Welcome to another episode of Civic Cipher. I am your host, rams' Jah. I go by the name q Ward. Talked to him q.
Most of the time, so well, is it sometimes or most of the time? If it, what's the race you would have to be for it to be most instead of some?
It's okay, So yeah, most of the time they call me q Ward.
Yes, indeed, listen man, we got a interesting show to talk about today, and because the way the world works, we kind of got a lot of stuff entertainment based.
So we'll call this an entertainment special. That what you do about that?
I think we were overdue for entertainment special anyway, So run the play rounds.
Let's do it, so stick around. We are, of course going to be talking about the slap hurt around the world. What did the five fingers say to the face? I think those five fingers said slap slap. You gotta talk about that, but not for the reasons you may think. So definitely stick around because we have to break that down. There are some cultural elements that you may not be familiar with that are things that we wrestle with and
we would love to share them with you today. We're also going to be talking about rap beef and other types of beef, and like those viral videos of students fighting and those sorts of things, and how those things hit us as well. You know, there's a different weight that we carry that a lot of folks may not know about, So I definitely want to peel back some layers with respect to that. We're going to be talking about a woman named Hattie McDaniel for Our Way Black History. Fact.
She is an actress who was the first Oscar winner, first one nominated, first black woman and black person nominated to when Oscar, and we're going to share a little bit of her story. But first and foremost, we are going to talk about a man who maybe you remember from your childhood. I certainly do. His name is Tim Reid, and we're going to share a little bit about what's going on in his world. In Our Way, Sorry, in our em any excellent segment, Ramsey is just trying to
jump to the end of the show. I wasn't trying to do that. Topics put a lot of pressure on him today. Give him no no. So Tim Reid, for those that don't know, starred as the father in a show called Sister Sister, and this being our entertainment episode and the timeliness of this story coming out, we thought it'd be important to share kind of what he's been
working on. Not if you're like me, you hadn't caught up or kept up with this guy over the years, but you do remember him the show Sister Sister starring Tia and Timara, the twins, and he was their father. I think he was a widower in the show, and he raised the two girls with I guess it might have been their aunt or something like that. But a lot of like father daughter lessons and just father lessons.
So this guy kind of holds a special place in our youth, you know, in the way we remember it, not unlike that of Uncle Phil, you know, from the Fresh Prince. But what he's been up to is he's created his own streaming network. This comes from the Atlanta Black Star. By the way. He's created his own streaming network called LGCYTV. I believe he pronounces it Legacy TV. It's a quote from him. I'm not out to fight
and say blacks invented the world. I mean make a case for it, But the contextualization of history is important. It's important to me, Reid said of the opportunity. The network will include three channels, culture, history and sports. There's another quote, blacks have fought in every war on this planet. Those kinds of things are what I want to do. I can't expect everyone to tell the stories that I
want told. It's nice to see what black people have to say about white people for a change, economically, socially, the propaganda wars are real, it's powerful, it's real. There has to be another way. It has to be less filtered by the European pipeline, He said of his passion for his network and how it came to fruition. As it relates to people who may not develop an appreciation of the channel, Reid said, then don't tune in. Nothing wrong with a lot of opinions. Let's have some diversity.
So shout out to Tim Reid for starting his own network and hoping to tell more stories. Love to see it. There's your ebony excellence.
Now looking forward to it the topic of the day.
You know, we do this show every week, so there's been some time between when you first heard about this and when we had to process it. And you know, we always say we make this show it's a black show, but it's for non black people. It's kind of our way of giving you a glimpse into what it's like for us, your brothers and sisters, who you know. Maybe you are a thinking, loving, kind human being, but maybe you don't have the connection to the black community in
the way that you might like. And so we felt this show was necessary and we try to speak to you using that, bearing that in mind. But by now we're sure that you've seen the clip from the Oscars where Will Smith, you know, approached the stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face. I want to say something. I know you have a lot to say to you, so I'm going to give you the floor, but i want to say a couple of things. First, I've mentioned on the show that I do another program day to day.
