WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 101020 Roqy Tyraid and Tessa Farrell 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:03.600 Yes, yes, yeah, that's right. Welcome to another edition of 0:00:03.880 --> 0:00:08.640 Civic Cipher, where we broadcast the balance and we defend 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:12.600 the discourse. I'm your host, ramses Jah, and just like 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:17.960 we normally do around here, we have another very special show. 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:26.439 Today's guests are two folks that are very visible out 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:31.440 in the streets right now. One of them is a protester, 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:35.520 a volunteer, someone who has come out of her comfort 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.160 zone to really support the cause, and I really thought 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.880 it was meaningful to check in with her. Her name 0:00:41.920 --> 0:00:45.000 is Tessa Ferrell, and we're going to be checking in 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:48.040 with her in just a bit. And the man of 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:49.800 the hour, the man that I've been wanting to get 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:53.280 some time with for a while now on the show. 0:00:53.640 --> 0:00:56.240 You've seen him in the newspapers, you've seen him on 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:58.600 the news, you've seen him out in the streets. He's 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:03.760 a champion of the cause, a champion of a decidedly 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:07.559 black agenda out on the streets. If you go back 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:10.520 in the city for any length of time, you'll recognize 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:18.200 the name as perhaps the or else one of the 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:21.959 finest MC's to ever come from this city. And I 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:24.800 mean that that's a genuine compliment, you know, that I 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:26.800 mean that because you know, I'll tell the story just 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:30.160 a little bit. But uh, the man of the hour 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:34.440 today is Rocky Tirade. So so thank you for coming 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:34.880 on the show. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:36.480 Thank you, thank you. 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:38.399 All Right, so let me paint a little bit of 0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:41.760 a picture about me and you and how far we 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:43.560 go back, go back, the way back. Let's let's do 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:45.119 that now. I need the people need to know who 0:01:45.120 --> 0:01:49.840 I'm talking to right now. So for those of you 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:56.840 who have followed my career in Phoenix as a broadcaster, 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:02.720 you'll know that I have done a show called Ready 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.600 Set Radio. Prior to that, it was called Friday Night Flavors, 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:08.520 And what we did was we played sort of underground 0:02:08.560 --> 0:02:11.480 hip hop music, music that didn't really get the same 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:14.520 look and it didn't have the same machine behind it 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:17.720 as you know, the more pop music, the pop version 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:20.880 of hip hop songs, right these were you know, sometimes 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:24.040 folks call it backpack music, sometimes folks call it real 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.600 hip hop. But in any case, what it did was 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:31.399 it gave us an opportunity to play artists who were 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:37.000 from Phoenix, which is where I live. So obviously I 0:02:37.040 --> 0:02:41.000 worked with a lot of artists from the city and 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.360 a lot of artists who are signed smaller labels, you know, 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:52.079 nationally and internationally. But Rocky Tirade was just an amazing lyricist, 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:54.360 is I should say, an amazing lyricist, And I know 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:56.240 you're not really known for that now, but I got 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:58.200 to tell this third way it happened, well, I guess. 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:03.320 You yeah, yeah, you know, yeah, come on board. 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:10.880 It was just getting on, so I'll never forget it. 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:14.600 You know, Rocky and I we would see each other backstage, 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:17.120 We would see each other just out on the streets, 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:19.520 you know, just he would come up to the station 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:23.400 from time to time and just hang out. And I 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.720 discovered that he had this amazing talent, and I wanted 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:32.680 to figure out a way to sort of like circumvent 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:34.880 the system. You know, when you're doing a radio show, 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.200 you have to be fair to everybody, and I can't 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:41.080 play your song every week, or every song that you 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:44.120 come out with, because there's other people who deserve a 0:03:44.200 --> 0:03:48.200 place on the show. So I decided, along with Blue 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:52.800 let kV, to create a feature on the show that 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:57.320 would allow Rocky and his amazing talent to be heard 