WEBVTT - Civic Cipher 080721 Judge Cody Williams 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:02.640 Welcome to another episode of Civic Cipher. I'm your host, 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:04.240 ramses Jah. 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:07.560 They call me q Ward, but typically because they just 0:00:07.640 --> 0:00:09.840 don't feel like pronouncing Quentin. 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:13.880 Yes, indeed, and we are back of ben you one 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:17.400 more gain true to form to talk about the goings 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:22.320 on in Black America. But today is a special episode 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:26.279 because we have a special guest. He goes by the 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.600 name of the honorable. Rarely we get to say that 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:31.880 we have like the top dog in here, the Honorable 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:34.800 Cody Williams. Now, now I want you to talk about yourself, 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:36.519 and we're gonna spend a lot of time talking about you, 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.640 but just so you know who we have in the 0:00:39.680 --> 0:00:45.919 studio today. He's been a city council member. He started 0:00:45.960 --> 0:00:50.120 his first election one his first election in nineteen ninety 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:56.120 three and has held an elected position ever since. At present, 0:00:56.360 --> 0:01:01.600 he is a court justice and for many years in 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:06.280 the state of Arizona, he was the only black court justice, 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:08.560 and now there are more, which I think is a 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:11.520 testament to the fact that the world is changing for 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:13.840 the better for black and brown folks. You know, I 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:16.080 tend to be more optimistic than some folks, but you 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:19.440 know I'm not going to knock you c but until 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.720 it was one of six City Council and Justice of 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:24.840 the Peace elections, and so we're very honored to have 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:28.360 you here today, So thank you for joining us. Yes, sir, 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:33.920 but before we get to our conversations with you, I 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:36.680 want to talk about Simone Biles. 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:40.080 So, Q, is it okay if we get to some 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:44.560 ebony excellence? Absolutely all right. All I do is win, 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:46.000 no matter what. 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:50.240 So I'm admittedly not a person who follows sports or 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:52.600 anything like that. I'm a music I always have been. 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:57.760 But you can't help but miss Simone Biles. You know, 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:02.320 either you miss her because she's not performing or you know, 0:02:02.440 --> 0:02:05.280 she's not making the headlines that you would like, but 0:02:05.360 --> 0:02:09.359 she's making some other headlines. And over the past week, 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:11.919 i'd say a lot of people have been very critical 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:15.440 of her for not performing in the Olympics or you know, 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:19.000 sitting out certain events. Q. You could help me out 0:02:19.000 --> 0:02:21.320 a lot better with what these things are called or whatever. 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:25.320 But as it turns out, she was prioritizing her mental health. 0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:26.720 You know, we found that out. 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:30.400 And she had a condition called the twisties, which I 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:33.519 believe is when you are disoriented when you're flipping in 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:35.960 the air. She's a gymnast for those who don't know, 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:39.919 and she does the like acrobatic maneuvers and that's how 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:43.120 she places and wins all these gold medals. In addition 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:46.919 to that, her aunt passed away. I want to say 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:51.520 it was last week. And my opinion is that you know, 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:55.760 black bodies are very often commodified, and. 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:02.160 You know it, it's up to us to draw the line. 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.000 It's up to us to prioritize ourselves because historically we've 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:08.720 seen that folks, you know, don't often prioritize our health, 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:10.320 our mental well being and so forth. 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:11.240 And she took a stand. 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:14.760 She did that and just like with Naomi, I want 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:17.680 to say, Naomi Osaka, yes, correct it. 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:18.400 Okay, very good. 0:03:19.919 --> 0:03:22.360 You know, she she stood up and we salute her 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.280 and we commend her, and so we want to give 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:27.840 her a shout out for our Ebony Excellence segment of 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:28.480 the week. 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.560 So shout out to Simon Biles. 