I work with the Black Information Network, do a daily show, a daily podcast with him. And the day after that happened, I was very troubled, very very very extremely deeply troubled by Will Smith's slapping Chris Rock in the face on the world stage, and for people who might not know why, it was so unsettling, you know, I'm gonna give you
a little bit of insight here. You know. The next day, I woke up, had to talk with my other show producers and they asked, what's wrong, and I says, if I'm honest, I'm just having a I'm just very, very sad. And they're like, we can tell. Shout out to Tannita Meyer. She said that she's like, I can absolutely tell. I see every day, I know there's something off. She's like, what's the problem. And I says to her, I just
can't make that make sense. I can't believe that Will Smith slapped That's a special kind of assault from one man to another that we're not we're not here to break that part apart. But he slapped Chris Rock in the face in front of everyone. And you know, he had his reasons, but the fact that it happened just it was so unsettling. And my other show, I normally
talk about politics. I talk about you know, conceptual ideas and things like that, things that affect you know, the black population that you know, conversations of black folks need to discuss and need to be aware about. Right, this story was more of like a tabloid story. But my producer says, you know, no, absolutely, if you feel that strongly about it, ramses, that's the show we're going to do. She said, I feel the same way. And then the vice president of the company was on our call that
day and he said, I agree one hundred percent. We need to talk about this, right So I wrote a little bit of a monologue and I'm going to share some of it with you right now, just so you understand kind of how that feels.
And I just want to point out I'm hearing this monologue with you guys today live for the first time, so we get to take this in together, digest it fresh while you're listening, and give some some counter.
Feedback if you're and for those just so you know, actually I'll say that at the end. Okay, Sunday evening At the twenty twenty two Oscars, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face after Rock's mention of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Will Smith later received the award for Best Actor, and uses used his acceptance speech to mention his role as a protector and how quote art imitates life and quote now, I look like the angry father. Social media was promptly divided as to who had gone
too far. Rock or Smith. Why did Chris Rock make a joke that could be connected to Jada Pinkett Smith's medical condition and subsequent hair loss. Why didn't Will Smith take his wife's hand and just walk out in protest. Regardless of the answers, we are left with a disturbing situation that played out on the world stage. We are left with the people that society tells us to try to emanate looking like the very people's society has come
to fear angry, violent blacks. So what does it mean for the rest of us now that these two black comedic icons have ended up in this situation? So this is how I got the ball rolling on the show, But the way I closed it out was as follows. We've all been on one or maybe even both sides of a situation like this. The difference is that we probably weren't being tested in full view of the world. If you're like me, you hear the news stories of violence or theft or drugs, and you hope in your
heart that the suspect isn't black. Pause. Remember this is me talking to a black audience right now that I'm talking to you, our listener today, I know that this is not necessarily a black audience. But on this show, it's on the Black Information Network, it's for a black audience. So when I'm saying this that whenever we watch news stories about drugs or theft or violence, we hope that the suspect isn't black. That's a very real thing for
black people. Right We're gonna, We're gonna peel some of those layers back. I'll continue. The part that feels unfair is that white people don't seem to experience this in the same way. White people are allowed to have cultural and behavioral outliers to a degree that black people are not. We don't live in fear that all white men are mass shooters to the degree that white people often live in fear that black men are thugs and gang members.
Right now, there are, of course, not all white people feel this way, and some Black people feel that way. But if we really take into account how it really feels to live in this world, one of those things is way more true than the other. Okay, I'll continue. We know that our outliers often reinforce or further shaped stereotypes that aren't true to the fullness of our black stories. Some of us might talk during comedies or horror movies.