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:02.160 by the city every week. So the feature was called 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.760 Rocky Tirade At the podium, and what he would do 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:11.200 is a weekly news recap of all the events that 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:14.160 took place that week, and he would deliver it to 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:17.039 us in rap form, and usually it would be about 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:18.800 a minute, minute and a half something like that. It 0:04:18.800 --> 0:04:21.120 was a real short feature, but it allowed me to 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:24.440 have his name out there every week and display his 0:04:24.520 --> 0:04:26.640 talent every week, which I thought he was deserving of. 0:04:27.440 --> 0:04:29.920 It wasn't necessarily a song, so it didn't count toward 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:32.440 you know, spins or anything like that, you know, in 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:36.200 their industry, so I wasn't cheating. I just felt like 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:39.400 it was very necessary, and as the show producer and host, 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:43.480 it was my you know, executive privileged slash prerogative to 0:04:43.480 --> 0:04:47.800 do so, and I stand by that decision. But in 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:51.559 doing so, I got to hear these rhymes every week, 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:59.000 and I noticed that Rocky would take a decidedly political, 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:06.000 often times very liberal approach to the goings on in 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:10.640 this country, or a liberal view, i should say. And 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:15.200 you know, a lot of folks that are familiar with 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:19.760 his music might know him to be very very much 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:23.240 you know, tell it like it is, keep it real, 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:24.960 you know, I'm not I'm not going to say something 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:28.200 that that spares your feelings. But what I found is 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:32.000 that there was a lot of empathy or sympathy for 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:33.680 the state of things, and there was a lot of 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:38.480 cause to action and and things that still exist today 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:42.080 in his character out on the streets. And so we 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:45.960 were able to do that until you broke everybody's heart 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.120 and retired the feature. I know you was probably get 0:05:48.160 --> 0:05:51.720 exhausted doing that every week, right, new rhymes every week. 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:55.320 But I would say we probably did that for you know, 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:57.000 the better part of a year. It's not a full 0:05:57.080 --> 0:06:00.560 year or something like that. Yeah, And I know that 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:02.040 a lot of folks were really grateful for that. It 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:05.159 really made the show better and then and obviously it 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.960 gave me a chance to really put on full display 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:18.920 your talent. So fast forward till now. Rocky is affiliated 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:23.440 with a group called We Rising. So do me a favor, 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.680 tell the folks a little bit about what We're Rising is. 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:30.160 So we Rising, it's more of an initiative to you know, 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:33.640 push for equity in a black and brown community. How 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:37.359 it came to be was really, I guess the first 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:40.920 protests that were taking place in late May, I think 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:43.960 like the twenty seventh, twenty eighth, right, after the unfortunate 0:06:44.000 --> 0:06:46.760 events of both George Floyd and the course out here 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:48.039 in Phoenix with Dion Johnson. 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:49.560 So there was a lot of. 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:52.960 Uproar and things of that nature, and you know, the 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.440 city wanted to exercise its voice, so of course people 0:06:55.480 --> 0:06:58.040 took it to the streets. Me having a lot of 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:01.799 experience with this over the years off and on contributing 0:07:01.839 --> 0:07:05.080 to these type of events, knew what to expect, how 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:08.640 the police are overly aggressive. You know, the threats of 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:11.640 tear gassing, and you know how they can lead to stampedes, 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.600 and you know, just you know, learning how to you know, 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:18.680 make sure that you were hydrated and all these things. 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:20.960 That younger individuals don't really know of. So you know, 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:22.200 we showed up in order. 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:26.320 Kind of like an unofficial like medics supplies role for 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:29.080 the first like day or so, and then noticing there 0:07:29.160 --> 0:07:32.160 wasn't a lot of individuals out there at that point 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:35.600 in time with experience, so I just naturally, being an MC, 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:39.040 I just took to you know, moving the crowd. 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:39.680 This is what we do. 