Childhood memories of a famous uncle

I remember when Petey would call the house and someone would say out loud “it’s Uncle Petey,'' and I would almost break my neck running and jumping over everything to get to the phone. I loved talking with him. He was very funny and always left me with encouraging words.

 I knew Petey was famous at a very young age because my dad mentioned that his brother was very popular in D.C. and had his own radio show and later TV show as well. He also showed us a photo of him—I believe in Jet magazine or Ebony. I also had firsthand experience to witness his celebrity status when I went to visit him and saw him at work and when we were out and about how the people would crowd around him. Later, I moved to D.C., and I used to chauffeur him around to night clubs and wherever he wanted to go, and I truly loved to hang out with him. Petey spoke to everyone he came into contact with—he would even holler out the window of the car to speak to folks hanging out on the block asking folks about themselves and their families, even handing out money to panhandlers to get them their whatever for the day. 

Petey’s social justice work

I knew of his social justice work because it’s in my family’s DNA—we all were involved with the assistance of our people in NY where my dad raised me and in D.C. as well. Petey was very serious about advocating for the voiceless or the forgotten people. He especially loved and looked after the elders, and he would make a point to us about the importance of honoring our elders. Petey also founded the first ex-offender program that was actually run by ex cons—it was called EFEC (Efforts of Ex-Convicts). 

To see his legacy continued through the work that you all are doing through The Petey Greene Program is truly amazing, and I must say I’m sure if Petey was here he would be very proud of the work that is being accomplished throughout the country.

On making the documentary Adjust Your Color 

I thought—along with Dewey Hughes and Joe Fries, the executive producers of the movie Talk to Me—that another film was important because Adjust your Color is actually a documentary that shows footage of Petey the man himself doing what he did best.

When I was shooting the Independent Lens episode about Petey at the UPO Petey Greene Center where people can get all types of services and support, I asked a few people who were visiting the center for assistance did they know who Petey was and they said in fact they had no idea. I was surprised and a little shocked, so that’s another reason for the documentary. It was also important to me to show—as Lurma [Rackley] mentioned in her book—that Petey was not just some radio Shock Jock; he was indeed an activist in every sense of the word.