1 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: Coming up on the AID building. 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:08,160 Speaker 2: I do not care if my protests made a difference. 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 2: I do not care if Colin Kaepernick's protest makes a difference, 4 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 2: because's not what you create for, that's not what you 5 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 2: play for, and that's not what you protest for. 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 3: I was watching a man suffocate to death slowly. It's 7 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:21,960 Speaker 3: traumatizing for anybody who watches it. 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: Episode two, Justice for George Floyd. 9 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 4: See him? Is this the room? No? 10 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: I think it's at the end of the hall. 11 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,959 Speaker 4: Are we really gonna do this? Of course we are. 12 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 4: Here was the moment, the moment when a group of 13 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 4: concerned students made their final towards the boarder Trustees building. 14 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 4: Tensions are high, the reality of what they're about to 15 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:07,520 Speaker 4: do is starting to kick in. 16 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: The gear for the heights was simple, some water, some food. 17 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,919 Speaker 1: They purchased some padlocks from a local Atlanta hardware store. 18 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 1: They plant to chain the door and lock themselves into 19 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: the Board of Trustee meeting. 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 4: Lock in protests have become a popular tool of activism. 21 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 4: In the sixties, anti war movements spread around the country, 22 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:30,560 Speaker 4: and students would attach themselves to police cars, works of art, 23 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 4: and even storm in the boardrooms to draw attention to 24 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 4: their cause. 25 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: Beautifully manicured lawns sprawled over the Moorhouse campus. The administration 26 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: wanted the grass to be kept in perfect condition. They 27 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: placed giant chains around the grass to keep the students 28 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: off the lawn. Those very chains were used to lock 29 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: in the board of trustees. Okay, okay, okay, everyone relaxed. 30 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: We don't have guns. We're just here to talk. This 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: event was more than a simple protest. This was a 32 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: call for action. The future of Morehouse and perhaps all 33 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,959 Speaker 1: historically black colleges and universities, were at stake. These students 34 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 1: were willing to put their entire academic future at risk 35 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: for the chance to make change. 36 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 4: They wanted Morehouse to be part of a larger conversation. 37 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 4: Martin Luther King Junior was just murdered that his father 38 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,679 Speaker 4: in Monkey Senior would be present as a member of 39 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 4: the board. Truly, you understand what they were fighting for. 40 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: Ironically, the education at Morehouse encouraged students to take exactly 41 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: this kind of bold action. To be a morehouseman was 42 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: to be active and engaged. Right from the mission statement 43 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: and I quote Morehouse College mission is to develop men 44 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: who lead lives of service and leadership. 45 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 4: They want to develop men with discipline minds. They want 46 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 4: to teach the history and culture of black people. They 47 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 4: want to promote a sense of belonging for all. They 48 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 4: prepare students for a rapidly changing world. 49 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: In the late sixties, it felt like the world was 50 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: changing by the minute, and the men of Morehouse refused 51 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,519 Speaker 1: to be left behind. This takeover would be the first 52 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: step in that process, a process for reform and change. 53 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:25,240 Speaker 1: At the epicenter of black intellectual thought. 54 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 4: This was more than a protest. It was a heist, 55 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 4: a heist of ideas, and a heist for the future. 56 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 4: But what is a protest? May twenty twenty, a world 57 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,600 Speaker 4: already made a one ten a century pandemic would again 58 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 4: change forever. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a forty six year old 59 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 4: black man named George Floyd is murdered by Derek Charlott, 60 00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 4: an officer when an extensive record of razor complaints and brutality. 61 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 3: Please please are gave release please man, please. 62 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 4: On this day. The death of this man would create 63 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 4: a worldwide movement against police brutality. 64 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: Unlike the nineteen ninety two Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, 65 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: these riots would spread much like the invisible monster that 66 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: was keeping us all in our homes. But this monster 67 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: was protests. This monster was resistance. Any social distancing from 68 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: this issue was impossible, and it brought people back out 69 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: to the streets. 70 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:43,080 Speaker 4: What is a protest? What does it actually need to resist? 71 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: Resistance in the Black experience go hand in hand. The 72 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:54,400 Speaker 1: uncomfortable connection to Black pain and the American experiment make 73 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: some holidays and memorials awkward. 74 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 4: In the summer of toy twenty many of those memorials 75 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 4: were burned to the ground. And of course, in times 76 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 4: of turmoil, we live to our leadership to provide calm 77 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 4: in the face of chaos. 