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.840 So one thing led to another end next thing, you know, 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:48.320 we're leading protests all throughout the weekend, and this is 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:52.240 at a very precarious time when Deucy is basically threatening a. 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:54.640 Full on shut down of Arizona and all of that. 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:57.240 And I feel that a lot of these individuals who 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.760 came together were able to help steer things in the direction, 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:04.120 able to exercise our first Amendment and prevent like the 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:08.440 state from completely shutting down and inhibiting us from expressing 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:08.920 our voice. 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:12.080 Was able to run into like minded individuals. 0:08:13.400 --> 0:08:16.120 And we formed we rising, you know, just off this 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:20.720 idea that we can really take this energy and push 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:23.480 it towards legislative change. And we started all the way 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:25.960 back in the end of May and early June and 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:29.000 wor over here on the eve of an election season, 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:32.920 a very important one, mind you. And it's a testament 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:35.120 to all the people that we've met along the way. So, 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.760 you know, suspend spend a pretty interesting journey thus far. 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:41.760 Okay, And for those that don't know, if you're not 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:43.040 in Phoenix. 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:46.920 Deucey is Doug Ducy, the governor. 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:52.920 The governor of Arizona, Doug Deocy. Now, because I know 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.120 a version of you that was decidedly you know, on 0:08:59.040 --> 0:09:03.120 MC and I recognize that the climate in the country 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:08.319 has changed politically and racially. You know, and I can 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:11.760 speak to the events that kind of took me from 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:14.840 what I once did to where I am now with 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:19.359 an old radio station not allowing, you know, a platform 0:09:19.480 --> 0:09:22.960 for black and brown voices to be heard, to express themselves, 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.520 to express tell the truth about what's going on in 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:29.960 the streets. Was there a thing for you recently or 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:33.640 at any point in time that got you to thinking, like, 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:36.679 you know what, maybe my voice can go a little 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:40.720 bit further than you know, these four walls inside of 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:42.720 a concert and on a stage, or maybe my voice 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.920 can go a little bit further than just being on 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:49.319 on you know, on songs. 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.880 Yeah, you know, I feel like, you know, if you 0:09:52.000 --> 0:09:55.080 are a shepherd of like the culture and people follow 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:57.800 you and you engage in these things, it's you have 0:09:57.840 --> 0:09:59.760 to do a little bit more than just apply yourself. 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:01.040 I mean you do that. 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:02.560 You do that, like we see you out there all 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:06.760 the time, you know, and it's do you have to 0:10:08.000 --> 0:10:10.400 you have to be of the culture completely, Like you 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:15.200 have to contribute physically, you know, especially right now, you 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:17.600 know this we need all hands on deck. This is 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:20.160 one of the most important times in history and can 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:23.800 go in one way or another, both in decidedly like 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:27.480 different directions, and we have to make sure that we 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:32.320 take the time to invest into our future. And you know, 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:35.800 COVID unfortunately set up the playing field for us to 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:40.360 be able to excuse me, you know, really apply ourselves 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:46.160 in that physical manner. So I mean myself, like I 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:48.240 said before, it's something I've always kind. 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:49.600 Of done of dabbled in and out of it. 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.160 But given the circumstances right now, it's just given me 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:56.960 the liberty to really fully apply myself, you know, seeing 0:10:57.040 --> 0:11:00.160 some other individuals in are scene do so it's it's 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:01.600 been an encouraging thing to witness. 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:05.280 Also, Okay, very good if you just tune it in. 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:11.520 That is Rocky Tirade from We Rising. He is our 0:11:11.559 --> 0:11:14.000 guest for today on Civic Cipher, and we also have 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.760 another guest. She goes by the name of Tessa Farrell, 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:23.760 and she works very closely with WE Rising. I always 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:26.640 see you know, her out there in support of Rocky, 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:30.559 and the reason why I wanted to have one of 0:11:30.600 --> 0:11:33.360 the volunteers come up, one of the protesters come up. 