Civic Cipher 021922 Is Melanin a Threat? (Part 2)

become a better ally, so one of the things. Normally I have these things a little bit more flesh out for you, our listener, but today we're going to keep it simple. You and I. We do a lot of show prep for the show. We take twenty to thirty percent of the happenings that come our way in a given week, and we try to make a program out of it and try to fit as much into it

as we can. There's one person that has come up very consistently, and we can't share all of his brilliant thoughts and his brilliant takes on some of the goings on in the United States with respect to black people and other social issues. So I implore you to check out his TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. It's at Tizzy e n T. That's ti zz Y e n T. The

guys name is Michael. He seems like a middle aged white man, which is a perspective that we feel is necessary for us to have a conversation, you know, to have a conversation. He obviously views life through that lens, but also it seems to be a very fair man. It's hard to pin whether or not he's a conservative or a liberal in his beliefs, but he does seem to be very measured and his thoughts are very well

fleshed out. Most recently, he had a video about why you can't be proud of being white, and he explains it brilliantly. It's not that you can't be proud to be Scottish or Irish, journey that sort of stuff, but white is a color and black is a color as well, but black because of slavery. It's not like many black people know exactly where in Africa they hail from, and so black as a term is not necessarily the opt

sit of white. And then he talks about the roots of you know, white power versus black power and so forth, and really makes it an interesting case where it. So once again, follow at Tizzy e n T on TikTok, Instagram or Twitter, get some additional perspective in your life and become a better ally. And of course we share a lot of his stuff as well, so follow us on our social media at Civic Cipher. If you can't remember at Tizzy e n T now Q is melan In a threat?

But I wanted to start this segment off with that quote, jaywalking is a fantasy crime from Hannibal burs I'm gonna read this headline to you, and obviously there's a little bit more of a story here, but I just want to read the headline and let that sit for a minute. This is from the grioh Okay da clears deputy who killed black man after suspected jaywalking. Orange County prosecutors ruled that Deputy Eduardo Durand was justified in his shooting of

a homeless black man. That is the headline that's heavy right now. A lot of people are going to say, well, what did he do? There's the justice system works most of the time, So how in the world did this officer get cleared if you know, the homeless man did nothing wrong, if it was only jaywalking, Well, we'll get into that. But the point I want to make now and then once we get into it, is that jaywalking

is a fantasy crime. But is it a fantasy crime if you have melanin in your body, in your skin?

or my family. So here we go. In Orange County, sheriff who fatally shot an unarmed, homeless black man in twenty twenty will not be facing criminal charges, according to the District Attorney's office and dash cam footage released to the public, Deputies Eduardo Duran and Jonathan Israel are seen following forty two year old Kurt Andreas Reinhold, who is now deceased, in their police cruiser before stopping him on

suspicion of jaywalking in a San Clemente neighborhood. Now I want to stop there for a second, because that suspected jaywalking is a lot of us who have that melon and we call that harassment. We call that being black and nearby, black and nearby, that's the phrase. I was just black and nearby, and the police hit me up. Right, or the police were harassing me, they were bothering me, right, that's a fan that I didn't do it, that the world will still turn. You know, I've caused no harm

to and I get that. You know, they have to enforce the laws, but how does someone end up dead? Okay, jump into.

him on suspicion of jaywalking. Sure, and I if I hadn't stop him, forge are you understanding what I'm saying. We didn't stop him for jaywalking. We stopped him because he might be somebody that jaywalked.