But I've been in rooms where white people talk through friends reruns, aching to tell me behind the scenes details are all about their favorite parts. The thing is that they don't worry that they are misrepresenting all white people. In other words, there's a burden, an extra burden that we carry. That burden came to the forefront when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face. Oh now, they ain't gonna never let us back in here no more. You know what I mean. It's like a real thing,
you know. So let me continue and then we can break this down. When looking at Will Smith, perhaps the disconnect is that the black man would say, let me not misrepresent my people, but the man would say let me and my wife that night we saw Will Smith, the man, Okay, I'm not saying anybody's right or wrong. I would never do that. I'll continue. We live in a society that doesn't allow black men to be men. First. The same is true with black women, you know what
I mean. An angry woman protecting her children, for example, is simply an angry woman, But an angry black woman is this cultural monster. The same is true for the angry black man. Historically, our manhood wasn't even a part of this new American identity. Remember, they used to refer to us as boy and in some places they still do. So maybe no one won out of this situation, but at the very least, now the whole world knows a
bit more about what we're up against. If Leonardo DiCaprio had slacked Jerry Seinfeld, the story might be half as big. If that two black men leading excellent black lives at the height of fame and wealth. However, and the ripples go further. It's almost like black excellence as a concept is being called into question. That is a weight too heavy for me to bear. So this was how I closed out my show or my podcast Weekly Podcast, which if you want to check that out, just download the
iHeartRadio app and look up the Black Information Network. You're bound to find it. But this kind of gives you an idea of how a moment like that between two black people, like I'm so grateful that Chris Rock didn't respond, because imagine what it looks like if two black men are fighting. It looks like the Source Awards, you know what I mean, And that's you know, we have to
be perfect to be good enough. You know, we can't have human moments, and thank god, I believe that Chris Rock kind of saved that moment for us, you know, because it could have gotten a lot worse. But what I'm trying to impress upon you is not who is right or wrong, but that there's another burden that we
all have to bear. Like it's almost like we are no. We can never be better than what the best of us is, right, and if the best of us, in your mind is Will Smith, then the best of us just dropped the couple rungs on the ladder, and that's why we all had to shoulder that burden as well. Now I've talked a lot, I do want you because I know you got a lot to give me. Q go ahead, jump in rams.
It's so much, you know what I mean, Like, I don't know that we have enough show for all that I have to give, because it's not like.
Will Smith is the best of us. Will Smith is actually the best of us. It's not like, you know what I mean, It's not like he's the best, He's actually the best of us. There's Tom Hanks, there's Will Smith. And maybe that weight is unfair but it wasn't unknown. And this is where my problem starts. The topic has become explosive in its divisiveness amongst people, but especially amongst us. You know, I've seen all the If it ain't that,
it ain't memes and tweets right right. If you're not going on stage to slap in my honor, then that's not the love that I want, which is a great mean to pass along and laugh about. Except I came across some words pointing out that Will Smith proved in that space or in that moment, that he didn't belong in that room, and those thoughts would have seemed ridiculous the day before that happened, and his action in that heated moment should not define him.
Except that's the world we live in, and we cannot decide when we feel like it. Well, why do we care what white people think about us? Anyway?
Oh so then what's all this talk about progress?
And you know a few years ago there was a boycott of the Oscars because not enough black people were being represented.
Correct, So we care or we don't care? I'm confused, y'all. Let me know, send me a DM. You know, you can put a letter in the mail if you want, but let me jump in right here please. So this is why this is the burden. Okay, we all stand shoulder to shoulder in solidarity that, yes, we do need more black representation, not just black people. There are non black allies that stand with us. Yes, there needs to be more diversity. There needs to be more women, There needs to be more l G B, t q I
A plus representation. There needs to be more Native uh An indigenous representation, and so forth and so on, Asian American and Asian you know, bona fide Asian.
UH and and Hispanic and and and so forth, right, And that is true. We do need that. And we've all stood together, we've all boycotted or voiced our opinions or shared things online or whatever, and the feeling like, okay, we're standing in solidarity, our voices are being heard. We see progress. There there's more. There's more films, We see more uh empowerment of women and and black folks and and on down the list. We you know, there's there's
been more of that. Right, The weight of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face on live television and embarrassing everyone, making everybody extremely uncomfortable right what it looks like and feels like to me and to us a lot of us. I can't speak for every black person, but I do live a black life in a black community. It feels like, well, now that we got here, that's how you're going to act, you know, I and I
get it. I get it. There are some people who say that man had to defend his wife, he had to get up there, and he had to draw the line somewhere, whatever, whatever the case. But if you're going to the optics of this are okay? Are we all moving forward? That show is produced by a black person, by Will Packer. By the way, there were black presenters, women present you know, there was. There was a concerted effort to make it. But the award of the night.