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:42.080 Her specifically is because she is white and she is 0:11:42.280 --> 0:11:51.800 consistently out on the streets championing this this effort to 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:58.800 make the world a more just place for her black 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:02.520 and brown brothers, and so I have to I have 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:06.080 to paint this picture now. Forgive me, because I don't 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:14.720 I don't know, but my assumption is that you perhaps 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:21.600 grew up in a white house in a predominantly white community, 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:28.240 and this is not something that if it, if it continued, 0:12:28.280 --> 0:12:32.720 these these uh injustices by the police, by the criminal 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:35.800 justice system, this is not something that would affect your 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:40.719 life directly or perhaps even indirectly. So I want to 0:12:40.760 --> 0:12:43.760 ask this question, what was it that moved you to 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:45.439 protest in the first place? 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:51.920 You know, I I think I wish I had a 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:55.439 better answer other than maybe it just feels like something 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.120 you know inherently. 0:12:57.200 --> 0:12:58.800 You're supposed to do greater. 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:05.080 I feel like anytime anyone, an individual, a group what 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.959 have you, comes to you and says or is sharing 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:13.160 their experience and saying, there's hurt, there's trauma, there's mistreatment here, 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.720 and then to watch that go on consistently, feel like 0:13:17.760 --> 0:13:20.880 you have no other choice but to say, how can 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:21.599 I help. 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:22.480 And what do you need? 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:29.240 And I think kind of to what you said maybe 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:34.480 in your your open letter resignation, something that really stood 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:40.360 out with me is that you know, I consume black culture, 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:44.480 black and brown culture. You know, I listen to black music, 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:52.160 you know, I if you will right, you know, fashion, arts, sports, 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:56.240 what have you across the board, foods, And I can't 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.680 you know, I share in relationships with black and brown people, 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:03.760 and I you know, I can't say that I enjoy 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:05.760 or I'm a part of these things and not turn 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:09.280 around and then want to you know, stand up for 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:13.000 a cause when these very people are saying they're under attack, 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:13.559 you know. 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:19.560 Very good. So so what is it about We Rising 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:26.200 that spoke to you versus some of the other organizations 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:32.200 that have organized you know, protests or you know, what 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:35.000 have you? What is it about Rocky and his group 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:41.160 that has kind of mobilized you. 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:45.080 I mean, I think you know, there are first a 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:49.520 lot of amazing organizations in the valley championing around you know, 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:57.440 racial injustice, and you know, and what is what I'm 0:14:57.480 --> 0:15:02.880 trying to say here, like incarceration and deportation. You know, 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:06.000 there's a lot of really great organizations doing things for 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:10.360 those communities. But you know, very early on, I saw 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:15.080 We Rising mobilize at a point where I think time 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:17.560 really felt like it was of the essence to really 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:20.440 show up for you know, black and brown lives in 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:23.600 the Phoenix community right on, uh, you know, the heels 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:26.240 of George Floyd and like Rocky said, Dion. 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:27.440 Johnson and our community. 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:31.360 And in such a short little window they were able 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:37.120 to you know, get thousands of people to the streets. 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:40.600 And then what's what's continued that for me, that relationship 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:45.120 is the ways it's continued to grow, the depth at 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:47.480 which it feels, you know from my perspective that it's 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:51.000 continued to grow. So it's not just disruption in the street, 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:55.360 but also you know, looks like real, like Rocky said, 0:15:55.400 --> 0:16:00.320 legislative change and you know, policy change and leadership change. 