WEBVTT - Say Her Name (Breonna Taylor recap) 0:00:02.920 --> 0:00:05.280 Hey y'all, Hey, what's up? And welcome to Let's Red 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:09.720 Table that I'm Tracy t Brow and I'm Cara Pressley, 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:14.120 and man, this episode, I just I'm excited to be 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:17.720 bad with our L T. T family. But it's Brianna 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:22.120 Taylor and how can you say her name without reaction, 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:27.640 without emotion? Wow, it's a lot. First of all, it's 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:29.880 hard as it was until we watched this episode, and 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:32.879 to see all that we saw, I'm so grateful that 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:35.960 they brought it to the table as they definitely need 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.800 their voice. Heard all of them, every single family member. 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:41.559 It was nice to see she was a girlfriend, she 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:43.440 was a sister, she was a daughter. Because I think 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:46.480 we hear the name and kind of disassociate. Some people 0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:48.360 may think it's just a one off situation, but it 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:51.920 happens truly more than we know. And Cara in saying 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:55.880 that at the end of the episode, I truly didn't 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.600 know some of the names that been Crump said, I 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:02.680 was so who is that? Right? Right now? Let me 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:06.000 do my additional research, right And I was so angry. 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.839 Now you know what, angry is not hard enough. Angry 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.200 does not convey the frustration enough. I was living I 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:14.960 was lava hot because I just thought, really, while I'm 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.920 at home asleep that part. But I was happy to 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:20.480 hear from boyfriends. There were some pieces of just the 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:22.440 story and how it transpired I heard as well for 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.600 the first time. For the first time, right, we knew, 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.400 but we didn't know, and what it took to get 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:32.679 those charges dismissed for him, the fact that he missed 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:35.080 her funeral, That it was so many other pieces I 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:40.960 was upset about, Okay, because to know that the disrespect 0:01:41.680 --> 0:01:49.280 for her life and the absolute disrespect shown to her mother, right, 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:53.320 and that he wasn't told what happened. He had to 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:58.559 see it on the news on TV. Okay, that while 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:03.440 you're being processed, jail is already its own stressful situation. 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:05.040 Now see, I'm gonna tell you something, car, I don't 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:07.200 know nothing about jail. I don't know much about it. 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:09.400 I haven't been there, but I do know it's it's 0:02:09.400 --> 0:02:13.520 not the happiest of places. Okay. Okay, you were saying that, like, 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:15.519 I'm like, Okay, now do we need to talk about that, 0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:19.040 because you're like jealous. Already not happened, Like I don't 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:22.720 know about jail. I know based on what. I understand 0:02:22.760 --> 0:02:24.840 that people are not happy about going to jail, So 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.800 you're right that part. I was not trying to imply 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:30.520 to you were a jailbird. That's not what I'm saying. 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:32.520 I was just like you speaking the first person. So 0:02:32.560 --> 0:02:35.120 I want to honor that right. I know, I completely understand, 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:38.520 but I just couldn't. I can't fathom, really, that's really 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:40.760 what I want to say, like just to be grieving 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:44.280 and then he's like freshly grieving, state of shock that 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:48.440 part right, and being processed, and even after you understand 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:51.600 what's going on, I can't go to any services. I mean, 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.839 the whole thing had to be absolutely surreal for him, 0:02:55.280 --> 0:03:00.360 poor Kenneth. And then to that, no matter how much 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:03.959 healing you go through and in the journey of that 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.480 and how much progress in healing he makes, there's still 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:11.800 the fight. There's still the civil fight, there's still all 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:14.840 of these things that are just lingering on that make 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:18.840 it so difficult. And that was just grieving me. I 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:23.480 felt the burden of that, the weight of that for him, 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:27.600 on top of having your last moments alone. I think 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:31.200 about Brianna often and just even when the mom heard 0:03:31.200 --> 0:03:33.480 the officers tell her like she's still upstairs. There's so 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:36.400 many pieces, there's layers to this one. It's just a lot. 