>> "here and now," the program featuring the news and interests of the african-american community. here's your host, sandra bookman. >> coming up on here and now -- he shattered the nypd's color line -- the larger-than-life story of samuel battle, new york city's first black cop... also, a group of young black filmmakers from harlem honored at the annual white house student film festival... how mentoring and medicine is helping recruit and prepare future doctors and other health professionals... and later, celebrity couple flex and shanice, they talk about revealing their love and losses on the second season of their reality tv show. that's all ahead -- and much

more -- on "here and now." >> "one righteous man: samuel battle and the shattering of the color line in new york"

is a new book that tells the courageous story of the first black new york city police officer. now, samuel battle broke the color barrier on the police force, enduring hostility on the job and on city streets. joining us today -- pulitzer prize-winning journalist and the author of "one righteous man," arthur browne. thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. >> thank you for having me, sandra. i appreciate it. >> this book really is a walk-through history, through new york city history, in a lot of ways -- and even the country's to a smaller extent. what drew you to sam battle's story? >> okay. in 2009, an amateur historian had known about sam battle and known that he'd been the first cop on the new york city police force, that he'd broken in in 1911. he persuaded new york city to place a sign up on the intersection of lenox avenue and 135th street. the daily news did a little story. they called him the jackie robinson of the police department.

i'd worked with the daily news for 35 years as a journalist and never thought about the concept, never wondered, "how did all this start?" so i went back to find out and research, and that's what led to the book. >> and when you started digging, man, did you find out some interesting things -- i think one of them that this man realized, to a certain extent, what place he held in history, and he commissioned langston hughes to write a biography. >> correct. around 1949, as he was ending his public career, he knew that he had done great things, that he'd overcome enormous obstacles, and he also knew that it would be forgotten. so he did hire hughes, paid him $1,500 to write his first-person biography. >> mm-hmm. >> it was never published. there are a number of reasons for it, but the overriding reason why that book was never published was that the mainstream publishers of the time were not in any way

interested in a biography of a strong black hero who challenged the prevailing racism of the time, including of the nypd. so the manuscript was simply put away until i happened to cross it when i called sam battle's grandson, who took my breath away in the course of the conversation by saying did i know that he had hired langston hughes in 1949 to do the biography. >> so you worked with that material, your own research, and put together this book that, as i said, really is not only samuel battle's history, but a history of new york city with, i mean, every colorful character you could name from that period that he was part of the police department. >> i hope so because samuel battle was both a super-intelligent person, and he had this large outgoing personality that, from the time he arrived in new york city, around the turn of the 20th century, he engaged with every major black figure of the time,

whether it was jack johnson the boxer or entertainers or gangsters or politicians -- whoever it was, sam battle got involved, and he got involved in the civil rights struggle. and, really, what he was part of was an american civil rights movement before america knew that it had a civil rights movement. and so, because he was so engaged, his life story became a natural vehicle for telling the history of black new york from around 1900 to 1950. and i believe all the big events and all the big characters are in there. >> yeah, he saw new york city change. he saw the position of black people in the city change. it's interesting to learn about where the center of black new york was in one decade versus -- you know, how it shifted to harlem. he lived on striver's row. he bought one of the first houses. >> he does follow the migration

of blacks in new york city from around columbus circle, which was the heart of black life early in the 20th century. he becomes one of the founding citizens of black harlem in 1906, well before it was a black community, when there was still enormous white racial hostility. and along the way, personally, he becomes the first black cop, suffers threats, suffers ostracism, suffers every attempt to push him off the job -- decides that, if the white men on the force won't talk to him, he's gonna study. and what he's gonna do is -- "you won't talk to me? one day, i will give you orders." >> and that's what happened. >> and that's what happened. he became a sergeant, he became a lieutenant, he became a close friend of fiorello laguardia, and at the end of his life, he was by then a close friend of first lady eleanor roosevelt. so he had this remarkable rise in new york city history that covered an enormous amount of material.

>> were you surprised -- as i read it, one of the things that struck me was how, you know, some of the relationships, cultural relationships, at that time, mirror what's going on on the streets today. i mean, yes, there's been an enormous amount of change, but some of the attitudes and idea-- it's the same. >> correct. you can draw lines, and you're right. many things have changed for the better, but right now we are in a period of tension between the police department -- and police departments across the country -- and the black community. if you go through the book, from 1900 to 1910, there were incredible white police riots against blacks. that's when it's at its worst. over time, it diminishes, but there is always a sense that the police department is invading the rights of black citizens and overly enforcing the law with

far too much strength. and so you can -- for example, in the '30s, the police felt perfectly free to break into almost any home in harlem to search for gambling slips, right -- no warrant, just a tip, break in, search the drawer, search everything. now, you can draw a line, if you'd like to, between that and stop-and-frisk. >> mm-hmm. >> at least the feeling of intrusiveness is the same, and you can argue about the merits of it, but the feeling that it's overly done is the same. >> i'm gonna -- they're telling me i'm running out of time, so i want to ask you one last question. why do you think it is so important that people know this story, particularly at this time? >> i think it's important to know this because the roots of so many of our problems today started back then in the police department. and it also talks about what happened in the fire department. and i also think it's important

to recognize samuel battle as one of the true civil rights icons of new york, if not america, who was simply written out of history because he was black. >> all right. arthur browne. "one righteous man: samuel battle and the shattering of the color line in new york." really fascinating reading. >> thank you so much, sandra. i appreciate it. >> when we come back on "here and now," several young filmmakers from harlem honored at the white house. and later, the new york-based fashion brand providing uniforms for students in liberia.

