WEBVTT - Who is Rodney Taylor? | Angela Rye SoloPod 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.640 Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:05.080 with Reason Choice Media. 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:08.240 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.160 Home, y'all. This is Angela Rai. It is a Native 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:17.200 Land Pod solo pod day, and I'm really I don't 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:20.280 know if I'll call it excited, but it is an 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:22.800 important conversation that we need to have. I think that 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:27.280 we continue to see in our comments this divide between 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:32.360 black folks who understand, appreciate, and want to be mindful 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:36.440 of what's happening with migrants from all over the world 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:39.839 in this country right now, and those who want to 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.720 turn a blind eye to it because for whatever reason, 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:46.000 they're not able to tap into their humanity. I for one, 0:00:46.040 --> 0:00:48.320 think that it is really important when we have these 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:52.199 conversations about what's happening with people who have been in 0:00:52.200 --> 0:00:55.720 this country, have you know, paid their dues, whether it's 0:00:55.840 --> 0:01:00.840 military service, contributed to a college, environment, our hard workers 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:04.120 in their community, or whatever else, that we have the 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:08.319 opportunity to really have the conversation and name the individuals. 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:11.200 So today, what we are going to do on Native Lampod, 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:14.319 on this solo pod is dig a little deeper into 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:18.280 what is actually happening with the migrant CSIS crisis and 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:22.280 the random ice raids we're seeing in communities throughout the country, 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:26.000 especially when that city is led by a progressive or 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:31.000 a black mayor. And so here we are today. There 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:35.240 was a conversation we had recently with Anana Jomfi, who 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:39.640 is over seeing the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. She 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:41.959 was on with us recently and really shed a lot 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:44.319 of light on this. But Nana hasn't stopped there. She 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:47.080 continues to give us names of people who have been 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:52.960 adversely impacted by this country's really treacherous immigration policies. And 0:01:53.560 --> 0:01:57.320 this one today strikes a completely different cord in a 0:01:57.320 --> 0:01:59.760 lot of ways. And I want you to hear from 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:04.280 Rodney Taylor's fiance. We will be joined by Mildred Pierre. 0:02:04.560 --> 0:02:07.000 So I'm going to invite Mildred Pierre on to talk 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:10.000 about who Rodney Taylor is, to give you all some 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:14.600 background of about him, his story, how he's been impacted 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:19.400 by ice raids and detention, what he's waiting for, what 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:21.760 he needs from all of us, and what the path 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:25.040 forward might look like. We can't continue to have these 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:27.840 conversations in a vacuum, so I'm not going to give 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:30.400 you a stat and you determine how the stat doesn't 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:32.960 apply to you or why this doesn't matter. There are 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:37.080 a ton of people in this country who have contributed 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:41.560 to black history. My best friend and I were mentored 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:43.960 by someone named Carl Mack who came up with a 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:47.360 calendar of Black Facts. And this calendar of Black Facts 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:51.360 had the contributions of Black Americans, black folks throughout the 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:55.200 diaspora every single day. And when you go back through 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:58.720 a calendar like those filled with black facts, and you 0:02:58.840 --> 0:03:01.919 go back through some of the people who have contributed 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:06.280 to hip hop and inventions and civil rights, you're going 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:09.720 to find that many of those people were either immigrants 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:13.160 themselves or they were the children of immigrants. So as 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:15.920 we continue to wrestle with what actually is and not 0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:18.639 what we wish it would be, I think it's important 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:21.160 that we have this conversation in earnest and we have 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:24.000 it with the eye towards humanity. So we're going to 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:29.640 bring Mildred Pierre to the stage. Hi everyone, Hi Mildred, 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.680 thank you so much for being here and being bold 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.720 enough to come forward and tell the story of your 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:39.320 fiance Rodney Taylor. I would love for you to tell 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.880 us who Rodney Taylor is, where you all are located, 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:44.640 and we'll go from there. 