78 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 5: Our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists, violent mobs, arsonists, saluters, criminals, writers, Antifa, 79 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 5: and others. A number of state and local governments have 80 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 5: failed to take necessary action to safeguard their residents. Innocent 81 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 5: people have been savagely beaten, like the young man in Dallas, 82 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 5: Texas who was left dying on the street, or the 83 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 5: woman in upstate New York viciously attacked by dangerous thugs. 84 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 5: Small business owners have seen their dreams utterly destroyed. New 85 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 5: York's finests have been hit in the face with bricks. 86 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 5: Brave nurses who have battled the virus are afraid to 87 00:05:55,279 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 5: leave their homes. A police precinct has been over run 88 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 5: here in the nation's capital. The Lincoln Memorial and the 89 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:10,279 Speaker 5: World War II Memorial have been vandalized. One of our 90 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 5: most historic churches was set ablaze. A federal officer in California, 91 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 5: an African American enforcement here was shot and killed. These 92 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 5: are not acts of peaceful protests. These are acts of 93 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 5: domestic terror. The destruction of innocent life and the spilling 94 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,560 Speaker 5: of innocent blood is an offense to humanity and a 95 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 5: crime against God. American needs creation, not destruction, Justice not chaos. 96 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 5: This is our mission and we will succeed one hundred percent. 97 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 5: We will succeed. Our country always wins. 98 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 4: Well. I didn't help. For more detail in this event, 99 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 4: I spoke with film Mark schum whose award winning film 100 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 4: Police on Trial covered the murder of George Floyd in 101 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 4: Chauvin's trial. He was one of the first reporters on 102 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 4: the ground when the riots began in Minnesota. So, Mike, 103 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:13,800 Speaker 4: where were you when George Floyd was killed? 104 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 3: I was living in the Twin Cities in Minnesota when 105 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 3: George Floyd was killed. In fact, where I was living 106 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:24,600 Speaker 3: was maybe less than eight miles from where he was killed. 107 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 4: Well, I didn't even realize you were that close to 108 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 4: actually where it happened. Yeah, So draw the timeline of 109 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 4: his murder versus like the date of the murderer versus 110 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 4: when the the actual footage came out, Like what was that? 111 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 4: What was the initial reaction just right there at ground 112 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 4: zero in Minnesota to all that. 113 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 3: You know, to your point, I think even myself I 114 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 3: was surprised at how close I was to where he 115 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:02,440 Speaker 3: was killed, because so much of how any of us 116 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,240 Speaker 3: were interacting with the world was through social media, so 117 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 3: everything's spelt so close but also so. 118 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: Very far away. 119 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 3: And so when I was seeing video footage primarily across Facebook, 120 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 3: actually being shared about George Floyd's killing, I didn't watch 121 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,880 Speaker 3: the video at first too quickly. I actually think my 122 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 3: wife watched it first, and as she was watching it, 123 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:34,319 Speaker 3: I could just see her mortified, And so for myself, 124 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 3: shortly after that I sat and watched it. I have 125 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 3: to sort of when I'm about to watch disturbing material, 126 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 3: I sort of have to rewire my brain for a second. 127 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 3: So my initial watch of Darnella Frasier's video was shocked. 128 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 4: No doubt. 129 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 3: But then I sort of paused and sort of rewired 130 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 3: my brain and focused a bit to see what am 131 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 3: I looking at here? And I watch the entire video 132 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 3: and it was, you know, nothing short of horrific. I 133 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 3: was watching a man suffgate to death slowly. It's traumatizing 134 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 3: for anybody who watches it. 135 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 4: The violence was so visceral, and it was also so organized. 136 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 4: Show then his reaction and nonchalant attitude as he was 137 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 4: you know, pressed against his neck, and there was the 138 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 4: other cops organizing the crowd. Nothing to see here. It 139 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 4: was the other human beings around saying, hey, it seems 140 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 4: like you're killing that guy, you know, like it seems 141 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,719 Speaker 4: like the ignoring of that. It was such an interesting 142 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 4: manifestation of all the elements of the human condition, right, 143 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,320 Speaker 4: kind of all happening in one moment. You kind of 144 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:59,079 Speaker 4: saw the extremity of the state. You actually saw good 145 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 4: Samaritans like, hey, that doesn't seem right. There was an 146 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 4: actual first responder there saying, yeah, you're actually putting that 147 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 4: you're actually killing that guy for you know, for a 148 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,319 Speaker 4: non violent offense. All these things were happening at once, 149 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 4: and I think at a time where emotions were high anyway, 150 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:21,760 Speaker 4: where we literally were facing kind of this invisible monster 151 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 4: that had all kind of forced us into the house 152 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,400 Speaker 4: and had forced us to, i don't know, re evaluate 153 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 4: our own social contracts in a lot of ways. That 154 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:35,080 Speaker 4: that was a really visceral thing to see at that 155 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 4: particular moment. 