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:39.720 I can say this, and I've said this and almost 0:03:39.720 --> 0:03:44.720 every episode because we've had such a full weighted season 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:48.760 with Red Table Talk, because we've had so many important 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:54.840 topics that have been brought to the table absolutely necessary conversations. 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:58.120 And this one, I think is even more powerful to 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:01.600 me because I heard it at the table right because 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:05.280 there were black women and black mothers and black daughters 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.120 and sisters and cousins that we know are at the 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:11.400 table in Jada and Gammy and Willow. That made it 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:14.360 important for them to be in the safe space of 0:04:14.440 --> 0:04:17.320 the table to tell this story and then to share 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:21.560 all these details that were not readily available to the public, 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:25.960 all of the blatant disregard and disrespect and just lack 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:30.120 of concern. And as much as we love to talk 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:34.279 and have fun, it is important that our platform also 0:04:34.560 --> 0:04:38.720 gives some important awareness to the injustices that are happening 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:43.480 in this country, and this Briana Taylor's story is one 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:47.160 one of them. And the fact that they are still 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:51.719 fighting to date for her, still fighting makes me sick 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:54.600 to my summit. To tell you the truth fighting and 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:58.080 that the corruption in the office is finally coming out, 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:00.960 because that's the impressed sit in the part in a 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:04.600 sad way that many times it just continues to stay 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:06.520 covered up. This is the part that makes me want 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:13.160 to literally, Okay, the governor, you see both of us. 0:05:13.160 --> 0:05:20.400 All we could do is say, the governor, really, these 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:24.200 are officials. No, you know what, Okay, you know what. 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:26.839 I know that you do your level best card to 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:28.960 try to see the glass had fool and look on 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:32.279 the sunny side. And the little blue bird, the little 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.960 blue bird sings on your shoulder. I get it. I 0:05:35.000 --> 0:05:41.320 get it. However, Comma, the governor Kentucky is a black man. 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:45.359 He is a black man, and the fact that the 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:48.520 corruption went all the way up to him and that 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:54.200 he covered it vile. And then he has the unmitigated 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:58.240 goal to run for office again. Sorry, if you don't 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:02.039 go take it's the audacity for me. I mean, don't 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:07.880 have speechless, seriously, speech again. These are elected officials that 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.120 we're supposed to be able to trust. And how it 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:14.080 works long ago and far away, long ago and far 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.640 away in the Luther band drops for us. Okay, come 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:22.640 on now in the far away lands. We used to 0:06:22.680 --> 0:06:27.080 believe that when you had people that were the same skin, 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:29.640 that they were kin, that they looked out for you. 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:33.400 There was a whole neighborhood, the village, the whole mentality 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:38.479 that people that were alike supported each other supposed to be. 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:40.960 But the great Michael Jackson made a song about It's 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.520 called they don't care about Us, and that's on so 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:47.800 many levels. It's the first time I learned that it is. 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.279 Unfortunately it is accurate. We're not gonna talk about the 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:53.040 current people who got the initial c oh not giving 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:55.919 that person any credit or no no time. But I 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:58.000 will talk about the other person's name that starts with 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:02.320 the sea, and that's Supreme Court Justice Aarence Thomas. That 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:05.000 was the first lesson for me. That was the first 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:07.800 lesson for me, car when I realized what he was 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:10.440 really about, I was like, this fan has just broken 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:13.680 my heart right and was like confused about it. Clarence Thomas, 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:18.040 I was younger and working in corporate. Those are two 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.680 instances that have me just realized everyone is not on 0:07:21.760 --> 0:07:24.800 the same wave length as you. Everyone does not think 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:27.200 the same way, and you cannot convince them to change. 