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:49.320 Rodney Taylor is my fiance. He's a forty six year 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:52.520 old man that was born in Liberia. He came to 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:57.840 America when he was two. He a community leader, an advocate, 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:02.520 he is a master barber. We live in Loganville, Georgia 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.440 Metropolitan that's the Atlanta metropolitan area, about a hour away 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:07.040 from Atlanta. 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:13.680 And when you think about Rodney outside of his contributions, 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:15.920 because so often, and this is something that Nana has 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:19.200 told us as well, we talk about people in terms 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:22.760 of their work and not necessarily who they are as 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:24.800 human beings. So talk to us about the type of 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:26.000 human being Rodney is. 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:30.320 Rodney is a giver. 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:32.479 Little background. 0:04:32.560 --> 0:04:37.760 So Rodney came to America for medical seeking medical help 0:04:37.880 --> 0:04:42.919 and he received that medical help from Shriner's Children Hospital 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:48.599 and all his medical expenses was free, it was covered. 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:51.679 And so he always have this thing to give back, 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:55.760 God bless me. I have to give back. So from 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:59.040 the beginning of from I think from the time he 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:03.200 was sixteen is when he got certified and got his 0:05:04.279 --> 0:05:08.520 barber schooling out the way he's been giving back. He's 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.120 the first step was his mom is a nurse, so 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:15.960 she would have these patients with their hair grown now 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:18.440 and she will tell him, hey, can you please come 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:23.400 cut my patient's hair because these patients are identified as 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:29.279 HIV AIDS patients and nobody wants to cut their hair, 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:34.040 so Rodney will go in cut their hair. He did 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:36.919 that for years as a young man, and then that 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:41.000 continued into him now, you know, going to senior centers 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:43.640 where now they expect them to come cut their hair 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:47.760 for free, and attending back to school events and cutting 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:53.960 underprivileged communities with free haircuts. He's especially sensitive to single 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:59.440 women that you know, have multiple boys that needed haircuts 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:01.440 in you know, we only have enough for one kid 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:03.080 and that the other three. 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:08.120 He also give back. He fundraised with Susan G. 0:06:08.279 --> 0:06:11.360 Coleman. His mom is a breast cancer survivor and so 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:15.359 for the past two three years now he's been fundraisings 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:20.800 for Susan G. Coleman, giving back in that manner, connecting 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:25.080 with the community by joining the walk here in alliancea 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:30.280 metropolitan area. He is a very kind man and a 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:34.440 very patient man. We are he blended family. I come 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:38.160 with five children. He has two. One of the biggest 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:41.880 thing that was important with dating Rodney or trying to 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:43.400 see if he qualified. 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:44.159 You know what I mean? 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.040 Does he have the patience to deal with a woman 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:51.120 with five kids? And he has proven himself time and 0:06:51.160 --> 0:06:56.600 time and again. My youngest daughter calls him daddy. Her 0:06:56.720 --> 0:07:02.480 dad is physically absent, the last two physically absent, and 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:06.760 he has taken them by his wings, and they see 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:12.480 him as a father. Rodney is caring. He's giving spiritual 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:16.960 men praise many times when I am feeling weak in 0:07:17.000 --> 0:07:20.000 this moment. While he's detained, he calls me and pray 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.120 for me, and when I should be doing that the 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:27.560 way around, selfless man. Even now, while he's detained, he 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:31.760 gives out free haircuts in the detainment center. He makes 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:35.600 sure that these big detainees are at least looking nice 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:39.920 before they go home to their to their native where 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:40.480 they were born. 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.800 Rather, Yeah, that's. 