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switch to time warner cable today. and now, for a limited time, you could get a $300 reward card. call today. >> "mentoring in harlem" is an award-winning documentary created by student filmmakers from the digital media training program. the film was one of 15 winners of the annual white house student film festival. take a look. we live in harlem, usa. it's often called "the mecca of black america." >> harlem >> like all great communities, there's a tradition of providing guidance and training to the next generation. tennis great althea gibson came back to her neighborhood to teach and inspire. we took a look at several programs in our neighborhood. >> first, we needed a great definition of a mentor. >> a mentor brings you insight. a mentor shares experiences from his or her life in order that, when you come up against hard knocks...

"he made it -- i think i can, too." >> we talked with jamal joseph, who co-founded impact repertory theater in 1997. >> we think the alchemy is taking someone that may not appear to be gold at first, may not appear to be shiny at first, and to help them release that inner light and that inner potential, and that's what impact is really about. >> jamal joseph is my mentor. i joined his company, impact repertory theater, in 2009, when i was 11 years old. and from there, it built me to the person i am today, which is an active filmmaker, writer, director, and eventually, a producer. >> last summer, deedee halleck helped black and latino young women create films about community gardens in harlem. >> [ rapping ] go to home depot plant some seeds, though >> one of the jobs of a mentor is to raise people's expectations so they realize that, if you have the desire and the energy and the dedication, you can do anything.

>> now, the winning filmmakers were honored at a ceremony at the white house, where they got a chance to meet president obama and some hollywood filmmakers. joining us today is melvin mccray, the founder of digital media training, and two of the young award-winning filmmakers -- jared collazo and daviid maxwell. congratulations to all of you. the first thing i have to ask you two guys -- what was it like to go to the white house? >> i mean, well, to enter the white house, it is just thrilling 'cause, you know, kids our age, they don't get this opportunity. and it's just life... it's amazing. >> yeah, you never know what's gonna happen. and what about you, daviid? were you nervous? >> i was very nervous. when i found out we were going to the white house, i went home and told my mom. she was screaming, screaming. i was shaking. yeah, so i was nervous. >> so, once you got there and when you met president obama, what was that like? >> it was cool.

he's a very chill kind of guy, and he's super-tall. [ both chuckle ] >> yeah, he is super-tall. but you had to be proud to be there talking to the president because of a project that you had worked on. >> mm-hmm. >> yeah. >> yeah, we were very proud. >> okay. and what does it mean to you, melvin, to see them get that opportunity at their age? >> it was wonderful. i teach at columbia journalism school, and they live about three blocks away, down at the grant houses. and just to be able to find some wonderful talent blocks away from where i teach is just a wonderful thing. and they were able to learn -- we won an honorable mention last year, and i told them, i said, "listen, next year, we're gonna win this thing." and i said, "just visualize being in the white house, and this will happen for you." and so i think, if there's one thing that they take away, it's that they can do anything.

they have unlimited potential. you just have to visualize it. >> yeah, and you can make it happen. so, tell us about this digital media program. why did you start this? why was it important to you to bring young people into the field? >> well, sandra, i was walking around in my community in [indistinct] and i noticed that black and latino young people were consuming media -- they were playing video games, they were watching movies, they were listening to music -- but they weren't creating media. so i said -- and i was teaching at columbia journalism school. i was teaching graduate students how to create media. so i said, "why don't i teach them how to create media so they can tell their stories and the stories of the people in their community?" so that really was the impetus for it. >> and i neglected a couple things. first of all, you were an editor at abc "world news tonight" for almost 30 years -- an award-winning editor, i should add. so you guys are learning from

the best. >> [ chuckles ] >> and you felt it important to share that knowledge with young people. youngsters? since you retired or... >> just about. years. it's two years with the digital media training program. we've been really fortunate to get two grants from the west harlem development corporation, and they've been very supportive, and columbia university has been very supportive, as well. >> now, the documentary that you guys worked on you worked on with seven other people, right? >> yes. students. and you focused on mentors in the community. why was that the perfect subject for your documentary? obviously, it was the perfect one -- you went to the white house. why did you think it was important to highlight those people in the community? >> it was very important because most kids, you know, you see them out here doing bad things, and it's just a way -- if you have a mentor, it puts a positive influence on the kids for them to produce things in order for them to just have a better life.

