Deveney Perry and Kirstin Cheers

00:04 Hello, my name is deveney Perry. I am 29 today's date is Wednesday, September 25th, 2019 and we are in Memphis Tennessee. The name of my interview partner is Kirstin cheers and the relationship to my partner is we are friend leagues friends and colleagues.

00:25 My name is Kirstin. Cheers. I am 28 years old. Today's date is Wednesday, September 25th, 2019. We are located in Memphis Tennessee the name of the end of my interview partner is deveny and our relationship is we are definitely says friend leads that friendly friendly friendly colleagues. So yeah.

00:52 And in this is her idea. This was her idea is my idea. I will tell Carson that I signed up just on a whim just because I like to speak and I feel like I should have a mic. Yeah, so but actually this is for the Library of Congress do something like it means something for who I am and who I represent as a black woman as a 20-something and it also means something because they're specifically wanted Memphis and I thought who who is my favorite Storyteller of Memphis and the first person that came to my head was Kirsten. Let me invite Kirsten because she is my favorite Memphis Storyteller and I really think that not just myself but I City value is your voice so I felt like it was very important that for this archive Library of Congress.

01:52 Been to the Library of Congress to it has to have my car but I don't have that has expired but I just like okay this is this important. I feel like I should have someone who is I feel is very important. But also very real and very authentic who could actually like speak as a colleague in a friend. So here we go. So now I'm emotional. I didn't know that's why you chose me. I was wondering why you text me an email is like, I don't know you're always emailing and texting and I'm like, what is Dabney want today? But this sounded pretty cool and I have heard about this. But yeah that I don't know why that just made me a little emotional probably cuz I'm PMSing do they know but know that that was like,

02:34 Oh, well, that's pretty interesting to that. I mean there was a portion on the application that said define yourself and I do I wrote down crazy stuff. But someone did tell me that I need to be myself a griot of Memphis. I think anywhere else told me that butt and I was like, you know, and I think I've also been in the space of just like what the hell am I supposed to be doing with my life? And I guess that's like a 20-something thing. But yeah, I'm not going to take this away from you. But go ahead jump us and then she started.

03:08 Okay, so to jump us then I think first I would really like to share and also get your perspective on where we are in this in our current life is what it means to be a native. Memphian. Is there so much going on and how we enter into those spaces people recognize and they they are happy to know that we Native memphian and it will say we're still here but where where where would you say not wear cuz I want to make it just Geographic but who is the community that that raise you that groom do so like they say it takes a village to raise a child based off of who you are today. Who is your village or where is your village and I'll just share mine. I grew up mostly in southeast Memphis families in everywhere from Orange mound to Whitehaven to Fraser very strongly.

04:08 Play in Orange Mound and but my community that really raised me my Village came from my church. I'm Seventh-day Adventist. So there were just a lot of things that I did not do and I couldn't take part in within the time-space of when it was hell. So my Village made sure that there were different places for me to experience myself and experience the world. So my Village includes everyone from doctors to ex felons and I'm used to those people and I value those people as my Village. So now that I'm older I value people and I love people so a lot of my work has been public service related. Thanks Obama public service related just because I want to see people win because I'm I come from a space of people winning no matter if you were a surgeon or if you were you just got out of jail, but that's my my Village my community here in Memphis. So what about yourself?

05:08 Who has a loaded question is Owen I ran for office in 2015. We are in an election year and my stump speech o a part of my stump speech was I want to restore the village that I had for the future Generations. My Village was matriarchal.

