WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 061921 Ramses Ja and Q Ward 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to another episode of Civic Cipher. I am your host, 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:06.840 Rams's Jah. They call me q Ward and that just 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:09.639 so happens to be a variation of my actual name. 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:13.080 Yes, indeed, back up in you one more in to 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:18.200 do what we do best, that is to inform, to discuss, 0:00:18.960 --> 0:00:26.400 to provide a lens into Black America, the experience of 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:32.080 being black in America, and to hopefully create more empowered 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:36.480 allies and uh empowered black folks, inform, etc. 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.840 Have you said that like that before? Maybe we're here 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.560 to inform because I like that. Yeah, We're not here 0:00:42.600 --> 0:00:45.279 to give you an opinion, We're not here to make 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:48.320 you share ours. Just here to give you information and 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.120 you can do with that what you please, hopefully is 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:55.120 the right thing. Right on and a great show for 0:00:55.160 --> 0:01:00.319 you today we have lined up great take that grain 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:02.920 of salt. But but we do have some things to 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:05.240 talk about. Informative, Yes, informative show. 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:10.680 We definitely want to spend some time talking about critical 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:12.600 race theory that's been in the news a lot lately 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:17.080 and it took me a while to become informed on 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:20.199 what it is and the implications of it. And hopefully 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:21.839 we'll be able to share some of what we know today. 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.080 We all learn something today, yes indeed. 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:27.560 And then we also want to talk about a little 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:29.959 bit more about the way policing is gone to black 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:32.280 and brown bodies, which is a staple on this show. 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:34.800 Here this time, we're going to spend some time discussing 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:38.680 some events that took place in Maryland. We also are 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:41.080 going to talk about our ebony excellence. We're going to 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:44.839 throw to Motown twenty five and then our way Black 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:47.840 History fact has to do with June teenth, because this 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:49.360 is that weekend. 0:01:49.880 --> 0:01:52.640 So strap in, we got a great show for you, 0:01:53.080 --> 0:01:56.320 and I think that we should probably start off Q 0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:58.440 with some ebony excellent. That's how you build about that. 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:01.400 We're going to start there, we word place to start. 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:06.920 All I do is win, win, wind, no matter what. Okay. 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:13.679 So my origins as a DJ are rooted in two separate, 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.440 I guess moments in my life, and those those moments 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:21.080 are a long ways away from each other. One of 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:25.639 those I was two years old. My grandmother's first gift 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:31.639 to me was a vinyl pressed copy of Michael Jackson's 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:36.160 Off the Wall Nice. That was the start of my 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:40.040 love for music, long before being a DJ was even 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:43.840 something I'd ever even considered. And then you know, fast 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:50.359 forward twenty something years. I met this really handsome dude 0:02:50.680 --> 0:02:59.720 with an afro in Phoenix, and this guy was brilliant 0:02:59.720 --> 0:03:05.360 in and eventually became my brother now co host of 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.160 the One and Only Civic Cipher. Yes, indeed, I gener 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.760 mean by the name of Ramses jobs. Me thought that 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:15.880 djang might be something I should try, so he introduced 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:17.720 me to it. But I go back to that off 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:21.160 the Wall album my grandmother gave me because the first 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:25.200 memory of my life was a celebratory evening in music, 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.280 and being from Detroit, it just made me so proud. 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:36.200 Motown twenty five produced by Susan DePass about Barry Gordy's 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:39.800 hit Factory based out of Detroit, Michigan, and it had 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:45.800 a legendary, unforgettable performance by a gentleman you may have 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:49.280 heard of. His name is Michael Jackson. Indeed, he returned 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:52.080 for the first time since becoming a solo artist to 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:56.400 perform with his brothers. But then after he did what 0:03:56.440 --> 0:04:00.760 he called the old songs, he got into what he 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.080 simply referred to as one of his new songs, and 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:09.800 he performed Billy Jean live and moonwalked and blew the 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.440 