156 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,200 Speaker 3: I think there are a couple of things you said 157 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 3: that was striking. The first thing is my god, I mean, 158 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,960 Speaker 3: if you think about it, we had only been sheltered 159 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 3: in place for less than three months. It felt like years, 160 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 3: but it was only less than three months. Lockdown started 161 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 3: happening pretty uniformly, like March twelfth, March thirteen, something around then, 162 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,439 Speaker 3: and this happened May twenty five. God you all right, 163 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 3: But being relegated to the indoor and and sort of 164 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:11,040 Speaker 3: shelter in place was in its own way, its own trauma, right. 165 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,839 Speaker 3: And then everything we're watching is heightened everything you said 166 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 3: about this sort of confluence of moments, people highlighting that 167 00:11:24,679 --> 00:11:29,880 Speaker 3: these police officers were killing George Floyd. And more than that, 168 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 3: this felt like protocol. There's a sort of this is 169 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:38,760 Speaker 3: how we do things. Don't interrupt what we do, and 170 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:43,080 Speaker 3: yet bystanders felt the wherewithal to interrupt something that was 171 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,559 Speaker 3: clearly inhumane and clearly dehumanizing. 172 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:52,240 Speaker 6: Almost two months since the eyewitness video sparked a global movement, today, 173 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 6: for the first time, previously unreleased police body camera footage 174 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 6: showed that George Floyd told officers at least twenty eight 175 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 6: times that couldn't breathe. 176 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 4: It's one of those things you can't take out of context. 177 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,080 Speaker 4: Right when you just sit there and look at it, 178 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 4: it's undeniable. Right then you see kind of the firestorm 179 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:15,280 Speaker 4: that it led to all over the world. So, speaking 180 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,880 Speaker 4: to your point, going back to what you talked about, 181 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:21,319 Speaker 4: in all of the different stories you've covered around the world, 182 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,199 Speaker 4: you've seen protesters put their lives in danger for their 183 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 4: beliefs right there that they're taking it beyond just the hey, 184 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:35,079 Speaker 4: this is a geopolitical argument, or this is a this 185 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 4: is a matter of civics. You've seen people say, Hey, 186 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 4: I'm actually prepared to die for this belief. What have 187 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 4: you seen that brings a person to that? 188 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,480 Speaker 3: To that point, honestly, there's I don't know that I 189 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 3: have a very clear, straightforward answer to this, because this 190 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 3: is something that I've been wrestling with for the better 191 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 3: half of my life. I think a cause is broad 192 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 3: enough to cover a lot of area. That is anger 193 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 3: over an event, anger and frustration over an event like 194 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 3: George Floyd's murder, and wanting accountability. The accountability is especially 195 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:19,760 Speaker 3: in that situation is deserved, was deserved. But what does 196 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,560 Speaker 3: that look like is another question. I think about the 197 00:13:22,559 --> 00:13:27,319 Speaker 3: Arab Spring and Egypt and Jussie Babarik and Atarier Square, 198 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 3: where people just had enough and wanted to feel that 199 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,880 Speaker 3: there was agency. And I think that's the case, or 200 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,559 Speaker 3: at least a pattern across most social movements is this 201 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 3: desire for agency and feeling disempowered. But then mobilizing and 202 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 3: protesting is a form of power. It's the power in 203 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 3: everyone's feet to be able to come together and speak 204 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 3: out to and against power in that sense, and that's 205 00:13:57,360 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 3: I would say, that's a general idea of how I 206 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 3: see people protesting and coming together. 207 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: Some resistance is planned like a heist, with elaborate steps 208 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: and concise moments for peak attention. Keen understood this in 209 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,959 Speaker 1: Birmingham and Selma. He knew the images of unarmed black 210 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: youth attack by a violent arm of the state with 211 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: elicit rage. 212 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:25,360 Speaker 7: Hey, I want to tell the city yourself, tell them 213 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:29,120 Speaker 7: doctor that we are not about to turn around. Yes, sir, 214 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 7: we on the move now, Yes sir, Yes, were on 215 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 7: the move and no way, but racism can stop us. 216 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 7: Speak to my feet. Our God is marching on glory. Hallelujah, Colora, hallelujahujah. 217 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 4: Some resistance come from the direct defiance to the state. 218 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: Huey p. 219 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 4: Noton understood the power of seeing black men in leather 220 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:02,080 Speaker 4: coats holding legally purchased weapons. The image itself was the 221 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 4: act of resistance. In twenty twenty, all of these elements 222 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 4: came to a shocking collision. But the roots take us 223 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 4: back to our story. The roots take us back to 224 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 4: the A Building. Welcome back to the A Building. The 225 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 4: demands for the locking would be simple and straightforward. Number 226 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:31,440 Speaker 4: One a black studies program. By the late nineteen sixties, 227 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 4: black studies programs were sprouting nationwide, but not at Morehouse. 