{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/vd6nz82p3b/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Richard Parker Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eRichard \"Made Rich\" Parker is a New York City based tattoo artist. Parker speaks with interviewer Syreeta Gates about his early life growing up in Queens during the 1990s and 2000s, his interest in drawing and art classes as a junior high school student, and his dual passions for art and playing football while attending Bayside High School and later Wagner College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts. Parker recalls his early work creating tattoo designs and explains the series of events that convinced him to pursue tattooing as a way of becoming a professional artist. Parker shares his thoughts about the role of art in activism and discusses his work designing the Black Lives Matter mural on Jamaica Avenue and 153rd Street in mid-2020. Additionally, Parker speaks about how the COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique time period for entrepreneurship; he also describes daily habits and activities that have helped him maintain his health and wellness during the pandemic.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source Metadata URI"]},"value":{"en":["http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/search/browse/45585"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2020-08-13 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Richard Parker (Interviewee)","Syreeta Gates (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview conducted as part of the Queens Memory COVID-19 Project."]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1990s-2020 (temporal)","Queens, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eRichard \"Made Rich\" Parker is a New York City based tattoo artist. Parker speaks with interviewer Syreeta Gates about his early life growing up in Queens during the 1990s and 2000s, his interest in drawing and art classes as a junior high school student, and his dual passions for art and playing football while attending Bayside High School and later Wagner College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts. Parker recalls his early work creating tattoo designs and explains the series of events that convinced him to pursue tattooing as a way of becoming a professional artist. Parker shares his thoughts about the role of art in activism and discusses his work designing the Black Lives Matter mural on Jamaica Avenue and 153rd Street in mid-2020. Additionally, Parker speaks about how the COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique time period for entrepreneurship; he also describes daily habits and activities that have helped him maintain his health and wellness during the pandemic.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - parker_richard_20200813_full.mp3"]},"duration":2070.54,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/public/images/audio-default.png","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/283/155/original/parker_richard_20200813_full.mp3?1753111996","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":2070.54,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Okay. Great. Rich, thank you for saying yes. I definitely appreciate it. Could you spell and say your name for me?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=2.0,11.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Hey, my name is Richard Parker. R-I-C-H-A-R-D P-A-R-K-E-R.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=11.0,19.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Great. And we need your permission to use this audio. So if you can say, I, Richard Parker, consent the Queens Public Library's use of this content.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=19.0,29.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I, Richard Parker, consent the Queens Library the public use of this content.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=29.0,36.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Great. So we're gonna start off. How would you describe yourself?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=36.0,42.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I would say I am very much of a high energy, but laid back kind of guy. I know it's kind of contradicting, but people that know me would know that I have like an on-and-off switch. So [laughs] when it's time to be active, I could be active, but when it's time to chill, I could easily do that. You know, so balance. For real.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=42.0,65.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it. Shout out to the balance, shout out to the balance.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=65.0,67.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Oh yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=67.0,69.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: And talk to me a little bit about how your family got to Queens.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=69.0,72.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: We got to Queens—I feel like my Queens family story is probably like every African-American story that's in our generation in Queens. I'm pretty sure they came from down South [laughs].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=72.0,92.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: That was a good start [laughs]—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=92.0,92.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: You know—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=92.0,92.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: —Great Migration, yes.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=92.0,92.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Yeah. You know, it's kind of vague after that. I know my—I wanna say my mother was born in Georgia. I know my aunt was born in Georgia. I feel like everybody's from Georgia, but I feel like unfortunately when it comes to a lot of our history, it kind of gets washed out and lost. So we're very much in the present, but my whole family has been raised in Queens [laughs], on both sides. My mother's side, my father's side. So we [unclear] ended up here. Everybody's still not here. A few people have like moved up North or back down South, but for the bulk of my life, we were all here.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=92.0,132.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Great. And what area of Queens are you from?