Part 1 June 18, 2025. Juneteenth Continues / What’s Going On in LA?

Part 1 of today's podcast focuses on Juneteenth and the latest news on the LA Protests. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Broadcasting from the Civic Cipher Studios. Welcome to the QR Code,
where we share perspective, seek understanding, and shape outcomes. I
am Ramsey's ja.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He is Ramsay's jaw, and I'm a person that he
met doing charity work. He just invited to the studio
to talk about the world. You can call me Q though.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
All right, yes, the one and only, and we have
another show. It would be a good show, but another
show for you. A lot of heavy stuff to get
through today, but such as life, we want you to
stick around because we're going to start off on a
positive I think Juneteenth seems to be in full effect
this year despite all the attacks from the current administration.

(00:43):
So we're going to share some of the happy news
going on with that and ways that you can help
blow it up even bigger. Let these corporations know that
we're here to stay. We're also going to be talking
about the conversations I guess taking place around the country.
Is what's going on in LA a riot or is

(01:03):
it a protest? And I'm gonna do my best to
share both sides of it. He was gonna make sure
to balance me out as usual. We're also gonna hear
from Q. You know, he's got some opinions on whether
or not it's okay to wave the Mexican flag on
US soil, so that we want you to stick around
for as well. Another thing you may not know, a

(01:24):
white dairy farmer is suing Trump's USDA over alleged racial discrimination.
So we're gonna get into the weeds and offer our
opinion on that as well. And then yesterday was Kendrick
Lamar's birthday. In the day before that was Tupac's birthday.
So when we talk about entertainment, I feel like I'm

(01:44):
going to get into the weeds a little bit there
and just let you know kind of how special these
two artists are in terms of shaping the culture and
really the place that hip hop has in you know,
an activism, you know timeline. So before we get to
all that, we're going to start off with a feel
good feature. So today I'm going to share a bit

(02:06):
from the Black Information Network and this is just a
really cool story. So a twelve year old boy is
being hailed as a hero after he rescued his grandmother
and two brothers from a burning home in Virginia. Per
people on June third. First responders were called to a
structure fire visible with flames and heavy smoke in Petersburg
at roughly eight point fifty one AM. Responders arrived at

(02:29):
the scene and found all the occupants were safely out
of the home. According to the Petersburg Fire and Rescue
Emergency Services, twelve year old Ramir Parker acted at the
first signs of the fire and rescued his grandmother and brother.
Parker was upstairs when he heard a strange crackling and
rattling sound, growing louder by the second. He stepped into
the hallway, Ramiir spotted thick, black smoke coming from the basement.

(02:50):
The twelve year old reportedly yelled fire to Alert's grandmother
of the situation without hesitation. Ramiir ran into the smoke
and scooped up both of his little brothers and let
everyone out of the home. As glass shattered and the
heat intensified, the young boy kept his composure and got
his family to safety before the units arrived. According to reports,
it took first responders twenty minutes to get to the

(03:10):
fire and get everything under control, as live power lines
were also set ablaze in the incident. The fire repeatedly
stemmed from an electrical issue in the downstairs with home
and was ruled an accident. Petersburg Fire and Rescue Emergency
Services praised Parker for his quick thinking and selfless bravery
quote in a moment where seconds mattered, he stepped up

(03:31):
just like a firefighter would, just like a protector does. Ramirror,
we see you, We salute you. You showed the heart
of a fireman today and the soul of a warrior unquote.
Petersburg Fire Rescue and Emergency Services set in a statement
noting that the twelve year old would be honored for
his service at an upcoming award ceremony. And to be fair,
it's tough to find stories that make you feel good,

(03:53):
which is why sometimes we do have to dig in
the crates a bit. But this one certainly does fit
the bill. So a shout out to ramir for making
us feel good. All right. Indeed, Juneteenth continues so again
for folks that may not know a lot about the
great Quentin Jerome Ward and Ramsa's jah Rudy King Taylor