228 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: Number two community involvement in the housing projects around Morehouse College. 229 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: Morehouse students felt isolated from the growing metro Atlanta. They 230 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: want to be seen as members of the Atlanta community. 231 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 4: Number three more people of color on the board of trustees. 232 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 4: Morehouse College, the epicenter of black intellectual thought, was controlled 233 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,200 Speaker 4: by a predominantly board of trustees. 234 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: This had to change. Number four. The boldest request the 235 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 1: creation of Martin Luther King University, the consolidation of the 236 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:16,080 Speaker 1: six black schools in the area to become one large 237 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: university with a focus on black studies. 238 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 4: The take was clear, but the consequences of such an 239 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 4: extreme measure could be devastating. One man learned the consequences 240 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 4: of a simple act of protest. On September one, twenty sixteen, 241 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 4: Colin Kaepernick took in me doing the national anthem of 242 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 4: a preseason NFL game. 243 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,800 Speaker 8: I mean, ultimately is to bring awareness and make people 244 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 8: realize what's really going on in this country. There are 245 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 8: a lot of things that are going on that are unjust. 246 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 8: People aren't being held accountable for and that's something that 247 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 8: needs to change. No, this country stands for freedom, liberty, 248 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 8: just this for all, and it's not happening for all 249 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 8: right now. 250 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,800 Speaker 4: This act would set off a firestorm of controversy from 251 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 4: the conservative media and even the President of the United States. 252 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,479 Speaker 4: Well you can imagine what Trump had to say about this. 253 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,520 Speaker 5: Would you love to see one of these NFL owners 254 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 5: when somebody disrespects our flag to say, get that son 255 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 5: of a bitch off the field. 256 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: Right now out. 257 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 7: He's fired. He's fired. 258 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 1: Colin Kaepernick was by no means the first athlete to 259 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: use his position to promote an important issue. 260 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,760 Speaker 4: In December twenty fourteen, Cleveland bounds wide receiver Andrew Hawkins 261 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,760 Speaker 4: war shirt onto the field before the game against the Bengals. 262 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,879 Speaker 4: Hawk was called attention to two black o'hai ends guilt 263 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,320 Speaker 4: during an encounter with law enforcement. The T shirt read 264 00:17:48,359 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 4: simply Justice for Timyir Rice and John Crawford. The move 265 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,560 Speaker 4: drew startain criticism from some, with local police labeled his 266 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,879 Speaker 4: protests as pathetic and demanding an apology. 267 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: Here's part of Hawk's elegant and touching response in conversation 268 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: with the media the following day. I have a two 269 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: year old little boy, and. 270 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 2: That little boy is my entire world, and the number 271 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 2: one reason for me wearing the T shirt was the 272 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,679 Speaker 2: thought of what happened to Tamir Rice. Happened into my 273 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 2: little Austin scares the living hell out of me, and 274 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 2: my heart was broken for the parents of Tamir and 275 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 2: John Crawford. 276 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:44,880 Speaker 1: Knowing they had to. 277 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:52,360 Speaker 2: Live that nightmare of a reality. So, like I said, 278 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 2: I made the conscious decision to wear the T shirt. 279 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 2: I felt like my heart was in the right place. 280 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 2: I'm at peace with it. And those who disagree with me, 281 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:03,120 Speaker 2: it's this is America. 282 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:03,600 Speaker 4: That's the point. 283 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 2: Everyone has his right to their first First Amendment rights. 284 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,359 Speaker 2: Those who support me, I appreciate your support, but at 285 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 2: the same time, support the causes and the people and 286 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 2: the injustices that you feel strongly about. 287 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,880 Speaker 1: Stand up for him, Speak up for him no. 288 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 2: Matter what it is, because that's what America is about, 289 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:32,880 Speaker 2: and that's what this country. 290 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: Was founded on. We spoke with former NFL player turned 291 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: pundit and media entrepreneur Andrew Hawkins about his protest and 292 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: what came after. Andrew's really a pleasure to meet you. 293 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:45,960 Speaker 1: It's a pleasure to meet you guys as well. Appreciate 294 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: you having me. Melick used to have a dream of 295 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 1: being in the NFL. 296 00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,280 Speaker 4: Hawk I was a lowly Division III football player. 297 00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:54,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's as close as he's ever gotten. 298 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,239 Speaker 4: So I mean, guess even the contextually, because I mean 299 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 4: I remember this story of a big NFL fan, and 300 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 4: I remember the backlash, but hearing your personal connection to 301 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:15,280 Speaker 4: the community and really all the things you were putting 302 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,400 Speaker 4: at stake. Do you remember the immediate reaction? 