>> mm-hmm. make a difference in your life. >> yeah, make a difference. >> and, daviid, i have to ask you -- you've gotten this taste of successful filmmaking. do you think this is something you might consider for a career, or is still too early for that? [ chuckles ] am i putting you on the spot? >> i feel like filmmaking is a hobby of mine. i'm not sure yet if it could be a... >> yeah, a career. >> yeah, a career. >> yeah. >> yeah, but, so far, it's just a hobby. >> mm-hmm. but you'd like to work on some other projects? >> yeah, i'd like to work on some other projects with professor melvin mccray. >> mm-hmm. mr. mccray. what are you hoping, at the end of the day, your youngsters walk away with -- the youngsters that you work with in this program? >> well, i do want to provide them with some skills. >> mm-hmm. >> i also want them to interact with some of the real great mentors in the community. we've been working on a project

called "harlem through my eyes," and we've interviewed about 40 people who live and work in harlem. and they've been exposed to them, and we're looking to do a book or do a documentary. and i think the interaction with them and some of the people in harlem is gonna be a real life-changer for them. >> yeah, and it does definitely make a difference -- like you've already made in their lives. >> i'm trying. >> and harlemeyes.com, you can find out information. >> absolutely. >> that's your website. congratulations to all of you. we had hoped to have you on back in march, when this happened, but we couldn't get the timing right. so we're so happy to be able to bring you on the program and introduce our audience to you. >> thank you very much. >> best of luck to you all. >> appreciate it. >> coming up next -- mentoring in medicine, from elementary school to med school.

stay with us. welcome to fort green sheets. welcome to castle bravestorm. it's full of cool stuff, like my second in command... and my trusty bow. and free of stuff i don't like. and in my castle we only eat chex cereal. chex cereal. it's full of delicious crunchability. no artificial flavors, and it's gluten-free. and that's something even my brother ... sister can understand. mom, brian threw a ball in the house!

>> mentoring in medicine is taking that old adage, "turning dreams into reality," a step farther. it's helping to turn dreamers into health and science professionals, working with some 50,000 students across the country since the program began almost 10 years ago. with us today -- the founder of the mentoring in medicine, dr. lynne holden, along with a volunteer, dr. anthony clarke, who also went through the program, and a current program participant, gordon carr. thank you all for being with us this afternoon. i'm gonna start with you, dr. holden. why did you think it was necessary to create a program like this one? >> well, the path to becoming a health professional can be sort of twiny, so we needed -- >> sort of what? >> twiny, meaning having ups and

downs and curves. so we really wanted to establish a program that was a continuity program, where we started in middle school, even elementary school, and helped students who had an interest -- or even if they don't have an interest -- to excite them and engage them in health careers and then to follow them through all the different stages to become a healthcare professional. >> did it surprise you, when you started the program, how many kids out there turned out -- just were in dire need of this kind of program, this kind of focused mentoring? >> it continues to surprise me. and children in our community are very open. they're open receptacles. they're very creative. they just want someone to help them, to listen to them, and to see people that look like them doing what they want to do -- their future selves. >> okay, now, doctor... because you weren't a doctor, obviously, when you started. how old were you when you started working on the program? >> well, i actually studied engineering and mathematics in undergrad, so when i met dr. holden was about 10 years ago, i think, one year into her

starting the program. i was in my lower 20s, and i was actually thinking about switching into a healthcare field. and like she said, we don't know how to do that. and when i met her and joined the program, i actually followed a path. i went to albert einstein college of medicine, and now i'm doing residency in her program at montefiore and jacobi. >> do you think, had you not run into her, it would've been a harder road for you? >> absolutely, because i don't have any doctors in my family, and i don't have anyone personally that would know that i could ask how to become a doctor. and after i joined the program, i had hundreds of people that i could ask 'cause i was exposed to people who were actual physicians. >> so that's the difference it made being able to really get true mentoring in this field. >> that's exactly what happened. >> now, mr. carr, you want to be a doctor, correct? and you're in school in buffalo? >> yes, university at buffalo. >> university at buffalo. and what kind of medicine are you interested in? >> i'm interested in emergency medicine. it's what he's actually doing right now, so, yeah.

