Eileen:
Hello, and welcome to the Soul of a Leader podcast, where we ignite soulful conversations with leaders. In today’s episode, Dr. Alicia and Dr. Eileen sit with Chris Slaughter, to discuss creative thought leadership.

Alicia:
Welcome to the Soul of a Leader podcast. On today’s episode, we have native Chicagoan, Christopher Slaughter, who grew up in Chicago, South Shore Neighborhood. He attended Kenwood Academy for high school and graduated from Clark Atlanta University. HBCU in the house. Christopher graduated from Northern Illinois University with a aw degree. After passing the bar, attorney Slaughter hang up a shingle and went into private practice. Welcome to Soul of a Leader, attorney Christopher Slaughter.

Chris Slaughter:
Hey, how are you?

Alicia:
We’re doing great.

Chris Slaughter:
Thanks for having me.

Eileen:
Welcome. I am so interested in the book you recently published and the idea behind it. Could you tell us a little bit about how this ignited, how you planted the seed, and how this wonderful creation came about?

Chris Slaughter:
Well, we all know the circumstances in 2020 have been pretty dire. Because of the quarantine, my son, who was in 8th grade at the time, didn’t have formal graduation. He didn’t have the luncheon and some of the celebration that goes along with graduating. But he was able to receive some graduation gifts from his family. So he had an interest in photography, and he used that graduation money to buy a camera. So he got the camera. He had researched it and went online. He already had a debit card and he bought this camera.

Alicia:
Wow.

Chris Slaughter:
Exactly. So when the camera arrived and he was excited. He started taking pictures and I say, “Well, son, what are you taking pictures of?” “Mostly around the house, and Kristin.” Kristin’s his older sister, who actually, by the way, started in photography because she’s a pretty young lady and she likes taking pictures. So eventually she got tired of taking selfies and it was like, “Zachary, get over there to take my picture.”

Alicia:
The affluence of your older sister, right?

Chris Slaughter:
Right, right, right. But to her credit, she was like, “Oh, these are pretty good. You should maybe try to do something with this.” So that’s what got him started. So in any case, he got his camera and because of the quarantine, he had been in the house and he and I hadn’t really spent any physical time together. Because his mom was concerned about the dangers of going out and everybody was on lockdown.

Alicia:
Yes.

Eileen:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Chris Slaughter:
So I’m thinking of something, what can I do with him? Because the things that we would typically do weren’t open. They weren’t available. So after the riots in South Shore, I had noticed that the Jewel had gotten boarded up. Then within a few days, artists had started putting these messages on him. A few more I noticed around my neighborhood. The thought came to me like, well, maybe this would be something cool we could do. Let him take his camera and get him and let him just take pictures. We can spend some time together doing something that he likes to do.

Alicia:
Wow.

Chris Slaughter:
So that was the genesis of the project itself. I had no idea it was as much artwork as it was out there. But because we were just looking to spend time, we drove the first day, almost 12 hours.

Eileen:
Wow.

Chris Slaughter:
I mean, we literally stopped when the camera’s battery died.

Eileen:
Wow. You know what’s so neat about that, is the art is up there on boards. The boards are taken down, the art disappears and you’ve captured that art.

Alicia:
He captured that moment.

Chris Slaughter:
So, I mean, it’s been a very interesting journey, and at the time we weren’t thinking about making a book.

Alicia:
Right.

Chris Slaughter:
Or even sharing the pictures. Like we were riding and we were looking at them obviously, but I was driving, you know what I mean?

Alicia:
Yeah.

Chris Slaughter:
The book part of it really didn’t come about until we got them back and downloaded them and I saw them all together.

Alicia:
Oh, wow.

Chris Slaughter:
I stayed up really all night just looking at these photographs. I was like, “Oh, I have to do something with this.”

Eileen:
Yes, yes, yes.

Alicia:
So talk a little bit about… because here’s a father and son, so I go back a little bit. It’s creating a moment of quality time. And often it’s being stereotypical about, a lot of black men don’t spend time with their sons or their kids. So talk about how you began to create those moments because obviously, that was a spare moment, kind of, “let’s go for a ride,” obviously because of the circumstances that our city was under, after George Floyd. But talk a little bit about how you infuse some of those values of spending time with your kids.

Chris Slaughter:
Well, I mean, I’ve always spent time with my kids and I think that a lot of the black men that I know spend time with their kids.

Alicia:
Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
So it was just trying to come up with something that we could do under the circumstances.

Alicia:
Correct.

Chris Slaughter:
Because we might be going to play ball, the gyms are closed. We might be going to the movies, the movies are closed. Do you know what I mean?