303 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:19,840 Speaker 1: So I put my shirt on. 304 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 2: Just so happened that they were going to announce the 305 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 2: offensive players this game, because it typically alternates offensive defense 306 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 2: the starters, and so I was a starter, one of 307 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:30,119 Speaker 2: the last people to get announced. I come out with 308 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 2: a T shirt on. All the pictures happened. We played 309 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 2: a game, we get our ass kicked Johnny Manziel's first 310 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 2: game starting. So it was like, I do you remember 311 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,880 Speaker 2: Johnny manziel experience. It was like media everywhere. I mean 312 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:47,720 Speaker 2: it was every media there anyway, everything was there already 313 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 2: and I hadn't even thought about that, but that's like 314 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 2: what made it blow up. And so during the game, 315 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:55,320 Speaker 2: I guess it started to It started to take on 316 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,200 Speaker 2: its own life, regardless of even what's happening in the game. 317 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:00,160 Speaker 1: And so afterwards it so. 318 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,680 Speaker 2: I get dressed, I take a T shirt off after 319 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 2: I wear it, throw it to the side, if somebody 320 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 2: grabs it, puts it on my locker. 321 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: I get dressed. Afterwards, I'm headed home. 322 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:14,159 Speaker 2: And the lead PR person for the Browns calls and 323 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,879 Speaker 2: He's like, hey man, we got a little situation, and 324 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 2: so they were a little blindsided by it. There is 325 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 2: a part of me that does feel, even to this day, 326 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 2: bad about that, because you want to get even no 327 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 2: matter where they sit, you want to give them the 328 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,719 Speaker 2: option to be prepared for what is happening next. And 329 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 2: so things started blowing up really quickly. My mom was 330 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 2: in town that night, and the calls keep coming in. 331 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,440 Speaker 2: My phone's blowing up. I mean, I'm being called every 332 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 2: name you can imagine on Twitter, on social media, you know, 333 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 2: which I expected. I'm not reading it. I'm kind of 334 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 2: letting it go, you know. So one call comes, the 335 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:48,640 Speaker 2: next call comes. 336 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: I'm getting blown up by everybody in the media. 337 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 2: The PR guy calls me back and was like, hey man, 338 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 2: this is like, uh, we got it. 339 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 1: We got to do something. The police are. 340 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 2: Demanding an apology, they're threatening not to check the stadium, 341 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,640 Speaker 2: and I'm like, look, I'm not apologizing. I'm like I can, 342 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 2: I'm gonna go. I'll come in tomorrow, I'll say my 343 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 2: piece and go from there. And so I didn't sleep 344 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 2: that night. I stayed up, you know, me and my 345 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 2: mom just talking and I kind of just started to 346 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,760 Speaker 2: gather my own thoughts, you know, and I wanted to 347 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:18,840 Speaker 2: be very clear, and I wanted to as much as 348 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,280 Speaker 2: I could explain what my thought process was to a point, 349 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 2: but also just be very clear about why I'm completely 350 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 2: okay with everything that happens after this. 351 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 4: Welcome back to the A Building. 352 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,879 Speaker 1: Here's former NFL player Andrew Hawkins about his protest and 353 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: what came after. As it blows up, blows up. 354 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 2: It's in USA today, It's on CNN, it's on Fox News, 355 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:49,280 Speaker 2: It's on you. 356 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,359 Speaker 1: Know, Anderson Cooper, John Dally, I mean, you name, it 357 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: is everywhere. 358 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 2: And so I come in the next day and I 359 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 2: tell them I'm not answering any questions. 360 00:22:57,400 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: Get your cameras rolling. I'm just gonna save my piece 361 00:22:59,280 --> 00:22:59,880 Speaker 1: and go from there. 362 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,080 Speaker 2: And so I went on about five to ten minute, 363 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,160 Speaker 2: you know, talk, just trying to speak from the heart, 364 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,160 Speaker 2: trying to hit the points that I felt like were 365 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 2: important to hit. I said thank you, and I walked out. 366 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,720 Speaker 2: And I think from there it took on an even 367 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:22,199 Speaker 2: like in some ways, like fire to it, and it 368 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,879 Speaker 2: even went even bigger than because now you had people 369 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 2: from every side having a very strong opinion about whatever 370 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,360 Speaker 2: they had an opinion about So did you. 371 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:38,080 Speaker 1: Ever get a sense as to why the police were offended? 372 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,280 Speaker 2: I mean, I probably have my opinions. I don't know 373 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,280 Speaker 2: if I got a sense in the moment. Now, I 374 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 2: am not, especially at this time, would not consider myself 375 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:51,919 Speaker 2: political whatsoever. Very rarely, if ever, spoke on issues that 376 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 2: didn't pertain to Am I catching the first down to 377 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 2: get this contract? 