0:03:31.600 --> 0:03:35.280 Congratulations to her on winning the bronze medal in the 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:39.280 balance beam. You know, she took some time off to 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.480 look after her own mental health, but she did decide 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:46.640 after all to compete and she did metal and. 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:48.400 I think she said that that was her the most 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:52.000 special one. It was like a very special medal overall, 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:53.200 even though it wasn't cold. 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:55.920 She actually said that it was the one that she 0:03:56.040 --> 0:04:01.440 did for herself. Oh, because she's un understood that when 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:04.640 you are the best in what you do, there's a 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:08.040 certain kind of pressure that everyone else who does it 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:12.400 just doesn't have. And that kind of pressure can get 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.680 to you if you don't do this for yourself, If 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.560 your only thought is to do it because I gotta 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:21.719 do it, because I'm the only one that can do it, 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:25.320 i gotta do it for the country, family, everybody else. 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:28.360 At some point, that's a lot of pressure and it 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:31.880 may not even be fun anymore. But to be able 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:33.760 to come back and say I'm doing this one for 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:38.000 me and no matter what happens, I'm happy about it, 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:42.040 that's the great message. That is a tremendous message to 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:44.560 anyone else who may be going through this. So don't 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:48.360 let the pressures of others down your program. 0:04:48.760 --> 0:04:50.440 Absolutely. I love that. I love that. 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:55.000 So once again, some owe Biles Ebony excellence in its 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:58.520 purest form, and we love to see it around here. 0:04:58.839 --> 0:05:00.640 And the voice that you do heard. 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:06.200 Again was the Honorable Judge Cody Williams, and the reason 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.200 that you're here today is because. 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:10.960 You're a great man. 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:16.359 You work in the criminal justice system, and you know, 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:19.240 historically on the show, you know, as I mentioned before, 0:05:19.279 --> 0:05:23.880 we were before we were you know, on air broadcasting 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:28.760 that you know, Q and I have historically been very 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:32.279 critical of policing systems and the criminal justice system and 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:37.960 its entirety. We feel, and it's generally understood that black 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:45.560 people are disproportionately affected negatively by the criminal justice system. 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:53.400 A lot of outcomes tend to follow wealth and culpability 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:58.200 sometimes does not really enter into the scenarios often as 0:05:58.560 --> 0:06:00.440 as frequently as we'd like, we'd that to be. 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:01.640 One hundred percent of the time. 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.920 When it does fall short, typically black and brown folks 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.080 are at the. 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:08.120 Short get the short end of that stick. 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:15.400 And you're a person who stepped up in the early 0:06:15.520 --> 0:06:19.719 nineties and really started a political career and then now 0:06:19.839 --> 0:06:23.520 as a judge, have some degree of influence over those 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:27.119 those outcomes. One of my first questions that I wanted 0:06:27.120 --> 0:06:31.320 to ask was what things have you seen. 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:34.279 Change in your. 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:37.400 Time as an elected official for the better for black 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:40.200 and brown folks, Because again, we've been critical, but we'd 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.360 love to discuss some favorable things. I'm not talking about 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:46.159 necessarily Obama, you know, those sorts of things, but things 0:06:46.200 --> 0:06:49.800 that you know are measurable or otherwise feel like it's 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:51.359 a better reality. 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:54.160 Okay, Well, first of all, I have to caveat and 0:06:54.600 --> 0:07:00.000 just remind you that yesterday I was black, Today I'm black, 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:04.240 and more than likely tomorrow I'll be black. And so 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:09.880 I've always appreciated and approached the things that I do 0:07:10.000 --> 0:07:14.200 as a black man, as an African American man, and 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:19.760 so my efforts have always been collective. I came from 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:27.360 a generation, if you will, that marched together, that sacrifice 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:33.840 their individual things to create collective outcomes. And when you 0:07:34.000 --> 0:07:37.400 think about the fact that the population in the state 0:07:37.440 --> 0:07:42.440 of Arizona, City of Phoenix, Americopa County of African Americans 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:46.640 is at three to five percent, to be able to 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:50.800 say an African American can be elected in any position, 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.280 says that you have to build bridges. You have to 0:07:54.280 --> 0:08:04.720 build bridges between various communities, various races, ethnicity, religion, sex, orientation, 0:08:05.000 --> 0:08:09.400 all of those things matter. Because I can't run for 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:13.520 an office and win just because black people vote for me. 