>> what does it mean to you, at this stage in the game, to have access to someone that has just gone through what you're about to go through and then someone with dr. holden's years, who has taken the time and knows exactly what students, young people, need to get on that path in medicine? >> well, to me, it basically means that i have to take full advantage of the opportunities they obviously have given me, and, also, just prepare myself mentally for it and have the grades i need for med school and how to do well on the mcats and prepare for that. >> are there things that you find you wouldn't know about if you didn't have the chance to talk with folks that have done what you want to do? >> yes, definitely. honestly, without this program, i wouldn't know how to even begin to start it or how to go

through the process or what specific courses i would need to take and everything. i would be very lost without this program, so i'm grateful for it. >> yeah, it may end up taking you a little bit longer because you really didn't have the direction you needed early on. and i have to ask you, dr. holden -- i think there's gonna be a shortage of doctors across the board in a few years. does this make a program like this even more significant, you think? >> absolutely. there is a shortage, especially of minority physicians, but there is going to be a shortage, a huge shortage, not only in physicians, but other healthcare providers. so, a program like this, what we do is we go into urban areas in new york and beyond, and we look for students and let them know in a fun way -- we try to meet them where they are -- that, "being a healthcare professional, being a scientist, it's really a cool thing, and there are people doing it, and they've come from areas and situations like yours, so let's talk to them about how you can succeed if you want to do that."

>> and it's not, you know, we said specifically at the beginning that medicine and health professions -- so there are other areas of medicine that young people can get exposed to, as well. >> absolutely. there are what they call "ancillary services." so there's not only -- there's dental services, there's nursing, there's physician's assistant, phlebotomist. there are just so many volunteers that we have -- social workers -- that really want to meet the students and excite them about their career. because they're our future leaders, so we have to help cultivate them. >> and, dr. clarke, you came through the program as a student, but you're back volunteering. why is that so important to you? >> because i'm grateful every day. you know, i have a great job. i enjoy being a physician. you know, looking back, i can't be more grateful to dr. holden and program for actually making the path through medical school and residency so much easier than not having anything at all. >> do you see yourself in mr. carr here?

>> absolutely, right? so, i mean, i was just talking to him before we came on set. i was giving him some tips at med school, et cetera. he's gonna be great. he's gonna be fine. >> and what do you think's gonna make him a good doctor, from the conversation you had? >> you know, just humility. you have to humble, you have to be caring, and those are the two main things. if you're humble, you're gonna learn something new every day, and then you'll be able to give back to the community. >> okay. and i'm gonna ask you, when you see these two folks, does that really, you know, make you feel good about the choice you've made for your life and what you can look forward to? >> definitely it does. like, when i see them, it's always a reminder to me that this is possible to do, that it may be a hard challenge, but definitely it's something work taking. >> i think all of you are most definitely up to the challenge. so, the website is medicalmentor.org? >> yes. >> okay. and on that website you can find out more about the program.

>> absolutely. we have a play that we'll be doing called "morgan's big biology test," and this will be happening in the fall. so we're really excited to introduce students not only to the number-one killer, heart disease, in our communities, but also to learn how to do something called "hands-only cpr," how to save a life. and some of our students have had to save lives, and it's quite an interesting and exciting experience for them. >> thank you both for being with us, and best of luck to you, too. >> thank you. >> thank you for having us. >> you're welcome.

we'll be right back. >> "flex & shanice" is a docuseries airing on the own network, in its second season. it centers on the longstanding marriage of celebrity couple actor flex alexander and grammy award-winning singer shanice -- plus a few interesting family members. take a look. >> am i really gonna sing a melody off the top of my head in front of ne-yo? like, i'm so scared. [ giggles ] >> pretend it's the end of the song and you're just ad-libbing. go ahead. i got you. [ robotic vocalizing ] >> [ vocalizing ] ugh. i'm sorry. today, mali hunter brought me in to work with ne-yo. they gave me this hot track, ne-yo's working on the lyrics, and i'm supposed to do the melody. [ vocalizing ] >> hello. yeah, this is flex alexander. i am returning dave stewart's

call. i created a graphic novel called "the joshua run" a few years ago. so i get a voicemail -- this publisher wants to sit down and talk to me, which is amazing. and after losing the comedy tour, i mean, this is huge. because, in hollywood, you realize that nothing is promised to you at all. >> with us today in the studio -- flex and shanice. welcome to both of you. >> hi. >> i feel like i know you. >> so glad to be here. >> i feel like i know you. so, what's it like putting all your business out there? i mean, most of the time, you're performing, you're singing. you're singing your heart out, but you're not telling >> right, right. >> and you're playing a different character or making people laugh. >> yeah. >> what is it like really, essentially, being yourself? >> it's not hard. >> it's not hard. >> it's not hard being yourself. >> and we'd rather -- when we decided to do it, we said we'd rather tell our story than let >> yeah. >> so, you know, my wife kept bugging me for seven years. >> it was my great idea.