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:48.280 Rodney does he Has he been mildred? Has he been 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:50.960 back to Liberia since he left when he was two? 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.520 No, he doesn't even know what Liberia looks like. Rodney 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:57.320 came here when he was two and never been back. 0:07:57.960 --> 0:07:59.880 He has no idea what that like. 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:05.280 And I'm asking that because I think that for many 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:07.760 of us, we would understand, right, somebody that I don't 0:08:07.760 --> 0:08:10.480 have any memories. I don't think from before I was three, 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:14.600 So a lot of people, you know, when you contextualize 0:08:14.600 --> 0:08:16.760 it in that way, you're like, oh, wait, I don't 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:19.400 actually have a election of that place. And this is 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.480 where he calls home. He's made it his home through 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:25.640 service and so many other ways. You talked about the 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:30.400 patience he exhibits as a father, But I also want 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:34.760 to talk about when you all got engaged in, how 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:36.920 you all knew that that was going to be your 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:37.440 next step. 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.679 So I had a fortieth party, and I've always wanted 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.480 this fortieth and I'm like, I want affordieth because I 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:45.680 haven't celebrated my birthday. 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:47.440 God knows, I can't remember it. 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:53.000 And so had we had a five year plan, we'll 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:55.839 get engaged at a five year mark. Well on my 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:59.200 fortieth that was the third year mark. So that's not 0:08:59.240 --> 0:09:01.920 what I was expecting at all. So my family members, 0:09:01.960 --> 0:09:05.080 I'm originally from Florida, they drove up, they flew in, 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:09.320 his family came, friends, colleagues, everybody showed up. 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:12.160 It was a party. We had a blast. Why aybody 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:12.640 looking at me? 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:16.000 I know, I know I am the you know, it's 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:16.920 my day or whatever. 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.240 But while they have me on stage or whatever, I 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:21.000 don't know what the MC is doing, but they nim 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:21.319 do his. 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:23.520 Thing and I look in the corner of my eye 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:23.920 and I'm. 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:28.160 Like what, Oh my god. He had a box and 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:30.280 the ring he had it opened, Like what you're doing. 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:33.840 We're not at the five year mark. What are you doing? 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:36.720 I'm like, are you sure? And he was like yeah, 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.240 And then everybody's waiting for me to say I do, 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:42.840 but I'm still our. I do yes to the ring 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:45.520 and I'm like, I'm still shocked, Like we're not We're 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:47.960 not at the five year mark yet. So that was 0:09:48.000 --> 0:09:54.240 pretty cool. That was an awesome surprise from then. Uh 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:56.360 you know, I was still on my little high of 0:09:56.520 --> 0:09:58.000 being newly engaged. 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:03.000 And eleven days later he gets detained. That was very, 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:06.880 very hard. We had just decided on a date for 0:10:07.000 --> 0:10:07.520 our wedding. 0:10:09.200 --> 0:10:09.880 What is the date? 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:16.959 February twenty eighth, twenty seven, twenty twenty seven, so to 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:22.880 twenty eight, twenty seven, and his family from Liberia called 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:26.960 and was like his stepdad rather, so we need your measurements. 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:28.880 We gotta you know, fit you and. 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:32.280 What it's only been a couple hours. 0:10:32.920 --> 0:10:36.240 That was pretty cool, But that that came to a 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:41.280 very quick, short lived moment of. 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:45.199 Excitement when he got detained only eleven days later. 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:51.760 So eleven days after he proposed to you, you all 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:55.079 just set your wedding date. One thing that stood out 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:57.160 to me too, Beldrid, as you said, you know, he 0:10:58.400 --> 0:11:01.120 calls you from the detention facility and praise for you. 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:07.600 Can you talk about you know, it's now been almost seven. 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:11.280 Months, in eighty seven days, one. 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:14.720 Hundred and eighty seven days, So talk about that impact. 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:19.080 You guys have seven kids together with your blended family, 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:23.360 talk about the impact on you. Rodney's mother and your children. 