(04:18):
the second who hosts this show. You know we we
also host another show called Civic Cipher. We travel the
country we you know, work with a lot of civil
rights organizations, We work with activist groups. We speak, we write,
we share our perspective, and we're very fortunate to have
a lot of support, and you know, we were able

(04:40):
to cover you know, Juneteenth becoming a holiday. A lot
of folks push back at the time because the Biden
administration had promised so much more than Juneteenth. But I
famously said, as I do very often, is Juneteenth is
not nothing. And now a lot of folks are still

(05:04):
are are you know, making their about face because they're
clinging on to Juneteenth because Donald Trump is actively kind
of taking everything that you know, centers blackness, that illuminates
the accomplishments of black people and celebrates black folks and

(05:27):
our unique story in this country and is just doing
away with them. And so Juneteenth has become very special.
And a couple of years ago, or it might have
been around there, we had our sort of inaugural Welcome
to Juneteenth show on Civic Cipher and what we did
is we spoke to you know, allies. The show Civic

(05:48):
Cipher exists to kind of empower allies and potential allies
around the country, letting folks know that it's okay to
come and celebrate Juneteenth with us. It's okay to make mistakes,
it's you know, all this sort of stuff. Just come
with an open heart, be prepared to learn, and let's
all celebrate together, you know we, Q and I will
celebrate St. Patrick's Day, will celebrate you know. Well, I
don't pick a holiday. There's a ton of them, and

(06:10):
so it's okay for other folks to celebrate Juneteenth with us, right,
this is our belief. But it's important that we share
with you kind of what's going on, and we praise
the efforts around the country where people are still celebrating
Juneteenth despite it potentially put in a target on their back.
So I'm going to read a bit and then we'll
let Q share some thoughts on kind of the development

(06:33):
of this conversation. So. Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day,
commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States.
It specifically marks the day June nineteenth, eighteen sixty five,
when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce the
end of slavery and enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which had
been issued over two years prior. Imagine being free for

(06:55):
two years and not knowing about it. All Right, I'm
going to share a bit from the Black Information Network.
Juneteen celebrations are set to kick off across the country
this week despite waning support amid the Trump administration's attack
on DEI. On Thursday, June nineteenth, cities across the US
will celebrate Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the day the
last and slaved people in Texas were till they were

(07:16):
free in eighteen sixty five. Upcoming Juneteen celebrations are facing
challenges this year, as several federal grants have been canceled
under the Trump administration and brands rolled back their diversity
initiatives following the president's executive order to eliminate DEI and government.
Per the Associated Press, in Denver, more than a dozen
companies backed out of supporting the Juneteenth Music Festival, one

(07:38):
of the city's biggest celebrations. Real quick, I just want
to point out for everybody that backs out of June
teen celebrations and DEI stuff, just know black people are
going to be here a lot longer than Donald Trump.
I'm going to say it one hundred more times until
people get it through their heads. But you know, and
we don't forget this sort of stuff. But anyway, I'll continue. Quote.
There were quite a few sponsors who pulled back their
investments or let us know they couldn't or wouldn't be

(07:59):
in a position support this year. Norman Harris, executive director
of JMF Corporation, which puts on the event, set the
donations from individuals and foundations. The festival is still set
to take place in Denver's Five Points neighborhood, but celebrations
have been scaled back to one day instead of two, thankfully.
Quote Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that

(08:20):
came when we made the announcement that the celebration is
in jeopardy. Harrist all Right. In West Virginia, the office
of Republican Governor Patrick Morrissey, who signed a bill last
month ending all diversity programs, announced that it wouldn't be
hosting any Juneteenth events for the first time since twenty seventeen. Quote,
due to the continued fiscal challenges facing West Virginia State

(08:41):
government will not be sponsoring any formal activities unquote, Deputy
Press Secretary Drew Galling said in a statement Morrissey also
declined to give state employees the day off on the
federal and state holiday. A Juneteenth parade and festival in
West Virginia's capital city of Charleston will still take place,
but has been moved to Friday, June twentieth to amid
state workers. Quote. We want people, families, kids, everybody to