05:34 I was raised by my mom and my aunt in South Memphis 38106 District 4 and they were of course two of the strongest black women that I've ever met that I've known and because of that I am very intentional about surrounding myself with other strong black women, but but I think even now like I would have to challenge myself on that and say that I've learned to not just surround myself with who I think is strong but black women. I'm an advocate for black women all women. Yes, but especially black women. So my Village, I mean there were women who lived across the street from us who would

06:22 Babysit me their houses are now torn down cuz they passed away and their families weren't able to keep those homes up. There is one house across the street from me. That is still standing. The woman is still living there. She would would attend the church that that I grew up in. I'm also a church kid. I was born on a Sunday and I love church. I love Jesus but I open a black church and now I go to a black church. It's not the same church that I grew up in I make a decision at 15 16 17 years old to switch churches. I just really lacked. What I believe was a relationship with Christ and I wanted something different from myself. So the black church of the part of my Village and the black church comes with its own proclivities and problems and issues. But I'm an advocate for the black church too. And so where do I see Memphis right now, you know.

07:19 It's interesting. You say you grew up around winners. I think that I grew up around.

07:26 Survivors, not necessarily winners right because they there was nothing to win but

07:37 There was this desperate need to survive. And so I think a lot of times what I do now is

07:47 Birth out of the sense of survival. Like I have to do this to survive even my public. Advocacy even my my job. My career Memphis to me is in a state of surviving.

08:04 And if you listen to starting corners of the city, it would say that we have momentum right but momentum for who's progressing because it might and my district in my community and I still live in the house that I was raised in. I don't sleep regression unless you count the five white kids who moved into the house next door that used to be owned by older black woman whose children were strung out on drugs and eventually all of them died.

08:38 Inside that house was bought and by I'm sure some white white developers and white Realtors, whatever that language is, and now we got some college kids that live next door and that great right? Like we had a we had a mouse in our house and it was stuck in our garbage can and me and my mom were like, we're not going to get this right is actually a rat so I ran like I had on pajamas no bra I ran next door and one of the guys that lives next door, they all go to University of Memphis. And so I ran next door and his name is wari and I have a cousin named Lori. So that's how I remembered him. And so I'm knocking on the door they have dogs and whatever he comes to the door with no shirt on I said worry, I need you. I desperately need you. There's a rat in my trash can and he's like, okay and he just comes over. He grabs his shoes. He comes over he picks up the entire trash can

09:38 And if he dumps the trash can into the bigger bin the the sanitation bins that we all have our at our house and then he takes one of his brakes and he killed it. And so I'm like

09:50 You know the sanitation workers going to run till Thursday. It was like a Wednesday. I wasn't working. My mom wasn't working. We had actually just lost my aunt. Okay, so my aunt passed away December December 7th, Jackie I call her AJ for Aunt Jackie. I thought that was so cute. And so they moved in together. They have done life together. They moved in together to take care of my my grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and she passed away when I was 7 and they just never separated and they are two of 11 and all of the girls. So six girls V boys, all of the girls have passed away besides one besides my mom and my other night. I have an aunt Dorothy who is still was like 80. So yeah like not to go down that rabbit-hole but

10:47 I've always been I feel like Memphis is in a state of survival and I'm in a state of survival and I would and I recently came into this just I have moment of like I want to thrive like I don't want to I don't want to just survive in the more like I want to I want wealth and I want abundance but damn we live in a capitalist society. And so that means that some people are going to tell you before and I do recognize that I'm privileged but they got priority is it like it's this conundrum and I think it's a conundrum that a lot of educated black 20-something Millennial 30 something, you know, those of us who are still here who call ourselves natives who are native struggle with you know, the dichotomy of wanting more but also looking around the corner or he'll look at next door and it's like but they don't have more but damn like I got an advocate for this but I got to take care of myself. So it's it's the survival mode. I think Memphis is in survival. I think that definitely describes I guess another conversation of like you just repeat like shared where you what your hoe

11:47 For Memphis on Main and also some values for Memphis. Like how what how do we get out of this state of survival mode in like I know for myself when I look at Memphis. I see it as a place with what they call it. It's just like energy on reserve like how do you Empower people? So they see all of these potential so that get energy on reserve is just Blossom and I guess that also speaks to my Village because they did my Village always spoke like you have energy on reserve. How are you going to Blossom and also my my brother just try to stay. So how are you going to Blossom through Christ? I'm at how are you? How would you serve other that's really a point of entry for me, but I'll definitely say being a memphian and having the opportunity to attend college and go out of Sodom and besides into Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and I also attended American University, Florida.