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:33.479 Rodney's mother, Rodney's sister, Rodney's brother, Rodney's aunt, cousins, uncles, nieces, nephews, clients, 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:36.400 Oh my god, it's clients. Some of them have not 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:38.520 gotten in America since the last time he touched their head. 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:41.880 They refused to cheat on him, right, they don't want 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:46.319 to cheat on his Barbara and the Barbara the community. 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.800 But then we'll start at home. His kids, they didn't 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:55.200 believe it. Our kids, we didn't believe it. I thought 0:11:55.240 --> 0:11:57.439 it was like a scene from a movie, like who 0:11:57.440 --> 0:11:59.199 are these people and why they why is. 0:11:59.160 --> 0:11:59.920 The car surround it? 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:02.880 I didn't know much about ice until he got picked up. 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:08.920 This was a learning curve for us. Emotionally, it was like, uh, 0:12:09.120 --> 0:12:15.319 he'll be home soon, It'll turn around us temporary m 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.880 My son took it the hardest, him and my two 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:27.040 youngest daughters. I've had to seek therapy for him. He's 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:31.320 my only son. Rodney took him as his own and 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:38.600 separation anxiety. Ethan started acting out. And Ethan is an 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:40.880 A plus student. His GPA is like a four point 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:44.800 zero three and the boys in the tenth grade and 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.920 his study habits started to change and try to understand 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:51.760 whyse because Rodney's not here, It's like, Mom, does that 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:53.439 mean I have to be the man of the house. 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:56.719 I know his. 0:12:57.040 --> 0:13:01.240 Children, you know, it's been really hard for them to cope, 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:08.600 Like is my dadd ever coming back? For my two 0:13:08.720 --> 0:13:11.840 younger children that call him dad, you know, it was 0:13:11.880 --> 0:13:15.480 hard for them too. They didn't know they saw him 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:18.080 get detained in front of me, in front of you know, 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:19.880 it happened as on the way to school. 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:22.800 They cried and cried. I remember the school called me. 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:27.240 He was like, is everything okay? Because you know, and 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:28.839 I'm like, you know, I have had to tell them 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:33.800 what happened. And to this day, like recently, my one 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:35.440 of my daughters, she went to summer camp. 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:37.480 There was a gentleman there that looks just like Rodney. 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.640 She cried, she thought that was him, and when she 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.360 quickly realized that was him. 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.000 She's like, oh my god, I missed my daddy. Mommy, 0:13:46.040 --> 0:13:48.160 when are we going to go see him? And is 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.160 he okay? When is he coming home? Like why every 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.480 time we go see him, he doesn't come with us. 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:54.880 And now they mad at me because they think it's 0:13:54.960 --> 0:13:56.400 my fault and he's not coming with us. 0:13:57.679 --> 0:13:59.920 Why are we leaving him behind? I remember the first. 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:01.679 Time I five to rolled through a tantrum, she put 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:05.520 herself on the floor and nasty, dirty floor. Mommy, He's 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:07.920 got to come with us. Why is he behind the wall? 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:09.920 And the wall is you know when you do the 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:14.080 visits is it's a it's a clear glass and it's 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:20.680 the phone that was hard to financially our income. You know, 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:27.400 we feel it emotionally, it's you know, you finally find 0:14:27.440 --> 0:14:31.280 love somebody you trust that your kids love because I had. 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.960 I went through my kids first. With Rodney, I went 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:35.800 through my kids. I said, do you guys like this man? 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:39.400 If you guys don't, we could close this chapter. The 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:41.960 kids love him, so he got it to put in 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:44.040 the door with me because of my kids. 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:45.320 Kids. 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:48.920 I absolutely love him, and so it's hard financially, it's 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:50.280 hard emotionally. 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:52.560 I don't want to carry my house. 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:53.880 That's a man's job. 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:56.920 A so. 0:14:57.120 --> 0:15:01.400 And then romantically, I had purchase tickets to go on 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:07.280 dates in advance, and those dates has passed him. 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:09.560 Praying for me is trying to hold the household? 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:13.160 Is like when Moses couldn't hold up the tablets anymore, 0:15:13.200 --> 0:15:16.760 and then Aaron had to come. Other folks had to 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:20.080 come help support his arm up as prayer. Is that 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.280 support up to help me carry this family? 