So a lot of people as they're traveling.

pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. On this show, Q, we founded a nonprofit and we feed homeless people every month and we have a partnership with the shelter in our city, and we go and we use these hands and we make food and we feed homeless, our homeless brothers and sisters, and we provide hygiene kids, and we hear their stories, and we've heard them for ten years now, right you So you can't say that to us because

we know that it's not so easy. It's not there's crazy stories and everyone is unique, and then of course there's drugs and there's you know, but there's problems. And what you see is that there's a whole society that's giving up on these human beings. And we do our best to kind of continue to see the humanity and to understand that you know, you're never too far away from your lowest point, and that shouldn't define you as

a human being anyway. So one thing I didn't mention is that a lot of time the police want to clean up the riff raft quote unquote in nice neighborhoods, so get the homeless folks out, so they'll pull them over, pull up on them for whatever reason. But if you're black, perhaps that melanin in your skin makes you look a little bit more sinister, a little bit more criminal, and perhaps they feel like they probably take more aggressive action

if you're black. It's a speculation, but I'm in a position to do it because I have a few examples here, and these examples go back all the way to the beginning of this country, So I'll continue. This police duo then proceeded to detain Reinhold, at one point, wrestling him to the ground. Before Reinhold, they said, grabbed Israel's gun holster, prompting Duran to fire two shots at him. The two officers are part of the department's homeless outreach liaison, So

a few things here. Those officers are supposed to work with the homeless people, right, I guess the guy was walking away and kind of ignoring their commands, and they ended up, you know, wrestling them, tackling them. And I'm just going to offer the benefit of the doubt to

the deceased. If you have two trained men on you and you're afraid, and the full weight of their body is pressing you into the pavement and you're flailing about trying to find some sort of I don't know, position to where you can breathe or not break a limb or something, break a bone, and you know, your hand ends up near an officer's hip, you know, I just it's hard for me to imagine a person underneath the weight of two adult men thinking, oh, the gun.

And this man had a life, and it's not he doesn't have that life anymore. And he was black, and right now we have to be his voice, and so that is a possibility in the same way that you know, he could have grabbed my gun and tried to harm me. Right But the point that I was making initially was that he was jaywalking.

you have to just be harmed or killed. And if you try to defend yourself, that in and of itself is criminal, especially if you're black. Is that how this works? Because I saw a white guy hit a cop with a truck and then the cop just pointing his fingers thirnly at him and did nothing. So I'm just wondering how this law thing works if you're black and you live here, or is it just go back to your country?

Like how does this work? People that are listening, that are hearing me get more angry as I talk about this man. It was hard to not curse right there, Like as our options be bullied, beat up and murdered and shut up about it, or die, and that's it. Because we're black, the nature of us resisting being beat up and murdered is criminal. Because we're black. We can't just be citizens and exist right up to the police decide. Today, I feel like messing with you, I feel like violating

and disrespecting you. And because I feel like it, and because you're black, you kind of have to take it until I'm tired of doing it. To you right, I'm gonna deny you your civility, your dignity, and your self respect. I'm gonna treat you like crap, and I need you to take it. I need you to shut up, don't move, even if you can't breathe or it feels like I'm crushing you until I don't feel like messing with you anymore. And because you're black, you just have to take it.

Even if you did nothing at all. And if you defend yourself, I'll say you did something, and by nature that's criminal and justifies everything I did to harm you.

this country to have guns. Now, if you have melanin and you have a gun, the image in your mind, if you're listening, the image in your mind might have shifted a bit, you know, because if you're a patriot and you have a gun, it's like, well, that's his right, but Amrica. But if you're black and you have a gun, well, what was he doing with a gun. Obviously, the police couldn't shouldn't shoot him if he had a gun, you know, or they should shoot him if he had a gun.

He was a black man with a gun. The cops need to worry about themselves. Let me paint this picture. We didn't get to talk about this yet, but this from CNN body camera video shows Minneapolis officers shooting black man during no knock warrant. Attorneys say he wasn't the target. Sorry, it took us so long to get to this story, but a lot of stuff to talk about. In the early morning hours of Wednesday, February second, Minneapolis police officers gently placed a key in a city apartment door before

bursting through the doorway yelling police search weren't. And the seconds that followed, a black man named mer Locke, apparently asleep and shown to be holding a gun upon awakening, was shot and killed. The shooting by an officer on the swat team in a city that came to represent ground zero for the police reform movement, raised questions from Locke's family and others about the city's weren't policy. In total, the city released fourteen seconds of real time video. So

