Just got off the phone from the interview, it was only about 3 or 4 minutes long. It was a 7 minute call and we spent a couple minutes on the front end chatting while he was getting the technical stuff set up and checking my audio levels, and a couple minutes on the back end catching up a bit.
I hit on as much as I could, and I think he’ll end up using one or two things. I was expecting a text around this time to set up a time for later, but we just did it now so I wasn’t set up to record it and share, but I had already done the prep on getting my notes down just in case he wanted to do it early in the day.
It might be interesting to some people to see how I prepped and hear about the process, so here are my notes. Bolded is what I managed to work in during the 3-4 minutes, italics are me commenting now on how it went or showing what his question was. Don’t mind the lack of complete sentences in some spots, from my broadcasting days I know that I’m able to fill in the gaps and give a more natural-sounding answer if it’s not totally scripted.
HOW AM I FEELING? (He caught me off guard asking me for a one word answer, so I said angry then expanded to explain that it was extremely difficult to go with one word)
I’ve been more angry and sad than I’ve ever been about what’s going on in this country, distraught, confused by so many people’s inability to understand this issue and just come out and say Black Lives Matter. But also at times grateful and inspired by what I’m seeing some of these protesters put themselves through to be heard. I’d say I’ve felt almost every emotion over the last week, cranked up to about an 11.
(I’m mad at myself I didn’t say “Black Lives Matter” but I knew if he wanted one word I needed to zip through it to get anything else included.)
WHAT HAVE I DONE? (and he also framed the question as what I think white allies can do. If this was a contained interview running in full, I would have opened this question with “Well, first of all, I don’t think it’s for white allies to dictate what white allies can do, step one is to listen.” Since he’s looking for soundbytes to cut up, though, I didn’t want to challenge the frame of the question - the question won’t air. Also he’s black so I’m sure he doesn’t need to be challenged personally on that.)
Every day I’ve debated about protesting, because I have a few coronavirus risk factors, so I’m waiting to see what happens with those numbers.
- Donated to a few bail funds helping protesters
- Made some connections to offer assistance to local protesters if they’re threatened by white supremacists (we’ve had some groups roaming with weapons), brutality, or the weather (tornado)
- Very active on social media on these issues, showing what’s happening on the ground and amplifying messages that were powerful
- Attempted to speak at the city budget hearing to advocate for reductions in the police budget and a shift of those funds towards the community, slots are full so I’ll submit in writing
- Comitting to making this a voting priority for me - it’s going from something I check positions on and factor in to a requirement to get my vote
- Engaging with family and friends in a more direct and blunt way, which can vary by situation. I’m not nudging people once and giving up anymore, I’m pushing a lot harder. Few things I’ve been repeating:
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Nobody is asking white people to have less justice or safety, we want African-Americans to have the same amount we do. There’s nothing to fear here, nothing to be lost.
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It’s not enough to say that you support changes and then do nothing else, you have to make it a voting priority in both primaries and general elections, at the very least.
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Perhaps most importantly, listen to what people of color have to say, and be open to it and think about it. then ask yourself how angry, how frustrated and how scared would you have to be to go stand toe to toe with police shooting tear gas and rubber bullets with no protection other than a sign demanding that your life matters.
(There’s a part I wish I got in. I wasn’t following 1, 2, and 3 off my notes because the timer in my head was going off to wrap it up for him, so I was off the cuff on the listening part - I got to the end of the list of what I’ve done and remembered to hammer “LISTEN!” I think the part about staring down a police line with nothing more than a sign is powerful, but you can’t get everything in.)
SOLUTIONS
We need to change laws, city, state and federal. We need to change the people making the laws, because they haven’t been getting the job done. We need to continue with direct action to apply increasing pressure. We also need to be introspective of our social interactions, how we treat each other and what we assume about each other.
White people need to listen, not dictate terms. I’m happy to contribute ideas to the discussion though.
I had this list here in case it was a longer interview and he was going to use most/all of it. I wasn’t sure if this was like an hour program with several interviews of alums and such, or if it was going to be like a 5 minute piece and he just needed a couple soundbytes. I wanted to be prepared with a list of reform ideas in case it came up.
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Accountability - it needs to be easier to charge and convict police officers, harder to rehire fired cops in other cities, and they should be held to a higher standard with stricter sentencing given their authority.
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Body cameras on all cops at all times, and it neesd to be a crime to turn them off - and a serious felony to use force without it on, even if the use of force is justified.
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Responsibility to Protect - needs to be made into law that officers on the scene have a duty to protect people from crime by other officers, to intervene and even arrest officers on the scene. Violation should be a career ender in violent cases and lead to charges.
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Responsibility to De-escalate - slow down interractions, use everything at their disposal before using lethal force, better training to perceive threats and non-threats and that’s an area where the systemic racism needs to be addressed and unprogrammed.
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Community Policing - Police should live in and be representative of their communities. They should know the people they are proteting and serving.
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Admit that More Police are Not the Only Solution to More Crime - Education, community investment that creates economic opportunities in underprivileged communities
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Train Police to Think More, Apply More Reason - It seems like their intensity in these reactions goes from 0 to 10 in an instant, they need to be trained to better recognize situations. Selling loose cigarettes or passing a bad $20 bill should not lead to any violent use of force whatsoever if the person is just standing there. Asking why you’re being arrested or arguing your innocence should not be met with a choke hold, a knee to the neck, or any escalation in force. Retribution and justice are not for the police to take.
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No shield from civil accountability if they violate laws or regulations.
CONCERNS FOR BLACK FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES, FAMILY MEMBERS
- Their safety
- Their feeling of safety
- Their happiness and ability to pursue whatever they want in life
I also added something substantial that wasn’t in my notes, he asked the question about solutions with the sub question of where I hope we go from here as a country and as a society:
I hope people know that this might move slowly. We should get everything changed that we can in the short-term, but I hope protesters don’t give up if things don’t change tomorrow or the next day, and that everyone follows through with the hard work that comes next. It takes time to write and pass laws, it takes time for elections to roll around, and it takes time to keep applying pressure from direct action. A good example of that from this week: it’s been six years since Ferguson, and they just elected their first black mayor and first woman as mayor. So it’s really important to stay the course.
Earlier he said my answer on “what have I done and what do I think white allies can do?” was the money answer he would use, then when I said that about staying the course and all, he said, “Whoa, actually that might be the money quote.” So I feel pretty good that I gave him some good stuff. I’m mad I didn’t explicitly say “Black Lives Matter,” because it was important to me going in, but obviously my feelings on that were made clear. I’m mad I didn’t get the part in about white people needing to make it a voting priority, but I mentioned myself doing that as something that allies can do, so hopefully that gets used and people hear it as something they should be doing as well. All in all, I’m happy with it and thrilled I got to do it. I let him know I’m always available for anything he needs.
Obviously you can prepare more if you know in advance you’re going to be interviewed, but if you’re going to a protest and hoping for the opportunity or planning to engage with the media, it’s definitely a good idea to pick like 2 or 3 bullet points you want to hammer, and practice how you want to word it and what you want to say. In that situation you won’t be able to look down at notes, and if you’re not used to being on camera or on-air you may have some nervous adrenaline, so trying to remind yourself of what message you want to get out is going to be important.