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.520 We gotta have some change though we've got to do 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:35.080 at some point. There has to be some change. So 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.680 when you think about you hear stories like Brianna Taylor, 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:41.880 what is your mental and emotional journey as you process 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:43.840 what happened Carl? The first thing I think is that 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:46.440 could have been me, especially when it's women and we 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:50.840 don't see it many times. But between this and Sandra Bland, 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:53.920 in the initial moment, I think, man, that could have 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:56.080 been me. But then I think about my son like 0:07:56.200 --> 0:07:59.920 it just starts to run a certain strand of anxiety 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:03.360 through my mind anytime the situation happens. But processing I 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:05.040 try to put down the phone and not scroll as 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:07.600 much during those times, or weights a little while so 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:10.200 that some more details can come out, because you don't 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:13.440 want to be overexposed and desensitized at the same time. 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:16.640 And the overexposed really though, that's the main part, because 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:20.280 I don't want to be oversaddened by it's it's something 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:22.040 to hit you in your core. But what about your tracy? 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.360 How do you process? They make me so angry. I 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:27.840 have an activist spirit, like there's an activist animal, like 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:30.600 the intercore of me. I want things to be well 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:33.480 because it's just wrong. Wrong is wrong, no matter how 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.400 you slice it. And so I know that the only 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.520 way that we can correct wrongs in our country is 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:45.040 through legislation and by being active. This whole term, this 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:50.000 whole season, our whole country, all of it. To your point, 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:55.240 we've had so much information, we have numbed out and 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:58.400 the Yana Van's Aunt's way of saying, neck down dead, 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:04.400 you know that people have really truly been decessitized because 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:08.240 we have access to so much information. And because of that, 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:16.000 I think that you either scroll past it or you're 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:19.719 so hyper sensitive to it that there's no kind of 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:22.640 meeting in the middle of it. So what I've tried 0:09:22.679 --> 0:09:26.439 to do is honor how I feel when I see 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:30.880 things that happened like Brianna Taylor's story, and it's unfortunate 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:36.000 that this was not an exception, right, this wasn't an 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:38.920 asterisk and ad hoc. You know what I'm saying that 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:45.240 this has happened so many times. It's that I have 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:47.920 to just allow myself to feel how I feel. And 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:50.280 this is truly going to like the feeling wheel of 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:52.120 it and saying, Okay, now how do I really feel? 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:54.160 Because you can I'm mad, Well, no, how do I 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:56.320 really feel about it? Because this could have been my 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:58.640 little sister, this could have been my daughter, and the 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.320 hurt and are the hurt, And then I have to 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:05.040 change the hurt to action and make sure that I 0:10:05.080 --> 0:10:08.080 am being part of the solution and not just talking 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:11.800 about oh yeah, that's perfect, that that's that's really important. 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:14.920 As we continue to get upset out here and just 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:19.200 again continue to not be able to fathom howard feeling 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:21.760 that it's happening, like the unbelief of it all, we 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:23.559 have to make sure we're self assessed and go out 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:26.600 here with the right perspective. And for me, the key 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:30.959 is to ensure that I keep myself current on what's happening, 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:33.840 or as current as I possibly can, and then to 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:37.640 make sure that when I'm in settings where I'm with 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.720 peers or more over and more importantly with younger family 0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:46.439 members car that I am stressing the importance to them 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:50.280 that it is okay for you to have a voice, 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:53.400 but you need to know how to use the voice 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:57.040 and when it is appropriate. And then too, there's so 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:01.440 many stories we hear in the media now about gun 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:06.640 violence and deaths and murders, and it's it's hard it's 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:10.440 hard to hear all these stories of black deaths. As 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:11.880 you said, we're all trying to take things in our 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:14.040 own hands. You got your own freedom fighters out here. 