what we have. There is a mere lock. Finally we're talking about him. This is a weekly show, so we can only do stuff. It's tough to stay on top of everything. But a mere lock. He was in his apartment. He wasn't on the search warrant, wasn't named, or was in an apartment. I'm not sure if it was his. People are banging on the door, kicking in the door. And if you don't see these people, the bad guys

could kick in your door and say police. You know, all I know is somebody's kicking on, banging on your door or yelling, and as they move intough your house or whatever the case is. Because I guess they weren't banging on the doors a no knock, but you know they're in the house and yelling. That's enough to scare you. And if you're afraid, you might grab your gun. And because we know that it's you have the right to bear arms in this country. That he had done nothing

criminal at that point. And and my understanding is that if you point the weapon at someone, that can be interpreted as you know, willingness to kill. You know, it's a gun, it's a business end of a murder weapon. Right. But if you have it sort of hanging in the general vicinity of where someone might be standing who is not you, you know, then at what point was this man denied his right to bear arms?

we were both there at the same time. Let me get this last one in and then the last word goes to UQ. This last one. Complex magazine investigation underway over racial bias as video shows police handcuffing black teen following fight at mall. A fight between two teenagers at a New Jersey mall is being investigated. Footage of the incident appears to show that police who handled the situation

treated the teens differently based on their race. CBS New York reports the children got into a scuffle at the Bridgewater Commons mall when officers arrived, The black teen was aggressively handcuffed on the ground, while the other teen, who by different reputable outlets had been called white Latino and white passing Latino, remained untouched and was seen sitting on a couch. The clip shows officers kneeling on the back of a fourteen year old Kai for almost thirty seconds

as they cuff him. Quote if they don't know how to treat the situation and deal with the situation equally unfairly, then they shouldn't be able to deal with the situation at all, Kai told the news outlet. He added, quote, I was confused, like why they saw me as a bad person, like me as an aggressor, explaining he got into a fight because the other boy was tormenting Kai's friend. Now two people fighting, two teenagers fighting, and it's just

a scuffle. No one's like hurt, hurt, you know, police run run over, separate the two right, and then both pin the black child down, handcuff him while the white kid sits on the couch. And it's on video, you can watch it yourself. And now there's this whole thing. So to me, that's another example how Melanin has you know, played a role. How melanin is the threat? You know they're responding to this. The white kid was just as culpable,

just as guilty. There were two people fighting, it wasn't no one got jumped, you know, and by his account, Kai was standing up for one of his friends, so got about thirty seconds left. What do you think.

Except the little kid was black, and he was wrestled to the ground, face down and arrested with both of those cops on his back, while the big bully kid sat and watched him and then stood up over him. It's like they made sure the white kid was okay and then made sure the black kid was in cuffs in that order. It's disgusting, and we don't have to ask why because it isn't speculation around. We have too much evidence for that we all went to science class.

There's a control group here. Well, we did the research, we did the experiment, we have the results. Our hypothesis have been proven true for hundreds of years now. That kid's skin was darker, so he was clearly the problem.

that closed the entrance. A grinning negro face bobbed and grimace to a hole in the back curtain, paying to rep present a jungle river the Negro's head game. Sorry, the negroes head came right out of the spread.

what it was trying to say, but I'll continue. This was a common chant at numerous carnivals, fairs, and circuses across the United States throughout the late nineteenth century until the mid nineteen forties as Americans took part and one of their favorite pastimes African Dodger. The African dodger, also known as hit the Inward Baby or hit the Coon, was as commonplace in local fairs, carnivals, and circuses as

ferris wheels and roller coasters are today. The purpose of the game was to hit the target with a ball with one of your three throws and win a prize. It sounds like a common carnival target game, but there was one unsettling part of the game, namely, the game's target was a real, live human being, a Negro human being,

and Saint Louis. In nineteen thirteen, it was reported that carnival organizers were unable for hours today to secure an African Dodger who would allow baseballs to be thrown at his cranium at the usual rate of three for five cents. The reason was that future Hall of Fame fastball pitcher Walter Dodger sorry Walter Johnson, was rumored to be at