Alicia:
Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
So things that we would be doing… everything was closed. This was something that we were in the car, we weren’t around a lot of people, you know what I mean? We talked about the riots. We talked about if summer was starting, what was going to happen when school started back? We listened to music, we got something to eat, you know what I mean? It was a whole thing, you know what I mean? It wasn’t an unnatural thing for us because we do stuff, you know what I mean? Again, the funny thing to me is had his interest not been in photography, I would have noticed some of those just like everyone else and probably wouldn’t have done anything with it. But because I was trying to do something that I thought he would like, in addition to us spending the time together, then it led to that opportunity.

Eileen:
So Chris, what did you learn from that time together with your son?

Alicia:
Yes.

Eileen:
I mean, being a father, setting the tone of leadership, this experience, creating a book, not even knowing you were going to create a book. Your journey brought you thereafter you acted. Share a little bit about your insight, or looking back at the experience, what did you learn?

Chris Slaughter:
Well, I mean, I know that not just my kids, but all these kids have potential, but it needs to be nourished and needs to-

Alicia:
Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
Some direction. They can flourish, you know what I mean?

Alicia:
Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
Given the opportunity and a little direction. Because in some of these neighborhoods, he’s in the suburbs, I’m in the city. So he hadn’t necessarily been in all of these neighborhoods that we went to. Do you know what I mean? Some of the times he would get out of the car. But in the beginning, I would get out with him, or maybe he would have to cross the street. Some of the pictures we took from standing in the middle of the street where he had to trust me. And I said, “You take the picture.” I got my hand on his shoulder and I’m saying, “I’m not going to let us get hit, take the picture.” Do you know what I mean?

Alicia:
Wow.

Chris Slaughter:
But then at the end of that… We were on Milwaukee Avenue and it was a bunch of murals. I said, “Son,” I pulled over. I double-parked. I said, “Take a few of these pictures.” So this is after we’ve been out here, five, six hours already. A couple of minutes pass and I look up and I don’t see him. I get out of the car, he’s left his phone in the car, right? So I start walking in the direction he went, and I still don’t see him. Now I’m starting to get a little bit nervous.

Alicia:
Right.

Chris Slaughter:
Do you know what I’m saying? But then I take a deep breath. I look around, everybody’s really calm. It’s the police, every two, three blocks. Do you know what I mean? Nobody’s really doing… I’m like, “Okay, it’s a little black kid with a camera. Nothing’s really going to happen.” So I just kept walking. He had walked three blocks, just taking pictures.

Alicia:
Wow.

Chris Slaughter:
And didn’t even realize he had left his phone before I caught up with him.

Alicia:
Wow.

Chris Slaughter:
And so he had gotten so into it.

Alicia:
Into it. Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
Do you know what I mean? He just went and kept going. Do you know what I mean? When we started, we were at 79th & cottage Grove.

Alicia:
Right.

Chris Slaughter:
Do you know what I mean? So it’s people out there. There is traffic. There are cars. Do you know what I mean? But he got more comfortable the longer we were out there doing it. And as different situations to take these pictures presented themselves, he adapted and he enjoyed the experience.

Eileen:
So he was really in the flow.

Alicia:
Yes.

Eileen:
He’s in a flow of the passion of his creative artwork.

Alicia:
Yeah.

Chris Slaughter:
Absolutely.

Alicia:
Yeah. That’s exactly what came to mind. When you watch a kid, like say, you were standing back and so you let him be free when he got comfortable out there for four or five hours. He was engaged. The creativity was flowing. The passion was there. So one of my questions I want to ask, because I have the book, and thank you for sending it. One thing that opened up, it says, love yourself. So talk a little bit about some of the phrases or comments people were saying, because obviously if anyone gets the book, you’re going to see it. It’s so uplifting and inspiring. I mean, very artistic, and the world is developed by just art. But you can see the passion out of the people who were drawing.

Chris Slaughter:
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. That’s why the book is all photographs. I wanted to limit my personal commentary because I thought the images spoke for themselves. They were so powerful. And in the midst of a time of despair, and people’s businesses are gone, and people’s livelihoods are gone, and people have lost jobs. The messages were overwhelmingly about equity, about love, about unity, about community.

Alicia:
Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
So to me, artists are a group of people that don’t have that censorship. It was sincere because that’s what they wanted to do. That’s how they chose to express themselves, and we didn’t want to alter that.

Alicia:
Oh, I mean, it’s beautiful when you see people saying, “Stay woke, black lives matter,” love and unity. I mean, you don’t need to write anything else.

Chris Slaughter:
Right. I agree 100%.

Eileen:
Well, and what’s so neat about artists, the artist is creating what’s in their soul, right? There are so many different perceptions when someone looks at the art, right?

Alicia:
Yes.

Eileen:
Any art. What I really liked, what I heard you said is that you just put the art out there in the book and people could connect with it the way they wanted to.

Chris Slaughter:
Absolutely.

Eileen:
So that’s really amazing. The one thing that keeps coming to me is the fact that this art is gone, but you captured it.

Alicia:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Eileen:
You captured it.

Alicia:
Yes.

Eileen:
Where can people get the book? How can they find the book? Because this is a point in time, wonderful creativity, artwork, sending a message, not only of love but historically what went on here at this time in our lives.