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=132.0,137.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Man, I will call myself a Queens mutt. I [laughs] spent like my childhood upbringings in Queens Village. Then I moved to Corona. I was in LeFrak for high school. I went to Bayside [High School], so I hung out with all the Cambria kids. So I spent most of like my hanging out time in Cambria [Heights] and Saint Albans. And throughout I've also been in Sunnyside for a while, Flushing for a while [laughs]. I've really been all around Queens. There aren't really too many spots in this borough that I can't get around without a map.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=137.0,175.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it. Heard you. And so being that, I mean, I think it's great that you've been in and out of Queens in so many different ways. What about Queens separates us from any other borough?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=175.0,188.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Oh, for number one, Queens being the biggest borough, we are very diverse. I feel, not to say it's a good or bad thing, but I will say I feel Queens is very, very segregated in a sense, but we have, like, melting pot hot spots that a lot of people congregate. So I think it's kind of cool. Not to say I think segregation's cool or anything, but I don't feel like it's—certain times and certain areas it's really not bad because it helps communities stay communities. I think it's really dope that we have the airports. No other boroughs have the airports. We have a real good mix up on the trains. I think we have a great train system as well. I don't know, I think like Queens is very much of an easy borough to get through even down to the way the streets are numbered. I don't know why people don't like it, but I love it. And it's like, it's common sense—218th Street's coming after 217, you know? I don't need to worry about these word avenues and stuff. So it's cool. Yeah. I don't know. I'm born and raised in this borough. I couldn't really see myself living in another borough. It really has everything you need.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=188.0,270.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it. Got it. And what are like two to three of your fondest memories in Queens? Whether growing up, as an adult.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=270.0,277.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Two or three fondest memories in Queens as an adult. Let me think of like some community-kind of memories and not too personal.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=277.0,292.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: [laughs] You don't want to give me your Amazura [a nightclub in Queens, clarified by transcript editor] stories?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=292.0,294.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Nah, Nah! Amazura, oh, I miss Amazura. I'm not going to hold you on that. Oh man, Amazura's beautiful. Queens is beautiful. I don't know. I just felt like I came up in a good generation and network of people, like the first of the internet babies and the last of the generation that like knows what life is like without the internet. But—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=294.0,319.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Yeah, I know that life all too well [laughs].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=319.0,322.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Yeah. Fondest moments, man. Man, I don't even know! I will probably—there's so many! I'd probably have to go back to, like, my high school days and going to Jamaica Avenue for no reason when I lived in LeFrak [laughs]. Like, it's just—I don't know. I also grew up playing football too. So I was always very, like, into my peers. We always moved as a unit. So, like, I say a lot of my fondest times is really just wasting time with my friends. As, like, vague as that is, there's so many memories. To pinpoint one is crazy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=322.0,362.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I'll—alright, so I can say opening my shop. Opening my shop I'll say was huge. I opened up my first tattoo shop in Long Island City. And granted it was a huge shop, but I would say it was just huge for the community and my generation and network, you know, being able to—I hate to say set a precedent, but like be one of the first to start a business. So it was kind of cool to be able to, like, inspire my peers to build, and which we have done, you know? But I'll say opening the first shop was really cool. The shop opening was beautiful, even though if you were there, you know that day was hot. Hot! Because we did not get that AC pumping in time, but it was a great day. And I think that day for me and a lot of my peers sparked the beginnings of a lot of great things.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=362.0,414.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it, got it. And talk to me a little bit about your journey into art.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=414.0,420.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I'd never really had a journey into art. Art was really something I was born with. And like I was the kid in school that was drawing. You came to me with a quarter and it was like, oh, I want to get Simba drawn. I really didn't even understand that my art was even a talent until I got into school and I realized the kids couldn't do it. And from then on, it was just about me now developing this talent and honing this craft and turning it into something that I could live off of. I say my sixth to eighth grade art teacher, my junior high school art teacher, and junior high school, Miss Donna Theobald, we called her Ms. T, that lady who—I can't say I credit my art career to her, but that's the person that made me look at my talent differently. She helped me, like, understand my value.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=420.0,482.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I went to I.S. 109 and my sixth grade year, we were—I was in one of those specialized classes, like, they have like 612, 613, and then it jumps to 652. I was in like a 652 class. So we had art and music, but then going into seventh grade, just like most schools around the city, we became one of those—I forget what it's called. When the school splits and there's like schools within the school—you know what I'm talking about—but [laughs] we became one of those schools.