(09:03):
celebrate with us about Juneteenth unquote, Charleston Juneteenth organizer Ray
Whiting said, goes on to say it's very sacred and
it's very special. In Scottsdale, Arizona, where city council members
dissolve their DEI office earlier this year, the city's annual
June teen festival was canceled. Despite the decision, Asu Kerr
in Scottsdale is hosting a Juneteenth theater show. There are

(09:25):
also several celebrations happening in the metro area, including the
Rybe Juneteenth Freedom Celebration in Phoenix, the West Valley Barbecue
Juneteen Celebration in Chandler, and the Juneteenth Freedom Day Festival
at the George Washington Carver Museum. Companies also pulled their
support from the Southern Colorado June teen Festival in Colorado Springs.
Quote They have said their budgets have been cut because

(09:46):
of DEI and they can no longer afford it. Planner
Jennifer Smith said. Still, the festival is adapting to fewer
sponsors and cuts in city funding by switching locations. The
Cooper Family Foundation typically hosts one of the largest Juneteen
celebrations in San Diego every year. However, it was among
the group's informed last month that it's grant from the
National Endowment for the Arts was being rescinded. Malia Jones,

(10:08):
who works for the foundation, said they were told Juneteenth
events no longer aligned with the agency's priorities. Quote that's
twenty five thousand dollars we have to figure out how
we're going to pay for. Marla Cooper, who leads the foundation, said,
noting that the event is still taking place. Quote, we
will always have Juneteenth, and we will work it out.
She added, Okay, so a lot of resilience there. Forgive me,

(10:31):
that was a long read, but I wanted to share
those stories because those really represent people that are really
struggling to, you know, make something happen when there's a
massive opposing force against them. Your thoughts here que.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
Being anti diversity equity and inclusion is one thing. Being
anti the end of slavery and blatant, because even trying
to tie those two things together is you know, intentionally
obtuse or you know, flatly and almost overtly racist. You

(11:13):
all want to celebrate enslaved people learning that they've been freed,
and that doesn't align with our values.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
But they can celebrate past.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
Credible thing to say out loud, It'll never not be
strange to me, the amount of people willing to voluntarily
line up their public character, their public principles, their public
morals with this morally reprehensible and bankrupt administration, Like these

(11:52):
companies that would be successful without his endorsement, these companies
that have billions and billions of dollars and would have
been fine just being quiet, right, like, to voluntarily take
this stance, not forced to. You could just be just

(12:17):
be quiet, don't say anything, and just watch things play out.
And it would have been and it had been a
fiscal benefit to a lot of these companies, as we
as we see in Costco. And the one thing that
you said that I hope you're right about because I've
seen the other side of it, and it's been discouraging.

(12:37):
We don't forget, but sometimes we do forgive. Forgive about
a convenience. Sometimes we forgive because that's just how we are.
And it's been really discouraging the things that we allow
to happen and the people that we invite. Back to
the cookout, if you'll say, well.

Speaker 1 (12:54):
Do me a favorite cute talk about because we have
to go to Detroit to help some kids out because
a TNT pulled out of a I mean, you know
the story better than I do, but that just broke
my heart and I'm like, how can I do business
with AT and T.

Speaker 2 (13:08):
Yeah, I'm just really really blown away because it's not
just them that's you know, you just read a bunch
of people, a bunch of companies and a bunch of
federal organizations that are just like, yeah, I don't that
no longer aligns with our values is crazy work. You

(13:29):
all celebrating the end of slavery is not something that
we can justify getting behind this year. Yeah, black people
will be here longer. I just hope we don't forget.
I hope we don't forgive so easily. I hope we
don't just move on and just go right back to
the same things we've always done well.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
One of the things that I'm hoping for is that
people get out and celebrate Juneteenth so loudly. This includes
you listening to our voices celebrated so loudly that these
companies and this administration has to take notice. All right,
moving on, we have some opinions to share, and then