Alicia:
Yes.

Eileen:
Where can they get the book, and where can they find it?

Chris Slaughter:
Well, the book is for sale on Amazon. We again published it ourselves using a tool called KDP. It’s self-published. So Amazon’s the largest platform in the world.

Alicia:
Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
It’s Boarded Up Chicago: Storefront Images Days After the George Floyd Riots. We’re also on Instagram and Facebook. I’m new to social media. So we’re still getting that together. But on Facebook, we’re Boarded Up Chicago, and on Instagram, we have been [inaudible 00:13:49] boarded up shy.

Alicia:
Good, good. Yeah. I know you have to be proud of your son. You work with him on a project, in itself, it has to be full of just proudness and happiness for your son. So where’s he at now with this? How does he feel to see something that he didn’t even think was becoming a book? So what’s his thought process now? Talk a little bit about what he’s thinking. I know he’s a teen.

Chris Slaughter:
Right. Exactly. First of all, Zachary is a mild-mannered guy, he’s artistic and creative, but not overly outgoing. So he is excited. But then also we have to think about school starting… he’s at home. So some of the adulation that he would get, or maybe receive when you’re a freshman in high school, around all your friends, some of that’s missing now. Because he’s at home. Do you know what I mean?

Alicia:
Yeah.

Chris Slaughter:
He may get an article about something that we did, but I’m just sending it to him. It’s not like everybody that he knows is seeing it, because he’s a freshman. So he hasn’t even made all the new friends yet. He’s not going to school. So he’s taking it in stride. And to be honest, I would prefer that to the big heads, you know what I mean? The fact that he’s excited, but it’s not taking over his… Let me tell you, a week or two after we were finished, and I was still working on putting the book together, he was like, “Well, what are we doing this weekend?” Do you know what I mean? He was already moving on to the next thing. But since the book has come out, he’s definitely excited. We’ve done a couple of interviews and he’s had a chance to speak about it, and to people about it. And I think that it definitely has given him a sense of pride.

Alicia:
Good, good.

Eileen:
Well, that’s amazing. What an experience for a young man. And what an experience for father and son too to bond.

Alicia:
Yes.

Eileen:
And create a book together. It’s amazing. So thank you for sharing that Chris. This time goes by so fast when we talk.

Alicia:
Oh my gosh.

Eileen:
We always leave our listeners with some words of wisdom from our guests. So could you leave some words of wisdom for us our guests please on this experience?

Chris Slaughter:
Well, I mean, I’ll tell you this, what I’ve gotten from this experience is through talking to a lot of people about the book, that has seen the book, or knows our story. We were around the entire city. We got a sample of everybody, blacks, and whites, and the gay community, they are images in the book in Spanish, and North Siders, and West. Everywhere. It’s like, “Okay,” while everybody expresses themselves, we all are seeing the same thing. If we’re all seeing this for what it is, how is it that we are unable to effectuate change?

Chris Slaughter:
It’s time for people to get off the sideline and understand that this type of injustice, the type of racism that runs rampant through our country, affects us all. So sitting on the sidelines is not helping the course. And if we’re all seeing it the same way, from each side of the city, then we should be able to move this thing in a different direction. I would hope that this book can be a call to action for that.

Alicia:
Awesome. Well said.

Eileen:
Thank you so much. Thank you so much. The one thing that calls the action for love, you see it right in the front of the book, you know?

Alicia:
Yes. Yeah. It’s great.

Eileen:
It’s great.

Alicia:
And love conquers all. One of the points you made out. If you went across the City of Chicago, and you see the same tone of language and pictures, then it’s affecting everyone, not just blacks. Everyone. So I like that because that brings it into perspective. It wasn’t just, you took pictures of something that was only blacks. It was others expressing their love for that culture, and for everyone to bring in to peace and unity. So we certainly appreciate it, it’s a beautiful book. Just beautiful.

Chris Slaughter:
Thank you.

Alicia:
Yeah. It is beautiful. We can’t wait to talk to Zachary too.

Chris Slaughter:
Zachary, actually with school and everything, and this experience, he’s growing up fast, you know what I mean?

Alicia:
Yeah. I do.

Chris Slaughter:
We got to prepare him.

Alicia:
Yes.

Chris Slaughter:
Because he’ll be a black man in this world, and there are things he’s going to have to deal with. So I like to try to give him the truth right from the beginning because it’s easier to deal with that than to try to unteach him something 20 years later. So let’s just tell him the truth and deal with it, for what it is, and try to make a difference going forward.

Eileen:
Thank you for joining us on the Soul of a Leader podcast. We are igniting a new way of leading with your soul, and interviewing ordinary people with extraordinary impact. Thank you for listening to the stories of our leaders who will help and guide you on your leadership journey. For more information on our podcast, please visit our website at www.soulofaleader.com. Thank you for listening.