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=482.0,522.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: I do, I do, I do [laughs].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=522.0,522.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Yeah, you know, I forget the name though. But once that happened and my school split within itself, my seventh grade class ended up in the Music Academy, which was like, ugh, gut wrenching for me. And so I went to my art teacher. I let her know what was happening and like the turning point in my life was like the lady really fought for me to get out of music to sit in [her] art class. So I was probably the only kid in the school that wasn't in his class during a class. And I was just with a completely different class just 'cause she wanted to make sure I stayed in art just because she knew like I really cared for it and I was really good at it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=522.0,563.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: But from there, art really just got me—I won't say art got me through school. Football got me through school as far as college itself, but art was always the thing that I knew was going to be my tool to get me through life. Like, I've always been a believer that work is something you're going to do for the majority of your life. So to be working, doing something you're not enjoying is counterproductive and it really makes no sense to, just, your well-being as a person. Like, I'd hate to live 75 percent of my life doing something I'm not enjoying. And, you know, I feel that if you're good enough at anything, you could get people to pay you for it. So I knew, regardless of the medium, art was just going to have to be my tool to get me through. Do you want me to get into tattooing? Do you want me to swing this into tattooing?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=563.0,620.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Yeah, go in. Go in! Go in! Let's do it, baby!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=620.0,620.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Alright, so art and football were me through school. If you really knew me, you knew both. If you didn't really know me, you just saw me as a football player. So I ended up at Bayside High School. One of the last dynasties out of that school, I will say. We've never lost to a Queens school in football. And I am proud to pat myself on the back for that. But there, I was doing art. I got into their arts program. Even though I was recruited as a football player, I still went through their art program to, you know, get into the school on my own merit.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=620.0,669.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: And from there I went to Wagner College. I went to Wagner College on a football scholarship and I tried to make their art program work. Wagner's not a huge school. It's probably only about 2,200 kids there. Their art program isn't big, but I will say they have some really good professors. And I will say, as a collective, those professors have, like, done a lot more for me than any high school teachers I've ever had. I pray that the art teachers in these other Queens schools are better, but I honestly didn't even feel like these art teachers in Bayside cared about me. I don't know if it's because I was an athlete and I just had that jock stereotype, but I don't know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=669.0,728.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: But college was cool. Small school, very small school. The professors was dope. I felt like I was like one of the shocker students in college 'cause like it's a theater school, I'm in the art program, I'm a football player, I'm looking huge. I don't think they really expected me to be good on a canvas, so I got good on a canvas and it was like, okay, So it was cool. It was an eye opener. But, theater school, everybody's super open, open-minded, artists, creative. That's cool. No type—really no judgements in that school. For as diverse as that school was, there were really no issues and it was really cool. And I was really surprised to see that on Staten Island—we're not going to get too much into Staten because this is a Queens broadcast class right now. But in school, I started picking up tattooing. I ended up doing, like, tattoo designs for people.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=728.0,781.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: And one point, boom, my memorable, memorable, pivotal turning point in Queens. I had this tattoo design that I drew for myself. And I don't know why my friends were going through my sketchbook because these group of friends weren't group of friends that I spoke to about art 'cause none of them were artists. It was just me. But yeah, we were going through my sketchbook and my friend Chop, shout out to Chop, he bought a tattoo design off of me that I actually drew for myself. And so I sold it to him. I was like, \"Alright.\" He gave me like $40. At the time, I'm like 19, I'm like, \"Alright, cool. Fill up my tank. $40. I'm good.\" I felt good 'cause I sold a piece of artwork.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=781.0,833.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: But then I think I ran into him probably like a few weeks later and he said he got the image tattooed on him for like $350. And to me it was like, it was cool and all, but I've been straight A's in math my whole life and I was leaving too much money on the table. And all they did was literally copy my drawing and turned it into a tattoo. So that was like the point in my life where I felt tattooing was going to be the tool for me to be able to be a professional artist. 'Cause just off of me drawing tattoo designs, I already knew there was a demand. People wanted me to draw designs for them to put on their bodies. I just needed to be able to learn how to do that. And that took a while, but it's been consistent since it started. And I really think that's what's most important.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=833.0,887.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it. Got it. And talk to me about like how you've able to use your activism, I mean, use your art to kind of like advocate for the causes that you believe in, specifically around this particular time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=887.0,901.