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:16.960 I could have every black person in state of Arizona 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.679 vote for me in my small area, and I would 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:24.520 not have enough to win against someone similarly positioned. So 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:28.960 it's important that my message resonate, and it's important that 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:34.000 as things have evolved and changed. The biggest change that 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:38.760 I've seen more recently is that there are more folk 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:44.280 willing to listen to the black person's message than in 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:47.960 the past. Because, let's say when I was on the 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:51.320 city council, I was elected member of city council nineteen 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:55.240 ninety three, the only African American owned city council. However, 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:58.120 there had been a gentleman before me that had been 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:01.800 there twenty two years. After my eight there was a 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:06.120 gentleman African American who was there for twelve years, but 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.840 once that he ended his term that twelve year period 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.079 excuse me, twenty four year period, twenty two year period ended. 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.319 We haven't seen another African American on the Phoenix City 0:09:17.360 --> 0:09:23.319 Council because the numbers of Latino voters and Anglo voters 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:29.480 that have populated the New Phoenix have not seen enough 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:33.040 of us running for those offices. And the more that happens, 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:37.040 the more you're going to see African Americans getting elected. 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.920 It's not like being in Atlanta or some other place 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:44.000 where the African American population is the majority, where you 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:46.760 will see two or three or four African Americans in 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.960 an election. New York City's election showed that there are 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:56.280 a number of very qualified minority candidates that can be elected. 0:09:56.720 --> 0:10:00.600 So what I see from a change perspective is that 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:06.040 more communities in our twenty four city metropolitan area, more 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:11.840 communities around the country are seeing individual African Americans choose 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:18.160 to run for office knowing they don't have a minority 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:23.960 population that exceeds the broader population, and many of them 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:28.520 are still being successful. And that is huge as it 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:34.280 relates to our future because without elected individuals who come 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:39.400 from those community, who produce their actions based on being 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:44.160 African American and experiencing those issues that you and Q 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.280 talk about on a regular basis. You know, I'm a 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:49.800 black man and I've seen it. I've been in that 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.480 car that has been pulled over and I wasn't the guy, 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:55.840 but I looked I fit the bill, all right. I 0:10:55.960 --> 0:11:00.120 raised my two black children knowing that you're going to 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:03.640 be big and black and you have to humble yourselves 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:07.720 in some situation to stay alive. I'd rather you stay 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:10.480 alive so we can get in the game. But if 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:13.440 your mouth gets you in a place where it creates 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:16.720 an outcome where you die, then all I have the 0:11:16.760 --> 0:11:20.040 ability to do is hire the mortuary and sue somebody. 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.240 And I would rather you be alive and let me 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:27.000 get in there and fight with you, which sends that 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.280 broad a message we need to fight together. I can't 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:34.080 have what we're doing now just be about young people 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:37.960 in the streets. You got to have the middle age, 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:41.040 you gotta have the seniors. You gotta let everybody who's 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:44.360 ever cared about a black person be a part of 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:46.400 caring about all of us. 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.080 Excellent, excellent man. 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:55.480 So there's something you said in it. You know, we 0:11:55.520 --> 0:12:00.240 talked about this the first time that we met. There's 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:08.200 something to empowering generations to come. You know, this this 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.600 plight of black people and brown people, and our Native 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.920 brothers and sisters and so forth, all of our individual plights, 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:17.920 which I believe are all kind of you know, there's 0:12:18.280 --> 0:12:22.959 yeah connected, We're all connected to each other's outcomes. 