the fear. The game was so popular nationwide that newspapers mentioned the African Dodger game along with trained animals, illusionist penny arcades, merrygo rounds, and magic shows in the list of carnival attractions. Dodgers made headlines when they were seriously and horrifically injured. Otherwise they were nameless victims. In nineteen oh four, in New York, the Meridian Daily Journal reported how at Dodger was smashed in the nose by a

professional baseball player. The General reported that Albert Johnson dodged fifty or sixty cents worth of ballstone by cannonball Gillon of the Clifton Athletic Club. Finally, Johnson exposed his head and face a little farther than usual and was caught by a curve ball that left him unconscious. The article, which was written as a play by play, commentary of the incident concluded with the report that it quote will probably be necessary to amputate the nose in order to

save Johnson's life. But this was not the only report of serious injuriers injuries to the dodger. There were numerous reports of such incidents. For example, at the Sheridan Methodist Protestant Church Street Fair in Pittsburgh, John Jones failed to dodge and was hit squarely in the eye. In Ohio, Grady Williams was struck in the eye by a stone by someone who stood to one sign and threw a stone at the Negro at an Elks Lodge jubilee in Washington, DC,

just seventeen miles from the White House. The quote visiting Elks were royally entertained as inward babies were hit with baseballs until they were unable to maintain their upright position end quote. The African Dodger game was widespread in American society in every part of the country. If you could not make it to the fair, you could purchase for sixty nine cents an African Dodger table game, which featured a caricature of black face poking through a canvas reading

hit the dodger, knock him out. Every time you hit sambo, the bell rings. But how could this all be? How could such a barbaric practice be such an integral part of a quote civilized society? How could Americans justify this practice? Were there any objections? One response to objections to the brutality of the African dodger game was to some authorities

to provide scientific quote unquote findings on the topic. A short article in the Wayne County Democrat cited authorities on anthropology that's also in quotes who state that the negro has a very heavy and massive cranium, constituting a bony arch of great resisting power. One scientist refer to the common habit of negroes of both sexes and budding like rams. Of course, while I'm reading this, you know this isn't true.

This is bogus science that people use to help justify slavery and all kinds of gross atrocities that people did to black people back then, like saying black people don't feel pain, and all kinds of weird stuff. This is bogus, but I'll continue reading. Indicates that the negro's headbones have defensive strength unknown in the Caucasian race. The newspaper assures its readers that the dodger doesn't mind. He seems cheerful

about it. The players of the game, the ones who throw the ball, are just men with a man's desire to display his powers, particularly in front of women friends. The article finally concludes that until there's evidence that shows fractured skulls and brain contusions, or until the dodger takes issue himself, the game will continue. Warning is provided to the dodger, who may be considering a new line of work that quote, he might regret to lose a daily

wage that comes with less effort than manual labor. Last little bit here. In nineteen eleven, some carnivals ushered in a new game for the quote. Progressive era called the African Dip, the precursor to the dunk tank. So now if you ever play with a dunk tank, you know the origins, all right, I'll continue. The game was arranged that every time a baseball hits a target, a colored man seated upon a bar is thrown into a large bowl of water. It is said to be lots of fun.

This new game didn't entirely replace the African Dodger. Versions of the original African Dodger were found still found. In the nineteen fifties, some carnivals and fairs decided to use targets that resembled African Americans instead of using real people. Promoters sold the entire family doll racks that were used

as targets at amusement parks. The development of amusement parks in permanent locations increased the popularity of the African Dip game because it's hard to travel with the African Dip dunk tank. Riverview Amusement Park in Chicago, Illinois was well know. Sorry in Illinois was well known for their popular African Dip attraction, which was a stable there until the nineteen fifties. All right, twenty seconds Q anything. Okay, Well that was a lot to read. It is very heavy, but you

know it's got to We gotta do this. You know, I'm still optimistic.

and every week to Civic Cipher. Once again, I'm your host, ramses Jah.

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