12:47 Exchange through Spelman and just being able to be exposed to people who were definitely more than just your black-and-white even at Spelman people don't understand how diverse hbcus are but to think that I'm going to school with just another African American and she goes oh, no, my family is from St. Lucia St. Lucia. I am I African-American. Okay, okay, but one of the things that I hope for Memphis and it's not Memphis just for myself, especially as I start a family and things like that in the future. I would like for my family to be around an outside of the space. That's just highly segregated based off of black and white that is something that I just really really want more Memphis and if I can't find it and created in Memphis, I really think that

13:47 If I leave it will be based on the fact that I want to live in the space where the kids I went to college with like they would take all my best friends coming here for the weekend and they come in their best friend is Vietnamese and I'm like it like that diverse Community. I want to look like the world. That was a thank you can have that in Memphis though. I think the problem is like because we have been so segregated this this is a segregated City because we have been so segregated amongst simply black and white we are not considerate of the fact that Memphis is are undocumented population here in the city is actually the fastest growing in Tennessee, right? So we do have a population of people in that's just not letting sore Latin X, but that's also Haitians as Jamaicans. That's you know, Asian Pacific Islander, and we don't care.

14:47 That is a say we don't count those people. We don't see those people. So there is there. There is a population of people and have always been especially in the city of Memphis a population of people who have always been overlooked and not considered and so if you did not fall into not just black and white, but if you didn't fall into a social class if you didn't have a last name, that was very popular that was very well-known and respected right you you were off today and I think that's honestly how I came to be but I have a pretty cool last name. My last name is cheers, right? That's all I'm like, I want people to know my last night. I didn't you know, even if I get married I'm keeping my last name and that he can have it to you right now. You know, I'm thinking of like, how can I add my last name to my daughter's middle name was something like that so she can carry cheer cuz I'm proud of myself. I don't know I save my last name is the greatest gift that my dad gave me right and so like

15:43 We have a great opportunity here in Memphis because even though it's a disadvantage that we have not progressed as quickly as other cities have we have the advantage to do it? We have the advantage to progress now, like our generation can be those leaders that moves Memphis to the next level, but we can also be the generation that includes everybody right? Like we see these people right we know where you know, Hickory Hill hasn't has a large Hispanic and Latino population. We know Summer Avenue has a large head right around the corner here, Cleveland has a large Asian population, right? But we've never considered those people and so I think

16:27 I think like that's what excites me and that's what what keeps me here, honestly and don't get me wrong like being a memphian is not easy. I don't know how it is anywhere else. I've lived in DC and Nashville. I hate Nashville. This is my favorite city in this in this country, right but because of the diversity and all the stuff that I look at DC and I'm like Memphis can have that too. But we also have to consider like people put in work in DC put people put in work in Atlanta black people dead and they are young black people do right and then they all have their town. So I'm sitting here and I'm like really can be this awesome City. We all this energy on reserve. We have all this potential but the right people have to step up and be willing to to fight for it. So sinh of energy on reserve where in Memphis and I know Memphis is known for its creative creative zen music creative art. I'm last week. I got to attend one of my

17:27 Brother / cousins one of my Not So Family but very much family members on Derek for sure who's a huge artists around the country and also I can say the world but he is a native memphian and it took a lot for people to recognize art to say we haven't artist who's been recognized in other countries throughout the world and he's right here from Memphis going to Central High School art teacher from Central High School. I forget his name made sure to say you're going to be something right and he said, you know what? I guess I can do this because my high school art teacher told me I could there so many artists like different types of art Derrick is a visual artist who does portraits her but I mean musicians we know the history of Memphis and music graphic designers fashion second class.

18:27 Yeah, you're an artist that's not really weird. That's not something of value of high esteem that we can put on a pedestal to say this is a high respecting position in Memphis right where we should have because Memphis makes birth artist rebirth art. So how do you feel about cuz I also think you're creative as well, but how do you feel about how we how we really express our creativity and Memphis and then also how we consume it or lack thereof consuming our own local art?