>> and i didn't want to do it because, as an actor, i was thinking that no one's gonna take me serious. and it was early in reality television and docuseries-type television, so we didn't know where it was gonna go. but then, when we started going through what we went through and financial and everything, we just said, "hey, now we have a story to tell," and we could inspire people, and we could show people that, "hey, we're in the business, but we go through what everyday people go through." >> you talked about your financial difficulties. just tell us a little bit about that. and were you afraid of what people would think about you? >> i think she probably was more than i was. >> yeah, he didn't care, but i -- i mean, it was a little bit embarrassing, yeah. i was embarrassed, i was afraid, i was just -- it was just a horrible time. >> now, did you file for bankruptcy? >> oh, yeah. oh, yeah. proudly, too. the thing i'm learning -- the thing you learn is that, you know, when it comes to

african-americans, we get shy and embarrassed about bankruptcy, but the rich and entitled, they do that to reorganize, and we wait until we have nothing left to do it. so it's not a bad thing. you get to start over, you get to get it right, and for us, it was, you know, that and reorganizing and saying, "hey, we need to look at this." because we weren't out, you know, throwing money. that's not who we are. but we, you know -- >> it's just like, in this industry, you're working, then you're not working. it's like up and down. so, you know, when he had "one on one," we had a beautiful house, and we had two cars. i had a car, he had a car. and so, when that stopped, you know, the mortgage was still there, the cars were still there -- all the expenses. so there was nothing coming in, and everything was going out, and it just dwindled -- [chuckles] it just dwindled down to nothing. >> and it was during that tough time, during the financial collapse, you know, from 2008 on till like 2012. >> so you went through what a

lot of people were going through at that time. >> and we tried to be smart. we got property. i bought property in vegas, rental property, and was trying to be smart, but it just all, you know, crashed. >> and so, now you're on tv. you've ridden through that. you know, you've come out of that valley, and you're on the way back up. >> on the ascension, yeah. >> how do you convince family members that -- now, you've got several family members living in the house, 'cause that's kind of a lot of the humor in the show, and was that to help everybody get back on their feet and... or does it just make -- >> it was a mixture of her mom and stepdad -- they got a house for her grandmother. >> my grandma passed away. >> yeah, so they had a place. >> so they had a place -- really nice place. and my grandmother passed away, and my mom could not live in that house anymore because she took care of my grandmother, so it was really difficult for her. at the time, we tried a couple of nannies. [ laughter ] >> we got about five nannies. that didn't work, and my mom

couldn't live in the house she was living in, so we said, "you know what? why don't you come stay with us and help us with the kids?" so that's how it all started. >> was it difficult to convince them to...air all their stuff, too? [ chuckles ] >> no, i think, at first -- no, at first, your mom was like, she's like, "y'all really gonna --" >> "are you gonna tell all that?" >> "you're gonna tell all that?" >> my mom, she was like, "no!" >> 'cause her mom's really private. >> she's very private. >> and we were just like, "you know what? we're just gonna do it and show what we don't have anymore on television." i remember growing up showing that family love, that unit, that everybody grind it out and stick together. everything is about individualism now and about "self, self, selfie, self, >> uh-huh. >> and i think that's the culture we're in, but we're trying to say, "hey, no, it's not about self, because it takes a village." e show, there's a lot of humor, but a lot of love. >> yes, a lot of love, whole lot of love. >> and is that what you want people to get out of it when they watch? >> yeah, we want them to get

love, we want them to see triumph, we want them to see overcoming obstacles. >> yeah, i want people to watch our show and say, "you know what? if they can do it, we can, too." because we literally lost everything, and we never stopped trying. >> and did this, what you've gone through together, strengthen the marriage? >> yes, it definitely has. >> it definitely brought us closer. i know some people it would probably tear them apart, but it actually brought us closer. 'cause after we lost everything, [laughing] we only had each other to hold on to, so, you know? and we prayed our way through it and... >> there was never any conversation about, "well, you know what? i don't think that -- i need to go." it was never that. through it." >> yeah. now, the two of you, what's show? want to talk a little bit about that, but, also, you guys, you have careers that you're jump-starting. and i think you have a new song coming out. >> i have a new song. i have a new line, a onesie line, that i'm starting. 'cause i don't know if you watched the first season, but i love wearing onesies. >> oh, god, and i hate onesies. >> [ laughs ] >> everybody can't wear a onesie.

>> [ laughs ] so, my fans were tweeting me and instagramming me, saying, "well, line? own line." idea." so you'll see that -- >> onesies for adults. >> for adults, yeah. >> like a romper, mm-hmm. like the whole pantsuit. >> and for, you know, not just tiny, tiny, but women of all sizes. >> all sizes. >> yeah, for everyone. and her music -- >> my music -- i'm working with ne-yo and the justice league and mali hunter, groove chambers, diplo and [indistinct] i'm working with steve russell. i have some grammy award-winning producers that i'm working with, and i'm really excited, and you're gonna see all that on the show. >> well, you have a fabulous voice, so it should not be going to waste. and, flex. >> about my stand-up, i've been back. you know, to my first love -- my wife was always telling me, "get me back to your stand-up, get back to your stand-up." i just filmed a comedy special called the "comedy underground series,"

which is for the urban movie channel that bob johnson now owns. it's like netflix for urban programming. >> with mc lyte. >> filmed that. mc lyte is the deejay. i have a graphic novel... you? >> yeah. [ laughter ] sentences. >> ...coming out called "the joshua run" -- august 25th. >> the graphic no-- okay. >> yes, the graphic novel. and i'm just excited about that. and i have the sitcom that i wrote, a one-hour that i wrote, and just continuing to be creative and, you know, just staying in that flow. 'cause i believe that the energy you put out, that's what you get back. >> and you get to see our family doing their thing, as well. my mom sings, so she's working on new music herself. and our kids -- >> yep, our kids. >> and the show is sunday. >> this saturday. >> saturdays, 10:00. >> saturday. 10:00 saturday. >> 10:00 pacific time. >> "flex & shanice." >> yes, yes. >> prepare to be amazed? >> [ laughs ] yes. prepare to be inspired. >> okay. perfect. thank you, guys.