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Alright. I, urgh! I don't want to say I hate to call myself an activist because, like, I understand it's something that it's like—I don't even really feel like people choose to be activists. I feel like it's just them. It's how they are. It's their demeanor. It's what they do and their values that they present to people publicly. So it's hard to call myself that, but I will say I can see myself being very much like an activist moving the way I move because I am very headstrong in my beliefs. I really don't deter too much from what I believe for people's liking, but I also am very open-minded to people's opinions. And I'm not much of a who's right and who's wrong kind of a person. I am very much of a, okay, how do we move forward and how do we make things better kind-of-a person. I'm a problem solver, you know? I try not to get too caught up on the problem.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=901.0,963.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Art? I'll say—the crazy thing is I feel like people started hitting me up, calling me an activist when I just started drawing like these market drawings of these people who were killed this year. To me, it's like, being an artist, I'm just expressing myself. I feel like it's any kind of artist who is a true artist—and when I say a true artist, I mean someone who's not just, not really culture-vulturing, but like taking advantage of what's happening, you know? 'Cause there are some artists out there it's like, okay, Jordans are coming out, let me draw these Jordans, you know? And they don't really care about these Jordans. I was never really that type. I've always been the kind of person that, like, I want to display things that I believe in, things that I feel. I've always felt that I'm very much of a conceptual artist, more so than anything. I don't really care too much about how beautiful this person's nose is. I really care about, like, the message behind the whole picture.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=963.0,1030.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: And I just think whether it be me or any other artists, whether you're believing in—whether you're on a side, I think it's very important for artists to really visually express themselves and how they feel and what they believe in because art is very much like music as far as, like, creating, feeling, evoking emotion, and giving people a way to express themselves. And even just with doing the mural on Jamaica Avenue, I felt that, like—when I'm in my, like, painting mode and, like, I'm in a project and to me, like, at that moment I'm in a project and I'm just focused on what I'm doing. So I'm not really thinking about the bigger picture.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1030.0,1081.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: But it was cool to have times with, like, kids or just grown adults that knew nothing about what was happening other than what they were seeing and just wanted to be involved. You know, so I could see how art can definitely be used as a tool for activism to make people feel or think a certain way that they wouldn't have normally been thinking and to help them also express themselves. Like—I don't know, ask me some questions, ask me some questions. I feel like I'm just going off on a rant and I could do it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1081.0,1125.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: I'm with you, I'm with you [laughter]. Talk to me a little bit more about how the Black Lives Matter mural on Jamaica—on the Ave—came to be? Like, how did that happen?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1125.0,1134.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Okay. So that was 100 percent community. That mural, I felt like it just—there was a big trickle down effect and it touched the people that it needed to touch that had been active in the community, which I think was really dope. And I can't speak for any other borough, but I pray that it happened that way through every other borough. So yes, the city granted each borough these murals. And the lovely Miss Tunisia Morrison, who works with Alicia Hyndman—I always feel like I butcher her last name. I'm sorry [laughs]. But they had contacted me to design the mural, and I didn't really understand how big of a deal it was because the crazy thing is, like, once all of this stuff started to happen this year, I felt like I got really sucked in and then I really had to get out of it because I felt like mentally it was getting really draining.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1134.0,1207.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Like, for a while I had to delete my Instagram. I felt like I was being a little too negatively influenced. And I'm very much of a believer that your brain is dumb. Dumb in the sense that it's going to do whatever you tell it to do. It's going to do whatever you program it to do. So I felt like the more I'm seeing all of this negative stuff, I'm just going to be a negative person. So I had to take myself away from that for a little while. So, like, when she did contact me I was off the grid a little bit. But just being able to be involved with it, during it, while it was happening—because building up to it, there's a whole bunch of, like, behind the scenes moving parts. You got to put things in order and it really feels like a job. But once the day came to—I felt like that moment was very much of a middle point for black people but [also] all cultures who are involved in the South Queens area, because it's very much of a blending pot culturally.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1207.0,1281.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: But also, like, the older generation, the younger generations, mid-millennial generation, Z generation. It just seemed like very much of a happy medium point that I felt like we all kind of need. Because aside from the disconnect that different cultures and races have, I felt like we deal with the generational disconnect within our culture. So to see all the generations to be able to be one was very inspiring to me as well. I felt like being a part of the project, I was inspired, even though like, yeah, it was my design and I'm directing everything and I'm working. Like, just being able to see all these moving parts work together, it was extremely inspiring. And it gives like a sense of, like, hope. Like, okay, things don't always have to be what you think things are going to be and we are very much in—have the power to make our own changes that we need to make.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1281.0,1343.