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.480 You know, I want to go Mildred back to the 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:45.360 day I had. You know again, people, when they write 0:15:45.360 --> 0:15:48.200 these stories, it's you know who this person is in 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.840 terms of their occupation and the fact that they were 0:15:51.280 --> 0:15:55.200 detained by ice. And sometimes they'll tell you for how long. 0:15:55.920 --> 0:15:59.040 But in this instance, you're saying that he was detained 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:00.800 in front of your children. And can you take us 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:02.440 back to that day and what happened. 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:07.760 We were getting ready for school a Wednesday morning, January fifteenth. 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.520 It was about seven forty five in the morning. We 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:14.000 pulled off. But the day before there was a gentleman 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:17.360 that was in my driveway and he was looking at 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.040 my mailmarks. He was looking at one of my vehicles 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:22.520 that I drive. I walked up to him. I said, sir, 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.600 it's everything okay. I noticed he had a gun on 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:25.000 his hip. 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:26.600 I asked him. 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:27.880 I said, are you law enforcement? 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:28.520 He said no. 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:31.560 I said, okay, well who are you? And he was like, well, 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:34.560 this vehicle looked like it was an accident. I said 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:37.840 it clearly, it was not an accident. There's no the 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:39.840 car's not hit. So how might I help? 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.000 You said, while I'm looking for someone, do you know 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:43.200 Rodney Taylor? I said I do. 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:47.120 He said, okay, he may have driven this vehicle. I said, 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.440 nobody drives his vehicle. Only I drive this vehicle. And 0:16:50.480 --> 0:16:53.880 then so he was just asking me questions about Rodney, 0:16:53.880 --> 0:16:56.600 and I'm like, well, who are you? He never identified 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:00.840 himself and he quickly left, jumping the car left. The 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.400 next morning, I live like near a call to sack. 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:06.400 I look to the corner of my eye, I see 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.040 the car parked in the call to Sack, but I 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:10.159 didn't think nothing of it. So what we get in 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:13.240 the car? We drive off with the same car gets 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:16.359 behind me and there's two more cars that blocks me 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:18.200 from the front, so I can't go up, I can't 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:21.919 move forward, I can't move backwards. And the same gentleman 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.440 from the day before, get out, get out, Rodney Taylor, 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:30.480 get out. Guns drawn. It's like five six men armed, 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:36.240 get out, get out, Rodney Taylor, get out. Granted, the 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:39.359 cars aren't marked. These people aren't marked. Nobody. It doesn't 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:42.600 say ice, it doesn't say police. They weren't black and brown. 0:17:42.720 --> 0:17:45.919 And I'm like, who are these people? 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:51.240 Well, you're being arrested for And they didn't really give 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:55.440 They just said you're being arrested and who were you guys? 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:59.800 Taking it Ice Atlanta? And I'm like, what is that? 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:04.119 What is ice? The kids are crying, Mommy, they're taking 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:07.600 daddy while they're arresting him. I don't like the police. 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:10.239 And my daughter straight asked one of them because they 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:12.119 came to my kids window too, because they were sitting 0:18:12.280 --> 0:18:16.120 He was in a passenger passenger, seeall was driving? Were 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:18.280 you taking my daddy? Why are you taking my daddy? 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:21.800 And uh? One of the Ice guys actually felt bad 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:24.119 and it was like, we were just taking your daddy. 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.040 Your daddy would be okay. And they were crying. 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:30.040 They were crying, and I couldn't cry as much as 0:18:30.040 --> 0:18:31.959 I wanted to because I had to kind of like 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:35.720 put up the front to be calm but really clear 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:37.800 my mind about who do I call? 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:38.080 Now? 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:39.399 Where is Ice? 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:40.320 What does that mean? 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:42.960 Do we have a phone? Umber asks the gentleman for 0:18:43.040 --> 0:18:46.000 the car, like, who were you? Never gave it to me? 