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Okay, let's get started. Today. We are here at the Paul Robeson Memorial event in Petworth. This is Dan Kerr. It is April 9th 2022. Do we have permission to record you? Yes, you do. Could you tell us your name? Reverend Graylan Scott Hagler

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Fantastic. Would you mind telling me a little bit about how you view your artistic or cultural expression or your activism? and and tell us about that. Well, one of the things that I think that many of our activism takes place in a different context, it can take place in art, it can take place in spirituality and religion, it can take place in terms of the work we do in a community for example, and, you know, part of a what Uzikee has done here, Uzikee Nelson, I'm related to him, I need to tell you that his wife is my cousin, and uh his work is one that has continued to try to amplify history and particularly significant figures in history and the particular influences of History upon a community,upon a society. And so again, you know that that worked at is here in Petworth, Clearly is a reflection of that kind of the kind of activism that comes through the Arts. That's beautiful. And do you, how did that work influenced and inspired you? Well, I think that aren't always influences in this way because, you know, when you when you think about movements are built upon music, new movements as built upon me vision and visuals that are affected like very often, the kinds of visuals that we create when we do activism is an artistic flare because it is necessary to speak, not only to the mind, but to the soul of a human being, in order to create a a movement.

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That's beautiful. But you've been you're related to Januwa, You said, and you have been in D.C. for how long? I've been in DC For 30 years. That's terrific. Okay, and how has...how...Tell me a little bit about your understanding of her work? Well if her work she's a fabric artist and as an traveled all over basically lifting up different cultural flares, in terms of the work that has gone into sort of producing fabrics and how Fabrics are manufactured and worn the colors that are used. So her work has been very dynamic in terms of really speaking to that whole culture flare. But also a pan-africanism that is found in those in that fabric, right? That exists in Brazil that exist in the United States that exist in the Caribbean where in Africa. So there's a kind of relationship between all of these continents and all of these places in terms of the colors, in terms of the way fabrics are worn and utilized. So that's been her work.

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And I believe it's been a part of your activism as well too. Is that pan-africanist context or is that fair to say? I would say Pan African context. But also a Universalist context, because to recognize that somehow, all of these movements that are taking place in the world for Liberation, all the movements that are taking place so that people can have dignity and human rights. They're all related to one another because we're all fighting against the same kinds of people, the same type of movements that are set up to some press to exploit, to keep people divided, to keep him from communicating with one another. And that's what art does. Art speaks across those boundaries to each other. And basically, it causes us to recognize how related we are to one another and out of that relationship to create the kind of movement that builds solidarity, the builds unity, that also respects and celebrates diversity. It's that kind of movement that needs to be built. What, uh,what are some of the communities that you feel identified with? And obviously there's this larger Universalist context but bringing that down to kind of the very interpersonal? Right, I think if you look at the community and Washington D.C.., you know, a black community that is continuously displaced in Washington, D.C. Also Latino community, that is always hounded in terms of immigration issues, the African Community that is always and again, being hounded in the same way,being dispossessed in the same way and always put it this way, whoever struggling. So that means gay folks as well. That means lesbians as well transgender, folks. They're all part of the whole. We got it. We can't separate people off, you know, it's like what we do in art, art becomes the the movement of colors and of fabric and textures. And so those fabric and textures that also, you know unite us as one people. So we allow people to separate us artificially and therefore, we got overcome that separation and claim the unity that we should be claiming.

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That's beautiful. What are some of the ways in which you think that you have sought to overcome those divisions? Well, I think that as a pastor of a church actively, i've preached the theology that talks about the universality of our existence, you know, and really embrace people that continue to be ostracized and marginalized in the society and to declare that they are God's children and one of us, right? And that all God's children are part of us and that that doesn't mean that you have to receive and accept God personally, but I recognize the God reflection in each and every human being. And your church, where, where is that located? On North Capitol and Riggs Road.

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Do you, um, where would you like, uh....You talked about some of the displacement, and the transformation, and obviously those... that gentrification that we've seen... [To Child] What'd you say? Just say it louder. What tree? No, don't climb the tree, we don't want to break branches, okay? So we were, so in the face of this displacement, the gentrification, the difficulties people have in terms of accessing housing and stayed and maintaining the communities that they've been raised in. How, how do you think we might go about really challenging a and encountering out and provided a different vision for how we could live differently? Well, I think that we got to. And this is part of what creativity and arts should lead us towards. You gotta break beyond what has already been done because it hasn't worked. Right? And so and so as you know, an artist brings a new eye to a canvas or new eye to a piece of scrap metal or new eye to a stone or to a page for example, to try to go beyond what is already been done, what is already been stated because all that has gone on in the society has been built upon the same old models and the same old models has displaced indigenous populations. The same old models have enslaved black folks, the same all models basically, relegates this...this pyramid system where people are always on the bottom and somebody's always on top. We got to change that. We got to begin to look at economics in a different way. We got to begin to look at all these things. The way we do politics in a different way. Why is it everything is always an adverserial type of our relationship? Whether you talk about labor, unions and you're talking about management or you're talking about government in Washington. D.C., Why is everything always adversarial in terms of what you think you can win rather than relational out of what can be created that begins to address and resolve the issues that exist within a community?

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Anything else you'd like to share with us today? I think that covers it. That covers it as beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you.