(14:09):
we're going to offer our own opinions as well. So
this is an opinion piece from the Hill. The name
of this article is LA Riot coverage shows the media's
Biden's miss wasn't a miss at all. They just lie. Okay,
I'm going to say the name of this author, so

(14:30):
you know that it's not us or it's not affiliated
with this Normally I wouldn't say the name of the author,
just the publication. But this guy's name is Beckett Adams,
and he's listed as the opinion contributor. And he starts
his article saying, if you still need proof that the
media never intended to tell you the truth about former
President Joe Biden's physical and mental decline, look no further

(14:50):
than their coverage of the riots in Los Angeles. These
people have no problem lying right to your face insisting
that you doubt the evidence before your own eyes and
instead believe their preferred version of events. There is plenty
of photo and video evidence showcasing the violent unrest in
Los Angeles, everything from car set ablaze to rioters hurling
chunks of concrete at law enforcement officers and their vehicles.

(15:14):
An unlawful assembly was declared within hours of when the
violence first broke out way back on June sixth, more
than a week ago, when the rioters and the arsonists
initially clashed with federal officers. City law enforcement officials deployed
tear gas and other crowd control methods that evening in
an attempt to disperse the mob. Not long afterward, Los
Angeles issued a citywide tactical alert, alerting the city's officers

(15:36):
of an all hands event. Note that all of this
occurred before President Trump had called up the National Guard.
In the early morning of June eighth, after two days
of escalation, the first National Guard troops arrived on the scene.
Trump later called in the US Marines to protect federal
properties which had already been attacked and vandalized the city. Comically,
the saries, the city city's comically inept mayor, Karen Bass

(16:00):
imposed a curfew and declared a local emergency on June tenth.
Despite the timeline, major media are going out of their
way to downplay and dismiss the violence. They're trying to
frame the narrative, maintaining simultaneously that the riots are largely
peaceful and that Trump somehow tricked the rioters into their
violent and lawless behavior. Noticed the contradiction by sending in

(16:22):
the troops days after they started rioting. It hasn't even
been a year since journalists tried to convince you that
Biden was sharp and focused. They are already back to lying. Okay,
So this is this guy's opinion, and naturally this part
of the showke, you and I have opinions of our own.
I would like to go first, if I make you please,

(16:43):
all right, Okay, So I don't know if Beckett Adams
really knows what a riot looks like, and allow me
to paint a picture. A riot is sort of like
a free for all everyone versus everyone. It's very very

(17:11):
chaotic sort of event. Right, there's levels, right, and I
and I understand him him trying to call it a
peaceful protest when there's fires or whatever. It It will
short circuit his brain. Especially any anybody that's looking for
peace and they see fires and they see you know,
people dressed with bandanas covering their face and whatever, it

(17:34):
doesn't look peaceful to them. They're looking, they're hoping that
it's doctor King in a suit, locked arms with other
ministers singing we shall overcome. That in their minds is
a peaceful protest. Right. So when you shoot these, uh,
when you have these pictures and you shoot these really,

(17:55):
how would I say, these really intense photos of way
Mo's on fire and you know, protesters throwing chunks of
rocks at police cars, the idea of piece goes out
the window. So I'll see that. But to go as
far as to call it a riot, I think it
misses the mark. First off, the protests were largely peaceful.
There were no stores broken into that I know of.

(18:17):
There was no looting, there was no you know, there
weren't any structure fires as a result of this, you know, riots.
This is Los Angeles. Los Angeles knows how to riot,
you know what I mean, That's one thing that everybody
can agree on. And for him to kind of just
take it, it's like he's trying. He's doing the thing
that he's accusing the media of doing. Right, It's like, Okay,

(18:42):
it's a matter of perspective, it's a matter of nuance.
And again I've already seed that to him. But I
think that word riot will allow him and those on
the right license that helps them justify the actions that
they already were. Right, So if I'm going to start