378 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:57,840 Speaker 1: To provide for my family or not. 379 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 2: Not to say that I'm not passionate about these things, 380 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 2: but I think in that moment, for me, it was 381 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:06,200 Speaker 2: so very clear, like, yo, I don't give a fuck 382 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,679 Speaker 2: about football right now, right, And that's just the fact 383 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:11,960 Speaker 2: and that like and I'm okay because again, like I 384 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 2: tell you, my passion for football was not driven by 385 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,480 Speaker 2: money or me being able to sit in a certain spot. 386 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,439 Speaker 2: My passion for football was driven by exactly that, my 387 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 2: passion for football. 388 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,040 Speaker 4: And do you find that the audacity of that in 389 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,399 Speaker 4: itself offends people? You know what I mean, just the 390 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 4: fact that this is what I think, because I feel 391 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,640 Speaker 4: like I think that there's an expectation and you see 392 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 4: this in political discourse when it comes to athletes, where 393 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 4: it's just hey, black guy, just be grateful. These people 394 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:43,760 Speaker 4: have given you all this. 395 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,719 Speaker 1: Money money, yeah, to play football. You really shouldn't have 396 00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 1: things to say yeah, or you shouldn't have passion. 397 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:52,440 Speaker 4: You should have passion for it exactly. 398 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 2: I think that is absolutely what the overwhelming feedback was 399 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,159 Speaker 2: to me in that moment, regardless of like, hey, and 400 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,119 Speaker 2: even I would say that in some ways, man as 401 00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:06,719 Speaker 2: fucked up as it is. Even the people were that 402 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 2: were in support, there was a tone of like, oh, 403 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,280 Speaker 2: you put a sentence together pretty well for a football 404 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 2: pl you know what I'm saying, And I would don't 405 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 2: like exactly, and so you know which again, and I 406 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 2: even say and they're like, yo, if you support me, awesome, 407 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,239 Speaker 2: appreciate it. Go do like your version of what this is. 408 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,320 Speaker 2: If you don't cool, you have your prerogative. It's a 409 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,000 Speaker 2: free country. I'm telling you what the hell I care 410 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,679 Speaker 2: about and what is most important to me in this moment. 411 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,439 Speaker 2: And if I make this decision now, I'm okay with 412 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:42,240 Speaker 2: everything that happens after it or whatever the consequences are. 413 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:44,639 Speaker 2: And as you would imagine, I mean, I got death threats. 414 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:46,879 Speaker 2: I had people tell me that they hey, there's you know, 415 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 2: police are saying you better watch out, you know, your family, 416 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:54,199 Speaker 2: everything in between. And I would love to be like 417 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 2: that was such a surprise to me, But unfortunately, these 418 00:25:57,320 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 2: are all the things that I thought about going into 419 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 2: me making the decision. So in some ways I was 420 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 2: okay with it, but absolutely the overwhelming narrative was like, 421 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:08,960 Speaker 2: you don't get you don't get. 422 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: To have an opinion. 423 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 2: Like, not too long after that, I end up getting 424 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 2: like maybe wrap put on my front all my rims 425 00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:18,880 Speaker 2: at a place in Ohio and I got rapp put 426 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 2: on it. 427 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:20,119 Speaker 1: I took my family to Tampa. 428 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:22,200 Speaker 2: I would train in the in Florida in the off seasons, 429 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 2: and so I went down to Florida and had my 430 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:27,399 Speaker 2: car shipped. And what I would typically do is I 431 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 2: would go a couple of days early, you know, get 432 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 2: everything situated before I brought my family down to where 433 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,400 Speaker 2: I was and the car was shipped, and I pick 434 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 2: up the car and I'm driving it back and to 435 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:40,840 Speaker 2: make a long story short, i start to hear like 436 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 2: a squeaking of the wheels and I'm like, this is 437 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 2: you know, it was damn near a brand new car 438 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 2: at the time, like the first car that I even 439 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:48,879 Speaker 2: bought as a professional athlete. And I had been in 440 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:53,159 Speaker 2: the league seven years, and I'm like this, this some typically, right. 441 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,280 Speaker 2: So I go to pool over and both of my 442 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:58,120 Speaker 2: wheels fall off, right, So I'm still not thinking anything of. 443 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,040 Speaker 1: It, but my wheels fall off my car while. 444 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,160 Speaker 2: I'm driving on the highway and I pull over right 445 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 2: before the literally come off the axle. And so I 446 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,440 Speaker 2: called somebody, Hey, you know something, You know, I got 447 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 2: some dumble withere, a must not or whatever, and he 448 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 2: goes to you know, picks it up, takes to the shop. 449 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:13,960 Speaker 2: I come back to pick it up, and he basically 450 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,400 Speaker 2: not knowing who I am or anything, he was just like, hey, man, 451 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 2: to be honest, I've worked on cars for twenty years. 452 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: I don't have no idea how this happens. 