he might be in the corner smoking a cigarette, talking to like Nikki Giovanni, or he might be fighting with them. So he might be.

So Marcia Blackburn, before we talk about that, is, you know, the worst, one of our state senators. And you'll know her because of her hair, probably. And you also know Donald Trump because of his hair.

So they're kindred. And she defends everything that he does. And I think she is the worst and her policy, she just goes missing.

Nobody really knows, like I've in all of my years of living in the state of Tennessee, I've never seen her. We don't really know when her town halls are going to be. She's kind of secretive about them.

She just acts like she's locked into her position forever and therefore has to put in no effort aside from tweeting out horrendous things.

Yes, it's very Tennessee. It's very Tennessee chicanery, like this is a dynasty and this is my reign.

Yeah.

So, okay, I'm going to this party, but here's why. Because I know that in all likelihood, like Uncle Jimmy, he's going to have maybe one or two glasses of cognac and he's going to take them on. And Marshall Blackburn wouldn't even be able to get a word in edgewise because I could see him doing his wide-eyed leaning in and saying, you know, yes, because America.

No, I understand the situation down in Tennessee because what happened in Memphis in 1964? You know, I think or 1968 during the sanitation strike. And he would like school them on the history.

Yeah.

And I think Donald Trump would probably just I could see him just like tapping his feet and just being so like annoyed. I think he would probably leave.

Oh, he would definitely leave or he would fall asleep or he would go to McDonald's.

He would go have a fish fillet. Yeah.

I would go as well. I just want to be present for literally whatever James Baldwin wants to do that night. But I might end up going to jail.

That's the trouble. I think if they even if she even got up in his face or just even spoke, tried to talk when he was talking, oh, it's on and pop. I just it would not be okay.

This is the reason I've been going to the gym.

Yeah.

It's been leading up to this moment.

It's just like, okay, if I need to in defense, in defense of Uncle Jimmy, yeah, I would definitely not be able to sit and be quiet if she tried to talk out of her face to him or say anything. But then he would also be talking over their heads. So I wonder, I don't know that that conversation would be, like I said, probably wouldn't be a conversation because-

I don't think it would be productive.

It wouldn't be productive.

But I still want to know what he has to say.

Yes, I would want to hear just like and see his just his cadence, you know. And he'd say like, yes, I have been told to love my country, but my country has never loved me. And what do you say about that?

Senator Blackburn.

Like, oh my gosh, I would love that.

I mean, oh God.

Yeah, that would nourish me. OK, so so we'd both go to watch James Baldwin and to maybe fight some people.

To maybe fight some people, drink some cognac and hold his cigarettes for him. If you need to do that, not hold my purse, hold my cigarettes.

That's right. That's right.

Yeah.

All right. That's all we've got for today. If you have any suggestions that you would like to give us for what names should be in our randomizer, you can always reach out to us at Instagram or TikTok.

Handle is just who's going to be their pod on both of those. Or if you have any other comments, questions, feel free to leave us a rating, send us some suggestions. We are always open to hearing from you.

Kashif, it is nice to meet.

It is sad to part.

Until next week, y'all take care. We will see you then. Until two weeks from now.

Yes, two weeks from now. Yes, we'll see you then.

Bye.

Yay, we did it, we did it.”

From Who's Gonna Be There?: Try Pride in a Small Town, Jun 23, 2025

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whos-gonna-be-there/id1822424773?i=1000714281529&r=2115

This material may be protected by copyright.