(19:05):
rounding up immigrants, and you know, I was on the
ground doing radio in Arizona at the time when SB
ten seventy passed, which gave the police the ability to
stop people because they looked like immigrants, right, and all
of us out here, I'm not even gonna take credit
for that. Everybody out here was mad at that, or at
least all the people that I know on the radio

(19:26):
and all my friends and people on the streets. It's
just there's there. You push back against that because it's
not fair, right, It's just not It allows police too
much reach. They just all they have to do is
say I got a bad vibe, and they can hem
you up and mistreat you. And this is something that
we know police to have a problem with, right. So

(19:47):
what happens is this administration says, Okay, these folks are criminals.
Let's get them out of the country. There are protests
with individual actors who might set a car on fire,
individual actors who might you know, throw rocks at police cars. Sure,
but you know you're talking tens of thousands of people

(20:08):
out there, and most of the people go there, they
go with kids, They dance, they sing, they chant, they
make their voices heard, and then they go back home. Right,
So to paint the whole mob with the actions of
a few individuals is unfair, right, But in doing so,
it allows them cover for doubling down on the narrative

(20:31):
that they want chronicled, which is, see, all these people
are criminals. They need to get out of the country.
Look at them waving their Mexican flags and blah blah blah,
this and the third. So this is the difference between
a protest and a riot, because if you have tens
of thousands of people rioting, I promise you the whole
city shuts down, and there's no amount of National guards
and no amount of marines that you can send in
that will make that right. I promise you that. Not

(20:52):
in La All right, Q.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
You know, it's it's important that one of us is
a journalist, and that is my brother Ramsay's job. Because
as much of his opinion as we just shared on
our show, your brother wouldn't have it was disgusting listening
to it intentionally, oubt wrong and loud.

Speaker 1 (21:17):
You're talking about what he said.

Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yeah, Like, if I could, in good faith think, oh,
he just doesn't know any better, I wouldn't be so upset.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
But they know better. We didn't have.

Speaker 2 (21:29):
We don't have to teach them the difference between a
protest and a riot. You know, the millions of people
that were outside could have engulfed a city if that
was the intention. And almost all of the violence that
I saw was started, instigated, perpetuated, and amplified by law
enforcement that showed up. Yeah, right, So we don't have

(21:52):
to teach this gentleman the difference between a riot and
a protest. In his mind, it's very easy to take
brown and black people, place them in front of racist
white people and say, hey, look at these criminals doing
criminal like things. When nationalists and white supremacist group groups

(22:17):
rather put masks on and march through the streets, the
police don't impede them. In some cases, we see the
police escort them and protect them. And provide them cover.
When we gather, whether we're marching or not, they show
up in riot gear, intending to stagnate our progress, intending
to be in our way, looking for a reason to

(22:38):
throw the first punch, looking for a reason to tackle
the first person or shoot the first Journalists trying to
cover the peaceful protests, and we've seen that on camera
news reporter reading live to camera gets shot by law enforcement,
not instigating law enforcement, not even facing law enforcement, facing

(23:01):
the camera with her back to them, get shot.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
So they'll chronicle it, you know.

Speaker 2 (23:05):
However, they want to make who they want to look
bad look bad, but they determine we were criminals long
before the protests started, and any excuse they have to
chronicle us that way and then treat us as such,
they will take.

Speaker 1 (23:22):
So so here's a couple of things I want to say.
First off, we're going to be talking to Wendy Amara
this weekend. She's an activist out of LA and a
podcaster and so forth. But she's going to be on
Civic Soccer with us this weekend and we're going to
share a little bit of that conversation hopefully tomorrow, where

(23:44):
she's going to give us some insight here into like
really what it's like on the ground at these protests,
And I think that you're absolutely right. You know, the
police's role in this cannot be understated. It just can't be.
So moving on, better do better. So if you're like

(24:09):
me and your phone is constantly flashing because news articles
make their way to you, then you might know a
little bit about this. But there's a couple of government
officials that have been arrested by federal agents lately, and
again there's some folks that better do better. So I'm
gonna share a bit from the Associated Press. New York