0:16:00.360 --> 0:16:04.240 And while being in the street is important, you know, 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:06.960 making sure that that hits at a deeper level is 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:10.040 you know, of equal or greater importance. And it just 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:13.600 felt like the organization really had you know, a full 0:16:13.680 --> 0:16:16.280 form my opinion, like, you know, a really full perspective 0:16:16.280 --> 0:16:19.680 and value of all of that. Not that they asked 0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:20.560 for my opinion, but. 0:16:22.760 --> 0:16:26.200 I think that you know a lot of folks would 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:30.160 agree with you, and one group that would agree with 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:39.200 you would probably be the Phoenix Police themselves, because, in 0:16:39.280 --> 0:16:43.800 my opinion, a lot of them have been behaving as 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:49.080 though they are feeling threatened by what's happening on the streets. Absolutely, 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:59.120 which absolutely brings me to my next point. My understanding 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:00.840 is that a lot of the leadership and all the 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:13.920 organizations across the board have been unfairly targeted, persecuted, bullied, arrested, lattained, 0:17:14.600 --> 0:17:20.080 et cetera by the Phoenix Police Department in an attempt, 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:27.400 deliberate attempt, strategic attempt to quell the movement, to dismantle 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:36.879 the leadership, to caused division, et cetera. And I know 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:42.400 that you were recently a victim of that, Rocky, So 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:46.200 tell me about your arrest, tell me about the day, 0:17:46.240 --> 0:17:48.280 everything leading up to it, and then what happened. 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:49.760 Oh, I mean the day in itself. 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:53.399 We have an event called we All We Got and 0:17:53.440 --> 0:17:56.879 it's more of an initiative to benefit those who are 0:17:57.040 --> 0:17:59.560 part of the unsheltered community. So we show up with 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:07.520 supply sanitation products, you know, close just just doing human 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:10.000 things like how you do with the hashtag lunch bag 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:10.520 and everything. 0:18:10.600 --> 0:18:13.240 Just that's a very big source of inspiration, by the way, 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:13.880 So thank. 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:18.320 You, you know, like and so that day that everything 0:18:18.359 --> 0:18:21.880 had concluded, we were all getting ready to you know, continue. 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:23.399 To another event afterwards. 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:27.800 And while leaving went down, I think Washington got over 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:29.720 to nineteenth and as soon as I got an the intersection, 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:32.400 the car got behind me. Can tell by the silhouette 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:34.560 e vent that it's a police vehicle, got halfway into 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:37.240 the intersection, hit me at the lights. They all approached 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:39.879 from different angles, arrested me. I was taken and my 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:42.480 car was taken and under ten minutes. So if you've 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:45.240 ever been ever called like triple A, you know you're 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:47.280 gonna sit there for about thirty forty five minutes and 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:51.679 the sun maybe longer. So obviously they have they have lists, 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.080 and this is confirmed by individuals who had been arrested 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:57.399 prior with seen physicalists seeing our faces on there. The 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.280 person who's arrested prior to me about a week before said, 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:02.040 you know, Rocky, you know your face is right next 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:03.359 to mine and it's in a red box. 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:05.679 I'm like, all right, you know. 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:09.160 But when it came down to the charges completely unsubstantiated, 0:19:10.200 --> 0:19:11.959 you know, one of them they accused me of an 0:19:11.960 --> 0:19:14.240 event in which I wasn't even there. Of course, they 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:17.480 have all these digital cameras where they can like or 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:19.960 like digital facial recognition cameras where they can. 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:21.720 Look at your faces through the masks. 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:24.480 By the way, that doesn't always protect you, just you know, 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:29.679 and so they obviously know I wasn't there. And one 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:32.960 of the days was for a thing called obstructing thoroughfare. 0:19:33.200 --> 0:19:37.840 And there's one real jaywalking crime out here. It only 0:19:37.880 --> 0:19:39.800 applies if you're placing cars in danger. 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:40.560 We've been doing this. 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:44.439 We've been having our protests walking down the street since 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:47.960 as we rising, since I think the end I think 0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:51.560 June first, you know what I'm saying. And every time 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:53.720 we see a car, we walk past them. Nobody really 0:19:53.800 --> 0:19:56.400 touches the vehicle. They roll down their window. We may 0:19:56.440 --> 0:19:58.520 give them water, they may give us water. We give 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:01.159 them dap, you know, like they honk their horn, you 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:03.200 take selfies together. It's you know, it's a good time. 