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.120 Rodnie was like, call his lawyer. So I did googled 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.760 Ice Atlanta and that's how I learned where that is 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:57.800 and what that means. It was horrible that morning the kids. 0:18:57.800 --> 0:18:59.440 I still dropped him off to school because I didn't 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:00.920 know what to do. I still had to go to work, 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:07.240 pretend like nothing happened. Called his lawyer and then shortly thereafter, 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:10.280 the teacher calls me, what's going on with Abigail? What's 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:12.840 going on with Annie? Two different schools now, two different 0:19:12.840 --> 0:19:17.040 directors calling me, and the same thing. The kids are inconsolable. 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:19.000 Can you speak to them? 0:19:19.040 --> 0:19:19.480 And I did. 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:23.400 I spoke to both of my girls, and the kids 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:25.440 thought by the time they got home that he would 0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.000 be home. So when I picked him up from school, 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:29.960 they was like, so, where's where's daddy? Is he here? 0:19:30.480 --> 0:19:33.120 He looked him on the whole house looking for him. 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:36.640 They thought it was some type of joke. Mommy's when 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:39.200 is he coming home? Can you go pick him up? 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:40.880 Why he's not home yet? 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:44.200 I didn't know what to say. I think that was 0:19:44.240 --> 0:19:47.400 the hardest thing, Like what do you say? 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:52.719 What do you say? His son he found out when 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:54.480 he went to the barbershop. We didn't even get a 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.480 chance to tell him. And I was able to contact 0:19:57.560 --> 0:19:59.680 one up because Rodney had a client to waiting before 0:19:59.680 --> 0:20:04.080 haircu Yes, right, you got people waiting for his services 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:05.720 and they were trying to figure out where he is. 0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:08.880 And I had to find a way to communicate with 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:12.440 his clients to let them know that he's not available. 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:17.560 And then who who to call? Who would you trust 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:17.800 to know? 0:20:19.480 --> 0:20:20.320 Is this a setup? 0:20:21.040 --> 0:20:22.919 How and why did they pick him up? 0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:26.040 It was a lot when they when you when you 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:28.399 dig into how and why did they pick him up? 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:31.520 Did they ever tell you that it was about a 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:34.800 case from when he was sixteen years old that he's 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.040 been pardoned for. When did you find that out? 0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:41.200 I found that out two days later. 0:20:42.080 --> 0:20:45.240 Well, how did they give you any explanation for it? 0:20:45.640 --> 0:20:50.760 Like normally, and I've done more federal losstuff. I worked 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:55.720 in Congress. So a pardon means that it is not 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:58.120 on your record. It means it essentially is like, I'm 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:02.320 not guilty now for what's happened. If they're resting the 0:21:02.520 --> 0:21:06.920 entire basis for a potential deportation of Rodney Taylor on 0:21:06.960 --> 0:21:10.159 a case that he was pardoned for from when he 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:13.880 was sixteen years old, how are they relying on that? Now? 0:21:13.880 --> 0:21:15.080 What is your attorney saying? 0:21:16.240 --> 0:21:17.080 That is wild? 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:17.600 Right? 0:21:18.720 --> 0:21:23.639 Rodney is so rare. His attorney never seen an undocumented 0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:28.840 person within it with a pardon. Rodney was accused of burglary. 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:35.520 He pleaded guilty back in ninety seven. He was seventeen. 0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:36.840 He was a child, he was a kid. 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:39.360 It's almost thirty years ago. For those of us who 0:21:39.400 --> 0:21:41.639 have a hard time with math, right, it's twenty eight 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:43.719 years ago, correct. 0:21:44.440 --> 0:21:49.719 And he was profiled Who's railroad? He was a black 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:54.600 young team in an area home. As a matter of fact, 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:56.520 the day before. He had just came from Shriner's Hospital 0:21:56.560 --> 0:22:03.199 in South Carolina for treatment for his prosthetics, and he 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:06.040 was home waiting to go register for his parents to 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:10.080 register him for school m because he had just moved 0:22:10.320 --> 0:22:13.840 down to Georgia, and so he just so happened to 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:16.080 be home. There was a burglary that happened in the 0:22:16.080 --> 0:22:19.560 neighborhood and they saw him sitting on the porch. They 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:22.639 accused him. They said, you have you did it because 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:28.000 you're you're home. He was scared. He was alone, no parents, 0:22:28.080 --> 0:22:29.679 his parents are not available at the time, and they 0:22:29.720 --> 0:22:31.840 picked him up and so they told him, if you 0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:36.040 don't plead guilty, you're didn't do five years. 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:37.960