>> thank you so much. >> best of luck to your continued success. >> thank you. >> still ahead on "here and now" - "war room," a new movie about the power of

prayer. >> you've been a good enough father. >> i don't want to be a good enough father. >> let's go, let's go! [ siren wailing ] >> don't quit! don't quit! >> hey, you know what? i thought your jump-roping routine was really good. i just got a notification that you moved money from our savings into your checking account. >> can we talk about this later? >> you must be the real-estate agent. >> well, it's so good to meet you. >> let me show you the house. this is my favorite place in this house. i call it my "war room." >> you wrote prayers for each area of your life?

>> prayer strategy. that. >> honey, you should go see her practice tomorrow. >> i'm out of town this week. >> when were you gonna tell me? >> i just did. >> tony. >> how's my favorite rep? >> real good. how you doing? >> i wish i lived at your house. whenever my parents are together, they just fight. [ indistinct shouting ] >> dude, i can't get a pass from you. cat. >> i just need you to blow off a little steam, okay? >> there's one thing we do well, it's fight. >> you do not want world war iii to break out in your home. >> no. no, i don't. >> just because you argue a lot doesn't mean that you fight well. you got to plead with god so do. then you got to get out of the way and let him do it! you need to do your fighting in prayer. >> keep fighting the good fight >> never give up

>> keep letting your light shine >> holding it high as long as you live >> i've never seen anybody do what you did. >> it's time for you to take off the gloves and fight for your marriage! lord, we need an army of believers! lord, call us to battle. raise 'em up, lord, raise 'em up! >> keep fighting the good, fighting the good... >> the movie "war room" tells a story of one family's tumultuo life, the power of prayer, and how it can save a broken marriage. in the studio this afternoon, one of the film's stars -- actor t.c. stallings. thank you for being with us and welcome to "here and now >> thank you. appreciate it. thank you for having me. >> i have to say, you're a man -- this is sort of a second career for you. >> yeah. >> you were an extremely talented football player. >> bless you, bless you. >> and you've sort of moved over to real hollywood. >> yeah, yeah, interesting story. the short version is i played college football at the

university of louisville, and it was always my dream to go to the nfl -- got a chance tolay some pro ball, ended up in europe. 2000, and i retire, kind of figure out, "what do you want to do now? i don't want to just kind of sit still, and i want to use my gifts." acting was always something in my back pocket, did it as a kid, and i see the kendrick brothers are auditioning. they want this black thug that they need in the film. >> so not you, but that's why they call it acting. >> that's why they call it acting. and i gave it a shot, got the role, built a relationship with them, and then they come back calling a couple of years later with "war room," and i get the lead, and that brings me out to l.a., and the rest is what it is. >> why was this project a good fit for you? >> for me, because i can resonate with the character. my character, tony jordan, is just a guy who lives his life through his job. he could care less if the lord blesses him or any of that stuff. all he cares about is, "did tony jordan get the sale? is tony jordan the top dog at the company?" and for me, in my life, that was football.

football ran my life, not anything spiritual. it was football. it brought all the blessings, all the joy -- at least in my eyes. and so to watch my character in the film pursue that, ignore his daughter, ignore his wife, and feel like he's still doing the right thing -- just blinded by the job. and so i was blinded by the career, and i know what it takes to flip that around 'cause i ended up having to flip it around in real life, so i resonated in that way. >> and so you brought yourself to this character in a lot of ways. >> yeah, yeah, he's multitalented. he loves his family. he just doesn't know how to love to be loved. and it just takes a lesson, sometimes an outside idea, or in this case, the lord, to bring you around. real life. football drove me, and i was brought around just by the lord and certain circumstances that made me a better father. i got two children, and i was a better father, better husband. i've been married 14 years now. and i was made better by just flipping it around, putting my career, anything i wanted to do,

underneath the lord, and it's been working great. >> okay. and you're hoping that people, like you related to the character, when they see this family onscreen, they may recognize themselves or aspects of their own lives. >> absolutely. there's a lot of things in there you can take away. there's this little girl, first of all. i have a daughter in the film. the little girl, you know, you'll hear her say a line that says she wants to live with her other friend, and her friend's like, "why?" and she was like, "well, when my family's together, all they ever do is fight." and it's hurting her, and so you see that, and you realize that what you do affects the kid in so many different ways. and then when we kind of work this thing out a little bit, you can see her coming around, and she learns how to pray. you got the wife, who is trying to change her man, as opposed to changing herself first and letting the lord work on him. so you learn that. you learn to pour into other people as the older, wiser lady in the film is not just using the wisdom she's learned through life for herself, but she's pouring it into other people. so there's a lot of different aspects you can take, so i hope