19:09 I I started this blog right after college cuz I couldn't find a job humans of Memphis and if it got pretty popular, but I stopped doing it so I can run for off because I thought I was going around and I was very intentionally was inspired by humans of New York and I was like Memphis should have something like this until I bought a raggedy camera off Craigslist. It was $300. It was a Canon Rebel T3, if that's the think that's the correct. Whatever it was a Canon Rebel and it was $300 after I had $300 literally had $300 to my name and I bought this camera from Craigslist Missed met this guy in Tunica and picked it up and my aunt. I told my Aunt I was going to go to pick up the camera. She looks like you need a gun. You know, she gave me her taser. I like I'll be back your name isn't that far? And so we

20:05 We had I started like that day and my first photo was

20:15 My first photo was

20:18 These four girls sitting on the step of the FedEx forum. And so that's a completely I'll go into it. So yeah my first foto work wear these four girls who had just left school. They went to Booker T, Washington. It was the last day of school. It was 2014. I think and I just stopped I was driving my Toyota Corolla and I stopped on the side of the road walk walk across the street and I was like hell, yeah, I want to take some pictures and they were like it and so like we had a really good time and I posted them. I created humans of Memphis that day on Facebook and I just posted and people loved it. People shared it fast forward I ran for office 2015

21:01 2016 6 months before AJ. I found out one of those girls was killed and she was a week shy of her high school graduation. And since I had met her she had a son.

21:18 And ever since then doesn't need to be very honest with you. I think I've been in a state of depression for a multitude of things.

21:31 And I guess this is also why I feel I stay in Memphis honestly, because I feel like God won't move me anywhere else. I've tried. I honestly I've tried I can go for a stent, but I can't I can't say so.

21:46 We talked about creativity and we talked about art and honestly humans of Memphis drove me to run for office because I was very intentional or not. Just showing the pretty parts of Memphis, right?

22:00 Because at again the Memphis that I knew with amethyst of survival.

22:05 Insole

22:07 Aya

22:09 I don't regret running for office. I do regret not continuing humans of Memphis or some sort of Photography face showing front facing that told the story that told that tells the real stories be cut and it with what you'll see now it's different nonprofits and I've been commissioned right like to start these little projects at different non-profit similar to humans of Memphis and it's like

22:38 It's

22:41 Is not the same right because they want the faces of their success stories. They want the faces of their of their boards. They want the faces of their employees. They want the faces of the people that they've helped in these poverty organizations. Are these organizations that are supposed to

23:00 Reduce poverty and they want the success. They wanted to be very manufactured manufactured and I am not that type of person and I think most people if they know me well would know that I am not afraid to say the real thing right like hay

23:16 This this do the reason why you like this story so much. These are these really cute manufactured stories is because they're the exception. This is not happening in mass in Memphis that I've been telling the story. But what I've been telling people lately is bad.

23:37 There is a space a level of comfort that.

23:44 Institutions systems wanted keep you in and keep your thought processes, but you don't think outside or they don't have to think out there right now and I do Community Development work now in North Memphis is which is one of the most disinvested City spaces in the city of Memphis given the manufacturing history the fact that a lot of those non-functioning oil gas manufacturing plants Firestone Tire and rubber they're still there not operating anymore, but everything that they had it still underground everything that they've had has been dumped into the Wolf River references right in the pipes and things of that nature so out stories that make people uncomfortable.

24:35 And the reason why we don't get to those because that does represent a huge that represents Justice really like there is Justice in unearthing these stories and then finding Solutions, and I went to something and the guy he was from policy link. So of course this is this is their narrative but he said policy represents people in power and in those spaces where we don't see change needed some comfortable for those people in power and we will not deal with those unless we are in those positions of power for going back to your artist question and how we produce and consume art and where we are as a sitting in regards to that. Like I said that project moved me to run right because I saw the disadvantage I saw the disconnect I saw the dichotomy if you go down Poplar Poplar Avenue looks like one.