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:06.560 They drive past it, you know. And this day in 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:08.600 which they had to charge me for, we were walking 0:20:08.640 --> 0:20:12.200 down the street after another unsheltered event, and they were 0:20:12.200 --> 0:20:17.800 instructing the cars coming down Washington, which is westbound street, 0:20:17.840 --> 0:20:19.879 to turn around in the middle of the street and 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:22.320 drive towards opposing traffic. And you can see the cars 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:24.639 like kind of stuttering like is this right, and the 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:26.560 cops are getting all in their face and trying to 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:29.360 turn around, and I was like, that's super strange. And 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:32.760 while walking down Washington Street, I can see that around 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:35.000 the corner one of the cars was sticking out one 0:20:35.000 --> 0:20:37.480 of the police vehicles. They were getting ready to trap 0:20:37.560 --> 0:20:39.680 us so they can start mass arrests. So we led 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:42.720 them down another road and then we broke off. But 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:45.119 a couple weeks later I was arrested for that. But 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:48.680 there's other individuals who've experienced worse charges where they may 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:52.280 have been like corralled and tazed and now they're squirming 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:55.080 and moving out of harm's way because it hurts. That's 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:59.520 resisting arrest. Or somebody their friend may get pulled in 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:01.359 by a cop. Hey, you know, it's pulling the safety 0:21:01.400 --> 0:21:04.560 because they choke black people out. That's you know, getting 0:21:04.600 --> 0:21:07.600 the way of obstructing a case or whatever it is like. 0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:12.040 And they find ways to through unsubstantiated charges to give 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:14.480 them real charges that have a better chance of holding 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:16.720 in court. And now you know, next next thing, you know, 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:21.040 you have all these lead organizers with felonies and disproportionately 0:21:22.040 --> 0:21:26.760 they're typically black. So there there is like this weird 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:32.320 co intel pro junior operation going on out here, and man, 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:35.119 I wish there's so much going on, and the in 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:39.280 terms of how the police department has been operating outside 0:21:39.320 --> 0:21:41.600 the confines of their authority, that's. 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:45.520 A huge part of it obviously. So yeah, thank you 0:21:45.560 --> 0:21:47.679 for sharing that. I feel like it's really important that 0:21:47.680 --> 0:21:52.680 a lot of folks know just the amount of risk 0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:56.320 that comes with trying to be a champion on the streets. 0:21:56.520 --> 0:21:57.600 A lot of they. 0:21:57.440 --> 0:21:59.240 Will frame you, they will legitimately frame you. 0:21:59.320 --> 0:22:01.560 Yeah, yeah, that's what it sounds like. It's just unfair. 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:04.120 And you know, I'm sure these charges are a matter 0:22:04.160 --> 0:22:06.200 of public records, so people can go and see them. 0:22:06.480 --> 0:22:09.800 If they're all as minor old crime is as you 0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:15.360 describe them as, which I do believe, Yeah, absolutely, then 0:22:15.400 --> 0:22:16.760 people will see that. 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:17.240 You know. 0:22:17.520 --> 0:22:22.720 Okay, Well, our brothers and sisters are you know, fighting 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:23.120 a good fight. 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:25.560 But this is nothing new. This is oh, not even 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:29.360 close than anything. This is our grandparents. Yeah, it's hard 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:31.720 to complain about. It was just shedding light, like, hey, 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:34.320 this is still going on. You know, it's no different 0:22:34.359 --> 0:22:37.520 than what our grandparents experience. It's no different than maybe 0:22:37.560 --> 0:22:40.199 not as like overt as your move bombings and Philly 0:22:40.280 --> 0:22:43.199 or whatever or different Hamptons, but they still use that 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:47.680 level of like like subversive like tactics and things of 0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:50.560 that nature in order to work outside of the law 0:22:50.640 --> 0:22:53.000 and spin the media in a way and so such 0:22:53.080 --> 0:22:55.840 that people believe that we're looting and rioting. I've been 0:22:55.880 --> 0:22:58.200 seen a flimsy water bottle thrown at the cop since 0:22:58.280 --> 0:23:00.640 like May twenty seventh, you know, like. 0:23:00.640 --> 0:23:04.280 So and and it's it's so funny how something like 0:23:04.320 --> 0:23:10.800 that could get someone arrested and potentially himmed up on 0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:13.440 some trump that felony charges and police can literally split 0:23:13.440 --> 0:23:16.080 your head open, yeah, and die on the sidewalk. And 0:23:16.119 --> 0:23:19.240 that's there. So just the uh, I mean, if you're 0:23:19.280 --> 0:23:21.560 if you're listening to my voice, and obviously you understand 0:23:21.600 --> 0:23:30.240 that that it's it's definitely a an unfair advantage that 0:23:30.280 --> 0:23:33.280 the police have when it comes to that. But you know, 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:40.159 you this moment we rising definitely has the numbers of 0:23:40.240 --> 0:23:42.720 the people I've seen that, so, so my hat's off 0:23:42.720 --> 0:23:45.320 to you for that. So I want to I want 0:23:45.359 --> 0:23:48.120 to talk about something good because you know, obviously there's 0:23:48.119 --> 0:23:52.879 a lot of uh difficulty that comes with trying to 0:23:52.960 --> 0:23:56.119 change the world. But let's talk about some of the 0:23:56.200 --> 0:24:00.720