entire world's mind. So Michael Jackson probably did not invent 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:18.080 the moonwalk, but he made it what. It was, an 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:23.800 excessively popular and hypnotizing dance move that my uncle almost 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:27.159 ruined for me. Rams. He told me that Michael had 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:32.479 on motorized shoes listen, man, and tried to ruin my 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:37.880 whole mind blown experience watching Motown twenty five as a 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:42.400 young lad. So shouts to Motown, Barry Gordy, Detroit, Michigan, 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:48.599 and the incomparable Michael Jackson. Yes, indeed, I like that 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:52.440 some good ebony excellence for you, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:55.320 shout to Rams's jah Tu yeah man. 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:59.320 Even though I don't have my AFRO today, it'll be 0:04:59.360 --> 0:04:59.800 back soon. 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:04.400 Stay tuned. But let's let's jump over because there's some 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:08.680 stuff that I really want to get into that I 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:09.520 think is really important. 0:05:09.760 --> 0:05:11.760 I was really excited to actually peel back the layers 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:17.280 of this critical race theory, likewise discussion and so for 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:24.480 the uninitiated, there are two schools of thought, right. 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.080 One is that. 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:35.200 Our history is necessary for us to know and to 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:39.080 teach so that we learn from it, so that we 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.400 don't repeat the mistakes of the past, so that we 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.400 understand where we are and who we are relative to 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:51.680 each other, and it informs our path forward. And you know, 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:54.800 as we all know, a more educated population is a 0:05:54.839 --> 0:06:02.560 more successful population by any measurable you know, facet of 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:08.160 you know, livelihood, happiness, whatever. So you know, there are 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:15.240 people who really believe that educating fully the good and 0:06:15.279 --> 0:06:20.040 the bad. And I use those terms loosely because you know, 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:23.800 it's a matter of perspective. But there's many people, myself included, 0:06:23.839 --> 0:06:29.680 who thinks, yes, we should tell folks what happened. And 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:38.400 there is in this country at present an opposing faction, 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.200 and we're going to talk about this opposing faction in 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:49.359 Florida that says that that may not be the best approach. 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:54.560 I'm putting it kindly right, these so much. Yeah, this 0:06:54.680 --> 0:07:04.680 opposing faction, they believe that if you teach the children 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:10.360 about the sins, like the good and the bad, that 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:15.360 what you do is you teach them that this country 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:19.360 is inherently racist and has always been, that they have 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:24.880 a racist heritage, you know, and that they should be 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:29.920 ashamed of their history. And this is how they framed 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:34.880 their argument, which of course we know has no substance. 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:36.760 The truth is what there is. 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:40.920 I'm getting ahead of myself here, but we recognize from 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:42.800 way over on this side that what it is is 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:48.080 essentially these the Republic's say, a Republican or a right 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:56.240 wing response to the fact that educated people tend to 0:07:56.400 --> 0:08:03.760 vote more aligned with liberal ideas and philosophies the more 0:08:03.880 --> 0:08:05.760 educated you are, you know, and so forth, and so 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:13.320 it's just a response they're trying to weed out any 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:19.640 hint of racist racism teaching education. You know, they think 0:08:19.640 --> 0:08:22.360 it's all kumbaya and that everyone is who they are 0:08:22.400 --> 0:08:27.360 and where they are because of their own decisions and 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:32.079 not the invisible forces of racism and this invisible constructs 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:34.640 built into the framework of this country. 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:36.920 By and all of the advantages that come with exactly, 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:40.200 and that you know, there's there's no way to make 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:44.920 a connection to white privilege if you know, you don't 0:08:44.960 --> 0:08:49.560 teach that black people came over as slaves. And in fact, 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:54.400 before we even talk about what happened in Florida, I 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:58.679 remember reading months ago that in Texas. I'm not sure 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:00.760 if you knew this, but in Texas. 