Was presented to Will Smith, the fifth black man in the history of the Academy to win the award for Best Actor. That isn't even an afterthought. It's not even a thought. No one's talking about that. In a passing of the torch moment in a category up against Denzel Washington, Will Smith won that award. No one cares, and some people won't remember because of what happened a few minutes before, you.
Know the idea that.
Our woman in the space of bad words has to be defended by her masculine hero of a man because she can't articulate in her own right, because it's words. If that man had physically attempted to assault his woman and got slapped in the face, then you got what you had coming. But a comedian cracked a joke, as they do. They do that, And I don't know if
you guys have ever watched the Academy Awards. It's a room full of really really rich, really really successful people giving each other trophies for being really rich and successful. So part of the reason why there's a comedian hosting every year is to kind of make fun of the really rich, successful people in the room side. That's the whole point of it.
I get that. And I don't know if you guys have ever met Jada Pinkett. Of course they haven't.
But I don't even mean in a personal sense. I mean as an onlooker, as a fan, as a viewer a film TV the Red Table. She doesn't have a problem with defending herself as an orator. She's not some damsel.
That The reason I said that because for those that don't know, Q actually does meet these people. Q has met Will Smith. He actually lives that life, and that's why it was a joke. Of course they haven't you have.
And pointing that out as to why this night was so difficult for me. Some of the best advice I got as a young man trying to come into my own as a professional was from Will Smith at his home.
So I was let down in a very personal way. The other night.
I watched it about to happen, thinking there's no way that this is about to happen. And I think the reason why so many people's response was this has to be fake is because in their mind, it could not be real that he would do that to him. Yeah, you know, I brought up the idea that this somehow proved that he didn't belong in that room, and how ridiculous that seems. However, the action in and of itself
proves the detractor right. I'm going to to add some levity or make light of a situation I used to manage. I used to be a road manager for comedians, most noteworthy of them Earthquake.
Who's Special just dropped on Netflix. Check it out. It's hilarious part of their yearly calendar.
At some point there is a space in the routing for those guys to leave the country and go support our troops. Earthquake bo Hugh Ley, like all of the biggest and best touring comedians, took some time out to go make our troops laugh, you know, in Japan and all over the world where our troops are based away
from their families, defending our freedoms. And I'll never forget DL bringing up a story where on one of the bases, you know, the black guys show up at Popeyes, and the manager in Popeyes comes from behind the counter and says,
I knew you would come. He meant this in the most racist way possible, except the black men are standing in Popeyes right and now all you can do is laugh at the truth and what should have been insulting When you walk on stage and you slap Chris Rock in the face ten minutes before you win the Best Actor Award, all the people that want to say that the best of us are still not them because we are prone to violence, because we can't articulate, because we can't problem solve our way out of stuff.
We just want to fight that's the weight and hold on, let me let me, let me just say this, that weight is unfair. It is because you know what, as I mentioned in my monologue for my other show, I'm not Will Smith, every individual person should be able to make their decisions and be judged by their individual decisions. Right. You know, I'm not the sort of person that laughs in the movie theater or talks throughout the horror movies. I don't even watch horror movies, but I am. It's
sort of married to that stereotype. So I have to be extra careful. When I leave a hotel room. I try my best to leave it clean because the last thing I need is for somebody who is not black to come in there and be like, black people are so dirty, right, reinforcing I'm somehow reinforcing some not completely asinine stereotype, you know, And it's unfair to have to
live under that pressure. You know, Will Smith walking on stage slapping Chris Rock sets me back because now the next time I get angry about something, you know, I have to be mindful of the fact that now people are looking like, I don't know what you're gonna do. You know, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm not Will Smith. I'm a different person. And so that's I believe a very different experience than from white folks, because again, if thoms Hank slaps someone, white people don't
wear that in the same way. And I think that is kind of what I wanted to press when I was writing this. Now, we do have to take a break right here, but we're going to come back with a little bit more