everybody in some way sees themself, whether you're the mentor or the recipient or the kid and see what to do about it. >> yeah, there's a little bit of something and someone in that movie that can touch a little bit of everybody. >> absolutely. >> you know, there's so much going on in the world. are you... do you feel like this movie is really needed -- this subject matter? is this something that people need to see at this point in time? >> oh, absolutely. i think it's right on time. i think it's right on time because we're to a point where talk is really cheap. you know, people are tired of hearing about positivity from a person's voice. they're tired of hearing about spirituality from a person's voice. it's just action time. people are making decisions that they want to make, they want to be whoever they want to be, and so just you talking isn't gonna work. you need something bigger than that, and you need to cry out to the lord. you need to tell the lord, "hey, this is your fight. it's bigger than me. it's over my head." and so it's a time where i'm glad our talk isn't working.

it forces you to your knees, and that's where you got to fight the war. that's where you got to fight the battle. and so absolutely -- you know, this is a challenging time that i think only the lord and his will is gonna take care of, but it takes us to ask for it. he doesn't force it. we got to ask for it. >> so it's entertaining, and it's inspirational. >> oh, yeah. >> now, you've alluded to it somewhat, but i want to -- when you're not acting, what are you doing, t.c.? i understand that you spend a lot of time ministering to people. >> yeah, and, again, that's just a "god plan." again, i'm chasing the nfl. he wants me to teach kids about him, and that wasn't in my plan. >> what happened in -- we don't have a whole lot of time, but what happened to turn you around? >> well, whenever i'm playing, i'm often asked -- because i was a believer, i am a christian, i'm often asked to come to different events and speak. and when i go and do that, i'm planning -- i'm totally driven on football, but when i go and do it, i'm watching kids turn, and i'm watching kids come back and send me e-mails and say, "i'm doing better in school, i'm praying about things, and

i'm --" and i'll watch the impact that my career plus my witness had, and i love the change. so, if i'm dead and gone, that kid's changed, and i love the thought of that. and so i started just seeking the lord about what he wanted me to do with this, and "lead the youth" is what it came down to. however i platform, you lead the youth. and so i just started applying at churches, and i got hired to do youth ministry, and so now i lead sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. and they're right at that decision-making age, where they're shaping how they feel about life, how they feel about the lord, how they feel about marriages. all these decisions are being made, and i'm just getting a chance to teach them not to leave jesus out of that decision. >> and one last quick question -- is it as fulfilling for you as football was? >> oh, even more because i feel like i'm living out my purpose, and that's where -- you know, i want to pursue things in life, but i want it be a god-ordained pursuit because i can't fail. i'm unstoppable, as opposed to my own road, which i don't know how it's gonna go. so because i know it's what the lord called me to do 'cause i

prayed about it, it's absolutely fulfilling, and it's more fulfilling when i get the stories, when people telling me that their life is changing and i'm making a difference. and so that's something that lives on, far outlives my life, and so i'm very, very excited about it. >> right. t.c. stallings, we wish you the very, very best. the movie -- "war room," and it's out in theaters august 28th? >> august 28th, august 28th. weekend. that's the most important weekend to go see it. >> all right, thank you very much. >> thank you. i appreciate it. all right. >> all right. [ laughs ] >> sandra bookman and "here and now" will be right

back. >> you could call it fashion with a purpose. apparel manufacturer liberty & justice is using its new fashion brand, uniform, to help provide educational opportunities and uniforms for children, as well as jobs for women, in the struggling west african nation of liberia. >> at uniform, we're obsessed with making it easy for you to look your best, do your best, and be your best, and we believe our best selves are connected to something bigger. that's why we're building a clothing company where every item we sell pays for the uniform of a child who otherwise couldn't attend school.

imagine that -- your future pulled out right from under you because your parents can't afford a $10 school uniform. >> chid liberty is the c.e.o. of liberty & justice, africa's first fair trade certified apparel manufacturer. welcome to "here and now." >> thank you so much, sandra. >> now, what does that mean -- first fair trade certified... >> factory. well, we were the first factory actually in history on the continent of africa to meet 92 standards that were set up by a body called fair trade usa that just makes sure that factories adhere to fair labor practices -- they don't have child labor, they don't have forced labor, and they have great environmental practices -- and then also reinvest in the communities that they're in -- how we'd want any business to operate. >> now, you have just, i think, a wonderful backstory. you were born in liberia, moved to germany with your family. your father was a diplomat.

