Elaine Beck 0:11
Hi, everyone, I’m Elaine Beck. And as you know, our show is It’s Not About Us, because it is about our Lord and Savior. It is about the God the Creator, and what we’re doing here and who created us, and what he’s given us to do. And I have a wonderful guest today, his name is Hollywood Morris. And I love your name Hollywood, because I I’ve been a big football fan for years and years. And you know, yeah, yeah. And everybody’s got a name, you know, mine is Elaine. You know, but not everybody’s got as cool of a nickname as you do. Okay. And so, what a pleasure it is to have you on our show. I want to welcome you. And I want to give you a chance to tell my viewers all you know where this all came from? I think it’s so amazing. Your background? I mean, you know, you’ve been listening to God for a long time.

Hollywood Morris 1:20
yes, thank you for the opportunity. Because as I shared with you, I’ve been a supporter since I first found out about proverbs media group over two years ago now. And my testimony is I share with you my sister, I live, I am the poster child for the American dream, and the grace of God. So man, my shirt for today, but I am, I am a child number five of six, into a household where domestic violence was the norm. And, you know, police my interaction with them came very early in life in the worst possible circumstances, because of some violence from either my mom and my dad, they were functioning alcoholics. And so, you know, this disruption was the norm, you know, for right, like, and the reason why I say about the American dream, and what what you and I talked about, about us using our gifts and talents, and being a part, it’s not about us and about him, it’s because my life, like I said, is a reflection of so many people Elaine that didn’t look like me, who stopped what they were doing to render aid to this family that many of them didn’t know very well, but they want it to be tools in the hands of God to help people, you know, they were literally living out the Great Commission, and that impact that had on my life. It was through law enforcement, teachers and coaches that steer me in the right direction, although the you know, the examples in my whole life and in my community, were definitely not the examples. You want to go down if you want a fruitful, you know, successful life.

Elaine Beck 3:05
Yeah, but isn’t that wonderful? I mean, you just said a mouthful when you said it was the coaches, the teachers, the community, the police. And you know, people are often say, in this day and age now, you may say things like, you know, well, you can’t say anything to these young people, or it doesn’t do any good to talk to them. I don’t know why people waste their time trying to tell them what to do. We know what good old getting in their face, correct. And straightening them out, and sharing the reason and what the Gospel says about their actions. And, and yet loving them and giving them that last minute hug or pat on the back. That encouragement, that word of you’re not alone. You’ve always got God. You’ve got friends, neighbors, the police, your teacher, your coach, whoever it is, there’s always somebody there and who put them there. God did. Exactly.

Hollywood Morris 4:06
And so you’re so right, Elaine, and that’s what brought me full circle to starting Support our Shields because three years ago, the Lord convicted me really on my heart is we’re watching the country burn winning in front of us. Right, right. You you’ve accomplished a lot of things, but you know, it’s easy to get focused on the thing, right? Speaking up like you have been doing it puts a target on you. And you get those fiery darts shot at you but to literally sit back and watch your whole country fall apart and have every group turned against each other totally the opposite of what His Word says. The conviction came to me linearly. I saw most of my life flash back in front of me and said, he showed me Look how many people I put in your path. You couldn’t control the situation. You were born into, you can choose your parents before you were born. But literally, I lay a person in your life every year laying to keep you to the path that I want you to go

Elaine Beck 5:10
absolutely. This. Absolutely. You know, when he’s not literally talking to you, right? Or putting people in your life, so they can talk to you through people, or he’s not convincing you to read His word, so that you can grow, you know, then you need to ask yourself, why. What am I go wrong? And I’m not hearing, and I’m not listening and I’m not doing the right things. Because, you know, the beauty of it is, is when you reach out to God, he’s always going to answer you. In some way, shape, or form or another, he’s going to answer you. I tell people all the time, Hollywood that, you know, quit putting roadblocks up for God. Well, in his time, well, only if that’s what he wants. Only, you know, not until no, you know, speak and hear courageously. Frost sim believe and He will answer. Absolutely. Okay. So tell us a little bit now about your background, let’s share about how this all came about. You were starting to tell us about how you were raised and everything. But tell us a little bit about, you know, your football career and things and what led you into all this? Great.

Hollywood Morris 6:42
So I was like many kids at 14 or 15. You like you think you’re going to be the next hall of famer. The Hollywood nickname came from, you know, growing up inner city, Fort Lauderdale. And I always share with people the lane is not what they show you on the tourist commercials. This is the part that lives more like a scene out of New Jack City in

Elaine Beck 7:08
every city has that.