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:07.360 They changed some of the textbooks, some of the history 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:11.000 textbooks and social studies textbooks to take out the word slaves, 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:15.679 so now it reads, you know, workers came from Africa 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:21.320 to help, you know, pick cotton and do these things, right, 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:24.200 because it's a kinder word and that you know, we 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:27.880 look at it as whitewashing history. You know, that's that 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:34.280 word is used deliberately and intentionally there. But that's that's 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:35.199 what it is. 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:38.560 You know, it's it's and and you know what before 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:40.839 we get I know, I'm getting ahead of myself, but 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:42.640 I really wanted to talk about this because this is 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.280 such a hurtful thing to have to live through. You know, 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:53.079 you live a whole life, right, and you recognize because 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:56.560 you're educated, because you're informed, but also because you can 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.560 see it. I've seen it. You've seen it. Our show 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:02.560 producer has seen it. You know, everyone in the studio 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.280 here has seen it. You know that that has melanin 0:10:05.600 --> 0:10:09.680 in their bodies, even those that don't have seen it. Yeah, exactly, 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.640 allies and so on and and and and reckon. Even 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:14.200 if you haven't seen it, you can understand that it 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:25.440 does exist. Right. There's people who stand on this well. 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.920 You know, I was born poor and I work for 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:32.960 everything I have. There's no such thing as white privilege. Right, 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:37.120 And you know I've said this before, but you know, 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:41.040 a great way of examining white privilege is getting to 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:45.959 start from zero, as opposed to starting at negative four 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:48.559 with a with a ball and chain around your ankle 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:50.720 and a bunch of obstacles in front of you literally 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:52.440 though you know what I mean, I don't want that 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:57.160 to sound metaphor, so starting literally with ball and chain. 0:10:57.280 --> 0:11:01.240 Yeah, So so you know that white privilege starting at 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:07.480 zero is something that really. 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:16.400 Needs to be examined and in that way. And so 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:22.240 with that said, I feel like there's. 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:31.840 A a disconnect between what we're trying to do in 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:35.640 terms of empowering ourselves, in forming ourselves, understanding that, you know, 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:39.000 because it's really easy to think, Okay, we're just inherently bad. 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:42.200 You know, all bad things happen to black people, and 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:45.840 so it's just it's our own fault. But that's because 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.959 we're trapped in a world with a limited view vantage point, 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:51.440 you know what I mean. We don't have access to 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:53.960 our full history. We don't understand, like you got to 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:57.040 think the first human beings to build anything, to play 0:11:57.080 --> 0:11:59.160 any instrument, to do anything. We're black people because the 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:02.120 first human beings were black people, and obviously the first 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.760 civilizations or black civilizations, the first you know, complex societies 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.160 and on and on and on. And I'm not talking 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:11.000 about like ancient just only ancient stuff. I'm talking about 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.320 if you go to Africa now you can see thriving cities, 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:15.840 you know, and so forth, and Africa is not necessarily 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:22.160 known for it's you know, uh, thriving economies and things 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:23.800 like that. But you have to also bear in mind 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.960 that economies and things of that nature are really more 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:32.160 Western constructs. You know, an economy is a very solid metric, 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.640 you know, to gauge the health of a society. But 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:39.079 you know, there are cultures around the world who gauge 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:42.600 it based on happiness, and I would argue that that's 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:46.120 a much better indicator of how healthy a society is. 