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:18.079 But I have to continue to protect ourselves mentally, spiritually, 0:11:18.080 --> 0:11:21.920 emotionally from all these things. How do you protect yourself 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:25.120 from additional trauma when news stories of black deaths appear 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.600 in your news feed when you're scrolling, how do you 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:32.640 prioritize your own piece well, also being outspoken? Yeah, you 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:36.920 do know that outspoken part? Then I guess, oh, we 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:40.959 see it. Actually, y'all follow Trady t bro It's it's hard, 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:44.880 it really is, and there's a sadness. And so peace 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:50.240 in the midst of chaos has to be intentional, right, 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:52.920 it has to be intentional. And so part of what 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:56.080 I try to do as a daily practice, in addition 0:11:56.120 --> 0:12:01.520 to my affirmations for myself, is to focus in. And 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:04.720 I listened to a five to eight frequency that's a 0:12:04.760 --> 0:12:11.480 healing frequency. And it's a healing frequency. I think I've 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:14.760 I think I've seen it referred to as a love frequency. Okay, well, 0:12:14.800 --> 0:12:21.920 healing and love, you know, I can see how, Yes, 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:24.240 I do I try, And so speaking of that, I 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.080 try to make sure that I don't know what the 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:28.920 people are that are called and shout out to y'all 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:30.959 that are in the crystals and stuff. I love that, 0:12:31.480 --> 0:12:34.440 but I don't practice it, but I appreciate it. I 0:12:34.440 --> 0:12:37.560 guess that's the way to say it. And so in 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:39.880 terms of chakra, because of the way I am, my 0:12:39.960 --> 0:12:44.280 heart chakra is always needing some care. I go to 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:47.120 sleep at night. To answer your question, long, long, long 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:50.319 story short, I listened to that by to eight frequency 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:53.960 at night before I go sleep. Good. I love a 0:12:53.960 --> 0:13:00.920 good sleep meditation. Y'all listening to me trying to eight listen. 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:04.480 I prefer a nice guided meditation sometimes because my mind 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:07.680 will tell my mom started looking like the social train 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:13.200 scramble board. I just just thoughts everywhere was so train. 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:19.720 So yes, I have to kind of pull my scrambled thoughts. 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.360 And then that's the other part. We find a way 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:25.200 to laugh, We find a way to release and to 0:13:25.320 --> 0:13:29.440 have some some spark. There's a golden thread inside everywheb 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:33.320 and so find an opportunity to make a connection and 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:36.720 to somehow get some joy out of your day. Every day. 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:47.080 That's every day amazing. That's what that is. This red 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.520 Table Talk episode was important and impactful, but it was 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:54.600 also heartbreaking and possibly triggering for people. So with our episode, 0:13:54.600 --> 0:13:57.240 we wanted to give our community a gift, which means 0:13:57.240 --> 0:13:59.880 we're doing things a little differently today. We don't have 0:13:59.920 --> 0:14:02.840 a guest, but we do have some stories from our community, 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:07.480 some resources for you, and performances by black spoken word 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:10.520 artists who are taking tragedy and turning it into art. 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:13.520 You know, I love that because while we started out, 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:15.880 it's like back to the future. Right, this is great. 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:17.800 It's been a while since it's just been the two 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:22.280 of us, and I love, love, love having guests on right. 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:25.040 I am looking forward to us having this episode in 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:32.320 this format too, So absolutely, let's get into it. We've 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.680 received some emails specifically in response to Red Table Talks 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.400 Brianna Taylor episode, and we're going to share these stories 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.960 with you. Emily wrote that Brianna's story resonates with her 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:44.520 because she has endured a four year long battle in 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:47.880 court waiting for her father's murderer to be held accountable. 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:51.520 She says, our voices weren't heard so many let downs 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:54.280 from the state who represented my dead father to the 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.200 very end. They played with our emotions that is hurtful 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:00.160 as well when you hear different stories. I just it 0:15:00.240 --> 0:15:03.440 to speak directly to Emily to thank you for sharing 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:06.240 with us, thank you for being with us, and then 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:11.200 we recognize that our voices are not heard right and 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:15.840 I want to sincerely share my sympathy with you and 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:19.280 with your family for the loss and the tragic loss 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:23.480 of your father. It's just horrible. It's horrible. And then 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.080 have someone literally put you in a position where you 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:31.320 have to watch, you have to bear witness to them 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:35.240 not honoring what they know to be true, and then 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.760 not give you in your family justice. It's horrible. It 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:44.160 just gets heavy. Story after story after story. We're just 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:46.680 gonna keep pressing forward. But thank you Emily for sharing. 