Speaker 1 7:10
Exactly. You’re right. You’re correct. You’re right they deal with and we were very familiar with it. My dad actually was the one who had a love for cameras and video cameras. So it was a gift. He got me very young and I took to it. So we were those crazy kids in the early 90s That was always running through the community instead of getting in trouble. We were doing these silly music videos like he said, we thought we were going to be next MC Hammer. And football in high school, literally Lena and I and what’s great about it, I still have a relationship with my head coach Lane stick, but he comes to me. I’m a sophomore at 16 years old. Varsity. He says before homecoming, you’re now the leader of this team, you will speak you will address the student body. He was like I’m laying this on you you’re responsible and I’m like he does rely on it. That was one of those God moments, Elaine that changed my life going forward. Right? That moment I did not know listen to this. And I would only play two more games period. I would be diagnosed with a heart condition in five months and sit out my junior year and went to my MCL ACL and PCL two games into my senior year. And so you went from getting letters from Rutgers and Florida State to division three schools.

Elaine Beck 8:31
Right, right.

Hollywood Morris 8:32
Your dream as as that you know, it can collapse in one light. Well, what didn’t change of course, was the love of video production. So I go to Miami Dade School of filming video right out of high school. Right? Totally. In the midst of that my senior year in high school is when I came to faith in Jesus Christ. And so

Elaine Beck 8:54
praise the Lord

Hollywood Morris 8:57
I’m literally going to school right outside of South Beach for film school, and am accepted Jesus Christ that you realize these are two different worlds. Absolutely make a choice. And I became very unpopular for some strange reason on campus, because they weren’t you were getting invited at this time. This is when our bad boys was bad, bad boys two was being shot. One was bringing productions down to South Beach. And I realized healing you had to be a part of a certain type of culture to move in those circles. I wanted so I literally would go take my video skills to work with churches. And now that’s going to mean you’re going to have a different level of income, you know from

Elaine Beck 9:43
Right, absolutely. But

Hollywood Morris 9:46
the impact that you get to have on you know, in some cases generations is worth what you’re giving up financially. Amen.

Elaine Beck 9:57
Amen. And you know, that’s just it, you know, all lot of people look at those of us that have some wealth in our lives. And by the way, I’m the oldest Cinderella. Yet. Up until I was 62 years old, I was pinching every penny until it’s screamed and living from pay to pay. And I understand what it means to do without, I understand what it means to work hard, long hours to keep your family going. Yes. And yet, you know, then God puts this wonderful person in my life and changes my life all the way around. And I’ve realized, you know, there’s there’s so much to learn on either side of that, as they used to say the railroad tracks, right? Yes, yeah, there’s so much to learn on both sides. And, and from either side, it’s the same thing. It is what you do for others. It doesn’t have to be financially right you do for others is where your joy and your peace and the love of God comes in. That’s it. It’s giving the receive. So I want to hear more. Now tell us about your organization, and how people can reach out to you to help with it.

Hollywood Morris 11:30
Yes. So I’m doing the multimedia for churches across the country laying for almost the last 20 years. I’ve got a National Baptist Convention. So California, Ohio, Texas, I’m all over the place and I’m loving it. What happened in 2020, though, as we saw, this whole defund the police movement start and I mean, it exploded. It’s horrible. Right and hate calm for me line because like you said, I was having a media background, I could see the narratives, the lies, and see how they’re being produced and promote that on one hand. I’m also seeing a lot of churches feeling afraid to tell the truth, you know, for fear of backlash, and I had it you know, all around me. Remember, COVID is just started in the lockdowns, I’m literally traveling every week to a different state to produce for churches that were on lockdown. And right, right, it was totally the opposite of what the news were reporting. And I was also seeing that police were starting to back away because of completely being demoralized. And

Elaine Beck 12:38
so I and threatened I think I don’t care how brave of a police officer you got it. Somebody’s got a brick this far from your head, pointed at your head, your heart, and is saying that they’re going to take you down, Renaud there comes a point where anybody crosses that line where the only smart thing to do is to back down?

Hollywood Morris 13:03
Absolutely. And also knowing where the media came in is if they did engage no matter what the police were going to be framed as the bad guys. It comes a naturally reaction that the strategy changed tobacco. Well, cities like where I came from me like when the cops go away, the criminals immediately come right back in.

Elaine Beck 13:25
That was sort of like turning the light on. Yes. And a room full of cockroaches.

Hollywood Morris 13:31
And I’m staring? Yes. Is that Yeah. When the lights go back off, they come back and continue destroying, like That’s right.

Elaine Beck 13:38
Yeah, that’s right. So I,

Hollywood Morris 13:41
I was frustrated. Elaine, I’m praying. What can I you know, do I was living in a small town here in Central Florida. Fruitland. No one’s ever heard of, and I just went to I got a plaque made and went to our local police department. I think we had less than 15 officers. I met with the chief, I shared my testimony with him. And I said, you guys, you know, just law enforcement the impact for good you’ve had on my life despite of what the media in these, you know, man are saying I wanted to say thank you. And he was I mean, literally see this big, only she’d moved to tears. And I school linebacker moved to tears. And I was like we can this can make an impact in our nation. If you know, Ben can come together. We it’s obviously we don’t look alike. But we share the same faith. And the Lord gave me the name support our shields. And what I did was I started reaching out to every city that I had a church account and I found a police station in that city had a plaque made and we’ll go in and present it and thank them. And the gears really changed though last year with when I understood how many officers we were losing.