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Even dealing with the city with the project, it was kinda like, alright, once their job's done—as far as, like, giving us what we need—it's like, alright, y'all figure it out from here. And it was cool that we were able to figure it out from here because it was a—I'll call it, like, a pop-up project. Even though it was going back and forth via email for a couple months, it was two days to complete. So we had to be able to organize and communicate and work well together to get the project going. And even though these murals, I don't feel like these murals are changing—I know they're not changing any laws. You know, we're still being killed unfortunately. But what it's doing, it's helping us unify amongst ourselves and I feel like that is very—that's the starting point. Without the organization amongst ourselves on a lower scale like that, it's going to be very hard for us to build ourselves up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1343.0,1401.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Indeed, indeed. Thank you for doing that work. I definitely want to change themes a little bit. Talk to me a little bit about how COVID has affected you, both professionally and personally.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1401.0,1416.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I am an entrepreneur. I feel like for all entrepreneurs, this is the time to do whatever you wanted to do, especially in New York City. This world is so still right now that you could probably mess up and fail five times this month and still be ahead just because the world is so still. I feel like this is a beautiful opportunity. Granted, it comes with a lot of tragedy. There's been a lot of deaths, a lot of sicknesses, but my optimistic self wants to say that there are a lot of deaths, there are a lot of sicknesses each and every day. This, though, is like a time to where we can capitalize off of stillness. I personally, I had to stop tattooing for a couple months, but I'm so just involved in different art projects that—I was doing paintings. I was able to handle some commission paintings. I was able to handle the mural on the floor. I've been doing some collabs. This is just a good time for any artist, any entrepreneur, anybody that ever thought about doing their own thing to just be able to do it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1416.0,1494.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: And it's—I think this is a time, I think, in the world where it's going to cause a lot of people's hands to be shown. Like, I feel—I'll talk culturally as far as, like, I'll say the music industry just because I feel like that's an easy field to talk about. Like, I feel like a lot of the musicians who make quality music are going to survive through this. And a lot of these musicians who make just—I hate to call music bad because it's art, it's subjective, but I'll say musicians that make lesser influential music, I don't feel like they're going to survive much longer just because they weren't set up properly from jump. Like, this time is going to cause anybody that had any faults to fail because they just weren't set up properly and they weren't stable. Oh, I don't know, I'm so—I'm kind of very excited about this COVID time. I'm not saying that I don't want things to get better. Yes, I want things to get better. But especially for anybody who's behind in this race, this is the time to catch up because everybody has to sit still.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1494.0,1576.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: For sure. For sure. And what do you think is possible after COVID?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1576.0,1582.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I think anything—everything that's possible after COVID has to get handled now because we're in a space to where we do not even know what the world's going to be. Like, it's going to take—whoever's the loudest and the most prepared right now is going to make what the next phases of the world's going to be. Like, this world is done. I don't think the government really knows what they're doing [laughter]. I don't think the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] knows what they're doing because these unemployment checks are getting ridiculous. I think every small business is going to get audited that took out, that filed for unemployment. I think things are really going to get shaken up. So like, yeah, it's try new things times, but like you gotta solidify yourself in something now because we don't know what the world's shifting to.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1582.0,1633.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Like, I honestly think in the next three years, it's going to be really hard for small-business owners to start a small business just because small businesses are [unclear] just harder for the government to regulate and conduct. And especially with them talking about these vaccines now, they're going to try to push them through your employers. If you're a small business, then you're working for yourself, you don't need the vaccine. Like, I feel like a lot of things are about to shake up and I really just hope everybody is paying attention to what's really happening.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1633.0,1665.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Down to sports, like, I don't know if you're into sports, but they're trying to get the kids in—like, when I say kids, I'm talking about kids in college. College sports. These colleges, they know they need these kids to play. They know these sports teams are funding the schools. So they're trying to get these kids to say that they want to play. Not that the schools are making them have to play, but the kids want to play, just so the schools aren't liable if these kids get sick. Like, every industry is shaping up and I feel like people's hands are really being shown, but it's going to take people to pay attention to really be able to change things.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1665.0,1710.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Even down, I don't want to digress, but even down to the killings of [George] Floyd, Breonna Taylor. It's whack, but they've been killing us forever. They've been killing us forever. And it's, like, being that this world is so still, everybody's forced to really pay attention to what's happening. Like, they been this way. They been doing this to us, but we've been caught up in a lot of distractions. So like, this is the time, the time for them to expose themselves and for us to really make a change.