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.640 We do hear you, we do thank you, and we 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:52.880 had another share and I'm so grateful to Emily and 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:57.119 to Katisha. Katisha brought to our attention a recent tragedy. 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:02.680 On October six, Jahim McMillan, a fifteen year old black teenager, 0:16:03.160 --> 0:16:07.000 was shot by police and Gulfport, Mississippi, and the parking 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:10.800 lot of a family dollar store. McMillan's mother said that 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.800 when she arrived at the store after her son was shot. 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:20.440 Officers handcuffed her and walked her across the street. In 0:16:20.560 --> 0:16:25.120 her email, Katitia says, we have been protesting. Stuff like 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:29.960 this happens in Mississippi often and nothing gets done about it. 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:34.880 I'm so fed up. I'm speechless. First of all, I 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:37.880 am I'm absolutely speechless. There's so much I want to 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:39.720 talk about. But I want to say this that you 0:16:39.760 --> 0:16:43.040 can read more about Jaheem and our episode description or 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.680 online in The Guardian, ABC News or other news channels. 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.120 And I encourage you to do that because you think 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:52.400 about this now. Car Your son's twenty, my son's forty, 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:58.000 Your son has gone to family dollar gets shot. You 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.080 show up, I show up on a scene, and then 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.280 we're handcuffed and walked across the street. Why are you 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.680 handcuffing me? It's the assuming that I'm wrong for me? 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.400 Why am I handcuffed? I'm a human, I'm a mother 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:13.760 whose son was shot. And I am grateful that people 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:17.480 are protesting. I am grateful to hear that. And I 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:23.760 wish you, Emily and your family justice and Jaheim McMillan's 0:17:23.880 --> 0:17:28.240 family absolute justice. Thank you so much, Emily and Katitia 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:31.840 for writing into us. Yes, thank you both, and you 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.359 can send us an email at Let's Red Table that 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:37.480 at red table talk dot com, or sound off on 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:41.040 our speak Pipe page at speak pipe dot com slash 0:17:41.440 --> 0:17:44.720 Let's Red Table that we are always here to listen 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:46.920 to what you have to say, the virtual Red Table. 0:17:46.960 --> 0:17:55.280 That's what it's all about. It's time for our first 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:59.000 spoken word piece. This is poet, author and speaker ri 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:06.000 l a story in Her Peace, Remember Her? Hi everyone, 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:10.760 my name is Ariel Astoria. I'm a multi passionate artist, poet, 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:15.800 author and actor. For me, turning tragedy into art means 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:19.680 that I am feeling and feeling deeply. I often think 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:24.080 that art is birthed out of tragedy oftentimes, and it's 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:27.080 in those moments when we feel and feel deeply, when 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:31.000 we experience grief and pain that we cannot help but 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:35.480 exude something beautiful. That's our This first piece I will 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:39.280 be sharing with you is titled Remember Her. I wrote 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:53.760 this poem in honor of Brianna Taylor. Say Name, Say 0:18:55.280 --> 0:19:27.280 you say sayame? Be be? Oh, say name? Where is 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:32.719 her protest? Where is the rage burning for the female body? 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:38.080 Not televised, not recorded? Her death? Not a silent act 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:43.280 A violent exchange, a bullet to skin eight times, her screams, 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:47.080 her cry still echoing in the walls of an apartment 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:52.119 months home now a battle ground. She was a brief moment, 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:57.359 a hashtag, her life, a brief moment, the fury diminished 0:19:57.359 --> 0:20:02.399 to fuse her murderer's homesteading comfortably, her body home, sitting 0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:06.760 unrest underground. Do not forget about the black woman. Do 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:09.359 not forget about the chest that kept you in, the 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:12.960 hands that held you. They say seven is the number 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:16.920 of completion. So the irony of you not experiencing your 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:20.840 twenty seventh birthday sits as acidic as the blood seeped 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:26.640 into your apartment carpets. We are one year apart. Seven 0:20:26.760 --> 0:20:29.480 was the year I found myself. Was a year I 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:32.320 found how to re speak the name God on my tongue, 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:35.639 The year I found love, the year I lived life 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:41.840 to the fullest. Your life cut short, unplugged, wiped from 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:46.159 the story. I pray you lived your best year. I 0:20:46.200 --> 0:20:49.120 pray you found yourself before you lost her. I pray 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.600 that as the bullets hit you, that God held you 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:56.080 all in the same breath while you breathe your last breath. 