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:24.480 It's not. 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.439 It and we've seen it hasn't been solved in one generation. 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:30.600 This isn't the first generation to take to the streets. 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.160 This isn't the first generation, certainly not the first generation 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:35.960 to run for office or to have a voice, or 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:38.520 to you know, anything like that. How do we go 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:46.040 about empowering ourselves or understanding that we can. 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:47.200 Hold elected office too? 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:49.679 Because when I look at you, I see somebody who's special, 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:52.520 a brilliant mind, a very composed man. 0:12:53.000 --> 0:12:55.040 But I'll be hopefully. 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:56.760 This doesn't sound like I'm feeling myself or anything, but 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:58.680 I know that when people look at me and they're like, 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.079 you're on the radio, I'm like, yeah, you know, they 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:03.440 think that I have some special magic powers and that's 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:03.920 not true. 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:05.920 I'm just a normal guy who happens to do this. 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.880 What is it that we can do to increase the number, 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:13.960 that increase the representation, to ensure that there's you know. 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:16.400 A snowball effective of the things that you started? 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:20.640 Good question. I think there's it's a dual component. There's 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:27.559 an ask aspect ask and there is an offer aspect 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:33.240 I can offer to have you come into my court 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:38.600 being in turn take tours. When I got elected as 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:42.880 a city council person, I created something called the District 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:45.360 Date Youth City Council. 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.400 I read about that, Yeah, and I brought. 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.600 In at least two members of every elementary school, in 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:56.520 high school and junior high school that has that was 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.280 in my council district, and that might be forty to 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:03.400 fifty sixty kids in city Hall. I toured them to 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:06.480 the police station. I toured them to the fire station. 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:11.360 I toured them to the court Phoenix Municipal Court. I 0:14:11.440 --> 0:14:14.920 toured them to the airport because I wanted them to 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:20.440 feel comfortable showing up at city Hall. Because a lot 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:24.080 of times what we forget to remind our young people 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.280 and people in general, is that if you pay taxes 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:31.280 anywhere of any amount, you're paying for criminal justice. You're 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:36.240 paying for the government structure. So if you commit a 0:14:36.240 --> 0:14:39.880 crime and you're paying for the salary of the officer 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:43.840 who's arresting you, you're paying for the salary of the 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:47.400 person who puts you in the holding cell, paying for 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.800 the judges, the prosecutors, and the defense attorney. And if 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.120 you're convicted, you are paying for the person who puts 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.760 you in jail and watches over you. Because you are 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:02.200 paying taxes. And this is your community. It's not their community, 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:05.160 it's our community. And so you've got to get out 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.320 that box. And it was important for me to bring 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:12.040 kids to the court in the same way. So I 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:17.240 do my South Mountain Justice Court teen Court, and we 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:23.280 then are able to take juvenile juveniles who may be 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:28.000 placed in that system and prevent recidivism by pulling them 0:15:28.040 --> 0:15:31.680 out and allowing their peers to actually hear their cases. 