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1710.0,1748.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1748.0,1748.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: —I hope I answered your question.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1748.0,1749.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: —got it. Nah, you did, for sure, for sure. And because, you know, life is literally changing in a changing world, like, what are some methods or what are some, like, rituals that you've been doing to kind of ground yourself as the world is changing so rapidly?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1749.0,1774.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Like I said, I've been trying to play social media from a distance because it's so very easy to get consumed into the negative stuff that we're scrolling through. Like, I've had a day where I, like, I scrolled through like four videos of cops killing, killing dudes, and then it's like, I'm going to walk outside and I'm just going to hate the first cop I see for no reason, you know? I feel like that's just as bad as anyone stereotyping us. So I will say definitely take time to isolate just to reground and get to know yourself again, because we're in an instant day and age to where we are very connected to everyone from such vast distances. So we've become very influenced by other people's thoughts and actions. So I'll say this is definitely a good time to get grounded.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1774.0,1830.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I do yoga here and there. I'm not gonna act like I'm like a everyday yoga guy, but I'll do yoga a couple of times a week just to stretch, relax, clear my mind. I'm very big on not picking up my phone soon as I wake up. I think that's probably a horrible mistake that most people do, because it's like you're starting your day with someone else's thoughts. I read. I'm very much of a reader. I'm reading this book right now called The Superior Man. I probably have like 30 pages left to go. I'm really trying to stretch it because I don't want to finish the book because it's such a good book. Ladies, it's called The Superior Man, but it should be called The Superior Being. It's really just about being a higher you and just understanding the energies of, like, feminism and masculine-ism, if masculism is a word. Straight A's in math, not English—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1830.0,1885.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: —nah, it's really masculinity [laughs].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1885.0,1886.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: —[laughs] masculinity. Straight A's in math, not English. Never was [laughs].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1886.0,1889.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Heard you, heard you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1889.0,1889.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: But yeah, a lot of reading. I was doing a lot of running. Like, once the world stopped, I was probably running two miles every other day. I was running before the world stopped, from like February to the end of May, but I was losing too much weight because these gyms are closed, so I had to stop running. I don't really feel like my life has personally changed too much to adjust to COVID. I just feel like I've cut out a lot of unnecessary life. 'Cause I—everything that I just named, I've been doing. These are things that I do on my regular day, whether it's COVID or not COVID. But it would just be like, in between would be like, okay, go hang out with so-and-so. Oh, go pick up this shirt. Oh, go get this haircut. Oh, go out and get these drinks. It's like, this time has forced me to really realize what matters and what I do in my day and just cut out a lot of unnecessary stuff.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1889.0,1958.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it. And is there anything that you want to talk about that I didn't ask?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1958.0,1967.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Anything I wanna talk about that you didn't ask? I don't know, like, as far as what? We could talk about anything [laughter]. I'm here searching for some tattooing. I gotta make an order and pick up an order today. We could talk about anything.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1967.0,1979.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: [laughs] Just as far as like, being that this conversation is going to be archived, that essentially means that it will be like preserved in the library for eternity—","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1979.0,1989.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Forever. Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1989.0,1989.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: —so as you put this stamp on the world, is there anything in this conversation that you would like to address?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1989.0,1998.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: I will say—I just pray that we're not singing the same tune in the next ten years. 'Cause I don't feel like much has changed from when we were, like, kids, or before we were even here. I just feel like—I feel like the setting has changed. I feel like a lot of stuff isn't so much in our face because we're distracted by so many other things. So I hope that we take this time of this world being still and really pay attention to what matters and just keep this momentum going. And we got some good things going for us and we're doing a lot of good things for ourselves. I just want us to keep taking control and doing things in ourselves and stop trying to fix something that [unclear] is broken, you know?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=1998.0,2064.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Syreeta Gates: Got it. Heard you. That's it. Thank you so much, man. I appreciate you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=2064.0,2068.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155/transcript/81781/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Richard Parker: Oh, you're welcome. Thank you.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/943/collection_resources/154001/file/283155#t=2068.0,2070.54"}]}]}]}