0:20:56.160 --> 0:21:00.359 I'm sorry your life could not have been seen, this 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:06.800 fullness could not have reached completion. Your body may be buried, love, 0:21:07.520 --> 0:21:19.960 but your name will not be. Okay, first, I gotta 0:21:20.119 --> 0:21:23.600 get myself together, because you know I'm over here wiping 0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:28.320 away tears. You know I'm grateful for tears, because hey, 0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:33.240 it lets me know that I can mourn. I can. 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:37.400 I can mourn her, and I can say aloud, Brianna Taylor, 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:45.520 I miss you and you mattered, your life mattered, And 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:48.560 it is just hard. It's hard to be in a 0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:55.080 position where you hear such profound words. And that spoken 0:21:55.119 --> 0:21:59.840 word was beautiful. It spoke to what happened, the tray 0:22:00.119 --> 0:22:06.600 chick horrific death and her short life, short short, twenty 0:22:06.680 --> 0:22:13.680 six years is no time. And I literally it hit me. 0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:18.399 I could have been her mother and anti god mother, 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:26.080 co worker. I have a niece named Brianna, Oh, and 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:30.120 she is in that same age group. It just hit 0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:36.240 me and it hurts. But I am so grateful too 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:42.000 to hear it and the habit delivered in such a 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:46.240 beautiful and eloquent way that this spoken word was delivered, 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:50.199 so that the tragic, the trag I mean, I just 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:56.240 keep saying that word literally but it is necessary to 0:22:56.359 --> 0:23:00.639 be able to articulate it in more than one way. Absolutely, 0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:04.040 And so I'm grateful for this artist that she was 0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:08.480 able to to give us that, because if any other 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:12.240 one person hears it, who doesn't understand the plight of 0:23:12.280 --> 0:23:17.720 Brianna Taylor's family or mother and doesn't have the opportunity 0:23:17.800 --> 0:23:20.800 to say, Okay, what happened, it was an accident, or 0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:24.200 try to somehow minimize the experience when you hear that, 0:23:25.080 --> 0:23:29.680 there's no way to deny it. Yeah, it's I want 0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:35.040 to say, these situations are harder than a random shooting 0:23:35.320 --> 0:23:40.000 or because this is the cause and from officials that 0:23:40.080 --> 0:23:44.280 we trust, and the further we get into our future, 0:23:44.800 --> 0:23:47.840 the more we need to continually say that the good 0:23:47.880 --> 0:23:52.040 guys do not always just wear the uniform. They're not 0:23:52.200 --> 0:23:55.359 just always coming to save the day. And and I 0:23:55.400 --> 0:23:58.600 think that's the harder place for people who are the 0:23:58.960 --> 0:24:01.760 upstanding citizen and trying to look at the bright side 0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:05.240 of things, like myself, because the true side is that 0:24:05.280 --> 0:24:07.560 the bright side can be the dark side to how 0:24:07.600 --> 0:24:12.359 do I tell my grandson and granddaughter you really can't 0:24:12.600 --> 0:24:17.240 trust every police officer that part when they're supposed to 0:24:17.240 --> 0:24:20.639 protect and serve. How do you say that? But we 0:24:20.720 --> 0:24:23.399 do have to acknowledge it because it's the truth. What 0:24:23.440 --> 0:24:24.919 do you how do you give them that? How do 0:24:25.000 --> 0:24:28.399 they even process that? How do you reconcile that with? Okay, 0:24:28.440 --> 0:24:30.520 I know I'm supposed to call the police if something happens, 0:24:30.520 --> 0:24:34.159 but I can't trust the police. Will the police see me? 0:24:34.320 --> 0:24:36.840 That's why the movie When They See Us was so important. 0:24:37.600 --> 0:24:45.800 Those were truly babies. Brianna was still a baby. Mm hmm. Yeah. 0:24:45.960 --> 0:24:50.919 This that was That was a beautiful piece, absolutely beautiful. Okay, 0:24:51.000 --> 0:24:53.200 I've got to get myself together, so we're gonna take 0:24:53.240 --> 0:24:55.679 a quick break, but when we get back, we'll be 0:24:55.720 --> 0:24:58.280 sharing seven ways you can make a difference in the 0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:01.200 world today. And I'm gonna blow my note okay for you. 0:25:05.960 --> 0:25:09.160 Here are seven ways you can make an impact. This 0:25:09.240 --> 0:25:11.679 is so important. I'm excited about these because we are 0:25:11.720 --> 0:25:16.560 all trying to make an impact where we can number one, vote, vote, 0:25:16.640 --> 0:25:21.879 vote and vote and vote and vote in every election. Okay, 0:25:21.880 --> 0:25:24.520 stop just waiting on the big ones. Vote for all 0:25:24.640 --> 0:25:31.440 the people, all the offices, national Okay votes, y'all. This 0:25:31.520 --> 0:25:33.639 is one of the most important ways for our voices 0:25:33.680 --> 0:25:37.080 to be heard the twenties two United States and mid 0:25:37.240 --> 0:25:41.040 term elections are on November eight, not the seventh, not 0:25:41.160 --> 0:25:44.840 the ninth. Eight. Register to vote and find early voting 0:25:44.880 --> 0:25:49.920 locations in your state at vote dot org. Another great 0:25:49.920 --> 0:25:53.680 way to support the movement is to volunteer to register voters. 0:25:53.960 --> 0:25:55.960 That part, and I'm gonna tell you what, you also 0:25:56.000 --> 0:25:57.639 need to go to vote dot org and check your 0:25:57.640 --> 0:26:01.360 registration status. Why we're talking about that because I am emphatic, 0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:04.040 as you almost know. If you have not followed me, 0:26:04.119 --> 0:26:05.840 then you haven't seen it. But if you do, you 0:26:05.880 --> 0:26:08.280