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.760 As long as their parents are part of it. Then 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:40.480 they are judicated, questioned, and sentenced by their peers. And 0:15:40.520 --> 0:15:45.920 those sentences may include restitution by writing letters, going to 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:50.120 paid over the graffiti that they did, going and fixing 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:54.120 things that they may have broken, apologizing to their parents 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.920 or to the adult, or through whoever the other child 0:15:57.040 --> 0:16:00.800 may be. But these have tried to keep folk out 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:05.040 of that system in the future. And once you become 0:16:05.160 --> 0:16:09.880 comfortable in the structure and say that I'm not afraid 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:12.960 to go to city Hall and do some research for 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:16.760 us it, I demystify it and I'm not afraid to 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:18.960 go into the court because every time I've been there 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:22.720 it's been a positive experience. As long as you're not 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:26.560 that person who's in the orange jumpsuit, you've got control 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:29.880 over everything. And that's what I need to remind them, 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.360 and that's what I hope to make sure when they 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.840 go home and talk to their parents, they share their experiences, 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:39.920 because many of the parents may not have positive input 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:43.920 our experience in that system. And so hopefully there's just 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:49.240 this continued invitation. So I'm asking an offering, but I 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:52.720 also need those who want to if that's a twinkle 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.960 in their eye about being an elected official. You have 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:59.360 to ask all of us who are currently how it happened. 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:01.720 Come talk to us, call us on the phone, ask 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:04.080 us if they get you know, we can have some coffee, 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:06.439 Ask us if if there are some committees that I 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:09.760 can appoint you to that start to give you access 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:13.920 to the broader community. And that then is the ask part. 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:16.840 So it's a two way street. I can't find you 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:20.080 if I don't know you exist, But if you have 0:17:20.160 --> 0:17:22.720 a concept and idea and you won't share it with me, 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:23.960 I can't help you with it. 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:28.360 Very good. I feel like. 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:36.600 On the show, we and we try not to, but 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.720 I do recognize that a lot of times we tell 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:45.000 the same stories over and over again. We just swap 0:17:45.040 --> 0:17:47.720 out the name, swap out the location, you know, but 0:17:48.720 --> 0:17:57.000 there is very much an attitude or energy that underscores 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:02.000 the show is that could be described as us versus them, right, 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:05.480 And I try not to lean into that too much, 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:09.840 because I do recognize that we all need to move 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:14.520 forward together because short of an entire race of people 0:18:14.560 --> 0:18:17.480 disappearing off the planet, we're stuck on the same ball, 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.520 and we have to share its resources and hopefully share 0:18:21.119 --> 0:18:25.480 more happy exchanges with one another than you know, negative exchanges. 0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:28.800 I do believe that that's really what we can pursue. 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:33.119 I do believe that's possible, but in this space, because 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:41.280 the amount of stimulation it can be overwhelming that I 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.639 do believe it is very easy to lose sight of 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:47.080 the fact that we are participants the same as anyone else. 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:50.679 It's not in us versus them. We have a responsibility 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:52.600 and a right to fix our system. 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:54.240 You know, we may not. 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.960 Have created it or you know whatever, but if you're 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:00.479 absolutely right, we pay taxes and we maintain it, then 0:19:00.520 --> 0:19:04.200 we own our fair share of it, and we are 0:19:04.359 --> 0:19:07.800 entitled to, you know, make our voices heard, either by 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:13.360 by voting or by you know, holding an elected. 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:15.280 Position in our communities. 0:19:15.320 --> 0:19:18.359 And so I appreciate that answer and that response because 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:22.960 I think that for me you know, every so often 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:25.760 I need to reset just to make sure that you 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:28.200 know I'm not getting too far you know, left or 0:19:28.240 --> 0:19:30.040 right of what it is that I'm trying to do here. 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:34.240 But with that said, you know, again on the show, 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:38.160 you know Q and I have been you know, there's 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:43.439 been tons of examples of us talking about just the 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:47.560 way policing is done, especially with black and brown bodies. 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:50.199 And I can tell you all all day that you know, 0:19:50.240 --> 0:19:52.720 I do believe like we do the show, and we 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:56.840 empower allies and we empower ourselves because we believe that 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:00.159 by doing that, we can create a better space for 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:04.159 all of us. And Q, I'll let Q say his 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:07.320 position on that. 