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:48.920 You know. And so some things are not wrong, they're 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:51.760 just different. But in this country, because there's such a 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:55.600 westernized view of it, when you boil it down to okay, well, 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:59.679 black folks have a lot of issues to deal with, 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:03.520 and you don't give a framework for where did these 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.920 things come from? How did these things come about? Then 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:10.000 it's you know it I think it's the black people 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.120 that suffer and the people that love and care about 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:14.800 black people that suffer because you're taking the education, take 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:18.280 the context away, and then when you take away the context, 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:20.920 you take away the empathy, take away the understanding, take 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.880 away the connection, you take away the idea that, hey, 0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:26.560 if the tables were turned, I might be in that 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:30.120 same situation. So let me do what I can to 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:32.560 bring a little bit of balance to the universe. You know, 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:35.120 I have to have a I don't know if I 0:13:35.120 --> 0:13:38.160 want to call it a reckoning or I guess I'll 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.160 just say it and you guys can help me understand 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:45.760 what the moment means. Undertaking this show was something that 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:48.240 we had to be very very sure about before we 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:52.120 did it because just like we never wanted the show 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:54.760 to become an echo chamber, we also recognize that there 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:58.360 are people who violently disagree with us. Yeah, so we're 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:02.160 on airwaves every week pointing out some truths that there 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.200 are sectors of our population that will deny that it 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.719 even exists at a point of wanting to harm us. 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:12.800 I got death threats and knowing that you know, police 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:17.520 cars have radios too. You know, there are moments and 0:14:17.559 --> 0:14:19.600 I've told you this on the show before, where I'm 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.400 preparing to come to this show and i have to 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:28.840 really purposefully pray that I make it back home to 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:32.920 my kids, and I'm not leaving home to do some 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.880 incredible undertaking or take some long trip or going to 0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:38.480 war or any of that. I'm driving to the studio 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:46.080 to record the show, and you know, having to reconcile 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.920 with the idea that for no reason at all, I 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:52.880 might get pulled over. And then I say my name 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:58.160 on this show every show. You take a good amount 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:01.280 of time to do so. I iver's license to someone 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:06.160 who reads that name and recognizes it and is very 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:10.720 troubled by the point of view that I carry. And 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:14.080 when we first started the show, Rams, I don't know 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:16.800 if I've ever confessed this to you or to our listeners, 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:19.880 I'm like, man, we're gonna make some people that we 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:23.840 like uncomfortable. Every week. There's gonna be some people that 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:26.160 hear this, and there's gonna be guilt, and there's gonna 0:15:26.160 --> 0:15:29.080 be a lack of empathy because no one wants to 0:15:29.080 --> 0:15:31.480 be told, hey, you're a bad person, or you're the 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.720 bad guy, or you're the perpetrator of this system that 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:40.560 stands on our necks and I almost bite my tongue 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:45.520 every show to keep from making someone uncomfortable. And that 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:49.760 came up right now because you pointed out empathy, and 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:54.000 the empathy is what makes me let it go. That's 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.280 what makes me say, go ahead, express yourself and tell 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:01.160 people your actual point of you, what life is really 0:16:01.280 --> 0:16:03.600 like through your lens. And the people with empathy, not 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.880 just those that are informed and educated, because there's some informed, 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:09.880 educated people that are still evil, but those who are 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:13.720 kind and genuinely good people, and some that are even 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:17.480 ignorant to some of these truths, their empathy kicks in 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:22.080 and it allows them to at least stop and think like, wow, 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:26.320 is it really like that? And is it always been 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:31.000 that way? Is it always still that way? Crazy? Right? 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:33.320 So every week, bro, I'm really like, man, I don't 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:38.320 want to our show has to make someone uncomfortable every 0:16:38.480 --> 0:16:43.160 time we turn the MIC's on, and I've pressed pause 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:46.200 on myself before to try not to make people uncomfortable. 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:49.320 And that's what this is about. Yeah, this is they 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:52.800 don't want to make people feel bad or guilty or 0:16:54.760 --> 0:17:00.440 uncomfortable about the truth of this country's foundation. I'm glad 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:07.080 you said that. So here's the thing. So I can't 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:09.879 speak for all black people, because who would do that? 0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.840 You know, some people try. Unfortunately, well we're not those people. 