453 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 2: And he was almost like, not almost, he was insinuating 454 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,800 Speaker 2: like you would have to just start working on cars 455 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 2: for the very first time for your wheels to be 456 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:36,440 Speaker 2: all four of your wills to be loose, like like 457 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,399 Speaker 2: like it would have to be your first time doing this, right, 458 00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 2: almost like I don't know who you got beef with. 459 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:44,919 Speaker 4: I don't know who whatever, somebody was, somebody wanted to 460 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 4: hurt you. 461 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,919 Speaker 2: It's he basically was alleging like, Yo, this doesn't feel like, 462 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 2: you know, unless you just had a friend do it. 463 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:55,200 Speaker 1: Nobody who works on. 464 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:59,199 Speaker 2: Cars would make this mistake. Now, what you can believe in, 465 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,879 Speaker 2: what you can prove with two different things, And you know, 466 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,440 Speaker 2: I'm very much like, Okay, I'll let God take care 467 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,119 Speaker 2: of them type of thing I called, and you know, 468 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,399 Speaker 2: I got I got in the ass a little bit. 469 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 2: But at the same time, like from a public standpoint, 470 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 2: I came into this knowing what could happen. I can't 471 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:19,080 Speaker 2: state enough how okay I was worth everything after that, 472 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 2: you know what I mean. 473 00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:24,680 Speaker 1: So in retrospect, has anyone been like we were wrong? 474 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,119 Speaker 1: I don't know if anybody would say they were wrong. 475 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:30,479 Speaker 2: One of the coolest things for me was in that 476 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:34,239 Speaker 2: moment the ownership of the Cleveland Browns. They called me 477 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:37,239 Speaker 2: into their office at some point, you know, and it 478 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,640 Speaker 2: was again I came into this expecting they were going 479 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 2: to cut me if I did whatever, and their response was, hey, 480 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 2: I'm very proud of you, and I'm like kind of 481 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 2: took me back a little bit. 482 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: Like they're sitting there and they're like, you. 483 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,360 Speaker 2: Did what you believed in, you know, regardless of what 484 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 2: anybody thinks or where we sit or whoever sits. 485 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: A man follows his convictions. He stands on it, and 486 00:28:57,640 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 1: he lives with it. 487 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,800 Speaker 2: And you know, we wish more, just players in general, 488 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:06,280 Speaker 2: had that kind of mentality to take care of their 489 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 2: own business, we'd probably be better off. 490 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: And I'm not gonna lie. That surprised the hell out 491 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: of me. 492 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 2: That was so at that time, especially opposite of what 493 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 2: the narratives were, you know, for people that were probably 494 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 2: in my situation. 495 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 4: At any point, did you get any warnings or feedback 496 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 4: that you might be in danger in the local community. 497 00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, Like I said, I mean, somebody you know pulled 498 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:36,000 Speaker 2: me aside and said, hey, I know so and so on. 499 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,760 Speaker 2: It's connected to this person. They're saying you better watch 500 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:40,840 Speaker 2: out man, like they're you know, And he wasn't saying 501 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:46,080 Speaker 2: it like threatening. He was saying it in like people 502 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,000 Speaker 2: are pissed type of thing. You know, you know, some 503 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:51,840 Speaker 2: singular person or some you know people want to do 504 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 2: harm to you. 505 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:54,360 Speaker 1: I'd want you to be aware that this could be 506 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: a possibility. So yeah, in the height of the storm, 507 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:03,800 Speaker 1: in the height of the national tension, you're getting What 508 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,920 Speaker 1: was it like among your brothers in the league and 509 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:09,280 Speaker 1: that your brothers in the shield. 510 00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 2: I feel like it was probably overwhelmingly supportive. A lot 511 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:16,400 Speaker 2: of the players were basically commended me because they understood 512 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,640 Speaker 2: or at that time what they thought was like, man, 513 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:23,120 Speaker 2: that is you took a risk, bro, Like you're risking 514 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 2: all this money, You risking all this opportunity, You risking 515 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,080 Speaker 2: everything that you've worked for to take a chance to 516 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 2: do something. 517 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: That has nothing to do with you, you know what 518 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:32,080 Speaker 1: I'm saying. 519 00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 2: And I think a lot of them looked up to 520 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 2: me in that way, and I've had I've had to 521 00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 2: this day people reach out in that way. I have 522 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,800 Speaker 2: an incredible relationship with Colin Kaepernett, and after that moment 523 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 2: it was like kind of when we connected and he 524 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 2: thanked me, you know, for speaking up, but also said like, oh, 525 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:49,680 Speaker 2: that took a lot of. 526 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: Courage, you know what I mean. 527 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 2: And we've been friends ever since, you know, because we 528 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:58,240 Speaker 2: had that kind of that shared passion even if in 529 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:01,280 Speaker 2: a moment to to speak out. 530 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,360 Speaker 1: Do you think that your protest made a difference, I 531 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 1: don't care. 532 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:08,160 Speaker 2: I do not care if my protest made a difference. 533 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:11,400 Speaker 2: I do not care if Colin Kaepernick's protest makes a difference. 