25:32 Complete looks like a completely different City versus Lamar and both of them are the longest streets in Memphis, right? And so

25:40 I saw that right until like that encouraged me to run before the lost. And so I think what we're seeing now in the city is

25:50 This Collective

25:54 Of artists who

25:58 Are creating their art out of need creating their art out of advocacy. That's what I see. I see people creating their art as a form of advocacy. It can beat you know, anybody can you know anybody but if you have that gift, if you have the gift of you know, painting of Friday night photography of portraiture of wrapping, whatever whatever you can you can do anyting honestly, but Toni Morrison said that artists are a Public Enemy to the government.

26:37 The Public Enemy to the government

26:40 Oh, you're dangerous. Right? And so, you know, it's not a mistake that are Artist Artist that I burst out of Memphis and get their footing in their ground work in Memphis can go in other places and succeed like crazy, right it always happens.

27:02 Form or fashion designers to our stylist to our hair stylist to our you know again writers and

27:10 Don't they leave and they succeed and other spaces because other spaces are really craving that while Memphis still wants to control this Narrative of everything is okay and everything is going to be okay and right in two decades and so these artists now that are like committed to the city. I like wait a minute like so, you know, I think it's beautiful and I think the reason why we may treat them like second-class citizens, I don't think that's just as I think it's a generational thing among black people where you know older black folks want you to be able to get a job make some money to the house and not if they want you to be employed. They want to be employable. Well, if you sitting around talking about, you know, you rapping and you rapping about the disadvantages of Memphis in do you like what what what where is this money coming from inside? Like we can fall down that rabbit-hole to but I think what's happening now, you know, we're living in a time where you can because you can be anything you want to be and you can do anything you want to do and get paid for it you can

28:10 And so what we're seeing now is like I think Memphis is on this Renaissance right now artistically and I think our is going to be the way that Memphis.

28:20 Crosses the threshold of progression honestly, it's going to take really raw provocative art that I am saying, but I am interested in seeing cultivate and develop and grow and stuff like that. It's going to take some really good stuff and we got the people here who are going to do it maybe within the next year or two. That's my FedEx. You know opinion is that in the next year or two? It's going to be some crazy stuff that comes out that's going to grab some some some worldwide attention cuz it is changed. Our folks are already in New York and there, you know traveling and doing stuff like that and they wanted another places right to Libre is doing really good stuff. So I mean like

29:08 Memphis as I still think the disadvantages to Memphis our our our advantages because they have not because we seen other sit other cities and we haven't done it because our our our generation. Honestly, I think is prime halide this next Renaissance and I will say for years. I'm especially me being in Memphis when I was in Atlanta. I got to take there was a class call public women in public leadership and I went to all girls African-American school and Shirley Franklin had just stepped down from mayor of the city of Atlantis know she came and she taught the course is Mom and just Atlanta which had a female mayor waiver for Memphis and Memphis still has not as yet to have a female mare hiring her story of how she was she was actually asked to run by Maynard and Andrew Jackson Maynard and Andrew Jackson sat down and said, I mean yeah Andrew Young mayor Jackson injury

30:08 I'm sorry just got those names confused, but they said down and asked her to run. I'm and she said No at first but then when she really thought about Atlanta her City where she live for decades and then point in her life. She said you know what I we I am the representation of what success looks like because successful definitely be led by black with black women now and from that point, I've always thought and at that time, I think I think Harrington was Mary Memphis, this is like so why haven't you run? Why haven't I run? I am preparing myself. I really always keep saying I want to know how to move money. I think that is one of the most for me that is one of the most powerful things. I know but like so much that goes back to that capitalistic ideal that it is, don't know how to deal with money black people, but especially like black women and honestly anyone who is not considered

31:08 You know a part of this white male heteronormative Christian for some reason does not there's this idea that they do not have enough that these people are the only folks that know how to handle money. I mean, you have to leave early for my phone from mine comes from a space of the economic development space like seeing how funds are utilized and allocated in a municipal structure is a very beautiful thing to me. Like I just found out that a local municipality is actually spending two different same budget, but from two different divisions paying for the same thing as simple as a toilet tissue dispenser One Division pays for than another division pay for what I say. I want to move and structure of money. It is 4 so that it is Equitable so that I can equitably spend money in a in a locality.