Elaine Beck 14:55
They weren’t Yes, I mean,

Hollywood Morris 14:57
that’s where I wanted to focus on falling officer Are you and I went I was in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. They lost a 34 year old sergeant and a 23 year old officer the week before Christmas in 2020. Yeah. Brandon escorts father hugged me and say you have no idea what you’ve done coming here in person for our community. And the chief they asked me Could I go to as many places as I could, that had lost officers and 44,000 plus miles later and 32 different officers in I think 25 States last year was was where it ended up in the stories and like you said, when it’s not about us, what I found out whether it was Fargo, North Dakota, or sbtech, Wisconsin, it means so much to those officers who lost a brother and sister or sister when someone they don’t know, comes in and says I’m from Southern part of Florida they’ve never heard of and tell them how much their fallen brothers sister meant to me and my wife, and that we’re continuing to pray for them. And not only that, but to speak out and defend their calling, because it is vital to the freedoms that we enjoy every day.

Elaine Beck 16:14
Well, I you know, I I’ve touched on that a little bit in my life. I have a nonprofit, as well as called blessings through action, yes. And for over a year, which it took us over a year to hit every police station, inTucson and the vicinities like Oro Valley, and Miranda and stuff here in Arizona. But we decided that what we were going to do was we bought a Keurig coffee pot, a bunch of cups, and we went to this famous donut shop here in town. And we’d make appointments with each of the police stations to go in on a Monday morning. And we take that all in and donate to them. And then we went in and we prayed with the police officers, and thank them for their service took us a year to cover all the stations in that. But let me tell you, you wouldn’t believe how many times people come up to me and said, nobody has ever done this for us. Nobody has ever brought us anything. Nobody’s ever paid for our doughnuts, or our coffee. Nobody’s ever came in and offered to pray. And nobody comes in just to thank us. Yeah. And they said it meant the world to them. So I’m sharing this with you and with them. Because what you do is so huge and so wonderful and so powerful for these men in blue, that are constantly battling with the evil, especially now with what’s coming across the border. Look at what happened this last week in New York, and it continues to happen. They’re killing police officers. They every it seems like every month they come up with a new way to do it, and a new place to do it. And a new excuse to do it. Yes, it is sick. It is evil. And what you do is so amazing and so powerful. So I encourage everyone to reach out to you and help where they can. Can you please give us how people can reach you on the internet? Or a contact you or donate or whatever?

Hollywood Morris 18:33
Yes, Thank you. It is support our shields.com and on social media at Facebook and YouTube at support our shadows, you know, I’m tied in with funds the first so that you know they are the donation platform that I use because right now, that’s where what the donations are for is to going out and reaching officers that we’ve lost this year. As a man, we’re recording. This is the middle of February. We’re already at 15 officers that have been killed this year. That’s horrible. Right? This is just the reality of the signs of the times that we’re living in. And what what you and I know but a lot of the viewers don’t is once the media, the mainstream media like once they get the you know, they’re bought from covering whatever story they go to the next story. You’ve seen

Elaine Beck 19:22
it, you know, yeah, amen.

Hollywood Morris 19:24
Those families are still left behind reeling and I’ll share this quickly with you a widow in South Carolina and I had never heard of Newberry South Carolina, a lane in my life. But her husband was one of the officers. You know who died last year. And I’m talking with her on the phone and she said I’m sorry that I was short with you earlier in the day, but she says Hollywood. I’m registering my kids for the first time I have an 11th grader, a sixth grader and a 10 year old. I’m doing this with the first time without their dad. I have no playbook for this. Yes, this is a exactly what the talking heads and the political prostitutes that we see every day like they could they couldn’t care less the world has been turned upside down. And unless they can make profit off of it, bear that out into the next story that they can make up front. Well

Elaine Beck 20:17
praise the Lord, if God willing, yes, we all need to understand what our churches are for. Those are our family, Christian and and God willing, they had family, and they had their church family. And they you know, because you’re right, you know, there’s so little things that come from outside. So what a blessing you are to so many thank you so much for being on my show. We’re actually running over. I never do that with anybody. But your story is so worth it. And, and everybody’s gonna enjoy every second of it. I just, I love speaking with you, I could talk to you for hours. But we have to go. Thank you again for being on the show. And remember everybody, you can see us on CPAC now or you can go to Elaine beck.com and see all my shows, and know that we’re here because God wants you to hear the good things that are happening in this country. Just like the wonderful story that we just heard from Hollywood. Morris God bless you, my friend.

Hollywood Morris 21:28
Bless you. He laid looking forward to seeing you in person this year. Oh

Elaine Beck 21:33
Would love to and for all of you. You know I’m always praying for you. See you next time.