(24:30):
City Controller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested
by federal agents at an immigration court Tuesday after he
linked arms with a person authorities were attempting to detain.
A reporter with the Associated Press and other journalists witness
landers arrest at a federal building in Manhattan, the latest
confrontation between US agents and a Democratic politician objecting to

(24:51):
the Trump administration's efforts to jail and deport mass numbers
of immigrants. The immigrant Lander escorted out of the courtroom
was also arrested. All right, I'm gonna go back a
bit This is another kind of high profile of vest arrest. Rather,
it is from the New York Times. Senator Alex Padia,
Democrat of California, was forcibly removed on Thursday from a
news conference being held by Christy Noam, the Homeland Security Sorry,

(25:14):
the Homeland Security Secretary, and handcuffed after he interrupted Misnome
at a federal building in West LA. Sir, sir, hands off.
Mister Padea fifty two, shouted as federal agents tried to
muscle him out of the room inside a government office
building about fifteen miles west of downtown LA, where Misnam
was speaking. Quote, I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have
questions for the secretary. Unquote, As mister Padilla, an MIT graduate,

(25:38):
the son of of Mexican immigrants and a Los Angeles native,
began asking about a bank of mugshots behind Misnome, agents
shoved him out of the room, told him to drop
to his knees in the hallway, and handcuffed him. Based
on videos taken by mister Padia's office and a Fox
News reporter, Okay, so I want to say to the officers.

(26:03):
People that know the officers, people can get a word
to these agents, these federal agents. If you feel in
your heart that this is right, go with God. We'll
see where we end up. But I suspect that many
of you know this is wrong, as illustrated by the

(26:23):
fact that this whole scene is unprecedented. You are being
asked to do things that are not normal by an
administration that is not normal. And if you feel in
your heart that this is wrong, I want to share

(26:44):
something with you, Okay. Nazis in Germany were the party
in power, okay. And when Nazism, when it was decided
by the world that Nazis was unconscionable and an evil empire,

(27:09):
all of the people that helped prop up Nazism had
to reckon with the fact that they supported that regime.
They helped that regime, and the Denazification of Germany was
I think it took four different countries and I don't
know how many years to weed out all of the Nazis, right,

(27:31):
But the people that help prop it up had to
live with that, okay. And these people at the time said, look,
I was following orders. But at the end of the day,
they were held accountable for the things that they did
because each and every one of you has your own
human moral compass. Okay, a senator engaging with the White

(27:54):
House Press secretary does not deserve to be handcuffed and
hauled off. Person going to an immigration hearing to do
things the way that they're supposed to be done is
not the criminal that you're looking for. It's not the
criminal that this administration promised that he was going to
weed out. Okay, this is a person that's doing things

(28:15):
the right way, which in theory you would have no
problem with, because that's what you said, or at least
that's what was largely said on the right. Okay, you
should be applauding these folks at the courts. The fact
that you're arresting them makes you the bad guy. You
are the one who is going to need to be
de nazified. You are committing the crimes. And if you

(28:36):
try to hide under that cover of I'm just following orders,
I promise that only works while this administration is power
in power. Donald Trump is going to die. He is
a million billion years old, and he's he is going
to die, and you will be left with the rest
of us looking at you, remembering what you did. Cute

(29:01):
anything else.

Speaker 2 (29:04):
It was never about the legality of brown and black
people's right to exist and live in this country. It
was about the idea that we are less than, that
we are others, and that we are by nature of
the melanin in our skin criminal. It was never about paperwork.
They want an all white country and they want all
black and brown people out of the way. That's what

(29:25):
it's always been about. And watching so many servicemen law
enforcement agents just with no pushback say yes, sirch of
things that they know better than us are illegal is
the scariest thing happening in our country today.

Speaker 1 (29:46):
This. I try to keep my composure, but this is
just so frustrating because you see how vulnerable these people
are and they're just being taken advantage of, and I
don't love it. We got a lot more show, so
be sure to stick around.