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:14.679 I'm not that person. 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:19.600 But I do live a black life, you know, I'm 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:24.040 around black people largely. My family is full of black people. 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:29.680 Many of my friends are black, of course. And maybe 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:33.480 it's just me personally, or maybe this is just an 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.280 acceptable sampling of the population. Granted I live in Arizona, 0:17:37.400 --> 0:17:40.600 so you know, I think this is a pretty good sample. 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:47.120 I don't get a lot of anger. I mean, there 0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:49.359 are people who are very angry, make no mistake. There 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.800 are people who are bitter, people who. 0:17:52.600 --> 0:17:58.400 Really you know, they draw hard lines, you know Black 0:17:58.440 --> 0:18:00.920 people that do that, you know. But for the most part, 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:05.199 everybody kind of gets it, you know, we kind of 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:12.639 understand and everybody recognizes that at our our in our 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:15.400 heart of hearts, our impulse and our and our desire 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:19.720 is to love each other. We don't want anyone to 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:21.600 be punished for anything, and that we all want to 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:25.159 look forward. We want to have a more fair, you know, 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:30.800 balanced world equitable experience with our lives in this country. 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:35.240 But no one's looking for revenge. You know, I don't 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:37.520 get I don't gather that. I certainly am not this. 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:40.200 This show exists because love exists in my heart and 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:42.439 your heart, and I believe that love exists in the world, 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:45.639 and I want there to be more of that. But 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:48.080 in order for that love to really be impactful and 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:50.240 be meaningful, we need to have some understanding, and so 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:54.080 topics like this need to be discussed at length, and 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:58.960 unfortunately that does make some people uncomfortable. Now, I do 0:18:59.000 --> 0:18:59.360 want to. 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:06.520 Talk about the Florida State Board of Education because what 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:08.720 happened there and what brought this to our attention is 0:19:08.720 --> 0:19:13.280 that they voted against teaching critical race theory, so that 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:17.880 is effectively banned in classrooms in Florida. Now, people were 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.439 in the meetings at the school board, passionate people, educated 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:23.159 people that have a lot more to say about it 0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:28.480 than both you and I, and this board held the line, no, 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:32.399 we don't and the thinnest of arguments, which is the 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:35.760 one that I presented when first introducing this topic, here 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.080 is the one that they hold to. You know, we 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:41.159 don't want kids to grow up and feel as though 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:44.800 they should be ashamed of their heritage. We want our 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:48.520 children to be proud to be American, you know, and 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:52.919 critical race theory doesn't teach you not to be proud. 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:55.560 If anything, you know, you can be proud of where 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.160 you come from. You know, that's a story of true 0:19:58.160 --> 0:19:59.080 in individual lives. 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:02.720 And and it's such an insult to our children that 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:05.240 we have to lie to them for them to be 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:08.080 proud or omit the truth in this case. Yeah, So 0:20:10.640 --> 0:20:15.640 the governor of Florida, who's a Republican governor, his name 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:20.200 is Ron Descentis, I want to say, so, he says 0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:25.480 that basically, critical race theory is trying to indoctrinate children 0:20:25.640 --> 0:20:28.800 with ideology. 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:31.520 It's so basically what it is. I have a quote 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:35.760 from doctor Jonathan Cox. Critical race theory is a theoretical 0:20:35.800 --> 0:20:39.080 perspective and practice for examining the role of race and 0:20:39.160 --> 0:20:40.400 racism in society. 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:42.080 So that's what critical race theory is. 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:46.040 And the Republican governor Ron Santas says that what it 0:20:46.119 --> 0:20:49.120 is is it trying to indoctrinate them with an ideology. 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:54.240 And so he's reachings to pretend that race has no 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:56.480 impact on our society. 