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:13.760 Well, I guess my position is not as optimistic as 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:18.160 my brothers, and it really relates to what he just said. 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:24.360 Doing this show, it is kind of our responsibility to 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:33.719 digest this sometimes difficult story over and over again with 0:20:34.080 --> 0:20:39.400 different names, and it can be emotionally and mentally draining 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:44.160 for me. But part of why we do this show 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:50.200 is not just to encourage our allies, but to encourage 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:53.600 each other as well. We want to make sure that 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:56.720 we realize that there is a possibility of a better 0:20:56.760 --> 0:21:00.840 world for us, for our posterity, for our family in 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:04.680 our communities, and the world that they will grow up in. 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:09.639 We have to make sure or at least try to 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:14.679 feel that there is hope on the other side of 0:21:14.680 --> 0:21:20.920 this hill that we're climbing. I am not a eternal pessimist, 0:21:21.480 --> 0:21:23.879 but I have to be authentic and real about the 0:21:23.920 --> 0:21:29.680 things that we do have to digest and reconcile every 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:31.080 week as we do this show. 0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:37.480 Well, if you would allow, I feel your pain, because 0:21:37.600 --> 0:21:42.560 I feel very similar in the way that it keeps happening. 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:48.159 And just remember that we didn't have the social media outlet, 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:52.160 we didn't have camera phones growing up, but we always 0:21:52.200 --> 0:22:01.080 had situations where officers were abusing us. I have stories 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:05.880 of officers driving you home or following you to your 0:22:05.960 --> 0:22:09.040 house instead of giving you a dui. You know. I've 0:22:09.080 --> 0:22:13.600 got stories of you know, when Powell had officers, they 0:22:13.640 --> 0:22:16.760 would come out and play ball with you. You know, So 0:22:17.520 --> 0:22:20.600 every time it's an US versus them, that sort of 0:22:20.680 --> 0:22:25.240 predicates that there should be a victor. You know, typically 0:22:25.520 --> 0:22:29.639 US versus them as a competition, and that versus part 0:22:29.760 --> 0:22:35.359 is what creates some of the pessimistic outcomes as well 0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:38.760 as the optimistic outcomes, because if you really put it 0:22:38.760 --> 0:22:42.880 in the context of African Americans on this country, on 0:22:42.880 --> 0:22:47.600 this land, far before it became a republic, before it 0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:51.200 became the United States, there were African Americans here who 0:22:51.200 --> 0:22:54.040 had been brought here for a lot of reasons, most 0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:57.639 of them for slavery based. And when you think about 0:22:58.400 --> 0:23:02.399 Juneteenth as a great example, took a while before the 0:23:02.600 --> 0:23:06.920 emancipation to acclamation got to the West and the rest 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:10.400 of slave were understood we were free, But that did 0:23:10.440 --> 0:23:13.359 not change the minds of people who were in there. 0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:17.719 You had some black folks who crave the protection of 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:22.639 the plantation, and you had black folks who loathe the 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:26.080 concept of being slaves. And if you look at the 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:31.119 evolution let's say technology, now, it used to be a 0:23:31.160 --> 0:23:34.000 point to where it takes ten years for something to change, 0:23:34.200 --> 0:23:37.600 five years for something to change, three years for something 0:23:37.640 --> 0:23:41.680 to change, eighteen months for something to change. New technology 0:23:41.800 --> 0:23:45.400 is changing on a rapid basis. Well, if you think 0:23:45.440 --> 0:23:49.080 about where we started from and now where we're headed, 0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:55.119 we have achieved more in the way of openness, understanding, 0:23:55.800 --> 0:24:02.000 situational awareness to now be a much more organized and 0:24:02.320 --> 0:24:07.000 powerful voice. We just need to consolidate it. It has 0:24:07.160 --> 0:24:11.080 to start being something that's just not talked about or 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:15.680 waived about. It has to be concluded with us working together, 0:24:15.920 --> 0:24:18.080 no matter what the age, no matter what the race, 0:24:18.400 --> 0:24:21.560 no matter what your socioeconomic situation. 0:24:21.800 --> 0:24:27.800 And now watch pull my mic back. You're like that journalist. 0:24:28.080 --> 0:24:30.000 Journalists to we can strike. 0:24:31.240 --> 0:24:34.880 Waters from head, borders behind him to be the border. 0:24:35.160 --> 0:24:37.240 Well, if you're just tuning into Civic Cipher, I'm your host, 0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:38.000 Ramsy's John. 0:24:38.080 --> 0:24:40.040 They call me q Wallas. 0:24:40.080 --> 0:24:44.359 Indeed, uh, the Honorable Cody Williams, Judge Cody Williams joins 0:24:44.440 --> 0:24:48.040 us today and coming up later in the show, we 0:24:48.119 --> 0:24:53.000 are going to discuss a video that went viral. 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:53.560 This past week. 0:24:54.320 --> 0:24:56.639 For those of you who have the tmz app, you've 0:24:56.640 --> 0:24:59.080 probably seen it three or four times now, but an 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:05.119 officer on top of a little girl, pinning her to 0:25:05.160 --> 0:25:05.680 the ground. 0:25:06.240 --> 0:25:07.320 So we're going to talk about that. 0:25:08.359 --> 0:25:10.359 We also have our way Black History Fact coming up 0:25:10.400 --> 0:25:14.639 with DJ Swirl, and right now I would love to 0:25:14.800 --> 0:25:20.159 talk about how to become a better ally, so let's 0:25:20.840 --> 0:25:22.240 visit with Baba. 0:25:23.840 --> 0:25:28.600 Now. I do recognize that despite what we. 0:25:28.520 --> 0:25:31.119