7/3/19 #JustReflecting ft. D. Watkins and Chris Wilson "Life is what you make it" ~ Interviews

Life is what you make it: D. Watkins and Chris Wilson

Written By Anwar Curtis (A.C. the MaYoR)

I think it is fair to say no matter how big the world is when it’s time to connect with a person it will happen. Dwight "D" Watkins and Chris Wilson both are from the same city, Baltimore and experienced similar journey’s in life the city had to offer them while growing up. If you are unfamiliar with stories similar to theirs, don’t trip because it is one Hollywood loves to make billions of dollars off of yet I don’t recall Hollywood allocating money to rehabilitate the areas where stories like D. Watkins and Chris exist.

So many people have dreams and want a fighting chance to pursue them. Many suffer from dream deprivation because for kids and teens growing up meant learning survival tactics...and some of those tactics could make your glass half empty even when you think it’s half full. Fortunately for D. Watkins and Chris Wilson overcoming hurdles (a glass half full tactic) was something they learned during their journey and now they are household names. I linked with these two King’s in Fredrick, Maryland, courtesy of Curious Iguana which is an Independent Bookstore exactly one day after celebrating Juneteenth and our conversation was inspiring...but don’t let me spoil it for you though...and don’t mind D. Watkins and Chris Wilson because they’re Just Reflecting.

A.C. the MaYoR: What does Black journalism mean to you?

D. Watkins: It’s kind of difficult because a lot of different publications think when they find one Black person to write about issues then that Black person has the luxury to speak for every Black person in the world and that’s not true. A lot of op-eds I read, a lot of articles I read, a lot of perspectives I read from a lot of Black journalists are good but they don’t relate to me...they don’t speak to a person like me. I saw this one guy who wrote for the Washington Post go on television and said “every Black person living in America is living in a constant state of fear, all the time every day” and I’m like nah dawg I be chilling. I walk up and down my block every day. I just ate salmon with Cilantro drizzle dawg, lol. You’re the one in a constant state of fear so you should talk about yourself and not talk for everybody else. That’s the difficult part about it. Trying to find that lane and be a person who can elevate voices, stories, and show love to people, and show that being Black is not monolithic. We’re complex, brilliant, beautiful, goofy, crazy, out of control and in control and smart like every other group of people.

A.C. the MaYoR: Chris, you mentioned being a free man for seven years now but I know you have been free longer than that. You started to piece your book together while incarcerated. What impact are you working towards with your book for the next seven years?

Chris Wilson: The experience in prison was a very strange experience, like being on another planet with different rules. The impact I would like to have seven years from now is having my book in every prison in America. There are three-thousand prisons. I started to get my book in juvenile and adult facilities in Maryland and schools.

A.C. the MaYoR: What impact are you striving for during the next seven years?

D. Watkins: I want to bring television to Baltimore. I want people in Baltimore to be able to work in television and work on shows and be actors, directors, and sound production you know. I want Baltimore to be a city where we can make amazing content and it ran by people from the city, without shipping in production companies from New York or LA.

A.C. the MaYoR: Wisdom is something we all have yet it takes circumstances in order for that wisdom to kick in. If you could share one characteristic about yourself from the wisdom you’ve established as individuals, what would that characteristic be?

Chris Wilson: I’m a very resilient person so regardless of what I go through or how many set-backs I have, I always get back up. I try to instill that in young people.

D. Watkins: In life, I have learned to treat everyone like they’re Jesus. It makes your journey so much easier. You can be mean to me or disrespectful and all I can do is embrace it with love and hope that you’ll be ok and keep it moving. That has allowed me to function. When opportunities I feel I should get don’t come my way I’m ok. When stuff does come my way that I don’t expect, I’m always humble and thankful. So, I just try to treat everyone like Jesus even when they don’t earn it lol.

A.C. the MaYoR: I learned a lot from you two earlier and I appreciate the time you took to share your insight on pushing for prosperity on Levels Ready's platform. Peace King's.