32:08 That's good. And that's wise but the people who are in those positions right now did not get their knowing that knowledge. They didn't know and that's why I feel like I can do my city and my people and even bigger service because they don't think from those standpoints. And now that they're in the office. I have evidential proof that they still are not thinking about those. So here's the thing like because you are already on that plane you can you're already light years ahead.

32:39 And so there's this thing right with Millennials women black people people of color queer lgbtqia that we have to have this certain level of preparation and intelligence and education in order to move into these spaces. I'm telling you. It's just not true. We are living in a time. We got Google we are living in a time you can be anything but in so late, you know it when people ask me what should you do before I was like, just run. What are you talkin about? We have people that have held seats for decades and centuries if you want to count people's names and how many time how many times is it someone with the same last name has been in the seat like centuries right and felt like we don't have to have any special information to leave the simple fact that you have passion. The simple fact that you have this knowledge of the community the simple fact that you have the knowledge of what you want to know more of

33:39 And you're willing to learn it and you're smart not because you have a degree, but because you're a constant learner student, which I say is the biggest been the greatest job, which is to be a career student and in a Perpetual learner.

33:57 You're already light years ahead. And so like this idea that you got to have something in your pocket to do it is it's asinine and it's the trick of you know, this decision by the systematic institutional idea that you got to be somewhere that are not right that they they've learned how to do that stuff. Once they got in it and a lot of things in life that honestly won't come to you until you just jump into I didn't learn how to swim until out to my cousin threw me in the pool. You know what I mean? And he said just float

34:31 Yeah me and it's all swimming is bloating. And then once you learn how to float, you actually realize that your body automatically moves. Yeah, you know, it just naturally floats and it naturally moves once you apply arms and you apply your legs and stuff.

34:47 Then you can go wherever you want to go. You can get there at how fast you want to get to but once you jump in your good so jumpy and Ebony stop playing around we need to support all of my friends. Did it snow in a candidate man. I mean being a leader, you know, I'm getting there yet. We need it around all of my friends London Lamar to Trina Robinson cycling Easter egg need to do for a district 7 city council right now. I so much love my candidacy right now. I definitely see myself in that space Also. I love Ramesh Akbar just going to throw that I've been doing it since I just want to like note these names in the history of men but I got to go by and that these women's names not be not be mentioned like the time go by.

35:47 Because I know the history of my city and I do I am happy for the names that I do know, especially from the Civil Rights space, but I just want to make sure that and shout out to deveney that at the Carson leaders in the city of Memphis 2019 and Beyond and beyond our kids will play together. We don't have kids but you know that I did can you imagine that they like our kids going to Central New Life? My mom is definitely in my mama's car saying it. Oh, yeah, they said on this board and they're the congresswoman councilwoman of this getting out of the day might remember like growing up in high school when he'd like these two families always knew you had it. Like I've always wanted that about also want to be Yo Gotti, but I want my cousin to be like, yeah, like we're leaders and and and

36:39 Memphis is in good health last question. I guess what's your favorite Memphis song?

36:49 Has to be Gangsta Blac South Parkway, I'm not going to wrap it but it's Gangsta g a n s. No Gangsta black. Okay, South Parkway. All right, so my favorite song is

37:11 I'm trying to pick one. Actually. I know I said that but I love by Bobby Blue Bland. I know but so it is really Bobby Buble live on Beale Street. I know there's a whole lot and I also would say Drake Drake is always okay. I'm always sampling of Bobby Blue Bland. Oh, yeah. Yeah he is.

37:50 Well, thank you Carson for yeah, thank you for participating in my just random text message to get you to come do some I'm used to your random. Text message art.