>> yeah. >> you eventually came to the u.s., and you were working in silicon valley? >> yeah, i was working in the bay area, mostly in finance, with startups. >> and then you decided, "there are things that i need to be doing in liberia." tell me about what was the business. >> well, i think there were two things. one -- i was, you know, in my late 20s, and i hadn't been in liberia since i was an 18-month-old baby. and so people always talk about -- you know, i felt like i was liberian by will and i was liberian by imagination, as carlos fuentes would say, but i wasn't really liberian. and so here i was kind of talking about this country and this culture that i felt i belonged to, but i couldn't tell you what it actually looked like and smelled like and tasted like. and so, obviously, part of it was just curiosity of wanting to go back and see my country, and then the other part was hearing the story of the women's peace movement. >> mm-hmm. >> many of us know it because it won the nobel peace prize in

2011, but, to me, it was just -- before they won their prize, it was just this kind of mythological story that sounded too good to be true. and as i started to learn more about it, i started getting ahold of some of the grassroots women's groups that were operating in liberia, and just wanted to go back and meet with them and see what we could do. >> and, obviously, you found that there was something you can do. >> [ chuckles ] >> you started a manufacturing facility there, and, you know, i read the backstory. you kind of didn't know what you were doing when you were first started. >> if we're gonna be honest, [laughing] yes. yes, i really didn't have a background. >> but in spite of yourself... >> yeah. no background in manufacturing, and, you know, technology is very, very different from manufacturing, obviously, and your ability to scale and your ability -- so i kind of felt like, "well, i know how to run a technology company. i'll be able to put that to use in manufacturing." it was a very, very, very [chuckles] steep learning curve. >> mm-hmm. >> got knocked around a lot. but, you know, at the end of the day, i think what always kept us

going was we could see the dramatic change that was happening in people's lives. we could see that, you know, six months ago, somebody was living in a thatch hut, and now they were building their own house, and it was concrete. it had a real roof and a real floor, and their kids had light and were able to study and go to school. so it was very -- what we were accomplishing was right in front of our eyes, and it was really tangible, and it was hard to ever let up. >> and you were putting women to work... >> yeah, absolutely. >> ...which is an amazing thing when so many of us can take that for granted, and many of them >> absolutely. >> now, so, tell me about the uniform brand. because you're gonna take your good works -- you take your good works a step farther with this uniform brand. i buy a t-shirt, and you make a uniform for a liberian child. >> yeah, absolutely. so, many of us have heard of the one for one model that's been made popular by toms shoes. you know, every time you buy a pair of toms shoes, they give

away a pair of shoes to a child in need. and i think, similarly, we've heard about warby parker, a glasses company, where every time you buy glasses from them, they give away a pair of glasses to somebody who can't afford them. and so we also are huge fans of this, what we call the "one for one model." we put a special twist on the one for one model that we call "the one for one remix" because, unlike many other one for ones, ours actually -- everything that we make, both the product we're selling to you, which is a fabulous, amazing t-shirt, but also even this oxford that i'm wearing is made by us, also. so we're expanding into other products. so everything we make is actually made in africa, and everything we give away is made in africa. so, on top of helping a kid go to school, you're also giving a mother work, which is pretty powerful. >> yeah, and you first started the campaign on kickstarter. >> we did. yeah, we started on kickstarter june 2nd. the campaign actually just wrapped up. in 45 days, we pre-sold about

$230,000 worth of t-shirts and oxfords and other things. so it was among, i think, the 30th most successful fashion "kickstarters" in history. and we are off to the races, sort of building a business. >> and you said you were gonna expand your product line, and you have expanded the manufacturing. you also have a plant in ghana. >> yeah, well, actually, we manage production in about five factories in ghana, benin, and liberia -- six if you count liberia -- and growing every day. and our main goal there is, again, just to get as many people working and working in conditions that we think are fair and good for communities. >> now we want to -- if people are interested -- libertyandjustice.com. >> yes. >> they can find out about... >> they kind out about the manufacturing. for any of the manufacturing nerds out there, they can find out kind of about our parent business. and then for people who are actually interested in buying

some of the uniform products, it's uniform.is. >> uniform.is. and before i let you go, i just want to ask you -- you know, you said you wanted to -- you know, you feel you couldn't say how it smelled and tasted. do you feel like you know now what liberia is? >> oh, yes. [ laughs ] i know liberia almost too well now. now i'm excited to spend more time in new york, quite frankly. but, no, there's place in the world like it. you know, the beaches, the food, the way that we dance, the way that we sing in church -- there's just noth-- the way that we sing in the factory. let's be real. there's just nothing in the world like it, and i wouldn't have traded it for any experience in the world. >> all right, chid liberty. best of luck to you. a wonderful thing that you're doing. >> thank you so much, sandra. >> thank you for spending time with us on "here and now." if you missed any portion of today's show, you can watch at abc7ny. and if you'd like to send us a comment or share your story, e-mail us at abc7ny, or you can follow us on facebook or twitter.