534 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,480 Speaker 2: I don't care if anybody's protests makes it different, and 535 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 2: they shouldn't either, because's not what you create for. That's 536 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 2: not what you play for, and that's not what you 537 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:22,280 Speaker 2: protest for. You do it because you care about it, 538 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 2: and it's put on your heart to speak out. 539 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 1: And let the chips fall where you're made. 540 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:29,280 Speaker 2: Because maybe that in and of itself is the reason. 541 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:32,600 Speaker 2: Maybe Colin seen some version of that, and it might 542 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 2: have been like, Oh, I don't like what he did here, 543 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 2: so I'm gonna do it this way. I don't like 544 00:31:36,600 --> 00:31:37,920 Speaker 2: what he said here, so I'm going to say it 545 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 2: this way, you know, and someone will see him. 546 00:31:41,320 --> 00:31:43,240 Speaker 1: I don't know what ten year old saw Colin. 547 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,960 Speaker 2: Kaepernick taking a knee, and when they turn thirty, are 548 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,720 Speaker 2: going to, you know, contribute to whatever pushes things forward. 549 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 2: But that's why it's important for you to let your 550 00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:54,920 Speaker 2: passion drive you. Somebody needs to be the spark to 551 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:57,040 Speaker 2: sparks Martin Luther King. Someone needs to be to spark 552 00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,479 Speaker 2: the spark Andrew Hawkins. Someone needs to spark Colin Kaepernick. 553 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:02,719 Speaker 2: Somebody needs to spark Samuel Jackson, and who knows who 554 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 2: Samuel Jackson in this story will spark you know, and 555 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 2: I think like for me, I don't know if I 556 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:10,640 Speaker 2: made a difference, but I know from that point forward 557 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 2: to maor Rights was national news. 558 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:14,440 Speaker 4: Thank you for all the time giving us. 559 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:15,480 Speaker 1: Appreciate you having me. 560 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 4: The Souls of Black Folks by W. E. B. Du 561 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,400 Speaker 4: Bois is a master text of Black American folklore. Du 562 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 4: Boys lays the tracks for one hundred years of black 563 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:30,240 Speaker 4: intellectual thought. He emphasizes his relationship the Black American should 564 00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 4: have with colleges universities. He writes, the function. 565 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 9: Of the university is not simply to teach bread winning, 566 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 9: or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to 567 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,720 Speaker 9: be a center of polite society. It is, above all 568 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,880 Speaker 9: to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real 569 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:50,240 Speaker 9: life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which 570 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 9: forms the secret of civilization. 571 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,840 Speaker 1: In the intellectual beef between the Boys and Booker T. Washington, 572 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:01,720 Speaker 1: those lines were a lethal distrack Atlanta. This idea sits 573 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:04,720 Speaker 1: at the very core of being a more houseman. The 574 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,320 Speaker 1: bold act of a Locke in protest would be just 575 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:11,000 Speaker 1: what more housemen would do. It's what they were taught, 576 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:13,400 Speaker 1: just not against their own administration. 577 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 4: Mass protest is still the most effective way to fight injustice. However, 578 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:23,040 Speaker 4: the state has weaponized our right to protest against us. 579 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 4: It has become a capital crime. 580 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:32,560 Speaker 1: Chaos on the streets of Argentina, anti capitalist demonstrators rioted. 581 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:36,320 Speaker 3: There are pockets of our society that are not just broken, 582 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 3: but frankly sick, which I poor, get poor. 583 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 1: If you come, I want to do this thing, We'll 584 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 1: do this. 585 00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 4: Everything has been demolished and everything as ashes now well 586 00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:45,560 Speaker 4: we want it. 587 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:46,560 Speaker 6: To be as part of the solution. 588 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:51,240 Speaker 1: But the protesters anger cannot be contained. The protest augments 589 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: the immune system of any republic. 590 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:55,800 Speaker 4: Next time on the A Building. 591 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 9: So in nineteen sixty eight when my uncle was killed, 592 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:01,440 Speaker 9: you want to know about that time and then the 593 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:02,800 Speaker 9: subsequent protest. 594 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 4: But Martin Luther King Jr. Who was not trying to 595 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:07,120 Speaker 4: divide anybody. 596 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:12,640 Speaker 1: The A Building is produced by Imagine Audio for iHeart Podcasts. 597 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,120 Speaker 1: It is written and hosted by me, Hans Charles and 598 00:34:16,200 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: my co host menelike La Mumba. 599 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,800 Speaker 4: It is executive produced by Carral Welker and Nathan Kloke. 600 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 4: Me menelik Lamomba and Hans. 601 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:28,800 Speaker 1: Charles executive producers at iHeart podcasts are Katrina Norville and 602 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,920 Speaker 1: Niki Torre. Marketing lead is David Wasserman. 603 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:35,840 Speaker 4: It is produced, directed, and edited by Timothy Fernarra, with 604 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:40,160 Speaker 4: producer John Asanti, sound design and music by Alloy. 605 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:44,360 Speaker 1: Trex and special thanks to April Ryan, Doctor, Elia Davis, 606 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:48,480 Speaker 1: Kim vc Ada, Bobby know and James Early. If you 607 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,600 Speaker 1: enjoyed this episode, be sure to rate and review the 608 00:34:51,640 --> 00:34:54,719 Speaker 1: A Building on Apple podcast or wherever you get your 609 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:55,280 Speaker 1: podcast