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:01.680 Yeah, and that is simply not true anywhere you look 0:21:01.720 --> 0:21:04.399 at at it. You know, or at least anywhere of 0:21:04.440 --> 0:21:07.760 the hot button topics that are you know, if you're 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:10.679 talking about do you get service at McDonald's or can 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:13.080 you pump gas? Yeah, pretty much everyone has a more 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:14.800 or less fair share of go at that. Unless you're 0:21:14.800 --> 0:21:19.160 in some place like Bucksaw, Mississippi, or you know, Backwood, 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:21.239 Alabama or something like that, you can stop and get 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:22.880 gas from your car and gone about your business. 0:21:22.880 --> 0:21:27.560 But in terms of you know, and then it's in theory. 0:21:27.760 --> 0:21:31.960 In theory, yes, I've had some uncomfortable situations in Chandler, Arizona. Yeah, 0:21:31.960 --> 0:21:33.760 of course. And you know, the thing is, the odds 0:21:33.800 --> 0:21:36.680 are against you once something happens. What I'm talking about 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:38.520 is just living your day to day life. If he 0:21:38.600 --> 0:21:40.760 wants to say that everyone is the same for the 0:21:40.760 --> 0:21:44.560 most part, we've made it to that place, you know. 0:21:44.640 --> 0:21:47.720 But there are these systems that exist, these invisible systems, 0:21:47.720 --> 0:21:50.040 these structures that are built into the framework of society 0:21:50.440 --> 0:21:57.400 that provide opportunities or to provide opportunities to non milanated individuals, 0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:01.520 or they are hard disadvantages to melanated individuals. That's the 0:22:01.560 --> 0:22:02.199 way I'll say it. 0:22:03.960 --> 0:22:07.959 With respect to housing, with respect to political representation, with 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:12.320 respect to economic opportunities, with respect to criminal justice, with 0:22:12.359 --> 0:22:15.800 respect to I mean, the list goes on healthcare. 0:22:15.920 --> 0:22:17.720 You know, well, what do you mean, Rams is we 0:22:17.760 --> 0:22:19.680 can drink out of the same water fountain us. You 0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:21.600 know what I'm saying, Like, that's such a limited view 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:23.359 of what the life is sit in the back of 0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:28.200 the bus anymore. Again, such a limited view. And at 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:30.960 the Black Lives Matter protests last year, I didn't see 0:22:31.080 --> 0:22:34.960 dogs or water hoses turned on any of the protesters. 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:36.760 And this is what this is a position a lot 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:40.240 of people hold. But again I maintain that it's a 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:45.600 deliberately limited view because it allows their argument to exist 0:22:45.600 --> 0:22:49.240 in a space with other people who really need that 0:22:49.320 --> 0:22:51.760 to be true, because they're scared of coming to terms 0:22:51.760 --> 0:22:54.200 with the fact that this country does have racist roots 0:22:55.440 --> 0:22:57.840 and they want to feel as they don't want to 0:22:57.840 --> 0:23:00.800 feel guilty about their position life. Or maybe they're just 0:23:00.840 --> 0:23:03.440 bad people. Maybe I can't pretend like those people don't 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:06.000 exhist for bad people, and they don't want to they're 0:23:06.040 --> 0:23:08.360 bad people. They know they're bad, but they don't want 0:23:08.480 --> 0:23:10.320 everyone else to know that they're bad, and they harbor 0:23:10.359 --> 0:23:14.199 these horrible views and so they need a narrative like 0:23:14.240 --> 0:23:17.639 this that ignores ninety percent of the reality and just 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:19.399 focuses on the fact that we can drink out of 0:23:19.400 --> 0:23:22.200 the same water fountain in order for the progress they're 0:23:22.320 --> 0:23:27.040 construct of the world, their worldview to be true, for 0:23:27.080 --> 0:23:30.719 them to feel comfortable in their own skin. And I, 0:23:31.240 --> 0:23:32.680 you know, I don't know what it's like to live 0:23:32.720 --> 0:23:35.120 that life, but I gotta imagine that's a tough tough 0:23:35.160 --> 0:23:36.639 thing to wake up to and go to sleep to 0:23:36.720 --> 0:23:42.359 every night. You know, Ignoring something is that's that's a 0:23:42.400 --> 0:23:43.520 play a lot of people make. 0:23:43.560 --> 0:23:46.120 But pretending that the whole world is different, that's got 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:47.280 to take a lot more upkeep. 0:23:47.440 --> 0:23:50.440 I hope it's tough, right because you know, we think about, 0:23:51.359 --> 0:23:53.800 you know, things like karma and that people that are 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:56.959 bad people have their just do coming to them, and 0:23:57.000 --> 0:23:59.119 we know that that's not always true. You know, there 0:23:59.160 --> 0:24:01.320 are some bad people that are bad their whole lives 0:24:02.000 --> 0:24:06.520 and in their own space live a fantastic, bountiful life, 0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:10.280 even if it meant stepping on other people to do so. Yeah, 0:24:11.040 --> 0:24:18.600 so who knows. But the truth is that. 0:24:20.160 --> 0:24:22.440 You know, as far as critical race theories and certain 0:24:22.480 --> 0:24:27.200 matter of fact, let me read this too, the same 0:24:27.280 --> 0:24:31.159 people say that, so it says school children should not 0:24:31.240 --> 0:24:37.159 be taught that America is fundamentally racist, right, which again, 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:39.920 I wouldn't go into a room of third graders and say, hey, guys, 0:24:39.920 --> 0:24:42.560 America is fundamentally racist anymore than I would go into 0:24:42.600 --> 0:24:44.520 a room full of high school students and say that. 0:24:44.600 --> 0:24:46.440 If I were to high school students would be where 0:24:46.480 --> 0:24:48.920 I would do that. But the truth is, you don't 0:24:48.960 --> 0:24:52.480 have to say America is fundamentally racist. You can just 0:24:52.640 --> 0:24:57.960 teach the facts. You know, we looked at these human 0:24:58.000 --> 0:25:00.760 beings like, oh, they can do the late for us. 0:25:00.920 --> 0:25:06.080 We purchased them or otherwise created a system in Africa that, 0:25:06.480 --> 0:25:10.360 you know, manipulated their economy, their local economies. We introduced 0:25:10.400 --> 0:25:14.040 a new form of slavery that did not exist in Africa, where. 0:25:13.840 --> 0:25:16.040 You lose your name, you lose your language, that doesn't 0:25:16.200 --> 0:25:21.000 exist anywhere else in the world in the world, and 0:25:21.000 --> 0:25:23.080